#two of a kind workin on a full house

[cottonlemonade]

Time Well Spent

word count: 984 || avg. reading time: 4 mins.

pairing: post-time skip!Kita x chubby!Reader

genre: suggestive, fluff

warnings: mdni

request: medium guava lemonade with frozen berries for Shinsuke || fluffy-spicy vacation with boyfriend Shinsuke

If you would ask anyone on the street they‘d all agree that Kita was a devoted, patient, and sweet-mannered grandson and when he started dating you two years ago fresh out of university, everyone thought that you were a great match. Walking hand in hand around the small town was almost guaranteed to spark questions of marriage or an armful of some fresh vegetable that an overly excited grandmother wanted to share with the happy couple.

So when you moved in together this summer, there was gossip about an impending wedding, but Kita shot it down immediately. Not, because he didn‘t want to marry you - he would have done so long ago if he wasn‘t worried of rushing you. But because he thought things were too hectic currently to even think about any kind of ceremony. His grandmother had come to visit. Or better, to stay as it seemed. In a surge of energy, she asked a local carpenter to completely redo her house, and, not wanting her to be inconvenienced staying somewhere else, you and Kita were quick to invite her to your new home. The downside was, the walls were very thin and she had been there for over a month. You both already missed the intimacy and freedom you had just acquired and as much as you loved Yumi, you missed having your boyfriend to yourself.

“Are you sure it‘s no problem?“, you asked for the hundredth time as Kita carried the last piece of luggage to his truck.

“None at all, sweetheart.“, Yumi said, patting your full cheek gently, “Ya two deserve some time off. Always workin‘ like that... That‘s not good for yer soul.“

“We‘ll be back in three days.“

“I know.“, Yumi laughed, “Believe it or not, I have lived on my own before, y/n-chan.“

You gave her one more hug, Kita received a pat on the head and together you got in the car, and off you went. The drive to the city wasn‘t very long, luckily and you sighed contently as you watched as the sun set over the many rice paddies you drove past. Kita had his free hand entwined with yours on the middle console and rubbed his thumb soothingly over your soft skin. You couldn’t wait to be alone with him for three whole days and you knew he felt the same way.

“Almost there, dove.“, he said as the truck, seemingly out of place between all the gleaming city cars, turned right on an intersection. As he drove, a big building with flashy castle-like turrets came into view and you were just about to point it out and make a comment about how comical it looked when Kita pulled into the parking lot.

“Uhm, babe? Are you sure this is the right place?“

“Very.“, he said as he opened the door for you and held out his hand to you.

You looked around, noting the many windows with the curtains drawn. It was barely dinner time, you expected there to be a lot more bustling.

The reception desk had you do a double take. Only a small opening in an otherwise milky window gave any indication that there was a person on the other side.

Kita retrieved your keys and held out his hand again.

“Ya ready, dove?“

Your eyes fell onto the many brochures tucked into a little stand next to the reception and realization dawned. This was a love hotel. Did… did Kita book it accidentally? It wouldn‘t be strange for your sometimes densely innocent boyfriend to think that maybe for your special weekend off, he should look for something extra romantic. And what was more romantic than a hotel with the word love in the title?

As you waited for the elevator you tried to think of a way to bring it up without sounding patronizing. The thought process was an adorable one for sure.

“11… 11… 9, 10, 11. Here we are.“, he announced and opened the door.

The room was a whole lot tamer than you expected, judging from the dark atmospheric hallway and those brochures in the lobby. It was pretty cute, actually. The bed was ginormous and strewn with rose petals like you‘d expect a honeymoon suite to be. It had a soft, traditional feel to it. Setting down the bags by the door and kicking off your shoes you went to explore and froze in your tracks when you saw a whole array of condoms on the coffee table by the large TV. You should tell him.

“Honey, I love that you booked the hotel and everything-“ You were cut off by him coming up behind you and kissing your neck. His strong arm wrapped around your soft tummy and pulled you against him. Your eyes fluttered shut and, once you gathered your thoughts, you tried again.

“Did you check the website when you booked it?“

He hummed Yes against your skin, his lips and tongue making it very difficult to focus on what you wanted to say.

Squeezing your eyes shut you decided to just tell him. “This is a love hotel.“

Silence. Kita‘s lips brushed one more time against that spot under your ear that always drove you crazy, then broke from you. You turned around, expecting to see him confused.

And he was. “I know.“, he said with a questioning eyebrow.

You pushed further, worried that your point didn‘t come across. “You… do you know what love hotels are for?“

He nodded. “Yeah.“

With one swift motion, he grabbed one of the condoms from the coffee table and, guiding you backward by your hips it didn‘t take long for you to fall back onto the supremely soft sheets. Kita stood over you, using one hand to undo his jeans, the other to open the packaging with his teeth. He smiled down at your surprised blush. “I‘m very well aware.“

a/n: thank you so much for your request, hon. I hope it was somewhat what you had in mind 😏🌟 @ranscutedoll

And what is a post of mine without a thank you to @haikyu-mp4 for having the sparking idea!

[s1ckh1mb0]

Country boy dio! who only loves his sweetheart and their little family.

__________________________________________

Who convinced you to come live with him on the farm. He spends every day workin hard on it. Dealing with all the animals, workin in that hot sun all day. Harsh tan lines turning his once pale skin a golden bronze. His blonde hair slicked back into his mullet. Sweat sticking to his skin from the past four hours of him barreling hay to keep everything in pristine condition so you didn't have to worry about a thing.

It had been such a long time since he had left his piece of shit to rot in his loneliness. Once his dear mom had passed and things started to get bad between him and his dad he left and didn’t look bad. He started doing any work he could to get. He went from dealing to helpin in some different shops doing just about everything. Within the years he had fucked up and had four kids. He loved them even if he knew he didn’t have means to care for them. He did his damned best to make sure they had what they need before he had anything.

Shit was hard for a hot minute. That was he stumbled across an elderly couple who were saying how they needed to get rid of their old farm but had no one that even wanted to look at it. He couldn’t help but jump at the opportunity. It was hard for the first two years but him and the kids had somewhere warm to stay. He ended up confiding in Jonathan who felt like it was his duty to help Dio. He ended up talking to some friends and spread word around about Dio’s work and soon enough people were coming to him for just about everything. Business was booming all year round.

He never expected any kind of success, just wanting to make enough to get by but this was amazing to him. But he did have a problem, having four little boys was not easy. Especially when he went out to the city to restock on stuff. Ungalo and Rikiel were both over hyper and god it was hard to keep up. They would run around the store like they would back on the farm. Dio would always scold them but this time he couldn’t because he was as actually glad they did since that led him to meeting you.

He had noticed they ran away once again and when he saw them they were in your arms as you asked them where their parents where. He was shook by your looks. The way your clothes fit, huggin you nicely. The books you were once holding now pressed against his chest. He could see the dermal piercings on your chest peeking out your shirt. It was so new to him and god be moved it.

He snapped out of it when he saw the boys pointing at him and he had to rush over while still holding Giorno and Donatello.

“M’ so sorry bout that. These two given me hell.”

“Don’t worry bout it, I got siblings I know how it is. You and mama must have your hands full.”

“Nah s’ just me.”

“Oh shit, my bad hun. Didn’t mean to like be insensitive.”

“No no, don’t worry doll.”

You smiled a bit at the name as you handed off Ungalo and Rikiel to him.

“I’ll see you around I’m hoping?”

“Yeah, most definitely.”

———————————————————————

“Pa! S’ getting too hot out here. Come in the house!”

He turned around when he heard your voice. He put his pitchfork down and took in the sight of you standing on the porch. You looked so fucking good. Your curls were framing your face, your plump lips with a small frown due to you hating how the sun was beaming against you. Dio loved it though, seeing it bounce off your moisturized skin. And you of course weren’t by yourself no. You had his- you guys four little boys. Giorno on your hip, rikiel standing next to you and holding on your leg, and ungalo chasing Donatello all around the porch.

He wanted to marry you then and there. You accepted his four boys and raised them like you had given birth to them. And the boys loved you like no other. Often fighting with their papa to get your attention. Rikiel and Giorno were especially bad. They absolutely adored you. And dio hated to admit it but he sometimes grew jealous at how much you babied the boys.

He made his way over to you when he realized you were still callin out to him. A small smirk appearing on his face as he approached you.

“Miss me, doll?”

You didn’t even get to respond when Donatello and Ungalo tackled their father into a hug. They only 6 and 7 but they were damn big boys just like they daddy. He chuckled as he picked them up into his arms as if they weighed nothing.

“Y’ four bein good for ya mama/papa, huh?”

Rikiel was the first one to speak up, peeking from behind your legs.

“Ma/pa said you were gonna take us t’ the city! And that we were gonna see TiTi Erina and Uncle Jonny!”

Dio cocked an eyebrow at this which caused you to explain.

“Erina called earlier while I was cookin. It’s lil Lisa Lisa’s birthday tomorrow. Wan’ take the boys to see their cousin. Plus I could do some shoppin while we’re out there. Get the boys some new clothes. Same f’ myself. Like to look good f’ my man.”

Dio couldn’t help but chuckle at your last comment. He also took notice at how his accent was starting to rub off on you.

“Yeah alright, guess m’ takin you four t’ the city after all.”

Amid the kids cheering Dio had leaned down to plant a kiss on your glossy lips. But the kiss was cut short when a tiny hand tugged at Dio’s hair. It was none other than his youngest boy Giorno. The mini version of him, they were so alike even though he was only a mere two years old.

“Y’ lil brat, can’t hog ‘em all to y’self.”

He was only met with babbles from Giorno which made you chuckle.

“Protective jus’ like his daddy.”

“Hmph. Guess he is.”

His smile grew on his face as he watched you usher the boys into the house. God he loved you more than life itself…

Part 2 coming soon!

[feralmoonlight]

Awe yea~ Workin on this again :3 The two are separate but each can technically take a big full rest 'inside' the other, because the two entities are incredibly closely linked.

BoogeyNight AU~

Quick version, YN Picks up a little 'sun themed night light' cause they're an adult and still afraid of the dark, but they've also been constantly plagued by night terrors for as long as they can remember. There are reasons ™️ for this. BUT they bring the nightlight home, clean it up nicely, and go to bed.

Except it was a package deal. Sun, the nightlight half of this little protector doobly-do, is stronger in the daytime than night, and at night tends to stay in this little small portable form (can be larger during the day but there's rarely a need for it). Moon is the more 'muscle' side of the equation, thriving in the shadows the light Sun casts, he's a sort of boogeyman, though not a threat to the person they're protecting. His job is to 'take care' of the creatures and energies that cause bad dreams, stealing energy from the host and causing them harm. Which YN has… attracted a lot of. Like to a concerning degree. Mostly because of the location of the house they live in, a family estate(small) that has been witness to some Dark Shit ™️ .

