#listen i have loved Vane since day 1

[itsalwaysdark]

CONNOR ON REPEAT REVIEW AND COMMENTARY

1. it boy - bbno$

Its a good song 👍 this one has been on repeat the past couple of days. very catchy and such

2. What I Want - Gregor Mcmurray

this one hit the connor charts like idk May. i say idk. i checked lastfm to be sure. i wouldnt want to spread misinformation 2 my friends in neighbors. this one hit connorworld at the same time as satisfaction which probably is somewhere else on this list. GOOD SONG ! i try not to play it around my little brother bc while hes pretty good abt please and thank you i dont want him to learn a bad lesson. which is a stupid thing 2 think JDBDJFNFN

3. Tell Me - Wonder Girls

this one has been on my list for ages like basically since march or april (it ws around the first time i got back bc lamp did a big songs haul 4 me 💚💚) but idk it came on shuffle the other day and now ive had it on loop. Mainly while i was looking at the deathnote wiki (i do this often i just look t random wikis ive doen this to 5 wikis in the past like. week. have not seen death note) so whenever i hear it i picture misa. sooo yeah

4. Lust for a Vampyr

HUGEEEEE in the connor billboard hot 100 like last month or june . somewhere in there. this one i had going with WHERE ARE THEY NOW. i surposeni was feeling vaguely spooky... great somg 👍 it makes me think abt aus for my fuckass ocs. throwing them at a wall

5. Keep Up - Karma Carr

thank you dunmeshi fandom for making me find out abt this song i love this song. GREAT SONG ! as a great scholar once said i need you working harder baby done with all the yes no maybe.

6. Lay All Your Love On Me

i think somebody annoying did a cover or something or it was a different abba song but it made me mad so i went to go listen to more abba and i got a bit crazy abt this song. GREATTT SOMG i think went crazy roughly the same time as where are they now and lust for a vampyr. smile. or im mixing it up. GREAT SONG! and also. sorry. it makes me think of aus for my fuckass ocs. UGHHH (not talking abt them bc im bad abt them (got frustrated bc my brain doesnt work) but it makes me think of cadaver sooooo hard its crazy. but its also a great song if u arent thinking about a feak. obviously.)

7. She Keeps Me Up - Nickelback

one dont mock me im a beautiful woman. okay. i was having a nostalgic phase ans while neither this song or the song i was looping it concurrently with r songs i specifically knew as a kid they did remind me of something i could imagine like. my dad listening to (possibly while hanging out with my papaw). or that i could imagine hearing one of my uncles play at a cookout. and i had just gotten back from the fourth of july. and also like funky little monkey shes a twisted trickster is a fun line SRY. me and lamp got this in a discover weekly ages back and it just stuck in my head... catchy song . sry.

8. Bad Girlfriend - Theory of a Deadman

if you listen to this song and the previous song back 2 back you will understand why i was looping them concurrently. very similar vibes. they also make me conjure a woman in my brain and i think that woman is hot. so yeah.. lets move on.

9. I Was Made For Lovin' You Baby - KISS

i kept hearing the chorus to i was made for lovin you baby in my dreams but it was a beautiful haunted woman singing it. and so basically i started lisrening to the somg a lot but pretending it was the beautiful haunted woman. COME TO FIND OUT 1 i have afalsetto now yeahhh yeahhhh lets go testosterone yeahhhh slayage. 2. the beautiful haunted woman i imagined was my own falsetto. HUGE day for connor. me and lamp looped this skng os much bc it became one of our copycat things. where we often just sit together sying the same like 8 sentences or lyrics over and over. and this entire sogn went platinum in connor and lamp world. and . sry. if i squint my eyes a LOT it can be abt my ocs. I DONT THINK ABT THEM THAT MUCH I DONTT I DONT <- liar.

10. Butcher Vanity - Vane Lily, Jamie Paige, ricedeity

i think everybody this side of tumblr is awarenof Butcher Vanity so i dknt need to explain. this and keep up i believe were huge at around the same time... Good Song !!!! it was on the top for like. a month. insane. ty to my mutual who mentioned it in a lyric game lifechanging stuff.

11. Call Me - Blondie

i did make a post abt the mishap but basically me and my mom n lamp and maybe pheebs n maybe anna were driving back from somethingorother recently. idr details. i thot 4th but my dad wasnt there so... but anyways we were talking abt one hit wonders and blondie came up so we xhecked and they actually have a couple including call me but we didnt know if the call me on blondies page was the one that goes CALL ME ! (it is) so i ws like ill put it in the queue and after this song we r listening to it will play the blondie song call me . entirely forgetting i already had stuff in my queue. so we keep being Like om time for the blondie song bc we had been anticipating it and then fucking WOOWA comes on . Not a blondie song if u didnt know. i was mocked viciously by my wicked family members... Anyways and then i listened to this song a lot after that. so yeah. Good song. CALL ME!

12. Only - Nine Inch Nails

im half convinced this will be on my on repeat until the day i die. This song is sooo me 👍 i dont need 2 get into it bc it was here In my last on repeat commentary so you know. Good song though there is no you therenis only me there is no you there is only me there is no fucking you there is only me there is no fucking you there is only me ^_^ only ^_^ only ^_^ only ^_^ . etc. stream

13. WHAT YOU WANT! - asteria

this was huge around the same time as what i want and satisfaction. and also any way u want. lamp made fun of me for listening to so many wantinf songs at the same time.. SORRY! its a good song it xactually came before what i want and satisfaction in connor timeline. probably found it in a lampstie discover weekly. YAY!

14. Breakthrough - Twice

i had a rather brief but very strong kpop moment. specifically twice but also a few other songs. like i have a couple kpop songs i like normally but idk i just got rly crazy into like. 3 twice songs and 1 billlie song. and i listened to them exclusively nonstop for a couple days. dont know what it was abt. great song though like i like it... i think its bc i fell into a trap of watching fancams and those like MOST POPULAR MVS EVERY MONTH FOR EVERY YEAR videos. and i was like writing down notes. mostly twice notes evidently.

15. Does Your Mother Know - ABBA

the lyrics in this song honestly have not aged the best not that theyre Awful idt but yk . itis still a rly catchy song . i also might be overreacting bc i get kind of panicky abt stuff like this JDNDJFN but i do like the song

16. The Hand That Feeds - Nine Inch Nails

this was on my last discover weekly so im taking this time to say its crazy im down to only 2 nin songs on my on repeat. for a while it was 4+ DJDNFJNFJF ever since i did my big (re)listen (my parents have always been into nin and they were my favorite band as a kid (i had a nin baby onesie) but i didnt like. know titles or All the songs and stuff) but now its only 2... i did the other day listen to umm the downward spiral and with teeth on loop a couple of times. but since i listened to judt like. both albums twice that was only 2 listens for each song DJNDJFNF. so sad...

17. Virtual Insanity - Jamiroquai

wasss this on my last one idr. i think i started listening to this one pretty early post me moving back (i probably had heard it b4 idr DNDNJFNF) but its good. YAY! not much 2 say. good song and stuff

18. GingaMingaYo - Billlie

ya i saw the one fancam. you know and then i listened to the full song and then i just Keptt doing that. LOL. very catchy song i like it 👍👍 i also thought the mv was fun

19. BANG BANG - K'NAAN, Adam Levine

catchy. which im realizing is the main thing abt songs isnt it.. this ones platinum ATM its been this and tell me on repeat 4 a while. good song guys. she shot me she shot me bang bang she shot me. YAY

20. Not Like Us - Kendrick Lamar

you dont need me to tell you this but its good DJRNFKNFJF the mv came out and i just kept looping it 👍👍

21. WHERE ARE THEY NOW??? - emily jeffri

ok actuallt terrifying bc i am listening to my on repeat on shuffle rn and ull never guess what song started right when i wrote the number. Umm hey we were just talking abt you all nice things all nice things... ANYWAYS as i mentioned this one was looping w lust 4 a vampyr Different sort of vibes but theyre both kind of creepyesque. IDK theyre good. it also. sigh. worlds heaviest sigh. Yeahhh i fucking think abt the freaks with this one too. UGH

22. Head Over Heels - Tears for Fears

yet another thats probably never going to leave my on repeat... this song had a big moment 4 me a while ago and like. its goid 2 play in the car with the family bc everybody likes it. everybody always likes my music bc im a princess and im beloved but this and everybody wants to rule the world r like basically the safest songs ever LMAO and also its good and so fun to sing bc its like. well iw as gonna say in my vocal range. i think i usually have to sing an octave down JDNDJFN but that makes me super euphoric SO ya.

23. Let It Rock - Kevin Rudolf, Lil Wayne

all music is on here either bc its catchy or bc im nostalgic this song is both. its like CONCENTRATED nostalgia idk why its like. One of those songs where like i listened to it a Ton during some undefined period in my childhood and then Didnt hear for a while so its like opening up an old box and findjng like. a toy you forgot abt. as opposed to other childhood nostlgia somgs that arent the same bc ive Been lidtening to them since like any aqua song LOL. thats more like my super worn out toy ive had since i was In utero. yk...

24. Not Ur Dream Girl - Precious

i have like 3 or 4 precious songs on my playlist i want more i like them ^_^ i need to lidten to more of her.. aside from this i have any way u want (first one i heard) sugar n spice and tell me tell me. YAY. i think not ur dream girl is my fav rn its so good

25. The Rest For The Wiked - Sohodolls

last vestige of my rly strong sohodolls moment. where i listened to Ribbed Music For The Numb Generation on loop. good album idt this is my favorite from it i think it might be my vampire... but its CLOSE i like this one and the others as well. this one was huge at the same way as any way u want which is a kind of funny comtrast but also i get it

26. Supermassive Blackhole - Muse

another probably permaresident... And another rly easy auxcord one. Ive talked abt it so u get it. good song its jumpscared me in 3 different pieces of media when i just wasnt rly prepared for it. even tho u think i would be. bc they were all from aroundish the same time period too... so ig it was just big then... But i didnt find it from any of those 3 media so it scare me everytime.

27. Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Tears for Fears

see basically everything i said abt head over heels LMAO its good 💚💚 i like singing it and stuff

28. Any Way U Want - Precious

ok actually this might still be #1 Precious song it came on shuffle while i was writing the past couple. GOOD SONG 👍👍👍 her voice is so pretty 2 me. yay

29. My Type - Saint Motel

the nostalgia it got me again... it was in a miniplaylist/challenge me and lamp made abt songs where theyre talking abt a woman where theyre like This woman sucks kind of but god i wont her. this one is a very loose fit but i wanted to include the tidbit.

30. Superbeast - Rob Zombie

this is vrazy bc it just msde me realize living dead girl is off of my on repeat. WERE LOSING BRAND RECOGNITION!!!! <- not even part of my brand anywhere (i also dont have a brand im just a crazy girl )i just rly like that song. i like sueprbeast tho. nostalgia won but its also a good song

[elviriel]

it's weird because i do understand while people dislike eleanor but i'm also really ANNOYED when people dislike eleanor

[louis-in-red]

Ok so… I saw Louis yesterday 😭 tbh I’m still processing it because he is the first concert I attended to in years and I was very anxious about it 🫣 I wasn’t sure what to expect but it’s easy to say that Louis exceeded my expectations by miles!! This will be long 🫠

It all started a few months ago when Ceci @uruwhy gave me the idea to go Buenos Aires’ concert, since at the moment Peru wasn’t in the tour. I obviously say yes since I didn’t want to miss the chance to see him live and I started to arrange my trip and holiday so I could also have some days in the city.

Months passed and the day finally arrived!!! Me and Ceci arranged to stay at the same hotel and spend a day together, which was lovely!! We met Friday night… hugged as if we were friends from many years, walked through one of the main’s streets and just talk and talk and talk! The next day she joined me in the Bombonera’s stadium tour and we took lots of pictures in Caminito, a colourful place 💛🧡 we had lunch and then took the subte (underground) towards the venue!!! There were many Louies wearing merch there too, which indicated us we were in the right train 😂

We arrived and saw a VERY VERY LONG LINE!! Like… seas of people!! We obviously realised we weren’t going to be in the front 🪦 but we were chilling, just enjoying our company and trying to buy merch… when we see a commotion! A lot of louies were running and screaming so we also run towards that direction and we saw OLI!!!! Who is so HOT!!!!! He was unbothered hahah he didn’t pay attention to our screams but he is just… hotter than we expected! He looked so good in white and his cap.

We also met Vane @lou1e ❤️❤️ who is so sweet and kind!! I’m so happy that she was at the barricade in the Paraguay show! She truly deserved it!!! ❤️

After that special moment we decided to eat and drink something before the show so we wouldn’t get hungry during the concert. After that we saw people were starting to enter the venue so we patiently waited to our turn to enter. Paz was singing and she was so lovely!! Like she seemed so nice and excited for the opportunity! So sweet and her voice is so good!! We truly enjoyed her set!! After we were extra anxious because only 1:30h for Louis 😭 Sunroom came and the crowd went wild! We were concerned because the venue was very very warm and there was no aircon nor ventilation so it was understandable that some fans were feeling poorly and fainted 😭 fortunately security reacted quickly and could help them.

Then Louis came and we just SCREAMED LIKE CRAZY!!! Like I think I couldn’t believe it! We weren’t super close but I could clearly see his face and his curves and everything! He sounds so perfect!! It amazed me how PERFECT he sounded!! Like so much better than the album 😭 my baby 😭 I felt like a proud mother tbh 😂 the crowd was so LOUD!!! I’m pretty sure I’m dead hahaha I also had a sore throat because I didn’t stop screaming with everything I got! It’s been a while since I’ve felt this carefree and the adrenaline stay with me during the whole night!! It was a crazy experience! There were times I couldn’t hear Louis because the crowd was mega loud 😭 there was a moment when everyone was chanting Perfect Now except for me and ceci since we were screaming Just Hold On 😂 and then we thought he forgot to take the picture so I yelled: Y LA FOTO??? So obviously Louis listened to me since shortly after that he said: ok let’s take a pic 🫣

The concert ended way too soon 😭 me and Ceci walked through the streets feeling so sad it was over 😭 but the funny thing was that our night wasn’t over since our taxi driver played us Louis’ music during our trip and we talked about him and hopefully we turn him into a Louie since he seemed a Harrie 🪦 and maybe a Larrie??? Haha I think the bald man knew way too much 😂

Thank you so much @uruwhy for your friendship and for being so lovely!! We’ll see each other SOON!!! I promise!!! ❤️



[a-pirate-my-hearties]

The Invitation (chapter 1 of my Captain Hook x adult!Wendy fanfiction)

So the lovely @wisp-of-a-spook and I were talking the other day about writing a fic about a masquerade ball with the said pairing. I actually proposed her she could write it but said I will also write my own, so here is the first part! And let’s hope my writer’s block is gone forever! :D But you have to forgive me, since I’m not a Native English speaker and I’m rusty as hell, since I haven’t written any fic in AGES. So bear with me.

@wisp-of-a-spook, so here it is! <3 I hope I will get to the next part soon :)

I just find the Captain Hook tag very lacking in the fanfiction department. ;)

DISCLAIMER: I don’t own any of the characters, these are barely my interpretations of them.

FACECLAIMS: Captain Hook looks like the irreplaceable Jason Isaacs in “Peter Pan” 2003 film.

