#fun and games and exploding cakes

[dragonbornphoenix]

A little birthday present for my lovely and amazing friend Andithiel who also happens to be one of the best HP fandom writers.

Thank you for your friendship and for everything else, Andi! YOU are the true gift! 💖

Cake-a-licious!

Draco watched Harry try to assemble the cake. His right eyebrow had gone to meet his hairline and looked ready to abandon his face and run away. “What, in Merlin’s name, are you doing?” 

“What does it look like I’m doing, smarty pants?”

“Looks like you are murdering an innocent cake right in front of my eyes.”

“Ha ha, you’re such a comedian, Draco! You should do stand-up comedy!” 

“I am standing up, aren’t I? And that poor cake is being tortured within an inch of its life.”

“The cake is fine. It’s you who’s torturing my ears. Go away and let me work in peace.”

“I don’t see any peace here, only savagery and barbarism. Let. Me. Help. You!”

“I was cooking and baking while others chewed your food before they fed it to you; I don’t need any help.”

“And I am a seven-Michelin-starred chef, so whatever point you are trying to make is ridiculous. What you are doing is an affront to the natural order. You should at least have chosen a simpler cake.”

“Andithiel deserves the best birthday cake, and I am going to give it to her!”

“Not from where I’m standing.”

“So go stand somewhere else!”

Draco looked at Harry. He was dishevelled, sweaty, labouring with fogged-up glasses, the tip of his tongue sticking out of his mouth, covered in unidentified substances, and bits of cake all over his clothes. The stubborn berk!

But Draco was just as obstinate as Harry. Andithiel did indeed deserve the most wonderful cake, and if he stood by and let Harry commit crimes against baking and cakes everywhere, what she would get would be a Frankencake begging to be put out of its misery. 

He stepped over and, with a light touch, shoved Harry away to take his place in front of the bench. 

“Hey! What are you doing?”

“Staging a coup and taking over. Damage control. Stopping an assassination. Saving us the embarrassment. Pick one. Or pick the bunch; they’re all accurate.”

Harry fumed. “Oh no, you’re not!”

“Oh yes, I am!”

Harry shoved Draco sideways, trying to gain his previous position. Draco held fast and shoved back. 

“I can do it on my own; I don’t need help!”

“That’s right, you need an intervention!”

“I’ll show you an intervention!”

What happened next was sudden and unexpected; while they shoved each other and traded barbs, the cake exploded, covering both of them from head to toe!

“What…” Draco said. 

“How…” Harry said. 

They locked eyes, gaping at the empty space where the cake sat. Shock hit them like a sledgehammer, leaving them speechless. A few seconds later Draco erupted into laughter, throwing his head back, his entire body shaking with amusement.

“It killed itself!” he wheezed. “It couldn’t take it any more!”

Harry joined him, shaking his head. He reached out and scooped a small chunk from Draco’s cheek. He sucked his finger, and an obscene moan came tumbling out. 

Draco took half a step to close the distance. “You have a bit of filling here,” he said before leaning in and kissing Harry on the lips. “Delicious!” he breathed, looking into Harry’s eyes. “The cake is alright too.” 

Harry threw his arms around Draco’s neck and kissed him like his life depended on it. It was filthy, sensual, and glorious. 

“What am I going to do with you?” Draco whispered. 

“Not divorce me, I hope.” Harry replied and leaned his forehead against Draco’s.

“If that was your pathetic attempt at getting rid of me, do I have news for you. You’re stuck with me. For life.”

“In that case, what you are going to do is take me to the shower and help me wash away all the mess. For the next two hours.”

"Including the one we'll make?"

"I said all, didn't I?"

“With pleasure. But first, I’m going to lick every little bit of cake off your skin.”

And so Andithiel’s cake was forgotten in a haze of lust, love, and dirty sweet talk. But she didn’t mind one bit. After all, cakes are temporary, but love lasts forever.

 

[ssahotchnerr]

hi babe! was wondering if you could write something abt hotch + reader having their daughter’s first birthday and all of the team is there and it’s so cute and we get big brother jack.

maybe it including light bickering between them but it’s so clear they love each other so much still and it really is just pointless bickering. something fluffy for sure.

up to you! i trust your wonderful writing , thank u bunches !

- 🕷️ [is this anon emoji taken yet? oops if it is!]

take the bench

AHH that's so adorable 🥹 cw; fem!reader, jack calls reader mom, domestic banter <3 and aaron being very dad <3

"are you kidding, look how cute!" you exclaimed, holding up the little outfit for all to see. your daughter's tiny hands immediately made a grab at it. "this is perfect for spring."

"after two boys, i can't express enough how fun it is shopping for a girl." jj gushed, resting her chin comfortably on her hand. "new section of the store unlocked."

all had gathered for baby girl's very first birthday, and it's been quite the eventful afternoon. lively conversations, a plentiful spread of food, cake on the horizon.

currently your daughter was sat comfortably on your lap, while you orchestrated the whole present-opening extravaganza.

at her young age, she could pull the tissue paper out of the gift bags as instructed, you and jack helped with the actual paper ripping as needed. whether it was you tearing off a starter piece, or jack proudly fulfilling his big brother duties - simply unwrapping it entirely himself and excitably showing his sister what she had received.

and meanwhile, aaron had the most dad job: trash bag duty. it was right up his alley naturally, being sure to punctually collect the scraps of paper before they touched the ground; preventing a mess at all costs.

which ultimately, led up to a new game.

"jack," aaron grabbed his son's focus, holding the bag open and jack caught on instantly. he grinned, balling up and throwing the tissue paper in hand in aaron's direction.

it started off gentle; quiet cheers when jack made the shot, not to mention the growing smiles on both ends. but then it soon turned into them firing off at each other, a bit too aggressive in the constraints of the living room. jack's laughter heightened with each throw, and henry even began to join in from time to time.

while still enamored by the gifts, all thanks to her brother and father's volume, baby girl's attention was quickly drawn to them. she let out a high pitched squeal every time wrapping paper flew over her head and through the air, attempting to wiggle her way off your lap.

as much as you loved aaron and jack carelessly enjoying themselves, and the addictive giggles emitting from your daughter, you also didn't want to take the focus away from everyone's generous gifts. they had spent time, and money, and deserved the proper recognition in return.

"aaron." you warned lightly, raising an eyebrow when his gaze shot to yours - a silent, but loving nonetheless, quit it.

"alright bud," aaron caught the last makeshift ball from jack with his hand, shoving it into the trash. "take the bench. the ref is giving me that look."

"but dad-"

"you heard me. and your mother."

jack let out a small whine, but promptly complied. he returned to the stack of his sister's presents, shifting through and looking for the next one to give her.

"for someone on clean up duty, you sure are making quite the mess." you teased once you caught aaron's eyes again, jack placing the next gift in front of you, "a larger one, if i may add."

"mess isn't in my vocabulary." aaron quipped right back, a delightfully smug look on his face. "you shouldn't be the one talking."

you cocked your head to the side, comically, "oh?"

"who's side of the closet is currently exploding?"

"who's sock drawer has seen better days?"

"the parents are fightingggg." derek stretched out his voice, murmuring humorously under his breath and nudging penelope with an elbow. while the soft tone, his statement was for all to hear.

now, it was your turn to (lightly, as to not jostle baby girl) chuck a ball of wrapping paper at him. derek ducked, barely, laughing loudly as he straightened his posture back upright.

"good try, but not good enough mamas. you gotta work on your aim."

"see, i'm not making a mess." aaron teased as he came near to grab it off the carpet, taking a detour as well to give your lips a quick peck. "you have that title perfectly under control, darling."

you playfully rolled your eyes, a smile dancing its way onto your lips. aaron couldn't resist the sight, kissing you once more. "oh bite me, hotchner."

[jar-of-maise]

incorrect quotes with my new fav trio

starring wriothesley, clorinde and neuvillette bc i said so

Wriothesley: What do you think Neuvillette will do for a distraction? Clorinde: They’ll probably, like, make a noise or throw a rock. That’s what I would do. *Building explodes and several car alarms go off* Clorinde: ... or he could do that.

...

Wriothesley: How's the sexiest person here~? Neuvillette: I don't know, how are they~? Wriothesley: I- Clorinde, from across the room: I'm doing great, thanks!

...

Clorinde: Do you ever want to talk about your emotions, Wriothesley? Wriothesley: … No. Neuvillette: I do! Clorinde: I know, Neuvillette. Neuvillette: I’m sad! Wriothesley: We know, Neuvillette

...

Neuvillette, to Wriothesley and Clorinde: *holding knife out in front of them* Are you or are you not an enemy of the people?! Wriothesley: ... Clorinde: ... Wriothesley: That is such an open-ended question. Clorinde: Yeah, it really depends on a lot of different factors-

...

