#I was watching glee out of context and i got the idea to make this

[moranice-solvej]

Answer the Questions and Tag 5 Fanfic Authors

Thank you for the tag, @rifle-yes <3

1. How did you get into writing fanfiction?

Got introduced to fanfic through an old forum dedicated to a TV-show I was low-key obsessed with as a teen all the way back in 2008. Around the same time I started to get an urge to express myself in writing as I was an avid reader and always had a vivid imagination, so the sheer fact that people just wrote stories to celebrate their favorite stories captivated me.

Since then, there were many attemps to write fanfic and original works alike, very few completed, and only my obsession with Rogue One that started after watching the movie and reading the novelization had put me on the path of publishing my writing and finally being able to complete writing projects.

2. How many fandoms have you written in?

Started in a TV-fandom a long time ago, but never had anything I wanted to publish, so mentally I don't even count it. None of those scraps of written down ideas remain; I deleted them and never once looked back. That leaves Rogue One and technically Star Wars as my sole writing fandom. I dearly love many other shows and movies and games, but none of them make me want to write in their universes.

3. How many years have you been writing fanfiction?

Technically 16 years. Yes, comprehending this number makes me terrified.

4. Do you read or write more fanfiction?

I used to read tons of fic before I came back to writing in earnest. Now most of my free time goes into writing.

In addition to that I have ran into a loathesome problem of not being able to find stories that I'd love to read. The ceiling has gotten too high. Now that I can finally shape the kinds of stories I want to read to life, I crave more stories with such premises, themes, writing styles, and character archetypes, and these days I struggle to find them in fanfic and in original books for that matter. My gremlin brain simply cannot connect to the vast majority of tropes that dominate modern-day fandom and culture. :(

Thus, I'm firmly in the mode of be-the-change-you-want-to-be-in-the-world and producing stories for myself to satisfy that need. Even if it routinely takes me over a year, usually two to finish a single story with a monster wordcount and create something I can one day re-read with glee.

5. What is one way you’ve improved as a writer?

I am now able to move an idea from a general concept and a set of pivotal scenes to a fully-fleshed out story and actually finish it. This used to be my achilles heel for ages and it feels mightily gratifying to finally get rid of it.

6. What’s the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

Origins of blood transfusions in human history. Plus a large variety of niche questions of when thing a or thing b was first invented. Most of the times the setting of my current writing project allows me to disregard our reality and wing it for the sake of the vibes or plot, but I still like to research what we as a species develop and when to try and create a somewhat believable ancient fictional world without modern technology.

7. What’s your favorite type of comment to receive on your work?

I have a soft spot for readers who pick on teeny-tiny details of my writing and show their appreciation for it. I end up with monstrous word counts because I'm an extremely context- and detail-oriented writer, and knowing that my passion for it is noticed and enjoyed brings me joy in return.

8. What’s the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

My current project centers around a warrior woman in her mid- to late forties who makes peace with her trauma of motherhood and loss, finds new friends and love and new home, defies her nation's traditions and becomes the force of change for her people that will bring them out of stubborn isolation and little by little shatter their callousness and mold it into empathy.

I am well aware that the sole audience of this story is myself and my best friend whom I'm lucky to have along for the ride, but it has took over my heart and it will not let go until I finally bring this epic saga to a close.

9. What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

I am simply incapable of writing a traditional short story. Every one-shot I ever made was a stepping stone in a larger verse, and even so the smallest one is over 8k words. Anytime I try to write something small, I either need to put it down because it gets out of hand, or I need to finish it and by that time it grows into a monster.

My last attempt to write a short story within a story has spawned an epic saga that currently sits at roughly 380.000k words and will likely end up over 500.000k words when I'm finally done with it.

10. What is the easiest type?

Monster-sized epics. I think my creative brain cannot function in any other way but go-big-or-go-home.

11. Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

I've used MS Word for writing ever since I got my first laptop and keep at it. Started using Scrivener lately for establishing character sheets and writing down my notes.

For years now I write almost exclusively over the weekends, with occassional editing in the evenings after work. Between working, needing to keep my apartment clean and myself fed, and dedicating time to mastering my fourth language, I have no brain for creativity after I'm done with all these chores and I use whatever remains of my evening to read, or watch shows with my best friend, or do some gaming.

12. What is something you’ve been too nervous/intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

In the story I am currently writing, one of the secondary main characters is an ex-slave and a rape survivor. There is no shortage of hurt/comfort stories about a female character's experience with such kind of abuse, and in all my years of reading fic and books I often find that trauma stemming from it is either glossed over or healed through the power of true love. Even when a story follows a road to healing, it often ends in sunshine and rainbows after the all the travails. Well, for a long, long time now my gremlin brain wanted to explore what such trauma can do to a stoic male warrior, as well as to study how sometimes there is no easy healing from such ordeals, how deep these souls scars lie, and how they will keep poisoning the relationship he will pursue down the line and present major obstacles to both non-sexual and sexual intimacy with the woman he falls in love with. I'm a sucker for happy endings and I will not turn away from it, but this is going to be a scarred happy ending because those ghosts are never going to stay completely quiet in his soul.

I am daunted by the prospect of writing this spin-off like I've never been before, scared of not doing it justice, but something in me has latched onto this idea and really, really wants to at least try it.

13. What made you choose your username?

I needed something unique as a username and I have a habit of making up new names out of thin air for my writing. I liked this one and it had stuck. :)

If any writers who follow me would like to join in, you are welcome.

[brainrotallthewaydown1312]

I'm gen z and I've got two cents to throw in.

for context, i grew up in a house where there wasn't as much surveillance as a lot of my peers had. there were no cameras or tracking apps and my time online was largely unmonitored in every way except the amount of it I had. it was to the point where my friends would reach out to me about serious things first because they knew my parents wouldn't read my texts. i was first to hear about problems with abusive parents, self harm, drug use, all of it, because my messages were safe. they'd have to clear their own end of it to evade their parents. but at the same time, my stepdad is very conservative and my mom is a deeply apathetic person, leaving him to control a lot of things. they managed to be a very specific blend of neglectful and emotionally abusive. and one of the effects of this was that my stepdad would start a screaming match (that he called a "civil debate") over anything he saw as either a political or moral idea we disagreed on. he had me teaching the toddlers Sunday school at his church when I was 12. and he was displeased that I had queer friends. and while what I did online was not under control the same way my peers was, if he saw something he could recognize as one of those things we disagreed on when I was online, it would start those fights. and it would often lead to him restricting the time I had online, or grounding me from electronics altogether. which put my friends in danger more than once because of my role as dedicated first responder to crises.

so even without the surveillance and control, I still had to learn how to clear my Netflix history and suggestions before I watched the l word. or glee. i still had to brave the barrage of unsolicited dick pics from strangers that is Snapchat so my friends could safely message me. i still had to fluff up my internet history with Bible study websites in case it was looked at. i still had to keep my hands on the keyboard shortcut to change tabs when I used the family computer to read fanfiction or use Tumblr. i had to save instructions for how to circumnavigate tracker apps to help my friends get out of abusive houses for a night. i had to clear research for my history homework from my search history just in case. i had to hide my creative writing in secret files on thumbdrives. and I still had to plead my case every time I wanted to leave the house or stay later than usual at school.

i had significantly less surveillance than my peers. to the point where they leaned on me because of it. and it still fucked me up. i am an atheist and I live my life like there is an omnipotent big brother because that is what I am used to. i worry about having to defend my online decisions in a fight even when I don't live with that threat anymore. i still spend most of my time at home and struggle to find footing in irl communities because I was only able to participate in online community as a kid and teen. and when I do participate in irl community I struggle to say anything because it still feels like everything I say is held to the level of scrutiny I grew up with.

i am watching my friends and peers struggling with their parents as they become adults. not because they are having a hard time but because their parents don't have healthy boundaries with them. they are used to always having precise tabs on their kids and control over what they do and how they do it. and now that the kids are grown up and living on their own, the parents are trying to do it from a distance. and the thing is, they aren't even doing it in ways that make sense. i recently had to teach basic first aid to a friend because their mom had been making them do it wrong their whole life. most of my peers struggle with things like cooking and cleaning because they were taught them wrong and were punished for doing it differently than their parents wanted. and even fewer of my peers have healthy communication skills because they were brought up in houses where dysfunctional social expectations were normal and thought crimes were treated as real.

there is a reason gen z is so passionate about social justice and communication and therapy. we saw first hand what both systematic and personal abuse looks like and what it does. we saw first hand how miscommunication leads to dangerous situations. and we saw first hand what happens when no one makes an effort to understand themselves. it ended poorly for our parents and it ended poorly for us. so it has been left to our generation to fight that pattern and to avoid the big brother that the generations before us seem to want. because we've lived through and seen the damage that the early stages of it can do. and we are terrified of what happens if the surveillance becomes more invasive, or even scarier, more normal

[hamiltonwc]

F1 drivers as Glee quotes they would say:

Max Verstappen:My personality is like a radioactive asteroid. Spend too much time with it and it could kill you-Sam Evans

George Russell: Maybe it’s our job as young, hot progressives to educate older, scary farts- Brittany Pierce

Daniel Ricciardo: Wow. Sad songs make me really sad and I don’t want to be sad - Brittany Pierce

Charles Leclerc: It’s really hard to be a straight white male these days.- Sam Evans

Alex Albon: ‘I will go to the animal shelter and get you a kitty cat. I will let you fall in love with that kitty cat. And then, on some dark cold night, I will steal away into your home and punch you in the face- Sue Sylvester

Lando Norris-And that is how I make the manager cry at the cheesecake factory. By being a diva- Emma Pillsbury

Carlos Sainz Jr.: You know what, let me at her. TU ERES LOCA!" - Santana Lopez

Pierre Gasly: How's that homelessness working out for ya? Have you tried not being homeless?- Sue Sylvester

Lewis Hamilton - I WILL NO LONGER BE CARRYING AROUND A PHOTO ID. KNOW WHY? PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW WHO I AM.-Sue Sylvester

Esteban Ocon: “Are you questioning my badassness?”- Noah Puckerman

Sebastian Vettel: “I realize my cultural ascendance only serves to illuminate your own banality. But face it, I’m legend. It’s happened.” - Sue Sylvester

Lance Stroll: “You might think that all of the boys in school would want to tap this, but my MySpace schedule keeps me way too busy to date.” - Rachel Berry

[kryptonitejelly]

🥺🥺🥺

Think about you and Jake staying overnight at his family’s ranch. You’re both sleeping soundly, you’re snuggled in his shirt under the comforter with his arm wrapped protectively around you holding his back to your front. He’s got nothing but his basketball shorts on and you’re both basking in lazy morning snuggles

And then you both are awoken at the pitter patter of little feet and then feel the weight and gleeful yelps of the nieces and nephews launching themselves onto the bed. “Time to get up!!” Followed by a soft chuckle from Grace and grandma who have appeared in the doorway. Jake pulls you tighter to him, his arm warm and heavy and comforting as you sleepily nestle back against him. He smiles against you as the kids bounce and pounce on you both and you remember very quickly you have *nothing* but jakes shirt on under the comforter. “We promised them we’d go out for pancakes and waffles today” he mumbles in the deep voice of his, verging on a chuckle

“Time to get up! Time to get up!”

you guys are just trying to kill me aren’t you? i absolutely hate all of you, because these ideas are SO CUTE. also, sorry it got slightly ~suggestive~ because hey - it’s jake.

context: flyboy

-

The pounding of tiny feet sprinting down the hallway woke Jake before it had woken you, making him pull you tighter against his body, his arm over the top half of your body, feeling the curve of your ass nestled against his front, the material of his tshirt which you are in, rubbing against his bare chest. He feels you stir as the door bursts open with a bang, and he curses mentally at himself for forgetting to lock it the night before.