For a while, it goes unnoticed that Sun and Moon exist at all, beyond one being a cute little night light. Though both exist at all times. (moon being small and mostly harmless during the daylight). Them staying hidden is kind of a serious matter, because the other powers of this world aren't supposed to be known by humans. But Sun and Moon can't seem to keep their habits of 'helping out' around the house hidden for too long, and one day they end up giving themselves away, thinking YN isn't paying attention while on the phone, and hear them sort of stage whisper to each other.

Shenanigans ensue.

[jev-urisk]

WIP Wednesday: Confession Tag! ✨️

Thanks for the tag @tragedycoded~

I'm posting a confession-vibe clip from my WIP 🌐7 Circles🌐, and there's spoilers and 🌶sexual content🌶 ahead

From Chapter 5: The Pent-Up House

Kazimier barely gives a grunt in response as his finger gently traces a pattern in the plush fabric of the sofa, mind elsewhere. Klaus moves closer, studying his charge, looking at more than just what the shock did to his system- the flush not linked to the burns, the way his hips shift in discomfort under the blanket.

“..So how often are you supposed to feed, then?”

Kazimier’s jaw tightens and he pauses his idle occupation of creating a criss-cross design in the couch's soft upholstery. "Ya' feed me once a week- just what a 'Cubi needs." he offers smoothly, rubbing his design into nothingness.

Two can play at that game. "So, every day then." Klaus says deliberately.

"Pfft." Kazimier rolls his eyes hard enough that his head follows the movement before tipping back to look at Klaus. "Seems like a lot," Klaus says, keeping his voice and face suspiciously innocent. His hands fall to his belt, undoing the buckles. "But what kind of incubus would I be if I couldn't keep up?" 

The implication is clear. And Klaus has every intention of sticking to this ridiculous schedule unless Kazimier answers. Something behind Kazimier’s eyes flashes with the temptation, the hunger. The rest of him lashes out, unable to grit his teeth another time.

"Now Sir," Kazimier grinds out, muscles protesting as he heaves himself into a seated position, "I'm a domesticated mongrel these days, not usin' as much energy as I did in 'the wild'. I don' know why in tha’ four districts you'd wanna screw yourself feedin' me higher than my former rate- three days durrin' workin’ weeks for your damn information, but it ain't needed." he spits out, lip curling. He leans forward, eyes full of defiance and desire in a way that sent a shiver down Klaus’ spine "I can keep on with you slidin’ your cock past my fangs on the weekly for a loong while yet. Sir." He purrs loathingly. They had taken the man out of Du’Preve, but he was definitely 4th class, even here in Nexis.

Klaus should be outraged. He should hit the anadem and send another charge through Kazimier for his insolence. He should beat him. Or starve him. Or something. 

Three days. 

Klaus smiles wide and warm as he delights in the fire he’s uncovered in the hybrid. "Three days then. Easy enough." He responds, fixing his belt. Kazimier licks his teeth, mismatched eyes squinting in contempt as his temper cools and gravity sets in. "So you’re a moxie thing.. ain't ya?" he says, mouth stuck between a snarl and a smirk.  "So I've been told," Klaus says smugly.

7 Circles stuffs taglist: @gioiaalbanoart @biblicallyaccuratefruitbat @katenewmanwrites @pencilpusher1000 @lychhiker-writes @autism-purgatory @wyked-ao3 @cowboybrunch @zackprincebooks @smellyrottentrees @aalinaaaaaa @the-golden-comet @urbiggestfan-01 @quillswriting @nbkuhn @ddgraywrites @desastreus @nbkuhn @theglitchywriterboi @shanakin-skywalker @honeybewrites @sincerelydorky

[kimryowo]

Our Not-So Happy Ending

prologue - part ii.

❝すべての重荷を下ろして休んでください。❞

“Off With Your Head!” Riddle shouted as a collar appeared around Grim’s neck, only making the cat scream more.

“MYAH!? What are you doing!?!” He exclaimed angrily.

Y/N watched as the collar magically appeared, so this place really was full of magic! How exciting! This was so thrilling, and it was such an amazing dream too, she might not want to wake up just yet!

“The Queen of Hearts Rule Twenty Three; ‘One must never bring a cat to a formal affair.’ Your very presence is a violation of order.  You will vacate these premises immediately.” Riddle ordered.

Grim was not happy by this. “But I ain’t a cat either! Don’t try to collar me! I’ll burn it right off!” He tried to activate the blue flames, yet, it didn’t work. “Wh-What gives!? My fire ain’t workin’!”

Riddle only looked at the feline with a scrutinous expression. “Until I deign to remove that collar, you won’t be using any magic. You’re naught but a pet cat now.”

“M-MeoWHAT!? I ain’t nobody’s pet NOTHING!” Grim shouted angrily, stomping his little paw on the floor.

Y/N giggled as she saw the feline throw a tantrum, this was so bizarre! She’d never seen a cat walk on two legs, talk or was able to use fire like Grim has.

“Oh, you’ve nothing to worry about there. I certainly have no interest in having you as a pet. The collar will disappear once you’re removed from campus,” Riddle said with an eye roll and scoff.

Azul laughed heartily, “Haha! Good show as always, Riddle. Your signature spell locks down any magic. It’s quite handy. I’ve just GOT to have it— ah… I mean, I’ve just got to have respect for it.”

This time, it was Crowley’s time to look disappointed. “Enma! Was I not clear that you are expected to take responsibility for your familiar!? Now discipline your— What’s that? It isn’t yours?” 

“I’ve told you repeatedly that it isn’t mine!” Enma said with a frustrated scowl.

He seemed to ponder for a moment before he turned to face the young girl. “Okay then, Y/N, is this your familiar?”

She stared at Grim before looking at Crowley, shaking her head, “no sir! I’ve never seen that kitty before!”

“Oh…” Crowley seemed a little disappointed upon hearing the two human’s responses. “Is that so?” He cleared his throat, “then I shall have it expelled it from campus. I shall even spare it from being served as dinner. My, but I AM kind… Someone take this away, please.”

Grim began to shout even more, didn’t his voice get tired? “Noooo! Let me goooooo! You fools better remember my name! ‘Cause I’m gonna go down in the annals of magic history! Just you wait!”

Enma watched as Grim began to be dragged off somewhere before his eyes caught Y/N’s ones. She had been so enamoured by the whole thing that she’d been in awe the whole time.

“I feel kind of sorry for him,” the boy whispered to her, and she nodded. 

“Well, that was quite the unexpected fracas. I hereby declare that orientation had concluded!” He said as silent fell over the room. “Hm? Come tot think of it, I don’t see Housewarden Draconia of House Diasomnia anywhere…”

“And that surprises you?” The boy with lion ears asked sarcastically, “dude’s a total recluse.”

“Wait a sec… Did anyone even invite him?” The boy with red eyes inquired.

The handsome boy sighed, “if you’re that worried about him missing out, maybe you should have told him yourself.”

The red eyed boy hummed, “maybe… but I don’t know him too well either…”

Whispered erupted from the crowd of new students and Y/N and Enma listened intently.

“Draconia..? Like, Malleus Draconia? That Draconia?” One student muttered quietly.

“So it’s true? He really does go to school here then?” Another added.

“Yikes…” One mumbled.

“Ah, just as I’d expected.” A new voice said, it was a boy with a deep voice. “I figured I’d come down and see for myself whether Malleus had made an appearance. But once again, he was evidently not informed that his presence was required at an offical ceremony.”

Someone wasn’t invited? Well, that was no good! Nobody deserved to be left out! If Y/N ever met this Malleus Draconia, she’d be sure to perform the best show ever to make him smile!

“You have my sincerest apologies. I assure you, this oversight was in no way intended as a snub.” Azul stated.

“I mean, you must admit, he’s not exactly the easiest person to strike up a conversation with.” Riddle added.

The boy with the deep voice just sighed shallowly, “no matter. All who were assigned to House Diasomnia, follow me. I just hope he doesn’t sulk about this…”

Y/N watched as the people of said House Diasomnia began to follow the short boy, presumably back to  where this Malleus person stayed.

“Well, you two. This is a most unfortunate turn of events. I’m afraid that. you will not be attending Night Raven Academy after all. Surely you realise that I cannot very well admit a student with no magical ability to my academy. But, worry not. The Dark Mirror will see you home safely. Now, step to into the gate, and visualise the place you whence you came.” Crowley advised.

Y/N saw Enma let out a sigh of relief. She watched as he stepped up first, thinking of wherever it was he came from.

“O Dark Mirror! Return this soul to where it belongs!” Crowley bellowed, his voice ringing throughout the room.

Yet, the Mirror gave no response. So, Crowley cleared his throat awkwardly, “l-let us, er… try this again. O Dark Mirror! Return this soul—“

“There is no such place,” the Mirror stated blankly. 

Crowley was shocked, “what?”

“There is no place in this world where this soul belongs. None.” The Mirror says.

The headmage thought for a moment, trying to find a reasonable answer for this conundrum. Perhaps Y/N would be sent back to her home then. “Y/N, it’s your turn.”

With a happy skip and nod, she stood inside the gate, visualising Phoenix Wonderland, her family and her friends.

“O Dark Mirror! Return this soul to where it belongs!” Crowley recited, secretly hoping that this time it would work.

Yet, “there is no such place,” the Mirror repeated blankly. 

“But, how can that be? My, but today is a veritable cavalcade of impossible phenomena!” The headmage exclaimed. “This has never happened throughout my long tenure. I must confess that I am something of a loss. Tell me, from what lands do you hail?”

Enma remained silent, as if he was unsure of the answer himself.

So, Y/N answered, “Shibuya, Tokyo!” 

The eccentric man hummed, “I’m afraid I am not familiar with such a place. I am intimately acquainted with the origins of every student who has ever come here, and yet… This mysterious homeland of yours eludes me. Let us go to the library and look it up, shall we? We can even try to find where it is Enma has come from as well.” 

What? He had no idea where Tokyo was? Well, this was a dream after all, so it kind of made sense… right?

The walk to the library was short and silent. Crowley seemed to be thinking about how the two mysterious humans came here — or how to get them home.

Arriving in the library, he pulled out many geography books and maps from various shelves, sprawling them out on a table, reading them for a few minutes.

Those minutes were long and silent.