Wriothesley: We need a diversion. I say Neuvillette gets naked. Neuvillette: No. Clorinde: Who are we trying to distract again?

...

Clorinde, at Neuvillette: Would you like to stay for dinner? Wriothesley, from the kitchen: Would you like to stay forever!?!

...

Clorinde: Ooh, somebody has a crush Wriothesley: Pfft, I don’t have a crush on Neuvillette I just think they’re cool, it’s not like I stay up at night thinking about them. *Later that night* Wriothesley, very much awake: Uh oh.

...

Neuvillette: There's no way they like me back. Clorinde: Wriothesley would throw himself in front of a moving car for you. Neuvillette: Wriothesley would throw himself in front of a moving car for fun.

...

Neuvillette: Why is everyone so obsessed with top or bottom? Honestly, I’d just be excited to have a bunk bed. Clorinde: Clorinde: I'm gonna tell them. Wriothesley: Don't you dare.

...

Wriothesley: Is there a cactus where your heart should be? Clorinde: What’s up your ass this morning! Neuvillette: *walks in* ...Hey. Clorinde: Hmm… nevermind. Wriothesley: WAIT NO!

...

Wriothesley: Do you cook? Neuvillette: I made a cake once. Clorinde: Yeah, it was good. Neuvillette: Really? Clorinde: Don’t make me lie twice, Neuvillette.

...

Neuvillette: Is letting someone win at chess sapiosexual bottoming? Clorinde: Can everyone in this godforsaken group please learn the skill called "Think Before You Speak"? Wriothesley: Ya know... it might be.

...

Clorinde: Did Wriothesley just tell me he loved me for the first time? Neuvillette: Yeah, he did. Clorinde: And did I just do finger guns back? Neuvillette: Yeah, you did.

...

Wriothesley: Where are my fucking keys? Clorinde: Wriothesley, Neuvillette is around, can you say it a little nicer? Wriothesley: May I ascertain the whereabouts of my FUCKING KEYS?!

...

*Neuvillette dies in a game with ships* Wriothesley: This ship is no longer a ship of love, it's a ship of vengeance, a gavel of justice against all that is wrong in the world, showing no mercy, as no mercy was shown to us. Wriothesley: The spark of love will now fuel the fires of destructive glory as I wage my war across the world with righteous fury. Clorinde: Legend has it that Neuvillette still haunts the ship, stealing my fucking drinks. Neuvillette: Of course I do.

...

Wriothesley: How do you tell someone that you wanna have sex with them in a polite way? Neuvillette: Excuse me [insert name]. Would you give me the honours of indulging in sexual activities with you? Clorinde: What the fuck is wrong with you two?

...

Clorinde: Hey, no, you stay out of this, this is between me and Wriothesley! Neuvillette: So Wriothesley knows about this? Clorinde, walking away: No, this is between me and me!

...

Neuvillette: *is wearing silk pants* How does this look? Wriothesley: Like its slips on and off really easily. Neuvillette: Wriothesley: No, I didn't mean it like that- Clorinde: We know what you meant.

...

Clorinde: What have you done with Neuvillette? Wriothesley: Nothing. Why, do you think I should?

...

Neuvillette, gardening: Hey, can you bring me the hoe? Wriothesley: Yeah, sure. *A few minutes later* Wriothesley: Here you go. Neuvillette: Wriothesley: Clorinde: Why am I here?

...

Wriothesley: I’m this close to falling in love with Neuvillette. Clorinde: Your fingertips are touching. Wriothesley: Exactly.

...

Neuvillette: Would you take a bullet for me? Wriothesley: ...yes? *Clorinde angrily burst into the room* Neuvillette: *running away* Great, thanks!

guys i love them a healthy amount i swear. NOW DIE ON THIS HILL WITH ME

PART II is now up!

[elliesmainhoe]

New Year's Day

Ellie Williams x Fem! Reader

summary: you and Ellie host your first ever New years Eve party, and as you both clean up the mess your friends had left in their wake.

Content Warnings: alcohol?, nothing really just fluff tbh.

(based on 'new years day' by Taylor Swift)

there's glitter on the floor after the party.

as your eyes flickered open, the smell of alcohol and cheap perfume immediately hitting you, immediately feeling regret of offering up yours an Ellie's shared apartment to host your friends annual New Year's Eve party.

"g'mornin' pretty girl" a rough voice rasped out, the feeling of your girlfriends hands brushing through your hair as you both slowly awoke from your slumber on the leather couch.

the sight of Ellie was amusing for sure. hair tussled and frizzy, your lipstick mark on her cheek and glitter speckled around her face from the cheesy sparkly 2024 glasses you had forced her into wearing.

"morning Ells."

girls carrying their shoes down in the lobby.

dinas arms wrapped around you in a goodbye, promising you to send the pictures of you and Ellie kissing under the fireworks that you watched on your balcony and thanked you for the cheap champagne and food.

you glanced over your shoulder to see Ellie talking to Jesse, who looked just as... worn out. soon her eyes focused back on you as the two approached you and Dina. Jesse's hand reaching for dinas, dinas free hand interlocking with Jesse's, her occupied one clutching her heels that she had given up on wearing a long time ago.

after bidding each other farewell Dina and Jessie left your apartment, Dina walking barefoot towards the elevator. a smile graced your lips, you'd been there too. who hasn't? dancing too much where heeld feet turn blistered and sore.

candle wax and polaroids on the hard floor, you and me from the night before, but

after the door closed and the last person left your messy apartment, Ellie's arms snaked around your waist, synchronised sighs leaving both of you as you looked around the post-party mess.

melted candles that used to be standing proud in cake now discarded on kitchen counter tops. an old Polaroid camera laying on the couch, pictures it produced scattered around like a treasure house.

there was one of the cake

the champagne

you and Ellie dancing

you sitting on Ellie's lap, head resting on her shoulder

your lips touching in a tender kiss while fireworks explode behind you.

don't read the last page, but I can stay when you're lost and I'm scared.

new year means new challenges and as Ellie's lips press softly against your temple, swaying side to side in eachother's embrace, moving to the sound of Ellie's humming a song you can't quite remember the name of, you know it'll be alright.

"I love you" you whisper softly.

"I love you too" comes the reply.

and your turning away, I want your midnights

you remember the fun from last night, the cheers of triumph after winning a stupid party game, the clinks of champagne flutes and the sensation of the bass of the music that shook the floor.

but I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day

but now here you both are, kneeling on the hardwood floors as you pick up empty bottles of beer and discarded glasses of half drunken wine glasses and flutes of bubbly.

the smile on your face is beaming despite the thudding headache your hangover had so kindly given you. the warmth in your chest still blossoming. the boring clean up feeling just as special as the night of fun before.

you glance up as Ellie silently puts various items in a large trash bag, her eyes meeting yours. and just from the loving glint in them you knew so well, you could tell those feelings were reciprocated.

you squeeze my hand three times at the back of the taxi, I can tell that it's going to be a long road.

you think back to yesterday, your group of friends piling in the back of a taxi after you had partook in pre drinks at your all time favourite bar. and now you were all on the way back to the apartment you had so enthusiastically decorated with gold '2024 ballons' and gold tinsel.

Ellie's hand was wrapped in yours, her thumb brushing over your knuckles as she squeezed three times, a gesture you knew too well.

three squeezes, three words.

i.

love.

you.

you squeezed back four times.

i.

love.

you.

too.

I'll be there if you're the toast of the town, babe or if you strike out and you're crawling home

2024 will be the fourth year you and Ellie have been together, four years. the road was bumpy, you both had the highest highs followed by the lowest of lows, but there was one thing that stayed constant. the warmth you felt when you looked at her, and the feeling of you heart growing more and more every word she spoke of endearment.

and Ellie felt it too, which was why a diamond encrusted ring was hidden in the back of the closet. this would be the year she popped the question.

Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you. Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you. Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you And I will hold on to you

New year's day came and gone, polaroids now hung on the wall by the front door, a ring now adorning your finger. Dina was giggling through the phone as you jokingly scolded her for not telling you that Ellie was going to propose, that the girls spa day and manicure was all a ploy for good engagement pictures.

Ellie sat behind you on the couch after grabbing you both drinks from the kitchenette, pressing a kiss to your forehead and waving to Dina who waved back.

"oh God you should have seen it, Ellie, Joel, Jesse and me all huddled into the poor jewelers shop downtown- I'm honestly surprised we weren't kicked out." she laughed. "but I think it paid off- I mean, you're never going to be able to shake Ellie off now, she's going to hold onto you forever, I pity you." she joked which was swiftly replied by Ellie in a middle finger.