“Time to get up!” He hears a chorus of little voices yelling out the same phrase as the mattress of the bed starts to shift, 5 little gremlins clawing their way up onto the bed only to bounce around the mattress, their little feet trampling on the both of you, hidden safe under the covers, in the process.

He feels you shift, before you sink further down along the length of his body in an attempt to bury yourself under the covers. Jake follows suit, both your heads sinking beneath the safety of the covers, in a desperate, but futile attempt to hide. It goes unnoticed by the 5 children, but chuckles that come from the direction of the doorway tells Jake that his mother and grandmother are watching, having witnessed both your failed attempts at escape.

“We promised them we’d go out for pancakes and waffles today,” he mumbles, voice deep, and southern drawl thick - as it always was first thing in the morning. He hears you whine softly, as you press your body closer to his. Jake shifts his arm lower, taking the privacy which being under the covers affords, to squeeze one of your breasts through his tshirt, thumb brushing across a pert nipple.

“Jake,” he hears your voice, a soft grumble of protest, you suddenly realising, with 5 children bouncing on the bed you both are in, just how little clothes you are wearing, and he can only chuckle as he presses a kiss to your neck.

“Time to get upppppppp Uncle Jaaaaaaaake.” The voices continue their assault, and Jake sticks his head out from under the covers, eyeing his amused mother and grandmother who are standing by the door, amidst the shouts of “Uncle Jake!”, “Uncle Jake is aaaawaaaake”.

“You might want to get them out of here,” he says, the fingers of his hand, which is still hidden from view, now rolling your nipple between the pads of his fingertips through his tshirt, “we aren’t wearing much.”

His frankness makes you groan in horror from under the covers, which only has a bark of laughter escaping Grace, as she beckons to the children from the door.

“I don’t care if you both are as naked as mole-rats,” grandma Doris says, pointedly, clearly unbothered but a hint of glee in her voice, “as long as you both are making me more grandchildren.”

It makes you groan again, Jake’s laughter filling the room.

[volterran-wine]

If you could ask any of the Volturi leaders/guard a question, who and what would you ask? Personally, I would ask the leaders about Jesus. I just think it would be quite interesting to hear what they would have to say about that part of history 😆 Because when you really think about it… The Volturi’s ancient vampires really do have the answers to a lot of questions us mortals spend so much time thinking about 😳 I also wonder if Carlisle ever asked Aro about the history of his religion.

Oh dear Anonymous, that is quite the existential question. While I am not a follower of any religion the idea of getting the details of what happened so long ago in an 100% accurate manner is tempting. I would probably sit down with Aro and ask about... everything if I'm going to be honest. I adore history and I just would want him to describe these marvelous things that has been lost to time. I want to know about the library of Alexandria, who was Jesus really?, what did the world smell like before the pollution? Were the dodo birds just as funny as I think they were? How many languages do you speak? How much of history is true?

Funny enough, I personally believe that it was Marcus who had quite a... enlightening conversation with Carlisle about religion. I shall write you a little something about how it went down.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦

It was like any other day in Volterra, Carlisle was seeking out anyone who was willing to listen to him talk about his interest of the day. And when he had managed to snag the attention of Marcus and discuss the topic of religion Carlisle had felt positively giddy. Well, that was until Marcus made an offhand comment, or more precisely; it would have been an offhand comment had the context been of a lesser nature...

"Oh yes that Jesus, he was a delightful young man, a true shame what they did to him."

A silence fell between the two of them, Carlisle licking his lips and getting a taste of the air and its dust particles; exceptionally stale. "You..." Carlisle finally trailed off without finishing his sentence, for the first time in over forty two years did his mind feel sluggish; unable to comprehend what Marcus had just said.

The eldest king hummed, finally turning to look at the young vampire in front of him with a raised brow. "Yes? I saw him briefly before they nailed him to to that cross." A deep and tired sigh left the much older vampires, "To think that humans have grown so cruel, he only wanted to do some good." Marcus shrugged, fully intending to continue the discussion with Carlisle. The younger vampires state of being made him hold his tongue, for their guest seemed to have entered a state of shock... which was unheard of when it came to vampires.

And it was in that moment that Marcus realized he had made a terrible mistake.

𝟐𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐥��𝐭𝐞𝐫,

"Marcus, my dearest brother... I love you but—" Aro had to pause for a brief second, for this wonderful Sunday morning had gone down the drain; and his ire was not soothed by the presence of his second eldest brother. Caius looked like the cat that got the cream as he sat there in his favourite plush chair, taking immense glee at their current predicament. Marcus on the other hand looked slightly more remorseful, but there was still a trace of mirth in those eyes that was hard to miss. Out of old habit did Aro adjust his cuffs for the tenth time since the conversation had begun. "But Carlisle is only 65 years old... he cannot handle that sort of information yet." A loud snort to the right of him had him make a sharp turn, watching as a terrible smirk spread on Caius' lips before opening his mouth to speak. "Should I tell him how I helped along the fall of Rome?" The white haired king taunted as he leaned forward in his seat.

"Don't you dare."

Caius' infamous cackle had never sounded more crass and irritating to Aro's precious ears.

[macaron-n-cheese]

Guysguysguys it was sooooo good! I will tell you all about it :D

*big inhale*

I wore a very extra outfit. It was even better than my prom outfit (since I didn't go to prom lol). I finished my waistcoat last night so I could wear it over my 18th century shirt today! I paired my long blue skirt with it. I wore my clocked stockings and 18th century American Duchess shoes which I'm so glad I wore since it looked like the cast's shoes but with a ribbon instead of a buckle :3. It was complemented by a staff and cast member X333!

I got first row seats in the balcony near the middle. The bar in front was a little annoying but not too bad. I now have a lot of merch so yippee :). It was sooooo good. There was a projector on the curtains that worked very nicely. It was used as a usual curtain, to give the date, record votes, and foreshadowing of the U.S. I am so happy that there was still a drumroll before George Washington's name. All the humor was on-point. All I wish for is more of it lol.

I was so excited that I cried at John Adams' opening line. "Sit Down, John" was very good ofc! I really liked what they did with "Piddle, Twiddle, and Resolve." The seated choreography was cute. "Till then" was also very sweet :3. Adams and Franklin were very silly ofc. Richard Henry Lee was incredibly epic as well as "The Lees of Old Virginia." "The Lees of Old Virginia" was yassified (as it should)! It was used to give more context on the Lee dynasty and such. My reaction when all the Lees that RHL names are revealed behind the front curtain and there are added references to "Dixie" (the foreshadowing was great. I see you, Bobby Lee):

The character introductions with Dr. Lyman Hall were great. It was very entertaining to watch all the delegates arriving at congress and the following debate. Colonel Thomas McKean was great ofc, too! I am very glad that there was audible laughter form the audience at John Dickinson's stupid New Jersey joke. The first Thomas Jefferson sex joke was made so extra. The cast was choreographed to laugh in slow motion it was amazing iushdushuifsu. Throughout, John Hancock was great and so sassy, especially with New York lol. Dickinson slayed, very nice. Charles Thomson was nice, very good reading. John's postponement idea is so hastily presented to congress.

"But, Mr. Adams" was wonderful! I love Roger Sherman so much fuiefbfeb they gave off such sweet vibes. The Franklin-Sherman-Livingston glee club was so funny uisdhbcvuidshviuhs they were extremely silly. Their joking with Adams and Jefferson was impeccable. Unfortunately, there was no gay stairs so Adams and Jefferson didn't look like they were going to kiss.

Jefferson has a violin solo and it slaps hard. The inclusion of an enslaved servant for Jefferson was very smart. I still don't understand the " 'Then you must tell me how you did it.' 'Disgusting...' " joke at all even though I've asked my friend who does understand it like 5 times. Tom and Martha didn't make out for a minute thankfully, it would have been so awkward lol. They did a cute waltz instead :3. "Yours, Yours, Yours" was very sweet ofc! They added in "Remember the ladies" B). After Abby and John exchange letters Adams smells his and it's so cute uzhdfuidshf and he acts really awkward when Franklin suddenly appears. Martha is more of an "owo" than an "uwu." "He Plays The Violin" had NO subtly and was a bit shorter than older versions. When Martha sang "Say I died" I could feel a foreshadowing vibe that isn't in previous versions, so I really like that. Lights got darker and Jefferson hugged her. Martha's dress had very strong Edwardian vibes, but it was still very pretty.

Intermission!

The reconvening of congress is nice, I like how the delegates are just vibing. When Thomson reads the dispatch about the whoring and the drinking all the delegates just go 🤨. "Cool, Cool, Considerate Men" was, well, cool. The leather apron and McNair are combined so the lead in to "Momma, Look Sharp" is a bit different. The song itself has also been yassified, with the cast playing the part of the mothers whose sons died. It was preformed beautifully.

