#ting-ting the red panda

[matbenetti17]

[sister-of-hitoshi]

The guy in trench-coat

Word count: 707 ; Genre: Fluff

Anime: Mr villain's day off

Character: Warumono-san/Mr villain

Note: This is my first time writing, finishing and posting a fanfic...please be kind about my mistakes TvT (Btw you can imagine yourself in the little girl's place (⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠)<3)

"Panda-san!! Hereee!!!! Look here!!!"

You were again swarmed by a throng of little devils.

It was a hot sultry day in mid-June. And every passing minute felt hotter than the last. Especially if you were wearing a thick armour of impenetrable material, ready to go to war against the little devils of humanity with the cuteness of the armour being your only weapon. But hey, the pay for participating as the solo warrior of cuteness was pretty reasonable, and despite the challenging conditions, you just couldn't find it in yourself to be angry at your cutsy panda costume.... curse it's cuteness! Nobody till date seemed to understand the extent of your love for these adorable begins, not even when they saw your humble abode festooned with an overbearing amount of panda merch.

With your head in the clouds and over-exaggerated gestures towards the kids, you had almost forgotten your purpose of deliberately loosing each game of stone-paper-scissors so that they could stop bothering you- you mean- win prizes. However, never did you expect a handsome, full grown man in a trench coat to appear in front of you to play the game as well. This snapped you back to reality as you gaped at him for a few seconds straight, not quite believing this handsome aloof looking dude has willingly come into the kid's play area without an ounce of embarrassment. You immediately understood the gesture though, you immediately figured that he likes pandas as much as you do, and finding a person of similar interest after such a long time had made your day a lot better; it made you extremely happy. So much happy that even during your break you had gone looking for him inside that heavy armour of cuteness. So so happy that you missed him after your work had ended for the day. It was evening now, and there were less and less people in the zoo now. You finally opened the headpiece of your costume and sat on a nearby bench, gazing at the orange sky. Tired and drenched with sweat you had exclaimed to yourself out loud that you missed him, and that "the guy in trench coat seemed very nice", when suddenly there was a shadow looming over you, with a napkin in hand, the shadow of the very person you had thought of all day. The very person you had wanted to meet again. Gaping at him you took the handkerchief, suddenly feeling very embarassed about your sweat drenched face.

"Thank you. The work you do must be tiring."

"Why are you thanking me? I should be the one thanking you" You turned to him, offering a gentle smile and some space as he sat beside you.

"You said that I am nice."

Oh-

"Haha, I feel so." You blushed in embarrassment

He had heard me-

"You must love pandas?" You tried to continue the conversation, for some reason you didn't want to let this opportunity go.

"I do." He said, offering a smile in return.

You looked at him and weighed your options, finally going with: "I have some free panda merch with me, which I wouldn't mind sharing with someone who seems to share my interests...would you be alright with it?" You fished inside your costume pockets and found a panda keychain, immediately taking his hand in yours and placing it on his palm.

Met with silence you looked at him and offered a sincere smile, cheeks tinged red due to both the internal and external heat.

His speechlessness was broken by him suddenly holding your hands and offering you a sincere 'thank you'. "I'll cherish it" he replied in return as well, letting go of your hands and standing up. Not wanting it to end, you immediately stood up as well, and blurted out "M-My name is Y/N, and I'll be still here for week so you can come whenever you like...umm please let's meet again! We can discuss so much about pandas!!" You had basically said the first thing that had come to your mind without much thought, and as soon as you started doubting everything you had said so far, you heard a "Sure thing" and saw him smile.

You were sure of it. You had found the one.

[ballerinagwen]

Kung Fu Panda Series Observation/Theories: Peach Tree symbolism🍑

Hi all! I feel like the majority of the fandom-pandom for kfp is losing their s$&ts from the trailer released for the fourth film; respectively, I also agree and am currently obsessing over ANY details from the clips released! (I know what the wiki page says about the Furious 5 only having a BRIEF MOMENT but please dreamworks, just bring those beautiful babes back and don’t forgot about them!👏)

Anyway, here’s some observation points I’m noticing and then drawing possible theories, just to help ease my brain from any hurt that may be to come from the movie released next year😭

*Basically, it’s all about the Peach Tree*

FYI: I will predominantly be referencing my notes from the FILMS and not the short films/separate series since I don’t know much about those films. The ONLY one I will be referencing is from “Secrets of the Scroll” since the Peach Tree is heavily symbolized (and I live for Tigress content🐯).

……………

1st pic] Coming from the kfp4 trailer, this beautiful ass Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom is prospering for who knows how long this franchise (and turtle man’s death) occurred. Big thing to note is not only the tree itself, but the tiny tree located to the left of Po. I believe that’s the same tree from the first movie, where Shifu and Oogway would plant a new sapling during their conversation about angry boi and sh$&ting on how useless Po is to them🥲

*sidenote: from the trailer, there is a scene where Po is watching the blossoms move in the wind. This did remind me of Oogway’s passing from the first film so whether a ‘change/transition’ could occur is something to consider. Also, I don’t know if that scene takes place at the beginning, middle or end of the forth movie so hopefully more content will be released soon😊👏

2nd pic] The second picture below references this idea— furthermore, from the wiki page, Oogway replanted the peach sapling (the one where Master Master took his feelings out on the tree and a seed fell down), in order to represent how using effective teaching methods towards Po will not only help the panda learn Kung-Fu but also be able to defeat Tai Lung. Congrats then to Shifu for taking the turtle’s advice because now we are getting a fourth film (and all the separate shorts too).

Also from the 1st movie, when Oogway is meditating (before Shifu f$&n interrupts his yoga session) the Peach Tree is actively losing its petals, and then WE ARE TREATED TO THE BEAUTY AND HEARTACHE OF OOGWAY’S DEATH IN ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC CINEMATIC MASTERPIECES OF ALL TIME!!!🪦 So, tree loses petals= loss, death of something? Towards the end of kfp1, the tree starts getting its petals back= rebirth, growth, gain???

3rd pic] - From Secrets of the Scroll, before events of kfp1

Ok, so our beautiful tiger girl is given some much needed spotlight in this short; followed by some emotional damage and teenage issues (like having to fight a boar, prove your worth to your adoptive red panda father, etc…) And, there is the one scene that basically mimics Oogway’s talk with Po (except its grandpa and granddaughter.)

Tigress, as a teenager just got s$&t on by Shifu for getting the wrong group of people to fight pig man (thus Furious Five was born.) She takes some therapeutic, albeit depressive-episode moment time by Peach Tree till Oogway joins her and gives some loving advice: screw dad and prove your worth to yourself👍👍

We then get treated to a beautiful, strong independent woman and her comrades for future films! My note from this pic is that the blossoms are not gone (unlike Oogway’s deathbed scene), so this could also symbolize growth, aspiration, understanding your self-worth (like Po’s from first movie- 4th pic)

……………….

Notes about Peach and Peach Blossom symbolism in China🍑

. “Also known as “Fairy Fruit”, all of its parts are used in Chinese traditional medicine as a cure for several diseases…” ( located under PEACHES category, website, 12/29/2023, https://www.nonsolobacchette.com/post/the-hidden-meaning-of-peaches-in-chinese-art )

. Also from same article, the peach has been associated with immortality and longevity (could explain why Oogway’s lived for such a long ass time too, apart from the fact he’s also a turtle.)

. Good fortune is another symbol for the peach (considering the luck Po has got, maybe those peaches were watching after him!)

Peach blossom trees also represent longevity: they bloom in March and represents spring.

And, DA DA DA….. peach blossoms also symbolizes love!❤️ From the article, since the trees bloom in March, that’s a prime time for weddings to occur (hm, wonder what that could mean .. cough cough 🐼🐯)!!!! Could also be just general love for friends, family too.

………………..

Anyway these were just some notes and observations I saw from the trailer. Truthfully, Dreamworks may be watching the fandom from afar or completely ignoring us but I do hope that the forth film won’t destroy all the beauty and intelligence that the franchise had carried before (especially with the first two films.)

[greekstar]

Warrior cat name Ideas Prefixes - A-Z A Acorn Adder Amber Ant Apple Arch Arrow Aspen Ash Asher Alder Amber B Badger Bark Beech Bellow Birch Berry Bird Black Blizzard Brave Breeze Bright Brown Bell Bug Beetle Bluebell Blue Bounce Brindle Brush Bush Buzzard Buzz Bee Bumble Bass Basil Bubble Brine Beaver Bison (I feel like this only goes good with ‘horn’ or Bisonpelt/fur.) Bat Bone Butterfly Burdock Broken Bramble Bracken Bay Brisk Blossom Briar Boil Branch Bud C Cloud Cloudy Crystal Cold Cricket Cliff Cardinal Crying Cougar Coyote Cobweb Chick Cow Cave Cheetah Carrot Coral Cactus Claw Cedar Cherry Cinder Clover Copper Creek Crooked Crouch Crow D Dew Dewy Duck Dusty Dust Dune Down Dagger Dodge Dolphin Daisy Doe Dapple Dappled Dark Dawn Dead Dove Drift Dusk E Eagle Ebony Echo Egg Eel Ember F Fallen Fallow Fawn Feather Fennel Fern Ferret Finch Fire Flame Fleet Flint Flower Flow Fly Fox Freckle Frog Frost Furze Fuzzy Foal Falling Fall G Gale Gust Golden Gold Goose Gorse Gorge Grass Gray Green Grass Goldfish Guppy Ghost H Hail Half Hare Hawk Hay Hoot Hazel Heather Heavy Hollow Holly Honey Honeycomb Hummingbird Horse Happy Hornet Hound Heron I Ice Ivy J Jagged Jay Joy Jaguar Jackdaw Jump Juniper K Kestrel Kink Koi L Lake Larch Leaf Lark Leopard Lichen Lightning Lily Lion Little Lizard Log Long Lost Loud Low Lynx M Maggot Mallow Maple Marsh Meadow Milk Minnow Mint Mist Misty Mole Moon Morning Moss Mossy Moth Mottle Mouse Mouth Mud Mumble Mink Muddy Moonlight Mountain Mushroom Monkey N Nettle Needle Nut Newt Night Nimble O Oak Oat Odd Olive One Otter Owl Orange Ocean Orca Opal P Pale Perch Pool Pike Peak Prickle Pounce Pine Petal Petal Pebble Pear Patch Pirate(kittypet or loner) Polar Peach Panda Pond Pigeon Plum Q Quail Quick R Rabbit Rain Ragged Rat Rattle Root Raspberry Reed Red Robin Rock Rose Rowan Rubble Running Rushing Rush Russet Rust Rye Raven Raccoon Rustle Rattlesnake Ravine Rapid S Sage Short Sheep Sedge Shrew Slate Slow Snail Sneeze Sorrel Soot Spider Spruce Sun Sunny Swallow Shallow Shade Sharp Scorch Sand Sandy Sky Silver Smoke Snake Soft Snow Sparrow Speckle Splash Spotted Squirrel Stalking Stalk Stalker Starling Stone Storm Stumpy Stump Sweet Swift Shred Sloe Shell Seed Shimmer Shimmering Skunk Spirit Squid Shy Sound Summer Sapphire Spiraling Spiral Shark Saturn T Tall Talon Tooth Timber Tiger Twig Tumble Thorn Thistle Thrush Tawny Tangle Ting Trout Torn Toad Tiny V Vine Vixen Void Vole W Wasp Weasel Web Weed Wet Whisker White Whale Wild Willow Wind Wolf Winter Wisteria Whisper Whispering Water Wave Waver Whisper Watermelon Whistle Wood Y Yellow

Yew

Yarrow- suggested

You guys DONT WANNA KNOW how LONG this took. I’m crying. And I might’ve missed some so feel free to send me messages in chat to request me editing it and putting it in some (not like messaging but the. Chat in this post lol.)

@cryptidclaw I also did this for our Au to help us with renaming.

I will get to suffixes soon I promise.

[chocococoa]

The funny server regulars.

@canella-spice @ratsratsratsratsrats @gooopie and my guy Milo

River is there but he doesn't have a tumblr so hecc.

The Furry tings GC got yeeted because of the purge but we have a discord now send me a DM for a link ya.

[zuffer-weird-girl]

IT'S OPEN-

MLA (Meta Liberation Front):

Geten, Trumpet,

LOV (League Of Villains):

Shigaraki Tomura, Dabi, Twice, Spinner, Mr. compress, Muscular, AFO

SHIE HASSAKAI:

Overhaul, Chrononastasis (Deffo spelt wrong), Setsuno Touya

x Busty Fem! Reader? (But they/them pronouns so non-binaries can enjoy it too :D)

The reader is very kind, gentle etc. and lets people they like use their chest as A pillow 💕

You can do all or Just The ones you like and accept and etc. Love your blog btw!!

Sorry anon but I don't write for the MLA but @thotsforvillainrights is your gal if you want something about them

Kindness? What's that again?

Jokes apart he will be wary of you since I see Shigaraki as a man who trust issues. HUGE trust issues.

But if somehow you got this man to like you, then, well congrats!

You just earned a man who lost his entire childhood following you and never letting you out of his sign.

In other words? Clingy. But not in a touchy way since he secretly fears he may lost control of his quirk again and accidentally kill you like he did with his family (excluding his dad which was intentional so-)

If you appreciate your friend's lives DONT let them rest their head on your chest near Tomura. Guy's is possessive, jealous and overprotective.

It will take a while for you to convince Tenko to touch you though. Again, is not because ele doesn't wanna be with you, is kore about hurting you.

You're just precious to him after you gained his trust so he doesn't want ANYONE (including himself sometimes) to lay a finger on you.

When you finally convince him or if he gained confidence enough he will rest on your chest constantly.

Playing a game? Come here I need you to give me lucky. Going to sleep? He needs his favorite pillows. Making a plan about destroying hero society? "Get your ass here and help me" and then proceeds to rest his cheek on you.

The league is kinda O.O and some -.- with the way Shigaraki reacts towards you but hey he isn't complaining much about them anymore or throwing tantrums so that's what matters.

Not obsessed but holy shit he loves you.

As I said in other writings, Dabi can't and won't understand how can you be so gentle and kind towards people you don't ABSOLUTELY trust but he won't force you to stop being you since he is heart eyes towards you sometimes so-

Probably just going to whisper on your ear when he notices that someone's taking advantage of you "Want me to burn them up?"