Wendy Darling more less as an adult Rachel Hurd-Wood. Examples: her roles as Sybil Vane in “Dorian Gray” or anything other where she’s adult anyway.

~~~~~~~~

Wendy Darling was quite content with her life. She was top of the class at the university, close to graduating with a master’s degree. It was to nobody’s surprise that she chose to study literature. Wendy was, after all, a storyteller, and a masterful one at that. It seemed but the right choice to study the stories that had entranced her from her very childhood.

Once a week, every Friday, her close friends would meet her at Mrs. And Mr. Darling’s house, gathering around the fireplace, faces filled with amazement and awe, to listen to the wonderful stories Wendy has been so passionately and carefully crafting and then telling.

Fire would lit in her jade green eyes when she spoke, a mischievous smile playing on her still  yet girlish lips, golden brown locks thrown away in disarray when she gesticulated.

But Wendy Darling was very much a woman now. She grew up and it wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened, she thought.

Yet despite the obvious success in her field, despite the friends and loving family, Wendy’s life lacked something. It lacked something deep and profound and enticing, the feeling that would make her blood stir in excitement,  make the life worthwhile –  companionship and adventure.

And it’s been like that since she left Neverland.

Neverland was a place full of wondrous but treacherous magic that Wendy and her brothers used to frequently visit as children – in their dreams, at first. But soon the veil between dreams and reality became so thin it could rip at any moment – and so it did. Wendy, John and Michael soon met Peter Pan, who tought them to fly and it was him who took them to Neverland – this time for real.

Peter was her first love. She gave him her hidden kiss – oh, to be so vulnerable again –

They lived through all kinds of adventures, met the lost boys and sirens and Indians and pirates and –

Him.

For the past few nights Wendy has been having the same dream on repeat. Surely she must have been missing Neverland. But it was not Peter hauting her dreams. Those weren’t his boyish green eyes and his ‘cockadoodledoo!’ she could hear. Her feelings for him were gone, she was not a girl anymore –

Wendy was dreaming of eyes so blue, those unmistakable eyes, blue as forget-me-nots, of profound melancholy1, and all around her, as if an echo in a well, she could hear his voice:

‘Wendy… Darling...’

Wendy woke up with a loud gasp, eyes shooting wide open. She fell asleep on her desk again, face against the hardcover of her textbook. Grimacing and rubbing her face, she got up and stretched her neck. She put on her favourite lavender robe and went down the stairs to the kitchen to make herself some tea.

The clock in the living room struck midnight and then stopped ticking.2 At first Wendy didn’t notice, busy making her tea, but then it caught her attention.

‘How odd...’

She went to the living room and frowned at the clock in puzzlement, but then heard a firm knock on the door.  

It was very weird for anyone to come at this time , Wendy certainly wasn’t expecting anyone and she was home alone. But Wendy Moira Angela Darling wasn’t raised a coward.

She went to the door and hesitated a bit before opening it. There was nobody and nothing outside.

‘Hello?’

She looked around, irked. Probably some prankster was thinking himself funny with these type of jokes.

But to her surpise there actually was something. A thin, rectangular object, slowly falling down in a feather-like manner and finally landing on her doormat in front of her.

Wendy stared at the object, confused, then picked it up.

It was an envelope, of dark crimson colour, sealed with golden wax. Adressed to ‘Miss Wendy Darling’. And glistening with… was this possible? Was that fairy dust?..

Wendy’s gasp was barely audible when she was staring at the envelope with wonder, but then the chill October air reminded her she wasn’t suitably dressed, so she went back inside.

Still bewildered, she sat at the kitchen table and took a deep breath before cracking the wax open with slightly shaking hands.

Inside there was an invitation card, written in beautiful cursive:

Samhain Masquerade Ball

You are cordially invited to the great Samhain Masquerade Ball, hosted by the ever so generous Captain James Hook. Second star to the right and straight on till morning. We will be honoured by your presence. Wear your best.

Apart from the invitation card there was also a folded piece of parchment. Wendy took it out of the envelope and smelled tobacco, vanilla and spices. It wasn’t a strong smell, it slightly lingered on the parchment, barely a memory of a much stronger essence, but it was enough to make her head spin. Wendy already knew who this was from.

She unfolded the parchment.

‘There’s still a room for a storyteller.’

Even his handwriting felt familiar. And she knew she will accept the invitation.

Wendy felt something light drop onto the floor. She bent down to check what it was. When she got up, her mouth was curling up slightly, eyes filled with nostalgia and pressed forget-me-nots in her hand.

1Just as J.M. Barrie described Captain Hook’s eyes.

2Midnight is the hour of ghosts. In the Gothic fiction it’s the hour where peculiar and fantastical things are more likely to happen. :)

[banditthewriter]

Eye of the Hurricane - Charles Vane - 1

Here we have the fic that I started when I was high off writing/posting Trust Is Earned. Then I lost motivation.

This fic is complete (at 5 parts) but the ending is a little different than what I had expected.

Warning: Violence, but it is a Black Sails fic so....

*gif not mine*

Enjoy!

*****

The sand felt coarse under your feet. The top layer was warm but underneath was cool and felt nice against your skin. You walked along the edge of the water, your shoes in one hand and a handful of your dress in the other. If your parents caught you, you’d be forced to listen to a lecture for an hour or two, but you had no intention of being caught.

In the morning you would be on a ship headed out into what was to you the great unknown. It would leave from a port in Virginia and, after a few other stops on the way, would take you to England. To a future you never asked for.

To a man you never asked for. Your parents thought it was a good match but you didn’t agree. Mostly because you’d never met the man, couldn’t even recall his name. 

A marriage for love was never in your cards, but this? To be auctioned off to the highest bidder and shipped across the world to a country you hadn’t stepped foot in since you were an infant?

It was unimaginable. 

You would be given into the care of your aunt and uncle in England and they would see you married off to the man your parents had picked for you. They didn’t even care enough to see their only daughter married in person. All they cared about was that it was done in a timely manner and that you did what you were told.

You’d spent your whole life doing what you were told. You were tired of it. You never expected to have a life of adventure and freedom, but you felt like you were being shackled.

From the distance you heard your name called by someone from the household. You sighed as you sat down in the sand to put your shoes back on. 

In the morning you would be thrust into a world not of your choosing. You had just wanted to enjoy the last bit of your independence while you still had time.

It seemed that the time had passed.

------

The sway of the ship had become familiar to you after the first day you had been at sea. The captain had joked that you had found your sea legs faster than some sailors. 

Some of the crew had taken a shine to you. When you were on the deck, they regaled you with stories of sea battles and legends of the seven seas. You were enraptured with it all, learning bits and pieces of the ship even though the captain refused to let you work with the men. 

You were allowed to help the cook but only for the first meal of the day. As it got later and the sky started to darken, you were usually led to the captain’s quarters where you stayed until morning. 

You longed to see the water at night. You had seen it from the port plenty of times, but this would be different. Nothing as far as the eye could see in any direction, just water and the sky? It sounded magical.

As the days at sea stretched on, you began to realize that you had traded one cage for another. At home you had to be at certain places at certain times unless you wanted to face your father’s wrath. On the ship you could only be in certain places at certain times unless you wanted to face the captain’s wrath.

England would be a new cage. It would be your fiance who would tell you what to do, his wrath you would face if you went against what he did.

There were plenty of marriages that were happy and equal, but you doubted your parents would marry you to someone who valued a woman’s worth. They would have picked someone like your father.

You listened to the stories from the sailors when you could. Some of them enjoyed telling you tales of horror and danger, obviously exaggerating the stories to make you squeamish and fearful.

“Not all of them are exaggerated,” the quartermaster explained to you one night as he sat with you for dinner. “Sailing the seas is dangerous. If it isn’t the weather trying to kill you, it’s the sea. And if it’s not nature trying to kill you, it’s pirates.”

Pirates. Plenty of the stories had revolved around pirates. They told you about the chase, the cannon blasts. They took pleasure in telling you how pirates would board a merchant ship and slaughter everyone on board if they had to. They took what they wanted without question, without recompense.

“But this is a merchant vessel technically,” you said uncertainly as you looked up at quartermaster.

“Aye, it is,” he said with a nod, shoveling more food on your plate. “We’re experienced on the water, miss. The captain knows what to do if we’re boarded. He wouldn’t do anything to put you in jeopardy.”

You could only hope that the quartermaster was right.

------

The days went from being passed with stories to tense and stony within the first few weeks. After the first port that the ship had stopped in to restock on fresh water, you learned that the reason the sailors weren’t as jovial was because you had entered waters where pirates were more common.

As you laid curled on the cot where you slept at night, you listened to the noises of the ship and wondered what would happen if the ship was set upon by pirates. You’d been assured there were plans in place for your safety, but you hadn’t been told anything of these plans. 

You knew you would be terrified if the ship was taken by pirates. You’d heard plenty about them even before you had set sail. Most people in Virginia had a story to tell and you had heard them all. 

But there was a tiny part of you that would be exhilarated as well. It was dangerous and something of an adventure.

If you lived through it at least.

You kept that little thought to yourself, refused to even think it during the light of day. It was best left to fantasy.

------

The days had been clearly marked on the calendar that the captain let you see in his quarters, but you still weren’t sure how it had been almost a month since you left Virginia. It was the longest you’d been away from your parents in your whole life. It was the first time in your life that you didn’t have what could be considered an appropriate chaperone.

It was freeing, being away from your parents. The thought of giving away this freedom to be married off to some man in England made your skin itch under the salty air.

You would almost rather stay on the ocean for the rest of your life. You would gladly give up the feel of solid ground beneath you if it meant you could keep your freedom.

As you walked across the deck, careful to stay out of the way, you gave a humorous thought to yourself as a pirate. You in your gowns with frills and lace and pearls wearing a sword and a tri-corner hat. It was almost enough to make you laugh outright.

“Sails,” you heard yelled from above in the crow’s nest. 

You followed the eyeline of every trained sailor. The sails that were spotted were behind the ship, out of your view. You made your way to where the captain was using a spyglass to look into the distance.

“Captain Richards?”

The man looked over at you and gave you a tight smile. It wasn’t a complete dismissal but it didn’t fill you with confidence.

“Probably a merchant. Doesn’t look like the navy at least. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.”

Nothing to worry about. You gave a quick nod and moved out of the way as some of his men sped by, all of them hoisting the sails. You’d spent enough time on deck to know what they were doing.

They were trying to gather speed. Just in case it wasn’t merchants.

You stayed on the deck and watched the crew. None of them seemed to notice you, not while there was the chance of danger so close. You could catch a glimpse of the ship getting closer whenever you did a full lap around the deck.

They were following the ship. With the ocean this big, there was almost no reason for them to be completely in line with the ship you were on. The only reason they hadn’t changed course was because they were following you.

You thought about the times you’d seen the cats back home chase after the mice that had gotten into the pantry. Sometimes they played with them, letting the mouse think it had a chance. Then it would strike.

And sometimes they went straight for the kill.

The ship had gained even more distance, closing the gap between the two ships to the point that a spyglass wasn’t needed to make out the shape and number of sails. Murmurs started to go through the crew as the captain asked the man in the crow’s nest about what the ship’s colors were.

It was as if the entire world held its breath. The sound of the air, the sound of the waves against the wood of the ship all seemed to cease. No crew member moved, none of them breathed. There was nothing but silence until the crew member shouted down his response.

“It flies the black!”

Even you knew what that meant. Pirates. And unless you were mistaken, you didn’t think there was a chance to outrun them any longer. 

A hand grasped your arm and you were tugged off of the top deck. 

“Mr. Clemmons, what–”

“The plan, miss,” the quartermaster said as he dragged you down across the ship and into the depths. “You are to hide down here. We’ll put you somewhere the pirates won’t bother looking for merchandise. We will allow them to board and hopefully be on our way soon.”

You tripped over your own feet in a hurry to follow him.

“What if they do find me? What will happen?”

Mr. Clemmons had been very upfront with you about the truths of the sea before so you trusted him to be truthful.

“They might let you stay if the merchandise is more to their liking. They might take you for ransom. And if they are the blackest of souls, they might rape and kill you.”

Hearing it so plainly made your heart drop right through the bottom of your toes. 

“And how many pirates are the blackest of souls?”

He looked at you for a long moment before he led you into the hold. You let him lead you into what looked to be some sort of cell. Once you were in there, he closed the cell door and locked it behind him.

“Stay in here, stay quiet, and stay low to the ground. We’ll get you through this.”

He was gone before you had a chance to question the plan. And you had questions. Mostly how he expected you to hide when you were surrounded by bars that could easily be seen through.

You pressed yourself into the corner of the cell, tucked against the wall with the bars in front of you. And as you closed your eyes to pray, you listened to the sounds outside of your cell.

There were no cannon blasts. You expected cannons and violence, but it seemed to be very silent. It wasn’t until the ship seemed to be struck by something along the side—a dull thud followed by a shake that made you almost fall from your hiding spot—that you realized this was happening. The pirates would be boarding the ship.

You tried not to think about what Mr. Clemmons had said might happen. Instead you clutched your fists in the fabric of your skirt and prayed that this would be over soon.

It was still mostly silent although you did hear the thud of boots on the deck above you. It sounded like a small army. Then you could hear the sound of stomping as men came down the stairs and went into the nearby rooms where the merchandise was. Your prayers picked up speed every time you heard someone walk past the door of the hold where you were hidden.

Then there seemed to be an explosion of noise above you. You couldn’t make out what the voices were saying, but it sounded like someone wasn’t happy. Some of the noises became clearer, obviously the sound of men screaming in pain as guns blasted and swords clashes.

They were fighting the pirates. Mr. Clemmons words came back to you. The pirates must have attacked even though the captain had let them board without issue. 

These could be the pirates with the black souls that Mr. Clemmons had warned you about. If that was the case, you could be in danger when they found you.

Even as you tucked yourself more fully into your corner, you knew that you would be unable to stay hidden if someone opened the door. The color of your dress stood out well enough. Plus you were the only one in the hold.

As if you had conjured it, you heard the door creak open. First thing that came through was a pistol, but once the person was satisfied that there were no armed men waiting for him, he pushed the door open and looked around. It didn’t take long before those harsh eyes landed on you.

“Well what do we have here?” He made his way across the small room until he was in front of the door that held you. “Are you locked up for your safety or for ours?”

He grabbed the door but it wouldn’t budge. You were grateful for Mr. Clemmons locking you in for a brief moment before the man simply slammed the back end of his pistol against the lock a few times. It came open with a creak and then he was in the cell with you.

You might not have much life experience, but you weren’t about to get manhandled without fighting back. The moment he reached out for you, you struck out with your leg. It slammed between his legs and gave you just enough time to slip past him. 

Barely three steps away, a hand grabbed your hair and yanked you backwards.

“You’ll pay for that,” the man growled in your ear as he shoved you face forward into the wood of the wall. 

Hands were pawing at you as you were pushed harder and harder into the unforgiving wood in front of you. As you tried to squirm away, refusing to give in without doing whatever you could to stop this, you were too distracted to hear someone else enter the room.

A sword was pressed into the throat of the man that held you.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Your head turned to the side, unable to hide your surprise as you stared at a red haired female pirate. She was dressed like a man in trousers and boots, a streak of blood on her temple that went down to her jaw. Her eyes didn’t even dart to you, just stared at the man who held you until you felt him shift away.

“She was down ‘ere alone, locked up.”

The redhead pressed her sword a little harder against his throat, forcing him back another step.

“And you thought you’d have a piece, did ya?” She flicked her sword away from him, leaving a thin red line in its wake. “All bounty goes to the captain. You know that.”

You didn’t quite understand that this wasn’t your savior, not at first. It wasn’t until she grabbed your arm and started to pull you out of the hold and up the stairs that you realized that you still weren’t safe. 

The lady pirate had saved you from being assaulted but it seemed like that might have just been temporary. 

As you were dragged through the bowels of the ship and towards the deck, you were unable to look away from the various dead bodies you saw. It seemed like most of them were the crew from this ship, not the pirate ship.

The pirates had won the battle. And you were part of the plunder.

You were thrusted at a man wearing a tan jacket that looked below deck as pirates carried barrels and chests out to be inspected. He held a book in his hand. It looked like the one you’d seen Captain Richards write in during the trip so far.