Please don't ever become a stranger, whose laugh I could recognize anywhere

Ellie's face was flushed and red, her soft hair falling in front of her face covering up the tears that stained her rosy freckled cheeks, your hands interlocked, both ring fingers dressed in golden rings.

"I now pronounce you wife and wife. you may kiss the bride."

the world seemed to slow, the congregation of guests vanishing as you both leaned in, lips meeting as the sound of muffled cheers hit your ears. you could feel the way ellies lips twisted into a smile as you kissed.

as soon as you pulled apart you heard the joyous laughter resonating from her chest as she offered you her hand, an offer you gladly took.

your footsteps land in sync as you walk back down the aisle.

3 squeezes, 3 words.

i.

love.

you.

4 squeezes, 4 words.

i.

love.

you.

too.

•••••••••••••••••••

A/N: I had to describe holding hands one too many times. anyways HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

NOT PROOFREAD

[sw33tsuccubus]

when reader is a child of Poseidon

Being a child:

people at camp are either afraid of you or love you. there’s no in between.

percy was avoided like the plague and then slowly became popular sooo

there are multiple aspects to Poseidon’s domain. “Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Sea God.” there are different powers you could inherit from him.

you could be in control of water, like percy. you could make toilets explode and bend a river to do your bidding. you could make yourself swim extra fast and you could talk to sea creatures.

you could control storms. you could control the wind during a storm, you could create hurricanes, you could create thunderstorms. Zeus would hate you, but who cares?

you could control the earth, causing earthquakes with sheer willpower. when you stomp, the earth rumbles a bit. you could crack the surface of the earth if you focused.

no matter what powers you inherit, you’re always able to breathe underwater and talk to horses. those are the main traits of your fathers children.

you have a smell of sea that just clings to you. you also heal when in water. your father is quite powerful.

Relations:

your father does his best to keep a decent relationship with you. he answers as many prayers as he needs to. he wouldn’t choose favorites between you and percy.

speaking of percy

you two bully each other about your habits. you make fun of his blue food, he’ll find something to poke fun at.

you two have an ongoing prank war. you once dyed his hair pink. he once put shaving cream in your shoes. it’s awful. sometimes you team up together to prank the Stoll brothers.

when you two team up during games, everyone’s scared. first off, you two are some of the strongest demigods at camp. second, you work so well together, almost like you speak telepathically.

tyson loves you. he finds out he not only has percy, but now you too!

he crafts you something, like he made percy his shield. it’ll be engraved with something related to you. maybe one of your favorite greek heroes, or what you look like during training. it looks neat.

the three of you all hang out with Mrs. O’Leary and it’s so fun. percy plays fetch with her and you chat with tyson while watching everything with a smile. the three of you team up against the hellhound to play tug of war and you always end up bruised and scraped. but it’s so fun!

Annabeth comes up with a name, like she has seaweed brain for percy. maybe kelp head or rain cloud or something related to your abilities.

Grover will hang out with you whenever. he’s usually busy with counsel duties, but he’ll make time for you. he likes walking through the woods with you and chatting about nature.

percy shows up wherever you live for your birthday if it isn’t during the summer. Sally is often behind him, bringing in a gift and giving you a nice hug. percy will pick you up and say something along the lines of ‘My baby sibling is growing up!’

the gift is normally blue candies or a pretty seashell. it’s very sweet.

Sally and your parent will talk about whatever while you and percy talk about what’s been going on at school while playing a video game on the television or playing some random board game.

if your birthday is during the summer, percy insists you hang out at the beach and have a picnic with Annabeth and Grover and any of your friends.

percy gets a blue cake from the pavilion and carries it to the lake where they all sing you happy birthday. some Hermes kid got their hands on candles so you could make a wish.

as new eras begin, percy grows more protective over you. he can’t lose anyone else.

you become friends with will while you’re left at camp while your brother takes off all the time. #1 best friends. some may call it a bromance

he makes sure you don’t do stupid stuff while also having fun with you. you go walking in the woods and he’s making sure you don’t scramble up a tree while also chasing you around.

you watch sunsets together and have little makeovers. you style each others hair (it’s really funny sometimes) and paint each others nails. you go to the archery range together, no matter how bad you are at it. you comfort him after a shift at the infirmary, and he’s there for you after you’re strained from your abilities.

you become a popular person at camp, but this time it’s not because you’re scary. it’s because you’re older and people realize you’re gonna look out for them all.

and also you’re the half sibling of Percy freaking Jackson, but whatever.

[mar-im-o]

The Watcher's hands weave threads of green and gold and red throughout those Grian loves.

And in those threads the Watchers tie souls. Souls bound in love. Souls bound in pain. Souls bound between one another. Some try to fight it--insisting that they are not soulmates, that their soul belongs to another, but it's a tiresome, futile effort to reject the manipulation of the soul.

Not that Grian thinks so.

He's seen how the others react as they try to reject their soulmates. Scott thinks of Pearl constantly, dotes on her well-being, obsessively calls her to him under the guise of toying with her. Martyn sobs for Cleo. BDubs panics when Impulse is too far from him.

The Watcher's threads are strong.

But not to Grian.

"We're not soulmates," he insists one evening, the harsh words riding on the breeze rushing pass their base and off into the ravine.

He's perched atop pointed dripstone, watching lazily as Scar puts the Jellie pandas to sleep. His friend looks up at Grian with a start, brow quirked in a teasing glance. "Oh?"

"Yep," Grian goes on. Clipped wings help him leap from the cake and onto the perimeter of the Jellie Sanctuary. "Big B's my soulmate now. Just so you know."

Scar snorts then turns back the Jellies, feeding one bamboo. "Well, alright then!"

Grian squints. "Seriously. I'm leaving you. Big B and I are running away together."

"Right."

"Far away," Grian says, placing emphasis on the distance as he looks to the sky, pretending not to be drinking in Scar's every reaction. "We're gonna build our own ranch in the mountains. Farm goats."

"Sounds nice."

"Without you."

"Just remember to eat," Scar says with hum, scratching beneath a Jellie's chin. "I'll try not to get us on Red!"

But the red has already infiltrated Grian's soul, shown through a burning in his cheeks. He puffs them out in frustration (a little more bird-like than he'd prefer) feathers at his back fluffing in a similar response as he jumps into the sanctuary.

It spooks the Jellies and a few grumble in response, the one nearly tipping Scar's chair backwards. Scar rights himself with a laugh, finally meeting Grian's eyes.

And he's fine. No hidden jealousy, no subtle longing. Nothing. He's...

He's fine.

Grian puffs up a bit more. "Do you not care if I leave?"

Scar finally seems to register Grian's tone and sobers. He tilts his head, full attention on Grian.

Finally.

"Do you want me to?" Scar asks, and Grian feels like he could explode.

"YES!! We're soulmates! We should be doing what the others are, shouldn't we? Being alone should sound miserable!"

Scar just offers a confused chuckle, looking around the sanctuary as if the Jellies could help him escape. "Well it doesn't sound fun but I don't own you, G. If you want to leave, you can leave!"

"But--" Grian fumbles for words, trying his best to soothe a soul that won't calm. He ends up just crossing his arms. "This isn't how the game goes. Everyone else--they want to be together, they're obsessed with each other. Why aren't we?"

"Because we're not them?" Scar guesses. He's clicked off his brakes so he can move closer to Grian, offering a hand. "Why do you want to be?"

Grian looks away from the open palm.

He doesn't know. He doesn't know why this is so important to him, why he wants to see Scar get worked up and angry and insist that they're meant to be together. He doesn't know why this has him panicking.

Everyone else--their soulmates are their everythings, but no matter what Grian does, Scar's attention can easily find something else. Does that mean he doesn't care?

"Gri?"

Grian sniffs. "You do care, right? About me? You like being soulmates?"

Scar laughs, a bit more genuine in his surprise. "Of course I do! Did you think I didn't?"

"Maybe?" Grian shrugs and, finally, places a hand in Scar's offered palm. Familiar fingers wrap around his, and he's happy to let the sensation calm him. "I just don't get why it hasn't affected us like everyone else. Guess I figured something was wrong."

"Something wrong--?" Scar shakes his head and tugs an unsuspecting Grian forward, the man squawking a bit as he falls forward and into Scar's lap. Scar immediately traps him in a hug, pressing their foreheads together.

When he speaks again it's with a fond smile and a faux British accent. "'I am in your service until you lose your first life'."

The anger disperses at the poor mockery and Grian snorts, making an attempt to shove Scar away. "That's borderline offensive!"

Scar only pulls Grian closer, a teasing glint in his eye. "'I don't want to see him go! I just can't let him go!'"

