#and a training video and some projects to pull together

[cielosuerte]

so fucking busy the rest of the year. being alive is awesome :]

[kaciidubs]

Pearl Necklace

❣ Summary: In which Chris gives you a personally made pearl necklace. ❣  ❣ Word Count: 1.2k ❣ Warnings: Smut, no plot, blowjob, cum play ❣  ❣ Female! Reader [No use of Y/N] | You/Your pronouns ❣  ❣ Additional Tags: Chan is referred to as Chris, Baby, Channie, Lover Boy, Reader is referred to as Baby, Pretty, Princess, unedited, ive been so busy with life and stuck in a writing rut so please take this as an unnecessary apology ❣ Stray Kids Masterlist ❣ General Masterlist

“Baby…” 

Your dramatic drawl came with the equally dramatic act of draping yourself over Chris’s body, effectively gaining his attention from whatever video he was watching on his phone as he happily welcomed your weight sinking him further into the couch. 

“Can I ask you something?”

He laughed, tilting his head, “I’d be surprised if you did all that with the intention of not trying to get my attention - what’s up, baby?”

“Can you give me a pearl necklace?”

The twinkle in your eyes did nothing to explain away your sudden request - you weren’t the type to usually wear accessories as it was already, so the desire for a pearl necklace out of any other form of jewelry had him raising an eyebrow.

“Pearls? Like, pearl beads? I mean…” Glancing at his phone, he swiped at the screen to pull up Google, “We can look up some places that sell them if you really want it, I think I can find a few stores that-”

Your hand swiftly slipped his phone from his hold before locking it and stashing it near the couch pillow underneath his head, dismissing his growing confusion with a charming smile.

“Actually, I was thinking that we could make it together.”

“Oh?” 

Do-it-yourself, of course - he loved when you had little projects you wanted to include him in, even if the outcome sometimes didn’t go to plan, it was the quality time that mattered the most.

“Sure, I’m down for that,” he sat up while you rose to sit in his lap properly, his hands resting on your bare thighs, “did you buy the stuff already? Do we need to go shopping?”

You shook your head, pink tongue peeking out to wet your lips, “Nope, everything we’d need is right here.”

A devilish swivel of your hips, loose pajama shorts almost becoming an invisible barrier against his worn basketball shorts, and his confusion spiked up once again.

“Pretty, what- Wait a second-” Hands gripping the width of your hips, he tried to will away the near instant reaction his body always had when it came to you, “What’s going on? I thought you wanted to make a necklace-”

“I do.”

Normally, your nod of agreement would’ve been enough to clear the air, but when you pulled your oversized t-shirt up and off of your body, the layers only deepened.

“So why are you taking off your clothes? Not- Not that I’m complaining, I just…” His train of thought began to trail off with the drifting of his eyes down your neck, following the contours of your collarbones to the swells of your chest he’d been acquainted with time and time again. “Are we actually making a necklace here or…?”

“We are,” leaning forward, you placed a featherlight kiss to his pouty lips, “we just need to do a few extra steps first.”

Chris designed a few pieces of jewelry in his lifetime, and though he wouldn’t say he’s an expert when it came to the actual crafting of the pieces, he’d be inclined to assume that the process of making a necklace didn’t involve his girlfriend on her knees, giving him the best head of his life - granted, he always considered everything she did for him as the best in his life, but his point still stood.

“Fuck… Just like that, baby- Oh, god-” His head fell against the back of the couch, a shiver running down his spine when he felt the tip press against the back of your throat again. “‘S so good, baby - you’re so fucking good, pretty girl.”

You hummed around his length, hollowing your cheeks as you slowly pulled off of him with a wet pop - lips glistening in a mixture of saliva and precum that put any form of lipgloss to shame.

“Just ‘good’, Channie?” Voice laced with teasing allure, you held the base of his cock as you laved your tongue along one of his balls, sucking at the skin and smirking at the kick of his leg in response.

He choked on a moan, one hand gripping the edge of the couch cushion while the other ran through his hair “Baby, please - I can’t- fuck- can’t really think while you’re doing this!”

Giving his other ball the similar treatment, you littered open mouthed kisses along the underside of his cock, “Mm… Can you look at me then, lover boy?”

To be honest, he wasn’t even sure when he had closed his eyes to begin with, but lifting his head and directing his full attention to you made him realize why keeping them closed was working in his favor.

Hypnotizing sultry gaze behind lidded eyes, your lips resting perfectly against his shaft as your hand gripped the base of his dick with practiced perfection - if he even dared to look any further then he’d see the utterly filthy line of saliva coating your chin, or the way your free hand was making itself busy between your legs.

The twitch of his dick was all you needed to feel to know that you had him right where you wanted him, a satisfied smile curving the corners of your lips as you pumped your fist.

“Ready to make that necklace for me?”

His breath hitched, lips parting to let out a shivering moan as he frantically nodded, “Y-Yeah- Shit, yeah - gonna make you look so pretty, princess.”

Your eyes sparkled, a giddy expression almost overtaking the utter lust exuding from you as you doubled your efforts with your hand - the wet, slick sound floating through the air while you jerked him off.

Chris fought the roll of his eyes as he focused on your goal-driven face, bucking into the drag of your palm as if he were truly fucking you, until the pressure in his abdomen became too much to bear.

“I’m gonna come, baby- Oh, god, yes- Y-Yeah, yeah-” His hand flew from the couch and wrapped around your own, angling his dick toward your chest with panted breaths, “I-I’m coming - I’m coming, f-fuck-”

The first splatter of cum landed directly on your neck, dripping its way toward your clavicle and between your breasts. Tilting your head back just a bit, you felt the warmth of his cum land around the curve of your neck, painting a shaky line of white against your skin with each shivering pass of your combined hands.

He let out a strained grunt as the last few drops dotted your cleavage, using your hand to thoroughly milk himself of the final remains before effectively melting into the couch with a worn sigh.

“So…” Giggling, you dropped your chin to get a better look at your exhausted boyfriend, “How do I look?”

Looking down, he noted the way his release seemed to follow the downward curve before either spilling down your collarbones or further filling out the line down your clavicle, adding a sort of teardrop design to your necklace.

“Honestly?” A breathless giggle escaped him as he reached his non-soiled hand out toward his phone, “How about I take a picture to show you, then we can work on adding some accessories to go with it.”

Safe to say, this wouldn’t be the last pearl necklace you’d receive from him.

✧. ┊Tagged lovelies: @having-an-internal-crisis-rn, @midnightfrog625, @anyhow-everything, @bangchanbabygirlx, @sweetracha, @nightimescapes, @caitlyn98s, @ch4nn13luv, @ihrtlix, @jeonjungkookenthusiast1997, @maximumkillshot, @y-ur--i, @acker-night, @dreamescapeswriting, @specialstay, @s00buwu, @tinyelfperson, @jj-stay, @katsukis1wife, @inlovewithmusician, @keen-li, @armystay89, @main-character0, @vampcharxter, @ddyskz, @prettymiye0n, @bbgnyx, @ivyisnotokay, @bahng-chrizz, @milknhoneyracha, @hann1bee, @palindrome969, @newhope8, @softkissfelix, @luvyev, @luminouskalopsia, @kpopsstuffs, @starquokka, @wolfs-howling, @laylasbunbunny, @zaethefangirl, @chxnb97, @4-chan-inpadella

✧. ┊If your username is in bold italics that means tumblr won't let me tag you. If you’d like to be added to the taglist, fill out this form!

[fleurdels]

ELLIE WILLIAMS — lights៸ camera៸ acción ★ 1

SYNOPSIS ✶ They've never spoken. Never shared a screen, never crossed paths beyond red carpets and distant glances. But when an interview question goes off–script and the answer is unexpectedly honest — the internet spirals.

actress ! ellie ♡ • part 2 •

You were on time for the interview.

The questions began effortlessly, almost breezy at first. Your latest role, the buzz around the film's premiere, and the exciting projects you have lined up. One after another, they came. It was becoming something you were all too familiar with by now. You answered them all, media–trained responses on standby just in case. Everything was smooth until the very end, when the interviewer decided to shake things up.

They started randomizing the questions, turning to the audience, pulling in "this or that," some personal favorites, and finally. . .

"Okay, tell us. . . blow the whistle. Who d'you think is the most attractive celebrity right now?"

Laughter played on your tongue, scanning the room like you were looking for an out. A part of you considered dodging it, maybe twisting it into something wise or thoughtful. And yet, there were no eyes on you. No knowing looks from the team, no silent cues to perform. So you just. . . decided to wild out.

You had them that smile. The one that says "I'm thinking" — but truth is, you already knew. And you've known for a while.

"Ellie Williams," you said.

The room paused. Undoubtedly, because no one had expected that.

They thought you'd name a guy. Someone familiar. Especially after that exhausting tabloid mess where people swore you were "flirting" with a male co–star, when really, you were just being polite. But this? This was deliberate.

You've seen Ellie Williams backstage at festivals, and in the velvet–drenched glow of afterparties. You've seen her on your feed. Fragments of her sets, the gleam of her red carpet glide, behind the scenes at award shows. Press junkets and panels where she walks in like she's not the moment, even though everyone knows she is. And yes, she's beautiful, seamlessly so.

So when the video of the interview aired, when people around the world decoded it, it became another hit.

Clips went viral. Edits surfaced overnight, your scenes next to hers, layered with soft piano or slowed–down alternative tracks. Fan pages posted side–by–sides of red carpet glances that probably meant nothing but suddenly looked like everything. Some people claimed they knew. Others were just wailing in the comments.

You honestly didn't think people would care so much.

You weren't even trying to make a moment. You were just answering a question.

And then came the final stroke. The kind of twist that turns murmurs into full–blown conversations.

Another event. Though you weren't there, Ellie was.

She was doing what she always did. Signing for fans, talking to them in that low, thoughtful way she did when cameras were half–watching, laughing softly at inside jokes with strangers. Flash after flash. Paps shouting questions over one another, most of them forgettable.

Until one rose above the clamor.

"Have you heard what she said?"

The video didn't cut. Someone was filming from their phone, a little shaky. Ellie didn't look up right away. She was signing a poster, your movie, actually. One you weren't even in together, just happened to premiere in the same week as hers.

For a moment, she stayed quiet. So calm. They assumed she turned it into another meaningless question.

Then, just as she handed the poster back to a fan, she looked up.

Ellie didn't look at the camera. Not at the press. Just somewhere slightly off to the side.

And smiled. . . slyly.

It wasn't a fake one. Not for show. Just a little sharp around the edges. Knowing. Like she had heard it, and that she wasn't surprised. Like maybe she'd been thinking about it too.

Best believe you went scarlet. So stunned, and speechless. Your friends were losing it right beside you.

[blackhairedjjun]

thoughts on food truck chef!yeonjun x office worker!reader

meet cute, gn!reader, warnings for food and overwork

unfortunately one day, you forget to bring the lunch you packed to work. fortunately, a new food truck selling burgers and fries has decided to park a few blocks away from your office building.

at first you don't think much of it: you stand in line with a few other employees in front of you, then a gruff middle-aged man takes your order, then you wait for a few minutes for your burger to be grilled. when your name is called, however, your order is served not by the same gruff man but by a handsome young man about your age. he smiles at you when he hands over the wrapped burger and you suddenly feel dizzy from the way he looks at you.

it soon becomes routine for you to visit the food truck during your lunch break at least once a week - maybe you order a burger because you "forgot" your lunch at home, or maybe you just order some fries or a drink to go with the food you already have. the cute cook always smiles and chats with the customers, including you; he asks about your day, if you enjoyed your last order with him, how you spent your last weekend. even if you've ordered nothing more than a soda, he still takes the time to talk to you.

and when you ask him how his weekend was and how his day's been going, he breaks out into shy laughter, his ears turning pink.

you learn that his name is yeonjun, that he lives in the same apartment building as his four closest friends, and that he likes to take photos or do dance covers when he isn't busy with his job at the food truck. he starts peppering his conversations with little flirtations, each one making your heart flutter, but you tell yourself that it's nothing. he likes being cheeky with all his customers.

one night you find yourself going home late after an incredibly long overtime shift. you have a client who wants a rush project, and that means more hours at your desk; the first step outside your office building feels like entering paradise. you don't expect anyone else to be out as late as you, yet when you pass by the food truck you find yeonjun all by himself locking it shut.

he overslept and arrived past the lunch rush hour, he explains, and to make up for it his boss made him clean up by himself.

he's headed to the same train station as you and is even taking the same line, just with a different stop, so the two of you head home together. he tells you that he overslept because he stayed up editing a video of his dance covers, a little passion project of his. you rant to him about your new client and he frowns, worrying that you're working yourself to the bone. "you're too precious to be stressing out over a client who doesn't really care," he says.

you turn away from him so that he doesn't see you blush.

on the train home he shows you a draft of his dance cover video on his phone. you've never seen this side of yeonjun before: he is completely in his element, moving perfectly with the music, expressing just how he feels with his body. you gasp and shower him with compliments, and all he can do is let out nervous giggles and mumble shy "thank you"s. you love this side of him and you wish that you could see it more.

his stop is before yours, and before he gets off he looks at you then opens his mouth. nothing comes out. he closes his mouth then opens it again, then croaks out: "can i... have your number?"

you heartbeat is ringing in your ears as you exchange phones and type in your contact details, but you're smiling so much that you can feel your cheeks ache. "text me when you get home," you say, your voice just as shaky.

