#hopefully i can keep this burst of creative energy going so i can post chapter 4 next week!

[hyuuukais]

ok 2k words let's goooooo

what if i finished chapter three tonight HMMMM........ thoughts are being thunk!

[rockybloo]

For anyone who wonders why I don't have a set in stone update schedule or where an update is for my webcomics, here's a quick post for reasons why.

I work on comic pages when I have the energy and the desire to. This keeps me from burning out and just straight up dropping a story because I am too strained to work on it anymore. Working like this is basically the only way Beanstalked survived high school and college and winded up getting a reboot instead of just being cancelled all together because I still love the story 16 year old me came up with.

The above reasoning is also how I manage to spit out multiple pages an update because I tend to have more energy to go all out on a page. Waiting until the creative juices hit is how I make things look pretty. It's also the only way I can pull off fully colored illustrations.

I have a life outside of the internet. Which means that everything you guys see are things I manage to squeeze out during the little bursts of free time I got when I am not working my full time job or napping because I am tired from said job.

I USED to do a week by week update schedule. It was back when I only had school to worry about so I didn't suffer as much as I potentially could have but I still remember the stress I'd get wacked with when I'd be minding my business only to remember I hadn't started a page for the week. I would literally have to take a entire month break between chapters and I'd always enjoy those months way more than the months I had to work on pages because of how I had more freedom and fun with my art when I wasn't forcing myself to do it. These days I feel much happier and even excited when I work on a page because I genuinely want to instead of having a looming weekly deadline.

A straight forward and blunt answer to leave things with is that I work on webcomics as a hobby and for fun. I am not being paid for Beanstalked or Glitter and Guilt. They are stories born from something I enjoy doing and plan to continue doing for as long as my hand functions. And like many others with a hobby, some days I just don't do it because I don't have that focus to touch a page. Some days I do. This is echoing back to my first point but you guys get the point.

Every one over the years have been really understanding about my update schedules, I imagine because I constantly share and draw things about my OCs so it helps during the down times, but every blue moon I'll get someone wondering why I don't do weekly updates.

SO HOPEFULLY this is enough for some of the new people who are wondering why my updating is all over the place.

[starship-squidlet]

Kurta’s Moving Castle: Chapter 4

Chapter Summary: Leorio and Gon work on cleaning up the castle. Leorio gets more of a glimpse into Killua's abilities, and finds out more about his and Kurapika's contract.

Word Count: 2,049

Disclaimer: Kurta’s Moving Castle Preface

A/N: Reading the original A/N on this one was like a slap in the face 😂 remember when we thought quarantine would only be two weeks? Then a few months??? And now it’s been almost a year????? Also, I don’t think I finished any of the stories I was talking about here but I did write lots of others so that has to count for something, right?

Original A/N: Hey, all! So sorry for the long time between updates!!! I had been in "writing mode" for a few months or so, and then Christmas happened... Meaning that from early/mid October until early/mid January, I was busy building, running, and striking the Christmas show at work. I was doing six 12+ hours a day at work, and had no time or energy to write, and even after that ended, January was still busy with touring shows and other events, and I still lacked the energy and, even more importantly, the motivation to write. But! I'm currently laid off until at least May 16th (probably longer, realistically), so I'm trying to push myself to write more, and for more fandoms. I'm pretty sure it's been like a year and a half, if not longer, since I updated some of my fics ^^; so, one of my Quarantine goals is to finish a few in-progress stories, and get lots of stuff posted!!! Hopefully my creative run lasts a while, because I have lots of stuff I want to write and share!!!

Previous chapter: Chapter Three

Next chapter: Chapter Five

Somehow, saying 'we have a lot of work to do today' turned out to be an understatement. Leorio and Gon started by sorting through the piles of junk heaped around the main room. Gon told him what was okay to be thrown out, what needed to be kept, and what really should be in one of the other rooms upstairs. Unsurprisingly, most of the debris turned out to be garbage.