"Alright," Grian laughs, and he gives in. He melts in Scar's arms, wings a curtain of feathers separating them from the Jellies. And they're alone. And they're together. And Grian is putty in Scar's lap, sturdy arms holding him close. "What's all this then?"

"Proof," Scar says, voice normal again. "And accent practice."

Grian shakes his head. "Needs work. And proof of what?"

"That we're soulmates." Scar's hand moves from Grian's back to his chest, plucking the ethereal thread between them. "The Watchers didn't tie this, Grian. We did. Back when this all started."

"I don't--"

"If we aren't like everyone else, it's because they're all new to this! They've never been bound to someone else before. But we have." Scar's fingers roll into an open palm pressed firmly over Grian's heart. He can feel his heart race at the sensation, and Scar's follows. "We're soulmates, Grian."

And Grian collapses. Tears which threatened his eyes spill and he shifts to wrap his arms around Scar, chests pressed together so that two synced hearts might combine. He buries his face in Scar's neck and Scar holds him.

Scar holds him.

"We're soulmates," Grian whispers to the wind and the evening stars.

And a loyal partner whispers back: "We're soulmates."

[hmiltonzee]

JEALOUSY- PABLO GAVI

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─ plot . . . ❨It's your birthday and Gavi is jealous of you with Balde❩

─ warning. . . ❨none just fluffy, cute❩

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Sun. Beach. Party.

The three things I love the most.

Celebrating my birthday has always been a furdunço, but a furdunço that I have always loved. And today would be no different, nothing better than celebrating my day in the place I love the most. Beach.

I called my friends for a review at the house I have here in Ibiza. At the moment we are boating along the wonderful beaches.

“What's up, birthday girl! How many candles will the cake have? Seventy?” Balde implies with me, it was already customary.

I have always been very welcomed by the boys of the team since my brother was hired by Barcelona. And Alejandro was what made me most comfortable, so much so that we are friends to this day.

“I think there are ninety candles, huh!” My brother gets into the game.

“Ha ha ha! How graceful you are, I'm dying of laughter” I force a smile.

“You don't have a sense of humor, boring” Balde approached me with a dirty smile.

“Alejandro doesn't even invent! I end our friendship now if you do what you're thinking!” I move away with every step he takes.

“Hey, I'm not even thinking about anything! I just want a hug from my best friend” He opens his arms with the intention of hugging me.

“I know you Alejandro, get out of my way”

“A hug of nothing, y/n! Stop treating your guests badly!” He grabs me and jumps into the water with me on his lap.

“ALEJANDRO BALDE I HATE YOU! “ I'll tell you as soon as I get back to the surface.

“Doesn't hate anything, kitty! I'm your favorite here!” He throws water at me.

“Mischievous Spanish!” I start a water war with him.

The moment we stop throwing water at each other, I go up the stairs to go back to the boat. As soon as I get back to the boat, I get a drink, sit down and watch the sea.

I feel a pair of eyes staring at me and as soon as I find them I see that they are not happy at all.

Pablo Gavi.

The player I have been dating for three and a half months, we have not yet revealed our relationship for fear of what they will find and for being "recent".

His jaw is locked and his hands hold the glass firmly that if he squeezes more he is able to break the utensil. I get closer to where he is sitting and start to start talking.

“Won't you get into the water?”

“No. I'm good right here” He answers dry.

“ Is everything okay? You seem to be angry” obviously he was, I wasn't that slow.

“I'm fine! You can go back there with your "best friend"” He makes fun of Alejandro's speech.

“Are you jealous?!” more I say than I ask; I start laughing at your face “I don't believe it!”

“I'm not jealous!” He looks at me. But it's obvious that he was, I decided to provoke.

“So there's no problem if I go back to the water with Balde, do you?”

“Go, I can't forbid you to have fun because of my jealousy” He admitted.

“So you admit to being jealous?” I provoke even more.

“I admit y/n, I admit! What the fuck, I thought it was very clear” He explodes and I laugh even more “And do you still think it's funny?”

“You don't have to be jealous, I date you and I'm all yours!” I caress your cheek.

“I know that, but they don't”

“If that's the problem, we can solve it by magic” I get closer to him and seal our lips, I feel him smile in the middle of the kiss and pull me even more to him.

“FUCK Y/N! IT REALLY KNEADS, GIRL!” Balde screams from the water, which makes me and Gavi separate from the kiss and start laughing.

“I think your brother will kill me” He says with his mouth still close to mine.

“He likes you silly, stay calm” I kiss him again.

[emerald-echeveria-plant]

((y'all loved part one so much, here's part two))

Bowser x reader AGaIn

• Bowser gets jealous very easily. He can't stand you talking to someone else. What's SO important that he can't be included in the conversation?? Are they trying to take you away from him?? Of course they are! Fools! Bowser is always a step ahead of everyone else! He attempts to burn them alive. Luckily, your friend manages to escape only with their ass on fire. Bowser later apologies to you for trying to kill your friend.

• He'd want to get married as soon as possible. Three months of dating and he thinks you're both ready to tie the knot. On one of your dates, he's made a very loud and extravagant proposal. With fireworks, sparklers, many flowers, and some of Kamek's magic to spice things up. The engagement ring is a large diamond that weighs your hand own because of how big it is. If you don't accept his engagement, Bowser will get very upset. Thinking you don't love him anymore. After telling him you're not ready for marriage, Bowser will understand. This gives him the opportunity to try to make a better proposal. It you do accept his proposal, Bowser will want the wedding the exact next day. He REALLY wants to marry you. To be able to call you his spouse. To make you the queen/king of the koopas. You wake up to a white wedding dress/suit set up at your disposal. Bowser himself is in a matching white tuxedo. Kamek officiates the wedding between the two of you. The honeymoon would be on an island. In a expensive suite with a hot tub. Bowser is all to eager to spend his first night with you, if you know what I mean ;)

• if someone's bothering/harassing you, you tell Bowser at all times. He makes sure that they regret upsetting you. As much as Bowser acts like a sweet guy because of you, he's still has that maniacal evil turtle monster apart of him. If you ask him what happened to your harasser, Bowser tells you not to worry about! And to not check the dungeon for a few days.

• makes the dumbest, corniest jokes to make you laugh. Unless it relates to dark humor. And the joked are d a r k.

• Bowser doesn't know how to cook or bake. After learning Peach makes a cake for Mario, he once tried to do the same for you. Instead of it coming out like Bowser pictured it, beautiful and delicious and such. The cake came out burnt, lumpy, and raw. He tried using Kamek's wand to fix it but it only made things worse. With the abomination of the cake becoming a monster. Bowser manages to defeat the cake monster by destroying it with his fire breath. That's the exact same time when you happen to show up. The cake monster explodes, causing a huge mess. Some cake gets on you and Bowser. The two of you clean up the place before Kamek finds out. All the while, Bowser recounts the story of what happened. You admire him for his efforts but beg him to please read the instructions next time.

• Bowser is known to get competitive during games. Kart racing, board games, and even tennis. He taunts the other teams that he'll crush them. When Bowser starts losing, he'll mean that literally. Except against you. Bowser even purposefully loses because he wants you to win. Anything to make his lover happy.

• As much as he loves to sing, he also loves to dance. Tango, freestyle, any style! Bowser loves to dance with you the most. He'll have the koopas play some classical music as the two of you dance the night away under the moonlight.

• He loves visiting the beach a lot. Mainly because he enjoys laying on the sand and sunbathing. Nothing like warning up the scales! You and Bowser build sand castles. You built one that looked similar to his own castle. He almost cried tears of joy when he saw it. Swimming is fun too! That's when Bowser isn't trying to make cannonballs or terrorizing the local cheep cheeps.

• Bowser goes to sleep very late because he either has some unfinished business to attend to or is stuck in another meeting. Bowser thinks about being curled up against you. Wishing that he could feel you instead of having to listen to Kamek or the koopas ramble about plans. It's gets frustrating at times. Once it is finally over, Bowser quickly makes his way to your shared bedroom. Depending if you sleep early, Bowser will carefully curl up against you. Making sure to not wake you up. Waking up his darling is the last thing on his mind. If you sleep late, Bowser is pleased to see you up. He tells you why he arrived later than usual. Complaining about having to be held back again. He'd the king of the koopas! Bowser shouldn't have to listen to anybody else! It's infuriating! Although, he's much happier and calmer now. Now, he can just cuddle with you in bed.

[chicgeekgirl89]

Chapter 2 is Here!

Tagging: @lemonlyman-dotcom and @kiwichaeng

T.K. stares directly into Paul’s eyes without blinking. His face is completely neutral, his body still. There’s no possible way—

“Got any eights?”

