#gonna be writing and hanging out!!

[sea-webs]

"I don't know who I want to be, anymore."

Oc - Cirque | The Dragon Chosen by the Shadows |

| mary oliver / franz wright / chelsea dingman / mary oliver / sue zhao / can't find :( / can't find :( / i am a dog. i have blood all over my teeth. - sciencedfiction / little weirds - jenny slate / the unabridged journals of sylvia |

[luxaofhesperides]

Accidental Bride Sacrifice ; requested by @starlightcat04!

Danny has long since gotten used to the feel of summonings. They don’t happen often, but sometimes the right components are put together to force him into answering, and he’d have to go as the new Ghost King.

Which no one told him was a thing! He hadn’t protested too much about the whole Ghost King deal when they finally told him about it after he graduated high school. It gave him a good excuse to ditch life in the living realm and not worry about college or a career, and let him really embrace his ghost side. 

The summonings are a problem, though. They always feel staticky and bad, like a dumpster that just got struck by lightning. The taste of iron on his tongue, a clear sign of blood being spilled, lets him know that it would be one of end the world for us summonings, because some people can’t put in the effort to do it themselves, apparently. 

But this time, the summoning feels different.

Danny pauses, eyes going unfocused in the middle of his conversation with Jazz. He had been looking forward to spending the week with her, now that she’s on winter break, but his luck is as bad as always.

“I’m being summoned,” he tells her, cutting off her rant about a transphobic professor she had. 

“Oh, no. Do you need me to do anything? Should I go with you to beat up whoever it is that’s summoning you?”

Danny tilts his head to the side, considering. The taste of blood is noticeably absent. In fact, this summoning pull doesn’t make him feel sick at all. It makes him feel warm, as if he’s just been wrapped in a hug.

“No,” he says. “I think I’m good. This one feels different.”

“A good different?” Jazz asks, worry clear in her voice.

“Yeah. A good different. I’ll come back soon, okay?”

“Alright. Be careful, Danny.” Jazz pulls him into a quick hug, then steps back to watch as Danny stops fighting the pull of the summoning and disappears into a swirling white rings that flashes into existence behind him, blinding her for a moment, and is gone when she manages to blink the spots out of her vision. 

For a minute, Danny drifts in a void of stillness, traveling through the realms as the summoning draws him closer to the correct realm. And then he’s rising out of the ground in a dark building made of concrete, candles of green flame scattered all over the place.

“Great One!” someone in a hooded cloak cries, raising his arms in jubilation. “Our calls have been answered!”

“I’ll fucking kill you!” a mechanical voice yells from farther back. When Danny looks past the cultists’ heads, he spots a man in a red hood and leather jacket chained to a pole, along with a bunch of other people in strange costumes tied up, desperately trying to free themselves. 

“Silence!” The leader of the cult, or who Danny assumes is the leader, snaps at the hooded man and gestures to the people off to his left. They force another costumed person forward, this one in yellow armor. He can see the blood running down their face from beneath their helmet and from their nose, dark lines of blood cutting through their brown skin. 

The cultists throw the armored person forward, forcing them to kneel. Then they bow to Danny and step back.

“Great One,” the leader says, voice unpleasantly reverent and grating, “Welcome to the mortal realms. We offer you this sacrifice to feed your strength. He will make a fine general for your undead army in your crusade to rid this world of its filth.”

The people in the back begin shouting all together, panicked voices overlapping, and Danny is left staring down at the cultists in shock.

The summoning had felt so nice. What the hell was this? He did not sign up for another ‘end of days’ insane cult. He just wanted to be hugged. 

His silence makes the cultists nervous. They begin to shift uneasily, whispering to each other, and the leader clears his throat, then pulls a large crystal dagger out of his cloak. “We shall prove our devotion to you through an offering of a hero’s blood!”

And then he moves towards the sacrifice and Danny snaps out of his shock to yell, “Wait!”

The entire room freezes. Even the costumed people in the back go still. 

Danny winces, then tries to smother his power, make himself more palatable to the humans of this dimension. “Wait,” he says again, and he sounds closer to human now. If he could, he would drop his ghost form entirely, but he knows better than to endanger himself like that. “What, exactly, did you summon me here for?”

The cult leader stares at him for a moment. “To… To rid the world of filth and allow your loyal followers to spread word of your power. You will be worshiped again, Great One, and serve as a reminder to man that Death shall always prevail.”

