#i had this line as an idea and RAN with it

[willowsnook]

Concerned (LN)

lando norris x neighbor!reader

Another late night working and you were exhausted. You’d been on PTO the week before, so now you were playing catch-up and drowning. Trudging back to you apartment, you rounded the corner and ran right into someone else.

“Fuck, I’m sorry,” your neighbor said at the same time you started to apologize. You had met him a couple of times, but he was gone a lot, so it was a pretty standard friendly neighbor relationship.

“You look horrible.” The words slipped from your lips before you could stop them, and a small, amused smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. His face was haggard, dark circles under his eyes and a weary expression that spoke of sleepless nights. The lines on his forehead deepened as he tried to hide his fatigue, but you couldn't help but notice how drained he looked.

“I’ve had trouble sleeping,” he admitted, and you tilted your head, looking for more, but he didn’t say anything else.

“Okay, come on,” you said, heading towards your apartment. With a moment's hesitation, he followed behind you into your apartment. The first thing that caught his eye was the unique decor - the walls adorned with scattered pieces of art, each telling its own story. The colors and textures clashed and complemented each other in a chaotic symphony, creating an atmosphere that felt both whimsical and intimate. He couldn't help but feel drawn in, wanting to explore every inch of this quirky space that was a reflection of you.

You sat him down on a barstool in the kitchen before opening a cabinet filled with various powders and ingredients. He watched as you contemplated a bit before picking a couple down and placing them on the counter. Filling the kettle and putting it on the stove, you turned back to him and tried to figure him out.

“You have a lot of ingredients for tea,” he said, not knowing what to say.

“Yeah, I read this book earlier this year about a woman who owned a tea shop and then became fixated on making perfect tea,” you said and he smiled. He felt himself starting to relax around you, appreciative that you hadn’t pushed on why he looked so tired even though he knew you probably had a good idea.

The comfortable silence lasted a couple of more minutes before being interrupted by the high scream of the kettle, and you carefully poured it into a cup that would turn it into your favorite tea invention.

“Let it cool for a couple of minutes,” you told him, and he nodded, picked it up, and moved to the couch. You unpacked your bag from work, looking up occasionally to see him sipping and staring out of your grand windows. Deciding he was probably fine by himself, you went to take a shower and change into your pajamas.

As you emerged from the bedroom 20 minutes later, you spotted the familiar mug sitting on the coffee table, and him sprawled out, fast asleep on the couch. A small smile tugged at your lips as you quietly made your way over to him, careful not to wake him. The soft light filtering through the window cast a gentle glow on his sleeping face. You reached for a nearby blanket and draped it over his body, making sure he was warm and comfortable before retreating back to your room.

The next morning you slept in a little later before coming back out into the kitchen. Lando was still snoring softly on the couch and you kept quiet as you made coffee and pulled out eggs for breakfast. You heard him stir and looked over your shoulder to see him sitting up, yawning. He slipped off the couch and made his way towards you.

“I owe you one,” he said and you waved him off. “You are my favorite neighbor.”

“What an honor,” you joked and he smiled.

“What can I do to repay you?”

You stood thinking for a second before smirking, “Well I’d love it if you could get me Carlos’ autograph; he’s my favorite driver.”

He scrunched his eyebrows together disapprovingly, causing deep lines to form on his forehead. You couldn't help but let out a small laugh at his reaction before turning back to the skillet of sizzling eggs.

“I’m going to head out now, but again, thank you for last night. I really needed it,” he said, and you turned, surprising him as you hugged him. His embrace was tight but not suffocating, and his arms felt strong and sturdy around you. When he pulled back, you could feel the weight of his exhaustion in the way his body slumped slightly.

“You need to take care of yourself,” you said.

“It’s hard,” he replied and you pulled back to see his sad eyes looking back at you. Giving him one last smile, he left you to make breakfast, retreating back to his own place.

———————————————————————

The rest of your weekend went by quickly and you enjoyed the relaxation of not having to think about work. Sunday afternoon, you were deep cleaning your apartment, casually paying attention to the football games you had in the background. After scrubbing your kitchen, you took a break, pulling out your phone and scrolling through Twitter.

Now, you weren’t a big F1 fan; you just tuned in every once in a while mainly because you thought it was cool that you knew a driver, but you’d see tweets on your timeline every once in a while. One caught your attention, and you opened the thread to see some account commenting on a recent stream that Lando had been on with his friends. You watched the video of his friends making fun of him for eating expired food and giggled as they ragged on him.

Thinking back to the other night, you started to actually be concerned about him eating expired food. First of all, it was gross as fuck. Secondly, it could easily make him sick. Having an idea, you grabbed your keys before heading off to the grocery store.

A couple of hours later you were outside Lando’s door, having just knocked on it. He was surprised to see you standing there when he swung open the door.

“I have something for you,” you said, and his eyes flickered down to the bag in your hand before letting you in. Setting it down on the counter, you began pulling out all the Tupperware filled with several different things.

“This should last you until you have to leave again to race,” you said nonchalantly, turning to look at you. He looked at you wide-eyed, taking in what you did for him.

“You made me food?” He asked slowly and you nodded.

“I heard that you were eating expired food, which is disgusting,” you said, and a small smile crossed his face. “That could also kill you, and it would be really irritating to have a bunch of police and noise here to deal with it.”

“Mmmhmm,” he said smirking. “So you did it because you didn’t want to be inconvenienced if I poisoned myself?”

“Exactly,” you told him. “If you were my favorite driver, I would say I was doing it because I care about you and want to make sure you are okay.”

“But I’m not your favorite,” he said and you nodded. “Correct.”

He smiled to himself as you bid him goodbye before heading back.

Later that night he hopped on to stream with Max who instantly asked him what he had for dinner.

“A burrito bowl,” he replied and Max perked up.

“Did you order it?” He asked and Lando shook his head.

“No, my neighbor heard that I was eating expired food so she made me a bunch of meal prepped things to last a couple of weeks.”

“Was it your hot neighbor?” Max asked with a smirk and Lando blushed.

“Yes,” he mumbled.

“Just so everyone in the chat knows, Lando has been simping over one of his neighbors for almost a year now, and instead of just talking to her like a normal person, he just stalks her on social media and turns into a lovesick school boy anytime he sees her.”

“That’s not true,” he complained and Max laughed.

"Remember when you saw her at the little coffee shop by your place? She chatted with you for what, five minutes? You couldn't stop talking about it for weeks," he teased, savoring the memory of his friend's flustered excitement.

