#finn is practically a giant

[folkwhoredoll]

golden retriever - rafe cameron x fem!reader

pairing: rafe cameron x fem!reader

synopsis: when your dog runs off to approach rafe

word count: 0.8k

warnings/tags: fluff (i used the name "finn" because that's the name of my dog irl but feel free to change it😊)

masterlist

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

The waves lapped gently at the shore as you walked along the beach, the familiar sound of Finn's paws pattering beside you bringing a sense of peace. It was a beautiful evening, the sun beginning to set, casting a soft, golden hue across the water. The gentle breeze tugged at your hair, and you smiled as you looked down at Finn, your golden retriever, who seemed just as content as you.

But that peace didn’t last long.

Out of nowhere, Finn’s ears perked up, and before you could react, he bolted. His leash slipped from your hand as his strong body charged forward, and you stumbled backward, momentarily stunned by the sudden burst of energy.

“Finn! No!” you called, panic rising in your chest as you sprinted after him. Your heart pounded in your ears as you struggled to keep up with his large frame darting down the beach.

Of course, Finn was fast—too fast. He wove through the sand, his fur shining like liquid gold under the dimming sun, clearly set on reaching something you couldn't see. Your legs burned from the effort, and your breath came in short gasps. He was heading straight toward a figure standing near a boat docked not far away.

You froze when you realized who it was.

Rafe Cameron.

Of all people, why him? You'd heard enough about his reputation to know that approaching him wasn't exactly on your to-do list.

Before you could even think of a way to stop the disaster unfolding, Finn was already upon him, tail wagging like crazy. But what surprised you even more was how Rafe reacted. He didn’t flinch or seem irritated as Finn skidded to a stop, practically bumping into him. Instead, he crouched down and gave your dog a firm pat on the head, his expression surprisingly calm.

"Easy there, big guy," Rafe muttered, scratching behind Finn’s ears.

You finally caught up, your breath ragged as you stopped in front of them, panting and wide-eyed. "Finn! Oh my God, I'm so sorry—he's usually not like this, I swear."

Your heart was still pounding, not just from the run but from the sight in front of you: Rafe Cameron, notorious for his cold demeanor, standing casually with your runaway golden retriever as if they were old pals. Finn was calm now, his big, goofy grin aimed up at Rafe, tongue hanging out in utter contentment.

Rafe’s eyes flickered up to meet yours, and for a split second, something softened in his gaze. His lips curled into the faintest of smirks, though he kept his voice even. "It’s fine. Looks like he likes me."

You were caught off guard by how casual he sounded, like it wasn’t the first time he’d had a giant, excitable dog run full-speed at him. "Yeah, he… he doesn’t usually do that," you managed, still trying to catch your breath. You knelt down beside Finn, gripping his leash as if that could somehow ground you in this strange moment.

You couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. Rafe’s reputation wasn’t exactly pristine, and while you didn’t know him personally, you had heard enough to make your stomach flip with a mix of caution and curiosity. But standing here now, watching him scratch Finn behind the ears with that half-smirk on his face, he didn’t seem dangerous. Just… quiet.

"Well, he’s got good taste," Rafe said, his voice low but teasing. His blue eyes lingered on you for a second longer than you expected, sending a strange flutter through your chest.

You blinked, heat rising in your cheeks. Was that a compliment? "Uh, thanks," you stammered, feeling oddly out of place. You tugged at Finn’s leash, trying to focus. "I should, um, I should probably go. Sorry again for, you know, the…dog situation."

Rafe straightened up, brushing some sand off his hands. His expression was neutral now, but there was something unreadable in his eyes. "No problem," he replied simply, though the corners of his mouth twitched, like he was holding back another smirk. "Try to keep him on a tighter leash next time."

You bit your lip, unsure whether to laugh or be embarrassed, but you nodded. "Yeah, I’ll do that." You gave Finn’s leash a gentle tug, urging him to follow you away from the beach and away from Rafe Cameron, who now stood watching you with that same unreadable look.

As you walked away, you couldn’t help but glance back over your shoulder, half-expecting him to be gone. But Rafe was still there, his hands now in his pockets, gazing out at the horizon. Something about that moment—the golden sunset, the quiet between you—stuck with you as you made your way down the beach, Finn trotting obediently beside you.

You weren’t sure why your heart was still racing.

[cheschesterpossum]

First I want to say that I hope you’re feeling better, I can definitely relate to school taking a toll on my mental health (exams are a bitch). This AU gets my gears turning and I wanted to give some ideas for CITF for you to maybe look at when you are felling better. These are completely random and mostly unrelated to each other and in no particular order. I hope you enjoy!

Humans are only slightly shorter than cybertronians, when humans put the Cybertronians in their little pocket universe they made it so that the Cybertronians were bigger then everybody else, why? Because it’s funny. So when a human visits Cybertron they are the size of an average Cybertronians.

Humans or Y/N view Cybertronians as their children, as well as Primus AND Unicron. So if a scenario where the Lost Light has a human on board and they come across Unicron it’s going to be really weird for the crew because the human liaison is threatening Unicron with time out if he keeps doing what he’s doing (idk eating planets or smth) while Unicron is pouting and whining that he isn’t a kid anymore. While this exchange is happening the crew of the LL is both confused and horrified that this human is telling their version of Satan that they’re going to put them in time out.

The 13 original Primes where the only Cybertronians that knew Humans created them and since the Matrix of Leadership contains the knowledge of the past Primes this mean that Optimus knows that humans created his species.

Cybertronians were created as the next evolution of human robotics. The original 13 Primes were created to see just what they could do with the newly developed technology that was used to make Rung.

Scraplets act like dogs and/or cats around humans.

Every Cybertronian when they see a human and/or Y/N(The creator of their species) they subconsciously recognize them.

the reason why many Cybertronian alt modes have seats, steering wheels, cockpits, etc. is because they were originally made for human use.

I’m in the process of thinking about more stuff especially lore so I wanted to share some of my ideas.

OMG YES YES, THESE ARE AMAZING I LOVE IT WHEN PEOPLE SHARE THEIR IDEAS WITH MEWIHDSUSENHEJ-

Im doing better now dw:) and also thank you so much for these lovely brilliant ideas, im stuffing these into the AU no exception!!

I really like the idea of human being the same size as cybertronians in this AU, I've been thinking about for a long time actually. Also if we're the same size, that mean we're practically giants compared to everyone else in the pocket universe (aside cybertronians). Their alt-mode having seats, steering wheels, cockpit, ect also make so much sense as they're originally made for human's use. IT'S ALL COMING TOGETHER.

When imagining y/n and Unicron, i thought of that one scene in Adventure Time where Finn ground Ice King, i could see this totally happening lolol. The Lost Light, beside Rung prolly, are flabbergasted.

Scary robot Satan getting put in time out- actually, y/n putting both Primus and Unicron time out whenever they argue. Great, just great.

The 13 Primes being created using the same tech that was used to make Rung/Primus, the only few cybertronians knew of their species roots, those who obtained the Matrix of Leadership will be passed on the knowledge.... humans..humans originally created the Matrix? The Allspark?

Hnggggggggg-Domesticated Scraplets go brrrrrr, they're like tiny dogs/cats. Cybs be looking horrified as we pet those metal-eating pest that destroyed cities. Building an army of Scraplets and commanding them, i have no doubt some of you out there would try it. Shi, it'll be like minions and gru/j.

The bots getting that faint feeling of connection, they can't exactly put their digits onto it but it's there. It scares some and intrigue some, but they're all drawn to it in some way. What is it about these fleshies that feels... different? Yet familiar at the same time? Who are we to them?

Slowly, subconsciously, as if a long buried forgotten instinct surfaces. They started to listen more intently when we talk, when we indirectly or directly ask for something they fetch it for us, ect. It feels... right, like something clicked. It feels so right when we touch them, a small accidental brush, a handshake, or a friendly pat.

Before they knew it they started craving it, they feel like they lost their purpose when we're gone (like a vehicle being abandonded, left to rust and fall apart through time). It's scary and it's as uncanny as how much they yearn for a human's touch-

Im going insane.

[jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka]

This collab has been in the works for some time now and we’re finally ready to share with you the first chapter! @kultavalo and I have giggled for many a moons over these two love birds so we hope you enjoy them just as much as we do 🥰

*Read on AO3

Pairing: Josh Kiszka X Danny Wagner *sweet sweet slash

Warnings and tags: 18+ ONLY! No minors need be present where Finn and I are involved! Some slight angst, idiots pinning and flirting, fluuuffff, more tags to be added later

Word count: 2.7k

Omne Trium Perfectum, everything that comes in threes is perfect.

What a beautiful phrase, though anything in Latin did tend to have that effect.

It was something Danny often thought about ever since he heard it read aloud from a book Jake was reading in their shared space on the bus between two seemingly identical cities.

The more he thought about it the more it did very well seem that everything that came in threes was indeed perfect: the sun, the moon, and the stars. Melody, rhythm, and harmony. The three musketeers, the three wise men, the holy trinity, hell even bacon lettuce and tomato…

Though he’d been close with the Kiszkas for a very long time, Danny still sometimes struggled to find where he fit in. Josh, Jake, and Sam- everything in threes is perfect.

Even despite their constant corrections of interviewers, their heartening attempts to include him, Danny still had this nagging feeling in the back of his head that he would always be just on the outside looking in. Of course that was until three times he and Josh kissed, and by the third time he knew he was right where he belonged.

𖤓 - ☾ - ☆

The mall was quiet. The giant plastic ice cream cone that slowly turned near the entrance to the food court hummed softly in its rotations. A pack of moms with strollers had invaded the benches near the central fountain and a group of kids who were quite clearly supposed to be in school right now shot them nervous glances from their huddled corner near the Hot Topic.

It wasn’t often that Josh and Danny got to spend some quality time with just the two of them. Often either Sam or Jake or both would tag along on whatever adventure they might go on, not wanting to miss out on any potential fun.

But honestly this trip to the mall was not exactly the kind of quality time or adventure anyone was actually thrilled about.

Earlier that day Josh had received quite a scolding from Jen, their makeup artist. He had been secretly dipping into her stash of white eyeliners after he had run out of the one tiny pencil he had brought on tour himself.

In his defense Josh had never expected that he would enjoy wearing the simple white dots that were all his current skill level would allow on a daily basis. The original idea had been to only apply them for interviews and more casual public outings where he still had to look the rockstar part. But the more he practiced and perfected his symmetrical application, the more he started to add the tiny bits of flair to his daily outfits. They made him feel pretty. The pencil he had brought lasted about two weeks.

He really thought Jen wouldn’t notice. It was just one pencil out of her giant kit! But in his ignorance Josh had inadvertently grabbed the most expensive item out of the whole bunch and Jen had definitely noticed.

She had cornered him in the dining room of the hotel during breakfast that morning. It had just been him and Danny at their table, sleepily blinking into their cereal as they tried to wake themselves up enough to actually go out and enjoy their day off between shows. Neither boy had noticed her angrily stomp up to them until it was too late.

She slammed her hand down on the table, rattling the cups and bowls and startling the two half asleep musicians.

“Joshua Michael Kiszka.” she hissed as she held up the stump of what used to be a full white eyeliner pencil.

“I know your mother raised you better than to steal so would you care to explain to me what this is supposed to be?”

Fear gripped Josh’s heart. Jen was one of the most gentle and loving people he knew. No matter what kind of shenanigans he pulled or how bratty he acted she always treated him kindly and with a smile. So the fact that she now looked like she was about to strangle him truly made him think carefully about his next words.

“Uhm…” was all he managed to stutter out before she put up a hand to silence him.

“Don’t even start with me, young man. Do you have any idea how expensive this pencil is?”

Josh simply shook his head slowly. He’d never really thought about the price of makeup, the shitty little pencil he got at CVS was just a few bucks, but the look on Jen’s face told him that had not been the case for the one he’d so carelessly nicked from her beautycase.

“Forty five dollars.” she spat at him and all the color in Josh’s face drained. He didn’t even know eyeliner could be that expensive.

“You better get me a new one Josh.” Jen continued, “Or you can do your own makeup for the rest of the tour.”

Danny, who had been trying to stay as quiet as possible and had just focussed on finishing his cereal and getting the hell out of dodge as quickly as possible let out a tiny snicker at that. He instantly regretted letting the small noise escape his lips when Jen turned her burning gaze to him.

“And you!” She pointed an accusing finger at Danny but quickly lowered it when she realized he hadn’t actually done anything wrong.

“You better go with him and make sure he doesn’t fuck up more.” she grumbled before storming back off to her room, leaving the two boys stunned in her wake.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her that angry before” Danny mumbled into his coffee cup as Josh dropped his face into his hands in shame.

“Yeah me neither.” Josh’s voice was muffled but Danny could still make out the words.

“You gotta help me Danny, I really fucked up this time.” he sighed as he rubbed his hands over his face.

Danny sighed as he finished the last of his coffee. This wasn’t exactly what he had planned for his one day off in over a week, but he couldn’t let Josh down. Something about those big brown eyes that pleadingly stared at him from between those fingers made him incapable of saying no.

“Fine, but you owe me one.”

***

They'd hijacked a runner van and taken a trip to the nearest mall.

Soft jazz echoed through the almost abandoned halls and promenade as Josh and Danny made their way from shop to shop. The search for the insanely overpriced pencil had started frantically. Jen had left the stump Josh had tried to sneak back into her kit on the breakfast table and the boys had been smart enough to bring it with them for reference.

It didn't take long for him to get distracted however.

Besides his own impulse purchase of the white eyeliner during an unrelated CVS run, Josh had never actually been inside a makeup store. He had no idea about the wealth of products that were available and the wide assortment of colors and sparkles blew his mind.

Danny tried to keep him on track for the first hour or so but he had to admit trying out all the different shades of eyeshadow on the back of his hands was pretty fun.

“Do you think we should get Jen a new eyeshadow palette as well?” Josh had asked once both of his hands were covered in colorful swatches.

“You know, as an apology?” He continued as he swiped a new color onto Danny's wrist, having run out of space on his own skin.

Danny shot him a halfhearted frown but in all fairness the glittery purple Josh had put on him did look good against his skin.

“We don't have to do anything. If you'll remember I didn't steal anything. If you wanna buy her something extra to make up for your crimes feel free. I'm just here to keep you out of more trouble.” Danny said as he jokingly swiped a line of silver powder across Josh’s cheek.

Josh snorted out a laugh as he swatted Danny's hand away from his face.

“And you're doing a marvelous job at it darling.” He laughed as he turned back to the array of makeup in front of him, loading up his fingers with 10 new colors to try.

Danny knew Josh joked when he called him pet names. He called everyone darling, it wasn't anything special.

But the way his stomach felt… like there was a tiny firecracker that went off in his abdomen when the word hit his ears. It still made him feel special…

Danny quickly locked that feeling back in the corner of his brain he had labeled “for future consideration”. A corner he had established a few years ago when one random Tuesday in August he had looked at Josh and something in the way the sun hit him in that moment made his stomach flip over twice.

Danny wasn't sure when the time for consideration would arrive. It certainly wouldn't be right now though, walking towards the lipstick counter, about to tell Josh he probably shouldn't swatch the chapstick straight on his lips.

