#Chilli Bonkers

[icedragonlizard]

There's a bunch of these guys, there's still many of them that I could not fit in the poll, so an "Other" option is especially necessary here!

[kachikirby]

Kirby: Mysterious Incident on the Pupupu Train! - Chapter 10: The Truth ofthe Pupupu Train

Previous Chapter

The Pupupu Train arrived at the resort planet Baspa as scheduled and a lot of people were waiting at the station for its arrival. It was completely decorated with flowers and cheerful music played. There was a loud cheer when it slid into the station. The doors opened and the passengers stepped off one by one.

“Welcome, visitors from Dream Land!”

“Welcome to Baspa!”

A beautiful bouquet was handed to everyone who stepped off the train. Everyone from Dream Land was enchanted by Baspa when they first saw it.

“What a beautiful place! There’s a lot of flowers that aren’t in Dream Land!”

“There’s forests and an ocean? I wanna go play now!”

“I want to relax in the hot springs!”

York was the last one to get off the train. He looked so dejected that there was no longer any sign of an imposing railroad tycoon within him. A lone woman walked up to him.

“Welcome home, dear.”

When the woman called out to him, he jumped and shouted.

“What are you doing here?! You have to stay home!”

“It’s okay. I feel good today. I can’t sit at home today when this is the first time in a while that you’re coming home.” The woman smiled. She was slender and very beautiful.

The passengers looked at each other.

“…who’s that?”

“Isn’t that Mr. York’s wife?”

“No way! How could he have such a beautiful wife!?”

The woman leaned close to York and asked. “Dear, have you found the slumbercumbers?”

York panicked and tried to keep the woman quiet.

“H-hey! Don’t talk too much! You go home and I’ll take the passengers to a hotel…”

“No, hold up.”

They were approached by King Dedede.

“Did you just say slumbercumbers?”

When asked, the woman nodded curiously.

“Yes. And you are…?”

“I’m King Dedede, the great ruler of Dream Land. You York’s wife?”

“Yes, but…”

“By any chance, are you also part of York’s plan…?”

“Stop that, Dedede.”

Dedede was cut off by Meta Knight, who then spoke to York.

“Explain everything in detaill.”

“There’s nothing to talk about…” York replied awkwardly and tried to leave, but his wife then spoke.

“Dear, did something happen?”

“N-no, nothing did…”

York was flustered.

His wife then spoke. “It seems there was a miscommunication. We’ll talk about it. Since we won’t be going there, everyone else can go to the hotel…”

She stood in front and started walking. York gave out a pitiful cry and ran after her.

“Hey! Wait! You have to return home! I’ll explain everything to the guests… wait for me! Please!”