“Shut up mate,” Lando muttered with a slight grin. Little did he know that you had been tuned into the stream, listening to all of this.

pt 2

[whyohwhydoris]

This is a lovely idea. But four years of policy is not the democratic party. We must remember that this party routinely platforms Bill Clinton - and lets set aside his failings as a human being - who pushed through NAFTA, pushed through PNTR with the PRC, and over saw the repeal of Glass-Steagall. Barack Obama's economic policy bailed out big corporations and banks, but did little for the individuals destroyed by that rampant deregulation, and failed to jail the vast majority of individuals responsible for active financial crimes. When Sanders primaried Clinton, despite his garnering of notable support, and despite him *polling better in polls against Trump specifically* the party actively played favourites. And people will say Clinton would have won regardless- but we don't know because the entire process is tainted. At the same time they played party politics, they sent strong a clear messages to Latinx and young male democrats - the very demographics who have been most willing to move right of late - that they weren't welcome. The party actively promoted rhetoric which placed Black POC in a position of unique privilege in the party, assumed the fealty of other minority groups, and sidelined other POC voices which did not full toe the party line. On the issue of men, the Clinton campaign was *actively* insulting and diminishing of men, frequently targeting male commentators with sexist language and - in essence - telling them to shut up, the women are talking. The Clinton campaign also managed the sexist double whammy by framing Women who sided with Bernie as class-traitors - ignoring that the most common Bernie supporters were women of colour between the ages of 25 and 35. The Clinton campaign was practically a white-girl feminist playbook running for the white house. As for Kamala's run? She did, frankly, brilliantly. She didn't treat any group of people like the free square on the bingo card. She however failed and was failed in two critical areas: The genocide in Gaza and the cost of the bread basket. It is worth noting that support for Palestine is highest among the young, and among racial minority groups. It also happens that the lowest quintile (20%) of Americans by per capita take-home is disproportionately young (the single largest age cohort in the lowest quintile are households with a HOH 24 and under.) and people of colour. They are, definitionally, the core of the working class - and one of their major social issues was literally laughed at by the current DEMOCRATIC administration. But what about the bread basket? Biden nipped inflation in the bud, right? The Democrats beat it? Right? Well, to little, to late. Because dealing with year-on-year inflation doesn't actually reduce the cost of goods. At the same time that a vast plurality of Americans are experiencing serious economic woe, the Administation told them they were flat out wrong and that President Biden had fixed the economy. But that doesn't actually bring down the price of milk and eggs!

But, Harris ran on going after price gougers! Okay, then why didn't she of her surrogates focus on that in their closing weeks? Probably because a bunch of inside the belt-way consultants and a bunch of wall street policy wonks say it wouldn't work! Which, I don't know, sounds an awful lot like the party being captured by special interests. At the same time that the party base and the electorate at large were calling for a change candidate, Harris was saying, point blank, that she wouldn't differ from Biden, and was campaigning with established members of political dynasties because her advisors - many of whom were Biden folks she basically couldn't fire - were telling her to. The Democratic party is failing the working class. And if you don't see that, you're equally part of the problem. Macro-economic policies, large infrastructure bills, great job growth are paper statistics. But when you have a country where you had country with %93+ employment in 2020 and %95+ in 2024, those are talking points for %2 of people, not for the %90 who are struggling. And the party has no plan for those people because it is actively and routinely hostile to individuals who try to platform those concerns and far too reliant on individuals whose own power is defined by that inequality. And while you can say "most pro union" and "most anti-corporate" that doesn't actually help most people. That shit shouldn't be your head line item. That's literally the party's most basic job, and the fact Biden was exceptional is the most thorough damning of the party you can write, because it means that the last 70 years of Democrats have been fucking the working class on those issues. 4 years isn't good enough. And the party is too up its own ass to actually see what the typical *individual* is dealing with.

dropping this here

[gojodickbig]

Can I request a smut fic where Toji’s hit job in Europe got extended from 4 days to 4 months. So when he finally gets home, y/n is desperately all over him because she missed him terribly and she’s so insatiable that he can barely keep up and tells her to slow down during the most mind numbing sex they’ve ever had. Like I want her crying and clinging to him while he says the sweetest things to her catering her praise kink about how his pretty wife was so patient and he apologizes for leaving home so long 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

Home Again. | Toji Fushiguro x f!Reader.

warnings: explicit sexual content!!!, fluff, angst (due to separation), consent (implied). pet names (doll, mama, sweetheart).

A/N: i wrote this in a rush, but i hope you like it🫰🏻🫰🏻have fun reading💘💘

also reblogs are appreciated! :)

wc: 2,8K

MINORS AND AGELESS BLOGS DNI!!

The sound of the front door unlocking made your heart lurch in your chest. You sat up from the couch, and when Toji finally stepped through the door, you felt your breath catch. He looked tired—his hair slightly mussed, a faint scruff darkening his jaw—but the moment his eyes met yours, his expression softened.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, his voice low and warm, the corner of his lips quirking into a small smile. He dropped his duffel bag by the door, looking at you as if you were the only thing in the world that mattered.

You didn’t hesitate. You were in his arms before he could take another step, your face pressed into his chest, breathing him in—his scent, the faint musk of sweat and travel, everything you’d missed about him.

“You’re here,” you whispered, your voice cracking as you clung to him. “I missed you so much.”

“Missed you too,” he murmured, wrapping his arms around you tightly. His lips brushed the top of your head, lingering there. “God, I missed you, baby.”

You pulled back just enough to look at him, your hands cupping his face, your thumbs brushing over the sharp line of his jaw. “You look tired,” you said softly.

Toji chuckled, his voice low and rough. “It’s been a long trip. But I’m home now.” He leaned down, his lips ghosting over yours.

“Four months, Toji,” you whispered, your voice trembling as your fingers curled into his shirt, clinging to him like you were afraid he might vanish if you let go. “You were supposed to be back in four days.”

Toji sighed, his expression softening, guilt flickering in his green eyes. His large hands ran up and down your back in soothing strokes. “I know, mama. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to leave you that long, but things got… complicated.”

You didn’t care about apologies—not right now. “I need you, Toji, please,” you whispered, your voice a desperate plea as you tugged him toward the bedroom.

“You’ve got me,” he promised, his lips brushing against your temple.

The second he sat on the edge of the bed, you climbed onto his lap, your thighs straddling his hips. Toji hissed as you ground against him, your hands tugging at the buttons of his shirt with trembling fingers.

“Slow down, sweetheart,” he said softly, catching your hands in his. His lips quirked into a slight smirk, though his voice carried the rough edge of desire. “You’re acting like you’re starving.”

“I am,” you shot back, dragging his shirt open and running your hands over his chest. “Four months, Toji. Do you have any idea how much I’ve missed you? How much I’ve needed this?”

Toji’s breath hitched as your lips latched onto his neck, your teeth grazing his skin. “You’re gonna kill me, woman,” he groaned, his hands gripping your hips as you ground down on him again.

You reached between him, palming him through his pants, feeling the hard length of him straining against the fabric. “You’re a big man, you can handle it,” you teased, though your own voice wavered with desperation.

“Barely,” he muttered, his hands tightening on you. “You’re so damn impatient.”

