#uh anyway. is anyone else feeling the terror

[incredubious]

ace in batik *smiles*

[delcakoo]

enha giving you partner privilege ˖ ࣪ ˒ ‎♡⃕

requested <3

PAIRING ! enhypen x gn!reader

GENRE ! cavity inducing fluff!

WC ! 3.1k

WARNINGS ! being judged for wearing a skirt in jungwon’s

a/n: help i’m sorry this took literal months but finally feeding u all an enha reaction-ish T-T i took multiple long breaks between most of these so. sorry if it’s weird lol

LEE HEESEUNG !

if literally anybody tries to tease or make fun of this man.. oh no

he is NOT afraid to retaliate and tear them to shreds, even if it’s his closest friends or members <\3

when it comes to you though..

he just ,, LETS YOU ?!

and everyone else agrees that it’s totally unfair, INCLUDING YOU because you wanted a reaction.. that’s the whole point of teasing :(

but instead he just sits there with a dumb little smirk because he thinks you’re so cute and wants to give you a kiss as you continue calling him a loser 🧌

“hah, you suck. i don’t even play video games and i won,” you taunt with a big, victorious grin

heeseung doesn’t even complain or fight back, continuing to go past the results screen with a nonchalant smirk, “yeah yeah.. you just got lucky”

however, you begin to pout slightly, earning no actual reaction from your relentless teasing

so you try and push him further, “nuh uh, i think you’re just bad. but it’s okay seungie, you can’t be good at everything~”

well, that doesn’t work either

instead of getting mad heeseung just GRINS, quietly admiring how cute you look when you’re all cocky and smug about your little victory

aaand then everything goes downhill when sunghoon enters the room 😟

the tall boy snickers immediately at the sight of the tv, watching your character dance in victory, “nice one, y/n!”

you grin up at the younger with a wink, “thanks hoon, i must admit, it was an easily won battle.”

he laughs harder, “next time you gotta go easy on him,” feeling brave apparently, sunghoon has the nerve to ruffle your boyfriend’s fluffy hair with a mischievous smirk, “you know how hyung gets when he loses.”

yikes

heeseung’s once adoring expression turns into one of (half joking) annoyance, jaw clenched as he swats sunghoon’s hand away from his head

“really bro? 1v1 me right now then, i’ll kick your ass and we both know it,” he sasses, getting ready to throw the other controller at the boy

the speed in which sunghoon bolted outta the room in pure terror

you’re just 🧍

“no fair, how come you don’t get mad when i tease you?” you complain, crossing your arms like a toddler

heeseung’s expression softens again, pulling you towards his side of the couch for a warm hug, “s’cause you’re my baby,” he murmurs cheesily against your skin

“and ‘cause i let you win.”

“aw— wait what?” 😕

// PARK JAY !

the amount of privilege you have as this man’s partner?? lord

there is a lOt

you get excused for every little thing

even though jay hates ppl touching his hair he lets you?! and of course will make you food ALL the time

while if anyone else asks, they’ll prob have to spend some time convincing him for a while or bribe him y’know

but perhaps the biggest one..

disturbing jay during his naps is equivalent to asking for a punch in the face

it’s pretty much common knowledge amongst the members that it’s impossible to wake him up anyway

but if they somehow do get him up, they should expect many annoyed grunts and remarks and probably a middle finger before he inevitably falls back to sleep

naps are very serious business for mr park

BUT when you’re in the picture..

suddenly he gets all soft and compliant..

his members find this very annoying and you’re just like hah losers 🥰

at this point they start facetiming you whenever he’s napping because bro practically launches out of bed at the sound of your voice

“hyung, hyung wake up!” jungwon is literally shaking the older boy, pushing him back and forth on the bed

yet he is sTiLL asleep

there has to be some kind of sleeping competition they can sign him up for because god he deserves an award <\3

jungwon eventually gives up, calling for sunghoon’s help

and how does he help?

giving him a big smack on the head of course

finally, jay flinches awake, groaning as he touches his head, “what the hell hoon?!”

“dinner’s ready! ” jungwon quickly announces with a grin, “me and sunoo tried cooking this time and i swear, we didn’t burn anything and it actually tastes—“

“don’t care. let me sleep.”

“but hyung the—“

*snores*

sunghoon sighs, “alright, it’s time we pull out the big guns.”

by that, they mean forcing you to come over there in exchange for some of the boys’ homemade dinner

jungwon and sunghoon watch from the doorway as you tiptoe over to the bed, doing what you do best: tricking your boyfriend

“pretty boy,” you whisper, tracing down his sharp jawline with a feathering touch

and like that, jay starts stirring, eyes eventually fluttering open

“oh, so i have to slap him, but they just cARess his face and suddenly he’s rising and shining— ow!” sunghoon groans when jungwon elbows him into the wall to shut him up

jay yawns, “y/n? what’re you doing here?”

he reaches up to give you a peck, and you nearly coo at his raven hair all tangled cutely

“wanted to have dinner with you guys,” you lie, grabbing his hand to pull him up

“yeah but i was napping..” he protests childishly, making jungwon roll his eyes in the background

it was rare for jay to have his baby moments, but it happens !!

you continue rubbing his hand, “well you also have to eat babe, and i’m gonna be here too.”

at that, he sighs, but gets up from bed, stretching with a yawn

“hallelujah!” sunghoon cheers, prancing over to give you a high five

jungwon groans, “what would we do without you y/n”

jay is just 🧍

“aish.. you were forced here to wake me up weren’t you?”

all three of you make nervous eye contact before running off to the kitchen jungwon claps his hand at last, “who’s ready to have the most life changing meal of your lives?”

// SIM JAEHYUN !

jake’s a little shy about it

but if someone takes something of his he will definitely go D:

he does a little pout!!

and if it’s something that he absolutely REFUSES to share

like a straw

then he’ll be like “ay that’s mine, go get your own!!” in a half joking, jake way y'know?

but when it comes to you…

he cant say no to your cute face <3

everything jake owns? yours

congrats you have a whole second closet now

want some of his food? take the whole plate !!

he even calls you layla’s other parent despite being very very protective of her :(((

thats when you knew you’re extremely special to him !

jake’s just peacefully lying on the couch, waiting for you to finish up showering

when all of a sudden heeseung strolls in, humming as he goes to fill up a glass of water in the kitchen

as jake was about to greet him, his brows furrow at the sight of a familiar logo on the back of the older boy’s green shirt

“hyung..?” he calls suspiciously

“hmm?”

“is that my shirt?”

heeseung looks down for a moment, scanning his outfit before shrugging

“maybe. found it on the floor,” the older replies

jake just frowns

“bro, i don’t wanna share shirts with you! you’re always sweaty as hell after playing league until 3am!”

heeseung takes a leisurely sip of his water, uncaring of the whiney younger boy on the couch, “well too bad. stop leaving your shit on the floor then.”

before jake can give him another pouty complaint, the sound of a yawn coming out of his room leads both boy’s to turn and investigate

a huge smile rushes to jake’s face at the sight of you in one of his t-shirts just like heeseung, the soft white fabric overflowing down your thighs

“angel! is that my shirt?” he giggles cutely

“uh yeah, is that okay?”

“what, of course! you look adorable, c’mere angel,” your boyfriend demands with grabby hands, ignoring heeseung’s disbelieving eye roll nearby

“but when i wear your shirt it’s the end of the goddamn world, huh?”

you snicker quietly as you walk over to jake, letting him pull you in for a kiss

jake smirks, “mhm, now give it back or i’m eating all our ramen without you.”

“you wouldn’t..”

“try me, hyung~”

then he sticks his tongue out in his classic jake way 💪

// PARK SUNGHOON !

getting straight to the point here

when someone touches sunghoon he’s immediately on guard

he’s a lot better with those who are close to him, but he still gets a bit stiff and awkward

and with strangers.. he’ll just try and find an escape right away

this goes especially for his facial area

he will not hesitate to swat anyone’s hand away or flinch in annoyance if they try to pinch his cheeks or poke his nose >:(

similarLY to how sunoo was now

“i saw you blushing when that engene in the front row called you hot~” the younger boy snickers, “you’ve been an idol for two years now, and you’re still not used to that?”

then suddenly hoon’s cheeks are being pushed together, making his lips form a pout

“our sunghoonie is so cute~”

his hand is quickly slapped away 😒

“ow!”

before sunoo can even complain you’re rushing into the dressing room with a vip pass around your neck, running over to give your boyfriend a hug

sunoo watches with a pout as you cup sunghoon’s jaw, reaching up to give him a peck

“you did amazing as usual, i’m so proud!”

yeah

contrary to pretty much everyone else, sunghoon wants your touch and enjoys it thoroughly <3

in your hold, he’s completely relaxed; pushing his cheek further into your hand as he wraps his arms around you

“thank you,” he whispers with a cheeky grin

feeling playful, you even go to pinch his cheeks

and instead of getting mad the boy just gigGLES like a whipped idiot

sunoo crosses his arms, “what!? no fair!”

hoon kinda forgot his bandmate was there to witness everything 🧌

“yah, why’re you still there?” he barks, “shoo!”

you purse your lips to hold in your laugh, waving bye to the sulking boy who only rolls his eyes

you snicker once he’s gone, “so.. what was that about?”

sunghoon sighs, “don’t worry about it..” you raise a brow when he scoops you up, placing you on the makeup table, “now, where were we? celebrating how good i did, right ;)”

// KIM SUNOO !

this one’s a lil’ hard because sunshine is kinda bad at saying no and lets his members get away with a bit toO much

but he still tries to be is very strict when it comes to paying for things because why should he be paying for niki’s new pokemon game ??

of course if it’s his members birthday, an occasional treat, or maybe if he lost a bet it’d be an exception

but besides that he’s pretty good at not falling for the members puppy eyes and pouty whining

this of course isn’t the same for you

you’re literally the love of his life!! his partner of COUrse he has to spoil you and buy you absolutely everything you want >:(

sunoo will literally tell you beforehand to not let him sEe your wallet on dates or he’ll get upset

(even though when he becomes all pouty you only think he’s adorable)

sunoo would be doing his skincare

having the time of his life y’know putting his face mask on and—

“hyung, can you—“ before he can even finish, riki starts CACKLING and sunoo already knows it’s because of his green face mask ..

“you— you look like-“ he snorts, “the little green guy from monsters inc-“

sunoo slaps his arm, “yah, i do not. what do you want, brat?”

the younger boy grins, staring at him through the mirror

“so… splatoon 3 came out and..”

“absolutely not”

riki gAsps in offense, “why not!? it’s only like 90$!”

“do i look like your mom?”

“kinda—“

“shut up. go ask jake hyung, you know he can’t say no to you”

then suddenly

you, who was on your boyfriend’s bed waiting for his return, prance into the bathroom as well

“sunnie guess what!?”

sunoo smiles brightly at your arrival, pausing his ministrations to meet your eyes

“hmm?”

you grab his arm, shaking him back and forth, “seventeen is coming on tour here next month! we have to get tickets!”

he gasps, “really!? okay, i’ll get us tickets tonight!”

but then riki.. 🧌

“hyung, why will you buy y/n a concert ticket but i can’t get a game?”

“because they’re y/n and you’re riki ☺️”

ouch <\3

// YANG JUNGWON !