“Just as I’d suspected,” he said, placing his hands on his hips, “nothing. Not even your homeland is listed on any map from any point in history. Now, are you QUITE sure that you come from such a place? That it wasn’t some sort of lie or jape, Miss Y/N? Because, if so, the only explanation is that you’ve come from another planet. Or perhaps you were summoned here from another dimension.”

Y/N let out a squeak of surprise, “eh? So… so… you haven’t heard of anywhere like Miyamasuzaka Girl’s Academy, Scramble Crossing or even Phoenix Wonderland!?”

“Both of you, show me everything you have brought here with you. Do you have some form of identification, a drivers license perhaps? Or even a… shoe? You do seem a tad bit… empty-handed,” the headmage commented.

Fishing through her pockets, Y/N searched for her phone. Yes! She still had it! The only thing was that it was completely dead. She let out a whine and pouted a bit.

“That’s fine, we will charge it soon enough, Miss Y/N, now, what about you Enma? Do you have any sort of identification?” He asked.

Enma did the same as Y/N, however, came out empty-handed. “As you’ve said, I’ve got nothing.”

“Well, this is quite the predicament. I cannot have people with no aptitudes for magic bumbling about my magic academy. And yet, as an educator, I am loath to expel young people without a cent to their name, or any. ability to contact their guardian… Truly, my grace is boundless. Hmmmm… Ah! There is a vacant building on this campus. it was, in fact, used as a dorm a long time ago. With proper cleaning, it should be habitable enough. Out of the profound kindness of my heart, I will allow you both to live there for the time being. In the meantime, we will investigate other ways to send you home. Dear me, but I am a gracious man indeed! A model educator, one might say.” Crowley praised himself, “well then, I shall take you both to your dorm straight away. It is an older building, but it has plenty of… character, one might say.”

Would Y/N even wake up soon? She was missing home more and more now, would she even be able to access the SEKAI? She would only have to hope.

Arriving at a falling apart dorm wasn’t something Y/N expected per se, “uwah!! Everything is so messy!”

“Uh, you want us to stay… here?” Enma asked the man.

“Isn’t it delightful?” Crowley said chipperly, “right, scoot inside now. There you go.” He pushed the two magicless humans inside the falling apart dorm. “This should keep the elements at bay for the time being. Now, I should return to my research. Do try to find some way to busy yourselves. But, don’t let me catch you wandering the campus! Ta~!” 

Then, he left. 

He was eccentric and funny, Y/N actually thought about Tsukasa. She missed her friends, this dream was going on too long too! When would she wake up? 

“It’s like a desolate snowscape. Only with dust. I don’t even see a clean place to sit…” Enma muttered as he brushed the mountain of dust off a chair.

They then heard the rain hit the roof of the ramshackled dorm.

“GWAH! It’s pouring out there!” A familiar voice exclaimed as the door opened to the dorm, closing behind the figure.

It was Grim!

“Bwahahah!” He laughed maniacally, “the look on your faces were priceless! Like a bat that got blasted by a water gun. As if I wouldn’t just. sneak back onto campus the second I escape pryin’ eyes. You all got no idea what I’m capable of! I ain’t givin’ up on goin’ here just cause I got kicked out one measly ol’ time. And if you think otherwise, you don’t know Grim!”

The girl let out a laugh when Enma began to scream for guards playfully, which resulted in her mimicking him.

“Hey! N-No! Bad humans! BAD HUMANS! Ain’t you gonna ask what. I’m doin’ here!? That’s what you people do, right? Talk about feelings and stuff? Just what kinda humans are ya, anyway? It wouldn’t kill ya to listen to me! Right!? I was born to do this! I’m a magical prodigy who’s got the makins’ to become one of the greatest mages who ever lived! So, I’ve been waitin’ and waitin’ for that black carriage to come for me. And yet… Hrmph!! That Dark Mirror’s got no eye for talent! That’s why I took the initiative and came here myself. You humans don’t understand what a mistake you’re makin’! Not letting me in is a great loss to the world! Mrraooo! C’mon, scoot over! I’m getting dripped on here! Bwah! Another hole in the roof!? These flamin’ ears are like my trademark, y’know!? I can’t let ‘em get doused!” Grim ranted.

Y/N was still fascinated by him being bale to speak but he was a cute kitty too! She’d never seen one like him either.

“Guess I’ll go look for some buckets, want to come Y/N?” Enma asked, looking at the girl.

“Un! Okay!” She nodded happily.

“I dunno why you don’t just magic those holes away. You could have it fixed in half a jiff. Ahhh, right. You can’t use magic at all! Pfft..! Man, you guys are useless.”

That seemed to irk the boy because he scowled. “Then why don’t you do it?”

Grim laughed in surprise, “heh? You want ME to help YOU? Ha! You got the wrong idea. I’m just a stranger takin’ shelter from the rain. You ain’t the boss of me. If ya’ had some cans of tuna to trade, well, that’d be another story. But I don’t work for free.”

“Yikes, the leaks are getting really bad. We really should find those buckets,” Enma suggested to himself.

And so, the trio then went into a hallway. As they stood in the ramshackled hallway, they could hear all kinds of unpleasant sounds like creaks and tapping.

“This place really freaks me out,” the boy said, Grim nodding.

“Yeeheehee… Bwahahahaha… We haven’t had visitors in ages! Oh, I’m just itchin’ for new friends! Ahahah!” There was a ghost!

“Gh-Gh-Ghosts!” Enma exclaimed with a shriek.

Y/N only gasped, hiding begin Enma — as if it’d do anything to protect her.

“Hey, keep it down over— AAAAAAAH! GHOSTS! GHOOOOOOOOOOSTS!” Grim screamed loudly, his voice going an octave higher.

“All the people who used ta’ live here got scared of us and ran away.” Another ghost said.

“We just want a new ghost to play with! What do you say, buddy?” The previous ghost asked with a cheeky grin.

“Help me!” Enma shrieked.

Y/N saw as Grim shivered, were they afraid of ghosts? She wasn’t, what she was scared of was the dark.

“EEEEEP! I’m a master sorcerer! I ain’t afraid of any dumb ghosts! Myahaaaa!” Grim exclaimed, shooting fire towards the three ghosts.

“Nuh-uh~! Not even close.” Another one said.

“Over here! Over here! Ahahaha!” The first one cackled.

“Argh!” Grim hissed, spraying more fire everywhere. “They keep disappearing and reappearing!”

“You’re gonna set the whole dorm ablaze!” Enma scolded the feline, who only snapped back.

“Shaddup! I don’t need any lip from you!” 

“Beat them, and we’ve got a can of tuna with your name on it!” Enma told the cat, knowing what the answer would be.

“Myah..!? Hmph! I’m Grim, Master Sorcerer! How come I can’t even hit one of these little—“

The ghosts simply laughed at him, they thought of this as a game.

Grim only grew more frustrated. “Hrmph! Ganging up on us… Yer just a buncha’ cowards!”

“Did I say one can of tuna? I meant two.” Enma continued to taunt Grim.

Y/N let out a shriek, these ghosts were spooky!

“You… humans! You tell me which way the ghosts are!” Grim ordered.

“Un! Okay!” Y/N exclaimed. 

“To your left,” Enma chimed in.

Grim followed the instructions of the two humans and aimed his fire left, hitting a ghost who yelped. “Aaaah! It buuuuuuuurns!”

“Ha, got one! Keep it up, just like that… And lets clear out the lot of ‘em!” Grim said determinedly.

They soon began to call out directions, though, Y/N would say something and then Enma would say the opposite.

“Rrrrrgh! My fires not hittin’ anything! What’s that? You’re sayin’ you want me to listen? I can’t listen when you’re both saying different things! Huh? ‘Behind me’?” Grim asked, turning around.

“BOO!” A ghost shouted.

“MYAH!! O-Okay…. that one was pretty good!” Grim yelped.

Eventually, with a hand covering Y/N’s mouth, Grim had cleared the room of ghosts.

“Nice! That actually worked! Hey, humans! What should I do next? Give ‘em the works? Hehe! Can do! MYAHH! EAT THIS!”

[sunnyie-eve]

5 | Acting like an Ass

Series: Indispensable | Teen Wolf

Paring:  (Stiles Stilinski x OFC Martin)