Loves touching you but doesn't always want to lay on you? Like, just when he is tired or when you ask him to. Because by his own he prefers for you to lay on him instead of the opposite.

And no, is not because he is insecure or thinks he is the dominant man on the relationship. Is only because he prefers and feels a tinge of comfort when you lay on him than the opposite.

Kinda like a panda hugging him and he just can't get enough of it.

He won't see a problem with kids or other people you like laying on your chest IF YOU are comfortable with that. Because if not, then he is going to throw them away the second he see your expression of discomfort.

But he is kinda jelly though and won't stand seeing them use you for so long because Eamon you're HIS partner.

Spoiled brat? Yes. Very.

But on the rare days he lays on your chest he just like to rest there for a while while tracing circles on your hips as you play with his hair. He loves that part.

And if you sing something? He is out like a light.

*laughs*

This mysophobic bastard won't lay on your chest and won't let others lay on your chest.

BASTARD I SAY

Is because of 2 things he won't lay himself on your chest at first on your relationship

His mysophobia (which by the time will eventually dissappear only with you)

His damn pride.

If you pull him to smosh his face on you the first time, his face is going to be beef red but will immediately push you so he can get the fuck out of there.

He is feeling out of breath and on the bridge of a panic attack, and to Chisaki is a very bad one, since he despises feeling this way even if he knows he loves you... he just isn't ready for all this touching stuff.

You'll have to approach calmy and please don't touch him without his permission. It will only make him panic and more angry.

Kai has inumerous problems with touch, so these things will need to be dealt with calm and patience if you want to be with him.

Yet he LOATHES seeing you do this to other people.

He thinks this is only something people with VERY intimate relationships can do and not with just "someone you like"

He doesn't even spare if it is a kid. I swear this man is insane.

When the time comes that he is comfortable with your touch (HALLELUJAH) he is kinda like "I hate this but don't you dare stop or do this with others".

Will often though come to you and drop his head on your chest when he is frustrated about something but there is always a hint that he actually is fond of these.

About your kindness is something he always respected and loved about you. Heck even admired.

He is the exact opposite of kind, but seeing you there being all gentle and a absolutely angel even with a stranger warms his cold brick heart.

Pretty boi over here is in love with your tatas and personality and you for whole.

He is the definition of a secret simp when it comes to you.

Always takes advantage of resting on you since he is always working so he will be like "Oh no.. my back and neck is killing me... if only I had some kind soul with soft pillow to lay on.... oh the pain".

"... Hari. You do know you don't need to do this every time you want to lay on me right? We've been dating for three years already you dork."

He knows but likes to joke around with you.

Chrono is actually very kind outside of his job on the yakusa.

He helps you with the best he can when he sees you gathering a bit too much responsibilities and is the kind of man to offer help to a old lady or old man to carry groceries to their houses if he notices if ther are too heavy for them.

He actually doesn't see a problem with who you let rest on your chest since by his words they belong to him so he just stares at the scene with a monotonous look before shrugging and continue to do wtv he was doing.

BUT if he sees someone if the Hassaikai doing this he is throwing hands since he knows those people and don't want them close to you unless you say to him it's okay.

[mar-im-o]

Hello hello! with the writing prompts I would love to read a boat boys with number 8 and realizing feelings if you’re up for it :)

8. Reluctantly

-

“We are not soulmates.”

The Watcher’s game has started anew, and it’s with a thrumming headache that Joel awakens. The group is together, anxious buzz in the air as they discuss the rules Grian has explained to them.

Three lives.

The Red Curse.

And they’re bound to their soulmates.

Soulmates…

Which, Joel has since decided based purely on spite and a bit of hunger, is absolute rubbish.

“We’re not soulmates,” Joel insists once more, callused hands busy as he shoves starting resources into a chest. His start has gone relatively well and, frankly, quick, largely in avoidance of his thoughts.

Or to ignore the shocks of pain through his body whenever Etho gets hurt.

Because, according to the rules of this game, Etho is his soulmate.

Etho…

“You keep saying that,” Etho says bluntly. His eyes are shut from where he’s collapsed on the hill with an exhaustion shared between the two of them after a day of building and collecting. There’s a tightness to Joel’s back he’s unfamiliar with, and he can only assume it's a regularity of his partner.

Not that they’re partners.

“Do you want to know who my soulmate is?”

“Is it Lizzie?”

“It’s Lizzie!” Joel insists, entirely ignoring his other half. “My lovely wife who is epic and awesome and one time she pretty much single-handedly killed a wither for me! Bloody incredible, innit.”

Etho lets out a sharp exhale in amusement. “That’s pretty incredible, yeah.”

“So don’t get any funny ideas mister.”

“Hey,” Etho peeks an eye open, raising his hands in a mock surrender. “No need to worry about me.”

“Good.” Joel nods stiffly, turning to consider the space he has to work with. He’s thinking something fun for their base this season. A ship, perhaps.

Not that they’re soulmates at all.

***

“We aren’t soulmates,” Joel says.

Just a reminder. A tired, tired reminder from where he lays in bed, eyes longing to shut as he stares overhead. His entire body aches, muscles and bones singing with the echoes of Death and Respawning. The hearts on his wrist flash yellow in a grim reminder of what’s been lost, and he tries his best not to think about it.

Etho, on the other hand, is making it quite hard to sleep off their mistakes from where he stands over Joel’s bed, finger and thumb pinching the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t say we were.”

“I only share a bed with my wife, Mr. Labs.”

And Etho sighs, the same exhaustion Joel feels ringing through him. “We don’t have enough wool.”

“Go bug Grian for some.”

“Joel–”

The words are tinged with a desperation Joel isn’t used to and it draws his attention towards Etho.

He’s… tired. Vulnerable. A state of being Joel never would have expected to see in him.

Etho, the feared survivor, the fury behind the sword, carrier of destruction and ruin for any leader who evokes his name.

Etho, exhausted, desperate to lay down after a long, long day.

And there’s something within Joel’s chest that flutters and shifts.

And he shifts too, scooting over to make room for Etho in the bed.

Etho falls forward, facefirst into a pillow with a relieved huff, voice muddled under downy feathers as he gives a “thank you”.

Joel smiles. “No problem mate.”

He focuses on the distance between them, focuses on the fact that they are not touching, that they will not touch, until that focus lulls Joel to sleep.

When he wakes curled around Etho’s arm, he quickly makes himself absent.

Because they are not soulmates.

***

“This isn’t because we’re soulmates,” Joel insists.

He’s positively beaming, though, bouncing a bit as he shows Grian his new shirt. It’s a poorly made design, but a functional one with an approximate likeness to Etho pasted on the front, big and baggy and draped over his armor. 

Grian laughs in surprise, head tilted as he attempts to make sense of the craft project. “It’s Etho?”

“Definitely Etho.” Scar agrees. He’d been trying to wrangle some pandas when Joel arrived but has, since, been thwarted by Grian perched on the back of his wheelchair, arms draped over his shoulders lazily.

“And you’re wearing a shirt of him because…?”

“Because I’m his biggest fan!”

It’s the only logical conclusion Joel has been able to come to.

In the days that have passed, Etho has been the only thing on Joel’s mind. He worries about him, heart pounding when he’s out of sight, quick to throw himself into danger if it means it’ll spare Etho the trouble, even finding himself curiously disappointed when they found enough wool to make Etho his own bed.

He’s like a parasite, that one, invading Joel’s thoughts and making his stomach turn all weird and butterfly-like.

It’s ridiculous.

“And you’re not soulmates?” Grian asks slowly, and Joel gives a hard nod.

“Of course not! Lizzie’s my soulmate.”

“The Watcher’s didn’t bring Lizzie.”

“Right,” Joel agrees, “Because she’s too awesome and epic for them.”

“And not at all because there’s another soulmate of yours they wanted to bind you to?”

He hadn’t considered that, really… Joel swallows, trying his best to wet a cottoned mouth. “Lizzie’s my soulmate,” he repeats, though there’s an air of uncertainty to it now. “Not Joel.”

Scar tuts as he strips some bamboo for a few waiting pandas. “How mono genius of you.”

“He means monogamous,” Grian clarifies, and all Joel can do is frown. 

“I don’t know what that means.”

Grian snorts and, finally, leaves his perch, earning a thank you from Scar as he begins work again on their base. “Have fun with your not-soulmate, Joel!”

The words are teasing in a way Joel can’t place and he’s left watching Grian as he heads off to build his cake.

Whatever the taunt, Joel ignores it. There’s no reason to linger on Grian’s tricks.

Because Etho is not his soulmate.

***

“Are we soulmates…?”

He’s… different. Death and Respawn have come again and with it the Red Curse.

It’s nothing he’s not used to. These games tend to go the worse for him, and he finds himself eerily familiar with the curse of blood and death. By all means he should hate it, should hate the way it twists his thoughts and makes him loathe his friends, but he doesn’t. It’s a comfort, really, to fall into the hands of this curse. It’s a sign that the Game’s almost through.

But he can’t think straight. Not because of the usual–not because of his anger towards Grian and Scar or his bloodlust or all the horrible wants that have filled his mind.

Because of Etho.

Because Etho is red, too. Because Etho lost his life because of Joel. Because Etho is pacing the deck of the ship now, struggling to make sense of effects of the curse and watching the tips of his fingers turn gray with their first spilled blood.

And Joel is watching Etho.

The question catches Joel off-guard. “Sorry, what was that?”

Etho turns away, eyes finding the line of Pillagers shouting angrily from behind a wall. “Nothing. I know the answer.”

He does. Since this game’s begun Joel has made the answer to that question quite clear.

They’re not soulmates.

Right…?

“I just–” Etho sighs, leaning forward against the railing to look out past the world border. “Look, don’t get all weird on me. I just–you dying when you fell? That’s been bothering me.”

Joel snorts, watching Etho’s back. “You and me both, mate.”

“I’m not angry,” Etho says. “I’m worried, I guess. Worried like I do about BDubs. And it’s surprised me. Didn’t think I worried about anyone like I do him. And you keep insisting you’re not soulmates and, well, I’m not one to argue! Fine by me!

“But then I saw you fall, and for a split second you were dead and I wasn’t and that second was agony. It was like everything of yours I’ve been feeling for the last month was suddenly gone. I was–I was alone.”

“Sounds nice,” Joel lies. He’s staring at Etho still, brows furrowed, hands kneading between one another as he tries so very hard to ignore the way his heart’s racing and his stomach’s shifting. 

Lizzie is his soulmate.

Not Etho.

“Does it?”

Etho throws a glance over his shoulder and the two lock eyes.

And for the first time since the Game’s begun, Joel stops to wonder if the butterflies in his stomach are his or Etho’s.

“Red life,” Etho says quietly, more so to the air than to Joel. “We’re almost done.”

Joel can’t find the strength to speak. He nods. 

“I don’t think I want to be alone, Joel.”

And he doesn’t either. Mojang above he doesn’t want to be alone, and he suddenly feels it all over. He feels it in the way his heart races and fingers itch to find Etho's. He feels it in the warmth in his cheeks and the pain in his back and the scars on his shoulders and by Mojang he doesn't want to be alone he’s not ready for this season to end.

Etho’s crossing the space now, and something in Joel screams at him to get up, to back away, to put some space between them.

Maybe Etho feels the same. He pauses with a foot between them, red-stained eyes searching Joel’s nervous form.

And Etho smiles.

“Do you think we can have more than one soulmate, Joel?”

And the words still aren’t there. Nothing is there, not the world, not the Game, not the Watchers nor the Curse.

It’s just Joel and Etho.

And amidst that nothing, Joel nods.

The two melt, falling towards each other, eager to close the space they’ve been so insistent on keeping between them. Joel throws himself at Etho, arms crossing behind his neck, chests pressed together until Etho stumbles, back against the mast to steady the two as they slide to the floor.

They’re hugging each other, Joel’s face buried in Etho’s shoulder, Etho’s hands tight around his waist. They’re hugging.

And they don’t let go.

When Joel wakes, it’s dark out, moonlight peeking in from gaps between the deck's planks. At some point the two must have moved under the deck, and they’re together, again, in Joel’s bed. 

For a moment, he considers this all wrong. He thinks he should move out of the way, put some distance between them.

But he doesn’t.

Etho hums in his sleep, and Joel curls into him.

He quite thinks he’d like Lizzie by his side, and maybe BDubs by Etho’s.

And that’s okay.

“We’re soulmates,” Joel whispers to a sleeping room.

And the world whispers back that they are.

[incongruousstrawberry]

I want you (Fushiguro Megumi x f!reader)

Word count: 2.2k

Tags: aged-up characters, smut, unprotected sex, car sex, established relationship.

Hello! I'm back with a short pwp fanfic this time. I'm totally unsure whether or not the way I described Fushiguro is plausible, but since this is just an indulgent piece I hope it'll be alright.

It's a serene weekend evening and you, your boyfriend, and your friends are going to the beach to enjoy the last remnants of summer's warmth.

There are six of you and you can't be bothered to use two cars, so you imprudently decide to squash everybody inside Panda's medium-sized car.

That's how you end up on Fushiguro's lap, accompanied by the silly little snickers of Nobara and Itadori, and a sly look from Maki.

You wonder if your boyfriend minds at first, it's hot and he already seems uncomfortable in his dark grey tee, but the way he gently circles your waist with his arms makes you think he's actually enjoying this.

You surely are enjoying this yourself, your half-bare back pressing on his chest, your arms resting on his, and your gaze lost on the flaming sky. A couple of clouds wander solitary on the horizon and your eyes follow the gradient of colours, from orange to green to blue, with only peace in your heart.

When you confessed your feelings to Fushiguro a couple of months ago, you didn't know what to expect. There was clearly good chemistry and a lot of respect between the two of you, but due to the boy's reserved personality and his ever-serious face you were never sure what was going on in his messy-haired head.

Nervous and uncertain as you were - you couldn't know that, but your cheeks were so red that afternoon - the last thing you expected at the time was to receive a long steamy kiss from him.

You only recently discovered that Megumi wasn’t as calm and collected as he appeared to be. He wasn't shy either, stealing a kiss from you at every opportunity and walking hand-in-hand whenever the two of you were off-duty.