AWHhh won’s the cutest with giving you privilege T-T

there’s a lot of super small things that you might not even notice

like letting you touch his dimples, wear his clothes or play with his hair

you may not realise your privilege ‘cause if anyone else did those things he proBably wouldn’t say anything

because he’s jungwon

BUT when you do it he genuinely encourages you and gets all giggly <3

one thing you’ve definitely noticed though is how protective wonnie tends to get over you compared to others

he’s already quite protective of the people he loves as is

but 99% of the time he won’t mention or say anything if an issue comes up:

say an interviewer makes a comment he doesn’t approve of

some backhanded compliment to one of his members

or maybe a joke gone too far

he isn’t the type to say something rude in response or bring it up off camera, at most the interviewer would receive a very harsh glare and frown

when it comes to his partner though..

no no absolutely nOt.

you are his responsibility!! his person, his love and therefore he will not hesitate to defend you and fight anyone who dares to bring a tear to your face

suddenly his normal coherent thoughts of ‘it’s okay jungwon, don’t say anything, be professional’ FLIES OUT THE WINDOW BECAUSE no. he will not accept this

for example!!

one day you and won were going on a cute lil picnic in the park <3

you decided to wear a skirt for the heck of it, thinking it’d look cute especially with the picnic idea and the weather getting a tad warmer

so once you’re both out of the car, jungwon holding the basket of pastries while you carried the drinks and blanket, you were both pretty sure nothing could ruin the cheery mood

jungwon even complimed your skirt, mentioning how he thought it suited you perfect :D

“wah, i’ve been wanting to have a picnic all year. really, this is gonna be perfect!” your boyfriend says cheekily

“mhm, next time we should bring mauemi though!”

you wait for jungwon’s reply with a smile, but it quickly drops when you look up to see an old woman on a bench staring at you as if you’d done something terrible, her wrinkly face pulled into a displeased frown

brows furrowing, you follow her gaze to your bare legs, a tug of insecurity forming in your stomach as she scans you up and down

“..and the squirrels would be perfect to chase—“ jungwon pauses when he glances over at you, worry increasing as he notices your visibly deflated expression, “jagi?”

his eyes follow yours, widening when he sees the lady send you daggers from across the park

jungwon’s brows furrow, holding your hand tighter with every step you take closer to her

if it was anyone else, he knew that he wouldn’t say a thing; probably brush it off, maybe send her a frown back

but he simply can’t help the words that tumble from his mouth, “is something wrong, ma’am?”

your eyes widen right away because wonnie nEver has the guts to call people out like that usually???

ESPEcially not an elderly person ..

of course, the old woman only scoffs rudely in response, muttering something in a malicious tone under her breath

the boy holding your hand smirks in satisfaction and you sigh, quickly leading him away as fast as possible

“yah, why’d you do that?!” you whisper-yell

he gives you an obvious glance, “because i didn’t like how she looked at you”

jungwon looks cute 99% of the time, but at that moment with the harsh glare on his face, he’s a bit intimidating even to you <\3

you gulp, “still..”

“no, y/n,” he interrupts sternly, “i refuse to let my pretty s/o stay upset when there’s something i can do about it”

with that, jungwon places down the picnic basket and starts pulling out your snacks like nothing happened <3

“so, what should we eat first?” :D

// NISHIMURA RIKI !

sigh.

now for this boy your partner privilege is THROUGH THE ROof okay

the difference in how he treats you to everyone else??

literally anyone can see the difference even if it’s their first time meeting you guys

riki’s a combo of all the previous ones

lets u wake him up whenever and even interrupt him while dancing/gaming

definitely gives u all the pda u want but if anyone else tries it he may bite them

and ofc defends you withOut hesitation even if it’s just some lame joke he will roast them right back mf !!!

the most noticeable point though is for sure how a majority of the time he listens to whatever you say ON THE FIRST TRY

it’s ‘majority of the time’ because if he didn’t annoy you at least a bit that wouldn’t be riki

it could be something so small

sunghoon and you would be chilling on the couch, then he’d see riki walk in

“yah, can you get me a water?”

mans gets ignored as niki pUshes him over to sit next to you instead

“no, i’m lazy.”

sunghoon just rolls his eyes, meanwhile you were on your phone; completely oblivious to the conversation as you reach over to kiss the younger boy’s cheek

“babe, can you go grab me a drink please?”

bro SPRINTS to the kitchen without another word 🧌

nobody knows why he’s so enthusiastic to serve you but !!

sunghoon is tempted to call him a simp

or exhibit b

you’re at the dorms watching jake and niki play some video game

or at least. they were supposed to be playing together

but apparently it was a single player game and your boyfriend was being a bit of a hog judging by how they were practically wrestling on the carpet for the controller 😟

then after a while longer jake desperately calls out for you

“y/nnn he won’t give me a turn!”

you realise at that moment that this is what having kids must feel like

meanwhile riki gives u that innocent look as if he did nothing

you sigh, “yah, give jake a turn. haven’t you been playing for like 15 minutes straight?”

jake nods furiously in agreement

he pouts, “well yeah but..”

you give him the stink eye

aaand he passes the controller over without any more complaints <\3

jake lets out a vEry sarcastic thank you while riki wanders all the way over to you and plops down in your embrace like a whiny toddler

then he just looks up at you from your lap

“you look pretty today.”

jake groans in the background while you nearly choke

“all of a sudden??”

“yeah,” he replies simply, “i don’t mind giving up my spot to jake ‘cause i have a much better view now~”

what will you do with this boy 😞

if u enjoyed, reblogs n’ comments r always appreciated!

© delcakoo on tumblr. all rights reserved. do not rewrite, cross-post, translate, copy, etc.

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[minty364]

DPXDC Prompt #108 Part 2

The thought sounded ridiculous and yet Damian found himself unable to completely scoff at the idea. He himself had seen some strange things in his lifetime and it wouldn’t be fair to completely dismiss the idea outright. 

“I’m unsure what your point is but I guess I suppose they exist.” Damian eventually said.

Danny chuckled at this, “I guess you're not from Amity Park huh?” he joked.

Damian scoffed, “I’ve never even heard of that place but I gather that’s where I am at the moment?” He mentally filed the name to search later. 

“Yeah, born and raised. Anyways, we’re the most haunted city in America. Ghost’s are real, you’ll probably meet one at some point. They’re uh… kind of attracted to me? Kind of like… “ He trailed off for a moment, likely lost in thought trying to come up with an example. Damian was going to call him out for spacing, they were probably running out of time before one of his siblings or Pennyworth came to check on him. Luckily Danny continued, “Hey, what city am I in right now, maybe there’s a comparison I can use?” Danny asked.

“Tt, did you not even think to use GPS to find your location before calling me?” Damian scoffed, his supposed ‘soulmate’ was incompetent, “You're in Gotham.”

“Gotham? Well I guess you could compare them to Batman’s rogues then, however they tend to play a little rough. It’s kind of how ghost’s bond.” Danny’s explanation made it sound like he was the one roughhousing with these ghosts. He wasn’t quite sure where this was going but he let him continue, “so well… this next part’s kind of hard to explain especially without proof but well… I’m what the other ghost’s call a halfa. I’m half ghost half human.”

Damian opened his mouth to retort, the notion that you could be half dead was ridiculous really. But as soon as he opened his mouth a cold blue wisp wafted out of his mouth shocking him. An unfamiliar feeling washes over him and he looked down in terror as he started sinking into the bed.

“Explain your power’s now, I appear to be sinking into your bed.” Damian demanded. The feeling was odd, it was almost as if the bed didn’t exist. 

“Uh, right, Okay… so, it’s kind of emotion based? Take a few deep breaths and you’ll be able to ease yourself back out.” 

Damian did just as Danny instructed and took a few deep breaths. Soon he was able to solidify and sit back up on the bed. Suddenly, a knocking sound was heard through the phone. 

Shit, just like he thought, they took too long and one of his siblings came to check on him. He thought it was sweet that they cared, but he’d never voice this thought out loud to anyone. 

“Danny, I need you to listen very carefully. I need you to open the door and hand the phone over to them. Don’t say anything, understand?” 

“Uh Okay?” Damian could tell Danny was raising an eyebrow at this but he did as Damian told him anyway.

“Uh, Hello?” The voice on the phone said, Damian recognized it as Tim Drake-Waynes. 

“Drake, Please step into the room and listen to my instructions,” Damian waited a moment as he heard the door shut. “Alright, meet my soulmate Danny, apparently his parents study soulmates and they did something and now we’re in each other’s bodies.”

He heard Danny sigh, “It was only supposed to strengthen the soulmate pull. It’s not my fault they don’t know about my weird biology.” 

“Weird Biology?” Drake parroted, “do they not know you're a meta?”

There was a pause before Danny spoke, “No, I’m not a meta… but for the simplicity of things, and this conversation, sure, you can call me a meta.” There was a tiredness to his voice, as if he had this conversation with someone else before.

“The name’s Tim,” he told Danny, then Drake suddenly said in an excited voice, “hey, let’s let him in on the family secret and prank Bruce. Let’s tell everyone else about it and see how long it takes him to figure out it isn’t you… we’ll have to train Danny of course. If he really is your soulmate he’s going to find out eventually and it might be good to prepare him ahead of time” The idea sounded ridiculous to Damian but at the same time, he was recently having some doubts about his Father’s attention on him. Drake had a point, if Danny really was his soulmate, he’d find out eventually. 

__________________________

Danny wasn’t sure what was going on, after he handed the phone off to Tim, they talked about some family secret. Soon Tim hung up the phone and turned to Danny, “Damian say’s Sam and Tucker are there and they’ll call back when he’s back up to speed which means that we need to get up to speed ourselves,” he glared at Danny. Danny, who was still wearing Pajamas stood there as Tim approached him. Once they were a yard apart Tim spoke again, “Listen, the secret I’m about to tell you must not be told to anyone outside of this house, got it?” He fixed a hard glare at Danny.

Danny shrunk back for a moment before a thought occurred to him, “why don’t I tell you my secret as well? Damian is already learning by now and since you're his brother you’ll probably be able to help out.” Secrets for secrets, that way they would both be afforded some leverage in the situation. 

Tim seemed to think for a moment with a hand on his chin, he nodded for a moment before looking up at Danny, “Alright, but tell me yours first.” 

[midnight1nk]

So, this week's remaster...

[Spoilers below cut]

Aha! I've expected as much, they usually release a regular episode or a Remaster. It's been a while since they've done one of these, I honestly thought we were going to get one during the Puzzle Park arc, which of course didn't happen.

Let's see, the OG "Return to Freddy's Spaghettria" episode was...

9 YEARS AGO?!?!?

...time isn't real, guys. I feel old old. Makes sense though, the OG has 44 million views, being one of the most popular videos on the channel. It's a no-brainer. also it was spooky month *does the dance* a few days ago.

Anyway, since it's a remaster, this post is going to be a lot shorter than usual.

(the following is my reaction:)

ah, of course, the updated graphics

and Mario going from his polygonal 64 model to his current one

but also peach's castle.... ahem, let's keep going

"no more saying cuss words guys" oh right, susan is watching over us

[*sigh*] i miss my wife, tails. i miss her a lot, I'll be back

gotta make the reference I'm sorry

go off Mario, show those dance moves

also can I just say, I love how expressive Mario is now. It's one of the things I love about the show

WIZARD ROCK IS BACK!!!! it's been so long

man, i'm old

omg the barney song (listen, I was a PBS Kid and I've indeed watched barney when I was a child soooo I still find it wild to hear that song again.)

"do you like popsicles?" oh hey a spongebob... oh...

....i'm overthinking this i'm overthinking this i'm overthinking this

uh, moving on!

and mario using mr. yeast to barricade the door... [*IGBP flashbacks*]

Welcome, everyone, to "Let's Remind Ink of the Show's Past Arcs and Current Mysteries" :)

"remember the locket :)" "YEAH I KNOW I KNOW"

that camera work tho

cocomelon... WHY AM I GETTING FLASHBACKS

pizza :D

[*claps in terror*]

well, that's new from the OG.... okay, look, I know this purple thing is from something else and not related to anything at all i get that BUT I just got reminded of meme rehab

happy halloween to me specifically ig, thanks Team

DAMN his coin count lowered from 24 coins in the OG to just 14 coins in the remaster

WII SPORTS, I love all the references to it in this episode

"who wants a muffin?" "no" "but I wanna die :D" /ref

the mickey mouse audio.... LEAVE ME ALONE *flachback* AAAH *flashback* AAAAAAHHHHH

SMG4 HIIII :D good to see blue Mario every now and then

and some voice acting wow

RAVE PARTY

hold up, i gonna pull out the crafting table for this one

mario can and will teleport behind you when he wants to

pizza :D

also congrats to ArrowDustt for your art being featured in the credits 🎉

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

Another pleasant episode. It's really fun to see how much the Team has improved over the years while still being the show. It is a remaster so it's pretty much the same storyline, but the animation and editing and voice acting and so much more. Go show some appreciation for the Team!!