Word Count: 3.5k

Warnings: Panic Attack

A/N: Might be a few mistakes

| MASTERLIST |

~~~

Since last night Lydia has been ignoring me because she didn't like how I talked to Jackson last night. Like I was just going to let him talk to her that way? We might not get along well but she's still my sister. "You look more like... well you before we became friends." Stiles takes his seat next to me in class.

"What do you mean by that?" I ask looking at him.

"Hurt, pissed, alone, overall a done look."

I raise an eyebrow at him, "I'm fine." I shake my head.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

"I said I'm fine." I look to the front of the classroom.

"You're not though."

I huff, "It's just Lydia is pissed at me because I talked back to Jackson last night. I literally was just standing up for her and she doesn't care." I explain to him.

"She will at some point." He tells me but I ignore it not believing.

After class, Stiles drags me to go listen in on his dad. "If he sees you... he's going to get on you." I laugh as we head towards where his dad was.

"Yeah, but I wanna see what's up." He continues to drag me to the office.

"So why do I have to come with you?" I ask laughing.

"You're in the wrong place at the wrong time." He says but I let it go as we sit on the floor outside waiting. "Favorite color?" Stiles asks hugging his bag.

"Purple. You?" I do the same as him.

"Blue. Oh, favorite type of fries?" He glances over at me.

"Curly fries all the way." He puts his hand up for a high five so I give him one.

"Best kind ever." I laugh at him.

"Favorite song of all time?" I ask.

"Dear Maria, Count Me in." I shake my head at him.

"Wherever You Will Go." He nods his head and as the bell ring for us to get to class, his dad comes out.

"We are watching his family's house. Maybe he'll wind up there. Give me a second." He walks over to us. "Don't you have a test to get to?" He asks his son.

"Don't mind Julia, she's good. What's going on? Did you find Derek yet?" Stiles asks.

"I'm workin' on it. You go take your test." His dad tells him.

"All right, Dad, listen to me." Stiles tries to talk making his dad raise his voice. "This is really important. You have to be careful tonight, okay? Especially tonight." Stiles tries to tell him.

"Stiles, I'm always careful." He tells him.

"Dad, you've never dealt with this kind of thing before, okay? At least not like this." I could understand where Stiles was coming from.

"I know, which is why I brought in people who have. State detective. Go take your test. Also, try not to get your new friend in trouble." His dad smiles over at me so I return one as we head to class.

"You have 45 minutes to complete the test. 25% of your grade can be earned right now simply by writing your name on the cover of the blue book." I see Stiles quickly write his name. "However, as happens every year, one of you will inexplicably fail to put your name on the cover, and I'll be left yet again questioning my decision to ever become a teacher. So let's get the disappointment over with. Begin." Mr. Harris tells us.

After a few minutes, Scott rushes out and Stiles follows but I say in class. Stiles comes back after some time but Scott never comes back to class. "Because of the full moon tonight?" I ask Stiles as class ends and he nods his head.

"You helping me lock him up tonight, right?" He asks as we walk.

"If you want help yeah. I'm not just going to insert myself into y'all's life like I'm been a best friend as long as you two have been." I explain as we head to the cafeteria.

"Why not? You're part of the team now." He nudges me.

"Well, I don't wanna invade y'all's personal lives at times." I try to explain.

"Julia now that you are on the team... that means we're gonna be best friends soon, and we all get up in each other's personal life." He smiles at me.

When it was lacrosse practice I met up with the guys in the hallway. "Can you pick up on stuff like, I don't know, desire?" Stiles says as I join them and I'm guessing he just learned Scott can smell like emotions.

"What do you mean desire?" Scott asks him.

"Like sexual desire?" I shake my head at Stiles knowing what he wanted to know.

"Sexual desire?" Scott repeats.

"Yeah, sexual desire. Lust, passion, arousal." Stiles explains.

"From Lydia." I tell Scott.

"What? No, in a general, broad sense, can you determine sexual desire?" Stiles looks at me then back to Scott.

"From Lydia to you?" Scott says so Stiles says yes.

"Fine, yes, from Lydia to me. Look, I need to know if I have a chance with this girl, okay? I've been obsessing over her since the third freakin' grade." I roll my eyes knowing she doesn't care about him.

"Why don't you just ask her?" I motion over to her.

"Well, to save myself utterly crushing humiliation. Thank you, Julia. Okay? So, please, can you just go up and ask her if she likes me? See if her heartbeat rises, pheromones come out." Scott says okay and walks over to her as we head outside.

"You don't even need Scott to ask for you because I know the answer." I say as we get to the benches.

"No, because you aren't close. She could keep it as a deep secret. You're just jealous that she could like me." I laugh at him then walk over to Jackson.

"Can I borrow your lacrosse stick real quick?" He laughs at me.

"Why would I let you touch it?" He asks.

"So I can throw a ball at Stiles. I wanna hurt him for a second." I explained to him and he groans handing it to me. "Thank you. Now when I get a ball I need you to get him to turn around so I can get him from behind." I smile then take a ball from coach. "Excuse me, I gotta borrow this." I see Jackson get Stiles' attention.

"What are you d-," Since I didn't wanna hurt Stiles too badly I aim for his shoulder, then threw the ball at him with a behind-the-back shot.

"WHAT THE HELL JULIA?!" He spins around holding his shoulder.

"Don't say what you said next time." I walk back over giving Jackson his stick back.

"Hey! If you ever think about playing, I'll let you join the team!" Couch shouts at me.

"Maybe next year." I let him know.

"Hey. What happened?" Stiles asks as Scott shows up.

"What?" Scott seemed not like himself.

"What do you mean, what? Did you ask her? Did she say anything? Did she say she liked me? Did she imply she liked me?" Stiles just gets asking.

"Yeah. Yeah, she likes you. In fact, she's totally into you." Stiles gets happy but by his tone, he was lying.

When the guys were practicing Scott knocks down all the others including Danny at the goal. The whole team rushes to check on Danny so I rush over too. "Dude, what the hell are you doin'?" I walk over to Scott with Stiles.

"He's twice the size of me." Scott tells us.

"Yeah, but everybody likes Danny. Now everybody's gonna hate you." Stiles tells him.

"I don't care." He walks off from us.

"Your lipstick." I hear Jackson tell Lydia so I turn around to look at them.

"Oh. Oh, wonder how that happened." She checks herself. "Yeah. I wonder." He says sarcastically. I look at Stiles and his jaw was hanging open shocked.

"In fact, she's totally into you... Listen to me next time and watch what you say, or the next ball is hitting your spine, harder." I cross my arms looking at him.

"I'm sorry, but you play?" He asks as we walk back towards the school since practice was canceled now.

"Yeah, it's a secret hobby of mine." I laugh.

"From the pain, I'm still feeling... you're good." He rubs his shoulder.

"Thank you. I hit you with a BTB." He stops to stare at me.

"You're telling me you don't suck at back shots? I suck at those." He tells me and I decide to joke with him.

"You suck at lacrosse all together not just your back shots." I smile at him and he punches my arm.

"I hate you." He walks into the locker room while I go to my locker. "Okay, here's the plan. We head to my house get things ready for tonight then head over to Scott's and chain him up so he doesn't kill anyone." Stiles shuts my locker on me. "Then when the night is over I'll take you home." He smiles like a dork.

"Sounds like a good plan." I agree not really having a choice.

When we get to his house he runs straight to his room while I said I was going to get a glass of water first. "Stiles that you?" His dad walks in.

"Nope, he's in his room." I smile so he smiles back.

"So you're a friend of Stiles? New. I'm guessing since I've only seen you come over once." Sheriff Stilinski asks.

"Yes Sir. I just became friends with him and Scott. After years of only a few small conversations in class, we finally started to hang out." I explained to him.

"He's not paying you to be his friend right?" He asks making me laugh.

"I wish he would." I joke and he laughs too.

"Julia!" Stiles shouts for me.

"You sure? You really volunteered to become a friend of his?" Noah asks me as I clean my glass by hand.

"I sorta did. There are times when he doesn't give me a choice. There was like only one option for me and I had to deal with it."

He nods his head, "I believe that." I nod my head now.

"For example, he told me at school after lacrosse practice... Okay, here's the plan. We head to my house get things ready for tonight then head over to Scott's." I take a seat at their dining room table.

"Sounds like my son alright." He takes a seat too. "I never got your last name." He asks.

"Oh, Martin. My mom is Natalie Martin and my twin sister is Lydia." I tell him.

"I can see that now." He chuckles.

"You're actually the first to say that. When I tell people my age or older they say I'm lying at first because I'm so different from them." I let him know.

"That's ridiculous because you all share some features. Also, it's okay to be different, if being different makes you you, then keep being different." He tells me and I can't help but smile. "I saw the look in your eyes when you said differently so I just wanted you to know." He explains to me.

"Thank you Mr. Stilinski." He nods his head.

"Please call me Sheriff or even Noah, I don't care. I like you, you're a sweet girl." He laughs as Stiles marches into the room.

"What the hell? I called you?" He crossed his arms at me.

"I know but I was talking to your dad. I'm not going to be rude." I tell him.

"Can I take Julia now?" He asks his dad.

"Yes, I wanted to tell you before I head out that I'll be out all night." He tells Stiles.

"Remember be safe, especially tonight." Stiles tells him as he walks over to me grabbing my arm and dragging me away.

"See told you no choice. Be safe tonight Sheriff, bye." I tell his dad.

"Nice talking to you Julia." He shouts back.

"Really ditched me for my dad." Stiles shuts his door.

"Again was having a conversation with him and wasn't going to be rude." I explained again that Stiles shows me what he has for tonight.

Once we leave to go to Scott's, I notice Stiles glancing over at me from time to time. "Can I help you?" I ask him starting to get annoyed.

"No. Why do you ask?" He asks looking ahead.

"You keep side-eyeing me." I explain.

"What my dad said to you... If being different makes you you, then keep being different. He was right, I feel like if you were the exact same as Lydia... I probably would never get to start to know you. Plus you're fun to talk to." He explains as I look over at him.

"You were eavesdropping?" Is all I say.

"Yeah, from when you said who you were." He says as we pull up to Scott's.

"I'm sorry." I tell him before we get out.

"For?" He asks confused.

"That Scott kissed Lydia behind your back and then lied." I let him know.

"You were right... Now let's go." We get out.

I watch as he uses a key to unlock the door and open it going in holding the door open for me to come in. "Scott?" Melissa calls out.

"Stiles and Julia." He says as she walks into the room.

"Key!" She looks at the key in his hand.

"Yeah. I had one made, so..." He explains.

"That doesn't surprise me. It scares me, but it doesn't surprise me. What is that?" She asks about the bag as he drops it on the floor making the chains make a sound.

"School project it's really complicated to explain what the guys are trying to do." I explain to her and she nods her head.

"I believe that." She then looks over at Stiles. "Stiles, he's okay, right?" She asks.

"Who? Scott? Yeah. Totally." Stiles says weirdly.

"He just doesn't talk to me that much anymore, not like he used to." She says upsets.

"He's had a bit of a rough week." I sum it up for her.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Yeah, um- Okay, uh- Be careful tonight." She tells us so we say you too.

"Full moon." She adds but makes Stiles freak. "There's a full moon tonight. You should see how the E.R. Gets. Brings out all the nut jobs. You know, it's, um, actually where they came up with the word lunatic." She says before she leaves the house.

"Lead the way." I tell Stiles so we head to Scott's room.