When the real trash had been sorted from the slightly-less-trash, Leorio set about finding homes for everything. He left Gon at the sink with the towering stacks of dirty dishes and an ample supply of soap, and started organizing the books, journals, trinkets, magical charms (according to Gon), spell and potion components (also according to Gon), and food first into piles and then onto shelves and into cabinets and drawers.

Once that was done, they moved on to actual cleaning. They dusted, swept, mopped, and wiped every surface in the room. They also built up a pile of laundry, between dirty rags, curtains, blankets, and other assorted fabrics that they found as they worked. This pile formed in the corner near the door, growing as all the other piles receded.

While they cleaned, Leorio intentionally let the fire die down. Killua was extremely unhappy with this turn of events, and made sure to voice his displeasure.

"Old man!" he squawked, down to a small flicker of blue and white, eyes flashing with fury. "Old man! I'm going out over here! Don't you dare let me burn out!!!"

Leorio sighed and went to the hearth. "Don't worry; you'll be fine," grumbled, using a pair of tongs to scoop what was left of Killua, plus the final log, up and out of the fireplace, depositing him in a nearby bucket. He noticed something heavy, just barely contained by Killua's fire, hanging below the log, but didn't pay much attention to it. He is a demon, after all.

Killua was irate. "Hey! Put me back, you crazy old man. Kurapika! A crazy man with tongs just took me out of the fireplace! Help! Kurapika! Gon!"

Leorio ignored the fire demon and started to scrape the heaps of ashes out of the fireplace. He bundled them up in an old blanket, tied the whole thing together at the top, and took it outside to pile with the rest of the garbage.

When Leorio returned, he found Kurapika holding what was left of Killua in his cupped hands. He blew into the flame, tossed a few logs into the fireplace, and deposited Killua on top of the fresh wood. Without a word, he turned towards the door.

Kurapika looked fresh and clean, and was dressed in new clothes. He'd even cut his hair; instead of the tangled, overgrown fringe Leorio had seen before, there was now an even row of short bangs, just long enough to brush against his eyebrows. He tucked his hair behind his ear, a dangling ruby earring catching the light, and offered a bright smile to Leorio and Gon. "Well, I'm off. I have some business to take care of. Leorio, remember—don't get too carried away with your cleaning!" He turned the knob on the door to the color black and whooshed out with a gust of wind. The door slammed shut behind him, and the dial clicked back over to red.

When Leorio turned back to Gon, he saw the sad look on the boy's face before he wiped it away.

"Hey, old man!" Killua roared from the hearth, full of vigor now that he was licking at several dry logs. "You better watch out! If I die, I take Kurapika with me!"

Leorio winced. "I didn't know that."

"Yeah well, there's a lot of things you don't know about us, grandpa," Killua's face narrowed into a scowl and he settled himself on top of the logs.

Leorio glanced down at a tug on his pant leg. Gon was staring up at him, amber eyes wide and earnest. "It looks really great in here, Leorio! I don't think I've ever seen the castle this clean!"

Leorio grinned proudly. "Thank you, Gon." He rested his hands on his hips, not even realizing that he had been able to almost completely straighten his spine. "You know, seeing how great this place looks has given me a fresh burst of energy! Let's get started on the upstairs!"

Gon ran ahead of him and barred the stairs bravely. "You can't go up there!"

Leorio arched a fluffy grey eyebrow and leaned in close, grinning wickedly. "If there's anything you don't want thrown out, better hide it now."

Gon groaned and hopped from foot to foot, looking back and forth between Leorio and the top of the stairs. "Ugh, fine! Just… do my room last!" He spun and bolted up the stairs, nearly tripping in his haste.

Leorio laughed and fetched the broom, mop, and a bucket of fresh water before following Gon up. The upper story was no cleaner than the room downstairs. Cobwebs and dust clung to the walls so thickly that Leorio wasn't sure what color they were even intended to be, literal piles of dirt and bits of litter lined the baseboards, and discarded shoes, clothing, books, and even the odd toy—where in the world did those come from?—were scattered among the other debris. It was also extremely stuff upstairs, so Leorio headed for a door that looked like it led outside, rather than to another room.

