#The Woodcutter's Wife

[penguinofspades]

One interesting thing I noticed about Hansel and Gretel is that they have parallels to their parents: Hansel is paralleled by the Woodcutter's Wife and Gretel is paralleled by the Woodcutter.

Hansel and the Woodcutter's Wife are both the clever and scheming one in their respective duos who try to find a way to survive. But while Hansel tries to find a way for both him and his sister to survive, the Woodcutter's Wife is willing to abandon two children in the forest just to improve her chances of survival.

Gretel and the Woodcutter are both the more emotional and sensitive one of their respective duos who rely on their brother and wife respectively. But while Gretel is able to become more independent as a result of her encounter with the Witch, The Woodcutter is a selfish coward who never grows a backbone.

[nidbaesenpai]

Viet blasts Loop as well ✨✨✨

[lordkingsmith]

I see we have entered into a new phase of aesthetics. Which comes with the addition of my pointing at the background boys thinking "COTTAGE CORE!!!!" while lying on the floor pointing at the girlies in your icon whispering "babies...precious babies..."

Which really all just amounts to:

the background is cottagecore handsome boys that are both unbelievably pro-murder and then my icon are sweeties who are trying to be far tougher than they are but should still be handled carefully. in short, I am ushering in my 'I am kind, I am good, but I am not nice and don't mix those up :)'

thank you ^-^

half the reason I wanna make a movie; so I can promptly crossover everyone and make them queer af. and then marah and kapri are just a mood. gotta combine the moods somehow lolololol

[favourite-character-competition]

Women who have wronged competition

what they did wrong (spoilers):

The woodcutters wife: left her kids in the woods to figure it out

Mary: Killed a guy to take his place and become a real girl

[shawty-writes-a-little]

don’t ever let go

꒰ erik lensherr x fem!reader ꒱ؘ ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

.𖥔 ݁ 🪐˖ word count: 2.2k+

⌞ plot: sort of hurt comfort when erik finds his rather irritable posing s/o going through a nightmare ⌝

warnings: nightmares, angst sort of (fluff end dw)?

People with contradictory world view and general thinking are bound to be engaged in petty disagreements. As strongly opinionated as Erik was he never got along with one certain mutant. Erik and y/n, always fighting, at each other’s throats. Most times they were rather entertaining scene creators at the Xavier’s institute, clashes were famous with the most colourful language used amongst the students. However Charles grew tired of this, best minds he knew were always bickering and fighting. Petty fights and little grudges turn ugly if pit against each other on battleground. God forbid that situation ever arises but Charles bad seen enough falling apart within his own to know how much could go wrong.

So, to get them along he paired the two to gather intel on some government bills at the procession gala held at Berlin. He was persuasive but not god, after all it was the hardest task in the world to get erik and y/n sit for dinner at the same table let alone go halfway across the world and pose as a couple, stay in one place and not blow cover? Charles came with the most believable persuading story as he could, lied the Oval Office asked for the two to specifically attend the mission this and that and it was a long afternoon trying to convince the two but the professor won in the end.

-

That is how Erik and her ended up in Berlin, the moment they were alone, not posing anymore their smiles and in-love act completely dropped. Shutting the hotel door behind him Erik sighed. It was a whole week of these galas and charity events, back from their first one and y/n was already growing tired of Erik. “You know I kind of hated how you manhandled me back there.��� She complained as she leaned on the wall for support and removed her heels.

“What?” He asked confused as he removed his blazer and draped it on the sofa chair “What are you talking about I did no such thing” he said not exactly recalling anything like that.

“You said something to that senator in French and then grabbed me close to you to kiss my forehead like I was on the run from you-who does that?” Y/n said, she didn’t speak French so she didn’t understand what the conversation was on about regardless the moment she recalled, she wasn’t even standing that far away for him for him to yank her close to him like that.

“A husband?” Erik said raising brows as he exaggerated in obviousness removing his cufflinks.

“With the grace of a woodcutter?” She scoffed as she rolled her eyes at him, it’s not like she minded that, the two posed like that the entire night at the event it’s just that erik would time and time loose his cool and she didn’t want any casualties further into these galas “it would look like I’m your hostage instead of wife can’t you try and look gentler somehow?”

“You just made that up.” Erik said as he shook his head disregarding her suggestion “The senator made a rather vulgar comment about you in French by the way, instead of adding to it I held you close. Would you rather I laugh along with him and appear rather crass?”

“you can try but you can’t really change what you are” Y/n mumbled with a stifled chuckle at her own jab as she stood by the dressing table mirror removing her jewellery.

“I heard that.” He responded giving her a disappointed look but she just laughed at it anyways. He changed out of his shirt as they’d conversed. Not engaging in silly debates anymore y/n went to the adjoining bathroom to change out of her dress.

Erik worked on gathering some background on the guests of the events they’d met and conversed with, information in context of intel they had so far whilst y/n updated Charles via a long email, two emails, one of the intel and other how much insufferable Erik was.

Their third day in Berlin went remotely same, night however was about to be different. Y/n was settling their bed, the first two nights they took turns on the sofa but it turned out to be very uncomfortable to sleep in so they decided to share the bed. Erik glanced up from his laptop as y/n was setting up a pillow wall on the bed “That is so childish.” He commented.

“Yeah yeah” y/n said as she rolled her eyes, making clear partition of the bed. “Do not invade my side alright?”

Erik couldn’t help but laugh at the use of ‘invade’ “Wouldn’t dream of it.” He said as he turned his attention back to the laptop. He decided to stay up rather late that night even after y/n retreated to bed. He would joke that it was easier to work after she was sleep and before she was awake as if he secretly didn’t hate the absence her ramblings brought.

An hour or so had passed, Y/n was sound asleep as he decided to wind up. He left to clean the desk, brush his teeth and wind down. When he came to bed he was met with y/n mumbling in her sleep, tossing and turning on her side of the bed.

His gaze softened when he realised she might be going through a nightmare. It seemed difficult, whatever she was seeing, he couldn’t understand her words but he caught a few pleading syllables here and there. “y/n…hey wake up” he cooed softly as he tried to wake her up, he gently placed his hands on her shoulder. “Hey-you’re just dreaming y/n…wake up.” He spoke and she got up almost instantly, breathing heavily.

She sat up trying to get used to the surroundings again, always the same thing. She hated when those dreams resurfaced revolving around her most despised horror. Erik had heard from Charles of what she’d been through when she was new, he didn’t know she was impacted to this scale. “Are you alright?” His voice arose another bad feeling inside of her. She didn’t want to be perceived as a weakling in front of him. When they’d argue he’d often call her that, not that she wouldn’t call him worse back but she would hate if he found out about this ordeal. She didn’t want to appear weak.

Getting out of the bed hurriedly she rushed to the table stand, feeling a bit dizzy after how fast she stood up and how fast she was trying to comprehend everything. She tried to pour herself a glass of water shakily. Her train of thoughts ran as she tried not to have a break down, her heart beat fast from the visuals of the nightmare still fresh in her mind. Erik was quick to pace up to her “Hey look at me” he spoke taking the jug of water out of her hands given she was struggling to pour it properly.

“Are you alright?” Erik repeated his question and he could note how she was still too shaken to answer correctly and fine enough.

“Y-yeah-“ she could muster out as she tried to level her breathing which didn’t seem to work apparently.

“Y/n.” He spoke leaning lower to meet her eyes since she avoided eye contact with him, “look at me” he spoke as he placed comforting hands by biceps to hold her upright. “Deep breaths with me, come on.” He spoke as he guided her to sit on the edge of the bed. He rubbed her back as she was still slightly trembling guiding her to breathe evenly.

After a few moments when she tried to fake the best proper composure she could she nodded, “I’m alright thanks” she said very softly afraid she might tear up any moment. Ever so tired and scared of her recurring nightmares, just when she thought it was getting better. Why would it not leave her alone? Why couldn’t she move past it?

Erik wasn’t a mind reader but the look on her face read enough for him at the moment, “y/n” he sighed “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I said it’s fine-“ she said with an exhale however her breaking voice and avoiding stare said something else. She couldn’t hold it back anymore as the brimming tears surfaced out of her eyes. She held her head in her hands weeping into them. Erik didn’t say anything as he wrapped his arm around her in a comforting manner, “I-I’m not this soft alright I’m not-I’m not weak” she told him like she had to justify her crying.

“Hey hey hey-“ he cooed as he pulled away just to see her face again, “who says you’re weak? This is completely alright.” He reasoned with her as she cried.

“No I—I just-“ she didn’t exactly know how well she could phrase this out for him. How much terrified she was of what she kept seeing in her dream, from her past, haunting her again and again and how much she didn’t want him to think she was this much of a mess.

“You are not weak, y/n. You are anything but weak. It’s difficult going through a nightmare but you’re really strong, you made out of it see” he talked to her patiently in a very encouraging manner as he wiped her tears with his sleeve.

“It felt so real-“ she choked up as she tried her best to stop crying, Erik took her into his arms, giving her a hug as he spoke sweet nothings to him.

She cried and trembled in his arms unable to speak coherently until she soothed her crying, he held her throughout it. “I am just so tried Erik…” she said as he pulled away to look at her face.

He removed the hair in front of her face, tucking it behind her ear, “is it always this bad?” He asked her, feeling really awful how much she’d had gone through already and even then in sleep she wasn’t left alone of it. Y/n nodded as she wiped the tears off her face, she wasn’t so phased by ‘this’ bad given she was used to them now.

“Is it frequent?” He asked, his softened gaze holding her trouble one.