"Oh, my God! Dude. You scared the hell out of me. Your mom said you weren't home yet." Stiles bumps into me as he leans back.

"I came in through the window." Scott says acting creepy.

"Okay. Uh, well, let's get this set up. I want you to see what I bought." Stiles bends down to the bag.

"I'm fine. I'm just gonna lock the door and go to bed early tonight." Scott tells us and I don't believe him.

"You sure about that? 'Cause you've got this kind of serial killer look going on in your eyes, and I'm hoping it's the full moon taking effect, 'cause it's really starting to freak me out." I let him know and Stiles agrees.

"I'm fine. You two should go now." Scott tells us.

"All right, we'll leave. Well, look, would you just at least look in the bag and see what I bought? You know, maybe you use it, maybe you don't. Sound good?" Stiles suggest that Scott comes over to look.

"You think I'm gonna let you put these on and chain me up like a dog?"

"Actually, no." Stiles quickly handcuffs him up.

"What the hell are you doing?" Scott yells trying to get lose.

"Protecting you from yourself and giving you some payback. For making out with Lydia." Stiles tells him and then leaves the room so I follow.

"Really?" I ask as I see him get a dog bowl with Scott's name on it.

"I don't care if it's the moon. He's being a asshole." Stiles had a point.

"It's actually funny." I cross my arms trying not to laugh. "I won't interfere unless you want or need to me." I say as we walk back up to the room.

"I brought you some water." Stiles pours the water from the bottle into the bowl.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Scott throws the bowl away making Stiles walk back into the room from the hall where I was.

"You kissed her, Scott, okay? You kissed Lydia. That's m- like, the one girl that I ev- and, you know, the past three hours, I've been thinking, it's probably just the full moon, you know, he doesn't even know what he's doing, and tomorrow, he'll be totally back to normal. He probably won't even remember what a complete dumbass he's been. A son of a bitch, a freaking unbelievable piece of crap friend." Stiles goes off on him so I head downstairs.

"Anything!" I hear Scott yell.

After a minute I head back up and sit next to Stiles on the floor. "What are you doing alone downstairs?" He asks.

"Giving you two space." I force a smile.

"Julia, you're just jealous everyone likes Lydia and not you." Scott says as we hear him struggle to get free. I close my eyes trying to ignore him. "I can smell it. Jealously, sadness, loneliness, it's pathetic but then again you are." He laughs as he struggles and I try to breathe calmly but I can't so I rush downstairs for a drink.

My hands were shaking as my heart was pounding and I couldn't breathe. "Hey, hey, breathe. Try to breathe. Focus on me, look at me." Stiles grabs my hands forcing me to look at him. I just stare into his eyes and it helps a little but my panic attack stops after he pulls me into a hug till I was breathing normally again. "You have panic attacks?" Stiles asks letting me go.

"I used to a lot in the past. Haven't had one in years. I guess what Scott said triggered some old memories." I try to laugh it off.

"I used to get them when my mom died. I knew you were having one as you rushed away." I just look down. "I'm going to stay down here for a while if that's okay?" He nods his head.

"It's okay. If you need me I'll be in the hall floor." He smiles leaving me alone. From downstairs on the couch, I could hear Scott screaming so I cover my ears. "JULIA!" Stiles comes running down the stairs. "Scott gone. He broke the handcuffs." He pulls out his keys so we rush to the jeep.

"Question, where the hell would he be?" I ask.

"I don't know, that's why we are driving around." His thumb taps on the steering wheel paranoid.

As we were driving we see flashing lights so Stiles stops the jeep rushing out to look for his dad. "Dad? Dad? Has anyone seen my- has anyone seen my dad?" He asks then walks towards the body.

"Stiles. What are you doing here?" His dad shows up making Stiles hug him relieved he's okay. "Again, what are you doing here?" His dad asks as they stop hugging.

"We were just driving around then saw the lights and got worried. When Stiles got out to look for you he panicked not finding you." I explain to the Sheriff.

"We just found a body that was out in a dead bomb fire." He lets us know.

"That sucks." Stiles says making me hit him.

"Come on, Stiles some respect for the dead guy." He rubs where I hit him.

"I didn't know what else to say." He hits me back so I hit him back again.

"I like her. Keep Julia around Stiles or you're grounded till your dead." His dad points at him.

"What? I-," He's cut off.

"It's late and I think you should take Julia home now then head home yourself. I'll be home soon." Noah tells him.

"Fine, see you at home." Stiles walks back to the jeep.

"Goodnight Sheriff." I smile giving him a goodbye wave.

"Night Julia." He returns one.

"Wow, he really does like you. I believe just by what was all said in one night, likes you more than Scott." Stiles says driving me home.

"You said once we become friends we invade each other's lives... Guess what? I'm making my way into yours easily." I laugh.

"Make yourself right at home then." He laughs. As we pull up to my place Stiles stops me before I get out. "It's not pathetic that you feel those ways at times. I'm starting to feel them myself with Scott being a werewolf now." He lets me know.

"I get what you mean but it's still different for me. I live with Lydia and she reminds me every day." I look at him.

"If you ever need to rant about things or want someone that will listen to you... Give me a call or come over." He gives me a smile.

"Night Stiles." I open the door.

"Night Jules." He smiles as I shut the door and head inside.

I already am starting to feel the pain of what's to come.

[lovelywritinglady]

Knowing Him

Toji Fushiguro x fem!Reader

Angst, Fluff. You reflect on your feelings for Toji. Art not mine.

Your pov

Its been nearly a month now since I’ve seen him. He comes and goes as he pleases, never staying more than a week at a time. He says he’s working and that his job is extremely demanding, but pays really well. I always think that if it pays well, then why does he never have any money?

I met him years ago and was completely shocked by how handsome he was. He’s tall and extremely muscular. He’s got this scar on his lip and his eyes are a beautiful forest green. He’s a very cocky man with a strong sense of confidence that I’ve never seen in a man. It’s almost like he’s convinced that he’s strong and so nothing can touch him. It took him a while to open up to me. First it was just sex between us, but he slowly started staying and telling me about his fears and his past. I felt grateful that he did so, but now I’m not so sure.

I miss him dearly and to be honest I’m not sure if he’s dead or alive. I’m scared for him. I know he’s strong, but he’s not invincible. I know that by the number of times I’ve had to patch him up after he would stumble into my house covered in blood. I just wonder if he got so hurt that he couldn’t manage to find the strength to come here so I could help him. Or maybe he got tired of me and found somewhere else to stay? I just hope that he’s alive.

1 Month Later…

Toji’s Pov

This job has taken me a lot longer than expected. The fucker has been tough to find. Took me nearly two months just to find this asshole and put a bullet in his head. I’m tired and all I can think about right now is her. I’ve known her for a while now. I guess she’s about the only person I consider someone I care about. She’s always been so gentle and caring to me. I don’t deserve her kindness though. I know I don’t. Hell, the best way I can say thank you is fucking her brains out after she helps me. Pretty shitty, but at least it’s really good sex.

I want to go see her I want to be in her arms tonight. But at the same time I don’t want her to be nagging about if I’m okay. Of course I’m not, but I can’t tell her that. I can’t tell her that I’ve missed her. If she knew, I don’t think she’d respond well to my softness. I haven’t had these thoughts or feelings for another woman since my late wife. She was everything to me and the only person I vowed to love. Or so I thought.

Guess my feelings got in the way of my thinking because I find myself standing at her front door. It’s sunset now, I’ve been standing here for about five minutes just thinking about what I’m going to say to her or how I’m even going to say it. After composing myself, I began knowing on the door. Part of me hopes she doesn’t open up and that she’s fast asleep. But soon enough I hear the door unlock and here her sweet voice.

“Toji?” She says in shock. “Where have you been and why haven’t you contacted me?”

“Sorry sweetheart I’ve been really busy with work lately. But I can promise ya that I won’t be workin for a little while.” I say

“You didn’t answer my question, but I guess I’m just glad that you’re okay.” She answers

“Sorry, but I can’t say. I just need to tell you something that I’ve been holding on to for a little while now.” I answer honesty

“Well, what is it?” I she questions

“Y/n I have no idea how to tell you this. And I don’t even know how you feel about this.” I mumbled. “Fuck it, y/n I think I love ya sweetheart.” I practically yelled

She stands there shocked. Now I feel like shit. Guess she doesn’t feel the way that I do. I knew It was a bad idea. Guess I was right not to give up my heart again to someone. I began to leave until I hear her call out to me. When I turned around, her lips were on mine.

Your pov

I’m kissing him. I’ve done it many times before this. But now it feel different. It’s full of passion and dare I say, love. It’s warm, and my hear beating faster than it ever has. We broke our kiss and I look up into his eyes.

“Toji, I love you too” I say with a smile.

“You had me worried there for a second, but I’m glad sweetheart, I’m really glad.”

This moment and any moment with Toji, my lover, makes me realize how glad it is that I know him. And now I’m excited for what’s to come.

Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed. ❤️

•I do NOT own any characters except y/n•

Please feel free to request, comment, and reblog

Click here to see what I’ll write for and click HERE for my master list.

-L.W.L

[smokeys-house]

Puukko's Pirate Tales 5

Painters, Authors, and Purses

(Art by @mumrikpaws ❤️, alternate version below the cut!)

" 'ave I e'er told ye I'm in books?" The old moomin woman notices you eyeing the shelves with curiosity. "Mind ye, I'm not in all those. I don't just keep the ones with me in 'em." She sets down the hoop she was idly embroidering on and meanders over to the shelf nearest you.

"O'course there's plenty of truth and legend alike, and varying qualities 'tween the lot. One's I'm most fond of is the dime novels an' penny dreadfuls! Way I see it, only I can tell my stories with the right amount of oomph." She struck her chest with her paw, before noticing the familiar look in your eye. 

"Don't be givin' me that face, just on account of ye know I'm fixin' t' tell ye another tale. Have a seat, it'll be a quick'un." She motions dismissively to the nearby seating, and sets a few small, quite old books down on the low coffee table. 

"My reason for liking the cheaper shorter ones ain't fer the fact I'm a slow reader. It's mostly fer the art on the cover. I'm either painted as the fearsome scourge of the seas or I'm the housewife's romantic fancy. Nothin' like ye see on any wanted poster." She rummaged through some cupboards and began to set up for some coffee. She had a tendency to task while storytelling. It was as if she could never sit and look you in the eye while aggrandizing herself, true or not. 

"I reckon a lot of them's the reason fer most folks thinkin' I met my end by now. Usually they don't start romanticizing criminals til… well til after they're not around to read 'em. I suppose my rapid slip into obscurity helps support that rumor." She set two mugs upon the table, the one in front of you is a rich blue and gold. More of a nice tea cup than a mug, and it's much finer than the one she'd chosen for herself. 

"Iffin' I have met me end, a cozy house in the mountains seems pretty enough an idea fer eternity. Anyway the writers were a pretty mixed bag. 'Avin a stranger at yer heels while at sea is a bit of a nuisance. They don't help out much with the ship and they watch yer every move and ask ye all kinds of funny questions. Me crew and I almost ate one once! Boiled shoes and pouches and chewed the leather first. Lucky for 'im, on account o' we made landfall afore appetites got too… unseemly." The kettle began to whistle from the kitchen, her ears stood full and flicked themselves in its direction. She prepped a cloth over an empty glass jar, and filled it with ground coffee. 

