#junie tunes

[duststooooorm]

not to get sappy on my goofy little blog but i am so beyond happy to be a fan of flyte. like it is insane to me that the band named after my favorite book character makes music that fits into one of my favorite genres (folk, genuinely). each of their albums have become increasingly more brilliant despite the fact that each one had less and less members of the band and they still held on. they are literally a duo simon and garfunkeling it up right now and they are killing it as though there were 10 of them. as the albums became more and more mature, they’ve also continued to have a ton more folk influence which is just awesome to me because i’m a nerd. tonight, with the release of their self titled album, they’ve released what has immediately become my new favorite song (and i truly 100% didn’t think mistress america could be dethroned). so, i share with anyone reading this bedtime reminder by flyte, a song by a band that means the absolute world to me :)

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s2 episode 2 thoughts

woohoo! we are back for another s2 moment! each night i do my duolingo and then have mulder and scully time <3

so we open on a boat which is already awful. boats are lowkey horrific. and something grabs a man working on the sewage and pulls him under. what the hell! worst case scenario on MANY fronts

then we see our good friend mulder who is listening to audio recordings. and boy was this a scene, because he had sunflower seeds everywhere, cartons of takeout scattered, a million empty cans and cups, and a page of little doodles. all while he sits in the dark.

i figured perhaps this was the squalor of the single man apartment, but no! someone opens a door and light pours in, and tells him he has to leave and someone else will take over his case. and that poor man gets forced into his disgusting space. truly the king of not giving a fuck. please try and give one fuck for me mulder

skinner moves him to a murder case in new jersey and he's all "but why did skinner want MEEEEE"

anyway he goes into the sewers, which are thankfully now free of eugene tooms due to the hard work of that one escalator... everybody say thank you escalator... and he finds a body and says send that back to the FBI

mulder busts into skinner's office to yell at him while he was IN A MEETING oh mulder!!! i get ur mad but have some decorum! he's like WHY are you wasting my time! well mulder if you want to work your way back up the ladder i think screaming at ur boss is not a good place to start!

(we also see that skinner's first name is walter and that he has a picture of bill clinton on the wall which i know made sense at the time but in 2024 it's just really funny. there's old willy looking over business)

cutscene to mulder Pondering in the dark and look! enter our dear friend scully!

"is this seat taken?" she asks "no, but i should warn you i'm experiencing violent impulses" he replies. "well, i'm armed, so i'll take my chances" she answered, and i audibly said "AWWW" <3 how sweet

he says he wants to leave the bureau! but she is his only reason to want to stay! gasp! we are gonna have to unpack that later!

she's like but you have a body right...? can i see the body....? can i pls pls pls pls be involved in ur case?

girl's night: autopsy edition! this body was quite decomposed and it had me wondering how exactly they film these scenes, and while i was pondering the process of making a prop body, we hear a loud thunk of scully removing the dude's rib cage to which i nearly fainted but we were Fine it's okay

and i'm holding my breath trying to deal with seeing this dude's insides when we get a WORM JUMPSCARE crawling about in his corpse

back in new jersey we see more sanitation workers and another man getting pummeled by the sewer beast... have we considered giving these men a raise?

the man has a nasty wound and i wrote "i am not built for this" in my notes but mulder strolls into the doctor's office while he's being checked out to investigate... we see the wound that the sanitation guy thinks is a snake that got into the sewers... and i'm thinking that doesn't sound right but i don't know enough about sewers to dispute that information

scully calls and he has to hang up and he gets ANOTHER call and picks up like "scully not now >:(" BUT THE GAG IS... it isn't her... it's some guy saying he has a friend in the FBI....... um

scully has mulder come down to the lab to show off the worm she found and give the audience a nice PSA to not eat raw meat! thank you dr. scully! we then get some worm facts and she seems pleased

BUT MULDER IS MEAN and he accuses her of being responsible for the phone call and she looks so hurt! she says she wouldn't betray his confidence by talking about him wanting to leave! mulder i get that you're in your questioning era but literally one episode ago she picked up your mostly dead body from a jungle compound so?? let's be rational here???

the next scene involved blood coming out of sanitation man's mouth and mostly what i wrote at this point was a few variations of "AUGH" "i cannot look" and "cannot handle this"

at the sanitation plant they capture whatever this Thing is and oh my. well. all i can really think of are those fake mermaids. you know the barnum fake mermaid hoax? or is that too 19th century niche? well either way, it looks like that but Worse. and equipped with suckers. it's a gnarly beast to gaze upon and i wrote more "AUGH"s here

cutscene to scully on a computer reading worm facts. back when you used a big ol computer to research creatures. i miss the 90's (disclaimer: i was not alive for them at all)

mulder lets her see the creature (which they have put in a mental hospital?) and she is SO excited to see this sort of beast BUT she figured out it was connected to the first attack because someone slipped a magazine article with a hint under her door!!!! looks like there really is someone on the inside...

she also says "i'd consider it more than a professional loss if you decided to leave" WAHHHHHHH <- me crying like a baby at this line

mulder's sitting in skinner's office like a kid stuck in detention and skinner says they're gonna prosecute the worm monkey baby thing and i nearly cried at the mental image of putting that beast on trial. skinner was like "you want to put it in the zoo?" I fear that's far more reasonable.....????? like how is he gonna testify he's WORM MONKEY BABY THING

mulder is again very pissed off and tells skinner that they could have saved the second man (who died in the shower while i was looking away from his bleeding) because he had agents who could have handled it but he shut the x files down and skinner is like. i know. but i was just following orders... tea....

okay so i THOUGHT the worm monkey was baby sized but now they're taking him somewhere else and he is full man sized... but he breaks out of his restraints, we hear a gunshot, and he escapes into a toilet... NO, i yelled to the sanitation worker on my screen, THE WORM IS INSIDE (he couldn't hear me)

mulder's at the scene and gets another mysterious phone call telling him he CANNOT mess this case up because there needs to be undeniable proof the x files must come back... okay no pressure!

so the worm monkey is somewhere in the sewer plant and scully calls like "i think the little worm we found was a baby and it's looking for a place to lay its eggs so we CANNOT let it escape"

(mulder and another worker go into the sewers without any sort of worm monkey handling equipment, idk i was thinking a shotgun might be appropriate here. like what did they think they were gonna do? wrestle it?)

the other worker falls in so NATURALLY our hero mulder (who is still a hero even if he has been cranky af lately) jumps in after him

and mulder GUILLOTINES the worm monkey in what can only be described as an average fox w 🔥🔥

at the end we see scully and mulder once again meet on a public bench in the dark, where she shares that the genetic testing proved that this thing was actually a mixture of human and worm that came from radioactive waste at chernobyl??? so. that's fucked up. haven't they suffered enough.