As much as I'm here for the loreeeeeeeee, I wouldn't mind if the rest of the year is just filled with silly episodes. it's the silly meme show after all... but Team, was it really necessary to remind me that these characters had trauma from previous episodes? well, guess what? it's day of the dead for me so your plan failed aha!!! /silly

Yeah, I do look too much into stuff sprinkled in the background or the episode in general, it's kinda my thing. Don't mind me overanalyzing the bingo numbers from the last episode. Anyway, it was nice of Ben (the thumbnail artist) to show some of the behind-the-scenes.

Stretchy boi :) Love when the Team does these kinds of things. By the way, if anyone was curious, the WOTFI website is still up. Interesting....

Well, my dear fellows, that's all for now. Curious to know what the next remaster will be, and as always, looking forward to what shenanigans the SMG4 Crew will be up to next week. Hmm, maybe I'll post another episode concept (angst or fluff, no in-between >:] hehehe). Take care, and I'll see you all next time!!! pizza :D

...

BUT ALSO GOOP!FOUR— *green screen explosion*

[outlawwithaheart]

I'm dying for Charles content (I guess I finally fall in love with him) so what are you think about one-shot/headcanons/whatever with Charles x gn/fem!reader who's confessing to him? Like, reader is acting weird, constantly in Charles's space and they finally saying what's on their mind

Of course I can! I can do a oneshot for this idea! I am so in love with Charles lmao! I got very excited when I saw an ask for Charles. It ended up being gender neutral since there wasn't really a need for any gendered terms! It's a little short, I hope you like it anyways! <3

Charles x GN!Reader

For a whole year you've had your eyes on Charles. There's something that draws you to him. Ever since you had to go hunting with him up on that God forsaken snowy mountain, your feelings developed more and more. As days pass, it just gets worse. So, you do what anyone would do in this predicament. You try to casually end up being near him all the time!

Everytime you see Charles it's another, "I didn't expect to see you here," coming out of your mouth. Except you totally did expect to see him there, and that's exactly why you were there! He would always say hi, or hey, and other short greetings. Usually, that was about it. He's just a really quiet person.

Of course, most everyone noticed your infatuation with Charles. Not everyone cared but some did, and they teased you about it.

Karen always says, "There's your lover boy~!" A little too loudly. Marybeth laughs and nudges you towards him. Tilly asks you why you don't just tell him already! And when Sean's drunk? You're lucky Charles hasn't found yet, and doesn't take Sean too seriously.

That brings us to now. A sunny, slightly breezy, warm day. The sound of the trees leaves rustling, and birds chirping. Hopes are high in camp, and everyone is laughing and talking. You're doing some stuff around the camp when you see Charles, and some others go to get food. You very quickly drop what you're doing, and practically run over to get food after him. You get some stew, and sit down across from him. Instead of eating, you're staring stupidly at him. He looks so good in the warm sunlight, you can see every detail of his face as he eats.

"Hey," he says. That snaps you out of it. You feel your face warp in embarrassment.

"Oh- uh- hey!" You smile, and (not so casually) take a big bite of the stew, and almost choke.

He chuckles a little bit, "Do I have something on my face?"

"Oh- no! Nothing! Nothing at all!" You quickly say. You swallow your spit. This is so embarrassing. You hear Marybeth laughing quietly as she walks by.

You both finish eating and head off. Your heart was pounding, and you were sure you were sweating despite the weather not being that hot. You walk over to where you were before to continue helping around camp, and Marybeth was there.

"What was that?" She asks. You say it was just the usual.

"That's the usual? He probably thinks you've gone mad!" She laughs, "Why don't you just tell him already?"

"No way in hell I'm doing that." You say.

Well maybe. It's been a whole year. You consider it, and then you look up to scan the area for Charles.

The sun had started to set. Javier found his place by the campfire, and was tuning his guitar. Jack asks John to play with him. Abigail and Hosea were talking. Bill, drunk, was terrorizing Kerian. Dutch was reading, and Lenny was begging Sean to pick up a book. Everyone else was doing there own thing.

You saw him. Chopping some fire wood. The warm orange lighting looked so beautiful on him, and the way his arms exposed by his rolled up sleeves looked while chopping it too. He was so perfect.

Marybeth rolls her eyes and tells you to stop gawking and start TALKING! She nudges you towards him, and you start walking slowly. As he's about to finish chopping some wood, you make it over to him.

"Hey, didn't think I'd see you here!" You say, awkwardly.

"Oh really?" He says, smirking a little bit.

"Yeah, and I really love you a lot." You say very quickly. He brings the axe down to the wood, chopping the last piece.

He thinks for a bit, then says, "Wanna go hunting with me tomorrow?"

Your response comes out rushed, and immediately after he finishes his sentence. You say yes.

He kisses your forehead, and starts carrying wood over to the campfire. You nearly implode. You're definitely sweating again, even though the weather was cooling down as it slowly got darker out. You stand there for a little bit, very awkwardly. You look over at Marybeth, who's laughing and smiling. Later, she tells you you did a good job.

[apuckishwit]

Platonic Max and Eddie: “want me to stay?”

(Only if you’re still accepting prompts, of course! ❤️)

“Want me to stay?”

The offer is made quietly. Softly. Barely a whisper that nonetheless carries across the width of the downstairs guestroom in the Harrington house. She still insists on calling it a guestroom, even though it’s hers now for all intents and purposes. It’s been her room for months, but she’s still not quite ready to admit that. Not quite ready to admit that her mother isn’t going to be coming back for her—to take her back to the rebuilt trailer park, or another apartment, or even out of Hawkins altogether. No one can find Susan Mayfield and Max isn’t sure if her mother is one of the many victims of the fissures that had ripped through Hawkins last year or if she sought shelter somewhere else and just doesn’t know that Max survived or if she did know and just chose to leave anyway. Start somewhere new.

Max doesn’t know which option to hope for.

So she calls her room at Steve’s place the guestroom and Steve lets her, nodding along even as he uses the credit card his parents have never stopped payments on even though he’s supposed to be cut off to buy her furniture she likes and clothes she can maneuver into and out of easily on bad pain days and any color of paint she wants for the walls.

She shifts now on the bed, letting the big, fluffy comforter that El helped her pick out fall from her shoulders, and clicks the light on the bedside table. Eddie is lounging in her—the—doorway, hair a wild nest of tangles, dressed in flannel pants and a Hawkins High basketball team shirt that she knows will say Harrington on the back.

“Heard, uh, heard you yelling,” Eddie says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You’d sleep through an air raid,” she mutters, sharp and short, but Eddie just shrugs.

“Steve heard you yelling and woke me up,” he amends.

Neither of them have outright said anything, but they all know Eddie spends more nights here than anyone else except Max herself, and those nights are most certainly not spent in one of the other guestrooms.

And here is the thing.

On her good days—days when her limbs don’t ache quite as much, when she feels like she can walk for a while, when her head isn’t aching and her now shitty, shitty vision isn’t blurring worse—she wants Lucas and El. Dustin. Will and Mike, and now Nancy and Robin. She wants her friends (and more in the case of Lucas), wants to go out into Hawkins…to the newly-rebuilt arcade, or to one of the restaurants that are slowly coming back. She wants to claw back any bit of normalcy she can. She wants to smile and laugh with El, and hold Lucas’s hand and let him play with her hair and kiss her like she’s something beautiful and precious when the others are distracted.

On physical therapy days, or days where she knows she has to do her exercises or she’s going to regret it later, she wants Steve. She wants his firm, sure grip on her hands or shoulders, wants his steady presence at her back, wants the way he never coddles her, but also never, ever lets her fall. She wants the way he knows when she can push her muscles and when she really does need to slow down and take a break and the way he lets her rage and snarl and snap at him and just takes it in stride, bitching right back to her the way some of the others still seem afraid to do.

In the night, though…when the dreams won’t let her rest, when every shadow seems to be too dark, too menacing, when she swears she hears a growling, evil voice just underneath the wind, she wants Eddie.

El and Will are the ones who understand what Vecna and the Upside Down did to her best. But Eddie understands it all. The horror of being used by Vecna to hurt their friends. The terror of thinking they would never find a way out, that they’d be trapped and forgotten in that hellscape forever. But Eddie also understands that sometimes her dreams aren’t of Vecna at all. That some monsters can grow in the human world—no horrific government agencies, or interdimensional hell beings needed. Eddie understands all the ways a hard life can break you down, all the ways that people who are supposed to love you and care for you can let you down hard. And he understands all the sharp bits she had to develop to protect herself, is never cut by them the way the others are sometimes, because he had to develop them himself once upon a time, had to keep some of them even after he came to live with his uncle.

Max knows her friends all love her. Accept her. Will never leave her.

But Eddie gets her.

She doesn’t answer his question verbally, but gives a slow nod. Eddie just grins, scrambling into the room and immediately grabbing the overstuffed armchair in the corner and dragging it over to sit by the bed. He flops into it dramatically, and kicks his legs up onto the foot of the bed.

“So, fair maiden, shall I find something to read, shall we discuss the truly hilarious display that was Mike Wheeler trying to convince Hopper that those condoms that fell out of his backpack weren’t his—spoiler alert, they weren’t, teach that little shit to try and peek at my DM notes—”

“I knew it was you!” Max laughs, the tension already draining from her shoulders. She sits back against the headboard, tucking her comforter around her more securely. Sleep probably won’t be coming for a while, but the shadows aren’t as deep and Eddie’s voice drowns out the wind and though Steve never intrudes on their little bubble, she knows eventually the scent of hot chocolate is going to drift in from the kitchen.

Maybe tomorrow will be a good day.

[ylojgtr]

i've been mulling over tales of the empire and overall i think im very happy with the series. when morgan elsbeth first showed up i thought she was just another one-note imperial warlord, but through ahsoka and now especially tales i have become much more of a fan. how she deals with her clan's genocide was tragic in ahsoka but is just heart wrenching here

barriss was one of my favourite characters in tcw and even though i still think the terrorist arc could have been built up to better and less...uh, racist, i still find it to be an essential and interesting part of ahsoka's story. my only major disappointment with tales of the empire was how vader was handled. im not one to get upset at frivolous or over-the-top uses of vader, i loved him in rogue one and force unleashed etc., since he's objectively cool as fuck and people are entitled to their interpretations. but barriss betrayed ahsoka. and i don't believe for an instant that anakin, even when vader has taken over, would let anyone get away with hurting his padawan.

i decided a long time ago (since we've been waiting so fucking long to see barriss again) that in my hc, barriss *was* recruited to be an inquisitor during the chaos of order 66, as so many people speculated, but that vader immediately tried to kill her upon meeting her the first time. because i love her i decided she did escape, having to recon with her desire for the jedi to fall having come true in the worst possible way.

i imagined barriss further developing a connection to the dark side but using it to combat the empire. there are already so many jedi and thinking of ezra and luke's brief dark side uses i thought it would be sick to see that in full force against sheev & co. i think it would also fit perfectly into her development, if done right, going from highly rule-oriented healer to violent idealistic refugee to finding some kind of peace as a freedom fighter operating somewhere in between. i imagined her learning from the empire and reflections on her bombing that terror is not usually a very good way to spread a message, but still believing that violence can be used for good. sort of like a saw gerrera type but with less of the extreme ends justify the means mentality. hell she could even join saw gerrera's cell that would be sick.