“Josh, I don't think that's very hygienic.” Danny hissed into his ear while he scanned the area for any employees who might have spotted them and deemed this the final transgression worthy of kicking them out of the store. They still hadn’t found that ridiculously overpriced pencil they were looking for in the first place.

Josh simply let out a huff and rolled his eyes.

“Calm down, I’m gonna buy it. It tastes like watermelon though!” he said as he absentmindedly threw the tube into the shopping basket Danny was holding.

After about another hour of swatching, searching, and Danny herding Josh through the aisles like a toddler who might eat all the crayons in art class, they finally found the elusive white eyeliner pencil.

Jen hadn’t lied, it really was fortyfive dollars. It seemed like a ridiculous price to Danny but Josh bought two anyway. One for her and one for him so she wouldn’t kick his ass for stealing again.

After their quest was complete the two men decided to reward themselves with milkshakes and look at their respective hauls in the food court.

“Can you get me a chocolate with whipped cream shake?” Josh asked as he walked towards the nearest table, typing on his phone as he took a seat, practically ignoring Danny.

“Absolutely the fuck not.” Danny said with a huff which made Josh look up in surprise. The confused look on his face was honestly adorable but Danny didn’t let that influence him.

“I sacrificed my free day to come along with you. You used both my arms as swatch central, and I’m carrying both of our bags. You get me a milkshake.” Danny laughed. He wasn’t actually angry at Josh but someone needed to reign in the diva on occasion.

The pouty look Josh shot at him was almost enough to sway his determination but Danny put his foot down. He did do all of those things for Josh and there was no reason why he shouldn’t receive a little bit of gratitude for it.

Josh let out a dramatic sigh when he realized Danny wasn’t wavering but he did get up and started walking towards the shake shop.

“Don’t you want to know my order?” Danny asked as Josh walked off but he simply waved and said “I know what you like.”

Danny pretended his stomach didn’t shoot up into his throat at those words. He took a seat at the table Josh had picked and started rifling through their shopping bags. their quest had started with just one pencil but they had ended up with so much more. Eyeshadow and blush palettes, mascara, nail polish, lipstick. They could have put together their own beauty kits at this point.

Danny lazily looked over it all as he waited for Josh to return. They had bought so much sparkly shit. He didn’t even know what half of it was for but he was sure he could figure it out with some help from google and youtube.

Out of the corner of his eye, still slightly stuck in the plastic bag Danny spotted an item he did know how to use however. The chapstick Josh had said tasted like watermelon.

He grabbed the tiny tube and pulled the cap off. The strong, sweet smell of artificial watermelon immediately penetrated his nostrils. It was a fairly intense but nonetheless pleasant smell.

Danny absentmindedly pressed the chapstick to his lips, wanting to see for himself if the smell actually matched the flavor or if it would simply taste like vaseline.

He had to admit he wasn’t disappointed. The chapstick truly did taste like a watermelon candy.

“I don’t think that’s very hygienic.” Josh's mocking voice spoke from right next to him, slightly startling Danny.

Josh simply chuckled as he set down the tray carrying the two giant milkshakes he had purchased.

“Now it’s almost like we kissed.” he grinned at Danny as he took a sip from his own cup and pushed the other towards the drummer.

Danny’s eyes went wide and all he could stammer out was a shaky “Wh-what?”

Josh shrugged as he popped the clear plastic dome off of his cup and used his straw to mix the whipped cream through his drink. He barely even looked up at Danny as he continued speaking.

“That’s what they say, when you share chapstick it’s like you kissed. ‘Cause your lips touched the same surface.”

Danny stared at Josh for a long quiet moment. Josh hardly seemed to notice, too busy with mixing his drink to the perfect consistency.

Eventually the self preservation mechanism in Danny’s brain took over and he quickly took a sip of his own milkshake to break the awkwardness.

The taste that hit his tongue was simultaneously nothing like he expected and everything he knew he wanted.

“I didn’t know they made watermelon milkshakes.”

“I told you. I know what you like.”

Danny tried to hide his blush behind his giant cup but honestly it was hardly necessary. Josh had grabbed the nearest eyeshadow palette and was intensely studying the shimmering colors.

Once they had finished their drinks they decided it was time to head back to the hotel.

They had seen pretty much all the tiny mall had to offer and Danny was set on spending whatever remained of his free day soaking in the jacuzzi tub his room had granted him access to. If he spent some of that soaking time thinking about a certain frontman and getting himself off, well that was between him and the bathwater.

Josh had texted the van driver while they were still at the food court so by the time they’d found the correct mall exit they only had to wait for another ten minutes to be picked up.

The sun was shining bright and there was a small patch of grass next to the pick-up area. Josh quickly kicked his sandals off and sighed contently as his bare feet touched the grass. With his eyes closed and his face turned to the sun Josh didn’t notice Danny staring at him.

There was a reason everyone compared Josh to the sun. He radiated a certain kind of light that was simply undeniable. Right now Josh seemed to be recharging, soaking up the few rays of direct sunlight he could get to make his own glow shine brighter once more. Danny loved staring at that glow, even if he could only do it in secret. Whenever he could bask in those little rays of Josh’s sunlight he felt like a starving man finally being fed.

It wasn’t too long before the van showed up and Josh reluctantly put his shoes back on, threw his bags in the trunk, and joined Danny in the backseat.

Josh patted his pockets as the van started driving, seemingly looking for something. He turned in his seat and hooked his arm over the headrest, trying to reach something in the trunk.

Danny looked at him in confusion but before he could ask what he was doing Josh turned back. He huffed, looked at Danny, and kissed him straight on the lips.

Danny’s brain short circuited.

It only lasted a second. Honestly it was over before he even realized what had happened.

He simply blinked at Josh in confusion, hoping that somehow the morse code his eyes were spelling out conveyed his question of “what just happened” to the other man.

It seemingly worked cause Josh simply shrugged and said “my lips were dry. The chapstick is in the bag in the trunk but you’re still wearing it. I’m simply getting back what I paid for Daniel, don’t look so surprised. If anything, this whole trip today should have taught you that stealing doesn’t work.”

He pulled out his phone and half heartedly started scrolling through instagram, ignoring Danny’s still shocked gaze.

Josh had kissed him. On the mouth. Like it was nothing.

Danny's stomach was in his throat and his heart was in his ears and Josh was just looking at his phone.

The watermelon flavored tube of chapstick burned a hole into the pocket of his pants.

𖤓 - ☾ - ☆

Tags: @sanguinebats @gracev0609

[rhodesrider]

A Purple Christmas

Mafia!Judgement Day x Little!Fem!Y/N

Warnings: Some flashbacks, some cussing, age regression, mention of weapons, mentions of harassment, mentions of violence/gun violence

Minors! DNI! 18+!

~

Feeling the cool air in her room and soon the light shining on her face, Y/N smiled as she had a long night getting stuff together for her sweethearts while they were at work handling business. The presents one by one still in her room. She wanted to make something practical, that they would wear all the time so she took the time to make bracelets. For each one of them has a special charm. She opened her eyes slow and she yawned some hearing holiday music downstairs. Getting up slow stretching, going to do her usual face routine and putting on slippers peeking out the doorway trying to look downstairs. JD walked by the hallways and smirked seeing her some, motioning her to come down as he was carrying gifts as well. She nodded and went back to grab the bag full of boxes. She walked down carefully and squealed soon getting scooped up by Finn. “Merry Christmas little munchkin!” He growled and play tickled her holding her tight so she doesn’t fall. That got everyone attention and gave a smile to the whole group seeing her smile in the morning. “There’s my little princess!” Rhea squealed some as she loved the holidays the most and had her big gift ready between her legs. Finn put her down in her favorite chair in the living room and kissed her on the forehead one last time before going to his pile ready for her. “Ok so, Dom and Damian are fixing breakfast, and I know you’re hungry but we made a wheel so you can do something before we eat.” JD gave her the wheel kissing her forehead as well before sitting back down. “Is papa making pancakes?” Y/N ask as she examining the wheel. “Your favorite pancakes and fruit bowl. They also made some bacon and eggs.” JD answered as he fixed the three gifts he got Y/N on his side of the L-Couch. “Yummy! But ok I’ll pick now! I wanna exchange my gifts as well!” She smiled happy as she spun the wheel.

The first name was Dominic, “Dom Dom! Come on in here. JD tag in with him.” Rhea instructed and both nodded trading places. Dom smiled and went to Y/N kissing her all over and giving her three small boxes and one giant one. “Open them in any order babydoll.” He watched closely as Y/N started to open them, the first was a pandora bracelet, blank canvas, her last one was broke from a raid that happened to their house earlier in the year and two of her charms were stolen. Dominik protected her while the others handled the men that intruded and held her close in her room calming her down so she wouldn’t have a panic attack. After that he wanted to check but she didn’t want him to leave so he stayed and comforted her the whole time. Y/N shed a tear and he smiled placing it on her wrist for her. She smiled at the small engravement and kissed his nose. “Thank you Dom.” Y/N loved it. The other two were boxes with 3 charms in it each for the bracelet, he slowly restored it back for her and added more. And the big gift was next. “I hope you love it ,it was literally the last one.” He smiled. She opened it smiling seeing it was a giant gengar, a limited edition one that was a pale purple. “You got me a shiny gengar!” She squealed as it was one of Y/Ns Pokemon on her team. She helped Dom get into Pokemon and they always play the newest game the DLCs and battle each other. Y/N held the stuffie close to her and kissed Dom on the cheeks making him blush. Little did he know that Finn already spun the wheel and shoved him to the side excited. “Hey!” He was ready for a fight with Finn and his cheeky smile but Rhea put an end to that giving a look to both. “Stop the rough housing and gift her.” Rhea hissed. She giggled and tossed Dom his gift she made him, “Don’t open it yet ok?” He nodded smiling at the semi wrapped well gift.

Finn proudly took gengar and put him to the side of her and gave her two gifts and one big one. “Sure that was sweet and all pipsqueak but mine is gonna take the cake.” Damien overheard him rolling his eyes and in the process saying in his language “Se va a llevar el pastel solo porque ayudé.” (It’s gonna take the cake only because I helped.) JD smirked some knowing what he said and Finn rolled his eyes. “Why is papa Damien so mean to me?” Finn pouted and it made Y/N pout hugging him. “Ok lass go at it.” She giggled and she started to tear the gifts open. One box contained a beautiful necklace, with Finn’s initials. “Awwww finny…” she smiled and Finn helped her put it on. She opened the next and it was vinyls that she wanted for her collection, limited edition. The last one was an envelope, she looked at it and she teared the top opening it and seeing it was tickets to her favorite artist. She squealed to the top of her lungs and she jumps up and down soon gripping on to Finn hugging him koala style. She’s been wanting to go to the concert for a while but due to how everything is set up she couldn’t go by herself. But Finn took the time to talk to Rhea and she subsided her overprotective ways for her this once, but there was a twist. He had to go with her. “I thought you did like my music teddy bear…” she pouted looking up. He sigh swallowing his pride and shrugged. “Eh I’ll live. It’s only one night and you’ve been wanting to go so bad.” He kissed her and hugged her close. The last gift she opened was another large stuffed animal, the pokemon mudkip. “You said it reminded you of me so why not?” He laughed some. She hugged it close and kissed his cheek giving him his gift. “Don’t open it just yet.” She stopped him before he opened it like a kid on Christmas. He nodded fast and Damien finally finished up breakfast.

After that they started up the wheel again, and Rhea was next. She smiled and she placed her gifts in front of Y/N sitting in front of her watching her rip them open. One small one and one big one. She started with the little one. A necklace, a small locket with her and Rhea in a photo. “Mama I love it.” She smiled and Rhea helped her put it on layering it so it doesn’t overlaps Finn’s. “Now this is very special babygirl, this was passed down in my family. And mama loves you so much that she’s giving it to you. You mean the world to mama, to finny, to Papa and Dom Dom and JJ. You mean everything to us. So I want you to have this ok?”Y/N teared up and Rhea kissed her tears away giggling. “No crying baby. We love you.” Y/N sniffles hugging her again. And the big gift was a giant mimikyu, she was grateful for all the stuffed animals but she’s scared she won’t have any more space in her bed. Next was Damien, he smiled and got his three gifts. “Ok flower, I can’t top tears or squeals I honestly just want that beautiful smile I love seeing.” She nodded and she started to unopen gifts. Damien was always the calm note in Y/Ns time being with them. She would have night terrors and she would need comfort and Damien was always there to calm her and hum to her. One night as they were having a meeting and drinks, and Y/N doesn’t do people well. She walked down the steps to get some water from the kitchen, running into one of the security guards for the other gang that was visiting for a meeting. She was in a big shirt and slippers, saying excuse me to the guard. But he was blocking her way, taunting her some. “You must be the goths pet.” He smirked and looked at her up and down. She was getting uncomfortable, “p-please move…” she said low and the man smirked getting to her level. “I could eat you alive talking to me like that pet.” She was shaking some whimpering and she ran the other way quick upstairs. The man wanted to follow her but was stopped by the last person he wanted to see. “Where are you going?” Damien hissed and looking down at the shorter man, “No where man-“ “I wouldn’t lie. Try again.” The guard was silent and Damien sighed. He walked away and went upstairs slow hearing some crying upstairs.

Damien was growing angry hearing her cry, he hated tears falling from her beautiful face. He knocked on the door and soon hear nothing. “Mamas can I come in?” He heard a broken yes and walked in seeing her hiding under her blanket. “Princess…are you ok?” Damien asked low. He slowly uncovered her from under the blanket and saw that her eyes were puffy, and her knife in her hand. “Baby, why do you have that? Were you protecting yourself?” She nodded fast putting the knife on the other side and getting in his arms crying. Damien was so hurt and that put rage in his heart, someone wanting to touch what’s theirs. He rocked her to calm her down, “I just wanted some water, I’m sorry papa I shouldn’t have left my room…he scared me…” she said in the middle of sobbing. He rocked her more and hummed in her ear holding her close. “No one is ever gonna hurt you angel. Not while we are around.” That was a promise. And the man that bothered Y/N, well Damien put Y/N to sleep and dragged that man outside doing some unspeakable things. His anger is something not to be tampered with. Or what he loves.

Y/N opened beautiful gifts from Damien, handwoven jewelry and rings with beautiful gems inside. “I’m scared to even wear these…” she muttered. It was so beautiful that she feels if she wears them they will crumble to dust. “You don’t have to wear them now baby but I’m so glad you love them.” He smiled and kissed her forehead and nose making her giggle. She put on the woven bracelet and smiled at the beautiful colors. While they discussed some in the living room happy that she’s admiring the gifts there’s still one more person. JD. He was honest nervous about giving his gifts. He’s been with the crew for a while but not as long as they stuck together, and they all been sticking together as a family. Sometimes JD feels like he intrudes into a lot even though he works with them. “JJ?” The sweetest voice took him out of his thoughts and he looked up seeing Y/N over him as he was sat down. “You wanna open mine with everyone first?” She asked feeling he was a bit nervous on his first Christmas. He saw the box in her hand and nodded. They all started to open their gifts and they all saw a homemade bracelet. “I know it’s not much I just didn’t wanna let you guys be without this year…” she rubbed her hands together slightly nervous from their expressions. “Babygirl it’s beautiful..” Finn smiled putting it on seeing it was a black and followed by his favorite color. The same patterns with everyone else and special charms that symbolized them. JD saw his charm seeing it was a small angel. “You are one of my protectors no matter how long I’ve known I thank you everyday for loving me, accepting me and being here for me JJ..” he sniffled some letting a tear fall. “Thank you dollface.” He kissed her cheek hugging her. Dominik has an angel and a mood checker charm, symbolizing him watching her and communicating her moods and tempers, when she wants to be little and hide away, he’s her protecter and keep her moods in check so she can survive. Rhea has the angel and a figure of them hugging holding a heart. Symbolism of her being her first love, Rhea was her first everything and will always be her mama. Damien had the extra charm of an angel and a lion, royalty and a proud papa like most lions are. And Finn a charm of an angel and a jokester icon, always making her laugh and playing with her to keep her little and making her happy right to left. JD gave his gifts next, an Apple Watch with a cute band in the next box and new AirPods. “Thank you JJ!” She said excited to set it up and get it working on her phone. Rhea was proud of JD, and so happy that Y/N had a great Christmas.