“Damn it Paul!” T.K. explodes, throwing a card down on the table that Paul sweeps up victoriously. “You have to be cheating!”

“Not cheating,” Paul says, a smug smile on his face. “Just very good at reading your tells.”

“I don’t have a tell!” T.K. gripes.

Paul places his eights on the table, spreading them out so everyone can see. “That’s what you think.”

“This game is not fun when you’re losing,” Mateo says sadly, looking at his hand, which is very full of cards.

“Marj, you got any fives?” Paul asks and she rolls her eyes as she hands them over. “Ooooh I am never doing dishes again!” he says happily.

Despite his annoyance at his teammate, there’s a spiral of happiness swirling through T.K. This feels normal. It feels good. The last year has been hell, but he finally feels like he can breathe again.

Leaving New York for Austin had sucked. In a lot of ways it still does. But he’s been going to meetings, going to therapy, and having the 126 at his back has helped a lot. The world still seems grey, but that’s an improvement over the black sucking hole his life had become after Alex rejected his proposal and sent him spiraling toward the grave. 

Oddly enough, the thing that helped the most was getting shot. That had also sucked, but the way the team had rallied around him after has helped to sharpen the edges of the fuzzy world he’s been living in. They care. They love him. They’re family.

And now he’s finally back on active duty. He’d shown up last week to his first shift and found a banner and a cake and decorations all over his locker. For a moment the world had flickered into color again, just a flash of what life could be if he was, you know, happy. It had gone away as quickly as it had come, but it had given him just a tiny bit of hope. Like maybe things could be okay again. Maybe he could be okay again. 

Paul has finally run out his turn and Marjan is trying to get Judd to give her nines that he obviously doesn’t have. T.K.’s phone buzzes in his pocket and he pulls it out, frowning at the unfamiliar number on the screen.

Random Number

[8:32pm] Hey, I had a good time the other night. Would love to hear more about that trip to Croatia sometime.

“Well that’s a face.” His dad’s voice cuts through the ribbing of the game as he joins them at the table, an espresso in hand. “What could possibly be in that text message that’s got you looking like that?”

“Some random person texted me the other day and they just did it again,” T.K. says. “Must be a wrong number.”

“You sure?” Mateo asks. “One time I thought I was getting random texts asking me on a date and I kept deleting them. Turns out it was my dentist reminding me of the date of my appointment. I missed it and they charged me like a hundred bucks.”

“Yikes probie,” Marjan says with a grimace, shuffling through her cards again.

“It’s not my dentist,” T.K. tells them.

“Just ignore ‘em,” Judd says. “No point in wasting your time wondering. Delete the text.”

“Or text back and ask who it is,” Paul says. “Could be a Nigerian prince who thinks you’re very beautiful and will give you many riches if you just send him a check for a thousand dollars first.”

“Shut up,” T.K. says with a roll of his eyes. 

“Just text them back. They should know it’s a wrong number,” Owen says.

T.K. considers this then starts typing.

T.K.

[8:34pm] Who is this?

Random Number

[8:37pm] Carlos. From the bar. We kissed, remember?

Carlos? T.K.’s mind goes completely blank. He’s not sure he’s ever met anyone named Carlos in his entire life. And he definitely hasn’t been kissing guys in bars lately. Things have been…incredibly dry in that department. Getting shot sort of sucks the libido right out of you and so far he hasn’t had the energy to try and find his dating mojo again.

He frowns and types back.

T.K.

[8:38pm] I don’t remember kissing anybody at a bar recently…

“T.K., your turn,” Judd prompts him.

“Sorry,” T.K. says, watching distractedly as three bubbles pop up on his screen and then looks hurriedly at his cards. “Marj, any aces?”

“Go fish.”

He grabs a card from the pile and adds it to his hand then glances back down at his phone. Holy hell.

Whoever this Carlos guy is, he’s sent a selfie and he’s hot as fuck. T.K.’s eyes take in dark, wild curls and a set of broad, muscled shoulders. Below that is a six pack worthy of an Oscar that tapers to a cut V along this guy’s hips, disappearing into his low slung shorts. His pecs are so defined they look photoshopped. He’s gorgeous. T.K. has never seen anyone like him.

“Whoa.”

T.K. startles when he realizes Marjan is leaning over his shoulder so she can stare at his phone. “Who is that?” she asks, nearly as awed as he is.

“The guy that’s been texting me,” T.K. says, trying to cool the blush that’s heating up his face. He’s not even sure why he’s blushing. It’s just a picture. 

“Ooh lemme see!” Mateo gets up in a flurry of cards.

“Hey! Aw hell,” Judd says, throwing his hand down, the game now ruined.

“Damn. That guy is BUILT,” Mateo says. “Text him and ask him what his workout routine is.”

“Better yet, text him back and ask him out,” Paul says, crowding in behind T.K.’s chair. 

“I’m not going to ask him out,” T.K. says, pushing the words past his throat and wishing he’d chosen somewhere more private for this. “I’ll just tell him I’m not whoever he thinks I am.”

“Are you crazy?” Marjan asks, shoving his shoulder. “Who cares if he thinks you’re someone else? That man is gorgeous. If you don’t do something about it, you’re stupid.”

“I agree,” Paul says.

“Me too!” Mateo pipes up.

“Do I get a vote?” Judd asks.

“Well apparently everybody else does, so why not?” T.K. huffs.

“I vote we get back to this game and stop gawking over some guy’s picture.”

“I believe the kids call it a ‘thirst trap’,” Owen says, joining the throng and peering down at T.K.’s phone. “It’s mean to attract potential sexual partners by increasing desire.”

“Okay thanks Dad,” T.K. says, pushing his chair back and forcing them all to scatter. “I think I’ll handle this on my own.”

They all protest as he heads to the bunk room, but he ignores them, grateful when the door closes and there’s nothing but quiet. 

He sinks down onto his bed and studies the text again, pulling the photo up and zooming in a little, his eyes drinking in perfect bronze skin and muscles. God. Whoever this Carlos thinks he’s texting is extremely lucky. T.K. reluctantly texts back.

T.K.

[8:49pm] Hey, sorry, I really have no idea who you are.

Hot Guy Carlos 

[8:50pm] This isn’t Deacon?

Deacon? T.K. snorts. What a pretentious asshole name. Then again, Tyler Kennedy isn’t exactly your standard Kyle or Chris either. But good to know Carlos is as gay as he looks.

T.K.

[8:51pm] Nope. I’m T.K.

He sends a selfie for good measure. One where he knows he looks hot. He’s wearing his AFD t-shirt and his eyes are doing that flirty sparkle thing he uses to drive men crazy. Because if Carlos is going to start texting the real Deacon instead, T.K. would at least like him to know what he’s missing. 

Three little dots pop up and second later a text comes through.

Hot Guy Carlos

[8:53pm] Oh my god. I’m so sorry.

T.K.

[8:53pm] No worries. 

And that’s the end of it. Right? Because when a random person texts you and you graciously explain that they have the wrong number, you don’t continue to text. No matter how breathtaking they are.

T.K. pulls up the photo again and his heart clenches in his chest. Everything around him seems grey, but this photo is stunning technicolor.

He saves it to his camera roll.

[thewiz9062]

Smiling Critters AU: Favorite Sweets

NOTE: THIS IS NOT RELATED TO CANON IN THE SLIGHTEST. An accurate description of this au is that I took every playtime.co poster art and promotional material from the game and lit up the rest of canon in a bonfire. Meaning that EVERY character is part of one big cartoon. Thats it. No bigger bodies project, no child souls, no experiments, just a depiction of a cartoon. PLEASE do not ask me to do anything suggestive with anyone.

Look, guys, I'm doing fluff (For now) I want to characterize my critters a little more, so here are what I think their favorite sweets would be:

Dogday: Vanilla Pancakes (With cream)

Dogday is absolutely the one to like one meal and then incorporate it into like 90% of what he eats. And he really likes breakfast, so i think his favorite sweet would probably just be a slightly fancier version of his favorite breakfast, buttermilk pancakes. He also is normally a big fan of vanilla. So add vanilla extract into the mix and boom favorite sweet.

Catnap: Brownies (Fluffy, with Light Cream)

Well, Sun and Moon dynamic, so obviously, Catnap prefers chocolate. I was thinking that because he probably prefers to save food since he has no income (au specific), so he would favor something that's made in batches, so, brownies! It's very fluffy, though. He probably hates the feeling of fudgy things.

CraftyCorn: Cake!

