#they're a couple now

[verfound]

FIC: Paris's Favorite Not-a-Couple (MLB; Lukanette; LBSC Valentine 2025; 7/8)

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

Chapter Seven: A Pirate and his Bonnie

Ignoring the phones was easy enough, especially when Luka scooped her up and carted her into the bedroom.

“More room,” he breathed against her lips as he followed her onto the bed, “and easier to clean.”

She had been laughing too hard to make his attempts to divest her of her clothes very easy, so he had pulled back and lost his own instead.

That had shut her up.

But the phones had been left in the living room, on the crates by the couch, and it had been too easy to ignore any calls that might have come in while he came in, when they were out of sight and out of mind and Marinette was singing too sweetly for either of them to hear a ringer.

It was harder to ignore the knocking on his door…some indeterminate amount of time later.

[solaris2183]

The bell rang in the doorway for the third time tonight, signalling the entry of a customer. Normally I got a couple hundred per night, an easy number when there were quadrillions of people dreaming at once in the several dimensions I serviced. Few could find access to this place, and purposefully so; my goods were only available to those in need, though the definition of that group had been stretched, as of late.

I was no longer surprised when the mysterious man came into view from the entryway. Regular visitors were unheard of - the most I'd ever seen the same customer was twice, and our meetings were decades apart - yet this man had managed to find his way into my store almost twenty times in the last six months, four times in the last month alone.

"Greetings, fine shopkeep," he crowed cheerfully, his voice seeming even louder in the quiet of my empty shop. "What a lovely evening it is, don't you think?"

At first I was curious as to how he kept getting into my little pocket of dreams, but now, I just wanted him gone. "It was," I said dryly. "Will you be buying anything tonight?"

He was shrouded in flowing black fabrics, leaving only his eyes visible, irises white as snow, which twinkled with mirth in the soothing blue and pink fire of the candles decorating the store. "You wound me, my dear," he chuckled, yet he seemed only amused. "Is my company not enough to fill your pockets?"

"You know the answer to that," I muttered, sighing as he pretended to peruse the dreams I had on display.

"You always seem to be low on stock with the Escape genre," he remarked. Though there were plenty of swirling pearlescent bottles in that section, he was correct; they were my most popular product. "Yet here in your Nightmares collection, while you only have a few, they never seem to leave the shelf."

"Most people aren't interested in ruining a perfectly good night like that on purpose," I shrugged. "Though you seem keen on interfering with mine."

He ignored my last comment, instead asking with what seemed to be genuine curiosity, "Then why do you have them?"

I shrugged again, leaning heavily against the counter. "I don't get to choose what dreams I produce. I get what I get, and hope it sells."

He drew closer then, his gaze once again mischievous. "I suppose it'd be impossible to ask you to curate a dream especially for me, then."

I snorted. "Even if I could, I wouldn't."

"You'd turn away a paying customer?"

"I highly doubt you'd be able to pay for it," I chuckled.

"You think me poor?"

I shook my head. "I'd need a piece of your soul."

He stiffened briefly, then relaxed his stance with purpose. "Well now, everyone's got a soul. What makes you think I couldn't pay you?"

"Did you think I wouldn't notice?" I rolled my eyes, giving him a pointed look. "I may not know what you are, but I can see that black chasm inside of you. Maybe you don't mean any harm, but I can't sell you a dream if you can't pay."

The man visibly wilted beneath his robes. "I didn't mean to trouble you. I can assure you my intent was not one of malice."

"Even so, you tried to deceive me."

He looked away, then scanned the room. Even without the candles, it was lit up like a soul itself, with shelves lining the walls and all manner of dreams occupying them. He was quiet for a long moment, and I wondered if he was going to leave for good this time. Then he said, "My people do not dream."

I raised a brow as he returned his gaze to mine, his white eyes turned to a steely grey. "I'd imagine. You'd need souls for that."

"Yes," he nodded. "We can travel freely to almost any realm, yet we cannot experience a peaceful sleep the way others do. When I found your store, I was baffled, to be sure. I had no idea how I'd got here. I was simply exploring these lesser travelled paths at the universe's edge, and was surprised to find such a strange shop as this.

"I'd hoped," he continued, his tone softer, "that you might be able to help me. If I cannot dream on my own, I thought, perhaps I might buy a dream."