It took some doing to wrench the door open, but, once he did, Leorio was presented with the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen. The scenery flew past them, a whirl of reds and oranges and browns and yellows, and even the odd pink and green, as they trundled along past a huge, sprawling forest. The grass under the castle's feet was still green, but going brown at the tips as the autumn weather grew colder. Above them, the sky was a rich and deep blue, broken only by a few cottony wisps of pure white clouds. Off in the distance, in the same direction the castle seemed to be heading, was a large blue lake, sparkling brilliantly in the sunlight, reflecting the color of the sky almost perfectly.

Leorio ducked back inside. "Hey, Killua! You're the one moving the castle, right?"

"Who else do you think would be doing it?" the fire demon roared back.

"Well, it's amazing! Keep up the good work!"

Unseen by his companions, Killua blushed proudly, his blue and white flames turning beautiful shades of purple and pink. "He thinks I'm amazing!" the fire was literally glowing, far brighter than before, as he began to lick upwards, encouraging the castle to move faster and more steadily.

Upstairs, Leorio leaned against the balcony railing, taking in the gorgeous scenery. A little while later, Gon joined him, cobwebs in his dark hair and dust on his clothes.

"Gon, do you know where we are?"

"Sure! The forest is the edge of the Visca Forest Preserve, which is a protected wildlife and biological area. That lake is part of the Milsy Wetlands."

"I don't think I've ever seen anything so gorgeous," Leorio breathed.

They were interrupted from their reverie by a shriek and a loud squawk, followed by a flurry of white feathers and a thud.

You've gotta be fucking with me.

Leorio glared at the giant bird, which had leapt deftly from the ground, across several points on the castle's side, and finally landed gracefully on the balcony beside them. Gon yelped and ducked behind Leorio. "What's that!?"

Leorio sighed. "She's been following me around since I was in the Wastes. I'd've thought she found something better to do after I left, but apparently not."

Gon quickly overcame his fear and stepped forward, offering his hand out to the bird, who immediately began to pack at it. He laughed. "Can we keep her?"

Leorio arched an eyebrow. "You forget: I'm not in charge around here. Take it up with Kurapika, when he gets back." He sighed as the bird gave him an alarmingly mournful look. "I guess that until he gets back, she can hang around. But not inside! I just cleaned, I don't want her tracking anything on the floors."

"Yay!" Gon cheered. "Hey, you need a name! I'm going to call you Chickey, okay? Nice to meet you Chickey; I'm Gon!"

.*.*.*.*.*.

Killua settled the castle near the lake that Leorio and Gon had spotted earlier, overlooking it and some mountains off in the distance. Once they were settled, Leorio and Gon got to work washing the laundry that had piled up while they cleaned, scrubbing it in the crystal clear water of the lake before hanging it on lines to dry—lines which Chickey was all too happy to stretch out, gripping one end on her beak while the other remained attached to the castle and running around with reckless abandon. They sat down to a late lunch on the bank of the lake, watching the sun as it began to brush against the mountain peaks. Silence fell between them as they listened to birdsong in the distance and the waves lapping against the shore. Leorio felt himself begin to nod off.

"Hey, Leorio?" Gon said finally.

"What is it, Gon?"

"Are you… are you going to stay with us for a while?"

Leorio stared out at the sunset. "You know, I think I just might."

.*.*.*.*.*.

Late that night, after Leorio had made himself as comfortable as possible on a short couch tucked into an alcove in the kitchen, the knob of the door slowly clicked over to the black section of the dial on the wall. In the silence of the night, the door opened almost without a sound, and a great beast stepped into the castle. Its steps were solid, but made little sound. Black fur fluttered weightlessly around its body. Red eyes glowed from its face. It passed through the room without a sound, then finally settled in the same chair Leorio had occupied the night before, propping its feet up on the hearth.