You pulled back to meet his gaze, your eyes fierce and glassy with need. “Four months is a long fucking time, Toji,” you said, your voice trembling. “I’m not slowing down.”

As your body moved over him, his hands gripped your arms softly, the tension of his restraint turning into a gentle pull, encouraging you to take the lead. You paused for a moment, your lips brushing against his ear as you breathed out, “I want to make you feel so good.”

He groaned softly, a low, appreciative sound, his grip tightening slightly around your waist. “You always do,” he muttered, his voice thick with desire. “But go ahead. I’m not stopping you.”

You moved forward on your knees, twisting around to land your hands on his pants, already undoing the button and zipper. You came face-to-face with his throbbing cock. Looking up at him, you innocently took hold of his member with both hands. You licked your lips, ready to take him into your mouth. Just as his tip entered between your lips, Toji grabbed your hair. Taking him in your mouth, you sucked on his tip, already dripping with precum. He hissed in pleasure. You lowered your head slowly, squeezing his balls with one hand while taking him fully in your mouth. You tried to push yourself further. Toji moaned as your throat constricted around his tip, but he restrained himself, taking a bunch of your hair in his hand again. You looked up at him, drool dribbling down your open mouth, tears welling in your eyes. Toji’s grip on your hair tightened, guiding your head away from his cock.

"My turn now, doll,” he rasped.

When he finally had you pinned beneath him, your clothes scattered across the floor, his voice was low when he spoke, the huskiness making your breath catch.

"You’re so good to me,” he murmured, his fingers tracing the line of your jaw before his lips found their way to your neck, leaving a soft trail of kisses. “I’ve been thinking about this, about you, every damn day.”

The way he said it made you shiver, your chest tightening with the same need. You reached for him again, but this time, he took the initiative. Pushing you into the softness of the pillows, his lips never leaving your skin as he moved lower.

Toji’s hands trembled slightly as they rested on your thighs. He kissed his way down your body, every inch of you a reminder of how much he’d missed you and your body.

“So wet already,” he murmured, his voice dripping with approval as his fingers slid through your slick folds. “All for me, huh?”

You nodded, your breaths coming in ragged gasps. “Only for you.”

Toji grinned, pressing a kiss to the inside of your thigh before slipping a finger inside you. You moaned, your hands clutching at the sheets as he worked you open, his finger curling against the spot that had you writhing.

“More, more Toji, please.” you whimpered, your hips lifting to meet his hand.

"Greedy girl,” he muttered, though he obliged, adding a second finger. “So tight, baby. Gotta loosen you up for me.”

Your head fell back against the mattress, your cries echoing in the room as he pumped his fingers in and out, his thumb brushing over your clit in lazy circles.

“Fuck, Toji,” you gasped, your body trembling beneath him. “I can’t—I need—”

“I know what you need,” he said, pulling his fingers out and dragging them over your lips. “Open up, sweetheart.”

You obeyed, your lips parting as he slid his fingers into your mouth. You sucked on them eagerly, your tongue swirling around the digits as his cock throbbed against your thigh.

“Good girl,” he murmured, his voice low and rough. “Missed this mouth, too.”

When he finally lined his cock to your entrance and pushed into you, your body arched off the bed, your nails digging into his back. He groaned, his head dropping to your shoulder as he stretched you inch by inch.

“Fuck, baby,” he rasped, his breath hot against your ear. “You feel so good. So tight.”

You whimpered, your legs wrapping around his waist as you clung to him. “Don’t stop,” you pleaded, your voice trembling. “Please, Toji, don’t stop.”

“Never,” he promised, his voice thick with emotion. “Missed you so fucking much, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”

He started to move, slow and deep, his hips rolling into you with a rhythm that had you gasping. Your nails raked down his back as tears spilled from your eyes, the intensity of it all overwhelming.

“Toji,” you sobbed, your voice breaking.

“Shh, baby,” he murmured, his lips brushing over your tear-streaked cheeks. “I’ve got you. You’re so good for me. You waited four fucking months, my good girl.”

You choked out, your voice trembling with raw emotion, “I’ll always wait for you, Toji.”

His praises only made you cry harder, your body trembling beneath him. “I needed this,” you choked out. “I needed you.”

“I know,” he said, his voice rough but tender. “I’m here now. I’m here, and I’m not fucking leaving.”

He shifted, his hand sliding between your bodies to rub your clit, his movements coaxing louder moans from you. “Come for me, pretty girl,” he urged, his voice soft but commanding. “Show me how much you missed me.”

Your body obeyed, your release crashing over you as you sobbed his name, your walls clenching tightly around him. Toji groaned, his hips stuttering as he followed you over the edge, his warmth spilling inside you.

He held you close, his large hands trailing softly over your back as your breaths evened out.

“You’re not allowed to be gone that long ever again,” you mumbled against his chest, your voice still hoarse.

Toji chuckled, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“Rest now, baby,” he murmured, his voice a low rasp. “We’ve got time. I’m not going anywhere, i promise."

His fingers brushed through your hair one last time, the weight of the time spent apart and the relief of being close again settling between you.

“I love you,” you whispered.

He smiled softly, feeling the words settle in his chest. “I love you too, mama, more than anything.”

© gojodickbig on tumblr. all rights reserved. do not cross-post, translate, copy in any way, etc.

[mossygirl333]

Ghost with aaaa Sundae and aaaa Daiquiri

AN: Coming right up!

Bakery Order: Sundae - “Don't you need the money?” + Daiquiri- One night stand

Prostitute!reader x loser!Ghost

Tw/Cw: prostitution, virgin!Ghost, young!Ghost, awkward sex kinda, blowjob, cunnilingus

SMUT UNDER THE CUT!!!

It was a normal day at the brothel. Customers came in and out, did their business and left. It was easy money, if not a little icky at times.

It was normal for men to just waltz in, take you like a whore while calling you a different name and then walk out like nothing happened.

Out of the shower, makeup retouched and hair styled. You waited for your next customer. Sitting on the hotel style-like bed. You had taken an aphrodisiac right before, just in case he wasn't the best at foreplay. You liked being lubed up rather than taking it dry. You glanced in the mirror, fixing your lingerie. Pretty and black, red lace. His request.

Who was the 'he'?

A one, Simon Riley.

Never heard of him. Not a regular. But you had a vague idea of who he was by the receptionist ladies gossip session. A nice big boy, quiet and awkward.

There was a small knock on the door before it opened. The receptionist lady walking in with a hulking mass of muscles. Clothed in a black Misfits hoodie and a black face mask. Broad shoulders hunched over, if he stood up tall he might as well take up the whole doorway.

The lady left, leaving you and the customer in the room.

"Hey big boy..." Your eyes roved over his body, and he tensed up. Oh God was he a giant. 2 meters tall, maybe? The fire in your gut starts to take effect, warm and pulsing, growing hotter and burning. "I'm guessing you're in other areas too huh?"