“So baby who had the best gifts?”Dominik asked while they were all watching some Christmas movies. “I loved all of them silly! I can’t choose.” She smiled as she sat in Damien’s lap playing with his necklace. “It was me.” Finn muttered. Dom rolled his eyes. Rhea threw a small object at Finn giving him a look. “I’m glad you had a wonderful Christmas babygirl.” The warmest smile was still on JDs face looking at the bracelet grateful of his gift. “The best Christmas.” He mumbled kissing the charm.

Merry Christmas~

[ask-olive-huchers]

just for funnies, I'm gonna do a relationship chart thingy realll quick with the characters Olive has interacted with (plus maple, Chris, Ditch, and pebble bc they technically have met but there's so roleplay for them-)

Olive and Bailey: Likes. Literally his big murderous brother guys trust!! He misses hanging out with him a LOT

Olive and Sora: likes. Platonically loves the guy. Misses him every fucking day.

Olive and Zaria: they know she helped Rowan with her plan. So. hate.

Olive and jasper: ehh, neutral (ish). Just has fun messing with him most of the time. So I guess possibly another brother figure idk

Olive and Rowan: despises. Hates. Would kill. Could kill. It’s their fault. Or, that’s what olive thinks anyway.

• Olive and Finn: neutral. Not much to say in this in, olive just doesn't really know Finn that much.

Olive and Jay: ZERO OUT OF TEN. HATE EACHOTHER, DEARLY. WOULD PUNCH THIS MAN FOR A CRUMB OF BREAD BRO. ANYTHING TO MAKE HIM SHUT UP.

Olive and Skipp: do I even need to explain this one? ok, fine. Olive definitely "likes" Skipp. Let's put in simple terms for now, shall we?

Olive and Yuki: Dislike. Only bc bro was in a bad mood when they had met. Then again Olives kinda always in a bad mood, so..-

Olive and Ray: sorta dislike. Only because they had a bad first impression as well. But all of Olive's first impressions involve anger so..no hard feelings?

Olive and Quinn: a like for sure. I mean, her dog had already won them over! Plus she was pretty nice!

Olive and Stone: likes..? Question mark? He was there for them a bunch of times, so. Yeah. Like.

• Olive and Velvette: question mark? Not sure. They don’t have a clear opinion yet.

AND NOW, TIME FOR THE OTHERS THAT ARE CONTROLLED BY ME!:

Olive and Ditch: hate. Hate. Hate. Pure annoyance. If given the chance, Olive would stab him in the neck and stomp on his body. They'd throw his body into the ocean. Plus, Olive would tie giant rocks to his body so he'd sink to the very bottom. Where no one could find him. But he's too important to the story so that'll never happen! Perhaps in another universe...

Olive and Chris: neutral. Not practically close, but Olive does like to call him out for anything he's done wrong. They find it funny how ironically clumsy he is.

Olive and Maple: neutral. That's all I have to actually say but, I don't reallly think they'd have have a straight bond. It would probably be from their friend group, if you know what I mean.

Olive and Pebble: I guess sorta like? I mean, he must be cool if they're dating Bailey. Right? Though I think they've only met like, once..-

AND BONUS: OLIVES RELATIONSHIP WITH PARENTS!! And Adi!

Olive and Calvin (their father): hate. I thought that was obvious..? But yeah. He's a pretty shitty dad who was verbally abusive and physically abusive. What was worse was it was only olive that WAS being abused, so it was favouritism for sure.

Olive and Charolette (their mother): Strong disliking. Not much as a hate, though. Their mother was fairly nice to them when they were younger. And the only golden child to appreciate. But once Their sister was born, Olives perfect little world had fallen apart.

Olive and Adi: let's get something straight. Olive hates a bunch of people. Like, a lot. But Adi takes the number one spot on the leaderboard. Olive absolutely DESPISES HER. I mean, she RUINED their life! If you were to ask olive how they ended up on the streets, they'd probably say their father. And little sister. If they could torture anyone until the end of time, Olive would 100% pick Adi. I mean, that's the whole reason they had murder their mother. To strike fear into the child, and to get the message clear for her small little mind.

And yeah! I think that's everyone? Question mark? Well, that's everyone olive met! I think? I'll probably put this is the masterpost, and it'll probably change over time as well!

Last updated : Jan 26, 2025

[the-possum-writes]

Heya! Is it ok if I request romantic headcanons of Fern with a fish princess reader please?

Fishy Buisness

❥Character: Fern Mertens

❥Tags: SFW, Wholesome, Friends to lovers, Fish!Reader, Gender neutral pronouns, Hcs

❥Synopsis: Fern kept practicing his fishing only to find most of the fishes he catches are already dead, when he decides to get to the bottom of this mystery it leads him to make a new friend.

❥For the past week, Fern had been practicing his fishing every day until he returned home with a proud smile and a clutch of fish. "Take a look at this bounty, boys! I guess my luck is changing for the better, huh?"

❥But upon closer inspection, the fish's eyes were evidently lifeless.

Finn is the first to comment, saying, "I don't know fern, they look like they were dead before you caught them."

"Yeah, did you get them from the market?" Jake plays it off.

"What? No! I just reeled them in this morning." Fern then starts questioning himself.

❥When he went back to his fishing spot as usual, Fern feels a tug on his line and reels it in only to find out that fish is dead too. "Then how are they biting the line??"

❥To figure out what was going on, he made a dummy that looked like him and connected a fishing pole to it. He placed the dummy in his normal spot while studying the river waters from atop a tree branch. From that height, he could notice turbulent waters near the fishing line and swim away upstream, following the turbulence until plunging in after whatever was in the water.

❥He caught the most surprising fish there; instead of the river monster he was expecting, Fern was greeted by a fish person with scales, fins, and everything. Despite being bipedal, they nevertheless maintained aquatic features that gave them an amphibian-like appearance.

❥"AHH! They scream, "PLEASE DON'T EAT MEEEEE, I DON'T TASTE GOOD.

"I don't want to eat you, I wanna know why you're leaving dead fish in my line." Fern raises his voice. He would have been shocked that he could yell underwater, but at the time, he was too furious to care.

❥"I'm sorry! I didn't know what to do with them after the monster assaulted the Coral Reef Kingdom, so I decided to give them to you and continue their life cycle." You explain your situation, which piqued Fern's curiosity and helped to calm him down.

"Just quit doing that! It's embarrassing that my brothers think I'm cheating at fishing. Fern speaks from his own perspective. "What is this monster you're talking about? Will you let me fish in peace if I kill it?"

❥You agree to Fern's demands and direct him to your kingdom of a neighboring coral reef where an invasive species of fish monsters is taking over. These fish monsters eat anything swimming nearby and mix up the water to the point where nothing can grow or be seen through the sand.

❥You'd be lying if you claimed you didn't have any doubts about his abilities, but Fern had no trouble killing the monsters and sending them swimming away. However, when he returned to you, he was still in poor condition.

❥"There, I need to go back and..." Fern passed in front of you, and you scooped him up before he could plunge into the deeper waters.

When Fern woke up, the first thing he noticed was the light sand intermingled with patches of green grass. He also noticed a small handcrafted basket made of a giant seashell and rope, which contained some seaweed salad and what he guessed was a paste that was intended for medical purposes. The words "Thanks" were scribbled in the sand but there was no other note left behind.

❥Fern returned to his fishing spot and had better luck the next several days; it seemed that schools of fish started to travel through the river more frequently. Even though he was successful in recovering his reputation at home, he couldn't help but think about the fish person.

❥In his thoughts, he justified his behavior by saying that he was returning to the spot where he had first awoken in order to catch different creatures, although this was only partially true.

❥Not long after he castes his line it immediately started tugging it, but just like before, instead of seeing a regular fish he was met with the sight of you.

❥"Hey."

He responds, "Hey."

"You returned, why?" You emerge from the water, resting your arms on the riverbank before laying your head.

He thinks for a moment, then says, "I don't know, I guess I was getting bored at my same spot. You sent those fishes my way, didn't you?"

You answer casually, making patterns in the sand to divert his attention. "Well, my part of the deal was to stop hitching dead fishes to your line."

"But now that you made things too easy for me, what fun is that anymore?" Fern grumbles.

At the sound of that, you turn your head. "Oh, you're more of a challenge kind of guy?" You put him to the test:

❥Fern doesn't require air, so you feel at ease knowing that you may swim without being in a rush. You led him to a special underwater stream. The unique location you led him to is a network of underground caverns teeming with aquatic life such as fish, crabs, and algae. "Only the toughest fish and marine animals can survive here because of the powerful currents; it would be lucky to even see one, let alone catch one."

❥He soon became hyper focused on the task, meanwhile you'd just sit back back and say. "Oh so close."

❥It quickly became routine to sit back and watch Fern attempt to capture fish with his bare hands; he was always within reach, but the fish always slipped his grip. He was also incredibly competitive; he'd go at it for hours, only pausing to eat a small photosynthetic lunch at the surface.

❥You would accompany him with your own catch of the day and serve it with a substantial serving of seaweed salad or some crab flesh on the side.

❥You two discuss a variety of subjects, including hunting techniques, animal species you have encountered or heard about, your explorations of sunken ships, and his exploits on dry land.

❥Fern gradually lost his sense of competition and came to enjoy your company to the point where he would come see you for more than just catching.

❥Finn is happy to see his grass brother in a good mood (he's also secretly pleased that they stopped eating fish every night, but he doesn't have the guts to admit it), while Jake jokes that he's been underwater for so long that he'll develop algae and smell like fish.

❥Once you finally met Fern's two brothers, you served them a seafood mixture. It's nice to finally meet you; Fern always talks about you.

"He does?"

❥Fern doesn't realize he has a strong crush on you until Jake points it out; of course, he believes he's joking, but Jake insists otherwise. "I'm being honest here; you two have good chemistry, and you'd understand if you noticed how they look at you," the speaker said.

❥He doesn't fully comprehend what Jake is getting at until the day he finally catches a fish in the cavern currents.

"I did it? I DID IT!! Hah take that! You thought I'd never make it did ya?!" Fern unknowingly flexes his catch in front of you out of excitement, but he immediately shut up when he saw nothing but fondness in your eyes and expression.

The hug caught him off guard too, almost letting go of his catch. "I always knew you were capable of it, it was just a matter of time." you confess.

❥Fern felt warm inside despite the chilly waters and your low body temperature. It didn't even bother him to release his rare catch in favor of returning the hug with a tight squeeze."Thanks, wouldn't have done it without you."

❥After that, you two became even closer. Talking about your pasts, insecurities, and even future plans. Before you knew it confessions were also made and feelings were reciprocated.

❥Dating was usually the same as hanging out as friends, with the main difference being the physical affection. Since you don't have hair, braiding Fern's hair is one of your favorite past times. Fern would sit on the bank of the river and splash the water at his pointy feet.

❥You crafted the two of you identical seashell bracelets for your one-year anniversary.

❥Fern would try to take you on a romantic boat ride into the sea but he looses a paddle midway and you offer to pull it since you're great at swimming, but he insist on being a gentleman and offers to tug it instead.

❥Since you already met Fern's family it was your turn to have him meet your family, or in this case the citizens of your kingdom. A large array of fishes and sentient sea life where three of them in particular are the equivalent of your "royal" staff. "This oyster is Sheila my maid, that octopus over there is Otto he's the chef and that old sea slug is Ralph, he's the butler if you couldn't tell by the snazzy bow tie."

❥Fern didn't know much about your status as royalty but he soon came to learn that your title of princess is mostly self proclaimed, with your crown being handmade with seashells that are stylized more like a protective helm.

❥Fern doesn't know how, but you introduce him to every creature that frequents your coral reef by name (he isn't sure if that's their real names or if you named them)

It's then that he realizes how lonely you are being the only fish person in an underwater kingdom but you reassure him that. "Ever since I met you, I never really felt that lonely anymore."

[south-of-heaven]

Poly! Judgement Day going to Disneyland? I"m going there in December with my family as a gift for my 18th birthday which was in June and I'm super excited 😍 (I hope what I said after the request doesn't go against your guidelines because you said you don't want people to vent in your ask box, if it does, sorry, I promise I won't rumble anymore.)

- Lilith🩰

Disney || The Judgement Day x Reader

Summary: Your partners take you to Disneyland for your birthday.

Your heart is aflutter with excitement as you stand before the magical gates of Disneyland, hand in hand with your partners, Finn, Damian, Rhea, and Dominik. The anticipation has been building for weeks, and now that the moment has arrived, you can hardly contain your joy.

The air is filled with an atmosphere of enchantment, and the iconic Disney castle stands tall in the distance, a beacon of wonder. Your eyes widen with childlike wonder as you take in the sight, feeling like you've stepped into a fairytale come to life.

Finn's smile is infectious as he wraps his arm around you, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Happy birthday," he says, his voice warm and filled with genuine happiness.

Damian, with his stoic demeanor, can't hide the small grin that tugs at the corner of his lips. He's clearly enjoying the thrill of being here with you, and it warms your heart to see him so relaxed and carefree.

Rhea's playful spirit is contagious as she bounces on her toes beside you, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Get ready for an amazing day," she says, her enthusiasm practically tangible.

Dominik, the gentle giant of your group, beams down at you with a look of pure adoration. His presence is a calming force, and his happiness at being able to share this experience with you is evident in his eyes.

As you pass through the gates and step into the heart of the park, the excitement bubbles over. You're greeted by the vibrant sights and sounds of Disneyland—the joyful laughter of children, the melodic tunes of familiar Disney songs, and the smell of delicious treats wafting through the air.

The day unfolds like a dream. You explore the various themed lands, from the whimsy of Fantasyland to the futuristic charm of Tomorrowland. You ride thrilling attractions, indulge in delectable treats, and meet beloved Disney characters who pose for pictures and share warm hugs.

Finn's arm never leaves your side, his presence a steady anchor in the sea of excitement. Damian surprises you with his willingness to try the whimsical rides, a side of him you've rarely seen. Rhea's laughter is a constant soundtrack, and her energy keeps the group's spirits high. Dominik's protective nature shines as he ensures your comfort and happiness at every turn.

As the day turns into evening, you gather in front of the castle, bathed in the glow of the nighttime spectacle. Fireworks dance across the sky, painting it with vibrant colors and whimsical patterns. The magic of the moment is palpable, and you find yourself holding hands with all your partners, forming a circle of unity and love.