“Okay, I get that, but I was talking more along the lines of the summoning. What ritual did you use? What specifically were the summoning requirements?”

Normally, he’d be able to figure it out himself, but these cultists didn’t use a summoning circle. So they did something else, something less visible and therefore harder to figure out, in order to bring him here.

A woman standing off to the side speaks up, stepping forward hesitantly. “I had pieced together a few summoning spells from this book to bring you here. You had to accept our chosen sacrifice to your side in order for the summoning to work.”

“Hold up that book for me, please?”

She does, and Danny flies down to grab it from her hands. “Point out which lines you used,” he says, already reading a few of the words written down. It’s definitely ghostspeak written down, which should be near impossible for living humans to translate without being skilled in magic.

“Ah, these ones.” She points to each line, reading them out for him, and Danny starts understand what, exactly, went wrong.

“Is there a problem, Great One?”

Danny returns the book then floats over to the sacrifice and picks him up. The costumed people make alarmed noises, but quietly quiet down again when all Danny does is move him away from the cultists.

“Okay,” he says, “So. The lines you used to summon me were not translated properly. What you interpreted as ‘accepted to stay by the king’s side in loyalty and strength’ is not meant to be, like, him being part of my undead army or whatever. It’s a royal marriage vow.”

“They married us?” the sacrifice shouts, disbelieving. The cult leader buries his face in his hands and sighs.

“My deepest apologies, Great One. We meant no offense. We simply wanted to aid in your destruction of this depraved world.”

Danny scrunches his nose and shakes his head. “Yeah, that’s not gonna fly with me. I do not do the biding of random people, especially those who are ready to murder innocent people for no reason. Frighty, if you would.” He snaps his fingers, calling up Fright Knight who always enjoys getting to torment the people who summon Danny for murderous reasons.

Fright Knight appears in a swirl of darkness and screams. Shadows swallow the room, and when they recede, no cultists remain.

“Thanks, Frighty. Have fun with them. I need to figure out all… this.”

Fright Knight bows to him, then disappears. Danny lets out a breath, then floats down lower to be eye level with the sacrifice. “Hey,” he says gently, with a smile, “I’m so sorry they did this to you. I’m Danny. What’s your name?”

“Du— Uh, Signal,” the sacrifice says, sounding rather dazed. 

“Signal,” Danny repeats. “Like… a traffic signal?”

“No. I mean, maybe? But it is Signal. That’s my hero name, not my real name.”

“Oh, you’re a hero!” His getup makes more sense now. Danny checks him over for any signs of injuries. So far, only his head and nose seem to be injured, but his wrists are tightly bound behind his back. Carefully, Danny calls upon his ice and shapes it into a sharp knife, then cuts through the zipties.

He helps Signal up to his feet, floating by his shoulder. “All good?”

“Yeah, man, all good. Let me just get the others free.”

“Oh, I can do it!” Danny flies over to the other costumed people, who must also be heroes. All it takes is one link in the chain being frozen and broken for the entire thing to go lax, allowing them to free themselves. Hooded guy spares Danny a single glance, then hurries over to Signal to check on him. The other three, a man with a blue bird across his chest, a blond girl with a yellow bat outline on her chest, and a guy with bandoliers and a golden bird emblem, all watch him warily as he floats back towards the center of the room.

“So,” the blue bird man says, “If they summoned you with a marriage vow, and you accepted, does that mean you’re planning to steal Signal away from us?” He’s smiling, but it’s not a nice smile.

“No! I had no idea they did this! I am so sorry you all got caught up in this. You most of all, Signal.”

Signal shrugs, nudging hood guy away from him. “Nah, man, it’s all good. This is definitely the better outcome.”

“I don’t know, being married off isn’t really a good thing.”

“Hey, at least they married me off to a decent guy.”

“You don’t know that,” Danny says, “What if I’m secretly evil?”

“If you were secretly evil, you’d be destroying the world right now. I think you’re fine.”

The blond girl waves at him, demanding his attention. “Quick question! They were calling you ‘Great One’. Are you a god or something?”

“Not really? I’m the Ghost King. So I’m a ghost who rules over other ghosts and also a majority of the Infinite Realms.”

She nods as if this is all totally normal for her, then shoots Signal a grin. “Congrats on bagging a king! Not the worst way to spend a night, right?”

“Can you break the marriage?” blue bird man asks, the lines of his shoulders tense.

Danny awkwardly rubs the back of his neck, not looking any of them in the eye. “I honestly don’t know. I can look for a way! But I genuinely have no clue. This was unexpected.”