“Found this in the hold,” the woman said as she moved around so that she blocked the rest of the deck from you.

“Ah, did you? How strange, she’s not on the manifest,” the man said with some level of sarcasm before he turned to face you. “Who are you? For what reason were you in the ship’s hold?”

There was something almost congenial about the man, but you wouldn’t let that fool you. There was blood on his hands as well as on the sword at his hip, plus his tan jacket was splattered with it.

This was still a pirate, no matter that he looked like he would be at home in your father’s reading room.

“I’m Y/N Y/L/N. The quartermaster, Mr. Clemmons, locked me in the hold. For my protection,” you added with a flinch as a pirate came through absolutely drenched in blood, his body brushing against yours as he walked by.

“Yes, I could see that being the case,” the man said with a bit of a smirk. 

He seemed to have a silent conversation with the redhead, but you tuned them out in an effort to watch the carnage around you. The sailors who had told you stories and protected you over the last few weeks were all laid out on the deck, covered in blood and entrails. You gagged as you saw one of the sailors sitting with his innards in his lap. 

Slit throats, gun shot wounds, missing limbs. The more you stared, the worse it seemed to be.

You didn’t see Mr. Clemmons anywhere. Nor did you see Captain Richards.

Wait. 

You recognized the sleeve of his coat. He was standing and speaking with a man who had his back to you, long hair spilled over a dark jacket. You felt almost eased to know that the captain was still alive, but that ease was immediately pulled from you.

The man with the long hair pulled a blade from his side and easily sliced it across the captain’s neck. As blood spurted from his throat, you screamed and rushed across the deck. Your shoes slipped in blood and water but you didn’t care, barely noticed. You barely felt the hand that tried to stop you from running off but you must have shaken it off because suddenly you were on your knees next to Captain Richards’s slumped form.

“Captain Richards, please, captain,” you begged as you pressed shaking hands to his throat, desperate to stem the flow of blood. “Stay with me captain, stay with me.”

The man’s eyes were glossy already. You saw him mouth something but the only thing that came out were bubbles made from spit and blood. And then he stopped.

Everything stopped. You heard no wind, no crash of water against the edge of the ship. You heard nothing but your own gasps as you stared down at the man who had been entrusted with your safety and care.

Could this be real? You almost wondered if it was just a very realistic dream but the blood was warm, thick, and sticky against your hands where you had tried to put pressure on the wound. None of your dreams could be this clear.

You turned your head and looked up at the man who had killed the captain. He stared down at you with barely the hint of an expression on his face. Your eyes darted to the blade in his hand, still red with the captain’s blood. It made your own blood run cold.

“You monster,” you spat as you stood up, knees knocking together as you wobbled uneasily. 

All of the words that you’d heard from the sailors flew through your mind and you grasped at one that would make your mother gasp.

“You fucking monster. You–”

You hadn’t noticed the man and woman from before come up to you and the man you were currently trying to beat with your fists. You aimed for his chest, your fists a flurry of movement as you tried to deliver your own form of punishment for the deed.

And then you had been dragged backwards like a naughty child or dog who was sniffing too close to the table. The rage that had filled you overflowed and you swung your arm out the way you’d seen the sailors do.

Your fist connected with the jaw of the man from before. While you were sure it did more damage to you then it did to him, especially since the crack you heard definitely came from your own hand, you did feel a little better.

As you cradled your injured hand to your stomach, you looked around wildly at the three of them. The redhead almost looked amused by your antics, which was more than could be said by the dark haired man you’d hit. And the man you had been attacking, the one who had killed the captain?

His face barely changed as he stared at you.

“What’s this?”

As if you weren’t even a person, just part of their plunder from the ship. It made you want to claw the man’s eyes out.

“I think she was a passenger,” the dark haired man said as he looked you over. “She’s definitely not dressed like a whore so I doubt she worked for her passage.”

You were sorely tempted to punch him again.

“Captain Richards was giving me passage to England as a favor to my parents. And you murdered him for no reason!”

The last bit was shouted back at the man you were still being held away from.

“Your Captain Richards,” the man said as he leaned down to wipe his blade clean on the deceased man’s leg, “thought to revoke the surrender of his ship after we were on board. Now I can see why.”

He stood back up and approached you slowly, tucking his blade into his belt without looking away from your face.

“What’s your name?”

The confidence that led you to punching a pirate—and injuring yourself—fled as quick as water in a net. You remembered that these were pirates and you were very much not safe right then.

“Y/N Y/L/N,” you finally answered when it became apparent that he was about to ask again. “We set sail from Virginia where my parents are.”

You could see the three of them trading looks but you weren’t sure why.

“Why didn’t they sail with ya?”

That came from the redhead. She had been so silent that you’d almost forgotten she was there. 

While you didn’t want to give your life story to some strangers, especially some strangers who were pirates that had just slaughtered everyone keeping you safe, you knew you needed to say something. There was no use in lying, not that you could see, so you took a deep breath before you explained.

“My father is a businessman in Norfolk. They were unable to get away for the time it would take to travel me to England and then go back home.”

The three of them shared another look. This time as you saw the smirks on all of their faces, you realized what this meant.

You had spent so much time worried about what Mr. Clemmons had said about the darkest souls that you’d forgotten the other option he had given you. Kidnap and ransom.

And they had just decided that you would be worth the trouble of a ransom.

“Who were you supposed to meet in England?”

You glanced at the man holding your arm before you answered.

“Family,” you partially lied. “My aunt and uncle.”

The man in front of you gave a barely there nod as he looked around at the ship. There was something so cold and calculating about his look.

You were right when you said that he didn’t consider you to be a person. You were nothing but the plunder from a conquest.

“Anne, take our guest to the hold. Jack, tell the men to pick up the speed on stripping this ship. I want to set sail as soon as possible.”

Jack, as you learned he was called, released your arm and gave you a push in the direction of the redhead. Anne didn’t seem happy with being stuck dragging you along, but she did it without complaint. Their lack of resistance told you that the man with the long hair that had killed Captain Richards was probably the captain of the ship you were being forced onto. 

As she dragged you towards a board that connected the two ships, you tossed one last look over your shoulder as if someone might come to save you. But there was no one left. Everyone was already dead.

X

Thanks for reading.

[fairyqueenofthedragons]

The Magic Begins

Fablekingdom chapter 2

As I'm following canon set up of chapters, it starts with set up still. I am trying to show a slightly different dynamic between the siblings, while keeping the spirit of it. There will be bigger changes later on, but obviously the beginning is hard to change majorly, especially just arriving lol.

(Find Chapter One with a server of “Fk ch 1)

Hope you enjoy the chapter :D

Come chat with me on discord: https://discord.gg/8Vc6w9JWxv

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Kendra had been sitting in the car for hours.

She and Seth had done just about everything they could think of to handle the boredom, but she’d finished her two books, they’d played a dozen rounds of tic-tac-toe, and he’d moved onto trying to beat her at chopsticks (that game with your fingers). Seth had had a few comics, but he’d gone through them faster then she had her books. Even his handheld video game couldn’t hold his attention anymore.

“I thought you said that Grandpa Sorenson lived in Connecticut, not India,” Seth grumbled.

Mom sighed, having listened to Seth’s complaints for the last hour, “It won’t be much longer. Enjoy the scenery.”

She’d said that the last six times.

“It’s boring! I’m hungry, can we stop for food?”

Kendra was on Seth’s side here; the scenery was boring.

Mom pulled up the grocery bag full of snacks, “How about some Peanut butter and crackers instead?”

Seth shot Kendra a pained look but reached for the crackers regardless.

“Ooh, I want some Almond Roca,” Dad said without taking his eyes from the road.

He’s still managed to keep to his New Year’s resolution of keeping Almond Roca on hand at all times.

“Do you want anything Kendra?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Kendra turned her gaze outside as Seth munched on his snack. When was this drive going to be over? At least Grandfathers house can’t be as boring as this drive.

Honestly, Kendra wasn’t happy they were being sent off to stay with their grandparents just because of some cruise. She wished her family would just let them come with… or maybe just her, Seth might be too young (and too annoying).

They would be gone for seventeen days! Kendra couldn’t believe they’d just leave them like this.

They’re getting it for free, them and all the aunts and uncles on her mom’s side. They didn’t win a contest or anything to get it, they got the cruise because Kendra’s grandparents had asphyxiated.

Grandma and Grandpa Larsen had been visiting relatives in South Carolina. Unfortunately, the trailer they lived in had some gas leak and they’d all died in their sleep. The grandparents had specified a long time ago that when they died all their kids and spouses were to use an allocated sum of money to go on a Scandinavian cruise.

Grandchildren were not invited.

“We’re almost there kids!” Kendra’s dad said cheerfully.

“Yay,” Seth grumbled. “Then you guys can abandon us for your fancy cruise.”

“Won’t you get bored stuck on a boat for seventeen days?” Kendra asked hopefully.

Dad caught her eye in the rearview mirror. “The food is supposed to be incredible, top reviews. Snails, fish eggs, the works. It’s gonna be great.”

Mom wacked his arm.

“We’re not all that excited about the trip kids,” Mom said sadly. “I doubt your grandparents envisioned an accidental death when they made the request. The cruise is to honor their memory more than for fun.”

“What kind of death did they plan then?” Seth muttered.

Kendra couldn’t help but agree, who planned their death?

The ship stops in ports as you go,” Dad said, deliberately redirecting the conversation. “You get to disembark for part of the time.”

“Are you at least going to get us something?” Kendra asked. “If you’re just going to leave us at your parent’s house.”

“Of course we will dear,” Mom reassured. “We’ll get you some chocolates, maybe some books, maybe there will be cool jewelry!”

“I want a sword,” Seth said. “A sharp one.”

“I think it’s great for you kids that you get to stay with my parents,” Dad added. “I mean, they never invite anyone to stay with them. It’s definitely better than some cruise.”

Kendra shared a look with Seth, their parents were full of it.

“They’re hermits,” Seth argued. “We barely know them!”

“They’re my parents,” Dad said. “I survived, you’ll have fun.”

The car passed through a small town, only a few buildings lined the road, many seeming old a run down. There didn’t appear to be anything more interesting than a small library at the corner.

“It’s very exciting,” Dad continued. “Like I said, they never invite anyone. You’ll have a blast.”

Kendra tried hard not to roll her eyes. She knew for a fact that they hadn’t been invited. Kendra had overheard their mom when she approached Grandpa Sorenson about letting the kids stay with him at the funeral.

The funeral itself hadn’t been fun at all, it was creepy seeing her grandparents all dressed up fancy with lots of makeup. It didn’t look like them at all.

Those grandparents, the Larsen’s, they were the ones that they’d known. They’d come to lots of holidays and done many long visits with Kendra’s family. But Kendra couldn’t remember seeing the Sorenson’s much since Seth had started second grade.

Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson had inherited an estate in Connecticut around the time her parents were married. All the stories she’d heard were fantastical, filled with fairies and demons and witches. They were obviously fake, it made her think the place was something very boring.

Honestly, everyone was shocked when grandpa Sorenson had shown up at the funeral. It’d been more than eighteen months since either grandparent had visited anywhere.

He’d apologized that Grandma Ruth hadn’t been able to come, she’d fallen ill, but it really was the norm for only one to show up.

But at the end Kendra had overheard Mom talking to Grandpa Sorenson, cajoling him into watching her and Seth. She’d been heading to the bathroom but paused when she’d overheard them at the corner.

“Why can’t they stay with Marci?”

“Normally they would, but Marci is coming on the cruise.”

Kendra had risked a peek and seen Grandpa Sorenson standing across from her mom.

“Where are Marci’s kids going?”

“To her in-laws.”

“What about a baby-sitter?”

Grandpa had seemed almost pleading then, his expression tight.

“Two and a half weeks is a long time for a sitter. You’ve mentioned before something about having them over…”

“Yes, I do recall… But does it have to be late June? What about July?”

“The cruise is on a time frame. What’s the difference?”

He’d rubbed his face with a sigh.

“Things are extra busy then… I don’t know, Marla. I’m not that good with kids. Is there no where else they could go?”

“I’m sorry Stan,” Mom said, sounding on the verge of tears. “I know things are busy for you, and I don’t want to go on this cruise. You did so good with them when they were younger, I know you don’t see them often but… This cruise was important to my parents, so I want to go for them. If you can’t take care of the kids we can stay behind-“

“No,” Grandpa Sorenson interrupted with a sigh. “It’s fine. I’m sure we can find some place to lock them up.”

So, no, Grandpa Sorenson did not invite them.

Seth finished his crackers and pulled his game back out, flipping through the cartridges.

“Which game should I play?”

Kendra leaned over, “The fashion one.”

He rolled his eyes, “That one is just for character design.”

“Then make an elf.”

“I don’t want to!”

“You asked which you should do.”

“Nevermind, your suggestion is dumb.”

Seth ended up picking a fighting game and started it up.

Kendra got bored of watching quickly and turned to look out the windows. The trees were large and dark, little light slipping through the branches.

She jolted when they turned onto a gravel driveway.

“Look at that sign,” Seth said.

She followed his finger to see signs hanging on the side of the road.

Private Property

No Trespassing

Trespassers Will Be Persecuted

Please respect our privacy

“What are all these signs?” Kendra muttered.

“Oh, you know Grandpa Sorenson,” her dad said cheerfully. “Such a sense of humor.”

“I think they’re funny,” Seth declared. “Can we get some for our house?”

Kendra frowned at them as the car continued up the long driveway, no house anywhere in sight.

There were more signs as they went.

Beware of the Dog

We do not call 911

Beware of .12 Gauge

No Public Access at any Time

Owner Shoots

Kendra leaned back. This seems so… pleasant.

“I like that one,” Seth said pointing at the Owner Shoots sign.

Kendra shook her head as they finally reached the end of the driveway. Before them was a wrought-iron fence topped with fleurs-de-lis. Open in their path was a large double gate. She peered around but couldn’t see the end of the fence through the trees.

Even after passing through the gates there was still no sign of the house through the trees, until suddenly the trees cut off.

A large house came into view suddenly. It wasn’t quite a mansion, but was definitely larger than most houses Kendra had seen.

It was constructed out of dark wood and stone, old looking but solid and in good shape. The grounds around it were much more impressive though. There was a massive flower garden blooming in front of the house, with manicured hedges and a fish pond. It seemed to wrap around the side of the house too. Kendra wondered what flowers there were, and if there was a vegetable garden as well.

Further back Kendra could see a massive barn, at least five stories tall and topped with a large weather vane that she couldn’t quite make out but seemed shaped like an animal, but not a rooster.

“Oh, it’s lovely,” Mom said. “I wish we were all staying.”

Kendra blinked, “You’ve never been here?”

“No,” Mom said sadly. “Your father came here a few times before we were married.”

Dad nodded, “Yeah. There are some wild stories about this place, haha, I’ve told you a few of them.”

Seth yawned, “Yeah, like the evil witch in a shack.”

“Or the demon in the chapel.”

“Aren’t there trolls over one hill?”

Their dad laughed, “Yeah, my dad used to tell some wild stories. You should hear the ones Aunt Sophie would tell sometimes. She swears she met satyrs one time.”

The two shared an exasperated look.

“Anyways, you’ll have a blast. We never stayed long, but it was always entertaining. Worst comes to worst you can just hang out in the pool.”

Kendra rolled her eyes. Honestly, they were too old to believe all those fairy tales.

The car pulled to a stop just outside the garage as the front door open.

Grandpa Sorenson stepped out, followed by a tall, lanky man and a thin, older woman. Mom, Dad, Seth, and Kendra hopped out of the car.

The older woman was unfamiliar to Kendra, and so was the man. The woman had white hair streaked with black strands, and yet her face seemed ageless, her age impossible to place. Her skin was a tawny olive tone that appeared completely flawless, her black hair was pin-straight and framed her face.

The man had messy brown hair to go with matching brown eyes that studied them intently. He came over to the van, helping Dad open the back and begin removing suitcases.

“Just place the things inside,” Grandpa told Dad. “Dale will take them up to the bedroom.”

“Where’s Mom?” Dad asked looking around.

“She’s visiting your Aunt Edna.”

Dad looked surprised. “In Missouri?”

“Edna’s dying,” Grandpa said grimly.

Kendra had barely heard of Aunt Edna, and never met her, so she wasn’t that affected by it. Dad seemed upset thought.

She shifted awkwardly, studying the house to distract herself from their conversation.

The windows were cool, with bubbly glass. And there were bird nests under the eaves. She also noticed a lot of butterflies fluttering around.

Mom suddenly drew their attention and Seth and her scrambled to gather their things from the car and shove it all in their backpacks to bring in.

“I’ll grab the pillows if you grab the blankets?” Seth offered.

“Sure,” Kendra agreed, reaching for the blanket Seth had brought for napping on the car ride while he snagged her pillow.

Seth also snagged his ‘emergency kit’, a cereal box filled with odds and ends he thought would come in handy.

The two hurried after their parents, reaching them at the front door.

“Oh, there you are,” Mom said. “Got everything?”

“Yeah,” Seth huffed. “Except a ticket to go on the cruise.”

Mom sighed, ruffling Seth’s hair. “We’ll miss you too.”

He groaned, swiping at her hand as she turned to Kendra.

“Watch out for your brother, and both of you stay out of trouble, okay?”

Kendra nodded, “We’ll do our best.”