(but i like that this is a monster made possible by humans and yet still very real, even if that seems... an unlikely story... still, for dana scully's sake i'm happy this is something that can be proved by Science)

((although i hate to know what the implications are for the chernobyl dogs in this universe...))

we end with a shot of worm monkey baby, who has been split in half, re-opening its eyes. now i do think sea worms can sometimes grow back so this isn't SHOCKING. but it is displeasing nonetheless.

overall, listen; mulder, you've had it rough. they've slashed your life's work and you doubt reality. but man. clean your desk up. be nice to scully. skinner is clearly on ur side. i need to shake his stupidly tall frame and knock some sense into him. that beautiful woman wants to tell you worm facts and you should be writing it all down intently.

(good angst though, love that she's the only reason he wants to stay. and love her little autopsy time <3)

[jetlaggingbehind]

took the leap and tried synthv :3

[trollbreak]

Fascinating to see which characters linger on the brain as time goes on

[coyotecreek]

I'll have to get photos later, but Aris kindled about an hour ago, and she had SIX. Not sure how she was hiding that many. One of them is white, which means it would have to be a REW or himi (unless it's an orange, but what little fuzz it does have looks white). Two are agouti (could be chestnut OR chin, since Tinsel apparently carries something on the C locus), and the other three all look solid, so either blacks or steels. This result was a bit surprising, all around.

Fingers crossed she takes good care of them! I'll have a better update tomorrow, probably. Don't want to bother her too much. Just counted and made sure they were all well covered up.

Edit to add: I just realized there's also a small possibility that white kit is an ermine, and now I'm kinda hoping for that above all else.

[tubatwo]

(숩) home - choi soobin

summary: your first time dealing with a sulky, jealous soobin

pairing: gn reader x choi soobin

genre: fluff.. slight angst?; 1.2k words

tonight was another dorm movie night planned with the boys. taehyun was in charge of picking the movie, beomgyu and kai were in charge of making the popcorn, yeonjun was in charge of setting up the living room, and soobin… well soobin was in charge of just being attached to you.

ㅤ

ㅤ

“how much longer are you going to make y/n carry your 6-foot ass?” yeonjun asks while placing a variety of drinks on the table. you hear beomgyu and kai cackle from the kitchen, and taehyun lets out a soft chuckle himself. soobin was currently wrapped around you like a koala, waddling around with you as you tried to help the boys set up.

“they’re not even carrying me!” soobin exclaims, “and they don’t mind either... right baby?” you chuckle and shake your head. “no, I don’t mind at all.” soobin makes a face at the others and finally releases himself from you. “I have to use the bathroom really quick!” he kisses your cheek and walks towards the bathroom.

beomgyu and kai return from the kitchen and place bowls of popcorn on the table. “yah, y/n, I don’t know how you deal with him.” beomgyu teasingly looks at you with pity. kai nods in agreement, “I can’t believe he’s even showing this much pda around us, it’s almost adorable.” he says. “that means he’s too comfortable with us, we should change that.” taehyun chimes in, making everyone laugh.

“guys, leave him alone,” you whine, “it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.” yeonjun walks up to you and dramatically grabs both of your hands. “and what about us y/n? did you not miss your sweet junie?” you all start giggling as the rest of the boys join in and start doing aegyo. “yeah! what about your cutie beombu, hmm?” soon the room goes silent as you hear the bathroom door close. soobin walks in giving death glares to everyone in the room, except you, of course. “papa rabbit has arrived, guys.” taehyun says playfully.

“leave y/n alone, seriously,” soobin walks over to separate you and yeonjun, “you all are a bunch of pests.”

eventually, you all sit down to finally watch the movie. there was no actual hostility in the room, and the boys were just teasing soobin. he knew that. it wasn’t anything new, but sometimes you would glance over at him to find an unreadable expression on his face.

later that night, you and soobin are both sitting on his bed after finishing up your skincare routines. you get ready to turn off the table lamp until you notice him sulking. “hey, what’s wrong?” you ask. he glances at you before responding, “nothing…” you can tell that he’s not actually upset with you. you’ve comforted him enough times to know when he’s truly struggling with something, but still, you know that there’s something on his mind.

you slowly crawl into his lap and see him turn his head in the opposite direction. “baby? honey?” you tickle his sides softly, smiling as you watch him try his hardest not to smile. “I know you’re not actually upset with me,” you begin, “you’re sulking about something.” you wrap your arms around his neck and place a soft kiss on his cheek. “please tell me, bunny.” the nickname makes his lips twitch as he finally looks over at you. “i’m mad at yeonjun.”

your eyes widen for a second before asking, “what? why?” his pout deepens. “he was flirting with you…” a small chuckle slips out of your mouth, causing him to sulk again and try to get up. “no, no, i’m sorry.” you wrap your arms even tighter around him, preventing him from leaving. “I won’t laugh anymore, I promise.”

“but…” you begin, “what about beomgyu? you aren’t mad at him?” you ask. soobin thinks for a second. “i’ve learned to tune him out...” he admits, making you both giggle.

this was your first time seeing soobin jealous, and you could tell that he didn’t exactly know how to handle it. truthfully, you didn’t either. part of you thought that it was cute, definitely a little funny considering it was about yeonjun, but you also knew that soobin was an overthinker. you knew that you had to put an end to whatever he was thinking before it went too far.

“you know they weren’t really flirting, right?” you ask quietly, not wanting to make the mood too awkward. “they do it to be funny, or mess with you, that’s all.” soobin nods and looks down, suddenly becoming more interested in a stray thread on your pajama pants.

“could you wrap your arms around me, please?” you ask, you’d been sitting on his lap the entire time while his arms were off to the side. he looks at you and immediately relaxes after seeing your eyes full of adoration. even if he wanted to be mad at you, he couldn’t. he wraps his arms around you and sighs in content.

