#Also two little snow foxes joined in on the fun

[kiruamon]

Spring through the Seasons AU - Snow

Let me share with you some sketches of the season deities all being together even while this isn't the case yet in the main story.

As excited as Sun was to finally be over in Moon's territory for the first time as disappointed he was when he quickly found out that he made all the glittering snow around him melt pretty fast. Which left him sulking while watching the others play. But of course they hadn't forgotten about him.

Since Moon and Sun also have very different body temperatures and cancel each others powers a bit out as long as they stay very close together, they could figure a way out for Sun to also hold some snow in his hand. It still melted, but not nearly as fast as it would without Moon being there. Sun was really smitten to have the chance to hold the fluffy cold pile of snow in his hand.

[codename-adler]

first snowstorm of the winter here in Montréal, Canada so…

Foxes vs. the great white shitstorm

Kevin: PTSD from the-skiing-accident-that-never-was bc that’s how far his trauma goes BUT will brave the snow if accompanied bc Exy is an interior sport thank u mom for that one. chances are he also probably bunkered down at the Foxhole court beforehand so he wouldn’t have to witness a single snowflake nor be separated from his one true love. bunker supplies include a shit ton of OJ bc the man is fighting away the flus and the colds like it’s The Plague Part II: 1347.

Matt: has to be stopped by Dan, once again, from buying a snow plow to fix in front of his truck. like every place where winter = snow, the PSU campus is severely unprepared for the onslaught, it’s like they’ve never seen this shit before and if I could just help out the community that way it would be a win-win for everybody Dan don’t you get it? it’s still a no, so Matt proceeds with unleashing his energy outside, alone, grumbling and building snowmen (and snowphalluses once Nicky joins in)

Nicky: DECKS THE HALLS EVERY-FUCKING-WHERE, FA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA. it’s tradition for him to wait until the first snowfall before decorating for Christmas, as a compromise (if it truly were up to him, 1st of November would be Christmas Tree Day, but he made a deal with the twins who, despite despising their birthday, would absolutely not have Jingle Bells and and holly on November 4th). the thing with Nicky is, he exhausts himself very, very fast and loses focus/productivity in the blink of an eye, so all you see is a path of garlands and pine needles leading to a zoned out Nicky munching on frootloops in a beanbag. the Foxes will have to finish what he started.

Allison: during daytime? fab as ever, hyped to get out her winter outfits and order another 3k of winter gear, boots, scarves, gloves etc. for herself. then she shops some more for the Foxes, some genuine bougie shit, some wtf shit to make fun of this season's chosen victims (see: Kevin always, a little bit Neil to chase away the nightmare of the past year, and this year's winners: Dan and Aaron). but once nighttime hits? it's war time. it's UGLY time. thermo one-piece suit, the old 3XL PSU Foxes men's sweatshirt Seth bought himself in his first year, tight braid shoved under a tight camo sports balaclava, spy goggles slapped on her naked-bar-fake-lashes face, heavy duty boots, and snowballs. yes, snowballs. starting this year, she's initiating the Yearly Foxes Snowball War. she's got her Santa bag ready and full of compact snowballs as she goes down the hall, breaking and entering every Fox dorm and obliterating them unprovoked. queen behavior. conquering among the squeals of Matt Aaron Kevin the vanquished!

Renee: hater mode activated. it's only for the first snow, it's only for one day, but it's brutal. her smile is tight, her socks are fucking wet by noon and she's had it. the little gremlin dives under a pile yay-high of blankets, destroying one or two of her advent calendars and eating 25-50 pieces of chocolate to sate her ire. she's the only one safe from Allison's assault, she's only asked if she'd like to join in the snowball fight instead, which is a hard no from Renee. next year, though, Allison's provided her with the same tech-gear and she's ready to unleash her anger on her unsuspecting teammates. but only after the chocolates.

Dan: nope. nope nope nope. she's so cold. so cold. she's craving warmth wherever she can, making the Foxes jump when she shoves her iced hands or feet into them. she's bundled up in layers upon layers of clothes. she's drinking coffee and tea by the gallon. she's scrambling for every lip balm she can get her hands on. she's making soup, and soup, and more soup. spicy ramen, three beans, lipton, chicken cream, veggie mix. she's got 2 thermos at all times, one hot drink, one hot soup. soup mama.

Aaron: first victim of cold season. if there's a snowflake, Aaron's got snot. no amount of ginger shots, garlic nostrils, citrus slices or soup can prevent the inevitable. man down by sunset, congested af, broody and pitiful. everybody makes fun of him, most of all Neil. look at the hot shot doctor bested by a lil cough-cough. the one year he didn't get sick so early, he had to get the new flu shot bc he's premed. needless to say, man down again.

Neil: ultimate x-games galore, here he comes! for the first time in his life, he's allowed to indulge, and try out every winter sport under the sun. Exy's still his wife, but man is snowboard up there with snowshoes-running and ice-skating and sledding. he's monstrously good at hockey, to Kevin's great disappointment. he thinks he'd have quite liked being a hockey player hadn't it been for Exy. and the mafia. anyways, he's unstoppable, he's exhausting, he's everything. he's Barbie.

Andrew: tiny emo beef man is fucking-A-ready. winter tires ON, tire chains ON, windshield cover ON, broom and shovels ACQUIRED, hot chocolate cupboard FULL, cleated boots SHARPENED, hotshots warmers STACKED. and then he just- doesn't move. not one iota. absolute pillow princess without any fucking involved. that man is not getting out there, despite the Foxes' wailings of needing a ride, needing groceries, needing a hand. he is ready, doesn't mean he's involved. c'mon, the dude's got multiple plans for a zombie apocalypse, you think a little snow's gonna stop him? yes, actually.

and that's all folks... for now. fuck /yeah/ snow!

[frostehburr]

What I'd Hope A Star Fox Adventures Remake Would Be Like

I use tumblr as a dumping ground for my thoughts on various things. I fully believe no one would care enough to read any of this even if they did stumble on it at random. So that's why I'm slapping this post in. Just to get it out of my head because I'm frustrated there's no Star Fox on Switch... yet. There's very little hope but there is maybe like a 0.01% chance we'd get a Star Fox game.

For the past two weeks I've been thinking about Star Fox Adventures, my favorite Star Fox game because dinosaurs, staff combat, and collectables. However, the more I think about it the more major problems with the game make themselves known.

Such as Krystal being stuck inside a crystal for the entire game until the end where she joins Fox's crew without proving her qualifications. Along with Falco who just shows up. When and why did he just appear for no reason?

This is why I think Star Fox Adventures should have a full blown reassembly remake full new game with same name. Much like Star Fox 64 and Star Fox Zero.... Look, if Nintendo is willing to remake the first Star Fox they can do the same for the other three in the franchise.

It is my understanding that majority of Star Fox fans love the 3 branching paths from the first game. Therefore I think it would be a good idea to implement 3 paths with Adventures. BUT the paths are based on the character you choose. Those being Fox, Krystal, and Falco.

The reason for this is to give each of them their own story line instead of Fox soloing the krazoa spirits and force point temples. As well as give a reason for Falco being near dinosaur planet.

Fox's path might be the easiest with his focus being on collecting Force Point crystals. One for each classical element but different name like Volcano, Ocean, Sky, and Forest. Taking some inspiration from Ocarina of Time but so did the first iteration of the game. It would also be nice to see different Force Point Temples instead of the same two twice. I would also insist Fox have his blaster, keeping it the way it was before but replace staff combat with his Smash Bros set.

I'd also suggest Fox using the snow horn and earth walker as substitute landmasters. Feel like Fox using blasters on top of prehistoric creatures would be more fun. Particularly if you use controls similar to the landmaster for it.

Krystal would be focused on collecting the krazoa spirits because a mysterious mystical entity told her it would help save the planet. Unlike the Gamecube game, Krystal would not be ambushed by some... thing.... and trapped in a crystal. Instead, she continues searching for the spirits, fights sharpclaws with her staff, and returns the spirits to the mystery entity.

Each krazoa spirit would have a trial for her and she could upgrade her staff along the way.

Falco would be stealthier gameplay. Implementing disguise kit and 3D platforming more than the other two. He'd, of course, use the same type of combat Fox has but be faster.

Since the lore says he was bored of Star Fox not getting any jobs, I'd figure him being a solo merc bumming around would do well enough to explain what he was doing prior to dinosaur planet. Keeping the story solution simple, Falco gets hired by an old friend who came across files of Andros making deals with General Scales to supply higher technology on a low tech planet in exchange for magical secrets. Because magic exists in Star Fox universe. What else would krazoa spirits be?

Anyhow, that's how I explain Falco being on dinosaur planet. Just taking up a job to figure out what General Scales is doing now that Andros is (supposed to be) dead.

Not so subtle; Andros is the mysterious entity Krystal been giving krazoa spirits to and the giant monkey is using them to reconstruct himself as a resurrection ritual. Krystal's big boss fight is against Scales who seeks to resurrect Andros to continue their deal and take over dinosaur planet under Andros' empire.

Wanted to give General Scales more menacing presence this time around so I would have him be the big boss of all three paths before the final boss, Andros, which uses arwing gameplay (Krystal uses a cloud runner and her staff). The arwing gameplay reoccurs between land missions (Falco having the most arwing time).

For the most part the game would not be far different than the Gamecube one. However, various additions and small changes would be beneficial.

These are just my ideas for a game I don't think will ever be seen. Think there's a ton of people around the internet doing fan games of Star Fox implementing dinosaur planet with explosions and arwing and landmaster combat. Not sure if they're much better than my ideas of simply adding to the previous game. But it's still more than what Nintendo gives us with Star Fox.

I personally hope we get Adventures and Assault on Switch or at least Assault. Assault was more of a Star Fox game and it continued the story much better. Oh well, there's always 64 with the online subscription...

[samandmaxfan]

The Great Zootopian Detectives

Wow. Ok. That took forever, so sorry that’s so late, it was NOT working, but let’s look in the bright side! Chapter two is up!!😁😁 Again I own nothing except for my OCs who have like no point in this fiction and this is all for fun!!

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ZOOTOPIA!!

CHAPTER 2: Furtive Fox

It's been 15 years since the Gideon incident, and Judy Hopps has joined the police force, and it was time to celebrate with Mayor Lionheart:

“As mayor of Zootopia, I am proud to announce that my mammal inclusion initiative has produced its first police academy graduate. Valedictorian of her class, ZPD's very first rabbit officer, Judy Hopps!”

Cheers from her family, friends, coworkers, and fellow graduates filled the her ears as Lionheart told Assistant Mayor Bellwether to give Judy her badge, the lion looked over at Judy “Judy, it is my great privilege to officially assign you to the heart of Zootopia, precinct one, city center.” the cheers grew louder as she smiled,

“Congratulations, Officer Hopps!” the sheep told her,

“I won’t let you down!” she said before lowering her voice, “It’s been my dream since I was a kid.”

“You know, it’s a- it’s a real proud day for us little guys.” Bellwether told her in the same tone of voice, Judy smiled,

“Bellwether, make room will ya? Come on, let’s see those teeth Officer Hopps!”

~~

It was the day for Judy to go to Zootopia, and her parents were saying goodbye. Judy knew that they were proud and scared but this was her dream. Her father tried to give her Fox Away products, including a taser, she grabbed a spray so he would stop talking, when the train arrived, she jumped on, but looking at her parents and how her dad was sad that she did not say goodbye. Feeling bad she quickly ran out of the train and kissed them goodbye.

On the train, she put on some headphones and listened to ‘Try Everything’ by Gazelle.. Zootopia was beautiful, Sahara Square was incredible you could really feel the heat as she saw some camels jog by, next was Tundratown, all the snow was so cold that it immediately froze the window, Judy had to wipe it to get a better view, last but not least, was the Rainforest District, seeing all the animals with their umbrellas made Judy feel nice and warm inside the train as the rain dripped down the window.

At last, she was at the heart of Zootopia, the city center.

She was so excited she could barely hold it in, so as soon as possible she ran to her apartment, the owner was a armadillo, who was sure to tell her not to lose her keys, next she met her neighbors who were a kudu and a oryx

“Oh, hi! I’m Judy, your new neighbor!”

“Yeah well we’re loud.”

“Don’t expect us to apologize for it.”

Her apartment was, to say the least, interesting. The walls were greasy, her bed was rickety, and her neighbors, well, she knew that they were there..

“I love it!” she yells falling onto her bed.

After a long day Judy goes to bed, after all, she has to wake up extra early to get ready for work, so when her alarm goes off at exactly 5:30 am she’s up and ready to go, and leaves the fox repellent, and then grabs it.

At the station, Judy could see a wolf who was muzzled and being carried away by other officers, she also saw a cheetah who eating a donut and decided to ask him were roll call is,

At first the cheetah didn’t see her but when he did he called her cute which she quickly explained why he should not,

“I am so sorry! Me, Benjamin Clawhauser, the guy everyone thinks is just a flabby, donut-loving cop stereotyping you. Aw…”

Judy giggles but then noticed a donut on his neck, it took him awhile to find it, but when he did he eat it, and told he the way to roll call,

“That poor little bunny’s gonna be eaten alive.”

Roll call had lots of animals there. Judy felt small, she saw arm wrestling, and a little fighting. When she got to her spot, she looked over to her desk partner, a rhino, trying to start a conversation, she talked,

“Hey! Officer Hopps. Ready to make the world a better place?” she took out her paw ready for a fist-bump, but the rhino just grunted took out his fist and slides her away,

“Atten-hut!”

A bull walks into the room,

“Allright. Allright! Everybody sit. I’ve got three items on the docket. First… we need to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Francine,” Everyone looks at the elephant, “happy birthday.” all the animals start to punch her in excitement and she noogies one of them,

“Number two; there are some new recruits who I should introduce,” Judy grins, “but I’m not going to, because I don’t care.” Judy’s smile fades, but when all the officers start to laugh, she tries to too.

“Finally; we have fourteen missing mammal cases - all predators - from a giant polar bear to a teensy little otter, and City Hall is right up my tail to find them! This is priority number one!” The chief says as he’s given the files to pass out “Assignments: Officers Grizzoli, Fangmeyer, Delgato; your teams take missing mammals from the Rainforest District.” he gives them their files “Officers McHorn, Rhinowitz, Wolfard; your teams take Sahara Square.” They take their files and leave “Officers Higgins, Snarlov, Trunkaby: Tundratown.” The last of the cops are given their files and then take their leave, “And finally our first bunny: Officer Hopps…” Judy, all alone, excited, takes a breath, “parking duty. Dismissed.” Judy was confused.

“Parking duty?” she murmured to herself before trying to get the chief’s attention “Chief? Chief Bogo?” he sets down his reading glasses “You said that there were fourteen missing mammal cases.”

“So?”

“So I can handle one. You probably forgot, but I was top of my class at the academy.”

“Didn’t forget. Just don’t care,”

“Sir, I’m not just some token bunny.”

“Well then, writing one hundred tickets a day should be easy.” Bogo says before leaving, Judy thumps her foot in annoyance, “A hundred tickets, I’m not gonna write a hundred tickets,” she stops and thinks “I’m gonna write two-hundred tickets, before noon!” and so she was off.

Using her rabbit abilities, she wrote two-hundred tickets in no time,

“Boom! Two-hundred tickets before noon!” Then she heard a ‘ping’ noise next to her and grones, her police car and was in the spot longer than it should have been, “Two-o-one.”

Looking around she sees a little cafe, and it being lunch time, she decided to take a break, sure this was not what she wanted for a job, but within time, she’ll improve and she won’t be a meter maid.

Looking around, she saw many animals there, there were lions, tigers, and bears, sheep, goats, giraffes, mice, elephants, and many more, she wondered if she would even get in during her break, since there was already a line,

“Just wondering, how long would it take for me to get a seat?” Judy asked a antelope with the name tag ‘Annie’,

“‘Bout forty minutes,” she said, “Or are you the one who got the reservation?” Annie asked,

“Um, N-” she started

“We are.” Judy looked behind her and saw two mice, the taller one was wearing a small long brown coat with a small deerstalker cap, the smaller one had a mustache, and blue sweater with a darker blue shirt and a purple tie,

“You’re Basil?” Annie asked the mice “I thought you were taller,” the taller spoke, “I’m Basil,” he told the antelope, “This is my friend Dr. Dawson,”

“Basil…?” Judy asked herself, “Where have I heard that name before?” Then she got a sudden flashback to the Gideon incident, the little mouse that Travis held was right next to her, an old friend who was Basil of Baker Street.

“Basil!” Judy said and the mouse turned to her,

“Pardon?” Basil asked,

“Hi!”

“I’m sorry, miss, do I know you?” he asked,

“Yes!” she exclaimed, “I’m Judy Hopps, the girl from the Zootopia play fifteen years ago!”

“You're that girl who helped stand up to Gideon Grey!” Basil exclaimed

“Wait. You know her,” Dawson pointed to Judy, “And she knows you,” He pointed to Basil, “And everyone acts like this happens daily!?”

“Calm down doctor, this is my old friend Judy, she’s the bunny I told you about,” Dawson looked at him confused, “That’s Judy? The one that saved you when you were younger?”

“The one and only,” Basil smiled

“Yeah, but if it wasn’t for you, Sharla, Gareth, and my little sister wouldn’t have gotten their tickets back,” Judy said,

“So, you finally got that job being a-” Basil looked at her for a moment, “Meter maid?”

“Yeah, it’s not the best thing ever, but one day I’ll do better and the chief will have to choice but to promote me!”

“You mean Bogo? Good luck with that, even if your the greatest cop in the world Bogo would still treat you like a extra,”

“Wait… how do you know Chief Bogo?”

“I’m the ZPD’s detective. Basil of Baker Street, at your service!”

“Wait. Wait wait wait! You're the greatest detective? You’re the Great Mouse Detective! No way!” Judy almost screamed in excitement, but Dawson looked a little impatient, “Sorry to interrupt, but Basil, Miss Annie is waiting,”

“Oh, yes, of course,” Basil said,

“I guess I’ll be off then, see you around Basil!”

“Good day, Judy!”

Judy left the cafe in search for another place to eat,

Suddenly there was a loud honking sound and Judy looked over to a sheep in a truck just stopping in time for a fox to get by,

“Hey! Watch where you’re goin’ fox!” the sheep yelled in anger, the fox held his hands in a ‘hey, calm down’ manner.

Although she thought she should just leave it alone, Judy keeps an eye on the fox, whom she saw sneakily enter an elephant ice cream joint, she follows.

Looking into the store window, she realized the fox had disappeared,

“Where did he go?” she whispered to herself as she walked into the large building, that fox was talking to the owner of the joint,

“Listen, I don't know what you're doing skulking around during daylight hours, but I don't want any trouble in here,” he told the fox, Judy opened the fox repellent,

“I'm not looking for any trouble either, sir. I simply wanna buy a Jumbo-pop” the fox’s voice softened, “for my little boy” a little fennec fox in an elephant costume shows up, and Judy, touched by the kindness, closes the repellent.

“You want the red or the blue, pal?” the little fox waddles over the the cherry flavor jumbo pop,

“Ugh, I’m such a–” she complained to herself for even thinking about using the repellent on a father fox, but the owner didn’t care, he looked over at the fennec “Okay, come on, kid, back up.” Then he looked at the older fox “Listen, buddy, what? There aren't any fox ice cream joints in your part of town?” Judy’s ears perked up,

“Uh, no, no. There are, there are. It’s just, my boy,” he pats the little fox on the head, “this goofy little stinker, he loves all things elephant, wants to be one when he grows up.” the Fennec puts on his elephant mask and trumpets like an elephant. “Isn’t that adorable?” Judy can’t help but ‘aww’ a little.

“Who the heck am I to crush his little dreams, huh? Right?”

“Look, you probably can't read, fox,” he grabs a sign with his trunk “‘We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone’, so beat it!” Then a female elephant nudges him a little from behind, “You’re holding up the line.”

“Hello? Excuse me?”

“Hey, you're gonna have to wait your turn like everyone else, meter maid.”

“Actually,” she pulls back the meter maid jacket, “I’m an officer. Just had a quick question: are your customers aware that they are getting snot and mucus with their cookies and cream?” Suddenly a elephant couple spit on each other, “What are you talkin' about?” the owner asked

“Well, I don't wanna cause you any trouble, but I believe scooping ice cream with an ungloved trunk is a class-three health code violation,” The elephant looks over to his employee who was just holding ice cream in his trunk, dropped it, and then walked away sheepishly, “Which is kind of a big deal. Of course I can let you off with a warning if you glove those trunks and, I don't know, finish selling this nice dad and his son a…” she leaned over to the fox and whispered “What was it?”

“A jumbo pop, please.” he said looking at the elephant,

“A jumbo pop.” Judy repeated, the elephant groans in annoyance, “Fifteen dollars.”