When he was with you he almost looked like a different person, and you found yourself enjoying both of his sides to a great extent: the stern, responsible, goal-oriented one and the sweet, impulsive teeny one alike.

But all your newly found knowledge about him wasn't enough to prepare you for what was going to happen next.

You've finally arrived at the beach and everyone starts getting out of the car when Fushiguro stops you, his arms tightening around your waist. You turn toward him, a quizzical expression on your face, but his dark blue eyes are looking at Panda, who's right next to the car door. "Please go on without us," Fushiguro tells him, "I have to talk to y/n for a moment."

Panda looks at Fushiguro in confusion, the fur over his eyes furrowing lightly, but then he hands him the keys. "Okay, later!"

You both sit in silence, waiting for the others to be far enough.

You are still looking out of the window when Fushiguro breaks the silence. "Y/n," he calls quietly.

"What is it, 'Guro?" you ask sweetly, just the tiniest bit of worry making you stiffen lightly.

"I want you." You barely hear him, his voice just a low murmur close to your right ear.

Your eyes widen in shock and you stir on his lap, trying to turn toward him to ask him if he's serious right now, but your attention is quickly caught by the feeling of his right hand falling from your waist to your stomach, snaking its way down slowly. "What are you doing?!" you exclaim in a gasp, squirming in his lap.

That's when you feel it. His erection is poking against your ass, impossible to miss even with the layers of clothing keeping you apart, and you giggle quietly. "Did you like having me on your lap that much?"

"You were the one pressing yourself all over me… and with this dress..." Fushiguro's voice is almost shy, a trace of guilt tinging his tone. "If you want, I can stop," he says as his hand goes lower and he brushes his fingers against your clothed core.

The contact is enough to have you inhale rapidly, and you let out a shaky breath when you feel Fushiguro kissing the crook of your neck, his lips soft and warm, his tongue wet and slow on your skin.

You don't want him to stop now, of course, but… "But we're in Panda's car…" you say quietly as if saying it louder could have you discovered.

"We'll be careful," he says against your neck, and the warmth that collects in your lower belly starts taking priority to any rational thought you might be having.

Fushiguro starts pressing on your core more insistently and you moan quietly, enjoying the sweet pressure of his long fingers, but then you suddenly remember that the window is open. You look around carefully, in order to see if someone is approaching the parking area, but luckily the place is deserted. "Wait a sec." You grab the keys he has placed on the seat next to yours and reach for the front of the car, your body fully stretched forward to put the keys in the slot and turn them just enough so that you can close the window. You feel his hands grazing at your thighs and you realise how exposed you are in this position. A shudder runs along your spine. Suddenly embarrassed, you pull back quickly and rest on his lap again, closing the window next to you. "You're so impatient today, what's gotten into you?"

Fushiguro doesn't answer and grabs your jaw with a gentle movement instead, pulling you close and kissing you with passion. You melt into the kiss and let him bite your lower lip before your tongue peeks out to meet his. It's a mess of lips and tongues that don't cease to dance until you pull away in a gasp when you feel his fingers on you again, pulling up your dress and grazing the cloth of your underwear.

"Can I?" Fushiguro's low voice gets right into your head and you nod silently while your left hand goes burying itself amongst his dark hair.

He's quick to slide his hand under your light panties and the first graze of his gentle fingers on your folds sends a wave of pleasure through your body.

"You're wet," he says, surprised.

You half-turn toward him. "Am I not supposed to?"

"It's just that we just started so I thought…"

You can feel yourself blushing and find yourself squirming in embarrassment. "Well… you… it's not my fault you're so hot, 'Guro."

That's it. Now he has completely lost his cool. Fushiguro turns you toward him again with one hand to suck on your lower lip while without warning he inserts a finger inside you.

You wince a little but the shock is soon replaced with pleasure as the long digit slides easily into you, your wetness already smoothing his movements.

You're now with your legs wide open, both your hands behind you, buried in his hair, and your mouth slightly open as your breath stutters at every movement of your boyfriend.

It's not long before he puts another finger in and while you whimper quietly he starts slowly grinding his length against your ass in search for some relief.

"Nnh, let me take care of you too," you breathe out, but Fushiguro's fingers don't stop. On the contrary, the hand that was resting on your jaw slowly starts wandering South, reaching the hem of your dress and sliding upwards. He slides his hand under your bra and his long fingers reach for one of your nipples, playing with it gently. Then he twists it, just the right amount of pressure applied, and you moan out loud, your voice flowing so nicely to his ears that his cock twitches in his pants.

Fushiguro's right hand keeps pumping into you whilst his left hand leaves your soft breast to slide under your panties and find your clit.

Whatever control you were exerting over your voice until that moment is lost when he starts drawing circles on your sensitive nub and you moan a little louder every time, burying your fingers further in his dark hair. The pumping of his fingers into you starts sounding more explicit with how wet you’re getting and a hot grip takes hold of your core, pleasure collecting quickly inside of you. Hearing him grunt in your ear after the umpteenth grind of his length against you finally sends you over the edge. The grip cracks and a hot mellifluous flow runs free through your body and sweeps over you from your toes to your head. It feels light and empty as your orgasm swirls messily inside you. You moan his pet name out loud, the world around you completely forgotten, your breath stuttering and your core clenching around his fingers.

Then you slowly start to come down your high while Fushiguro's fingers soothe you with calm, slow movements.

"That was hot," he rasps in your ear.

"You are… nnh, 'Guro, stop moving for a sec." When he removes his fingers from you, you take some seconds to get back to your senses and then try to stand up as much as the car allows you to. Then you turn toward your boyfriend and stare shamelessly at his bulge. You are still aware that you are in Panda's car, outside, dangerously exposed if anyone decides to get close, but you just don't care about any of that right now. "Alright." Your tone is firm and determined.

You unbutton Fushiguro's pants, your breath shaking just a little while you undo his zipper and after some quick movements his cock is finally free. It's red and a little swollen, probably due to all the grinding he couldn't make himself stop to do.

You raise your dress and place yourself on his lap, straddling him, and Fushiguro places his hands on your hips, his dark blue eyes staring avidly into yours. You pull your panties to the side and adjust yourself so that his length is aligned with your entrance and place your hands on his shoulders. "I'm ready," you murmur.

His lips curl upward, a sly smile making his face even more stunning, and he pushes your hips down on his cock.

The mewl you make is so lewd and sweet to Fushiguro's ears and every resolution he might have made to take it slowly suddenly dissipates.

You squeal as he starts to buck his hips into you fast and strong. He's reaching so deep inside of you and you can only stand there and follow the rhythm he chose, enjoying every single thrust he gives while your breasts bounce under the light summer dress you wear.

Your core hurts a little at first, the sudden stretch shocking your muscles, but as pleasure rises every discomfort vanishes like a cloud dissolving into thin air.

Your moans and Fushiguro's grunts fill the car until the sound gets muffled by the kiss the two of you engage into. It's warm, wet, and messy, your lips sliding against each other and your tongues brushing sloppily while you bury your fingers in his hair.

Meanwhile, he doesn't stop thrusting into you, his movements needy and deep, his fingers still sinking in your skin as they press you closer to him.

You start feeling a hot pressure in your lower abdomen, pleasure and desire collecting once again, ready to explode at any moment. You put one hand on his shoulder to steady yourself and snake the other one down to your clit, providing yourself the last piece of the puzzle.

Fushiguro's voice becomes raspy as he grunts at the sight and he bites the soft skin of your neck, and it sends you into oblivion. Between his thrusts filling you up and your middle finger tracing circles on your clit, you start to unravel, your moans becoming whimpers as your body contracts and your eyes become glossy before shutting down completely.

The way you clench and cream around Fushiguro's cock makes him reach for his climax too and with some last sloppy thrusts he grunts in your neck as he spills inside you. The voice he makes when he cums is probably the thing that turns you on the most in the entire world and you open your eyes again just to look at him in adoration. To your surprise - even though you really shouldn't be surprised - he's staring at you with the same exact expression, and he's quick to place a hand behind your head and pull you close to him, giving you a slow deep kiss that ends with a sweet peck on your lips.

"I love you, you know that?" he says, his voice quiet and tired.

"I do," you reply, sweet and enamoured, "and I love you too."

Silence falls and the two of you just stare at each other lovingly, until something clicks in your mind and you remember where you are. "Oh, gosh, we should clean up and go now. They must be wondering where we are."

You start to move, hesitant while you try to figure out how to have him pull off without making a mess on the seat, but Fushiguro stops you, his arms hooked around your waist. "Stay here a little more," he says, and you still. A moment later, you feel his length swelling again inside you.

"'Guro? Not again?!"

His voice is uncharacteristically whiny as his elongated eyes stare into you, "But I want you."

[goldenkirstein]

She lives in daydreams with me

or alternatively, when jean and you visit Ikea

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

pairing: jean x fem! reader

wc: 1.5k+

tags: fluff, modern! au, female reader, language, mentions of food.

a/n: I was inspired by this post, also I just like Ikea, I think Jean would to tbh. am i living out my own daydreams with Jean by writing this? potentially. i love him lol. Feedback and any criticism encouraged lmao.

⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

Your head tilted as you stared dead-on at the boy in front of you.

“Jean, what is that?”

“What are you talking about baby, this is a-” He squinted, looking at the tag, of what you assumed to be a night light?

“An-garna.” Jean looked back up at you, grinning widely.

You had come earlier to Ikea, needing to buy some storage baskets for your room, and yet here you were standing in a miniature model of a child’s room, staring at the six-foot three-man holding a children’s night light, that had...Was that panda face design on it?

“Jean, my love, my dear, we don’t have kids; why on Earth would I need a children’s night light?” The toothy grin quickly disappeared from his face, quickly replaced with a stern expression.

“Just because something is marketed towards children doesn’t mean adults can’t buy it, and anyways I was merely suggesting it, knowing how you can’t sleep after watching horror movies.” It’s more like when he can’t sleep after watching, but his ego would never let him admit that.

You rolled your eyes at your boyfriend, “put it in the cart, Kirstein.” He flashed you a smile, coming over and placing a kiss on your cheek before mumbling a small thank you.

As much as you would act annoyed or unamused when it came to Jean’s antics, it was more or less a front. You loved it when he would let his guard down in public with you. He wasn’t always like this; the Jean you met years prior would be caught dead before expressing his affections in public. He would get easily flustered, blush to sport his face if anyone he knew saw him admiring and doting on his girlfriend. It wasn’t something that deeply upset you; in a way, you were able to keep a tiny part of Jean to yourself, the goofy, tender side of him that he only let out when he was with you. However, watching him become more confident in himself and expressing his love for you outranked any desires that you had to keep Jean bottled up for your gratification.

He walked in front, long legs carrying him practically miles in front of you until he turned a corner and found himself situated in a living-room model. You followed shortly after and saw that he was making himself comfortable on a charcoal-grey couch.

“Mm, come sit,” he patted gently on the cushion next to him, gesturing to you to join him on the sofa. You raised your eyebrows and let out a giggle, situating the cart near a side table before accompanying him.

“What do you wanna watch babe,” Jean tilted his head, signalling to the fake flat-screen in front of you. You thought about tormenting the boy; however, you opted to play along with him this time.

“Oooh, I don’t know, check if the new Grey’s episode is out.” He smiled at you, appreciating your willingness to get lost in this daydream with him. His smile quickly shifted into a mischievous grin as he poked your side.

“Heyyy, what the fuck was that for!” You recoiled, shrinking away from him, but before you could get far enough away from him, he pulled you back into his side. You tried squirming away from him, only for his grip on you to get stronger, and you were met with a chuckle—the noise reverberating around the tiny living room.

“Really? Greys? On a night like this?” You shifted your body, turning your head to look at the “window” covered with sheer beige curtains, overlaid with opaque maroon ones. Outside, or rather you should say the wall was painted white, so you began drumming up a scenario in your mind. That was tonight, a spring evening, stars visible in the night sky? Or a cold and snowy winter’s night? The purple tinge of the atmosphere apparent through the translucent curtains. Jean stared at you intently, wondering what you will come up with, his gaze shifting as the corners of your lips upturned; you had settled on an idea.

“Oooh yeah, it’s practically pitch black outside; I can only see the streetlights in the distance. We should really do something about that pesky tree, though. Its branches keep tapping on the window; it’s frankly quite annoying.” A rosy tinge was present on his cheeks, hazel eyes twinkling at you.

You placed a hand on his chest, your focus entirely on the love-struck boy in front of you, “You know what? We should totally watch a horror movie!” Just as you began to immerse yourself in the daydream, Jean shot up from the couch, leaving an indent where he was sitting behind.

“Alright, enough dilly-dallying, we should go home now.” He clapped his hands together, moving to grab the cart to leave the store display.

Dilly-dallying? Did he really just say dilly-dallying?

“What’s wrong, Jean-boy? This is our home! Oooh, don’t tell me you don’t wanna watch because you’re scared.” You fell back on the couch, beaming, elbows propping you up as you teased him.

“Am not. I just decided that I’m in the mood for cinnamon rolls and fro-yo.” He placed his elbow on the handles of the cart, head resting in the palm of his hand. He gave you an unimpressed look.

“Oh really? Who’s that night-light for again? I seem to have forgotten.” This time it was his turn to roll his eyes at you. Without saying anything, he placed his hands back on the cart’s handle and began to leave the “living room.”

You swung your legs over, a giggle leaving your mouth as you walked over to your boyfriend. You wrapped your arms around his middle, resting your cheek on him. “Babe, I was just joking; I didn’t mean to upset you,” you mumbled into him.

He let out a sigh and stopped in the middle of the aisle. You watched as he brought one of his hands down to grasp one of yours that had taken hold of his waist. Jean turned to face you, head tilting as a slight smirk overtook his face. “That’s what I was waiting to hear.” He placed a soft kiss on your forehead before turning around to continue rolling the cart forward to his destination.

His arm extended behind him, motioning to you to hold his hand. You obliged, your palm sliding in his, fingers curling around your knuckles as his. “Whatever,” you grumbled, choosing to turn your head to observe the variety of rugs that were hanging on display. He tugged at your hand, an amused expression painting his face.