“I love you, soobin.” you stroke his cheek softly. “the love of my life. my entire world. I know the boys are just messing with you and deep down you know it too, but even if it were a stranger on the street, I still wouldn’t pay them any mind.” you explain to him. “there’s no need, because I have everything i’ve ever dreamed of right here.”

“you are the only one I love, yesterday, today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life.” you finish. soobin buries his head in your neck as you slip your hands under his shirt to rub circles on his back. “my soob, my home.” soon enough, you feel tears on your shoulder and soobin’s body starting to shake. “oh baby... hey, please look at me...” you lift his head and the sight nearly makes you melt. a red nose, puffy cheeks, and tear-stained eyes staring back at you with all the love in the world. you wipe his tears as he apologizes.

“i’m sorry.” he sniffles. “don’t apologize.” you reassure him, trying not to cry yourself. “no really, I overreacted and I just-” you nod, encouraging him to continue. “it wasn’t about yeonjun… I was just scared of losing you.” he explains. a few seconds pass before he continues. “for a split second, I imagined a moment where you really left me for someone else… and it absolutely killed me.” soobin chokes up once again. “and here you are… treating me so gently… like i’m the most precious thing on earth… I just started getting emotional.”

“I really love you,” he confesses, “I love you so much, baby.” at this point, your attempts to stay sane are thrown out the window. “noooo, angel…” he frowns at the sight of you crying, wiping your tears just like you wiped his. “i’m sorry.” he whines. you give him a knowing look and he chuckles. “right, no apologizing!”

after a while of sniffling and wiping tears, you stare at each other. the room is silent. nothing matters except you two and the love you share. eventually, he leans in and kisses your lips. “thank you for cherishing me.” he whispers. “it’s the easiest thing in the world, my love.” you kiss his nose. “I promise that I would never go anywhere.” you crawl back under the covers and finally turn the lamp off. the night ends peacefully with soobin placing soft kisses down your neck and wrapped around you like a koala once again.

[cometchasinglove]

Starscream and Juniper: Dynamic Rundown

Ah, these two…my main ship for my AU!

Early on, Starscream certainly doesn’t like her, but he doesn’t despite her with a passion either. At least, not as much as he says he does. Starscream, although repulsed by humans, does find value in Juni. He was the one who suggested that Megatron should keep her in the first place. After all, the Autobots use humans to their advantage, don’t they?

Of course, he still complains about her, huffing about how high maintenance she is and the like. Similarly, she frequently scowls at him. She hates it whenever he refers to her as “vermin”, and rightfully calls him out on it. She knows that he can’t do anything to harm her with Megatron around. The two snark at each other constantly, but there’s no genuine malice.

After a mission that went awry, Megatron actually tries to beat Starscream for almost murdering her in the cockpit of his jet mode.

(It’s accidental. Starscream wanted to scare her with loop-de-loops, unaware that she required a g-suit and a helmet).

Before Megatron could punish him too severely, Juniper makes it out of the medical bay at just the right moment to stop him. She brings Starscream to the lab to treat his wounds, and then she stays with him for the rest of the night. The Seeker is absolutely puzzled. He believes that she wants something from him; he cannot fathom the fact that she saved him from the kindness of her heart.

This is a crucial moment in their story. It helps the two change their tune about each other. It’s also brought up again much later, during another significant moment in my AU.

During their MECH Arc/Rogue Arc, the two grow closer together. It’s much easier since they’re both away from Megatron and the Nemesis. Well, at least at that point. Season Three is rough on both of them.

Starscream learns to view Juniper as a friend. The feeling is mutual on her part as well. Sure, there’s some ups and downs, even a tremendous mistake on Starscream’s end (which involves the creation of her scar).

It takes PLENTY of time, devotion, patience, and trust for them to reach a certain level of intimacy and closeness together. It’s difficult, but definitely not impossible.

When the two form a connection, Starscream is SUCH a tease towards her, and Juniprr responds with peeps and blushes, just the way he likes it. However, there are instances where she flips the tables on him to surprise him!

Eventually, Starscream vows to never let her be hurt again, especially by him.

He even has two special names for her! It’s either “Mouse/Little Mouse” or “Comet”. The former refers to her cuteness and smallness, a huge step up from the initial “rodent” meaning. The latter pet name, however, comes from her love for outer space. During their shared arc as rogues, they stargazed and Starscream told her about living Cybertron.

Much like him, Juni calls him “Raptor” or “Dove”. The latter, of course, is used during moments of sweetness without teasing (such as the former).

Starscream becomes possessive and a bit jealous sometimes, such as when Juni hangs out with her best friend, Tayden, or the other bots. Still, her heart continues to stay with the same cybertronian.

Besides Dreadwing, Soundwave, and the predacons, Starscream is the only mech who listens to her sing. Initially, he teases her for it (which sucks). However, he grows to appreciate it. Juniprr can sing pretty damn well actually, she just doesn’t outwardly sing in front of others. She’s too shy. She will, however, hum for Starscream. Maybe even sing so, so very softly for him.

After the war and Cybertron’s revival, the two experience nightmares. It requires comfort from both parties. It’s something soft and gentle, just what they need.

Stargazing is still a common pastime for them! Only now, after she receives her upgrade from Primus (the pink and gold suit) Juniper can fly and keep up with him, too. He finally has a flying buddy!

On Earth, Juniper likes to bring him to the beach. As a former lifeguard, the redhead LOVES to swim. Starscream? Not really, but he admires her in her bathing suit.

Although she forms friendships in unlikely places, she shares her strongest bond with Starscream. It’s not hard to see why. The two go through a lot together, but they preserve, a shared trait between them, and I’m proud of them.

Divider Credit: @/saradika

Art Credit: @/destinysquared

[cranberrymoons]

three days

prompt: homesick (discord drabble) notes: this is part of the future fic series! (because i am incapable of getting them out of my brain) if you haven't read it, all you really need to know is: corroded coffin exists; eddie is on tour. enjoy! 😇

—

He curls in his big hotel bed, phone cradled close to his ear as he listens to Steve talk about his day, eyes falling shut as he pictures it; pictures him, warm and sunny and alive, moving around the kitchen to get dinner ready. He can hear the kids talking over each other in the background, and he sighs, rolling onto his back with his limbs spread wide.

“I miss you,” he says, staring up at the ceiling. “All of you.”