“Thank you so much,” then the fox turned to Judy “Thank you,” then went to grab his wallet, felt around and opened his eyes in surprise, “Oh no, are you kidding me? I don't have my wallet! I'd lose my head if it weren't attached to my neck. That's the truth.” Then he looked over at the younger fox, “Oh boy, I’m sorry pal.” he pats the youngin on his head, “Gotta be about the worst birthday ever, please don’t be mad at me.” then kisses him on the head, “Thanks anyway.” Then they leave.

Judy slams a twenty dollar bill on the counter,

“Keep the change!”

--

Ok. Ok. I know it seems as if I’m just adding them. BUT IT WILL ALL CLICK! Trust me! 😄😄😊 I love feedback!

Also same rules as last time: the more the feedback and likes, the better chance I’ll continue it ❤️❤️ stay safe everyone

[thrushppelt]

knocks on your door bc i'm back n isn't that lovely?

tbh i kinda like oakheart, but he and blue rly met, hung out, then fucked which- accurate but damn ok

tho... if you're doing a bluesnow au and still want to add in misty, stone, and moss, you could totally have platonic oak and blue and he's like "sure, lemme help you add to your family with her" and is the platonic supportive edge blue needed

also you can't convince me that blue wasn't giving snow a lil goodnight kiss and said that she will commit war crimes for her (then proceeded to gut thistle like the now dickless bitch he is) like that is canon and real, i was there.

ohoh and totally see whitestorm never realizing he had a dad. someone asks him about it and he's just like, "my dad was the wind. idk his name and i honestly do not care to." (blue caused this but yk)

i also like the idea of them being adorable mates come fire joining the clan so he gets two moms and some siblings. (also imagine the sheer amount of angst you could write if tigerclaw killed snowfur and bluestar's mania really hit then-)

Anon you wanna get married

OAKHEART ISNT BAD there’s just NO CHEMISTRY when they barely talked 😭 and blue doesn’t feel anything abt the fact that he (very inadvertently) caused snows death

One night stand/platonic/whatever oakblue IS fun to think abt but I also like the thought of thrushpelt being their fathers :,) (ignoring the plot consequences by having them all live in a perfect limbo where everything’s ok and they’re HAPPY) no seriously blue deserved happiness and she got FUCK ALL!!!!!!!

Blue can have a little a morally gray by Accidentally having a fox or badger or monster kill thistle, it’s ok no one cares :) (and tiger Probably wouldn’t be as evil either LOL)

White just had two moms that were sisters also it’s ok :) it’s fine ASHFKGK it would be so satisfying seeing him say “fuck you” to his dad realizing how much of a dickbag he is. Thistle can be the divorced dad who tries yet still fails, that’s all I’ll allow him

DONT MAKE ME THINK ABOUT THAT………… ouhhrhhhhgg fire seeing a healthy (for the most part) and respectful blue just fall apart in DAYS …….. I’m gonna b thinking about that. Fuck you (affectionate)

[findingjoynweirdstuff]

Dream SMP Recap (June 9/2021) -        New Citizens

Ponk has a chat with Sam, Fundy and Purpled officially join Las Nevadas, and Ranboo receives an update message from the Council.

---

VOD LINKS:

Ponk

Fundy

Purpled

Ranboo

---

- Ponk continues building the bridge in his new valley

- He returns to Foolish’s summer home and finds the countersuit Puffy left. He reads it. Many of the claims he doesn’t think are actually against the law of the land. He insists he wasn’t quoting Roadtrip during his Banquet speech, but rather an old man

- Ponk will have the best lawyers (he also may pay the jury off but don’t tell anyone). He’s amused that Puffy would work with BadBoyHalo and call Ponk the ‘dirty Eggpire supporter’

- He finishes reading the lore suit and greets Purpled in chat, telling him that he’s getting sued by Puffy

- Sam logs on and Ponk takes him over to the valley. They’ve had their differences, but Ponk is in need of a good lawyer. Sam suggests Tubbo, but Tubbo is expensive and intimidating

- Ponk points out that Sam will be the only one in the jury with an elevated IQ like his own. Sam hasn’t been officially selected for the jury yet, and they might think he’s biased, having cut off Ponk’s arm (Sam says he did it for good reason)

- They reach the valley and Sam approves of Ponk’s bridge

Sam: “You can see Kinoko Kingdom from here.”

Ponk: “(gagging sound) No, you can see Niki’s place! Niki’s communist cult! It’s great! We’re gonna set up a nice trade agreement, and (mumbling) then we’ll burn Kinoko Kingdom down to the groun-- I mean, then we’ll have nice trade deals with everyone, you know?”

- Ponk is bitter about losing his arm and Sam blames it on him for stealing the keycards

Ponk: “Sam...just so you know, just so you know...You can come to me after...after everything. I will still support you, Sam, okay? You’ll have a place to stay, because, all the wrong you’ve done is gonna catch up behind you, you know? All the wrong that you’ve done--”

Sam: “I haven’t really done anything wrong.”

Ponk: “Haven’t you? Haven’t you?!”

Sam: “No, I think I’m a good guy.”

Ponk: “You think you’re a good person?”

Sam: “I don’t know, you don’t think I’m a good person?”

Ponk: “I mean -- my opinions are biased.”

- Ponk asks Sam to walk and talk with him on the way back to Spawn. Sam’s spoken with Purpled recently

- They visit the animal sanctuary and Sam suggests they steal the strider. Ponk tells him stealing is bad. Sam wants to let it out. They play with the strider a bit

- Ponk explains his conflict with Puffy in general terms

Sam: “Look, I have a random crossbow from one of those guys that we killed.”

Ponk: “You said that so casually...life is precious, you know.”

- Ponk asks about the bank. He’s free to work. Sam says it’s up to Hannah. The two discuss the bank system

- Ponk hasn’t seen Technoblade in a while. Sam thinks he must be overthrowing governments in a far off land or something

- Ponk offers to trade with Sam for two stacks of redstone blocks. He asks how much for his arm back. Sam says he destroyed it. Ponk is upset that Sam didn’t keep it, but Sam says it was too mangled

- Sam trades some gold for the redstone

- They fight a raid together and capture a Ravager

- The two continue to chat for a while

- Fundy stands by his bed. He had a great sleep! He dreamt about a Windows update and he’s looking...a little sleepy?

- He checks the to-do list. Today’s the day. He grabs some things for the road. Fundy decides he’ll go alone. He doesn’t want to risk losing his snow fox friend

- He says hi to his Aunt Panisha (a salmon in the river) as he sets off, asking her to wish him luck

- Fundy reaches Las Nevadas wonders where Quackity’s office is. After some deduction, he heads to the Needle and spots Quackity going up the elevator

- After some hesitation, Fundy goes up the elevator too and comes face-to-face with Quackity, who sees him and asks if he’s okay. Fundy says he’s doing fine, he had a weird sleep and may have woke up outside the window

- Fundy tells him that he took his advice and bettered himself. They sit at the table and Fundy shows him his new diet. Quackity says he’s proud of him

- Fundy mentions that last time they spoke, he suggested they play cards and back at home, he didn’t sleep because he was waiting for Quackity to come over...and then he didn’t

- Quackity explains he just had a bunch of paperwork to do

- Fundy spots some slime blocks bunched at the side of the room and asks what that’s about. Quackity says it’s “a friend” of his, that he’s probably asleep

- Quackity gets Charlie to emerge from the slime

Charlie: “Hey, Fundy from L’manburg!”

- He was in the middle of his gloop-morphosis. Fundy is confused at how he knows who he is. Charlie digs into the floor and gets Fundy to greet him, slurping up some slime

- Quackity tells Charlie he needs to speak with Fundy. Charlie says he can “sell it” and starts telling Fundy he looks like he wants to gamble. Fundy asks Quackity why he’s talking like this, and Quackity says he must have learned it from TV

- Fundy finds out that Charlie is incredibly old and asks Charlie about how he knew he was from L’manburg. Charlie declares them best friends

- Fundy tells Quackity that he’s changed, that he’s a better man. Quackity thinks it’s great, but he doesn’t want Fundy to portray a false version of himself

- Charlie looks at Fundy close-up and says he hasn’t changed

- Quackity doesn’t want Fundy to join under these conditions. Fundy insists he’s fine, he isn’t portraying a false version of himself

- Fundy’s lived in that cottage for way too long. All these nightmares are because of him interacting with people and he’s ruining it for them -- but ever since he’s improved himself and become more healthy, he hasn’t had those nightmares

- Quackity has thought about it a lot, and Fundy’s work in L’manburg was exceptional. He thinks Las Nevadas will be a stepping stone to Fundy’s success

- Charlie gets Fundy to smell him and asks him what it’s like to dream. Fundy sniffs and maybe swallows a piece of Charlie. Charlie tells him one day he’ll be whole again

- Quackity passes Charlie a bone of one of their “mutual friends” in L’manburg and asks Charlie to analyze it

- Quackity and Fundy leave Charlie in the Needle and go back down. Quackity brings him downstairs, where he tells Fundy there’s no going back. He wants to make sure Fundy can trust him and hands Fundy a book to sign:

---

All persons naturalized in Las Nevadas, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of Las Nevadas and the land wherein they reside.

The signing of this document subjects you to the rights and duties of the nation:

TAXES. Residents are required to pay a jurisdictional and financial charge to the nation to fund future projects and development of the nation. Failure to pay could result in the extinction of your permanent residence and possibly death.

MILITARY PARTICIPATION.  One of your duties as a resident of Las Nevadas is the complete protection of the nation. You’re required to participate in any wars, conflicts, or disputes of the nation, in favor of Las Nevadas.

LAND. One of your rights as a resident of Las Nevadas is a self assigned plot of land, approved by the proper authorities, to develop productive businesses, homes, entertainment centers, etc.

GAMBLING. Gambling is defined as staking of something of value, with consciousness of risk and hope of gain, on the outcome of a game. Gambling is completely legal in Las Nevadas, but subject to constantly changing regulations.

THE LV LEGAL SYSTEM ---------------------------- Las Nevadas and any disputes within the nation will be settled in the Las Nevadas court (TBA), with the presence of the conflicted parties, and the proper authorities.

FALURE TO RESPECT THE CONSTITUTION AND THE DUTIES WHICH ARE ASSIGNED TO THIS RESIDENCE WILL RESULT IN THE IMMEDIATE TERMINATION OF CITIZENSHIP,  AND, IF GUILTY OF A CRIME AGAINST THE NATION, YOU ARE SUBJECT TO

DEATH.

SIGNED .  .  .

QUACKITY

FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF LAS NEVADAS

---

- Fundy is nervous and hesitates

Quackity: “Fundy, I -- You’re like a brother to me. We’ve gone through so much. But I still have to protect my nation...surely you can understand that.”

Fundy: “No, I -- I can. Yeah. Yeah yeah yeah, um...it’s strong...You really believe in this nation, right? It’s like your child--”

Quackity: “Fundy...this is all I have left...if this nation dies, I die along with it.”

- Fundy signs the document with his full legal name:

Fun Jonatahan Micahel Vincent Georgina James Sus Dy

- He signs the book, gives it to Quackity and asks that if he ever reads it, to not call Fundy by his legal name

- Quackity welcomes Fundy to Las Nevadas as an official citizen!

- Charlie has control over the piece of slime inside Fundy. He tells Charlie not to do that

- Quackity asks Charlie if he has a name. They decide to call him “Meat” for now, but Charlie tells Quackity in “secret” (very loudly) that he isn’t actually meat...he is slime from the ground

- Quackity suggests they call him Slime From the Ground. He then says he is bones

- He leads the other two to the edge of Las Nevadas’ road and points out that they have a big issue: Tubbo’s outpost nearby. Quackity suspects that Tubbo may be planning some dangerous strategy against the country

- Quackity gives Slime some armor to put on

Slime: “Ready for war...don’t take my music discs!”

Fundy and Quackity: “Wh -- what did you just say?”

- Quackity has an informational video he can show Fundy later. They investigate the outpost. He reminds Fundy about the military protection portion of the document

- Quackity remembers the Butcher Army and asks how much experience Fundy has with the military. Fundy was part of every single one that’s existed

- Quackity suggests they build their own version of the outpost

- Slime starts breaking Tubbo’s windows. Quackity encourages it and tells Slime it’s called “griefing,” handing him dirt to spread around the place

- Quackity finds the two Totems of Undying they have at the outpost and asks if they should take them. He then says they should test them. He doesn’t know what they do

- Fundy isn’t sure they should, or what Tubbo’s intentions are. Quackity decides to leave them unless Tubbo retaliates for the griefing

- They notice the bridge and Quackity suggests a tollbooth

- Quackity explains the concept of taxes to Slime, who’s been watching Purpled recently. Purpled hasn’t done much, just farmed 

- They start building the tollbooth and Fundy brings up how medieval castles used to have boiling oil above the gates that they could use if there were people they didn’t like, and they could do something similar

- Slime starts throwing slime and Fundy can feel it (and it doesn’t feel good)

- Quackity asks for the bone he gave back, but Slime can’t tell the difference between all the bones

- Quackity remembers how when L’manburg exploded, Fundy and Niki came up to him and said it was a good day...what was that about?

Fundy: “The way I saw it was, during that time, everyone was trying to divide each other, right. Everyone was trying to divide each other...every one was either left or right and there was no in between. There was no...People always wanted to separate themselves and make war and destroy everything that was loved. When L’manburg was a thing, I cared about L’manburg, and then it got destroyed, right, and eventually, my hope at that moment was...that people just like, accepted that they shouldn’t--”

Quackity: “But you betrayed the nation...Fundy, the thing I’m getting at is, I don’t know your excuse or your thinking behind that...that will not happen again at this nation. No betrayals, no backstabbing. Not here. Understand?”

Slime: “What’s backstabbing?”

- Quackity and Fundy try to teach Slime how to backstab, then how to work the tollbooth against Tubbo

- Slime starts putting buttons on the walls. Quackity tells him not to, as it gives him bad memories

- Slime asks Fundy again what it’s like to dream. Fundy doesn’t want to talk about it, but Quackity notes that he’s been vague about it

- Fundy explains that every time something big happens in this place, he has dreams where he can sort of see what happens before it does. It’s like gazing into the future, except he loses details before it happens

- Quackity presses him on it. Let’s say they have a big war coming up, he takes Tubbo’s totems and Fundy sleeps and tells him what happens next so that they can prepare?

- Fundy doesn’t think that’s a good idea. Quackity doesn’t understand how real these things are

- What if they build an entire building for Fundy so that he can have these dreams comfortably? It’s just a possibility...

- Slime’s gloop-morphosis isn’t “complete” yet

- Quackity asks if Fundy knows Foolish. Fundy remembers one time he blew up a little bit of Foolish’s house and he finds out Foolish lives in Las Nevadas

- Quackity asks how long ago this was. Fundy says it happened a long time ago, but Slime corrects him

Quackity: “Just know, Fundy...he doesn’t know how to lie.”

- Quackity leaves to get diamonds and Fundy confronts Slime alone, asking him how he knows things. He tells Slime that in certain situations, it’s helpful to keep quiet on certain things for the benefit of other people

- They move on and Fundy teaches Slime a bit about fun and hobbies

- Quackity returns and they notice many squid in the nearby river. Quackity goes down and starts killing “cod” (salmon). Fundy corrects him that they aren’t cod, but to Quackity fish is fish. Fundy looks away while Quackity kills them

- They suggest Fundy be the food-gatherer. Fundy suggests a diet of fruit and plants

Slime: “What’s wrong with salmon? Your father loved them!”

- Quackity asks Fundy to elaborate on his father, if he came from a fishing family. Fundy asks Slime again about how he knows. Slime continually refers back to people “turning to dust.” 

- They ask about what Slime knows about them, then about Slime’s favorite memory. He digs a whole in the ground and waits for a bit

- They teach Slime about humor

Slime: “Two people walk into a bar. One is green, one is red. The green one is shaped -- is a bigger guy, and the red one is a smaller guy. To get to the bar, both got off a train. The train the red guy was on was going west at 40 miles an hour for 60 miles. The train the other guy was on did not serve lunch. They both walked into a bar, and 500 years later they were still just dust in the ground. At the end of it all, they were just still dust, and none of it mattered.”

- Slime tells another joke about a chicken turning into dust.

Quackity: “How long do you think it’ll take for me to turn to dust?

Slime: “I...I’ll make sure you never turn to dust, Quackity from Las Nevadas!”

- Quackity asks about Fundy’s father

Slime: “The sooty guy?”

- Quackity and Slime ask Fundy -- shouldn’t he know? Slime says Fundy can ask Wilbur about his history himself

Quackity: “Your dad’s alive, Fundy?”

- Fundy tells Quackity about how Phil came to him with some interesting news, that Wilbur is actually alive. Quackity ask when was the last time Fundy’s seen Wilbur. Fundy hasn’t seen him alive again yet

Quackity: “What’s your relationship with Wilbur?”

Fundy: “It’s...it’s complicated, man. It’s very complicated.”

Quackity: “Because...there’s an issue.”

- Fundy wants to talk to Wilbur about a lot of things. Quackity brings Fundy over to the headquarters and breaks the news that Wilbur came to see Quackity

Fundy: “...He saw you? He went on his way to see you, and -- and he’s not shown up to me to, you know -- why, why?”

- Quackity shows Fundy the “mark” Wilbur made. Wilbur asked to join Las Nevadas, and Quackity said no. He shows Fundy the name: Fort Big. Tommy and Wilbur are working together

- Quackity is just warning Fundy. He hopes this won’t get in the way of Fundy supporting the nation. Fundy just doesn’t know why Wilbur didn’t come to him, but he went to Quackity. 

Fundy: “Did he talk about me?”

- Quackity thinks he did, but he doesn’t remember what

- Fundy says goodbye to Slime and Quackity, heading off to settle down on his own. He stands at his plot of land, wondering if he’ll have to fight Wilbur

- Purpled is at his old base by the ruins of L’manburg. Life is good. He has DogChamp, he’s been fishing, no human contact

- He has something to attend to and goes to the cliffside nearby, finding Slime. He asks why Slime’s been watching him, who told Slime to spy. Slime avoids answering

- Purpled figures it’s Quackity and asks Slime more about how long he’s been above the ground, what he knows. Slime refers to him as “Purpled From a UFO” and Purpled shows Slime that his UFO has been destroyed by Quackity

- Purpled leaves Slime and visits the ruins. He notices Slime following him and tells him to leave again

- Slime traps himself in Dream’s honeymoon suite and Purpled continues down the path, looking at all the builds. He visits the Socializing Club and checks beneath the floor -- the trap he made all those months ago is still there. He wonders if anyone remembers these things

- Slime slimes his way out of the trap and Purpled visits L’manburg. He was just a pawn, there was no “Purpled in L’manburg” or “Purpled in Pogtopia” or “Purpled on Dream SMP’s side.” There was just no Purpled

- He returns to his house, gets DogChamp, puts him into a hidden chamber elsewhere. He stores his valuables...and rigs the entire place with TNT

He sets it off and it goes

- Slime talks to Purpled again. Purpled asks if Quackity is still interested in a new resident

- Purpled asks Slime to trust him as he retrieves DogChamp, and he gets Slime to lead him to Las Nevadas

- He makes it there and goes into the casino. Quackity doesn’t know what he has planned. He comes out to find Quackity there. Quackity takes him up to the top of the Needle

- Purpled makes it clear he only cares about the opportunity for himself, not for Quackity. He doesn’t stand for what Quackity does, doesn’t think there will ever be a time that he’ll respect Quackity as a person

- Quackity tells him they all change in some way or another. When he first became Vice President, he saw the best in everyone

Quackity: “I don’t really see the good in people anymore...but I do see opportunity.”

- Quackity tells Purpled that if they succeed with the nation, the two of them will be going down in history. Purpled starts to come around to thinking that maybe they are on the same page 

- Quackity had a citizenship document he meant for Purpled to sign, but he’s willing to gamble on it without

Quackity: “Welcome to Las Nevadas, Purpled.”

- He gives Purpled the document either way and tells him he has a right to a plot of land. Quackity will have a business meeting with all the residents soon

- Purpled asks for land behind the casino. He has an idea for something. Quackity agrees to give it to him

- Purpled leaves and speaks to himself with DogChamp at the stage. Things will be looking different around here real soon

- Ranboo goes to the mailbox he set up with the Council and checks it, finding a new update in the book along with a Netherite Axe labelled “axe of the end” in Enderman.

The update reads:

---

Hello. We have been observing the happenings around the server and we come bearing not news but rather a warning for you. We know that you like to stand idle and not engage in any kind of acts of violence and we respect you for that.