"Welcome back," Killua flickered gently. "You look awful."

Oh-so-slowly, the creature began to transform. The black fur retreated, slowly changing into dirty white, blue, and gold clothes. The hair on the head grew and turned golden. His face and clothes were streaked with dirt and soot. "We won't have to worry about the Spiders for a few days, at least."

"Hm," Killua reached out to grab a log from a pile on the edge of the hearth. "Check it out! Leorio put these here for me."

"Killua," Kurapika said softly. "The Spiders will find us before too much longer."

"Yeah, well, you're going too far with your whole 'vengeance and retribution' thing," Killua snapped. "You'll get yourself killed long before they find us. And where will that leave the rest of us? I'll be dead too, in case you'd forgotten our terms. Gon will be all alone when that happens. And what about Leorio? You said he could stay; that means he's under my protection, whether I like him or not. If we die, what happens to him? You know, the Head Spider put a curse on him. If we die, do you really think Chrollo will just let him go?"

Kurapika sighed and sat up. "Heat up some water, will you? I need a bath." He opened his eyes, revealing red irises that slowly shifted back to blue as he stood and turned for the stairs. He paused to peer into the alcove where Leorio was sleeping. A slight smile played over his lips at the sight of a tall, gangly man crammed onto a far too small sofa, all arms and legs and looking considerably taller and younger than he had that morning. Kurapika let the curtain fall back into place and went to the stairs. "Killua, don't worry," he said softly, foot on the bottom step. "I'll release you from your contract before I die. Just promise me that you'll get the two of them somewhere safe before you go."

"Yeah, yeah," Killua grumbled. "Although I'd really just rather you didn't die in the first place."

Kurapika gave him a small, sad smile. "Some things are inevitable, Killua."

[caroline18mars]

A Man On Fire - Chapter 44

“Don't ever do this to me again, because I don't know if I would survive” was the last thing she heard him whisper before sleep finally overpowered her, he just heard her sigh the cutest sigh in reply and then seconds later her deep, soft breathing, hopefully that hangover wasn't gonna be too painful in the morning. His eyes became heavy too, finally he could give in to this motherfucker of a jetlag that had been stalking him all evening, his adrenalin constantly pumping through his veins for hours had worn him out completely, she was safe, so was he, he had more than he could've asked for with her head resting on his chest and her body firmly glued to his, his eyes obeyed his mind and fell shut, let go, give in..the moon threw its' mysterious veil over their exhausted bodies at the closing of this weird, dramatic day. Come on, woman, pick up, where the hell are you? Surely that prick must have left hours ago, knowing you, he's probably being carried onto a plane, crippled or kicked black and blue because you're the wildest cat I know. “..'llo?”, what? it was fuckin' 7AM and that nitwit answered her phone with a sleepy voice? Fuckfuckfuck! “Jared?..hey! uhm, I was just checking up on Harper, is she ok? I was so worried about  her when you carried her out of the club..” his voice like honeygold syrup while he kicked the wall in frustration. “Sean..just a second” Jared reluctantly pulled his arm from under her but stopped when she started to stir, nonono don't move, only when she was completely still again, he whispered in the phone “Sean, I can't talk right now..she's ok..really..she's sleeping now and I don't want to wake her, I 'll call you later, ok?”. Sean heard the dry click in his ears, what the actual fuck? Oh she's sleeping, blablabla, she's probably exhausted from the hard fucking you gave her, bweeghh, his stomach squeezed uncomfortably together, she was his and he would get her..eventually..one lost battle wouldn't make him lose the war. “Who..phone..what time is it?..owww” Coco put her hands on top of her head and closed her eyes in pain “owww, my head..”, Jared groaned a little, she was awake, that stupid fucker had woken her, “it was Sean..checking up on you..here..” he turned to the nightstand and picked up the glass of water and a tablet. “I thought you might feel like you do this morning, so here, take that and go back to sleep” he handed her some paracetamol and the glass. She pushed the medicine between her lips and quickly swallowed it before she put her head back down on the pillow, “better already” she smiled carefully up at Jared, “good, I'm glad” he slowly twirled a strand of hair between his fingers and let his lips caress her aching forehead. “Will you just..?” her hand reached for his head and pushed it back down on the pillow as well, stop that Leto “thanks, I was getting a bit dizzy”, he shuffled his pillow a little closer until it bumped against hers, “you're..breathtaking” there was such an honesty in his eyes that she almost believed him. “Calm down, Leto, flattery is not gonna get you anywhere..that's not what it's gonna take, that is not what I need” she whispered “I don't need to hear all that beauty bullshit..that would be selling me short, like all I am is a pretty face to you, nothing more..I mean, think about it, just because you're very easy on the eye, doesn't make you any less of a bastard”.