Steve sighs too, humming a little nonsense tune. “We miss –” There’s a crash on the other end, and his voice gets further away and – “Junie, I swear to god, if you don’t stop chasing your brother around the –”

Eddie laughs a little, watching the slow progress of car lights moving over his ceiling. It’s four in the morning in Paris, and he has to be up and ready for the airport in less than an hour, but right now he just wants to drift and relax and imagine that he’s back home and helping Steve make spaghetti for four demonic children instead of tucked up in a European hotel suite preparing for a flight to Tokyo.

“Sorry,” Steve huffs, coming back to the phone. “Junie was shooting those stupid nerf darts you got her, and then that turned into a whole thing, and – anyway.”

Eddie smiles. “Anyway.”

“I miss you, too.” His voice is soft and close, and Eddie feels his heart throb wetly in his chest. “Remind me how much longer?”

Eddie thinks, and his throat is suddenly tight, and his eyes feel hot as he swallows. 

“Um.” He lets out a little sound that’s halfway to a laugh but is also sort of a sob, and he pushes a knuckle into the corner of his eye. “Fuck. Sorry.”

Steve makes a quiet noise, and the background yelling recedes a little as Eddie listens to his footsteps carrying him away. 

“I love you so much,” Steve says, once it’s quiet. “So much. And you’re going to be home so soon. Just three days, right?”

And of course Steve knows his schedule. Of course he has the thing fucking memorized better than Eddie himself. Eddie’s laugh is a little choked as he shakes his head. 

“Yeah, I –” He takes a breath, and it rattles in his chest. “I think so.”

“Three days, pitstop in Japan, then home,” Steve says again, repeating it like a mantra. “And we’re going to have a big family night, and then we’re going to put the kids to bed, and then you’re going to fuck me until I can’t see straight.”

Eddie lets out a sharp breath, rolling onto his side with the phone held under his head like a secret. 

“Okay?”

“Baby,” he says quietly. Steve hums, and Eddie can hear a knock on the door in the background of the call, but Steve doesn’t answer it. “Baby, I –” He takes a breath, eyes falling shut. 

“I know,” Steve says quietly. “Me too.”

“Three days,” Eddie repeats.

He can totally do three days.

[also on ao3]

[duststooooorm]

hello everyone i’m normal about this song

[the-french-belphegor]

Every room in Scanlan’s mansion existed for a reason, as a conscious choice. He often changed the setup, and sometimes forgot to make a room, but a random chamber just popping up into existence for no reason was unheard of. (A few decades after Vecna, Kaylie comes across a room that doesn’t make sense in her father’s magical mansion.)

(Shout-out to @mythtaker, whose post last March about Scanlan probably keeping Vax's room in his Magnificent Mansion nudged my brain until I could finally do something with it 💜)

Still Life

Scanlan had changed addresses again since last time.

Kaylie let herself into the house after disarming the few traps he had told her about in his last letter. Just like he’d said, they were nothing fancy: just small precautions to avoid disgruntled former customers (or worse, the local competition) barging in unannounced.

The new house was small, but looked cosy, with high windows and whitewashed walls painted a light blue. The Marquesian sun flooded the coloured cement tiles of the study with a golden late afternoon sunlight. Her father, sitting with his feet on his desk and browsing through papers, didn’t appear to notice either the beautiful light or his unexpected visitor.

Kaylie shrugged off her backpack and let it drop to the floor. The thump made Scanlan look up; the next second, he hopped down from his chair and ran to her, smiling from ear to ear.

“Kaylie Shorthalt, apple of my eye, light of my days, vegan cream in my coffee –”

“Hey, Dad.” Tiredness kept Kaylie’s voice somewhat short, but the first thing she did after carefully putting down her violin case was give him a hug he happily returned. It had been a while since they’d seen each other. “How’s tricks?”

Even after all those years, the nugget of warmth curling in her chest when she met her father’s grin still caught her off-guard. She’d missed him, she could acknowledge that at least, but just how much she had still surprised her every time it hit her.

“Tricks are going swimmingly, thank you for asking. Did you get Juni’s letter?”

“I did, yeah, just before I left.”

“Oh, good. Well, it means Wax lost the bet, but she was worried.”

“Wait,” Kaylie asked with the start of a grin she couldn’t quite hold back, “which bet?”

Juniper and Wilhand’ildan Shorthalt, even after leaving home for places of higher learning, still made a point of staying in almost constant contact with each other, their big sister, their Grog, and their parents, by means of letters, second-hand messages, or Sending Stones. Their correspondence included a lot of teasing, bets, and dares, some of which bafflingly silly sometimes. It had dumbfounded both Kaylie and Scanlan somewhat until Pike and Grog had assured them that it wasn’t that unusual between siblings.

Scanlan waved a hand, drawing the suspense, of course.

“You know the kids. I think this time a… goat was involved? I’ll tell you all about it at dinner. In the meantime, shall I fire up the mansion? For old time’s sake?”

“‘Old times’, yeah. Sure.” Kaylie rolled her eyes, but her smile stayed. It had barely been six months since the last time they’d treated themselves to a nice stay in the Magnificent Mansion. Okay, it felt longer, but still. “I could do with a day at the spa anyway after all this heat.”

“Then it’s settled. Give me a minute.”

Scanlan rummaged in his pocket for the components, closed his eyes, and started to hum a tune Kaylie recognised as one she’d been working on the last time they’d seen each other. As always, the air around him went shimmery and warm, citrus and coriander with a dash of purple, and the door winked into existence.

Gnome-sized, of course. And flamboyant and magnificent and ridiculous in an endearing way, just like him.

He opened it for her with a bow and a flourish.

“Ladies first.”

“Show-off,” snorted Kaylie, and walked in with her violin case, trusting Scanlan to bring her bag inside. Which he did, after a double take.

It was always easy to tell, from the look of the mansion, if Scanlan had spent time in Tal’Dorei recently. The layout was different, the ceiling a little lower, the hues a little softer. Some of Wax’s drawings he’d made while inside the mansion hung on the walls in frames; there were touches here and there in the decorations of Pike’s blues and Juni’s golds amongst the pinks and purples. In the foyer, a sheet of paper covered in awkward letters bigger than Kaylie’s whole hand held pride of place on a sideboard along with a plate of cookies. She immediately pilfered a couple on her way inside.

“Where’d you put my room this time?” she asked, rolling her head on her neck. Gods, it had been a long day. Make that a long week. Or a long fucking month, to be honest.