“So who’s this?” Dad was asking Grandpa.

“This is Lena, our housekeeper,” Grandpa said. “She helps around the house while Dale helps me tend to the grounds.”

“Nice to meet you,” Dad said.

“A pleasure,” Lena agreed with a soft accent. Kendra couldn’t quite place it, yet it reminded her of the ocean.

Lena opened the door, beckoning them inside.

“Oh, the home is beautiful,” Mom said. “I wish we had time for a tour.”

“Maybe when you get back,” Grandpa offered.

Kendra looked around. The house really was beautiful.

The glossy wood floors shone in the light and a low table in the entry hall held a beautifully painted ceramic vase with wilting flowers placed in it. There was a tall, brass coatrack off to one side beside a black bench with a high, carved back. It looked old and very interesting.

“Thank you again for letting the kids stay with you,” Dad said. “I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.”

Grandpa nodded, looking a bit awkward.

“It’s our pleasure.”

“I wish we could visit some,” Dad said. “But we’re on a really tight schedule.”

Grandpa pat his shoulder, “I understand, another time. Don’t let us keep you from your trip.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

Dad turned to Kendra and Seth, ruffling Seth’s hair.

“Have fun kids, we’ll be back before you know it.”

“Be good,” Mom said, hugging Kendra then Seth. “Do whatever Grandpa Sorenson tells you.”

Kendra sniffed, tears welling up. She swallowed hard and nodded, “Have a fun cruise.”

“Bring us back souvenirs,” Seth reminded.

Mom laughed, “The best ones.”

“We love you kids,” Dad said as he headed to the door.

Mom hugged them both one last time then went after him.

Kendra hurried after them, watching as they climbed into the SUV and start it up. Dad honked the horn as he pulled out, turning around and driving away. Kendra watched until the SUV vanished into the trees.

She tried not to think that her parents were probably relieved to be off without Seth and her. They were probably delighted for the vacation, not caring that they’d abandoned their two kids alone in a pretty, but creepy home with a grandparent they barely know.

Seth was poking around the entrance room, poking at one of the cabinets and picking up one of the intricate pieces of a decorative chess set.

Grandpa stood awkwardly, watching Seth and wincing when Seth put down a piece too hard.

“Leave the chess pieces alone,” Kendra told Seth. “They look expensive and breakable.”

“It’s fine,” Grandpa said, looking relieved when Seth put them down. He cleared his throat, “Shall I show you to your room?”

“Okay,” Seth said. “When’s lunch?”

Grandpa coughed, “It’s a bit past lunch but we can make you a snack to hold you till dinner.”

Seth nodded eagerly, “I’m starving.”

Kendra followed silently as Grandpa went up the stairs and down a carpeted hall to the foot of a narrow wooden staircase leading up to a white door.

“We don’t often have guests, especially children,” Grandpa explained. “I think you’ll be the most comfortable in the attic.”

Kendra was expecting something dark and musty, like the attic back home, but when he opened the door she saw it was actually very nice.

It was set up like a cheerful playroom. Spacious, clean, and bright, the long room had two beds at the far end, one wall covered in bookshelves and a couple of dressers, and the other held two wardrobes and some toy chests. There was a unicorn rocking horse sitting to the side, and a full dollhouse in one corner with a small piano in the other. Sitting beside of one of the dressers was a hen in a cage.

Seth went straight for the chicken. “Cool!” He poked a finger through the slender bars, trying to pet the soft looking feathers.

“Be careful, Seth,” Kendra warned. “Be gentle.”

“He’ll be fine,” Grandpa soothed. “Goldilocks is more a house pet than a barnyard hen. Your grandmother usually takes care of her, but since she’s gone I thought you kids might enjoy taking care of her for now. You’ll need to feed her, clean her cage, and collect her eggs.”

Seth looked delighted, “She lays eggs?”

“An egg or two a day if you keep her well fed,” Grandpa confirmed, motioning to a white plastic bucket full of kernels. “One scoop in the morning and in the evening should be good. I’ll show you how to change the lining of her cage in a few days. Make sure she has plenty of water and a tiny bowl of milk each morning.”

“Milk?”

He smiled mysteriously, “That’s the secret behind the eggs.”

“Can we take her out?” Seth asked, now stroking her feathers.

“Be gentle,” Grandpa said. “And put her back after.”

“Is it okay for us to play with the toys?” Kendra asked, studying the dollhouse. “Some of these look expensive.”

“Toys should be played with,” Grandpa said. “Just try to take care of them and that will be enough.”

“Awesome,” Seth said, going over to the piano and banging on the keys.

Kendra blinked, the notes sounded different than a piano. She couldn’t quite place what was off.

“While you stay here, this room is your space,” Grandpa said. “Within reason of course. I won’t pick up this space, nor bother you about it, as long as you treat the rest of the house with respect.”

“Alright,” Kendra agreed.

“Sounds good,” Seth nodded.

“I also have some unfortunate news. We’re in the height of tick season, have you heard of Lyme disease?”

Seth shook his head, but Kendra considered for a moment.

“I think so, but I can’t remember what it is.”

“It was originally discovered in the town of Lyme, Connecticut, not too far from here. You can catch it from tick bites, and during tick season the woods here are full of ticks.”

“What’s it do?” Seth asked.

“It starts out as a rash,” Grandpa said. “But it leads to arthritis, paralysis, and heart failure. And on top of that, ticks in general are bad to have. If you try to pull them off the heads detach, makes them hard to remove.”

“Gross,” Kendra muttered.

Grandpa nodded, “They’re very small and hard to see, at least until they fill up on blood, then they get as large as grapes.”

“Wow,” Seth said. “Can’t you just use bug spray?”

Grandpa nodded, “That can help, but isn’t a guarantee. The point is, you kids aren’t allowed to go into the woods. Stay on the lawn, play in the pool, explore the gardens, but stay away from the woods. I won’t be taking you to the hospital for Lyme disease.”

They both nodded.

“Good. As long as you follow that rule it’ll be fine. Break it and I’ll have to take away your outdoor privileges for your own safety.”

Seth winced, “Right, got it.”

“We understand,” Kendra assured him.

Grandpa nodded again, looking satisfied.

“One last thing,” he continued. “You’ll also need to stay out of the barn. There’s a lot of old tools and ladders and rusty pieces of farm equipment. I don’t want to risk you getting injured or getting tetanus.”

“Okay,” Seth agreed easily.

“Sounds reasonable,” Kendra said.

“Is there a TV?” Seth asked, poking at a canvas on an easel by one of the toy chests.

“No TV, or radio. We don’t get good reception out here, and it’s very expensive to run lines out.”

“When’s dinner?”

“In a few hours, Lena will be bringing up a snack for you soon. On that note, if you need anything, go to Lena. I’m very busy handling the upkeep of the property, so Lena will help with whatever you need.” He motioned to a purple cord hanging against the wall near one of the beds. “Tug the cord if you need her.”

“Alright, will we eat in one of the dining rooms?”

Grandpa nodded, “When I’m able to join you yes. On the days I’m too busy, like today, you can eat in here, in the kitchen, or anywhere else in the house. As long as you keep everything relatively clean you’re free to eat where you’re comfortable.”

“Wow,” said Seth. “Mom and Dad never let us eat in our rooms!”

Grandpa’s lips twitched, “Well, if it seems you can’t clean up after yourselves I may put a limit on it. But for now, you’re free to eat where you please.”

“Awesome,” Seth muttered.

Kendra’s smiled, that did sound nice.

“Now then, I need to go and complete my chores. I’ll likely not see you again till tomorrow.” He turned to leave but paused, pulling out a tiny key ring from his coat pocket. “Each of these keys fit something in this room. See if you can figure out what each unlocks.”

Kendra accepted the keyring curiously and Grandpa headed out, shutting the door gently behind him.

Seth had opened a toy chest now and was examining the contents. The toys were old-fashioned but in excellent condition. Soldiers, dolls, puzzles, stuffed animals, wooden blocks, some blocks shaped like logs, and others.

Kendra went to the window, a telescope put before it. She tried to peer through the eyepiece but couldn’t get it to focus right no matter how much she adjusted the knobs.

Pulling away she studied the window, realizing they were made of bubbly glass like the front of the house.

She unfastened the latch, pushing the window open. Even without the telescope she could see far into the forest. She moved the telescope closer and peered through it. After a moment of adjusted the knobs she could see even the leaves of the trees in clear detail.

“Oh, let me see,” Seth said, peering over her shoulder.

“Give me a bit, I just started looking.”

“But I wanna see.”

“Go play with the toys some,” Kendra huffed. “I’ll let you look after I’m done.”

“But sharing is caring,” Seth insisted.

“I said you could look, let me use it first though. I was using it already.”

Seth squinted, “What are you even looking at?”

“The trees.”

“Boring, let me see. I’ll look at something more interesting.”

Kendra rolled her eyes but stepped away, not wanting to deal with his whining.

“Fine but let me close the window. I don’t want bugs to come in.”

“Sure, whatever,” Seth studied the telescope as she closed the window and went off to study the dressers.

They were carved elegantly with fairies and unicorns and fiery birds.

She ran her fingers over the intricate patterns, she wished she had something like this at home.

She shook her head, going to look at the wardrobes, it reminded her of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. She wondered if she stepped in would she find a mystical land on the other side.

“This stupid thing won’t even focus,” Seth complained.

Kendra smiled.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to reblog and leave a review, they feed my soul.

What did you think of the room? What changes do you think their foreknowledge will bring? What things did you dislike from the original series that you'd like changed?

lmk if you’d like to be tagged.

[kimshavacado]

Dead Heat Ch. 1

Pairing: Min Yoongi x reader

Genre: Yet another Arranged Marriage/Mafia AU

Summary: Three extremely powerful families with enough power to bring down entire governments, all with vastly different views on how things should be run. The Min family thinks everything can be solved with money, the Jeon family think everything can be solved with violence, and the Kim family relies more on thought which leads to a lack of action. When Kim Y/N loses her father, she only has one way to save herself and her family. But it involves having to give herself over to a stranger. How the hell is she not supposed to punch him in his stupid rich face?

Dead Heat Masterlist

A/N: Hi there lovelies. This is the first time I’ve ever written anything of my own, I usually just edit friends work, it’s something I’ve been doing for years. I came up with this weird plot and thought I’d take a shot at it. I’ve also always wanted to write Y/N as a badass. This is just another stereotypical fic, and I’m not really sure how long this will be, but I’m kinda looking forward to it. :D

Chapter 1: The Fire In Her Eyes

Never once have you felt the way that you feel right now. Even when you think about all the shit you’ve been put through the past 24 years of your life, nothing comes close to the scale of the fire coursing through your vanes in this moment. It’s not just anger, it’s bigger and more complex. Sure, you’re angry. At your father, at yourself, and at the asshole standing in front of you. But there’s something that adds a hollowness to the melting pot of emotions inside of you. Loneliness. Helplessness. That man’s stupid face as it looks at you certainly doesn’t help. He has this confused expression that’s just dying to be wiped off of his face by a sharp cut of your hand. It seems comical how dull someone could be. You feel everything piling up to the point where you’re about to explode. But instead of keeping face as usual you storm toward the man with fire in your eyes.

*2 weeks earlier*

“Y/N, it’s time to go.” Your best friend of over 20 years says down to you. Instead of responding, you get up off the couch that you’ve been sitting on for the past 2 hours and silently follow him as he leads you both down the building’s main staircase. As you walk through the crowd of people dressed in black he glances back at you a couple of times, most likely trying to analyze your vacant expression.

“The fact that you haven’t even said a word today makes it seem like you’re actually sad he’s gone.”

At hearing this you stop walking. You finally look your friend in the eyes and notice the worried expression on his face. Your hard stare causes his expression to fall. He looks away from you and towards the floor as you continue walking past him. When you reach the base of the stairs, you barely notice the faces of the well-dressed people you pass as you head directly out the door. You’d rather die than receive looks of pity from people you barely know.

Once outside you find solace in the dark and quiet car that’s been waiting for you. You’re alone for less than a minute before Jimin finally joins you inside. When the car starts moving, he doesn’t say anything else to you because he knows you more than anyone. He knows exactly what situation you’re in right now. You’re not even remotely sad about the death of your father. Not with all the shit he put you through growing up.

On one hand you feel like a weight has been lifted off you because he’s gone. No one is left to tell you what your purpose in life is. On the other hand, a new weight has been placed on your shoulders because of what’s about to happen to your family. Something your father had never anticipated happening was dying and leaving you in charge. Yet his untimely death had spoiled his plans. You, being unmarried and an only child, were all that were left of the Kim’s.

As the car finally pulled up to the decently sized mansion you and Jimin still sat in silence. You didn’t notice when Jimin turned his head towards you as you sat there contemplating the events over the last few days. You heard him let out a sigh and let ti hang in the air before you finally faced him and broke the silence.

“I’m sorry. Thanks for today.” You say as you finally look away, not feeling the need to say anything else.

That was something that was great about your relationship, words weren’t always needed. He knew you needed time to sort your thoughts out before a heartfelt discussion on what the hell you were going to do about your situation. You might have seen a slight reassuring smile on his lips after your thanks had you not already been dragging yourself out of the car leaving him inside as you make your way up the steps of your home.

Before you know it you are laying on your bed in your pajamas staring at the ceiling. You barely remember walking up your large staircase or even changing out of your black funeral dress. The house is quiet and empty which makes every moment stretch on forever but simultaneously flash by in the blink of an eye. Your mind is in this surreal state of limbo, but it gives you the peace to go over your options.

Your family is likely to support your father’s opinions on you taking over. They’re very traditional and have their eyes set on a strong male head of the family. There are some who would support your claim, but many don’t know of your abilities to lead since you were so inhibited by your father. Theoretically, someone else in the family could take over, most likely Jin. He’s never expressed interest in leading the entire family but he’s highly respected here. But then what happens to you? You can’t just leave and start a new life, and know you’d never be able to.

If this is the case and someone else takes over, you’ll probably be given away to someone. Jin is married already so that ruins your chances of coming even close to staying as you are in the family. Not that you want to marry him anyway, sure he’s got a pretty face, but he thinks a lot like your father, which is something you aren’t very fond of. Still, your life will never be the same. You just hope that that’ll be a good thing. So long as you get out of it alive.

That night you dream of your childhood. There are a few moments from when you were younger that let you forget the truth about your lifeand future and you are lucky enough to recall them tonight, when you need it most. Tonight you recall the night that you and Jimin became friends.

It was during some annual family get together. It wasn’t a fancy ordeal, just a time for everyone to be together. All the parents had left the children to mingle in a separate area of the house. Jimin had always seen you around at these things. When you were around all the other kids he was intimidated by you.

You were loud and friendly while he was quiet and shy. This is why little Jimin found it strange when he didn’t see you in the center of the room feasting on the attention of the other kids. After wandering, he instead found you in a room down the hall sitting outside of an open window looking up at the sky. It was the first time in days it had been clear enough to see the stars.

Jimin climbed outside to join you and sat next to you silently. The two of you star gaze for quite a while without saying anything.

“What do you think it’s like to be a star?” You ask the young boy next to you. 

“I… don’t know.” He timidly answers.

“I think it’d be wonderful. You can look down and see everything that’s going on everywhere in the world, and you get to see a ton of other stars too!” You excitedly answer your own question.

“I heard that when people die, they turn into stars.” Jimin adds.

“Really!? So one day I’ll get to be a real life star!?” Jimin sees you bursting with excitement and is only able to give you the biggest eye smile you’ve ever seen as he nods in confirmation.

You two spend the rest of the night alternating between talking about what you would do as stars and gazing in silence. It was really the first time when you felt you could be yourself around someone else. Maybe it was because of how innocent he seemed. You wish you could relive moments like that every night, when times were simpler. But with morning comes the reminder of the harsh reality that you are going to have to face.

The next day is a meeting with some high-ranking men in the Kim family. They too have been wondering what the hell was going to happen with your father gone. It’s no surprise to you how quickly it was decided that Jin, one of your father’s right-hand men would take over at least temporarily. At this point you shut your brain down, just wanting to be anywhere but here, especially when they move on to politics of the change and relationships with the other families.

After over an hour of the board’s relentless debating, you let your mind start to wander away from all the issues in your life. You’re about five seconds from dozing off when you catch the end of a certain sentence.

“…best interest to ally families.” Your eyes immediately shoot toward the direction of the speaker knowing exactly where this is going. Jin, one of your father’s righthand men, notices your sudden attention on him.

 “Since the death of his father last year, Min Yoongi has become the richest man in the country. Your father and his were in good standing with each other before their deaths. Marriage between our families was something that was discussed but never acted upon because of unfortunate timing. I’ve talked with Min representatives and it’s something that they’d still be interested in.”

 “What would that do for us?” I ask. “So what, I go marry him and become a Min?” 

“Like we were saying before, Y/N, we’re not in the best financial position.” Jin responds, realizing you weren’t listening to everything before.

“Why do you think that is?” You challenge.

“Y/N-“