“You want those cinnamon buns or not, pretty girl?” The pet name almost made you choke. He knew what it would do to you. He would use it sparsely, only to coax a reaction out of you, but you weren’t going to give him the satisfaction of letting him know the hold he had over you.

You whipped your head back to face him, confident to quip back at him, but it all melted when you saw the way he was looking at you; a lop-sided smirk, his tongue peeked out to wet his bottom lip before capturing it between his teeth. He raised his eyebrows, waiting for what you had to say.

“Yeah, I do.” You managed to slip a few words out. He had won this one, using his charms to debilitate any assuredness you had. He brought your linked hands up to his lips, tenderly kissing the back of your hand, humming in delight.

“You know, we should come here more often, live out our domestic daydreams together.” The smells of cinnamon buns were getting stronger as you walked on.

“Sure, but you could also just move in with me.”

The tips of his ears went red, and you paused, realizing what you just said, the weight of what you just said. You had thought about asking him to move in with you, but you didn’t mean for it to slip out in the middle of a random conversation; in Ikea nonetheless. “I- You don’t have to. I was just joking. I don’t know why I said that.”

Your voice dwindled to merely a whisper as you completed your sentence. Jean stopped the cart once more. “Yes. Yes, I’ll move in with you.” His expression was earnest as he looked at you, eyes glittering with adoration as he waited for your response.

“Whoa, whoa, hold your horses cowboy. We can talk about this after you get me those cinnamon buns you promised.” you wiped any sense of embarrassment from your face as you tried to suppress your laughter, which was caused by the zealousness your boyfriend had just shown.

However, there was no doubt that your heart did grow in fondness for Jean, and you were relieved that he wasn’t off-put by your haphazard confession. He was absolutely whipped for you, and you couldn’t deny that you were head over heels in love with him either. You desired to continue to share your life with him, and moving in together would be the next step in your relationship.

“Yes, Ma’am” His voice broke you out of your thoughts as he placed his hand to his forehead to salute you. You giggled at his actions.

“Lead the way, Kirstein.”

a/n: lol, this was practically for my own self-indulgence. and i feel like this was a tad bit ooc idk. Anywayssss, I would like to mention that I'm working on a navigation page with taglists and such and thinking about requests. I wanna branch out write for more aot characters as well as jjk and hq. Again, I'm very new to this so it's gonna take some time. I would love to know ur thoughts on all of this lol.

As always, please leave a like/reblog (i love reading tags makes me happy heh) if you enjoyed this, I appreciate lots <33

[matbenetti17]

Daisy Town: Ting

🧸General Information🚂

Nickname: Ting

Age: 29

Gender: Female

Species: Red panda

State: Alive

Sexuality: Asexual

Height: 1.65m (5'4)

Hair: Copper

Eyes: Amber

Outfit: Pink long-sleeved shirt, dusty pink pants and pink flats          

Accessories: Apron, yellow and blue bracelets and earrings

Affiliation(s): Yangji (birthplace), Daisy Town

Occupation(s): Toymaker

Marital status: Single

Family: Yung Tao Ling (father), Tzu Shui Hu (mother), Yin Wei Chen (paternal grandmother)

Relations: Miley Henderson (bestfriend), Josephine Alcott (friend), Dawn Redwood (friend), Pamela Ramirez (friend), Alfred Jones (friend)

🧸Some fun facts🚂

-Her name means “thin and graceful” aaand she hates it so everyone call her just Ting

-She was a volunteer nurse at the aeronautical academy, where Roddy studied, with: Dawn, Pam, Jo, Kylee and Miley

-She and Miley are best friends

🧸Trivia🚂

Her name comes from the character of Princess Ting-Ting from the movie "Mulan II".

And her second name comes from the character of Fei Wu from "Miraculous".

[cdroloisms]

more of the ghost!dream au!! still no good names for it, sorry (feel free to give me recs? maybe?) - picking off right where we left off here [x]. i’ve gotten quite a bit of this pre-written already as well as quite a bit planned - it’s definitely one of my favorite universes at the minute and something im really excited to show yall !! 

tw: death, memory loss (?), grief, unhealthy coping mechanisms, unhealthy relationship, grief, emotional distress, implied torture/abuse, aftermath of prison arc/pandora’s vault, dark(ish?) portrayal of c!sam (he’s one of the main figures of this au lmao but it grapples quite a bit w/ what he did in pandora)

Sam had only met Ghostbur once.

He never knew the former president well, had been busy with his own base during the Revolution and came back to the server in chaos after an ill-fated election and the man exiled. It hadn’t mattered, much, at the time; Wilbur was an imposing man, even in others’ recollections of him, and their words left very very little to the imagination. From what he knew, Wilbur was a smart man, cunning and silver-tongued, brimming with an unending fountain of belief that he could change the world with his words and his words alone; the server, overrun with memories of scuffles and battles and wars and countries Sam had not been around to remember, only seemed to serve as proof that he could. The few glimpses of the man that he managed to catch showed dark, tired eyes, a figure that stood almost as tall as he did, lips twisted in a perpetual tight-lipped smile.

Even as he spiraled, unexplainably, whispers of madness chasing the wind and landing in choppy fragments in the Badlands meetings held over Skeppy and Bad’s dinner table, those eyes never became less piercing, never failed to seem like they were burning through whatever and whoever they looked at. Sam hadn’t been the subject of that stare many times, but he remembers the bone-deep anxiety from having those eyes on him, even now.

Ghostbur, somehow, was the complete opposite; where his eyes had once been all-too knowing, belying their owners’ intelligence, a ruthless penchant for analysis that would split bone from marrow with a single sharp-edged glance, the phantom’s eyes were completely vacant. Instead of the glossy whites and rings of brown that would flicker warm to cool and warm again without warning, there was only an empty, all-encompassing blue.

He had floated over to Sam following a particularly difficult- session, with the prisoner, greeting him with an airy call of his name as Sam set off to his base for the night. He’d startled, then, still fresh off the adrenaline that was sent coursing through his veins each time he entered those blackstone walls, and started a sort of easy, unfocused conversation as they went along the path to the nether portal.

Ghostbur was - off, for the lack of a better word, even with Sam’s lack of familiarity of either side of the man - who he’d been before and what he’d become. His memories slipped through his mind like water seeping through fingers, and his attention span didn’t seem much better. Still, Sam listened to that echoing, otherworldly voice, nodded along as he eagerly recounted his day - or what he could recall from it, at least, until his feet had brought him along the same well-worn path to the nether portal, spitting purple sparks into the night.

“I’ll have to be going, Ghostbur,” he’d said through a thin smile, muscles aching under netherite as he pulled his shoulders back. The ghost’s head had cocked to the side, watching him with empty eyes, hands outstretched in front of him, palms up.

“Sam-” the ghost blinked slowly, “Are you sad?”

Sam froze. Ghostbur stared at him, face still kept in that same blank expression, eyes still an endless blanket of blue, but something - in his stance, perhaps, in the echoes of his words as they reverberated off of nothing, felt familiar, felt like looking up expecting a window and coming face to face with a shattered mirror - before the phantom’s face broke out in a weightless smile.

“Have some blue!”

The blue was dropped unceremoniously into his hands as he fumbled the catch and nearly let it fall to the ground; the clear, glassy surface of it tainted blue by his fingertips, the color swirling and darkening in his hands. He watched it, mesmerized, as blossoms of blue bloomed beneath his skin; his feelings, sharp-edged, became sea glass tossed in its shifting waves, smoothed, numbed, slowly sucked away in a pulsing chorus of blue blue blue-

“That’s quite a lot of blue,” Ghostbur chirped, and Sam blinked at the thing in his hands - navy, the same color as the sky above their heads clinging to the last remnants of twilight - “Would you like some more?”

“...no thanks, Ghostbur,” Sam looked back up, feeling through the new, blue-tinged fog in his brain, memories blurred at the edges but lacking the same burning sting of regret, “Good night.”

“Good night, Sam!” Wilbur smiled, blank blue eyes trained on his face even as Sam stepped into the portal and the world swirled away. “See you soon!”

---

“Sammy,” Dream walked - no, floated, forwards as Sam took a step back, unresponsive, “is there something wrong?”

Sam swallowed, mouth suddenly dry.

He was a spitting image to Dream as he first knew him; the same tousled hair, freckled face, down to the ratty old jacket that he’d insisted on wearing at all times, made of a garish shade of lime-green and covered in customized patches that Bad - unable to resist his puppy eyes - had always ended up fixing the thing with. He had a gap in his teeth that had left him with a lisp for weeks back then, prompting Sapnap’s teasing much to Dream’s annoyance; his head tipped to the side, curious, familiar, and something deep inside Sam’s chest ached.

“Dream-” he tried, chest tightening further when the ghost’s face broke out into a brilliant smile, “why are you here?”

Why do you remember me?

He hadn’t talked to Ghostbur much, but he’d heard, to some degree, about how the ghost operated, how his memories were inconsistent at best, seemingly dependent on the emotions he’d attached to them while alive. How he went through the world in a state of unshakable bliss at the cost of his mind. Dream’s memories of him should’ve been anything but happy; why was he here?

“What do you mean?” Dream blinked at him, eyebrows scrunched, lips set in a small frown. His eyes, black and vacant, seemed to swallow all light, even with the sun streaming through the branches. “Where am I suppos’d to go?”

“Don’t you want to be with George and Sapnap?”

Dream’s face was blank, and the pit in Sam’s gut grew deeper. “Who’s that?”

“George?” Sam could feel his voice begin to tremble, eyes widening. “Sapnap? You know them, right?”

“No?” Dream drew out the word, looking at him like he’d grown another head. “Should I know them?”

“Should you- Dream, this isn’t funny- they’re your best friends! They were your best friends- Pandas? Do you know Pandas?”

“You mean like in the jungles? I haven’t been in a jungle before, Sam, d’you think we could visit one?”

“No- Pandas, do you-” Dream only looked at him with the same confused, uncomprehending expression, not even a flicker of recognition in his face; Sam could hear his heart thudding in his ears, a distant horror growing and wrapping around his throat, “How about Ponk? Alyssa? Calla? Bad?”

Each name did nothing to change the blankness on Dream’s face, the screaming thoughts in Sam’s head growing to a fever pitch when the ghost in front of him shook his head, hair whipping back and forth.

“Nope!” His hands tugged at his hoodie sleeves, the movement familiar in a way that had echoes of long-forgotten memories drifting to the surface, holding his heart in a chokehold and squeezing tight. “Are they your friends?”

“Dream,” he stepped forward - felt a shadow of a pickaxe held in his fists, the shape of the name in his mouth bringing forth the taste of iron and smoke and painting the inside of his eyelids red - and stopped in his tracks. The images melted away, left just a kid standing in front of him, rocking back and forth on nothing, and Sam was going to be sick.

“Who do you remember?”

Dream smiled as the question registered, directing a look of such open, unadulterated adoration his way that it stole all of the air from Sam’s lungs.

“You, dummy!” He laughed, airy and light. “Who else?”

---

He brought him to his base, because what else was he supposed to do?

Dream skipped behind him, entirely enamoured with Fran; he watched as she melted under his enthusiastic scratches at the tufts of fur at her neck. He’d always been a soft touch with animals, had brought home stray mobs more than a few times as a kid; Sam swallowed around his unease and trudged forward.

“Puppy!” He nearly screeched with laughter, and Sam looked back to see Dream with his arms wrapped around Fran’s neck, face buried in her fur as giggles made his shoulders shake. Fran gave him a sloppy lick on the cheek, making him break out into a new round of high-pitched wheezes, “Good girl! Good puppy!”

“Hurry up, Dream,” Sam turned away. “We don’t have all day.”

“Oh- m’sorry,” Dream’s voice quieted, almost seemed to wobble, and Sam bit down on his tongue as they continued to walk back. He- didn’t know what to do, not with this version of Dream, not the little kid he’d half-forgotten instead of the masked monster he’d become so accustomed to. It was so much easier to slip into the mask, let his voice drop cold and deep and empty, the role of the Warden heavy and comfortable like a set of netherite armor. He pointedly kept his eyes staring forward, looking for the edge of the forest they’d ended up stuck in so he could finally see.

A sudden, yipping bark came from behind, thoroughly startling him and sending a sword appearing in a flash of white. He huffed at Fran, looking at him with faux innocent eyes, really?

Unfortunately, both she and Dream had somehow fallen ridiculously behind, the ghost having lowered to the ground at some point as Fran sat and wagged her tail. He rolled his eyes, making his way back towards the duo, feeling irritation press in the form of a headache against the front of his skull.

“Come on,” he muttered, wincing at how clipped his words sounded, even in his own ears. Not the same Dream, Sam. You’re not in the prison anymore. He shoved his hands into his pockets, eyes narrowing as he came closer; Dream hadn’t just stopped because of some distraction, as he first assumed. The kid was leaning against Fran, hands twisted loosely in her fur, head tipped forward and leaning against her body.

“Dream?”

The ghost looked up at his voice, one hand going to rub at his eye. His hair seemed to be moving around less than earlier, lips twisted in a small frown.

“M’sleepy, Sammy,” he mumbled around a yawn, bottom lip jutting out in a pout. He reached both hands up, palms facing the sky, as he stared expectantly. “Up.”

Aren’t you a little big to be carried? The retort came to mind as easily as breathing, echoed in his own head by his own voice, younger, exasperated but fond. His arms shook with the memory of a kid wrapping his arms around his neck and fumbling with his crown, with the feeling of a dead weight resting against the crook of his elbows, tall and lanky and far too light for its size, held in his arms one final time-

“Please?”

Sam shook his head.

“We’re walking to my base. Come on.”

[sickficsies-and-whumpsies]

Diff person- bUT I really loved how you write the sick inumaki!! I wonder can I ask abt the second years but as the first year where it is their first time dealing w/ inumaki injured throat? And he also got a bad fever and fatigue as a side effects. Thank you!

Aw, thank you, you're so kind!!

TW: blood & injury, suffocation, fever.

1.1k words, Gen.

ーーー

If Cursed Speech worked on himself, Inumaki would definitely use it now. He'd force himself to stop, to leave it to the others or engage hand-to-hand combat. Instead, command after command, he fights on, restless, determined to get the job done with minimal damage to his surroundingsー a small but populous neighbourhood near the hillsー and to the citizens.