The bird argument was fun ofc. "The Egg" was yassified, too! At the end there is an added foreshadowing showing snapshots of U.S. history with the line "The eagle inside belongs to us." Very cool! The amendments debate after is as usual. Jefferson's approval for the amendments is good. The "Molasses to Rum" sequence was intense and beautifully done. Its intensity was turned way up and it was really uncomfortable, as it should be. Edward Rutledge's singing was beautiful and haunting.

John and Abby's final scene together is sweet :). The next dispatch between Thomson and Washington is very nice. "Is Anybody There" went really hard! I wish there was a recording. The final voting process was also nicely done. The removal of the slavery clause was really tense but good. Dickinson at the end didn't get enough recognition from the audience, neither did the "Harvard vs. William and Mary" joke :(. I wish it hit because they are both important historical points. The ending was great! The final signing and dispatch are impactful, too. :)

TL;DR: IT'S AMAZING!!!!

Sorry if my writing got flat near the end of my description, I started to get drowsy.

I'm finally going to see the 1776 revival tomorrow!

I've been waiting 3 years!!!

[mondscheinprinzessin]

"saying if they want to make out the bedroom is right there😄" nooo but what if joonas then actually drags his boyfriends to the bedroom and leaves their friends sitting there like 🤨🤨🤨 alright then

context: x

This was too funny and cute of an idea to pass it up, so I had to write it. Little menace Aleksi included.

The little swirls of cream on top of the cake Joonas had made that day were just calling for a finger to dip into them. 

Joonas could hold back on the urge while he was cutting the cake for every guest to get a piece, the few celebration beers they had drunk demanding a food offering. Aleksi was holding out plates for Joonas to place a piece of cake onto it then passed them on to a hungry friend. 

There were a few compliments about his baking, Tommi having inhaled the cake he had gotten before Aleksi was even finished handing out all the plates, but Joonas was beaming under the praise, the need to feed his friends and making them happy and content in the process not disappearing on the one day he was allowed to relax and let everyone around him do everything for him.

No, he was smiling as he watched everyone dug into the cake, the work he had done with Aleksi earlier replaying in his head as he remembered Joel’s surprised face upon being offered a free hair wash by Aleksi’s hands because there was flour in the hair at the back of his head, an innocent victim of the baking process.

And he remembered Aleksi’s funny expression as he had gotten the icing on his nose Joonas had taken out of the bowl with the tip of his finger, laughing as Aleksi had tried to rub his nose into Joonas’ face.

Despite the shenanigans there were no further accidents and the cake had turned out amazingly tasty. If Joonas was to believe his friends.

Still he could barely hold back a giggle as he got the idea to repeat the mischief of before. 

His finger was quickly dabbed into the cream and just as quickly did it paint a streak over Aleksi’s nose while he already had cream on his finger again to decorate Joel’s face as well, this time his cheek.

“Again?!” Aleksi let out and swore at Joonas, lifting a hand to remove the sweet cream on his skin, but ultimately smudging it, making him look unbelievably cute so that Joonas couldn’t suppress his smile.

Joel just looked at him disappointed while Niko was laughing behind him, Olli suspiciously having moved behind Tommi as if he was fearing an attack.

But Joonas couldn’t even think of messing around with his friends as well as he watched Aleksi gather a bit of cream on his finger and after bringing it to his mouth, sucking it off the tip, lips closing around his finger and tongue moving, reminding Joonas of entirely different things and he was glad he wasn’t inclined to get red as easily. 

But he got another idea and just as Aleksi had another finger full of cream, ready to get it into his mouth, Joonas was right there and licked it off Aleksi’s finger while being watched by wide eyes, and he smiled around the finger in his mouth, that cute face looking as if the person it belonged to was free of sin, which Joonas knew wasn’t the truth.

Pressing a quick kiss right next to Aleksi’s nose, he winked at him and then turned to Joel who looked as if he had watched with his mouth hanging open, and really, it was way too easy to fluster his boyfriends. Nobody could blame him for playing games with them, right?

Putting a hand to Joel’s neck, Joonas tugged him down a bit so he could reach Joel’s face, and swiftly ran his tongue right across his cheek, following the same path with his lips right after, giving a satisfied moan into Joel’s ear so that only he could hear, and the resulting gasp coming out of Joel’s mouth was not helping in breaking Joonas’ glee.

A complaining groan came from his right side. “Really guys, you have a bedroom right at the end of the hallway for that. Do our eyes have to witness your making out session?” Niko lamented. “Look, you’ve frightened poor little Olli!”

Pointing to Olli still behind Tommi’s tall figure, Joonas instead saw an exasperated friend, totally done with his antics, but honestly, it was Joonas’ birthday, he was allowed to do what he wanted.

And right now he wanted to annoy his friends further and possibly get a few more kisses. Promptly he took a hand of Aleksi and Joel each and dragged them both into their bedroom, kicking the door shut with more force than was necessary. 

Immediately he was on Aleksi, cupping his face and getting a fervent kiss back, something that always got his blood to boil, knowing that he was the only one who got to experience him like that, the angel-like demeanor dropping whenever Aleksi wanted it to. 

A hand in his hair turned his face towards Joel who had his lips on him before Joonas could take a breath but he wasn’t about to complain.

“Do we really want to make them believe we’re about to have sex in here or are we going out soon so I can resume eating cake without getting half of it into my face?” Aleksi asked as Joel was slowly easing up from Joonas.

Joonas shrugged and said, “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Aleksi looked at them aghast. “What, having sex at your own party while your friends are out there?”

Joonas saw how Joel had to grin while a faint blush was traveling up to his face. “Yeah, must have been New Year’s Eve two years ago. They were all too plastered to notice anyways.”

Both laughed as Aleksi face-palmed. “You guys are unbelievable. Bus as much as I love kissing you, I really don’t want our friends to think we’re doing god knows what in here, is that okay? You can- of course you could- I don’t know, do whatever you want, but I’ll join when everyone left, okay?”

“Hey, you don’t have to do anything of course, it was just a joke to annoy the others.” Joonas assured Aleksi. “Let’s go back and have fun, yeah?”

“And later we can resume what we’ve started.” Joel added and elicited a snort from Aleksi who slapped him across his chest. 

“If you want a blowjob you better let me win in Monopoly.” Aleksi said as he opened the door and was about to walk through. “Unless you want a little punishment, in that case I’m sure Joonas would be willing to lend me a hand for it.” With that he was out the door, Joonas ooohing as he looked at Joel’s stunned face.

“Devil.” He whispered as he stared at where Aleksi had been just right now. 

Joonas continued to laugh, giving Joel a shoulder pat. “We love him, don’t we?”

Joel nodded, a fond expression having replaced the prior shock. 

[arctimon]

Big Hero 6 - On Hallow’s Eve, Watch Over Me

I hope that everyone had a good Halloween, and you got literally all the candy.  I, on the other hand, spent the evening watching three dogs and a sister give out candy as dinosaurs.

No, I will not be giving any further context.

Either way, every time Halloween comes around, it reminds me of the story that I’ve wanted to write every Halloween, but never got around to: the Big Hero 6/Overwatch sort-of crossover.

I say sort-of because it’s not like Mercy and Tracer are going to show up in San Fransokyo.  At least...not physically.

I have made a few references to Overwatch in my stories (mostly in Highway to Hell), and I think it would be a perfect way for the team to get into alternate characters.  Of course, things would never be that easy, especially if they have to do some heroics during Halloween night.

I haven’t gotten around to figuring out what exactly they’d be doing (if I was sadistic, probably pushing a payload or something),   But I do have a pretty good idea of who’d they be going as.

Here’s the big bad list:

Hiro Hamada - Wrecking Ball (Potassium)

Funny story behind this one.  I would imagine that after staying up all night for a few consecutive days (including his costume), he loses his voice and has to have a voice module talk for him, which is where the robot’s voice comes from.  Plus, his grappling hook is the closest thing to the magnetic coils he uses (and he ain’t no Widowmaker, that’s for sure).

Honey Lemon - Mercy (Witch)

Pretty self explanatory.  Plus, you have to go for the Witch one.  It’s her most popular skin.

Baymax - Orisa (Carbon Fiber) Again, I think this one is pretty obvious.  She even has a voice line riffing off of him (”Are you satisfied with your care?”).  She doesn’t have much of a red skin sans the team ones, so I went with the most futuristic one.

Go Go - Lucio (Jazzy)

Now, I know what you’re thinking.  Why would you make Go Go Lucio?  Well, for one, have you seen Go Go’s actual Halloween costume in “Obake Yashiki”?  She doesn’t want to do any work.  All she needs is a set of roller blades and she’s set.

I at least wanted to jazz her up a bit with her skin.  I think even Go Go would appreciate a good fedora/top hat/whatever Lucio’s wearing in this skin.

Fredzilla - Doomfist (Lake)

Fred and a giant blue fist?  Count me in. 

Wasabi - Genji (Blackwatch)

I gave Wasabi Genji because of his affinity for blades, and also because at the time I was doing all of this (which was a while ago), Baptiste hadn’t come out yet.  I suppose that the combat healer would be a better fit for him, but something about him having a giant dragon blade just fills me with glee.

Karmi - Symmetra (Classic)

When I was searching for screenshots for Karmi, I had completely forgotten the gauntlet.  I have no idea how, but it makes her fit in even well.  The hardlight turrets, the giant wall ultimate, the general disregard for things out of order.  It all fits.  And you can’t go wrong with the classic Symmetra look.

Now the question is whether or not she’ll kill Hiro for having leggings that high.  XD

Aunt Cass - Ana (Horus)

Older woman who drinks tea and is the mother of the group?  Pretty obvious.

Megan - Sombra (Talon)

A young Mexican girl that can turn invisible and can turn out the lights with EMPs?  Even more obvious.

I was contemplating the Talon skin and her Glitch one, but this one would probably be the “tamer” one.  Methinks that Chief Cruz wouldn’t like her shaving half of her head to get into character.

Although would that even stop her?

Juniper - Zarya (Totally 80′s)

Yes, June’s not Russian, and has slightly less musculature than Zarya, but the costume is a spitting image.  Maybe give her Gravity Cannon an electrical field so she can carry it?

Someday I’ll get around to writing this story, just like all the other ones.  It’s just that certain events have to happen in order for this story to happen.

Oh well.  Maybe next (spooky) year?

[ramblingaboutglee]

Do you have an opinion about Blaine’s character and how they changed him each season?

If this blog has proved anything, it’s that I can ramble, so here we go. 