“Not as frequent but-it comes and goes, I just can’t escape it.” She said with a dejected sigh. “I am used to it I just wish I was—properly used to it. I wish I wasn’t this affected…”

“Nobody should have to be used to this y/n it’s difficult, really difficult.” He told her as he held her hands in his softly. “It’s bound to affect you, in the worst way it’s made you…you. Surely doesn’t define you but it defines your strength, your courage. You are truly strong.”

“But I’m afraid Erik” she told him looking away, “I am exhausted of being this afraid.”

“And that’s fine.” He replied holding her hands in his a little tighter to impose the exaggeration of his words, “It takes strength to keep going, even more to be afraid and still keep going and you have done that job very well y/n.” He spoke as he kissed her forehead with a comforting smile adorning his face, reflecting how proud he was she made it through. “Let me help you?”

Y/n took a deep breath as she nodded, she felt rather safe in his help. In his presence and his touch, it was as comforting as it was safe. He helped her through that night, holding her close staying awake until she eventually fell asleep in his arms and he didn’t want to ever let go.

—

HIIII I hope you have a good day pls pls pls let me know if anyone wants to read more erik pieces! Requests are open too🕺

Feed back is desperately appreciated :)

Go drink water. Now. Or you will stub your toe in a corner in the next 10 seconds.

[pompomqt]

Journey to the West Chapter 59

Welcome back to this week's chapter of Journey to the West with @journeythroughjourneytothewest. This week we get to continue our ongoing segment of Sun Wukong getting into trouble with members of the Bull Demon King Family. So let's get into it shall we?

So the gang is traveling along, and soon enough autumn once again comes along. However, it's feeling rather hot for this time of year, which- mood. The gang debates why this might be for a while, before Tripitaka finally just sends Monkey to ask one of the locals about it. So Monkey asks one of the locals to tell them where they are, and also if there is any particular reason for the extreme heat, you know- since global warming wasn't really a problem yet in the 7th century. And after the usual song and dance about how the disciples are so ugly and frightening, but Tripitaka's pretty boy face is enough to make up for, the random villager invites them inside for tea and exposition.

Turns out they are currently in the region known as The Mountain of Flames- aptly named after the on fire mountain that is right in the middle of their path westward. While Tripitaka is waiting for the latest bad news to finish sinking in, Monkey spots someone selling rice-puddings, and transforms one of his hairs into a coin to buy one. The rice pudding is super hot, so while Monkey tosses it from hand to hand like a hot potato while waiting for it to cool off, Monkey asks how they get any farming done under these conditions.

So the rice peddler tells them that there is an Immortal Iron-Fan who has a palm-leaf fan that can extinguish the fire with one wave, summon a breeze on the second, and on the third wave it summons rain. The times when the Immortal does this are when they can get all their farming done.

After hearing this Monkey goes back to Tripitaka and hands him the rice pudding to eat while he asks their current host where the Immortal Iron-fan lives. The villager tries to tell them that asking for the fan won't be easy, since they don't even have any offerings for the Immortal, but Monkey is insistent. So the villager tells him that they live on Jade Cloud Mountain in a cave called Palm-Leaf Cave, about 1450 miles away from here. Now that he has directions, Monkey decides to take the trip to ask for the fan. The villager tries to offer Monkey provisions for what will surely be a long and hard Journey, but Monkey just waves him off saying he's fine and takes off in a cloud somersault.

So Monkey fast travels to the mountain, but decides to gather some last minute information before going to the Immortal. Monkey spots a local wood cutter and asks for where the Palm-Leaf cave of Immortal Iron-Fan is. The Woodcutter doesn't quite know of an Immortal Iron-Fan, does he mean Princess Iron-Fan instead? You know- wife of the Bull Demon King?

Monkey, who has ran out of hope of previously being sworn brothers with the Bull Demon King getting him any special treatment in this family around the second time he had to fight a member- isn't overly pleased to hear this. Monkey isn't overly optimistic about his chances for negotiating for the fan, but decides to give a shot anyways.

So Monkey makes his way to the cave and bangs on the door, asking for the Bull Demon King to come out. Instead a young servant girl opens the door, so Monkey asks the girl to announce him to Princess Iron Fan. So she asks for his name to pass along to the Princess and Monkey tells her he's a priest from the land of the east called Sun Wukong. So the girl goes back inside and tells Princess Iron fan that a monk by the name of Sun Wukong is hear to ask to borrow the Palm-Leaf Fan.

Unsurprisingly, upon hearing this the Princess flies into a rage, and gets dressed in her armor before going out to meet him, weapons in hand. Unable to read the mood, Monkey politely greets her as 'sister in law', and tries the whole 'I had an alliance with the Bull Demon King five hundred years ago' spiel one more time. The Princess however doesn't care about any of that, what she wants to know is why Monkey got her son in trouble. Monkey tries to explain that RedBoy started it by trying to eat his master, and honestly he's in a much better position serving Guanyin now a days anyways, so really he did him a favor. However the Princess is still upset, since even though her son wasn't killed, she is still unable to even visit him now.

Monkey tries to suggest a compromise, if she loans him the fan, then after he puts out the fire he'll pay Guanyin a visit and bring RedBoy here so she can see how well he's doing herself, and he'll return the fan to her at the same time. Which I personally find a pretty fair offer, it's nice to see Monkey trying to work things out through negotiation rather then jumping straight to violence. However the Princess offers a compromise- he should instead just stand there and let her hack him up with her sword, and if he can endure it she'll lend him the fan- if not, well he'll be dead anyways and no longer her problem I guess.

Monkey is more then happy to agree to this new deal, and honestly, getting whacked a few times with a sword is probably easier for him then going all the way to Guanyin for a visit anyways. So Monkey just sticks out his head for the Princess to hit until she gets tired and tells her to have at it. So the Princess hits him about fifteen times, but doesn't accomplish anything, so she tries to flee, but Monkey insists she hand over the fan first. The Princess refuses, so Monkey pulls out his staff and the two begin to fight in earnest. The two fight until it starts getting late, and finally realizing that she'll never beat him, the Princess takes out her Palm-Leaf fan, and fans at Monkey, creating a gust of wind that blows him out of her hair.

Monkey is left blowing on this wind throughout the entire night, unable to stop or touch the ground, until he finally manages to catch onto a mountain and bring himself to a halt. And Monkey actually recognizes this mountain from a previous adventure. It's where he defeated the the other wind themed demon the Yellow Robed Demon with the help of Lingji. While he's already in the neighborhood, Monkey decides to visit Lingji to ask for directions back to where he came from. So Monkey goes to Lingji's place, and Lingji asks him if he's acquired the scriptures already. Monkey explains that there's been a slight hiccup in that plan, and that he was actually blown all the way here by Princess Iron fan.

When Monkey asks how far away he is from the Mountain of Flames, Lingji, explains that he is about fifty thousand miles away. Also that he is impressed that Monkey managed to stop when he did since the fan is capable of blowing people eighty four thousand miles. Monkey then asks if Lingji knows how they can overcome this trial, and Lingji explains that it's actually good fortune that Monkey ended up hear again. Because way back when, the Buddha had given Lingji two different items to deal with the Yellow Robed Demon, the first is the dragon staff, that they used on the Yellow Robed Demon. The second however is a Wind-Arresting Elixir that they hadn't needed to use back then, so he still has it. With the Elixir, the fan won't be able to work on Monkey, so Lingji helps sew the pellet into Monkey's collar before sending him on his way.

Monkey once again arrives at Princess Iron-Fan's doorstep, and once again bangs on the door demanding the fan. The Maid from earlier once again reports his presence to her boss, who is surprised he's back so soon, since if he should still be getting blown away by the fan right about now. This time she resolves to blow him away three or four times so that he won't be able to come back at all as she heads back out to meet him. When Monkey see's her, he once again asks to borrow the fan, and says he'll bring it back after he's done. The Princess however isn't having it, since it isn't even about the fan, not really, it's about her not being able to see her son anymore. So the Princess attacks, but this time when she gets tired of fighting and tries to blow Monkey away the fan doesn't work on him. Unsure what else to do, the Princess feel's and seals herself inside her cave.

Rather then banging on the door again, Monkey instead transforms into a tiny mole cricket and sneaks inside. And just in time to, since Princess Iron-Fan is currently calling for tea, which gives Monkey inspiration. So while the maid is pouring the Princess a cup of tea, Monkey takes the opportunity to dive into the tea. Once the Princess drinks the tea, and Monkey finds his way in the Princess's stomach, he decides to make his presence known to her. From inside of her, Monkey once again calls out to borrow the fan. The Princess is horrified and asks how he's inside her house since they locked the doors, but the maid points out that it's worse then that, he's not just in the house, he's inside her.

Monkey confirms to Princess Iron-Fan that he is indeed in her stomach right now, by punching her intestines and causing her unbearable pain. And Monkey keeps up the torture until Princess Iron-Fan finally gives in and begs for mercy, and agrees to loan him the fan. Princess Iron-Fan has one of the maids fetch the fan, once Monkey confirms it's there, he finally leaves through her mouth and transforms back into his usual form. Monkey then thanks her, before taking the fan and returning to Tripitaka and the others.

Tripitaka is delighted to see Monkey back, fan in hand. Monkey then explains his latest adventure and about how Immortal Iron-Fan is actually Princess Iron-Fan and the wife of the Bull Demon King. All caught up on current events, the group travels on-wards towards the mountain until it gets to hot for anyone but Monkey to go any further. So Monkey tells everyone to wait here for him while he goes to the mountain to extinguish the fire.