(and of course she'd have to meet up with ahsoka again and YES they still have feelings for each other imagine the romantic tension, the memories of betrayal, the possible reconciliation but impossible circumstances both externally (war) and internally (opposing worldviews)...the potential encounters where they repeatedly end up with the same target but believing there to be two best ways of dealing with it but the TENSION...FUCK i need this)

anyway i like the idea of force users who are ""good"" (like in barriss's case, having strong conviction for justice) but don't strictly use the light side of the force or don't adhere to the jedi code. of course, since this is filoni we're talking about, everyone he previously claimed to "not be a jedi" just ends up being a jedi again 😐

not that i even mind this, i like the end of tales of the empire and am still excited to see what becomes of barriss (assuming she survives, which based on everyone else we've seen stabbed like that recently she probably will) (<not a slight against how lightsabers are being used, i honestly don't care that much it's fantasy). my one big complaint is that we didn't get to see what vader does with barriss.

when the trailer came out i actually thought my dreams were coming true! they show vader walking past her and i was so excited to see his reaction...and then he just sits there. he looks great, but...idk i hope we get to see more of that later on. im just happy to finally see barriss again

[askfallenroyalty]

I just read the surprise/early update and the sound I made followed by "Torielllll....! :(" after I finished... the anguish I felt is indescribable. This poor, poor woman, if only she knew why this feeling of not knowing what is "real" was because of the resets... You captured the feelings of terror, discombobulation, and bewilderment perfectly. A perfect punch in the gut!

oof yeah i feel in hindsight Toriel learning about the timelines was under-explored. ALSO SORRY IM RAMBLY TONIGHT LOL i just feel like talkin at lenght so apologies for all the long posts past midnight aslfkjasdlf. also THANK YOU for all ur kind asks i don't always answer cause when i get nice asks i like looking at them often but that means i don't respond ;o;

Her reaction is to care about how Asriel must of felt using the power (and granted, in the tumblr version she doesn't know/understand the fact that Asriel was Flowey for a long time before being revived as Asriel. Though in the redraw she's going to learn earlier.) anyway she's like, oh, that must been tough on Asriel ): how lonely

but like??? now i realize she'd have permanent deja vu from all the reloads that weren't erased with a true reset. (which, in AFR universe, isn't even a guarantee) she's suffered from this ability, more so than anyone else as she's the only one to truly know all the kids who've come through the Ruins. (Asgore is also the only other guaranteed one, but uh, we already know his... baggage... with the reloads...)

anyway when she finds out, she's going to go "ok? insane but you have scientific evidence let me adjust to this wild new information" to "wait wait were those unstable years when the kids fell REAL? my kids actually DID kill me? HELLO?" and that's going to be. interesting to explore!

i feel like it could even be an EARLY reveal! I feel like Hol specifically is going to want to apologize for what they did. And now that I have opportunity to explore how Asriel is going to explain the age-up is more than just "oh yeah i was a flower for a while" cause. Toriel KNOWS the amalgamate experiments are (vaguely) recent. She fired Dr.Alphys over it. She knows the details now. So Asriel's explanation of being a flower for years in secret makes no damn sense if they've grown to 16 years old when they died at 12.

So yeah, that's going to be something that'll be pushed to a boiling point in the next chapter(s). HOW exactly is she going to handle all this??? like obviously, she's not going to treat this the same if this were adults committing these horrible acts. they're children. Toriel will continue to love them and forgive them because it truly is not the same situation as it would be with, say, Asgore making the calcuatled decision to murder innocent people. like Hol thinking they're some adventurer badass and killing a monster is very much different from that. (and yeah Asgore is more complicated as it relates to war and the barrier and all that bla bla)

Anyway rambling aside i really really look forward to exploring this. cause like, frankly, toriel canonically has all that angsty bs that people put on sans (when he doesn't even remember reloads or gets killed except last minute in no mercy runs 🙄) like toriel had 6 human kids who canonically reloaded around her. give me THAT angst and exploration of that's consequences. I like getting the chance to explore more of Toriel's psychology, baggage and her journey to moving past that. i'm really sad we don't get to see how toriel improved as a mother and person in AFR but rather just that she did. now we get to!!! fuck yeah!

but yeah god what a horrifying, truly awful thing to experience. like on one hand, she must be relieved "oh so there's nothing actually wrong with my reality i don't have a life altering memory related mental illness (yet)" but also "oh so that was all real and i can never truly look at these kids without knowing they've done something truly, truly unforgivable to me. (but i will forgive them)"

AND NOW i'm thinking that toriel had to been told by flowey at some point what they've done to her too. in one of those reloads, flowey likely confessed to get a reaction from her. after the shock of it, she'd pretend it didn't bother her to forgive them. and that'd build up resentment because Flowey doesn't want to be forgiven, they want punishment and consequences and for it to have mattered.

just. AUGH. so many thoughts on this its killing me inside

[fushinusucariasblog]

DAY 7 — Free Day — Do anything spooky related or do anything else your heart desires! 🎃

The Rise of the Fox Unicorn Goddess: Halloween Special 🎃 Pt. 02

“Boo!” Wix leaped out from behind a bush, waving his arms and pulling a twisted face. The group of kids in costumes shrieked in terror, dropping their pumpkin buckets as they scattered.

“Hehehe, good one!” Wobblepot chuckled, rubbing his tiny hands together. The two imps quickly dove onto the pile of spilled candy, scooping it up like squirrels hoarding nuts.

Meanwhile, Jayce, Lucien, and Charlene, following the sounds of fleeing children, saw a white house at the end of the street where the kids had run from.

“That must be the place,” Jayce said, eyes narrowing as they walked toward it.

When they reached the house, they spotted two small figures crouched on the ground, sorting through heaps of candy. Wix was holding up a candy bar, squinting at it as if deciding if it was worthy of his collection.

“Okay, this bag of candy… one for you… one for me… and this big one is definitely mine…” Wix muttered, completely absorbed in his work.

“Uh… Wix…” Wobblepot whispered, his voice tinged with fear.

“Hold on, Wobblepot! I’m busy figuring out which chocolate is bigger. Priorities!” Wix replied, oblivious.

“Wix?!” Wobblepot’s voice grew more urgent, his tiny hands shaking.

“What is it now?” Wix finally turned around, only to freeze when he saw three tall figures looming over him, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. Jayce, Charlene, and Lucien looked down at them, unimpressed but amused.

“H-Hey, Jayce!” Wix stammered, forcing a nervous grin. “I-It’s been a long time! We were just…uh… helping these kids lighten their candy load, you know?”

Lucien smirked, leaning down with a playful glint in his eye. “Helping, huh? Looked more like hoarding to me.”

Charlene crossed her arms, trying to keep a straight face. “You two do know Halloween is for kids, right? Not… sneaky little imps.”

Wobblepot gulped, shifting his gaze to the ground. “We were just… uh… borrowing the candy. Honest!”

Jayce bent down, resting his hands on his knees. “Alright, here’s the deal. You give back all the candy you’ve taken, and maybe—just maybe—we won’t tell the kids’ parents that you’ve been stealing from them.”

Wix’s eyes darted to Wobblepot, then back to Jayce. “Um… we were just… taste-testing for quality control?”

Lucien chuckled, extending a hand. “Hand it over, fellas. Halloween’s about sharing, remember?”

With a deep sigh, Wix and Wobblepot sheepishly began handing over the candy, piece by piece. Wobblepot even sniffled a little as he passed over his prized chocolate bar, looking as if his heart might break.

“There,” Wix muttered, crossing his arms and pouting. “Happy now?”

“Wait,” Charlene said, reaching into her bag. “I’ll give them this chocolate.”

Lucien raised an eyebrow. “But Charlene, that’s from your uncle. Are you sure you want to give it away?”

Charlene looked down at the chocolate, then back at the imps, who were watching her with wide, hopeful eyes. She smiled softly. “I know it’s a gift, but it feels wrong not to let them experience a bit of what makes Halloween special. Besides,” she added with a little laugh, “I’m trying to cut back on sweets, anyway.”

She knelt down, holding out the chocolate. “Here, you two can share this. But remember—it’s for sharing.”

Wix and Wobblepot’s eyes went wide as saucers. Wix took the chocolate gingerly, as if he could hardly believe it was real. “You… you’re giving us candy? Like, for free?”

Charlene smiled, nodding. “That’s right. Sometimes, it’s nice to receive without needing to trick anyone.”

Wobblepot sniffled, clearly touched. “Th-Thank you, miss! You’re too kind.”

As the imps scampered off with their precious gift, Jayce chuckled, watching them go. “Well, looks like you might’ve just made their Halloween, Charlene.”

Lucien grinned, nudging her playfully. “And here I thought you were saving that chocolate for yourself.”

Charlene smiled.

“Anyway,” Jayce said, grinning as he nudged Lucien’s shoulder, “how about I treat us all to dinner?”

“Sounds great!” Lucien beamed, already picturing a hearty meal.

“Oh, I can’t wait!” Charlene said, her face lighting up with excitement.

With laughter and a sense of camaraderie, the three of them strolled down the Halloween-lit streets, the night alive with laughter, spooky decorations, and the lingering sweetness of shared treats.

It was a night to remember—not just for the candy, costumes, or even the mischievous imps they’d encountered, but for the warmth of friendship and the little magic that comes from sharing it.

Thank you so much! Happy writing everyone! 🎃

Part 01, Part 02, Bonus Pt. 01, Bonus Pt. 02

Everyone, there might be a continuation because this story of course will always have a spicy scene, hehe, so maybe wait for another post, unless you are 18+. Be warned, 👻

[thenewnio]

Kenny of the Sea (Kenny the Shark AU Fanfiction)

Inspired by this post: https://lokomotives.tumblr.com/post/622306870590308352/that-one-discovery-kids-cartoon-kenny-the-shark

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Tiburon, California, and 14-year-old Katarina "Kat" Cassidy was bored nearly out of her skull. That boredom was what drove her to visit the beach that day. Upon her arrival, however, the place seemed completely empty. No one she knew was there.

At least I can draw in peace, Kat decided as she made her way to the small secluded cove near one end of the beach.

It took her a few minutes for her to get settled and remove her sketchbook and mechanical pencil from her tote bag. The gentle scratch of pencil against paper combining with the rhythmic splash of waves against the rocks was soothing.

And yet, something seemed off. Kat had just figured out that it was that the rhythm of the waves was being interrupted, as if something else was splashing in the water. Whatever it was sounded close.

Frowning and setting her sketchbook back in her bag, Kat carefully picked her way across the slick rocks near the edge of the water, trying to figure out where exactly the sound was coming from. At last, her eyes caught movement in a nearby tidal pool. She moved in closer. Sure enough, someone or something was thrashing around in the water.

Kat sped up her pace, each step bringing her closer and closer to the moving shape. It seemed like whatever it was was tangled in a fishing net. She hurried forward despite her apprehension, gut churning with nerves, thinking that regardless if it was a person or a weird animal, they needed help.

By the time she reached the pool, the thing had ceased its erratic movements long enough for her to get a better look.

What the...?

The creature abruptly jerked its head up, finally noticing Kat, and they both froze as they catch sight of each other.  

It was a young man, mostly. He seemed a year older than her, and his hair was the color of silver. However, it wasn’t the fact that a boy was tangled in a net which stunned Kat. It wasn’t even the fact that he was shirtless that made her pulse quicken.

As her gaze traveled the length of his body down past his navel, Kat saw that the boy’s flesh appeared to seamlessly meld into that of a shark’s tail. She let out a noise of utter shock. “Ah...”

That shock vanished when the merman screamed and increased his struggles to free himself.

“AAAAAAHHHHH!!! NO!!! DON’T EAT ME! I’M TOO YOUNG! I TASTE LIKE FLOTSAM! HEEELLLP!!!”

“No, no, it’s okay!” Kat put her hands up to show she meant no harm. “I’m not here to hurt you; I just want to help.”

The merman just whimpered fearfully, chest heaving in panic. Kat kicked off her sandals and stepped into the pool, inadvertently causing the merman to nearly jump out of the water with a loud yelp. He tried to squirm away from her, to no avail as she took hold of the net entrapping him. “Just let me get you out of this, okay?” She said soothingly.

He stopped struggling to get away and looked at her, terror leaving his blue eyes and giving way to confusion as she set to work untangling him. At last he was able to completely slip free from the net.