I narrowed my eyes, suspicious. "Why are you so adamant about this?"

"People across dimensions talk of their dreams with varying reverence," he said. "Some complain of nights spent running from beasts or being subjected to horrors the likes of which they'd never see in their waking hours, while others titter like children as they describe pleasant encounters with those they desire. Some say that they wished they hadn't woken up." He paused, lost in thought, before he finished, "I have seen a great many things in my time, but never have I known a dream. I wish to, if there is a way."

I looked him over carefully. It was hard to trust a creature who had revealed nothing about himself after so many meetings. He'd always kept his eyes uncovered, however, and whether he'd done it on purpose or not, in doing so he'd never hidden his soul from me - or lack thereof. If he was fooling me, he'd be the first.

I sighed, then lifted the gate that allowed me to move out from behind the counter. The man watched me carefully as I went to the front of the store and locked the door, and seemed puzzled when I came to stand before him. "If I may ask, what are you doing?"

"Hold your hands together like this," I instructed, making a cupping motion with my own hands.

He seemed surprised, then nervous. "Now, hold on a moment, what--"

"Do you want my help or not?"

He froze momentarily, but slowly, he obeyed. I hid my shock when he allowed the sleeves of his cloak to fall to his forearms, allowing me to see the nearly skeletal hands underneath. His skin was grey and transparent, veins and bone visible beneath; he looked frail. Not wanting to offend him, I ignored these revelations in favour of continuing the ritual.

"Very good, keep them cupped tightly like that," I said, placing my hands flat against the center of my chest. "I'm not doing this a second time, so don't let it leak."

This visibly confused the man, but he pressed his fingers tighter together. I took a deep breath to prepare for the pain, telling myself I'd only be relinquishing a tiny fraction of a massive whole. I could deal with it.

I held my breath as I carefully moved my hands outward in a suction motion, and my entire body tensed as an almost unbearable pain coursed through my body. My muscles almost locked into place, as though electricity was numbing them, but I pushed through.

Sweat had broken out over my forehead by the time I wrenched the glowing gelatinous blob from my chest, but I'd managed not to make any noises that might mar my dignity. The man looked on in wonder as I let out a sigh of relief as the process ended, and his eyes were drawn the luminescent orb as I carefully placed it into his hands.

"Okay," I huffed, wrapping his hands in my own. "Now bring it to your heart."

He nodded slowly, and allowed me to guide him until his palms were flat against his chest the same way mine had started. He gasped at the ache of a soul settling into its new home, and when he looked up at me again, his eyes were a vibrant green. He looked around the room again, this time with wonder, and laughed.

"It... It's beautiful," he marvelled, his voice filled with emotion. Tears began to streak down his face, and he wiped away at them with mild confusion. "I've never done that before."

I chuckled warmly, patting him on the back before rounding the counter again to sit heavily on my chair; transferring a soul like that was immensely draining. "You'll get used to it."

He whirled around to look at me as I slumped into my seat, and I didn't need to see the rest of his face to know that it was coloured with concern. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"I'll be fine," I assured him. "Usually I only add to my soul... Taking away from it is just a bit uncomfortable."

His eyes grew wider. "You took that from your own soul?"

"Relax. My soul is more than a thousand times grander than the average being. It is my currency, after all, and I'm proud to say I'm fairly rich."

The man didn't look convinced. "Isn't there anything I can do for you?"

"Take a dream and get out, at least for tonight," I said, smiling softly at him. "It's on the house, but just this once. You'll pay me next time."

He processed this for a moment. "You mean I'm welcome back? After all I pestered you?"

"Don't make me change my mind. And don't worry about the size of your soul - it'll grow with every new thing you experience. After all, if it didn't, you wouldn't be able to pay me."

He laughed, quiet yet jovial. "Is that all it's about for you? ...No matter. You can expect me back sooner rather than later. I'll find a way, and I'll bring you something to repay you. You've no idea what this means to me."

"I might have some idea. Now go, enjoy the universe. You've got a lot of catching up to do."

You’re a shopkeeper who sells liquid dreams. People come to your shop for many reasons; self revelation, escapism, to see a gone loved one or for a precious good night sleep. Your shop is located between dimensions so no visitor can come twice. However, recently you’ve seemed to gain a regular.