"Sometimes they was rather fun. Adventure seekers and story tellers, not unlike myself." She eyed you, noting your surprise at the casual delivery of a brutal story. 

"We uh. We weren't really gonna eat him. Just made like we were fer some mean-spirited fun... But I did eat two coinpurses and at least some of a shoe." She cleared her throat awkwardly before returning to her task.

"Anyway, the painters was where the real fun were. Aside from the actual painting part o' course. Sittin' in the same pose fer hours is a real pain in the tail. I'm supposin' it weren't so much the artists that I liked as much as the art, and the publicity what came after. Though there was one I loved dear, she used to paint on account of her well-to-do parents. She were workin' on a painting of the two of us. Not sure what happened to it, though. It weren't never finished I should think." 

For a moment she stared off into nothing, her paws hanging idly in front of her. You ask what she's doing and she shakes her head a bit, seemingly having been lost in thought. The fireplace's gentle crackling fills the air. The lack of words for the moment, while comfortable, fills you with an understanding as to why she's so eager to tell stories. 

"Coffee's almost ready." You can hear an air of nostalgia in her voice, it's laced with a somber note. It's not as though she's hiding something, but you can tell she's choosing not to elaborate. Puukko's cabin home is lovely and spacious, but you can't help but wonder what secrets she does have, if any. 

"Folks always think about the pirate days as always bein' aboard and abroad. Though that were most of it, I spent a lot of time ashore as well, spendin' me haul. Blunderin' me plunderin' as it were. Drink and comp'ny are the bane of a full coffer, as any sailor'd tell ye. Some time after I'd been handed mine by a royal pardon, I had a lot of coin to spend and nothin' but time." She let out a frustrated sigh.

 "I'd been a tale throughout many a place fer some time and some folks wanted in on that tale. Trouble were gettin' art fer a cover fer their books so it'd sell, and the wanted posters were very intentionally unflattering." She pours coffee into both of the mugs at the table, spilling a bit here and there before wiping it up with a handkerchief. 

"Strangest bounty I ever had put on me. An accomplished author was offering quite a price t' anyone what could capture my likeness in a way that best suited their work." She fanned through one of the books that was sitting on the table, and nudged the other one toward you. 

"Weren't but a few days after that I was suddenly meetin' all manner of 'friendly' strangers. After word got out I wasn't posing fer free, well, that's when things got odd. I'd be at the market doin' some shopping and some clever fellow tells me to hold a lemon up a certain way, says it's the only way to tell the good'uns from the bad. Then he says to me 'Great! Now turn yer head that-a-way!' an' that's when I realize he's got a pencil behind his ear and a sketchbook under his arm. Lots o' folks after that asking me fer strange things trying t' get me in a silly pose, look heroic or flattering." She's suddenly very animated, gesturing along with her story and making faces at no one in particular. 

She pauses a moment, and lifts her mug to her snout with both paws wrapped around it. She savors the aroma, then takes a long, and very slow sip. Her features seem to soften a bit as she sinks back into her chair, eyes closed. 

"Where was I, again? Oh, yes!" She sits upright once more. It's difficult to tell whether she genuinely lost her train of thought or if she was simply messing with you. 

"There were this one gal. Real tall critter. She broke into where I were stayin' and posed me while I was asleep! In me pajamas fer Booble's sake! That's about where the nonsense stopped. One way or another she ended up out the window an' I got me a nice new sketchbook." She guffaws loudly, slapping her knee. 

"Met a feller in a bar that night, seein' as I couldn't sleep right. After that intrusion y'know. Anyway, i thought he were another loon, but he turned to be the sensible type. A real no nonsense kind of hemulen. Strong, too. Challenged me to a fight, and iffin I won I were to be left alone, but if he won, he got to draw me fer the book and he'd give me a cut o' that author's bounty." 

Perhaps it's the warm coffee, or maybe the gentle fire and soft blankets, but somehow you feel as though even stories like these with all their unpleasantness have a way of building a comfortable atmosphere. You wonder if they make her feel that way, too. 

"Anyhow I was feeling a mite skittish about crossing the law now that I was on the other side of it. Explained as much to him. I'm no stranger when it comes to paw-to-paw combat, but Marion an' me crew were still out there. They only got their freedom so long as I stayed off ships and kept me snout clean, so to speak. Told him I love a good scrap, but what I really want is fer all these bold artists to stop chasin' me tail!"

As if mentioning it reminded her of it, she lifted her tail and pulled it into her lap, idly fidgeting with it. 

"I thought it a bit strange that he were a painter and a pugilist, but he just went on saying 'a Hemulen should be well versed in all things'. He also said there were art in fighting and fighting in art, and I'm inclined to agree given both the way he fought, and the uh… personal grievances? Of the other artists he challenged. Had no idea there were so much drama among painters." 

She drew the fur in the tuft of her tail straight and to a point before mimicking painting with it. She looked up from it and to you, realizing you were still looking at her. 

"Must've been oh, seven or so fights I watched? Didn't see all of 'em. By the time it were over we'd been all over town and had a drink or two. The way I figure it, he earned that painting. Went back to his studio the next day. Oh, and we had lunch!" She smiled cheerfully.

"Now, you might be asking yerself; 'Miss Puukko, which one of these fine volumes did the pugilist painter hemulen pen fer you?'." She looked on at the books lying in the table and scratched the end of her snout. 

"Well I don't rightly know! I don't recall his name. Do they even put the cover artists name in the book? I don't think I e'er looked! Ah, well." She stacked the books and set them aside on the shelf. 

"Every so often I wonder what folks from back then are up to, if anything." She sunk back into her chair once more. "But only every now and then… think I'm gonna take m'self a nap now…" She yawned deeply and held onto her tail, setting her paws comfortably in her lap. 

You briefly consider reading through each of the books she set aside, but they're too near her to reach without disturbing her. You decide it's best let sleeping moomins lie. 

Clean version of the art!

[azurefishnets]

Maelstrom

As always, I adore our looovely mod, dearest @laughingmango, not only for coordinating and running Ghost Swap for TEN YEARS over at @fyeahghosttrick (Can't wait for many more in its new format! Ghost Swap is dead, long live Ghost Swap!!) but also for being a delightful co-conspirator & friend. A request for hurt/comfort mixed with cosmic pessimism power couple? Let me just...slip this in here....

You can read the fic at the link above, or the full text is below!

AO3 Profile Fandom: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective Words: 2522

Summary: In the weeks after the Temsik incident, Cabanela is pressed into service as mediator and somewhat reluctant liaison between his two old friends. The maelstrom of their misunderstanding and regret is beginning to spiral too deeply for even one seasoned navigator to deal with; thank goodness he has someone to keep him informed even when he doesn't know it.

The front door hung open a crack, the house inside dark and quiet. Cabanela had bounded up the front steps, hand out to knock a sprightly rhythm on the door until he’d realized it was open, and put the hand on his hidden holster instead as he pushed the door open just an oonch more, just enough so he could slip in.

The living room stood empty, lights turned off. Cabanela stopped in the middle of the room, listening hard. Was that a radio playing softly, upstairs? Or a music box? Just in case he was missing something, he peeked into the kitchen and stopped, stricken. Jowd sat at the kitchen table, alone in the dark, one hand laid atop the family’s new kitten who was lay still on the table, the other equally absently stroking his miraculously-quickly healed knee. He didn’t look up, although a bitter twist of his lips acknowledged Cabanela’s entrance.

“What’s happenin’ here?” Cabanela said, leaning against the kitchen doorframe and flipping on the light, letting his frank, admiring gaze travel from Jowd’s head to feet. “You tryin’ to save on the electric bill, baby? Didn’t think things were so hard up here in the big house.”

Jowd snorted. “Appreciate the concern, thanks. Sorry your welcome’s a little lacking; the lady of the house is indisposed.”

“Hmm? Alma’s sick?” Cabanela ticked off a list on his fingers. “Babysitter, flowers, cold pack, juice. Oatmeal? Need anything eeelse from the store? I’ll run out there if you need; can’t have our baby feelin’ poorly when you just came home from the hospital.”

“She’s not sick.” Jowd turned his head away. “Just… indisposed. Kamila’s with my mother, so no babysitter needed. Flowers aren’t a bad idea, but…well. Might be better coming from you at the moment.”

“Huuuh?” Cabanela craned his neck back at the stairs. “Is she here then?”

“Upstairs.” Jowd chuckled a little, his voice bitter. “It’s my fault. She said she needed some time to herself.”

“Jowd?” Cabanela’s voice wasn’t uncertain; nothing of the sort. “Why was the front door open?”

Jowd shrugged. “Sissel must have left it open. He’ll get a good talking-to when he’s back.”

Cabanela sent the clearly-present kitten a pointed look. “Thooought he was an indoor-only kitten now? Livin’ the good life here at his new home.”

“Ha!” Jowd chuckled a little more. “There’s another problem. The good life.”

Cabanela put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re bein’ real opaque right now, even for you, m’man. What’s goin’ on?”

“I’m being the only way I know how to be.” Jowd stood and stretched, ignoring Cabanela’s hand. “I suppose I can try pretending to be Alma for a minute or five. Tea? Coffee? Wine?”

“How about you play at bein’ Jowd a bit more, but a biiit more forthcomin’?”

“Now what kind of precedent would that set? You’re a detective, you should practice your deducting skills.”

“Believe me, ooold friend, you have me workin’ overtime on that little mystery. But fine. Talkin’ to your looovely wife it is. Interviewin’ witnesses is a fine art and they tell me I’m still good at it, even if I still need practice at questionin’ my suspects.”

“Well, as long as your gun’s still by your side, your record’s back on track.”

“Ouch, baby.” Cabanela’s voice didn’t change, not by an iota, and his face stayed tranquil, but a nearly imperceptible shift of his posture betrayed the hit. “Good one.”

“I’m sorry.” Jowd’s voice was sincere, almost painfully so. He nodded at the spot on the wall where an antique gun had hung until he’d come home from the hospital the week prior. “You can see how my own track record stands. We’re standing at one and zero between the two of us. Don’t worry, you’re winning.”

Cabanela scowled at the wall, then at Jowd as Jowd sat back down and turned his stare back to the kitten, his face morose and eyes shuttered. Cabanela glared at him a moment more and whirled, taking the stairs up with a little less grace than usual, and followed the soft tinkling of the music box to the nursery, where Alma sat in the rocking chair. She glared at the wooden music box in her hands, letting the small melody it played ring out over and over.

“Oh. Hello,” she said, when she caught sight of Cabanela, and smiled. Her whole face had always seemed to light from the inside when she smiled, and Cabanela took his usual beat to let her see his admiration. But her light seemed dim and flickering, and her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Did you see Jowd downstairs?”

“Of course. And the front door was open too, baby. Little dangerous, isn’t it?”

“Apparently not!” Alma’s lips twisted. “According to him, we’re going to be just fine whether the door’s open, closed, gone… perhaps he’s right. Maybe it just doesn’t matter. After all, we have a cat now. Whatever that means.”

Cabanela dropped to his knees and gently took the music box away from her, setting it aside before taking her hand. “Baby, you’re streeetched to the breakin’ point. What’s goin’ on between you two?”