“But you accepted.”

“I didn’t know what I expected! It just felt like a hug, and I wanted a hug! I thought I was being summoned for something nice for once!” Danny curls up, bringing his knees up to his chest, and hides his pout behind his hands. He knows he’s being childish, but he can’t help but be upset that he couldn’t have this one good experience from being Ghost King. 

It’s always responsibilities and death cult summonings and fighting ghosts who don’t think he should be king. Sure there have been some good things, but they’re comparatively few when looking at all the other stress and pain that comes with the crown. Sue him for wanting to have a nice night for once. Hell, at this point, he’d take being summoned to help with some kid’s homework, because at least then he could have a quiet night helping someone.

“Hey, man, can you come down here?” Signal asks. 

He wants to stay out of reach, hiding himself away for a bit longer, but Signal is his new, surprise, accidental husband, so Danny lowers himself to the ground and peeks through his fingers to look at him.

He tenses when Signal hugs him, soft and warm and comforting. It takes a moment for him to realize what’s going on, and then he’s melting into Signal’s embrace, dropping his hands to wrap them around Signal’s back.

Distantly, he can hear the other heroes talking quietly amongst themselves. He blocks out the sound as much as he can, determined to enjoy this hug while it lasts.

Which is… fairly long. Signal makes no moves to end the hug, so Danny closes his eyes to really savor the moment. 

“So,” Signal murmurs into his ear, “As newlyweds, how about we get to know each other a bit better before we start working on fixing all this?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Let’s ditch these guys and take some time to ourselves.”

“I promise I’ll get this fixed,” he says, just to make sure Signal knows. “Genuinely, I am so sorry to have married you through an old Realms vow when you had no say in it.”

“Hey, if it lands me a very nice, very attractive king, then I don’t mind at all. I could have done without the murderous cultists, though.”

Danny huffs out a small laugh. “Oh, for sure. Thanks for being so cool about this. Want me to fly us out of here?”

“Yes please,” Signal says. Danny smiles and tightens his grip on Signal, then lifts them both up. “I’ll see y’all later! Have fun with the rest of your patrols!” he calls out to the other heroes, who start shouting at him.

Danny flies them right out the roof before the other heroes figure out a way to kick his ass. The city they’re in is smoggy and dark, tall buildings rising up into the cloudy sky, and police sirens ring through the air. There’s no where that looks like a particularly nice spot to land for a conversation, so he asks Signal where he’d like to go and follows his directions from there.

They end up phasing through a building, then into the floor, which leaves them in what Signal calls The Hatch. 

Danny takes a quick moment to freak out over being in a hero’s secret hide out, the composes himself and finally pulls away from Signal.

“So,” he starts, looking around The Hatch and taking in the giant computer, the workstation, the motorcycle farther down the way, “What did you—Woah!” Danny spins around, slamming a hand over his eyes the instant he realizes that Signal is taking off his helmet, leaving his face bare.

It’s not like he’d know who Signal is anyways, being from a different dimension, but it’s the principle of the matter.

Signal laughs when he sees Danny’s attempt to keep from looking at him. A warm hand wraps around his wrist and gently pulls it away. “It’s okay, Danny, you can look,” he says. “It would be pretty weird if my own husband didn’t know my face.”

Slowly, giving Signal to change his mind, Danny opens his eyes. He moves his gaze up, going from Signal’s armor to his face, his very cute face and his warm brown eyes, and Danny stares for a moment. 

“Hi,” he whispers.

“Hi,” Signal says, fondness coloring his voice. “My name’s Duke. Are all Ghost Kings as cute as you?”

“Duke,” Danny repeats. “Hi. Um, no. The last one really sucked, actually, which is why I fought him. He was so bad the Infinite Realms didn’t want him anymore, so though I technically didn’t beat him in single combat, it was enough for the Infinite Realms to kick him out and get me on the throne.”

“Man, I can not wait to hear more of your stories. Think we got time for that while we search for a way to undo that marriage vow?”

Taking his chance, Danny says, “Sure! It’s a date.”

He’s awarded by Duke’s bright smile and idly wonders how long he can keep them married. Hopefully long enough for them to get into a real relationship where he can propose properly. And then he can get Jazz’s blessing too—

“Oh shit,” Danny realizes. 

“What? What’s wrong?”

“I need to tell my sister or she’s going to actually kill me.”

Duke winces. “And I should probably tell the others before Spoiler makes a mess of things… B is not going to be happy with me.”