So Monkey goes to the mountain and fans the flames once, only for the flames to burn even hotter, he fans a second time only for it to become even more intense, and the third makes it even worse until the flames have increased a hundredfold. Seeing that this has not gone at all according to plan, Monkey retreats back to the others, and warns them to run since the fire is coming. After they have retreated to a safe distance, Tripitaka asks Monkey what happened. Monkey throws the fan away saying that he must have been tricked which causes Tripitaka to start crying again.

Monkey explains everything that happened to the others, and said that if he hadn't gotten away in time all his hair probably would have burned up. Pigsy asks why that is, since Monkey is usually pretty fire proof, but monkey explains that he has to prepare ahead of time with a fire repellent sign or magic to protect himself, but this time since he was expecting to put out the fire he wasn't prepared for it. For now though they have to decide what to do next since the fan was a bust.

Before they can get to deep into discussion however, the local mountain god stops by with some lunch and information. He tells them that the fan they have is indeed a fake, and for the real one they are going to have to talk to the Bull Demon King himself.

Current Sun Wukong Stats: Names/Titles: Monkey, The Stone Monkey, The Handsome Monkey King, Sun Wukong (Monkey awakened to the void), Bimawen (Banhorseplague), The Great Sage Equal To Heaven and Pilgrim Sun. Immortality: 5 + 94,000 years Weapon: The Compliant Golden Hooped Rod Abilities: 72 Transformations, Cloud-Somersault, Ability to transform his individual hairs, super strength, Ability to Summon Wind, Water restriction charm, and the ability to change into a huge war form, ability to duplicate his staff, ability to immobilize others, the ability to put others to sleep, and the Fiery eyes and Diamond Pupils, intimidating horses, churning large bodies of water, sleeplessness, seizing the wind, enhanced smell, discerning good and evil within a thousand miles, Spirit Summoning, lock picking, object transformation, distance reduction, vanishing in a flash of light, super healing, transforming others, Invisibility and Wind Resistance Demon Kill Count: 10 + Unknown Number of Minions Human Kill Count: 1039 God's Defeated: 23 + Unknown number Defeats: 7 Crime List: Robbery, Murder, Mass Murder, Arson, Theft, Coercion, Threatening a Government Official, Resisting Arrest, Assault, Forgery, Employee Theft, False Imprisonment, Impersonating a Government Official, Treason, attempted murder, failure to control or report a dangerous fire, desecrating a corpse, breaking and entering, trespassing, violating Tree Law, looting corpses, trading counterfeit goods, criminal threat, animal abuse, Assisting or Instigating Escape, Damage to Religious Property, contaminating a substance for human consumption, Identity Fraud, and Disorderly Conduct Cry Count: 9 + 3 fake cries Mountains Trapped Under: 4

Current Tang Sanzang stats: Names/Titles: River Float, Xuanzang, Tang Sanzang, Tripitaka and the Tang Monk Abilities: Curing Blindness, making branches point a certain direction (allegedly), reciting sutras, pretty privilege, memorization, Heart Sutra and Meditation. Cry Count: 31 Tight Fillet Spell Uses: 63 Paralyzed by fear: 6 Bandit Problems: 3 Kidnapped by demons: 9 Falling Off Horses: 10

Current Bai Long Ma Stats: Names/Titles: Bai Long Ma (White Dragon Horse), Prince of the Western Ocean, and third prince jade dragon of the dragon king Aorun Abilities: Transforming into a human, a water snake, and a horse, eating a horse in one bite, flight, Magic of Water Restriction, Singing, and Sword Dancing. Cry Count: 1 Crime List: Arson, and Grave Disobedience. Contributions to the plot: 3 Kidnapped by demons: 1

Current Zhu Wuneng Stats: Names/Titles: The Marshal of the Heavenly Reeds, Zhu Wuneng (Pig who is aware of ability), Zhu Ganglie, Pigsy, Idiot and Eight Rules. Weapon: Rake Abilities: 36 Transformations, parting water, fighting underwater, cloud soaring, size enhancement and CPR Demon Kill Count/Kill steals: 5 Kidnapped by Demons: 4 Human Kill Count: 1 Failed Flirtation/romances Attempts: 4 Cry Count: 2 Crime List: Sexual Harassment, Murder, Kidnapping, arson, defamation, Damage to Religious Property, contaminating a substance for human consumption, Identity Fraud, Theft and Forcible entry

Current Sha Wujing Stats: Names/Titles: The Curtain-Raising General, Sha Wujing (Sand Aware of Purity), Sandy and Sha Monk Weapon: Monster Taming Staff Abilities: Fighting underwater, Cloud soaring, and fetching water from a well. Demon Kill Count: 1 + Unknown number of minions. Kidnapped by Demons: 3 Human Kill Count: 1 Cry Count: 1 Crime List: Breaking a Crystal Cup, murder, desecration of a human corpse, Damage to Religious Property and contaminating a substance for human consumption

[what-have-i-unleashed]

it's way past mid-autumn festival but i'm having ideas about nightmare's gang (specifically the murder time trio) as different figures in lunar mythology. like,

killer as chang'e. desperate to live when someone threatens her so she eats the immortality elixir and ascends to the moon, the closest celestial place where she can still gaze at her husband who she left behind. imagine this but with killer and color. killer making a deal with nightmare and gaining (semi)immortality, but the price is to leave color behind. and he can only see color from afar from time to time. sad times incoming.

murder as the moon rabbit. the companion/pet to chang'e, producing moon cakes and the immortality elixir as its celestial duty. murder being acquired by nightmare to be killer's companion so he won't be lonely. murder being worked to the bone (heh), killing and killing, because that's all what he's good for.

horror as the man in the moon. the woodcutter being granted a magical tree. but once his wife accidentally waters it with unclean water, the tree uproots itself and floats upwards to heaven. and the man desperately grabs onto it and flies to the moon. horror being in a bad situation and the only branch he can hold onto being nightmare. so nightmare drags him away into his gang, leaving behind his family and community.

that's all i can think of right now lol

[katatty]

Year 1 - Spring - Dowrick (Peasant Fishers)

The Dowricks are one of the largest families in Driftwood. And with three daughters, family-man Thomas is sweating a little thinking about the dowries they'll need…

His teenage girls, Margery and Helen, seem to be competing for the affections of Alexander Harwood, the orphaned woodcutter boy. Helen's the smart one in the family, loves observing the tidepools, and is great at chatting up customers at their shop. Margery is the elder of the two and doesn't care much for fishing (too lazy & clumsy) but she's got a part-time job as a servant over at Mondegreen manor. She can be a little boisterous (and definitely gets over-competitiive when it comes to her sister) - one noogie too many and Alexander was quick to lose his crush on her!

His wife Jillian isn't much of a fisher either, but makes some money on the side collecting reeds and weaving baskets. She sometimes fantasises about being a minstrel or actress, but she's terribly shy so being a fisherman's wife suits her fine. Thomas and Jillian don't really have the best chemistry, but they make a good team.

Thomas' aging father, Daveth, lives with them. He might not like the outdoors much, but he's very dedicated to his work and hold both himself and the rest of the family to high standards. Their youngest, Annie, can almost always be found fishing next to her grandad. Annie's patient and disciplined, not at all like the rest of her family, and might just be the best fisher of the lot.

Meanwhiile Finley, the family's heir, is due to age up soon. He's not found a sweetheart to marry just yet (too busy horsing around with that Nigel Bouldre), but there's no rush. He's been a very active fisherman and helping out with the business too!

The fish are always bountiful in the spring time, and with so many hands on deck the family had no trouble meeting their tax oblgations. It could be a lot more difficult when the girls are all grown up and moved out with husbands of their own...

[sotwk]

Got any headcanon about Thranduils relationship with his assistant, Feren?

OhMySqueeeee! I ADORE FEREN. Love or hate The Hobbit Trilogy, he is one of the best created-for-film characters to come out of those movies. He is its Lindir equivalent!

Feren will gradually develop into an important supporting character in the SotWK AU. I've even created an additional OC to be his twin sister; her name is Celuwen and she will also be an important side character in the series. (Both make guest appearances in my recent Young Legolas fic, "Greenleaf's Tree".)

For now, here are the key points I have regarding Feren's character history and his relationship with Thranduil and his family:

SotWK Canon Spotlight: Feren, Captain of the Mirkwood Kingsguard

Feren is a full-blooded Silvan elf, born and raised in the southern regions of Greenwood the Great in Third Age 142. (Exactly 100 years older than Legolas and Tauriel.)

His father is a woodcutter and his mother a hunter--both esteemed professions in the realm.

His bookish twin sister Celuwen became a royal scribe at the remarkably young age of 90. Feren followed her into the employ of King Thranduil as a palace guard.

After just a few years, Feren was given a position in the royal escort.

Feren serves Thranduil's family for his entire career, becoming close friends with the princes, especially Gelir and Legolas. (see his banter with them in the fic, "Unnecessary Guardian")

Thranduil was constantly impressed by Feren's loyalty, courage, and trustworthiness. He appointed Feren as the youngest member of his Kingsguard in Third Age 672.

When Dol Guldur rose around Third Age 1000 and the southern parts of the realm grew increasingly infested by the Necromancer's dark creatures, Feren was dismayed by the devastation wrought upon his birthland.

He requested placement in the spiderhunters, a newly-formed company of specialized soldiers led by Prince Gelir. This was a demotion for him into a less prestigious and more dangerous job, but it put him where he wanted to be--at the frontline of Mirkwood's defenses.

But eventually, over a thousand years later, Feren found his way back into the direct service of the Elvenking. Thranduil chose him specifically for the leadership position of Captain of the Kingsguard. This is very different from the "captain" position Tauriel seems to have in the films. The Kingsguard rides alongside Thranduil in battle or any dangerous situation, and their sole task is to keep the King safe--a tremendous challenge and responsibility!