[starlingfawn]

through starless sky to blackest ground

[highlandkall]

couldn't wait they're a couple now

(happened off screen ^^)

[kelpermoosee]

My friend labeled this “toxic aromantic yaoi” and I couldn’t agree more

[hopeinthebox]

bts + reductress headlines pt.14

[risibledeer]

happy christmas or merry holidays <3

i threw symbolism on this thing like glitter on a school diorama.

[hajihiko]

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt in Memes 5

Once more, have a prompt entirely in memes because I'm too lazy to properly write one right now lol.

[avephelis]

RISE TWITTER QNA! no major news or announcements, but here's a list of new information and confirmations:

S3 could be brought back as a retro show in the future, but it probably wouldn't happen anytime soon (focus is on mutant mayhem at the moment)

it was never decided whether capril would be friends or girlfriends (due to rise's focus on platonic relationships)

council of heads! they're in power, but a lot of influential yokai (like big mama) aren't easily controlled, and "game the system"

despite not having his dual katana, supposedly f!leo DOES still have mystic powers

ron corcillo would love to see a spin-off focused on the caseys (if rise were ever continued), and likes the potential of a raph + casey vigilante duo

the turtles got their names after splinter's love for renaissance art

big mama's henchman WAS planned to be the missing sister, and rather than venus de milo, she would've been named after a female artist (possibly frida kahlo)

for halloween: raph dressed up as a kitten, mikey as a lion, leo as a rockstar, and donnie as j. robert oppenheimer

the mystic weapons stolen from draxum acted as a conduit to help the boys unlock their innate mystic powers with a "little boost"

they didn't realise mayhem's potential as a character/force until too late, but it could've been fun to do some stories of him being an operative (a la perry the platypus)

there weren't any planned stories for side villains (aside from the foot's cupcake shop), most focus was on the turtles

not much on casey jr's backstory, just that cass and the turtles were fighting the krang and leo raised him as a warrior. casey jr only has brief memories of cass from when he was very young, and was mostly raised by leo

there were definitely six baby turtles (two sisters)! and the turtles were gonna split up to rescue the one with big mama and the one in "the dimension", but they never planned much of it out

there's most likely a time gap between the rescuing leo and the ending scene of the movie, as "after a fight like that, [everyone] would definitely crash and need some recovery time"

there would've been more big mama in future episodes, and stinkbomb was planned to return

since the turtles became known to the public at the end of the movie, they'd have to fight to retain their reputation. this and their reception to criticism/backlash would've become a major arc.

on brother rankings: mikey is definitely raph's favourite, and they all look up to raph

the stronger someone's ninpo is, the greater the drain on their energy is (as seen with f!mikey and karai)

there wouldn't be much threat on villains going after casey jr's future intel, because most of it would've been rendered obsolete

nickelodeon would never give up the rights to rise, but they could license it to a partner company (such as IDW for a comic!)

as previously mentioned, the 2nd sister would've been trapped in "another dimension" and venus/frida would have to be won over by "helping her see that she had been brainwashed [by big mama] as a child" (and redeemed)

given more time, the show would've fleshed out: the hamato story, the hidden city's origins (krang spaceship that crashed into the crying titan being the source of the ooze, its fuel being what gave the yokai mystic powers), and would've used the rat king (who ron corcillo would've liked to be a powerful yokai with rat-like abilities and some form of mind control, who could've threatened the council of heads for power in the hidden city)

as far as we know, the turtles (aside from leo's spanish) only speak english (and even their english is sometimes a bit off)

rise probably wouldn't have ever "gone dark", but after the turtles were publicly known and full-time heroes, it might've had more of an extended plotline

the turtle's casual clothes somewhat reflect their music tastes (r&b for raph, glam rock for leo, techno (and 80s) for donnie and boy band for mikey)

future heights: mikey grew a bit and then shrunk under mystic strain, leo was at least 6ft, donnie a little taller than leo, and raph at least 6'6

mikey's powers could get pretty intense, which could've resulted in some multiverse episodes (ron corcillo would be most inclined to do a 12 crossover, but any could work). while leo portals short distances, mikey's cross space and time (with great effort)