"i will," he says just as train pulls in at his stop. "you too, okay?"

"okay. take care, yeonjun."

"good night."

he takes one last look at you before he exits the train, his ears still red. you watch his figure as he goes, then press your hands to your cheeks as if to stop yourself from blushing so much.

let this be only the beginning, your heart tells you.

omg i don't know what came over me... the clips of burger cook!yeonjun from the concept trailer took over my mind he looked soooo good lksdjfklsjf i just had to write sth about it so i wrote all of this in one go. maybe if i have the energy i'll turn this into a proper fic...? idk

[lisenberry]

The mountain is you

Ch. 2 - I don't know what it is that I'm climbing to

~2.4k

E/MDNI/18+

CW: BDSM negotiations, dom!Price, dom!Ghost, pain play

(Chapter 1, Chapter 3, Chapter 4)

It’d been a while since John had spoken to his former lieutenant, and even longer since he’d seen him.  The last few years had passed in a fog, so it was a shock when he saw the familiar number come across his phone.  He only briefly hesitated before answering. 

Soap and Gaz texted him all the time.  Links of foolish videos on the clock app, and pictures of mysterious rashes on their body parts that they needed help identifying.

But Ghost wasn’t one to waste anyone’s time.  Whatever it was, it was important.  And as it turned out, he had a proposition for him.

“You need a project, Cap.  Something to keep you sharp.”

“Are you worried about me, Simon?”

“We all are.”

John had been the one to start Life Connect 141.  An opportunity that gave the lads a place to channel their post-combat restless energy in a way that wouldn’t get them a murder conviction or a stint in a maximum-security psych ward.  It kept them together as a team and gave them a purpose.  And the opportunity to launder some of the not-quite-above-board money they’d liberated over the course of their travels.

Some veterans of special ops worked with rescued pit bulls.  Others started fitness programs, backpacking guide schools, and preparedness training facilities.

His boys filled their own rewarding niche.  Even after John’s departure, the company had flourished and from what he could tell, they were all staying out of trouble.

Judging by Ghost’s concern, he was the one who was floundering.  A marriage to the wrong woman, and the subsequent messy divorce, had left him dangerously adrift.  He’d thought about returning to the work, but his heart wasn’t in it anymore.

“Just meet her.  Trust me.  You can decide then if you’re doing me a favor, or the other way around.”

And he did trust Ghost.  With his life.  And if anyone had been keeping track, he imagined the scales were just about even between who owed whom more.

In the end, he agreed to the meeting.  For no other reason than to see for himself what had one of the toughest, most resourceful bastards he’d ever known seeking his expertise. 

They’d been at the table for a half hour, going over your file and discussing the particulars when John glanced up to catch his first impression of you.  A breezy blouse and a long, colorful skirt.  You looked around the outside seating area but didn’t see them.

Or more likely, you didn’t recognize Ghost without his mask on, judging by the surprised laughter that met his ears a few seconds later.

“Ah, dove.  There you are.”  Simon grinned as he stood, pulling you into a friendly hug. 

“You’ll have to forgive me, I’ve never seen you without the mask before.  I’m trying to reconcile the picture in my head.  I’ll try not to stare.”  An endearingly warm smile lit up your face.

You weren’t at all what John had pictured, either.  He’d clearly have to adjust the conclusions he’d reached based on your file.  He’d read about your stressful, demanding job, your high intelligence and predilection for punishment, and he’d imagined someone harder.  Colder.

There was a notation in the margin on one of the pages that had stood out as well. 

Daddy issues??? Undisclosed but probable.

He made his own note to inquire further, suddenly anxious to know everything there was to know about you.

“The mask is an improvement, don’t you think?” Ghost shrugged.  Was he actually blushing? 

Surely it was just the heat of the sun or a trick of the light.

“It has its charms, but you have a very honest face.”  The way you laid your hand reassuringly on his lieutenant’s arm made John clear his throat and offer his own hand in greeting.

As cute as your connection was, you were there for him, and he noticed the way you’d nervously avoided meeting his gaze.  The way you’d chosen to cling instead to Simon, the devil you knew. 

He had no desire to forcibly extricate you from your bond with your previous Dom.  That wasn’t how it worked.  At best, John could match it.  Slowly.  If he did his job right, in time, you’d come to look at him with a similar trust.

“Nice to meet you,” your eyes finally flitted to his as he took your cool, smooth palm into his own. 

It was then that he felt it.  The twitchy, fevered thrill of a worthy mission.

“So, what does that file say about me?”  You sipped your pint, finding your throat suddenly dry and your forehead warm, and in need of something to do with your hands. 

Ghost had excused himself a short while before, after making the introductions and sharing a few stories of his and John’s time working together.   

You’d found being alone with him to be...intense.  He seemed impenetrable.

He didn’t look down at the folder, and kept it closed on the table.  His pen held between his two hands, contemplative and resolute.

“That you’re a pain slut.  With a high tolerance.”  His voice didn’t rise above his gruff, conversational tone, and you didn’t bother to look around at your fellow patrons seated near you.  With the din of the restaurant, they wouldn’t be able to hear.  “Does that bother you?”

“No.  It’s the truth.”  You didn’t have anything to hide.  Not from him at least.  Not if this was going to work.

“What is it about pain that you seek out?”  He crossed his arms over the table and leaned in closer.  Biceps bunching under his t-shirt.  Ghost had always worn a suit.  John looked like he came from a construction site.  Unshaven and slightly dangerous.

You didn't hate it.

“When it’s done right, there’s a moment right before it gets to be too much that my body starts to fight back.  As if to say, ‘Go on, I dare you.  Is that all you’ve got to give?’  And just then, right before I give in and quit, it’s the most powerful I’ve ever been.  The most alive.”

“It’s the rush then, is it?”  He studied you like a therapist.  And you felt like a patient.  Only this therapist’s job was to tie you up and make you cry.  And come.  And cry again.  The thought made you shudder inwardly with anticipation.   

“It doesn’t work for all pain.  It’s not the blood or the risk of injury.  I don’t get off at the thought of the dentist...” you trailed off with a light laugh, finding it easier to talk to him about this than you'd thought. “But sometimes, the more helpless I am, the stronger it feels.  There aren’t too many things you can do without thinking about it.  Against your will.  Beating, breathing, feeling.  There’s a freedom in it.  Again, if it’s done right.”

“You don’t like to think, then.  You’d rather be surprised?”

“I don’t mind surprises.  I like them, actually.  We don’t have to negotiate everything ahead of time, so long as it feels right in the scene.”

You finished off the last of your pint and smoothed the napkin that had caught to the condensation on the bottom.  A first date, a therapy session, and an interview all in one.  And yet it didn’t fill you with the same anxiety as it should.  It could’ve gone wrong in a hundred different ways, and yet the more you confided, the more you relaxed. 

“Talk to me about these hard lines.”  He opened your file, skimmed it, and moved his pen back and forth as if he was underlining something boldly.

“Always be honest with me about what you’re going to do.  Don’t play games or make me have to choose something in order to please you.  Keep me engaged, but if I have to make a decision it will take me out of it.”

“That’s important to know, thank you.”  He made another note on the page.  “It also says no choking, but with an asterisk next to it.  Care you elaborate?”

“When I was little, I had terrible asthma.  Life threatening at times.  It’s under control now, but not being able to breathe, or even the threat of it, doesn’t...” you paused, searching for the right word to convey your biggest fear, “arouse me.  Let’s just say.”

“I understand why it wouldn’t.”  No sympathetic indulgence, thankfully, just a solid nod of support. 

Could he relate?  You wondered what hard lines he had.  You couldn’t imagine anything scaring him. Ghost had reacted the same when you’d had this discussion.  No questions, no bargaining.  Just respect for your vulnerability.  Surprising, from two men who seemingly had none themselves.

It prompted you to delve in further, and leave no room for misunderstanding, just in case.

“No collars, no ribbons, bows, belts, neckties, your hands, anything please.”

“Neck is off limits.  Noted.” 

“You can still kiss me there, if that’s something you like.  Or you can slap me, to get my attention.  And if you need to move me around or hold me down, you can grab my hair.”

You punctuated the last with a helpful smile and a shrug of your shoulders.  His gaze seemed to find your neck then, perhaps contemplating what it’d be like to kiss it.  Did the thought bring him as much excitement as it did you?

“Fair enough.”  A contented grunt was all you received in response.

“You said that this would be a reciprocating agreement.  What do you want from me?”  The question that had been on your mind since Ghost had called you.

With him, you just paid him money.  That was your end of the deal.  Without payment, that left too much to your imagination and you’d let it run a bit wild. 

“I’ll tell you what I want, and when I want it.  Is that clear?  I won’t ask for your permission, and you’ll never have to wonder what I’m thinking.  I don’t hear yes and no, or green and yellow.  Red means take a break and try something else, and the safe word is a hard stop to call it a day.”

“Understood.  Thank you.”  It was a plan you could definitely work with.  “But what about you?  What do you hope to get out of this?”

“I like to be in charge.  Take care of things.  And do the hard things that need to be done.”

“And who takes care of you?”  A simple question, but he seemed to bristle at it.  Perhaps you’d pushed him too far, too soon. 

“Good little girls who listen and behave.”  He adjusted himself in his seat, straightening as if to get back some control.  “Let’s talk punishments.  No spanking, obviously.  You’ll enjoy it too much.”  His eyes seemed to darken in both amusement and desire.

No doubt proud of himself for changing the subject and redirecting the friendly interrogation.

“Hopefully I won’t displease you, but you could ignore me.  That will make me rethink my attitude real quick,” you replied, with an answering grin.

“Ignore you?  I think that would hurt me more than you, sweetheart.”

Sweetheart.  You liked that.  Probably said as much with the flood of heat to your cheeks and the breathless giggle that sounded so foreign to your ears. 

“I think we’ll get along just fine...John?”  You questioned what name he wanted to be called.

“Sir.  Just sir.”

On the day of your appointment, he texted you the location and the key code for the door lock.  You found the building easily, and stepped into the elevator, double checking the apartment number to be sure you were in the right place.

When the code worked on the door to the fifth floor, you entered to find that it was someone’s home. 

The office of Life Connect 141 was in a nondescript office space on the outskirts of Canary Wharf, not far from your office.  If anyone spotted you, you could use the excuse of taking a meeting or doing your due diligence on a property you were looking to liquidate.

This, on the other hand, was well off the beaten path.  A restored factory building in a neighborhood you weren’t familiar with, but appeared to be up and coming judging by the activity along the street.  You’d already noted a few restaurants to try on the short walk from the Tube station and filed them away to pick up something to eat on your way home. 