They share a despairing look, already dreading the amount of scoldings they’re both going to get. He’s not looking forward to it.

“...Put it off until tomorrow?”

Duke nods. “Yeah. That’s a tomorrow problem. For now, how about a late dinner?”

“Sounds perfect.”

. . .

[send me a ghostlights prompt!]

[multiheadcanons]

AS OF WRITING THIS POST; I’M GOING ON HOLIDAY!! THE MERCS GOING ON A ROAD TRIP IN ONE COMPANY BUS

scout: driver number one. responsible, gets them out of the tiny towns with the overly aggressive cops quickly. everyone takes turns on the aux. he does like to munch on something come hour four, but he tries not to go through drive thrus, and only stops for bathroom breaks if a majority of the team needs a break from the road. likes to get small trinkets on his travels. takes heavy’s seat when it’s his turn to drive, then takes sniper’s seat when heavy returns for his spot. thanks for keeping his seat warm, scout.

soldier: he’s the human energy drink that forcibly keeps everyone awake on the bus until he himself falls asleep. this isn’t until 9PM, generally. everyone has had to learn to bring something to drown him out. one time they tried to duct tape his mouth shut and he ate the tape. so they just let him yap until he’s satisfied. he also found that if he can shut the fuck up for like ten minutes, the drive will put him to sleep. needs semi-frequent breaks to stretch his legs or he starts popping like bubble wrap. likes to go through drive thrus. sits directly behind the driver.

pyro: permanently asleep unless the bus stops. the second the bus stops they are up and asking what’s going on, stretching their legs, shaking out what jitters they have from being cooped up in their seat for so long. they like to pull over and look at the sights sometimes, but they’re never the one driving to get to make that choice, but if they happen to be awake and speak up in time, the drivers will normally oblige for them. trinket and gift shop knick knack hoarder. situates themselves in one of the back rows, but not the very back.

demo: generally by the emergency window. if he prods soldier enough, he can get the man to sit next to him and he puts himself on the soldier distraction squad. he is more than happy to not be a designated driver, because now he just brings a flask, and as long as they don’t get pulled over he is not worried at all about whether they’re getting ticketed for that. immensely humorous, and equally loud as the american, he likes to play a lot of road games to keep his mind busy. falls asleep about halfway through the trip, but is awake for the final stretch.

heavy: driver number two, and inclement weather driver. heavy is seated in the very back, and is reading until he falls asleep along the back row. he is not to be bothered until it is his turn to drive, or if a random severe storm just blew in and it’s time for him to take the helm and get them out of there unscathed. very quiet the entire time, unless asking for directions or answering questions. most likely to stop through a drive through, and in general a very courteous driver as long as you ask nicely. the most time is added to the trip when heavy is the driver.

engineer: usually located behind demo to sneak sips off whatever demo brought. engineer is designated emergency driver. engie only touches the wheel if scout, heavy, or sniper died under sudden and mysterious circumstances. this has never happened, and by god it fuckin’ better not. he is also the only merc who is awake the entire trip. he doesn’t sleep well on any mode of transportation. it gives him weird and disturbing dreams. so he’s just up the whole time.

medic: seated across from demo unless heavy is driving. then he gets to partake in his ultimate privilege of being the Designated Passenger Princess. that is his favorite part. he moves to the very front, and gives heavy directions and slowly manipulates him into adding an entire two hours to the drive from the sheer amount of stops. he doesn’t even want anything, he’s just wanting to add more time to the clock. though, when he’s not being a vehicular and navigational menace, he’s just reading a book he brought with him, annotating shakily with a pencil. he also doesn’t sleep, but he will never be allowed to drive unless everyone else is dead.

sniper: driver number three, and night driver, normally. snipes sleeps until about halfway through heavy’s shift at the wheel. he just stands on the bus and stretches and walks back and forth in the aisle. nobody really cares, and this has only backfired on him once. and him busting his ass after heavy came to a hard brake wasn’t enough for him to think twice about doing that in the future. because he’s taking the night shift on the wheel, most of the team is asleep, and he is speeding like a bat out of hell to get them back on time. but his handling is so smooth nobody actually realizes what’s happening.

spy: emergency driver for when they commit a crime. if the bus gets pulled over, spy takes the driver’s seat and gets them the fuck out of dodge. spy has what can only be called a supernatural ability to outrun the police. you could drop him in a location completely unknown to him and tell him “the police are ten meters away from your location and rapidly approaching” and he’s immediately found the airport and booked his ticket. it is insane how quickly this man can avoid the steel grip of the law. otherwise, he is also reading a book, annotating, and occasionally dozing off in his seat. located near the back, across from pyro if the seat is available.