“We pride ourselves in what? How smart we think we are? How we think things out and come up with long term plans that we never carry out?” You interrupt. Somehow you keep face and continue your rant towards the board.

“We’re a sorry excuse for a family, we’ve got no power and can easily be cut down by everyone else because my father, who you seem to hold in such high regard, was a misogynistic pig who cared more about how many different brands of scotch he could collect that the longevity of the family-”

 “Y/N!” Jin stops you and stands up, staring you down. So you do the same. You stand and place your palm of the table. You direct your serious expression towards the faces of the surprised members of the board until you land back on Jin.

You look pissed but composed, an ability you got from your father which made it look like you could set fire to the entire world and still have the same look in your eyes. It looks like Jin is about to say something, but you don’t give him the privilege.

 “You know I’d do better.” And you calmly turn and walk out.

 You’ve lost, but you’ve also won. Things were decided in the meeting that wouldn’t be easy to change, but you did gain something. The words you said about the family and your father would’ve gotten anyone else killed, but instead it showed them all who you were. Not many people had seen the fire in you come out when your father was alive. Women were always supposed to behave and save face, but that never changed the fact that you are your father’s only child.

Even though he wasn’t a good man, he was a frightening one. He was intelligent and everyone knew that he was capable of horrible things. You on the other hand, knew he didn’t care about horrible things or what his job was as the head of the family. There was a time where he might have been an awesome scary boss, but you surely hadn’t seen it.

He was more content on just existing and having the power, which might have worked had there not been other families and had we not been involved with organized crime. And now he’s dead for it. You, however, know what it takes to be the biggest player in the game and hope you get to be as cunning as he was because you know you wouldn’t waste it. But for now, you have to worry about crap like marriage instead.

Min Yoongi, the richest bachelor in the country. How lucky are you? You bet he’s just like his father.

Min Yoongi sits across the table from you with an unreadable expression on his face. It’s almost like he doesn’t care that any of this is happening. Like it’s some minor annoyance and he’d rather be somewhere else.

The meeting is fast and formal and you two don’t say a word to each other. Papers and pens are exchanged as well as conversation between family representatives.

Eventually you catch his eyes and you two remain unmoved in a stare down. The intenseness of your expression causes Yoongi to furrow his brows. It’s an expression of curiosity, afterall, he’s never met you why are you suddenly looking at him like you’re about to jump across the table and stab him with one of the pens?

The men around you interrupt your little exchange by shaking hands and collecting papers. You watch as they act like they just bought a car or something. Not just put two incompatible people together.

By the time you turn away from the final handshakes, you see Yoongi is gone. What a charmer. At least that means I may not see him often. Your men collect you and take you home, which will soon not be your home. 

That night you’re out on your balcony with Jimin watching the sky as you talk about the strange meeting.

“Was he cute at least?” Jimin asks you.

“I can’t remember, I was too focused on the dumb look on his face. How could someone not care what the hell someone else does with their life? It was like I was some minor disruption in his day.” Jimin looks at you expectantly basically ignoring what you said.

“He’s not fat.” You concede. “Not horrible looking, but he is short. You’d probably like him.”

“I’m gonna assume you say that because he’s attractive and not because you think I’m short.” He responds. You snort at this as he rests his head on your shoulder.

“What am I going to do?” You ask yourself after a moment.

“Use the situation to your advantage and take what’s yours. It’s what you do best.” Jimin tells you, somehow knowing an answer that would work for you. You knew you picked a good best friend. The two of you sat under the sky and star gazed that night for what would be the last time.

A/N: I promise it’ll get a little less cliché in future parts. The first scene I wrote which made me want to write this in the first place is coming soon along with some Yoongi. I had to rewrite the entire plot of the first chapter so I hope there are no holes so far. I hope this turns out well. Thanks lovelies.

Next Chapter

[crissy622]

FIC: Happy Birthday [1/1]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KIM! We love you death and, as such, Alaina and I wrote you a fanfic based on our trio. You’ve gone looking for fics of them many times, just to remember that fics for them do not exist, so now, one does. We love you and have an amazing birthday.

Everyone, go tell @lengiesofrps how awesome she is and how much you love her.

Written By: @crissy622​ & @isadorahart​ Characters/Pairings: Charlotte Lightwood, Luna Darkmore, Cameron Walsh [Unholy Trio] Rating: PG Summary: "We're going to bake bread for Cam's birthday," Luna declared as they got ready for bed one night and Charlie sighed.

-Fourth Year-

"We're going to bake bread for Cam's birthday," Luna declared as they got ready for bed one night and Charlie sighed.

"Must we?" she asked, but she could already see that familiar gleam in Luna's eyes. That gleam never led to anything good. Detention. Charlie being force fed snacks. She mentally added baking to the list and wondered if she would have done better over at Beauxbatons. She may have had to deal with more Veela -- though, she still had her own suspicions about Malfoy's bloodline -- but she wouldn't have had to bake. "We do have house elves, Luna. If we can't use the castle ones, I can get one of them from home."

"It's supposed to be from us," Luna reminded her, "not from the house elves."

"Did you write the book you got me last Christmas?" she asked, sure she'd just broken through Luna's logic.

"No, because then it would've just been a book of curse words that was enchanted to say the worst possible one each time you opened it." Luna tilted her head, considering. "Actually, look forward to your birthday now."

There went that hope, traded out for growing dread.

"No," she told her firmly. "Don't you dare."

The hum Luna gave was the farthest thing from comforting. 

"I don't want to know how you got them to agree to this," she said, resigned, a week later as she and Luna stood in the middle of the kitchens. House elves were watching them cautiously from around a corner, distrustful, and she honestly wasn't sure if it was because of their house colors or because she and Luna had intruded in their territory. Probably both.

"Nope," she agreed with an unrepentant grin. A Slytherin through and through, Charlie thought dryly as she took the apron Luna offered her with a disdainful look.

Still, it was for Cam. They had to celebrate early, same as every year, since his birthday always fell after they'd gone home for the summer. Once that happened, she wouldn't be able to see them until they went back to school.

"Can't I just get him new dress robes and promise I won't talk about the wedding for a month?" she tried, but even before Luna rolled her eyes, she knew it was futile. She was going to end up with flour under her nails for days and they were probably going to give Cam food poisoning. "Do you even have any idea how to bake bread?"

"Not a clue," Luna answered cheerfully.

"Then, why are we doing this?"

Luna looked at her, cheery smile dropped off to something more tender and more serious. "Because it's Cam."

Charlie bit her lip and thought of Cam with his quiet ways and the months of separation he had ahead of him. Of him buying Luna gloves to cover up the scars Umbridge had caused. Thought of the year she got sick and fevered memories of how he and Luna had stayed with her, holding her hand and running fingers through her hair to keep her calm. Thought of them always butting heads about her wedding, because it wasn't the world he'd grown up in and he wanted to protect her. 

For Cam, she could withstand flour-caked nails and inevitable food poisoning. She put on her apron. "Where do we start?"

---

“That depends,” Luna said as Charlie tied the apron around her waist. “Are we going for flaky like Malfoy when he hears anything to do with muggle studies or hard like that broomstick handle that’s constantly lodged up Cam’s dad’s-” Luna rocked back and forth on her heels while picking at her gloves. She was getting sidetracked. “We’ll go with flaky. Bread is so much better when it’s all buttered and flaky.”

Luna started rifling through the pans, trying not to laugh while internally debating who looked more uncomfortable: the house elves whose kitchen they were hijacking or Charlie who was making at least eight different sacrifices just to be here. Luna was proud of her, not that she’d tell her. She’d leave that up to Cam, because he was the more vocal of the three and she was content to just nitpick instead. 

“You do realize we’re going to be doing plenty of taste-testing before we hand over a finished product, right?” Luna announced gleefully. “Nothing but the best can go to Cam.”

Charlie rolled her eyes, but Luna could see the fondness there. The girl got so pureblood on them, sometimes, but they knew she cared. "It might help if we had a recipe."

Okay, that was true, but still- "Rude," she said and stuck her tongue out at the other girl. "Cam will appreciate us being creative."

"We're going to ruin bread for him," Charlie said flatly as she poked a bag of flour.

"How much faith do you have in us?"

"About as much as Slytherin winning the House Cup."

"That's not fair. That thing is just blatant favoritism." Even if they hadn't been forced to listen to Malfoy whine about it for years, it was obvious. At this point, Luna was pretty sure Dumbledore would give Potter points for tying his shoe correctly if it meant Gryffindor won.

Or anyone other than Slytherin, really.

She clapped her hands before Charlie could spread her pessimism any further. "I think we need eggs!"

"You think?"

"Do you have a recipe?" she asked innocently. 

"Do I look like someone who bakes bread?"

Actually, she looked like someone who had never seen bread in her life and that was something Luna and Cam were both still trying to rectify. 

"Do you think the first person to bake bread had a recipe?" Luna returned. "No, yet, look how well it turned out!"

Yep, there was the sigh that Charlie did every time she regretted everything that had brought her to this point.

Luna grinned.

The first attempt burned a bit.

The second caught on fire.

"Luna!"

"It's fine! I know what I'm doing!"

The third attempt didn't rise at all.

The fourth looked normal, but it tasted oddly of pickles.

"The castle doesn't even have pickles, Luna."

That was the point where Charlie refused to taste-test anymore. Honestly, Luna was surprised she'd made it that far.

"I'm going to write home and have Blinks bake the bread," Charlie told her around the ninth attempt. The house elves were still watching them, even hours later, but a few had started crying a while back about all the wasted ingredients.

An odd one covered in clothes had loved the pickle bread, though, so ha, Charlie.

There was also the drunk one that stumbled through at one point. Luna wasn't going to ask.

"You are not," she said with a roll of her eyes, because Charlie had been threatening to do that since the third round. Her threats were about as empty as Potter's head. "Besides, if you do that, I will wait until you’re sleeping and cut just a single lock of your hair off and not tell you until the most opportune moment.” 

"You wouldn't dare."

“Slytherin,” Luna reminded her and grinned like it was a challenge. Charlie glared back at her, looking increasingly fed up and entirely too clean for how many breads they'd made so far. It was a far cry from the liberal amounts of flour on her and the dried bit of old dough that was stuck to the end of one of her braids.

"We're both Slytherins," Charlie shot back. "Don't forget what I did to Romilda Vane."

"I don't think anyone could forget about that." The only people who even knew about it were her and Cam, and Charlie had never so much admitted it as look smug. It had been nice, though, to see Charlie go to bat for him like that. She'd never doubted that the girl would, but they were all used to prim-and-proper Charlie and I’m-getting-married-and-am-going-to-pretend-it's-a-great-idea Charlie, not secretly-terrifying Charlie.

Charlie shook her head and peeked under the towel that was hiding attempt number twelve. Luna was pretty sure it wasn't rising.  "If we don't figure something out tonight, I'm finding a recipe."

"Do you even know where the cooking section of the library is?"

Judging from the look Charlie shot her, the answer was no.

---

Charlie nearly asked Blaise to give her his great-grandmother's bread recipe -- not that she'd ever eaten it, but it looked good and people raved about it.

She didn't ask. 

It didn't feel right to involve Blaise in it. Luna had her heart set on them doing this for Cam and, as it stood, Cam was decidedly not a fan of Blaise.

Instead, when she and Luna had to admit defeat for the night -- mostly because the house elves had kicked them out -- she told the other girl she'd be finding a recipe for the next day. She may have skipped lunch to look through the library, but by the time she met up with Luna that night, she'd meticulously copied down a recipe she'd found.

"I think it's the one they served at the Halloween ball last year," she said uncertainly as Luna looked it over. "He'd liked it."

"You remembered the bread?" Luna asked, surprised. "I didn't think you even looked at the food at those things."

"You two talked about it for a week afterwards," she pointed out. "That was the only one I could find that had lemon in it."

Luna grinned at her and clutched the recipe to her chest. "Aw, you do care," she gushed as Charlie's cheeks went pink.

"Don't make me regret this," she muttered as she grabbed one of Luna's hands and dragged her into the kitchens.

The first attempt that night didn't have enough yeast.

The second made Luna smile that stupid smile that made Charlie's chest go funny.

"That's it!" she cheered. "I think we need to do that fold thing a few more times for the real one, so it’s more flaky, but this is definitely it." She drew Charlie into a fast hug that the girl didn't think she'd ever get used to and popped another piece of it into her mouth. "He's going to love it!"

Charlie looked down at the ugly little loaf they'd made and smiled.

A week later and two days before they took the train home, they made Cam promise to meet them down by the lake and, then, spent the whole morning with the bread. The final loaf they loaded into a basket with some extra treats was about as ugly as the one before it had been, but it didn't smell poisonous. Charlie was cautiously hopeful as they made their way through the halls and outside. 

It was warmer out, even as the sun began to sink behind the trees, but Charlie still wrapped her jumper around herself a little more and adjusted the basket in her grip. She'd insisted on carrying it, because days of attempts and trying to pick dough out from under her nails was not going to be wasted by Luna dropping the basket.

"I wouldn't!" Luna had insisted, but the second she saw Cam, she launched herself at him with a shouted happy birthday, so Charlie didn't believe her.

She followed after at a calmer pace and set it down before she hugged him and kissed his cheek. "Happy early birthday," she murmured into his ear as his arms came around her waist.

He murmured a thanks as they pulled back and settled down in the grass. "Food?" he guessed as his eyes went to the basket.

"And your presents," Luna said happily.

"If it ends in disaster, it's Luna's fault," Charlie said and pointedly ignored Luna's indignant squawk.

Cam looked between them, amused, as Luna dug into the basket and paused. She looked up at Charlie, accusing. "You got him a book."

"Did I?" she asked innocently as Luna passed the wrapped gift over to Cam. It wasn't a book so much as it was a box of self-replenishing parchment. She might not approve of his little homework business, but the amount of parchment he went through added up after a while.

"You're encouraging me now?" he asked when he opened the gift, both eyebrows lifted up.

"Of course not," she sniffed. "If they don't want to do their homework, they should fail. You're going to do it anyway, though, so you may as well have something practical."

"She's encouraging you," Luna told him.

"I'm getting that feeling."

"I am not-"

"Next present!" Luna declared and reached into the basket again so she could pull out the wrapped box she’d shoved in next to the food. She set it down in front of Cam and pulled her wand out, cancelling out the shrinking charm she’d apparently put on it. It grew to nearly four-times its usual size.

Cam and Charlie stared at it, wide-eyed.

“You two didn’t need to do all this,” Cam told them as he started unwrapping the box.

“It’s your birthday,” Luna insisted. “Of course we were going to get you presents!”

It wasn’t a present. It was a horror-filled box of whatever that tie-dye muggle trend was. The ugly blending and bleeding of colors that made someone look like a rainbow had encountered Seamus Finnegan on one of his explosive days. Cam pulled out a shirt and, somehow, didn’t look utterly horrified.

“You two can’t be serious,” she said as Cam shrugged out of his jacket and slipped on one that was white until some psychopath had gotten their hands on it. Luna smiled like the sun.

“It’s fashionable,” he told her, voice a complete deadpan, and she knew he had to be messing with her. He had to be.

“That is not fashion,” she said. “That looks like someone let the Gryffindors at a paint set.”

Luna patted her knee consolingly. “She just doesn’t get it,” she sighed.

“We’ll need to get her some for her birthday.”

“I’ll burn it.”

“Pink,” Luna agreed as if Charlie hadn’t spoken at all. “She looks cute in pink.”

“I’m going to look pretty in red when I kill you both,” she warned. “Put those monstrosities away.”

Cam rolled his eyes, but he thanked Luna and gave her a hug before he set the box aside. The jacket, however, stayed on. “How much did you guys do?”

“Just one more thing,” Luna said and pulled the bread and its platter out of the basket to present to him. “Birthday bread! We made it!”

“We used a recipe,” Charlie added. “That’s the only reason you might survive eating it.”

“She’s being dramatic,” Luna pushed on. “It’s the bread from the Halloween ball last year. Charlie remembered it and found the recipe in the library.”

Cam’s eyes turned towards her, curious. “You found the cooking section for me?”

“It’s a library,” she muttered as her face heated and she looked away. “I found a shelf. I didn’t find the cure for lycanthropy.”

“Thank you,” he said softly and she glanced back up to see Luna lean in to hug him again and the smile he gave her. She returned it as Luna cut a few slices of the bread and handed one over to Cam while she kept one for herself. The dough under her nails was worth the way his smile widened at the first bite. He made it through half before he broke off the corner of his slice and held it out to her. “For my birthday?”

If he’d asked any other way, she would have said no. Luna hadn’t even offered her a slice, because she knew better, but it was Cam’s birthday and he asked her to. He knew she couldn’t tell him no.

“You should have been a Slytherin,” she told him seriously as she took the bit he’d offered her and took a bite. It was good, better than she’d expected when she considered their initial attempts. She wasn’t sure it was rave-about-it-for-a-week worthy, but she popped the second bite into her mouth and met Cam’s and Luna’s smiles with her own. “Happy birthday, Cam.”

Luna grinned. “We love you.”

[piratekane]

missing scene: june 1 (vanessa/charity)

Picking up where Vanessa and Charity left off, with Vanessa heading into work (and Charity definitely babysitting Johnny)...