With each burst of color in the sky, you feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the incredible people who have made this day possible. The joy, laughter, and love you share with Finn, Damian, Rhea, and Dominik make this Disneyland adventure more magical than you could have ever imagined.

As the final fireworks light up the night sky, you find yourself surrounded by the warmth of their presence. The day has been a beautiful celebration of not only your birthday but also the bonds you share. And as you link your fingers with theirs, you know that this enchanting memory will forever be etched in your heart as a testament to the love you all share.

[gumclones]

okay, so. the thing about the episode The Enchiridion!

we can assume that Bonnie, who by her own admission spies on everyone, has known about Finn for most of his life. she knows that he’s an adventurer and a hero and that he’s vowed to help anyone in need.

she’s also been aware of the Enchiridion being kept at Mount Cragdor for a while—not only is it the type of thing Bonnie makes it her business to know about, we see at the end of the episode that she has the ability to communicate with the guardians using the crystal ball thing she used to show Finn the Enchiridion in the beginning.

for whatever reason, she hasn’t already gotten it herself—maybe she attempted and failed the trials because she’s more practical than heroic, maybe she decided not to attempt the trials because she’s afraid of anything resembling moral judgment, maybe she hasn’t had the time.

but Finn, she reasons, has a high chance of passing the test and earning the Enchiridion for himself. she’s been watching Finn, hearing about him, and hanging out with him in person enough to get a sense of what he’s like. she’s likely known she wants to send him for it for some time. so she asks him about it… immediately after he catches her when she falls from a tower.

this reminds me of something we see Bonnie do in The Cooler. see, Bonnie knew all about the Fire Giants before ever showing up in the Fire Kingdom, given that she knows about the geothermic control modules and how to find and remove them. but she didn’t want Flame Princess, who believed that her family were the only ones who knew the Fire Giants existed, to know that. so she made sure that Flame Princess could see her “finding out” about the Fire Giants in plain sight, by bugging Cinnamon Bun with an extremely obvious camera.

I don’t think that the situation with the tower is exactly the same (even though it also involves Cinnamon Bun), partly because Bonnie has much more friendly relations with Finn and partly because I don’t think she specifically arranged to be knocked down. but it did provide a convenient opportunity for Bonnie to tell Finn about the Enchiridion. I think it’s likely she was waiting for Finn to do something suitably notable to bring it up.

but on the topic of gum people who use being caught by Finn after falling from a high place as an obvious justification for why they act extremely impressed by his moral fiber before sending him on an errand…

well, he was right there the first time it happened.

[azuremliam]

What is the culinary practices like in Bug-world?

Do they like to cook their foods into dishs? Being breaded and fryed, baked, dried.

Or is it very simple? Like basic honey, raw aphids, fresh fungus, etc?

@bringerofmilk They do indeed cook their foods into dishes! Bread, fried, baked dried- you name it they'll work with it, and its mostly due to fascination in old human cook books!

Though that's not to say that cooked foods float everyone's boat, many insect folk (especially the more carnivorous bunch) enjoy eating things raw!

Even more infodumping as per usual underneath the readmore!

There's insects, like Abegail (though she focuses on human medical practices), who specialize in researching and practicing human cooking methods! And its waaaaaaay more common than expected, the people of Bug World enjoy variety to their foods too heheh.

Cooking also makes more foods readily, and safer, to consume! As some species have their toxins neutralized when cooked. But it all boils down to personal preference really.

On average, there's a preference for breads, baked sweets, pastas, salads, and soups. And steaks, lots and lots of steaks when available.

The giant fruits, roots, edible plants, and vegetables are commonly used when found too! But since they're massive the take longer than usual to harvest- it takes a big team effort to make them bite sized.

Both Finn and Liam are fans of giant strawberries and Jake loves eating clovers. Scarab will eat whatever Liam offers him really without any complaint.

Oh! And when a Beast gets hunted (very rare for the massive ones but it does happen!) the meat is very valued and often gets distributed to all areas nearby.

Also, while Liam does love eating raw aphids (a guilty pleasure of their's- they just enjoy the taste a lot and they crave meat a lot too) and honey straight from the comb- they do enjoy cooked foods a lot! (Also the burger they're eating is from the young lizard beast they hunted + some pieces of wings- they taste like chips).

Finn's just chowing down on a regular ol pizza (with mushrooms harvested from a mushroom forest farm that is heheh but its safe to eat of course) And Scarab is eating an oil fried aphid.

As for foods that get made, lots of stuff is given to cooks as "spare" parts from recently deceased or (very often) over hunters or the hunted. Lots of sauces and seasonings go into cooking bug parts- gotta make them tasty or they default have a really earthy taste to them.

Most common things that get given to the cooks to well, cook, are crickets and grub! Crickets can get really brutal when battling for standard brood laying area "hunts" and the ladies can really tear each other apart when doing so.

When that happens, they basically give themselves a final meal of tasty fruits or meats, then either die and have themselves transferred to their dinner of choice or go their themselves if they have enough energy to do so!

In fact that's a standard for most dying bugs to go to a place to eat (they get spoiled with luxuries) before passing away peacefully and being sorted through their "will" afterwards. Abdomens are a common "steak" and often cooked and served as is or breaded/fried.

Carapaces (if given permission) are ground up and turned into their version of flour to make certain bread products.

As for grub, various beetle folk have A LOT of grub and not all make it (or some grub turn on each other and leave half eaten siblings behind RIP) so they often get sent over to cooking places.

Overall, lots of bugs on the menu!

[i-think-just-got-a-story-idea]

My first Fancuries "For Your Consideration" post

Seasonal Sister Pretty Cure:

Themes: Sisters, fairytales, and seasons

I came up with Seasonal Sister Pretty Cure in 2021 and revamped it in 2022. It's about Aimee, who's from “Aurore and Aimee,” and her talking pink pomeranian, Acorn getting rescued by a woman named Katherine after her sister Queen Aurore of Champomme accuses her of kidnapping and killing her son. Katherine uses a magic book to take Aimee to a secluded forest where nymphs live. The fairytales were the nymphs’ history and fairytale authors based books on the history. Many Seasonal Sister teams lived in the town briefly before Aimee’s team. The team's enemies are Baba Yaga who wants to take the nymphs' magic, the knights of morning, day, and night, and the cures’ sisters. The power ups are themed after seasons and fairytale tropes. The weapons are fans.

The series movie will be about the cures and villains meeting the original versions of them that I made up in 2021 in an alternate universe.

Amelia “Aimee” Isaac/Cure Orchard:

Aimee becomes a cure in episode 1 and leads Seasonal Sister Pretty Cure. Fifteen-year-old Aimee and her twenty-five year old sister Aurore were raised by their mom, a famous actress named Fifi, in the early 1900s. Their dad went into a forest over a decade ago and died. Ten years before Aimee became a cure, Fifi got a chance to get a role that could help her be a famous actress liked she dreamed but she needed to lie that she was younger. She lied, got the role, and sent Aurore through the forest her husband died in to stay with her relatives. Aurore didn't come back and Fifi and Aimee thought she was dead. A lady named Carine took care of Aurore and taught her how to do magic. When she grew up, Aurore fell in love with the kingdom's young king. They got married and had a son, but he went missing. After they searched for him for two years, Aurore blamed Aimee.

Aimee loves shopping because she grew up in a city. She bakes often, especially desserts like caramel apples which her cure theme is. Aimee’s love interest is her sister's husband's younger brother, Florimond, who moves into the forest in episode 5. Aimee's the fall cure.

Princess Victoria “Tori” Bird/Cure Aquatic:

Tori becomes a cure in episode two and is the second in command. She's been Aimee's frenemy since 2021, but they'll also be best friends when the season ends. She's fifteen and the summer cure. Tori’s the Little Mermaid. Her grandma told her a false legend that a mermaid can get a soul by being in a relationship with a human. Liss the sea sorceress turns her into a human. Tori tries to date a prince on land named Finn, but he starts dating her slightly older sister, Lena. Katherine rescues her from needing to hurt Finn and gives her a potion to reverse Liss’s potion.

Tori loves singing and listening to 50s music because she lived in the 50s. She wants to start a band with the cures. Like Aimee, she doesn't like her fairytale. Tori’s theme is the ocean. Tori’s the summer cure.

Princess Geraldine “Deenie” Jang/Cure Meadow:

Deenie became a cure in episode 3. She's thirteen and Tatterhood. She and her twin sister Linda were born because of magic. Deenie was crazier than Linda. Her mom nicknamed her Tatterhood. On Christmas, witches attacked her palace. Linda's head got turned into a bluebell, but she joined the witches. Then, Katherine took Deenie and later on, her talking goat friend Astrid to the forest. Deenie’s from the 20s.

Deenie likes wild animals and riding horses. She practices fighting with a giant wooden spoon. Deenie’s themes are hyacinths. Deenie's the spring cure.

Gwendolyn “Gwen” Tighe/Cure Frost:

Gwen became a cure in episode 4. She's thirteen and Rose Red. Her sister Hally aka “Snow White” and she were nicknamed because of their hair colors. They grew up in a forest with their mom. They met a bear named Arthur and became best friends. Months later, Gwen and Hally tried to help Arthur and found out that an evil man cursed him. Hally became a witch and Katherine took Gwen, and after her, Arthur to the forest. Katherine wanted to help Hally and Gwen. Gwen’s from the 80s.

Gwen likes writing poetry. Tori wants her to join her band and write songs. Gwen gardens, too. Gwen's themes are frosted roses. Gwen's the winter cure.

Katherine Fernandez:

Katherine used to be a cure and takes care of Seasonal Sister Pretty Cure cures. She's from “Kate Crackernuts.”

The knights:

Quinn and Lacy are sisters and Silvia is their stepsister. They're Baba Yaga’s best trio. Quinn is the oldest and is more serious and empathetic than Silvia, who's bratty. They're from “Vasilisa the Beautiful.”

Fangirls! Pretty Cure:

Themes: Fandoms, fan work

Fangirls! is the team I want to revamp next. It's about four girls who are in a fandom that's popular. The mascot is a red poodle named Domi. The big good never is in contact with the cures, but it's implied it's the author of the books that started the fandom.

The cures:

Rosalind/Cure Fanfiction (will probably change her cure name, a pink cure)

Irene/Cure Silhouette (the blue fanart cure)

Joy/Cure Ship (a yellow cure)

Franchesca/Cure Hypothesis (the green theory cure)

The villains:

Mary Sue (the power desiring middle aged big bad)

Y/N (a girl stuck going between Y/N fanfictions and shapeshifting into the readers)

Break a Leg! Pretty Cure:

Themes: theatre, triple threats, Broadway

This is the one I'm most likely to write next. It's about high schoolers named Aviana and Carina being in the ensemble of their high school’s production of Wicked. Aviana is an actress and Carina is a singer and a popular girl. A dancer named Tegan is also in Wicked. She becomes friends with the cures. The mascot is a ferret named Thea. The transformation devices are scripts and highlighters. The power ups are Broadway pins.

Cures:

Aviana/Cure Skit

Carina/Cure Soundtrack

Hello Pretty Cure

Themes: Sanrio

It's getting revamped, but the main duo is a girl and her identical twin sister. Twin Star themed characters are the mascots. There are two subteams that fight villains in the town.

Cures:

Cure Kitty (lead)

Cure Mimmy (second in command)

Cure Cinnamorol (late joiner)

Cure My Melody

Cure Piano

Cure Maru

Cure Keroppi

Cure Usahana

Cure Button

Cure Hummingmint

Cure Lala

Cure Kiki

Sugarcoated Cake Pretty Cure

Themes: desserts and parties (I know Delicious Party did this before me)

Cures:

Candela “Candy” Casabuena/Cure Confetti:

She's eleven and a rainbow cure. She's the lead cure with a confetti cake and birthday party theme.

Power ups:

Candy: Jawbreaker

Cookie: Sugar

Donut: Sprinkle

Ice cream: Sherbet

Pastry: Toaster

Mira Lamour/Cure Bride:

She's twenty two and has been a cure before being in Sugarcoated Cake Pretty Cure. She's a white cure and the oldest cure in the team. She has a wedding cake and wedding theme. She's closest with Cure Petite

Power ups:

Candy: Salt water taffy

Cookie: Black and white

Donut: Jelly

Ice cream: Baked Alaska

Pastry: Cream puff

Layla Abrahams/Cure Slumber:

She's twelve and the closest with Cure Confetti. She's a pink cure. Her themes are brownies and slumber parties.

Power ups:

Candy: Smore

Cookie: Chocolate chip

Donut: Cream-filled

Ice cream: Float

Pastry: Cinnamon roll

Alani Chibashira/Cure Petite:

She's six and the youngest cure in Sugarcoated Cake. She's an orange cure and her themes are petit fours and tea parties.

Candy: Jelly beans

Cookie: Snickerdoodle

Donut: Hole

Ice cream: Soft

Pastry: Strudel

Cyrus Young/Cure Homecoming:

Cyrus is seventeen and the only male cure in Sugarcoated Cake. His theme color is black. His themes are cake pops and school dances.

Candy: Gum

Cookie: Whoopie pie

Donut: Funnel cake

Ice cream: Snowcone

Pastry: Pretzel

Spilled Milk Pretty Cure:

Themes: Milk, childhood

Cures:

Whitney Kidd/Cure Dairy:

Whitney is the lead cure. She's a blue cure with a white milk theme. She's in middle school.

Colette Suzukaze/Cure Cocoa:

Colette's the second in command and has a brown theme color and chocolate milk theme. She's Whitney's age.

Abigail Cabrera/Cure Peel:

Abigail's a late joiner. She has a yellow theme color and a banana milk theme. She's in late elementary school.

Blair Bayerstowe/Cure Straw:

Blair's the other late joiner and has a pink theme color and strawberry milk theme. She's in early elementary school.

Some Glitter Cure designs I made that I really like:

[recoveringdreamer]

TIMING: recent LOCATION: the grit pit PARTIES: @animotoph0bia & @recoveringdreamer SUMMARY: while doing some computer work for the grit pit, finn runs into felix. CONTENT WARNINGS: none!

Finn was definitely poor enough to not be picky about jobs but this place was way outside his vibe. Not that he’d seen much of it, let in through a back door and ushered straight into a cramped space doubling as an office. Maybe it was the smell that had him second guessing the mission - the stale remnants of booze, sweat and blood. Or perhaps it was the way his temporary client kept dodging questions about the job itself, leaving vital information for Finn as guesswork. 

This place was definitely into some shady shit. Probably explained why they were offering such nice pay. 

Being left to his own devices in the storage closet - office felt too generous - calmed Finn down some. There’d been a weird buzz about the man who had let him in, his actions feeling like a stark contrast to what Finn could feel. Not important. He just had to suffer through a few hours here, make this dubious program that definitely sounded like an unsavoury betting system, and get the fuck out of here. 

After the first hour, the caffeine headache started to settle in, reminding him that he hadn’t even been told where the goddamn bathroom in this place was. Peeking out into the hall didn’t help, not a person to be seen. Driven by the need for synthetic energy, Finn crept further down the hall, keeping his eyes peeled for anything that might look like a break room. Finally, he found something other than closed doors and hallways. Wasn’t a break room, though. 