Watching Glee independently of fandom was... weird. There are a lot of times I delved into fandom after and saw some plot point that I’d loved and found a perfect culmination, actually considered out-of-character or some such. From what I can tell, S2 was such a huge point in-fandom and with fanfic that the fan interpretations of a lot of characters ended up superceding the characters as they were on the show (take Will Schuester getting retconned to Journey superfan in one episode, when in S1 Journey was sung because of its association to Finn when Will wasn’t leading the group, so the show was clearly aware of what I assume are fandom jokes esp in regard to Will not listening to the kids and willing to play it up, and it did seem to happen at a few points). 

All that to say, with Klaine being as big as it was, I feel like Blaine got hit with that harder than most? How much was writers responding to some fandom-takes, how much was the televised version of the character departing from the fanon iteration, and how much was retconning is hard to say.

So, to go season by season. 

Whoops sorry, yeah this is going on for a while. 

Originally... Blaine didn’t really have much of a character? Season 2 was very bare-bones on the character front, they’d shifted the show’s focus to what was almost a sketch comedy at times so everyone was just one or two traits ramped up to insanity with little cohesion, Blaine existed solely in relation to Kurt, and he was ‘advice-giving gay kid, who’s less experienced than he lets on.’ (Like, he’s less sure of even his sexuality than Kurt). That was it. But I imagine this was also the time fanfic solidified him in a lot of people’s minds, when a lot of it wasn’t reflective of who Blaine was on the show? Especially with his minimal arc being presenting himself as more wise and knowing than Kurt, when at the end of the day this turned out to basically be an act/how he presents himself, and him being just as capable of misreading situations (Gap attack) as anyone. But if you read fic when you’d only seen him in his element with all the Warblers at his back and none of the layers being peeled back, I can see that messing with perception of him.

Season 3 defined him more clearly as a hopless romantic and a dreamer, both making more sense of his character, and fitting in with the themes of the show. The optimist who sometimes does questionable things in the name of that optimism, but trusts that things will work out well. Cliche views of sex, overcoming odds, romance... Which justifies his previous characterisation, though cracks start to show as he adjusts from being a big deal in the Warblers, to The New Kid. This carries on to season 4, where he faces he consequences of those aspirations, and acknowledges that switching schools for a guy is, well, a romantic idea in a storybook but kinda ends poorly in reality, following on from his alienation as well when the New Directions aren’t as in-sync with him as the Warblers were. Cue Blaine going from basically the head of a gay cult show choir in a private school with strict no bullying policies, in regular contact with his boyfriend, to alone in a homophobic less well-to-do school. He made the decision out of cheerful, unrealistic idealism, and it ended up the way it inevitably would. 

Which is when the meta element comes in again. Blaine is definitely acting different in season 4, but he’s also existing in a different context. For me, at least, it felt like natural development? He’s the hopeless romantic who feels like he can’t relate to his boyfriend, because Kurt’s graduated high school and moved to NY, Kurt has a completely different life and set of life experiences to Blaine. Heck, the fact Kurt ends up in an open relationship in S4, while the end of his dynamic with Blaine was down to him sleeping with someone else says a lot. Post high school, Kurt’s development is necessarily supercharged because that’s just how life goes once you’re out away from home for the first time, S4 was admittedly too overstretched to fully justify it all, but the fact that the NY cast had to adjust to a massively different context was one of the conflicts of the season. Blaine, meanwhile, is still in McKinley. Still in Lima. Unsurprisingly, he lags behind, and feels that pressure. 

Season 5 I guess is where we get weird? 5B, at least the New York stretch, follows on from the above well - post-graduation, Blaine is still the romantic, still tries for things with Kurt, and they definitely chafe a little to begin with when they try to completely jump into living together fresh after barely having gotten back together, and it clicks as a good follow-up to where they were. They have to get to know who one another are now, after massive transitional points in their lives. 

5A is, okay, tricky. The proposal fits who Blaine was - the same guy that swapped schools for Kurt, the impulsive romantic - but after, Blaine gets a gimmick every week, but then every episode of 5A was a different gimmick every week (then again, the same can be said for S2 where Blaine originated so hey) so it’s hard to say much about character. You have him befriending Tina and Sam, with all the crushes there, some stuff I am not touching, but it sticks out as well that Blaine does tend to stick with what’s familiar to him. But yeah, this is the bit where it feels like Glee dropping consistency for set pieces and jokes. 

S6 then sweeps in to conclude the arc. Obviously a big recurring element of Glee was characters finding themselves, deciding who they are and what they want to be, and Blaine gets matched with Rachel in this regard - he ostensibly gets a big success, but it doesn’t last, and he’s back doing nothing with no lodestone. So he does the same thing she does, and returns to his high school for the familiar atmosphere - and picks the school where he felt the most comfortable. One arc later, and his big song with Kurt for the finale includes the line “The daydream believer and the homecoming queen,” and I’m just assuming there are, like, a hundred klaine fics with that exact title.

Okay so, after all that. I don’t feel like Blaine necessarily changes at his core? At least for me, the arc’s easy to trace out - he’s a dreamer, a romantic, an optimist, who figures problems are easy to solve and that things will work out the way they do in daydreams. Reality challenges that at a few points, it hits him hard, and he loses both his Warbler-fame and Kurt and does start to spiral as Glee characters are wont to do. He definitely develops, but the core seems pretty consistent. 

Glee is really consistent with making characters question what it is they want, and whether it’ll make them happy. Like, basically every character has to go through that arc and come to their own answers. Rachel has her Broadway dreams and ends up struggling with the reality, Quinn has basically everything in regards to what she perceives as the ‘proper’ way to live her life, Kurt has his Broadway dreams especially with the limited roles for his range of voice... For Blaine, his dreams hit a similar beat, coming with the storybook idea as to how his relationship will go, solving someone’s problems with a few words (with Karofsky - a failure), being the wise mentor, grand romantic gestures that end up being bad ideas... 

Though I guess the oddities stick out more, with S2 and 5A as seasons with different focuses meaning you’re getting the same character in functionally a different genre which is always messy, and the vibe I get that fandom had a solid conception of who Blaine ought to be, before the end of S2? 

This was probably too long a reply, but hey. 

Overall, my opinion of Blaine is... relatively neutral? Which is no reflection on him - as much as I can make jokes about a lot of dynamics, I’m most attached to the characters after graduation just because, well, I watched the show as an adult. Unavoidably, they’re the ones I find more relatable. So barring characters with really solid inherent hooks (so, Quinn) I can enjoy the high school drama, but none of the characters immediately stand out to me - so Blaine works at a disadvantage with less than a full season’s length graduated. (Equally, to be honest, the seasons where Blaine felt like more of a presence, 2 and 5, were also my least favourite seasons, which definitely isn’t down to him but it does hurt his character, for me). I like his arc, Klaine is obviously fun, I like their dynamic as exes awkwardly navigating one another too sorry. He isn’t someone I hugely thought about because out-of-fandom he was a fairly secondary-to-tertiary character a lot of the time, but I like his development and he has some good arcs. I like how he goes full circle, from playing the part of a mentor in S2, to actually gaining the experience and confidence to fill that role by the end. 

Thanks for the ask! And, er, sorry

[mdverse]

What are some of your favourite Glee ships and why? I'm thinking like... top five? Or more if you feel like it :)

ooh this is a fun one because anything after my top ship can and will change at the drop of a hat lmao

1: brittana

hopefully this will come as a shock to no one aksdjhfsk,,, brittana is actually a ship i found out about before i watched glee. like i would see all of these compilations on youtube of glee moments out of context, and idk how exactly but it led to seeing clips of brittana. i remember being salty bc some of my friends at the time had seen glee and not a single one of them told me that there was a wlw relationship i would've liked lol.

but yeah there's just something really compelling about getting to see these two girls who start out as background characters with funny one-liners grow into an actual couple that gets happily married in the end. especially because i don't remember really seeing any wlw relationships get any kind of focus or open acknowledgement before brittana? at least not any relationships that lasted more than a couple of episodes? and maybe i just wasn't watching the right shows bc i only started watching glee less than 2 years ago lol but their development on the show, while very flawed thanks to the writers, was just super special for me. and it still is. i have a lot of love for them and even though i haven't drawn much brittana lately, i'd like to think that my love for them shows in some of my older art :)

also? wanting to draw brittana is what got me out of months-long art block and depressive episode where i just did not have any inspiration or motivation to draw anything, and it quickly became the catalyst for so much of the artistic growth i've made over the past almost 2 years. idk if that means much to u guys but to me it really means the world and i don't think i even have the words to explain it asksdhfk i just. i love them a lot.

2: hevans

ok listen to be completely honest, i don't think about hevans that much but once in a while i think about s2 hevans and how that would've been so nice? like,,, s2 sam was so refreshing because he arrived at a time where i was used to seeing the glee boys (finn and puck in particular) being like "oh we get called gay for being in glee club and associating with kurt, a gay kid :( and that's bad :( we don't like the idea of being seen as gay :(" and sam just did not care. he didn't care that singing a duet with another guy might be seen as weird, he didn't care that he might get bullied for it, he just cared that kurt had a lovely voice and he wasn't gonna go back on his promise to sing with kurt. and then we got rumours and kurt not even hesitating to keep sam's secret, even though his friends immediately accused him of cheating on blaine. idk hevans just had this bond in s2 that wasn't explored enough after that, and then sam was dumbed down in s4 and onwards and ugh i miss s2 sam goddammit fuck the writers for turning him into whatever the fuck we got in s4-6

also hevans makes me consider an artist!sam x model!kurt au? like when i drew kurt as the boy with a basket of fruits i could picture sam being a painter and having kurt as his model/inspiration, and i have a second very unfinished wip based on another painting in the same vein. lowkey veering into a picture of dorian grey moment now lol but is that not compelling??? i can't believe i only thought of that just now aksdjhf i love that book,,, also there's yet another painting i'd like to redraw as hevans but who knows when i'll get around to it

3: quinntina

i don't think the writers were ever gonna give us quinntina and idk if there are even many quinntina moments in the show aside from like,,, teeny tiny background moments here and there. also the show butchered them both so i'm not basing this ship in canon at all. i just think they would have an interesting dynamic i guess? popular girl quinn fabray and shy tina cohen-chang possibly wishing they could switch positions for a while because quinn is exhausted from all the pressure she puts on herself and tina wonders what it would be like to be in the spotlight? slowly bonding in glee club because tina realises quinn isn't the bitch tina assumed she'd be, and quinn finds it refreshing to be around a sweetheart like tina? indulging each other's dramatic moments but also keeping each other grounded? the mental image of tina helping quinn dye her hair pink? that time in s6 where we got half a quinntina duet in jagged little tapestry, which for the record, i think would've been a mashup of so far away and ironic? (also, vb au quinntina sharing the brain cells of the friend group?) idk i think it would've been nice and i am once again cursing the writers

4: wildebrams

i don't have much of an actual explanation as to why i like wildebrams because it feels like i haven't seen s4-5 in forever, but iirc their relationship allowed us to see a much softer side to kitty and i really loved that. like,,, kitty being nervous about committing to a relationship but then opening up to the glee club about her feelings for artie? wholesome shit i love it

i can't think of anymore ships rn because i'm not deeply invested in any ships besides brittana but this feels like a solid mini list. i feel like im forgetting a lot of the big ones so feel free to specify any other ships you'd like me to talk about :)

[the-littlest-goblin]

ooooooooh for fic prompts, could i request: essek interacting with Frumpkin, specifically playing with him (so as to impress Caleb and earn his favor a bit), but our favorite hot boi most likely did not have pets growing up and is at a bit of a loss with what to do. (bonus: Caleb sees this and thinks it's incredibly endearing)

I think you got everything you wanted. ft. my personal 'here’s how Frumpkin can still win’ headcanon.