Ok, time to face the music “true..” he squinted his eyes a little, indicating to her that her words made impact “I just can't take back what I said, can I? It was stupid and totally uncalled for, I wish you would believe me..when you put that knife into that painting yesterday, I felt it physically..I know that sounds ridiculous but I think you're the most talented person I've ever met”. Yeah sure, whatever, she rolled her eyes “the most talented person with absolutely no career.. pathetic? Was that the word you used to describe me?” she huffed but he stopped her from rolling over on her back again. “Don't, Harper..come on, you seem to forget that your paintings was what drew me to you, I didn't even know what you looked like and I couldn't care less, I was just so blown away by your work that I just needed to get in touch with you and buy something, which I never received by the way..” he smiled. She shot up and jumped from the bed, rummaging through some paintings and then returned to the bed “here, all yours” she pushed the painting in his hands “nobody else wants them”. He took the painting and shook his head “they just haven't seen it yet, hang on” he put the painting on the nightstand and took a picture, fidgeting around on his phone immediately after, “what are you doing?” she frowned, “I'm showing it to the world” he grinned as he pushed down on the screen “there! On instagram, facebook, and Twitter” he showed the picture to her, “what? But..I don't want..” she stammered, “too late, I'm not deleting it, it's high time the world sees what a talented painter you are..oh look, the first likes are flooding in..soon you'll be the most famous one of us two”. Harper snatched the phone out of his hands, oh god, he was right, that heart thingy popped up every 2 seconds “what the..?” she breathed as he pulled her between his legs, her back resting against his chest “your career is about to skyrocket, that's what” he kissed the side of her head. “How do I know they're doing it for my work and not because you put something on social media?” she didn't understand much of how social media worked, so far she had managed to stay far away from it after all the horror stories about stalking and screenzombies she had heard, artificial friendships, artificial lifestyles, filters, and all that crap. “Well, you can never be a 100% sure I guess, but it's all about the tags right? #artist #painter #art #HarperCocoRobianoDarby “loveofmylife #talentedasfuck #artsavestheworld #girlfriend #love #lover #mywoman” he rattled with a huge smile “look at all those comments! 'wow Jared, she's so talented', 'it's breathtaking, can we see some more work?', 'is it for sale?', 'I have a galery and want to exhibit her work, where can I contact her?”. Dumbfounded she stared at all the messages on the screen as he slowly scrolled through them “I guess you have your answer right there, it's all about you, not about me, you kept your work hidden for far too long” he pushed a kiss in her hair, “huh? You posted it only a couple of minutes ago..so this is social media..it's scary” she stammered while her eyes whizzed over the screen. “No, it's not, it can be fantastic, like right now..in just a few clicks you're famous, people keep asking to see more of your work, look..you keep saying that I'm only trying to flatter you, but this is proof that it's not flattery but the truth, if others are seeing and saying it too”. He felt her go to jelly in his arms while she just stared and stared, “you were right..and your parents are wrong, they always were..wrong not to see and support all that amazing talent their daughter has, wrong because they are too blind and jealous of their own child”.