“Nothing else matters,” she says, looking across the table. The words feel sticky in her mouth, the lie lukewarm against the back of her teeth. Everything has tasted like tar since DI Simmons told her the truth. Her son - Ryan - is alive. She takes another sip of her brew and swallows, wincing. The tea has cooled and gone bitter.

Vanessa pauses, half in and half out of her jacket. “Are you sure you don’t mind-”

“‘Ness,” she says wearily. She rubs at her forehead. “I said I don’t mind, yeah? Anyway, Johnny’s down now and I was just going to catch up on some light reading.”

Vanessa snorts. She picks up the book Charity brought over with her, tucked under her arm as she nervously slipped through the door, hoping no one would be watching. She’d told Debs and Noah she was going to work and they’d take the mickey if they knew she was sneaking into Tug Ghyll instead.

Skiving work for a fumble, Debs would say, rolling her eyes.

“I wouldn’t call Pride & Prejudice ‘light reading’,” Vanessa says.

Charity blinks, frowning slightly. “Think it’s above my levels?”

“Above mine, more like,” Vanessa says. She frowns and reads the back cover. “Never liked Jane Austen much.”

Charity softens. She knows she’s looking for a fight; looking for something to spark through her and make her feel like herself again. But she also knows that Vanessa isn’t the person to pick on. Maybe if Vanessa meant less; maybe if they were just a ‘bit of fun’ instead of ‘girlfriends’; maybe if there wasn’t an undercurrent of something like love rippling through Charity every time Vanessa smiled at her.

But she doesn’t and they aren’t and there is.

So Charity takes a deep breath instead and stands up, crossing the space between them and sliding her hands under Vanessa’s jacket. “I don’t mind,” she says carefully, meeting Vanessa’s eyes so she understands. She glances away as she speaks again. “Don’t know why you trust me with ‘im, though. I’m not-”

“Stop it,” Vanessa says sharply.

Charity’s heart skips hard in her chest. There’s something about an assertive Vanessa that makes Charity’s knees weaken enough so they’re at the same height.

“You’re a good mum,” Vanessa says. Charity looks away and Vanessa clicks her tongue, her hand at Charity’s chin. “You are,” she says, softer. “And I trust ya. More importantly, Johnny does. It’s not often he doesn’t want me to read him a story before naptime, but you’ve outranked me, yeah? He thinks you’ve hung the moon just for him.”

Charity scoffs. “I’m new. Just because he wanted me to put him down this time doesn’t mean he likes me. He’ll get bored of me.”

Vanessa shakes her head. “You are anything but boring, Charity Dingle.”

Charity leans in, resting her forehead against Vanessa’s. “Are you sure you have to go in?”

She’d much rather stay here, with Vanessa, trapped inside Tug Ghyll where reality has to come to them, and they can decide if they open or the door or not. With Vanessa around, the weight on her shoulders gets a little easier to carry. And when she’s gone, the rooms are just a little dimmer.

That’s love, a voice in her head says.

She tampers the voice down for now.

“I have to now, I’m sorry,” Vanessa says, her shoulders sagging.

Charity sighs and pushes out her bottom lip. “Well, you better get on so you can get back, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Vanessa echoes, leaning in for a kiss. Charity’s grip tightens on Vanessa’s hips, holding her close for a moment before she lets her go. “I’ll be back before you know it,” she promises.

“I won’t wither away,” Charity grumbles.

“Like your Elizabeth Bennet?”

Charity frowns. “Have you even read Pride & Prejudice?”

Vanessa shrugs a shoulder. “I saw the movie. Colin Firth is fit.”

Charity wrinkles her nose. “And you didn’t know you liked men, yeah?”

Vanessa makes a face her, rolling her eyes. “Oi, he’s a fox.”

Charity lifts an eyebrow slowly. “Sure he is, babe.”

Vanessa pinches her side gently. “You’re lucky I like you.”

“As blessed as the Queen, I am.” Charity kisses Vanessa one more time, and pulls away reluctantly.

The house is quiet as the door shuts behind Vanessa. She stands in the middle of the living room, soaking it in. At the Woolpack, there’s never a moment of peace. There’s punters in the pub and a hundred people in the living room. They leave her well enough alone; been giving her extra space, since the news about Bails broke. But it’s not like this: absolute stillness, absolute quiet.

Quiet is different than silence, Moira had said. Charity never had the words to put to that feeling before. Living in that apartment Bails paid for, the hospital room after she delivered her baby - Ryan - and he didn’t cry - that was silence. But Tug Ghyll is quiet. Charity likes it here; she did even when she lived with Cain and Debbie, too. But something about it being Vanessa’s now, about her being in Vanessa’s space, makes the quiet easier to manage; easier to sink into and wrap around herself and still feel safe.

Safe, she thinks. What all these children deserve to be.

She’s on the stairs before she knows she’s moving, down the small hallway to the door of Johnny’s room. She hesitates there, leaning against the doorframe.

Johnny is exactly where she left him, snuggled up under the Paw Patrol duvet Vanessa got him a few weeks ago, when he moved from a cot to a bed with rails. He sleeps like Vanessa sleeps, curled up one side with enough fluff under his head that she almost doesn’t see his face. He’s got an overstuffed pillow and his Johnny stuffed toy and he looks so content that Charity wishes he would never get older than this moment right here.

She used to think her son - Ryan - would never get older than the moment he was born.

She watches the rise and fall of his chest and wonders what it might have been like to do this in a different room, in a different town, with a different boy. He had a small tuft of hair, just like Johnny’s mohawk. He had been so little, too; so small that she was sure he would break if she had touched him.

She would gotten him a big duvet like Johnny’s, and all the stuffed toys he wanted. She would have scraped together the money and given up wine gums and she would have boughten him pillows so he felt like he was sleeping on clouds.

She watches Johnny breathe: up and down and up and down and she wonders what it would have been like to watch her son - Ryan - breathe, sleep, dream.

She would have been a good mum.

She would have tried.

*

Vanessa slips through the front door, an apology on her lips. She frowns as she takes in the empty living room, Charity’s mug still on the kitchen table. A ripple of fear runs through her, but Charity isn’t Adam; there’s no reason she would take Johnny and run. He must have fussed, Vanessa thinks. Or he’s awake and Charity is scooping him up. It’s been about an hour since she left for work after her lunch and his naps are getting shorter these days.

She’ll just grab the file she left on the table and be off.

But when she waits a minute, to maybe sneak in one quick kiss before she hurries back to the surgery, she doesn’t hear Charity moving around upstairs. She doesn’t hear Johnny babbling or the sound of footsteps coming. She frowns and moves to the stairs, peering up to the empty landing.

She climbs them slowly, listening closely for something - anything.

Vanessa gets to the top of the stairs and pauses again, eyes narrowing as she takes in the figure at the end of the hall, just inside Johnny’s room. Charity comes into focus as she gets closer and Vanessa’s frown deepens.

“Charity, what’re you-” She stops herself, clapping a hand down over her mouth.

Charity is asleep, sitting on the floor in Johnny’s room with her back against the frame. Her mascara is dried on her cheeks and she’s clutching the Marshall stuffed toy that Johnny demanded but never prefers.

She came up here, Vanessa thinks. She came up here to… She...

Vanessa sobs once, the noise echoing in the quiet room. She backs up out of door and into the hallway, her body heaving as she cries. She covers her mouth with her hand, biting down on her fingers to stifle the cry building in her chest and bubbling up through her mouth. Her cheeks are wet and hot as she slides down to her knees, one hand on the wall.

She came up here to watch him sleep, Vanessa thinks. She fell asleep watching over him.

Her lungs ache and her chest burns and her stomach is in knots, but she can’t stop looking at Charity’s profile; at the dip of her head and her chin against her chest; at the grip she has on Marshall. She can’t stop looking at the woman she loves watching over the only thing she’s done right in this world and she cries.

She cries for the years Charity lost to Bails. She cries for the years Charity lost with Ryan, and with Debs, and Noah, and Moses. She cries for the people who took and took and took from Charity, giving her nothing back in return. She cries for all the times Charity didn’t; all the times she couldn’t.

Vanessa hears Charity hum sleepily and she hurries to her feet, wiping at her face as she creeps down the stairs and back into the living room. She collapses onto the couch, her body folding in half as she tries to catch her breath. It comes back to her slowly and she sits up, swallowing down a fresh wave of tears.

Be strong, she scolds herself. Be strong for her.

Not that Charity needs strength; she has it in spades.

Vanessa takes a deep breath, wiping her hand across her face once more for any remaining tears, and grabs the door handle. She opens and closes the door, slamming it loud.

“Hiya!” she shouts.

She hears something thump upstairs and the sound of heavy footfalls on the stairs. She buises herself with shuffling through the file she’s come back for as Charity hurries into the living room.

“Is it tea time already?” Charity asks, her voice hoarse. She clears her throat quietly.

Vanessa turns, a bright smile on her face. “Not quite. I forgot something,” she says. She holds up the file. “Got it.”

Charity looks past her, distracted. “Okay,” she says absently. She runs a hand through her hair and shakes her head, clearing the sleep in her eyes. “Uh, Johnny’s fine.”

“I didn’t worry he wouldn’t be,” Vanessa says.

“Right,” Charity says.

Vanessa aches to go over to her, to wipe the mascara off her cheeks and hold her. Instead, she gives her a wider smile. “Alright?”

“Yeah, babe,” Charity breathes. She smiles back and Vanessa almost believes it to be real. She takes a deep breath and tries again, her smile a little more believable. “Come ‘ere.”

Vanessa meets Charity halfway, kissing her hard. Charity moans softly, tensing for a moment before kissing her back.

“What was that for?” Charity asks, her smile pressed against Vanessa’s.

For everything, Vanessa thinks.

“No reason. Missed you,” Vanessa says.

Charity husks a laugh that Vanessa feels warm the pit of her stomach, pushing away the knots. “You’ve been gone an hour, babe.”

“I can miss you,” Vanessa says defensively.

Charity leans forward, her head resting against Vanessa’s shoulder. Her hands slide to the small of Vanessa’s back, her fingers kneading into the tension there. “‘Course you can. Just… people don’t usually.”

“I’m not most people,” Vanessa whispers.

“No, you’re not,” Charity mouths against her neck.

Vanessa strokes her hands through Charity’s hair, letting her eyes close as she breathes in Charity’s shampoo. She winds the long strands of Charity’s hair around her fingers and tugs gently, humming Charity’s name.

“We might take that walk,” Charity murmurs back.

Vanessa smiles against Charity’s temple. “Johnny loves the ducks.”

“Wonder where he gets that from.” Charity lifts her head. “A little you, isn’t he?”

Vanessa smiles proudly. “Poor him,” she teases.

Charity thumbs Vanessa’s hip, one corner of her mouth turned up as she looks down where her hand rests over Vanessa’s trousers. “I reckon he’s lucky, yeah? You’re alright, you know.”

“Just alright?” Vanessa asks, fighting a smile.

Charity shrugs a shoulder. “I won’t be taking out an advert, mind you.”

Vanessa laughs. “What would it say? Vanessa Woodfield. She’s alright.”

Charity smiles properly now, wide and bright. “Get you a proper nametag and everything.”

Vanessa rolls her eyes. “What a romantic.”

“That’s something I’ve never been accused of before.” Charity leans in, nipping at Vanessa’s lower lip. “And I’ve been accused of quite a bit in my day.”

“Like amazing,” Vanessa breathes.

“That was a first,” Charity admits.

“Won’t be the last,” Vanessa promises.

Charity looks down at her hand again, curling it over the waistband of Vanessa’s pants. “What are you like?”

Vanessa shrugs a shoulder and kisses Charity again before she unwinds from Charity’s hold, smiling regretfully. “I’ve got to get back before Paddy thinks I’m skiving off to have a snog.”

Charity arches an eyebrow slowly, reaching out to wind a hand through Vanessa’s hair. “Well, if he already thinks it…”

Vanessa dances away from Charity’s hand, holding the file between them like a shield. “Don’t you dare.”

Charity follows after her, eyes dark and her smile wicked. “Just a quick one, yeah?”

“Charity,” Vanessa warns. She backs up towards the door, feeling behind her for the knob. She laughs loudly as Charity pins her to the wall, kissing her neck, nipping at the spot she knows drives Vanessa crazy. “Charity,” Vanessa says, the name stretching.

“To give you something to think about,” Charity rasps. Her teeth scrape over Vanessa’s neck and up behind her ear.

“I think about you all the time,” Vanessa admits, tipping her head back.

Charity’s mouth finds hers, two fingers pulling Vanessa’s chin down. “”Ditto, kid.” She kisses Vanessa again. “Ditto.”

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S2 Ep4: How to Go on a Date Without Actually Going on a Date

Ah, summertime! Love is in the air, can’t you feel it?

Well uh...thunderclouds. I guess. It’s ominously pouring rain. It’s as if the show has turned in it’s squeaky swivel chair said to us “look, we’re giving you a date episode...but don’t you be gettin’ any ideas!” and then swiveled right back around to face a blank wall.

I’m sure that they will put in some sort of cute backdrop...eventually.

While mopping the gross purple floor and talking about Joey’s nuts soap opera family.

Y’all did they get reference for this shot? I sure hope so. I sure hope that in some animation studio in Japan, two dudes fumbled together to assemble this particular formation, and then a third dude was like “Perrrrfect, now can you hold that for five minutes for me so I can draw it out?”

(read more under the cut)

So here and now, suddenly inspired by the very romantic tableau of threatening rain and thunder, Yugi sees an opportunity to fill out that bucket list, as it is the end of the world and all. So, he cracks his knuckles, remembers the advice from his Grandfather, wisely decides to forget that advice, and stumbles through the absolute weirdest way to officially ask out the girl you’ve been unofficially dating since you were like 10:

...

Start over.

So...he goes up to Tea...starts asking her out--but then makes it into a blind date with the ghost in his body? Because he’s...concerned about Pharaoh?

OK kid.

It’s just very Muto in that not only does he ask this girl out in the pouring rain, probably hoping for a lightning cue that thankfully never came, but this date can only be done through the medium of a very sad dead guy.

And even Tea wonders “I talk to Pharaoh kind of a lot, what the hell are you going on about?”

But what do you do, girl? Looks like you got stuck on a date trap with a dead dude! At least he has the better butt!

Now, you might say “Rach, he didn’t use the word “date” so this isn’t a date.” but y’all must’ve had a very different high school experience than I, because, unless forced to go to a socially obligatory dance, High Schoolers generally never say “lets go on a date,” they make sneaky date traps.

This is universal, the classic “I REALLY need your help with something I can easily accomplish myself. Meet me at the mall, although we could do this probably right now at school. Don’t bring Joey.”

So, Yugi either has a lot of trust in Pharaoh, or he’s seeing this as a clever way to avoid the actual dating part of dating Tea.

Dude...he’s on to something here. This is an ascended level of friend-zoning. Here I was thinking Yugi was pretty worthless with that puzzle, and then he just BAM unlocks it’s actual, true potential with the ultimate dating dodge. Like, Tea can’t even be mad. He’s on the date even. But also--*not on the date*--gets to enjoy the fun stupid stuff-- *doesn’t have to do any boring stuff*--Goes on a date--*but can’t call it a relationship if it wasn’t hypothetically with yourself* like this actually a pretty great set up and at first I was like wow, what an idiot, and now I’m like 5 paragraphs later and low key jealous I can’t do this Schrödinger's Date nonsense myself.

Anyway, despite how awkward he made it, Yugi is SUPER excited about this date. It’s ALMOST as if he’s going on it himself--which again, he is not. He’s just fretting in a mirror going all “Pharaoh’s gonna freakin love this. I love setting up my friends! Especially when they share the same body as me! Hahaha don’t think about it!”

But apparently Pharaoh was totally sleeping when Yugi was talking to Tea (and probably is whenever Tea shows up, lets be real) because he has no idea that Yugi has done this.

First off--Yugi’s art on the wall.

Ok, glad we all saw it together.

Second off, I love the motif of “kid is going on a date, so he throws everything he owns onto his bed and throws on the other half his closet to make the most ridiculous joke combo” because here it means Pharaoh has to wear the same weird ass outfit.

Y’all I cannot believe this anime is doing this three-way I just cannot. It’s been like a full season building up to it but it still feels VERY sudden.

And, as you know, I have a superpower that makes me immune to shipping, I dunno...maybe it’s because I grew up with the nuts Harry Potter era of ships (freakin Snape/Lily)? Or maybe that I come from the era of Kingdom Hearts-style romance twists (whooo will he eat ice cream with)? I feel like I can’t throw too many rocks at this ship because I know when my house is glass. Especially since I enjoy shows that are bonkers, I’ve seen some weird ass dating stuff that didn’t make me bat an eyelash. I watched Season 2 of Seaquest where at least 2 people accidentally ask out their own Mother. I would double check, but it was so awful Netflix pulled it (or trust me I’d be recapping that show, too)

Personally, I have never wanted to date a ghost but I guarantee other people have thought about it. And, youknow, if it’ll make the 2002-era tweens that were super excited about this ship happy, lets get these kids on a date and get this over with. With the Pharaoh that died at hell knows what age, was reborn so hypothetically you could also argue he’s only like a couple years old, and was mind wiping up until basically a couple weeks ago. Whatever, it’s a new season, he’s a new boy, just, don’t think about it, sit back and enjoy it for what it -- HOLY CRAP

What fake-goth funeral date are you going to here!? Wow. This is...This is a bad choice of clothes! It’s the middle of the day! Other people are in shorts. He is wearing so many chains from his neck, to his bracelets...also he still has that massive bike lock chain on - the one that went through a FIRE.

And does his shoes have freakin studs?

At least neck belt is still here.

I’d say he doubles as a stage tech but with those 7 bangles he’s got on, he would make too much noise. He’d sound like a freakin wind chime.

Anyways, Yugi switches places and Pharaoh freaks the Hell out like he’s been pranked. I wish it were a prank, y’all, I wish it were. But this is actually happening on this television show where the only other legit romance we saw was Pegasus macking a ghost.

MAN ghosts gets a lot of action in this show.

Now, this anime gets a lot of flack, but it does do one thing, and that’s make me appreciate something I forget a lot of the time when I see character designs in pictures rather than in motion. And it’s that that character design’s aesthetic includes physics. Sometimes--like very often in Yugioh--the aesthetic is mostly about those physics and what all these separate pieces do when they move.