“I don’t know!” Alma burst out, and withdrew her hand from his, putting it along with her other one firmly in her lap. “You’ve seen him! He’s not the Jowd I knew anymore, somehow. Between one day and the next he’s gone somewhere I can’t seem to get to.”

“Caaan’t?” Cabanela stared at Alma.

“Can’t.” Alma said with finality. “I always could before. I always, always knew who he was and how he thought before. But now he acts… He hardly touches me, but he stares at me all the time when he thinks I’m not looking. He can barely look at Kamila. He handed me this—” she gestured to the music box, “and told me to put that gun on the wall in it so he could throw it away. But... why this? I have a shoe box, or anything other then…that.” The music box tinkled to a stop, its faltering notes dying to a final hush. “He acts like a ghost,” she said finally. “Like he’s a ghost in his own home.”

“A ghost, huh?” Cabanela sat back on his heels. “That sounds about right. He’s just been driftin’ since that day at the park. People at the precinct are startin’ to notice.”

“I must have done something,” Alma said, her words leaden in the abyssal silence between them. “It must be my fault, somehow. Maybe… maybe it’s me that’s more like a ghost. Why else would he act as though I’m not even here?”

“Baby, how on earth could it be your fault?” Cabanela took her hand again, more firmly this time, not letting it go even as she tried to tug it away. “You answer me that. You’re both so focused on takin’ the blame for somethin’ that shouldn’t have had anythin’ to do with you.”

“Well.” Alma’s stubborn gaze met his. “He won’t talk to me. At least you’ve told me what you know happened that day at the park. Whatever guilt you’re taking on, at least you’re owning it! I don’t really understand what happened with that programmer, but he’s in jail, and Jowd acts like he is too, and I’m his warden. I don’t need him to confess—”

“Wouldn’t miiind it though,” Cabanela muttered.

“I just need him to tell me what I can do to make it—us— right. I don’t mind the cat. I don’t mind taking down the gun. I don’t even care about the stupid music box. But I can’t fix anything if he doesn’t…just tell me what’s happening.”

Cabanela shrugged. “You don’t haaave to fix what’s not your problem.”

“But it is my problem. Or I am the problem. Either way,” Alma said with a wry twist of her lips, “I don’t see anyone else stepping in.”

“I came as soon as I could,” Cabanela said, stung, “Anytime you call, I’m comin’ for you. You know I’d give you my heart’s blood to make things right between you.”

One side of Alma’s mouth lifted in an odd little smile. “Would you?” She drew back a little and put a hand to his chin, tilting his head so he had to look directly into her eyes. She stared into his soul, searching for something he refused to believe she sought and dared not show her as she said again, “Would you really?”

“Of cooourse. As long as I’m kickin’. Now come on, I’m cuttin’ in to this little dance.” Cabanela stood, drawing her up, out of the chair, and with him as he danced down the stairs. He kicked the forgotten front door closed, then took her hand and danced her into the kitchen, surprising Jowd into laughter as Cabanela whirled Alma around the table until she, reluctantly at first, started to giggle. Finally, he took Jowd’s hand too and put Alma’s hand in it. “Your turn, baby.”

The kitchen went still and quiet again and they looked away from each other. Cabanela let out a huff of irritation.

“Deal me the deal, man,” he said to Jowd. “You caaalled me here, you must have wanted somethin’.”

Jowd sent him an odd look. “I didn’t… I really can’t want anything from you at this point. I can only thank you,” he said, finally. “You’ve given up a lot for me, but I can’t explain how much I owe you. Not… now.”

“Why not?” Alma said, grabbing Cabanela’s hand with her free one. “Something tells me you need Cabanela here; you need to talk to him to let this thing that’s weighing you down go. I don’t know why talking to me is so difficult now, but I’ll take any help if it brings you back to me. To us.”

Jowd said, his face betraying painful bewilderment, “But I came back. And you’ve seen, in the last couple weeks… I’m not who I was. I don’t know anymore how to be more than this.”

“Help me understand who it is you want to be, then!” Alma snapped. “No one died! You were hurt but you’ve healed so fast it’s unbelievable! That little girl is safe, and even that man who took her hostage wasn’t killed even though by all rights he should have been. Am I asking too much to want the man I love to be here, with me?” Alma said, stricken. “Or is it that I amtoo much?”

Cabanela watched them, seeing their mutual spiral into despair threatening to swallow them into its oceanic maw, and him along with it. Abruptly, he decided it was enough. He slapped a hand on the table. They both jumped and looked at him questioningly.

“You two stop actin’ just like each other for fiiive whole minutes and answer me an honest question. Can you do that?” he said.

“Probably,” said Jowd, as Alma said, “Yes?” Her eyes were oddly expectant.

“Why aren’t you two workin’ together at makin’ your old friend here more miserable? Seems to me you’d do a better job of messin’ with me instead of each other if you coordinated a bit more, maybe made some plans. As a prank this is lackin’ somethin’.”

“What?” Jowd said and frowned. “This had nothing to do with you.”

“We weren’t even expecting you,” Alma added, and sighed in some unexplained disappointment with the tack Cabanela had chosen. “Or at least, I wasn’t. I’m so sorry. If Jowd invited you, he didn’t tell me…” She paused and added, “…which is no different than usual, lately.”

“I thought you invited him,” Jowd said to her. She shook her head and shrugged.

“I got a phone call from your number,” Cabanela said, “and came straight on over because nobody was talkin’! When I found that door open, you should have heard my poor old heart goin’ pitter-pat with worry. Why take my heart’s blood when you two are the ooonly ones who could scare it into stoppin’? So if this is a prank, ‘fess up; your daughter couldn’t have done it and this little fellow snoozin’ on the table seems out for the count.”

“Oh, he’s counting on something,” Jowd said, and laughed when they looked at him with exasperation. “I’m trying,” he said, and paused. For the first time, he appeared uncomfortable. “I…need more time. There can’t be too much, ever, from either of you,” he added, and looked to Cabanela. “I promise there’s no conspiracy, no prank, no pact with Alma to mess with you,” he said, “but… I’m glad you came, even though I didn’t plan it. Perhaps Si— the gods just knew I needed—” he stopped. “Proof,” he finished, rather uncomfortably.

“Of what, baby?” Cabanela said, puzzled.

Jowd didn’t answer; he shrugged.

“If it’s loyalty, I would think you’d know you had that already,” Alma said with a tart twist of her lips. “Or were you worried about his safety?”

“Ha! The gods and I know that loyalty and your safety is the last thing I’d worry about for either of you at this point,” Jowd said without hesitation. Cabanela looked surprised, then gratified, and Alma sent him a sidelong smile and a nod.

“Thank goodness,” she said. “If you thought either of us would ever just… ghost you, just leave you without any explanation, and that was the reason you wouldn’t just talk to us, it would be a sign that it really was all over.”

“It was! And then it started again,” Jowd said, and began to laugh until the kitchen rang with it.

“Oh, well, is that all? Well, no wonder we’ve been struggling,” Alma said, and began to chuckle too. Just like that, the tension eased despite the palpable tinge of some irony not everyone in the conversation was quite getting, and they sat around the kitchen table laughing together. The conversation really didn’t feel over, but for now it had come to a stop and it seemed a better resting place than any other alternative which had presented itself.

Cabanela had to admit, if only to himself, he had no idea how to get the rest of the truth out of Jowd yet, but it was still the beginning of something he hadn’t quite dared to believe could be possible after the Temsik incident: some kind of a fresh start. He took comfort in that, and in the feel of Jowd’s warm arm around him, in the cool slide of Alma’s arm against his, and allowed himself, as he would with no other pair, to laugh himself into some kind of uncertain and temporary peace.

Almost unnoticed, the kitten sat up in the middle of all this hilarity and wandered away, its nap evidently over; presumably, Cabanela figured as he barely registered it leaving, the noise bothered it and it had other tasks for the evening which only a cat might understand. Silently, he wished it luck along with a little bit of fellow feeling; he, like the cat, had his work cut out for him handling two such as these.

[spring-valley-lake-gym-x6crm3]

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[unmutemusic]

04 Two of a Kind, Workin' on a Full House NOT A COVER

[nightsfeelheavenly]

*cracks knuckles and puts on two of a kind, workin' on a full house by garth brooks* time to speedwrite the first part of this price fic

[theoutsourcer]

Some of The Most Difficult Questions Related to Outsourcing, Answered Here!

As Henry Ford used to say: if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. While some entrepreneurs embraced the trends and innovations in the business industry, some still prefer to stick to their old practices like hiring in-house over outsourcing - but old business practices aren’t enough for the new normal. And with the staggering growth of the outsourcing industry in this year alone, where businesses are already spending over $700 billion, more and more companies will eventually come around and try it out. 

Perhaps one of the biggest barriers to outsourcing is a general aversion to trying things a different way. Whether it’s a matter of things going pretty fine as they are, or a fear that trying to use outsourcing will cause additional problems, there can be a general hesitancy to running business in a way that you’re not familiar with. But without risk, there is no reward. So what exactly are people questioning about outsourcing?

For starters, why should I outsource when I could just hire in-house?

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Clearly there are always risks involving other people in your business. This is true regardless of whether the people will work in-house or form part of an outsourced provider. But the best outsourcing companies not only have technical, creative, and administrative talent and employees that are more than well-equipped to handle all kinds of tasks at a faster rate, but they also have an outstanding reputation that speaks for itself. Reliable outsourcing companies like The Outsourcer eliminates risk and get you quality output, offering a variety of 46 virtual assistant services to help bring your company’s vision to life.

How can I address apprehensions in outsourcing?

As a general rule, you’ll have less control over a project once you outsource it. But outsourcing gives you more expertise and access to more talent. Ultimately, the outsourcing company you hire will become an extension of your brand, so you’ll need someone stable and reliable that will not only provide you excellent services, but also someone who can share the same values as you. Trust is an essential factor in every relationship, and if it goes both ways, there'll be no other way to go but forward. 

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What if I am a company that has been let down by previous BPO vendors?

The challenge in choosing the right outsourcing company lies in the risk present when you're not matched up with somebody who has the same culture that your company has. Working with an outsourcing company can feel like trusting strangers with the keys to your own success, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you want to work effectively with a remote team, trust should be the first thing you establish. You have to make sure you hold your outsourcer more accountable than you hold your internal people today. 

Finding talent that is reliable, engaged and committed doesn’t have to be complicated. The Outsourcer can be your trusted partner who can provide you young, innovative and vibrant workers who are skilled in all the right areas. Sign up and you automatically get access to 50 different services all managed by ONE Personalized Virtual Assistant. Your Personalized Virtual Assistant is plugged into a centralized system of multi-skilled specialists. You get access to all the best tools, talent, and resources that’ll help your business run on auto-pilot so that you can focus on the higher-leverage things.

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[midnight-star-world]

MSR - Garth Brooks Live At Notre Dame Stadium