It was a stupid pick up line, but men loved their egos boosted. Especially their dick size. Which you were happy to oblige.

He stood there for a moment before it registered in his head. "O- oh...sorry." He stuttered. Swallowing thickly. "I-" He pauses, thinking for a hot second before finally managing out. "I don't know how this works."

"Well we're in a brothel. We fuck, obviously." You snicker, tilting your head. His awkwardness was a little cute.

"Y- yeah I know that but...I'm a virgin." He admits, blushing under his mask.

Oh.

You shift in bed, tilting your head a bit. "C'mere baby." You motion with your hand and he walks over to you, sitting down. The bed practically dipping under his weight.

"I...Can we go slow? I don't really know what to do."

"Do you want me to suck your dick?" You tilt your head, rubbing his massive thigh. Twitching and flexing under your palm, fuck he was thick.

He flushes again and pants under his mask. "Umm...y- yeah. I'd like that. I'd...I'd like that a lot."

You chuckle, seductive and slow, deep in your chest before you get to your knees. Shifting prettily in between his, as his hands clumsily undo his pants. The tent in them large and bulbous.

He pulls off his facemask, and he had a pretty mug. Soft tufts on blonde hair sticking out from his hood. Slightly fearful brown eyes, bitten lips, dried and chapped.

"Okay..." He got to his underwear, pulling the sticky precum soaked fabric away to reveal his cock. Long and girthy, veins ran across the pale skin. A well-trimmed bush grew above it, and his tip was red and leaking.

You kiss his tip and his hips jump, barely suppressing a moan.

"Oh it's okay baby, the walls are reinforced. They can't hear a thing."

He shyly nods and you open your lips, parted as you swallow down his tip, taking him slowly into the wet heat of your mouth.

He whines, head tilted back as his eyes flutter. "Fuck..." His heavy hand rests on the back of your head. "Feels so much better than a fleshlight..."

You slowly bob your head and he cums embarrassingly quick. Ropes of cum hitting the back of your throat, causing a weak gag to come up as you choke down the thick sticky substance.

He looks mortified. "Oh my God, i'm so sorry luvie I-"

You laugh, patting his knee. "It's okay...It's okay." He looks uncomfortable, shifting around. 'Maybe we needed a different approach?'. "What do you usually do to get off?"

"umm...I watch porn. sometimes. Use fleshlights." He stutters.

"What kind of porn?" You whisper in his ear, trying to get him hard again. You'd rather him take up his whole two hours he payed for instead of being a shy bumbling idiot.

"Any? I don't...really have any kinks or anything. Vanilla stuff."

'No fun.' you think, but this was what the client wanted. "Fine, let me put some on-"

He stops you. "Can...I just touch you? Like..I don't know. You made me orgasm now it's your turn?"

"We're In a brothel. It doesn't matter if I orgasm or not."

"But I'd like you to."

You sigh and sit up on the bed, his hands stuffing his flaccid cock into his boxers and zipping up his jeans. You lay back, spreading your legs as he kneels down, heavy broad shoulders bumping into your calves.

He looks at your underwear, tentatively touching the wet material. A shudder wraps around the base of your spine, coiling up. The pads of his fingers were rough, sloppy as they pushed aside the fabric and slid two digits in. Touching around awkwardly before finding that gooey spot. A mewl leaving your lips.

He swallows thickly, muttering something about the g-spot, before swiping his thumb across the top of your entrence, trying to find your clit.

"up..up-" You breathlessly whine out, eyes rolled back when he finally digs his thumb into it. A half-pained, half-pleasured high-pitched squeal leaving your lips.

He pauses, flushed and confused before he starts moving his hands. It was awkward with no rhythm, but his hands were rough and big enough.

Back and forth, hitting your g-spot and then your clit. Slick dripping down his palm. He slips his fingers out, bringing it to his nose. Pupils blown out wide.

You look down, meeting his wild eyes, his tongue coming out to clean off slick glistening digits. Moaning at the taste.

"You...can I eat you out?" He pathetically pleas, palming himself through the front of his pants.

You smirk, snorting as you lean back. "Of course baby-"

You barely got it out before he shoved his face into your cunt. Nose shoved up against your clit, grinding it against your slick folds. His tongue delves inside, licking your slick. Desperate to swallow it all. Panting and huffing like a dog as he palms his now hard thick cock.

You mewl, writhing as you grind back against him. Nose digging into your twitching bundle of nerves, thick fingers sliding in to dig into your g-spot.

It was all so rough, so desperate as he whined like a lost pup. You could barely stop from orgasming. Shocks of pleasure riding down your body as your essence filled his mouth.

He sits back, trembling more than you did. The front of his pants stained with cum.

"...How much do I owe you?"

[kay9leo]

WIP Tag Game

Rules: Share a snippet from whatever you’re currently working on, and then tag 5 people.

@myokk tagged me and seeing how I needed something to get me back into the writing world again after a hiatus, this seems like a good way to get back in 🤗

So while not a "true" WIP, it's an idea stuck in my head since in my original WIP (written and hidden in my computer files) of where Iñaki Martinez Cariaga (or MC) is used, I have Hogwarts Legacy take place in the late 2000s...but what if Iñaki's Ancient magic takes her back in time...to the year 1890? As a play on the name of a title of a famous Mark Twain book, I present a small snidget of an idea that's been flying circles in my head:

A New York Yankee in Hogwarts' Courtyard, 1890

Iñaki walked around Hogsmeade, trying to reconcile the past with the future wizarding village that she remembered before she was sent back in time over more than a hundred years ago.

Hogsmeade was still Hogsmeade with its quint shops, townhouses and stone ruins nearby its town entrance, but it was also different from how she remembered back in 2008.

For one, the MCC or the Muggleborn Cultural Center hasn't been made yet, a place where all muggleborns would go to get a taste of home away from home (even though it wasn't truly a taste of home for her, with her home being an ocean away in New York). Two, the Shrieking Shack building didn't exist yet and three, there was no Tim Howards Coffee Shops yet - the only American magical coffee shop chain that somehow made it across the pond.

If you think about it, I might be able to run into Tim Howards when he's still a baby in this time period. He doesn't become a famous Quidditch player until the 1920s. Iñaki frowned at that thought.

"So, what do you think? Is Hogsmeade up to your standing Yank?"

Iñaki blinked out of her thoughts and looked over to her right to see a brown haired boy, Sebastian Sallow giving her a confident smile despite the nervous look in his eyes. He was currently giving her the grand tour of the place. To her surprise, Sebastian wasn't the cocky boy he made himself out to be before the duel that he lost in DADA class. The entire walk, Sebastian was friendly, jolly and curious about her homelife back in America, never once meeting a Yankee. Soon that became her nickname when he saw how it made her smile as he asked questions to get to know about her a bit more.