“What in the fucking Fight Club is this place,” he breathed to himself, taking in the sight of what was obviously a giant fighting ring. Explained the lingering smell of blood. And why he’d been hired to code a page for encrypted transfers of money laced with odds and payouts. Shit. 

—

The good thing about our new arrangement is that you can start training earlier. Your last fight was sloppy. Your punches were all over the place. You need to practice, or you’re going to get your ass kicked. Someone who didn’t know better might have said there was concern in Leo’s voice as he’d given the instruction, but Felix was long past clinging to the idea that his ex cared about him in that way. Even if they had to remind themself of it sometimes, even if there were days when they desperately wanted to believe it. Leo cared about money, and Felix gave him a boost in his paycheck. That was all.

It wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, though, starting out their day so early. Felix almost didn’t mind the Pit when it was empty, when it was just them and the heavy bag. They could lose themself in it, hitting that bag over and over and over again. Thanks to Arden’s suggestions, they even had podcasts playing in their ears to keep them busy while they worked out. 

They weren’t sure how long they’d been at it when they saw movement out of the corner of their eye. Instinctively, they turned towards it, expecting to see Leo or one of the other fighters. Instead, there was a stranger there. Felix chanced a quick sniff of the air, confirming that the man didn’t smell like a shifter; they shifted their inner ear enough to listen until they heard a beating heart, so he wasn’t undead. Fae, then? Or… human?

Quickly, Felix slipped off their gloves and jogged over to where the man stood, sweat sticking their hair to their forehead. “Hey,” they greeted, headphones already slipped back into their pockets. “What’s up? Are you, uh… looking for something? Or someone?”

—

Even an idiot like Finn could tell that he probably wasn’t supposed to be here, wasn’t supposed to see any of this. If this information had been meant for him, it would have been included in the damn job briefing. The dampened thuds quieted, making Finn aware that he’d actually been hearing them, replaced by the sound of footsteps. He was just about ready to bolt, pretend he’d never left the tiny office he’d been provided, but the stranger approaching wasn’t angry. They were sweaty though, the gloves in their hands probably an explanation for the sounds earlier. 

Hands wrung together, partly due to his own anxious energy but this person wasn’t making him feel more at ease. Not exactly like Finn was making them nervous, more so that they just… were. Nervous, on edge and… something? He couldn’t decipher it but there was a strange feeling lingering there, shrouded in a thick veil and right, Finn had been asked a question yet was currently just staring at the sweaty boxer. 

“Coffee,” he blurted out, trying and failing to push the strange and almost phantom emotions to the back of his mind. “I mean, hi. Just looking for… coffee. Got hired for some coding stuff and they didn’t give me any caffeine which feels like a violation of some law, just saying, but there’s obviously no coffee here so.” Finn cleared his throat, forcing some semblance of a smile. Hoping that he wouldn’t get ratted out for snooping around. 

—

There was a quiet sense of relief when the man explained a little further why he was there. For obvious reasons, the Grit Pit didn’t hire outside help often. They preferred to keep things in house, work with existing… employees. But for coding projects? Felix doubted any of the higher ups in the Pit were familiar enough with computers to know the bare basics of how to write code, because none of them needed to. They all found it easy enough to make their money off the backs of other people. Not a single one of them needed any real skills so long as they maintained their natural abilities to tie people into binds and make them do all the work for them. (The hint of anger that rose up at this thought was an old one.)

As for the fighters… well. The vast majority of them didn’t have the time to learn or maintain skills like that. It was hard to do much of anything outside the Pit sometimes. Felix was pretty sure it was by design. If you made sure none of the people you had working under you had time for a life outside of what you gave them, they became so much easier to control. It was always about control with the Grit Pit. That was why Felix was here, hours before the actual fights were set to start, training for something they hated doing. 

So it made sense, then, that the Pit would risk hiring an outside person for coding work. It felt a lot less sinister than it had moments before, when the man had stepped through the door, and Felix relaxed accordingly. “No coffee in here,” they said apologetically. “Mostly just water. Uh, you know, for… people exercising.” They gestured to themself a little awkwardly. “I think I know where you can find some, though? But we have to be kind of sneaky about it.” There was a coffee maker in the ‘employee’ lounge… the one that was for the ‘management’ rather than the fighters. This was one of the few small acts of rebellion that Felix could manage without tugging uncomfortably on the edge of his contract, and that did feel like something they wanted to do now. It was about time for a break, anyway.

—

A rush of feelings swept Finn, almost passing too quickly for him to even comprehend them. Anger, frustration, placid acceptance. He simply blinked, soldiering through each one even as the strongest of them wanted to push him into saying something, escalate the situation like he was so talented at. Thankfully, the fighter seemed to latch onto his coffee mission, stilling the storm of emotions as Finn exhaled the breath he had apparently been holding. 

“Yeah, makes sense,” he replied dumbly, fully ready to abort and, hopefully, find his way back to his workstation without any further incident. The stranger continued, offering a possible solution. As much as Finn hated sneaky, seeing as he was shit at it, the promise of caffeine was much too promising. And the person who looked like they could knock him out with one hit hadn’t attempted to yet so it was probably safe. “Oh.”

Finn mulled it over for a moment, took into consideration the pounding headache making its presence known, screaming for coffee even if it meant interacting with a stranger who worked at a legit fighting ring. The fact that they had been so nervous about Finn’s appearance soothed him in a way so finally, he nodded. “Alright. Lead the way. Heads up, though, I’m really shit at being sneaky and an awful liar so… if we get busted, that’s totally on me.” Falling into step with the other, contemplating the strange dullness of their emotions, he finally added, “I’m Finn, by the way.”

—

The coder seemed a little uneasy, and Felix couldn’t help but wonder if he had any idea who he was working for. Had he been given any details about the Pit? Had he ever ventured into the crowded stands on fight nights, watched the violence unfold? Felix doubted whoever hired him would have told him anything substantial; the Pit relied on some secrecy to draw people in, to keep the ring full of fighters even when some were carted off unmoving and traumatized at the end of the night. The Grit Pit wasn’t a business that could function in the light. It relied on the dark to keep it alive. Felix knew that.

It probably meant the programmer was clueless. He was here to do a job. He’d write his code, he’d collect his check, and he’d leave. He’d try never to think of the place again, or he’d come back with cash in his pocket and curiosity on his mind. But he’d have to finish the code first. Felix offered him a small, sheepish smile. “Oh, uh, I mean, we don’t have to! If you’re not comfortable. I mean, it’s whatever.” The last thing they wanted was to make the man uneasy. There was enough of that here, wasn’t there?

But the programmer agreed after a moment of mulling things over, and some of the strain melted away from Felix’s smile at the promise of a proverbial partner in crime to watch their back. “That’s okay,” they replied with a shrug. “If we get caught, they’ll probably blame me for it, anyway.” They’d prefer to blame the person they had the most control over, Felix knew that. Whatever punishment was doled out would be as cruel as they always were, but not damaging. The Grit Pit would never damage their merchandise without an audience cheering them on. “I’m Felix! Come on — the lounge is this way.”

—

There was no humor accompanying that sentence, yet no fear, either. More of a quiet understanding that made Finn even more uneasy - not regarding Felix, they seemed alright so far, but about this whole ordeal. It still wasn’t the weirdest place he’d shown up to do a job - begone memories of man whose data was just ‘right down here in the basement’ - but he felt off. Honestly, if the offered pay hadn’t been as decent as it was, Finn probably would have bolted at the sight of his working conditions. And lack of coffee. 

“So, you’re some sort of… boxer? Sorry, they didn’t really tell me shit about who I was programming for so I’m trying to connect the dots.” Also why did the fighting ring area smell so strongly of blood? “Because my theories so far are Very obscure gym, testing facility for anabolic steroids or some Fight Club-esque shit.” Finn paused, catching up to the shit that left his mouth. “Not that you look like you’re on steroids or anything. Definitely look like you could beat me up, though. Not that you feel like you would, you seem nice.” Stop talking. 

“Sorry, I ramble when I’m nervous. Or haven’t had coffee. So basically all the time and can I smoke in here? A cigarette might shut me up.” 

—

“Yeah! Um, something like that, anyway.” Felix felt a little bad for not telling the programmer the full truth but… it was better this way, wasn’t it? Even if their contract didn’t prevent them from going into too much detail with this sort of thing, they recognized that the programmer was better off not knowing much about the Grit Pit. People liked to say that knowledge was power, but Felix wasn’t so sure that was true. In their experience, knowledge was danger. If you knew too much, you’d never survive knowing it. The Grit Pit would go to any length to protect itself; Felix was proof enough of that.

They forced a laugh at the programmer’s ‘guess’ on what the Grit Pit was. “Um… Gym is the best name for it, I think.” Fight Club was a little too accurate. Felix hadn’t been able to rewatch that movie since their return to society a few years ago. It just wasn’t quite as much fun as it used to be. “I wouldn’t beat you up. I don’t like to do that.” Which wasn’t the same as not doing it. Felix didn’t like what they did, but… They did it anyway. They weren’t sure how much the lack of choice they had in the matter really meant in the long run.

“You can smoke,” they confirmed. “People do, I mean. In the audience. The fighters usually don’t during, uh… business hours… but sometimes at training. I don’t smoke, though. But you still can!” Right. The programmer wasn’t the only one prone to rambling.

—

Felix didn’t seem to be too put off by the rambling, which was good. The fact that they were still leading Finn to some coffee was even better, even if their jittery nerves were making the empath really curious. “Alright, good to know,” Finn huffed a quiet laugh, glancing over at Felix once more. “Because you really, totally could.” And finally, behind a door Felix led them through, there was coffee. Finn momentarily forgot about the need for a smoke in lieu of caffeine -just as good, Felix seemed the type to let someone smoke around them whether it actually bugged them or not- rushing towards the airpot. It wouldn’t even matter if it contained the stalest coffee known to man. 

“Thanks for this,” Finn breathed as the steaming liquid filled the paper cup, glancing over at Felix with a small nod. He really did like meeting people that reminded him not everyone sucked. Just as he released the pump, cup filled to the brim, something heavy slammed into the wall outside the breakroom. Very heavy, enough so that the whole room felt like it was shaking and definitely enough for Finn to startle, coffee spilling up and over his hand. “Fucking shit fuck,” he hissed, rest of the coffee spilling on to the ground as he dropped the cup. Another slam, this one making the door to the room tremble. 

Wide eyes turned to Felix, hoping there was a totally normal and non-deadly explanation for all of this. 

—

Felix let out a small huff of a laugh, uncertain but not quite as uncomfortable as they had been before. Finn seemed easygoing enough, which was good. He certainly didn’t seem like most of the other people the Grit Pit employed outside the ‘fighters’ circle, which was better. With any luck, Finn would finish what he’d been hired for and be out without ever learning anything that might put him in danger or get him into trouble. And that was a good thing. Despite their limited interactions thus far, Felix liked Finn. He seemed nice.

“Yeah, hey, no problem. Caffeine is important, right? I, um, I don’t drink a lot of it. It makes my heart go, like…” They waved their hands, as if providing a demonstration, then laughed awkwardly. “But I get it. So, you know, no big…” They trailed off as something slammed into the wall, causing Finn to spill his coffee. Felix winced sympathetically, even as their eyes darted to the source of the pounding and their body flinched back. Their eyes were wide as Finn turned to look at them, expression undeniably unsettled as panic, old and new, rose in their chest. “Um, that’s — Hey, we should go! Right? We should go to another room!”

—

There was no comfort to be found in Felix, neither their expression nor the panic Finn could feel perfectly matching his own. They might have looked much more fit to fight than the empath but if the source of the noise wasn’t human - which it almost definitely wasn’t because life was a bitch - then a bit of extra muscles wouldn’t do much. Aching hand clutched to his chest, Finn looked back to the door, eyes drawn back by yet another bang followed by shouting. Felix was suggesting they move which was a splendid idea. If only his feet were currently obeying his brain. Might have had something to do with the waves of fear washing over him from just behind the wall. Even though it did feel like it was slowly fading, draining away…

“Felix-” The door burst open, hanging from a single hinge now. Finn finally found the motivation to move, recoiling back a few steps. Fuck horror movies, that in no way managed to accurately portray the pure terror of standing face to face with something like this. It didn’t look like it should have been standing, much less breaking down doors, a creature whittled down to its barest components. In some places, pieces of skin still clung on for dear life, bones and decaying muscles visible through the gaps. Finn didn’t want to be staring at that thing’s face, sunken and drooping, eyes hollow yet filled with eerie purpose. 

Finn didn’t need to feel whatever that thing was feeling - he had a pretty good hunch already, confirmed by the creature suddenly lurching forward. 

—

This was bad. Wasn’t it? This was really bad. It was rare for the Grit Pit to lose control of one of their fighters, given the binds they put in place. But the less sentient creatures that were brought in for the more brutal fights, the ones that tended to end with death about a hundred percent of the time? Those were harder to control. You couldn’t bind something that had no concept of promises or thank yous, after all. They controlled them as best they could with electric shocks and other sources of physical pain, but nothing was ever a guarantee. This was proof of that.

Before Felix could usher Finn out of the room, the door was bursting from its hinges and something big and decaying was standing there. Felix wrinkled their nose, the stench coming off the thing strong enough to make their toes curl in their shoes. “Oh man, oh crap,” they muttered, turning to Finn and quickly pushing him backwards. “Sorry! Sorry about this! We should — We should run! Right? Running is —” 

A bony hand landed on the balam’s shoulder, yanking them backwards. Felix yelped, heart pounding in their chest.

—

As soon as Felix spurred into action, Finn finally snapped out of it - even if his body was still deciding between fight or flight, at least it had decided against freeze. “What the fuck is that?” Finn demanded, half hysterical as he let himself get pushed back. Run sounded good but to where - in an instant, the steady pressure of Felix pushing him back vanished and Finn helplessly watched them get tossed away like they weighed nothing. Great. So much for being a confident, skilled (presumably) fighter. Felix was just as terrified as him… right?

It was subtle, a hoarse whisper amongst the droning noise of fear and panic, but definitely there. Anger, confidence… vengeance. Whichever it was and wherever the fuck it came from, Finn latched onto it because it was a complete improvement over hopeless dread. The creature was moving again, impossibly fast and nimble for something that should have imploded into dust by a mild gust of wind. It settled over Felix, gnarled fingers wrapping around wrists, a vice grip. Finn wanted to bolt for the exit, probably would have made it but his heart was pounding with the heat of the emotions which had no clear origin. 

The chair smashed against the creature's body, breaking apart on impact and leaving only its back in Finn’s grasp. A surprised noise startled from him, incredulous that it had actually worked, the thing knocked on its side and no longer looming over Felix. Well, worked in some regard because the creature was quick to shake it off, gurgling what was probably some sort of protest before setting its sights on Finn. “Shit.”

—

“I don’t know! Something bad!” Even if they had had a more detailed explanation, and even if their contract hadn’t barred them from giving it, Felix wasn’t sure they’d have been able to provide it in the moment. Not with their heart pounding the way it was, not with the icy tendrils of fear wrapped so tightly around their throat. They weren’t even sure if they were allowed to fight this thing, if they’d get in trouble for destruction of company property if they took a swing at it outside the ring. As they were yanked back by the creature’s grip, they realized it might not matter. They didn’t want to die here, and they certainly didn’t want Finn to get hurt. If they had to fight back, they had to fight back. It might feel nice to do it without a crowd for once.