[hbo--spn]

ok but "lucifer," "hallucifer," helping sam solve cases is something that needed to be explored and used SO MUCH MORE

[nothingbizzare]

Fugo's Granny, Nonna Dora, and Mista are besties

Original:

[altarfates]

wait hang on what happened to him ??? how much time has passed ??? was he an old man to begin with ??? im crashing out tell me your secrets ( enjoy ur retirement king )

[sparrownnax]

hm.... considering writing an Arvio & Amirah fic.... post-Desert Rose.... they're in their chairs and just yapping. yay or nay

[softquietsteadylove]

I need the goalie AU again. Please. I beg of you to please write thena being all shy and embarrassed when hanging out together and Gil thinking it’s adorable. I CANT BELIEVE I FORGIT ABT THIS AU LIKE THAT MAN 😭💀

Thena made her third - slow - loop around the rink, mixed in with everyone else attending the free skating time available to the community. It felt bizarre, skating freely. She was in a regular old sweater and skirt with fleece lined tights on. She wasn't here to practice her axle or turns.

She was here for a...to...with...Gil was meeting her.

It wasn't them crossing paths before or after practice, no matter how planned. Since Gil had shown up regardless of his own schedule, they had both come to do so more often. They even texted, now.

Thena had given up her aversion to phones just for the occasion. Ajak had questioned what made her want one all of a sudden, but Thena had offered the pathetic but perfectly believable excuse that it was just time for her. And she could text with Makkari and Druig, now.

To her mother's credit, she had accepted the excuse and taken her to the mall that very same day.

Hey, there's a free skate this saturday. We don't have practice that day. Wanna go just for funsies? :)

It was a completely charming and adorable invitation, from the wording to the little smile he added to it. Thena had already read it over so many times she was quite sure it qualified as obsession by this point. If anything, she was lucky the phone only noted when it was read for the first time, and not every subsequent time she had gazed at it just to hear Gil's voice in her head.

"Thena!"

Her heart leapt in her chest. Sometimes she felt so conscious of it she wondered if the rink speakers were blaring it for all to hear instead of a grainy old pop song. But she waved.

Gil skated right over to her. He had powerful strides, making it across the rink in no time, although he made sure to come to a stop in a way that didn't shower her skates with the debris of his gliding. "I'm glad you could make it."

She just smiled, tucking some hair behind her ear as they started skating lazily around with everyone else. "I've never come here just for 'funsies', as you put it."

He beamed at her. "Well, maybe this'll be the first of many."

It was somewhat of an open ended invitation; not so direct as to put pressure on her but certainly they both knew the implication. She looked down at the scratched up ice beneath their skates. "Maybe."

"Did your mom like the cupcakes?" Gil asked, a far better conversationalist than she (thank goodness).

"She did!" Thena jumped at the opportunity to talk about something that didn't make her quite so nervous. "She said she was quite impressed."

"Ah," Gil shrugged, blushing with modesty as he pushed his hands into his hoodie pockets. He was just wearing a t-shirt under it, but she supposed boys always seemed to dress too light in cold conditions. "It's just a simple recipe. But I'm glad you liked 'em."

They were the single most delicious thing she had ever eaten.

"I'll return your container next practice," she promised more quietly. There was no easy way to admit that she hadn't actually told her mother she was coming today to meet Gil specifically.

All she had told her mother was that she was meeting 'some friends'. She didn't want Ajak getting any...ideas.

"No worries," he grinned at her. Gil had a real grace to him on the ice, moving easily, but matching her pace in a way that required some control over his full abilities. "Your dad seems to be less of a jerk, lately."

Thena pressed her lips together. Her father/coach had indeed been less abrasive for several of her practices. Specifically, after he had asked her if she knew why a certain young man was always lingering. "I believe I have you to thank for that, actually."

"Me?" Gil blinked, and so innocently at that.

Thena rolled her eyes. "Father may be a bit of a beast at times, but he has a reputation of decency to uphold. He can't have strangers thinking he's unprofessional."

Gil nodded, considering the words. But he looked at her with a softer expression than before, "I'll be at every one of them, then."

She felt an increasingly familiar tingle in her cheeks and rushed to correct him. "Th-That's okay, Gil! I don't mean--there's no need, really."