However, we also know that there are people that you care about and you need to understand that in order to take care of those people you are no longer able to just stand idle. You need to take a more active role again. We have given you something that can help with that. Use it carefully.

We respect your wishes. - The Council

---

- Ranboo takes the axe. He planned to work on Tubbo’s outpost, make it seem like more of a shop than an outpost

- He goes to the outpost and finds the griefing, cleaning it up

- As some protective measures, he leaves signs:

---

Hello! Whoever put a bunch of dirt everywhere, Dont!

This is going to be a new cookie shop! We dont have cookies yet

Please leave it alone! Or violence will be used.

---

- He continues working on the outpost and Techno logs on. Ranboo goes over to the new tollbooth and pays the toll of one bone

Techno: ranboo have you unlocked teleportation yet

Ranboo: not yet i dont think

Ranboo: let me try

Ranboo: yeah no

Techno: can you hurry up

Techno: asking for a friend

- Ranboo explores around Las Nevadas and makes a to-do list

- He makes a hidey hole in the strip club and strips some logs. He gets tempted to steal a Netherite block

His to-do list reads:

---

TO DO LIST FOR LAS NEVADAS: 1. Figure out what to get inside of. 2. Figure out what the hollow buildings are 3. Figure out why there are so many horses 4. Figure out who runs this place 5. Figure out what the black pillars are for

---

- He returns home and speaks with Tubbo in VC

---

Upcoming events remain the same.

[ethanredotter]

My ideas for Zootopia 2

Ah, Zootopia. It broke the record for the biggest opening weekend for an animated film, went on to be Disney Animation’s third most profitable film ever, became the second highest grossing original film of all time, and was nominated for and won innumerable awards including many for best animated picture, and rightfully so. It introduced us to a beautiful, creative, and lovable world populated by amazing characters, and had a poignant message that was conveyed, in my humble opinion, in the best possible way. I liked it a lot when it first came out, but after recently getting into stuff with a similar concept (Beastars), and being subsequently recommended various fan content on YT (Savage Company, Return to Zootopia), I got back into the film again and absolutely fell in love with it to the point that it’s joined my top three films alongside Coco, and The Land Before Time. 

Which is why I am really, really craving a followup of some kind.

Seriously, of all of Disney Animation’s recent films (or heck, films in general), I feel like this one has the greatest potential for a sequel. The setting oozes creativity from its every pore, has so many nooks and crannies that we didn’t manage to explore in the film, its two main leads were perfect and I really feel still have plenty of room to grow, and there are still so many ideas old and new that can be explored. So far we’ve received a few tie-in books, a hidden object game which is no longer available, a few comics, including a series about stories from Nick and Judy’s childhoods, a very large and intricate land expansion under construction in Shanghai Disneyland and a game starring Nick and Judy in Epcot, and a Disney+ original series focusing on various characters from around the city. All of these are fantastic, but four years after the film’s release, we’ve received no official confirmation of a proper continuation to Nick and Judy’s story like a sequel or TV series, just a few rumors here and there.

We’ll get some kind of proper followup eventually, that’s for sure, but what could it do? What kinds of places could they take us to? What ideas could it explore? What could happen to our leads, and what kinds of new characters could they befriend or combat? Well, I’m gonna give my ideas right here; buckle up, because I have a lot.

The City

Let me start off with the City itself. I mean… It’s marvelous. The architecture, like the Oasis Casino, central station, first precinct, the various neighborhoods. The accommodations like the sprinklers, water tubes, Little Rodentia, and the climate wall! The city of Zootopia is a star in and of itself with just how much care, attention, and creativity was put into its every crevice, and we barely got to see half of what it has to offer, as we only got a proper look at five of its twelve districts. They’ve revealed a few other districts via some maps and books (Meadowlands, Outback Island, Canal District) but there are a bunch of others yet to be revealed, and plenty unexplored.

Let’s start with what could be done with the ones already revealed. The Canal District could accommodate the city’s highly aquatic residents like hippos, otters, muskrats, beavers and manatees, and also be one of the city’s primary trade hubs. In terms of layout, it could be like Venice meets the Mekong Delta on steroids where the citizens live and make their living either in boats, or in buildings whose entrances are right on the water. There could be some walkways for less aquatic animals, but most of the transportation is through the water; either via swimming, or via motorboats, riverboats, jet skis, and ferries. And indeed, this is possibly what they had in mind judging by the concept art of the canals. I hope to see them implement something like this in the future; this stuff is just insanely cool! In terms of infrastructure, alongside the various docks and warehouses, I’m thinking that it could be a place for aquaculture where all manner of freshwater seafood are raised, as well as plenty of touristy stuff like river cruises. Maybe we could have a boat chase here, or perhaps just a relaxing moment between our leads, or maybe both. 

The meadowlands would be a place for more temperate grazers like sheep, horses, bison, and various kinds of deer. It could be akin to a massive park district with plenty of recreation and places to enjoy a bit of fresh air, and its buildings could possibly be like hobbit holes and built into the hills. I’m thinking it could also be a place with a lot of mills to process both food and textiles, and its overall atmosphere could be quite agricultural and country while being in the middle of a city and not having much in the way of crops.

Now on to potential districts

Credit to @florenze​

The one that I and many others have thought of the most is a nocturnal cave district. This would be located beneath the rest of the city, and would, of course, have little to no light in order to accommodate its main inhabitants such as moles, mole rats, and bats. This place could have homes on the ceiling and walls for the bats, with various cranes and elevators for the non-bats to get around both to visit, and do maintenance. I imagine bat homes could be quite atypical compared to other species since they’d likely sleep upside down and crawl on walls a fair bit, and if they need to get anywhere they can just fly, so much like the canals, they might not have much in the way of front yards and instead just have elevators and sheer drops on their front doors. Likewise, the less residential buildings could have entrances at higher floors for the bats as well. Entrances to the district could be drive-in cave mouths, as well as big openings for the bats to just fly straight out of to see the other districts at night.

As an opposite to that, I was thinking that a central mountain district would also be cool to see. This would accommodate mountain sheep and goats, takins, pikas, llamas, as well as snow leopards, brown bears, and other mammals who like high and rocky locales. This place could be even more vertical than the cave district, and require either elevators, stairways, or surefootedness to get around, as well as perhaps some oxygen tanks depending on how high it goes. Therefore, cars would be nowhere to be seen, and if anyone wants to get in, they’ll need to park outside, or better yet just take public transportation to allow room for residents’ vehicles. Buildings could possibly be carved out from the stone, and the overall atmosphere could be a mix of the Himalayas and the Andes, and also a bit of the Rockies and Urals.

Regardless of what districts they show us, I would like to see a few more angles to the city than just a bright and clean middle class. Show off its dirty underbelly too, and I don’t just mean more of the street hustlers and thieves like Nick, Finnick, and Weaselton. The first film did an excellent job of showing us that Zootopia wasn’t some perfect society with its discrimination and criminals, and while we did get a nice glimpse of its dirtier side, I want to see more of the run down neighborhoods and their residents. Heck, maybe make poverty an aspect of the plot and a motivator for the villain. Although, they also could also easily cover it with Nick due to the fact that his family was struggling back in the day. Alongside that, I’d like to see high society too, especially the oasis casino that they really wanted to show off, but couldn't find a way to. Show us just how both lavish and run down this city can be.

New Characters

Of all the things I love the film for, its characters and their arcs are probably the biggest things, especially those of the leads. This film has a very diverse cast from a big old cape buffalo to a tiny little fennec fox, and they’re all quite memorable and fun. Now I know what some of you are thinking, “why are you covering new characters before the old ones”? Mostly because I have fewer ideas, but also because the ideas I have for some of the old characters are quite big.

Firstly, I’d like to talk about Nick’s family, starting with his mother. Yes, Mrs. Wilde is already an established character, but I’m still putting her in here since I want to talk about Nick’s family in the same section, and she’s gotten very little characterization; heck, we don't even know her name. She seems like a very nice and supportive vixen from what we saw from the flashback, there was a tweet from Rich Moore that we can infer a fair bit from, and the end of a comic that showed her being a very nice mother and a massive fan of a rock band made of rabbits. Nick is seemingly an only child since no siblings are mentioned anywhere, and they certainly seemed to be financially struggling at some point since he said that his mom “scraped up” the money for the scout uniform, and in the comics he was always extremely short on money and didn’t even have an allowance. Rich referring to her as “Mrs. Wilde” as opposed to “Ms. Wilde” shows that she was/is married and that the husband was probably Nick’s father. The last line of the tweet highly indicates that she and Nick are in contact and on speaking terms (although it really begs the question of where she was during his graduation as there’s not a fox in sight (although there were plenty of seats out of sight and obscured)), and also potentially hints at, uh… Things we’ll get to later. Unfortunately, we don’t know anything more about her. Did she know about Nick’s bad behavior? Did Nick even tell her about the incident with the scouts? Was she ever estranged from him? I’d like for it to be talked about, preferably with her present. I don’t want her to just show up in a call or something, I want her to actually have a scene with her son, and I’d love for her to meet Judy as well.

At least we know a thing or two about her, but we don’t know a thing about Nick’s father that has been confirmed. In one of the original cuts of the film, Mr. Wilde was a tailor who wanted to start up a company with his son called Wilde and Son’s Suitopia and give his kit the best future he could possibly have. Unfortunately, after many attempts at getting a loan to start it up, Nick tried to stop some lemming bankers from denying their loan by trying to grab the stamp from them, was spotted by a guard, and was forcibly and permanently separated from his dad because the city in that cut was was a horrible place full of horrible prey who thought that predators were nothing but horrible monsters ready to blow at any time to the point that they were forced to wear shock collars that would zap them whenever they got even remotely excited. Seriously, screw this setting, it made Beastars look like a freaking paradise. Anyway, back on track. Nick only mentions his mom, so where is his dad? Again, a fair bit can be inferred from the sources on his mother. The simple fact that he wasn’t mentioned in the flashback or the comics seems to indicate that he was out of their lives at that point in Nick’s childhood. Go figure, fans have gone nuts with the possibilities. I’ve seen depictions of him ranging from dead, to estranged, to a genuinely good dad who’s back in their lives now, and a psychotic criminal mastermind who wants Nick to be his heir… Yeah. Out of all those depictions, the loving father one is my favorite. Sure, Rich didn’t mention him in the tweet, but that could have been a simple omission since the question was about Mrs. Wilde. I’ll be honest, my perfect version of this idea is from the fan comic It Should Have Been Me, in which which his backstory and character is almost exactly what it was in the original cut: he was a fabric worker who moved to Zootopia with his wife and son in order to make it big on a tailor business, as he strongly believed in the ideals of the city and wanted to show Nick what a fox could become. He was repeatedly denied a loan, and eventually his obsession with making the business made his wife leave with Nick. After some time, he finally realized that being a role model was not the same as being a father and returned to them. I adore this interpretation for how it shows a family that struggled to stay together for reasons mostly within their control, but still managed to, and are now seemingly happier than ever, something I can’t recall seeing at all in any of Disney Animation’s films (if you know any examples, please list them), and also the fact that Mr. Wilde is a great, likable, and kind of complex character here who is a good man who just messed up as opposed to a simple deadbeat dad I've often seen him depicted as. I want to see something like this out of his father in an official follow-up, but even if he is still separated from his wife, I’d like to see him, and if he’s dead, still give us something; I want to know who this guy is and where he is now, and if there’s anyone else in the Wilde family, I’d love to meet them too, and I want to know how they feel about Nick turning his life around and bucking expectations and stereotypes. His mother is probably exceedingly proud of him, and his dad probably is too if my preferred version is used. Either way, give us a lovely father, mother and son scene (or just mother and son scene, because you know, she’s the only one confirmed to still be around).

On to the villain! The villain should be as opposite to Bellwether as possible; big, male, predator, and not trying to fool anyone into believing that he’s not the mastermind behind anything. We’ll know, at least partially, who this guy is from the moment he’s introduced and what his motivations are early on. Unlike Bellwether, we’ll dive into his character more and more as the film goes on and see what makes him tick. So, what could he want? The idea I’ve conjured up was that he could be a segregationist extremist who sees the founding principles of Zootopia as foolish, believes that this all mammal society is unsustainable, and that all species should completely separate from each other. Perhaps he just wants to get back at the city that he believes wronged him and/or his kind, or perhaps he wants to go back to the wild square one where it’s every species for themselves, and perhaps he thinks that will genuinely be better for everyone. Regardless, I think that this idea would be an interesting continuation of the first film’s ideas of prejudice and living in peace with your neighbor, where this villain would want to bring down the city because he hates prejudice, wants to bring down what he sees as a hypocritical city, and wants mammals to be better off by being separate and under harm. Also, unlike Bellwether who was a power hungry sociopath, this guy will be far more genuine in his pursuit and see himself as a liberator. But as I said, he could very well just be using it all as an excuse for petty vengeance and lashing out at the world in a spiteful rage.

Despite what I said before, I do think that there should be an air of mystery around him. Since he’ll see himself as a demagogue for all animal’s “liberation”, he could conceal himself in shadows during his broadcasts, and also cover himself from head to toe in feature hiding clothes such as a helmet/mask, and specially designed gloves and shoes that hide what his hands and feet look like in order to not show off what species he is. Basically, he could be a twist on the twist villain; he’ll be all mysterious and some could think that he may be a character that we’ve met, but in reality he’s the same character we’ve known all along. As for what species he could be, I was thinking that he could be a less looked at member of a well known family of animals. My best bet would be a smaller and less predatory species of bear like an American black bear, sloth bear, or a sun bear since we saw so many brown and polar bears in the film, and while he’d be small by bear standards, he’d still be quite large, and heck, maybe they could make him particularly large and scary for his species of bear. Also, since he would be a kind of bear whose protein historically consisted entirely of insects (especially in the case of the latter two), he could have extra reason to be angry with society since his kind never wronged prey (although again not quite the case with American black bears since they will sometimes eat fawns and even fully grown deer), but yet he was lumped in with the brown and polar bears. Of the three species I listed, I think the sloth bear would work the best since their protein entirely consists of insects, but, despite their small size and goofy appearance, they’re one of the most aggressive species of bear and have been known to charge at elephants and rhinos at the drop of a hat, and this could play into his characterization as bear Kratos. I think there could be some hints to his species throughout the story, despite how well he may try to hide it. For instance, American black bears when scared tend to do things such as pulsing and clapping their jaws together, while the south Asian bears tend to rear up and stretch their chests out to expose their white stripe. Perhaps he could unconsciously do things like that when particularly agitated or under pressure.

What exactly could make him want all of this? I was thinking that much like our favorite fox cop, he could have experienced much discrimination throughout his life, only far worse, and been downright spiteful instead of rolling with the punches like Nick did. And again, it could have been more pronounced on him since the discrimination was due to “Sins of the cousins” and his kind had nothing to do with any of what they accused him of. A tipping point could have been the Night Howler Crisis, which could have either personally affected him, or just confirmed his beliefs and made him want to go through with his plans to try and tear Zootopia down, and now, about a year or so after that Crisis, his plans can finally go into motion. As for how he’ll go about things, well, he’d go for the hearts, minds and the infrastructure of the city. Perhaps he could broadcast all over to spread his propaganda and instill doubts in in the population (notably in his fellow preds by reminding them what happened not long ago), and also strike fear in those who oppose him. Other than that, he’ll of course go straight for the city’s infrastructure via sabotage and kidnappings. One victim could be the mayor, who this time could actually be a good person and politician, or, as one official comic showed, Lionheart again… Was this an error, or was he seriously canonically reinstated after the shady crap he got up to!?

Anyway, expanding on the idea of the concealing outfit, I’m thinking that his followers (who I’ll just call The Cell for now) could do the same thing with tail hiders, stilts, and padding which would be especially effective for bigger animals to possibly lean over and look like something shorter and fatter in order to make themselves appear roughly the same as to make themselves not see each other as another species for the duration of this insane operation (it also has the added effect of making them harder to differentiate and track). This will eventually be their downfall for reasons you may have surmised, but I’ll explain that later.

Speaking of more villainous characters, I'd like to see a bit more of the criminal syndicates and mobs throughout the city. I'd like to learn who rules what parts of the city, how far their reach goes, and how they operate. Although, we’ll probably only get a glimpse in the film, but we could see the criminal organizations focused on more in a TV series or official comic book, because I think a film would be about a much larger and complex threat that could change the city and characters as we know them.

What about more heroic characters? Well, perhaps we could see the return of concepts from the original pitch of the film like secret agents. Considering that the villain’s plot could be citywide and insidious, I think it would make sense. It could be cool to see conceptual characters such as Skye developed and implemented, and have them helping our leads with the case (or perhaps they could just be a cameo in a movie theater, I dunno, they had a billion other ideas when conceptualizing). I’d like to see her come back because she seemed like quite an interesting concept of a mechanic and badass secret agent (Also, look at that concept art; she's flipping adorable). Perhaps she could be undercover in The Cell, and Nick and Judy could meet her after being ambushed by them. As they’re driving away, Nick gets shot in the shoulder with a dart, but when they reach safety, he realizes that he’s fine. He pulls the dart out and finds that it’s hollow and clear and has a note inside it. They read the note and it includes an apology and directions to a garage in the meadowlands. Later they go to the address and find a light tan fox working on a car. She introduces herself, apologizes further to Nick for shooting him, and then brings them into a safehouse where she gives them vital info on The Cell, and gives them a number to call her at and a few special signals and monikers to help out.

If I were to describe the character I imagine her having, it would be extremely enthusiastic, friendly, and possibly coming off as a little childish, but also intelligent, savvy, and consummately professional and well trained. Basically, a quintessential bunny ears lawyer.

Some people have wanted her to have some kind of past affiliation with Nick, but I’m not sure. I mean, it would be interesting and a good callback to the cut where she was his sidekick, but in this version him knowing someone who just so happens to also be a secret agent would seem a little odd. Then again, he knows everybody. Maybe she’s that mysterious Lady Friend mentioned by Finnick…? (she is a mechanic after all, and he loves his van).

Other than that, I’d love to see the ZPD itself expanded and characterized a heck of a lot more. Maybe we could actually get to know Nick and Judy’s fellow officers like McHorn, Pennington, and Wolfard, and finally see some actual detectives as opposed to just patrolmen, and also get to see the city’s other precincts. I’d love to see the folks at first precinct all working with and respecting our leads, and for all of their strengths to be shown to the max. As in, I want to see them in full SWAT gear conducting a raid; Bogo and the big boys breaching doors, the wolves and cats on marksman duty, and Nick and Judy doing infiltration.

Returning Characters

Let’s start with everyone’s favorite tiny fox, shall we? Finnick wasn’t in the film all that much and only said a total of 37 words (yes I counted), but despite this, he still left a shockingly large impact on audiences for his in your face attitude and vocal dissonance of being a little fennec fox played by a giant former pro wrestler, Tommy Lister Jr (may he rest in peace). And honestly, I flipping adored him too. The creators also liked him a lot and have featured him extensively in newer material such as Zootopia Crime Files, which had him heavily involved in a case and really managed to flesh out his character and specify what his relationship with Nick was like (which is to say, they are genuinely friends), and he even appears as a playable character in Disney Heroes: Battle Mode, and they have said that they wanted to feature him more in a sequel. So what could he do in a follow up? I’m thinking that he could become a major supporting character. I’d like to see him having some genuine friendly times and conversations with Nick and Judy such as going out to eat with them, and also get them out of some scrapes; perhaps by going nuts on a perp that’s threatening them and/or driving them out of a sticky situation. Perhaps he could also help the investigation by acting like an informant or mole (but as I said, in this cut that could already be taken by someone else). Or perhaps he’s gone or will go relatively straight and operate a totally legitimate ice cream shop instead of running a complex hustle. Perhaps he could also act as a shippe- again something we’ll get to later. I’d also like to learn more about him as a person; did he get into the hustling life because of some kind of discrimination like Nick, or is he just a roughhouser who genuinely likes what he does and wouldn’t have it any other way? Who’s this lady friend he mentions? Does he harbor any resentment for Nick for getting off the street and into the force? Obviously it’s not too strong if he’s still giving him Pawpcicles and interacting with him in a cordial way, but is there any there? I’d really like to see. Also, what's his real name? The directors said that Finnick isn't his real name, so what is it? Maybe tell us, maybe don't. As for who could replace Zeus, I’m thinking Kevin Michael Richardson. Whoever they get, I hope he does him justice.

Leave Bellwether out of this; she's served her purpose.

I wouldn’t be mad at seeing Mr. Big return, but I don’t really have any ideas for him. That said, I think that Fru-Fru could be a nice inclusion as a good friend of Judy. Perhaps Judy could hang out with her and do a few things like a little bit of Godmothering for the little shrew bearing her name.