While Feren is in essence a high-ranking bodyguard and right hand of sorts to Thranduil, he is not an assistant. The "assistant" role is more accurately fulfilled by Celuwen, Feren's sister. By TA 555, she has become the royal family's secretary, a job she holds longer than any Elf in the realm (but that's another story for later).

Thranduil comes to depend on these twins greatly, especially after the loss of his sons and wife. They grow as dear to him as family, as they have always been utterly devoted to their King and ever refused to leave his service.

Even Queen Maereth has jokingly/lovingly referred to Feren and Celuwen as "the twin children we never had". (Twins run in her family.)

Thank you for the Ask, Anon! I hope more people will join me in the Feren Fan Club! I hope to put out more material for him soon! Such a sweetie!

For more Thranduil/Mirkwood headcanons: SotWK HC Masterlist

Elves HC Tag List: @a-world-of-whimsy-5 @achromaticerebus @acornsandoaktrees @aduialel @asianbutnotjapanese @auttumnsayshi @blueberryrock @conversacomsmaug @elan-ho-detto-elan-15 @entishramblings @freshalmondpandadonut @fizzyxcustard @friendofthefellowshipsnerdblog @glassgulls @heilith @heranintomyknife23times @ladyweaslette @laneynoir @lathalea @lemonivall @LiliDurin @quickslvxrr @ratsys @scyllas-revenge @spacecluster @stormchaser819 @talkdifferently6 @tamryniel @tamurilofrivendell

Other useful links:

Introduction to SotWK

Fanfiction Masterlist

Fanfiction Request Guidelines

[heli-writes]

Marriage of Convenience, part 8: injuries.

Pairing: Yoriichi x you

Summary: Yoriichi's friends think that Yoriichi is too lonely and needs a wife and family to take care of him. They propose a marriage of convenience to a woman who's in need of a husband. The arrangement of the marriage is simple: both parties live their lives as before, y/n takes care of Yoriichi as a wife and Yoriichi keeps unwanted men (and demons) away. Love is not required, friendship is appreciated. However, how detached can one be when living so close to each other?

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9

Series Masterlist

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yoriichi wakes up abruptly. He feels restless. Was there a noise, he thinks. He sits up and grabs the sword that even at night always is at his side. He looks over at (y/n) and (y/s/n). They both sleep peacefully in their respective futons. Yoriichi slowly gets up and slides the sword out of its sheath. He slowly moves to the bedroom door and exits the room silently. His eyes slowly get used to the darkness in the hallway. Right now, he only can hear his own heartbeat. He makes his way to the living area, slowly creeping along the hallway. He pushes the door open with his foot and a loud bang, hoping to gain a sense of surprise. There's nothing. The kitchen looks the same as Yoriichi and (y/n) left it in the evening. There's still the faint smell of cold food and dish soap in the air. Nothing points towards an intrusion of any sort. Yorichii lowers his sword. Was I wrong?, he thinks, Why did I wake up? I'm sure I sensed something, he thinks.

Suddenly, he hears a crack in the floorboard behind him. He whips around and is face-to-face with (y/n) who rubs her eyes tiredly. "Why are you up?", she asks him while suppressing a yawn. Her eyes fall onto the sword in Yoriichi's hands. "What is it?", she whispers as fear creeps upon her. Yoriichi turns to the window and stares out into the blackness of the woods. "Nothing.", he tells her. (Y/n) takes a few steps towards him and takes hold of his arm. He can pick up on her hitched breath and sped-up heart rate. Slowly, he eases his stance. One of his hands let go of the sword and he puts his hand on her lower back. "Let's go back to sleep.", he says while leading her back to the bedroom.

Outside of the window, deep in the darkness of the forest, six yellow glowing eyes watch the pair retreat to the bedroom and lie their heads on their pillows in a false sense of security.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There was a loud chatter outside. (Y/n) lets out an exaggerated sigh. "(Y/s/n)! What are you up to?", she yells from the kitchen. The boy went outside some time ago with his ball. "Yoriichi, can you keep an eye on the stove for a second?", (y/n) yells. Yoriichi makes his way into the kitchen. "Thanks", (y/n) says quickly and pushes the wooden spoon she was holding in her hands. "Keep stirring the paste.", she instructs him while rushing outside. Yoriichi does as he is told while he watches (y/n) and (y/s/n) through the kitchen window.

"Buddy, seriously, you have to be more careful.", (y/n) says while leading (y/s/n) inside. "What happened?", Yoriichi asks. "He kicked his ball into the pile of firewood and it fell on top of him.", (y/n) anwers while gathering some first aid things. She carefully cleans the wound on (y/s/n)'s knee and then wraps a bandage around it. "You're really good at this.", Yoriichi notes. (Y/n) gives him a sly grin. "That's nothing you should see me doing stitches.", she proudly replies. Little do both know that Yoriichi will get to see (y/n) stitching skills rather soon.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was supposed to be a slow night. Word of demon activity on the other side of the forest reached Yorichii. Upon further research, he came to the conclusion that the demon terrorizing a village of woodcutters was just a low-level demon. Indeed it was just as Yoriichi thought. A demon with a blood demon art not worth mentioning kidnapped young children and ate them. It was not even a real fight. Yoriichi beheaded the demon swiftly and efficiently.

He reached the path that leads home when he caught a faint smell of blood from another direction, the direction to the nearby village. He hesitates for a moment, tempted to go home and look after (y/n) and (y/s/n). Knowing that he can't leave the helpless villagers to themselves, he turns around and takes off to the village.

The first thing he saw when entering the outskirts of the village were bodies. Men, women, and children scrawled in unnatural positions across the streets. The smell of burning buildings and death rose high in the sky. Yoriichi races through the streets, his sword held high. He follows his instincts, they lead him right where the demons are. The village square comes into sight and a demon comes into view which pushes a severed leg into his mouth which seems to widen to fit the body part into it. Yoriichi raises his sword and sets off to attack. To behead the demon and end this massacre. Just when his weapon was supposed to make an impact on the demon's neck, a piercing scream filled the air from the opposite direction. Yoriichi took on the profession of a demon slayer to save lives, not for the glory of the kill. Thus, he swiftly adverts his attack and turns to the other side. He didn't see any danger in the demon behind him, which was too occupied with his meal. However, being focused on the danger that lures in the direction of the soul-piercing scream, Yoriichi misses the puddle of blood through which a hand appears and grabs him by the ankle. This in return gives the feasting demon enough time to drop the leg and sink his fangs into Yoriichi's shoulder.

Yoriichi reacts quickly and beheads the demon behind him. The second demon, however, retreats into the puddle of blood. Without paying attention to his injuries, Yoriichi takes off in the direction of the scream. In a side street, he finds an injured woman. Her throat has been clawed out by a pair of sharp nails. Incapable of speech, the only sound the woman lets out is a rattled breath. She's beyond survival, Yoriichi thinks. Before he has to face a decision no one should have to make, a pair of hands shoots up from the blood puddle beneath the woman and attacks Yoriichi. The arms seem to stretch endlessly and Yoriichi needs to retreat quickly. I need to lure him out of his hiding, he thinks to himself. He's sure that if he just cuts off the arms, the demon will just regenerate them without showing his true body.

By now, at least six pairs of arms hor out of the puddle and are reaching for Yoriichi. I need to find a way to stop the arms without cutting them off, he concludes. Since Yoriichi followed (y/n) to this village many times, he knows the layout of the streets. He can use this knowledge to stop the demon. Yoriichi quickly retreats into the labyrinth of streets and switches directions every few seconds. More and more arms reach for him and follow him through the village. A roaring laughter fills the air and the demon mocks him for trying to escape.

As he makes his way through the village  the demon doesn't notice that Yoriichi lead him right back to where they started: the blood puddle in which the demon hides. Yoriichi comes to an abrupt stop and so do the arms behind him, caught in a web of knots that Yoriichi created throughout the entire village. A raging howl comes from the puddle. Hundreds of arms stretch out of the puddle and spread into all directions. The demon's only got two choices: Come out of its safe hiding in prospects of untangling his arms or wait until the sun burns off his limbs, and hopefully the rest of him as well. It's an arrogant one, Yoriichi thinks, it will come out. The demon proves Yoriichi right when it raises out of the puddle. However, it hides between the masses of his own arms. I have to cut through the arms and neck in one attack, Yoriichi decides. He readies himself for the final attack and takes off. Swiftly, his sword cuts through the first few layer of arms. Unlucky, the demon saw the move coming and quickly moves out of reach. Instantly, the arms regenerate and set off to attack Yoriichi again. Yoriichi can advert a fatal blow, but a clawed hand scratches his face and blood runs into one of his eyes.

Quickly, Yoriichi brings some distance between them. Yoriichi notice how their movement slowed down and so does their regeneration after a few cuts. I can tire him out, Yoriichi thinks to himself. He starts focusing his attacks on the arms and cuts them off as often and fast as possible. Unlucky for the demon, Yoriichi is known for his incredibly fast swordsmanship. The demon becomes visibly slower and slower. Eventually, Yoriichi can dodge its attack while getting closer to the core of the demon. In an attempt to protect himself, he pulls all of its remaining arms around him. I can see where you're hiding, Yoriichi thinks to himself. He sets off for another final attack and this time he succeeds. He cuts through the ball of arms diagonally and his sword connects with the demon's neck before that one can react. The last thing Yoriichi can see before the demon dissolves into nothingness, are the words 'lower moon two'.