Felix was tossed to the ground, pain shooting through their body as they made contact with the floor. Their fear was palpable, but the jaguar’s fury lurked just underneath. They could feel the spirit thrashing within them, demanding a release, but… Their eyes slid over to Finn, albeit briefly among the chaos. If they let the jaguar out now, there was a good chance he wouldn’t stop when the creature attacking them was dead. There was a solid possibility that he’d go after Finn, too. And Felix didn’t want that. They wanted Finn to be okay. He seemed nice.

And… he was helping? It was a little surprising, the way Finn leaped into action with that chair. Felix hadn’t expected it. If anything, he’d figured Finn would run — and had thought it was probably for the best that he did so. After all, if Finn left, Felix could shift with a little less fear involved, could allow the jaguar to tear through the creature and hope that someone in the Grit Pit would sedate him before he tore through anything else. Waking up in a cage afterwards would be harrowing, but not as harrowing as waking up with someone else’s blood in their teeth. 

But Finn didn’t run, because Finn was nice and brave and wanted to help. Finn knocked the creature off Felix, and before Felix had time to blink the stars away from their vision, the thing was moving towards Finn instead. “No, no, no,” Felix mumbled, shaking their head and trying to keep the jaguar at bay. His anger was more overwhelming now, and Felix grit their teeth against it. “Okay. Okay. We’ve gotta — We can’t do this right now,” they muttered, as if the spirit could understand them. Shaking their head, they moved towards the creature, trying to stop it before it got to Finn.

—

As soon as those sunken eyes turned to Finn, whatever shred of courage he’d grasped onto before seemed much harder to cling to. It did inspire him to throw the back of the chair he was still holding at the creature, not waiting to see if it would do any damage (he pretty much knew it wouldn’t) as he threw himself to the ground to duck underneath the table. Probably wouldn’t do much but at least it might prevent a tackle like the one Felix had gotten. 

“I don’t think it’s listening to you,” Finn shouted at Felix’s muttering, pushing himself further under the table and keeping a close eye on those grotesque legs moving across the floor. “I’m open to any other ideas, though,” he added, desperation tinting his voice. Something slammed hard against the tabletop over his head, bits of splinter raining down as it creaked under the impact. “Shit,” he breathed before the table was no longer touching the ground, lifted with frightening ease and tossed in Felix’s direction, leaving Finn once again exposed. “Literally any idea.”

It shouldn’t have been possible but the gaping mouth seemed even wider, hypnotic in a way and for a moment, Finn didn’t feel anything. Not his own emotions nor anyone else’s - it was all quiet. His body was light, or maybe very, very heavy? He was tired but it was a good kind of tired, like falling asleep as a kid before the weight of the world had caught up with you and nothing lay ahead except a good night’s sleep. The wight moved closer, greedily feeding on the provided life force. 

—

Finn was under a table and Felix was muttering to themself and the monster wasn’t stopping and something really needed to be done here. “What?” Finn’s voice called out to Felix from beneath the table, and it took their mind a moment to catch up to what their ears were hearing. “Oh, that’s not — Um, I wasn’t talking to — Never mind!” Finn would definitely think they were nuts after this. But… only if they both survived. Which was looking less and less likely with each passing moment.

Felix watched in stilted horror as the creature approached Finn, moving in close and opening its terrifying mouth. They didn’t understand what was happening, but they knew it was bad. They knew it needed to stop. They knew —

Crap.

“Okay,” Felix muttered, close to tears. “All right. Okay! Please don’t hurt him. Please. Okay?” They had no idea if the jaguar understood the words, or if he felt the desperation thrumming in their chest, or if he cared one way or another. They just knew that they were out of options here. Finn was going to die if Felix didn’t step in, so Felix would step in. That was all there really was to it.

The sound of bones cracking filled the room, the pain of the shift familiar as it washed over them. Hands gave way to paws, fur sprouted from skin, teeth sharpened and grew longer. Felix exited the building and the jaguar took their place. His tail swished back and forth, and he let out a low, dangerous yowl. 

Normally, the jaguar preferred a slow prowl. But the creature in front of him now was dangerous and wrong and bad, and that called for a much faster resolution. The jaguar pounced, sinking its claws into flesh and knocking the creature away from the feeble human cowering under the table.

—-

Nothing really registered as it happened, even if Finn vaguely thought that maybe the sounds and sights should have elicited some sort of reaction. It didn’t really seem to matter, all of it an afterthought to the peaceful sleep that awaited. Until all of it came crashing back, the terror of the situation rearing its ugly head once more as the wight’s feeding got abruptly cut off. His head was still filled with cotton, thoughts were hard to come by but after a moment, he fully registered the jaguar in the room. Felix. 

Finn was grateful that the apparently dementor-esque creature was off limits to his abilities - no way did he want to feel the pain currently being inflicted by the jaguar. It was all anger and kill and now that it was stronger, Finn realized who - or what - had inspired his burst of bravery before. Where Felix had been just as terrified as the empath, the jaguar had just felt anger and right now, it was palpable. It didn’t feel at all like Felix anymore. 

As quickly as he could, which wasn’t very fast mind you, Finn shuffled his way across the floor, away from the sound of decayed skin tearing. The door was open, technically smashed to pieces, but a way out all the same. He was still summoning up the effort to actually stand up and leave when the room got eerily silent. Strange thing, to wish for the sound of teeth and claws tearing to return. With a shaky exhale, Finn turned his head, meeting a sharp eyed gaze. Was staring straight into their eyes bad? Why had their mom never allowed for a cat in the home, Finn didn’t have a fucking clue on how to portray ‘friend’ to a cat, small or giant. All he knew for sure is that this wasn’t Felix, not really. 

“Thank you,” was all he came up with, throat dry and voice scratchy. Did it even understand? Was this just a full on animal he was currently trying to talk to? It couldn’t be, Finn had never felt a regular animal’s emotions this strongly. 

—

As the jaguar tore into the flesh of the wight, the wight made a desperate attempt to save itself. It leeched off the jaguar just as it had the human, though the attempts were more stilted. The jaguar was driven by a protective rage unmatched by most anything else, claws tearing through the wight’s flesh so swiftly and violently that it was difficult for the creature to get a good enough hold to sap away anything substantial. It would not save itself; nothing would. 

It was over relatively quickly. Felix had known it would be when they’d shifted, had known the quickest resolution was also the most violent. They had a distaste for such things, but the jaguar didn’t. The jaguar yearned for this violence, felt better when his claws ripped and his teeth tore. There was such a helplessness that came with Felix’s situation, and Felix wasn’t the only one who felt it. The jaguar did, too.

But the jaguar liked to fight back.

Too soon, the wight crumbled beneath him and the fight was over. The jaguar hungered for more violence, wanted to continue his rampage. His eyes scanned the room, stopping on the human he’d rescued. The human met his eye, and the jaguar tilted his head slightly to one side. He could tear through the human’s flesh with relative ease. He knew that. He could rip him into pieces, could sink his teeth into his flesh, could paint the walls with his blood. Humans were so delicate, so easy to kill. 

But Felix didn’t want that.

The jaguar knew that Felix didn’t want that, understood that their host wanted the human to live just as they wanted everyone to live. The jaguar weighed his options, taking a step towards the human with a growl low in his throat. 

Maybe just a bite.

—

His chest hurt with the intensity of his heart pounding, ramming against his ribcage, not letting him forget for a second just how human and fragile he was. For a moment, Finn hoped there was some mutual understanding here, imagined that he saw thought behind the vibrant eyes. Until it growled, rattling him from the inside out. So this was it? No yapping his way out, no running off. Just teeth and claws and blood. 

Being able to feel the primal bloodlust was wrong, was the last thing Finn wanted to experience as his actual last thing to experience. He wasn’t quite sure which emotion was fighting to come out on top - fear, sadness, guilt, the tiniest sliver of relief - but anything was better than what the jaguar had to offer. So he pushed, if that was even the right word for it, against the unwelcome intrusion of someone else. Fully allowing his own emotions to the forefront and then even further, finding the urge to kill and destroy growing fainter the more he forced himself to actually feel. 

And then he was still alive, still intact. Nothing sharp was tearing through his flesh as the jaguar had just… stopped. Finn scrambled to his feet, barely holding his own weight, but still no attack. He felt woozy, not just from the double threat of death. This was a different kind of exhausted, like his brain had somehow run a marathon in the middle of fucking July. As he felt whatever control he had slip, felt the lurking rage of the jaguar sneak its way back, footsteps thundered into the room and a quiet shot went off without warning. 

—

The jaguar’s teeth yearned for the human’s flesh, and his tail swished back and forth as he approached. He wouldn’t kill the human, he thought; Felix would resent that, and Felix had a tendency to make things harder for the jaguar when they were upset. After stealing a mouthful of the terrifying woman’s glittering blood, the jaguar hadn’t been allowed to see the light of day for months without fighting and clawing his way to the surface. He didn’t want a repeat of that. This human would survive his wrath, he decided, but not unscathed. He needed to understand. That was all. He needed to remember to respect the food chain.

Large paws took a step forward, and then another. The jaguar licked his massive chops, his anger and his hunger surging through his chest. But then… there was a tickle of something else, just beneath the surface. It started as a seed, small and unassuming, but it sprouted quickly. It took root and grew, going down and up all at once. Terror, grief, guilt, relief… It was a jarring transition, and the jaguar froze where he stood. His head felt fuzzy and uncertain, and something that wasn’t his swirled in his chest.

It didn’t last long; in a few moments, the rage returned as hot as ever, but slower than what the jaguar was used to. He shook his head as if trying to dislodge the intruder, but it was too late. Footsteps thundered in, a shot was fired. The jaguar felt the familiar sensation of a needle in his flesh, and then a surge of exhaustion overcame him. He took a final, clumsy step towards the human before collapsing in a heap, unconsciousness pulling him beneath its icy waves as the tranquilizer took hold.

—

For whatever reason, Finn had expected the shot to hit him - hilarious, in retrospect. As if he posed any sort of threat to… well, to anyone. The jaguar on the other hand, big ass fucking threat. So why hadn’t it gone for the kill? Finn had felt the desire, seen it stalk like it was starring in a nature documentary and then… Someone was shouting and Finn startled, all at once aware of his heavy body, shallow breathing and the way this room smelled of death. “What?”

“Are you slow? Come on, get the fuck out,” one of the newcomers hissed, rough hands snatching at Finn’s jacket. His eyes stayed on the jaguar, its breathing slow and heavy, as he got manhandled out of the room. 

“Wait, is he- is he going to be okay?” No one bothered to reply to his stuttered question as the shoving and dragging continued, making it hard to stay upright. “Seriously, what the fuck happened? What the hell is this place?” 

Finn’s back hit the wall, knocking the wind out of him and thankfully shutting him the fuck up. “You keep your mouth shut, we’re not gonna have a problem. I find out you’re yapping about shit you know nothing about, we’ll make sure one of those friendly corpses like the one back there finds its way to your apartment. We good?” 

Nodding, afraid he’d curse the guy out or honest to god, break down in fucking tears if he opened his mouth, Finn was dragged back into the process of getting thrown out. “Hey, just - ow! At least let me get my fucking laptop!”

[m-for-musings]

Honey Webbing

Part 14 — Read on AO3

A faint, muffled sound pierced the heavy silence that had settled over the room - a desperate, anguished scream that sent a shiver down Minthara's spine. Her eyes narrowed as she strained to pinpoint the source of the disturbance. The cries were faint, barely audible, as if they were coming from a great distance. Cautiously, Minthara made her way towards the bedroom door, her senses heightened. As she walked through the corridor, the anguished screams became slightly clearer, but still muffled and distant, their intensity underscoring the desperation that laced them. She moved with some difficulty, her wounded leg stinging at every steps, but still she was able to drag herself with a practiced, silent grace, her footsteps barely whispering against the wooden floorboards as she followed the trail of anguished sounds. 

Minthara cautiously approached the lounge on the second floor, and oddly enough the sounds of the anguished cries seemed to fade, becoming even more hard to hear. To her surprise, she found a group of Halsin's children gathered there, seemingly oblivious to the distressing screams that had drawn her attention. Talia was attempting to coax a reluctant Fren into eating, her voice soft and soothing as she tried to persuade the young half-drow. Soren lay on the floor nearby, his belly pressed against the wooden boards as he intently read from a tattered book, his expression utterly serene. Next to him was Yenna, absorbed in a painting on a canvas, expressing her newfound obsession with fairytale princesses through delicate brush strokes.  Mera was laying upside down on a couch, also entertained by a book, though her expression conveyed a distinct air of boredom.

Minthara's gaze drifted from one child to the next, searching their faces for any hint of distress or awareness. But they seemed content, unperturbed, their attention fixed on their individual tasks, as if the world beyond the confines of this quiet lounge held no bearing on their own peaceful existence. Had her own fragile state of mind played tricks on her senses, conjuring the sounds of suffering where none existed? With a quiet sigh, Minthara shook her head, silently admonishing herself for the lapse in judgment. She would need to be more vigilant, more in control of her emotions…

Minthara stiffened as a sudden, boisterous voice rang out from her left side, nearly causing her to jump in surprise. "Heeeey, you're the hero who saved Mera!" the young blue dragonborn, Finn, exclaimed, his eyes wide with excitement as he seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

The dragonborn bounced on the balls of his feet, his tail swishing back and forth eagerly. "Mera told us all about how you carried her through the super scary Underdark and then whoosh!” Finn swept his clawed hand through the air, mimicking the motion of a sword. "You sliced a giant Cloaker right in half with just one hand!"

The boy's voice rose in pitch, his words tumbling out in a rapid, breathless torrent. "That's so awesome! You must be the bravest, strongest warrior ever!" Finn grinned, his sharp teeth and fiery blue eyes gleaming as he gazed up at Minthara with unbridled admiration.

Minthara blinked, taken aback by the sheer audacity of the dragonborn's statement, that was so blatantly far from the truth that it was almost amusing. Minthara's brow arched slightly, a small, wry smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She turned her attention to Mera, her expression unreadable. "Is that so?”

"Hey, I didn't say that!" Mera protested, her voice indignant as she casted the book aside and sat straight on the couch, her gaze shifting nervously between Minthara and the dragonborn. The girl's cheeks flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and exasperation. "I-I may have, well, embellished the details a bit," she admitted sheepishly, her eyes downcast. "But Finn is the one who's making it sound so... so grand!"

"I see," Minthara replied, her gaze flickering between the two younglings, a hint of sad amusement dancing in her eyes. The children’s words, though intended to cast Minthara as a courageous protagonist, served only to intensify her harsh reality and her ultimate defeat. Minthara harbored a profound understanding of the depths to which she had fallen. She was not the magnificent, awe-inspiring figure she had once been, but rather a shattered, wounded reflection of her former self.

The attention of the other children seemed to shift, their gazes turning towards Minthara with a newfound intensity. The drow felt an abrupt change in the atmosphere, a palpable sense of focus that made her instinctively stiffen. Talia was the only one who appeared slightly wary, her expression guarded as she intercepted Fren's attempt to approach Minthara. The young half-drow had started to toddle towards her, tiny arms outstretched, but Talia gently yet firmly held her back, her brow furrowed in a silent warning. Soren set aside his tattered volume, his gaze fixed intently on Minthara, as if studying her every nuance. Even Yenna had paused her delicate painting, her brush poised in midair as she regarded the drow with undisguised fascination.