It was hard to be tight lipped about her homeland. Especially as far as he and everyone but Professor Fig knew, she was just another girl from their era and out of her element because she was the new kid in a new country and NOT being stuck in the wrong time period. She had to be careful about what she said, to reveal little about the future as possible like Professor Fig and all those time traveling books and movies taught her before.

While she ran into some more recognizable names - Weasleys were a dime a dozens, Prewett was an extinct family name in her time period with their remaining line married into one of the Weasleys' family branches and Gaunt was the original family name of the founder of Ilvermorny- there were a few she didn't recognized.

Onai was one. So was Sweeting. And then there was Sallow.

Sebastian Sallow was a name that rang a small bell in her head, but she couldn't remember for what reason it was for as she smiled at its owner with a light smile as she pulled up a half lie.

"I think it's cute, like it's from a storybook. It reminds me of another wizarding village I visited in the past at home..." Or was it future? It didn't matter, it's in my past now... Iñaki thought with a small painful smile as she looked over the smaller village in this era.

"You really miss home, don't you Iñaki?" Sebastian said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. Iñaki looked up to him with a tight smile, fighting back tears that suddenly appeared in her eyes.

"Who me?" Iñaki chuckled, waving her hand off playfully as if she could physically fight off the emotional pains that came every time she thought about the new country she found herself in due to her dad's new job, the time period that she didn't belong to or the possible reality she might be stuck here for good and might never see her parents, family, friends or even her neighbor's pet dog ever again.

Heck, she might be in the history books of another country and her loved ones would never know what happened to her.

And if she let one tear escape, the whole dam would break and she wasn't certain if she would survive the floods of her emotional pain since she woke up in 1890 after accidentally tampering with a magical place she thought nothing of. It wasn't like it was a time turner. Just a bunch of standing stones that reminded her of Stonehenge that stood in up in a forest nearby Feldcroft that called to her for some reason when she was flying around, trying to free up her mind from the thoughts of being homesick.

She was really far from home this time around.

"Yes you. You seem to keep your distance from everyone you know? We don't bite." Sebastian smiled at her. "Take it from someone that had to move before, you'll find yourself fitting in sooner than later. Natty practically befriend you -"

True...Iñaki thought.

" -Ominis seems relaxed and happy to be around you since you met him your first night-"

It probably helps that my first thought of his surname that I told him was that one of his ancestors rejected her family's prejudicial pureblood beliefs and founded Ilvermorny and not of his infamous descendent that is Tim Riddler...or what ever his name was.

" -in the Slytherin Common Room-"

I was a Gryffindor in my time period.

"-and I do need a dueling partner in Crossed Wands." Sebastian winked at her. "Yeah." Her voice croaked. That's what it seemed it was good at doing since she moved to London for her Dad's work. "I-" She cleared her throat with a smile. "-I DO like dueling."

Dueling made it easy to forget, to not remember that she was no longer home. That there was no DeLorean or ruby heels she can tap together three times to bring her back to her time period, to her world.

It wasn't until the Troll fight she had with Sebastian that she thought, maybe she didn't need a time traveling car or magical red heels to go home. Not when she felt that same magical force that brought her to this time period flow out of her when she defeated -no vanquished- the troll.

If Ancient Magic brought me back to the past, I'm going to find a way to use it to get back to my own time with no problem. Iñaki thought with a smug smile as she helped repair the town back, unaware of the only flaw in her plan as Sebastian Sallow gathered her for a quick drink at the Three Broomsticks on him.

And never once did she notice the awe in his eyes as he looked at her or the growing heart he wore on his sleeve for her the longer she remained stuck in the past. She would have noticed it if she looked back, but the only flaw in that was this:

Iñaki was too busy looking forward to finally go back home, back to the future where she belonged.

No Pressure Tags: @theladyofshalott1989 @ps-cactus and whoever sees this and is interested in writing as well/needs a small push to return to the writing world 😁

Thank you @myokk for tagging me and helping me to slowly return to the writing world for a bit after the hiatus I took💖🥰💖

[batboyblog]

In times gone by I would have just left this, casual Democrat bashing just being the price of being on-line.

but in this gloriously shitty post-2024 world, I'm just gonna say, bashing Democrats is unhelpful and indeed deeply counterproductive. There's an endless drum beat of "Democrats suck" coming from the right, when admixed to the same theme coming from the left low information voters just pick up "Democrats suck" without really the fine details or the caveats you might put in like "they're still the largest ally Progressives"

if 2024 taught us anything its that the average voter doesn't understand (and actively hates) complex and nuanced thoughts, they only take in the top line most basic idea "Democrats bad" (or cowards in this case)

I think pretty clearly it serves as a major demotivator to people, telling them that the party that supports their rights, and is headed in the direction they like is bad, weak, doesn't really support them etc I've seen a mountain of posts on Tumblr about how voting doesn't matter, or withholding votes to "punish" Democrats, that somehow Harris and Trump (or Clinton and Trump before that) would be equally bad, now I suspect a lot of that stuff was bots but some of it was real. It ALL comes from cheap pop wisdom of "Democrats bad"

and because the right is also hammering how Democrats are bad, cringe, flop, etc, the Left-Wing progressive critic of the Democrats to right wing MAGA critic of the Democrats pipe line is very real, take Tulsi Gabbard who went from Bernie Sanders one Congressional supporter in 2016 to being picked to be in Trump's Second Cabinet in 2024, she's just one example.

finally, who are "The Democrats" who do you or people in general mean when they say that? because roughly 74 million people voted for Kamala Harris a few weeks ago, are those 74 million "the Democrats"? or just the ones who are registered as Democrats on the voting roles? thats roughly 45 million Americans. We can keep going for awhile with this but basically Democrats are millions of normal Americans and it's REALLY easy to get involved and run your local Democratic Party, harder in some places but usually very easy. I worked very hard on one campaign as a young person and was asked in the aftermath to become my local county party's rep to the state party. I got to vote on the state party's budget, its chair, if we hired full time employees to do jobs. I mean the state committee had a lot of members so its not like I ran the state or anything but I got to vote on all the stuff, I could put forward resolutions etc, so like don't like the Democrats? it took me 15 months to get to the state committee of my state without even intending that at all, get involved, work hard, you can do it to.

https://www.tumblr.com/batboyblog/767861339473510400/see-i-kind-of-get-the-idea-of-wanting-her-to-at

And frankly, if regular people had done THEIR job of voting in a Harris presidency (especially the more "informed" non-voters or anti-voters who prioritized their own ego), then McBride wouldn't have to make these kinds of difficult choices (at least to the same degree, since I don't doubt transphobes would still do their bullshit) in the first place.

yes.