Kirby and the others looked at each other before chasing after the couple.

~~~~~~~~

When everyone settled down in the hotel’s hall, York’s wife spoke.

“What kind of explanation did my husband give all of you?”

King Dedede answered. “He was trying to smuggle a dangerous vegitable called the slumbercumber that is only grown in Dream Land.”

“Dangerous? Smuggle? Oh my!”

The wife seemed shocked and looked at York, who was sitting next to her with astonished eyes.

“Dear, why did you tell them such a lie!?”

York’s face turned red as he spoke. “I couldn’t explain it well and… well… they misunderstood…”

“Misunderstood?”

Dedede questioned back.

“What do you mean?”

York’s wife answered. “The slumbercumber is not a dangerous vegetable. It has a wonderful effect of making those who eat it sleep soundly.”

“Yeah, but it can be terrifying if it’s misused.” Dedede insisted.

York’s wife shook her head. “We won’t be misusing it. My husband was searching for slumbercumbers for my sake.”

“Huh?”

“My body is weak because I have a constitution that prevents me from getting a good night’s sleep. The doctors say that as long as I can sleep properly, I will be healthy, but I just can’t…”

“Then that means that Mr. York was transporting slumbercumbers for his wife…?” Meta Knight said.

“No way, I don’t believe it!” Dedede said with a grim expression. “There’s way too many for the wife to eat alone! I guess they were planning on selling them off for exorbitant prices!”

The wife spoke. “If you eat slumbercumbers as-is, you’ll be kept asleep for days. But if you process them with heat, it becomes a medicine that cures insomnia.”

“A medicine…?”

“Yes. There are many people who have trouble sleeping at night. My husband was trying to make a good medicine for people like that.”

Upon hearing that, the citizens of Dream Land were shocked. King Dedede, unable to give up on his doubts, then said.

“That medicine will be expensive to buy, won’t it? That’s how you plan to make a ton of money…”

“No, we can’t make a lot of money. There’s plenty of slumbercumbers that are easy to process. My husband was trying to make a medicine that people with troubles could take for peace of mind.”

“Whaddya know! Sounds like a dang good plan to me! Why didn’t ya tell us the truth?” Bonkers asked.

Burning Leo also shouted. “If you told us from the beginning that the cargo hold was loaded with slumbercumbers, even Captain Vul wouldn’t have done what he did. You had a good plan, and you didn’t need to hide it!”

“That is… well… um…” York was at a lost for words as his face grew even more red.

Finally, his wife spoke. “He’s very shy and stubborn.”

“H-hey!”

York tried to silence his wife, but she continued.

“If he explained the slumbercumbers, he would have to tell you about me. I guess he was embarrassed that people would assume that he was working hard for his wife, so he tried to keep everything secret.”

The citizens of Dream Land started laughing.

“Are you kidding!?”

“There’s a limit to being shy!”

“I was aware, in a subtle way, that Mr. York was not trying to transport slumbercumbers for money.” Meta Knight said.

“What? You’re lying!” Dedede quickly said. “You suspected that York was planning on making a fortune in slumbercumbers, weren’t you?!”

“At first. But I understood after the incident with the meteor.”

“Understood? What?”

“He’s a great railroad tycoon.”

Meta Knight looked at York. He was completely embarrassed and looked down.

“He was willing to take risks to make sure all passengers were safe. Not just him, but also the crew members did their jobs admirably. I am sure that he told them to do their job on a daily basis. Above everything else, passenger safety was a priority to him. There is no way such a wonderful railroad tycoon would engage in smuggling for personal gain.”

York turned red.

“O-oh… well… my employees are just great… I’m not…”

Meta Knight took his hand, and York shook it, embarrassed. Bandana Waddle Dee approached York.

“Mr. York… um… I’m sorry!” He lowered his head. “I said something extremely rude to you. I didn’t realize how you really felt and thought that you were using the Pupupu Train for smuggling…”

“Oh, uh, it’s fine. Please don’t apologize.” York waved his hand in a panic. “It’s my fault for not explaining properly and causing a misunderstanding.”

His wife spoke. “My husband of course planned the Pupupu Train to transport the slumbercumbers, but that’s not all. He loves railroads from the bottom of his heart. He was looking forward to seeing everyone travel freely between Dream Land and Baspa.”

“Y-yeah. I was.” York stuttered.

“So that’s why you let us on the Pupupu Train. Thank you, Mr. York!” Kirby said.

“You can ride the train to come visit Dream Land, too. I’ll let you stay the night at my castle.” Dedede said to York’s wife.

“Oh, thank you!” A smile appeared on her face. “Since I’m physically weak, I had given up on the idea of taking long trips. But I will be able to visit after I get plenty of rest due to the slumbercumber medicine…”

At that moment, the conductor rushed into the hall. “Sir, we have a problem!”

“What is it? If this is about work, it can wait until later. I’m talking to the guests.”

“This is about the guests…” The conductor continued with a troubled expression. “The Pupupu Train can no longer operate due to the damage from the shooting star.”

“…what!?”

Everyone was stunned.

Chilly shouted. “Well, that means we can’t return to Dream Land! What now!?”

“I’m calling the Halberd. We’ll go back to Dream Land that way.” Meta Knight said.

“If we fix the broken part, the Pupupu Train will be able to run again, right? Then we can visit Baspa again.” Walky said.

“…that’s true, but-” York began with a worried look. “I think we need to review the safety of the Pupupu Train’s line to make sure it’s safe. It would be a disaster if an accident like this happened again.”

“Wha? So you’re not restarting the Pupupu Train?” King Dedede asked.

“That’s right… this must be difficult for you to hear.”

“Huh?!”

The citizens of Dream Land raised their voices in disappointment.

“But why? It was so fun traveling by train!”

“I want to travel a lot more!”

“Thank you very much, everyone.” York looked at everyone. “The investigation will take some time, so I won’t be able to do it for a while, but I will definitely start the Pupupu Train again. I hope that someday we will be able to serve you once more!”

The citizens clapped their hands.

“We’ll look forward to it!”

“Good luck with that, Mr. York!”

Before the applause stopped, Kirby shouted.

“Hey, now that we’re done talking, can we start the party? I’m starving!”

“Aren’t you always hungry!?” Bonkers said.

Then King Dedede spoke. “I agree with Kirby! We haven’t even started the party to commemorate our arrival on Baspa! Bring on all the feasts!”

“I want to eat, but I want to explore too! Baspa has woods, and oceans and fields! I want to swim, run and train!” Knuckle Joe said.

“I want to go to the hot springs first! I want to soak myself in the simmering baths!” Burning Leo also shouted.

Everyone rose their voices in excitement. York’s wife smiled and said. “All your wishes come true in Baspa. The party will be by the ocean next to the hot springs, so you can have a feast while playing and relaxing!”

Everyone cheered.

“This is the greatest! I wanna have a barbeque while taking care of my body!”

“I wanna drink Super-Hot Hot Chocolate while soaking in the hot springs!”

“And I wanna eat a feast while eating a feast!!”

York looked at his wife with worry. “You shouldn’t push yourself so hard. Now would be a good time to rest…”

“No, I feel really energetic somehow.” His wife spoke in a bright voice. “It’s like the energy of everyone from Dream Land has been shared with me. Now, let’s go! To a beach party under the blue sky!”

“Let’s go! Let’s go!”

The citizens of Dream Land rushed out of the hotel and towards the beautiful beach.

-

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[moxsquanch]

not anymore :)

eating alone today :-(

[just-jordie-things]

the subject of every photo - fushiguro megumi

word count: 5,555 (i'm so proud of that) warnings: swearin' summary: a photoshoot at the pumpkin patch isn't his ideal day, but at least megumi gets to spend time with you. and maybe he'll take a few pictures anyway. (a/n): really delayed pumpkin themed fic with the softest boy but i needed to write this ok a greater power called upon me to do it

___

“It’ll be fun!” Nobara had claimed, although her tone was more threatening than bubbly.  “It’s just a little photoshoot at a pumpkin patch, why so gloomy about it?” 

And it wasn’t that Megumi was gloomy about it, because he wasn’t.  It would be immature to pout about a simple hangout among friends.  The thing was… he just didn’t care for the whole pumpkin patch thing that really seemed to take off on instagram and tiktok these last few years.

He hadn’t carved a pumpkin since he was just a tot, and even then he’d only done it to satisfy Gojo’s bonkers need to participate in every holiday tradition.  He never particularly liked scooping the guts and seeds out, and as a kid wasn’t decent enough with a blade to carve a face that actually looked interesting.  Not to mention, it was always chilly in late October, making it insufferable to wander around outside solely to pick out a big orange vegetable.  

Really, if he wanted a pumpkin that bad, he would’ve picked out a discount one from the grocery store.  But really, he didn’t want a pumpkin.

Nonetheless, Nobara had bought four disposable cameras— which he didn’t know were even still a thing— told everyone to wear their cutest, coziest outfit, and pretty much demanded they all go spend the afternoon at one of the more popular farms in town.  As with most plans, Megumi begrudgingly agreed.

Even under three layers— his coat, his sweater, and the long sleeved tee he wore underneath them both— the crisp air still pricked at his skin and left goosebumps in it’s wake.  It was hard to enjoy being out here when he was fighting the urge to shiver.

“It’s pretty cold for this, huh?” 

Megumi wipes away the resting bitch face he’d been making, opting instead for as much neutrality as he could muster.  He turns to (y/n), only to find her peering up at him from behind her little plastic camera.  His brows wrinkle.

“Don’t take a picture of me at that angle” 

He puts his hand over the lens and pushes it away before she could even think about snapping the photo, and she chuckles a bit at his boyish antics.  He almost cracks a smile when she’s peeking up at him with her cheeks tinged pink from the cold.  He squashes it before his lip could curl too far.

“Well what side do you prefer then?” She teases, shifting around to stand before him and raising her shitty little camera again.  “Full portrait? Or perhaps a side profile?”

Megumi rolls his eyes, but when he starts to walk away, she’s quick to follow.  He doesn’t dislike her company.

Nobara is off farther in the field, ordering Yuuji to pick up as many pumpkins as he can for the perfect picture.  It was only a matter of time before she came over and started barking at the two of them to make the perfect poses as well.

“So why do you hate pumpkin patches?” (y/n) breaks their silence, but when he turns to her again, she’s fixing her camera on a sparrow pecking away at a less than ripe pumpkin.

“I don’t hate pumpkin patches,” He replies, but even he has to admit the dryness in his voice makes it seem a bit unbelievable.  “It’s just…” He glances at her out of the corner of his eye, but he’s quick to straighten his gaze when he finds her full attention on him now.  “Cold” He finishes, lamely, but it’s not untrue.

He fiddles with the plastic camera in his hands.

“Yeah,” (y/n) agrees from beside him.  “Would’ve been nice to do this a few weeks ago, when it was still sunny” 

Megumi nods back at her, unsure of what else to say.

He hoped that they weren’t doomed to only speak about the weather today.  However that meant he’d probably have to put the effort in to change the subject.  His palms began to sweat.

It was their day off, so he didn’t want to strike up a conversation about work, and preferably he’d like to avoid the subject of sorcery altogether.  So that narrowed down the options by a lot.

He knew that like him, she liked to read.  But she was more into the fantasy stuff, and the only book off the top of his head he could make conversation about was The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe and he was fairly certain that wasn’t currently on her shelf.

Was it always this hard or was he just overthinking it? 

“Wait, stay right there!” 

Before he can suck it up and ask how her most recent assignment went, (y/n’s) throwing her arms up at him to make him freeze in place.  Megumi startles at the sudden movement and holler, but he listens and stays put while she backs up a few steps.

“The sun is peeking out,” She explains, before steadying her camera in front of her face.  “The lighting is great” She says with a grin, and then without warning, she snaps the photo.

Megumi wants to complain, he didn’t even have time to smile or pose or anything.  When that picture got printed, he’d just be a guy standing there, probably with a resting bitch face.  Nobara wouldn’t be happy.

But (y/n’s) still grinning as she lowers the camera.

“Too bad we gotta wait so long to see ‘em,” She says as she heads back towards him.  “It’d be nice to—” 

“Stop moving” 

He’s more blunt than she is, already lifting his camera and peeking through the small lens.  (y/n) gets the hint and retraces her steps to fit properly in the frame.

“Better?” She asks, tossing her hair over her shoulder dramatically before posing with a bright smile.

Megumi snaps the photo without warning, although he’s sure that this one will turn out much better than the one she’d taken of him.  For one, she’s smiling, but he’s also certain that she’s much more photogenic than he is.

She’s at his side again as they wander around the patch, fiddling to fit the camera into the pocket of her coat.  It takes him a few minutes to find his courage again, but eventually Megumi clears his throat and tries to spark conversation.

“Gojo used to take a million pictures of me and Tsumiki” 

That seems to be exactly the right thing to say, because (y/n’s) entire demeanor lights up as she looks up at him with wide eyes.

“Really?” She laughs softly at the mental picture.  “Did he keep, like, photo albums and stuff?” 

“Oh yeah,” Megumi snorted, recalling the rows of photo books on the living room bookshelf when he was young.  “Dozens, at least.  It was like he couldn’t commit a thing to memory, always had to document everything” 

When he was young, it was obnoxious to always have a camera shoved in his face.  Now though, he wonders if the crazy bastard still had those albums.

“That’s sweet,” (y/n) muses, wandering off a bit to check out a display of gourds, all varying in shapes and colors.  “I bet there’s tons of embarrassing ones of you, too” She teases. 

Megumi doesn’t give her an answer, instead silently watching as she picks up a large green vegetable with a curly top.  She holds the long end in her hand, before turning to face Megumi with the plump end out, holding it like it was a very deformed gun.

He rolls his eyes at the joke, but just as she looks away, he snaps a photo.

(y/n) seems to not even notice, setting the gourd back on the display and turning back to Megumi to continue their conversation.

“Was he a scrapbook mom?”

He chuckles, and he wants to deny it, but he can’t.  Even if he tried he thinks she’d see through it with how he smiles with all of his teeth.  She’s laughing before he even explains.

“He made one scrapbook, ever,” He tells her.  “And you have to swear to never tell them this,” He adds quickly.  (y/n) doesn’t have to ask to know who he means, and she simply drags her thumb and forefinger over her lips as if to zip them up.  “It took him weeks.  I think the kitchen table was covered in all of his crafts for a solid month” 

“You’re kidding!” She laughs louder, loving the image of her mentor hunched over a table while he glued down photos and ribbon to pretty sheets of paper.

“I wish I was.  I think it’s why he only ever made one,” Megumi shrugged.  “But it’s… a lot.  Every sheet was three dimensional.  The spine of the scrapbook was stretched so wide the thing couldn’t even sit flat” 

He knows that all of the pictures in that book would be embarrassing now.  Gojo liked to document every first— first day of school, first science project, first A+, along with more ridiculous milestones, like when Megumi chopped all of his hair off in the fifth grade and looked ridiculous.  If he remembered correctly, Gojo glued that hair in the book too, as if it were his baby hairs.  That scrapbook really should be burned, but a part of him wishes he could show her now, just to prove how messy it really is.

“I’d do anything to get my hands on it,” (y/n) sighed, almost as if she could read his mind.  “My parents did some stuff like that, but they certainly weren’t obsessive” 

“Obsession is all he knows” Megumi mumbles, and he doesn’t mean to be funny, but she laughs, and it makes his chest feel warm.

“I still think it’s sweet,” She assures him, and then she stops in their slow and aimless walk, kneeling down to tie the shoelaces on her boot.  Megumi waits beside her.  He cared much more for her company than he did seeing the pumpkin patch.  “He probably just wanted to save lots of memories of you guys when you were little.  All parents say it goes by fast” 