Maki and Panda are not far, busy fighting against a horde of minor cursed spirits that must be stopped nonetheless.

But the one in front of him doesn't relent. Which doesn't make sense. Inumaki's ability has never failed to hit the target, not once, it has never slipped out of control. He curses under his breath, mouth filled with copper as he spits some onto the pavement. 

His vision is tunneling, swirling horribly, whole body shaking as Inumaki's grip onto consciousness is rapidly fading, weak, the tether thin. He doesn't, not yet.

Distant, his friends' voices call out his name, distracting the spirit with their presence. The young sorcerer takes advantage of the split second of confusion and lunges at the threat, grabbing at its head, nails sinking into the muddled skin, the creature's anthropomorphic body lanky but so very strong, much stronger than him, physically at least.

The cursed spirit futilely tries to wiggle out of the teen's vice grip, but there's only so much it can do when Inumaki all but smashes his forehead against the spirit's.

"Explode!!" he yells, crimson pooling in his mouth, choking him.

He lets go of the thing, taking a couple of tentative steps back before he trips and falls, back colliding with the floor, hard.

Chunks of dead meat fall from the sky, and he realises that at least his last attempt was not to no avail. His relief is short-lived when Inumaki comes to the painful, chilling realisation that he can't breathe.

He coughs and sputters, eyes wide and glassy, his lips tinged in blue and red as he desperately makes an effort to roll over, failing at the task.

He feels like he's drowning. He's fairly sure he is, actually. He chokes, sputtering, face up as tiny specks of his own blood get spat at the sky and fall back onto his ashen, cold face. Lilac eyes shift out of focus, the sky fading out, pale orange clouds melting in the endless emptiness above him, one last glance at them before he gets dragged down into the void.

It doesn't last.

Vertigo claws at his guts as his whole body is propped into a sitting position, strong hands hitting his back and making a sliding movement from the bottom of his spine to the base of his neck, repeatedly.

And Inumaki heaves rivers of thick blood trickling out of his respiratory system and onto his own uniform pants. Voices fill his ears, but the boy doesn't quite remember how to function now, how hearing noises and understanding their meaning is connected, how it must be processed.

He vomits the blood, already-pale complexion grey, skin damp and clammy. 

It's only an eternity later, or what feels like it, that whatever has gotten ahold of him lays him down, onto his side. Inumaki pants, breathing through his mouth, his lungs on fire, drained. 

"...ge, Toge!! Hang in there, okay? We called Gojou-sensei, he'll be here soon. Alright, buddy?" 

Inumaki lets his gaze shift, squinting. He coughs, harsh, immediately hissing at the pain. His throat stings.

Warm tears trail down his cold face and onto the blood-stained floor, but he blames the overexertion. Definitely not the near-death experience taking a toll on him.

"Can you sign?" Maki asks, crouching next to Panda, in front of Inumaki, "It's okay if you can't, or don't want to. Focus on breathing." she adds, softer.

"I can." the movements are clipped, shaky, "I'm okay. My throat is injured. It's my ability's fault."

"Oh. Is this... an ordinary occurrence?"

"Yes. It will heal. I'm tired."

"So you're sure you're not bleeding internally?" Panda frets, facial features scrunched up in worry.

"I'm sure. It's my throat. I'm sleepy."

Maki and Panda exchange a few hushered words, and Inumaki decides to let himself drift.

ー

"Oh. You're up."

He glances around, confusion washing over him. Inumaki's in his own room, in his own bed, in his own pajamas, too. Hastily, he sits up, chest tight in panic.

The world tilts and swirls horribly around him, and a pair of strong hands push him down onto the thick pillows.

"Idiot, don't. You're running a high fever, and the painkillers are bound to make you feel dizzy. Lie down." 

Inumaki takes a deep, steadying breath, then another. Maki's blurry form is sitting on the edge of his bed, her hand stretched out to fix the cold patch on his foreheadー he hadn't noticed it upon waking up, which, he realises, is probably a good, reliable indicator of how out of it he is.

"Fever?" he signs, eyebrows arched in confusion.

She nods. "39,7°C last time I checked. You also did a number on your throat, and Ieiri-sensei prescribed you enough painkillers and lenitive syrups to take out a horse."

Maki then gets up, getting closer to him. She adjusts the pillows so that her friend is sitting up a bit more, and hands him a glass of cold water.

Inumaki takes it gladly, but when he gulps down the water he realises that it tastes like copper, he cringes, setting the half-full glass down. A hand absentmindedly shoots up, fingers brushing against his throat, almost scared to make contact with his own skin.

"...I'm sorry." 

"And you should be." Panda's voice comes from the door, and he steps in, holding a transparent bag filled with yoghurts and jelly packets. He lets it fall. "Why didn't you warn us!? Why didn't you tell us aboutー whatever that was!?"

He hesitates, eyes low. "I don't know." 

After a second, he raises his hands again, still shaky. "I never thought I'd have to go that far. I'm sorry."

"It was really fucking scary to watch you puke blood, man." Panda pushes, "I thought you'd died. You almost choked to death on your own blood!!"

"Panda." Maki's stern voice leaves no place for arguments. She returns her gaze to Inumaki, "Panda is right, it was scary to watch. But... I think it was scarier for you. So, we will talk about it once you're ready and well. Right now, all you need to focus on is recovering your strengths."

She pauses, shooting a knowing look at Panda. The Cursed Corpse hums.

"We're... glad you're okay."

"Yes, we are."

Inumaki smiles. He feels like he's floating, body light, head empty, filled with clouds, aware that he will have the chance to see them again.

ーーー

Let me know what you think of this, please!! Also, if you have ao3 and want this fic to be gifted to you, let me know.

September 5, 2021.

[sadachmesarthim]

towers for your honeycomb chap 2: more meany pants tony

part one

content: tony’s being a dick again, mention of Peter’s Family Problems, confined spaces, smoking, @carelessannie​ is a character and Has A Boyfriend That Is a Real Person I Know, tony calls peter a turtle, crying

word count: 1.5k  //   square filled: locked in a closet!

song for this chapter here -> that’s not a good excuse - eli. 

It was late, it was cold... mid-December nights were usually slow, but not no-car-in-sight-for-hours slow. Peter didn't handle any of those well on their own, but all three?

Working with Tony the entire time didn't do much to help, either.

They'd clocked on together, they'd be clocking off together - it was his worst nightmare. There wasn't anything to do, either - they'd already finished half of the closing list and every single chore. Annie had FaceTimed her boyfriend after finishing her chem homework - hell - the girls'd made a snowman outside the front of the stand, for fuck's sake!

Time was barely crawling. It made Peter irritable - apparently, it made Tony irritable, too.

⁘|||⁘

Annie hung up her FaceTime call with Sebastian, excited at the prospect of food. She turned, ready to take orders from the three that were now in front of her. "Okay - Panda Express - what is he bringing us?"

Courtney piped up first. "I'll just do another of what you're doing, A." She went back to her phone, more interested in her boy of the week than the rest of the conversation.

Annie typed it into her texts, looking back toward the boys. "You two - what is he getting you?" Tony spoke next. "I'll do the same thing. I'm easy." Peter scoffed a bit at that, covering it poorly with a cough. Annie shot him a look. Don't start shit. 

"Peter, anything?" She knew him too well to ask. "Nah babe, I'm gonna eat at home."

That suddenly got Tony's attention. "What, you're not eating? We still have two hours left, and you look like you're about to fall over." Perfect Parker timing, his stomach growled - audibly enough to justify Tony's comment.

Peter shoved past him, making his way toward the back. He didn't want to engage - he wanted to- to- to text Resa, pour himself into some chores, maybe dive into a snowdrift - literally anything but continue the conversation.

Tony on the other hand... he didn't know when to stop. "What's your deal, Parker? The man is bringing us food, on his own dime. You really gonna be rude enough to refuse?"

Peter closed his eyes, trying to steady his breathing. "It doesn't matter what my deal is, Tony - maybe I just don't like Panda. Maybe I don't want something that heavy on my stomach. Maybe my mom has food waiting for me at home. You don't know shit - so why don't you just leave it alone?" Mmm a bit harsh, Parker, take it down a notch.

Tony scoffed. "We both know you don’t have anything waiting for you, anywhere, Parker. Quit talkin' big and just accept the generosity."

Both Courtney and Annie gasped at that one. It was common knowledge around the stand that Peter's home life was off-limits. Hell, everyone's was - leave your shit at the door applied to everyone else's shit too. Apparently, Tony didn't get the memo.

"Okay, nope. I'm not listening to this conversation. Both of you, fridge!" Courtney - taller and stronger than both of them - grabbed the boys, practically tossing them into the walk-in. The door slammed behind them, something jamming it from the outside.

Her voice was muffled, but they both understood - they weren't getting out until they figured this out. They'd been fighting off and on for months, and it was causing serious issues in the stand. The girls were uncomfortable - sure, it was fine if they were separated during shifts, but that couldn't go on forever.

This just happened to be everyone’s final straw.

Peter pressed his forehead into the door, not wanting to face the other man. This wasn't exactly how he'd planned on spending his evening - and now that he found himself here, he was going to do everything he could to avoid avoid avoid any further confrontation. 

His mouth hadn’t caught the memo. 

“That’s two.” Shut the fuck up. 

He couldn’t see them, but he could practically hear Tony’s eyebrows hit his hairline. “Two what?” He was still seated, from what Peter could tell. At least he wasn’t about to get his ass beat.

“Two apologies you owe me. Me and the girls. For being rude, and talking shit in the stand.” God damn it Peter, shut your mouth!

Tony scoffed. “You’re still on about that? Come on, Parker, can’t you just let it go?” 

He tried. Peter tried really, really hard to hold himself back, he did. But it just... it wasn’t like him, to take shit like this. To allow someone like- like- like Tony Stark to make his life a living hell. Mob connections be damned, he wasn’t going to take it anymore. It was exhausting, and Peter was tired of coming to work every day dreading his shift. 

He got up, turning to face Tony. He might’ve been shorter than him normally, but with Tony sat on the foot-tall milk crate, there was quite a difference. It was childish, but it made him feel like he had the upper hand. 

“You- you- you can’t keep pushing me around like this, Tony. You’ve been a dick to me for months, and I’m sick of it. All I wanted was one stupid, little apology, and you can’t even give me that! 

“I left you alone! I tried to make our shifts together easy, I stayed out of your way! I begged Courtney to never schedule us or rotate us together. Do you know how difficult that is?? Especially in a stand this size, Tony, it’s nearly impossible.” He was near tears at this point, voice close to breaking. 

“And then you have the audacity to come here, in my stand, and talk about my- my family - which was not fucking okay, by the way. It just- it’s so cruel, Tony! I’m done!

“I tried to be nice, I really did. But you make it so fucking difficult. So forgive me for not being able to just let it go.” 

⁘|||⁘

Peter was always an ugly crier. Snotty, red eyes, uncontrollable shaking. 

He was also an angry crier. The two tended not to mesh well. 

It didn’t help that people tended to not take him seriously anyway. He was small, entirely not intimidating. Couldn’t hurt a fly. The second you get him even remotely upset, and he bursts into tears? 

He wasn’t expecting sympathy from Tony. 

⁘|||⁘

He was done sobbing by this point, but the damage was done. 

He’d thoroughly embarassed himself in front of the man he’d just... just demanded so much from. It wasn’t his lowest moment, but it was close. Nice going, P.

Peter was convinced he couldn’t be locked in the fridge with anyone wor-

There was a hand on his shoulder. 

His head shot up, grabbing Tony by the wrist. “Don’t touch me!” It came out louder than he’d intended, and the look of fear written on Tony’s face did make him feel a bit bad. Peter hadn’t let go. “Just- don’t- just ask first, fuck.” 

He released his grip, turning to dig his head back into his arms. He’d tucked himself into the far corner, drawing his knees up around him so he could get as far from the door as possible. He wanted to sink himself straight into the floor, mesh with the concrete, never show his face at work again - 

But there Tony was, looking down at him like he was a startled puppy. 

He plopped himself down next to Peter, facing in toward the center of the fridge. He tilted his head, making contact with Peter’s left knee. “Would you look at me?” Gentle.

Peter sniffled, trying to clear his nose. He knew he wasn’t the most presentable right now - wet spots soaking both of his sleeves, nose probably bright & cherry-tinged. He shifted, just barely peeking past his forearms. 

“There we go.” Peter sniffled again. 

Tony looked like there was a war going on inside him. Peter’d never spent this long looking at him - certainly never this long at his eyes. There was so much to them, so much hurt and understanding he’d never seen before. So much he recognized.

Tony was drawing circles into his shin, now, steady movement bringing him back to the present. “Come on, little turtle, come outta that shell for me.” 

Peter’s eyebrows drew together. “’m not a turtle.” 

Tony laughed. “What, then? Hermit crab? Clownfish? What else hides when it’s upset?” It was a sad attempt at breaking the tension, and he knew it. 

Peter wasn’t phased by it, either. His glare stuck. 

“Okay, fine. I’m sorry. No animal nicknames. I got it.” He smiled as his hands came away from Peter’s body, pulling up in a defensive position. “Plain ‘ole human insults, then, promise.” 

Peter let out a huff. “How hard was that?” 

“Was what?” 

“You said sorry.” Oh. 

“I... I guess I did.” Tony’s hands came down. He pushed himself to his feet, crossing toward the door. “Consider it an accident.” His entire demeanor had shifted - he was back to his normal, standoff-ish self. 

Whoever Peter’d spent the last couple of minutes with was gone. 

“N- Tony I-” 

“Forget it, Peter. Seriously.” He pushed at the handle of the fridge door, thankful it was free to open. He bypassed the girls, grabbing the rest of his shit and tearing out the door. The cigarette barely lit with how fast he made the trek to his truck, lighter burning the side of his thumb. 

When did he get so soft? 

Fuck.

tag list: @longlivestarker​ @bluestarker​ xoxo​

[bubblestheraccoon]

Music Mixes

Lumberjanes “Arts and Crafts” Program Field

Treble Maker Badge

“Some Risks are worth the Reward”

Music fuels the mind and thus fuels creativity. A creative mind has the ability to make discoveries and create innovations. The greatest minds and thinkers like Hildegard von Bingen, Barbra Strozzi, and Florence Mary Taylor all had something in common in that they were constantly exploring their imagination and creativity. As a Lumberjane it will be vital that we not only enrich our minds, but enrich those around us. Music is just one of the many mediums that can create an empowering environment, it is one of the few mediums that can be enjoyed at any time.