Nancy Mace who's leading this charge just cares about being on TV, literally thats it. Back in 2021 she was selling herself as pro-LGBT, even saying she was in favor of "transgender equality" now she's screaming about trans women being really men. Why? well in 2021 it looked like there was space for Republicans to move on from Queer bashing and she wanted to get interviewed and be on TV for being part of a new breed of Republican. After this election many people agree transphobia was a useful wedge issue for Trump so she's gonna be the most transphobic of them all, again just to get on TV. So yes, if Kamala Harris had won Nancy Mace wouldn't be doing this because this is only motivated by her wanting to be on TV.

In a bigger sense, if Democrats had won the House this wouldn't be happening, Republicans might rage and stamp their feet about it, but a Democratic Speaker would tell them to kick rocks.

So yeah past McBride herself, the 2024 election was a test, "is transphobia a workable electoral issue" and the answer was "yes, yes it is" so transphobia is gonna be worse, it told Republicans that being transphobic and running on bullying trans people works so they're gonna do more of it, and for Democrats it showed there were few if any electoral rewards for sticking up for trans people. I remember when Harris very first became the candidate there were a series of huge organizing calls, so big they broke Zoom a few times, Women for Harris, black women, black men, white dudes for Harris, etc and I kept thinking "geez there really should be a trans people for Harris" there was a generalized LGBT one which had big names but if there ever was a trans one it was not well marketed. Point being the election did not see a big trans mobilization, which is very bad, you're seeing a few Democrats break ranks and ask "if we get hammered on this issue, and lose elections, and don't see any mobilization or support, should we moderate?" If Harris had won the narrative would be "voters don't care about trans issues, its a loser to run on transphobia" but she didn't so we're in this darker timeline

And being in this darker timeline a good starting point to clawing your way back is to have the ONE! trans member of Congress, the ONLY national trans figure's back at all times. Because beaming the message that even a trans Congresswoman doesn't have the support of the trans community will tell every jumpy Democrat that they're right to be thinking about ditching trans rights.

[wexhappyxfew]

24. whispering in their ear, lips touching the skin

For Annie and Brady please!!! I adore them and your writing!

HI ANON!!!! thank you so much for stopping by the askbox!! greatly appreciated, especially when it is annie and brady!! :) these two have my heart and deserve all the best things life has to offer. please enjoy this take on the prompt and these two just being so soft on each other (and brady well....brady being BOLD). lmao! ENJOYYYY!!! thank you for all the love on them! :D

you in my A-2

(a/n): partially inspired by the prompt, partially by an ask i got earlier. just....annie x brady getting more and more comfortable and slowly realizing things about this war that they didn't realize earlier. them. them them them. i need them to be the happiest they can be when this is all done :')

Ever since that first night in the Stalag that she'd crawled into the bunk with Brady, it had become a nightly thing that she'd evacuate by the time morning came, but yearned for with each passing day.

Where it was just the two of them, side by side, curled into one another's bodies, their eyes the only innocent thing held between one another in this horrid place.

Sometimes they'd talk, whispering quietly between another about random things, about some of the sad things of the world, about their lives back home that would be entirely different if they ever got out of here. Sometimes they'd just stare at each other, with what little light there was from the moon outside or the lights from the guard huts outside.

And by that point, Brady would usually thread his fingers into her somewhat tangled hair and she'd apologize for something she could hardly control and he'd whisper all the sweet things that it was fine, he just wanted to be there with her. And that usually lent to her fingertips brushing against his stubbled cheeks, her pointer finger tracing all those stress lines that popped out when it was just them, or she'd let her hands dip into his hair and brush it back in a calming motion that usually got him right to sleep.

And so by morning, when she was back in her bunk, curled in her blanket, looking across the way as people would start moving about, waking up, rubbing their eyes, yawning and stretching, she'd meet Brady's gaze from across the room and they'd share that silent look that meant more than whatever words either of them would manage to find.

It never went past that - the longing looks, the occasional forehead kiss. Maybe they were both scared to go over that line they'd drawn. That maybe if there was anything more, they'd lose it just as quick.

As Annie slid out of her bunk and crossed the small room towards where Brady was, she couldn't help but feel her heart bit a little faster just at the sight of him asleep there - his face scrunched up in a way that made her heart ache. The visible stress on his face even in his sleep made her want to pull him right into her arms and tell him over and over that everything would be okay, that they'd make it out, that she was okay beyond anything. Because he cared so much, that he stopped taking care of himself sometimes. And she always would pick up what pieces were lost and stitch them back together again and hold him in the darkness.

As she approached, she softly bit back her lip and reached out to prod him awake, which always made her feel guilty for doing such a thing, but he welcomed it and told her it was fine, despite her want to make sure he got a full nights sleep. Brady woke with a shake awake and turned to look towards her and smiled softly in the darkness.

"Hey," he whispered, before opening up the blanket, "hop in." Annie watched him for a moment, before her cheeks warmed - they always did when he looked at her like that - and she slid in beside him and let him engulf her in a mixture of his arms and blanket.

The second she felt her body pressed against his in the cocoon of blankets and warmth, her worries were stripped away, as they normally always were. She curled herself against the heat from his neck, her body begging for some sort of comfort in all of this, as he pressed a kiss against her temple, something he'd grown more akin to recently it seemed. It's not that they didn't want people to see them, it was more of the fact that they finally were back with each other and trying to keep things like they had been back at Thorpe Abbotts - friendly, maybe dancing the line of flirting but not nothing more. But here at the Stalag, they were anything but. And they both seemed to recognize that.

"You doing okay?" he whispered softly against her ear as she cuddled further into him the best she could and sighed, "That cold finally going away?" She nodded against him.

"Yeah," she whispered, "just a little bit of a stuffy nose, but can't complain. How about you?" She leaned back from him, from his warmth and smiled at him as she leaned a hand up against her head. Reaching forward, she ran her hands through his hair and watched a sense of calm wash over his form for a minute as she did so. And it did settle Annie's own nerves and worry for Brady that she constantly endured day in and day out. She always worried about him and seemed, but it was always mutual for the two of them.

"Okay," he said quietly, before the corner of his lip turned upward, "better now that you're here, I gotta admit." Her cheeks warmed and she shook her head before holding his gaze in her own.

"You're too sweet on me, John Brady." she whispered softly to him, cupping his cheek for a minute and brushing her thumb across his cheek as she grinned at him with her rosy cheeks. Brady watched her, that slightly far-off look in his eyes, a hint of a smile. He grinned.

"You deserve it, Annie," he whispered back to her, reaching up his own hand and brushing his fingers against her warm cheek and grinning, "that and you blush red like a tomato."

"You a fan of that?" she whispered back quickly with a laugh and she watched him bit his lip and smirk.

"I'd say I'm a big fan of that," he whispered back, "'specially when you look like this." Annie watched him - she could probably be covered in mud and he'd be staring at the way he currently was. And now, stuck in a Stalag camp, looking slightly malnourished and sickly, with slightly matted hair and sunken in eyes and he still looked at her like that and said things like that.