She goes to tie the other boot, and Megumi can only stand there in soft surprise.  Sure, deep down he always considered Gojo his parent, because he simply just was.  But no one else referred to their relationship that way, the others always called him teacher or mentor.  But (y/n) must’ve understood that it was more than that.

He’s pulling his camera out again and stealing another quick picture while she was still focused on her shoes.

When she stands, he’s got the camera tucked back into his pocket and an innocent look on his face.

“Want to take a picture over there?” She asks, pointing to the tower of hay bales set up mostly for photos.  Originally it was for children to climb and play on, but it’s purpose was far more often served as a posing station.

Megumi simply nods, and follows her as she races over the tower.  It shouldn’t have surprised him when she started climbing the thing right away.  Surely Nobara had been over here earlier, striking a pose with one hand on her hip and the other on the stack of hay, but not (y/n), who was almost to the top.

“You’re not gonna fall, right?” Megumi asks unsurely as she’s grabbing at the highest bale.

“I’m a trained athlete!” She shrieks back, clearly offended.

“I’m more worried about you destroying the play area” Megumi retorted, his lip curling upwards against his will.  He can’t help but take a picture before she’s settled.  Her hair’s a mess and her limbs are everywhere as she tries to steady herself on the wobbling tower, but it’s a perfect picture nonetheless.

“This is great!” She shouts back at him, before stretching her hands above her head.  “Take my photo like this!” 

It’s silly, it’s childish, but Megumi’s laughing to himself as he snaps a couple.

Somehow she manages to climb down without toppling the entire thing, and they quickly make their way across the pumpkin patch before an employee could scold them for being grown adults playing on the children’s setup.

Megumi finds it easier to talk with her the longer they walk around, aimlessly eyeing pumpkins without committing to picking any out, taking photos here and there, but mostly they just wander around and talk.  Yuji and Nobara seem so wrapped up in the full on photoshoot they were having with each other that it could seem like they’d completely forgotten the other pair, but Megumi didn’t mind one bit.

Hang outs never turned out like this.  Nobara tended to cling to (y/n) like a lifeline.  She was always dragging her off to the next boutique on the strip or game in the arcade or exhibit at the museum— wherever they went, it seemed as soon as Megumi would get a minute of alone time with her, Nobara would steal her away.  It was deflating, but he couldn’t be mad, they were best friends after all.

Today was like a gloomy day miracle.  He almost felt spoiled having the last half hour with her all to himself.  All of her laughter and smiles were only for him.  It warmed up his chilled hands until soon, even the breeze wouldn’t make him shiver.

(y/n) didn’t appear to have the same effect, shaking like a leaf every time the wind picked up.  She always shrank into the collar of her coat and shoved her hands into her pockets, and after a few times, Megumi couldn’t stand to see her freezing.

“Let’s go inside for a bit,” He nodded his head towards the small shop.  (y/n) pouted back at him, before glancing around the pumpkin patch, clearly looking for their friends.  “They won’t be upset that we went inside because we’re cold,” Megumi chuckles to himself, before gently pushing his hand against the small of her back so that he’d follow her.  “I’ll text Itadori” He adds for good measure.

After a moment of hesitation she agreed and walked along with him, but just slow enough that he left his hand on her lower back.  Just because it was nice to be so close to him.

Stepping into the shop was an instant rush of fresh warm air, and she finally felt like she could stretch her fingers.  There was a small bakery inside with only a couple of tables, but without anyone else inside it was perfectly quaint to warm up in.

“I’m going to order a hot chocolate, do you want anything?”

The offer was sweet, but she’s already making her way to the counter, set on a mission as soon as the alluring smell of apples and cinnamon wafted past her nose.

“I could go for a coffee” Megumi hummed as he followed.

He’s ordering for the both of them as soon as a clerk arrives behind the counter, two drinks along with the enormous bear claw in the glass case that (y/n) hadn’t torn her eyes away from since stepping up to the counter.  She tries to fight him when he pulls out his wallet but he’s faster at tapping his card to the reader than she is at hitting him.

Even once they sit down with their drinks and the pastry that takes up most of the table space between them, she argues with him about the payment, and all he can do is shake his head— and maybe smile to himself just a little bit.  After realizing arguing is futile, she decides that as long as he eats some of the bear claw, she can forgive him.

And they continue to chat, about dumb things, about nothing, about everything.  Megumi learns all about the book series that she is reading, along with her plans for getting promoted faster, and that her dream pet is a sugar glider.

“That’s ridiculous,” He mumbles through a mouthful of almond paste and cinnamon.  “When would you ever have the time to take care of something like that?”

“That’s why it’s a dream pet, dummy,” (y/n) rolls her eyes at him.  “Doesn’t have to be realistic.  Don’t you have a dream pet?” 

“I kinda already have a lot of pets” 

“Oh, right,” She laughs to herself, and he thinks he can see a hint of a blush dusting over her cheeks.  Was she embarrassed? He wasn’t sure exactly.  But it was really cute.  “Well if there’s ever a sugar glider shikigami, please summon it for me” She tells him in all seriousness, and Megumi bites his tongue as he agrees to the condition immediately.

He pulls out his camera for the tenth time that day and rests his elbows on the table as he brings it to his face.  (y/n’s) eyes widen before she’s covering half her face with one hand.

“Are you taking a picture of me right now?” She hisses anxiously, before shaking her head at him.

“Duh” He mutters out as he tilts forward and back, trying to find just the right angle of lighting.

“I’m eating—” 

“So? Not like you have food on your face.  Hush.  Go back to eating or something” 

“I am not letting you take a picture of me while I eat” 

“Alright then just sit there then” 

She’s grabbing her paper cup of hot cocoa to use as a shield, but it’s too late.  Megumi clicks the button and she can hear the soft whirring coming from inside the camera.

The lens cuts to black and Megumi pulls the camera away, eyeing the little roll of numbers next to the lens.

“I’m out already,” He says, tossing it onto the table.  “Guess I win” 

(y/n) laughs to herself.

“I didn’t know this was a competition,” She takes a sip of her warm beverage before setting it back down.  “But I can’t believe you finished before me”

“How many do you have left?” 

Curiously, (y/n) pulls the camera out of her pocket and eyes the tape with the amount of film left.  She frowns as she looks back up at him.

“Just one,” She answers, and her frown tilts into a small, soft smile before she asks, “Do you want to take one together?” 

___

Greedily, Nobara snatches the stack of freshly printed photos out of Megumi’s hands.  (y/n) and Yuji are too busy sharing theirs with each other, and Nobara had been dying to know what photos Megumi and (y/n) had taken on their last outing.  By the time the group had met up and gone home, their cameras were already full, and she knew she hadn’t been the subject of a single one of them.

“I swear Fushiguro if these are all dumb pictures of pumpkins, I’ll—” 

But her threat falls short after sliding through the first three pictures.

The first was (y/n) on the path, just standing and smiling.  It wasn’t special, there wasn’t even a pumpkin in the background, but it was cute.

The second was a picture of her crouched down and tying her shoe.  Her face wasn’t even in the picture, her hair was hanging in front of it, but if you squinted you could barely make out the tip of her nose.

Then the third was another candid, where she was pretending to hold a gourd like a gun.

“What the—?” 

Nobara flips through to the next one in the stack, and yet again there’s a candid of her climbing up the side of a hay bale tower.  At least that one captured her smile.  She shouldn’t have been surprised to see the fifth one in the stack was also of (y/n), this time sitting on top of the haystack victoriously

“You’ve got to be kidding me, dude” 

“Okay give them back—!” Megumi tries to grab the stack of pictures from Nobara before she could keep being nosey, but she deflects fast, swiveling to turn away from him and keep skipping through the photos.

He shouldn’t have let her get her hands on them to begin with, but it was too late now.  If he caused too big of a scene, Yuji and (y/n) would notice.  He didn’t exactly want all of his pictures on display.

So Nobara kept flipping.

One was of her lifting up the tiniest of pumpkins— definitely the runt of the whole patch.  It fit in the palm of her hand but she seemed delighted by it.

The next few were just of her walking around, nothing too exciting in the frame.  Just the occasional pumpkin in the background.

There was a decent one taken from inside the shop.  (y/n) was still in the frame but her back was turned as she eyed the glass case of sweets.  Nobara could almost let Megumi off the hook for that one.  Almost.

And then the last photo was of her laughing, the blurry image of a paper cup waving in the space beside her face.  Her eyes are on the camera, so she must’ve known he was taking that picture, but judging by the surprise in her expression, it was easy to conclude she was trying to hide behind that cup.

Once she’d ogled every picture, Nobara finally turned back to Megumi.  Her brows twitched and furrowed, lips parted in shock, not a single word spoken as she handed the stack back to him.  It’s practically shoved towards him, but he doesn’t complain, just snatches them back as fast as he can.

He wants to find a way to quickly and discreetly ask her to keep this to herself, but before he can find the words, she’s gawking at him again.

“Every single one?” Nobara asks in a mutter.

“We hung out the whole time, okay? It's not like—” Megumi tries to defend himself, but it’s no use.  Nobara’s already speaking over him again.

“It’s almost pathetic, dude.  Just ask her out like a normal person” 

His brows almost raise to his hairline in shock.  Here he thought she was about to call him out for being a creep or something.  But no, her disgust only lied in his pathetic pining and lack of action.  Maybe he should have assumed that already.

He doesn’t get the chance to say anything before Nobara’s marching over to Yuji and demanding to see his photos as well.  Megumi’s left reeling from the whole interaction, the humiliation still lingering in his gut.

The feeling remains as (y/n) makes her way to him, her own fresh stack of photos in her hands.  There’s a nervous sort of smile on her face as she glances back at Yuji and Nobara, double checking that they were out of earshot.

“They took that pretty seriously, huh?” Her voice was still low, careful not to draw the attention of their rambunctious friends.  “Yuji takes great photos, don’t get me wrong.  But I think she should pay him for his time” 

There’s some relief in his chest when he cracks a smile, a small laugh coming out.  He could only imagine the quality of Nobara and Yuji’s photos, certainly prepped for instagram.

“I bet she still puts filters over all of them” He mutters back, and (y/n) stifles a giggle behind her hand, but nods her head in agreement.

“Can we leave now or what?” Nobara calls out, already dragging Yuji by the arm to leave the store.  “I want to get boba before home” 

“Boba sounds good,” (y/n) agrees softly.  “Let’s go” 

As the red head continued to drag her friend despite him arguing that he was an adult who could walk by himself, she turned and aggressively whispered something to him.  After her obvious threatening, she glances back at (y/n) and Megumi, which Yuji promptly follows her pointed glance.  Suddenly after that he was upright and speed walking along with her.

(y/n) and Megumi share a baffled look as their friends so blatantly ditch them, but they don’t exactly pick up the pace to follow.

“So, did you get good photos?” Megumi asks, tucking his own away in his pocket.  Foolishly, he hoped if they were out of sight she wouldn’t ask him about them.

“Oh,” (y/n) chuckles nervously, holding her stack of pictures in both hands.  She tilts them towards herself so he can’t see, and Megumi raises a brow at the secrecy.  “It’s kind of embarrassing, actually” She says sheepishly.

Her cheeks flood with color, and Megumi can’t help the curious grin that begins to stretch across his face.

“Embarrassing?” He repeats, sounding horrifically hopeful.  (y/n) sighs, and sticks her arm out, handing him the stack.  He’s quick to take them and start flipping through, eyeing her anxious demeanor in his peripheral vision.

“Yuji’s probably going to tell you anyway.  But… they’re sort of all..” 

His steps slow further after quickly sliding through the bunch of pictures.

The first was at the entrance of the pumpkin patch, with the cute sign with the family name painted on it, and just under it was him.  He wasn’t paying attention, and quite frankly he looked rather bored standing there.  She must’ve taken it while he was still pouting about having to go.

The next photo was of the sparrow poking at the rotted pumpkin, and he had to admit the way she captured it actually was sort of cute.

The third was the photo Megumi dreaded seeing.  He recognized it as soon as he saw himself standing on the thin path of dirt.  He grimaced as he looked closer to see just how bad it was.  But to his surprise, he wasn’t scowling like he thought he’d been.  He was actually smiling.  

Which was odd… he certainly didn’t remember smiling for that picture.  He clearly remembered being upset because he hadn’t tried to look nice for her picture at all.

He glances at (y/n) to gauge her reaction so far, but she was holding her expression at a neutral state, waiting for him to react first.

So Megumi goes back to the photos, and flips to the next one.  Which was… also him.  It wasn’t anything special, just him standing there, but he was smiling a little bit in that one, too.

When the following is also a candid of him with that dumb little smile, he glances over at (y/n) again, raising a brow at her in silent question.

She’s a tough one to crack, but the corner of her lips gives her away as she tries to bite back a smile.  His own smile is unable to be hidden as he flips through a few more photos.

And to his shock and delight, they’re all him.  Him while he was picking up that big pumpkin she dared him to, him while he was drinking his coffee and not paying attention, him just standing and doing nothing in particular, but for whatever reason, she’d used up all her film on capturing it.  

His favorite is the one of the both of them.  She’d given him the camera so he could stretch his arm out and snap the photo selfie style.  They’re sitting at the small table, two paper cups and the enormous bear claw between them, but pushed aside as (y/n) leans across the tabletop in order to better center herself.  She’s grinning from ear to ear, her chin set in one hand while the other holds up a peace sign.  Megumi’s smile isn’t as wide but nevertheless it’s genuine, and anyone looking at the picture would know.  It’s a great picture of the two of them, and he thinks it’s probably the first, too. 

Megumi hadn’t realized he’d gone through the whole stack till he flips to the next one and is met with the first photo, but once he does, (y/n’s) quick to reach out and take them back.  She doesn’t snatch them as aggressively as Nobara had, she handles them gently, careful not to leave an ugly smudge or crease.

Megumi watches with eager intrigue as she tucks the edges together neatly, making the stack smooth in her hands.

“Sorry if that’s creepy— is that creepy?” She turns to him suddenly, full of worry that she’d crossed a line, but Megumi just chuckles, and shakes his head at her.

“Not creepy” He muses, his soft smile remaining as he dips his hand into his pocket, retrieving his own small collection of photos.

He stares at them for an indecisive minute, clenching and unclenching his jaw, working up the courage to make the smallest of gestures.  When he does hold them out to her, he still doesn’t say a thing.  His throat is too dry and hot to even try.  He thinks it would be worse if his voice cracked right now.

(y/n) smiles as she tucks her pictures away in her purse with great care so that she could better look through the pictures he’d taken.  His face flushes with color when she finally takes them from him.  Even the small brush of the tips of her fingers against his has Megumi’s breath catching in his throat.

And he holds his breath as she eagerly slides through the stack of photos.  His throat is far too constricted now to show any sign of life.  He very well could pass out at any moment.  He just hopes she’d leave him there in a heap on the ground.