----

This was not how familiars were supposed to work.

Essek may not have summoned one before (he’d never really understood the use of an assistant with no opposable thumbs), but he had read enough about the spell to know that this was not how familiars were supposed to behave. 

Maybe that was because Frumpkin didn’t technically count as a familiar anymore.

No one knew exactly what had happened, or why. Essek and Caleb had exchanged a number of theories on the matter, but so far the best explanation still went to Beau’s conclusion: “weird fey shit.”

After Aeor and the Somnovem, when they had all finally gotten a chance to breathe again, Caleb had done some sort of ritual to more permanently banish his familiar. Essek hadn’t gotten the full context at the time, but it had something to do with symbolic closure and moving on. The cat was already gone from the Material Plane at that point, but Caleb had wanted to remove the temptation to summon him again, and so devised a sort of reversal of the Find Familiar spell.

However, upon performing the anti-summoning ritual, the cat had appeared in the ritual circle as if Caleb had cast the spell as usual. Only instead of going to his master’s side, Frumpkin had sauntered away from Caleb with a swish of his tail and gone to sit directly at Essek’s feet.

“Hmm,” Caleb had muttered, the hint of a grin twitching at the corner of his mouth. “It looks like he has made a choice.”

Ever since, Caleb had been unable to banish Frumpkin, or communicate with him, or give him orders. He had seemingly lost his magical connection to, and mastery over, the cat—Frumpkin was no longer his familiar, as had been the intention. It was just that Frumpkin apparently liked the Material Plane better than the Feywild, and so refused to leave. And since Caleb had let him go, he chose a new wizard to keep him company. For the next several days they had spent recuperating and planning their next moves, Frumpkin stuck with Essek, never straying from his side for long.

But, crucially, he did not become Essek’s familiar, a lesson they had learned quickly enough. Essek didn’t even have Find Familiar in his spellbook. He couldn’t banish Frumpkin, he couldn’t communicate telepathically with him, and he certainly couldn’t give him orders. 

So, Essek just had a pet cat now, one which happened to be fey in nature. Stranger things had happened—much, much stranger—so for Essek’s part, it had seemed easiest to just accept this development in stride. At times, he was even grateful for the cat’s presence. 

But right now, he was very much not. At least familiars were obedient.

Essek winced against the sound of shattering glass—a sound which was becoming somewhat routine since taking up residence in these new, temporary lodgings with Frumpkin as his roommate. 

Essek closed his eyes and took one deep breath before looking up from his notes to survey the damage. His gaze met Frumpkin’s round, amber eyes across the room, looking impossibly innocent where he sat primly on one of the tables which Essek had set up to house his research. His tail swished back and forth where it hung over the edge, acting like a flashing signal to point Essek’s attention down towards the starburst of broken glass glittering directly beneath him.

Mercifully, the beaker which Frumpkin had marked for termination had been holding a harmless and easily replaceable solvent, rather than any of the more valuable or dangerous liquids Essek had lying around in his provisional lab. His fingers curled protectively around the precious vial of liquid dunamis sitting next to him.

“Why?” He let the single syllable of the word stretch out into a long, bone-deep groan lasting several seconds. The question was aimed both at Frumpkin and at himself, and covered a variety of curiosities he had about the situation. Why did Frumpkin feel such a persistent desire to destroy Essek’s belongings? Why had he chosen to adhere himself to Essek in the first place, when he seemed to hold a deep disdain for everything Essek owned or did? Why was Essek incapable of learning the very simple lesson of locking the door to this makeshift lab? Why had he promised Caleb that he would take care of Frumpkin while the Mighty Nein dealt with the Assembly, instead of throwing the mangy beast out onto the streets of Port Dumali as soon as they had arrived at the safe house?

None of these were questions to which Essek was about to get any answers, so he tried another one.

“What do you want from me?”

Frumpkin blinked.

“You are still a fey being. You don’t need food or water, and as far as I understand, providing those two things are the pillars of caring for a pet. So, what else could you possibly need that requires my attention?”

Frumpkin flicked his ears.

Caleb had given Essek a brief overview of what to expect in terms of cat-care, but either he had chosen to leave out a lot of unsavory details, or decoupling from their arcane connection had put Frumpkin through a drastic personality change, because Essek had received no instructions about how to handle the kind of stalemate in which he currently found himself.

“You have my sincerest apologies, but unlike your previous master, I cannot read your thoughts, and your current methods of communication are lacking in clarity.”

Frumpkin’s tail began swishing faster. He broke eye contact with Essek to gaze intently at the row of jars lining the next table over. These were full of various concoctions, including some potentially dangerous acids, the results of Essek’s increasing boredom as he stayed hunkered down in his safe house day after day. He only ever went out for the duration of a Disguise Self to buy food or other necessary supplies; he was too noticeable to amble around the city for leisure, on the slim but ever-present risk that word of a strange drow in Port Dumali would reach the ears of Ikithon or his servants. Essek was under strict instructions to stay as hidden as possible until he got the all-clear from the Mighty Nein. With only the materials to continue his most basic experiments with dunamis, he was growing bored out of his mind. 

Essek heaved another deep sigh before reluctantly abandoning his notes and gliding over to where Frumpkin had stationed himself. With a short wave of his hands, the spill vanished and the broken shards of glass floated gently into the trash bin. Then, Essek unceremoniously lifted the cat into his arms before he had the chance to wreak any more havoc, and deposited him outside the door. 

Distraction removed, Essek made to turn around and return to his research, this time intending to lock the door to prevent further feline interruptions. But before he could do so, he made the mistake of looking into Frumpkin’s eyes again. The cat’s pupils gleamed, impossibly wide and round, and his tail was still swishing back and forth in an incomprehensible pattern, like some sort of code. A mixture of affection and guilt welled up in Essek, rooting to the spot.

Godsdammit, but he had promised Caleb he was going to take care of his cat, and that meant not ignoring Frumpkin when he was clearly trying to tell him something. Because even if Caleb no longer wanted a familiar to travel around with him, he still loved this damned cat, and also Essek was trying to be less callous and heartless in general.

He thought back to Caleb’s instructions with a fair bit of desperation, searching for some hint of what would make Frumpkin happy. All he came up with was a faint recollection, something about enjoying being scratched behind the ears.

“Is that all you want? Is that what you interrupted me for?” Fighting not to roll his eyes, Essek reached down for a pet.

As soon as he got close enough, Frumpkin lunged.

“Gah!” Essek snatched his hand back, nursing the sting of pain from Frumpkin’s bite. There was no blood; the little demons’s fangs hadn’t managed to break the skin. It could barely count as an injury, but the shock of betrayal hurt more than the scratch.

“What in the Nine Hells was that for?” Essek glared at Frumpkin, then noticed just in time that the cat was poised to strike again. This time, he only had to turn slightly to keep his hands out of harm's way, but Frumpkin wasn’t aiming for the exposed skin. There was a loose thread dangling from the hem of Essek’s sleeve, apparently caught by the previous attack. Frumpkin was intent on it. He flung himself at the thread, grabbing at it with his clumsy paws. It slipped through his grip, and he lunged again without hesitation.

Experimentally, Essek lifted his arm so the thread dangled higher off the ground. Frumpkin took the challenge to heart, leaping to grab it in his teeth before it slipped out of his grasp again, and he landed on the floor in defeat. Essek moved his arm over to one side, and Frumpkin followed with enthusiasm, this time managing to get the thread around one claw. The split second of resistance was enough to tear it from Essek’s sleeve. Frumpkin rolled over onto his back, victorious, batting his prize around in euphoric glee.

A grin spread across Essek’s face as he watched this display of simple delight. 

“I suppose you were just bored, too. Was that it?”

Frumpkin responded by biting the string with a vengeance. 

An idea began forming in the corner of his mind as he watched Frumpkin playing. Absentmindedly, Essek twisted his fingers and summoned a trace thread of dunamis into his hand, shaping and stretching it into a longer and longer cord of greyish, glowing energy, which he then dangled tantalizingly over Frumpkin’s head. The boring, non-magical string was immediately forgotten and discarded as Frumpkin caught sight of the dunamis toy. His whole body wiggling in excitement, he lunged at the cord again and again, pulling a genuine laugh out of Essek as he bobbed and weaved the magic around, dancing it out of Frumpkin’s grasp. He needed a break from his lab anyway, and this was shockingly entertaining.

---

“Well? How are they?” Just a hint of nerves colored Caleb’s voice, as it did every time they checked in on Essek. The fear that this time, the scry would reveal him not safe and sound on the Coast, far from the Trent’s reach, but somewhere cold and dark and threatening.

The faint glow faded from Jester’s eyes as the spell ended. Looking up at Caleb with a smile, she said, “You’re not going to believe this Caleb, it’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.”

Caleb grinned back at her.

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances: Ch. 24: Important Questions (Wedding)

AO3

Prev

Marinette pouts from her spot on the couch, shoving another spoonful of cookie dough in her mouth. She makes her eyes as big as possible, channeling Manon as she tries to emulate the younger girls’ puppy dog eyes.