So today on the MSR (Midnight Star Review), we are talking about the latest show country music superstar Garth Brooks.  The show took place at Notre Dame Stadium and the original air date for the show 8pm (Eastern Standard Time) on December 2nd, 2018 on CBS.

Here's what Garth played for us.

Set list. All day long. That Summer. Two of a kind, workin' on a full house. The river. Papa loved Mama. Two Pina Coladas. Unanswered prayers. Night moves (Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet band cover). Standing outside the fire. Rodeo. Live again/Let it be/Hey Jude (Gabe Dixon cover). Ain't goin' down ('Til the Sun comes up). Callin' Baton Rogue. The Thunder rolls. Friends in low places. The dance.

On the MSR (Midnight Star Review), I would give this special concert a 4.5 out of 5 stars.  I have always liked Garth Brooks for a very long time.  And he takes time out of his show to introduce all the people playing with him.  Thanks for taking the time to read this review.  See ya all next time.

[i-hate-spitelout-jorgenson]

Nonononono I would love to hear you get into why you despise the hidden world i am always ready to add more reasons to my list

This is gonna be super messy and infodumpy but you asked and I deliver. fueled by rage, 40°c/100°f weather and no aircon.

First of all, The Hidden World was NOT exactl up for success. The first two films had two people workin together: Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. in the first film they were both directors, in the second one was a director and one was an executive producer. The first two are regarded generally as some of Dreamworks' best work, only really tailing films like Shrek and Shrek 2. The Hidden World isn't. I cant say I know a lot about what Sanders and DeBlois individually contributed to the films, but I can say this with confidence: DeBlois does not understand the dragons on a fundamental level. Time and time again the dragons are shown to be intelligent, capable understanding human speech and sarcasm, being fully sentient and sapient just as we are. For whatever reason, DeBlois never seemed to get this. Thats why The Hidden World treats the dragons like wild animals with instincts and a call for the wild when theyre shown to not be like that at all. At some point during the film, Astrid says, "What did you expect? You gave him his freedom, Hiccup." (paraphrased). Thats bullshit. And thats not even headcanon, its just bullshit. The whole idea of dragons being called away by their instincts to start a family and move on was already done in Gift Of The Nightfury, and it did it better! Literally the entire point of that short was that the dragons CHOSE to come back. They didn't want freedom, they wanted companionship - which clearly they understand as deeply as we do. Toothless is a special case, because its debateable that he never had those instincts to begin with. To that I say: Why didn't he have them to begin with? What was different about this time? That he SAW the lightfury? Gift Of The Nightfury was made to explore the idea of dragons laying eggs as a part of their instincts. If laying eggs is part of the instinct, why did Toothless and the Lightfury only do that like fifteen-twenty years later? And I dont have an answer for that. DeBlois did not direct Gift Of The Nightfury, but he worked on it. He watched the project grow and go through all of its developmental stages and came out of it learning apparently nothing. How To Train Your Dragon and How To Train Your Dragon 2 (as well as its respective TV shows) recognised the dragons as a very expressive, very complex part of the universe that have friends, familial ties, personalities, morals, emotions, understanding of human language. They dont get this treatment in The Hidden World. In The Hidden World Toothless is reduced to a romanticised, horny house dog.

DeBlois also doesn't seem to fully grasp the bond that the dragons and riders have. Toothless specifically has repeatedly risked his life for Hiccup. Off the top of my head, he saved him from that avalanche and risked being buried alive or dying of hypothermia; he (several times) swims far too deep to attempt to rescue Hiccup; he dives into the Red Death's fire to save hiccup; he deters, oh I don't know, a BEWILDERBEAST in order to protect hiccup. He has never truly in his life chose something over Hiccup. And you're telling me the Lightfury shows up, SHOOTS AT HICCUP, and Toothless still risks it all for some pussy? Like seriously? That bitch would have been GONE within seconds.

Now, I can't find a source for this, so take it with a grain of salt, but just like how the original villain of the second film was Valka, apparently the original pitch for the third was that they find a cave full of Nightfuries. First of all this wouldve been so much more interesting. I cant speak for Race To The Edge, but the ENTIRETY of Riders of Berk, Defenders of Berk, and even How To Train Your Dragon 2 lead up to the idea that maybe Toothless wasn't the last of his kind. I couldnt tell you how many times its alluded to in the show alone. And you're telling me, after, what, seven years, your answer is just, "That guy killed them all"? Which brings me onto Grimmel.

The selling point of Grimmel is that he's smart. He's the most intelligent villain they've fought yet. Personally I think thats fucking stupid. Thats not only blatantly untrue in regards to the actually intelligent antagonists they HAVE faced, hes also just not that smart. When he presents the ultimatum, among other things, Toothless could literally just shoot him. When he shows up in Hiccup's hut, Toothless could literally just shoot him. Even if hes fireproof (which i dont remember if he is) hes not momentum proof. A better point of interest on Grimmel would have been, "Hes the first villain weve really seen actively murder dragons." (Unincluding the red death). Which, ok, maybe. Hes still boring.

The designs. the designsbfurghensnebdndbd d

OKOK SO. Lets start simple. Toothless is so chunky. They really didn't understand what makes Toothless intimidating. Hes scary because hes sleek and aerodynamic and not because hes a beefy macho wrestler. Hes a panther! Thats the intimidation!!! And i guess I cant put it off anymore so lets talk about the Kids Youtube monstrosity this film gave us i guess.

The lightfury is... a mess. in every way. The dragons in the series are very dramatic and stylised, sure, but in a very intentional way. A Monstrous Nightmare's teeth are in no way practical but they go with the big bad carnivore idea. A Deadly Nadder is not at all expressive compared to other dragons but neither are birds, which it resembles. Most boulder class dragons would in no way be able to fly, but it adds to the idea that they are heavily armoured and underestimated. In the case of the Nightfury, it makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint. It has large eyes because it lives in dark coastal caves. Its black because it is mostly nocturnal with hunting. It has echolocation BECAUSE of said dark coastal caves. However, when it comes to the lightfury, the design is... lacking. Smushed face not at all practical for fishing. Certain bird of prey and even dinosaurs (e.g spinosaurus) have distinctively long, thin mouths/beaks FOR FISHING. Lightfuries are not aquatic, and since they are presumably an evolution branch away from nightfuries, they probably cant spend too long in the water. Lightfuries have strangely smooth, round features. Its tail fins and wings being round make. next to zero sense. For the first film the creators took a pilots class to understand how flying works. I didnt. but i dont think that work, especially not for one of the fastest dragons. Its legs are weirdly shaped and It. Fucking. Sparkles. Its sparkly. Its 2019 fella I thought we learnt our lesson with Twilight. Shes so unneccessarily feminine its gross. And sure, The idea of variation between sex is shown but in very minor incidences. For example, The main differences between male and female Nadders are the curvature of the horn on the nose and which jaw is out more (overbite/underbite but idk which is which).

The Lightfury is also. Mean? Literally a softcore manic pixie dream girl? Its not even the cliche of like, she teaches him about the wild while he teaches her about stuff he learnt in "captivity" and theyre both endeared by the others ideas and home lives. She actively puts him down for everything and leads him on at the same time? its very strange. Also, Toothless' mating dances couldve worked on a Nightfury. We dont know. Theyre different species at the end of the day.

And the worst part about the Lightfury to me is that all of these issues are so easily solvable. For design, you have at least 2 options:

1. Make her a Nightfury.

I recognise they made her white so they were easy to tell apart. solution: Albino. done.

2. Make her a variation of Nightfury.

Plenty of people on this site have pointed out itd be plausible that there are, for example, Northern Nightfuries that live in harshly cold environments and are bulky and stong! Toothless seems like a wifeguy anyway let the man have a beefy wife

I've expressed this before, but I think that the ending is very lazy. Just tacking it on at the end that they have to leave bc they dont want more films. I have read the books before. I dont remember a lot about them, but I do remember that very little tracks. Like a couple of character names and thats basically it. Theyve NEVER attempted to replicate the books before, why start at the end of the final film? Its not even like there was very much motivation behind it. The dragon riders always win. I genuinely believe that the third film would have benefited from killing off Snotlout.

And yeah. I love him, hes my favourite character, this blog is centered around how much i hate his shitty dad. But his character went NO WHERE in the last film. Id even argue he got worse. Snotlout is a character where a lot of the appeal comes from the hope that he will be better. And he is! Compare his behaviour from The first few episodes of Riders Of Berk to the end of Defenders Of Berk. There is probably less than a year between them and it is night and day. He goes from being a school ground bully who neglects and actively deprives his dragon of sleep to someone who would maim, kill, die for him. You get to Race To The Edge and he is still the same cocky asshole, but he cares so deeply about his friends. He is inconsolable for days when Hookfang is thought to be leaving him. He cries of happiness at the wedding of his cousin and the girl he liked. He shows, more than probably anyone in the series, incredible growth. And then The Hidden World happens. To name a few things, he:

- Flirts relentlessly with his aunt

- Mocks his cousin's recently dead father ("Who died and made you chief?)

- Competes for power with Hiccup

And I think that killing him off would check the boxes of being closer tied with the books, Giving him a full redemption, and giving Hiccup a (albeit extreme) reason to send the dragons away. At that point Hiccup would have lost his mother (although she lived), his father, his leg, and his cousin (or best friend depending on interpretation) to dragons or to fighting FOR dragons. Thats got to be enough at some point.

Back on the subject of Hiccup, he was so... off. He's an absolute nerd when it comes to dragons (/pos)! He would never find a species of dragon and get upset that Toothless spent time with it, especially not A FURY???? He spends the whole film talking about Toothless and the Lightfury as if hes an over protective dad which again leads back to the ides of DeBlois not understanding the dragons fundamentally. The joke, to my understanding, is meant to be that he is treating his pet like his son that just started dating. But Toothless isnt his pet. Toothless is his friend. Thats not the relationship at all. And again, Hiccup wouldn'nt be??? upset???over that???

Ruffnut lost ALL of her nuance and interest and is now just "stupid." Tuff is... okay, i guess. Fishlegs is reduced to being motherly and feminine when hes otherwise CONSTANTLY shown being extremely intelligent and would also NEVER leave out Meatlug???? Ive already spoken about Snotlout, and Astrid is now just kind of. Hiccup's sidekick?? What happened she was literally so cool and stern and cutthroat and genuinely had chemistry with Hiccup. Now shes just there to give him advice. Dont get me wrong, I love the conversational parallels that have with the first movie, but they dont feel earned. they feel like its trying to leech off of nostalgia of the first movie. She also looks physically very different for some reason.

TL:DR, The Hidden World is a movie aimed at kids for a franchise that was always aimed at families. the themes are dull, characters are ooc, designs are ugly, and the problems are easy fixes