He gave her a doubtful little pout.

She smiled at him as they rounded the loop again. "Your presence, no matter how long it's there, is enough of a deterrent. And its protection is appreciated, believe me."

As soon as she said it, she wondered if she should have. Did she sound weird? Was she making too big a deal out of it?

But he seemed unaware of her worry. That soft expression he had remained, and he even let his arm brush hers a little, as much as their skates would allow the proximity, at least. "Well, uh, good. I'm glad I could protect you, then, I guess."

They both looked away. Thena swallowed, although even that sounded too loud in her ears at the moment. The rink was cold but her face felt warm.

Gil cleared his throat. "Uh, I..."

"Do you come to the free skate often?" Thena blurted out, before she could think better of it. She hoped she hadn't cut him off from anything important.

She just wanted to keep talking to him.

"Uh, I used to," Gil managed, even pulling one of his hands out of his pockets to fiddle with the zip of his hoodie. "Skating was always fun to me, I guess. That's how I got into hockey."

She looked at him. "Not as easy to find time for it now that you're on the team, I suppose."

He looked at her, too, knowing she knew just how true that was for the both of them. "I guess, yeah. To be honest, I liked skating, but it wasn't really my idea to join."

"Whose was it?" she tilted her head, although turning the corners again made her have to keep her hair out of her face.

"Ikaris has been on the team forever," Gil shrugged. "And he kind of convinced me to try it just 'cause I'm big. And everyone told me what a good goalie I was after, so I guess I kind of just-"

"Went with it?" she suggested, and he affirmed it for her.

"I mean, I like it," he shrugged. "But it's nice to come here just to skate. I kinda forgot what it felt like."

"Me too," she sighed, looking at the faded colours buried beneath the ice, seeing the fog of her breath and feeling the breeze through her hair. Her ankles weren't burning, her knees didn't ache. It was fun.

"I guess I should come here more often too, huh?" Gil suggested lightly, and then became sheepish again.

Thena looked down at her hands clasping together. Gil had taken the first leap, not only inviting her today but also suggesting further occasions for it in the future. It was time for her to take a leap. "We could make a habit of it."

He looked at her, his curiosity piqued.

"So we can keep in mind that we like skating," she added, rather lamely, in her opinion. But to suggest that they make a regular habit out of coming here together just for the joy of each other's company--it felt a little too much, at least for now. "Outside of practice, that is."

"Yeah," he smiled at her, his usual charm emerging again. "I like the sound of that."

Again, the invitation was a good enough idea, but open enough so as not to need a full commitment this very moment.

"Hm," Thena squeaked out. She was letting the conversation roll straight into the ditch again. But Gil really had a terrible ability to push all of her thinking power out of her head just by being near her.

"Uh, speaking of things we like just for fun...?"

Thena looked at Gil, who had the same nervous but also assured smile he'd had when he first admitted he wanted to spend time with her regardless of practice schedules.

"I was gonna try a new cupcake recipe next weekend," he admitted to her more quietly. He pulled his hands out of his pockets for it. He had no need for even the light gloves she was wearing. She could see a plain leather cuff around his wrist. He looked cool with it on. "Would you wanna...come over?"

"And bake?" she blinked. She was extremely capable of consuming the results of baking. But that didn't mean she would be able to produce anything. "With you?"

"Yeah," he suggested lightly. "You could help me test it out."

Thena just stared at him, her mouth hanging open. She felt like an idiot, but she couldn't squeak out a single word. All she could think about was what it would be like to be with Gil, in his element, baking wit him, in his home.

And as much as skating for fun seemed like a hang out kind of activity, baking with him certainly seemed more in the 'date' realm.

"Thena!"

Her head was turned for too long and she hadn't realised she was drifting directly into the path of those trying to get on and off the ice. She tried to stop, but her picks were angled wrong, making her stumble.

"Whoa!"

Gil caught her before she could fall. And as much as she was happy not to tumble flat on her face - or behind - in front of him, she wasn't sure what to make of this, either.

Thena stared at him. His hand was on her back, having caught her waist in the bend of his elbow. She knew he was big, and she knew his arms were strong, but she could never have known how true those things were until now. And he was so warm. Even with his hoodie hanging open and just a t-shirt, she could feel his warmth radiating from him.