Now Crafty doesn't actually have a favorite sweet. She's not picky about sweets. She does like decorating, though, so she ends up getting cake more often than not. Whenever she does get a cake, if it has a design, she'll spend a few minutes looking and analyzing how the designs are made (she's so me fr fr) hope to be able to design things like that one day. (Not now cuz her parents are assholes)

Bobby: Cupcakes

I think Bobby makes these on the regular, whether for her class, her father, or her siblings. Cupcakes are her go-to, so it eventually just became her fav. Don't get her started on gourmet cupcakes. She only ever got to try them once, and all her recipes are attempting to recreate them. (with Picky's help) They don't get far because they don't have the right ingredients, but they're really good, so

Bubba: Ice Cream

Bubba will say he doesn't have a favorite sweet but he will defend ice cream like it's his mother, so we all know it's that. He's Begrudgingly picky about it as well, so that's why...

Kickin: ....

OK so it's not ACTUALLY this..... sort of. He likes normal ice cream nearly as much as Bubba, but specifically to piss him off, they'll go to a parlor and order whatever makes Bubba look like he's going to spontaneously explode. He also thinks it's pretty cool to be the only one ordering these options, and cherishes the employee's (player, in this situation) look of shock and disgust. He usually ends up mirroring that expression once he actually eats it, but it's all worth it.

Hoppy: Smoothies!

It's a win win situation for her. Smoothies are extremely versatile, and can be used for healthy purposes to keep in shape, but she also likes sweet Smoothies as well, so 😋

Picky: C A N D Y .

Guilty pleasure, for sure. Fruity, sweet, chocolatey, she's certainly not picky about candy.

And that's that! Sorry about the short ones, I still have trouble characterizing them to this day but I'm trying and I had fun making this

[hungergamesheadcanons]

Christmas In Panem

Christmas in the Capitol was loud.

Everyone met up with family and friends in the morning, exchanging presents and having a big heavy lunch to last them through to the evening. Parents with children would play with them til the evening, when they were put to bed. Other adults headed to parties in the afternoon, while parents would join the festivities later on, and they would party til the early hours of the morning.

In more elite circles, the elite would have one long party, lasting from lunch til 2am or later. If they were especially elite, you may have a Victor or two there for entertainment - Finnick Odair was always a popular choice, as we're Cashmere and Gloss, but since their schedules always blocked off Christmas Day due to their impressive popularity, you'd take what you could get depending on when you arranged the for.

This year's Christmas Party, the year before the 74th Annual Hunger Games, President Snow's get together was in full throttle. Harold Galloway, the District 1 Victor of the 73rd Games, had the honour of being this year's entertainment, the citizens around him oohing and aahing appropriately as he recalled how he slaughtered other children. President Snow was sipping from a glass of wine, a white napkin held loosely in his hands. The red stains upon it could have been from the wine, or maybe the blood he was coughing up when he thought he could get away with it.

It wasn't necessarily fun. It was expected, and Snow watched dispassionately as the Capitol roared with excitement as Avoxes brought out more refreshments.

Only a couple more hours to go.

*****

Christmas in District 1 was luxurious.

Everyone in the Districts got the day off, as the Capitol would riot if they didn't. Snow blanketed the beautiful gardens in 1, falling gently to the floor as small children laughed and played in it.

In one large house, beautifully furnished, a large spread covered a table. Meat wasn't always eaten, but Christmas demanded it, and a blonde girl sat at the table with her family, happily eating her Christmas dinner.

Glimmer watched as her mother and father playfully bickered, her mother 'aggressively' rubbing the gravy off his white shirt with a wet cloth. All 3 were dressed in their best finery, as they'd be taking photos for the Capitol cards later that day.

It was a good day. Glimmer had just been told she was to be the volunteer for next year's games, and she looked forward to next year's Christmas party, with Glimmer a Victor. Her mother had placed an order for a new dress, silver with shimmers, beautiful stitching making up most of the bodice. She was excited to wear it on her victory tour.

Only one year to go.

*****

District 2 didn't observe Christmas as closely as the Capitol did, but they still parties.

Most Christmas parties were filled with cakes and sweet treats, a rarity even for the richer people, and children would gorge on them until they felt sick. Cato watched his two younger siblings do just that, laughing as they fell to the ground, stomachs swollen from the rich food.

Their family friend, Clove, sat nearby, conversing with his mother as she ate a slice of chocolate cake. Clove didn't have a family, having been orphaned at a young age, so Cato's had practically taken her in, raising her to be every bit as ferocious as Cato himself.

He expected that they'd be the next Cashmere-Gloss duo, winning consecutive games. He was excited, so excited, to see what the future held for them.

*****

District 3's Christmas was full of light.

Everyone worked together to create a light show on drones, starting with simpler ones made by school children to incredibly intricate ones worked on through the year by people in work.

Beetee and Wiress, who had programmed the grand finale for this year's display, watched with pride as the drones in the sky created a series of fireworks, each exploding into multiple presents which opened to form a giant Santa Claus. The children oohed and aahed, before squealing in joy as the drones started circling the crowd, dropping little sweets into each child's palm.

Next year, they'd create something bigger and better.

And maybe the year after that, they'd have more people to work with.

*****

District 4 all gathered together for Christmas.

Multiple large tables were unfolded on the beach, with the older people cooking various kinds of food that ended up placed in the middle of the tables. Buffet style, which was incredibly popular in the Capitol, but originated in 4.

They'd all eat together, an incredible show of community and togetherness, raucous laughter and joyous screaming drowning out the sound of gulls. After the food was done, as the sun was setting and the tide rolled in, they'd sing together, everything from carols to shanties, and when the sun finally set and the waves lapped at their toes, they'd head inside, content with another Christmas well spent.

Finnick stumbled into his house, a massive grin splitting his face even though there were no alcohol or drugs running through his system for once. Annie stumbled behind him, still quietly humming along to We Wish You A Merry Christmas, the two falling onto a couch and hugging each other close as they sang together, interspersed with the occasional giggle. Mags laughed silently as she headed to the kitchen, making some hot chocolate as the younger two had splashed through the ocean with no shoes on, and would undoubtedly end up sick the next day.

*****

District 5's Christmas celebrations were filled with fireworks.

All different colours, red, green, blue, yellow lit up the sky. Children screamed in joy, while adults gave out fresh fruit for them to enjoy.

They all went to bed early that night, as they had to be back to work the next day.

District's 6, 7 and 8 were much the same, one Johanna Mason mused. She was in the Capitol, watching the Districts celebrations on TV. She had been reluctantly glad to see Finnick enjoying his celebrations, for once covered up and genuinely smiling as Annie hung off his arm and Mags plied the two with more food.

Even 9 wasn't too dissimilar, she sighed as she took a drink, except instead of fireworks they released lanterns, multiple colours lighting up the sky in a beautiful display. 10 and 11 shared the same tradition, except with plain white lanterns, and Johanna watched them rise into the sky, bored.

Maybe there was something else on...

*****

District 12's Christmas... well, they didn't really celebrate.

The mines were too dangerous, and even though they got the day off, there were no food handouts or communal events.

But some people did celebrate in their homes.

An eleven year old Primrose Everdeen was dancing around in her new outfit, bought for her first reaping next year. It tugged at Katniss's heartstrings, even as her mother smiled indulgently.

She hated the Hunger Games, and what everything stood for. But it was fine.

Prim was only in there once next year. And Katniss would just take more tesserae as she got older, to make sure that Prim had the smallest chance of being reaped possible.

It was the least she deserved.

[angelosearch]

here is a weird little ramble about how weird and obsessive I am about this damn videogame.

You know that quote from Laguna at the beginning of disk 2 where he is like, "Oh, please let it be this room when I wake up! Please let me be in this puny bed when I wake up!"*?

I get that feeling sometimes. When you finally feel safe and happy and loved, it's hard to believe it will stay. Sometimes it's hard to believe I even deserve for it to stay. So I start and end each day with the fear of it all disappearing, and it's hard to hang on to gratefulness when you're doing that.

Right now I have so much joy and fun and creativity in my life. I spent so many years in a deep depression that I forgot I could be excited like this. I didn't know I could still feel so strongly about things. And while I spent a lot of 2023 seeing all of my mental health treatments/work paying off, I didn't feel truly whole until I rediscovered Final Fantasy VIII in July.

And my "puny bed" is just that - being engaged with Final Fantasy VIII. I get scared that one day I will be uninterested. But I never want to be unobsessed again.

I have loved Final Fantasy VIII at least since I was about 11, but I think I loved it since the first time I watched my brothers play the demo. It has been an important part of my life - playing the game influenced all my interests going forward; making fanfiction taught me how to write; going on forums to discuss the game helped me learn how to socialize online; and honestly I could go on.

But I've gone through cycles. I was very obsessed from 11 to 13, then someone made me a cake with the Griever necklace on it for my 16th birthday (WHICH WAS SO COOL) and all I could feel was embarrassment. My interest had gone completely dormant. It reemerged at 19 with the help of my Final Fantasy XIII roommate in college and went on long enough for us to go to see a Distant Worlds concert together, but faded again when she left for Amsterdam.