given more time, how the turtles met april would've been fleshed out

in terms of how they take after splinter: donnie and leo have a lot of his cockiness, raph his courage and sense of duty, and mikey senses him missing his family (which is part of the reason of why he tries to hold everyone together)

given more time they would've done more with the transfer of leadership from raph to leo (and originally the plan was to draw that out over S3, rather than the abrupt S2 ending). they would've been co-leaders for a while, and at times mikey or donnie would lead (they aren't really a group with just one leader archetype)

there were plans for april to have more time with the specific turtles other than donnie (like how the gumbus was focused on her mikey and leo)

the cast's mystic abilities would've increased over time, and splinter has a lot of power that hasn't been revealed (as he spent a lot of time in the hidden city in his past)

venus/frida would've been very disciplined and so serious that's she's funny, and the dimension sister would've been "a little kooky"

there weren't really any plans on how the turtles would look in cloaked human forms, just that they'd resemble lou jitsu and may be inspired by their VAs

mikey is the only brother who can fully pull all his limbs and head into his shell (being a box turtle)

any usagi appearances would be a rights matter, and depend on collaboration

on timelines: april is 16 at the start of the series and 18 in the movie, but exactly how much time passes isn't confirmed

ron corcillo would've liked to do more donnie + raph episodes, like one where despite how donnie considers himself smarter, raph ends up beating him in common sense and emotional intelligence

f!leo didn't go with casey jr to the past due to being mortally wounded in his bleeding side

given more time there would've been more flashback episodes with the turtles at various ages

though he'd never admit it, hueso has a close relationship with leo

in early S3 there would've been an episode of setting up the new lair

mystic warrior f!mikey is pretty old (maybe in his 70s), and is strong enough to use basically any mystic power, but at great cost to him physically

no major plans with bishop, but once the turtles became more well-known he could be a bit of a thorn in their sides (like j. jonah jameson to spiderman)

there might've been some redemption from big mama, but also some relapses into her "villainous ways"

given a full season, karai would've been alive for longer, and would've trained the boys for a number of episodes

confirmation that some of early s1 aired in the wrong order (which the writers weren't happy about)

in rise, there's always an unpredictability as to how sentient a mutant will turn out to be

raph probably wouldn't be super uptight about swearing, provided the boys weren't offending anyone

there weren't any plans for romantic relationships (and DEFINITELY never an april-turtles love interest), but if they had ever tried something eventually it would've been with the same species

there were no specific plans for alopex, rita, or rennet, but anything's a possibility

in terms of the 1000 years ago krang/mystic timeline, the spaceship crashed first (possibly spawning the yokai), and other krang followed it, drawing in the invasion

that seems to be about it but if there's any more i'll do a reblog with additions

[gray-warden]

I just realized I never posted photos of this really pretty harvestman i came across a while back. Note the green pedipalps and the dark and light spots on its back.

[iamacolor]

Casual touches between Sol and Sunjae 💛

LOVELY RUNNER - EPISODE 16

[thegeorgiatennantblog]

✨Bafta Blog 2025✨

Part 3/3

Both the last of the #bafta blogvlogging and the rehearsal video compiled 👆 cz tumblr doesn't let me post two videos in one post and posting two separate videos would just clutter up my blog. 🔥 So watch till the end. 🔥

Close up of them being adorable!

[tackykachowch]

How it feels to not like timebomb after s2

[ingravinoveritas]

Michael and David are "so strong and so real and true." This is fine. I'm fine...

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 131

Okay, so first of all Dan would like to say it’s not his fault. Ellie was the one to bring some unknown object into the speeder and Jazz was the one driving. Or had Sam been driving- didn’t matter! It wasn’t his fault, he wasn’t the one shooting at them, he wasn’t the one to break whatever, he was not the one to open a stupid portal, and so it wasn’t his fault! 

So why is he now like, five years old, and why is the speeder crashed in some sort of corn field. Why is everyone- except for Jazz whose now like six- also like three at most?! And- oh fuck the door just opened and… okay that’s a kid. Like, nine at most. 

A kid and an adult, who he hadn’t noticed at first so again, it’s not his fault if he hissed at them and tried to hide his not-siblings behind him. It’s also not fair they’re apparently stuck to ghost speak for who knows how long, but at least they can understand the people. 

“Martha, get some blankets, it’s happened again!”