Harper finally took her eyes off the screen and turned to look at him over her shoulder “and you? What about you?” she whispered, “Me? I was wrong to say all I said about your career, I still don't know why I said it, it must be to do with jealousy as well..jealous because you're gonna have a bigger and better career than I have or could ever have and you did it all with your own talent, which is something I can't always say about myself” his hand caressed her cheek, pushing a kiss on the tip of her nose. What he said about her parents made her pulse race “I want to believe you..I really do, but jealous? My parents? Of me? Why would they be? They're rich diplomats, and their kids need to follow in their footsteps and be all perfect and conservative, not throw some paint around and..”, he immediately stopped her “exactly..but they have no power or control over you, they've probably never had..and that's something they can't stand..I know, because I talked to them after you had left..I called your Dad and..well, I gave them my honest opinion on whose fault it was that there's such bad blood between the two of you”. Harper's eyes grew wide as saucers, had he really done that or was he just saying that to get back into her good books? It wasn't exactly like she could call or contact them and check! “oh..and what did he say?” she raised her eyebrows, “well..ok so I should probably say that I lost my patience and basically called him a cold, heartless idiot if he denies his amazing, talented, wonderful, creative, perfect child just because she follows her dreams and her heart” he scrunched up his nose “I may or may not have said bastard instead of idiot though..hmm, guess that won't score me any points and I can kiss my invitation to the next family barbecue most definitely goodbye, but fuck that! Someone needed to tell him what was up”. He watched her nostrils flare a little while she stared at him with those big, amazing chocolate eyes of hers, oh god no..she wasn't gonna cry, was she? Coco just couldn't hold back any longer and she let her muffled snigger burst out into a hiccuping laughter. She rolled over the mattress clutching her chest “you didn't, you so didn't” she snickered and flapped her eyelashes at him, oh god woman, drive me completely crazy, why don't you? “I did..I'm sorry” there was a sudden shift in energy when her eyes drilled into his looking up at him. “No apologies needed, none whatsoever..” she whispered, he leaned in, he had to, he just was drawn to her like gravity, before she could do or say anything, his lips crashed down on hers.

Demanding, hot, apologetic, reassuring, this kiss was all of the above but most of all it was..needed, it was time to bury the hatchet, she needed to be with this weirdo, this was THE ONE, she didn't even know what that actually was supposed to feel like, but she just felt it in every fibre of her being. Jared felt her deepen the kiss, thank god, please let this war between her and me be over, I don't want to fight anymore, what she did next, had his skin on fire in a split second. Her hand reached for his face, her warm hand caressing his cheek, only to venture southbound over his chest, their lips still glued together when he felt her hands sneaking into his underwear, cupping the perfect round globes of his butt. Reluctantly he disconnected the kiss and closed his eyes, his face still hovering over hers, “what? What is it?” she tapped the tip of his nose to get his attention, what? He didn't want this? “nothing..it's just..” he didn't even open his eyes, he leaned his head back, “it's just what? Jared” she asked anxiously, goddammit..men! Always so unpredictable. When he felt her shift uncomfortably underneath him, he finally looked at her “I don't want you to do anything you're not ready for yet..I just know that if we keep going like this, I'm not gonna be able to stop..” he breathed. Sweet, stupid, considerate, at times unbearably romantic Jared..”who said anything about stopping? I just want this pent-up frustration and anger fucked out of me, and since I can't do that on my own, you'll need to get to work, Leto, and fast before I change my mind” Harper's hands urgently traced down his shoulders, his chest, his abs, her fingers hooking behind the front of his underwear whilst she bit her lip, and looked up at him with those not so innocent bambi eyes. “God, you're not exactly a hopeless romantic, are you? But that's ok, because I prefer my sex-crazed kitten” he grinned, his mouth got to work and bit her shoulder, pulling the strap of her bra down with his teeth, seconds later his warm, hot tongue circled around her hard nipple, touchdown! God yes! She sighed in bliss while her hands ran through his long hair.