Finch’s Notes:

This post is based on a section from the bonus content from Lumberjanes: To The Max Edition Volume One. I did not create these playlist, their titles, or the blurb at the top of the post. If any of the links are wrong or broken, or if I should add any more disclaimers for song content, please feel free to let me know!

*D-Slur Warning.

**Only version of the cover I could find on youtube, here’s a version of song without the extra audio but it’s on a Russian website that overwrote my adblocker a little bit so visit it at your own risk. Here’s the song it was covering if you want that instead.

***Could not find cover on youtube. Link instead goes to band camp.

****F-Slur Warning.

Fox Fight Jams! By April!

Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks

Bad Reputation by Joan Jett

Run the World (Girls) by Beyonce

Northshore be Tegan & Sara

Woo Hoo by The 5 6 7 8s

Wilderness by Sleater-Kinney

Wolf by Now, Now

Spin Around by Josie and the Pussycats

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Theme

Jet Pack by Dog Party

Pirates by Jenny Owen Youngs

Dance Apocalyptic by Janelle Monae

Bamboo Bones by Against Me!

Push It by Salt-n-Pepa

I Knew You Were Trouble by Taylor Swift

Up All Night by One Direction

Roar by Katy Perry

Eye Of The Tiger by Survivor

Say You'll Be There by the Spice Girls

Ribs by Lorde

Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks (”Best Song Ever”-April)

River Adventure Mix of dooooom by Mal

I Was An Island by Allison Weiss

Shark In The Water by V.V. Brown

Let's Submerge by X-Ray Spex

Eyes Open by The Gossip

Rebel Girl by Bikini Kill*

Giant Kitty by Shonen Knife

I Won't Follow by the Secret Someones

4Ever by The Veronicas

Sk8er Boi by Avril Lavigne

Take Me Away by Fefe Dobson

Borne On The FM Waves by Against Me! & Tegan Quinn

Ain't It Fun by Paramore

3 Small Words by Josie and the Pussycats

Anchor by Letters To Cleo

That's Not My Name by The Ting Tings

Independent Woman Part 1 by Destiny's Child

Crush by the Sleigh Bells

Oh! by Sleater-Kinney

Tropical by Plumtree

Rhiannon by Best Coast or Fleetwood Mac 

The Con by Tegan & Sara

The Competition by Kimya Dawson

Cave Tunes by Molly

I Have Confidence by Julie Andrews

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

Tightrope by Janelle Monae feat Big Boi

Just A Dream by Taylor Swift

Heartbreak Dream by Betty Who

Corner of the Sky by the Jackson 5

Valerie by Amy Winehouse

I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston

Call Your Girlfriend by Robyn

Let It Go by Idina Menzel

Build Me Up Buttercup by The Foundations

Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash

Jolene by Dolly Parton

Rock ‘n Roll High School by Shonen Knife

Don’t Save Me by HAIM

The Cave by Dia Frampton**

She Keeps Me Warm by Mary Lambert

This Is For by Ingrid Michaelson

Cut It Off by Mal Blum

Smash Into You by Beyonce

Jen’s Perfect Camp Mix by Ripley

Gravity Falls Theme Song

Summertime by Audra McDonald

Strong Enough by Kina Grannis

(You’re So Square) Baby, I Don’t Care by Cee Lo Green

Waterfalls - TLC

Just A Girl by No Doubt

Nobody Knows Me At All by The Weepies

I’m Beginning To See The Light by Ella Fitzgerald

Bad Girls by M.I.A.

Spice Up Your Life by the Spice Girls

Magic To Do by Patina Miller & Ensemble

***Flawless by Beyonce

Come On by Josie And The Pussycats

Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey

Here Comes The Sun by The Beatles

Jo’s really rad! Mix by Jo

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Theme

Androgynous(Live) by Joan Jett and Against Me!

Tous Les Memes by Stromae

Sunshine by Rye Rye feat M.I.A.

L.E.S. Artistes by Santigold

What About Your Friends by TLC

Just One Of The Guys by Jenny Lewis

Melody by Kate Earl

Red Cape by Priscilla Ahn

No Wow by The Kills

I Found You by Tilly and the Wall

Do You Remember the Morning by Kid in the Attic***

Cheerleader by St. Vincent

Concrete Wall by Zee Avi

You Can Count On Me by Panda Bear

Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac (”<3″-Jo)

Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds

Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie

Oblivion by Grimes

Q.U.E.E.N. by Janelle Monae and Eryka Badu

Rapid Decompression by Against Me!

Roanokes Rule: The Mix[!][!][!] by April

Rattlesnake by Saint Vincent

Transgender Dysphoria Blues by Against Me!****

Amazon by M.I.A.

Another One Bites The Dust by Queen

Art-I-Ficial by X-Ray Spex

Separate Rooms by Now, Now

What’s Mine Is Yours by Sleater-Kinney

Sci-Fi Wasabi by Cibo Matto

Tennis Court by Lorde

Son Of A Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield

Dreams by Fleetwood Mac

Desire Lines by Deerhunter

Hot and Cold by Ex Hex

White Daisy Passing by Rocky Votolato

Misguided Ghosts by Paramore

For The Best by Gregory and the Hawk

The Hymn Of Acxiom by Vienna Teng

Capture The Flag by Broken Social Scene

From A Shell by Lisa Germano

Rosie’s Turn

Feeling Good by Nina Simone

Annabelle Lee by Sarah Jarosz

Terrible Things by April Smith & The Great Picture Show

You Can’t Be Told by Valerie June

Wild Geese Blues by Gladys Bentley

The Day Is Short by Jearlyn Steele

One Dime Blues by Etta Baker

Hard Way Home by Brandi Carlile

The Devil’s Paintbrush Road by The Wailin’ Jennys

To The Bone by Okou

Panic Cord by Gabrielle Aplin

Cups (You’re Gonna Miss Me) by Lulu and the Lampshades

Crayola Doesn’t Make A Color For Your Eyes by Kristin Andreassen

Complimentary Me by Elizabeth & The Catapult

Blue Spotted Tail by Kina Grannis

Sorry About The Doom by Slow Club

You Know I’m No Good by Amy Winehouse

From Texas: Big “D” by Julie Andrews & Carol Burnett

Finch’s Notes Cont:

Hi! I made this post to avoid work. But mostly I made this post because Lumberjanes is something really important to me, and these playlist are a part of my enjoyment of Lumberjanes I don’t see people talking about a lot! So I decided to make a post in order to share them with y’all. I remember hunching over my phone making a spotify playlist (here, though it’s missing a few songs that aren’t on spotify) while on a trip to California in the summer of 2018 when I first got into Lumberjanes. I probably listened to these songs while I made my first ever Lumberjanes fanart. These mixes helped me to discover artist I really love, like Janelle Monae and Mal Blum. I hope you enjoy them as well!

Other notes: Sk8r Boi is crossed out as that is the way it appears on Mal’s playlist. Also, I tend to shy away from music videos as a personal preference, so that’s why there are so few included on this playlist, though I’m sure many of these songs have beautiful music videos. I might reblog this post in the future with some youtube playlists of these mixes, but if you want to find them yourself there are a lot of playlists of these songs made on youtube already! Or you can make your own playlists using this post. 

And, just for fun, have one final Lumberjanes themed music recommendation:

Lumberjanes by Various

[jjyusmile]

lee hyunjae - above the lights (ft. the boyz)

happy the boyz day!

pairing: hyunjae x {gender-neutral} reader x the boyz as besties

words: 3.9k

warning: mentions of food and drink! light mention of alcohol / alcohol poisoning

note: this is my present for the boyz third anniversary... I was inspired by the berlin boylog and their trip to the christmas markets last december. but I thought it would be cute for all of them to be there heheh! of course, I made it biased and a little romantically fluffy but this is to show my appreciation for all of the boyz! the romance is just to show this is a bec story :’) thank you so much for your support always!!

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

stepping out of the restaurant, the chill in the berlin air washed over each of you as you stepped through the doorway onto the cobbled streets. wrapped in puffer jackets and scarves, hoods pulled up to shield your ears from the breeze. you all huddled under the cover that lazed over the shop entryway as rain drizzled from the sky. each of your cheeks tinged pink as the frosty chill nipped at your skin. eventually, warmth cascaded over you as heat radiated off the eleven boys clustered around you in an attempt to figure out where to go next.

as they murmured to each other, scrolling through google maps to gage your whereabouts, you looked up at the bare trees lining the streets. each was draped in strings of lights to the point where you almost forgot they wouldn’t blossom for another few months. the atmosphere surrounding you was festive and cheerful.

“it’s so pretty,” kevin came to stand beside you, hands buried in the pockets of his jacket. you hummed in agreement not taking your eyes off the cascades of red and white that flickered along the street. you hadn’t noticed your hands were shaking from the bitter chill in the air.

you were pulled out of your gaze as elbows rested against your shoulders from behind; the proximity immediately warmed your body through. the comforting scent of your best friend surrounded you; sighing, your hands stilled and you melted into his chest. hyunjae chuckled as his arms came around your waist, pulling you into him. the murmurs became distant while you were distracted by hyunjae whispering close to your ear about how much kevin resembled a grizzly bear in his sherpa hoodie. shy giggles escaped your mouth as your hand shot up to cover your mouth; hyunjae hid his face in the crook of your neck to hide his own laughter.

the group had slowly moved down the street with you and hyunjae trailing behind. it wasn’t unusual. the shy touches followed by playful shoves… it had always been like that. except touches that were once familiar became more intimate. in your eyes, you were no longer just best friends. but you tried to ignore the tingles that ran up your arm when he mundanely passed you your morning coffee; the way he would pull you a little closer when you were all huddled around the small tv in sangyeon’s apartment; when your walks in the park turned into hours of sitting snuggly on a bench under the cherry blossom trees in the spring. the same way, right now, his hand brushed closely against your own. you welcomed the light touches under the chill int he air.

reaching a corner along the streets of berlin, all of you circled tightly around the fold-out map of the city, each one of you nudging the other to get a better look. how could a place so big seem so tiny on the crinkled pages that chanhee held out in front of him? eric closed his eyes and ran his finger in squiggly circles across the landmarks of the city. a squeal clouded your senses the moment changmin noticed eric’s fingertip grazing toward the oversized wooden stall wrapped in colourful lights -- the berlin christmas markets.

in a flash, changmin was running in the direction of the festivities, dragging younghoon by the cuff of his jacket sleeve; the pair were giggling like school children. seeing their energy dawned the realisation that you had been walking around all day -- your feet ached and you were overflowing in the warm vegetable soup you ate… and finished sunwoo’s bowl, too. your sleepy form was close to giving up and going back to the hotel until a figure stepped out in front of you and crouched down. juyeon turned to look at you with warm eyes and tinged pink ears that poked out from under his cap. a slight nudge of his head prompted you to jump on and then you were hugging his back as he carried you down the street. he bent down jokingly to tie his shoelaces with you still on his back. you giggled.

jumping down, rushed with excitement, you didn’t wait for wait from juyeon to finish, you pulled him up with a force that almost tore his arm off. he never got to finish tying his shoes. from behind, hyunjae wandered along the street, helping eric keep his balance as he stepped one foot in front of the other as he grazed the curb of the footpath. but his focus was trailed on you with a shy smile on his face. he couldn’t pinpoint what had shifted and when it did -- but something had definitely changed.

you skipped toward the rest of the group as you entered the markets, dragging juyeon in tow and immediately linking arms with sangyeon. he pulled you toward each stall that grasped your attention. the image of haknyeon trying to ensure the strings of cheese didn’t escape his mouth left you in a fit of giggles. the way these boys interacted with each other was like you were a big family. at one point, kevin gathered everyone in to fit on the tiny screen of his phone, your head squished under hyunjae’s arm as it wrapped around you to lift you up high enough to get in frame. a bundle of hysterics soon followed.

the stalls that lined each side of the market were flooded with smiles and families rushing around to get a glimpse of everything. the tree that perched at the center of it all loomed over you with flecks of gold as the sun began to set. each bauble glistened under the streams of sunlight that reflected against them. specks of light danced across the stalls. the market became too crowded for the group to stick together, you decided to meet back at the tree at 10pm. hyunjae ducked down quickly to kiss your temple with a whispered “see you later” moments before he headed off in the opposite direction without sparing you a glance; juyeon and younghoon were already aiming at targets in a competition to win the abnormally large stuffed panda. the action left you slightly disorientated as you stared at his retreating figure, all bundled up warm in his oversized puffer jacket that he always joked could fit you as well. distracted, haknyeon wrapped his finger around yours to drag you toward the stall filled with an array decorations.

changmin grazed his hand along the ornaments that dangled in rows along the walls. he picked up a snowglobe from the bottom shelf and eyed it carefully.

“something has changed, hasn’t it?” he asked, not takng his eyes off the glittering flecks that danced around the ornament as he shook it delicately.

the question startled you, a sharp inhale could have been heard from a mile away. you played with the sleeves of the jumper hyunjae had lent to you that poked out of your coat. “what do you mean?”

he directed his attention toward you as haknyeon stepped beside him, voicing his thoughts for him. “you’re not just… you two anymore. you’re… you two.”

a roll of changmin’s eyes met with a chuckle at hak’s choice of words -- ever ominous with next to no clarification.

you, on the other hand… you stood there unmoving. had things changed? they must’ve done for others to notice. hyunjae had become more public with his subtle flirting -- but didn’t he do that with everyone? you had always been close, closer than everyone else in the group… it was only natural that these moments happened every so often, right? but they weren’t every so often anymore, the voice in the back of your mind shattered any excuse you attempted to make. now that you thought about it, this was one of the first moments since you began your trip around europe that you were without hyunjae by your side. your mind drew back to the last moments you saw him. hiding his smile in the crook of your neck. a kiss to your temple. your eyes squeezed closed as your heart squeezed harder in your chest.

changmin noticed the change in your moon and diverted his attention quickly to the precious decoration that he shook a little harder between his hands -- flickers of glitter and fluorescent snow swooshed around the tiny bubble. “I think I’ll buy this one.”

you were glad for changmin’s thoughtfulness -- he always understood. the conversation had diverted from you sooner than it started.

it was only when you you found yourself in line for mulled wine beside kevin that you let your thoughts slip away. he had found you wandering the stalls alone when you lost the giddy twosome to the hook-a-duck game. and now your hands were stuffed into the pockets of sangyeon’s jacket as you leaned your head on his shoulder... chanhee did the same on the other side. the temperature had dropped significantly as the sun had completely set over berlin; you noticed the puffs of condensation that left sangyeon’s mouth in clouds of fog as he zipped his leather jacket up and over his chin. his bright smile was lit up against the strings of lights along the mulled wine stall. glancing sideways, jacob wasn’t too far away, snapped pictures of the decorations and families celebrating the festivity.

the front of the queue couldn’t have come fast enough -- it felt like hours before kevin stood at the small window in the stall ordering two mugs of red and two of the ‘white angel’… it was jacob that persuaded you against the red, reiterating that you were, in fact, an angel like him.