Flash… If he shows up at all, make it a minor appearance, maybe even a cameo.

Bogo was technically the tritagonist of the last film, and I’d like him to remain in a prominent role. I loved his character and evolution in the last film; he starts off barely giving Judy the time of day and repeatedly gets really pissed off at her antics, and also blows off Nick on the simple basis of him being a fox. But he’s an extremely principled and just fellow, and in my opinion, an example of what a good police chief should be, especially since he gets over his prejudices and comes to respect our leads as much as his other officers (which is to say, a LOT). And it’s that respect that I really want to see in a follow up. I want him to send Nick and Judy out on important missions, I want him to trust them with their conduct and intel, and most of all, I want him to protect them and treat them like valuable members of the force. For instance we could see him chew out another officer for talking badly of them, and also risk his life to keep them alive. Speaking of, I also want to see him in action, not just in his office playing with apps (although I certainly wouldn’t complain if we saw him messing around) or showing up after the fact to arrest a perp; I want to see this big bull kicking tail and taking names. Again that prospective swat raid. Other than that, I’d like to learn a bit more about him as a person outside his job, and maybe get a full name.

Benjamin Clawhauser… I don’t have much in the way of new ideas for him other than seeing him interact with Nick. I and many others think that the two of them would be great friends with some awesome banter (and in the Tame Collar cut he was supposed to be one of Nick’s employees at Wilde Times, so they’ve got some of their dynamic figured out already). If I were to imagine Nick's nickname (or I guess we could say Nick Name) for him, it may be Chomps. Other than that, for the third time, flesh him and his backstory out a bit more; he’s a likable guy and I’d like to know more about him. I also absolutely think that he’d be yet another shi- Oh yeah, the main characters!

Nick and Judy

And finally, the part that I’ve wanted to talk about the most; Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps. These two are incredible. I know I’ve already gushed about every last little thing this film has done even remotely right, but these two are genuinely just plain perfection. They’re my favorite cinematic duo ever, and some of my favorite fictional characters ever. Their dynamic, their chemistry, their dedication and adoration of each other, the way they grow because of each other, it’s all just wonderful. If you want more details as to why they’re so wonderful (especially together), check out @beastars-takes​ post on their relationship and why it’s so darn awesome; there is not an off word in there, offers a lot of insight into the hidden depths that you may not have noticed, and helped me understand these two and the film all the better and gave me the intense love I have for it. Buckle up, these two are the longest part of the essay, because they were the best and biggest part of the movie, and thus I’ve got the most to say.

Honestly, my favorite parts with them were in the last 20 minutes of the film where they are just a perfect buddy cop duo (and ironically enough, weren’t even cops at this point) who clearly had an unbelievable amount of love for each other and even faith in each other while kicking serious butt, and seeing Nick give off that extremely genuine smile upon finally being able to live up to the oath he made as a kid at his graduation was absolutely heartwarming. I want to see more of THIS duo in the next film; a duo of true companions absolutely brimming with charm and endearment who you want to be on screen as much as possible. These two had such good chemistry by the end of the film that many people wondered whether there was something more between them than mere friendship. Were they… Romantically involved? If not, should they be in the future? Many people have been against this idea because they either don’t interpret their relationship that way, and/or they feel that a romance would be cliched and/or forced. What’s my opinion on this whole thing? We’ll get to that soon, for now, let's talk about character focus and development!

I think that Nick should be in the protagonist seat this time, and Judy should be switched to deuteragonist, although she’ll be more in focus than Nick was last time. I want to see how Nick feels about his new life as an officer, his past and connections, his home (does he live in a leaky pipe ridden apartment and sleep in a drawer like in this concept art, or does he live in a better place?), him kicking but with his new training, and as said previously, his family. I want to see him being truly happy and fulfilled for the first time in his adult life, and how it affects him. I want to see the full weight of everything that he’s gained and will continue to have at the forefront of his story arc, and likewise with Judy. I want to see him open up to people more, and I want to see him continue to prove to the world that a fox can be more than a shyster, and heck, maybe he and Judy are becoming something of celebrities from their adventures and maybe the two of them are using their status to help their communities in ways other than police work. Maybe the two of them will visit schools, more run down neighborhoods and communities of stereotyped animals to tell their story and show them what they can become if they believe in themselves and in others. I also want a big emotional scene from him, or at least an adult big emotional scene. While we did see plenty of big emotional scenes from him and certainly saw the depths of what he’s been through, it was Judy who really brought out the most emotion. This time around, I want to see Nick carry the most emotional scene, tears and all. My choice would be him realizing the weight of what he has gained and how much he doesn’t want to lose it. For instance, perhaps they could have a party at the station in honor of their promotions (I'd guess detective given their skill sets) with him, his fellow officers, his parents, and even his and her civilian friends such as Finnick. He’ll sit down next to Judy and his folks with a plate and a cup, and they’ll start conversing. Suddenly, officer McHorn comes up and commends him and Judy for their great work in their short time on the force, and how they deserve to be detectives after all the cases big and small that they've solved. Nick will look at him with a smile as he’s talking, and then notice something: all of the most important people in his world are right there in that room, and each and every one loves, respects, and appreciates him. His parents, his friends, and most importantly his brothers in arms, and especially the one who brought him into the fold and changed his life forever. The realization that he’s achieved the camaraderie he wanted and fulfilled the promise he made in his youth, how he's made people see him for who he is and not what he is, and how whole his life has become from this job and how it will get even better from this promotion hit him like a train and he starts shedding tears. His parents, Judy and McHorn notice. He tries to play it off initially, but he realizes that he has nothing to hide anymore and explains everything. McHorn says he really meant what he said and that he’s an integral part of the PD, and Judy and his folks begin comforting him and eventually Judy says “Oh you foxes, you're so emotional”. Nick gets a big smile on his face and gives her a tight hug, and then chooses to get up on a table and say a big speech of thanks and cheers to his family, friends, his fellow officers, and especially to the greatest gal he’s ever known.

Speaking of the sly bunny, I want to see how the events of the last film have affected her and have shaped her into a wiser person and more effective officer. Much like with Nick, I want to see her continue to buck other’s expectations of her and prove that rabbits can be far more than just meek farmers. I want to see her grow even more street smart, wise, and a better problem solver from seeing all that Zootopia has to offer and from her proximity with Nick. I want her to see more of the world’s complicated problems and for her to start to understand the bad parts of it even more, but at the same time continuing to see plenty of good as well (sometimes, a bit of both). Also, there’s a lot of Zootopia as a city that she still hasn’t seen; species, districts, holidays, you name it. I want a big part of her story to also be her experiencing everything the city has to offer, preferably with Nick at her side, and the wonder on her face. That said, I want the wonder to be shared. I want to see Nick enjoying this city like never before since he can look at it in a whole new light, and do so with the one who made it all possible. And likewise, Judy would feel the same in regards to being able to explore it with the one who changed her for the better, helped her keep her career, learn more about herself, and has continued to be there for her. And again like Nick, I want her to really feel what she’s gained: a great career, comrades who respect her, the ability to help others, and fulfillment of the dream she’s wanted since childhood, and an amazing partner who helped her achieve it all and got all the same things because of her.

And all that of course brings us to the big question. How should their relationship evolve? Well, uh…  I think… You see, I… I uh… Well...

This is on the bookshelf in my room

And this is one of my most viewed images on furaffinity (credit to RelaxableFur)

Of important note; I’m not someone who casually ships characters. I may consider the idea of them being a couple when they’re together on screen and have good chemistry, but I’m never like “Oh my god, they need to get together!” (in fact, I was neutral about the idea of WildeHopps until last year when I dived back into the movie), and I’m especially not one of those people who ships characters who obviously have no chance in hell of being romantically involved. I only really get on a ship if I think there’s a strong precedent for it in terms of character plausibility and storytelling potential (and it also helps if they’re absolutely adorable on screen). And in the case of these two, I absolutely think that they hit all three categories.

Now, let’s get into details. Do I think they’re just friends at the end of the film? Not necessarily. Do I think they’re romantically involved? Again, not necessarily. I think their relationship is complicated. As I said, they trust, respect, and care for each other to such an incredible degree that they were willing to do THIS all for the sake of milking the scene and keeping up appearances to keep the bad guy talking (and as you may or may not have noticed, Judy’s nose didn’t move even a bit during the entire act until Nick was right on top of her, whereas before at even the slightest sign of distress it would twitch like crazy), and then just casually laugh about the whole thing while holding each other. Speaking of which, they are clearly very comfortable with physical contact; Judy comforts Nick with some arm caresses

Nick let Judy cry into him and wrapped his tail around her when making up (how else would she step on it)

The two of them share the aforementioned very nice embrace when gloating to Bellwether (yes, Judy had a wounded leg, but the way they’re holding each other and how comfortable they are indicates way more than just physical support)

And there was also this part in the concert… 

Y’all thought that was just a hip check, didn’t you!? 

There’s also the fact that, while it’s obviously a rather playful exchange,  they just casually threw the big, big L out there in their last conversation, and not only that, but the whole thing is delivered in a kind of longing fashion, and depending on the translation the wording gets either more or less explicitly romantic.

As myself and Beastars Takes have stated, they are perfect kindred spirits who have irrevocably changed each other’s lives for the better, and they believed in each other when no one else would. For those reasons they have grown closer to each other than anyone else and can’t get enough of each other. They made each other’s dreams come true, they’re the greatest things that have happened to each other, and they will continue to be so, especially now that they’re together nearly every day of the year since they’re now on the job together. To me, that’s not a will they get together, that’s a when will they get together, and I’d find it more forced if they didn’t become an item (unless their sexualities don’t match, but I doubt that, because again all of their dialogue and physical closeness) 

And this officially licensed merch…

And these park character interactions.

And honestly, I think that many mammals will probably think the same way. As I almost said throughout, I think plenty of folks like Clawhauser and Finnick will see the spark between them and be Shippers on Deck. I could imagine Finnick teasing their obvious affection for each other, and Clawhauser could just be his usual self and just make little squees and mental notes whenever he sees them interacting, and there could be a few rumors about them floating around the PD.

So how should their romance develop, and how should their couple dynamic be? Subtly, and not too much of a change from how they already are, respectively. As I said, these two already think the world of and can’t get enough of each other, and I really think that there’s already a romantic spark between them that they just need to think through and expose. I give them half a year on the force before they’re all over each other, a year at most. I don’t think that they’ll even have to make any real confession of love to each other, I think they’ll just have to have the right moment to properly figure out that their relationship already is romantic and/or that it really would be able to work out between them, and actually cement it right there and then. That said, don’t drag the hookup out. Don’t have their entire arc be about them getting together. Don’t have them magically be together at the start of the story, but certainly don’t drag for the whole time. Give us time for them to be the slightly better than best friends we saw at the end of the last film while building up some extra tension, and then have them properly hook up in the second act. But as I said, their dynamic shouldn’t change too much. Again, it’d be more of a realization than a decision since they already have an unbelievably high opinion of and affection towards each other (and they seemingly already know that there’s something between them), and it’d be an enhancement of what they already have as opposed to a change; they’ll continue to be the best friends that they’ve been, just with an extra openly romantic component. Have them be even more willing to show affection both physical (hand holding, cuddling, and kissing) and verbal (more flirtation, and some I love yous). I want this romance to be sweet and unique with a lot more friendly banter, discussion and enjoying more platonic fun stuff (like playing games and joking together), and way less lubby dubby crap. I want their trust and love and respect for each other to be extremely apparent; continue to have it be clear that they think the world of each other and show the reasons for it, and don’t have them be too doting, or at least not that often. That said, absolutely feature some powerful romantic moments like a little dance, or the hookup stated before.

As I said before, I also really get on to a ship if I believe that it can add to the story, and in this case, I really do think it can. I think that their relationship could bring up and/or amplify a lot of strong themes that would complement the first film’s message perfectly. For instance, friendship, love and family not knowing the boundaries of species.

Now, it’s clear that interspecies relationships and marriages are a thing in this city: the directors talked a bit about how society could see their relationship and how Zootopia is probably open to the idea; the first couple that Judy meets in Zootopia are her neighbors Bucky and Pronk Oryx-Antlerson, who are a greater kudu and a gemsbok (they’re also same sex, so that indicates even more societal openness)

There was also an official comic about Flash trying to ask Priscilla out on a date to a movie, but he was too slow and lost out to a Hyena, so that indicates that even predator-prey relationships aren’t widely looked down upon. 

However, as the first film showed, Zootopia’s not a perfect society, so they absolutely could receive some nasty stares and insults in the city, and Bunnyburrow Seems to be less open on the whole. Yes, I’m bringing up the ever so popular “Nick meets Judy’s parents after their hookup” idea that hundreds of people have written stories about, but I genuinely think it’s a fun idea, and I’d like to see their reaction to Nick if he’s romantically involved with their daughter, and Nick trying to get used to country life and bonding with a new family. We saw in the last film that Bonnie and Stu are opening up to foxes, and I would imagine that they met Nick around the time of the concert in the credits, but how could they feel about their daughter being with a non-bunny? That could be a fantastic storyline to cover, and it could be a fantastic way to explore that theme of interspecies bonds, and also of families being built on love. That being said, them visiting Bunnyburrow (AKA my hometown in upstate NY: we seem to have an infestation of rabbits here), would be best for a TV series arc or a comic as opposed to a theatrical release, but they could still have the Hopps family visit Zootopia in the film and have many similar things go down. Another scenario could be from Nick’s family. Remember what Rich said about his mother waiting for a grandkit? Does this mean that she actually wants him to continue the family line, or does it mean that she just wants another little tyke to help raise? Either way, she could be an interesting addition to this idea since the creators have specified that they normally fall back on what is scientifically plausible for the film, meaning that Nick and Judy probably wouldn't be able to conceive a child, so they could introduce some hesitance or vice versa into the story through her.

With my previous villain idea, the theme of bonds beyond species could come up quite often. Nick and Judy could become targets of The Cell from the beginning for their friendship, but they could perhaps become more of targets once it becomes clearer to The Cell that they may be more (and because they’re likely foiling their plans). If the villain actually saw proof up close that they were together, he could absolutely lose it and just try to tear them limb from limb. But of course, their bond could also be used to their advantage alongside the villains’ hypocrisy and foolishness. For instance, in a final confrontation. Here’s my prospective scene: Nick, Judy and possibly other characters are surrounded by Cell members who are armed to the teeth and pointing all they have right at them. Everyone in the room is weary from all that’s happened over the course of the film, and are hesitant to start fighting again. Then, Nick speaks up and asks The Cell why they’re still fighting. He brings up the fact that they’re all fighting for the downfall of Zootopia and the separation of all species since they believe that animals only see each other for what they are and are cruel because of it, and that they’re going as far as to hide their species from their comrades to not see each other as separate, but only until the job is done, and then they'll go their separate ways. Of course, why should they see each other as one only for now? They’ve all bonded and seen each other as comrades all this time while not knowing each other’s species; why should knowing what they are be any different? This would result in some taking the plunge and removing their helmets, which would then result in the others seeing what they are. Our leads would tell them that they have not known each other's species this long and yet they’ve bonded together as brothers in arms; why would they want to break that because of stupid differences, and why would they want to use those differences to separate themselves? Some folks can tear and digest meat, some can clip and digest grass; what difference should that make? If they want things to be better, then they must be better, and show those who hate them that things can be better (and for extra effect, Nick and Judy could show off the bond that they’ve gained despite being not just two different species, but predator and prey). One member throws his mask out, then another, and another. More and more continue to throw away their masks and even suits, either because they were convinced or because they see the cause as hopeless, and within a minute the floor is littered with masks and discarded body suits, and the members of the once mighty Cell walk out of the room, many with their arms around one another, and some holding hands, and soon it’s just the leader and the officers alone.

Conclusion

So those were my ideas for a Zootopia sequel. To recap, I want to see even more of the city’s districts and more of its socio-economic angles. I want to see new characters both brand new and from old drafts, and I want an interesting and fresh villain who we can gain a bit of sympathy for. I want to see all of our favorite supporting characters from the first film continue to be great and have expanded roles. And above all, I want our leads to continue to grow themselves and their bond into something even more wonderful. I want to see Nick grow as a person and officer, and I want to see Judy grow alongside him. I want to see Nick’s family and connections, I want how his new life is affecting him, and I want to see him open up emotionally with himself and with those he loves, and I want Judy to continue to grow wiser about the world and everything ugly and beautiful about it, and how being on the force, and with the one she cares about most no less, shapes her into an even more effective problem solver.

So when could we see a sequel? Well, we may have to wait a while longer. While it’s very clear that the franchise isn’t dead, we’ve heard absolutely nothing official on a sequel, and current events at Disney Animation Studios are making it seem like we may have to wait more for one to come. The director and mastermind behind the film, Byron Howard, and the co-director and screenwriter, Jared Bush, are currently working on a musical film currently called Encanto which is set to release in November. Why did they do this instead of going straight for Zootopia 2? Rich Moore, the other head director, had to scramble back to work on Ralph Breaks The Internet after leaving it for a year and a half, and that pretty much left the team in pieces. Considering how much he seemed to want to be a part of the development of a sequel and how they said that they didn’t want to rush it, the other guys seem to have started Encanto to do something new while Rich was busy, and of course shake up their creative juices. However, Rich left the studio in 2019 to join Sony Animation, although he said he left the studio in good hands, and I certainly hope that’s true. Considering that Disney tends to announce films around two years before release, and also tends to have directors work on films released two years apart, 2023 seems like a likely release year, but 2024 would work better for getting a bit more development time into it, get some test screening done and to iron out any possible issues. 

That said, the extra year may not be totally necessary. Considering how well developed the first film’s world and characters were, and how much they conceptualized during its production, I don’t think they’ll have to conceptualize quite as hard, and most of what they’ll have to create from scratch will be storylines, themes, character development, and brand new characters, as well as possibly a few districts and species designs. But again, there was so much that they have already made that they just need to show us, as well as so many concepts to fall back on with developing brand new content that even in the conceptual stage that it may have be in they’ll have a relatively easy time coming up with incredible new content; unlike Frozen II & Ralph Breaks the Internet where they had to make up totally new locations, concepts, and everything in between. I’m of the opinion that with all the time that it’s likely been in partial production that the relatively little new stuff that they've had to come up with has probably already been quite refined, and by the time Encanto is done, they may well have something extremely robust and just need to refine it, and then make models and animate it, and give us Disney Animation's best sequel ever. But then again, that extra year may be good for it. But then again, I'm not a filmmaker, so I don't know crap.

And after that, we could end up getting a TV series with further adventures of Nick and Judy, and also flesh out the world even more by showing us districts, criminal groups, precincts, and all manner of other things. Perhaps it could be a police procedural with our leads taking on whatever the city has to offer as well as de  showing off more about them and other characters than the films could, and also potentially be a bit of a Segway into the next film (why yes, I think a Zootopia trilogy could be amazing). Thankfully the majority of the cast is made up of accomplished TV actors, so they’ll probably be able to get almost everyone back (but I am hoping for Jason Bateman the most since he IS Nick Wilde and no one can replace him (the same applies to Ginnifer Goodwin with Judy to a very slightly lesser extent)). My hope is that it'll be a D+ original, and thus have an extra good budget that'll hopefully bring in a great cast, and excellent animation and writing.

But anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you all enjoyed my ideas. Was there anything you'd like to add, or anything you didn't quite agree with (or any mistakes I didn't notice while proofreading)? Well then please do discuss them. Until next time, may your battles be won and your day be blessed, and may you be excellent to all those you meet! 

[krat395]

O Christmas Bones

Sans and Papyrus… "O Christmas bones, O Christmas bones, how ticklish are these boneheads?" Lol XD Merry Christmas, everyone! :D A few days late, I know but better late than never, right? Haha! Anyways, as my contribution to the holiday of Christmas, here is a request I did for RainbowRose85 on Wattpad. She wanted a story about the Skelebros being tickled by a certain someone and I felt that a Christmas setting would be fun for them (and us too, hehe). And like "Tickle Me Azzy," the first Christmas story I wrote, this story takes place 14 months after the events of Undertale and 7 months after my most recent main series story, "W.D. Gaster, the Best Uncle Ever Part 1." Come to think of it, you could actually consider this story a sequel to “Tickle Me Azzy,” since it takes place one day later. ;)

 Undertale© Toby Fox.