It went through his t-shirt like nothing. And her waist was now pulled right against his. Her light sweater felt like tissue paper. Her hands were grasping onto him through sheer reflex. One had a handful of his hoodie, then other had his shirt in its grips. She looked down. The bottom of it came up, revealing just a little of Gil's beautiful skin and the top of his jeans.

"Sorry!" Thena flailed to release him from her clutches. As if the near fall weren't mortifying enough, now she was pawing at him. If her face was warm before, it was positively on fire, now.

"That's okay," Gil said gently, not even a chuckle at her embarrassing display. "Are you? You're not hurt, are you?"

He was so sweet. It made her insides feel like she was in a perpetual axle spin, twirling and twirling and rushing with joy. And she could only hope she would stick the landing.

Gil let her smooth her own fluster. He stood stationary on the ice as she ran a hand over her hair, tugged at her skirt.

"Sorry," she repeated (needlessly).

"I don't mind," Gil said just as quietly. He was so sweet--so perfect.

She tapped her picks on the ice and looked up at the rink clock. She looked at him and forced a smile, "thanks."

"Do you wanna sit for a minute?" he asked, gesturing vaguely to the stands.

She looked at Gil. She could use the excuse not to look at him, collect her nerves. But she didn't want to only be nerves around him. She wanted to skate with him more, ask him more about hockey. And she wanted to learn how to make cupcakes from him.

"No."

Gil looked down at as she reached for his hand of her own volition. She had her gloves on and he didn't, but his touch was soft. Their eyes met and he blushed, "o-okay."

She started skating again, slowly, and he followed her naturally. Face aflame or not, she cleared her throat, determined to get their conversation out of the ditch. "Tell me about this new recipe we'll be making."

Gil's face lit up, and she had to look away again. But she kept his hand in hers as they resumed their looping. He pushed himself to be next to her, stride in stride, hand in hand. "Well, I found a recipe for a chocolate and vanilla swirl. I've never tried two flavours in one before, so I thought it might be cool."

They made the very best combination, Thena thought. She smiled at him, "so, what will we need for the recipe?"

[skrunksthatwunk]

babycat has discovered "skirt time"

[levemetal]

I love fics that have the Shen twins as twin peaks lords of Qing Jing, but let's be real: If there is one peak which SHOULD have two whole peak lords, it should be An Ding, the literal peak of logistics and paperwork.

Just feels like it would make An Ding's workload more manageable.

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

thinking priest!geto thoughts again :(((

you’re both a little rotten . it’s a stench that sticks to your skin and you can smell it off each other. there’s a certain kind of bond that only blooms between people who know the each other’s smile is fake, you know? and there’s a kind of trauma that lingers and rots and sticks to your bones and you can hide it with layers of clothing or heavy robes but people who have felt it themselves will always spot the signs . do you see what i’m saying. there’s something special between you when he says he loves his god and you know that he’s lying. there’s something special when you say you couldn’t care less if god thinks you’re sinful and he knows that you’re lying . because you can both smell it off each other. the sickening rot .

[shoot-i-messed-up]

why do we not talk abt how the Heaven sequence of GA 2001 has insane implications on the rest of the lore. like I know next to nothing about the cosmic side of DC but wdym Barry and Ollie were just hanging out in Heaven together, and there’s also little Robin Jason swinging around non-existent skyscrapers. does that mean when Barry and Ollie die (permanently) they’re going to go back up to Heaven??? how is it decided who goes to DC Heaven??? I’m sure there’s DC Hell, and Ik the Presence is basically DC God, but I don’t think DC comics would just lift Protestant Christianity mythology wholesale and just put it in their universe. There’s also supposedly reincarnation??

[bllakcat]

had a long day, but i will write here tomorrow <3

[remyfire]

Ship: BJ Hunnicutt/Hawkeye Pierce

Rating: E

Word Count: 4k

Note: After taking some time away from writing to get some affairs in order, I needed to write something quick so I could find my flow again, and this is the result :) I hope you enjoy!

When the door to the VIP tent opens, a handsome man walks in whistling while carrying a suitcase, then locks up behind him. He gets all the way to the desk on the far side and sets his luggage down before he turns and freezes. "Ah, welcome to the 4077th, Doctor," Hawkeye says brightly from the cot. The man—allegedly their borrowed surgeon—lets his mouth hang open for a few seconds of silence before he chuckles. "Well, thank you. This is, uh, quite a welcome." The slight chill from the breeze he brought in with him tightens Hawk's nipples into sharp peaks, but it does nothing to cool his cock from its half-hard state. The adrenaline is still rushing through him. He couldn't go soft if he tried. He shifts a little and the handcuffs that have his wrists attached to the cot's bar above his head clatter, metal on metal. But it gives him a little more space to open his legs just an inch further, inviting a long look down his naked body.