He watches as the wind blows away the bits and pieces of the demon. What is a lower moon doing in a place like this?, he ponders. This is a small, unimportant village. Places like this are usually not targets of lower or upper moons. Moreover, this demon wasn't alone. By the look of the state of the village, there were more than just the two demons that Yoriichi killed. Yoriichi doesn't have much time to brood on this. He needs to help the survivors and put out the fires to prevent further damage to the infrastructure of the village. When he sets off to help the citizens, he can hear shouting at the edge of the village. Upon investigation, he finds a team of demon slayers who were sent to the village. "Yoriichi, thank god you're here!!", one of them shouts when he sees the burgundy-haired man. "What happened here?", another one asks. He quickly brings them up to speed. "How lucky you were in the area! Things could've been so much worse without you!", they all agree in relief. "But Yoriichi... you're hurt. Your shoulder bleeds really bad!", a demon slayer notices. "I'm fine.", Yoriichi brushes him off. "Where are the medics? These people need help.", Yoriichi says as he points toward the village. "They're on their way. We were sent first to...", a demon slayer starts but the sound of his voice becomes more and more quiet to Yoriichi. Instead, a shrill whistle spreads in his ear and his sight begins to turn. The demon slayer doesn't get to end his sentence as Yoriichi faints before him and everybody quickly tries to grab Yoriichi before he knocks his head into the cold hard ground below.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Quickly! He's losing too much blood!", a voice yells. "How could this happen? Isn't he the strongest?", another voice asks. "Shut up, Tahiro! We need to get him medical attention!", someone else bites back. "Why don't wait for the medics?", the second voice asks. "Because the villagers need them. His wife is our best shot. She's a healer.", the first voice answers. They stumble forward, in the darkness of the forest, heaving an unconscious Yoriichi with them. "We're almost there!", one of the slayers wheezes as he sees the glowing of a lantern that (y/n) lit in front of their house, in hopes that it will lead Yoriichi home.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A milky veil seems to lay over Yoriichi's eyes when he regains consciousness again. Bright light falls into the room and he groans when he feels the pain in his shoulder. He tries to move his other arm to grab his shoulder but is incapable of moving it. When the veil slowly fates and his senses start to sharpen again, he hears the clattering of kitchen utensils in the other room. He sighs and closes his eyes again. There's an unfamiliar pressure on his left side but he doesn't have enough energy to care. Suddenly, the door to the bedroom opens and more clattering can be heard. He slowly opens his eyes and sees (y/s/n) with a tablet. He carries two glasses of freshly pressed juice which are filled to the brim and they swap over with every step he takes. Upon his arrival, the air is filled with the smell of something burned. Yoriichi tries to sit up in order to help him, but something keeps pushing him down. When he takes a closer look at his side, he notices (y/n) lying on the uninjured side of his body. Her hands clench the side of his yukata. She's nuzzled into his side and there is a dried crust of tears beneath her eyes. Suddenly, Yoriichi's heart feels heavy.

(Y/s/n) pulls on his sleeve to get his attention. When he turns to the boy again, (y/s/n) tries to give him one of the glasses. Some drops of juice land on the blanket with which Yoriichi is covered. Yoriichi awkwardly sits up, trying not to wake (y/n). He thanks (y/s/n) and takes a sip of the juice. It's awful. It's way too sour and some kernels still swim around in the glass. "Did you make it yourself?", Yoriichi asks the boy hoarsely. The boy nods enthusiastically in response. "It's very good, thank you.", Yoriichi tells him. (Y/s/n) gives him a proud smile. (Y/n) stirs at Yoriichi's side. (Y/s/n) quickly shushes Yoriichi and climbs over to his mother. He pulls the blanket over her shoulder and pats her hair. Yoriichi can see that the child is worried about his mother. After a few seconds, Yoriichi asks him: "Did she cry because of me?". (Y/s/n) stares at him for a second or two and then nods. Yoriichi has to look away from (y/s/n)'s blank stare. Suddenly, he hears the tapping of (y/s/n)'s bare feet on the floor and then the boy crashes into Yoriichi's lap. The boy grips onto the blanket and hides his face into Yoriichi's chest. Yoriichi can't help but gently stroke his hair.

"What a fool I am.", Yoriichi thinks, "I wasn't careful enough. I got hurt and my family had to cry because of it. They deserve better. I should be ashamed.". Lost in his own thoughts, he doesn't notice how (y/n) wakes up. "Yoriichi!!", her voice suddenly reaches his ear. When he looks up, he sees her hovering next to his face. Her hair is disheveled and there are imprints of his yukata on the side of her face. "Are you fine? Are you in pain?", (y/n) starts to ramble. "I'm sorry.", is all that Yoriichi manages to say. (Y/n) stares at him for a second. Then, tears start to well in her eyes. "Oh, Yoriichi! You silly man...", she weakly says before crushing into his arms. (Y/n) wraps one arm around Yoriichi and (y/s/n). She sinks her other hand into Yoriichi's hair and pulls him close so that her nose touches his neck. She breathes in deeply and feels Yoriichi hug them back.

They stay for this for a while. While Yoriichi still feels guilty for worrying (y/n) and (y/s/n), he also feels warm. He hasn't felt like this in a long time and he's not ready yet to let go of them.

[yoga-onion]

Tapio – The Finnish god of forests and the hunt

Tapio is a Finnish forest spirit or god in Finnish mythology. Hunters prayed to him before a hunt. His wife is the forest goddess, Mielikki (Ref). He is the father of Annikki, Tellervo, Nyyrikki (the god of hunting), and Tuulikki. Fitting the Green Man archetype, Tapio has a beard of lichen and eyebrows of moss.

Tapio is a major character in Kalevala, the Finnish national epic based on Finnish and Karelian folklore, the hero Lemminkäinen offers him and Mielikki prayers, gold and silver so he can catch the Hiisi elk.

Tapio, the personified forest, was sometimes depicted as being the size of a fir tree, fierce-looking, like a human being in the front, but like a gnarled old tree from behind. Often the forest deity was female, occasionally an especially beautiful woman, who enticed hunters or woodcutters staying in the woods overnight; but he, too, turned out to be a rotten old stump upon closer scrutiny. The various forest deities and spirits were generally capricious in nature and had to be constantly placated by those who were dependent on their favours. Thus hunters made offerings to the deity and made sure they did not break any taboos in the forest, such as making excessive noise or shooting unusual birds that might be the forest spirit in disguise.

木にまつわる伝説・神話

伝説の樹木の神々 (18)

タピオ 〜 フィンランドの森と狩りの神

タピオはフィンランド神話に登場する森の精霊、または神である。彼の妻は森の女神ミエリッキ（参照）である。アンニッキ、テレルヴォ、ニャイリッキ (狩猟の神)、トゥーリッキの父である。タピオは、グリーンマンの原型にふさわしい人物で、地衣類の髭と苔の眉毛を持っている。

タピオは、フィンランドとカレリアの民話に基づくフィンランドの民族叙事詩『カレワラ』の主要人物である。『カレワラ』では、英雄レミンカイネンがヒイシのヘラ鹿を捕まえるために、彼とミエリッキに祈りと金と銀を捧げている。

森の精霊を擬人化したタピオは、モミの木の大きさで、正面から見ると人間のような獰猛な姿をしているが、後ろから見るとニョロニョロの老木のような姿で描かれることもあった。また、森の神は女性であることが多く、特に美しい女性で、森に一晩滞在する猟師や木こりを誘うこともあったが、彼もよくよく観察すると、腐った古い切り株であることが判明する。森の神々や精霊は気まぐれな性格で、その恩恵にあずかる者は常になだめな��ればならなかった。そのため、猟師は神に供物を捧げ、森での禁忌を破らないように気をつけた。例えば、過剰に音を立てたり、森の精霊の変装かもしれない珍しい鳥を撃ったりしないようにした。

[girlwithletters]

Another one is coming

Párosítás: Jude Bellingham x olvasó / te vagy aki akarod

It was cool in the living room, except for some embers flickering in the fireplace. Jude Bellingham still couldn't bring himself to put wood on the fire, even though the woodcutter was only an arm's length away. Even if he was locked in the hottest pot of hell, it wouldn't have warmed his soaked, ice-cold body. His head was heavy with wine and his body was empty without the heart and soul left in his home.

- Jude - Vinicius Jr. couldn't even get his friend's full attention with his voice.

- What? - muttered Jude in displeasure, looking at the empty bottle in the left hand of the ever-smiling Brazilian.

- When this cursed storm subsides somewhat, I will accompany you back to your wife. But until then, all we can do is wait.

- I don `t want to wait! - Even when he was drenched in water, in clothes that clung to his muscular, lean body, he radiated uncontrollable wildness. Pressing his lips together, he raised his head, a tension flared up in his brown eyes. - To hell with you! - He threw the towel in his hand to the other end of the room.

Even the monotonous hum of the television was drowned out by the sound of the approaching storm, lightning strikes shook the windows of the house.

The teammates also felt the same restlessness as Vini's dog. His body, covered with brown-black fur, trembled with nervousness, his breathing wavered along with his owner's heartbeat. Joy flashed in his yellow eyes as he heard the increasingly loud click of shoes approaching him and smelled the familiar scent of human flesh covered by wet clothes.

But Jude had other plans.

As he ran out into the yard, his foot slipped on the wet stones, but he managed to reach his impatient friend who was stumbling next to the car without injury. How embarrassing it would have been if one or two wet pebbles caused the loss of the fearless soccer player, the adored prince of Real Madrid.

Tchouaméni was the lucky one who managed to get the lock key , to take the driver's seat and start the car. When all four of them took their seats, the wheels of the car sped up and pebbles flew. Trent buckled his seat belt at the last minute.

The wind picked up, and the rain falling from the gloomy black clouds became as opaque as the densely woven curtains on the door of their bedroom balcony.