A flat of this size and builder quality must have cost a premium, or else the owner bought in cheap before the neighborhood began to blossom.  It was well-appointed and comfortable.  Floor to ceiling windows that opened to look just above the shorter buildings next door.  Privacy from looking directly at your neighbors, but still connected to the bustling down below.

Once inside, you followed his directions to the letter.  You’d arrived early, dimmed the lights and set your bag on the hook by the door.  Cell phone ringer turned off and your shoes in the basket in the hall.

"I’ll leave what I want you to wear on a chair, you’ll know which one.  Wear nothing else.  There will be a pillow on the floor, you’ll know which one.  You’ll greet me on it."

As you moved in past the entryway, the remaining room was an open concept.  A kitchen with an attached dining area, and a living space on the opposite side.  Two plush sofas and an assortment of chairs and tables.  You didn’t know what to expect.  A pleasure room, maybe, or a dungeon of racks and toys.

It was just a living room.

Any nerves you’d been holding onto dissolved when you spotted the fabric draped across the lapis lazuli velvet wing-backed armchair.  Was that going to be his seat?  It was large enough to hold both of you comfortably...if you were on his lap.  It was certainly a statement piece.

The outfit he’d chosen was a simple, pink silk backless slip dress.  Not cheap satin, but the softest, sheerest gossamer.  You shivered as you stripped from your street clothes and gently settled the confection over your skin.  It barely covered your ass as you folded your things and hid them out of sight.

You briefly warred with whether to leave your hair up or down, deciding on the former, before you finally took a deep breath to center yourself.  Whatever happened next was out of your control.

When your knees met with the pillow at the foot of The Chair, your mind emptied and you felt the tension that you’d been carrying for weeks start to fade.  

Just in time to hear the click of the front door.

[lexosaurus]

Gym 101

In which Valerie forces Danny to go workout with her

[ao3]

Characters: Danny & Valerie Warnings: None Wc: 2,230

****

"You're not engaging your core, Danny. What do I keep telling you?" Valerie sighed and put down her weight. "You're going to fuck up your knees if you don't slow down and do this right."

"And I keep telling you I don't even know what that means!" Danny snapped, not for the first time this week and probably not the last.

When he told Valerie that he, Danny Fenton, was also Danny Phantom, Danny had been expecting Valerie to be so mad at him that she never wanted to speak to him again.

And, well, she had been that mad at him. Very mad, in fact. So pissed, that for a minute, Danny was worried she was going to blast him off her roof.

He hadn't stuck around long after that.

And while he was beginning to make himself comfortable in the campground called, "Valerie's Cold Shoulder," he barely had two days to settle in before she had seemingly decided that enough was enough. 

Just before homeroom began, she strode to him in the hall, pulled him to the side—literally, she yanked him around the corner by his shirt sleeve—and demanded they start hitting the gym together.

"Because," Valerie had explained at his whining, and not patiently either, "I get that you have ghost powers, but your human half is such a twig. Seriously, Danny, do you know how much you're holding yourself back right now? If you actually tried strength training, I bet you'd level up pretty hardcore in ghost fights. Who knows? You might be able to train your reflexes to dodge one of Skulker's blasts from time to time."

And well, that bruise to both Danny's ghostly ego and his human teenage boy ego had been all he needed to agree to start working out with none other than his former rival turned ally, Valerie Gray.

"Stand up straight," Valerie ordered, pulling him back to his present world of pain.

He had no idea how Jazz and his mom liked doing this stuff. At the current moment, he was pretty sure the person who invented the concept of lifting weights was a giant masochist because there was simply no way in hell anyone throughout history would have ever said, "You know what sounds like the most fun thing ever? Let's take heavy objects, lift them, do a little movement, and then put them back down in the same spot we lifted them from!"

But apparently, he was the weirdo for not understanding why there was a dedicated fanbase of people who put a metal bar on their back, put some weights on the sides of the bar, squatted into a crouch, and then stood back up.

And repeated the process.

Again.

And again.

And again. Ten times, resting, and then ten more times.

Danny weakly stood, gripping the bar behind his shoulders like it was the only thing tethering his will to live to this plane of existence, and glared at Valerie through sweaty bangs. "Okay, standing. What next?"

"We godda fix your core."

"Be my guest," Danny said. He wasn't even sure if Valerie could fix something he'd never had to begin with, but if she truly wanted to, then...whatever. He'd lost by coming here, anyway.

Valerie scrutinized him as if he was some sort of science project that wasn't quite working out how she'd hoped. Which, thinking about it for a moment, he figured that was probably exactly what he was to Valerie. 

Then, without warning, she put her hand on his stomach.

Now, Phantom was largely considered a very suave and cool hero. Well, maybe Sam and Tucker would disagree, and sure there was a whole TikTok tag dedicated to videos of him falling into random objects, but still. There were enough random people around who would agree that Phantom was at least somewhat socially sufficient.

But Fenton on the other hand was very much not. He was an awkward, goofy teen. He wasn't popular, and he didn't exactly have a lot of girls fawning over him at every turn.

Which was why Valerie, his former girlfriend who maybe he still had some deeply buried feelings for, touching him so casually was setting off all sorts of alarm bells in his brain.

"...got it?" Valerie was saying.

Certainly, she had said something.

Something that Danny was supposed to be listening to.

Oh, shit. 

"Uh..." Danny tried to re-circuit his brain.

"Here, follow my lead. Okay? Breathe," she said. "Good. Now, tighten your abs."

Danny tried his best to follow.

"No, see, you're sucking in. Tightening your abs doesn't mean sucking in. It's like, okay, think of it this way. Try hardening your abs into a brick wall. Like, squeeze them together. Now—yeah, like that. Now, can you try adding your side and lower back into that brick wall too?"

"Try adding what?"

The corners of Valerie's lip twitched up. "The sides of your stomach? You have abs there too. And there are muscles in your lower back. That's all part of your core too. Remember what I said about your core's job to keep your body stable? Those muscles are all important for that."

"Valerie, I think you're really overestimating how in shape I am. I didn't even know there was more than one ab muscle, much less that there were abs on the sides of my body."

"Well, you have them, ghost boy."

"Doesn't help much if I can't feel them."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "Well, just try your best."

"Yes, Ma'am." Danny did his best to follow her lead while also struggling to ignore the fact that her hand was still on his stomach. 

He was so glad Tucker wasn't here to see his face. He could only hope that Valerie had come to the conclusion that the redness he could feel burning from his cheeks was proof that he was way more out of shape than she thought he was. That was still pretty embarrassing, and likely not even all wrong, but he would take it over the truth.

"Okay, now reset your shoulders. Stop hunching so much," she said.

"But the bar feels weird," Danny defended.

"Yeah, yeah, you'll get used to it. Stop looking down so much. You want your spine to be straight."

"I know." 

Half of what Valerie had been telling him for the past week was to straighten his spine. He couldn't help it if his back was a visual representation of his many years of late-night gaming. 

"Okay, now squat down." She leaned forward, and her dark eyes were just inches from his own. "No—look at me the whole time. Don't drop your eyes to your feet."

Oh, his face was burning burning now.

He slowly lowered his body, focusing on staying balanced as best as he could. Having a bar on his back was still a new sensation, and Valerie was refusing to let him load any weight onto it. Apparently, everyone started from an empty bar until they got the hang of the motion. Danny wasn't sure if that was something Valerie was just saying to be nice to him, or if that was actually true. 

He did try asking, and she just got offended that he would dare think so low of her that she would lie about something gym-related, and then she told him to stop screwing around and focus on the exercise.

So, it was fifty-fifty at this point.

"Keep going down," Valerie instructed, stepping back and thankfully removing her hand from him in the process.

Seriously, that had been the longest several seconds of his entire life and half-life combined.

"But I thought you weren't supposed to go past ninety degrees or something?" Danny asked from his invisible chair-like position in his squat.

"No, that's a lie. I think they just tell that to people who have butt-wink or bad mobility or something."

"The hell is butt-wink? See, now I just think you're making stuff up."

"I'm not! It's actually something you're doing right now." Valerie pointed at him in the mirror. "See how your pelvis is tucking in and curving your lower back? That's butt-wink." She moved to stand next to him and lowered down in a squat. "See my lower back? It's straight. This is how you want to be."

Danny wasn't aware that working out would just give him more things to be self-conscious about. He tried to straighten his lower back, but it was almost impossible to do so without feeling like he was going to fall on his ass. "Okay, then how do I fix that?"

"Well, I'm not exactly a doctor, so I'm sure it could be caused by a few different things. But the most common one I've heard is that butt wink happens when your core is shit. But it could also just as likely be an ankle and hip flexibility issue too."

Danny rolled his eyes. "As we've established, my core is shit. And I'm not flexible at all. "

"Yeah, I know," Valerie lamented. "I can't believe you've been fighting as Phantom for all these years and you haven't gone to the gym even once. Isn't Sam really into working out or something? Why didn't you ask to be her gym buddy?"

"Because I value my life." Danny paused. "My half-life, whatever. Tucker worked out with her once to prepare for the President's fitness test they did freshmen year, and I didn't stop hearing about it for months. She's ruthless."

"You know what, I believe that."

"Yup," Danny grunted, lowering to do another squat.

Two down, about five million more to go.

People actually enjoyed lifting weights? They came to the gym willingly? As in, of their own volition?

They seriously sweated and lifted heavy objects in a room surrounded by a bunch of equally sweaty, smelly strangers who were lifting other objects? 

And they thought it was fun?

That seemed absurd.

Valerie scrunched her nose at him.

"What?" Danny asked, his voice teetering past the line between speaking normally and whining, but he was far too exhausted to care. "Why are you looking at me like that? What am I doing wrong now?"

"No, it's just—" Valerie tilted her head. "Try widening your stance more. And maybe try pointing your toes out a little bit. That should help with your form. I mean, ideally, your ankle mobility would be better, but given it's pretty shit right now, this might be the best fix."

"God, I'm hopeless. Just give me the word and I'll leave."

"Oh, stop. You're not hopeless. You just need to stretch more. And train more."

Danny shuffled his feet and bent down into another squat. Having a wider stand did make the squat feel easier, but he wasn't about to admit that to her. "No, I am definitely hopeless. It'll be a blow to my ego, but I think I can emotionally recover if I leave the gym right now."

Valerie punched his arm, though it had no real power to it. She'd long since stopped legitimately trying to hurt him. 

Nevertheless, he would have sooner let Skulker capture him than pass up an opportunity to verbally torment Valerie. "Wow, I can't believe my ally is trying to beat me up and murder me in public. Especially while I'm trying to better myself in the gym."

"Oh, shut up." Although she tried to look angry, Danny could see the corners of her lips quirk into a smile. "Alright, your form is looking a lot better. It's still not perfect, but it's way better than when we started."

"Thank god."

"Maybe in a few weeks we can start adding plates."

A few weeks?

He must have let his internal expression show, because she once again snapped with, "It's normal for people to only squat the bar when they first start. It's way more important to get proper form than to lift heavy. You see that guy over there?"

She nodded across the room at a man doing chest presses. He was using weights that Danny could only dream of, pumping them up and down with a confidence that Danny was sure rivaled even Dash.

So the man looked alright to Danny, but apparently, that was the wrong conclusion to come to, if Valerie's critical eye was any judge.

"See how his elbows are basically straight out from his body? And see how he's not extending his arms all the way when he presses? He's rushing through the exercise. It's bad form, and while it may feel cool to lift heavy, bulky weights, if you can't even do the exercise properly, you just end up looking like a fool." She turned back to him. "Remember, you're in a gym. That means you're surrounded by people who have been doing this shit for years. Trust me when I say you're not going to impress anyone by rushing through the exercises to try to look cool."

"Aye-aye, captain."

It wasn't like he was going to impress anyone with the way he was wobbling while attempting to squat the naked bar, anyway.

"Alright, that's enough of a rest, I think. This time, let's actually do eight reps."

"Literal torture."

"Keep the whining up, and I might just call my blaster out."

Danny could see it in her eyes that she wasn't joking.

And so, he began.

****

[read more of my fics here]

[hotheadedhero]

De-Stress Methods

When you're having a bad day, the last thing your turtle boyfriend wants is for you to suffer. Fortunately for you, he has his own special way of helping you out.