“Ground floor, west wing, couple of doors to the hot springs. I’ll make the servants get started on dinner. Give me a yell if you need anything?”

“Sure thing, thanks.”

Kaylie recognised her bedroom immediately: the door was open, welcoming her in. Scanlan had styled it the way she liked, cool and cosy but not stifling, light on the frills, with plenty of space to put her things away and all the tools she needed to take care of her violin.

The bed looked way too comfy. It was tempting to just faceplant in it and crash. But then, she reasoned, it would still be there after a long soak and a nice dinner.

She threw her bag over her shoulder, padded barefoot out of her room, and opened the second door to the left.

And paused, puzzled.

Every room in Scanlan’s mansion existed for a reason, as a conscious choice. He often changed the setup, and sometimes forgot to make a room, but a random chamber just popping up into existence for no reason was unheard of.

That… wasn’t the hot springs. It was a bedroom, by the look of it, but a bedroom that didn’t make sense.

“Hey, Scanlan?” Kaylie called out, frowning. “What’s this room for?”

She didn’t wait for an answer and stepped in slowly, taking in the dark furniture, the elegant carpet, the plants in large pots scattered across the room. The circular bed was unmade, like its owner had just stepped out. She ran her palm over the quilt, a light, fuzzy fabric meant to look like it was made from black feathers. Or maybe stylised leaves.

Something tugged at her memory.

“What room, Kay—”

The footsteps behind her came to such an abrupt stop Kaylie thought Scanlan had Dimension Doored away elsewhere. But when she looked over her shoulder, there he was, framed in the doorway like a painting and about as motionless.

He looked nothing less than stricken.

And that… was all the explanation she needed.

After the dust settled, after that last big fight, as she was recuperating in Whitestone in a bed too big for her –

(from her wounds, from dying, from coming back to life in her father’s arms with his tears in her hair and her blood on his chest)

– he had come back, bone-tired and too quiet, the smell of booze on him stronger than some of her best and worst benders, but alive. They had talked a bit about what she wanted to do, now that the world wasn’t ending any more. She had pulled him into a hug, the only way she’d found to say everything she’d wanted to say without having words pulled out of her mouth like teeth.

It was only when she had come back from a much-needed nightly stroll and found him passed out at the foot of his own bed that she had realised he hadn’t said a single word about how the fight had gone down except We won.

What they had lost – who – had come up later.

Kaylie didn’t have many clear memories of Vax’ildan. The other members of Vox Machina she’d mostly learned to know after they disbanded. With the exception of her father – and a memorable conversation with Vex’ahlia, still vivid despite the fog of alcohol (But there’s a chance we can bring him back, if you’re willing to help) – the shape they had in her mind was a product of time in a new world, one that no longer involved escaping from dragons or being kidnapped and brainwashed by an asshole god. Vax would forever belong to that former world. The only remnants she had of him were a vague silhouette in dark clothing, a sharp grin, a surprisingly soft voice.

And the taste of blood in her mouth.

The last and strongest memory Kaylie had of Vax was his scrunched up face, contorted by guilt with tear tracks on his cheeks, open hand thrust forwards as Gilmore whisked her and Cassandra de Rolo away to safety. To this day she still viciously hoped some of that guilt was for her, too.

After all, she was the one he’d killed.

And then he had died (or perhaps before and it just took a while to really take, she had never been clear on the timing), and in the process had somehow gained the power to crack Scanlan’s heart right open.

So maybe Kaylie had ambivalent feelings about the guy.

But she was also very aware that saying fuck ‘im would not help at all in this situation.

“Oh, Dad.” She shook her head, but purposely kept her voice gentle, filing down some of her sharp edges for once. “Still, huh?”

Shock rippled on his face at the sound of her voice. It made him look a little less like someone had just punched him in the stomach.

“…I meant a couple of doors on the right,” he said in a small voice.

He’d sounded worse before – hell, he’d looked worse before, she had once seen his lifeless body laid out on an altar after getting ripped apart by a dragon – but something still tugged at her heart at that.

“Yeah, well. The spa can wait. What’s up with that?” She stepped towards him, telegraphing her movements, like he was a horse who might bolt if spooked. “Why did you make that room? You know that’s… that’s not a good idea, right?”

“I didn’t make it make it,” Scanlan protested with a little more life. “I just… didn’t not make it.”

“Okay, but why now?”

Silence.

Kaylie stared at Scanlan.

“You mean you don’t make it on purpose? It just pops up every time?”

“No! …Yes. Kinda? Look, the mansion’s a complicated spell, okay? It’s not even proper bardic magic in the first place. I’ve been casting it for years and I’m still not a hundred percent sure how it works.”

His eyes stayed mostly on her, but every now and then they strayed to the left, to the coverings, the bed, the plants. However his body still seemed rooted to the spot, and Kaylie was suddenly struck by a flash of insight.

“Dad, did you – have you ever actually stepped foot in there? You know, since he died?”

Scanlan went very still.

(How the hell did he manage to fool anybody, Kaylie wondered as her heart sank in her chest. How good a liar did that make him, really, that she managed to see right through him every time?)

She shook her head again.

“You haven’t, have you. Decades of making this room without even thinking about it and you never… Godsdammit, Dad.”

“I can’t, Kaylie,” he said, barely audible. “It’s not… I wouldn’t…”

Scanlan Shorthalt at a loss for words was a unique phenomenon that could be two things: downright hilarious or powerfully awkward. A very rare third kind of outcome, the instances of which Kaylie could count on the fingers of one hand and a half, was snapping your heart clean in two. And for someone like her, who prided herself on always keeping that soft, vulnerable part of herself safe from all hurt… Well, it sucked. To put it mildly.

Kaylie sighed.

Then she took her father’s hand.

“You’re a fuckin’ idiot,” she said gently, and pulled him into the room.

She didn’t have to tug very hard. Scanlan stumbled after her easily. The next moment he absent-mindedly straightened his vest and looked around at the room as though he was seeing it for the first time.

The room, not the contents. It was obvious, from the way his gaze lingered on this and that, how he snorted at the sight of an armchair pillow embroidered with two tiny figures inside a giant black dragon, or smiled at a painting that depicted a bunch of cows and a giant bird, of all things, that the objects that populated the space were familiar, or at least brought up memories.