 O CHRISTMAS BONES

 It is December 23, 8:00pm, two days before Christmas, and at this very moment, Sans and Papyrus are relaxing in their living room. Earlier today, thirteen children (Ebott Junior High School students Frisk, Chara, Asriel, Perry, Heather, and Bastian and Ebott Elementary School students MK, Brad, Justin, Izzy, Patty, Kyle, and GK) came over to their place and used their backyard for some winter-related activities; with their permission, of course. Before spending the following two days with their respective families, the thirteen kids wanted to first spend some time with one another as well as the Skelebros themselves. With six of the thirteen kids in middle school now and thus in a different building entirely, they all don't get to hang out together during lunch and recess like they used to. But they can still hang out together outside of school and perhaps the best place for winter-related activities aside from Ebott Elementary School (there are hills next to the school grounds) is the Skelebros' home. Even better because besides hills behind their house for sledding and a large wide open space at the bottom of the hills for snowball fights and building snow forts, they also have an outdoor hockey rink! :D That's right; somewhere down the hill behind the Skelebros' house is a hockey rink that can be used to play hockey or just ice skate in general. The Main Six (Toriel, Asgore, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, and Alphys) played hockey in this rink last winter and their game attracted the attention of some weirdo enough to hide somewhere out of sight and watch them play. Then for some strange reason, after watching the Main Six play hockey, this weirdo felt the need to write a super inaccurate article about their hockey game and the Main Six themselves and then post it online for the entire town; no, the entire world to see without their consent. Undyne believing that she had to tackle the player with the puck, a little white dog joining the game and scoring more goals than everyone, Sans and Toriel hitting each other's sticks and acting like they didn't know how to play hockey, Papyrus's believing that the power of friendship was required to score goals, Alphys watching videos on her phone midgame, Asgore falling through the ice, Sans doing a cringy victory dance every time he scored a goal, etc.; all false information! XD But today however, the thirteen kids (and Sans because they needed an extra player to even out the teams and it worked out perfectly since Sans is around the same height of a preteen child), with Papyrus as the referee, played a game of hockey together. The seven young boys faced off against the six young girls and Sans, who had on a pink jacket, pink knee-length dress, pink stocking hat, and a red wig at the time. Sans was on the girls' team so he thought it would be funny if he dressed and acted like a girl. XD And it was too! The way Sans "flirted" with the boys had everyone in stitches. Even Papyrus! XD As for the hockey game itself, it was a close game! The girls and Sans beat the boys by just one point! ;) But playing hockey was just one of several winter activities the kids all did together. Besides hockey, they went sledding and snowboarding on the big hills, did some ice skating outside of the hockey game, built snowmen and snow forts, made snow angels, and engaged in some rather epic snowball fights. And they all dressed accordingly too; wearing stocking hats, mittens/gloves, scarves, coats, and snow pants. And unlike Asriel, MK, GK, Heather (a 13-year-old rabbit monster and Brad and Justin's older adopted sister), and Bastian (a 12-year-old rabbit monster and Izzy's older adopted brother), the five monster children and barefooters with extremely durable feet, the eight human children had either boots or ice skates covering their feet the entire time they were outside.

 Overall, the kids had a real fun time at the Skelebros' home. And they didn't just play outdoors in the snow the entire time they were there either. After they were done playing in the snow, they went inside the Skelebros' home to do a secret Santa gift exchange and while exchanging presents, they warmed themselves up by the fireplace in the living room, which had two stockings hanging over it (one for Sans and one for Papyrus), and drank some hot chocolate that Papyrus made just for them; after removing their snow attire, of course. No need to track unwanted snow into the living room. And the Skelebros certainly didn't need to tell the four human girls that twice! As soon as Frisk, Chara, Izzy, and Patty entered the house, they took everything off of their feet including their socks. XD They've been jumping at every opportunity to show off their painted toenails lately, since they painted them red and green for Christmas as well as the month of December in general. And nobody blames them because they're painted toes look so cute! X3 And so do the four human boys' Christmas socks! And all thirteen kids' Christmas sweaters (GK's had no sleeves or arm holes)! :D But the four human girls certainly paid the penalty for choosig to roam the Skelebros’ home with bare feet because immediately after the gift exchange, the Skelebros tickled them and the other nine kids all at once for 15 minutes! Just about everywhere on their necks, ears (Asriel, Heather, and Bastian), torsos, arms (everyone except GK), legs, tails (MK and GK), and feet with bones, floating hands, and Gaster blasters! They had to! They made a bet with the kids. If all thirteen of them could beat Sans and Papyrus in a snowball fight, then they could tickle the Skelebros themselves as punishment for losing. All thirteen kids vs the Skelebros? Thirteen against two? Well that didn't sound too difficult and the kids thought that they would beat the Skelebros for sure! But they were wrong! They were very, very wrong! With Papyrus throwing snowballs like Buddy the Elf and Sans using his teleportation powers, the kids didn't stand a chance! XD And as punishment for losing, they got tickled for 15 minutes, which they were all perfectly fine with. Bastian, especially! The little white rabbit boy loves being tickled so much that he literally placed his always bare 3-toed feet right in Papyrus's lap moments before the tickle torture even started! XD The only downside was that the kids didn't get to tickle the Skelebros back. Not to worry though. On the night of December 23, the Skelebros didn't go without any tickles. Their father, Dr. W.D. Gaster made sure of that. ;)

 8:00pm, a few minutes after the kids' parents picked them up and drove them back to their respective homes...

 Sans: Hehehe. Man, those kiddos sure are fun, aren't they, Pap? *asked Sans with a smile*

 Papyrus: Nyeh heh heh! Indeed, brother! *Papyrus agreed* And what an honor it is that they chose our home over everyone else's, even if it was essentially their only choice.

 At this very moment, both Sans and Papyrus are bundled up warm in their special Christmas sweaters, sweatpants, and socks; despite the fact that neither of them can feel coldness. Papyrus currently has on a red sweater with a green Christmas tree on the front side (the tree has multi-color lights and bones hanging on it) and lots of white snowflakes scattered all over the shirt, black pants with a bunch of white snowflakes and bones scattered all over them (the bones have red ribbons on them), and red socks with white snowflakes and bones on them. As for Sans, he has on a blue sweater with snowflakes and bones scattered all over it and also a white silhouette of Santa in his sleigh with his reindeer pulling the sleigh, black pants with bones scattered all over them and "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" written in big white letters on the sides of both legs, and blue and cyan striped socks with a candy cane-like pattern.

 Sans: Heh. Yeah. I mean, who else's home has an outdoor hockey rink AND probably the best hills for sledding?

 Papyrus: Nyeh heh heh! Exactly! Nyeh heh heh!

 Sans: Heheheheheh.

 Papyrus: So, which part of today did you enjoy the most, brother?

 Sans: Heh. Oh, I don't know. The whole day was fun. Playing outside in the snow, that was pretty… COOL. Heheheheheh.

 Papyrus: Nyehehehehe. You know, I'm in such a good mood right now I'm not going to get upset with you for making that pun. In fact, make as many puns as you want, brother!

 Sans: As many puns as I want? Wow, Pap, you're clearly happy about something. What are you so happy about?

 Papyrus: Oh, lots of things. Our home, our family, our friends, and that it's two days before Christmas! Nyeh heh heh!

 Sans: Heheheheh. Ah yes, Christmas, the time of year when joy and laughter is most… PRESENT. Heheheheh.

 Papyrus: Nyeh heh heh! Well, that was most certainly the case when we tickled the kids earlier!

 Sans: Heheheheh. I know, right? All of their combined laughter was music to my "ears." And good thing we won that snowball fight too! I don't think I would've been able to handle being tickled by all thirteen of them. Let alone one of them!

 Papyrus: Nyeh heh heh! I feel the same way, Sans. Even if I can handle it better than you, I feel the way. Nyeh heh heh!

 Then suddenly, Toby (the Annoying Dog), wearing a dark green dog sweater with a reindeer on the back of it and a reindeer antler headband, jumped up next to Papyrus and barked at him. Toby arrived at the Skelebros' home early this morning for no reason other than to see the kids all together and play with them and possibly tickle them after they all went indoors to warm up after playing in the snow, which he did. He was in the house when the Skelebros tickled the kids and he just jumped right in and helped them. Toby loves those kids and they all love him. And while playing outside earlier today, the kids were kind enough to let Toby ride in their sleds with them while they were sledding down the hills. X3

 Toby: *pants* Bark! Bark! Bark! *pants*

 Papyrus: Oh, hello, little dog. I didn't know you were still here. Did you need something?

 After being asked such a question, Toby proceeded to bark four songs to the Skelebros. First, "Jolly Old St. Nicholas," then Here Comes Santa Claus," then "Santa Claus is Comin' To Town," and then "Up On the Housetop." Yes, even Toby gets into the holiday spirit this time of year, barking songs to those willing to listen (and to those not willing to listen XD) and the songs he "sang" to the Skelebros all happened to have one thing in common. They were all songs about Santa Claus himself! "Santa Claus? Why are all of these songs about Santa Claus?" wondered the Skelebros by the time Toby barked a few verses of the third song and they figured out why immediately after Toby finished barking the fourth and final song.

 ???: HO HO HO!! *exclaimed a mysterious figure with a very recognizable voice on the roof of the Skelebros' home, just mere seconds before sliding down the chimney and into the fireplace after extinguishing the fire*

 Sans: Huh? Someone's on our roof?! Who the hell is on our roof at this time of night?

 Papyrus: *excited gasp* Santa? Is it Santa? Oh please be Santa. Please! Nyehehehehehe!! X33

 Once the figure was in plain sight in the fireplace, Papyrus was overjoyed to see that it actually was Santa Claus! Or rather, his father, DR. W.D. GASTER, DRESSED AS SANTA CLAUS! :D Wearing black boots, red pants, black gloves, a Santa coat, a Santa hat, and a fake beard and carrying a big dark red bag, Gaster then stepped out of the fireplace to greet his two sons and although it was completely obvious that Gaster was dressed as Santa, Papyrus appeared to believe that he actually was Santa Claus! XD

 Papyrus: *overly excited gasp* SANTA! OH MY GOD! IT IS YOU! IT IS YOU!

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! Yes, young man! The one and only! Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!

 Papyrus: Nyeh heh heh! Same to you, Santa! Merry Christmas! Nyeh heh heh!

 Sans: Uh, Pap, you do know that's just Dad in a Santa outfit, right?

 Papyrus: Wha…

 Gaster: What?! No, I'm not anybody's father! *said Gaster jokingly before Papyrus could answer, pretending that he actually is Santa Claus*

 Sans: Yes you are, Dr. Gaster. You're our father, remember?

 Gaster: Dr. Gaster? Who is this Dr. Gaster that you speak of?

 Sans: You. You're Dr. Gaster, you bonehead.

 Gaster: What? No, I don't know who Dr. Gaster is! Who the hell's that?

 Papyrus: *gasp* Santa! How dare you! *exclaimed Papyrus after hearing Gaster say "hell;" since it's not a polite word to say*

 Sans: Heh. Alright, I'll play along. ...So, "Santa Claus…"

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! Now that's more like it! Yes, young man?

 Sans: Why are you here? Don't you normally deliver presents the night before Christmas?

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! Why, yes. As a matter of fact, I do. Your knowledge of Christmas astonishes me, young man. But the present I have for you and your brother on the other hand has to be delivered tonight because "opening" it requires my presence.

 Papyrus: Oh! Is it the karaoke machine I asked for? And you're delivering while we're awake because you want to sing with us? *asked Papyrus excitedly, unable to contain his excitement at the thought of a receiving a karaoke machine for Christmas and “Santa” singing karaoke with him and Sans*

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! Even better! *claimed Gaster with a mischievous smile*

 Papyrus: Even better? W-w-what in the world could possibly be better than a karaoke machine and you singing karaoke with us? *asked Papyrus disappointedly, either because "Santa" didn't get him a karaoke machine or because "Santa" isn't planning to sing karaoke with him*

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! Look inside this bag and see for yourself.

 Papyrus: Okie dokie! *said Papyrus cheerfully, eager to look inside "Santa's" bag without a second thought* Ooh, toy hands! Neato! *he then exclaimed excitedly after seeing what was inside "Santa's" bag* Nyeh… Strange… They all have holes in them like my father's hands… Why is that, Santa?

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! Oh, I don't know. Maybe because... they are your father's hands! *exclaimed Gaster, breaking character and commanding sixteen floating hands to tickle Papyrus practically everywhere on his cheek bones and neck and his armpits, ribs, spine, hips, and knees on the outside of his sweater and pants… and his socked feet too (bony skeleton fingers tickling Papyrus's feet can sometimes elicit giggles from Papyrus* Hehehehehe. Coochie coochie coo, Papyrus. *he teased, smiling mischievously under his fake beard*

 Papyrus: NYEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHE HEHHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHE!!! *Papyrus hysterically cackled, bony fingers wiggling and squiggling all over several of his most sensitive spots* DAHAHAHAHAD!!! NYEHEHEHEHE!!! DAHAHAHAHAD, NOHOHOHOHO!!! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!! NOHOHOHOHO, DAHAHAHAHAHAD!!! *he pleaded while cackling, revealing to Sans that he knew that Gaster was dressed as Santa this entire time* NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!

 Sans: Huh. So you did know that Dad was dressed as Santa!

 Gaster: Hehehehehehehe. He did indeed. Shame on him for not telling you when you asked him if he knew it was me, am I right?

 Sans: Well, to be fair, you didn't exactly give him a chance to answer.

 Gaster: Hehehehehehe. True. But regardless of that, he still deserves to be tickled. You and him both!

 Sans: Heheheheheheheh… *Sans chuckled, before suddenly realizing…* Wait! What the *bleep* did you just say?! *he then asked worriedly, shuddering at the thought of being tickle tortured into oblivion*

 Gaster: Hehehehehehe. Oh, you heard me.

 Sans: *frightened gasp* You… You... Y-y-you'll never take me alive! *claimed Sans, seconds before trying to make a run for it* Ahhhhhh! What the hell?! WOOOOAAAAAAH!! OOOOOF!!

 Sans tried to run away but thanks to Toby discreetly tying a long strand of silver tinsel garland around his legs, he didn't make it very far. XD

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! Well done, little "reindeer!"

 Sans: Ugh! Damn you, Toby!

 Gaster: Now, Sans, is that any way to speak to a dog? Hmmm? *asked Gaster, kneeling next to Sans and scribbling his own ten fingers all over his ribs on the outside of his sweater, tickling him and causing him to laugh boisterously* Is that any way to speak to a dog? Hehehehehehe.

 Sans: PFFFFFF… MUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHEUHUE!!! NOHOHOHO!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! NOHOHOHO, SIHIHIR, IT'S NOHOHOHOT!!! *answered Sans through his hilariously boisterous laughter, doing absolutely nothing to resist the tickle torture* HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! That's "Santa" to you! And he's here to tickle you boys as punishment for tickling those thirteen children earlier today! Hehehehehe. Ho ho ho!

 Then suddenly, Gaster, while putting on his Santa Claus act once again, reached underneath Sans's shirt and wiggled his fingers against his spine. The lower vertebrae to be exact and right where Sans is deathly ticklish. ;)

 Sans: *SNNNNOOOOORRRRRT* BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHA!!!! NOHOHOHOHOHO!!!! HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! NOHOHOHO, DOHOHOHON'T!!!! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! DOHOHOHOHON'T PUNISH US FOHOHOHOR THAHAHAT!!!! *pleaded Sans thorough his even more boisterous laughter* HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!! *SNORT* MUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUE!!!!

 Papyrus: NYEHEHEEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHHE!!! YEAH, NYEHEHEEHEHE, DOHOHOHON'T PUNISH US!!! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!! WEEHEEHEEHEE WON THAT SNOHOHOHOWBALL FIGHT FAHAHAHAIR AND SQUAHAHAHAHARE!!! *claimed Papyrus through his frantic cackling, floating hands still tickling eight major tickle spots of his* NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHE!!! OHOHOH GOHOHOHOD, PLEEHEEHEEASE STOP TICKLING US, DAHAAHAHHAHAD!!! NYEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHHEHEHE!!! OHOHOHOH, NYEHEHEHEHEHE, SOHOHORRY, NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE, I MEEHEEHEEAN, "SAHAHAHAHANTA!!!" NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHHEHE!!! "SAHAHAHAHAHAHANTA," PLEEHEEHEEASE STOHOHOP TIHIHIHICKLING US!!! *he pleaded, kicking his legs and flailing his arms frantically to try and get his father’s floating hands away from his body* NYEHEHEHEHEHEEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!

 Gaster: Oh, Papyrus, you don't really mean that, do you?

 Papyrus: NYEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHE!!! I DOOHOOHOOHOO!!! *lied Papyrus, not entirely minding his current tickle torture, actually* NYEHEHEHEEHHEHEHEHHEHEHEHE!!! OHOHOHOH MY GOHOHOHOD, IT'S SOHOHOHO UNBEHEHEHEHEARABLE!!! *he lied once more* NYEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! Oh please, this is nothing compared to what “Santa” has in store for you boys later! Ho ho ho!

 Gaster continued tickling Sans with his own two hands and Papyrus with sixteen floating hands for the next five minutes. And on eight of their major tickle spots no less! Cheek bones, necks, armpits, ribs, spines, hip bones, knees, and feet! With so many bony fingers wiggling against those particular spots, the Skelebros laughed to seemingly no end. Papyrus "suffered" more than Sans though since floating hands "attacked" all eight spots at once as opposed to just one spot at a time; but not much more. Since Sans is way more ticklish than Papyrus, the number of fingers dancing all over their sensitive bones almost didn't matter. XD

 Papyrus: NYEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHE HEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHHEEHEHEHE!!! CUHUHUHUHURSE YOU, "SAHAHAHAHANTA!!!" NYEHEHEHHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!! CUHUHUHURSE YOU!!! NYEHEHEHEHHEHHEHEHEHHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHHEHEHEHEHE!!!

 Sans: HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! *SNORT* NOHOHOHOHOOOHOHOHHOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHHOHOHOHOHO!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!! OHOHOHOHOH NOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!! HAAHHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!! *SNORT* *SNORT* *WHEEZE* MUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHEUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUE!!!!

 Five minutes later, Gaster tickled his boys once again. But this time however, the roles were reversed! This time, Gaster tickled Sans with sixteen floating hands and Papyrus with his own two hands. And once again on their cheek bones, necks, armpits, ribs, spines, hip bones, knees, and feet! Sans, being the extremely ticklish skeleton that he is, definitely "suffered" more than Papyrus this time around! Several sets of bony fingers wiggling against eight extremely sensitive parts of his body were just too much. But he didn't laugh so hard that his head popped off though and he had his sweater, long pants, and socks to thank for that; due to every piece of clothing reducing the feeling of bony fingers scribbling against them.

 Sans: PFFFFFFFFF… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHHAHA!!!!! HOHOHOHOLY *BLEEP*!!!!! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHA!!!!! OHOHOHOH HOHOHOLY *BLEEP*!!!!! *"sang" Sans through his laughter, changing the lyrics of "Oh Holy Night" followed by gibberish for the next couple of verses* HADKFL SLDLD LXKDQ ODOE IFUCRN NDKD KDIDJDJ!!!!! HAHAAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! HEKDKD JEIDIX JSKSOSS JSJSS KSKD KEKED WKDKD SJSIS FICIR SJEJE!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! That's not how that song goes! *commented Gaster, intentionally rhyming "goes" with "ho ho ho" while tickling eight of Papyrus's tickle spots one by one with his own sets of fingers starting with his socked feet*

 Papyrus: *snickers* Nyeeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee! Yes! Tickle my feet just like that the entire time, "Santa!" *requested Papyrus, snickering every once in a while as his father tickled his socked feet* Nyeeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee! No need to tickle me anywhere else! *snickers* Nyeeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee!

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! Not a chance! *exclaimed "Santa," right as he moved his hands up to Papyrus's knees*

 Papyrus: Nyehehehehehehehehehhehehebeheheheehehehhehehehhehehehehehehehehhe!!! *Papyrus immediately cackled, kicking his legs so much that Gaster was forced to hold his legs down with floating hands a few seconds later* Nyoooooohoohoohoohoohoohoohoohoohoohoohoohoo!!! Nyehehehehehehehehehehe!!! Nyoohoohoohoohoo, nohohot thehehehere!!! Nyehehehehhehehehehhehehehehehehehehhehehehehehhehehehehehhehe!!!

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! Yes, there! And here!

 Papyrus: Nyehehhehehehehehehehhehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe!!!! *Papyrus cackled harder once Gaster began kneading his hips*

 Gaster: And here! And here!

 Papyrus: Nyehehehheheheheheheheheheheheheheehehehehehhehehehehehehehe!!!!! *Papyrus cackled even harder once Gaster began wiggling his fingers against his armpits and ribs*

 Gaster: And here! And here!

 Papyrus: NYEEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHE!!!! *Papyrus guffawed once Gaster began wiggling his fingers against his neck and cheek bones*

 Gaster: And here as well!