The relief of the exhale doesn’t come until she begins to giggle.  It’s soft at first, almost under her breath as she continues admiring his photos, but then it erupts into something brilliant and bubbly, as if it was coming out of her uncontrollably.  As lovely as the reaction was, it didn’t do much to ease Megumi’s nerves.  They began to sink their teeth into his heart and gut, and he knew that any minute now, his knees would give out.

When her laughter calms down and she finally looks up at him, the surprise is evident on his features when he sees her colored cheeks and nervous smile.  She hands the stack back to him, and Megumi’s quick to tuck them into his pocket, where maybe he they’d disappear forever, or at least just from the front of their minds.

“That’s pretty cute, huh?” She asks, an aftershock of quiet laughter shaking her shoulders and crinkling the corners of her eyes.  This time, Megumi can’t help the way he laughs with her, but he does duck his head bashfully.

(y/n) thinks it’s all the more cuter, how he resorts to his nervous habit of rubbing the back of his neck and looking anywhere but directly at her.  She wonders if he even knows he’s doing it.  With a surge of confidence, she rocks on her feet.

“Wanna ditch our friends and get lunch or something?�� 

He shrugs and nods, thinking anything would be better sustenance than the too-sugary drinks that Nobara had an addiction to.  But the implication of the question dawns on him too late, and suddenly his eyes are widening as he realizes what she really meant.

“You mean— like, a date?” 

It’s so damn cute the way his brows furrow and then raise ever so slightly, waiting without a single ounce of patience for her clarification.  (y/n’s) giggling again as she nods her head, putting him out of his misery.

“Yeah, like a date,” She repeats teasingly.

Megumi nods his head again, this time faster, as if there was a time limit to her offer and he was worried he’d already wasted too much of it.  Her smile brightens and there’s a small but noticeable skip in her step as they head off in a new direction together.

“Now maybe it won’t be so creepy when our friends see those pictures” She says, and Megumi can’t decipher if she’s messing with him or not.  The look he gives her barely hides his panic.

“They’re gonna see them?”

“What do you think they’re talking about right now?” (y/n) retorts, knowing for a fact that Yuji and Nobara were gossiping away about the pair’s photos that consisted only of each other.  

The thought makes Megumi’s face feel hot, and there’s no discretion in the way he tugs at his collar.  The idea makes him nervous, his stomach flipping excessively.  That said, he knew with the amount of gossip those two chatterboxes would generate, there was plenty of time to add a date to today’s agenda.

“They probably won’t even notice we’re gone”

(y/n) nods in agreement.

“They’ll be grateful to have the time for girl talk,” She teases.

With purpose, she steps closer to him so she could link her arm around his, tucking her hand into the crook of his elbow and shyly smiling up at him.  Megumi returns the smile, his arm hooking a little further to keep her tucked next to him as close as he wanted.  It was another chilly day outside, but he could almost forget about it with the way her closeness sparked warmth in his chest that flooded throughout his whole body.  He hoped he’d get to do this for the rest of their day—

“So… where do we want to go?”

—and more days to come. ___

xoxo ~ jordie

[marlynnofmany]

Double Dog Dare

“Are you warm enough?” I asked Paint as we walked. My fingers were chilly against the box I carried, but it was small enough that I could reach to rub them together.

“Yes,” Paint said firmly. She pulled her heat shawl close, nuzzling her scaly orange face into its yellow warmth. “This is fully charged, and much better than my old one.”

“Well, no falling in the water for you today.”

“No falling in the water for me ever!” she said. “Unless the water is warm. Then it would be nice.”

I looked around at the industrial ruins that we walked through, all damp concrete and convoluted passageways. Even the sunlight on this planet felt thin. “I don’t think anything around here is warm.”

“Not yet,” Paint said with a lift of her snout. “I’m sure they’ll get things back in working order soon. That box probably holds a key heating circuit or something, and the area will become more hospitable in no time.”

I smiled at her priorities. As a coldblooded Heatseeker, she could hardly be blamed for expecting warmth to be high on the to-do list. I would have focused more on landing pad repair personally, so visiting couriers didn’t have to walk through this maze of alien architecture to reach the inhabited area, but that’s just me.

At any rate, our delivery timeline was short but so was the best route, at least according to the map on my phone. If we kept up a brisk pace, we’d get there well before the client started to grumble. And in this chill there was no reason to dawdle.

Sudden voices echoed off the walls: laughter from a few people at once. Distinctly human laughter. The locals were Frillians, so who were these?

Paint craned her neck to pinpoint the source of the voices, looking just as curious as I was. Then we walked around a corner and met a cluster of humans in blue jackets with a logo that I recognized immediately.

“Hey, it’s the crew of the good ship Hold My Beer!” I said in greeting. “How’s the droid jousting business?”

“Hello again!” said Captain Parker, flashing that bright smile set off by his dark skin. “We’re here for an outdoor tournament. Just on the way to check in now. You guys making another delivery?” The handful of other humans nodded at us.

Paint said, “Yes! It’s probably important! But we don’t know for sure. They wanted it in a hurry.”

Captain Parker pulled out a holo map of his own, and pointed down a concrete corridor. “This is definitely the fastest route that we can see. Pretty bonkers city design.” He started walking with a glance at the gray sky.

I hitched the box up and fell in step with the group. “I don’t think it was a city originally. No idea what, but these don’t look like stores or houses.”

Paint took short-legged strides beside me, offering suggestions for what these reclaimed ruins could have been, and the walk passed quickly. We’d moved on to discuss the jousting crew’s latest wins and new uniforms — those Stabby the Roomba emblems were very stylish — when we passed through an open doorway and discovered a problem.

The passage ahead of us was a deep chasm between concrete walls, open to the sky and devoid of branching passages, with a doorway at the bottom of several concrete steps. The door was closed. And the steps were filled with water.

I stopped. “Hm.”

“Aw man,” Captain Parker exclaimed, getting out his map again.

“What do we do?” asked Paint, clicking her scaly knuckles together. “This was the fast route! Our client is on a timeline!”

I thumped my chin against the box. “I knew we should have used the hoverbike.”

“You would have crashed into a wall! These walkways are far too narrow.”

“No I wouldn’t.”

A sturdy woman from the jousting crew shone a pocket flashlight into the murky water. It was all in shadow, thanks to an awning up top that seemed ironically meant to protect from the rain. Like everything else around here, it was janky and broken, but made of metal that hadn’t rusted through yet. Canvas would have been long gone.

I eyed the many cracks in the walls, with pipes and alien rebar sticking out. “I don’t suppose anyone feels like climbing over?”

“The box doesn’t have a carry strap,” Paint pointed out. “And I am not one of you climbing experts.”

A heavyset man with gray hair chuckled at that. “You’re not the only one.”

This turned into a side conversation about how Paint was under the impression that all humans were talented climbers by her standards, until Captain Parker interrupted.

“While this would be the most direct route, I see three other possibilities that shouldn’t take us in too many circles. It really is a shame, though. This one’s a nice straight shot if we could get the door open. Can you see the catch, Ruby?”

“Barely,” the woman reported. “This light is garbage. But it looks just like those other doors. Too bad we don’t have a long pole or something to work the catch with.”

I looked up. “That awning looks like it has a couple poles! I wonder if they come off.”

Paint yelped, “The water is rising!” She pointed, clutching her shawl. “It was below that step before!”

“Dang, you’re right.” Ruby stepped back. The other crewmates gestured to cracks that reached above water, which could easily be causing leaks below.

“We should go,” decided Captain Parker. “Get a head start on one of the long routes.”

“But our client!” Paint exclaimed. “They need the package in a hurry, and will tell everyone we’re unreliable!”

While everyone voiced an opinion, ranging from “Route B” to “Route C” to “rock-paper-scissors for who gets dunked in the hypothermia water,” I shoved the box at Paint. “Hold this,” I said. Then I got a running start and leapt up for a good grip on a crack in the wall.

There were plenty of footholds. Some of the metal bits sticking out were loose, but not enough to fall out. I focused on making sure each step was secure as quickly as possible, and reached the top in no time.

Thankfully it was wide enough to balance on without too much worry. That water wasn’t deep enough to land in safely, never mind the temperature.

Speaking of water, I thought with dawning horror, This is about to be bad.

Several rows away in this maze was a broken pipe the size of my torso, spewing water into a reservoir that was near to overflowing. Some of the water was leaking out through cracks in the sides already, leading to a puddle that was dripping through to make the one on our side.

The route back is in the danger zone too! Maybe if we’re fast enough, we can get to that open area over there. Or get everybody else up here. But I don’t trust this wall to stay intact if that dam fails all at once.

My phone buzzed, making me jump. It was Paint. I realized she’d probably been yelling for my attention, and I didn’t hear. There were sounds of pouring water up here, not to mention the blood rushing in my ears. I answered the phone.

“What are you staring at?” she demanded. “Get the pole!”

“Right,” I said, hurrying along the wall. “We may not have enough time, even if I can get it free. There’s more water that could flood the area at any moment. I think somebody has to swim for the catch.”

“What! How much water?”

“Lots. Hang on.” I stuck the phone in my pocket to free both hands for the awning. Up close, it looked much rustier and ancient than below. The pole at the side was welded on. I braced my feet and gave it a good yank. That produced a metal screech and a rain of rust particles, but not much else. Pushing and pulling to work it loose let me fold the awning back so watery sunshine illuminated the door catch far below. The jousting crew shouted about it indistinctly.

I leaned against the awning, holding it back while I got my phone out. “It’s not coming loose,” I told Paint. “Tell him there’s a dam about to break, and one of his people needs to open the door.”

There was lots of indistinct shouting at that. I couldn’t make out all of the words, especially since the water sounds were increasing, thanks to a new crack the water levels had just reached. Captain Parker was shaking his head at Paint, who’d set down the box so she could hold the phone and gesture wildly. He waved at me to come down, and pointed back at the way we’d come. I shook my head and pointed at the reservoir, but he was already looking away.

“Paint!” I called into the phone. “Tell him he’s got to!”

“He wants to turn back!” Paint cried.

“Wait!” This was a dumb idea, but I’d had worse. “Paint, tell him you double dog dare him to do it.”

“What?”

“Human thing. If he doesn’t, he’s a coward. Use those exact words: you double dog dare him.”

Paint didn’t answer me, lowering the phone and jabbing a finger at Captain Parker. I could just make out her words over the water.

“I double dog dare you to do it! If you don’t, you’re a coward!”

He gaped at her for a moment while his crew burst into laughter. Ruby clapped him on the shoulder. A smaller man waggled his fingers like he was offering to hold the captain’s jacket. Captain Parker looked up at me, arms spread in a clear WTF.

I held the awning back and pointed emphatically downward.

Water rushed faster out of that new crack. People were laughing below. Paint repeated the phrase like an incantation.

And Captain Parker took off his jacket, handing it to the other man.

“Yes!” I breathed in relief, leaning harder against the metal. It really wanted to fold back down. But the captain would need light to see.

In moments he’d left his jacket, shoes, and pocket valuables with the crew, and was striding forward, shaking his head. Ruby aimed her flashlight at the door, though it was pretty visible now. I pocketed my phone and crossed my fingers. With a worried glance, I sent strengthening thoughts toward the dam.

Captain Parker stuck a foot in, swore loudly, then cannonballed directly into the deep end to the approving whoops of his crew. He surfaced, gasping at the cold, then took a few good breaths and submerged, going straight for the door.

The catch didn’t turn easily. Of course it didn’t. Why would any of this be easy? I watched him struggle with it, flicking my eyes back toward the straining reservoir. Water was starting to spill over the side. The big crack was spreading.

Then something clunked below me, and the door grated aside, gushing water and a very cold human into the corridor beyond.

I yelled my own wahoo along with the crew, and left the awning to jolt back into place with another rain of rust while I hurried back down. One of the pipes almost jerked out of the wall while I was holding it. I jumped the rest of the way.

“Take the box!” Paint told me. Humans were rushing down the wet stairs. I took it just as a thunderous crack filled the air, and the ground shuddered.

“Run!” I said. We dashed down the stairs to the sound of rushing water. The wall I’d just been standing on sprouted dozens of leaks, creaking ominously.

There was still a bit of a puddle at the bottom, but Paint bravely dashed through it with her heat shawl held tight. I was right behind her with the box. The other humans were already climbing dry stairs on the other side.

We made it through the door just as the wall collapsed, sending water and debris slamming into the place we’d been standing moments before.

I don’t think I’ve ever climbed stairs faster. Two of the nearest humans hoisted Paint up, her small legs kicking in the air. Water splashed behind us, wetting one of my pant legs in a terrifying moment that made me think we’d all be washed away after all, but then we were out of range and still standing.

Everybody stood in an open courtyard, breathing hard and staring. The water rushed in every direction below us, filling more passageways than I’d thought it could. We’d reached an area of high ground with the reconstruction offices in view, all freshly painted and gold in the sunlight.

But only just.

“We’ll need another way back to the ship,” said Ruby.

“Good thing we left all our stuff behind.”

“Hey Captain, you can use my shirt to dry off with.”

“Mine too.”

Captain Parker looked a little paler than his skin tone was really meant for as he rubbed his hands together for warmth. “Thanks,” he managed, sounding like he was keeping his teeth from chattering by force of will.

Paint approached him and made an elaborate bow, which I’m pretty sure she got from some media about old Earth customs since that’s not the kind of thing her people do. “Well done, Captain Parker,” she declared. “Your honor is unquestionable; you are not a dog this day.”

He smiled while the crew laughed again. “Thank you. Your challenge was well-timed.” He stripped off his wet shirt and toweled dry with someone else’s, then rolled up his pant legs instead of taking them off.

“Do you need to borrow my heat shawl?” Paint asked tentatively.

Captain Parker frowned, shivering violently. “You’re coldblooded. Don’t you need it?”

“I’ll be okay,” Paint assured him. “You need it more right now. The air isn’t as bad as that water.”

“You’re not wrong.” He accepted it when she handed it to him, settling it over his shoulders with a deep sigh of relief.

When Paint met my eyes, I gave her a smile of approval, and she beamed. Crew members were busy making calls: to their ship, to their local contact, and who knew where else. It occurred to me that we should do the same.

Paint told me, “Everyone’s going to want to hear about this. And you’ll have to explain the details of the double dog thing; I’d never heard of that before.”

I shrugged one shoulder, still holding the box. “It’s not a big deal. More of a kid thing, honestly. I’m sure there are lots of cultures with similar stuff.”

“Not mine,” she said thoughtfully. “Blip and Blop would probably appreciate it. And Trrili would probably appreciate it too much.”

“Oh man, Trrili would be an unholy menace.” I thought of our most frightening crewmate’s love of scaring people. “Let’s not tell her about double dares.”

When the captain had his shoes back on and his jacket thrown over the heat shawl, we all moved on toward the reconstruction office, leaving a trail of water droplets and honor in our wake.