2003 Turtles x Reader

Leonardo

Meditation is usually his way of going about things but he knows you struggle to clear your head so easily like him. Instead, he beckons you to a rooftop, being sure to cover your eyes as he leads you up an apartment. It's a risky move on his part, both for potentially being seen and you blindly upscaling a ladder but he knows it'll be worth it. Once you're up, he waits just a moment longer.

Slightly disgruntled by the secrecy, you sigh, "Leo, if this is some kind of training exercise, I'm not sure I'm in the mood."

He just smiles as he gently coerces your hand away from your face. It takes a moment to blink away the blur but, when you do, you are blessed with a wondrous array of oranges and purples amidst the wide sky that hangs above you. The sight is breathtaking and the troubles of your day wash off you almost immediately. Leo sits you down with him atop the roof and together you gaze in content silence. Knowing him, this is probably some corny interpretation of 'tomorrow is a new day' but you feel better nonetheless.

Raphael

This man holds nothing back when he's in a bad mood. Give him a punching bag and he'll go to town on it. You, however, couldn't hurt a fly. He loves that about you but even the softest souls need an outlet. Luckily, Raph is in touch with his softer side, especially when it comes to you. That's why he attempts to show you how to knit - get you focused on a task that requires just enough attention to distract you.

"I don't think I've done it right," you admit bashfully as you showcase your poor knitting skills.

Your sullen glance to the floor almost has him giving up on this idea but he doesn't want you to be discouraged. Instead, he gently pinches your chin, points your head up towards him, and kisses your forehead, encouraging you to try again. The great thing about knitting is that you can easily pull the yarn away from your mistake and redo it. It takes some practice but the beaming grin of accomplishment on your face fills him with such pride.

Donatello

When it comes to methods of relaxation, there's nothing quite like tinkering on a new project to get Donnie to unwind. However, that isn't exactly your idea of a soothing pastime. Even just watching how he operates on machinery gets your head into a spin, akin to second-hand stress were he to feel any such stain himself. He places his tools down on the work bench and gets comfortable on the couch with a book, ushering you to join him. You lay your head in his lap and he begins to read, stroking a free hand over your head. After a few paragraphs, he feels you shift and stops reading to look down at you when he catches your stare.

"Please, don't stop," you object with a smile. "I like your voice."

With a tender expression of his own, he continues to read aloud about the geometry of spacetime. He knows it doesn't matter what he reads to you because that isn't the point. The way he sees it, the more obscure the book, the more likely you are to fall asleep and take the well-deserved nap he knows you need.

Michelangelo

Mikey may be a high-energy, goofball who, at face value, doesn't take much seriously but that doesn't mean he's an idiot. Where he seemingly lacks logical smarts, he makes up for in emotional intelligence. As soon as you walk into the lair, he can tell something's wrong. You don't want to talk about it and exerting yourself with any kind of activity sounds like too much energy. That means skateboarding and video games are out of the question then. Not a problem! There's plenty you can do that requires little to no effort. He quickly makes a batch of popcorn and sits you between his legs in front of the TV. As the back of your head rests on his chest, he feeds you so you don't have to worry about lifting a finger.

Through a mouthful, you laugh, "It's okay, Mikey. I can feed myself."

He gently shushes you and pushes another piece of popcorn into your lips. That's all he needed to hear. The moment he gets a laugh out of you is the moment he knows you're feeling better.

[selunesdreams]

Chapter 12: Out of Practice

“You’re pulling your punches.” Rook panted as he circled her.  Lucanis smirked. “You can barely catch your breath. If I go any harder on you, I might do some real damage.”  “Can’t finish what you started?” She dragged a chair away from the dining room table and positioned it between them. “Maybe you should let Spite have a go.” He lowered his head, grimacing as he fought the demon back. “No.” Lucanis ripped the chair from between them and hurled it into the wall. Rook instinctively threw her hands over her eyes, shielding herself from shards and debris as it splintered apart. Finding his opening, Lucanis forcefully bent her over the table, pinning her arm to her back and holding her head against the wood. Rook groaned in pain as he leaned over her. “Guess you have to protect that pretty face, don’t you?” Lucanis murmured in her ear, “What did you call it before, your second best asset?” “Cheater.” “I’m sharing a vessel with a spirit of determination, little De Riva.” He said, increasing the pressure on her back just enough to make her squirm. “He likes to win. I can’t just tell him no.” 

Pairing: Lucanis x Fem Rook/OFC x Spite???

Summary: Lucanis interrupts Rook, Emmrich and Manfred's teatime for necromancy lessons. Also: Some of the kitchen furniture gets broken just in time for Taash's mom to visit.

Word Count: 2.2k

Things of note/warnings: 18+ fic, MDNI! warnings: warnings: rot/death/body horror-adjacent (necromancy stuff), consensual/training violence that goes a little too far. Please read on AO3 if you need to track warnings, they will be inevitably detailed better there (or just want to be real sweet and give me hits/kudos/comments).

─── ⊹⊱♤⊰⊹ ───

Rook joined Emmrich in his chambers, taking a seat in a worn armchair by the fire as Manfred shuffled over with a platter of tea. 

“And how did you sneak past Lucanis with that boiling water?” She asked with a mischievous grin as the skeleton set out two cups, his bony fingers clattering against the delicate porcelain as he poured, teeth chattering with fascination as steam billowed over the rims.

“I’m beginning to think that people outside the Necropolis find Nevarra…unsettling.” Emmrich said as Manfred enthusiastically snapped a pair of tongs together, grabbing a sugar cube and plopping it into Rook’s drink.

“Don’t mind them.” Rook reassured him, the warmth of the tea seeping into her hands as she cradled the cup. “They’ll come around. I, myself, enjoy your enthusiasm for your work.”

Emmrich smiled. “Death is one of the primordial forces. It breaks bonds, and it lays the ground for the new.”

“When you put it that way, it makes me feel a little less guilty about what I used to do for a living.” Rook mumbled.

“And how are you doing with your recent discovery?”

She hesitated. “Not so well. I–”

The chamber door struck the wall with a resounding bang, the bottom of a boot visible as someone kicked it open. 

“You wanted to get me excited about necromancy, Emmrich?” Lucanis drug in a large, misshapen burlap sack and dropped it to the ground with a thud, pointing his index finger at it. “Make her talk.”

Rook recoiled. “What the fuck, Lucanis!”

Manfred echoed her displeasure with a hiss, gesturing wildly. Emmrich frowned, setting his drink down and clasping his hands together in his lap. 

Lucanis’ gaze shifted between them, and he wrinkled his nose in disdain. “Are you drinking tea?” 

Rook leaned forward in her chair and squinted at the heap on the floor. “Is that a body? ” 

With a heavy sigh, he heaved the sack onto a stained marble slab Emmrich used for autopsies and speaking with the dead.

“It’s Zara Renata.” Lucanis pulled the burlap away to reveal her decaying form. The Venatori’s carrion bodice had greyed, the rot setting in much sooner than the rest of her. It had a stench to match. 

Emmrich laid his hand over Rook’s reassuringly. “Lucanis and I discussed this earlier. We may be able to…glean some information from her,” he said, rising from his chair. “I wouldn’t agree if it was unsafe.”

She shook her head in disbelief, directing a glare at Lucanis. “Fine.”

Like a shadow, Rook silently trailed behind Emmrich, standing on her toes to look over his shoulder. Manfred clutched the end of the slab and sank to his knees, swaying back and forth as he scrutinized the body with interest. 

“Mind lighting a few candles for us?”

Rook nodded tersely, snapping her fingers, conjuring several flames around the room’s perimeter. With a nod of gratitude, Emmrich cleared his throat and raised his hands, gesturing as if conducting a symphony.

“Let flame rekindle your sight.” His fingertips traced invisible patterns over Zara’s form. “Let breath and light rise again.”

For a moment, there was no response. The room remained still, the body motionless. Lucanis and Rook exchanged an uncertain glance and cringed as the mage suddenly lunged forward, gasping for air. 

“Tell us about Illario Dellamorte!” Emmrich said in a commanding tone. 

“Amatus…” Zara’s voice was distant, otherworldly, and deeply disturbing. “He fooled us both.”

“You were lovers…” Rook’s brow furrowed. “And he killed you?”

“Yes...” There was an underlying tone of sorrow that Rook might have sympathized with, had Zara not trapped a demon in her friend.

“It’s not uncommon for Illario to use his charm to get what he wants.” Lucanis crossed his arms and widened his stance. “I’m not surprised he’d kill a lover to keep his secrets safe.” 

“Ask direct questions,” Emmrich urged him, “we’re running out of time.” 

“Why did Illario want me dead?”

“You took what he wanted most in this world…”

“The title of First Talon?” Rook asked.

Zara’s head swiveled towards her, eyes vacant and unseeing, saying nothing. 

“Jealousy is a powerful motivator.” Emmrich said as Rook took a step back. 

“Why imprison me and risk everything? I thought he cared enough about me to grant me a quick death.”

“Ah, an improvisation on this one’s part.” Zara’s head turned back towards the ceiling. “You had too much potential to die so young.”

Lucanis scowled. “And Caterina? Did Illario hire you to kill her?”

Zara hesitated, her thin lips curving into a smile. “No.”

“Our risen spirit is strong!” Emmrich warned, “Make haste.”

Lucanis gave a dismissive wave. “Let her go. We’ve heard enough.”

As he turned to leave, Rook caught him by the arm. “What are you going to do?”

“Take away everything from him.”

Lucanis removed her hand and stormed out of the room.

Rook returned her attention to the body. “What do we do with this?”

Manfred reached out with a bony finger, poking Zara’s foot, and immediately recoiled with a shriek, fleeing into the hall. Emmrich sighed dramatically, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I’ll take care of it. You should…keep an eye on our friend.” He said, “And his passenger.” 

─── ⊹⊱♤⊰⊹ ───

Rook found Lucanis in his usual spot, sulking on his bed in the pantry, with a cup of coffee cradled in his hands. 

“Seems like we’re both pissed off at my cousin now.” He said as she entered, not looking up.

“You weren’t before?”

“Before? Before , I hoped there was some misunderstanding. Now?” Lucanis set his cup aside and stood up. “Now I want to kill him.” 

“There’s no place for emotion in killing. ” Rook said, quoting Caterina.

Lucanis smiled bitterly. “It’s sloppy.”

“File it down. Make it useful.” Rook said, mustering her best impression of the First Talon.

Lucanis shifted on the bed, staring at the floor. “I miss her.”

“I think you could use some sparring practice.” Rook suggested. “Why don’t you show me those good choke points you’re always talking about?”

He smirked. “You can’t identify them yourself?”

“I could…” Rook scanned the room for any advantage, “but let’s pretend I’m rusty.”

Lucanis stood and sauntered closer. “Well, to start, there’s this one…”

Grabbing her by the throat, but not too roughly, he guided her into the corner, positioning her so the shelf blocked her exit. Rook’s breath hitched as her shoulders hit the stone, eyes darting around to determine her next move. With the wall at her back as leverage, she pulled both feet up from under her and kicked Lucanis square in the chest. He rebounded off the wall, and she slipped past him, tumbling to the center of the room and throwing open the door. 

She heard a half-frustrated, half-excited snarl as he chased after her and tackled her to the floor. They rolled across the ground, narrowly missing the fireplace, before they jumped in the opposite directions, taking up defensive stances. 

“You’re pulling your punches.” Rook panted as he circled her. 

Lucanis smirked. “You can barely catch your breath. If I go any harder on you, I might do some real damage.” 

“Can’t finish what you started?” She dragged a chair away from the dining room table and positioned it between them. “Maybe you should let Spite have a go.”

He lowered his head, grimacing as he fought the demon back.

“No.”

Lucanis ripped the chair from between them and hurled it into the wall. Rook instinctively threw her hands over her eyes, shielding herself from shards and debris as it splintered apart. Finding his opening, Lucanis forcefully bent her over the table, pinning her arm to her back and holding her head against the wood. Rook groaned in pain as he leaned over her.