“There!” Kat smiled, tossing the net onto the shore. “Now to get you back into the ocean.”

The merman stared up at her with wide eyes as she bent down to pick him up, letting her take him in her arms. Luckily, he wasn’t too heavy.

She carried him out of the pool, setting him down where the land met the sea. “There you go.”

“Uh... Thanks?” he stammered.

“You’re welcome, shark boy.” Kat replied. “Better get going before someone else sees you.”

The merman slid back into the ocean, never once taking his eyes off of her until he was in deeper waters, at which point he dived underwater.

Only after he was gone did it occur to Kat that she had just saved a mythical being. Well, supposedly mythical, anyway. She exhaled, feeling pure excitement at that fact.

But who would believe her? If she told anyone, they would think she was either lying or crazy, at best. At worst, they would set out in boats, trying to capture the merman.

She decided to keep the encounter to herself. It would be her little secret.

---

“You’re about as brainy as a jellyfish, ya know that?”

Kenny turned to glare at Dan. “Hey, how was I supposed to see that fishing net coming? Oh, by the way, thanks for coming to my rescue back there.”

“That ‘aint it.” The hammerhead merman shook his horned head. “You owe a human for saving your tail! A land human, for Neptune’s sake!”

“I know! It’s so weird!” The tiger shark merman moved the knee of his tail up to his chest. “Didn’t you say that humans cut us up into little pieces and eat ‘em?”

“Okay, so I was wrong about some humans,” Dan shrugged. “Point is, you know we’re not supposed to let them get a look at us in our true forms! We’re not even allowed to owe ‘em anything! Once people find out about this, they’ll wanna knock your teeth out! She didn’t feel you up or anything, did she?”

“OH, NO!” Kenny held his head in his hands, knowing that she did, in fact, touch his tail when she carried him out of the tidal pool he’d gotten stranded in while trying to escape from the net.

“Yeah, she knows you’re real. I think it's about time to move to a new city and change your name.”

Kenny thought for a moment before moving off the rock formation he was sitting on. “You’re right, Dan.”

“Huh?”

“I am gonna move. I’m gonna live on the surface!”

Dan blinked in surprise. “Wait, seriously?”

“That’s right! No more being the runt of the pod,” Kenny declared. “If I’m gonna find that human and repay her for saving me, I need to risk everything by living up there with legs!”

“...Well, good luck with that.” Dan deadpanned, swimming away from him.

Kenny watched him go, before swimming in the direction of his grotto. I’ll show him, he thought.

The grotto in which Kenny made his home lay on the outskirts of the merfolk’s city of Hylis. It was where he collected things from the surface that had either fallen from ships or had been found in shipwrecks.

The first thing that Kenny did once he arrived there was to grab a trolley bag and start packing his things, determined to see this through.

---

Everyone at the beach that day was preoccupied in doing their own thing, so no one noticed a teenage boy, wearing a Hawaiian shirt and an oversized coat and dragging a trolley bag, emerging from the sea and hiding behind some rocks.

Once Kenny had pulled himself out of the water, he focused on drying his tail off in the hot sun. Slowly but surely, the shark tail began to change shape. Soon, in its place was a pair of functional legs. This transformation into a human being was something that every mer was able to do when completely dry, as a natural defense mechanism to survive on land while remaining undetected by humans.

The transformed merman opened his bag, taking out a pair of boxers and shorts. Wringing the seawater out of the cloth, he pulled them on, following by slipping on a pair of boots. This done, he closed his bag and leapt off the rock onto the sand, gaining a few odd looks from those who had just noticed him.

He was off to see the world.

[magnoliamyrrh]

yea i uh. i need to finish some school shit and sleep. reminder to anyone whose in america and who has a bit of time to at least try to call your representatives, local, congress, senators, etc, leave voicemails if noone picks up, send emails if not, theres a 2000 word limit on them anyway. quick google search will show u who they are, some websites will also get all the info for you. call for de-escalation, ceasefire, for america to no longer use taxpayer dollars to fund bloody genocide and war, spin it in some sort of patriotic we need american money for american povery not foreign war sorta say idk, say something abt how you wont vote for them and youll try to get as many ppl as possible to not vote for them, maybe dead souled politicians will care abt that more than actual morality or empathy. a voicemail isnt more than a few minutes long, i reckon its the least that any of us can do. god knows if it does anything at all ive got no clue like none but maybe even with a 1% chance its worth a try at least. it all feels brutally hopeless but apart from this, or donating, or speaking about this to ppl who dont know or care, or trying to push back against misinformation and war on terror 2.0 genocidal rhetoric, i dont know what much else can even attempted to be done

[f-oighear]

4, 7, 12, 17 and 25 for the Writer Ask Game 💘

Heyyyyy!

Thanks a lot for the ask 😊 Picking BC excerpts for you hehe. It's going to be a veryyyy long one so. Thankful for the cut feature. Here we go!

4. with dialogue i'm proud of

I can think of this moment in Your World where Nebra is joining the Bulls for dinner and there is a big, intimidating wall of text. I swear nothing has ever felt like an extended family dinner with several conversations happening at the same time than this:

“Take more vegetables!” “Say, captain! Can I go back on missions again?” “What about some time off?” “Keep your damn carrots!” “No. Not until you stop using ultimate magic every time you head out.” “Henry! Any progress on your magic, my man?” “Who put sugar in the salt shaker again? I’ll kill them.” “But it’s fun!” “I fucking hate carrots!” “It’s Luck.” “I-I’m not on call duty tonight…” “Carrots don’t like you either.” “LUCK.” “Where?” “Carrots like me.” “Which of my friends is on call duty tonight? Magna?”“Listen, we’re very grateful you learned ultimate magic during the war, but now it’s peace, so don’t use it to catch bandits.” “Carrots do not have feelings.” "You’re gonna accidently kill someone one day." “What about Raque? I miss the sand.” “I… think… it’s… going… great…” “I won’t! But let me go back on a mission… not a dungeon mission! A real mission!” “What’re you talking about? Nah, not me. Ask Vanessa.” “No one misses the sand.” “Nero said it, so it’s true.” “You don’t miss the sand– hang on sweetie, I heard my name. Yes?” “A watermelon, maybe, would have feelings.” “Water.” “Not me, uh… Nacht maybe?” “What’re ya using it for?” “Where’s Nacht?” “Who’s gonna deal with the body and hide it when you kill a civilian? Good ol’ me.” “How about going to the Underwater Temple too?” “Is anyone going to pass me the goddamn water?” “You’re kidding?” “I…stack…rocks…or…trees…” “Last time we went, we almost died.” “Captain, I think you’d need to tell the Wizard King about it.” “Th-There you go.” “We always almost die anyway. It’s a formality.” “Carrots must have feelings like the rest of us.” “D-Don’t say that when we’re eating them!” “Yeah yeah. I’ll see.” “Well I, for one, don’t want to die!” Besides a vague argument about carrots, Nebra was lost. So, she focused on the food.

7. that i nursed in a daydream before finally writing

ALRIGHT SO. One thing about me: I'm no visual writer. I don't see the scenes before I write them. I tend to hear them more (which is why my earlier works have very little description and more dialogue). And when I'm very lucky, I get a sentence that comes back again and again. BUT. There is a scene I saw clearly and kept going back to so I could describe it and it's very SPOILERY for the Soulmate AU. It's in I'll Follow:

“Let’s go somewhere else. I don’t want Noelle or anyone else to overhear.” They were so engulfed in their conversation that they didn’t notice how the room had gone silent around them. There was no music anymore, they had been dancing to the silence. Nozel kept his hand in Vanessa’s as he turned to look at what everyone was watching. The man was making his way through the crowd, shaking hands and accepting a glass of champagne that Nozel knew the man wasn’t going to drink, cheerily greeting all the noble guests they couldn’t not invite that seemed to be attracted to him like moths to light. Nozel’s hand went down to rest at his side, his hold on Vanessa’s hand loosening, and Nozel turned to the table right behind them, where Asta and Noelle had been sitting, happily chatting before the man’s entry. Now they were both staring at the man. Noelle’s face was white as a sheet, her eyes wide in terror. She looked petrified. Even with how far Nozel was, he could see her trembling. He wasn’t feeling better. But he had to protect Noelle. He had to protect his siblings. I can’t fail again. Not now. Nozel made his way back to the table, Vanessa’s hand still in his (he wouldn’t, couldn’t let go), her trailing behind him, and looked at Asta, who was trying to get Noelle’s attention but failing. Nozel wanted to ask him to look out for her. The magicless boy didn’t need him to ask, though. He draped an arm over his wife’s shoulders; he didn’t look calm, Noelle’s facial expression being enough for him to understand that what was happening was grave, but Asta certainly was calmer than Nozel. Their eyes met for a split second. Nozel couldn’t say a thing. He simply shook his head. I’m so sorry, Asta, Noelle, all of this is my fault. Then the man noticed them. All of them. And he smiled.

12. that has a particularly good bit of characterization

Ahhhh Nebra from the Soulmate AU, my beloved. I think. The Most Awkward Silva Dinner In A Century takes the cake. While Noelle's pov in Stargazers is triumphant, Nebra's side in Your World is so ugughhug. There is so much happening on Nebra's side and I hate that Noelle's the one paying for it again but this scene means so much to me and uhghgughh.

“So what if he’s a peasant?” Noelle retorted angrily, “That doesn’t change a thing!” “It changes everything!” Nebra shrieked back, her voice breaking. If he wasn’t a peasant I wouldn’t have to suffer like that. If he wasn’t a peasant, it would all be so much easier. If he wasn't a peasant, maybe I would've— “How dumb can you get!?” “Nebra.” Nozel tried to interject weakly. “So now suddenly you tell me I belong to that family and I don’t get to choose who I want to spend my life with? Didn’t you send me to another squad? Didn’t you shove me out? Didn’t you tell me repeatedly you didn’t want me as your sister? Which one is it? Pick one, it’s getting confusing now.” “You were never expelled from the family,” Nozel said. He was so calm about it. How could he be this calm? Did he not understand? Am I the only one here who gets it? Why am I the only one who understands? Why is everyone against me? “Might as well have been,” Noelle answered harshly. That would have been a good idea. Why hadn’t Nozel done that? After all… what had Noelle ever done for them? Nothing. What had Noelle ever sacrificed for them? I sacrificed everything. “You are a Silva and you need to start acting like one,” Nebra said harshly. “This is ridiculous. Is this your rebellious phase? At seventeen, aren’t you supposed to have grown out of that kind of behaviour?” Nebra glared down at Noelle. She would go through. She would break her. She would make her understand just how much she despises her. Now, suffer as much as I do. “So that’s how it is, uh?” Nebra continued. “You become a somewhat decent magic knight and suddenly you think you can do whatever you want? That’s not how it works. You are a royal. We don’t get to choose our partner. Why would you get to choose? Do you think you’ll get a free pass because you’re not in the Silver Eagles? Remember why you didn’t even join the family squad? Because you’re the shame of the family.” “Nebra, that’s enough.” Nozel said. I haven’t even started, Nozel. Noelle stood up and Nebra flinched. The angle was right. Noelle was smaller than Nebra– always had been, always would be– but something had changed, something that Nebra didn’t quite like. Her eyes are different. That look… “I’m done being called that,” Noelle said harshly. “I have always done everything to prove my worth to you, to our royal peers, to everyone…” Your worth? Oh yes, because you’re worth something… precious little Noelle that looks so much like mother. Can’t let anything happen to her, right? Sent to another squad… free of the burden of expectations by being the worst Silva to ever walk the earth. What about my worth? What about everything I gave up on? What about the burden that you are? What about how hard it was on the first daughter? I lost my mother and suddenly everyone expected me to become her? How can anyone compare to her? You were worth nothing so I had to be everything you couldn’t, wouldn’t be; while all you did was whine and cry and be useless. Don’t get me started on worth. You are nothing. “…I’ve proven my worth as a Magic Knight these past year and—” “Oh, you’re proving your worth now?” Hurt her. Be scathing. Make sure it stings. “By shagging a peasant?” Nebra stopped. A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered the peasant’s words. Be nice. “Nebra!” Nozel shouted. Shut up, Nozel. You don’t get to say a word. You traitor. You've done it twice now. You left me all alone. “How does it feel?” to give in Stop. Don’t insult her. “Is it exotic?” to finally be free Stop. Don't hurt her. …but what if I'm hurting? Then I strike back. “How does he—” “That’s ENOUGH!” Nozel shouted, slamming both his hands on the table, making plates, glasses and cutlery tremble.