Minthara felt a small shift in her own demeanor, a faint stirring of discomfort at the sudden influx of attention. She shifted her weight, a barely perceptible movement that belied her underlying tension. She could feel the weight of their stares, the palpable curiosity and, in some cases, a hint of apprehension. The children's eyes were wide with wonder as they gathered around Minthara as they began their questions about the drow's experiences in the Underdark - the eerie bioluminescence, the predatory creatures that lurked in the shadows, and the underground cities that flocked below. 

The children leaned in, entranced, their expressions shifting between fascination and concern as Minthara described the formidable, cunning drow and their society. Mera was the one who sat closest, the girl’s eyes intently observing Minthara as she recounted some of her experiences down there. Mera seemed to hang on to her every word, eager to learn more about the mysterious and perilous world that lay beneath the surface.

With a subtle clearing of her throat, Minthara attempted to steer the conversation in a more neutral direction. "But let that serve as a warning for you," she continued, her voice low and slightly chiding. "Do not be so quick to wander alone in the Underdark, for I may not be here to save you every time."

Amid the chatter and rumblings of the children discussing the tales of the Underdark, Minthara's senses were once again assaulted by the faint, anguished cries that seemed to reverberate through the halls. Her crimson eyes narrowed, her warrior's instincts instantly on high alert as she strained to locate the source of the distressing sounds.

Yet, to her surprise, the children remained seemingly oblivious to the distressing sounds, their demeanors utterly unchanged. Talia returned to her gentle coaxing of the reluctant Fren, her brow furrowed in gentle chastisement as the young half-drow girl pouted and refused to eat.

"I want daddy!" Fren whined, her voice laced with a childish petulance as her lower lip jutted out in a stubborn pout, her tiny fists clenching as she shook her head adamantly. 

“Daddy is busy,” Talia murmured, her voice soft but firm. “Fren, you must eat, he would want you to be a good girl and finish your meal." With a tired sigh, the teenager turned her attention to Mera, a slight edge of exasperation in her tone. "Mera, she's your sister. Come here and help me make her eat."

"I thought we were all siblings." Mera responded with a mischievous smirk, “And you have a much better way with children than I do.”

Minthara felt a muscle in her brow twitch as the children's chatter and Fren's petulant whining grated on her already frayed nerves. The muffled, anguished cries that continued to echo from somewhere below only served to heighten her sense of unease.

"Where is Halsin, after all?" the drow asked, her tone clipped and slightly impatient.

"He's helping Adara to make a baby!" Finn announced proudly, hands on his waist, puffing out his chest.

Minthara's eyes narrowed, a subtle shift in her expression betraying her disapproval. "Make a... baby?" she repeated, her voice slow and measured, as if she were speaking to a particularly slow-witted child.

“Yeah,” Finn nods, completely oblivious to the inherent tension in Minthara's tone. “That's why he had to move you upstairs, he needed the attendance room for that.”

Before she could voice her thoughts on the matter, Mera swiftly kicked the young dragonborn's tail, eliciting a yelp from Finn. "He's helping Adara to give birth to a baby," the half-drow girl corrected, her gaze flashing with irritation, “and he needed the attendance room because all of his healing stuff is there!”

"That's what I said!" Finn protested, his brow furrowing in confusion.

Both the anguished cries and her new accommodations were explained, then. The realization that the source was a woman in labor sent a twinge of unease through her. For some reason, the thought of Halsin tending to another person somewhat stirred a strange sense of discomfort within her. She found herself inexplicably driven to question the children about this 'Adara' – who she was and what her ties to Halsin might be. Was she merely a villager? A friend? Or perhaps something more? Whose child was she bearing?

A flicker of an emotion Minthara dared not name flashed across her features – a subtle tightening of her jaw, a barely perceptible crease in her brow. But she quickly pushed those feelings aside, unwilling to confront the implications of her own reaction. After all, the nature of that woman's relationship to Halsin was not of her concern. It did not matter, she told herself, even as a part of her yearned to know the answer.

Minthara drew in a deep, steadying breath, attempting to quell the tumultuous emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. With great effort, she pushed those dangerous, confusing thoughts to the back of her mind, schooling her features into a mask of calm composure.

"I see," she finally said, her voice deceptively level.

Mera's brow furrowed with a hint of concern as she studied Minthara's demeanor. "Are you feeling alright?" the half-drow asked, perhaps noticing the subtle shift in Minthara's bearing, or perhaps simply compelled by a touch of polite worry. "If you're in any pain, I can fetch some painkillers or ointments to help."

Little did Mera know that no painkiller, no salve, could ever hope to soothe the aching turmoil that gnawed at Minthara's soul. The drow, ever the master of concealment, simply resigned herself to denying any sign of discomfort, despite the palpable pain that lingered in her battered body.

"Oh, you must be famished!" Yenna declared with a trace of wariness in her voice, as if she had momentarily forgotten a critical detail. "I would be absolutely ravenous if I'd been asleep for three days straight, too!"

At the young girl's words, Minthara's eyes widened, the shock and disbelief etched across her features. "Three days!?" she echoed, her voice tinged with a rare display of vulnerability.

As the unsettling revelation sank in, Minthara felt a familiar sense of unease creep up her spine, her fingers twitching instinctively as if reaching for the comforting weight of a weapon. The very thought of having been rendered completely vulnerable and helpless for an extended period of time sent a shiver of disquiet through her core. She somewhat expected that the child's words were nothing more than a cruel jest, or perhaps a simple misunderstanding, but the confirmation from the others and the sight of Mera's fully healed ankle left her with no choice but to resign herself to the unsettling truth. 

Yenna wasted no time in arranging a hearty meal for Minthara. The food wasn't exactly fresh-prepared, but it stirred the drow's appetite nonetheless, the acknowledgment of her body's needs after her prolonged unconsciousness. As she consumed her meal, Fren – who had stubbornly refused to eat her own food up until that point – suddenly perked up, her gaze transfixed on Minthara. The young girl observed the drow's calm, methodical eating with a keen interest, seemingly taking her cue from Minthara's example.

Slowly, almost cautiously, Fren reached for her own plate, her little fingers grasping the spoon with a tentative, almost reverent air. Then, with a newfound determination, the girl began to eat, her previous reluctance forgotten as she tried to mirror Minthara's measured, composed demeanor.

Talia, who had given up to feed Fren at that point, or was taking a long, desperate break from her attempts at best, looked at the little girl in a mix of bewilderment and relief. "Fren is..." Talia's voice held a tone of stunned amazement. "Fren is eating by herself!”

Minthara's brow quirked ever so slightly, her curiosity piqued by the subtle shift in the group's dynamics. Her eyes followed the girl's gaze, and indeed, there was Fren, her small fingers closed around the spoon as she began to partake of the nourishment laid before her. The drow observed the scene with measured interest, her own methodical eating pausing momentarily as she took in this unexpected development. Minthara's gaze lingered on Fren for a moment longer, a subtle shift in the set of her shoulders betraying the faintest traces of what might have been satisfaction. It was a small, fleeting expression, one that quickly gave way to her customary mask of indifference as she returned her attention to her own meal.

A mischievous grin slowly spread across Mera's face. The half-drow nudged Talia playfully, her eyes sparkling with a hint of amusement.

"Well, would you look at that?" Mera exclaimed, her voice tinged with a playful lilt. "If only I had known that all it took to get Fren eating was to let her see a drow enjoying a good meal, I would have fetched a tasty little snack for our guest earlier!"

Mera chuckled, her gaze flitting between Minthara and the now-ravenous Fren, who seemed to have found newfound inspiration in observing the drow's movements. "Guess we can add 'drow role model' to your list of talents, eh, Minthara?" the half-drow teased, playfully.

A subtle flicker of irritation crossed Minthara's features. "As it stands, you would do well to take me as a true role model. If you could do as your little sister and muster some discipline, perhaps you would not find yourself in any more self-inflicted trouble.”

A soundly ‘oooooohhhhh’ escapes from Finn’s mouth while he mockingly points at Mera, along with a buster of laughter from the other children, some muffled, others – like the dragonborn himself – quite loud.

Minthara's lips curled into the faintest of sneers, her gaze boring into Finn with unwavering intensity. “And I reckon you find yourself quite the jester,” she began, her voice dripping with a thinly veiled disdain, "perhaps if you spent less time prattling and more time observing your sisters, you might actually find a way to make yourself useful," she continued, her words cutting like a razor's edge.

A new ‘ooooooohhhhh’ echoed through the room, this time emanating from Mera's lips as the half-drow mockingly pointed a finger at Finn. The sound was swiftly followed by a chorus of muffled laughter from the other children, the collective amusement rippling through the air like a wave.

Minthara rolled her eyes. It was clear to her that the children's prattling and banter could go on indefinitely if left unchecked. Yet, despite her earlier harsh rebuke, a hint of amusement flickered across her features as she observed Mera take her own subtle revenge, reveling in the dragonborn boy's discomfort.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," the drow announced, her voice cutting through the laughter with a somewhat effortless authority, "I have more pressing matters to attend to than entertaining a gaggle of wayward younglings."

Minthara rose from her seat, her movements not as graceful and efficient as she intended to be due to the pain, but she took time to organize the empty plate and clutter from her finished meal nonetheless. "Mera," she said, her gaze fixing the half-drow with a pointed look, "you will come with me. In Halsin's absence, I will be in need of your assistance."

"But... in his absence, Talia’s the one in charge," Mera protested, her voice tinged with a hint of trepidation, perhaps wary of incurring further retaliation from the drow.

Minthara, however, remained unmoved, her expression as impassive as ever. With a single, unwavering glance, she silently communicated that there was to be no further argument on the matter. Without a word, she turned and made her way back towards Halsin's bedchamber, leaving Mera little choice but to follow in her wake.

***

"I'm here," Mera announced as she entered the room, her voice devoid of any discernible emotion.

Minthara's gaze swept the area, ensuring that no other children had followed the half-drow. Satisfied that they were alone, she closed the door and turned her attention to Mera.

"I need you to tell me about the lyre you stole," Minthara stated, her tone leaving no room for argument.

Mera's brow furrowed in mild exasperation. "Ugh, we're still talking about that? I haven't stolen it, I've found it!" she countered, a hint of irritation coloring her words.

"Where?" Minthara pressed, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

"Tied to a raft in the cavern," Mera explained, her hands gesturing vaguely. "Well, not entirely tied, it was more, like, hanging from it."

"A raft?" Minthara's gaze dropped momentarily, her brow furrowing as her mind raced, the mention of a raft not quite aligning with the information she had gathered thus far, but still not entirely devoid of sense. If she was in the water, a raft would be subtle enough to traverse the river unnoticed. Was it intentional, then? No, it wasn't much like her to simply flee to the surface in a raft during a battle. Her previous theory was still more likely: someone attempted against her life, but rather than finishing the job in the Underdark, her would-be assassin left her adrift on the surface… on a raft?

Minthara's crimson eyes lifted to meet Mera's, a subtle shift in her expression betraying her growing curiosity. "Tell me more about this raft," she commanded, her voice low and measured. "What else did you observe in the cavern?"

Mera's shoulders sagged slightly, as if resigning herself to the interrogation. "Well, the raft was just sort of... drifting there, stuck in some rocks," she began, her tone growing more animated as she recounted the details. "And there was all this weird stuff kind of tied to it – barrels, crates… At first I thought that it was like some kind of... I don't know, shipwreck or something. But there weren't any more wooden pieces or anything, just a single raft. And the lyre was just hanging from one of its loose ropes."

Minthara's expression remained impassive as Mera spoke, but the drow’s mind was already whirring with implications and potential connections. She was set up, that was for sure. But why here, so far away from Menzoberranzan? Even if her disposal was part of a murder plot, why bother to drag her all this way to one of the less prominent shores of the Sword Coast? If they had traveled a little further, they could have left her in Baldur's Gate, or in any other city along the Coast where a potential enemy could buy her life. But instead, they left her here, in a faraway middle of nowhere? There were definitely other ‘nowheres’ to leave her that didn't require such a long journey. Everything about this supposed assassination plot strikes Minthara as ultimately odd. The journey, the raft, the barrels and crates – nothing about it makes much sense.

"So you took the lyre from this raft… And where is it now? What about the other items? What were the crates' contents?" Minthara pressed, her gaze unwavering.

Mera nodded, a sheepish expression crossing her features. "Yeah, there were some clothes, jewelry… I, uh... I hid them all in the cavern. But I swear, I didn't know it belonged to anyone! I just thought it was, you know, abandoned stuff or something."

Minthara's brow furrowed, but she refrained from chastising the half-drow. Instead, she fixed Mera with a pointed stare, her voice low and grave. "We must return to the cavern and investigate this raft further. You will show me where you hid the other items as well," she commanded, her voice brooking no room for argument.

Mera's brow furrowed, a faint hint of uncertainty creeping into her features. "Uh... I don't think you're in any condition to be leaving the house just yet," she ventured cautiously.

Minthara's jaw tightened, her patience clearly beginning to wear thin. "I did not ask for your assessment of my condition," she retorted sharply. "You will lead me there, and consider it payment for having saved your life."

Mera's eyes widened in a mixture of confusion and indignation. "Excuse me? You said you saved my life as a payment for Halsin having saved yours. How can I be indebted to you for a debt you just quitted?"

Minthara scoffed, her crimson eyes glinting with a hint of disdain. "Life is not fair, girl. This is simply how it works. You would do well to get used to it."

The half-drow's features twisted into a reluctant scowl. "You know I won't be able to drag you around if you faint again, don't you?" she muttered, her voice laced with a hint of defiance.

Minthara's lips curled into a cold, humorless smile. "Then you had best hope that I do not," she replied, the unspoken threat hanging in the air like a palpable weight. With a curt nod, the drow turned, her piercing gaze fixed on the door. "Now, lead the way. We have work to do.”

"No," Mera retorted sharply. "I'm not your underling." The girl took a step forward, her chin raised defiantly as she met Minthara's gaze. "You may have saved my life, but that doesn't make me your servant."

The half-drow's shoulders tensed, defiance sparking in her expression. Mera opened her mouth to continue, but Minthara cut her off with a sharp gesture. "Listen here, you insolent little brat," the drow hissed, her voice dripping with contempt. "I did not risk myself only to have you question my authority. You will do as I command, as you can consider yourself lucky that I did not simply leave you to your own fate."

Minthara's expression turned into a grimace, irritation flickering across her features. She opened her mouth to issue another command, but this time it was Mera who cut her off.

"I get that you're on some kind of personal mission or whatever, but the rest of us have our own shit to deal with," the half-drow continued, her tone growing more aggressive. "Halsin trusted Talia to be in charge, and that's who I'm going to listen to, not some drow who thinks she can just boss us around.”

The air in the room crackled with tension as Mera's words hung in the air. For a long moment, the two stared each other down, the unspoken battle of wills palpable. Then, without a word, Mera turned her back and slipped out of the room, leaving Mitnhara to her own devices.

Her brow was furrowed, her lips pressed into a thin line, and her eyes narrowed in contemplation. As she stood there, Minthara couldn't help but replay the confrontation with the half-drow in her mind. Mera's defiant refusal to simply submit to her demands had been… surprising, yet not entirely unexpected. The girl had displayed a level of short temper and insolence that Minthara had tasted before, but had hoped to break through sheer force of will.