~~~

Captain Parker and co made their other appearance in this story.

These are the ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book.

They're shared early on Patreon! There’s even a free tier to get them on the same day as the rest of the world.

The sequel novel is in progress (and will include some characters from these stories. I hadn’t thought all of them up when I wrote the first book, but they’re too much fun to leave out of the second).

[todayontumblr]

Monday, October 2.

All Things Go Festival.

All things go, if you must get philosophical about it. All things must pass, in the words of the Buddhist maxim. This is none more true of the summer, as warmth and sun give way to these chilly weeks, these spookiest of seasons. But the end of summer needn't mean the end of the festival season, so @allthingsgofestival went and did just that: they hosted a music festival. Just this weekend. In both September and October. It was full of female performers. It was queer as hell. Totally bonkers. It scarcely seems possible. It defies belief.

Well, believe it, and believe it well: all things must pass, and all things will. You, I, sunlight, suffering, the online wastelands themselves. But before they do, why not enjoy a good thing while it's there and get the likes of @lanadelrey, @mothercain, @listentomaggie, and @alvvaysto in one space for a weekend of live music? The place being the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, and the place being @allthingsgofestival. We were there. It was the very best of things. And we have some highlights for you—such as this image, one of many, of Lana Del Rey lyrics that decorated backstage. 