The first five years of my young professional life I am not sure I had any interests at all, being so busy and detached from myself, so Final Fantasy VIII was nowhere in my vocabularly. Which meant my wedding had not a drop of FFVIII in it. Even though my husband suggested it. Even though we learned how to dance for it, and could have done the waltz for the moon.

Strangely enough, about two days before the remaster dropped, I was inspired to look up FFVIII for some unknown reason. It was as if I felt the new opportunity to play in the force and when I found out a remaster was coming out, I absolutely had to play it.

And I did. And I enjoyed it. But that was when I started to fall down a dark spiral. The love was very quickly strangled.

When I was at my very worst, I kid you not, I could not even bring myself to think of FFVIII. I very clearly remember one December night in 2020 I spent manic in a psych ward, scared and uncomfortable and unable to fall asleep. I tried to focus on fanfiction ideas so I could maybe be relaxed enough to doze, instead of spending hours in the darkness wondering if my meds would ever work, if my heart was going to explode, if I would ever be "normal" again, while people opened my door at random intervals to shine a flashlight on my face. I tried to conjure Squall's face, or quotes from the game, and it all collapsed into nothingness.

And that was how it was. From then until mid-2023, FFVIII was shut away from me by the tomb of my own illness.

Then, I think it was March or April, my therapist and I were talking about ways to tackle my insomnia that didn't involve additional medication. It came up that I used to make "fake bedtime scenarios" about characters in this videogame I liked and that would not only help me fall asleep, but make me excited to go to bed.

"Why don't you play the game again?" She asked. I know I said "I can't" but I don't remember why. But it was enough to plant a seed (SeeD?).

As the spring continued, I started listening to the music from Final Fantasy VIII. Then I started going on the Reddit. I found this "State of the Arc" podcast that reviewed FFVIII. I listened to it on a roadtrip and, while I enjoyed it, I also found myself yelling at the dashboard because I disagreed with the hosts about something.

When I reached my destination, I found I could not fall asleep. I turned over a lot of things in my brain. I thought about Squall being a high-functioning depressed person with a lot of repressed feelings, like I once was. And how as your brain develops and you have issues like that, especially with CPTSD, it sometimes doesn't matter if your life is good now - the pain demands to be felt and the body remembers what you thought you forgot. And then I wondered, what if he was happy and with Rinoa after FFVIII but had a massive mental breakdown in his late 20s? And so, for the first time in three years, I could think about Final Fantasy VIII to fall asleep again.

After that, I was hooked again, and in a big way. I played the game again and found Reddit wasn't enough anymore. I may be even more obsessed with the game now than I ever was. So I joined Tumblr, and I guess you guys know the rest.

Since bringing this amazing videogame back into my life, I've been happier, more easy-going, and just... able to sit with myself. It makes me want to write, and draw, and sing, and play card games. I find that when my anxiety gets the best of me, I can shift to thinking about Final Fantasy VIII as a way of thought-stopping. And then I've met some amazing people on here that are so interesting and talented and supportive. I literally look forward to coming on Tumblr.

Today I was out and about a lot because I am with my in-laws and I am sort of on vacation. Because of that, I wasn't on Tumblr all day, and, more significantly, I didn't think/talk about Final Fantasy VIII. I mean, it wasn't completely absent from my day as I wore my "Compression of Time" tanktop and Squaket... but irrationally I feared I was somehow "not doing enough FFVIII" today.

And that is silly, of course. And I think in the big picture I am most afraid of being that disconnected and lost again. I could probably find joy in another fandom... maybe.

I just want to keep waking up here, in this cozy place that makes me feel connected and at home.

*btw in google this quote I found out Laguna is a brand of bed frame???

[crepes-suzette-373]

Whole Cake Island comments

I'm late to this party, so what I'm posting here is probably old news to everyone, I just want to unload my thoughts.

I've read enough creator interviews to know that sometimes manga artists do things just for the heck of it with no deeper reasons. That's why I often hesitate to read too deeply into the scenes, but it's still there anyway, so I just want to react/ramble.

1) This arc repeatedly says that Sanji's brothers are supposed to be emotionless/heartless. Somehow despite that, they still burst into heart eyes when they see Nami. All of them!

If they're heartless, but they still do this, then what does it feel like for Sanji who isn't "heartless"?

It's to the point that Chopper goes "Are you sure you're not Sanji" at Yonji, and Yonji can't stop ogling at Nami's wanted poster. And they all say they want to take Nami home once the stupid wedding is over with.

Like, those 3 can normally kill people and clobber that poor helpless maid without even twitching a single curly brow, but Nami can still make them explode into heart eyes...

Maybe this is just a joke to laugh at, like "hahaha the quadruplets all have the same taste". Or maybe this was meant to show that deep down the other Vinsmokes aren't that heartless after all. Still...

2) I find it kind of strange that Sanji's injuries under the "skin mask" is drawn to look like the "joke" swollen face Luffy often gets when Nami beats him up for being dumb:

I mean, this scene with Pudding and the scene before that, when Sanji just got clobbered, I'm assuming they're both supposed to show his vulnerability. Then why make it look like the silly swollen faces that are usually meant for laughs and gags?

Compare that to the much more serious injured face Luffy has when Sanji beat him up, or way way back in the Skypiea arc when Sanji faced off Eneru.

If the in-plot intention is just to have him Sanji look so severely beat up that he needs a mask to hide it, why not draw him with the "serious" injured face?

My conspiracy thought was that sensei did that on purpose to make the scene with Pudding look either weird or awkward so that we can't take it seriously.

Like, now that it's all over we know it was a big nothing, but maybe during its initial run this specific art choice was a hint? Especially because later when Pudding revealed the trickery, she made fun of it. Something that probably can't be done with a more serious injured face.

3) Nami gave up so easily because...? She's someone who had literally done the exact same thing in almost the exact same way back in Arlong Park. She has also experienced being on the rescuer side with Robin, where they all eventually find out that there's something suspicious going on.

But somehow this time she took Sanji completely at face value and backed off in a very emotional way. Does it not even occur to her that something might be fishy again? And it's Luffy who saw through the nonsense and is completely not buying it.

Luffy, who is so clueless that he was dead-shocked to find his dad is Dragon, even though Garp already flat out told him so.

I mean, maybe because of the manga's tight schedule, sensei had to run this quickly to heighten the drama/stakes. Maybe there isn't a long plot game being played, and I guess I have a hyperactive imagination, but with a certain slant it can look like Nami gave up because she got heartbroken/jealous of the wedding.

When the group split up and the Sanji Rescue group was leaving from Zou, Zoro and Usopp said this:

They're all still there, the whole group heard it.

Oh no, maybe Sanji is on board with it. And then they actually meet Pudding:

Oh no, she's cute and he did go heart eyes at her. They then find Sanji, but he acts like this:

Oh no, maybe he does want to do the wedding for real after all.

Nami's reaction is such a classic "misunderstanding drama" reaction in romance novels.

4) Generally speaking, I feel like the wedding sham feels like something straight out of romance novels.

The leading lady gets closer to the leading man, then out of nowhere he turns out to be secretly a Very Important Person. His horrible family show up to threaten the leading lady, and he saved her at the cost of himself. Dramatic roller coaster and misunderstandings ensue, often including arranged engagements and/or almost-weddings.

This plotline really hurts my heart (poor baby Sanji), but at the same time I'm so baffled at how it all unfolds, because parts of it honestly kind of reminds me of telenovelas that my mum used to like to watch. Pretty sure I've even seen a couple permutations of this plot with vampires and whatnot during the supernatural romance craze in the Twilight era.

[an-au-blog]

One more ask about the East Blue Asylum AU! I saw you mentioned Germa 66 and that was something I thought about a lot as well! Whole Cake Island is my favorite arc, so please do talk about those Vinsmokes we all love and hate ^u^

Okay, well in my mind the Sora Warrior Of The Sea are fiction. They're like Batman or Superman but ig maybe more of a magical girl version of the power rangers???

I wanna say that WCI has to be one of my fav arcs as well I live it to bits! And that's one of the reasons I honestly don't know how to do it lol

I have a little post in my drafts about Zou but WCI I haven't really made up my mind. The two posts are kinda intertwined so I'll tey to post it right after this answer.

I did try to shower-think it and I came up with a few ideas but idk if I like them enough':)

At some point, Judge had started getting bad press for having a son he abandoned and is now in a mental hospital. He didn't know how the word got out, but it did and he decided that he'd get him out and treat him in some private place but it was very obvious that he didn't want to go and since he was a legal adult, he could decide for himself. (Even if he wanted to leave, the doctors were the only ones who could dismiss him after he signed himself in.)