“Silena, your kid’s eyes are breaking my heart. Look at her!” Harley cries, pointing at Marinette’s face. Silena rolls her eyes.

“Don’t give in Harls, remember what happened the last time we watched it?” Silena reminds her, and Marinette resists the urge to huff at her soon-to-be stepmom. Or, bonus mom, as she’d taken to mentally calling her. Stepmom had such an unfair negative context thanks to fairytales, and she actually really liked Silena. Except in this one moment. At this moment, they were on opposite sides of the war.

“Please Auntie Harley! Please!” She begs again, sitting up so that she can make direct eye contact with the woman. If she was any good at the ‘Manon stare’ as she called it, then Harley would be giving up in 3, 2, 1-

“Okay! I give! Looks like we’re watching Mamma Mia next.” Harley calls out, leaning over to grab the remote and turn the movie on. Marinette grins widely, settling back on the couch and curling into Selina’s side. Selina huffs.

“You’re lucky I love you, kitten. Last time we watched this Harley got in trouble for her impromptu ABBA concerts.” She complains, and Marinette’s grin widens.

“Really?” She says, then she gasps as the best idea comes to mind. “I just realized something.”

“What is it kiddo?” Harley asks, popping a handful of Reese's Pieces in her mouth.

“You guys can be Donna and the Dynamos.” She says, before miming a small explosion. This was awesome! Amazing! She could- whoa. She could even design them a group outfit with the characters in mind. She could already imagine all the ways she could improve on the original design. Of course she’d keep the bell bottoms, they were a staple of the time. And she knew her bonus mom and aunts would rock a good pair of bell bottoms. The major changes would come with the material type, the colors, and the sleeves of the suits.

“If we perform another musical on a roof Batsy’s gonna get mad.” Harley says with a sigh. Marinette purses her lips as she thinks. She was technically already on thin ice. She’d stolen the Batmobile earlier in the week, and had managed to worm her way into regular patrols. Which was technically her dad’s fault, but he still looked frustrated the first night she walked down and asked who she was patrolling with. But she was finally patrolling with them regularly, even if it felt like she had a babysitter some of the time (all of the time). She was supposed to always be with her dad or Dick (apparently she’s not allowed to go out with just Jason or Damian because they caused ‘trouble’ when they were left unsupervised). So she went, but it was more stifling than patrols in Paris. Patrols which she’d had to lighten up on, with the lack of attacks and the way it tired out Kaalki before there was even an emergency. It was wrong. But if she kept one of Gotham’s former rogues off the crime path with catchy tunes and bell bottom pants, who was her dad to judge?

---

Apparently her dad wouldn’t judge. Dick on the other hand..

“How can you do this to me? This is an absolute, utter, complete, total-”

“Dick, calm down! What’s wrong, talk to me.” Marinette hushes her older brother, looking at him worriedly. He takes a deep breath.

“I can’t believe you would stoop so low. After the hurtful things you said about my discowing suit?” He sniffles, throwing a hand over his heart. Marinette blinks, then realizes what the man was talking about.

“Is this about the Donna and the Dynamos outfits that I designed for those girls?” Marinette asks frowning. Dick lets out a pained moan, contorting his face as if he was in actual pain.

“I thought you cared about me! I thought we were close!” He cries. Marinette huffs, shoving him lightly.

“If I designed your discowing suit, it wouldn’t have been godawful. We would have used the disco elements in a way that didn’t suck. Ya know, like I did with the Sirens’ outfits?” She says, patting his back. “Just because I hated your suit doesn’t mean I hate you.” She reassures him. Though the distressed groan he lets out lets her know that he’s still taking it to heart. Oops.

---

“Hey! I’m here. I brought ice cream, like Harley asked.” Marinette announces, using the key Silena had given her to get into the apartment. She frowns at the emptiness of the apartment. She’d never seen it so devoid of life. Someone (usually Harley) was always there to greet her and pick her up into a huge hug. Not today though, which put her on edge. Creeping forward slowly, she glances around the room, looking for any potential danger. Or clues on where the Sirens might be. Had they forgotten about her? Just as she’s about to text Silena, music seeps into the apartment and she tenses. Until she sees her bonus mom and aunts. In their Dynamo outfits. Performing “Super Trouper”. With choreography and everything. Marinette lets out a short laugh, grinning widely at the three who just laugh and continue singing.

“Cause somewhere in the crowd there’s you.” Selina sings, pointing dramatically at Marinette. Marinette runs over and stands next to Silena, moving quietly and copying their movements. She’s pleasantly surprised at the level that she’s able to keep up with them, laughing with glee as the song continues. Once it’s done, the three women wrap her in a hug and Marinette’s eyebrows furrowed together.

“Ya know, I love that I got to see the outfits in action and everything, but was there a reason for the dramatics?” Marinette asks with a teasing smile. Silena glances at the other two before nodding.

“Marinette, sweetheart, I wanted to ask if you would be one of the bridesmaids.” Silena says and Marinette freezes. She swears she bluescreens. Bridesmaid? Her? She’s a disaster. She can’t do anything right and then her dad and Silena will be upset with her but then they’ll get more disappointed at each other and when she tries to fix it they won’t let her and instead they’ll send her away and say they never wanna see her again because she’s an awful bridesmaid and-

“Kitten, I need you to breathe.” Silena’s voice breaks through the haze she’s found herself in. Marinette blinks slowly, trying to break herself out of whatever hell her mind had managed to suck her into today.

“Why me?” Is what’s able to escape her mouth. It’s the only question that is able to breath past the barrier that Marinette set up for herself.

“Because you’re my daughter, whether you like it or not. So I want you to be part of the wedding, more than just someone who shows up for the food in a fancy outfit. Though that can definitely be your motivator.” Silena says, looking slightly unsure as she watches Marinette’s face- probably looking for any visible cues of discomfort. Marinette grins widely before throwing herself forward, wrapping her arms around the older woman, melting in the arms of the woman who truly was her second mom. She sighs in content at how safe she feels, how at home she is. It was strange for her, how quickly Gotham had managed to worm its way into her soul. Strange, but definitely something that they would figure out. She had to. She refused to lose either side of her family- civilian or not.

Next

Tag list:  @maribat-bdbwm @vixen-uchiha @stainedglassm @liquid-luck-00 @laurcad123 @waiting247 @jayjayspixiepop @mizzy-pop @jjmjjktth @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @toodaloo-kangaroo @ritacrow-blog @deathssilentapproach-blog @kittenmywaythrulife @nerd-nowandforever @tazanna-blythe @jaybird-and-co @jumpingjoy82 @lady-bee-fechin @corporeal-terrestrial

[toomanyfandoms02]

Shameless // Fred Weasley

Summary - The gang challenges Fred and the Reader to fluster eachother after each being called shameless.

Word Count - 1.7k

I'm not gonna lie this was hot LMAOO

Fred and I were often compared to eachother. These were usually the words we were called

Outgoing

Spontaneous

Idiots

Humorous

Shameless

Pranksters

Delinquents

These were said by a mixture of people, but most knew us as best friends. I marched the halls with the twins every day, but everyone knew I was a just a little closer to Fred. There was just some connection there. A connection lots of people took out of context.

Sure, we flirted, but I flirt with a lot of people. Theres another word we were called, flirts! Though this had a good majority of my friends convinced that we were in love. It was at the point where people openly talked about it in front of us.

*"Nice ass Weasley!" I shouted as I entered the Great Hall. This drew a few eyes towards me, snickering. Fred turned around and looked to me, gesturing to his bum.*

*"Oh this old thing? Nothing compared to yours." I licked my finger and made a sizzle sound. Everyone was right, we really had no shame.*

And that's what my friends were on about at the moment. A big group of us were sitting in the Gryffindor common room. This included Harry, Hermione, Ron, the twins, Seamus, Dean, Angelina, and Ginny.

"You two flirt all the time without getting all ruffled. How do you do it?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know, it's just how we are I guess." I shrugged to Fred as I answered. He nodded in agreement.

"Matter of fact, I don't think I've ever seen either of you flustered." Dean butted in.

"I say we change that." George said with a simple nod. Fred looked at him with furrowed brows. "I say we challenge them!" It was clear that not one person in the room knew what George was on about, so he continued. "Alright see, I give them 3 days to see who can fluster who first. One of us has to see it though, to know it happened. Can the unflusterables fluster one another you think?" Georges arms were crossed at his chest cockily.

"I think that's a brilliant idea." Hermione agreed.

"That's easy, I'll totally win. I have no shame, no embarrassment." Fred announced with glee.

"We will see about that." I smiled at him with one eyebrow raised.

*Oh its on.*

After barely an hour of thinking about this whole challenge alone in my dorm, I realized that I walked myself right into failure. It wasnt that I though Fred could win, it was that I *knew* I would lose. In the way that I had never really charmed any boy. I didn't have anything up my sleeve. I was really just going to have to wing it.

That being said, Fred was quite the charmer. It was hilarious watching 1st years see him for the first time and swoon over him. Pulling girls in with simple winks and little waves across the room.

But now it was dinner time, so I see this as round one to this weird challenge George has concocted.

I made sure to make my way into the Great Hall nearly unnoticed, walking in with a sea of other students. I immediately spotted Fred and made a beeline towards him. Some of the group spotted me but said nothing, letting me go with my improvised plan.

I stood right behind Fred, reaching my hand into his hair and running my fingers though it. He turned his head slightly to see me.

"Hello love." He smiled at me sweetly. I continued, wrapping my arms around his neck lightly and leaning down so my chin was rested on his shoulder.

"You're hair is so soft." He turned his face to mine, our noses almost bumping.

"Thanks sweet cheeks." He put a small kis on my nose which made me smile, sitting next to him after.

"Nothing? Really? No blushy cheeks, or stuttered speech?" Angelina was flabbergasted clearly, her hands gesturing wildly in the air as she spoke.

"I honestly don't know if it's possible." George shrugged. "I just thought it would be interesting if it was."

"Oh I've got plans don't worry, this sexy ass will be blushing to the moon and back when I'm done with her." Fred looked down to me, smirking. He gave a challenging face.

"I know your deepest darkest secrets Weasley. Don't test me." I raised my eyebrow cockily as the whole group just stared puzzled.