“but we have to match!” his giddy smile reached from ear to ear-- it was too cute to turn down. you weren’t much of a drinker, apart of the odd party that the boys used to hold at one of their apartments. those nights ended in hyunjae or a very reluctant juyeon holding your hair away from your face as the events of the night came back to bite you.

“fine,” you playfully rolled your eyes as you nudged his shoulder. he came over to rest his head against your own shoulder as chanhee stole sangyeon for himself.

an extra large stein of mulled wine was placed in your hands by kevin. it felt like you had been handed the mug of a giant, it being bigger than your own head; you had to use both hands to clutch around the sides, the warmth a welcoming feeling. you noticed, as you went to draw your first sip, that the mug was decorated in silver flecks as the words ‘white angel’ flicked in cursive against the liquid; your eyes drew back to jacob who grinned at you with a wink.

you didn’t miss sangyeon coaxing chanhee into trying a sip. his sweater paws gripped at the bottom of the stein as he tipped the liquid toward his mouth, sangyeon holding the burgundy liquid to make sure chanhee didn’t take an unfair shre. a loud bellow erupted from your stomach when chanhee’s expression morphed from curiosity to sheer disgust at the kitten lick of a sip he had taken. he turned to glare at you while taking the bottle of water from jacob’s rucksack to wash away the taste.

“I told you -- I don’t drink!” he exclaimed, playful eyerolls could be seen from left and right, even strangers in the queue enjoying the show.

“it’s not like we held you hostage and forced you to try it!” sangyeon countered, taking a large slurp from his drink. his eyes crinkled in slight disgust before his eyes widened as he stared at the liquid with fascination. a light giggle bubbled in your throat as you went to take a sip of your own.

you were perched on the end of a wooden table beside the tree, knees drawn to your body as you clutched the quickly evaporating warmth in the mug. you hadn’t even saved any for hyunjae. of course your thoughts would go straight to your best friend. you smitten fool.

your eyes became heavy with drowsiness as you watched kevin take pictures by the tree. they had found changmin and haknyeon as they wandered around aimlessly, stuffing their faces with powdered sweets. haknyeon stretched his arm out slightly to hold a candied strawberry in front of your face; your eyes widened slightly at the site and you took the sweet gratefully as he skipped back to the boys. the muffled silence drowned you as you sat by yourself, chin perched against your palm. you couldn’t help but let your thoughts wander to the boys that brightened your days.

in the distance, you noticed juyeon and younghoon giggling at the same game they hadn’t left since you arrived. not far behind them were eric and sunwoo; the redheaded boy looked around as if there were stars in his eyes… hood up to brace his features from the cold. eric chatted excitedly in his ear about one of his old family christmas traditions but his attention was focused on the strings of warm lights that hung above. distracted, you didn’t notice the first few toasted chestnuts that headed in your direction. it wasn’t until one landed softly in your lap, your gaze wandered your surroundings to find its owner. the rest of the boys were crowded around the tree, gleefully grinning as jacob captured their gentle expressions on his camera. kevin held his wine in front of the tree, phone camera at the ready to snap the perfect shot. but, none of them wanted your attention. your gaze shifted to the left where you noticed a familiar figure hiding behind the candy floss stall.

you were drawn in that direction.

you knew it was him before you even saw his face.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” you shouted, pretty much into the void, at the group. a barely visible thumbs up came from sangyeon who’s attention didn’t falter from the camera.

a chuckle escaped your lips as you wandered slowly toward the hidden rascal. he was delicately removing the shell of the next chestnut. you snuck up behind him, a cheeky grin washed over you automatically as a plan formulated in your head. tip toeing forward, your fingers stretched out as you neared his hoodie clad back, the fabric resting lightly against the top of his head. a quick countdown found you clinging tightly onto his back in an attempt to frighten him; a yelp sounded from your best friend as he dropped the remaining chestnuts from his clutches.

his hands flew up to clasp around your wrists. you didn’t miss the way his tense form faded away the moment he inhaled… did he recognise your scent? the same way you did his…

“you got me.”

his eyes crinkled as his head turned to face you, a smirk forming on his lips. the moment his eyes laid on your own they glistened in the most overwhelming way. each time you looked at him, with your face in such close proximity, you couldn’t help but feel warmth spread through your veins.

“I got you…” an intensity clouded his irises like the sweetest chocolate. your words had more of an impact than you had  originally implied.

steadily, you unclasped your wrists from hyunjae’s warm fingers as you stepped down, feet placed firmly on the ground as you shyly grinned up at him.

“hi,” you chriped, the smile not leaving your lips for a moment.

“hey,” he whispered, eyes melting into yours.

without much thought, he intertwined your fingers snuggly with his own. leading you behind the stalls and into the unlit alley. you knew by the confidence in his walk that he had a plan up his sleeve. trailing behind him, your gaze was fixed on the smile that hadn’t left his lips. you couldn’t help but let your mind wander to the idea that he was enduring a similar inner conflict to your own. you weren’t just best friends any more.

you approached a dark, abandoned stall with a small ladder leading up to the roof. he stopped abruptly and looked down at you expectantly. his eyes flicked up to the roof and back to you… after you, his eyes said. his hands gripped lightly at your waist as he helped you up the ladder, fingers grazing delicately at the tshirt that rode up along with your sweater…  his sweater.

it was the little things by now. years of small gestures that lit up the blood in your veins added fuel to the fire.

he wasn’t far behind you as you settled in, feet dangling over the edge of the unfinished stall, hyunjae settling closely beside you. your knees knocked against his, whether it was on purpose or not was a question left unanswered.

your eyes took in the sight before you; smiling children stuffing their faces with bratwurst, couples snuggled cosily in their pods on the ferris wheel -- the prime spot for a romantic evening -- and then  your best friends. your eyes fell on all of them, messing around with eyes lit up like children on christmas morning. a smile washed over you subconsciously. they were the loves of your life -- every single one of them.

but your face was burning. the person that stole your heart without even realising wasn’t focusing on the flickering lights from below. a golden haze washed over his face, his features accentuated under the shadows. his eyes were boring into your own -- your skin of your cheeks could’ve melted at the intensity. his eyes were full of musical wonder.

“hey,” he whispered, again, face crinkling as his smile met his eyes.

“you’ve said that already,” you taunted, cheekily. a nudge against his shoulder to accentuate your joke.

“I know,” he paused. “my mind can’t come up with much more right now. I’m a little breathless.”

“right!” your focused drifted toward the festivities below you. “isn’t it incredible!”

it was his turn to pause. his fingers reached for your hand, intertwining with your own as he drew them into his lap. “yeah… it is.”

his tone brought you back to reality. you were sat here side by side, fingers intertwined delicately as his thumb grazed over the back of your hand. you noticed him exhale a shaky breath. your free hand lifted to brush the fallen strands away from his eyes as the wind blew softly. before you could withdraw your hand, hyunjae quickly clasped your wrist, pulling you closer to him, your noses brushing.

“jae?” it was your turn to release a shaky breath. you had tiptoed over “the line” for years now -- subtle touches, flirty jokes and much needed cuddles. but you had never been in this close... close enough to see the delicate bead of sweat that formed on the side of his neck. the lights from below highlighted his cheekbones in a subtle glitter.

he hummed in response, his attention focused not on your eyes, not on the fair below, but on your lips. his own plump lips forming a pout in temptation.

“jae…” you tried again.

his eyes fluttered closed at the plead in your voice. you didn’t know yourself whether it was an attempt to stop him, or, more likely, an urge for him to continue.

“I’m sorry,” his voice was strained, his fingers squeezing a bit tighter to reassure him that just because he closed his eyes, it doesn’t mean you disappeared.

you gravitated toward him. it wasn’t the holiday season, it wasn’t the subtle loneliness that sat with you throughout your unclaimed adolescence. you were never alone, because he was always there. even though it had shifted from being platonic, despite your hesitance, he was the one who you were drawn to no matter what.

his sweet gestures held more weight now. the way his eyes poured into yours lit a bundle of nerves that sat close to your stomach, releasing butterflies each time his eyes flickered between your own.

“don’t apologise,” your own eyes closed for a moment, inhaling deeply.

a brush of his nose against yours drew you back to reality, your eyes shooting open, blinking rapidly as your heart jolting in your chest. his breath fanned against your lips, your own doing the same.

a smile washed over his lips, eyes crinkling. “did you drink?”

“blame kevin, he bought it.”

he let out a chuckle as he nuzzled his nose against yours once more. comfort washed over you as you inhaled his warm scent, hints of cinnamon and musk.

“I’ll remember to thank him.” his smile was permanent now, it wasn’t disappearing for good.

“thank him?” you questioned, eyebrow quirking. the proximity heating your cheeks by the minute.

“I don’t think you would’ve agreed to have been here with me right now if you didn’t have a little liquid luck.”

you hummed, a giggle greeting your lips as they brushed over his. his eyes hadn’t flickered from your lips, waiting for the perfect moment. but as the wave of confidence took over, he realised that any moment with you was the perfect moment. as long as you were there, it would always be perfect.

he closed the small space and captured your lips with his in a delicate kiss. emotions that you had both swallowed throughout your friendship poured into it with such intensity it made your head spin. his head titled to deepen the kiss, his arms sliding up as his palm cupped your jaw tenderly, yours wrapping around his neck; your thoughts couldn’t wander far from your reality. as he pulled you to fit snuggly against him, your body moulded perfectly against his. his once cold fingers now sparked at each touch against your skin.

he pulled away for a moment only to place gentle kisses along your jawline to the sweetspot below your ear. he peppered kisses on every feature that he loved about you, careful to remember that you were still in the public eye, even though you were flying high in the sky at this moment. his forehead pressed against yours as he sighed in content. the moment you had been waiting finally became a reality; your hands coming up to hold his face in your hands, echoing his sigh.

your thoughts drew back to the inquisition of changmin and haknyeon earlier this evening, “they were right.”

he drew back slightly, careful not to let your palms drop from his face, with a questioning eyebrow raise, “who was right?”

you grinned widely at his jealous tone as you pulled him back in for another kiss. faint echoes cheers came from below as you moved away from his lips to find the commotion. your best friends were pointing and brightly squealing at what they had just witnessed, beaming smiles prevalent on all of their faces. a low groan escaped hyunjae’s throat as he attempted to hide in the crook of your neck, a familiar feeling washing over you as the shy smile made its way back onto your lips.

it didn’t stop his fingers from intertwining with your own again, though. and once the commotion had subsided, he pulled out a festive box filled with heart shaped chocolates, popping one into his mouth before giving in at your childish pout.

neither of you had felt as whole as you did in that moment... just above the lights.

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

TO. the boyz

thank you for everything. you are the best thing that ever happened to me -- you are the reason I smile daily, along with so many other theb. you are a family that welcomes anyone with open arms. I hope it stays this way forever. 

you deserve every happiness and I hope you know how much you mean to us all. always remember deobis love you.

I love you all so so so much.

A/N: thank you for celebrating the boyz third anniversary with me! I hope you enjoyed :’)

#오래도록_빛날_더보이즈의_3주년 #3YearsWithTHEBOYZ @WE_THE_BOYZ @Creker_THEBOYZ

[jadethest0ne]

When the Moon meets the Morning, Chapter 6 - Not all Black and White

Summary:  Raphael is going on missions with Captain Jupiter as he always does when he meets an orange-wearing turtle yokai who feels oddly familiar.

Word Count: 3376

Ratings/Warnings: General Audiences; some minor harrowing moments, but mostly fluff, emotional overload, emotional manipulation, self-deprecation

Notes: This is my longest chapter yet! This one has some minor emotional manipulation at the beginning of this chapter along with some harrowing moments later on. On the plus side, we get some cameos from previous TMNT incarnations that I’m happy about bringing to the table. Big thanks to @undercoverwizardninjaturtle and @fraymotiif for helping me workshop this. And a big thanks to @5weekdays who helped me with the Captain Jupiter dialogue in this chapter!

Read on AO3 For the RotTMNT Fantasy AU

———-

The trio gets up early the next morning, reaching the outskirts of Bedu in relative silence. The whole time Mikey keeps looking over to Raph as if he wants to say something. Raph knows by now to just wait until Mikey speaks – if the young boxshell has something to say, he's bound to say it eventually. Finally he opens his mouth. “How... did you do that...?” he asks.

Well, that wasn't exactly what Raph was expecting. “Do what?” he asks genuinely confused.

“I mean, how did you...” Mikey twirls his hands around each other as if trying to find the right words, “...make everything stop..? The noise? The... the feelings?” He looks to Raph in almost desperate wonder.

“Oh, that...” Raph runs his mask tails through his fingers as he thinks. “I'm... actually not so sure... I've always been good with protective wards and shields n' stuff. I guess... I just figured out a new way to use them...?” He ends his sentence in a rising questioning tone.

Mikey looks at him almost expectantly. As if there's more to what Raph has to say.

There is more. “And, uh,” Raph begins. “You're gonna probably think this is a little weird, but, um, I think I did it in a dream once...?”

Mikey's eyes widen, before softening. A warm smile spreads across his face. “That doesn't sound weird to me at all.”