“Guess you have to protect that pretty face, don’t you?” Lucanis murmured in her ear, “What did you call it before, your second best asset?”

“Cheater.”

“I’m sharing a vessel with a spirit of determination, little De Riva.” He said, increasing the pressure on her back just enough to make her squirm. “He likes to win. I can’t just tell him no.” 

The kitchen doors suddenly swung open, and Taash froze in place, raising their eyebrows. Rook struggled against Lucanis’ hold, but he pressed a knee into the small of her back, keeping her firmly in place. 

“Whoa…” Taash held up their palms. “I’ll let you two wrap up…whatever freaky shit you’re doing in here. Just clean up after…my mom’s coming for dinner.”

“Of course, Taash.” Lucanis said politely, ignoring Rook as she writhed under his weight, shaking the table.

“Can you still cook or are you-”

“I’ll handle it.” He nodded, inclining his head for them to leave. “You have my word.” 

The second the doors shut behind Taash, Rook drove the heel of her boot into Lucanis’ knee and threw her elbow out, missing his chin. As he stumbled back, she flipped across the table, landing on the other side.

“Really ought to invest in a lock.” She said, bracing herself on the surface.

A smile played on Lucanis’ lips as he pulled himself to his feet. “Now that’s cheating…”

Rook faded-stepped out of the way as he advanced on her, shoving him into the stairs. His eyes flashed with a glint of violet and he charged forward, Spite’s wings unfurling at his back. He threw her onto the table and leapt after her, shielding her skull from the impact by slipping his hand underneath. With a knee on each side of her hips, he hovered above her, blocking any potential escape with his other arm. Despite the lack of concussion, he still knocked the wind out of her, and she gasped, searching his face as Lucanis’ smile faded, along with Spite’s presence. Their chests rose and fell, labored breathing filling the silence as they locked eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Lucanis said, leaning back, “I got carried away-”

Rook seized the back of his neck with both hands and crushed her lips against his. Eyes wide open, he let out a sound of surprise before he relented and eased himself onto his elbows, his body pressed tightly against hers. He slotted one leg between hers, his beard scratching her cheek as he found a better angle, weaving his fingers through her hair. He might have been a bit out of practice, but he was intuitive, she’d give him that. 

His jaw clenched as he moaned her name into her mouth, shoulders tensing as her nails dug into his back. Lucanis broke the kiss, releasing her and pushing himself off the table.

She propped herself up on her elbows. “What’s wrong?”

He averted his gaze, dragging a hand over the lower half of his face. “Rook, I…can’t.”

“Why?” She demanded.

“I will only bring you pain. Can’t you see that? Everyone in my life has suffered because of me. Caterina is dead. Even Illario’s resentment has put him in danger, I would have killed him if-”

“Neither of those things are on you, Lucanis!” Rook shouted, sliding off the table. “Place the blame on your cousin , where it belongs!”

“I can’t! If I do, Spite will end him. He’s all I have left, Rook-”

“Nobody has to get hurt. You said you wanted to punish him? Take away everything? He still wants me . He made that much clear after we killed Zara. If you have the Crows, if you have me , he has nothing left.”

“Is that what you would let yourself be to me?” Lucanis’ face crumpled. “A pawn to make my cousin jealous? To discipline him, like a child having his toys taken away during a tantrum?”

“Fine, then I’ll talk to him! I might be able to convince him-”

He let out an impatient groan that set her body on edge.

“Illario is dangerous right now, Rook! He’s using blood magic. Do not go near him!”

“I’d rather have two angry Dellamortes than two dead ones!” she pleaded. “I’m trying to save you. Both of you.”

With a shuddering breath, he braced his arm on the mantle and pressed his forehead against it. 

“You should go, Rook.”

“Lucanis-” She reached for his sleeve and he pulled away, holding his hands in the air. 

“Fiammetta.” He shook his head as he backed away. “Just go. Please.”

She pursed her lips, restraining herself from saying something she might regret, and squeezed her eyes shut. With a huff of disbelief, she stormed from the kitchen, slamming the doors behind her and doubling over to compose herself. 

“Rook! Is everything alright?” Bellara asked, approaching from the stairs to Neve’s office. 

Good, she hadn’t overheard.

She took a shaky breath, glancing across the courtyard with a renewed sense of determination.

“I need to go to Treviso, Bellara. Would you like to come with me?”

“Um…sure. But wouldn’t Lucanis be a better-”

“No.” Rook motioned for her to follow. “Not for this job.”

[goodfish-bowl]

What Little Remains

Chapter 2: Cooking by the Book

Ectoberhaunt 2024 Day 15: Science Fiction

AO3 Link Chapter 1 Link (read for context)

Summary: Dr. Reeden is considered a specialist in the technology for many reasons. The investors really should've expected this when they allowed them to join T.Z.A.P

Warnings: gore, human experimentation

Words: 3,045

After compiling the research and finally reading the papers they had obtained from the laboratory, Reeden needed a new pack of smokes. Those papers had been some of the most unscientific research papers Reeden had ever encountered, which was saying a lot considering their past working experience. But these papers in particular made them determined to create physical copies of the papers just to burn them with. They weren’t even an archaeologist like the other four people left on this team, but a geneticist who specialized in researching the humanoid genome throughout the past millennia and the resulting variation in humanoids and the occasional tangentials across the galaxy. Not quite archeology, in their opinion, but a type of genetic tracking a bit closer to the ancient discipline of paleontology instead. They had just wanted to get a good look at a pre-nuclear human genome for their latest paper, the original template would be invaluable for perspective. It was the only reason they had agreed to be on the T.Z.A.P team in the first place. 

What had ended up in Reeden’s lap instead was a variation of tangential DNA sequence from before that branch of humanity even existed. Void of space, that would make the kid the first tangential, the first variation and deviation. Now they only wished they could figure out what the actual fuck was going on with the kid’s DNA sequence. There were at least two different sets, impossible in and of itself, with holes in each, where the other filled in, like some paradoxical basket weaving. But there were more holes, which neither set of DNA contained the answers to. 

With the Head Doctor’s approval, Reeden had free access to most of the samples, not the core for obvious reasons, but the other genetic and biological ones were all they needed. They think the Doctor had put the intern on the unfortunate project of inspecting the core. From the other samples, they were able to reconstruct most of the boy’s DNA sequences with the D.R.C.R.A. (that Reeden was specially trained in) at the expense of only one of the intact vials. There were red blood cells mixed in with the… ectoplasm(?) the kid possessed. Each set contained the complete recipe for an entire being with only pieces of each actually being used. One was closer to what Reeden imagined the original human genome was like and the other was similar but based on ectoplasm instead of carbon. There was no transition between the two and no way the kid should’ve been able to switch between them… unless they were secretly hiding a form in-between. 

Reeden practically leaped from their seat and pulled up that awful video, the final one of the set, and scrubbed through it, finding the exact timestamp where the kid switched forms. Then, writing it down on their hand, went back to the vials, intact and otherwise, any of the samples really. The in-between. That was where the missing DNA must be. 

Reeden found one sample, ripped it open, and tossed the entire sample into the D.R.C.R.A. It was that ectoplasmic-isotopic solution that made their life that much easier, as it seemed to prevent the degradation of DNA unlike any other preservative Reeden had ever encountered. They powered up the machine and let it record the entire transition as the sample suddenly started to degrade after being removed from the solution. It switched from ectoplasmic to carbon and Reeden almost lost focus watching the visible reaction take place through the viewing window of the D.R.C.R.A. The machine slowly but surely began piecing the DNA sequences together, along with that they had already fed it. It would take a while, but Reeden could already see the third DNA sequence filling in the final gaps. They now had the complete recipe, as mixed up and convoluted as it was. It was an interesting challenge just putting it together, it made Reeden almost excited for the next part. 

Reeden left their lab, intent to grab something with a resemblance to food and to see if the final piece was in place. They needed a break anyway. With the hiss of the door, Reeden entered the cafeteria and put in the code for their order. Just their luck, that one intern, Zavier(?) was sitting with his head on the table. The Head Doctor had taken a liking to the intern. She wouldn’t have let him work on this project otherwise. The kid wasn’t leaving her supervision any time soon. 

Reeden dropped their tray with a metallic slap to the table, and the intern snapped his head up. 

“Greetings. How goes it go with the glowy orb?” Reeden asked casually. 

Zavier slowly lowered his head back to the table, shoulders shaking and muttering quietly to the point Reeden couldn’t make sense of it. That hadn’t been the reaction they’d been expecting. They’d intended to tease the intern a bit, but he already seemed ready to cry. That wouldn’t do at all. 

“What is it? I can’t hear you.”

“It’s a brain in a jar,” Zavier whimpered, and Reeden stopped dead. “And that’s not even the worst part.” 

Reeden blinked, slowly wrapping their head around what the intern had said. It made sense based on the ectoplasmic DNA sequence and the horrible papers, but actually facing the fact was a different matter.

“And what would be the ‘worst part’?”

“They're still alive in there. Dreaming, or some other kind of deep comatose, unconscious state, but they're still there, after over 3,000 Terran years.” 

Reeden whistled under their breath, “Fattest nap of the ages, right there. Can’t imagine it’s been good for their mental state though,” they commented, “But that’s good, in its own way. Means we’ve got all the pieces to toss in the D.R.C.R.A.”

“What is that anyway? A D.R.C.R.A.?” Zavier asked. 

“DNA Reader and Cellular Reconstruction Apparatus. It’s normally a piece of medical technology used to regrow limbs and organs, but with a talented geneticist like myself, it has other uses as well,” Reeden explained. 

Sure, there were a few gray areas with the tech, especially with what the apparatus was originally designed for, and this was coming pretty damn close to its original use. Cloning was a messy and frankly pointless business overall. They weren’t particularly worried about the moral obligations of things. Was never their style. 

“No way… that… you can’t use it to bring people back to life. That’s just-”

“Nope, you can’t make a complete person. It’s a body sure, but no one’s home. Basically a living corpse. That’s why it’s a good thing that the core is intact. Can’t really recreate something that’s built up over time. But with the core being a ‘brain in a jar’, we have all of the ingredients to cook by the book.” 

“We’re really reviving them” Zavier gasped, stuck somewhere between awe and shock. 

“Yep.”

Reeden wanted a smoke. 

All five of the researchers on project “Phantom”, as it had been unofficially dubbed, were shoved into the operating room of the D.R.C.R.A. staring intently at the main chamber of the machine, the orb suspended in position. 

“You know, this might be the first time an entire being has been reconstructed in this thing, right?” Someone commented. Reeden didn’t correct them.

“Then let’s make sure this event is properly recorded so that when I report it, our success will cushion the consequences,” the Head Doctor stated. Reeden grinned, they had figured as much. 

“Wait, are we not approved to be doing this?” Zavier asked, a panicked expression on his face.

Reeden laughed, “I think this is more of a ‘forgiveness than permission’ sort of situation. Besides, they let us use the D.R.C.R.A. in the first place knowing I was here. With an opportunity like this, it would be a waste to do otherwise, approval or not.”

Reeden double-checked, making sure that everything was being recorded before beginning. 

“My name is Doctor Reeden del Orcutus, lead geneticist of the Terra Zero Archeology Project. We are currently attempting to reconstruct an individual from circa 2000 AD Terra Zero after finding a complete and viable DNA sequence. However, the individual being reconstructed is not only a tangential, but possesses three separate DNA sequences, only one of which is carbon-based, while the others are ectoplasmically-based. This is the energy source of interest to the Terra Zero project. An attempt at ‘revival’ is being made after the discovery of an additional organ, functioning as a secondary brain, shown to contain the subject’s intact consciousness. Reviving and communicating with this individual aligns with the majority of T.Z.A.P’s goals and is now considered tantamount to the project.” Reeden stated for the recording, sure to include just enough logical evidence for if they were to get investigated later. 

Their investors really shouldn’t have included this much wiggle room in the statement of T.Z.A.P's mission. Now they had a legal loophole to escape culpability. The Head Doctor kept them around for a reason, and it wasn’t just for their specialty or to steal their smokes every now and again.

“Beginning calibration for cellular reconstruction now.” 