17. from an unpublished WIP

Alright. I currently have a Nozessa WIP that is my main WIP besides the Angstpril WIPs. I don't know when I'll be done with it, but let me treat you to some Nozessa because it's been forever since I've written them!

From this-fic-doesn't-have-a-title-yet:

Making the batter had proved the easiest part. Vanessa had started to get a hang of cooking, and she had realized that, just as Nozel had always claimed, following the recipe did work wonders for baking. The cooking book was open next to the bowl and even if some pages were sticky with egg white, it was constantly glanced at. Well, mostly by Nozel. Baking was taking Vanessa’s mind off her recent realization, but as she worked alongside Nozel, she did find herself staring at his handsome face about as much as she was paying attention to the cooking book. That seemed a bit counterproductive. “How much is ‘a splash’?” Nozel said, squinting at the book. Vanessa raised an eyebrow and went to check the book, tracing her finger over the mention of a splash of rum. Well, she didn’t know how much a splash was, but if there was something she wanted to see again, it was tipsy Nozel Silva. “That should be about…” Vanessa grinned, tipping the bottle over. “This much.” Nozel grabbed her wrist rapidly, but not rapidly enough and the sudden grab only poured more than what Vanessa had intended. Vanessa could only burst out in laughter as Nozel, pale as a sheet, guided her hand and the bottle back to the table. Nozel stared at the bottle like it was some sort of bomb about to explode, but surely he knew it was too late. He stayed staring at the bottle an awfully long time until Vanessa decided to say something. “My, do you want to hold my hand so bad, handsome? We’re not done making that batter yet.” Nozel blinked, then quickly let go. Vanessa could hardly repress her giggle. She didn’t know if he had gotten used to the teasing or if he had let down his guard, but he seemed easier to fluster these days. The soft blush on his cheek was… cute. His cheeks beet red, Nozel pointed at the mix angrily. “That is definitely not a splash,” Nozel said. “You poured half the bottle.” “No, it’s…” Vanessa shook the bottle. She had poured more than half the bottle, but there was no need for Nozel to know that. “Barely one gla— don’t throw away the batter!” Nozel raised an eyebrow, the rest of his face completely still and expressionless as he stood in the middle of the kitchen, bowl in his hands, and stated with his usual seriousness, “It’ll be uneatable.” “We can’t know unless we finish making them… come on! Pull out a pan!”

25. that i consider a favorite

I love getting several 'your favorite' asks because hahaha I have many favorites. The Actor AU/Theatre AU is soooo self-indulgent I almost wrote it in French. I've decided that if I ever publish it, I'll include both Racine's original verses and a rough translation because, if I've never admitted it, I am absolutely in love with Racine's verses.

Anyway, I love this AU, and I love Late, in the rehearsal room:

“Yami said your family specializes in classical plays?” Asta said. “My family doesn’t exactly specialize in it,” Noelle said, turning a page from her book. “The Silver Eagles don’t play anything but Ancient tragedies or classical plays… and among the classical plays, they mostly play tragedies.” “Why?” Noelle looked down. Why? was a good question. Because it was a tradition. Because her mother, Acier Silva, a giant who played tragic heroine roles so vividly and so perfectly had made it impossible for the Silvas to be seen as anything else than perfect classical tragedy actors. Because Noelle’s father only wanted classical plays to be played. Because they were beautiful. Because they were magnificent. Because they had torn heroes who had to choose between love and power and always chose power. Because these were, for Niccolo Silva, the only plays he called ‘drama’ ; everything else was just street acting, mere vaudeville or cheap harlequin. Lower people’s entertainment. The Plebe’s Amusement. Noelle took a deep breath then said, “They just do.”

[thesilmarilchick]

17: The Hunt of the Ganymen

Middle-Earth, The Shire, Hobbiton, Number Three Bagshot Road: T.A 2994, April 1st

Laws were made to protect us, both as individuals and as a collective society. So, if the laws said something was illegal, it could only be for our benefit…that was the general consensus anyway. It was an easy enough fact, or opinion, to accept depending on what was made illegal.

For your average upper and middle-class hobbits who had long degraded the tradition, the fact that Ganymen were now illegal was no great burden …for everyone else…well…things were slightly harder to accept, especially now.

No one was entirely sure what or who had caused the plague folks had started calling ‘The Grand Sickness’, but what was certain, was that it spread quickly. One child would come home coughing or with an ill-feeling stomach and before you could blink the whole damn street would have it.

Generally, it took quite a lot to get a hobbit sick, at least in a serious way. Everyone got a cold now and then, and of course there were childhood diseases like chicken-pox that most had to go through sometime in their life. But stuff like this, stuff that was life-threating; nu-uh hobbits just didn’t get that kind of sickness. Yet no one could deny they were certainly getting it now, when the first child died.

Crops lay untended in the fields because the farmers, whose families often were considered large even by hobbit standards, were too afraid to leave their houses; were too afraid to risk another child. Hence the food supply was going down, and hobbits eat a lot, so it was going down quickly.

If you already had a large fully-packed cellar or could afford to import from out-side the Shire you and your family were unlikely to starve. And if you had caught ‘the grand sickness’, you were unlikely to care if you did. However, the poorer families, those of the working class, were in quite a bit of trouble. Sometimes folk didn’t know what was killing the lower classes quicker, the Sickness or the Hunger.

It was a time of terror for most everyone and the loss of the Ganymen was felt most keenly where it had been believed. A child would collapse in the street for one reason or another and would be on their death bed by the end of the week; and the mothers and fathers of the more rustic families would have to watch their child die without their Last Tale being spoken. They would have to accept that their child’s spirit would fade away into dust, as if they’d never been in the first place. For they could not even attempt to do the task themselves, for even the mention of the dead was considered Gany-Art and a hanging offence. And for the Ganymen themselves, unable to practice their craft, for anyone, even their own families, lest they be executed without a trial …it was almost unbearable.

May Gamgee had come home with a sour stomach around a month ago…in retrospect it was a lot longer than most families had to say goodbye.

***

Bell Gamgee sat at her daughter’s bed-side unwilling to move even to eat, this had led some to believe that the mother of six had caught the sickness as well… but no, that was just how Bell was. May lay nestled in a cocoon of blankets in the middle of her parents’ bed. Her fever was shockingly high, her nose ran continually, and she had eaten nothing in at least three weeks. It was a miracle that she’d survived this long…especially considering no healer of any worth would see her.

It was well known in Hobbiton, perhaps even further than that if the fallout was anything to judge by, that Hamfast was one of the top Ganymen in the Shire. All this positive press, and warm feedback for his skills may have worked to the Gamgees favour before, but now it just served to warn right-minded hobbits away from them.

Hamson had lost his place at the blacksmiths, the official explanation was that apprentices were expensive, and Master Bullroarer could only have so many at a time. But everyone knew the real reason and money had little to do with it. People had even begun to swerve round them in the street as if they carried the sickness with them.

However, there was one silver lining amongst all this grey fog of despair: Mister Bilbo Baggins, by far the best Hobbit anywhere that hobbits called home. He’d kept Hamfast on as his gardener for a start, not only that but he had increased the ex-Ganyman’s pay. Ham’s eyes had boggled the first time he’d caught sight of his new income, he’d never seen so much money in all his life. Mister Bilbo had also said that if any of Ham’s little ’uns felt the call of the green thumb the gentlehobbit was happy to take them on…and at full salary at that. Ham could recognize charity when he saw it, and his first knee jerk reaction was to thank Mister Bilbo for his kindness and to politely decline, but one hard look from Daisy and he stilled his stupid tongue. It was because of him and his craft that his family were suffering now, he couldn’t be the one to prolong it.

Truly the Gentlehobbit’s kindness and generosity knew no boundaries, for no one on Bagshot Row went hungry. Carts driven by some of Mister Bilbo’s dwarves arrived monthly and dropped crates of food at hobbits’ doors. It wasn’t no great delicacies or the like, just plain simple fair that would keep a hobbit’s belly full if they ate with some sense. A lot of pickles and preservatives, stuff that would keep on the long trip from the dwarf kingdom to here, Ham had found that he was starting to quite like the taste of dwarf bread. It was tougher than a hobbit-made loaf, but it was filling and more importantly kept for a long while. The Gamgees had several of the hard breads stored in their cupboards already.

But sometimes even Mister Bilbo’s powers could not make the world move. When Mayor Proudfoot decreed that to heal any Ganyman or any future Ganyman was as good as committing the crime yourself, the grand hobbit had tried to send for a dwarven or even an elven healer to come see to May. But they’d been turned away at the border, which had a steady supply of slightly wounded and bitter Shirriffs guarding the perimeter. When news of that had gotten back to Bag-End Mister Bilbo had stamped and raged even harder than Ham had.

Ham was angry oh aye there was no doubt in that, but he had learned quickly that ranting and raging did little to help either himself or his family. If anything, it only served to frighten Sam-lad and little Marigold, who since May’s sickness, now spent most of their time up at Bag-End learning their letters. Hamfast had felt unsure about that to begin with, having never really learnt his letters himself and seeing no real reason why a hobbit of their class ought to. But Mister Bilbo had been insistent, and Daisy-lass had brought up the quite solid point that Sam-lad and Marigold had to keep away from May while she was lying with sickness anyway. She was right of course, they couldn’t stay in the house while May was sick…the younger you were the quicker it took you, and Ham trusted Mister Bilbo more than anyone to keep his children safe.

They weren’t there now of course, because Mister Bilbo had gone up to Buckland for the week. But it was no matter; May had long passed the stage where she might be infectious to others. She spent most of her days now, unconscious, except for those few and far between moments where she woke up and screamed for death. Like she was doing now or had been until she’d given up words altogether and lapsed into a high keening wail.

Daisy had ordered Halfred to take Sam and Marigold for a walk round the market, even though half the stalls were closed. She then set to work making a lunch of Dwarrow bread with raspberry jam and pickled eggs; desperately trying to block out the sound of…of May.

Ham couldn’t block her out, no matter how hard he tried. It wasn’t just that his daughter was dying…it was that his daughter was begging to die, and there was nothing any of them could do to help.

Almost nothing.

A small voice in his head whispered and Ham began to shake all over. No, he couldn’t do that no more, it wasn’t legal now and he’d put his family through enough because…because of that.

Isn’t it putting them through more to leave her in that much pain?

Ham shook his head till he was sure his ears were starting to bleed, yes…yes it was, but he couldn’t. He’d promised Daisy and Bell, that he wouldn’t put the family in danger no more just because…just because…

She’s in pain.

Finished the voice, Ham was beginning to recognize as his own.

No one will know, even if Daisy and Bell see they won’t tell.

Ham probably could have stood the temptation if May hadn’t been screaming like that, but…how could he stand that noise, those pleas for death in his daughter’s voice anymore and not answer them?

He couldn’t claim that what he was doing was right for all concerned, but he had to make the screaming stop. He had to make May’s pain stop…she was never gonna get better, all she had left now was her hope for death; and Hamfast was always an awful one for spoiling his girls.

Squaring his shoulders, Ham made his way past the kitchen without being noticed, and down into the back-garden where he had buried his Ganyman Staff.