"I wish I could talk to Cho like that." Harry huffed, earning a laugh from most of the group. (Aside from Ginny, who I was quick to tap her hand under the table at the comment. She had told me weeks ago how agonizing she felt.)

Later that night a good portion of the gang was hanging out in the common room again. I had just walked through the entryway and saw Fred sitting on the couch. As soon as we made eye contact he patted his lap. All heads whipped my way. I walked over and sat right on his lap, making myself comfortable. He grabbed my face lightly and put a small kiss on my jaw.

"Where were you love, we missed you." The few first years that had joined whatever conversation was going on looked as if they were going to be sick.

"Just went on a walk handsome." Everyone shook their heads with disappointed looks.

"Nothing, seriously?" Hermione laughed in disbelief. The youngins asked about the situation and it was explained to them. They all giggled about it for a while as we watched. Soon Fred was leaned very close to my ear.

"You should just give up now beautiful, you know you're going to lose." He whispered ever so lightly in my ear. I pushed his face away from mine so his ear was towards me.

"Really cute of you to think so." I whispered back. That was the last we spoke that night seeing as it was 10 pm.

I woke up the next morning hearing giggles from Hermione and Angelina. I sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes. They got very quite as they saw me waking up.

"What are you two up to?" They looked down at the books they had in their hands, ignoring me. Just then I heard our shared bathroom open, seeing Fred come out wearing only a towel hanging low on his waist. I looked him up and down with a smile. "Not bad Weasley. Working out lately?"

I would never admit it outloud, but this one almost got me. He's only in a damn towel. I mean come on, everyone found Fred attractive.

Right?

"Yeah. Maybe you can try this whole thing in my dorm later? Maybe surprise me?" He winked and left the room quickly.

"Hey! Get your arse back here, that's my towel!" The girls followed us close behind, peaking out of the door to watch us in the hallway between the rest of the dorms.

"Oh you want it back? Her you go love." He pulled it right off his body and handed it to me. I knew if I closed my eyes, or covered them, they would count it as a loss for me. So I just maintained eye contact with him and yanked it from his hands. "Nervous?" He squinted at me. Man was the boy lucky there was not one else in these halls at 6 am.

"Never." I replied with a smile and turned away, walking back into the dorm. "Nice try ladies!" I dropped the towel in our hamper and they fell back onto Hermiones bed with a loud groan.

Later that day Hermione, Fred, George, me, Dean and Seamus had free time in Care of Magical Creatures.

"He was literally naked in front of her and she didn't even blink." Mione deadpanned.

"Maybe it's because shes seen it before." Fred elbowed my side.

"You wish." I rolled my eyes.

"Maybe I do." He stared daggers into my eyes.

"At this point I feel like even if you guys made out nothing would happen." George shrugged. This gave everyone a collective evil smile.

"Oh are we doing that now?" I asked as nonchalant as possible. Even with my heart racing a mile a second. Fred looked at me with confusion. "Unless you're too pussy." That wiped the confusion off his face.

"Nope." He grabbed my face and pulled it inches from his.

"I'm just going to warn you, I've never kissed, let alone made out with, a boy before. So I apologize in advance." I laugh-whispered to him, pushing my lips onto his. I grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him closer, running my hands through his hair.

His hand traced my jaw with one hand and the other was gripped to my hair.

"Pretty good for never kissing anyone, you sure you arent lying?" He said quietly in between kisses.

"I would never lie to you." He took my open mouth as an opportunity to use his tongue and deepen the kiss. I was ready to give up at this point, this boy was unknowingly ruining me. "Would you ever lie to me?" More questions between kisses.

"Never."

"You like me don't you?" His nose bumped with mine at the question. Starting to kiss up my jaw near my ear.

"Of course love." He laughed lightly, pulling back from the kiss. We turned back to the group which was a mixture of disgust, confusion, and knowing glances.

"Seemed like a lot of whispers for just making out don't you think?" Georges arms were crossed over his chest. We both shrugged.

"Sometimes friends just make out." I admitted, which was a very obvious lie.

"So you would make out with me then?" George challenged. Fred grabbed my waist and pulled me closer to him with a glare to George.

"I think I won in a different way than anticipated." George smirked. "So are you guys going to get together or what?" Everyone nodded.

"Was that what this bullshit was about?" Fred asked loudly.

"Yeah of course. Two dimwits you are, walked right into it." Hermione shook her head. Fred grabbed my hand and squeezed it, making me blush furiously.

"I win!" He pointed to my heated cheeks.

"Shut up ares hole." I elbowed his side lightly.

"It didnt even take 3 days!" George cheered.

*Boy are we going to have some stories when we get older.*

[tuiyla]

Glee covers that recontextualized the original song

[originally on r/glee]

So I think that the best thing a show like Glee can do to a song is use the original meaning and transform it into something different and hopefully meaningful to the context of its characters. We all know that out of the 700 or so songs covered a lot were just cash grabs, covering what's popular to chart and get that iTunes money. But there were also some that were genuinely poignant to the characters and the storylines or just in general special in their own way. Recontextualisation can mean a lot of things and most GCVs are transforming the original just by virtue of existing within the narrative of the show but I'm looking for Glee versions that really feel like they elevate the song in some way, like they make you look at it in a different way.

I'll share a few examples that have been on my mind but I'm sure there are many, many more, so please do add your own and explain it in as much detail as you'd like, I'd love to hear your faves. I've chosen three solos and, as a preamble, I'm usually not a huge fan of solos as a type of cover on Glee. They were far more common than duets or group numbers but I think a solo has to work harder, in a way, to justify its existence as a cover. At least if you cover what was originally a solo as a duet or group number, you can play with several voices and the distribution of parts and create meaning through that. This really is just imo but I think a solo needs to have at least some form of recontextualization to make me care that a new singer is now covering it.

Luckily this does happen often in Glee and without further ado, here are just three examples that are my favourites/have been on my mind recently.

I Want to Hold Your Hand

I just rewatched "Grilled Cheesus" today so I have very fresh memories of this Kurt performance. Originally, it's a pretty straightforward Beatles song with some generic lyrics and a pleasant melody - Beatles fans don't come for me, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with generic. It's a pretty tame love song and not so overtly romantic that it'd be weird for a song to sing it about a hospitalized father. In fact, it even has that soft quality that makes it pretty wholesome.

The recontextualisation, for me, comes in when we consider what holding his father's hand means to Kurt versus what it meant for the Beatles as a tame love song. It's no longer about this most innocent of physical contacts between lovers but the desperate cry of a boy who wants his father to squeeze his hand back. It's still about intimacy, in a way, but it's now about a familial bond and the need for someone to hold us and say it's gonna be okay.

There's one line in particular why this got stuck in my head and even made me write this post now, despite having been thinking about the other two examples for months and months. It's this part:

Oh, please, say to me

You'll let me be your man

As I was crying my eyes out watching flashbacks of the Hummels, this part struck me as particularly emotional in the context of their relationship. We get the feeling that before the series' start the relationship between father and son is somewhat distant. Don't get me wrong, Burt has always looked after Kurt and tried his best but prior to Kurt officially coming out and the two actively working on this relationship it was an uneasy dynamic. They've been getting better and trying more and it's wonderful to witness, but they both occasionally struggle with navigating their father-son bond in a homophobic world where Kurt is constantly being put down and Burt tried to unlearn harmful ideas he grew up with. As we see in season 1, there's tension between the two when it comes to this concept of The Son who learns from The Father, and I'm being dramatic with the capitalization but that's because these are larger themes they're working with. Conflict arises when Kurt feels like Burt is getting the father-son bonding they never did with Finn and, even though Burt doesn't want him to feel this way, there's a sense that Kurt isn't manly enough to be his boy. It's not their individual fault but it's a shitty thing regardless that Kurt doesn't always feel like he's the son whom his father wanted, like he can't grow into the man he wanted.

So when Kurt sings, "let me be your man", it's such a small thing in this already emotionally charged performance but it alone is enough to make me reconsider the whole song. Because Kurt wants nothing more than to be able to hold his dad's hand again and maybe even be the one who says it's all gonna be okay this time. He wants Burt to live long enough to see him become a man.

If I Were a Boy

That Kurt section was longer than intended so let's see how much I've got to say about Unique, lol. Alex Newell's voice is such that a Unique solo was bound to end up as one of my favourites in the entire show but I'm really glad the character was allowed not only stunning vocals but narratively important songs. There are many interpretations to every song, but the way I see it Beyoncé's original version is about femininity and the double standards women face. It's about trying to challenge people, specifically men to change perspective. It's essentially a thought experiment about gender-swapping and it tells the story of misfortune on a small and personal scale.

Now think about it in the context of Unique's character. Particularly in the episode "The End of Twerk" but really throughout her run on the show, Unique struggles with misgendering and flat-out transphobia. She's not always recognized for the woman she is, challenged about her gender identity, challenged about her right to exist, really. So it's in that context that we're giving "If I Were a Boy", a song about hypothetical gender-swapping, to Unique, a trans woman. When Unique sings about the double standards between genders, it hits different because she knows what it feels like to be perceived as a man and it wasn't true to who she was. Instead of challenging an unfaithful partner, Unique is challenging anyone listening to see that yes, it is different for men and women and it makes all the difference for her when people recognize and respect her as not just a boy but a woman. A woman who didn't choose to be one and didn't choose to have transphobia and gendered double standards be imposed on her.

I think that Unique's version still has that underlying plea of asking men to consider how it feels but it just has so many more layers now because of her identity and journey. She's speaking as someone who has been seen as a boy before but also as someone who is a woman and knows how tough it can be. We see some great acting through song from Alex Newell as they tear up during the performance without taking it too far and making it melodramatic. Instead, the heartbreak of this cover lies in its simplicity. As the song ends, it's ultimately that last line that keeps haunting me:

But you're just a boy...

Because that's what Unique's been told over and over again, and that's a kind of meaning that never would have been there in the original version.

Mine

This really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's heard me go on about, well, any aspect of this whole scene. I'll try to keep it brief and we'll see how it goes. So with this one, Taylor Swift has spoken on several occasions about the idea behind the original song and I'm sure any Swiftie could do a much better job of explaining that context than I could here. For the purposes of this post, let's consider Taylor's version as a song about a could-be, a potential future that plays out with all the ups and downs and the hope of making it work despite everything that could stand in its way. Honestly there's way more to be said about the original song but for now really just leave it at "ultimately hopeful love story about a future together."