Kaylie gave him a moment, then climbed onto the human-sized (or rather half-elf-sized) bed, letting her feet dangle over the edge. The movement must have caught Scanlan’s eye; he turned, and after a while shucked off his shoes and clambered up, too.

The silence between them lasted long enough that Kaylie started to wonder whether she should summon one of the mansion’s creepy ghost servants to get herself a drink. But she had cut down on daytime drinking a lot these past few decades, particularly since Juni’s birth. Putting the kibosh on Scanlan’s meat consumption had been a gag at first – plus chicken for breakfast, lunch, and dinner got old fast – but the excuse of eating healthy to live longer had had some truth behind it. Behind the sarcasm she’d actually wanted her father to stick around, and you kinda had to stay alive for that. It had taken her a few years after that to realise that getting too fucked up too often would make her less inclined to stay alive, too.

Scanlan had stuck by the vegan diet, and Kaylie had cut down her drinking rather dramatically.

But damn if her fingers didn’t still itch for a pint, sometimes.

“So,” she said, if only to hear something. Dammit. She had counted on Scanlan being the first to open his mouth – he usually was. “That’s a nice bedroom. This bed’s comfy.”

“I should hope so,” said Scanlan, his voice almost normal by now. Almost. “Nothing but quality in my Magnificent Mansion.”

“No mirror on the ceiling in this one?”

“Nah, not this time. But I think everybody had one at some point? Gods, it’s been ages. Anyway, I made up for it. Look in the… I think it’s in the bedside table on the left.”

Against her better judgement, Kaylie shuffled to the bedside table. Inside it was a book with a title in Marquesian which in Common translated to The Lotus and the Butterfly.

She raised an eyebrow.

“Isn’t that the one with—?”

“—with beautiful traditional Marquesian illustrations going back two hundred years from the best artists in Yios, yes.”

“I was gonna say ‘the sex positions guidebook’, but sure, let’s go with that.” She shook her head. “I thought you couldn’t leave anything from the Material Plane in the mansion?”

“You can’t. I had the servants make it special from a copy I picked up once at a casino.”

“The one you got scammed in?” Kaylie asked with a grin, making Scanlan roll his eyes. She leafed through the book idly, gaze quickly flitting over text and pictures, neither really registering. “And you just. Left that in your friend’s bedside table. Like that’s not fucking weird at all.” Her head snapped back up as a thought hit her. “Wait, did you… Did you ever hook up with him, back in the day?”

In the two seconds it took for Scanlan to open his mouth, eyes wide, she decided she didn’t need to know the answer. Those two had been good friends and clearly loved each other a lot; whether sex had been involved or not was irrelevant.

She steered clear of sentiment, though, out of habit.

“Wait, don’t answer that. Sorry. Gross, shut up. Still, what the hell? Was it supposed to be some kind of prank?”

“Well, no, I… Okay, maybe just a little. Once I finally got that he and Keyleth were actually, like, A Thing, I put the book in there whenever I made the mansion. Mostly I figured they might need, uh… not exactly something to help them get it on, but just… ideas, you know? It took them long enough to realise they both wanted to boink, just thought I might aid a little in that department.”

Kaylie stared at her father, not knowing whether she might facepalm or laugh herself sick.

“Seriously.”

“Hey,” Scanlan pointed out, “it was them or Vex and Percy, and once they figured out their own shit they didn’t need any incentive to jump each other’s bones! Man, I’m still surprised they stopped at five kids and didn’t go for the full baker’s dozen.”

Once upon a time, this would’ve been a golden opportunity for her to say something scathing about accidental children. The Kaylie from three decades ago would have verbally eviscerated present-day Kaylie for letting that opportunity pass by. But then again, being her three decades ago had been fucking exhausting. Sure, she sometimes missed the viciousness she had let go of over the years, but she’d also lost some fears and gained a little peace of mind. Overall, not a bad bargain.

She settled for a snort and put the book back in the bedside table. Then she made herself comfortable on the bed, leaning back and kicking her feet a little.

Surprisingly, Scanlan didn’t add anything. He rested his elbows on his knees and his chin on his arms and gazed vaguely ahead with an odd expression, for him.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Hm?”

Godsdammit. Pike would be much better suited for this.

Kaylie resolutely kept her own gaze in front of her and didn’t look at him.

“You do realise it’s… okay if you don’t make this room? Maybe not next time, but like… the time after that. I don’t think he’ll mind, I mean… It’s not… It wouldn’t be betraying him is what I’m sayin’.”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw him turn his head towards her a little, but he remained uncharacteristically silent and still.

“It’s nice that you kept his stuff. No, I know, it’s not really his stuff, but you know what I mean – it’s, uh… it’s a thoughtful gesture. Wherever he is I’m sure he’d appreciate it. But…”

How did people do this? Say words that weren’t even spells and fixed things somehow? Her music could break and heal alike, but that last part felt closer to tying a tourniquet on a bleeding limb: a tiny thing that might keep you from dying just now, but a far cry from magic that knitted bones back together or breathed life back into corpses. She had sung away the hurt from Juni’s scraped knees or Wax’s scratched elbows a few times when her little siblings were kids. She might as well be trying to do the same now on a decades-old wound that somehow still found a way to bleed every now and then.

“But… But there’s better ways to remember him by. This is like… frozen in time. Like a museum, almost. Somehow I doubt that’s what he was about.”

“It’s not,” Scanlan muttered. Then he cleared his throat and added, without the crack in his voice this time, “I mean, yeah, he was… He was, uh.”

She pretended not to see him wipe his nose on his sleeve.

“He had… a lot going on, once he got into his thing with the Raven Queen. That messed him up for some time. But even with all that, even when he went full emo goth chicken with one foot in the grave talking about death all the frickin’ time, he was… he was alive.”

Pause; a small snort of a laugh. When he spoke again he was smiling, but his voice was less than steady again. “Never seen a dead guy so alive, when I think about it.”

Kaylie waited for him to continue. When it became obvious that nothing more was coming, she bit back a sigh, then shuffled closer.

And closer. Just close enough to lay her head on her father’s shoulder if she slumped a little.

(Ever since she’d first laid eyes on him she’d always been a little taller. That he’d never been there while she was still small enough to hold and carry was one of the things she still was angry at him about occasionally – and angry at herself for it. She was tough and strong and a grown-ass adult, godsdammit, not a bloody child.)

After a while, Scanlan laid his head against hers, giving her time to slip away if she wanted, like he usually did.