"I could say much of the same," she whispered back to him, turning her head slightly to nuzzle into his hand against her cheek, "you look cute when you blush." John Brady did in fact blush when she said that, even though she couldn't even really see much of his face in that darkness of the room. She grinned and then leaned forward and cuddled into his neck again, Brady chuckling the slightest bit as he curled into her as well.

"You're so warm." Annie whispered against his neck as the rumble from his throat echoed in her ear and made her grin like a loon, "You're like a personal blanket." That got him to chuckle quietly again as her lips danced near her ear and she could practically hear each and every breath that left his lips - a mixture of knowing he was alive and right there next to her - and even more so; knowing that all they were in that moment right now were two people dying for an ounce of comfort in this world.

"Consider me your personal blanket," he whispered back as his lips continued to ghost over her ears, "I was thinking….." Annie listened to him trail off and gulped for a moment as his breath trembled and his heart pounded.

"I'd give anything if it was me and you back at Thorpe Abbotts, just you in my A-2 jacket and nothing else." he whispered and her body grew hot - whether from his soft, husky voice in her ear or the way his hands had found their way underneath her clothes, fingertips grazing her bare back, traversing her battered and hot skin, her thoughts were suddenly in a blunder and all she could think about well was….that. Annie pulled back from her spot curled against his neck and met his gaze.

"Just your A-2?" she whispered softly, looking at him shyly from underneath her eyelashes, a small smile growing on her face as a look dawned on his features that almost seemed like he hadn't meant to let that slip from his lips, but it had, "What does that mean for you?" Brady watched her, the look in his eyes matching the touch of his fingertips on her skin and she suddenly couldn't focus on anything else but that gentle touch of his fingertips. He leaned closer and brushed his lips against her forehead again with that tender touch.

"You can have me anyway you want me." he whispered against her forehead and her eyes instinctively shut as he pressed up against her and she overwhelmed with him. His presence, his touch, the way he held her so gently and close to him, but with a level of protectiveness and care that made her know that this was safe, that she was safe, just like this.

Annie reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, slowly running her fingers up into his hair as his head fell to the inside of her neck and he pulled her close, like a warm, tender hug that you never wanted to pull away from. Gleefully his hands raced along her bare back as she curled against him, feeling the way his hands explored underneath her coat and wooly top, dancing across her skin and making her feel things she hadn't quite felt in some time.

"Can I tell you something?" Annie whispered softly to him, rubbing slowly again through his hair as he sighed against her.

"What is it?" Annie listened to his heartbeat for a moment before blinking.

"This is the safest I've felt in years." And to even say a statement like that, in a place like this was ironic even in it of itself. She hadn't even felt the safest at home, a place that was supposed to be safe. No, no, she felt safest in the arms and embrace of someone she had only met a couple of months ago and had proved himself to be more of a home to her beyond anything.

"With me?" Annie nodded against him.

"Right here." she whispered back to him, "You and me." His grip didn't loosen, he only held her tighter and it seemed in that moment, the realization and the weight of whatever was going on between them seemed to hit. Her truth spilling from her lips quietly into his body, his grip tightening, their bodies pressed against one another in a way that should've felt foreign. Brady seemed to want to say something, she could tell, but when he stayed quiet and instead pressed another soft kiss to her forehead, she didn't question it. Because whatever they had here was okay for right now.

"I feel safe with you too, Annie." he whispered back and Annie was convinced even she wasn't so comfy, that she wasn't sure what she would've done if they'd been looking right at each other, inches apart. For now, she cuddled closer to him, enjoying his hands on her stomach and his lips near her ear, their soft breaths, mixing into deep slumber as they laid in each other's embraces until the world went quiet.

[gideongrovel]

🧡💙 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO @colakissing 💛🩵

[feline-evil]

Dick or no dick confirmation Pickles was always going to be trans to me anyways; if he's swingin' somethin that's phallo babes, if he's not then his t-dick fat. What's not to get.

[fervorofjoy]

To say Jo was closed off was an understatement. All the men she found herself involved with disappointed her in a long run. One rather get off on hurting her; wrapping his hands around her throat attempting to cut off all air supply, a chill ran down her spine now at the memory, the fear of letting her guards down. Then there was the man she adored, the man she promised to love forever not with one wedding but two. And he made her love him unconditionally, and Jo still did even now; after the heartache, after the ghosting him crawling back to his first wife. And now that she had Luna she did understand the tether to another life, to a child. She stopped being angry months ago, but Todd he was different he was the opposite of every man she got involved with. He was handsome, he was dorky, he made lame jokes to try to make you laugh. But I also noticed how deeply he cared and loved his sister, and I was deciding to trust my instincts now. 

A soft smile traced along my lips with ease, he was surprised i was impressed, well that felt like a feeling for us both. “ You could get better lines, your flattery could use work. But you’re funny, and sometimes the cure to a rough day is a sense of the laughs. “ Humor she thought to herself. By now Jo had settled down into a chair, and was carefully unwrapping some of her food, where she brought the fry to her lips popping it into her mouth. She was way out of practice when it came to flirting. She felt out of her element. But she was putting in the effort to indicate she wanted to go out with Todd, she put the option out there; we waved an idea to thought. Now it wasn’t all that surprising for him to want to pay for dinner, and Jo did the pros and cons in her head. As she said “ Fine, only because i do enjoy a free meal, but I wouldn’t put all your cards out there, the dinner could end on a sour note.” She added with harmless teasing. 

This was Jo trying; despite all the whys she should be fleeing; but she was believing Todd was a good man, someone she wanted to explore in the messy history of dating. But only when Laura was released it could be a web of messy.

Continued

@adeptcharisma

Letting someone as nice as Todd down easily. Jo didn’t know how to feel. She on one hand did feel she needed to put herself out there. Especially considering Alex was probably out on the farm playing house with that woman. I knew i was only guarding my heart. I was only protecting myself. Todd was the opposite of the guys I dated. Making the list, overly confident, broody, tended to be blended from the same cloth as me. I just didn’t want to hurt him, but seeing his face fall it had kept reappearing in my the next few days. 

I tried to be nice, I was caring especially towards my parents. And with being a new mother to Luna, I was harboring the care of my newly fixed heart after the way my husband left me. I just didn’t feel like it was okay yet to step out into the dating world. Of course it didn’t stop Link from asking the night before when I was holding a glass of wine in hand after tucking Luna into bed about the guy with the soft eyes at the hospital. I had waved my hand off as a brush off. “ I shut it down.” In response I felt Link’s eyes on me. 