[i-do-a-little-drawing]

Yep, Marx gives a baguette 🥖! Not sure why on that one tbh

Bronto Burts and birdon all give cooked chickens🍗

Gabon (the skull guy who throws bones) always gives baby bottles 🍼

Magolor does give a plate of two fried eggs 🍳(Thankyou @arancia-con-un-coltello !) love that for him

Bonkers gives bananas 🍌

Chef Kawasaki gives omurice (no emoji :[ )

Regular meta knight also gives a cup of black coffee ☕️

Driblee gives a carton of milk 🥛

Chilly gives a popsicle! Or ice lolly etc.

Please add on, and I will update with more !

Something I noticed in Kirby star allies:

When using chef ability or chef Kawasaki, the different characters that go in the soup give different foods!

Susie gives some sort of pink icecream sorbet 🍨 (in reference to the manga I believe!)

Dark meta knight gives a cup of black coffee ☕️

Taranza gives a cantaloupe 🍈 or some other melon because it has a spiderweb effect on it I think?

DeDeDe gives a whole cooked chicken/turkey (bro??????§)

Has anyone else noticed this?? I noticed when I had 3 dark metas and they all gave black coffee! I’m not sure if it works with non-dream friends but please let me know!

[hyog-blog]

The Story of Pearl Girl (ep. 16)

Okay, we have seriously entered the fluff zone here. So much so that I'm already bracing myself for what's going to come next XD Never ever believe a sweet romantic candy relationship period in a cdrama - as a rule, it will come and bite your bums hard later in the series.

But for now, I just can't with these two :3 I know that the transition from boss/subordinate to a romantic fling might be too fast, but I'm letting it slide just because they're sooooo sweet together. It's like drinking a marshmallow cocoa on a chilly autumn day, guys.

Yan Zijing is all smiley and lovey-dovey, Duan Wu can't look anywhere but at him. This is exactly what happens when you fall hard for someone (well, when it's mutual). I've watched the scene at the market a few times - it's just oozing cuteness.

Well, they have been through a lot together. Seeing your future hubby the man you really like all poisoned and chained inside a mine can do things to a girl. And she seems to be straightforward in everything she does, so Duan Wu told YZJ she'd be protecting him from now on XD Made him promise not to risk his life anymore. Actually, I love this girl-protecting-her-boo trope. Especially when it's Liu Yuning we're talking about, with his height and gorgeous looks XD

God bless Yan Zijin's makeup)) Magnetic eye-stare, while Duan Wu is realizing she doesn't want to see this man get hurt, not on her watch.

She goes for the hug. At this point, they both realize the feeling is mutual. It does feel natural tbh.

Yan Zijing gently hugs her back and presses to himself :3 Cuteness overload, hearts are flying everywhere, the audience goes totally ~awwwww

And then there's Kang Ju XD The embodiment of the whole fandom, just standing there and staring at them because he 'accidentally' entered the room (the door was open, ya know?)

After this, things went bonkers and now the whole team knows they're kinda sorta into each other and the two pf them even had a coming out as couple (yes, just like that). Makes me wonder about the 17 ep, and I'm gonna watch it now, so fearless I am XD

But to tell you the truth, it would be refreshing just to watch them grow closer and become a power couple in the second half of the show. Maybe have kids and grow old together. Is it just me wanting a full-on happy relationship show? XD I guess so, ah)))

[linkandorf]

Mr. Frosty!

What is there to say about Mr. Frosty... well he's a big silly walrus who appears most of the time as a Mid-Boss, and has represented two different, albeit similar, Copy Abilities across his appearances. In his debut, as well as it's remake, he gave the Freeze ability, but in all other appearances, he gives the Ice ability. Mr. Frosty has some pretty funny animations and attacks throughout his appearances. He'll run across the screen and try to grab you, swallowing you if he does before spitting you out as an ice cube. Ice cubes are a pretty big part of his moveset, actually. When he bends over to gather them, he also reveals a... particularly notable aspect of his outfit. Which is to say his Ass. Awesome. Mr. Frosty is one of the most reoccurring Mid-Bosses in the series, I believe only beaten out by Bonkers. He even appears in Star Allies, as the only Mid-Boss to not also be a playable helper. If you try to throw a Friend Heart at him, he just transforms into a Chilly helper, which raises some questions. In his most recent appearance in Forgotten Land, he was a little more... Wild than usual... but we'll get there some day. Surely. :).

[lucassantostoons]

Felix the Cat's Birthday Party Guest List

Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse

Minnie Mouse

Donald Duck

Daisy Duck

Goofy

Pluto

Clarabelle Cow

Ludwig Von Drake

Goof Troop

Max Goof

Pete

Peg Pete

PJ

Pistol Pete

Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers

Chip N Dale

Gadget Hackwrench

Monterey Jack

Zipper

The Three Caballeros

Panchito Romero Miguel Junipero Francisco Quintero Gonzales III

Jose Carioca

DuckTales (1987)

Scrooge McDuck

Huey Duck

Dewey Duck

Louie Duck

Webby Vanderquack

Bubba the cave duck

Bentina Beakley

Launchpad McQuack

Darkwing Duck

Drake Mallard / Darkwing Duck

Gosalyn Mallard

Looney Tunes

Bugs Bunny

Lola Bunny

Daffy Duck

Porky Pig

Petunia Pig

Sylvester J Pussycat

Granny

Tweety Bird

Tasmanian Devil

Wile E Coyote

Roadrunner

Marvin the Martian

K-9

Pepe Le Pew

Penelope

Speedy Gonzales 

Gossamer

Witch Hazel

Foghorn Leghorn

Elmer Fudd

Yosemite Sam

Mac Gopher

Tosh Gopher

Tiny Toon Adventures

Buster Bunny

Babs Bunny

Plucky Duck

Hamton J Pig

Furrball the Cat

Shirley The Loon

Fifi La Fume

Lil Sneezer

Gogo Dodo

Dizzy Devil

Calamity Coyote

Little Beeper

Arnold the Pit Bull

Byron Basset

Fowlmouth

Mary Melody

Bookworm

Concord Condor

Barry Marky

Marcia the Martian

Animaniacs

Yakko Warner

Wakko Warner

Dor Warner

Pinky and the Brain

The Godpigeon

The Girlfeathers

Pipsqueak

Slappy Squirrel

Skippy Squirrel

Rita

Runt

Mindy

Buttons

Freakazoid

Freakazoid

Tom & Jerry

Tom Cat

Jerry Mouse

Droopy Dog

Butch the Bulldog

Woody Woodpecker

Woody Woodpecker

Winnie Woodpecker

Knothead Woodpecker

Splinter Woodpecker

Chilly Willy

The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends

Rocky the Flying Squirrel

Bullwinkle J. Moose

Mr. Peabody

Sherman

Betty Boop

Betty Boop

Bimbo the Dog

Bonkers

Bonkers D. Bobcat

Fall Apart Rabbit

Fawn Deer

Jitters A. Dog

Miranda Wright

Disney Princess Characters 

Snow White

Bashful

Happy

Grumpy

Sleepy

Sneezy

Dopey

Doc

Prince Charming

Cinderella

Gus

Jaq

Aurora

Still work in progress

[desultory-novice]

what you think about a Kirby game resembling BOTW/TOTK?

A open world Kirby game with inventory (collecting copy ability’s to use later),sides quest,skins (like the masks or armors of the spin-offs) challenges (like the ones in the forgotten land or the shrines of BOTW) and lots of collectibles

I once had a idea for the story of a game like that, the villains are all new species so all the old enemies (waddle dees,Bonkers,chilly,sword knights,etc etc etc) are the npcs you have to help. It would give a chance for the old enemies to regain that status of relevance they have kinda lost through the years and it would also help with how all the games are about dreamland getting invaded but half of the enemies are classic enemies from dreamland so I usually don’t get the “they’re invading dreamland” feeling but more like “they’re invading dreamland but for some reason the habitants of dreamland are stepping in Kirby’s way”

BOTW/TOTK had thousands of NPC’s with fun personality’s, many villages,wandering travelers and many more places so It would help to make dreamland feel more alive (also imagine the fanfic possibilities giving about making villages and city’s for the characters to be in like cappy town but with more species than cappy’s and with more original designs like waddle dee town, because I always felt weird about how all the characters seem to not even have a house and how they are just hanging out in the middle of nowhere), and exploring dreamland in a 3D game sounds like fun

I'm so sorry! I thought I'd already answered this one?!?

...What would I think?

I would LOVE it!

Now, blah blah blah, I don't necessarily think it's healthy for the game industry if everyone just on continues to copy BotW's style, especially if a number of Nintendo franchises start doing that, but TotK was SUCH a great time with the new mechanics and gameplay options! (Well, outside of THOSE certain Korok videos...)

Maybe I'm missing something (I, err, don't play as many games as I used to... Adulting...) but the way building and exploration were threaded into BotW's open world was so imaginative!

Rather than this just being a TotK praise fest though, I want to highlight something in Kirby that doesn't get talked about too. At least, as much as it should, and that's how great the level design/aesthetics are, almost across the board!

I'm sure people have seen their fair share of asset-flip games and in some cases, even the "beautiful (generic) semi-medieval landscape" is starting to feel played out. Whether it's so realistic you can count the blades of grass or totally toon-shaded just like my shows. We've seen them ALL dozens and dozens of times.

But Kirby's art direction... Sometimes, yeah, it's simple checkboard grass and whatever those weird cookies in the ground are, but you can't tell me you haven't you ever wanted to break past the stage boundaries and explore the world beyond at some point! (Literally people did this with FL's hammer exploit before it was patched!) Everywhere from PR's innovative mechanized landscapes to RtDL's storybook locales to Super Star's dreamlike vistas!