***

Middle-Earth, The Shire, Hobbiton: T.A. 2994, April 2nd

Frodo Baggins sat at the head of the cart, his head nodding from lack of sleep. His Uncle Bilbo had been adamant that they get back to Hobbiton as quickly as possible, so the pair had driven through the night. Frodo had tried to get some rest in the back of the cart, like Bilbo had suggested, but with every bump in the road the young hobbit was jiggled awake once again. Eventually he’d just givrn up entirely and climbed up beside Bilbo, who sat holding the reins of the joyfully galloping pony they’d hired from one of the farmers in Buckland.

It didn’t really matter anyway; Frodo wouldn’t have been able to get a peaceful night’s sleep even if the road had been flat. The image of Merry’s face as he ran after the cart, screaming for Frodo to come back haunted the tween’s every waking thought. He knew going with Bilbo was the right decision in the long run, but that face…oh Valar that face. He’d tried to consul himself with the knowledge that Merry would be coming to visit, but it wasn’t enough to still his raging conscience. Frodo just couldn’t fight the feeling that he’d somehow let Merry down.

With a jolt the cart came to a sudden halt, and Frodo found himself nearly jerked out of his seat. Bilbo had stopped the cart just at the bottom of the lane and was staring fixedly up a it in a disturbed manner.

‘Bilbo?’

As if shaking himself out of a dream Bilbo threw Frodo a tired smile, then gave the reins a harsh slap and the pony was off again. They continued up the hilled lane, but at a much steadier pace than before. The houses and smials they passed didn’t seem very different to the ones in Buckland, the thought comforted him, as Bilbo pulled up alongside a crowd of hobbits congregated outside a small garden.

‘Ho! What do we have here? What’s going on?’

Bilbo leapt down from the cart and marched into the crowd. For a moment or two Frodo sat there, awkwardly balancing at the front of the cart, unsure of what to do. His mind was made up for him though when a sharp cry came from the crowd, a cry that sounded vaguely like Uncle Bilbo. Leaping down from the cart Frodo pushed hobbits aside far rougher than he would have had he not been so panicked. Thus, it did not take him long to reach the source of the crowd’s agitation and the source of the cry.

The house at the end of the small garden did not look dilapidated from age or lack of care. Instead its boarded-up windows and the crude graffiti on its walls and carved into its yellow door, gave more a feeling of a building under siege. Whoever was in there, Valar help them, were trying to wait out the mob…hoping they’d get tired or lose interest soon and wander off.

Bilbo stood in front of the jeering crowd his arms spread wide as if he were trying to hide the whole house behind his body. But it was no use, the crowd was closing in and Bilbo’s back was pressing hard into the yellow door behind him. Frodo had to do something and quickly at that.

‘Hey!’

His voice was shaky and the hobbits in the crowd paid no heed to the tween. So, taking a deep breath Frodo yelled again.

‘Oy!’

This they heard, a few of them even stopped in their tracks and gave him a quizzical look. Finding his courage, Frodo spoke in the most commanding voice he could muster.

‘What’s this now? Is its common practice in Hobbiton to destroy your neibors houses?’

A burly hobbit at the head of the crowd turned and growled at him.

‘Tis when we got a righteous reason to, Outlander. These scums be Ganymen…don’t be fooled into feeling pity for the likes of them: liars and sneaks and baby-killers the lot of ‘em.’

Frodo snorted not even attempting to hide his disdain for the hobbit in front of him.

‘Only the ignorant believe that. I may not believe in Ganymen and their ways, but I certainly wouldn’t call them killers. They may be misled in certain beliefs but at their heart they’re trying to help you. Which is a lot more than your kind would do for anyone. ‘

Frodo and the brute were now nose to nose, and the large bully sneered at the fine hobbit.

‘Who comes to our town and talks like this? Like we’re the scum of the Shire? Aye outlander you have a look of a Took about ye…well that makes sense, always sticking their high and mighty selves where they don’t belong. What oh mighty wonder of the Took Clan brings ye here? Lost on the way to a ball? Or perhaps a banquet with the elves…you Tooks like those folks, don’t you?’

Frodo shrugged unintimidated by the oaf.

‘Some do that’s true; it varies from member to member. But I am not a Took…I am a Baggins. Frodo Baggins at your service, ward and heir to Bilbo Baggins of Bag-End; whom I believe, you owe your continued existence to. Food is running scarce everywhere my large friend, and it would be a pity if the supplies from Erebor and Dale stopped arriving…which they’re likely to do if you turn on the hobbit who made it happen.’

The thought of an empty belly is liable to stop even the angriest hobbit in their tracks, and the image of what would happen if the supplies from the dwarves dried up sent many of the crowd skittering back to their homes. This included the brute in front of Frodo, although in his case it was more that he was dragged back there by concerned lackeys.

Once the last of the crowd had disappeared off into the distance, the door to the house creaked open and a small face peaked out. Frodo thought of Merry again and tried to swallow his apprehension.

***

Three hours earlier

Sam Gamgee for once did not wake up screaming from his dreams, but that didn’t seem to matter because everyone else was. He’d clambered out of bed and into the hall before he’d really wrapped his head around being awake again. So, the people that ran past him were little more than jittery blurs to his child’s eye. The voices though…they were as clear as the brightest day in summer.

‘No…No…please…please…he didn’t do this! She just died, like they all die. He doesn’t even have his staff anymore!’

That was Ma’s voice, more frantic now than even her nastiest of turns. Sam’s feet carried him to where the yelling was loudest. He could see a bit clearer now, so he saw right enough the two Shirriff’s standing in the door way of Number 3 Bagshot Row, and he saw what they were doing.

His Da weren’t even kicking or screaming or doing nothing to fight back as those two villains dragged him out the door and away from Sam’s Ma. Well this weren’t going to stand…not while Samwise Gamgee were alive to stop it. Gathering his courage, the young Hobbit ran after the two Shirriffs, evading the capture of his sister Daisy’s arms, young Sam scooped up a handful of pebbles and threw them as hard as he could at the two Shirriffs’ heads. Of course, as hard as he could was not very hard at all, and so only one pebble out of the many found its mark. But it was enough to turn the villain’s head, and before Sam could be jerked out of the way a large hand came down and struck him right across the face.

***

Twelve Weeks Later

The charge, as the Shirriff’s called it, was Murder under the first degree and willing devotion to followers of the death arts, otherwise known as Ganymen. It was decided, by the Mayor’s office and only them seeing as how no judge in the Shire was allowed let alone willing to touch a case like this, that the punishment while of course leading to eventual death should be more drawn out than that.

It was uncovered after much investigation and ’aggressive interrogation’ that the Ganyman known as Hamfast Bungo Gamgee had committed more than one act of ‘mercy’. The exact number was unable to be found yet, but his jailers assumed it to be somewhere in the hundreds. Thus, it was decreed that the simple drop from a rope that was the fate of most caught and charged Ganymen, was simply not adequate justice in this case. But no one, not even Mayor Proudfoot, seemed able to agree what exactly was.

Some said he should be burned, but others argued that that was simply too expensive an execution for a struggling Shire to afford. Some cried he should be boiled alive or drowned in the Brandywine River, but most found that too morbid for hobbit senses and argued that they wouldn’t get a good turn out with that. It took a total of twelve consecutive weeks of deliberation and endless catered meetings and business lunches, for them to finally reach a decision. It was decreed to all hobbits who would listen that the Ganyman known as Hamfast Gamgee at high noon the following day: would be hung, drawn and then quartered.

During all those lunches and catered meetings the prisoner had to be relocated from the shire’s holding cells. It was simply too expensive to keep the cells continuously open over a long period of time. The guards’ salaries alone made the Mayor’s accountant break out into sweats. So, with little debate on the matter it was decided that Hamfast should be housed in The Dragon’s Keep Playhouse, which had been commandeered shortly after the outlawing of the Ganymen. It was the only place large enough to hold the crowds that turned out for a hanging.

He’d been lodged in one of the old dressing rooms, haphazard bars thrown across the entrance and a rookie guarding the door. If it had been anyone else who ordered it Hamfast might have thought they wanted him to escape…but no if there was one thing that Mayor Proudfoot was famous for, beside the slaughter of peaceful people, it was his cheapness. Which was why the Ganyman wasn’t surprised when half way through his containment, they stopped feeding him.

***

Middle-Earth, The Shire, Hobbiton, The Dragon’s Keep Playhouse: T.A. 2994, S.R. 1394, 15th June

Bilbo Baggins and Daisy Gamgee held their heads high as they passed the guards at the door. Sam walked between the two and didn’t even acknowledge that there were guards there at all. His eyes remained fixed on the package held in his small hands. It had to be him who carried it – no one ever noticed him.

The cell door was unwatched this day, there really didn’t seem a point in paying that extra guard one more day just to contain a prisoner who was too weak to move. The door wasn’t even locked, so the trio entered unhindered into the Ganyman’s dank cell.

Bilbo paused just beyond the threshold of the tiny room, it had been designed as a dressing room for the company’s leading lady, if he remembered correctly. But any signs of beauty or glamour had been stripped from its walls. It was a stiflingly small room now, and the smell that hit Bilbo on entering it made him gag and wretch.

Feces and decay were evident all over the walls, as if someone had gone in beforehand and smeared it all along their once polished surfaces. This sight held Bilbo’s focus so tightly that he almost didn’t notice the small rag wrapped figure in the middle of the room. In fact, he very well might not have at all if it hadn’t been for young Samwise’s cry.

‘Da!’

Bilbo’s eyes were brought down to the child and where he knelt, or rather by who he knelt. The round, ruddy cheeked hobbit that Bilbo’s son had once been, seemed to have vanished almost entirely. His cheeks were hollow now and his belly had depleted to barely more than a bump, and there was a thick layer of caked blood around his eyes, meaning he had to squint through it to look at them at all. And his hair hung lankly off his head, which was pressed to his chest now because he did not even have the strength to lift it. Bilbo fell to his knees before his child and began to weep.

It was Daisy who remained steadily calm as she knelt by her father. She knew what they had come here to do and falling apart now would only hurt him further. She snapped her fingers at her little brother who raised his head in confusion, still half dazed in a wash of grief and horror. But his tear clouded eyes soon grew in comprehension, and he tore open the package that had lain forgotten on his knee. And from within the depths of the brown crinkled paper he removed a small purple vial.

Sam hesitated seemingly unsure of what to do next, Daisy reached out her hand expectedly and he passed it over…his own shaking furiously as he did so. She turned then and cupped the back of her father’s head and, tipping it backwards, she uncorked the vial with her teeth and poured its black contents down his throat. She held his mouth closed until he was forced to swallow and then she let go and his head flopped forward, a smile on his cracked and bloodied lips. Daisy couldn’t be certain, but she thought she almost saw them trying to mouth ‘thank you’, but it was over in a flash and she would never be entirely sure of what she had seen that day.

If the guards of The Dragon’s Den suspected what had happened in that cell they never let on. Not even when on the day that was to be his execution, when they went to retrieve the prisoner in question... all they’d found was the now stone-cold body of Hamfast Gamgee.

***

Somewhere, in a bedroom deep in the heart of The Elven-King Thranduil’s palace, Gandalf the Grey opened his eyes and sat up in bed.

‘Bilbo!’

 

[jin-zixun]

((So I tried to leave everything I had to say in the tags but apparently I hit the limit for tags. So I'm going to have to say things up here in the actual post. Sorry. tbh I didn't know there was a tag limit. Oh weellll))

First off, Su She (why is Su She first off in a post about Jin Guangyao and Xue Yang and not even about him? Uh....... Anyway.) Personally, I don't think there's anything Jin Guangyao 'can't' express to Su She. Whether or how much he chooses too express might be a different story. Like how he could (and has) call him 'Su She', but chooses to call him Minshan. It isn't that he has to show him that respect, but because he wants to, at least in part because like no one else does. It's a small thing that he can do to show that he cares, that he took the time to care. But I think it's also important that it's his choice. Not fear of judgement or retaliation or even upset.