In Yugioh, the designs are a hot mess. I can’t say they aren’t. But, there is a reason why he has all those moving bangles--it’s because he holds cards a lot and that’s where is camera is. I guarantee, when jacket comes back it’ll be flowing in the wind 100% of the time. Every single one of Yugi’s weird bangs can sway around like a weather vane.

So, while this looks not great from the get go, by the time you’ve watched Yugioh for a while, it all comes back together somehow. That’s the thing--that’s what Yugioh proves, it’s that no matter how freakin weird and abstract your design is, if it has the right physics, you’ll have a good time, and that’s an aesthetic all in itself that can’t be described in photo caps.

BUT

but

but, it’s still hella fun to roast Yugi for it because like--look what he’s wearing.

First stop on their date: a diner of lies that gave us no anime food. Just some nondescript milkshake. Every time we see a diner and I don’t get to see anime food my heart shrivels a little smaller like the Grinch.

Yo I assumed the neck belt was attached to the belt-shirt before--but I guess not. Oh man was belt shirt a turtleneck the whole time??? A belt TURTLENECK?

Tea decides to pull out her idea. The idea that Yugi asked her to give Pharaoh--that she could have just...given...straight to Yugi...but here it is. Here’s the big Tea idea.

Tea suggests “Listen, you don’t know who you’re going to be, but that’s true of everyone” which kind of ignores destiny and prophecies and the end of the world, but she’s gonna be a dancer, OK? And because Pharaoh hasn’t seen very much of the world, and is as impressionable as a newborn lamb, he just soaks it right up.

And so they decide not to go to the Museum because Pharaoh’s not feeling it. Probably also has a sixth sense that the museum is currently staffed by the most boring Millennium Item.

FYI this is exactly what my local Dave & Busters looks like floor to ceiling. It’s a real disappointment. It has only 1 DDR machine and one off brand DDR machine, unlike this place.

Yugioh has more diversity than most Anime I’ve seen, but it’s still a work in progress. Also, it’s hard to spot but keep an eye out for this guy’s fringe moccasins.

...Someone brought their briefcase to the arcade? Wh...why?

This whole episode is a whole lot of why.

WHAT?

Everyone just kinda watched this go down?

Again, I’ve never actually played DDR at an arcade because it’s always taken by two sweaty high schoolers who are sweating like ALL OVER the handlebars, and I’m just like...I could ask them to move or...I could not touch their sweat? So, long story short, if DDR involves elbowing each other in the face, this is news to me, and I have been missing out.

Long story short, she wins. We actually get to see Tea use her one and only useful skill--dance fighting. We’ll probably never see it again. Glad they gave us a very long narcissistic Tea dancing montage while they were there. Wish it was done to ska, but you can’t have everything.

And right when this settles into a romantic sunset I start to worry because we’re getting VERY close to a non-vague situation. The show senses this too and just, out of no where, pulls any distraction to get them away from said sunset.

Y’all how do you even manage to draw a spike mullet with dreads?

And here we all thought we’d get through this episode without cards!

JK, you were absolutely right for thinking that.

In her defense, he did try to elbow jab her in the head.

Anyways, after seeing Tea tear through Johnny Steps, Pharaoh feels like maybe he can handle whatever crazy thing happened to him 5000 years ago. He decides “Lets go recklessly open that Pandora’s box!”

I just noticed his second belt has a fanny pack on the butt for his cards.

Well, that was...still vague somehow. Good. Got me worried there for a second.

Next week, on Yugioh:

Bets on how long it takes for the show to never mention this date again and immediately forget these two were an item, I’m betting at the very beginning of the next episode? Are we going to get the same exposition but for the second time--will I even have anything to recap? In the dark is Yugi just a pair of swinging arms?

[ohhhdis]

Northern Downpour

I’ve been way too ‘into’ Final Fantasy XV lately, and despite being late into the fandom, there’s been such a welcoming from artists, fic-writers, and other goobers like me for these four beautiful boys. So I’m trying to contribute! I’ll be posting a little series of songfics, and these guys are for @kaciart to keep inspiring those super awesome draw-streams; seriously, if you’ve not seen their work, you should tooootally check it out! Title: Northern Downpour Pairing: Ignis/Noctis Prompt: Songfic Shorts 1/3 (maybe 4…?) Summary: Ignis and Noctis enjoy an afternoon off in the prince’s apartment, away from the madness of classes, physical training and royal lessons, when a song comes on the radio that gets Noctis thinking. (Takes place late in their high school years) Warnings: Fluff. Fluuuuuffffffffffff. Notes: It’s been a hot minute since I’ve written fanfiction (and by hot minute, I mean to say 13 years). I am at the fandom’s mercy. This will be a small series of shorts based around Ignis, Prompto, and Gladio’s special relationship with Noctis, with an emphasis on the song’s words, both literal and figurative. Also, for full, highly-recommended effect, please give ‘Northern Downpour’ a listen! 

A few soft guitar strums floated with the breeze of Spring into the apartment, giving the wind chimes a brief, loving caress that jingled together to ease Noctis awake. Like small notes of harpsichord, each tiny ring dulled and then rang out again, the guitar picking up pace to hit a new chord and create melody, distant and echoing. Then, a voice:

If all our life is but a dream, fantastic posing greed, then we should feed our jewelry to the sea. For diamonds do appear to be just like broken glass to me…

Now a gentle hum joined the singer, much closer, just above his head. His eyes still hooded, he shifted where his head pillowed a rhythmically rising and falling stomach to see first a hardback book, brilliant red in color, and just beyond a darting pair of eyes behind glasses.

And then she said she can’t believe genius only comes along in storms of fabled foreign tongues–

Noctis laid aside, his cheek now pressed against that warm, firm body beneath, and the spectacled eyes returned the gaze with familiar, unbridled fondness.

–tripping eyes and flooded lungs; Northern downpour sends its love.

Noctis’ room was warm, pleasantly and privately settled between hundreds of other apartments towering above Insomnia in a normal tower-complex. That distant, lovely city outside the window, with homes and markets and giant watch-towers and a castle like a jewel set right in the center of it. All of it was too far down to quite hear the bustle, but it still held a constant white noise, ever present, a reminder of responsibility and recklessness and respect. His people. Someday.

Hey moon, please forget to fall down. Hey moon, don’t you come down.

Sugarcane in the easy mornings, weather vanes, my one and lonely…

“I like this song.” Noctis said, and Ignis paused one hum to agree with another.

The ink is running toward the page. It’s chasing off the days. Look back at boat feet and that winding knee.

I missed your skin when you were East.

You clicked your heels and wished for me.

“Do you remember when we first met?” He asked in a hush, chin propped comfortably, still rising, still falling.

Ignis let the book slowly settle closed against his chest, his fingers tipping the glasses up his nose until they slid over his hair, parting neatly and folding beneath the frames while two tiny strands poked out against his forehead. Charming.

“Yes,” he answered simply, organized and to the point as he was, but again, with such love of memory entwined. Noctis padded his dried lips with his tongue and then let them smile, his arm now sliding to lay nestled between the couch and his partner’s hip.

“You were my first friend, ever.” He said, staring off now into the fractal designs on Ignis’ shirt as he thought far back with a satisfied little sound, his free hand tracing their patterns up and down. A calloused hand with long, thin fingers came to lay over it. “Five years old and given a job, that must have sucked.”

“It’s not quite as relative as it sounds. I was too young to understand any level of the gravity my occupation entailed,” Ignis replied, amused. “And being an advisor was my ‘job’. Being your friend was not.”

Through playful lips made of yarn, that fragile Capricorn unraveled words like moths upon old scarves:

“No? You were happy back then in finely tailored suits shaking hands with total strangers because you were told to?”

The scoff that sounded from Ignis’ nose and his raised brows helped serve his glasses back down from his head and neatly into place, as if having never left. He picked up his book again with one hand, and the other lingered just beneath the other exploring fingertips. “You wound me. I happen to enjoy a finely tailored suit.”

Noctis gave him a look.

“Fine. I liked wearing the suit. And yes, I felt strange in a royal palace surrounded by magnificence, guards and attendants, the King of my home. Being told I would be entrusted with his son’s livelihood and happiness.” Ignis shifted the book against his chest so that it tilted just slightly back, clearly pausing to consider something. “The time following that meeting, on the other hand, was certainly irreplaceable.”

“I know the world’s a broken bone, but melt your headaches, call it home!”

Noctis smiled. “Sap.”

“And yet you incite and encourage it.” Ignis countered within the same beat, his fingers now sliding beneath the prince’s to slip between them.

“I remember being really excited to meet you. I’d never seen another kid around the castle before, let alone another boy, even though I’d been taught about things like ‘play-time’ and all of that. It isn’t the same with caretakers and teachers. They’re adults. They don’t want to play with toy soldiers or pretend to be drakes, not really.” Noctis stared at their hands, aged by training and lessons and time. “And then we spent so much time together, but you didn’t like to ‘play’ either. You wanted to read, you were busy with ledgers and notes and your own training. And yet…”

Hey moon, please forget to fall down. Hey moon, don’t you go down.

Sugarcane in the easy morning, weather vanes, my one and lonely.

“You did still play with me. When I asked you, really begged to get out of working on something, you were always there, tailing me through fun and trouble.”

Sugarcane in the easy morning, weather vanes, my one and lonely.

With a small start, Ignis was suddenly pulling gently at Noctis’ arms, then his waist and belt, encouraging him further up the couch to lay entirely over him, to which he relented easily, his elbows propped against the thread-heavy cushions, his head at Ignis’ chest listening to it beat beyond the radio’s lullaby. The book was gone somewhere, out of mind, no longer a physical barrier of proximity so that the two could share a meaningful look.

Sugarcane in the easy morning, weather vanes, my one and lonely.

“You certainly knew how to get into trouble.” Ignis agreed as his fingers, relaxed inward at the palms, ghosted at each of Noctis’ cheeks until they disappeared beyond his grey-black hair. Noctis leaned into the touch.

Hey moon, hey moon…

“You knew how to get me out of it, though.”

Hey moon, hey moon…

“I did, didn’t I?” Ignis hummed, his dry lips pressed past the prince’s bangs at the crown of his head.

Noctis smiled small, though only in contrast to what you might expect of anyone else. To be raised among politicians and royalty required a level of unspoken joylessness, no doubt, save for the luck of having the King Regis for a father, a man so easily fit into the role of ruler who knew to share a secret smile and laugh with his closest.

“We’ve been through a lot, is what I mean. I think.”  

Hey moon, please forget to fall down. Hey moon, don’t you go down.

“Yes.” Ignis said again, his arms now fully around the body over his, a comforting, unimpeded weight of a body so typically on edge, trained, focused and fierce. A body that represented the future of a world, the end of a century-war kept at bay behind magic walls. Noctis Lucis Caelum, the young prince of Insomnia with a name of history and expansive reach, a ‘night sky’, so content for a fleeting afternoon to trust away his cares and just be.

And of all the velveteen palace chaises, sweeping beds of grass in the royal gardens, and secret getaway cabin rooms to choose from, a young man with a deep love of comfortable sleep who seldom was allowed it, he chose to lay here. A rare afternoon of bright, hot sun and cool breeze, an old radio echoing song through the thin hall into their room so they could reminisce.

You are at the top of my lungs, drawn to the ones who never yawn.

[pinkcaseotakadl]

Diabolik Lovers Lost Eden Ayato Sakamaki [maniac 7]~translation-traducción~

This translation was made by @dj-diabolik-fan *Esta en español abajo de todo~*

-Yui's Monologue-

I don't know how much time it has been since we arrived to the Eden.

But I think it had been a few days.

Ayato-kun's attitude is the same as ever. He doesn't get mad like before. But somehow, he looks out of his mind.

Since then, we haven't been receiving more news from Ruki-kun.

I slowly keep watching from my window how devastated the Eden was left...

-End-

Place: Bedroom.

Yui: (What should we do? At this rate everything is going to end bad...) Yui: Hey Ayato-kun... maybe we could go back to the Human world... where everyone else is? Ayato: What do you achieve doing that? Yui: But... Ayato: It doesn't matter what you say, everything is in vane. Yui: It's not like that...! Ayato: I, besides having destroyed the mansion, have done many bad things Ayato: It can't be helped if they don't believe in me... Yui: ... ... Ayato: But you know? Thought all that is happening the Great Ore-Sama is not going to loose. Ayato: After all I'm the one that obtained the power and I also have people following me. Ayato: I just have to show it the ones that don't.

*Knock knock*

Yui: ...Yes? Azusa: um... the food it's ready... will you baybe want to come and eat with us...? Azusa: Eve and... Ayato-san...

Yui: (Azusa-kun...)

ELECTIONS: 1: Ask to Ayato. (Love) 2: Answer to Azusa. (Nope)

1:

Yui: Hey Ayato-kun, should we go with them? Yui: (Since he invited us we should go, even Ayato-kun could get better.) Ayato: ... ... ... ... Yui: Even if we are here it doesn't mean we can't go out. Yes? Ayato: ... ...Haa, okay. Yui: (I'm glad...) Yui: Then, shall we go? Ayato: ... ...Yeah.

*Steps*

Place: Great hall.

Kou: Thanks for the food~! Mm, it was delicious! Azusa: I wonder when is Ruki coming back... Ayato: ... ... ... ... Kou: Even though, Ruki-kun is cruel... Kou: Before deciding on his own he could have listen to Ayato-kun. Azusa: I also... think that... Ayato: Is not like if the Great Me had to talk with the bastard Ruki. Ayato: It's same to my brothers and Reiji. Yui: (Ayato-kun...) Yuma: Heey, could ya stop talking about them? Kou: True, true. We are eating. Ahh, but I would like to start eating Spaghetti alle vongole~ Yuma: Huh? Do you have a problem with food I made?

*Yuma gets closer to Kou and his his forehead*

Kou: Ow~! I didn't said that~! I said it was delicious, I even praised you! Yui: Hahaha... ... Yui: (Seems everyone is being careful because of Ayato-kun...) Azusa: Just as I thought... I think that leaving this like this is bad... Yui: (Azusa-kun...?) Azusa: Ruki is our family... we have to say the mistakes we commit between us... Yuma: ...Azusa-kun... Kou: ...Is just like Azusa-kun says. I think it'll be better that we talk with Ruki-kun. Yuma: Haaa... even if u say that, the main person that we need hasn't come back... Azusa: What Ruki says is always the right thing... but I don't think this time this is righty at all... Yuma: Well, that is true. In this type of moments is when we his brothers have to be with him. Ayato: ... ... ... ... Kou: Then we should do it soon. Kou: How about we write him a letter? Yuma: Ummm yeh... Azusa: Talking about letters... Azusa: What will you do, Ayato-san? Um... I'm talking about the Snake Clan. Ayato: Ahh, that... Yui: (The due date was on...)

-Yui's Monologue-

I thought again about the Mukami brothers' word exchange

When they have a problem, they help each other. When they make a mistake, they fix it to make it right. That's what brotherhood means.

Just as I thought, Ayato-kun needs his brothers.

If they were with him, they could talk about the Snake Clan and make a decision. But, right now that isn't possible.

Because the due date to give an answer is just days away.

-End-

Correct words: "Brothers" & "Days".

-Monólogo de Yui-

No sé cuanto tiempo ha pasado desde que llegamos al Edén.

Pero pienso que han sido algunos días.

La actitud de Ayato-kun es la misma de siempre. Ya no se enoja como antes. Pero para mí, de alguna forma él se ve algo aislado.

Después de aquello, no hemos recibido más noticias de Ruki-kun.

Por mi parte, miro lentamente desde la ventana lo arruinado que esta el Edén.

-Fin-

Lugar: Habitación.

Yui: (Qu�� es lo que deberiamos hacer? A este paso todo irá mal...) Yui: Oye Ayato-kun... tal vez podríamos volver al Mundo humano... a donde todos los demás están? Ayato: Qué lograrás haciendo eso? Yui: Pero... Ayato: No importa lo que digas, todo es envano Yui: Eso no es así...! Ayato: Yo, además de destruir la mansión, he hecho muchas cosas malas Ayato: No se puede hacer nada más si ellos no confian en mí... Yui: ... ... Ayato: Pero sabes? A pesar de eso el Grande Ore-sama no va a perder Ayato: Después de todo el que obtuvo la fuerza fui yo, y también hay personas que me siguen/apoyan. Ayato: Sólo tengo que enseñarles a los que desistieron

*Toc toc*

Yui: ...Si? Azusa: Umm... la comida ya esta lista... tal vez querrían venir a comer con nosotros...? Azusa: Eva y... Ayato-san...

/Se dieron cuenta que Azusa les pone a todos el ''-san'' pero a Ruki, Yuma, Kou y Yui no? Bueno, a Yui sólo le dice Eva, pero no ''Eva-san''

Yui: (Azusa-kun...)

ELECCIONES: 1. Preguntarle a Ayato. (Love) 2. Responderle a Azusa. (Nope)

1:

Yui: Oye Ayato-kun, vamos con ellos? Yui: (Ya que nos invitaron deberíamos ir, incluso tal vez Ayato-kun se mejore un poco...) Ayato: ... ... ... ... Yui: Aunque estemos aquí no significa que no podriamos salir. Si? Ayato: ... ...Haa, esta bien. Yui: (Que bien...) Yui: Entonces, vamos? Ayato: ... ...Si

*Pasos*

Lugar: Gran Salón. Kou: Gracias por la comida~! Mm, estha delishisho! Azusa: Me pregunto... cuando volverá Ruki... Ayato: ... ... ... ... Kou: Pero aún así, Ruki-kun es cruel Kou: Antes de decidir por su cuenta al menos hubiera escuchado a Ayato-kun Azusa: Yo también... pienso eso... Ayato: No es como si el Grande Yo tendría que hablar con ese bastardo de Ruki Ayato: Va lo mismo para mis hermanos y Reiji Yui: (Ayato-kun...) Yuma: Oí, podrian dejar de hablar de ellos? Kou: Es verdad, es verdad. Estamos comiendo. Ahh, pero yo ya quisiera ir comiendo Spaghetti alle vongole~ Yuma: Ah? Tienes algún problema con la comida que preparé?

*Yuma se acerca a Kou y... golpea su frente?*

Kou: Ouch~! No he dicho eso~! Dije que estaba delicioso, incluso te alabé! Yui: Ahaha... ... Yui: (Parece que todos están teniendo cuidado por Ayato-kun...) Azusa: Como lo pensé... yo... pienso que dejar esto así esta mal... Yui: (Azusa-kun...?) Azusa: Ruki es nuestra familia... hay que decir los errores que cometemos entre nosotros... Yuma: ...Azusa... Kou: ...Es justo como Azusa-kun lo dice. Creo que sería mejor que nosotros hablemos con Ruki-kun Yuma: Haaa... aunque digas eso, la principal persona que necesitamos aún no regresa... (ruki) Azusa: Lo que Ruki dice siempre es lo justo... pero no creo que esta vez esto esté del todo bien... Yuma: Bueno, eso es verdad. En esta clase de momento es cuando nosotros sus hermanos tenemos que estar con él Ayato: ... ... ... ... Kou: Kou: Entonces deberíamos hacerlo cuanto antes Kou: Qué tal si le escribimos una carta? Yuma: Uumm seh... Azusa: Hablando de cartas... Azusa: Qué es lo que harás, Ayato-san? Um... hablo del clan víbora... Ayato: Ahh, aquello... Yui: (La fecha límite era en...)

-Monólogo de Yui-

Pensé nuevamente en el intercambio de los hermanos Mukamis.