Jude's mouth twitched nervously, his chin tensed, his stomach clenched, his heart clenched by some unknown foreboding.

- Let's hurry! - His voice was only a faint whisper, like the gliding of a butterfly's wings in the colors of the rainbow, but the person to whom spoke to him, still understood.

If they had been walking in the rain around this time, if a ship steered by brave sailors had come up against the waves crashing on high, he would have seen a vision dressed in the light of yellow-red lightnings on the road shrouded in darkness, he would have thought only: Those are the gods!

- It's almost over - I would have liked to wrap my fingers around the balding doctor's thick neck and squeeze him until the last breath, until the last thought left him. How the hell can you say that! It's easy for him!

Laura, Antonio Rüdiger's wife, took my hand. I squeezed hers.

"I know you'd rather kill him," he grinned at me. I admit, as much as I hated Laura in the past, I have grown to like her in the last six months. In her worried eyes, I saw my shattered reflection, my face distorted from the pain of childbirth, my hair stuck to my pale skin wet from sweat.

- I'm ugly!

- You're beautiful! - he pressed a soothing kiss on my forehead. I was very tired. I would have preferred to close my eyes and sleep a little. A few minutes or a few hours.

- Does it always take this long?

- Not always. Every woman is different - said the nurse from the side, holding a wet cloth.

- I hate him! I hate Jude! - I squeezed out the words between my teeth. A sharp pain ripped through my body, spasming my muscles. - When he returns home, I will cut off his tail and feed it to the dog!

The two women laughed and said almost simultaneously:

- Believe us, you would later curse yourself for your earlier words.

Another contraction almost snapped my spine in half. I felt like my bones were falling apart.

- Please do something! I can not stand! - Laura gently, with slow movements, ran her hand several times along my enlarged, tense belly. She gathered her brown hair, which had previously covered her shoulders, pinned it up and looked at me with an encouraging smile.

- Get ready! They will arrive soon.

- I'll kill you anyway! - The pains were getting stronger, I cringed from the pain. I turned here and there, twisted, and buried my head in the pillow that had become a fighter. It was somehow easier with my eyes closed.

- Press it! - Laura said. - Press it! As before...

- To hell with you, Jude Bellingham! I hate you! - As if I had been hit with whiplash, the pains came more and more frequently and densely. - I will never spread my legs to you again!

- My beauty, don't make irresponsible statements - I heard the familiar chuckle next to my head. I got it towards his hand.

- You are here, in time - My palm slid into his ice-cold palm.

- Yes my love. As I promised. Now push, doe! It's time for the little dragons to arrive!

I barely had any strength, but somehow I managed to push.

It was like a lock on a door. However, when the lock was opened, my body felt so light.

- You did it, my love! - My beloved soccer player bowed his head to my forehead with eyes glistening with tears, then with a bright smile on his face, he took over from the doctor his son, William, who has black hair. The blonde girl, Denise, who arrived a few minutes after her brother, was wrapped in a warm, soft piece of fabric by Laura.

- They are so perfect! - I stretched out my hand towards them, when a strong pain ripped through my lower abdomen like a whiplash, then galloped along my back and thighs. I felt nauseous. - I need to throw up - I moaned.

- What's happening? - Fear ran down Jude's spine.

- My goodness! - the doctor wearing foggy glasses leaned over to me. - Another one is coming!

( english isn't my first language ) - just the usual

sorry for the mistakes

[quitealotofsodapop]

In the "Monkey King and the Infant" idea I had where Sun Wukong and Macaque secretly hover over MK's life as monkey godfathers; i had the idea of MK, wanting new stories to hear, asks the two for any they know. The two have lived long lives, and have tapped into stories outside their own.

Macaque (just known as "Mihou"); tells stories of partnerships, of betrayals, of those who fall due to misunderstandings, of broken promises. Of Achilles hiding in his tent while Patrocles fought. Of Izanagi abandoning his scarred wife in Yomi-No-Kuni. Of a Woodcutter never able to rejoin his mate in the Heavens.

Sun Wukong ("Wu"); in turn tells of grand heroes and tricksters with tragic ends, and of uncaring Gods. Of Loki chained to a rock by his sons bodies. Of Zeus commanding Odessus to slay the infant son of his enemy. Of Orpheus so overwhelmed with grief and longing for his mate that he had to look behind him.

Tang finds these stories a little too graphic for MK at times, but the boy listens attentively anyway.

And, dspite what the Monkeys thinks of the other, they both agree on one constant;

The kind souls who take in the lost, the demi-gods, and the cast away, and raise them to be heroes. Not with training or birth right, but with a happy life. Like the fisherman who took in Danae and her newborn as his own, of the mortal Ainu man who dredged up the boneless god and felt only paternal affection; Are the true heroes of those stories.

They forget that Pigsy and Tang were listening in on their little mythology debate, and are startled when the boar starts blubbering like a mess.

[foodandfolklore]

The Grimm Variations, Episode 5*

A new Netflix Anime has caught my eye. It's Called the Grimm Variations; which feature retellings of Original Brothers Grimm fairytales. But rather be a beat for beat, they are more reimagined. A "What If" kind of thing. I figured I'd share the original Fairytales these stories are based on for those interested.

Edit: I got the order of the episodes Mixed up, so I'll share them in the order I saw them. This one was Based on the Classic story Hansel and Gretel. A staple Fairytale for Kitchen Witches. Two children from a poor household trying to be driven away by their mother to save money. She keeps trying to lose them in the forest and they keep managing to find their way back. Until, one day, they don't and stumble into a Witch's Sweet Bread House. A common misconception about the story though is that Hansel and Gretel leave bread crumbs to find their ways home. So "Bread Crumbs" is a common turn of phrase used when describing clues left by others on purpose. However, they found their way home using stones. When they tried using bread crumbs, that's when they got lost as the wildlife ate their trail.

Hansel and Gretel

Near a great forest there lived a poor woodcutter and his wife, and his two children; the boy's name was Hansel and the girl's Grethel. They had very little to bite or to sup, and once, when there was great dearth in the land, the man could not even gain the daily bread. As he lay in bed one night thinking of this, and turning and tossing, he sighed heavily, and said to his wife, "What will become of us? we cannot even feed our children; there is nothing left for ourselves."

"I will tell you what, husband," answered the wife; "we will take the children early in the morning into the forest, where it is thickest; we will make them a fire, and we will give each of them a piece of bread, then we will go to our work and leave them alone; they will never find the way home again, and we shall be quit of them."

"No, wife," said the man, "I cannot do that; I cannot find in my heart to take my children into the forest and to leave them there alone; the wild animals would soon come and devour them." - "O you fool," said she, "then we will all four starve; you had better get the coffins ready," and she left him no peace until he consented. "But I really pity the poor children," said the man.

The two children had not been able to sleep for hunger, and had heard what their step-mother had said to their father. Grethel wept bitterly, and said to Hansel, "It is all over with us."

"Do be quiet, Grethel," said Hansel, "and do not fret; 1 will manage something." And when the parents had gone to sleep he got up, put on his little coat, opened the back door, and slipped out. The moon was shining brightly, and the white flints that lay in front of the house glistened like pieces of silver. Hansel stooped and filled the little pocket of his coat as full as it would hold. Then he went back again, and said to Grethel, "Be easy, dear little sister, and go to sleep quietly; God will not forsake us," and laid himself down again in his bed. When the day was breaking, and before the sun had risen, the wife came and awakened the two children, saying, "Get up, you lazy bones; we are going into the forest to cut wood." Then she gave each of them a piece of bread, and said, "That is for dinner, and you must not eat it before then, for you will get no more." Grethel carried the bread under her apron, for Hansel had his pockets full of the flints. Then they set off all together on their way to the forest. When they had gone a little way Hansel stood still and looked back towards the house, and this he did again and again, till his father said to him, "Hansel, what are you looking at? take care not to forget your legs."

"O father," said Hansel, "lam looking at my little white kitten, who is sitting up on the roof to bid me good-bye." - "You young fool," said the woman, "that is not your kitten, but the sunshine on the chimney-pot." Of course Hansel had not been looking at his kitten, but had been taking every now and then a flint from his pocket and dropping it on the road. When they reached the middle of the forest the father told the children to collect wood to make a fire to keep them, warm; and Hansel and Grethel gathered brushwood enough for a little mountain j and it was set on fire, and when the flame was burning quite high the wife said, "Now lie down by the fire and rest yourselves, you children, and we will go and cut wood; and when we are ready we will come and fetch you."

So Hansel and Grethel sat by the fire, and at noon they each ate their pieces of bread. They thought their father was in the wood all the time, as they seemed to hear the strokes of the axe: but really it was only a dry branch hanging to a withered tree that the wind moved to and fro. So when they had stayed there a long time their eyelids closed with weariness, and they fell fast asleep.

When at last they woke it was night, and Grethel began to cry, and said, "How shall we ever get out of this wood? "But Hansel comforted her, saying, "Wait a little while longer, until the moon rises, and then we can easily find the way home." And when the full moon got up Hansel took his little sister by the hand, and followed the way where the flint stones shone like silver, and showed them the road. They walked on the whole night through, and at the break of day they came to their father's house. They knocked at the door, and when the wife opened it and saw that it was Hansel and Grethel she said, "You naughty children, why did you sleep so long in the wood? we thought you were never coming home again!" But the father was glad, for it had gone to his heart to leave them both in the woods alone.

Not very long after that there was again great scarcity in those parts, and the children heard their mother say at night in bed to their father, "Everything is finished up; we have only half a loaf, and after that the tale comes to an end. The children must be off; we will take them farther into the wood this time, so that they shall not be able to find the way back again; there is no other way to manage." The man felt sad at heart, and he thought, "It would better to share one's last morsel with one's children." But the wife would listen to nothing that he said, but scolded and reproached him. He who says A must say B too, and when a man has given in once he has to do it a second time.