 Papyrus: NYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEEHEE HEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!!!! *Papyrus shrieked, cackled, and laughed at the top of his nonexistent lungs the moment Gaster began wiggling his fingers against his ungodly sensitive spine underneath his Christmas sweater* OOOOWOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOO!!!! OHOHOHOHOHOH MY GOHOHOHOD!!!! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEHHEHEEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHHE!!!! OHOHOHOH MY GOHOHOHOD, LEEHEEHEEAVE MY SPINE ALOHOHOHONE!!!! *he pleaded, wishing that Gaster was tickling him literally anywhere else instead* NYEHEHHEEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!! PLEEHEEHEEHEEASE NOHOHOT MY SPIHIHIHINE!!!! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!!

 Sans: *SNNNNOOOOORRRRRT* GYEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! OHOHOHOHOHOH GOHOHOHOHOD, PLEEHEEHEEHEEASE MAKE IT STOHOHOHOHOP!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! PLEEHEEHEEHEEHEEASE, I’LL DOOHOOHOO ANYTHING!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!!! AHAHAHHAHANYTHING!!!!! *SNNNNNOOOOORRRRRRT* MUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUHEUEHUEHEUHEUHEUEHUEHUEHUE!!!!!

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! You and your brother are already doing exactly what I want you do, “little boy!” *said Gaster to Sans, grinning like a “psycho” and chuckling along with his sons’ laughter* Hehehehehehehehehehe. Ho ho ho!

 After another five minutes, Gaster rid his sons of their Christmas sweaters for the time being, lifted them up into the air with his telekinesis, and then placed both of them telekinetic holds in "I" positions in midair, rendering them nearly immobile for the next while*

 Sans: Ahhhhhh! Oh no! W-w-what are you going to do now, "Santa?" *asked Sans worriedly, both him and Papyrus struggling to get out of the air and back on the floor*

 Papyrus: Nyeh! And why did you remove our sweaters? How the heck are we supposed to get into the holiday spirit without them? *asked Papyrus, irritated that he and Sans had their sweaters removed against their wills*

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! Why, with a little music of course! *answered Gaster, pulling out four xylophone mallets and handing them to four floating hands he just summoned* Ho ho ho! You hear that, little "reindeer?" *he then asked Toby, cuing him to start doing something cute and funny at the same time*

 Toby: Bark! Bark! Bark!

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! Good "reindeer."

 Uh oh! Music? Xylophone mallets? That can only mean one thing! Gaster wants to tickle his sons by playing their ribs like xylophones while Toby barks Christmas songs! XD And that is exactly what he did with floating hands for the next 30 minutes too! But not just that though; while the floating hands were playing along with Toby's renditions of "Jingle Bells," "Deck the Halls," "Little Drummer Boy," "Joy to the World," "Holly Jolly Christmas," "Carol of the Bells," "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," "12 Days of Christmas," "O' Christmas Tree," “Silver Bells,” and one song from a stop-motion animated film that is considered both a Halloween and a Christmas film, Gaster also tickled his sons just about everywhere on their bony bodies with red and green tickle beams from floating hands, his own two hands, and Gaster blasters with white beards and Santa hats! ;) The Skelebros still had on their pants and socks but those pieces of clothing however did very little to reduce the tickly feelings of the beams on their legs and feet. And the beams tickled like hell too! In fact, they made the Skelebros laugh harder than the xylophone mallets! A lot harder! And unlike fingers, tickle beams are insanely effective against Papyrus's bony feet! Even with socks on! And his and Sans's combined laughter was certainly a magnificent addition to Toby's "lead vocals" and Gaster's "xylophone playing!" Best "backing vocals" ever according to Gaster! XD

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! Yes! Now this is my tempo! Good job, everyone! ...No, wait, my apologies. Not "good job." Perfection! Absolute perfection!

 Sans: *SNORT* HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! *SNORT* *SNORT* *WHEEZE* MUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUE HUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUE!!!!! *SNORT* *SNORT* *WHEEZE* HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! OH JEEHEEHEEHEEZ, MAHAHAHHAAHAKE IT STOP!!!!! *pleaded Sans through his laughter, having difficulty maintaining his composure, as usual, while being tickled* HAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! MAHAHAHAHAHAKE IT STOP!!!!! HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHHAHA!!!!! PLEEHEEHEEHEEASE MAHAHAHAKE IT STOHOHOHOP!!!!! *SNNNNOOOORRRRT* MUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUE HUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUE...

 Papyrus: NYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEEHEHEHHEHEHE HEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEHHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHE HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEHEHEHEHEHE HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!!!  TOHOHOHOBY, STOHOHOHOP THAT INFERNAL BAHAHAHARKING!!!!! *pleaded Papyrus through his laughter without any actual spite, due to Toby's barking making both him and Sans laugh more because they find it both cute and funny* NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!!! IT'S MAKING US LAHAHHAHAHAUGH EEHEEHEEHEEVEN MOHOHOHORE!!!!! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!!! OOOOOOOOOOOOWOOOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOO HOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHHOOHOOHOOHOOHOO!!!!! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE…

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! That it is, my boy! That it is! Ho ho ho!

 After a musical thirty minutes, Gaster vanquished his floating hands and placed his sons on the floor in sitting positions. But the tickles didn't stop there though! After placing his sons on the floor and summoning hands to hold them against the floor, he took two feather dusters, one red and one green, and "dusted" his sons' rib cages and spines, tickling them yet again.

 Sans: AHHHH!!! AHHHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAAHAHA!!! "SAHAHAHAHANTA," NOHOHOHO!!! HAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! DOHOHOHON'T YOU THINK WEEHEEHEE'VE "SUHUHUHUFFERED ENOUGH AHAHAHALREHEHEHEADY?!?! *asked Sans in disbelief while Gaster was "dusting his ribs and spine with a green feather duster and Papyrus's ribs and spine with a red feather duster* HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! *SNORT* HEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEHEEHEHEEHEEHEHEEHEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEHEEHEE!!!

 Papyrus: NYEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHE!!! OHOHOHOH, NYEHEHEHEHEHEHE, OHOHOHOH GOHOHOHOD, NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE, THAHAT REEHEEHEEALLY, NYEHEHEHE, REEHEEHEEALLY TIHIHIHIHICKLES TOOHOOHOOHOO!!! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!! STOHOHOHOP IT!!!

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! Just a few more minutes, boys! Come on, you can handle it! Ho ho ho!

 Sans: HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! NOHOHOHOHO, WEEHEEHEEHEEHEE CAHAHAHAHAHAHAN’T!!! *claimed Sans, anything to put an end to the tickle torture* HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! PLEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEASE, PLEEHEEHEEHEEHEEASE MAHAHAHAHAHAKE IT STOHOHOHOHOHOP!!! *SNNNNOOOOORRRRRT* MUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUHEUHEUHUEHUEHUEHUHEUEHUEHUEHUE!!!

 Papyrus: NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHE HEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHE!!! COHOHOHOHHOHOME ON, “SAHAHAHANTA,” YOU KNOHOHOHOW HOW MUHUHUHUHUCH THOHOHOOHOOSE FEHEHEHEHEHATHERS TIHIHIHIHICKLE ME!!! NYEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHE!!! STOHOHOHOHOHOP IT!!! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHE!!!

 Roughly three minutes later, Gaster vanquished his hands and let his sons put their sweaters back on. But while they were doing so, Gaster summoned hands to hold their legs against the floor and then with his own two hands, he pulled off their Christmas socks, revealing their bare bony feet.

 Sans: Ahhhhhhhh! Nooooooo! No, not more tickling! *pleaded Sans*

 Papyrus: Nyoo hoo hoo! Please don't use blasters again! *pleaded Papyrus*

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! Just one last thing to do before I let you boys go for real! *said Gaster cheekily, pulling two long feathers, one red and one green, out of his Santa coat* At my "reindeer's" request, I must tickle your feet with these feathers for three minutes! Starting… NOW!

 Sans: PFFFFFFFF… HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! *laughed Sans hilariously the moment he felt two feathers saw in between his toes* OHOHOHOHOHO NOHOHOHOHOHO!!! HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! NOHOHOHOHO, NOHOHOT THE FEEHEEHEEHEET!!! HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!! STOHOHOHOHOHOP!!! *he pleaded, the two feathers now twiddling against his tarsals* HAHAHAHHAHAAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!! *SNORT* *SNORT* MUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUE!!!

 Gaster tickled Sans's feet with two feathers for an entire minute. But then after that minute was over, it was Papyrus's turn and boy was he nervous! He was nervous because feathers are utensils that will surely make him laugh; because they're capable of tickling the ligaments that link his tarsals, metatarsals, and phalanges together, spots on his feet that can't be reached with fingers (because fingers are too big to fit in between every bone that makes up the skeleton foot).

 Papyrus: NYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEEHE HEHEHEHHEHEHEEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!! *Papyrus shrieked, cackled, and laughed maniacally the moment he felt the plumes of two feathers wriggle in between his foot bones and then wiggle and twiddle against his sensitive ligaments* OHOHOH GOHOHHOHOHOD!!! NYEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHHE!!! OHOHOHOHOHOH MY GOHOHOHOD, GEHEHEHEHET THOHOHOHOSE THINGS AHAHAHHAAHAWAY FROM MY FEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEET!!! *he pleaded, shaking his feet like crazy only to wind up having them held completely still moments later by floating hands* NYEHEHEHEHHEHEHHEHEHEHEHE!!! OOOOOOWOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOO HOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOO!!! NYEEEEEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!

 Gaster tickled Papyrus's feet with two feathers for an entire minute. Right on the "death" spots! Then as soon as that minute was up, Gaster finished it all out by tickling Sans's feet with the green feather and Papyrus's feet with the red feather for one whole minute. And once again, he focused entirely on the most sensitive areas of their bony feet. Papyrus, the ligaments and Sans, everywhere else. XD But it wasn't so bad during the last minute, since Sans and Papyrus each only had one feather tickling their feet as opposed to two. ;)

 Papyrus: NYEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEEHEHEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEEHE HEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHHE HEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEHHEHEHHEHE!!! OH PLEEHEEHEEASE TEHEHEHELL ME WE'RE AHAHAHAHAMOHOHOST DOHOHOHONE!!! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!

 Sans: PFFFFFFFF… HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA HAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! OHOHOH JEEHEEHEEHEEZ, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHA, I SUHUHUHURE HOHOHOPE SOHOHOHO!!! *SNORT* *SNORT* MUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUEHUE!!!

 After one more minute of tickling his sons' feet, Gaster released his sons and stopped tickling them entirely. And right as he freed the two younger skeletons themselves, they swiftly put their Christmas socks back on and then Papyrus ran over to the couch where Toby was resting, to give him a talking to for supposedly working with his and Sans's father*

 Papyrus: Ugh! You! Little white dog, how could you! *shouted Papyrus, holding Toby up in front of him and looking him straight in the eye to let him know that he was annoyed with him* We welcome you into our home and you do absolutely nothing to help us?! You could've done more than just bark Christmas songs, you know! Actually, come to think of it, did you "talk" our father into tickling us?!

 Toby: Bark! Bark! Bark! *barked Toby in response, right before inadvertently tickling Papyrus's skull by licking it like any happy dog would*

 Papyrus: Nyehehehehehehehehehehe!!! *laughed Papyrus, Toby’s tongue tickling his skull* Nyoohoohoohoo, nohohohot my face!!! Nyehehehehehehehehehe!!!

 Sans: Awwww! Cut him a break, Pap. It's Christmas.

 Papyrus: Nyeh! Fine! *said Papyrus with an irritated tone in his voice in response, while moving Toby away from his face and setting him back on the couch*

 Gaster: Hehehehehe. Papyrus, Toby didn't "talk" me into anything. Everything I did after sliding down the chimney, that was all me. And I wasn't just getting back at you boys for tickling those children earlier today either. I also did what I did because I thought it would be funny… and fun… like your real present.

 Papyrus: *excited gasp* Present? You… You got me a present? For… For real? Oh my god, where is it? *asked Papyrus excitedly, under high hopes that Gaster is telling the truth this time around*

 Gaster: Hehehehehe. Look in the bag.

 "Look in the bag." Once Papyrus heard Gaster say that, he shuddered at the thought of more floating hands popping out of it to tickle him once more. But what Papyrus saw inside the big red bag instead was a BRAND NEW KARAOKE MACHINE! :D Just what he was hoping for! X3

 Papyrus: *excited gasp* OH MY GOD! THE KARAOKE MACHINE I ASKED FOR! Oh my god, thank you, Dad! Thank you!

 Gaster: Hehehehehe. You're welcome, Papyrus. If anyone here deserves a karaoke machine, it's you. And just so you're aware, I'd be happy to stick around and help you… test it out.

 Papyrus: *excited gasp* Oh my god! Are you… Are you saying you'd like to sing with us?

 Gaster: Hehehehe. I am.

 Sans: Heheheheheh. Well then what are we waiting for? Let's hook it up!

 And with that, the three skeletons spent the rest of the night singing karaoke together and since it was two days before Christmas, they sang nothing but Christmas songs. And at one point during the session, Sans and Papyrus put on elf hats and ears and pretended to be two of Santa's elves since Gaster was dressed as Santa the entire time he sang karaoke with them. Speaking of Gaster, he did offer to remove his Santa outfit before he started singing but decided to leave it on after being told by his sons that he could do so. If someone has access to a Santa outfit during this time of year, it's custom to allow that person/monster to wear said outfit! XD Why, even Toby "sang" some songs with the three skeletons. Not the entire time but when he did, he barked along with the three skeletons as they sang and since he still had on his reindeer antler headband, the three skeletons pretended that he was one of Santa's reindeer; a reindeer with a green Christmas sweater. Overall, singing karaoke was a fun time as a well as a fun reward for the Skelebros for putting up with 45+ minutes of tickle torture and for being amazing hosts to thirteen children earlier today. X3 And after singing karaoke with his sons and  after posing for some family pictures in his Santa outfit alongside his sons dressed as elves (just the hats and ears) and Toby dressed as a reindeer, did Gaster leave his sons' home through their chimney? Yes. Yes, he did. XD And somehow, Toby did too! XD

 Gaster: Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas to all and to all, a good night! *shouted Gaster on the roof of his sons' home, just mere seconds before teleporting Toby and himself back to his (Gaster's) home in the woods*

 THE END.

[suituuup]

pieces - chapter fourteen

Five years ago, Chloe dropped off the face of the Earth. Beca didn't expect to see her again dancing in a strip club, out of all places.

rating: E (drug use and emotional abuse in early chapters)

ao3 link

*

“A bit higher.” 

Beca pushed the small mountain-shaped shelf an inch higher, looking over her shoulder as she held it. “Like that?” 

Chloe nodded, smiling. “Perfect.” She walked over and handed Beca the drill, watching as she skillfully made a hole into the wall and inserted a dowel. “I didn’t know you were handy with tools.” 

Beca snickered. “Basic things only.” She twisted the screw in and hung the shelf, taking a few steps back to observe her work. “That looks cute.” 

Chloe glanced around the room, nodding as she absent-mindedly rubbed her belly. She had just reached thirty weeks, and Bean’s arrival was scarily close. The nursery was coming along nicely, the crib having just been delivered today, while the rest was pretty much done. 

The closet was full of onesies, tops, pants and a few dresses, swaddles, blankets, and loveys, and the dark oak changing table (matching the yet to be assembled crib) was stocked up with diapers, wipes, bodysuits, and a variety of creams and oils. 

Chloe had channeled her stress into reading as much as she could about newborns, what to do and not do, and while she had experience with babies from back when she was a teenager, she was relieved not to be doing this on her own.

“It does,” Chloe agreed, loving the subtle woodland theme she went for and all the love they poured into making this safe place for Bean. “It’s really cozy.” 

“Alright, now onto the big project,” Beca said, nodding towards the large package laying on the floor. “You’ll get to see how limited my knowledge of tools really is.” 

Chloe laughed and helped take the different parts of the cribs out of the box, then headed into the kitchen to get them some refreshments. 

The last six weeks had been really good. The Bellas welcoming her back with open arms had definitely helped with Chloe’s recovery, and her talk with Beca, that promise that she would wait for her to be ready filled Chloe with a renewed sense of self-worth and made her fall in love with Beca a little bit more. 

Chloe was now just over six months sober. The nagging for booze and snow sat somewhere at the back of the brain, and she doubted it would ever go away, but she was getting better at not listening to it. 

She stifled a laugh at the sight of Beca looking awfully perplexed by the instructions when she walked back into the room. “You good?” 

Beca chuckled. “Yeah. Just trying to make sense of this.” She glanced up to Chloe, accepting the glass of homemade lemonade with a smile and setting it beside her. 

“They sent us two baby monitors?” Chloe asked as she sat on the floor, noticing the two exact same boxes. They had ordered a bunch of stuff from the same website, and quite a few boxes had come with the crib while Chloe was at her NA meeting, and Beca had put everything in the nursery. “We only ordered one.” 

“No, um, I figured one more would be handy,” Beca said as she picked up one of the crib ends and two of the four legs, along with four bolts. “So I hear Bean when she cries at night, too.”

Chloe shook her head. “I can take care of nights. I don’t want your whole sleeping rhythm to be thrown off because of Bean, you’ve got work, too.” 

“I know, but I’m concerned the lack of sleep might mess up with your recovery if you handle it on your own. I’ve read some horror stories about some babies waking up every few hours and that for six months.” Her focus shifted from the crib assembling to Chloe. “I meant what I said when I told you you wouldn’t be on your own with this. But I don’t want to overstep either, so I want you to tell me if you need me to back up a little. I promise I won’t be upset.” 

Chloe’s heart swelled with more love. She didn’t know why she kept being surprised every time Beca showed her how dedicated to the both of them she was. Still, she felt a little guilty for disrupting Beca’s routine, but she knew Beca was right. 

“You’re not overstepping,” Chloe assured her, softly. “And I want you guys to bond, so I think you taking care of her without me might be a great way to do that.”

“Okay,” Beca murmured, smiling as she went back to her task at hand. “The label already knows I’m taking two months off once she’s born, so I’m around to help out. Maybe she’ll sleep through the night by the time I have to head back.” 

Chloe chuckled. “We can always dream.” She cleared her throat. “I was also thinking about Bean’s guardians, in case something happens to me, and I’d like for you to be one of them.” 

Beca paused mid-screwing in a bolt and met Chloe’s gaze. It was clear she was moved, and it made Chloe smile. “Of course. I’d be honored.” 

“Aubrey will be the other guardian, just so you know. So if I die, you’ll be seeing a lot more of her.” 

Beca’s nose wrinkled. “Is it too late to backtrack?” She asked with a soft laugh. Chloe knew she was just joking, as she and Aubrey got on really well, now. “I think Aubrey is a great pick. At least I know I won’t have to be the bad cop. But let’s hope she and I never have to be Bean’s guardians. I’m good with just being the cool aunt.”

The crib was easier to put together than they had originally thought. It only took Beca forty-five minutes, and once it was all done, Chloe grabbed the mattress and set it inside.

“It’s just missing one thing,” Beca said, casting Chloe a smile before she left the room, coming back a minute later. “Close your eyes.” 

Chloe did so, and it sounded like Beca was fumbling with something by the crib. 

“Okay, open them now.” 

Chloe let out a soft gasp at the sight of the animal mobile set up above the crib. A fox surrounded by mountains and clouds. “Beca…” 

“I wanted to get Bean a gift, and you mentioned an animal mobile, so I had this custom made with a friend of a friend.” 

“It’s perfect,” Chloe whispered, blinking back the tears pricking behind her eyes. She was used to crying over the smallest of things by now that she wasn’t embarrassed anymore. Wrapping an arm around Beca’s waist, she leaned her head over her shoulder, basking in the warmth and peace being in close proximity with Beca brought her. 

“I think so, too,” Beca murmured, her own arm coming up to wrap around Chloe’s back as she brushed a soft kiss to her forehead. 

*

Summer chilled to fall over the following week. Chloe was thankful for the cooler temperatures, as her body felt like a furnace on its own, she didn’t need any additional heat. Now thirty-one weeks, she had started to waddle, much to Beca’s amusement, it seemed, even if she only claimed to find it adorable. She also got winded after walking up a single flight of stairs and was insanely grateful for the elevator in Beca’s building. 

Hanging a left when it reached the right floor, Chloe headed down the hallway, pulling her keys out of her jacket pocket and sliding them into the lock. 

“SURPRISE!” 

Chloe jolted slightly, her hand shooting up to her chest in shock. Most of the Bellas stood in Beca’s decorated living-room, beaming at her. Above them hung a cute oh baby banner and a table was laid out with various snacks and a cake. 

“Oh my gosh, you guys!” She exclaimed as soon as she regained her composure, stepping further inside to hug each one of her friends tightly. “Did you do all this?” She asked when she got to Beca, awe leaking in her tone.