The D.R.C.R.A. gave a low thrum and the chamber inside slowly filled with light, sterilizing it in preparation for the initial regeneration. Reeden gave a cursory glance over to the supply tanks, checking to make sure that there were enough materials to make a full person. It wasn’t good to run out mid-way after all. It took forever to clean blood out of a machine this complicated. Luckily, everything was there, even the additional elements that had to be added for the multiple DNA sequences. 

The machine pinged and Reeden gave a wide grin. 

“Sanitation and calibration complete, beginning reconstruction.”

Danny awoke slowly. His entire body felt heavy, and his head clouded. There was a disconnect between what he was experiencing and what he expected. Something in his head denied it all, like this couldn’t be real. Danny couldn’t find it in himself to really care if it was real or not, just that he had a body, and heavy or not, he could move it. The experience seemed both novel and extremely foreign for reasons he couldn’t remember or palace.

Danny began slowly, twitching a finger, stretching his toes, and slowly readjusting each limb, until he built up to opening his eyes. He immediately closed them. Pins-and-needles spread to every part of Danny’s body and Danny let out a sharp breath. This caused him to start coughing. Everything hurt. Everything was so sensitive. He felt raw and exposed. 

Danny squinted his eyes, shielding them behind a hand, struggling just to hold his hand up. The light wasn’t that bright but his eyes struggled to adjust to it either way. With his other arm, Danny forced himself to sit up with a groan before placing his arm in his lap as he leaned against the headboard. Blurry eyes caught on his right hand in his lap. Something seemed… not right with that. He couldn’t remember what. 

It took several more minutes for his eyes to finally allow him to see, and Danny glanced around the room. It was weird in a way he couldn't really place. ‘It was like if a hospital room was a furniture store display’, was the only way he could describe it. At least, Danny figured it was a hospital room, if one with a really weird feel to it. The gray color of the walls instead of the standard white or off-yellow didn’t help. It made the whole thing seem like a Twilight Zone episode with the monochrome pallet. Here Danny was, sitting in a strange hospital room, in a place he had no idea where, feeling really bugged out in his own skin, all by himself. 

Danny took an additional moment to check himself over, something like panic causing him to sputter. He was fine. Not a single scratch or scar on him. He didn’t know why he expected any in the first place, or that the fact there were none at all weirded him out so much. He wasn’t supposed to be covered in scars. This was fine. He was okay. 

There was a sound, a hydraulic kind of hiss, and Danny snapped to it, practically jumping in fright. The doorway was now open, the door sliding cleanly into the wall all on its own, a person standing behind it. 

Danny would like to say he was the strangest person he had ever encountered, but somehow, he couldn’t seem to. He didn’t think he had encountered anyone weirder than the person with gray skin with matching ashy hair in front of him, but his lack of reaction left him uncertain. He felt like he was missing a lot of things, really. 

The gray-skinned person blinked owlishly at him, leading to something of a staring contest before the stranger became flustered, digging through the pockets of a patch-covered lab coat and pulling out a handheld device before shoving it back into the coat pockets. 

“Sorry!” He apologized. “We didn’t think you would be awake this early. We expected you’d be comatose for a week at least before waking up.” 

Danny continued staring. He wasn’t shocked by the stranger's appearance and he decided that was the weirdest part. He couldn’t remember. 

“How’d I get here?” Danny blurted. 

The stranger paused, apparently not expecting the question. “Umm, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to tell you, so it might be better to save questions like… that until the Head Doctor and Dr. Reeden get here,” he explained. My name’s Zavier,” he added. 

Danny wanted to ask more. He was forgetting something, a lot of something, and it freaked him out. But ‘Zavier’ couldn’t answer his questions. 

There was a ping, and Zavier pulled out the device again, reading something on it. It almost looked like a cell phone, if cell phones were sleek bricks instead of being phone-shaped. 

“Since you’re awake, we’d like to confirm a few things while the Head Doctor is on her way to answer your questions. Is that alright?”

Danny nodded. He found it weird that he had to be the one to confirm the questions. Usually, medical professionals just ask Jazz or his parents. Did that mean he was here alone? 

“Okay. Your name is ‘Danny’, right? Also, what’s your last name?” Zavier began. 

They didn’t know his name. Danny had definitely been brought here alone from… wherever he had been before. 

“My name’s Danny Fenton,” he confirmed. 

“Birth date?”

“June 14th, 1990.”

“Tests show that you’re around 17 years old, is that right?”

Danny blinked. That… that didn’t make sense. 

“I… I’m 17?” Danny ended up asking instead.

Danny had some memories still intact, but he could for the life of him remember what he had been doing before. He was just about to start high school wasn’t he? If he was supposed to be 17, then that would’ve been years ago. Anything from that point forward was blank, while things from before that were blurry at best. 

Zavier looked up from his device, frowning and meeting Danny’s eyes. Zavier’s eyes were a blue so pale that they almost blended into the whites of his eyes. It looked like he should be blind, but he met Danny’s gaze just fine and didn't seem to have any trouble reading on his weird phone. 

“Some memory loss was to be expected but… but that’s a lot.”

Danny looked down at his own hands. They didn’t seem different, but were larger and slenderer than he remembered, despite not feeling like there was anything off with the proportions of his body. But he was three years older now. He was older than Jazz was, wasn’t he? No, Jazz would be 19, probably off at some fancy university doing whatever know-it-alls did there. (Something in his gut told him that wasn’t true, he ignored it). Danny wanted to go look in a mirror, just to see what he looked like. 

“Do you know what happened?” Danny asked. 

Zavier twitched, which was more than Danny had honestly expected. He looked nauseous at the thought, if anything. Something had happened, something really bad that was horrible enough that it made sense if Danny forgot. 

“I… can’t tell you that, either.” The answer was expected enough. 

The door hissed open a second time and two more people entered the room, both seeming older than Zavier by at least a decade, just from the way they carried themselves alone. 

The first to enter was a shorter, round woman with skin so dark it was almost black, but having warmer hues to it than the cool greys of Zavier’s. Her hair clung tightly to her head before exploding out behind her in a dense orb of gray curls. Her lab coat was even more heavily decorated than Zavier’s as well, but she wore them like military badges instead of quirky patches. Following her was a person who looked like they had been pulled through a taffy machine, slender in every way, with a gaunt face and dark hair contrasting a pale complexion, like an inverse of the other two. 

“Head Doctor, Doctor Reeden,” Zavier greeted. 

The Head Doctor, the woman, who Danny assumed was in charge of everything, gave Zavier a quick nod before approaching Danny and looking over him. Danny fought the urge to squirm. Dr. Reeden snickered in the background. Once she was apparently satisfied, from a bag Danny hadn’t noticed when she walked in, she pulled out a thick binder and held it out to him. He just let it sit in his lap, unable to hold it up. It was heavy. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Danny Fenton. Your existence here is groundbreaking and we have much to talk about, but first, welcome to the Terra Zero Archeology Project. Here’s the basics of what you need to know for a time 3,000 years after your own.” 

If the binder hadn’t already been sitting in Danny’s lap, he would’ve dropped it.

Ectoberhaunt 2024 Masterpost

[notnun]

Itinerant Doctor (游医) | Priest

Links: Novelupdates | E. Danglars Translations

Tags: Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Mature, Psychological, Sci-fi, Shounen ai

Chapters: 63

Read on: 04/12/2025 to 04/13/2025

Yayyy Kou Tong my beloved Kou Tong. I was very happy to come and read this novel again- I wish it was longer 🥺

Huang Jinchen is assigned to the ST training base after his accomplishments in the war with Utopia. The post is meant to be a soft retirement- the military can't quite let go of the best gun they've ever raised. He now gets to loiter around with Kou Tong- an Itinerant Doctor and psychologist.

Kou Tong's greatest achievement is the Projector, a device that lets you enter the "mind" of an individual. The Projector can host multiple mindscapes at the same time, melding the minds of each subject into the same space. This, however, is incredibly unstable- even three people at the same time causes the space to unravel after a shirt period of time.

While investigating Yao Shuo for military reasons, a Projector session initially based on just Yao Shuo's mind suddenly balloons into 7 unknown persons.

The bubble doesn't break. But the primary controller is disabled- leaving Kou Tong, Huang Jinchen, Yao Shuo, and four other people stuck in the amalgamation of all 7 of their minds.

Woo the summary is a little dry for this one, sorry. I will say though, setups like this one always get me, and this novel does it pretty well! I like stuff that deals with subconsciousness and the mental state of character (no big surprise there, considering my favourite video game series). Seven different characters find themselves stuck together, and each one has different problems. Some can be fixed, tohers will never be, and Kou Tong and Huang Jinchen have to work around those hurdles to try to get everyone home safe.

I like Kou Tong. I wish he had a longer novel for hinself, but I also don't think this novel is too short. His personality and motivations and secrets are interesting- and surprising in some cases. His back and forth banter with Huang Jinchen, the little jokes they tacitly agree on continuing and playing up, make this novel worth reading for that alone.

Huang Jinchen is also interesting, an asshole, and plays off Kou Tong and the others rather well. His dissasociation from every other living being is a key point in his interactions with the others, and although he doesn't like Manman I find his feud with her a good reference point.

The cast of characters is interesting. Of the seven, Manman is definitely the most memorable with her sassy personality and being nonverbal. She's able to speak only because of the Projector, and her struggles are magnified because of it. Everyone involved is really good though, and I liked their interactions. The devastation they feel as the 'perfect' world they managed to combine goes away and they come to reality is.. It feels very real.

Anyways its a short novel and one I'd definitely recommend as long as you mind the trigger warnings! Suicide and self harm are big themes in this novel for both main and side characters.

How was the translation? Perfect!

Would I recommend this novel? Yes! Go meet Kou Tong and love him for me.

Would I reread this novel? Maybe after a long time...

Trigger Warnings: Suicide, Domestic violence, Self harm, Child abuse, Animal death, Genetic modification, Human experimentation, Delusional disorder**, Illegal detention (mention), Matricide, Vehicle accident (mention)

*Huang Jinchen dislikes the nonverbal child Manman and they have a small feud. He calls her a freak in his head, and Manman openly despises him and makes him buy her candy. Its kind of cute..

**Qin Qin is one of the seven pulled into the collective projection, and has systematic delusions. Because of the nature of the Projector, her delusions are real while in the other space. This makes her the antagonist of the story- but they don't treat her derisively. I like it.

No cut this time as well~ Thanks for reading my review! 💜

[defire]

Not to like interrogate you or anything but what sort of experience do you have with filmmaking? Like have you been a producer? Director? 1st AD? Runner? etc.? And would you feel comfortable sharing a showreel or something so we can see what sorta stuff you’ve made?Also what’s you plan funding wise?

Whatever your plan, I’m wishing you luck in pulling this together 👍 It’s a bummer I’m based in the UK, otherwise this would be a good excuse for me to invest in some sound equipment so I could be a recordist

~ @ba-bhump

Yes your question is important and valid--thank you! I hesitated to answer because I'm trying not to dox anyone associated with me...

Referencing this post

Also working title:

Tied Hand Productions

(update on the whump films idea!)

Okay I have a lot of AMATEUR experience in filmmaking. I've planned and prepared for this project for over 10 years, and since I didn't have the money for formal education (and i started off in a cult, ok), I found ways to learn on my own. Each subject below, I have at least a year of practice and some deep research into each one.

The short version is: I've done everything, but I'm especially good at music and acting. Links and more below⬇️

Lots of Autistic humor to be found in the links below--

My experience:

Screenwriting--I screenwrote about 20 short films as a teen, and later wrote these comedic skits on YouTube and these newer autism skits on Tiktok.

Producing--I produced all these videos including managing transportation, delegation, food, social media. I don't like this job. I'm not good at it. I produced some music videos [the hat is part of the costume not a political statement]. I also made product videos on Instagram.

Directing--I've directed over a dozen amateur short films with my teen siblings and friends. Largest team I led was 10 people and we won a film contest for this one.

Acting--I've been performing onstage since I was 5. I have good stage presence! I've been on a TV set a couple times and acted in all my videos. I like playing as--Oblivious Macho, autistic characters, Charismatic meanie ... I love acting; it's my favorite.