So what does Santana Lopez do, she uses it as a breakup song. It's a serenade to Brittany reminiscent of "Songbird", except that was before a proper relationship between the two even formed and now here they are, at a painful end. It's a slower and more melancholic version of the song and that alone means it's different but there are so many layers to what makes "Mine" such a transformative cover and a very, very strong contender for my favourite Glee cover of all time. One, it's how Santana seems to use it to lament about their past and the future she imagined they would have but they might never get to experience. As Brittany says, she turns it into a sad song while the original was really more hopeful than anything. Two, Naya Rivera's acting once again shines as she conveys all the emotions she needs to while doing nothing more than sitting there and facing the girl she loves, in the room where they fell in love. Even without watching the performance, even if you just listen to the studio version you can hear the pain behind her words and how difficult this decision to end things is for her.

Those two aspects would already be enough and I could talk much more about both the context of the song and Naya's vocals and acting, but I also want to focus on a third aspect. Much like with the first two songs, there's a particular bit in the song that cements it as a recontextualised one in my mind. Said bit in "Mine" is when the song switches perspective and the lyric changes to quoting this lover Taylor imagined a future with. Some of it is cut in the episode version but my favourite part made it in:

You said, "I remember how we felt, sitting by the water

(And every time I look at you, it's like the first time

I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter)

She is the best thing that's ever been mine"

Words cannot express how much I love this but I'll try anyway. So once again there are several layers, and the one that strikes me the most is the pronoun. "Mine" is a not very gendered song save for a few words here and there and the most we get is that the singer is a woman because of this quote part that's from the lover's perspective. When Taylor sings "she" and when Santana sings "she", we understand that they're talking about themselves through the lovers' lens. But I love it so much when Glee does the pronoun change thing and though that's not quite what happens here, I think it's important to highlight this one line and one word nonetheless. Because of the way Naya sings it, putting some slight emphasis on "she is the best thing" and the way the whole scene is structured, Glee doesn't have to touch the lyrics for us to still understand that this is transformed and it's Santana talking about Brittany. She is the best thing that's ever been hers and she'll always love her the most. And do you believe it now? Even though they're breaking up, they'll make it somehow.

[majortuttle]

ficlet idea: bj's reaction to hawk returning to the 4077 after the episode 'Hawkeye'

A nurse could be doing this. Hawkeye’s concussed, clearly, but the stitches, the examination, there are a dozen tasks better suited to BJ’s talents. A dozen more still thanks to Hawkeye’s walkabout turned misadventure. BJ tries to muster the ire Frank had been so quick to show — the man’s temporary glee at being free of his nemesis had colored the OR the whole afternoon — but BJ’s too relieved to be here to let anyone else handle the minor details of Hawkeye Pierce.

“I had to keep talking to stay awake,” Hawkeye says, the volume of his admission tempered by the hoarseness of his voice as his head bobs, nearly slipping out of BJ’s grip. “Did everything I could think of. Sang. Danced. I think there was some Hamlet in there. They didn’t speak a lick of English and my Korean is limited to, what, a couple of jokes? How long have I been here? Even Trapper learned enough to get by and here I am . . . Some, bloodied American rambling nonsensically. I scared them, Beej. I know I did.”

“You scared me.” BJ chides gently, snatching a wet sponge to dab away a spot of fresh blood from Hawkeye’s hairline. “Frank had the whole compound thinking you were six feet under. It’s nice to know you were just cavorting across the foothills honing your one-man show.”

BJ can’t say where his candid tone is coming from. There are snakes twisting around in his gut and he could lean into the garbage at this very moment to expel butterflies from his stomach. He’s been living in a hell of MacArthur’s making for the last twelve hours, and in that state of terror, BJ had shaken something loose. A deep, painful sense of loss, of regret; not just at the fear of losing a friend, or a colleague — this feeling was as old and familiar the context was new and distressing.

“Not you though, right?” Hawkeye mumbles, leaning ever so slightly into the hand BJ’s got over the the back of skull. ‘You knew I‘d come home intact. Mostly intact. I do think I few marbles got knocked out of me.”

“We’ll find your marbles, Hawk,” BJ shifts his weight to follow their new position and manages to tie off the silk before Hawkeye decides to surprise him; leaning back a touch to take a look at his woozy bunkmate.

“I wish you’d been there,” Hawkeye turns his chin up to stare at BJ, eyes bright and heavily lidded with all the madness of doctor with a head injury. “You’d have had us out of there in no time. Had me patched up — all you’d have had to do was kiss it better and I’d have been on my merry way.”

BJ’s mouth goes dry and every muscle in his body tenses. “Not sure I’ve been trained to do that, Hawk.”

”Oh, it’s easy, watch,” Hawkeye lifts BJ’s hand, the one that only moment’s ago had been wielding a needle, and presses his lips to lips to the webbed skin between BJ’s index finger and thumb. “See?”

“I’m not wounded.”

”Didn’t you go to medical school?” Hawkeye gasps, through the exaggerated motion is too much and he immediately winces. “You don’t operate on a patient day one.”

“This is training?”

“Yes.”

BJ takes Hawkeye’s free hand, the one not still holding him hostage, contemplates long fingers of a surgeon’s hands, attorney’s fees, and tearful confessions over shattered wedding china.

Then, he recalls Frank Burns rattling off the many ways Hawkeye Pierce could have been erased from BJ’s world only a few short hours ago.

He presses his lips to the back on Hawkeye’s hand, holding eye contact as Hawkeye watches; the delighted, lopsided smile on his face falling ever-so-slightly as BJ holds himself steady.

”Is that enough practice? Think I’m ready to kiss it better?”

Hawkeye blinks owlishly, clearly dazed beyond the excuse of a head injury.

BJ doesn’t wait for an answer, he leans down and presses a kiss to Hawkeye’s hairline, an inch shy of the fresh sutures. Even with the scrub-down Able had given Hawkeye, BJ can smell the salt on his skin.

“. . . It’s not better yet.” BJ pulls back, breaking their contact, but he‘s close enough to feel Hawkeye’s voice as he speaks. “The whole point is to kiss it better.”

Where do you hurt? Here?”

Another kiss to Hawkeye’s hairline. Then, one to his forehead.

“Beej.”

“Oh. You mean here.”

BJ takes Hawkeye’s chin and guides his face up, locking eyes briefly before taking Hawkeye’s lips with a gentleness reserved for schoolyard crushes and first loves. He can’t help himself.

“You’re concussed.” BJ tells him, offering an out even as he drags his thumb along Hawkeye’s reddened lip, unable to think of an excuse for the action beyond simply wanting to commit the sensation to memory.

“No, I’m alive.” Hawkeye smiles, fisting his hand in BJ’s white coat, “Thanks for the tune up, Doc. I feel much better.”

“Anytime.”

“Anytime?”

BJ considers an answer that’ll keep them both happy and keep the situation from escalating. He can’t find anything of merit.

“Whenever you need me, Hawk,” he affirms, desperately hoping the man before him will remember the taste of BJ on his lips in the morning. “Really. Anytime at all.”

[coricomile]

Tagged by @darkangel0410! I feel like it’s the old days of LJ again and I am so pleased.

Where do you publish your work?

AO3. Branding is secure- Coricomile over there, too. I do wish I hadn’t deleted my LJ some days, or that I could recover it. A lot of bb me’s history has been lost and I regret that.

What medium/application/etc. do you write in or with?

Google Docs. I am an avid “write on the phone when you think of stuff” author and it’s easy to swap between phone and laptop. Plus, it makes it infinitely easier for betas.

Do you collaborate with others?

For bangs, mostly. I’d love to do more active collabs like I once did with He Who Will Not Be Named for Bandom, but it’s gotten much harder to forge those kinds of bonds. For me at least.

How much editing do you do before you publish?

If it’s an exchange or a bang- you know, something for someone- I’ll reach out for a beta and sometimes an alpha reader. If it’s just something I’ve written for me, I’ll do a readthrough and a SPAG check, but boy I always notice those typos I missed when I read the fic back a year or so later. /o\

Do you listen to music when you write?

Usually. It’s hard for me to focus if I don’t have noise happening in the background. I don’t really do playlists or ~themes. It’s mostly just my massive “every song I’ve ever liked” playlist on shuffle.

How do you decide what to write about?

Brain bugs. I’ll watch something and think “blorbos could do that this way…” or just be minding my own business and think “hey, what if x did y?”. My ideas are mostly plucked from nowhere and pound at the brain door until I write them down.

When do you write?

When I’ve got the spoons. It’s been like pulling teeth recently, so not as much as I used to. Sometimes the words just trip over each other until they’re fully out and sometimes I have to use a sledgehammer. I’m currently in sledgehammer mode and it is my least favorite way to write.

How often do you write?

See above about spoons, but also when I have an idea that’s hit me just right.

Do you take requests? Why/why not?

I do :D They rarely ever come in, but I adore them. It’s flattering to know someone wants to know your take on a prompt and I do so much better when I have a person waiting for something than if I’m the person I’m writing for. @darkangel0410 commissioned a few Bandom fics back in the day, and they’re some of the ones I’m proudest of.  

Is there any genre or type of story you want to write but are hesitant to?

Eh. I’ve covered a pretty broad spectrum over my writing history. I love horror and thrillers, but I have a bit of a stumble as I’m writing because *I* know the twists so they seem *super* obvious, but I get a ton of glee when I’ve surprised a reader.

Any inspirational quotes, videos, tricks, articles, etc. that help you stay motivated?

Mostly a deadline. Not very inspirational, lol, but it works for me.

Go to page 7 of your WIP, skip to the 7th line, and share 7 sentences.

Ahahaha, the 7th of 7th is smack dab in the middle of a porn scene, so we’re modifying a bit:

Without Dean, the capsule toys weren't worth the money spent. Neither were the tattoos, really. Not when he had to wash them off before he could show them off, or when the thin film would tear because he'd had to twist his arm too far to reach. Those went first, followed by the telenovelas.

He couldn’t speak Spanish very well, but he could understand basic sentences. If he really focused, he could follow along with what was happening in the moment, if not the general plot, but without the context it didn't make any sense anyway. A few times he turned to the seat next to him to ask about one of Dean’s characters when a familiar favorite face showed up, mouth closing before he had the chance to speak to thin air.

Tagging: @samshinechester @compo67@itstartledme Uh. Also more folks that want to play :D