“Aubrey helped,” Beca said, nodding towards the blonde standing to her right. 

“Thank you,” Chloe murmured as she pulled away, embracing Aubrey next. It had taken some time for them to find their way back to how they used to be after so many years apart, and Chloe was so grateful Aubrey gave her a second chance. “Love you, Bree.” 

“Love you, too.” 

The afternoon was filled with fun activities such as onesie decorating, a Name that Tune game with songs that had the word baby in it, and a cupcake decorating contest. Towards the end of the day, Chloe was coaxed into opening the girls’ present, starting with the one Jessica set in her lap. 

“This is from all of us,” she said, smiling as Chloe peered into the bag. 

She fished the item out, her heart bursting in her chest as she unfolded the blue and gold onesie which bore the Barden Bella B. “Oh… I love it. Thank you.” 

The girls definitely spoiled Bean, gifting Chloe with a bunch of adorable onesies, animal stuffies, mittens, swaddles, a bear winter jumpsuit for those freezing days ahead of them, and an expensive-looking electric swing.

“This is too much,” she croaked out once she had unwrapped the large box, shaking her head in disbelief as the girls simply waved her concern off. 

“Oh, that’s from your parents,” Beca chimed in as Chloe reached for the second-to-last present. 

Tears pooled in her eyes (she had honestly lost track of how many times she’d cried in the last couple of hours) as she took the familiar item out of the bag. “It’s my baby blanket,” she told the girls as she unfolded the mustard blanket her mom had knitted while she was pregnant with her. She traced the name she had picked for her baby girl, which her mom had added in white lettering in a corner. Chloe smiled as she brought it to her nose; it smelled like home. 

The last gift was a pampering kit for Chloe, as well as a few items she would need for after labor. 

“I learned some stuff about childbirth that I wish I’d never known while looking for items to add to this,” Amy said with a grimace, drawing a giggle from Chloe. “I didn’t know things could tear like that down below.” 

Chloe winced along with the rest of the Bellas, her chuckle coming out strained. “Thanks, Amy.” 

Beca ordered pizzas for everyone, and the girls stuck around until nine pm, helping to clean up the living-room before they left. Chloe changed into her pajamas and made herself some herbal tea for her and Beca, joining her on the couch. 

“You okay?” Beca asked as she took one of the mugs from Chloe. 

“Yeah,” Chloe breathed out, curling up on the opposite end of the couch. “Thank you for today. It was so nice to see the girls again. I’m really lucky.” 

“You’re welcome, Chlo.” She motioned towards her lap. “C’mon, hand me those feet.” 

Chloe giggled, setting her feet on Beca’s thighs and biting back a moan as she started kneading the sole of her right foot. It had become a sort of a ritual these past few weeks, for Beca to give Chloe a foot rub while they chilled on the couch after dinner. “Am I going to lose those privileges once I’m no longer pregnant?” She teased. 

Beca smirked. “We’ll see.”

“I heard back from my old vet school, this morning,” Chloe said, following a few minutes of comfortable silence. She had been communicating back and forth with the advisor over there, who finally heard back from the head of the department. “Since I did two years of vet school already, I’d only have to do one more year to become a vet tech. They offered for me to jump into the school year in January, but that feels a little too soon after Bean gets here, so I think I’ll wait until September next year,” she explained as she rubbed her bump. “But I definitely plan on getting a part-time job waitressing or something by next spring, as soon as Bean is old enough go to daycare.” 

Finding a good daycare with availability had been a headache, but Chloe had luckily found a spot at the one she had set her eyes on in the neighborhood. 

“That’s great news,” Beca mused aloud, smiling. “I’m proud of you.” 

“I wouldn’t be where I am without you, Bec,” Chloe murmured, returning her smile. A groan flitted past her lips a second later. “Ugh, I need to pee again.” 

Beca chuckled as Chloe heaved herself to her feet and waddled to the bathroom. She had just shut the door behind her when a sharp pain in her lower belly made her double over, her hand shooting out to grip the counter while the other one cradled her bump. 

Panic gripped her insides as she slowly straightened when her head stopped spinning, letting go of her stomach to dip her hand past the waistband of her sweatpants. Her fingers met something warm and sticky, and Chloe’s heart lurched to her throat when she pulled them out, eyes zeroing on the blood. 

“No, no, no,” she muttered to herself, forcing down the lump forming in her throat with a hard swallow. She called Beca’s name, her voice wavering as tears rose to her eyes. 

“What’s wrong??” Beca rushed out as she rounded the corner, the sight before her answering her own question. Her eyes widened, and she paled, freezing for a couple of seconds before setting into motion. “I’m taking you to the ER. I’ll grab your shoes and coat.” 

Chloe gave a faint nod even though she wasn’t sure she registered Beca’s words. Her feet seemed rooted to the floor while Beca’s hurried steps faded. She couldn’t move. She kept staring at her bloodied hand as the most dreaded, terrible, gut-wrenching feeling seized her entire being. 

“I can’t--” she found herself saying when Beca appeared in her line of vision. The air got stuck in her throat before it could reach her lungs, just as her words died before it reached her tongue. She couldn’t lose her baby. “Bec.” 

“I know,” Beca murmured as she helped Chloe slip her jacket on. Her own hands were shaking. She bent down to guide Chloe’s feet into her sneakers, one by one, then grabbed a towel from the cupboard under the sink. 

Another cramp made Chloe cry out, and she felt more blood seeping out of her, in a greater amount this time around. She felt it dripping down her legs and choked on a sob, clutching at her stomach. 

The elevator ride and walk to the car was a blur, and Chloe found herself blankly staring out the window as Beca rushed to the hospital, hoping with all her might that her baby would be okay.

[carryonchile]

24 February - The Lakes Region: Puerto Varas

My trío of lakeside towns was completed with a five day stay in pretty Puerto Varas, the second place I was to return to five years later. It was a nice feeling to arrive somewhere that felt familiar and a place that I liked very much. Puerto Varas was the start of the Chile/Argentina lakes cycle tour, and I returned with Lucy and Mat at the end of the tour to celebrate New Year's Eve here. After one too many gintonics and pisco sours we enjoyed the fireworks over Lake Llanquihue, while joining the traditional chilean NYE pastime of wearing colourful face masks, complete with flashing lights. Then in the early hours a merry stagger along the unlit disused rail line back to our B&B. Very fond memories remain of that night!

Little appears to have changed other than more development where land allows, and the weather, which during the whole five days prevented the views I was treated to in 2017 across the lake of the impressive snow capped peaks of the two volcanoes, Puntiagudo and Osorno. I stayed in the fun La Guapa Hostel, where for the first time since leaving Santiago I met international travelers. It was great to hang out with a mix of chilenos and others from around the world, including marathon training Vicente and the endearing Mayo. I was still to encounter a Brit in my accommodation. The place was perfect for recommendations for my onward journey south to the Carretera Austral in Patagonia, which is expected to be the highlight of this visit, where I'll return to stunning landscapes I merely got to pass through on long  bus journeys five years ago.

The heavy showers and rain continued during most of my stay, so again I took advantage of taking shelter to enjoy a decent coffee or the good quality food the town is known for. I took the hostel advice the first day and experienced a huge lunch in the local institution named Donde El Gordito (Where The Chubby Are!), a cosy and cluttered family owned restaurant stuck in the past and decorated with all sorts of nick-nacks, but run by chatty and entertaining granny types. 

I did though take advantage of a better weather day and head to Petrohue, which we cycled to five years ago before taking a boat across the Todos Los Santos (All Saints) Lake and into Argentina. Again, very fond memories as I returned. This time though it was a four hour circular hike along the side of the Osorno Volcano and back via the shore of the lake, where I was come across one of the pretty Andean foxes exploring the beach. Of course, I took the opportunity for a beautiful swim in the clean water of the glacier meltwater fed lake. During my Puerto Varas stay there were also swims in Llanquihue Lake, one in the waves while the red flags flew tut tut, and another calm water one between showers in Llanquihue town itself.

Of course there was also some railway anoraking to be had. Passenger trains last ran through Puerto Varas over 15 years ago. It's now the perfect direct walking route to other towns along the lake. There is (and has been for a number of years!) talk of reintroducing services to the nearby large city of Puerto Montt, something that the new president Boric has talked about too. Meanwhile, the rotting station, tracks and infrastructure is used for a combination of street art, graffiti, litter, skateboarding and rough sleeping. I had to laugh at the sign outside referring to it as an architectural icon and cultural centre! It's fair to say that a lot of work will be required ahead of any future reopening. 

While in Puerto Varas I was to learn more of the escalation of the senseless attack on Ukraine, and of the anxiety of my Polish friend Kajetan, living very near to the border with Belarus, who's doing his best to help those escaping to Poland. The current situation in Europe is clearly tainting my enjoyment here; I feel uncomfortable knowing of the terrible suffering of people while I continue enjoying my travels here.

[cyberiade]

Team Kakashi & their s/o having their own Christmas Tradition

the ask: Hey so I was wondering if members of Team Kakashi have some interesting Christmas traditions with their s/o?

OH YES (congrats for being the first person to send an ask, anon) THANK YOU I did this more like ‘how something became a christmas tradition’, I hope it’s okay. Also, you forgot to specialize what should it be so I’ve chosen quick scenarios 

word count: 814

warnings: none

genre: fluff

I wrote it in one day I want to die

Kakashi: christmas lights

As you know, he isn’t really vocal with his desires, so you need to pay attention to details in his behavior 

One time when you two were on a walk and you noticed how he looks at people decorating their houses for Christmas 

“Hey, wanna do that too?” 

When he agreed immediately, you knew you made a good decision 

You bought a few cords of fairy lights, garlands and such 

Nothing extravagant, but quite cute 

When you started you were extatic 

But a few hours later, when it still didn’t look acceptable, you got pissed 

How a pair of shinobis can’t hang one garland in the right place? 

Eventually you finished with a little help from Pakkun 

Why does a dog have more fashion sense than you 

Anyway 

You were satisfied with the outcome 

And though the process was a pain in the ass, it was worth it 

So you decided to do that nex year too 

Naruto: building snow figures 

One time the Hokage’s office was nearly fully under a huge pile of snow 

And Shikamaru had to take care of this 

Which he did handle like a fully grown-up adult, the right hand man of the Hokage by telling your very own dork that the snow was there on purpose 

“It’s a suprise for you and Y/N” he said. 

“You can build a snowman family or something, I don’t really care” 

“Shikamaru you get a raise” 

When you arrived at his office a hour later, Naruto jumped out of his window the moment he noticed you. 

He was so thrilled to build a huge snowman that you just couldn’t refuse 

After you made sure that your sculpture won’t cover any important entrance, you let yourself have some fun 

You two decided to go with a huge figure of a fox wrapping his tails around the office 

Not so long after you started your friends started to join you 

Which of course turned to a snowball fight when Lee came

But after it ended, even more people joined 

Long story short, it turned from avoiding snow cleaning costs to Konoha’s Snow Sculpture Festival 

Sai: gingerbread cookies 

You couldn’t imagine Christmas without gingerbread cookies 

So it was not suprise that you made them

When you started to prepare icing, Sai entered the kitchen 

You thought it was a really good idea for him to help you and he was eager to do so 

He finished 60 cookies in 30 minutes 

Every single one with a different pattern 

Sai looked really upset when he realized there’s no more cookies to decorate 

So you made another portion 

And another 

And another 

You ended up with around 230 cookies (you ate some) 

Saying you were terrified was an understatement 

“We won’t eat them until next year!” 

“We can give some to Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei and Yamato-sensei" 

Not a bad idea 

You ended up giving them to everyone you like as a ‘bonus’ to your presents 

Sakura: ugly holiday sweaters

You two were shopping for presents

When suddenly you saw one of the ugliest sweaters you’ve ever seen 

It propably was big enough to easily fit you two inside (or fit Choji)

Normally you would just laugh and ignore it 

But you felt bad for the sweater 

No one ever wanted to buy it, poor little one 

“Hey, what do you think about this one?” 

“Babe, I love you, but if you really like this sweater I’ll have to take your shopping privileges under advisement” 

You explained why you wanted to buy it 

Sakura agreed, amazed by your sensitivity, but still grossed out at the thought of actually wearing this fashion tragedy 

The two of you decided to ‘adopt it’ 

When the cashier told you that no one even touch this sweater you couldn’t decide between crying and laughing 

Walking with shopping bags, the sweater showing through transparent plastic bag you carried it in, a lot of people frowned at the sight of it 

But frowns quickly dissapeared when Sakura flexed her arms, wordlessly showing everyone what will she do if they’ll criticize your fashion choices 

Your smile and cuddles at the end of the day was totally worth buying the horrifying pullover 

10/10 would do it again next year 

Yamato: visiting animal shelter 

Due to your lifestyle, you can’t visit the shelter as often as you two want to 

But this Christmas both of you had a day off, so you could go 

First you went to meet the dogs, take them on a walk and play with them 

Then you helped to feed a few sick birds 

You nearly got your finger bit off 

At the end, the cherry on top: c a t s 

You found one cat that looked exactly like Yamato 

Same eyes, same hair/fur color 

As you played with the little creature, you could tell that their characters matched too

If your stomachs didn’t rumble, you wouldn’t notice that you two spent 4 hours in the animal shelter already 

He treated you to some hot chocolate and cookies after  

I love this man so much 

[pro-fangirls-unsocial-life]

The Dark Side of the Full Moon (1/9) Were!Rex x Reader

A/N: Aaaaahhhhh! Its finally here! After all the hype and buildup and WORK its finally finished!! I really hope that you guys like it. I will say that the reader does use she/her because this was super self indulgent but I hope you guys like it nonetheless!! I’m also going to say that because this was super self indulgent, the terminology and technology of the time period may not always be 100% accurate but I did my best lol. Also if you want to be tagged in this series, feel free to message me to let me know! Enjoy!!

Tags: @captainrexisboo​ @writer1​

Length: ~2000 words

Warnings: none this time :) but I will warn you now that its gonna get ANGSTY in later chapters. 

Also there is one instance of Mando’a in this chapter that is not commonly used so: ner burc’ya = my friend

Next

As the wind of autumn began to cool with each passing day, and the harvest came to an end, everyone in the large town of Coruscant was preparing for the festival that was to come. Although it happened every year at the end of the harvest season, everyone was especially looking forward to this one. The last few months of the war had taken their toll on everyone and the Kingdom of the Republic was at a stalemate. Neither side was gaining any ground and the fatigue from constant conflict was pushing the people to the edge.

 The Chancellor had made a decree that the government would help to supply the festival for the kingdom this year to show that it still has faith in the citizens and the war effort. Most common folk bought into his façade of wellbeing, but Marshall Commander Cody and the rest of the army saw right through it. He knew that the Chancellor just wanted to buy himself more time to be in charge, but it was not his place to say anything to the contrary. The Fett clan had been “hired” to do a job, and he was going to do it. Besides, they did not have much of a choice after the Republic had paid the lords of the House of Kamino for the service of their citizens.

 Cody was looking forward to the festival. He couldn’t wait to let himself rest. One thing that the Chancellor said that Cody had actually cared about was the fact that the members of the army would be allowed to join in on the festival this year. Cody knew that it was just because two days after it ended, they were all being sent back out to join the rest of his family on the front lines. But it was a break, nonetheless. 

He also was excited to be helping his little brother, Rex, with his plan for you.

 Rex had been planning this night for months now and Cody was happy to see his brother be in such high spirits considering the current situation with the war.  

 As Cody walked down the main road of the town, he passed by villagers who were setting up tables and areas for the games that would take place during the festival. He walked past the huge area in the town square where a bonfire would be lit as soon as the sun went down up until it came back up again the next day. Turing his eyes toward the sky, he saw the clouds rolling in from way on the horizon.

 “Cody!” He looked down to see you walking toward him wearing your apron with flour covering your face and hair. You had just finished bringing many loafs of bread to the tavern so they could be distributed the next day. “I didn’t expect to see you until tonight. I thought that all of you were still on duty today?”

 A smug smile crept its way onto Cody’s face. “No. I thought that I would skip duty today and come steal one of your famous pies. I mean, Rex just goes on and on about how amazing his girlfriend’s pies are, I just couldn’t wait for the festival to try one.” His voice was laced with sarcasm as he leaned toward you sticking his tongue out.

 You put your hand to your chest, feigning surprise as you gasped. “Well,” you said breathily, “I guess you wasted yourself a trip then. I’m sorry to tell you that you’ll just have to wait.” You scrunched up your face and began to giggle as you wiped the remainder of the flour on your hands onto your apron.

 Cody chuckled. “Damn. I really thought I had you.” He crossed his arms and began to slowly continue walking. “In all seriousness though, I am still technically on duty. Fox is drowning in work from the Chancellor so while the other commanders of the guard help him, I volunteered to take their patrol duty.”

 “You should think about getting some rest too you know. Every time I come over to see Rex, I only ever see you working.” You stop and turn to look at him. “You look tired. Have for a few months now.”

 Cody slouched a bit and thought of all of the work that he still had to do in preparation for the day after the festival. How he needed to make sure that everything else was done so that he could focus on bigger issues. He reached up and grabbed the back of his neck. “I am. But being a high-ranking officer comes with extra work. Especially when my and Rex’s generals are constantly doing things that have only been a quarter of the way thought out.”

 “Oh yeah,” you said, “Rex had told me all about those missions.” You look up at Cody and put your right hand on his cheek. “You should still get some rest though,” you said as you inspected the dark circles under his eyes. “You wouldn’t want General Kenobi to think you don’t enjoy having tea with him anymore because you’re falling asleep.” You smiled at the annoyed look on his face.

 “Ha ha. Very funny Y/N,” he said as he pulled his face away and rolled his eyes.

 You proudly looked back at him. “I know,” you smiled. “I do have to get going though if I am going to finish all of my baking before the festival starts tomorrow morning.” You turned and began walking back towards your bakery as you waved bye to him. “Make sure you get some rest tonight so that you can enjoy tomorrow,” you said as you smiled at him.

 “I’ll be fine Y/N.” He waved as you began turning your head back forward. “Oh, and you might want to bundle up tonight! It looks like there is a snowstorm on its way.”

 You looked up at the sky and then back down to meet his eyes. You gave him a warm smile and nodded before continuing on your way.

 Cody continued walking his patrol route and smiled to himself. Ha. Rex is lucky to have someone sweet like her. He turned a corner and thought about how he would not have to do anything tomorrow except relax and have fun.

 Cody smiled. He really could not wait for the festival to begin.

 *******************************************************************************************

 Cody and Rex laughed as they watched their little brothers playing in the snow that had blanketed the town the night before. Fives was chasing after Echo after he had just stuffed a snowball down the back of Fives’ shirt. The two of them were standing next to one of the smaller fires that had been lit as they drank the hot apple citer that Generals Kenobi and Plo had made in celebration.

 Wolffe had opted to stay in bed and sleep longer into the day so that he would be more rested for the games that would take place once the sun went down. His legion had been the last to arrive out of the three that had been selected for leave and he had been exhausted when he got back just three days prior. The 212th and 501st had been back for a couple of months now due to some trouble that they had faced on their last mission to the outer territories.

 You had just walked up to where Rex and Cody stood and could see the happiness and relief on their faces from being able to take time off. The sun had started to go down and it was casting a beautiful pink and orange glow on their faces. The clouds had begun moving out toward mid-day and it looked like there would be a clear sky during the nighttime portion of the festival.

 You walked up to Rex’s side and pressed yourself into him, laying your head on his shoulder. He looked at you and placed a soft kiss to the top of your head as you pushed your hands toward the fire to heat them up.

 “I’m glad to see you two having a good time.” You smiled and lifted your head to look at Cody. “Was my pie worth waiting one more day for Cody?” You smiled smugly at him as you felt Rex lightly chuckle from watching your teasing.

 Cody shot an annoyed look at Rex and then smiled at you. “I would say so ner burc’ya. Rex really wasn’t exaggerating when he said that you made the best.”

 Rex beamed proudly and then gave a curt nod to Cody, a serious look briefly washing over his face. He then turned to face you as his face softened once again. “Would you care to take a walk with me cyar’ika?” He held his arm out for you to take and looked at you lovingly.

 You took his arm and gave him a mischievous and adoring smile. “Why of course my Captain. How could I ever say no to you when you look at me like that?” The two of you began walking toward the other end of town where your bakery is. It would be quieter there and Rex wanted to make sure that everything was perfect.

 Cody smiled as he watched the two of you huddle together as you walked, glad that his brother had found someone so loving. He continued to watch his little brothers play in the snow while he drank his cider. He sat there for what felt like forever, happy that his brothers got a chance to act like kids for once.

 As the sun finished setting, Cody looked up at the sky. He saw the clouds parting and could see the first few stars start to already peak out through the sky.