Cuando tienen un problema, ellos se ayudan entre si. Cuando cometen un error, lo arreglan para que sea justo. Eso es lo que significa ser hermanos.

Como lo pensé, justo ahora Ayato-kun necesita a sus hermanos.

Si estuvieran con él, podrían hablar sombre el clan víbora y poder decidir que hacer. Pero, en estos momentos eso no es posible.

Porque el día límite para dar una respuesta ya hace días que se están acercando.

-Fin-

Palabras correctas: ''Hermanos'' y ''días''

[bitemekpop]

‘Get to Know Me’ Tag

‘Get to Know Me’ Tag ♡

Got tagged by the one and only @byungjoo

Rules: Answer 30 questions then tag 20 Blogs (we all know I don’t tag so I always break the rules for these things)

Questions

Nicknames: Surprisingly enough, despite not having many friends, I have many nicknames: Savie (it’s a feminized version of the “nickname” that the bassist of Def leppard has (Sav) because I’m his biggest fan and  learned how to play guitar and bass because of him and the band and I just loved his nickname so much that one day I started calling myself Savie and it stuck), Devil’s Spawn (I actually started calling myself that and my friends just went with it because I’m a bitch and can literally be the devil’s spawn if you mess with me or my family or friends) Ghost (cause I’m quiet and can sneak up on anyone and stand behind them forever without them knowing until they turn around and suddenly- BOO... I don’t actually say that.... or I could be someone one second and gone the next), Shadow, Mama Bear (cause I’m protective and will literally beat anyone’s ass who attempts to hurt or scare any of my friends or family, seriously don’t fuck with me I can beat up a guys ass who’s three times my size, I’ve done it several times), Kit-Kat (cause I love kit kats), Oreo (because they’re the best and I’m obsessed), and Hollyzilla (view mama Bear and Devil’s Spawn reasons for an explanation)

Gender: Female

Star sign: Capricorn sun/mercury/mars/uranus/neptune, Aries moon, Aquarius venus, Sagittarius jupiter/pluto, Pisces Saturn, Cancer lilith, and Libra asc node

Height: 5′4″ (so...... around 164.592 cm I guess)

Time: 2:23pm

Birthday: December 28th

Favourite bands: Topp Dogg, Def Leppard, Linkin Park, Wagakki band, Monsta X, NCT, Bon Jovi, EXO, BAP, One republic, SF9, BlackPink, Skrillex, Bassnectar, Enigma, The vane, The Beatles, Nirvana, Guns n Roses, Rob Zombie, Speed, ZE:A, Aerosmith, F(x), Ladies Code, Tom petty and the heartbreakers, Pink Floyd, Metallica, Cinderella, Nine Inch nails, family Force 5, Limp bizkit, Garnidelia, Depeche Mode, Pentagon, Red Velvet, Block B, Boyfriend, Boys Republic, Evanescence, Nu’est, Up10tion, ....to name a few

Favourite solo artists: G-Eazy, G-Dragon, TOP, Eric Nam, lady gaga, Childish Gambino, Enya, Josh Groban, Rihanna, Jay Park, Luhan, Luna Haruna, Micheal Jackson, etc.

Song stuck in my head: I currently have 6 songs stuck in my head that are switching between themselves: Cave me In- Eric N/Gallant/Tablo, All my friends- Snakehips, One More Light- Linkin Park, Hysteria and Animal- Def Leppard, and Down for me- G-Eazy

It’s supper annoying because a line from one of the songs but the composition for a song could be playing in the background then take over then another song will interrupt and it’s just.... ugh! I’m listening to Down for me now though so that might help

Last movie I watched: ....... I think it was Berlin Syndrome

Last show I watched: 0_0 I hardly ever watch tv.................... I think I went back and rewatched an episode of hemlock Grove about 2-3 months ago.

When did I create my blog: My main blog was created on June 14th 2012, my reaction blog was created on May 27th 2014, and this blog was created on October 8th 2016.

What do I post: literally everything since I have 3 different blogs. Kpop moodboards, kpop reactions, selca ships, anything kpop, 80s rock, political shit, feminist stuff, millennial stuff...... essentially anything I want to that I agree with

Last thing googled: “what to include in a suicide letter”

Do you have other blogs: Yep, sav-fan-forever is my main blog and i-growl-growl-growl is my reactions/selca ships blog then I have this one

Do you get asks: not really. Unless it’s a reaction or selca ship request for my second blog

Why did you chose your URL: I think my main blog’s name pretty much speaks for itself, i-growl-growl-growl is from EXO Growl, and this one I came up with while I was thinking about “bite my shiny, metal ass” by bender from Futurama and... I don’t know this just popped into my head so I made it the username

Following: 566

Followers: main blog- 667, i-growl-growl-growl: 1,473, this one- 23

Favourite colors: Black, Brown, Red, (dark grey and white are also faves but not as much as the first three colors)

Average hours of sleep: hmmmm around 11:30-6:30 roughly, so about 8 hours but I’ve been going to sleep around 12:40-1:35 recently so who knows, I might’ve ruined my sleep routine

Lucky number: 12, 60, 1260

Instruments: I play bass guitar, Electric guitar and a small bit of acoustic guitar

What am I wearing: pink hello kitty pajama bottoms and a cozy, soft long sleeved grey shirt/thin sweater sort of shirt and fluffy socks

How many blankets I sleep with: 3

Dream job: Jockey, Artist, Musician or professional street racer (yeah yeah yeah I know that’s not a true profession but it’d be cool and I’d be careful)- for dream dream jobs but for realistic dream jobs I’d choose  english teacher in Japan or Korea

Dream trip: travel across Japan, visit the Arizona ship at Pearl Harbor, visit sites where the Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand, visit the concentration camps in Germany, visit the Japanese internment camps in Amerca (I’m a major history nut and did a full years worth of research on the topic so it’s super interesting to me and I’ve always been interested in the concentration camps and Pearl harbor since I was practically a baby) or go back to the UK

Favourite food: answered in a previous tag but I’ll repost again: BUFFALO WINGS!, Nigiri, Sushi, Udon, Tteokguk, Lamb, Curry, BREAD, DONUTS, Nachos (even though I’m lactose intolerant but only if it’s the good nachos with the gooey cheese and not that shit excuse wanna be nachos where people just put sliced pieces of cheese on chips and cook it because those nachos are fucking nasty as shit!), Pizza Rolls, sour candy, chocolate, daifuku mochi, rice, PASTA, potatoes, carrots, apples, COFFEE CAKE, Chocolate cake, cake in general, cookie dough, black olives, broccoli, cauliflower, steak, chicken, chili, chili cheese fries, dumplings (won tons), egg flower soup, etc.

Nationality: I’m white with a bit of Finish and native American blood in me

Favourite song right now: hmmmmm, haven’t really thought about that, probably Eoeo- Uniq or Easy Love- SF9

[toomanyfeelings5]

brief thoughts on black sails season 2, episode 7:

1. me, watching ep6: gee i wonder if anne and max are going to get more development.

black sails: say no more.

2. jesus christ, anne was married off at 12 or 13, depending on how long the marriage lasted, and had to endure sexual, emotional, and physical abuse. and jack barged in and slit her husband’s throat. i don’t know the age difference between them, but obviously anne has felt obligated to be with him, to be his protector, to be bound to him. no wonder she’s so adrift right now. what’s she to do with all of this soured gratitude? what’s she to do now that she’s been left behind by the only man she’s ever cared for?

3. “what the fuck am i?” god, every scene with anne felt vital, and painful, and raw, and i’m emotional about anne bonny, fearsome and badass real-life pirate! anne’s been a kind of backround character so far, hasn’t gotten much development, but now she’s become just as important, to me anyway, as the other main characters. “i just thought they’d kill you.” suddenly her conversation with max on the beach takes on this new context, and...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh it’s so much.

4. but also!!!! max!!!! idk the exact quote but she tells anne, “i have been alone,” and, “i saw no reason for living,” but then she tells anne that there is life to be found if she makes it hers. max has been where anne is, in a lot of ways. wow. what has max been through, besides the awfulness of the beach? that’s an immediate trauma max has been presumably dealing with, but what is her backstory? her tenderness and gentleness and kindness with anne makes sense because max wants anne to be her partner in gaining more power, but more importantly, i think max just wants to help someone she sees as struggling with things max has struggled with herself. max has been adrift, alone, depressed, traumatized, and i’m guessing has also struggled with her sexuality in the past. anne was the only one who helped max on the beach, and max wants to return a similar kind of favor (eleanor wanted to, and eleanor helped kill those 8 men, but that’s another story, and max doesn’t know that). i need one million fics about max and what helped her find herself and a path in life. 

5. i know comp het stuff isn’t the point of these scenes, but i was getting those vibes when anne almost slept with that dude, and i was also getting those vibes when max was talking to anne about not seeing anyone like her in the world, and feeling worthless because of it. damn, i did not expect these scenes and conversations to hit me that hard, but i’ve got a lump in my throat typing this. who knew watching historical pirates struggling with internalized homophobia and identity would make me feel things?? (it’s more likely than i thought)

6. anne and flint are similar in that they’ve both kind of...staved off growth for themselves in favor of violence/action/etc? they’re both struggling with the persona they’ve built for themselves and the selves they are beyond those masks, and they’re struggling with accepting themselves and i HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT THIS.

7. max gave a no-bullshit policy to idelle to carry out, but she also said that her door was open if the girls wanted to talk, and i just!!!! max is doing her best!!!!!! she wants to gain power but not at the expense of herself and of her values and of her compassion for others!!!!! i love her!!!!!

8. BILLY EXPOSING DUFRANE AND KICKING HIM AND THE OTHER MEN OUT OF THE CREW FOR CONSPIRING AGAINST FLINT. damn i did not see that coming. billy is a good egg. (i also like how it’s still ambiguous if flint let him fall into the water or not.) also!!! billy talking about torture and about being seen as less than a man (WHEN WILL THE ACTUAL FORMER SLAVES GET A PROMINENT ROLE ON THIS SHOW LIKE THEY DESERVE), and how he’s kind of aligned himself with flint because of what he’s been through? wild. 

9. YES FLINT, LISTEN TO BILLY: HIRE MR. SCOTT AS YOUR NEW QUARTERMASTER!!!! WHEN WILL MR. SCOTT RETURN!!! I LOVE HIM, WHAT HAS HE BEEN UP TO?

10. silver’s speech to the men was very business as usual, as was his argument with flint about the gold. but omg, THE GOLD ISN’T GONE! IT’S RIGHT THERE! THE SCOUTS....LIED...?? I���M CONFUSED, @ black sails fandom, did flint tell the scouts to lie? when did silver find out that the gold was still on the beach? 

11. eleanor dumping vane, FINALLY, as a political, business, and romantic partner. the downside to this is that now she’s completely alone. who does she confide in? who will care for her, at the end of the day? she’s made a lot of sacrifices and has cut a lot of ties with people to reach this point: flint has too, and he had better honor this. eleanor resting her head on her father’s shoulder was quietly heartbreaking. she needs a hug from someone who really, consistently cares for her. also! eleanor and flint’s little conversation/flint actually smiling! ALSO! abigail saying that her father told her how awful captain flint is.....oh no.....i have a bad feeling about this. 

12. flint talking so much this ep about how to present an argument, how he plans to be perceived by the men, etc....flint really does care what people think. he has to. but it also calls to mind the fact that captain flint himself is really a persona, a mask. silver has one on at all times, different masks for different occasions: i don’t think we’ve seen a genuine moment from him that doesn’t involve his survival or the gold.

13. flint telling abigail, “i’m james. james mcgraw,” broke my heart. when was the last time captain flint called himself or thought of himself as james mcgraw? how long has it been since he’s said those words outloud? god, the way his face just kind of...opened itself, how he looked like he was going to cry, how soft he was. he has to be, for this political maneuver to work, but also :’’’’))) im cry.

14. looks like it’s time for Richard Guthrie to die mysteriously, RIP, he had one (1) good moment as a father, ever, in his whole shitty life. 

[glasburg]

English Translation of The Tabaluga Novel: Chapter 7

My English translation of the 1994 Tabaluga novel by Helme Heine and Gisela von Radowitz. Master Post can be found here.

(Pages 16-19)

Everyday life, habitude, and exhaustion began at the nest of the ravens. Their child opened its beak and demanded food every few hours, day and night. They brought precious treats for it, dead voles, pill bugs, and earthworms. The harder they tried, the louder its wails became, and its face became more and more green. Finally they found out that it enjoyed strawberries more than potato beetles and preferred spinach over spider ragout.

Whenever it slept, its parents tried to find a name for their child. The raven, who admired heroic legends, considered "Hugin" or "Munin" - those were the ravens of Wotan, the god of winds. His wife considered those too old-fashioned. She wanted a modern name like Hans-Peter or Detlef¹. They fought over it for a while but still arrived at no conclusion. Until one day their child suddenly woke up from its sleep and said Tabaluga loud and clearly. The parents nodded. Can't argue with that, and thus it stayed that way.

Tabaluga soon outgrew his parents. They raised him lovingly, and he became a little bit like them. However, his skin remained sleek.

Not a single bit of fuzz appeared, not a single quill. Even his little wings stayed leathern like those of the bats. Tabaluga was up and about all day long, never getting tired. He bounced, climbed, and jumped around the rocks without cease. Just flying didn't seem to interest him, much to the chagrin of his father.

"It's about time for you to become fully fledged²", the raven decided one day.

"Fledged? What is that?" Tabaluga wanted to know.

"I will show you," his father promised, and Tabaluga was thrilled, being naturally adventurous and curious about life.

The raven was a thorough teacher. He described air currents; distinguished winds, storms, calms, and hurricanes; warned about turbulences and gusts; spoke of föhn, mistral, bora, monsoon, and trade wind. He explained that one has to measure the wind force with one's pectoral feathers, but the wind direction with one’s tail feathers.

Tabaluga listened attentively, nodded well-behaved and asked:

"Do you fly with the head or the wings?"

That made the raven realized that the time for practical experience had come. Together they stood on the edge of the nest.

"We only take off upwind, my son. Now. Spread your wings, bend your knees a little. And once a gust arrives, take off."

That sounded easy. Tabaluga tried it. He wanted to please his father, wanted him to be proud. But he couldn't even move a single millimeter away from his spot. He tried to fiercely flap his wings and simultaneously jump into the air. He dropped back into the nest like a wet bag. Again and again.

Patiently, the raven started over and explained all functions:

"The wings are not just that, they're also your engine³. The primal feathers at the tip of the wings are your ailerons. And the tail feathers are your elevator and control vane."

Tabaluga looked down at himself and meekly said:

"But I don't have any feathers."

This irritated the raven and he demanded that Tabaluga would stop making such a fuss. Tabaluga tried everything. He really didn't want to disappoint his father, but it just didn't work. In the evening they gave up, exhausted. The raveness tucked in her son, gave him a good night kiss and consoled him:

"Be patient. You will learn it eventually. And if not... there are birds that cannot fly at all. We love you either way."

Tabaluga flew the entire night - in his dream, and it was wonderful. When he woke up, he secretly climbed out of the nest and up the hillside. Up there, he took a run-up on the small path, got faster and faster, and spread his small wings. Suddenly, the wind rushed beneath his wings and lifted him up like a feather. His leather wings creaked. The airflow rushed and exhilarated.⁴

"I am fledged!" he cheered into the morning sky.

When the ravens saw that, their mandibles⁵ dropped in astonishment. Filled with fear and joy, they called out:

"Tabaluga, be careful!"

He waved at them in high spirits and...plummeted.

The raveness cooled his bruises, treated his wounds, and revealed the golden rule of flying to her son:

"You always get down."

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Translator’s Notes:

1. Those were modern names at some point in Germany, I swear. Specifically, these names were the most popular from the 1930s to 1960s.

2. In German "fledged" is often used to refer to people’s children growing up and becoming independent, too. So it has like a double meaning here.

3. This line was slightly different in the German version. In German, wings of a being and wings of a machine are two different words, so in the German version the raven basically said "Your wings (from a being) are your wings (from a plane) and your engine"

4. In German there is a bit of a pun here, since “rushed” (rauschte) and “exhilarated” (berauschte) are similar words.

5. The lower and upper beak halves of birds are called mandibles.

[blacksailsandredhair-blog]

Anne/Jack/Charles because ot3

I mean you are 1/3 of this so you’ll have to tell me if I’m right or not

who wakes up first in the morning

Anne, though she’s not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination

who’s the first to fall asleep at night

Jack, sandwiched between the other two 

what they playfully tease each other over

Anne’s height and her attachment to that hat despite the fact it’s falling apart, the fact Jack never fucking shuts up, Charles’ love for both the ginger hellion and the human chatterbox despite his whole gruff Fear Me persona.

what they do when the other’s having a bad day

Rum and fucking. Anne and Charles are remarkably uncomplicated like that. They’re more gentle if it’s Anne or Jack that’s had the bad day.  

how they say ‘i’m sorry’ after arguments

Anne doesn’t, but after she’s stormed off and stabbed someone, she comes back, which is more than can be said for her otherwise. She’s the closest to gentle that she ever gets at this point, her silent way of saying sorry through mannerisms rather than words. 

Jack probably says it thirty thousand different ways before they tell him to shut the fuck up (which is the closest either of them get to saying you’re forgiven) 

Charles I feel like probably just says “I’m sorry”, plain as day, then moves on with his life. 

which one’s more ticklish

They think it’s Jack from the outset, since he’s the most vocal about it, but it’s actually Anne, though you tickle her at your own peril. Charles is that lucky bastard who’s not actually ticklish.

their favourite rainy day activities

Watching the rain from inside the captain’s cabin, curled up and enjoying the human fucking radiator that is Charles Vane. 

how they surprise each other

Actually listening to Jack for more than 10 minutes,  Rum, cigars for Charles, little things that remind them of happy times. Anne likes it when they bring her pineapple, a memory from when she first met Jack, and both she and Vane have gotten into the habit of checking any fancy clothes they find steal off a corpse to see if its likely to fit Jack, though half the time what they think he would like isn’t strictly accurate. 

their most sickening shows of public affection

Anne really isn’t much of a PDA person, Charles isn’t much either though he can tolerate it marginally more. Their shows are more of possession than affection, limbs draped over each other and the occasional stolen kiss.