The good thing too is that so many of these beautiful scapes are made of very simple building blocks, so the environment-heavy gameplay of TotK would be a great fit! (Not to mention having a few more subsystems worked in naturally the way BotW did it. Fishing in FL was fun, but to see it expanded? To be able to fish wherever?!)

And the colonies of different Popstarians you mentioned would be a great way to naturally expand on the groundwork of Waddle Dee Town and Merry Magoland.  Helping a group of Noddies get some sleep? Working with Bonkers to clear new paths? Settling a dispute between the Fire Leos and Chillies? These kinds of open world subquests would be great for what I was talking about in my un-loved character post. Fleshing out some of Kirby's oldest cast staples! Yes, you nailed it completely!

And oh my gosh, the "Popstar gets invaded by an alien force but for some reason, you're still fighting Popstarians?" So.much.this.

I mean, okay, I think they probably did try to have some implied logic behind that in games like PR (if everyone's been mechanized, who knows how much control they have over their actions. Plus, plenty enemies were just doing things like "going to work") and Star Allies (you can blame a bunch of that on the Jamba Heart making everyone who wasn't already taken in by the Jamba group crazy. I feel like the novel did the same thing?) Same with Elfilis brainwashing people in Forgotten Land. You can read that into a couple of characters, at least. (Wild Edge, Frosty, Bonkers...)

But it does stand out a little with the earlier games like Triple Deluxe and Return to Dream Land, especially when you go back to them.

(Although I get the strange feeling it may have been written (??) somewhere that everyone in Popstar is SO laid back and easy-going, if they see adventure they just sort of... join in on it?? Like they might start climbing the Dreamstalk just because "...it's there" or go after Sphere Parts because "Hey, everyone else is doing it I guess?" and that's how they end up getting in the way/being enemies?)

Dess is someone who sees the "adventure" part of the game as light-hearted enough (because it's not like Kirby hurts anyone) that I don't get too shaken up if Waddle Dees et al remain as stage fodder going forward, but I understand those that want their longtime friends to stay as friends, not baddies!

[icedragonlizard]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIRBY!!!! (and headcanons for Kirby's birthdays)

IT'S KIRBY'S 32ND ANNIVERSARY!!!!

I headcanon that Kirby's birthdays get celebrated BIG TIME in-universe.

As in, he has giant birthday parties happening right outside his house every year.

All his friends show up.

King Dedede, Meta Knight, Bandana Waddle Dee, Rick, Kine, Coo, Nago, ChuChu, Pitch, Gooey, Marx, Adeleine, Ribbon, Shadow Kirby, Dark Meta Knight, Daroach and the rest of the squeak squad, Magolor, Taranza, Susie, Francisca, Flamberge, Zan Partizanne, Hyness, Elfilin, Clawroline, Leongar, Gorimondo, Sillydillo, and many more show up!

Even some waddle dees, waddle doos, chillies, burning leos, bonkers, bugzzies and other helper species show up too!

Kracko doesn't show up, and thankfully he's sensible enough to not try anything on Kirby's birthdays. He knows that everyone would hunt him down if he tried. He's not THAT stupid.

Kirby's birthdays are big events, as shown by the ^ amount of people that show up. It's a huge deal! Everyone cares about it!

And honestly, how couldn't they be big events? Kirby is the biggest hero in this universe. He's beloved and celebrated all over. He deserves big time celebrations after everything he's done for everybody.

While most of his birthday parties happen right outside his house, there have been a few occasions where they've happened elsewhere. One was held at the Forgotten Land's planet in Waddle Dee Town, while another was held in Merry Magoland in another part of Dream Land. (You can bet that Magolor was super glee and proud of that!)

Kirby really knows how to spread love and joy. He's spread it to so many people, and then they spread it to him on his birthdays.

<3

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIRBY!

[kachikirby]

Kirby: Mysterious Incident on the Pupupu Train! - Chapter 1: The Railroad King Has Arrived!

One Day, Bandanna Waddle Dee rushed into King Dedede’s office (or what he called his nap room).

“Great King! Great King! You have a visitor!”

As he always did when he awakened, Dedede yawned as he spoke.

“A visitor? There aren’t any visitors scheduled for today. They’re awfully brazen to come here without an appointment. Kick ‘em out!”

“But they said they wanted to speak to your highness no matter what...”

“For the love of-! I don’t know who they are or where they’re from...”

“He said his name was the Railroad King. Apparently, he wants to speak to you about railroads.”

“...what? A king?”

Dedede was intrigued. The self-proclaimed ruler of Dream Land was weak to the word “king”.

“If a king says that they want to meet with me, then there’s no reason to send him away.”

“Yeah...”

“Let’s go meet them.”

Dedede eagerly put on a new gown and headed to the guest’s waiting room.

~~~~~~~~

It was an elegantly dressed gentleman who bowed his head graciously. He was small in stature, but rotund and had a fine mustache. His eyes looked gentle, but were also sharp.

“It’s an honor to meet you, King Dedede. My name is York.”

“There’s no need to be so formal! The both of us are kings! Don’t be so shy!”

Dedede said in high spirits. At this, York laughed.

“Oh, no. I might be called the Railroad King, but that is only a nickname. I’m not a real king, like your majesty.”

“...a nickname?”

“Correct. I was called that because I own railroads all across the galaxy.”

“...what?”

Now knowing that this wasn’t a real king, Dedede gained a bored expression.

“So? What does a fake king want with me?”

Despite being called fake, York did not become angry. On the contrary, he was smiling more and more.

“I have a request regarding a railroad.”

“A railroad...”

“Correct. I would like to ask for permission to construct a magnificent galactic railway, the Pupupu Train, to connect Dream Land to the resort planet, Baspa.”

“...Baspa?”

Dedede leaned forward.

“Do you know about it, your highness?”

“Of course! It’s that big-name planet with a ton of gorgeous hotels and restaurants with all of the best cooks, right?”

“That’s correct. But that’s not all. Baspa has many beautiful lakes, forests, seas, and spacious hot springs. It’s the best place you can go on vacation...”

“I don’t care about the lakes and forests! There are a lot of those in Dream Land, too! The most important thing is food! Gorgeous food is the only thing that’s befitting for me!”

“If that’s so, then I’m sure your highness will be satisfied.”

York narrowed his eyes.

“Baspa has Japanese food, western food, Chinese food, and desert, all made by top-notch chefs. Everyone will put their skills to great use to welcome your highness.”

“I see. It lives up to its reputation.”

King Dedede said with a face that seemed to melt away.

“I’ve always wanted to go there, but I gave up because it was too far away. If we have a railroad, it’ll be a straight line from Dream Land to Baspa!”

“Correct. The company train is equipped with a dining room, cozy bedrooms, and is gorgeous. It promises comfy travels befitting of your highness.”

“I love it! Start on construction right away!”

With that, Dedede and York firmly shook hands.

~~~~~~~~

After York left, Bandana Waddle Dee returned to Dedede’s side and spoke to him with worry.

“Your highness, that king of the railroad is...”

“Yup! He may not be a real king, but he sure does give you what you want. I think he really is gonna build a railroad connecting Dream Land to Baspa.”

“Yes, he explained it to us as well. It seems he didn’t just invite you, but us as well.”

“Oh, is that so? Well, I need someone to take care of me, you know!”

Dedede laughed in a carefree way, but Bandana had a sullen expression.

“Not only that, but it seems that a lot of the residents of Dream Land were invited for the commemorative opening of the Pupupu Train...”

“Hoho? That York guy’s really generous.”

“Isn’t that a bit too good...?”

Upon finally noticing Bandana’s expression, King Dedede asked.

“What do you mean? Why do you look so glum?”

“I’m worried. I heard that traveling by train is a very luxurious and difficult thing to do. And yet, a lot of residents were invited... doesn’t that mean that York is planning something?”

“Of course he has a plan! He’s eager to please my great self! The idea of entertaining me is all he can think about! Because of that, he wants to try that by inviting my subjects and the residents!”

“Is... that right...?”

Upon seeing how depressed Bandana looked, Dedede became sullen.

“What? You look bored even though you’re going on a wonderful vacation. If you don’t want to come, you can be the caretaker for the castle. I’ll take the other Waddle Dees with me!”

Bandana raised his face and replied with a panicked tone.

“N-no! I’m sorry, I’m going! I want to go!”

“Hmph. You should’ve said that from the beginning. Make sure to get ready for the trip. I’m gonna need a change of clothes, and a lot of ‘em. It’s a resort planet, so only the most gorgeous fashion is going to fit there! Since there’s hot springs, I’m gonna need a yukata, too. And of course I can’t forget my swimsuit, sunglasses, and swim ring!”

“Y-yes, your highness!”

Bandana bowed his head and rushed out of the room.

~~~~~~~~

The news of the Pupupu Train was a big fuss for the Waddle Dees.

“Hooray! We’re also invited!”

“I’m really happy! I’ve never been on a train before!”

“It’s my first time, too. I wonder what train travel is like.”

“I’m looking forward to it! That’s right! I’ll make a travel itinerary and decide on the plans in detail!”

When the excited Waddle Dees saw Bandana returning from the king’s room, they looked puzzled.

“Ah, Bandana-senpai...”

“Is something wrong? Why do you look so down...?”

The Waddle Dees started to look worried.

“Did something happen? By any chance, were you scolded by his highness...?”

“N-no! Not at all!”

Bandana raised his head with a bright smile.

“I can’t help but look forward to it. Now, let’s all start preparing for the trip!”

“Yes, sir!”

Bandana turned his back to everyone and thought.

The railroad king York looked like a calm and classy gentleman, but that doesn’t mean it was his true nature. He was concerned about the look in his eyes. It was the eyes of someone who was plotting something. To begin with, anyone who visited King Dedede often had a wicked scheme beneath their affable demeanor. They try to deceive and take advantage of the king or they try to invade Dream Land...

“His highness is kind, so he’s quick to believe in others. I have to be strong...”

Bandana uttered seemingly to himself while clenching his fist.