About his brothers - They look a lot like the heroes from the Germa comics and act just as uptight and heartless as them. Subconsciously, Luffy must have mistaken them for "The Warriors Of The Sea". But in reality they're just brats who used to bully their brother - mean little kids who grew up to be even worse adults. Sanji's sister, however, I imagine has visited before, only this time she wasn't dressed like she was in hiding. The Vinsmoke family (in my head) is a bit like the Rockefellers - everyone knows who they are and it's hard to drop their name in a casual conversation and not get some kind of reaction.

In regards to his past - Sanji still got abused and beaten up by both his father and brothers. But instead of being a failed experiment, he was just a nice little boy who didn't like sports and competing in things, he just liked stereotypically girly things like butterflies flowers, cooking, and pretty things. His father didn't like that, as he believed that all his dons should be manly men who won chess tournaments, so soccer games, basketball matches or martial arts competitions. If they weren't the strongest, smartest, most handsome men in their circle, then they were no sons of his. And Sanji didn't meet that criteria. He didn't care for sports or competing, he just wanted to have fun and to have friends. Don't get me wrong, he was still smart. But wanting to be a cook is not exactly a good look if all of your family is just CEOs and multimillionaire company holders. Or at least in Judge's eyes. So when Sanji ran away at 12 (I'm making him older to make it more realistic), Judge just closed his eyes and reported him missing in the wrong region so he couldn't be found and so the investigation could declare him dead after the appropriate amount of years.

The golden bracelets were real, but they weren't exploding, Judge just used them to yank Sanji when he got mad at him and threaten him. "I'll cut them off till wherever they reach!" he'd say, so Sanji would wish to be skinnier so if they slip off, then maybe he wouldn't cut his hands off? That was his child logic at least. That's how his questionable relationship with food started, but later on he'd just starve himself to feel like he still has control over something in his life. Anything. That or as a punishment to himself, more than often he wouldn't believe he deserved food or he'd think that there are people with bigger needs than him. So he'd lose appetite and maybe feel sick enough to throw up. (Him having bulimia is one of the many reasons why hates himself and thinks he doesn't deserve food, because why eat if he'd just throw it up?(Zoro hates that he thinks that way btw and he tries feeding him every once in a while because he'd notice that Sanji could scarcely say no to him. Plus he likes taking care of him))

[twiixr4kidz]

IM SO HAPPY FOR YOU THAT YOUR MOTIVATED!!! I had an another idea, for DJ with a reader who plays softball. Maybe a situation on the island where the reader hits something (be it for protection or part of the challenge, blah blah) out of the ballpark (pun intended) or it could be just general headcanons! Idrc about the format. thank you :) -👻

YES this is such a fun idea omg!!

dj x softball player!reader

sigh.

another day, another challenge for yours truly, chris mclean. he'd been on some kind of kick where it was consistently challenges involving sports and outdoor games. and today was no different.

except this time, you were confident you were going to win.

when chris had called for everyone, he said something about a game involving sticks and balls. and oh boy, if you weren't paying attention before, you definitely were now. you were the first person to arrive, followed by dj (of course), and then everyone else sort of just trickled in. dj had taken mental note of the fact that 1, you were there first and 2, you looked INCREDIBLY excited.

chris announced that today's challenge would be baseball. except, with fruit. like fruit ninja with no slicing. it was simple. the two teams would take turns batting and standing in the field. instead of hitting home runs, you'd have three chances to hit some random fruit so hard it exploded.

things were going to get... messy. and you were absolutely SIKED about it.

as soon as chris was done talking, dj, who'd been standing next to you since he got here, asked why all the excitement.

"okay so," you started, surprised you'd forgotten to tell him in the first place. "i've been playing softball for so long and it's like, my favorite sport ever so yknow!!"

dj, who is literally the most supportive partner ever, was happy for you. the two of you had the same train of thought in that you were going to win the challenge for your team without a doubt.

now, dj didn't doubt that you were talented in your trade. He didn't doubt that at all. but when it came time for the actual challenge itself? he didn't expect it at all.

every time you were up to bat, you annihilated every fruit with one sharp hit. when you were in the field, literally nobody could get passed you. you were absolutely KILLING it. and the other team was NOT happy.

both because they were covered in fruit remains and because they had a minimum of 1 point while your team had like, 12. but what really took the cake was the fact that, while you were distracted, heather thought it would be funny to throw a rock at you out of rage.

typical heather, you know how it is.

and so she did.

and the bat which you'd been gently gripping in your hands was suddenly swinging in front of you. without a second thought to it, you hit the rock so hard it went flying. it was out of the woods, out of the island, probably sinking to the bottom of the ocean as you spoke.

and dj went from impressed to "HOLY SHIT DID YOU SEE THAT OH MY GOD THAT WAS SO COOL". he was raving to everybody about it, and he was lowkey bragging about it to the other team. it was just so cool he wouldn't shut up about it.

[flowercitti]

Forrr the character headcanon thing

Knives for 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 + 12 (Vash for both), 13, 14 relieved

(I'm so sorry)

1. A fun headcanon

I think Knives would be an avid bookworm. Like, if he ever learned how to Sit and Chill, he would just devour book after book. Definitely read a lot on the SEEDS ship back in the day. Just sat down quietly and read and maybe he’d learn peace for a bit.

2. A sad headcanon

This is essentially canon, but he just lets Everything Fester. If he’s overwhelmed and overstimulated he shuts down and keeps everything locked inside until he’s pushed into Nuclear Fallout proportions of exploding. He’ll take it out on others, himself, it doesn’t matter. If there were ever a world where Vash and him were capable of getting along again, he’d break down in his arms for hours, releasing over 100 years of pent up agony into his brother’s arms.

6. A headcanon about their family

This is essentially canon as well, but Knives still loves Vash. He might not show it in a healthy or good way, but he does. He wants a world where he can have a family, where plants are no longer resources to be used. He’s certainly deluding himself into thinking he’s helping them, but to him he is. He’s caring for them in the way he thinks he has to so he can have a family and a world where humans don’t infringe upon that. (And at one point, Rem was a part of that family too.)

7. A pre-canon headcanon

Knives is very sensitive to any kind of stimulation. As a child, he likes the quiet. He likes gentle fabrics and food that isn’t too flavorful. He can get overwhelmed easily, so he’s careful in limiting himself to the little things that he can handle at a time. He’s also very organized and meticulous, and would hate to feel like his methods are being ruined or changed. This still applies to adult Knives, but this is easier to adhere to as a child when it’s just him, his brother, and Rem.

8. A post-canon headcanon

Still in the process of re-reading the manga, but in a perfect world where it’s even possible for Knives and Vash to reconcile and they both live, they settle down somewhere by themselves. Somewhere quiet and secluded where they can work out all their Shit. Vash tries to teach Knives how to be a little more normal, and Knives learns what it’s like to feel like he’s living again instead of festering in his own hatred and anger and fear. It’s a slow process, but plants live a long time. They’ll get through it.

9. A missing scene that definitely happened

Not exactly sure if this is a missing scene really but considering how little we got of Vash and Knives’ childhood well—Vash and Knives 100% had to have gotten up to more shenanigans on the SEEDS ship. They didn’t have too much to do, after all. I imagine them baking cakes together, discovering Vash’s sweet tooth. (Knives’s as well, but he doesn’t like to admit it outright). Or watching old movies together and acting them out with each other, getting Rem to join in on their games. You know, normal kid stuff that they deserved to do.

11. Something [Vash] believes about them that isn’t true.

Vash thinks that Knives doesn’t love him anymore. That he hasn’t in a very long time. That isn’t true at all, but Knives certainly isn’t any good at acting like it’s not.

12. Something they believe about [Vash] that isn’t true.

Knives thinks that Vash is blinded by his own ideals to the point where he thinks that humans are perfect. This isn’t true. Vash knows that they’re flawed, that they make mistakes and do wrong, he just forgives them anyway. Knives doesn’t get that, even when Vash spells it out for him.

13. Their happiest memory

There’s a lot about Knives’s past that seems almost blotted out to him. Like he doesn’t allow himself to remember much of it. But if he were to ever tell the truth, his happiest memory is the first time that Rem celebrated their birthday with them. That day that marked their first year, when he remembered what it was like to be happy. When he still thought humans could accept them, when he still thought Rem actually loved him.

14. Their worst memory

Finding Tessla is certainly his worst memory. The day he realized that he’d never be accepted by humans in the way he wanted, and he knew that he needed to hurt them before they hurt him and Vash. Before they hurt any of his other siblings.