But the children were not asleep, and had heard all the talk. When the parents had gone to sleep Hansel got up to go out and get more flint stones, as he did before, but the wife had locked the door, and Hansel could not get out; but he comforted his little sister, and said, "Don't cry, Grethel, and go to sleep quietly, and God will help us." Early the next morning the wife came and pulled the children out of bed. She gave them each a little piece of "bread -less than before; and on the way to the wood Hansel crumbled the bread in his pocket, and often stopped to throw a crumb on the ground. "Hansel, what are you stopping behind and staring for?" said the father.

"I am looking at my little pigeon sitting on the roof, to say good-bye to me," answered Hansel. "You fool," said the wife, "that is no pigeon, but the morning sun shining on the chimney pots." Hansel went on as before, and strewed bread crumbs all along the road. The woman led the children far into the wood, where they had never been before in all their lives. And again there was a large fire made, and the mother said, "Sit still there, you children, and when you are tired you can go to sleep; we are going into the forest to cut wood, and in the evening, when we are ready to go home we will come and fetch you."

So when noon came Grethel shared her bread with Hansel, who had strewed his along the road. Then they went to sleep, and the evening passed, and no one came for the poor children. When they awoke it was dark night, and Hansel comforted his little sister, and said, "Wait a little, Grethel, until the moon gets up, then we shall be able to see the way home by the crumbs of bread that I have scattered along it."

So when the moon rose they got up, but they could find no crumbs of bread, for the birds of the woods and of the fields had come and picked them up. Hansel thought they might find the way all the same, but they could not. They went on all that night, and the next day from the morning until the evening, but they could not find the way out of the wood, and they were very hungry, for they had nothing to eat but the few berries they could pick up. And when they were so tired that they could no longer drag themselves along, they lay down under a tree and fell asleep.

It was now the third morning since they had left their father's house. They were always trying to get back to it, but instead of that they only found themselves farther in the wood, and if help had not soon come they would have been starved.

About noon they saw a pretty snow-white bird sitting on a bough, and singing so sweetly that they stopped to listen. And when he had finished the bird spread his wings and flew before them, and they followed after him until they came to a little house, and the bird perched on the roof, and when they came nearer they saw that the house was built of bread, and roofed with cakes; and the window was of transparent sugar. "We will have some of this," said Hansel, "and make a fine meal. I will eat a piece of the roof, Grethel, and you can have some of the window-that will taste sweet." So Hansel reached up and broke off a bit of the roof, just to see how it tasted, and Grethel stood by the window and gnawed at it. Then they heard a thin voice call out from inside,

"Nibble, nibble, like a mouse, Who is nibbling at my house?"

And the children answered,

"Never mind, It is the wind."

And they went on eating, never disturbing themselves. Hansel, who found that the roof tasted very nice, took down a great piece of it, and Grethel pulled out a large round window-pane, and sat her down and began upon it.

Then the door opened, and an aged woman came out, leaning upon a crutch. Hansel and Grethel felt very frightened, and let fall what they had in their hands. The old woman, however, nodded her head, and said, "Ah, my dear children, how come you here? you must come indoors and stay with me, you will be no trouble." So she took them each by the hand, and led them into her little house. And there they found a good meal laid out, of milk and pancakes, with sugar, apples, and nuts. After that she showed them two little white beds, and Hansel and Grethel laid themselves down on them, and thought they were in heaven.

The old woman, although her behaviour was so kind, was a wicked witch, who lay in wait for children, and had built the little house on purpose to entice them. When they were once inside she used to kill them, cook them, and eat them, and then it was a feast day with her. The witch's eyes were red, and she could not see very far, but she had a keen scent, like the beasts, and knew very well when human creatures were near. When she knew that Hansel and Grethel were coming, she gave a spiteful laugh, and said triumphantly, "I have them, and they shall not escape me!"

Early in the morning, before the children were awake, she got up to look at them, and as they lay sleeping so peacefully with round rosy cheeks, she said to herself, "What a fine feast I shall have!" Then she grasped Hansel with her withered hand, and led him into a little stable, and shut him up behind a grating; and call and scream as he might, it was no good. Then she went back to Grethel and shook her, crying, "Get up, lazy bones; fetch water, and cook something nice for your brother; he is outside in the stable, and must be fattened up. And when he is fat enough I will eat him." Grethel began to weep bitterly, but it was of no use, she had to do what the wicked witch bade her. And so the best kind of victuals was cooked for poor Hansel, while Grethel got nothing but crab-shells.

Each morning the old woman visited the little stable, and cried, "Hansel, stretch out your finger, that I may tell if you will soon be fat enough." Hansel, however, used to hold out a little bone, and the old woman, who had weak eyes, could not see what it was, and supposing it to be Hansel's finger, wondered very much that it was not getting fatter.

When four weeks had passed and Hansel seemed to remain so thin, she lost patience and could wait no longer. "Now then, Grethel," cried she to the little girl; "be quick and draw water; be Hansel fat or be he lean, tomorrow I must kill and cook him." Oh what a grief for the poor little sister to have to fetch water, and how the tears flowed down over her cheeks! "Dear God, pray help us!" cried she; "if we had been devoured by wild beasts in the wood at least we should have died together."

"Spare me your lamentations," said the old woman; "they are of no avail." Early next morning Grethel had to get up, make the fire, and fill the kettle. "First we will do the baking," said the old woman; "I nave heated the oven already, and kneaded the dough." She pushed poor Grethel towards the oven, out of which the flames were already shining.

"Creep in," said the witch, "and see if it is properly hot, so that the bread may be baked." And Grethel once in, she meant to shut the door upon her and let her be baked, and then she would have eaten her. But Grethel perceived her intention, and said, "I don't know how to do it: how shall I get in?"

"Stupid goose," said the old woman, "the opening is big enough, do you see? I could get in myself!" and she stooped down and put her head in the oven's mouth. Then Grethel gave her a push, so that she went in farther, and she shut the iron door upon her, and put up the bar. Oh how frightfully she howled! but Grethel ran away, and left the wicked witch to burn miserably.

Grethel went straight to Hansel, opened the stable-door, and cried, "Hansel, we are free! the old witch is dead!" Then out flew Hansel like a bird from its cage as soon as the door is opened. How rejoiced they both were! how they fell each on the other's neck! and danced about, and kissed each other! And as they had nothing more to fear they went over all the old witch's house, and in every corner there stood chests of pearls and precious stones. "This is something better than flint stones," said Hansel, as he filled his pockets, and Grethel, thinking she also would like to carry something home with her, filled her apron full. i! Now, away we go," said Hansel, "if we only can get out of the witch's wood." When they had journeyed a few hours they came to a great piece of water. "We can never get across this," said Hansel, "I see no stepping-stones and no bridge."

"And there is no boat either," said Grethel; "but here comes a white duck; if I ask her she will help us over." So she cried,

"Duck, duck, here we stand, Hansel and Grethel, on the land, Stepping-stones and bridge we lack, Carry us over on your nice white back."

And the duck came accordingly, and Hansel got upon her and told his sister to come too. "No," answered Grethel, "that would be too hard upon the duck; we can go separately, one after the other." And that was how it was managed, and after that they went on happily, until they came to the wood, and the way grew more and more familiar, till at last they saw in the distance their father's house. Then they ran till they came up to it, rushed in at the door, and fell on their father's neck. The man had not had a quiet hour since he left his children in the wood; but the wife was dead. And when Grethel opened her apron the pearls and precious stones were scattered all over the room, and Hansel took one handful after another out of his pocket. Then was all care at an end, and they lived in great joy together. My tale is done, there runs a mouse, whosoever catches it, may make himself a big fur cap out of it.

[phenomenalgirl9]

Mingyu x Reader: Bonds of Magic

Summary: When Warlock Y/n's subordinate Hoshi the Hamster brought in a stray kid and he grew to be someone important to all of them.

Pairings: Warlock!Reader x Mingyu (kinda)

Genre: Supernatural au, Fluff, 13+

Warnings: Talk of death (no major characters), Eternal life, Magic.

W/c: 2.3-ish

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“There she comes, make way”

“Ssshh… Don’t make eye contact with her, she might Jinx you”

“Don’t go near her, or she’ll turn you into a rabbit”

She looked up at the man standing on the edge of the road under the oak tree and he cowered away, in fear.

Yes, it has always been like that, for her, for 3 centuries, since she was born and her mother had abandoned her near this village’s borders. She doesn’t remember that woman, it was kind of the child-less woodcutter and his wife who took her in and raised her as their own. Even though they knew what she was, they never made her feel any different. They’re not around anymore to shut the mouths of these villagers, so she just lets them talk.

Y/n walked into her cottage and closed the door, setting the basket down and taking off her cloak. “Did you find the ingredients that you were looking for?” Chan asked and she nodded and said “Got some fresh mugswort”. He picked the basket and walked away to sort in on the herb cabinet. “Where is Hoshi? Has he not returned from the market?” she asked, feeling absence of the Hyper-Active Hamster, who surprisingly hasn’t come up to her yet. “Chan, it’s been hours” she said, looking at the sun dial in the garden through the window, “This is why I tell you to go with him” And shook her head. “I was busy making the order” he defended himself and the sound of the front gate echoed followed by a “Guys! Looks what I found” from a very excited Hoshi. “I swear to Merlin, if you brought home one more stray Dog, I’ll-“ Chan stopped midsentence and you looked up to see a child, A whole Human Off-spring walking down the porch behind Hoshi.