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

Interesting. Don’t necessarily think I’m autistic but I have more going on than just ADHD and I’m not sure what that is.

[spceboyz]

some personal hcs/notes about how i write the dib beast... ( pilot dib // show dib // florpus + comics dib // older teenage dib? ) ↓ ↓ ↓

∙ PILOT DIB

horrible seussian creature. absolute fucking maniac. no redeeming qualities at all. genuinely out for blood. i dont even know why im adding him here because i cant imagine i will ever write him because hes just way, way, way, too unhinged 😭 BUT I GUESS HE CAN BE REQUESTED???

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∙ SHOW DIB

show dib is a fun one, even though, TECHNICALLY, i haven't written him yet; i tend to lean more towards florpus/comics dib in regards to how i write him on this blog, but i do try to involve some show dib influence in there as well! this dib is also a little freak; commonly antagonizing both zim and any of the other paranormal creatures he comes across. dib seems to lack both sympathy and empathy, often times ignoring other peoples explicit words or emotions. this isn't because he's intrinsically uncaring or immoral; he's just so caught up with himself and his own prerogative that he rarely stops to consider anyone elses thoughts or emotions. despite this inherent selfishness he still desperately craves validation from his family and peers, and is quick to declare himself the only real intellectual while disregarding everyone else who doesn't see eye-to-eye with him.

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∙ FLORPUS/COMICS DIB

ah yes... florpus dib... my most normal (not by much) boy/my default characterization of dib! as i said earlier i tend to default to writing dib at like, 80% florpus influence and 20% show influence; i think its fun to keep dib as vaguely antagonistic but i like it when hes able to feel genuine human pathos as well which is where the florpus inspiration comes in 😭 florpus dib and show dib share a bunch of similarities-- mainly their unquestionable pride and heavy-handed passion, but what makes florpus dib different from the rest is that he is actually susceptible to empathy! :D! hes still generally antagonistic to anything inhuman but moreso in an excitable preteen way and less in a 💥💥📸📸📸 i am going to harvest your organs-kind of way. despite being relatively selfish and easily distractable florpus dib is a somewhat better son/brother and makes a slightly more earnest effort to meet his father half-way and be a better brother-figure to gaz. his rivalry with zim is just as intense and strong, but there are points where he'll be just a 🤏 PINCH friendlier if they have to put aside their differences for a time. this dib is much easier to befriend and is generally a nicer guy, but oooonly if you're human. otherwise hes gonna remain a freak, but he is at least more willing to potentially befriend a monster! it might just take some effort...

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∙ bonus: older/teenage dib?

the way i write teen dib is based on multiple factors-- namely whoever it is i'm writing against and my own personal hcs 😭 i feel like a canon teenage/YA dib would essentially be the exact same as 12 y/o dib but vaguely more mature, but i characterize him a little differently based on my own personal preference which might feel vaguely ooc but whatever teen dib is basically my oc anyway LOL so, anyways, my teen dib is an exceptionally tall, lanky, vaguely disillusioned vaguely punk/emo kid who is relatively more put-together and a little less of a maniac. somewhere throughout his high school career he decided he should be a better son and brother and started taking on a more responsible and familial role towards his family, doing his best to get good grades to prepare for a job at membrane labs. his fascination with the paranormal is just as strong as ever-- and so is his rivalry with zim, but he just doesn't spend every waking moment anymore trying to capture vampire bees and bigfoot and he treats zim a little less seriously and more friend-like, sometimes letting the alien hitch rides in his backpack so he can scheme while being higher up in the air. teenage dib is more mellow by a longshot, but he's still relatively antisocial and still comes across as generally creepy to his peers. he doesn't desperately crave validation from his fellow classmates as much anymore, and has actually been able to hold onto a very minute selection of like-minded friends. when his homework and studying are done he continues to keep tabs on the swollen eyeball community, as well as plan the rare and occasional ghost hunt. he smokes cigarettes occasionally after turning 17, getting nicotine hookups from his friends, but its something he tries to do in secrecy/something he doesnt do often because of how tricky they are to get underage. despite being more disenchanted as a teenager dibs pride and passion for his interests remain unquestioned and he still plans to achieve his paranormal-investigator goals ( and defeat zim ), just with a full time job on the side.