“Didn’t you want to go to the spa?” he asked quietly.

Kaylie gave a one-shoulder shrug, careful not to jostle their skulls against each other’s.

“I will. In a while.”

“I included the steam room again.”

“Good. It’s nice. Also pretty.”

“Well, you deserve the best.”

“Damn right I do,” she murmured.

Maybe he wasn’t the best father. But he certainly wasn’t the worst she’d thought he was for the first two thirds of her life. Sure, the space between their souls had its share of broken things, but in time they had built trust, and affection, and unspoken words that warmed rather than hurt.

She shifted, just enough that she could kiss his temple just above his ear – a little smaller than her own, one of the few physical traits he didn’t pass on to her – and give his hand a squeeze for good measure, lightning-quick.

Then she settled against him again before he could say anything.

The room was not haunted. In two dozen hours it would disappear, along with the rest of the house; one day it might cease to exist altogether. And maybe, between the two of them (beating hearts, warm bodies, lungs drawing breaths in tandem with one another), they could lay some old ghosts to rest.

[onestormeynight]

Nellie Gets Jealous

"How was school, honey?" Rosie asked Nellie over dinner. They were still waiting for Robin and Ida to join them.

"Fine, I guess," she said. "I don't really like my classmates. They're dumb. I don't understand why they can't read like I can."

"Everyone has their own strengths, Nel. You come from a very literate household. Not everyone is so lucky."

"It's not like it's hard."

"That's not the tune you were singing when you first started to read."

Nellie rolled her eyes.

"Is there anything you do like about school?"

Nellie was silent, pushing her food around her plate. Rosie let the silence sit; she knew better than to push with Nellie. She'd say it or she wouldn't and no one would make that decision but her.

"I like poetry," she mumbled. "Ida and I went to the school library and got some books. I got a Poe book. She got something stupid like Junie B. Jones or something."

"Well, I'm proud of you for challenging yourself. Poe is not always an easy read. If you're confused about anything, we can go over it together if you want."

She gave a weak smile. "Thanks, Mom. I think I'd like that."

Ida and Robin walked into the house at that moment. Both were laughing and warm from the early summer sun. They grabbed their plates with barely a hello and continued with their conversation.

"You're a natural, Ida. You can come fishing with me any time you want to as long as your homework is done."

"Thank you! I like taking Costello, too, can he come?!"

"I don't see an issue with that, lovey. He stays quiet so he won't scare the fish."

Ida giggled. "That was so much fun!"

Robin beamed at his daughter, unaware of the glares he was getting from Nellie behind his back. Both were so engrossed in their joy, they didn't see the jealousy boiling over on Nellie.

"I don't see what's so great about hurting innocent fish," She snapped at them. "You're both cruel."

Robin was taken aback at her outburst. "Nellie! Lots of people fish. I've made some great friends doing so."

"Then you're all cruel."

"Maybe you should come with us next time, Nel. I'd be happy to teach you."

She glared at her plate and stabbed at a meatball. "I don't like to leave the porch," she mumbled. "Granny died because she went outside."

"Okay, honey, that is not what happened to Grandma," Rosie said, touching Nellie's shoulder. "Grandma was old. It was just her time. Death is part of everyone's lives."

"I'm not leaving the house and it's cruel of you to try and make me! It's cruel that you leave me out like this! I hate you!" She pushed her dinner away and ran up the stairs, tears falling from her eyes.

Rosie put a hand over her face while Robin assured Ida she did nothing wrong.

"Go on, eat your dinner, lovey, we'll talk to your sister."

"Don't," Ida said, holding back her own tears. "She doesn't want to talk to you right now."

"Leave her be," Rosie added, patting the chair next to her. "The hurt is too big right now. Let her calm down."

After a few moment, Robin asked "is she really afraid to leave the house?"

"Yes," said Ida. "She's really scared at school. It makes her mean. She's better when she's home."

Rosie really wished her mom was there. This was not something she knew how to coach her daughter through.

((prev)) ((next))

[bluedalahorse]

Drabble Challenge BONUS: Book (Karin)

The surprise epilogue of Makes the Medicine Go Down, a story originally told over seven drabbles from seven different POVs. You can read the sequence from the beginning over at AO3.

Because you all connected with Karin so much, I’ve added a bonus drabble from her point of view. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

And also: stay tuned for two additional standalone drabbles that I got as requests, in future posts.

This drabble challenge was organized by our pals at @youngroyals-events, and I’ve had so much fun writing.

Book (Karin)

Karin wonders if she’s trying too hard, coming to her first book club with the novel tagged and annotated.

Still, her pretty post-its soothe her as the text alert beeps on her phone.

From Vincent:

She’s excited to see you this weekend. FYI she scraped her knee skateboarding, but I got her bandaged. Enjoy yourself tonight!

Juni, hugging her board and sporting neon bandages, beams at Karin from an attached photo.

“Everything okay?” asks Wilhelm, her new book club friend.

“Yeah. My ex handled it.” Karin’s glad she can finally say that. “So, what did you think of the characters?”

[juniperwoodwell]

Just a reminder that my requests are open for all the characters I have listed on my profile.

Please send any and all requests and I'll do my best to write them!

Ps: I will be adding 10 new characters to my master list tomorrow so stay tuned for that!

And yes I do have a tag list, DM me or comment below if you'd like to be added.

-Juni

[gemini-sensei]

A Big Help | Boss!Eli x Nanny!Reader Pt. 2

Chubby!Fem!Reader ○ Widowed!Dad!Eli ○ Part One

Series Masterlist

After everything was set up for Readerz the following weeks were an adjustment period. Her bedroom was upstairs, just down the hall from the kids if they needed her, and she was allowed to bring most everything from her little apartment down town. Eli had set up a computer for her to do business from, though it was nothing too fancy, which she didn't mind; it got the job done. She was sleeping on lush sheets with the softest pillows she'd ever put her head on. She felt like a princess.

The morning cries of little Junie reminded her that she wasn't, though, but that was hardly a bad thing.

She loved Junie as soon as she met the happy baby. Luckily, Junie loved her as well. She clung to Reader the first time she held her and was hard pressed to let go of her warmth.