“Hoshi! Who is this child?” Y/n gasped. “I found him, in the borders of the village by the forest” Hoshi said grinning. “Why did you bring him here?” Y/N asked again. “He's so small, and he has nobody, none of those villagers want him, I asked around, they said his father killed himself the day he was born and his mother killed herself recently.” He said in a pout. “It is pitiful, but we can’t keep him, I can barely take care of you both. How will I take care of a child?” She panicked. “We’ll take care of him!” Chan suddenly piped out “We won’t disturb you” he added and Hoshi nodded. Y/n stared the child down, and knelt to his level, examining him, “It’s a Human boy, beware, don’t be heartbroken when he dies” she said, she’s seen too many deaths in her 312 years that it stopped mattering. “What’s your name child?” Y/n asked, “Mingyu” he muttered in a tiny voice.

“Nice, stay away” she said and walked away.

Time passed and Mingyu grew, Y/n aways maintaining a safe distance from the child. Hoshi and Chan never forced her, no matter how much the child tried to step towards her, Y/n would always push him away, literally, using her magic.

It was on the kid’s 16th year when one night Hoshi came running to Y/n. “What” she asked, “Don’t tell me you’re hungry again”

“It’s Mingyu, he was running a fever, now he says his skin is burning. Please, help him!” Hoshi said, the poor hamster turned boy was trembling. So, Y/n nodded her head and rushed to the kid’s room. He finds the kid crumbled in bed, holding his shoulder. “It burns” He was crying, Y/n felt sorry for it.

She rushed to him and exposed the area he said was burning, the area was turning blue, Y/n hadn't quite seen something like this in her life and she touched the area to examine it. Her cold fingers brushed against his skin, giving him a sort of relief.

“Chan, bring me water and a towel” she instructed. Chan ran to bring the things and Y/n wet the towel and held it against his skin. She moistened the area, Mingyu looked at her with his big eyes and seeing him up close Y/n thought that Hoshi and Chan were right, he does resemble a puppy. “Trust me” she said, surprising even herself. Why would this kid, whom she never even let near herself, trust her, but he gave her a small nod. With one stroke, Y/n pulled the towel over the area, completely peeling it off. “Y/n!” Both Hoshi and Chan screamed as Mingyu groaned. Y/n removed the towel to reveal the skin under to be greenish-blue.

“So this is why-” Y/n started but caught her word, this is why your parents killed themselves and the villagers found your name as a taboo. Yes, she had gone to that village a few days later in a disguise and asked around and people got volatile just at the mention of him.

But, this was something Y/n had never heard of, every warlock child is born with their devil’s mark, why is his so late. She walked away as she found MIngyu now calm and sleeping. “He’s a-” Chan broke the silence, “Warlock” Y/n completed.

“He’s now your responsibility, Chan” She said before walking away.

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“I still can’t believe he’s one of us” Chan said, as he was sewing a new cloak.

“Hard to believe? That’s for him?” Y/n asked, and Chan nodded “Can’t let him parade around like that. Not until he learns masking. You know he has sensation on his scales area and it's so smooth, it's scary” he said.

Y/n laughed “of course he does, all these marks are functional, my eyes, your split tongue, all of them” she said. “Why was his so late though?” Chan asked the question he has been wondering for hours now. “It’s rare but it happens, I guess it’s his Sixteenth birthday” Y/n shrugged nonchalantly.

“What?” Chan said, “So it's today”

“Don’t worry he’s gonna have a lot of those” She said and shrugged. “But there’s only one sixteenth okay!” he protested.

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It was a peaceful day. Y/n was minding her own business (literally) she was preparing for a batch of wolfsbane a nearby pack had requested. When she heard a knock on the door of her work room. Strange, she knew Hoshi and Chan weren’t home and the boy stayed away from her, since his childhood. Another round of knocks sounded and she finally decided to get up and check and there stood the boy, he seemed really nervous. She carefully looked at him, hes towering over her, his features so much more different, and she wondered why she never noticed all this before.

“I-um. I- I found someth-ing in the wo-wood. C-can you please come and see?” he said in a tiny voice almost unsure “please, or it may die” he added and that snatched Y/n’s interest.

So she followed the worried boy through the woods. Now that she noticed she realized how much he has grown, he’s much taller than her now, he’s a man now. His body was developed and toned, the boy she remembers is long gone. Y/n was completely distracted and before she could realize a branch hit her arm, scathing through her skin, “uh” she groaned. In a blink of an eye Mingyu was beside her “Y/n? Are you okay?” he asked and before she could react he grabbed her arm to examine it. “It’s okay, I’ll jus-” she stopped. Flares appeared around his fingers and he grazed it over the wound, and just like that, the wound was gone, so was the pain and the scar.

He took her hand into his and started leading the way again. “This way” he said. Y/n felt a blush creep onto her cheek and she shook her head, ‘He’s a child’ she told herself.

They reached near the mountains and the entrance of a cave came into view. “It’s in here” he said and walked in leaving her behind. The inside was dark, Mingyu turned to ask her if he should conjure a fire, but he was stunned. There she walked proudly in the darkness, her eyes shining bright fluorescent. “Don’t worry, that's my mark” she said, walking confidently with her perfect vision. Mingyu awed inside his mind but didn’t let a word out, he silently led the way.

You heard a grunt, an animalistic one, it wasn't unfamiliar though, just that you haven't heard these in over a century. As soon as it came into view, you rushed to it. It was a dragon, not full grown though and it was extremely weak and hurt. “Conjure a fire” she instructed Mingyu as she herself conjured her Potions cabinet.

She examined the dragon’s injuries, thankfully they weren't infected. “Mingyu bring some water” Y/n said and Mingyu rushed out, thankfully the river was close by. On getting back they both made the dragon drink the water followed by a concoction that she had made. The dragon slowly opened its eyes and it seemed scared, “sshhh” Y/n calmed it down by stroking its head, “We're friends”.

“I didn't know dragon's were real” Mingyu finally said. “They actually are, but spotting one is a very difficult task in this century” Y/n said, Mingyu just looked at her confused, hesitant if he should ask further. She realized that and went on, “Two centuries ago, the humans got this wicked idea of killing fair creatures, for merry and bravery” she chuckled, but Mingyu knew it wasn't a bit funny “Species after species went extinct in their cruel hands. That was when a warlocks’ summit was called. We all came to the decision to go into hiding. We trained our fair creatures to stay out of sight. This baby seems like it wasn't lucky enough to learn that and got injured”

“Will it be okay?” Mingyu asked. “It's okay, they're tougher than you think” Y/n said, her eyes glowing.

It was the first time he interacted with her, he knew Y/n was kind and was cold to him for a reason, as Chan and Hoshi always told him, but he witnessed it himself today.

“Can I ask you a question?” He finally mustered the courage to speak up and Y/n nodded. “Why do you show that you hate me?” He asked. “What do you mean?” She asked, feering like a deer caught at a torch light. “I remember how you used to push me away whenever I stepped near you, but you have saved me from dangers multiple times since I was small. Once from that wild dog, then that time when I was falling off that branch, another time when I almost poured a boiling potion on myself. Many times, why? Why did you hide and save me. I know that if you hated me then you wouldn't have saved me, so you cared but you never showed” he concluded and Y/n stayed silent. He had a feeling that his question wouldn't be answered, but Y/n started speaking, shocking him.

“When you have a long life you'll have to see too many deaths, some of them leave you shattered. I just wanted to not get attached” a sad smile on her face “When we got to know that you're a warlock, that night I laid down and thought back to how wrongly I had treated you. You were always this ball of light and I felt like I dimmed it by treating you the way I did. So I told myself I didn't deserve to have you in my life.” She said, finally looking at him “I'm sorry, I know that won't be enough for ev-” she was interrupted by him.

“No, don't say that, I knew you had a reason, even Hoshi and Chan told me that. I know how kind and loving you are. Don't apologize, all I've ever wanted was to be someone you trusted, I've always looked up to you, when I realized I was a warlock, I felt like I finally had a chance so stand beside you” he said as he knelt down on the ground to her level, where she was sitting.

Y/n didn't know if it was the effect of the shadows or something else but right now, his honey skin seemed so alluring. Something about him felt so familiar, yet distant. Something about this warm feeling she's having gave her comfort yet stirred her soul.

“Y/n! Mingyu!” They heard distant calls, it sounded like Chan. “Y/n! Mingyu! Can you hear me?” Seemed like he was at the entrance of the cave and before they could call out a small ball of fur came rushing towards them and jumped into Y/n’s arms and a very relieved Chan was heard saying “there you are!”

“Oh my god! That's a baby dragon!” he exclaimed and walked close as the Hamster started moving it's hand and making random noises. “Yes yes” Y/n said, and flairs were seen around her fingers, she swerved them over the Hamster that she kept on the ground and there stood Hoshi, who now rushed and hugged Mingyu. “I was so worried! So I asked Chan to turn me so that I could smell you both and track you” he said. “You're such a fine tracking hamster” Y/n said with a smile. Mingyu extended his hand and she took it, pulling her up on her feet.

This kind of threw Chan and Hoshi in surprise, but only Chan noticed a different shine in both their eyes as they looked at each other.

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Other Works

[officersnickers]

Norember 2023 - Fairytale

"On the edge of a great forest there lived a poor woodcutter with wife and his two children; the little boy was called Hänsel and the girl Gretel..."

If there's any fairytale fitting for both Norman and Emma's characters, then it's definitly Hänsel and Gretel. I mean, a boy improsioned and supposed to be eaten by an evil Witch? And the younger but strong willed girl who tricks the Witch and saves the boy? 🍪🍭💎