~~~~~~~~

The rumors about the Pupupu Train spread throughout Dream Land. The residents were, of course, delighted. No matter where anyone looked, it was the only thing being talked about. Even so, none of them has ever ridden a train before and that was why they let their imaginations run wild as they talked. Even today, some residents chatter wildly as they gathered in the plaza.

“So it’s a long thing you ride in, right? Then it’s gotta wriggle around like a snake!” Burning Leo said.

“How do you ride on top of a snake? Won’t you just fall off?” Chilly said worriedly.

Knuckle Joe laughed. “You don’t ride on top of it! You ride inside it like a car!”

“A long car that wriggles? What a strange vehicle!”

At that moment, Kirby and Waddle Dee appeared in the plaza. They were all standing in a line with long ropes in their hands. Kirby was in the front, and Bandana Waddle Dee was in the back.

“Choo choooooo! Next stop, the plaza!” Kirby shouted and their feet stopped moving.

“Please watch your step while getting off! We will be departing momentarily!” Bandana said.

“...what are you all doing?” Burning Leo called out, to which Kirby answered back.

“We’re playing train!”

“Huh...?”

“We’re practicing for when we ride the Pupupu Train.”

Burning Leo and the others looked at each other.

“Do you guys even know what a train looks like?” Knuckle Joe asked.

“I know! It’s a long car that runs on top of rails and has dining rooms and beds inside!”

“...huh!?”

Everyone was surprised by Kirby’s immediate answer.

“Why would you know something like that?!”

“No way! Kirby, have you ridden a train before?!”

“Nope! I haven’t! But Waddle Dee told me about it!”

“We’ve received pamphlets from the Railroad King York. It has a lot of information about the Pupupu Train that’s currently under construction.” Bandana said.

“Pamphlet?” Chilly asked.

“If you have something nice like that, then let us see it!”

“Of course. I’ll make copies to hand out to everyone. Gather everyone at Castle Dedede!”

“All right!” Burning Leo jumped up with all his might.

“We’ll let everyone know! I’m itching to know more about the Pupupu Train ASAP!” Knuckle Joe said with a smile.

Then he and the others ran off in whatever direction they pleased.

~~~~~~~~

The citizens of Dreamland rushed to Castle Dedede in excitement. There, the Waddle Dees copied the pamphlets and handed them out. Everyone was delighted to see the illustration of the train for the first time.

“Wow! The guest rooms have a big bed and sofa! It’s like a hotel!”

“It runs through the galaxy at tremendous speeds and can reach the planet Baspa in a week!”

In the group of gathered citizens, Chef Kawasaki was also there.

“Are you gonna ride the train, too?” Kirby asked.

“I’ve been specially invited to take care of the dining car.” Kawasaki said proudly.

“Huh!? Then I’ll be able to eat your cooking on the Pupupu Train?”

“Yes! I’ll be making breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and midnight snacks! I’ll be preparing many gorgeous menus, so look forward to it!”

“Uwaaaah! Hurray!”

Kirby was so happy that he somersaulted.

“Now that everyone is here, here, let's decide on the room assignments.” Bandana said.

“Room assignments?”

“There are several private rooms on the Pupupu Train. King Dedede will have his own room and the ten of us Waddle Dees will have our own room, but everyone else should decide who should room with who.” Everyone looked at each other. Then Chilly spoke. “I don’t want to be in a room with Burning Leo. He’ll make the room so hot that I’ll melt.”

“I don’t want to room with Chilly either.” Burning Leo responded. “If I do it, I’m gonna catch a cold! Hothead, wanna share a room with me?”

“Sounds good.” Hothead replied, blowing a small flame from his mouth with a “po”.

“It’ll be fun with Burning Leo. The two of us will make the “Hot-Blooded Fire Room”!”

“Then it’s been decided!”

Burning Leo and Hothead made a triumphant pose.

Then Pengi spoke. “I’ll stay with Chilly. Our room will be the “Freezing Ice Room”.”

“Waah! Sounds good! I’ll look forward to it, Pengi!” Chilly was also very happy by it.

“I’ll be fine staying in a room with Walky!” Kirby said happily.

“...huh?” Walky looked puzzled. “W-why? What are you planning, Kirby?”

“I’m not planning anything. I just think we both are similar to each other.”

“Like what?”

“We’re good at singing!” Kirby said confidently.  “Our room can be the “Captivating Singer Room”! Let’s sing lots of fun songs!”

“...HUH?!”

Walky recoiled.

Everyone around them was disturbed. They all deeply knew the destructive power of Kirby’s singing.

“Kirby says some scary things...”

“If he sings, the whole train will be destroyed!”

“We have to stop him...!”

While everyone else turned pale, Bonkers was the one who stepped forward. Rabble-rousing and quarrelsome, Bonkers is feared by the residents. Everyone held their breath wondering what he would say. He glared at Kirby and said “Oi, Kirby, stop it.”

“Huh?”

“Why don’t you... you...” Bonkers then said with a determined expression. “Room with me.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I want to share a room with you. You mind?”

“Is that so?” Embarrassed, Kirby then spun around on one leg. “I didn’t know you liked me so much!”

“Y-yeah.”

“If you say so, fine. I’ll room with you. Sorry, Walky, I know you’re disappointed...”

“N-no! Not at all! Don’t worry about it!” Walky replied in a loud voice.

Everyone around them gave appreciative glances towards Bonkers and whispered among each other.

“We’re saved!”

“Thank you, Bonkers! We owe you!”

“I thought he was a violent and scary guy, but when the time comes, we can count on him!”

The other citizens also smoothly decided on their room assignments.

With everyone's expectations rising, the construction of Pupu Train proceeded and the day of completion came on schedule.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Table of Contents

Next Chapter

[nothwell]

Thank you to KJ Charles for this inspiring review of The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall!

~

A big old sapphic Gothic novel with isolated house from which women run in dresses, weird English family, servant with hook for hand, bloodstains, ghosts, Uncle Tom Cobleigh and all. It's good fun. I found Kit rather lachrymose and ineffectual for a lot of the book (and the premise of 'I have no idea why the woman I love is being cold and unfriendly to me! In other news, I just married her brother' is perhaps taking naivety a little too far). But she picks up nicely towards the end, and Alexandra is a chilly, guilt-ridden delight throughout.

The premise is bonkers, but it's a Gothic novel so it would be very disappointing if it was sensible. The world needs more bonkers sapphic Gothic novels. Could have used an edit for consistency issues, but held my attention very happily.

~

The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall is a Gothic romance rife with horror and heartache, wherein an American heiress makes an ill-advised marriage to bring herself closer the woman who’s stolen her heart.

Amazon • Apple Books • Barnes & Noble • bookshop.org • Kobo • Smashwords

[mermaidsirennikita]

Weekly Book Recs: 2/2/24-2/9/2024

The Kingdom of The Wicked Trilogy by Kerri Mansicalco

You will see this advertised as YA. It is not and I will die on the hill that, whatever the publisher did for a cash grab, whatever Mansicalco's original intentions, this wasn't a YA series from the first book. (For the record: the first book only has one kiss--but the second book has a LOT more, and the third has.... somewhere around 5 pretty damn graphic, great, and creative sex scenes.)

First of all, our heroine is eighteen--and let us be real, there are many, many adult romance novels (or New Adult romances... I honestly don't even know if anyone actually has defined NA, but whatever) centering eighteen-year-old heroines. (And like... is she eighteen? Many things are up for debate here. What's not is that Emilia is an adult.) Second, this series begins with murder and grief, escalates to vengeance, and then climbs to vengeance, power, and a lot of Rather Adult Activities with the Prince of Wrath. I love the world of this book, with witches and demons and a significant amount of time spent in Hell. I love Wrath--in control around everyone but her, seemingly chilly, absolutely protective and secretly my lil baby--and Emilia--somewhat bonkers, ready to take on the world while also being like "this is an amazing white bean dip recipe, which hellspawn made it?" They are an amazing couple. I love them. I love this trilogy. I am happy that subsequent entries are and will be very explicitly categorized as Adult, because... I haven't read Mansicalco's YA books. But this? Feels like her sweet spot.

[best-kirby-character-tournament]

who are the possible revives? who's been eliminated so far? for... science...

Here you go! Every possible revive is under the cut! It wasn't put in an order (since that would take longer), but mod can attempt to put it in alphabetical order later if needed!

Everyone who's been eliminated (including those who never made it past the preliminaries):

Fecto Elfilis

Chaos Elfilis

Star Dream

Galactic Nova

Whispy Woods

Sectonia

Susie

Void

Void Termina

Dark Matter

Dark Matter Swordsman

Zero

Zero^2

Gooey

Gryll

Captain Waddle Doo

Waddle Dee

Weapons Shop Waddle Dee

Animal Friends

Yin-Yarn

Knuckle Joe

Dyna Blade

N-Z

Lololo and Lalala

Customer Service (NME Salesman)

The 3 Mage Sisters

Plugg

Samus (Dream Land 3)

Landia

Tiff and Tuff

Noddy

Chilly

Bonkers

eNeMeE/Nightmare

Rocky

Kracko

The Meta-Knights

Demon Frog

Kabu

The Fairy Queen

Bronto Burt

The Paint Sisters

NESP

Sir Percival/Sir Falspar

Sir Arthur

Erasem

Sirica

Fleurina

Dark Mind

Broom Hatter

Mr. Dooter

Tokkori

Pon and Con

Beanbons

Necrodeus

Fecto Forgo

Yamikage

Chuckie

Sillydillo

Dizzy

Glunk

Chacha

Max Haltmann

Miracle Matter

Elline

Sir Lancelot/Nonsurat

Sir Galahad/Dragato

Sir Ebrum

Hyness

Waddle Doo

Sailor Dee

Galacta Knight

Taranza

Shadow Kirby

Chef Kawasaki

Sword and Blade

Morpho Knight

Adeleine and Ribbon

Daroach