Stunts--I have 3+ years of martial arts training and I did the stunts in this "documentary" and this fight over a scarf.

Videography--I did most of the filming in the above projects. I've done framing and natural lighting experience on this Instagram account for jewelry photography.

Costuming--I can tailor some really cool stuff (cloaks, pants, old fashioned shoes, i even handmade my wedding dress). I'll include some pics below. I make jewelry. Someone else is going to have to be in charge of makeup bc I SUCK at it.

Editing--I love editing! I edited most of the above short films and music videos in Lightworks, which is basically a knockoff of Adobe Premier.

Music score--I did all the music in the above videos! I'm GREAT at composing and mastering electronic music! I have a gift for it (even if you don't like my style, I've got the skill). Here's my main online location and here's Background Sound which was made to be a collection of video background music. I've done maybe 15 short film scores.

My current Funding plan+ideas:

Using what equipment and experience our core team already has;

Post very short episodes consistently on Tumblr and Tiktok.

Focus on the series the whump community likes best and do more of that.

Get contracts to create an online collection of the whumpiest film and TV shows for a subscription. (I can't be the only one balancing out subscriptions so I can get the whump stuff from each distributor.) We put up our small projects there for free and use the subscriptions to fund bigger projects.

With a larger following for credibility, approach investors for funding bigger projects. We would never sell rights to these films and series--i believe in this too much to compromise on it.

Continue to post free content and release higher-budget films.

I don't know how to do these big deals or how to get low-level initial funding--so far I've funded everything out-of-pocket, and my pockets only have spare change.

Once we were making enough money to cover everyone's hours, we'd pay back investors and then the core team would split any additional profits.

Again these are all just ideas, and I don't have a detailed understanding of business law. One step at a time, though, right?

Clothes I made

(and if someone goes "crap i know you irl"... It would be unfair of you to keep me in the dark, come on man)

[inkwolvesandcoffee]

TH Characters and Crochet

TH Masterlist

This concept was prompted by my new hobby and led to some very interesting (and, in my opinion, good) plot points. Henceforth, I might turn some of these wee ideas into full-fledged one-shots. For now, though, enjoy!

Tag List: @potter-solomons @buttercupsandboys @zablife @mollybegger-blog @liliac-dreamer @vir-tual @rose-like-the-phoenix @babaohhhriley @solomons-finest-rum @hoodeddreams13 @moral-terpitude @onlydeadcells @hecatemoon87 @wandawiccan60 @dreamlandcreations

Tommy Conlon

The art of crochet is an absolute mystery to him. Nevertheless, though he won’t admit it plainly since he’s been raised and trained to keep his emotions in check, he absolutely loves and adores the husky you made him.

It had been another fretful night, one that leaves you alone in the bed and him either wandering about the beach nearby or leads to a night of training at the boxing school. Either way, Tommy shut you out yet again, refusing to show you even a glimpse of the chaos he carries with him.

Later that day, the short night was followed by an equally as plagued nap. It's that he woke up before it was too late, but otherwise he'd have fallen off of the sofa and face planted into the soft carpet (which you had bought after the one time that actually did happen). Now, it’s his snuggle buddy and you’ve noticed it’s helped with the nightmares caused by his PTSD. So nowadays the silence when you come home after work is laced by soft snoring, an oddly comforting sound that stems from the most heartwarming sight.

Tommy, tightly holding on to his husky as he snuggles it. His ear phones are connected to his laptop, an ASMR video with rain sounds displayed on the screen.

Perfectly content.

At rest.

Alfie Solomons

You were already magical in his eyes, but the fact you can create stuff out of yarn makes you even more so. He still thinks your hooks look uncannily like embalming tools, but he adores the scarf you made him. He wears it whenever he can, loving the texture as well as your scent.

Alfie proudly promotes your stuff wherever he goes and helps you set up at markets. He’d like for you to do only markets in Margate and Camden so he can keep a close eye on you. However, should it be anywhere else, rest assured he’ll hang around the area and make sure you eat and drink properly. He’ll literally pop by a Prêt-A-Manger to buy lunch and deliver it to you or, as is more often the case, pull you away from your stall so you two can sit down in a coffee shop or restaurant together.

He loves it whenever you text him to provide him with photos of a new project you completed. Lastly, Alfie also always asks what you’re working on.

Forrest Bondurant

He’s actually the one who taught you how to crochet (and secretly adored how shyly you asked him to teach you). He’s a stern teacher, but a good one. Forrest is a man of many hidden talents (like baking, he makes a mean apple pie). Then again, so is his brother Howard, who is great at knitting. Jack, on the other hand, has skipped out on the creative gene though he’s been trying to teach himself how to sew.

Forrest and you do markets together. However, he mostly does the general set-up while you busy yourself with the customers. Because even though he’s very business savvy, the quiet force behind Little Moonshiners (specialized in the cutest handmade stuffies) is in fact a social disaster.

He does like talking to you, though.

(And has made you a custom wolf stuffie, which has become your all-time favourite)

Eddie Brock

Eddie and Venom alike love the stuffies you make, but V thinks his host sometimes takes his support of your hobby a bit too far. Recently, he’s asked you to teach him and ever since you’ve been trying to figure it out together. Eddie seems to finally have the basic stitches down while Venom is bordering on giving up. Not even reading the body language of his host makes him understand crochet. So he’s now your ultimate yarn spinner.

Eddie, on the other hand, has become a little competitive. Though he tries to be inconspicuous, you occasionally catch him glancing your way in an attempt to estimate whether your way of crocheting a certain project is more efficient and neater than his. To this extent, he proposes to try a new pattern together (and compare the results).

He does admit, without a second’s doubt, you’re the queen of plushies.

Eddie loves the journaling aspect of it too. He keeps a neat and very minimalist journal. Well, he tries to be minimalist and objective (as his work has taught him to be), but often finds himself writing about you, pondering your opinion on his works.

And Venom loves to tease him about said entries by mentioning them to you.

Farrier

He’s loath to admit it, but he can’t help but think of his Nan whenever he sees you crochet. The confession almost slipped out when you gave him a cream coloured crocheted turtleneck sweater for Christmas, the reason you puzzled him with taking measurements three months earlier. And it’s this turtleneck he wears quite often and takes with him whenever he’s sent abroad.

Because your scent lingers in it, mixed with his.

Because it’s a piece of home.

It’s you when you aren’t there.

And it’s the only thing that’ll prevent him from crying when he's so far from home it feels like his heart is torn apart at the seams.

Reggie Kray

Reggie loves to watch you work. He doesn’t need to understand it, finding perfect contentment in seeing you absolutely absorbed in your projects. He’s simply happy to plop you in his lap and rest his head on your shoulder, though that does little to help you focus on the pattern or the tutorial you’re watching.

He gives the best hand massages too! Whether you asked for one or not, Reggie will give you one regardless after you’ve put the hook down for the time being. Sometimes he even stops you after a certain period of time, knowing how your tight grip can cause your hand to cramp after carefully observing you for a while.

Although he does not say it whenever the topic comes up, he will blatantly admit when riled up enough that part of the reason he wants out of the gangster life is to permanently give you the peace and quiet that surrounds you whenever you crochet.

And stills his inner storm.

Also, have a wee treasure I accidentally found😉

[alicesadventuresinffxiv]

Telling "The First Step" as Background NPCs

One of the interesting quirks of the FC I'm in is that we often help a Youtube Let's Player record his FFXIV videos. Last year is when he did the Stormblood patches, and when I and a dozen friends got together for a special project!

Since the Lodestone short story "The First Step" would otherwise not be in the Let's Play (nor would the SMN 80 quest) we wanted to convey the plot beats of that story in another way. Specifically, we designed a handful of "scenes" that the Let's Player would naturally run across as he progressed the 4.x MSQ.

The goal was to make it look as though "Arenvald," "Fordola," and the rest of our cast were overworld background NPCs who changed position after every patch, much like the B-Team Scions do in the Rising Stones!

Our first scene could be found in Rhalgr's Reach at the tail end of 4.3. Here, Fordola and a few other Garlean prisoners are being conscripted into the Ala Mhigan Resistance. The idea was Raubahn’s, so Arenvald and Pipin are on hand to pass along the details as various Resistance and Alliance soldiers chat and train nearby.

(Credit to @halcyonlioness - here playing a Meteor-lookalike Garlean prisoner - for the first screenshot!)

.

Come 4.4, this same mix of soldiers could be seen early on in Ala Mhigo. The Resistance and the Alliance are collaborating on something, it appears...

(This screenshot by @shepspencil, with his character Anri as an Immortal Flames soldier! You can also see the Let's Player's Lalafell samurai in the background, where Alisaie and Thancred would appear for a quest at this point in the MSQ.)

Later in the same patch, more "NPCs" could be found by approaching the steps to the Royal Palace. Here, Fordola and Arenvald are being introduced to the Immortal Flames' Summoner squadron from the SMN 60-70 quests:

(More screenshots by @halcyonlioness!)

Of course, in the real short story, the scene where Fordola meets the summoners actually takes place outside Forgotten Springs. But the Let's Player wasn't going to pass through a random ARR village, so we picked a different location… albeit one that required getting our alts through a good chunk of the MSQ. It was quite the journey!

(Double Pipin shot by Pipin's player, who is a delight but does not have a tumblr!)

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By the 4.5(6) MSQ, things might be looking dire for the Warrior of Light, but our "background NPCs" managed to defeat Ifrit offscreen, so they could be found celebrating in the Seventh Heaven bar...

And what a celebration it is! A few people were called away for Savage raiding important military errands throughout the day 😉, and we also had some random other players go AFK in the middle of the Rising Stones. As a result, the tableau actually evolved quite a bit as the Let's Player ran in and out a few times for the patch quests.

Here's where we ended up by the finale!

Some fun little details I’d like to highlight (with thanks to @halcyonlioness once again for all these screenshots):

-The summoners and the thaumaturge are all using Ifrit weapon drops now, and Crispin has his Ifrit-egi out to further emphasize the point of what we were up to.

-The Resistance thaumaturge was wounded in the fight and saved by Fordola, so she and Pipin are checking up on him again here.

All in all, it was an extremely fun creative challenge to "adapt" a written story to this unusual storytelling format. It was also quite an intense undertaking to organize! Even before the actual Let's Play recordings, we had weeks of rehearsals where we worked together to come up with our "stage blocking" and determine when in the MSQ each scene would be visible.

Ultimately, while I might have been the instigator of these shenanigans, I couldn't have pulled any of it off without such an awesome and talented cast.

Some of whom are also on tumblr! In addition to @halcyonlioness (Hyal) and @shepspencil (Anri), I'd like to shout out @darquingdragon (Arenvald) and @newsiesgirl (Alexia)! Thanks for putting up with my wild ideas. :)

As for me, I haven't done a project this involved before or since... but who knows what the future might bring?

[klaissance]

walk with me here you guys ahem,

Keith and Lance finally have The TalkTM on a day like most others. The paladins go about their business on the castleship, Keith and Lance mostly doing their activities together as has become, without their really noticing, habit. Keith flips through the pages of one of Allura's Altean romance novels on one end of the couch, Lance plays a video game on the handheld console he and Pidge found at a thrift store the last time they'd stopped off at a space mall from the other end. At some point they wander to the kitchen and make Hunk's latest attempt at space popcorn. They throw the pieces at each other, trying to break their previous streak record of 106 popcorn-mouth-catches. When they run out, they pelt each other with kernels until they collapse on the kitchen floor, out of breath and laughing. They clean up their mess together. They train, talk team strategy, help Coran out with some cleaning. They visit Hunk and Pidge in the lion bay and are promptly kicked out for causing trouble (neither of them can seem to keep their hands to themselves, always touching pieces and parts and projects, and inevitably something falls over and Pidge is yelling and they're scrambling away, giggling as they run down the hall). The paladins eat dinner, everyone hangs out together for a while, and life in space is pretty good.