“ You’re afraid of putting yourself out there. I get it. After Amelia I felt like I couldn’t date. But not every guy is gonna turn out like Karev, You deserve to be happy Jo.” Karev; the name I had despised with my whole body; but I had brushed it off. I had turned my glaze to my best friend as I pressed play on the rerun of a rom-com The wedding planner, it was a cute watch. “ Thanks Link, I’m just protecting the guy. I’m a cruse okay. I’m incapable of having that lasting love.” A saying I stood by. After that Link had shut up but I felt his hand around my shoulder. We barely spoke this morning before I was due at the hospital. I had dropped Luna at the daycare; before I had met with Carina; we had shared a coffee; as I filled her in on Laura’s case. The peacemaker option, the baby’s heartbeat that I did the few days before. 

Carina nodded as she made a comment; after. “ Good plan Wilson, it’s probably her best option with her record. We want to seek out the best living outcome for her and the baby.” Swallowing my thought I had tossed my empty coffee in the trash as I followed her lead into the room; where Laura was laid in her bed. I noticed the absence of Todd; I was kinda sadden to see he wasn’t joining us. He was easy on the eyes; I kept that note to myself as I held the chart to my chest. Eyes focused on the patient; of course my eyes did snap up when I heard him; the feet belonging to Todd; I felt a twitch of a smile hit against bare lips, My eyes met his for a second before I aimed my glaze to his sister. 

I had to hold my tongue at Laura who had to mention her overbearing brother; Carina had mentioned she had one of those. “ It’s okay, they mean well. Overall this is the best option, I know it’s soon but we want to keep the baby in until it’s fully cooked.” The humor; the saying with the baby in the oven,  “ So we advise to do the peacemaker before the baby is born, there’ a good success rate, if you want Dr. Wilson can get you the papers to prove it. But I promise you’re in the best care possible.” At that for some reason I aimed my gaze over to Todd I could see he was a little nervous when it came to his sister, I wanted to reassure him. With a smile. I just hoped it didn’t give him the wrong impression.

[lover-of-mine]

song: Song: 11 Minutes by YUNGBLUD and Halsey feat Travis Baker (youtube)

[midnightwind]

you know what I do have one complaint

what do you Mean when you finish Lucanis' big quest and he goes "I have better plans for my evening" that wasn't him implying a romantic dinner or a date afterwards why the fuck did that go nowhere we just saved his grandmother and stopped his cousin from handing over the entire city to an evil mage and he became First Talon which means he inherits the Gigantic Fucking Mansion with it's own Guesthouse and Opera House and all it culminates to is him drinking coffee back at the Lighthouse going "damn, that was crazy" they set it up perfectly-

[sysig]

Special Counseling (Patreon)

[seri-tonin]

One of these days I'll make an animatic of dazai and oda to the old gospel choir, mark my words

[sanstropfremir]

TOHO SPIRITED AWAY?? PLS GIVE ME THE DEETS

oh it was soooooooooo good i'm so happy i got a chance to see it!!! gorgeous design all around, there was no standout elements bc everything fit so well together. all the spirits + magical elements were done with traditional (japanese and western) style puppetry, so everything was articulated and manipulated by an operator, which had this really wonderful almost youth theatre vibe. a lot of times with shows that involve puppets, they'll try to make the puppets as advanced as possible to not make them 'childish' (see: war horse), but for something that's based heavily in folklore and IS a children's story, to me the only logical sense is to emphasize that particular angle. the puppets were also incredible, very well made and sooo accurate to the movie??? like impressively accurate. my faves were probably kamaji and haku? kamaji's six extra arms were each operated by a separate person who had one hand operating the elbow and one hand as the actual hand, so all eight hands were able to do everything, which mean there was some REALLY incredible choreography of just. all the stuff that he was doing, but also when he got up and walked it was soooooooo cool. and haku!!! he had two puppets actually, one 'full size' that was a big long foam articulated body that took i think four puppeteers, and there was a tiny haku that they used for the flying scenes that was basically just a little head and a ....idk what the actual technical term is but it was basically just a wind sock as the body on a big long pole so the puppeteer could essentially move him like you would a big ribbon! the scene were he first transforms and flies off was sooo pretty, the actor haku did a lil setup to a GORGEOUS spinning jump and when he landed he ducked down behind some of the chorus members and as he disappeared the tiny ribbon haku shot up from the same spot and started looping around.......... actual magic. also wow the actor playing haku was so pretty. and very tall. which i did not notice until the very end. i would not be suprised if he had ballet training bc tall and he had the ballet dancer chin/head posture. also the actor playing lin (also doublecast as chihiro's mom) was crazy hot. just so unbelievably hot. anyways. speaking of casting: noface as a popping dancer. UNREAL and incredible galaxy brained choice. he had a solo while they did a set change and WOW. spooky and gorgeous and also weirdly welcoming? really excellent job of embodying a sympathetic physicality that made it understandable why chihiro would let him in to the bath house in the first place. also for the curtain call he put the mask on the back of his head and literally did the bows backwards. insane. my ONLY complaint is that i didn't love noface's giant form, but that's mostly because years and years ago i saw a (different) puppet show with a grim reaper character that was very similar to giant noface (the telescoping neck + large body) and i literally thought at the time 'if you were going to do puppet noface that is exactly how you should do it', so 1) expectations 2) i'm pretty sure that version was done using quite a sophisticated extending mechanism, which would be antithetical to the rest of the puppets in the show, and 3) this giant noface was VERY big (probably at least 10-15 feet across? he was at least eight puppeteers with the original actor as the mask) so the logistics would not have worked. regardless. it is a very small complaint that literally no one else would have had unless they had seen the same show that i did in like. 2015. costumes were all unreal, the set was phenomenal; it actually took me WELL over an hour to figure out that the set literally stayed the same the entire time, it was just being rotated (it was on a turntable) and redressed + had a couple balconies flown in. also live orchestra?? in the set??????? i didnt even know they were THERE they had them behind a scrim on an upper level platform in the back and they pulled it up for curtain call and there was like. 15 ppl sitting back there????

ok but if i had to pick ONE thing that was my favourite, it would be that ALL the living things were played by someone alive. i know that sounds obvious, especialy for like. the dancing vases and the frog and the soot sprites, but even the PLANTS were puppets in their own way. like the hydrangea bushes that chihiro hides in at the beginning and the flower field that she and haku run through were done with chorus members wearing these beautiful flower head/chest/arm pieces. even the stone guardians at the tunnel at the beginning of the play were actors. it really underscored the magic of everything to have all the life be actually alive.

[vendettavalor]

"My story is one of endless tragedy. Grief and loss are all I have ever known and all I ever will know. This I have made peace with. Death follows me like a shadow, collecting the souls which I reap in the name of justice. And when it comes my time to fall to his scythe, it will be a well-deserved death with no meaning and no honor, for I know that I died a long before my heart will have stopped. I ask for no funeral. My only wish is that before my final hour, all that I have done to earn my damnation will have spared even one from sharing my fate while living. That will be all I need to rest in peace - even surrounded by the flames of Hell."