Surely by the end at least, Su She knows Jin Guangyao is afraid, because he is the one holding him and protecting him and taking care of him through some very obvious terror. It makes sense we don't get a lot of scenes of them together (or any scenes of all three of JGY, Xue Yang, and Su She together, tragic really), what with the story being a mystery and their identities being hidden or kept vague on purpose until the end. So (maybe unfortunately) a lot of what we see of these relationships (JGY-Su She, JGY-Xue-Yang, Su She-Xue Yang, JGY-Su She-Xue Yang) is in implications and subtext and suggestion and negative space.

But (imo) Su She affords Jin Guangyao the choice of who he wants to be/how he wants to be in a way no one else does. Even Xue Yang and especially Nie Mingjue. Because like by the end he knows everything JGY-wise, the good, the bad, and the kinda weird, and he never wavers not even once even when he chooses to sacrifice everything for him. (I think there's something to be said for the role of choice and choosing in their relationship. What Su She does isn't something he'd do for anyone else, when it's expected of him or when he 'ought to' but he chooses to do it for Jin Guangyao. And as I said above, Jin Guangyao has choice in this relationship he doesn't have anywhere else. And when Jin Guangyao is afforded choices he generally chooses to be good and helpful and repay those who have shown him kindness. But I'm already on a tangent of a tangent here so...)

And of course, this is not that I mean to downplay the relationship between Jin Guangyao and Xue Yang either! I'm glad we get the Villainous Friends extra because like... They don't actually have *any* interactions without it in the novel and that's just... Listen, I'll always wish we got to see more of these three together, but that's neither here nor there.

For Xue Yang, it seems like... He has no problem in making fun of Jin Guangyao for bullshitting or poking at him when he knows he's being fake, and I think he likes that he can see through that bullshit and see a side to his friend that the rich gentry people he politicks with don't care to see. His friend is a great actor! And he can see that!

And yeah, maybe Xue Yang doesn't fully know JGY either, he gets to see behind the mask, but honestly I think airing out his full vulnerabilities to Xue Yang, whose own personal issues would make him a terrible person for this, would be more of a headache than help for Jin Guangyao no matter how good of a friend he is. And Jin Guangyao's political anxieties and the like definitely go right over Xue Yang's head. Like, I think Jin Guangyao can commiserate with him and feel backed up and supported/amused by stuff like Xue Yang's "just fuck their moms" plan, but like, that's not the entirety of who he is and what he struggles with. It doesn't need to be! Xue Yang is a good friend (relative, subjective) and he can be without fully understanding every aspect of who Jin Guangyao is as a person, that's fine!

Because like, Jin Guangyao is *Xue Yang's* friend. He is his, like how he says his finger was his, important because of that alone. He *can* be as honest with Xue Yang as he likes because not only does Xue Yang not have social or political power, but he actually cares about Jin Guangyao in his own way and wouldn't go find some other person outside of their little bubble to talk shit about him to. Because Jin Guangyao is his friend, to Xue Yang, of course he is more important than other people, and Xue Yang has no use for most other people anyway.

And I think that contrasts with Nie Mingjue too. Xue Yang comes from nothing, he's got no power, he has nothing, and he doesn't much care about all that. And he chooses to care for and see Jin Guangyao as best as he can, because somehow they are friends and that is all he needs.

Nie Mingjue, for better or worse, is the person Jin Guangyao most wants to have actually see him, and he doesn't, let alone accept or care for him. But Nie Mingjue is Jin Guangyao's sworn brother, someone who has taken an oath to be someone who cares for him. As well as everything Nie Mingjue has symbolized in his life. The Sect Leader who saw him before, really saw him among so many people who didn't care to, who raised him up regardless of his birth or position, acknowledged his merit. And the upper class gentry who doesn't consider the injustice of the system he upholds, the one who holds the weight of judgement as heavy as the saber in his hands like it's nothing, like it just belongs to him, like he is entitled to it.

(Xue Yang also feels entitled to his own justice. He also doesn't care for the politics of the system. Is killing the Chang Clan any different from killing the Wen? Is all that Xue Yang has any less valuable to him than all that Nie Mingjue has is valuable to Nie Mingjue? But Xue Yang has no real power backing him up. He's not a gentry born young master.)

Jin Guangyao wants to be seen, wants to be understood, and he wants that from Nie Mingjue. Nie Mingjue was the one who gave him that before, but has since willfully turned away from any understanding. Jin Guangyao tries to show him, in the same way that Xue Yang makes him feel, who he is, what he feels, that he might be understood, and well, Nie Mingjue does not take it well. The man who once symbolized his acceptance on his merit, the truth of him being seen, kicks him back down and positions him back into being nothing more than the son of a whore.

(And it's over Xue Yang. And after everything... Xue Yang is also 'sent away'. Maybe just because him being around is sure to cause problems, but maybe he's also a reminder to Jin Guangyao of that schism, and the things that Nie Mingjue could never give him. Maybe Nie Mingjue and Xue Yang both work as reflections of who Jin Guangyao wants to be, or who he could be, or who they want him to be, and Jin Guangyao doesn't like the reflection remaining to him. So Nie Mingjue is put literally into the mirror and Xue Yang is sent away.)

((And damn! Look! Brought it back around to Minshan baby! Because there's the choice Jin Guangyao is so little afforded! In his relationship with Su She! Ha, I knew there was a reason I started with him! And... I could talk about the way they reflect each other as well, but it's too long already and it's another tangent to the actual point so...))

re: my last reblog about jgy and xy in the villainous friends extra, i do wish there was more attention paid to that line: "you're not afraid [of these people], but i am"

generally speaking i don't ascribe to the school of thought that argues that xue yang somehow has jin guangyao totally figured out, or that we should take everything that jin guangyao says to xue yang as being a 100% accurate reflection of who he 'really' is. (and ftr i don't see this claim trotted out that often, and definitely not recently.) but something i do enjoy about their novel canon dynamic is that there are things that jin guangyao can express to xue yang, bluntly and honestly, that he just can't express to lan xichen, or even su she probably.

but, when pushed to his absolute limit during the empathy flashback chapters, he does express this sentiment to one other person, and that person is nie mingjue.

just, you know. letting that parallel marinate in my brain for a little while.

[maeve-is-annoying-about-books]

House of Leaves, Chapter 13

Another rich chapter. This one was titled, too. Before Zampanò erased all reference to the labyrinth.

These poor kids, man... It's not enough they have to live in a rhetorical device for their parents' issues, but they have to go to school on top of it all. And now watch as dead and dying men they saw just a week-and-some-change ago get vaulted onto the living room floor.

It seems like I have an answer of a sort as to why the Spiral Staircase got so big. Karen's packing to leave coincides at about the same time as the stretch.¹ It's a total collapse of communication on all fronts. Y'know, in a way everyone is in their own bewildering little house at this moment. One that's twisting, unsure, and endlessly possible but infinitely obfuscating. Brookes, a teacher at the children's school, walks into the house looking for answers and is met with confusion. Like Holloway, when there are no answers, ends, or goals. Like Karen, who has infinite choice on where and how to go, but by that same token makes it impossible to plan. Like Tom, bereft of a brother. Like the police who walk into a mystery they simply cannot solve in a household they don't understand.

To me the house has a component of the terror of infinite possibility. If you're an artist of any sort, maybe you'll understand. Has anyone ever told you to just draw anything? Draw whatever you like. Because now, well, what's the right thing to draw? What is the best use of your time? What ages-old idea will you resurrect when you have time for one? In these situations I find having infinite choices is the same as having none, both beget a certain kind of paralysis.

Anyway. The uh, the book. Let's see what's next I'm sure it's answers about Hallway an-

Hi. Johnny. My man's so far gone he's nailing tape measures up in his room.² I didn't expect Lude to be the one to give him his figurative light, though. It's narrative as fuck. He's literally giving Johnny a guiding light, his way out, and Johnny just can't do it.

And then there's this bit here that I like.³ Johnny talking about how without the story, he would cease to exist. And it's completely true. He has interposed himself into it and he's now a part of it from my perspective. In the complete sense, he is a character in the story in my hands. Like some fly trapped in a piece of amber I'm holding.

In a way, I guess I'm also part of this story now. My musings are added to the book. Maeve's interludes where she talks about her feelings and gripes at Johnny. There's something about that that should frighten me, but I actually think it's really sweet. Even if my words are only seen by a handful of people, to them, to you I am every bit the same character as Will, Karen, or Johnny. I exist on paper, in relation to this story. At least until I move on to my next book. But these words, my bit part, will remain. As will everyone else's who writes about House of Leaves.

I got... very sidetracked. Pardon me.

Navidson's escape. The book seems a bit insistent on coding Holloway as the Minotaur. But what I find striking is that he's simply not. He's much more in line with Zampanò's small take on the man-bull.⁴ Someone dispossessed for inadequacy. The labyrinth is his home, it keeps him safe. It gives him the visage of a brave adventurer. I'm sure there are allusions and themes with Elizabeth and the doe but I'm not too picky about them. I more find it interesting that he took his own life in the house. Moon above that sounds horrific worded like that. I mean that there are two ways it could be read. Either as a definite end to the infinite using the only thing he had control over, or... Or the labyrinth took him as its Minotaur. Maybe both. The house vanished his body, turning even certainty into possibility. the suggestion he is the something in the dark, still. And that's maybe the most horrific thing of all. Not that Holloway's body lurks in the house, but its power to make the certain into a worrying "possibly".

Or my read on it is bad. This is a very packed chapter, I still have a segment to go, so please excuse me for capping my speculation here for now.

Speaking of the house and frightening possibilities the fucking thing is on the loose.⁴ In... a heel turn? The house is now warping its normal side, rapidly opening into yawning abyss. Actively trying to kill its occupants. Now in the moment this was fucking terrifying, brought out the little girl in me who was frightened of Monster House. But after the fact I wonder at... why. Why suddenly change like this? Why shift to the maximally predatory? Why the sudden visceral horror over the liminal cold? I've trusted the very deliberate nature of the book so far, so I'm willing to extend some grace and see if there's more context later. Perhaps the violence is caused simply by the group perceiving the house as a violent thing. Maybe it's a lingering echo of the violence it was taught. Maybe action scenes are just really cool.

There is this one moment I'd like to take note of before I end post. It's here⁵, where Navidson is rescuing Daisy. The scratches on her arms are still, of course, there. I found it interesting that Navy has to undergo a symbolic reciprocation of her pain in order to rescue her.

And he did rescue her.

At the cost of Tom. Oh Tom you deserved so much better than this.

[deepest-dope]

tell me about your oldest oc!

OH shit uh, my oldest oc? Well uh, she started as a one piece self insert from way back who I just sort of adapted over time and jammed into different things I got into that's just sort of grown into her own thing. In one piece she's currently a kuja village Amazon by birth names rose of Sharon out if universe very much after new vegas cass lol. But in new vegas? She is none other then daves daughter wild rose, terror of the more remote NCR outposts!

Lol, in ALMOST all context her current personality is a shameless hedonist and paranoiac. Matter of fact about it. Her strongest conviction is to enjoy life as she feels it is meant to be. This translates mostly into Bad Choices in women and men in different ways and just steamrolling things she doesn't like. Such as slavery. Which she finds uniquely reprehensible, noone should take anyone else's freedoms in her mind, it's the single most unforgivable sin for that reason. Being a slave to anyone, legion or ncr prison worker, is also her greatest fear. Her tendency to wander around is equal parts anxiously staying on the move to evade any sort of capture as much as genuinely loving to travel and explore.

She's somehow at once insanely finicky and the most reasonable person in her crew...She's aimlessly wandering, sucking and fucking as she goes no matter what world she's in. In a constant state of trying to dogs or ignore the consequences of her own actions whether they are good or bad, because she does Not want any responsibility greater then keeping herself happy but she ends up in leadership positions anyway because she just cannot stand authority figures she thinks suck and ends up taking over to try to set things up the way she wants and get someone who can take over and run things the way she likes. But it takes way too long in her opinion to finally set things up well enough she can retire.

GOD I NEED TO FUCKING WRITE FOR HER ITS HARD TO EXPLAIN ARGH UGH for one piece or new vegas since it took over my brain with cave I just need to knuckle down and WRITE