“Oh really?” Raph stops tugging at his mask tails. “Um... I could maybe equip some of your gear, or even sheets of magic activation paper with some protective wards like that. Maybe they could help you out in your travels, even if I'm not around.”

Mikey's smile widens further and he bounces in his saddle. “Really!? You could do that?!”

“Of course! I'd have to grab some of the extra paper and ink from my room when we get back, but I could definitely do that for ya!”

“Well, it's good timing then, because we're just about there!” Red Fox chimes in.

The town of Bedu looked pretty much the same as when they had left. After all, it had barely been a couple weeks. The main difference now was that a thin layer of frost was covering the ground, signalling that winter was close at hand, even below the tall mountain peaks.

“I have to go sign in with the Mountain Guide Guild to notify them that I've returned, and I need Mikey to come with me,” Red Fox says. “Raph, could you drop our gear off at the base?”

“Sure! I'll take Infinity and Buddy to the stables, too,” Raph says.

“Alrighty then!” Mikey bounces off of Infinity's back and hands her reins over to Raph, then bounces over to Red Fox.

“When you're done, come meet us by the healing house. I want to check if our gecko friend has recovered. After that we can all get some brunch – my treat!”

“Red Fox, you are the best!” Mikey cheers.

Raph smiles as he watches the two of them head farther into town. It's good to see Mikey's usual energy returned. But then he frowns a bit, realizing that he'd probably have to say goodbye to the guy soon with their trek now over. His mind is stuck in that sad thought as he heads back to Captain Jupiter's base, sets up Buddy and Infinity in the stables with some food and treats, and unpacks their gear. He mulls over all the things he's learned about Mikey and how close the two of them had grown in such a short time. He's gonna miss him a whole lot.

Raph’s thoughts are interrupted by a booming voice.

"Great gorgons, my boy, where have you been all this time!?"

Raph's head snaps up to see Captain Jupiter in the door frame with his hands on his hips. Raph can't tell if it's his normal heroic pose or if he's angry for some reason. But either way Raph is cautious in his response. "I, uh, was on a mountain guiding mission with Red Fox."

"Well I needed you here! There's been a great monster attacking the town while you've been gone and we've had trouble tracking it down and stopping it! I could've used your natural instincts!”

“I'm sorry.” Raph shrinks a bit, now feeling really bad that he had been away. It had been selfish of him to leave like that when he was needed here. And at a time when the Captain wanted to use his skills for once! It was rare that Raph’s “instincts” were looked at positively.

“Where is Red Fox?" Captain Jupiter asks looking in various directions as if expecting his sidekick to appear at the mention of her name.

"She went to the healing house to check on one of the fire victims.” Raph tugs at his mask tails, his eyes darting around not sure where to look.

"Good to know she's back here, too. I'm going to patrol the edge of the town. You head to the healing hut to tell Red Fox of the situation. And if you see any large scaly monsters, you take it down!"

At the command, Raph immediately comes to attention and salutes. "Yessir, Captain Jupiter!"

“Remember what I always say? 'Act like a monster, become a monster.' Nobody likes a monster. That’s why we do what we do. You don’t want to be on the wrong side of justice, do you?” He gives Raph a pointed look.

Raph tells himself that the Captain is always saying these things to pump him up and get him ready for a challenge or to hunt a bounty. But he hates that it feels like these words are meant specifically for him, as a warning to what Raph could do and has done. Either way, Raph knows that he’s always going to fight for good in the end. So Raph nods with determination, and in affirmation of the Captain’s words.

“Good,” Captain Jupiter says with a toothy grin. “So if you see any beasts rampaging around, make sure your justice is swift!”

Raph sucks in a breath, but stands up straight, hardens his features, and repeats, “Yessir.”

“Good lad.” The Captain nods with a pleased grin, and rushes off.

---

Raph quickly makes his way down to the village square and over to the healing house, bursting through the door with a lot more speed and panic than intended when he gets there. Everyone inside gives him an inquisitive look and Raph tries to calm himself down and casually walks towards where he sees Red Fox and Mikey standing by a bed. In the bed is the gecko from before, now wide awake and bright eyed. Without the soot or bandages covering him, Raph can see that he’s a dull yellow color with dark speckles covering his features. He looks very relaxed next to the other two.

Mikey lights up at seeing the large snapping turtle enter the room. "Raph! You're just in time to meet my new friend!" Mikey gestures at the bed.

The gecko looks up with an easy smile. "Hey there," he says in a raspy voice. "The name's Mondo! You must be Raph?"

Raph smiles and gives a small wave at the yokai. "Yup that's me. You doing okay?"

Mondo nods and Red Fox explains, "He's mostly recovered from the fire, he just has a sore throat that may last for another week or so. The smoke did a number on his lungs. Right now we're just trying to figure out where his family is."

Mikey makes a small pained sound causing Raph to look at him. The younger turtle is rubbing his head as if it hurts.

"Hey, are you okay?" Raph asks, concern tingeing his tone.

Mikey lets out a small grunt and says, "There's a lot of negative emotions in the area."

"Like what?"

"Unease... Fear..." Mikey flinches as if something struck him. "Oof, a lot of fear actually, but this seems like..."

Raph doesn't get to hear what that seems like, because there's a sudden shriek from outside. Oh, right - the reason why Raph came here. He grabs the attention of the red panda yokai. "Red Fox, the Captain told me that there's been a monster attacking the town."

"That must be it. Let's go!"

The two rush outside and sure enough a large creature is running through the streets causing many people to flee from it. It looks to be a giant alligator of some sort with hard scales and giant jaws snapping every which way. Raph summons his red limb projections and charges the beast while Red Fox leaps in the air. She lands on the beast's head and transforms her tail so it is long enough to wrap around its snout, locking its snapping jaws shut. Raph rams his whole body into the alligator in an attempt to knock it down. But even with his magic enhanced limbs the monster stands its ground and pushes back.

There is a struggle; Raph puts more magic power into the red limbs and lets out a yell, growing a second pair of red glowing arms in addition to the two surrounding his actual arms. He tries to grapple the sides of the beast with the extra pair of magical limbs. However, the alligator seems to recognize the losing battle, so instead it rocks back a bit then sweeps out its large muscular tail. The lack of resistance from the gator combined with the tail flicking at Raph’s legs causes the snapper to lose balance and he falls over, landing on his snout.

As Raph lifts himself up with a pained grunt, he sees the gator whip its head around, causing Red Fox to be flung into the wall of the healing house. His eyes widen in worry and he shouts her name. But his attention is then caught by the form of Mikey stepping outside the door with a look of horror on his face as he comes upon the scene. Behind Mikey he can see Mondo. For a second Raph wonders what he is doing out of bed, but he has much bigger things to worry about at the moment.

The large monster seems to have noticed the two smaller yokai as well, and it charges in their direction. Mondo looks like he's trying to say something, but the only thing that comes out of his mouth is a squeak. Mikey just stares up at the monster charging at them with a strange expression on his face. Raph doesn't have the time to ponder whatever feelings the empath is picking up from the scene around him and launches himself at the beast. He grabs hold of the monster's tail and digs his heels into the ground bracing himself. The gator is stopped mere feet from the two younger reptile yokai and turns around angrily to look at Raph. It launches itself at him with giant jaws opened lined with sharp, jagged teeth.

Red Fox is down, Mikey and Mondo and other civilians are around, and it's up to Raph to stop him. The Captain said to take the monster down. Raph pushes down the fear fluttering in his chest, and the twisted feeling he gets at the Captain’s implication of what he must do. He ignores the similarities between an alligator snapping turtle and an actual alligator, and allows the Captain's words to echo in his mind. “Act like a monster, become a monster.” Well, this is one monster that Raph is not going to let hurt his friends. He summons from deep down as much of his power as he can muster. His sclera turns black and his iris and pupil form into that of a blood moon. He gathers as much of his energy as he can around his fist. If he can just get one good powerful punch in as the monster leaps at him, he can end this.

Raph lets out a yell as he's about to launch his attack, right as the alligator snarls and his leaping attack arcs downward, towards the turtle. Suddenly something wraps around the alligator’s jaws, causing them to snap shut and the alligator to unceremoniously fall to the ground in an ungraceful heap. The gator looks so shocked that it seems like for a moment its anger is dispelled. Raph, too, is so surprised that magic swirling around his arm dissipates.

"Wait!" A voice calls out to them. Raph and the gator follow the voice to see Mikey standing there holding onto a rope. The rope is attached to the gator’s mouth ending in what seems to be some sort of grappling hook, glowing with magical energy. Mikey walks over to the gator with raised hands and says calmly, "I'm not going to hurt you. Just hold on a sec."

The complete lack of fear or malice coming from Mikey must confuse the alligator since it makes no moves to attack him. "You're just scared, right? And sad...? Like you miss someone?" The gator looks at the turtle with mournful eyes. Mikey slowly moves his hands towards the gator. Raph is about to stop him when Mikey holds up at hand in his direction, making Raph clamp his mouth shut before he can say anything. Mikey gently pets the large reptile's snout before loosening the rope around its jaws and says, "I think maybe they miss you, too."

Mikey gestures at Mondo who is leaning against the healing house, tightly gripping the front of his shirt, staring at the scene with wide eyes. As soon as the gecko and the gator lock eyes, Mondo tearfully runs over to the large alligator and calls out, "Leatherhead!"

Mikey steps out of the way and positions himself next to Raph. Mondo throws himself onto the apparently named Leatherhead’s face resting his small head in between the larger yokai's eyes. Leatherhead closes his eyes and puts a gentle clawed hand over the gecko's back and pats him soothingly, letting out a rumbling trill.

Raph looks past the touching scene to see Red Fox pushing herself up and walking over to them. Raph rushes to her side. "Red Fox! Are you okay?"

Red Fox smirks and rubs her neck saying, "It'll take more than one raging beast flinging me into a wall to keep me down." She looks at the scene before them. "Though I guess he's not so much a raging beast anymore..."

Mikey giggles and explains, "I thought his aura and Mondo's seemed kind of similar, and you did say that Mondo was looking for his family. I thought maybe the big guy was looking for his family, too"

Mondo breaks his hug with Leatherhead, and speaks with him in hushed tones, likely due to the fact that his voice can't seem to go above a whisper at the moment. Even though Leatherhead seems to only respond in guttural growls and trills, Mondo doesn't seem to have any trouble communicating with him.

The two of them walk over to Raph, Red Fox, and Mikey. Mondo bows his head and rasps out, “I'm sorry for Leatherhead here. The big guy was just worried about me and didn't know where I was. Please don't be mad at him.” By the end of his short speech, Mondo's voice was losing power and the last part came out in a worried squeak.

A sense of injustice rings in Raph’s head. It is based on the constant lectures about right and wrong that the Captain taught him. And the fact that the Captain gave him a direct order to stop the monster that had been terrorizing the town. Raph looked in the eyes of said monster, and saw himself reflected back in its blank yellow eyes. Leatherhead is calm now and Mondo is just a kid. But Leatherhead attacked the town, apparently numerous times; scared a lot of people. Worried about his family or not, that was still a criminal act, and he acted like a monster. Captain Jupiter's words ring in his mind yet again. Despite the torment twisting in his gut, Captain Jupiter's justice should win out. Right?

Raph spoke sternly. "You could have caused a lot of people harm! And you broke the law! You need to learn--"

He stops when Mikey pats his arm and says, "I think they learned enough, Raph. This was just a misunderstanding and that's no one's fault. Yeah, and he might've done some not very good things, but Leatherhead here is not a bad guy! He was just looking for his family!" Mikey smiles happily at the two of them.

"But.. they..." Raph's resolve fades fast under the stare of Mikey's innocent eyes.

Red Fox steps next to Raph and puts a hand over his clenched fist. Raph looks over to her, and she looks wistfully at the pair. Something behind her eyes seems to tell Raph that maybe she's grappling with similar thoughts. Finally, she lets out a sigh and says, "Well, I did want to make sure you at least got to your family after all this, and it looks like that worked out. I think it might be best if you leave town quickly, though.”

Mondo grins and says, "No problem. We don't do too well with the cold. We were going to leave Bedu weeks back, but got separated in the fire. Sorry again for causing trouble.”

Leatherhead grumbles something and bows his head apologetically.

Mondo then hops up onto Leatherhead's back and the two quickly make their leave with Mikey waving happily after them.

Red Fox lets out a tired sigh and says, “I should check around to see if any real damage was done and to calm the townsfolk. You look like you could use a rest, Raph, why don't you hang back here?”

Raph nods. She is right, he is a bit tired, suddenly.

As Red Fox walks off, Raph backs up to the healing house, and slides down its wall to rest. He's looking down at his hands unsure of what to make of the situation. Should he have told Red Fox that the Captain wanted to stop the monster, maybe permanently? But it wasn't a monster, as it turned out. Yeah, it was just a misunderstanding... And looking around the square it seemed like he hadn't even damaged anything or hurt anyone. He was just scary... not evil. But what does that say for others with sharp teeth and claws... Claws that had, at one time... He scrunches his eyes shut, refusing to think about a pink scar on his friend’s face. He shakes his head to clear the images from his mind. As he opens his eyes, something orange enters his vision.

Raph looks up to see Mikey staring at him, almost looking as if he had been in as deep a thought as Raph had. "You did the right thing, you know, letting them go..." Mikey says, finally.

"I guess," says Raph. "Just one thing I don't get though... How did you know he wasn't a bad guy?"

"He seemed more scared than mean. Besides..." Mikey gives him a bright grin, one that looks like it trusts anything, especially what he says next: "Not everything is black and white like that."

Raph ponders this for a moment. For all of the things that Raph has learned about Mikey. All the confusing questions he still had. It's the meaning behind that statement, that Raph was sure he'd be confused about for a long time. It didn't ring true at all to what he'd been taught, and yet, the way Mikey had said it, it was as if it was the truest thing in the world.

Mikey sits next to Raph and pats him on the arm. “I guess today is another cool story that I'll get to tell – one with you and Red Fox again. You guys really are heroic!”

A smile tugs at the side of Raph's mouth and he rubs Mikey's head, “If anyone was the hero today, it was you, little man!”

Mikey laughs sheepishly. “Haha, aww, really?” he asks, but glows with the praise.

“Yeah, really.” Raph gives him a final head pat. “Better make sure to include that in your story.”

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