When Junie wakes up before everyone else, they all know it. She hated to be alone, so she'd start crying as soon as that realization hit. It woke everyone up, but Reader jumped out of the bed and hurried down to check on her. The first few mornings when that happened, Eli was still in the habit of going to her nursery to soothe her, so when he walked in to see Reader rocking his baby girl in nothing but a thin robe and a baby doll night dress, he was a little flustered. She wasn't yet used to living with others, especially small children, so her night wear was a little out of tune with the rest of them.

Not that Eli could complain much, as he was now in the presence of a lovely woman and he walked in most morning in nothing but his pajama pants. His abs on full display as his bedhead took a backseat in Reader's eyes.

They had to learn how to live with each other. Reader had to get used to his early schedule as well as the children's. She would often run into Eli while trying to get the children ready for school. He tried his best to keep out ofnher way as she helped the twins get dressed and he fretted about looking for his keys - because the kids just loved to play with them and leave them places.

By the time they're all heading out the door, Eli would say goodbye to Junie while Phoenix and Mia were bouncing about ready to go to school. He'd drive them now that he knew his youngest was in capable hands, then he'd head off to work.

In the meantime, Reader would have play time with Junie, sing songs to her, and go over some statements from her little store. She'd make business calls while Junie napped in her arms and do some tidying up after the twins. There was so much to do, so much to have ready. The house was so big, she was scared she might get lost.

The only thing she didn't have to worry about was cooking or laundry or major cleaning. Eli had a long time butler to do all of that, though he usually stayed out of the way in the mornings and resided in the kitchen to make breakfast for everyone. By the time everyone else left, he came out to do his other chores. He and Reader were friendly and so long as she minded Junie, he didn't really have much to worry about. Now and again, she liked to help him, putting away the children's clean clothes and picking up their toys.

Eli went to the office two days out of the week, which wasn't a lot but it was enough. He did most of his work from home, stuck in that routine since he'd started it a year earlier. Most of his time was spent on the computer, reading emails and such. Sometimes he was on the phone, other times he was on video meetings. It was long and hard work, though it sometimes didn't look like it. So when he took breaks, he liked to get out of his office tostretch his legs and use the time to see Junie.

One afternoon, he got up and walked into the livingroom to see Reader sitting on the floor with Junie on her lap, singing a song as Junie threw her hands around in a little dance. He sat with them and asked to join, at which point Junie stood and shook and laughed and played, only to fall back onto Reader's lap in a fit of giggles.

Reader smiled and laughed, tickling Junie. The little girl squealed, then Reader looked up and said, "I don't see why not."

So they sat and sand songs that the baby girl danced to. She tried to follow along but her words were mostly gibberish and a few exclamations.

When she was decidedly done with dancing, she stood up and walked over to her daddy to plop herself down on his lap. She cuddled up to him with a big yawn and he started to feel bad. He had to get back to work.

"I don't want to move, but I have a work call in ten minutes," he said, sighing heavily.

Reader jumped up. "Oh, don't worry about that. I'll bring it to you. Just tell me what you need."

He was hesitant at first, but the snoozing baby in his arms was very convincing. Reader's can-do attitude helped a lot too. "My phone, laptop, and the blue binder on my desk."

She scurried away and came back with everything he asked for. She set up everything on the coffee table and put some pillows behind him so he was comfortable with the baby. While he had Junie, Reader got to take a break. She fell asleep on the couch behind him while he was on the phone.

When it was over, he set his phone down and went to talk to Reader, but she was fast asleep. He smiled as he saw her, then turned to his laptop to read some emails and reports. It was nice for him.

By the time everyone was settled into the new routine, things were a lot smoother. Before they knew it, it was Junie's 2nd birthday and they were celebrating the girl with a big party. It was there that Reader met a lot of Eli's friends, as they were most of the people invited to begin with. Their children ran around the house and played happily while Junie giggled at all the attention she got from everyone. It was rather sweet.

Reader got along with Moon and Sam very well as they all watched over the children playing in the yard. It was chaotic, joyful yelling that they were sure if they took their eyes off ofbthe kids for a second, someone would get hurt. Nevertheless, the women got to know each other and laughed together. Moon and Sam were so interested in Reader, they asked her a multitude of questions, eventually coming to the conversation around how she liked working for Eli.

"It's nice. It's not very hard, I suppose, and I don't have to pay for housing," she said, laughing softly. She looked over to Phoenix and Mia as they laughed loudly, running in circles with the Diaz children. "It's fairly rewarding as well."

"Raising kids usually is," Sam told her, only to realize what she said. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by that."

"It's okay, I understand," Reader told her, smiling softly. The Moskowitz babies weren't her kids, so what right did she have to say such a thing anyway. "I meant it more as, I guess a teacher sort of way. One that stays at home."

They laughed about it, but Sam still felt bad. Luckily, Eli came out with the birthday girl on his hip, announcing it was time for cake.

So everyone rallied inside to watch Junie attempt to blow out the candles on her own personal little cake. She blew more spit than air and nothing happened to the candles, so when she tried again, Eli secretly blew them out and cheered for her. She laughed and Eli quickly got rid of the candles before she threw her tiny hands into the cake.

Reader helped serve slices from the second cake, the one Eli knew they'd need because he insisted Junie have her own. It was a pretty themed cake for her favorite show at the time (Bluey because everyone loves that lol). He didn't flake out on the guest cake, though, making sure everyone got a piece of rich sweetness.

Once everyone settled with cake and ice cream and whatever else was around, Reader sat with her own little plate, smiling as she watched everyone's happy smiles. Eli sat beside her, enjoying the festivities as well, before he turned to her.

"Thank you, this wouldn't have been possible without you," he said.

She smiled graciously. "You don't have to thank me. This was fun to help plan out."

"I don't just mean the party. I mean everything else. Working for me, especially. You've been a big help," he told her. He took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "I don't usually ask for help. It's something that's always been hard for me to do, so this really means a lot to me. So thank you."

It felt like there was more he wanted to say, but Reader didn't push for it. She just nodded and smiled, believing a kids party wasn't the time or place for further deep thoughts.

"You're welcome, Mr. Moskowitz."

"Oh, please. Call me Eli."

[nitrozem]

Time for some real bad karaoke!

Juni Que: I'm surprised you didn't shatter all the windows with that tune!

Terry: Okay okay fine, let's see you do it better, Juni!

Juni Que in fact does it better

Terry: Well crap, she did do it better!

[duststooooorm]

thinking about how i could write an essay on how sebastian coded this entire song is (minus the first two lines). as per usual.