Lance and Keith are often the last two left in the lounge as people split off--either to go to bed or to work on something independently until the wee hours (Pidge). They're chatting, swapping stories, arguing about silly hypotheticals, until Lance yawns mid-sentence and Keith knows it's time for bed. They stand together and walk to their rooms in warm silence, close enough to brush shoulders, neither changing trajectory to avoid the contact. They stop in the space between their doors to say goodnight; this, too, is normal. They smile small smiles at each other and linger, time stretchy in the way it is at nighttime.

And then something new happens.

"Keith," Lance says slowly, like he's turning the word over in his mouth for the first time. "Would you ever want--"

Keith's heart stutters in his chest and the silence of the empty hallway is suddenly deafening. Lance only hesitates for a beat but it stretches.

"--to go on a space date," Lance finishes, brows unknitting as he seems to consider what just came out of his mouth. Finding it acceptable, he nods, then lifts his gaze from the floor to meet Keith's wide-eyed gaze. "With me," Lance adds, an afterthought but an important clarification nonetheless, quirking an eyebrow.

Keith purses his lips for a moment that pulls like taffy into an eternity and it's Lance's turn to hear the ocean roaring in his ears as he waits. "Would that make us--"

Lance can't breathe.

"--space boyfriends?" Keith finishes and the air rushes from Lance's lungs, something like relief. Keith is smiling his mischievous smile, the crooked one that puts a spark in his eyes. It is among Lance's favorite Keith expressions (there are many).

"Yeah, I guess we'd be space boyfriends," Lance concedes, biting down on his lower lip to keep his grin from spreading too far. He's not doing a very good job.

"Hm." Keith nods solemnly. "Space boyfriends it is, then."

"Cool," Lance concludes eloquently.

"Cool," Keith echoes, and then they're standing in ooey gooey marshmallow silence, grinning softly at each other for a long time or maybe no time at all. Keith feels very warm and melty on the inside. Lance thinks he could run a marathon and not break a sweat.

"Alrighty then, g'night Space Boyfriend," Lance breaks the silence with a two-fingered salute and shuffles backwards towards his door.

Keith rolls his eyes without meaning to, affection heating his face despite himself. "Goodnight, Lance." He turns towards his door, grinning to himself as Lance snorts. Their doors slide open, their doors slide shut.

***

Hours later, Lance slips out of bed, buzzing with the news, and appears, bouncing uncontrollably on his toes and biting on the biggest grin, at Hunk's door. Hunk is rubbing blearily at his half-lidded eyes when he door slides open and he takes in the sight of Lance, practically glowing. Hunk blinks once. Twice. Does a little mental math. And it hits him. His eyes go wide and his mouth makes a little o, eyebrows leaping up his forehead.

"No... No." And Lance is nodding vigorously, eyes shining with unshed happiness, and that bit lip is barely withholding the giggle that threatens to erupt from the vibrating blue paladin. Hunk scoops him into the biggest bear hug, shouting "TELL ME EVERYTHING RIGHT NO-" and the door slides shut behind them, Lance's peals of laughter ricocheting down the halls.

Keith is awake in his room, sitting on the floor with his back up against the door, pressing a grin so wide it hurts into his knees. He rolls his eyes affectionately when he hears Hunk's muffled delight and finally stands up to go to bed.

[ultraericthered]

2020 Memories: Love Live! School Idol Project

It was to be the franchise's 10th anniversary when I finally decided to take a full descent into School Idol Hell, having only watched Love Live! Sunshine!! back in 2018 beforehand. As part of my Anime Update posts project, I decided that watching the original Love Live! School Idol Project would be a worthwhile addition to my schedule.

I don't think I was ready for just how pulled in I'd be by how alluringly wholesome, fun, and all around fucking spectacular this series would be by its end. u's really just sort of worked their way into my heart just as they worked their way to becoming great school idols. The Love Live! franchise has seen its ups and downs, but whenever I think back on the first series and Sunshine!!, I feel nothing but the warmest of fuzzies, and having watched through them both against the dark backdrop of the madness that was 2020 only makes those warm fuzzies that much warmer for me. Jukki Hanada helped make something truly special here and I will cherish that now and forever.

Most memorable parts of the whole journey would include:

S1, Episode 1: Honoka recieves seemingly divine inspiration for her mission from God to save Otonokizaka High School For Girls, ropes her two besties into it, and is turned down by the Student Council but nonetheless wants to keep at it with a memorable music video.

S1, Episode 3: The early dramatic high point of the season when u's performs their first show only to find the auditorium completely empty thanks to Eli pulling strings and taking down fliers, but once again seemingly divine fortune smiles on them as they recieve a few spectators, all of them girls who'll end up adding to this group.

S1, Episode 5: We officially meet Nico Yazawa. Need I say more?

S1, Episode 6: Filming a documentary, debating who should be the center of the group, and entertaining antics by Nico all lead to a MV segment featuring what is easily one of the group's catchiest songs.

S1, Episode 7: We meet Eli's little sister and also learn about Eli's background that informs both why she threw herself into her work as Student Council President and why u's pisses her off so much.

S1, Episode 10: A textbook "filler episode", but that's not even a bad thing in this case. Is then capped off with a joke recap from Nico.

S1, Episodes 11-12: Following Honoka's sudden collapse at the end of Episode 11 and her then finding out about Kotori's departure plan, we reach the season's second most dramatic section and it's done really well. Shame that Episode 13 goes on to completely botch it up!

S2, Episode 14: u's has saved their school and Honoka is Student Council President now, but there's anxiety about competing in the next Love Live. And then Honoka literally makes the rain go away.

S2. Episode 15: Character developing training camp episode that also contains some of the silliest comedic gags in the series to date.

S2, Episode 16: A-RISE is here and they're skeevy douchebag stalkers! u's accepts the challenge they impose on them and have one of their best performances with one of their best songs.

S2, Episode 17: The abovementioned performance gets u's their pass to enter Love Live, and the rest of the episode is all about Nico!

S2, Episode 18: The famed, memed "Umi has no poker face" scene!

S2, Episode 19: The vaguely titled "Happy Halloween" is likely the show's funniest episode. Hanada keeps delivering consecutive hits!

S2, Episode 21-22: Both sort of lead into one another, with the first seeing Nozomi finally establish why she sought to bring u's together and why u's means so much to her as they have a sleepover and plan to write a new song, and the second seeing the girls brave some actual elemental peril (something I don't think we've ever seen done again in later series'!) just to reach the Christmastime final qualifier concert where they unleash that new song - the ever magical Snow Halation, marking the exact moment u's trascends into legend.

S2, Episode 24: With the shadow of the Third Years graduation looming, u's grapples with the five stages of grief before coming to acceptance that after Love Live, it'll be time for u's to end, in what is easily the biggest emotional powerhouse of this original series.

S2, Episode 25-26: Love Live and its aftermath. In all the years of this franchise named "Love Live!", this Love Live that u's wins has never been able to be topped in terms of meaning, spectacle, and the sheer, pure impact it leaves (the S1 opening happening in real time as the end of the episode is a mind blow I am never going to forget experiencing). The following final episode caps it all off and does u's justice right up until the very end where they pull a totally needless lead-in for the coming movie and a fairly weak final MV.

The School Idol Movie: The first act - u's goes to New York City in America - is easily the most fun, memorable, and best implemented section of the film and I wish it had been the whole thing, but the further exploration of u's newfound fame and mythic status, and the big school idol extraveganza near the end, were also welcome treats. And ending on the true final MV/credits that the series needed to go out on makes the movie, flaws and all, well worth the watch.

To close this out, the legendary Nico Yazawa with "Nico Nico Nii!"

[thetreehousechronicles]

What They Do at Home When the Others Are Gone

Even though they love spending time together, sometimes one (or even two) of them have to be away. When that happens, the house just doesn’t feel the same. Each of them has their own way of dealing with it—some pretend they’re fine, others get lost in distractions, but deep down, they all miss each other. But the best part? That moment when they finally reunite—because no matter what, they always come back to each other.

Wally Home Alone

Wally hates being alone. Without Kuki’s endless energy or Hoagie’s steady presence, the house feels way too quiet. He paces, trains, and watches action movies, but he still finds himself looking at his phone, debating if he should text them. (He does. He always does.) If it’s night, he might even steal one of Kuki’s stuffed animals for "extra punching practice"—but really, it just helps him sleep.

When Kuki & Hoagie gets home, Wally tries to act cool, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed like he totally wasn’t counting the minutes. "Took ya long enough." But the second Hoagie steps inside, he immediately yanks Wally into a bear hug. Wally stumbles, blushing furiously. "Wha—!? Geez, warn a guy!" Kuki giggles and joins in, smothering him in kisses. Wally grumbles, but he definitely melts into them.

Hoagie Home Alone

At first, Hoagie enjoys the rare quiet time. He tinkers with his inventions, tells jokes to himself (that he swears would’ve made Kuki and Wally laugh), and gets lost in a new project. But soon, the house feels too empty. Without Kuki’s singing or Wally’s random shouting, the silence just isn’t right. He finds himself setting out extra plates for dinner and sighing when he realizes it’s just him.

When Kuki & Wally gets home, Hoagie doesn’t even hesitate—he immediately pulls them into a hug before they can even take their shoes off. "C’mere, I missed you two." Kuki hums happily, melting into him, and Wally flails for a second before awkwardly hugging back. "Dude, at least let me walk inside first." Hoagie just squeezes them tighter. "Nope. You both gettin’ all the affection I saved up while you were gone."

Kuki Home Alone

Kuki thrives in alone time—at first. She dances around, sings, and does facemasks. But after a while, the silence gets to her. Without Hoagie’s warm laughter or Wally’s chaotic energy, the house feels too still. She starts texting the group chat things like "Miss uuuuu!!! (╥﹏╥)" and sending random selfies, hoping for a response.

When Wally & Hoagie gets home, she doesn’t even wait—the moment she hears the door, she sprints across the house and jumps into their arms. "YOU’RE BACK!!!" Hoagie catches her with ease, spinning her around. Wally, trying to act cool, smirks. "Wow, it’s almost like ya missed us or somethin’." But then Hoagie yanks him into the hug, too. Wally yelps, "DUDE, at least gimme a—" but he shuts up when Kuki starts kissing his cheeks.

Wally & Hoagie Home Alone (Kuki Gone)

Without Kuki, the house is way too calm. There’s no random humming, no excited storytelling, and no stuffed animals mysteriously appearing in different places. At first, Wally and Hoagie joke around, playing video games and eating junk food. But as the hours pass, Hoagie finally admits, "Kinda miss her energy, huh?" Wally grunts, "Yeah… kinda."

When Kuki gets home,before she can even step inside, Wally charges at her and scoops her up, spinning her around. "You're HOME!!" Hoagie, watching fondly, shakes his head and then joins in, hugging both of them. "Guess this means we’re back to chaos, huh?" Kuki just giggles and smothers them both in kisses.

Kuki & Hoagie Home Alone (Wally Gone)

At first, things are peaceful. Kuki and Hoagie paint, cook, and watch movies without constant interruptions. But after a few hours, they start noticing the lack of Wally’s random shouting or complaints. Kuki absentmindedly punches the air and sighs. "Fighting’s not as fun without him." Hoagie nods. "Yeah. House is way too quiet."

When Wally gets home,he moment Wally steps inside, Hoagie immediately pulls him into a hug. "Oh, thank GOD, I missed our loud gremlin." Wally sputters, "Dude—what—warn me first!!" Kuki giggles, joining the hug, and Wally pretends to resist but doesn’t actually move away.

Kuki & Wally Home Alone (Hoagie Gone)

This duo alone? Pure chaos. They forget chores, eat way too much candy, and turn the living room into a pillow fort. By the time the day’s over, they’ve made multiple messes, and Wally just shrugs, "Meh. Hoagie’ll be fine." (Spoiler: He will not be fine).

When Hoagie gets home,Hoagie walks in, sees the disaster, and immediately facepalms. "I was gone for ONE day. ONE." Kuki and Wally exchange a guilty look before lunging at him in a hug. "HOAGIEEEE!!!" He lets out a dramatic sigh but immediately melts into their arms. "You two are so lucky I love you."