Minthara's jaw tightened slightly, a flash of frustration crossing her features. Fury simmered beneath the surface, her gaze smoldering with a barely restrained rage at the audacity of Mera's defiance. Yet, as the initial flash of anger subsided, Minthara found herself begrudgingly impressed by the half-drow's nerve. There was a fierceness in Mera's eyes, a stubborn resolve that the drow couldn't help but recognize – for it was a reflection of her own youthful spirit, a mirror image of the unyielding will that had carried her through the unforgiving trials of Menzoberranzan’s high society.

The drow paused for a moment, sitting on the bed as she drew a steadying breath. She didn't regret her actions, per se – Minthara was accustomed to issuing commands and expecting obedience. It was the way she had grown up with, the way she had survived in the Underdark, the way she fought against the lolthites. But as she considered the exchange, she couldn't help but acknowledge that perhaps her approach had not been the most prudent. Arguing with the teenager had done little to further her objectives, and had, in fact, only served to antagonize Mera further.

Minthara couldn't help but feel a grudging sense of... admiration? No, that was not the right word. Respect, perhaps. An acknowledgment that the half-drow possessed a strength of character that Minthara had not quite anticipated. Minthara's lips curled into the faintest of sardonic smiles as she mulled over the encounter. The girl had potential, she realized, a valuable asset waiting to be honed and tempered into a formidable tool, and in a few decades, perhaps, even an ally? Anyway, she realized that she would need to tread more carefully in the future. Brute force and unyielding demands would not be the most effective approach, not with these children. She may not have been able to compel Mera's cooperation through threats or sheer force of will, but the drow was nothing if not adaptable. She would find a way to achieve her objective, and to temper her approach was merely a detail. 

< Part 13 || Part 15 >

[juno-writes]

Helios

I'm currently writing a novel and want opinions on it as I write it. I'm going to try and post chapters weekly but don't promise anything. This is the prologue. Ty if your reading :3

The members of the Helios sprint from the back door, carrying not treasure but a bag with a puffy dress exploding out from it. Even with literally stealing the princess, the guards were all preoccupied with the dozen of other shooting blasters aimed directly at their heads. Bullets were flying everywhere, barely missing both the police and criminals alike. The tall skyscrapers rose above the city like daunting tyrants, and in the distance stood the palace, glittering in the blue glow of the triplet stars of Alpha Centauri. January thought she could hear a “curse you!” in the distance, but it didn’t matter to her who it was directed towards. As they ran up the ramp of the Helios, the loud creaking of the ship calmed January; then, she turned around on her heel and walked deeper into the ship

“Well done people. I don't know if I'm being too cocky, but I would call that a very successful run,” she high fived Stick with her unoccupied hand and set down the overflowing bag onto a chair and pulled it off the object… or the person. The woman revealed had artificially curly hair and wore an excessive  amount of makeup. That is to be expected from the crown princess, January thought to herself. Instead of pleading for help and kicking at the criminals, the princess stuck her nose up and looked away, not saying a word.

“So the minute you get out of the bag you're suddenly silent?” Stick sighs observing the doll-like girl with their arms crossed.

“What if we cut off one of her fingers?” Crystal cheered, reaching out to inspect the princess’s elegant hand and instead being met with a slap.  “ow…”

“Crystal, how barbaric do you think we are?” Finn remarked, looking kinda pissed. Atticus attempts to hold back a laugh

“I mean it would make a wonderful soup”

“Ok, everybody, I think we should focus on not getting bombed and shot at before we fight over what soup we have tonight,” January announced, already walking toward the control room. 

Everyone sprinted in different directions. Atticus and Stick followed January and Finn and Crystal went off to their stations. In the control room, January pressed a couple buttons, standing behind Atticus’s seat and nodded toward him. Stick, who was neighboring Atticus, clicked a couple buttons in a repeated motion. After a couple of gestures, he flipped a giant red switch, the rockets began to thunder and the ship began moving forward with a slight jerk. Suddenly, the rocket lurched forward.

“WHATS HAPPENING??” January yelled, falling off balance due to her towering high heels and ultimately toppling to the ground.

“WE’VE BEEN SHOT!” Atticus replied, rapidly spinning the wheel in seemingly random directions.

“WE’VE BEEN BOUGHT??”

“NO! WE’VE BEEN SHOOOO-AHHHHH”

“AHHHH”

“AHHHH”

The ship began falling rapidly.

“PRESS THE BACKUP ENGINE BUTTON!” Atticus yelled to Stick, who snapped out of panic and quickly began pressing buttons. January was still on the floor, laying there and knowing she would be able to get out of this. She analyzed the ceiling, pondering on the princess’s opinion on the coffee stained chairs.

Suddenly, a violent shake of the ship resulted in Atticus’s head smacking into the wheel. The shake came to a stop and the ship tilted upward toward the sky. Atticus and Stick leaned back in their chairs and sighed in sync while January propped herself up, messy hair lifting from the floor.

“Well I think I nearly jinxed it” January said, looking up and practically beaming the light of an exploding star, so much so Atticus had to squint just to look at her directly. As she waved goodbye to the people in the control room, she neared the spot where she had left the princess.

“Now… princess, what should I call you? ‘Princess’ is rather a mouthful don't you think?” She didn’t even look at January, rather eyes focused on something behind her.

“Not chatty I see. Huh.” January pulls up a chair from the table and sits across from her.

“Hmmm, let's play an icebreaker then. I'll ask first, what's your favorite color? I find it awfully hard to tell, seeing as how colorful and abstract your clothing is” The princess scoffs and looks directly at January, still not responding.

“Come onnnnn, i'm not here to hurt yo-”

“Oh that's rich, you're saying I don’t have the right to stay silent when a fugitive, ugly, lawbreaking, pirate scum like yourself asks something so stupid as my favorite color. You're not even wearing proper clothes! Where did you get that belt, a grandmother’s drawer?” January looks down at her clothes and looks back at the princess.

“Hey, that’s not very nice. You could have hurt my feelings if I cared about what spoiled rich kids like yourself say to me. Crystal could have made a better diss than that nonsense. Also this belt is from an old woman’s closet”

“What is that supposed to mean?? Who are you even talking about? There's so many people on this piece of junk that I can’t tell the difference”

“Hey, illegal stuff takes lots of gears.” She smiles. “But hey I like your fashion sense, you know minus the color scheme. Is that even considered a color scheme? I mean it really only has pink and white-”

“Just shut up already, I was really enjoying watching that crack in the wall before you came and started yelling about my fashion sense” In response, January raises her hands in surrender

“Ok ok fine, I give up. I guess I really did underestimate you”

“Huh?”

“Now I realize that your fashion sense is fabulous and that not letting the people have a right to vote on decisions is just splendid because why do you need the opinion of the people when you have an old religious family that has been in power for generations” January crossed her arms and legs, looking at the princess with a look of disapproval

“God, just because i'm a princess and have a brighter future than someone like you doesn’t mean-”

“I'm going to have to let you stop right there” she put a finger up to the girl’s mouth “But what I really wonder is where that crack is” she bends down to the princesses height and squints, smashing their faces together.

“OOOOH that crack. I'll have Finn on it in 20 minutes.” she stands up to leave “Can’t have a captive that's having fun!” She stands up and waves goodbye, saying “tah tah” before the door closes behind her.

[solsearchingnights]

They tried to smooth down their unkempt feathers, realizing far too late that they looked just as ragged as they felt. It’s fine, they’re pirates. No one is gonna judge. No more than usual, at least.

They stared at the sea, waiting for any of the ships dancing on the waves to come to the docks. The breaking of waves against the shore only made their anxiety worse, and the feeling of salt air coating their lungs was suffocating.

Neb loved the ocean in theory, but in practice it terrified them. A very inconvenient way to exist when the life they’d fled to was in the Isles and all their associates were pirates. 

Still, it was better than the mainland. Out here, no one asked questions about where you came from. No one cared that you had scars or how you got them. Neb needed that privacy. And if the cost was a little more fear about the environment, they could handle it.

Unfortunately, right now that meant handling the docks to force someone to talk to them. 

Notebook under their arm, Neb focused on an incoming ship. It flew the Kite standard which they breathed a little easier for. There were no factions overall that they had problems with, but enough Kestrels and Nightingales had taken to mocking them as a hobby that Neb would rather lower their chances of approaching someone who would just be cruel.

They spared one more thought to their disheveled feathers and hoped for the best.

The Kite that stepped off the boat looked tired. Neb ran through the roster of faction members, then smiled at the flick of its tail. They knew of this one, the one who broke family tradition, took up a standard that set the whole town to gossiping. 

“Finneas Blackwood?” Neb stood at the land end of the dock, blocking him from heading into town. “Were you present on the day of the Factioning, when the corruption was discovered?”

It stumbled back, as if it hadn’t noticed the giant owl in its path until that moment. “Wh– Huh?”

They rustled their feathers, swallowing down nerves and stepping forward on the dock. “Look, I’ve been trying for a week to get some answers. Two pirates, from two separate factions, disappear on land in front of a crowd, and no one will stop to talk about it.” Neb stepped forward again. Their talons dug into the salt-coated planks and their feathers puffed out, the sound of the waves filling them with anxiety. “Please, just tell me what happened, describe this ‘corruption’ to me, so I can try to assess the danger while the rest of the Isles pretends there’s nothing happening.”

Finn’s eyes were wide, his ears pressed tight against his head. “Hey, I was just there. I didn’t like, see anything.” It stepped backwards.

“That’s not good enough!” Neb shrieked, a distinctly owl sound. They held out the book in their hand. “I know I’m just the lorekeeper. I’m not a pirate, I don’t belong to a faction, but no one will even speak to me! Please, I’m begging.” They stepped forward again, the outstretched book nearly touching Finn’s chest. “If you don’t want to talk to me, I can leave. Just write down everything you saw, and give it back when you have the chance.” Their feathers shook, frustration and fear and desperation making them look easily twice their normal size.

And that size practically towered over Finneas. “You should leave me alone.” It’s voice shook, but there was an undercurrent of severity.

Neb shook their head. “I can’t. Just take the book, please. You can give it to someone else who will write if you won’t.” They tapped the book to Finn’s coat, and really should have anticipated that going badly.

With a ferocity that had been hidden behind his cowering, Finneas lashed out. He grabbed Neb’s arm, feathers breaking under the awkward angle and firm grip. “Leave,” he stepped aside, revealing the open ocean at the end of the dock, “me,” he yanked Neb’s arm, his other hand impacting the small of their back, “alone!”

Neb’s shout was cut off by crashing into the ocean.

to be continued...probably lol. i promise, Finn and Neb are gonna be great friends!!

@finnified is the creator of Finneas Blackwood!

[louvay]

What do you think the Jugdral characters do in their free time?

Ohhh

Let’s see

Gen 1

Sigurd: Horse polo or an equivalent sport to it

Deirdre: flute playing

Quan: betting on horse races

Ethyln: weaving sweaters for her family

Finn: accompanying his liege while wearing said sweater

Eldigan: shopping in the bazaar for his wife

Edain: archery

Brigid: sailing

Dew: running scams

Jamke: taking care of the above

Lex: pub drinking then brawling

Ayra: training others in swordplay

Azelle: reading romance novels

Tailtiu: using electricity to cook things

Lewyn: spam poetry

Silvia: play writing

Erinys: counting army supplies

Claude: hosting sermons

Lachesis: tea parties with the cross knights

Beowulf: medieval equivalent of a gym idk

Arvis: portrait commissioning

Travant: raising wyverns

Arden: making a giant tub of soup for the army

Gen 2

Seliph: writing down and practicing his speeches

Leif: brewing S drinks

Ares: being dragged into the market

Lene: is the one dragging him

Shannan: learning how to properly evade paparazzi

Oifey: training others in horse riding

Lana: writing letters to her mom

Lester: testing out bow strings

Diarmuid: peer reviewing Seliph’s speech

Nanna: taking care of her horse’s mane

Scathach: bodyguard duty

Larcei: training with different styles of fighting

Iuchar: owning a whole garden

Iucharba: hachet throwing at the archery range

Arthur: camping in the forest

Tine: aiding villages in need

Fee: going around asking if people know of her cool aunt

Ced: teaching kids magic

Coirpre: casting incantations over their army’s encampment

Hannibal: recalling the good ol days with his troops

Altena: transporting goods on her wyvern

Febail: fishing

Patty: attracting attention to Shannan while profiting from it

Julia: remembering pieces of her life looking at Iuchar’s flowerbeds

[fern1e]

I love adventure time. I adore it and the sequels we've been getting. However, I think the final season was terrible and the finale was the worst of it all. It had buildup and resolve for plots it only just introduced a handful of episodes prior, and the only plot point it had that was from prior was the one tied in with golb and Betty, which I think would have been better WITHOUT the gum war plot. We didn't need the gum war plot. I love PBs relatives as characters in theory but in practice they came out of NOWHERE.

I also love Fern, but because of how scattered and stunted his storyline was I really can't say he ended on a good creative note either. He had six major appearances, 10 minor (non-100+ tree) appearances that kept him solely in the background, and was mentioned twice. (Which, since I'm writing this, Gumbald had four major and three non-candified minor appearances in the series but was a major player in the finale. Chicle was more iconic as Crunchy, and even was turned back to that form because he was ALREADY established to still be in it in the 1000+ episode, and Lolly, while left unscathed, has NOT been shown in any post-series content in any way, was ALSO shown to be more iconic as Manfred, however I do respect that bigender swag.) Because of this, I almost feel like the emphasis they put on his plotline (originally having preboot and reboot as the finale and premiere of two seasons!) was a bit too much, especially with how quick he was shelved within the season itself, and how inconsistently he was portrayed across his appearances without a ton of on screen explanation for some of his actions. This isn't always a bad thing, because Betty herself shows us a good character with good story that MOSTLY OCCURS OFF SCREEN, which Fern, as well as Bonnie's relatives, all LACK.

The giant get together of every big character for the sake of the war was dumb. I think come along with me sucked. I try to think otherwise sometimes but it never works. The bubbline scene was poorly placed and stiff, the interactions in the episode were all rushed, the plots they resolved were too new to matter to me, and the matter of defeating golb was silly! It harkens back to the lich's original defeat with the sweater, but after seeing season closers of the past (Finn the human/Jake the dog being some of the best here, though all of the prismo-adjacent episodes near the climax of plot points were pretty good) which had far greater emotional and thematic impacts, watching everyone sing a song to bore a hole a beast that sat around and did nothing was dumb. Time adventure is a good song, but in the context it was brought up I don't like it! I think the only things I can come to appreciate are the moments between Simon and Betty, because I get the feeling these were some of the only moments that even had a sliver of past planning behind them seeing as Simon's plot was going on since as early as season 3, and Betty's first appearance physically was in season 5, which gives us at minimum five seasons of buildup for that.

(I gotta say, I'm almost certain if s7 remained from Bonnie and Neddy to Reboot with it's original selection of that 42ish episode run, and S8 remained from Two Swords to Three Buckets (which is 28 episodes, more reminiscent of early seasons), and season 9 matched s8, of even better yet both of them matched s7, i feel like I'd be less pissed. I'm glad for f&c right now because it's saving the show as a collective whole for me.