 “Ah! Enjoying your night off Commander?” Cody looked down to address the booming voice.

 “Admiral Yularen sir.” Cody gave him a nod. “I am. It is nice to have a break from everything.”

 The Admiral nodded in agreement. “Indeed.” He looked up toward the sky just like Cody was when he approached him. “It sure will be nice once the clouds finally dissipate all of the way. It shouldn’t be long now until we are able to see the full moon.”

 Cody whipped his head to face the Admiral, dread quickly creeping onto his face. “Excuse me sir?” He felt himself start to panic as the Admiral brought his face to look back at Cody.

 “The full moon Commander. It will give the festival a nice atmosphere don’t you think?”

 Cody swallowed nervously. “But sir, the full moon isn’t until tomorrow.” Cody could hear the fear rising in his voice as he silently begged for the Admiral to be wrong.

 Admiral Yularen looked at him confused. “I’m afraid that you are a day behind Commander.” He shrugged. “I can’t say that I blame you though. Never-ending battles tend to make one lose track of time.”

 Cody felt like everything around him had just shattered. He looked up to the sky and saw that the sun had finally sunken below the horizon and that the clouds had finally parted to begin to reveal the slivery moon in the sky. “Sir,” he said while trying to keep his voice firm, “will you please excuse me?”

 “Of course, Commander.”

 Before the Admiral could finish his sentence, Cody had turned around and was sprinting in the direction of your bakery. As he ran, he heard the sound of his footsteps echoing off of the cobblestone streets and the houses that lined it. His heart was pounding in his ears and his mouth had gone completely dry.

 “No no no no no. This can’t be happening. It was tomorrow.”

 He looked up at the sky and saw that the clouds had completely uncovered the bright moon. His breathing was ragged, and his muscles ached from how hard he was trying to get himself to move faster. Your bakery was completely on the other side of the huge town from the festival and having to run on the icy road was slowing him down.

 “Please,” he said as he breathed heavily. “Please let them be alright.”

 The Commanders desperate pleas and pounding footsteps echoed through the freezing night air as he ran down the dark road, frantically hoping that he would reach you before it was too late.

[mkw-raider]

Lemon Cake

AO3

Marinette/Chloé pre-relationship christmas bonding

Christmas One Shot Two days before Christmas, Queen Bee noticed Paris was buzzing with energy.

Shops were beginning to close for the night, satisfied customers drifting out into the street as workers cleaned and got ready to go home. Cars were beginning to leave the streets, heading away from the shops and cafes, finally going home. A thin layer of snow had stuck to the ground, and as the night had gotten darker, more snow had begun to fall from the sky above.

Paris was never truly a silent city, but the snow was offering a thin blanket, making the night peaceful even as a group of teens ran yelling and laughing around a street corner, snowballs flying towards the duo in the lead. The group scattered couples and families walking in front of them, but no anger came about. The Holiday season had given the citizens kindness and patience missing from the rest of the year. There hadn’t even been an akuma in the past week, making patrol a very quiet affair. This was of course likely to change at any time, especially on Christmas Eve or Christmas itself, not everyone had a loving family to return to, but for now there was peace.

Eyes drifting from person to person, a hero watched the city of lights begin to glow illuminating the people they could see. A tall man pulling a small child and gift bags behind him in a sled. A mother, wrangling four kids as they tussle with the snow and each other. A young couple slowing every few feet to share a kiss.

If the citizens of Paris lifted their gaze from their phones or last minute presents towards the Eiffel Tower, they might be able to see a splash of yellow above the upper floor. Parisians with keen eyes might even be able to determine the splash of yellow to be the newest member of Team Miraculous, Queen Bee, wrapped in a yellow blanket.

A few hundred metres up, Queen Bee was observing the chilly winter evening in silence. Focusing on the citizens wandering between shops, she was people watching. Watching the citizens she helps protect buy the last of the food they would need for the coming Holiday dinners, the families rushing home to be together, seeing how many people had places to be.

Queen Bee didn’t have anywhere to be tonight. Technically, Chloé Bourgeois needed to be back in time for an early breakfast with her father. While Chloé had plans for the next few days, including a brief morning with her father, they would spend the rest of Christmas Eve appearing at events designed to give the Mayor good press and show how invested he was in the community. For now though, Chloé had no obligations, and until she needed to sleep, observing citizens from above is where she would stay.

The blanket she had wrapped herself in had slid down her shoulders, and as the next winter chill blew by, Chloé brought the warm blanket tighter around her body. She remembered when she had first gotten the blanket. Long after her first attempts at being a hero, but before she had been given a second chance, Chloé had realized she wasn’t the nicest person. No one had been willing to believe her, except for Adrien and, shockingly enough, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Chloé had apologized and done what she could, but it had been Marinette who had convinced people to give her a chance, and it had been Marinette who had included her in the class secret Santa, giving her the handmade blanket.

Though Chloé would admit it only to Adrien and Sabrina, the blanket had made its home on her bed for the entirety of the past year, only moving when Chloé was cold on her balcony, or moments like now, where she wasn’t on patrol but had picked a building high enough she could feel the chill through her suit.

Though the sun had set an hour ago, Chloé could still see families out together. She could see a father and son in a nearby park, using the few inches of snow that had stuck to toss snowballs at each other. From this distance she couldn’t hear anything, she was left to wonder what they were talking about. Maybe they were laughing together, enjoying the company of family, or maybe the father was complimenting the son’s throws, offering advice on where to improve, but still acknowledging his son’s accomplishments. Chloé didn’t think either of her parents had ever taken her to a park. She also couldn’t remember the last time she had gone somewhere with them with the intention to have fun together. As the son threw another snowball, hitting his father in the chest, she watched as the man ran to scoop up his child and throw him in the air. Come to think of it, Chloé couldn’t remember the last time her parents had ever seemed so happy with something she’d done.

A soft crunch behind her had Chloé jerking around while grabbing her trompo, only to see Ladybug standing across from her, two boxes in hand. “It isn’t your patrol tonight, Bee.”

Heart beginning to calm from her small scare, Chloé snorted, “You’re one to talk. It isn’t your patrol either.”

Ladybug came over to sit next to Chloé, and even though Ladybug had a hat and scarf to keep her warm, Chloé opened the blanket as a silent invitation. Setting the boxes on her other side, Ladybug took the blanket and slid closer to Chloé, wrapping the two of them in a little cocoon of warmth.

“A little fox might have told me she had seen a lonely bee up here, and I didn’t want you to be alone.”

Chloé doesn’t really know how to respond to that, so she doesn’t, instead saving that sentence to a little area in her brain for nice things Ladybug has said. She does things like that sometimes. Just says things that Chloé thinks about for weeks to come, like she was thinking of Queen Bee, or she missed her, or she didn’t want her to be alone. Before Chloé had officially joined the team, she had never known this side of Ladybug, only ever seeing the leader and strategist keeping everyone in line. Then everything shifted and Chloé learned that Ladybug cares so much about all of them, about Chat never really wanting to go home, and Rena and Carapace both having to rush off suddenly, Ladybug makes note of it all, the things that go unnoticed by others, and supports them. And then when Chloé least expects it, Ladybug will say something like she’s never meant anything more, and Chloé will think about that moment until it happens again.

She knows if she lets herself, she could spend hours just staring at Ladybug, tracing the line of her jaw, memorizing her lips, learning everything she can, so Chloé forces herself to find the father and son from before. They’ve migrated away from where Chloé had last left them, but they’re still playing together. The son is bringing armful after armful of snow to the father, who squats patiently and rolls snowball after snowball adding to the growing pile next to him. She wonders if this is something that happens often for the family.

Darting her eyes to check on Ladybug, Chloé freezes as their eyes meet for a moment, before Chloé jerks her attention back to the family to hide her blush from Ladybug.

“They’re a cute family, don’t you think?” Ladybug says before resting her head on Chloé’s shoulder.

Chloé thinks she nearly chokes as she manages to get her brain to focus, “Yeah, yup. Cute family.”

Willing herself to relax, Chloé tries not to jostle Ladybug, wanting her to be as comfortable as possible while they resume watching the park below.

What feels like an eternity later, but Chloé knows can really have only been ten minutes, Ladybug stretches herself off and away from Chloé’s shoulder, letting the blanket drop.

Smiling, Ladybug pushes herself into a squat, keeping her mostly on Chloé’s level as she says, “I’ve got to go. Have a good night and stay safe, Bee.” Ladybug moves forward and kisses Chloé’s cheek before pulling away quick enough that Chloé isn’t entirely sure it was real.

A mere moment later and Ladybug jumps off the tower, leaving Chloé alone with her thoughts again. Her cheek, and the side Ladybug had been pressed into, are warm. A reminder of their time together and the closeness Chloé had been allowed to experience.

Ladybug probably had the right idea, heading home. Chloé would follow and leave herself in a few more minutes she just wanted to breathe the air in a little longer. Enjoy the Christmas peace before her next few days became a media spectacle for her father’s Christmas plans.

A smile slid itself across her face as she thought of the feel of Ladybug’s lips against her cheek and she dropped her eyes back to the park. The father and son were still there, but they were both completely covered in snow now. A few remaining snowballs were being flung between them but their stockpile had dwindled and they seemed slower than they were earlier. As she watched, another man approached the pair, holding a bag and what looked to be three drinks. As the group came together, the two men shared a kiss, before the drinks were passed out and the family began to leave the park.

Chloé brought her legs up from where they had been dangling. Swinging them back onto the platform, she nearly knocked over both of the boxes Ladybug had been carrying earlier. There was a slightly smaller navy box on top of a yellow box, and Chloé could recognize the gold lettering signifying the navy box was from Tom and Sabine’s bakery. There was a note on top that simply said ‘Bee’ with Ladybug’s symbol scrawled in the corner. Chloé decided to open that one first.

Delicately lifting the lid, Chloé found a slice of lemon cake resting inside. There was a bamboo fork inside as well, which made Chloé smile. Marinette had been very vocally trying to convince her parents to make the switch from plastic to something more reusable, and she kept a stockpile on hand to fill orders for friends or people who requested it.

Chloé closed the lid and moved towards the other box. Wrapped in simple yellow paper, there was another note on the top, though this one had ‘Chloé’ written instead. Tearing through the paper, Chloé opened the plain box inside to reveal a soft looking yellow knit cap. There was another note inside, clearly written by Ladybug. On the note was just a few sentences, ‘I know you’ve been looking for a hat, so I took care of it. I hope you like it, because I know it’s going to look amazing on you.’

There had been a heart scrawled on the bottom of the note, that Chloé had blushed at as soon as she noticed. 

Packing her cake box, into the larger box, Chloé collected her things and slid the hat onto her head. Christmas wasn’t always the easiest season for her, but Ladybug and her friends had been supporting her through the last few Christmases, making everything just a little easier on her. Now she had a treat for later, something to keep her head warm, and thanks to Marinette’s gift earlier in the week, matching yellow gloves to warm her hands as well.

Smiling out towards her city, Chloé jumped from the Eiffel Tower, yelling “Merry Christmas, Paris!” as she fell.

[alkhale]

so... that new his dark materials on HBO got me feeling some things and thinking... Memos HDM AU?

Memos His Dark Materials AU Ko-Fi Request

(for context for the excerpt down below this, when someone’s daemon makes contact with another person’s daemon, it’s considered very personal and intimate. This is normal between family members and very close friends or loved ones, say, Luffy’s daemon would probably touch all his nakama’s left and right just fine, but for certain others, this may come as a bit of an alarming little sensation for them since people feel what their daemons feel and the same vice versa as extension of their souls)

- Hoku’s daemon is a white panther named Hau.

The two of them don’t get along very well and tend to get on each other’s nerves due to personal reasons. They’re capable of being a fairly good distance apart even though this isn’t normal and considered painful for most people. They sort of trained themselves to be able to be apart because they felt following their independent values was most important. It’s a bit of a messy situation but they’re the first ones either of them would turn to no matter what. He has the same marking she has painted around the curve of his left eye because it’s tradition for Pokians to paint it onto their daemons when they come of age. All daemons from Artopoki are also always colored white just like their hair.

His name means “happiness” in Hawaiian.

- Mahina’s daemon is a white horse while Manu’s is a small white wild cat. Mihawk’s is a massive, massive ink black raven named Sable. She and Mahina’s daemon got along really well.

- Shank’s daemon is a reddish tinted lionness who goes by Reina. Hoku and Hau are a bit smitten by her but Hau kind of hates Shanks, maybe not hate but he tends to be on the more skeptical end of him versus Hoku being a little doe-eyed for the man. Hau loved Mihawk though. Mihawk was the first person to ever touch him outside of Hoku’s parents (human to daemon contact is a super big deal when it’s not family or intimate loved ones, daemon to daemon is a little more tolerable but raises some brows)

- Luffy’s daemon settles as a springy lionness name Soleil who he calls Sol. She’s very energetic and can’t really read a room but she makes up for it with energy. She and Luffy are two peas in a pod.

- Nami’s daemon is an orange fox named Riki, the greatest thieving duo across the East Blue.

- Zoro’s is a massive bengal tiger named Masumi and she’s got a much more approachable personality than her counterpart but tends to be just as lazy and ferocious.

- Usopp’s is a chameleon by the name of Emmo. She’s a bit of a coward too but she’s funny.

- Sanji’s is a beautiful, rather stunning lady jackrabbit by the name of Celine who loves beautiful people and kicking. She seems a little wiser than Sanji.

- Brook’s is the skeleton of a songbird named Aretha. They’re the strangest case on the Grand Line because of his devil fruit. She sings beautifully for a pile of bones though.

- Franky’s is a female beaver named Aspen, they’re pretty much carbon copies of each other.

- Robin’s is a black owl named Yuval. He’s on the quieter side and tends to creep people out on first glance but he’s a very gentlemanly owl.

- Ace’s ends up settling as a red and black lynx by the name of Iskra. Sabo’s is a peregrine falcon named Brisa.

- Vivi’s is a fennec fox named Seti.

- I couldn’t decide of Kid’s should be one hell of a murderous honey badger with attitude named Naga or a crocodile or a bear. Any of those three felt pretty right but I lean more toward the honey badger HAHAHA.

- Law’s daemon is a snow leopard named Estrella. These two are an especially dangerous duo and Estrella tends to be a bit more on the mysterious side at first.

- - - - - - -

“Your blood,” Shank said, cupping her cheek. “Is worth treasures more than his.”

Hau bit at Shanks’ cloak, snarling as a white husky in protest, trying to pull him away. Reina watched him in utter amusement.

Steam exploded from Hoku’s ears, her entire face flushing red.

“Oops, hey, someone get Makino! I’m worried dove’s got a fever!”

- - - - - - -

“It’s nothing but a childish crush,” Hau said pointedly to her, perfectly aware of the fluttery, gross feelings inside Hoku spilling over to him. He walked after her, lashing his tail angrily while Hoku stared up at the sky in a daze. Shanks had just given them a living, ripe kiionohi tree. “He just thinks we’re cute kids. He likes teasing us. This is how he took Luffy!”

Hau worked over-time to remain as indifferent toward Shanks as Hoku originally wanted to be. Hoku had just given up and rolled over to the fact that Shanks was just… so hard to dislike. Was there even a reason to dislike him? Sure, she still got jealous that Luffy was so damn fond of him, but when Luffy was always pulling her around despite that, promising she was his first before anyone else—

“Are you listening to me?” Hau hissed at her, biting her ankle in protest. Hoku looked down at him. “I don’t like him! He’s just another schmuck! Nothing’s gonna happen anyway! Dream on! We’re just kids to him, got it?”

“I know that,” Hoku snapped, cheeks flushing. “I-It’s just adoration. Childish adoration. What do you think I’m gonna do, ask him to marry me?”

“No,” Hau muttered, “but don’t get any ideas.”

“I’m not,” Hoku snapped back at him, lightly nudging his paws. Hau swiped at her. “He’s just… he’s just charming, is all. And you’re one to talk, you know. You look at anyone that’s willing to scratch your ears like they’re god!”

“I don’t let people scratch me behind the ears!” Hau protested. “No one’s allowed to touch me!”

“Yeah,” Hoku snorted. “Except Luffy, right? I feel what you feel too, dumbass. Think about how it feels for me to get scratched behind the ears too, okay?”

Hau grumpily settled down onto his haunches, stubbornly looking over to the side, “But it’s Luffy.”

Hoku could understand that, but it didn’t make the sensation any more normal. Actually, I might be starting to get used to that. Luffy’s so damn touchy it’ll kill me. She didn’t even flinch anymore when Hau and Soleil were pressed tight together, rolling around or tumbling about each other or cuddled up in a pile. Luffy’s warm fingers patting Hau’s head, hefting him up into his arms—that was still something she was getting used to.

Or Hoku, cupping Soleil’s head in her hands, pressing a kiss to the top of the daemon’s head, committing utter taboo. Hoku, letting Soleil cozy up to the crook of her neck, shove her face into Hoku’s hand, weave between her fingers while Luffy laughed beside them—

The four of them, touching each other’s daemons, each other’s partners, each other’s souls—

But I am getting used to it. Hoku shivered. Never touching anyone’s daemon, huh?

Hau lashed his tail, “I won’t let Shanks touch me, you can count on that.”

“You’re just jealous,” Hoku said. “Luffy and Soleil already said we’re first. And it’s not like Shanks is going to be here forever, he’s a pirate, remember?”

Hoku rubbed the side of her arm, looking down at her shoes, “He’s just… he’s just become Luffy’s idol. You see how he looks at him—Luffy knows what he wants to do now ‘cause of him.”

Hau huffed, whiskers twitching. Hoku gave him a little shove and Hau shifted into a bull, ramming at the back of her knees as Hoku laughed, shoving back at him.

Shanks was just a bit of fun, that was it.

- - - - - - - - 

But Reina didn’t play by the rules.

“You’re getting faster, little dove.”

Hoku almost screamed. Her heart lodged into her throat, forcing her to choke as Mau nearly clattered onto the dirt from her hands had she not hooked it last minute. She apologized to the amused blade, checking for scratches and trying to work out a game plan in her head.

Hau frowned. As deep of a frown as an unhappy skunk could make, sitting by a log and looking pointedly Reina’s way.

She didn’t know when Shanks’ daemon had made her way over to them or where Shanks was, probably with Luffy to be honest, but there Reina was, living up to her name.

The lioness daemon was stretched out onto a fat slab of rock jutting upwards from the ground. Luffy used it as a launching platform a lot when they were playing. Her red-gold body rippled, leisurely soaking up the sunlight.

Hoku’s fingers itched.

Reina watched them with golden irises. 

“Thanks,” Hoku said, trying not to be awkward but feeling very much so. “I’m not there yet though.”

Reina’s chest rumbled, a deep sound that made Hau wrinkle his nose in protest. She laid her head down onto her paws, rolling over onto her side. Hoku noticed the scars lining her softer underbelly, the notch missing from a piece of her flicking tail.

“You’ll get there,” Reina said soothingly. “Why don’t you take a break?”

I feel like I’m talking to the devil. Hoku shivered. Temptation incarnate. “I haven’t hit my number of swings yet.”

“Shanks and Luffy are playing by the harbor,” Reina almost purred. “Don’t you want to join?”

Hoku frowned at her boots. Yes. “No. I’m glad Shanks is taking up all his time.”

Reina’s ear twitched. Her eyes glimmered playfully. Hoku felt as though if her feet weren’t planted firmly to begin with, she’d already be making her way over to the lioness for no reason other than the fact that Reina seemed to be beckoning her over.

“How come you two can be so far apart?” Hau blurted. Hoku shot him a look of disbelief. 

Reina’s whiskers twitched in amusement.

Hau hunkered down, waving his big bushy tail. “I-Isn’t it painful? It’s weird, daemons aren’t supposed to be able to do that.”

“You two seem to be able to go fairly far,” Reina murmured. “Is that not strange?”

Hoku and Hau flinched.

Reina laid her head down onto the rock, letting the sun color her pelt. She looked crimson gold in the sunlight. “He and I simply found it in ourselves to promise to live our lives to the fullest and the freest.”

Reina seemed to smile, lips pulling back to show her fangs. “Besides, like this, I can be with Luffy and he can be with little dove at the same time, hmm?”

Hoku and Hau blinked in confusion. They looked at each other and back to Reina who’d rolled over to show them her back, settling down for a nice, long nap.

“Finish up those swings, dove,” Reina purred. “Then let’s play.”

I miss Luffy. Hoku miserably flattened herself down against the grass, Mau propped up onto a trunk beside her. Hau was chirping haughtily in the tree branch above her, flapping his white wings even though he was supposed to be a toucan. I always run off even when he’s playing with Shanks. Maybe I should just suck it up and have fun with them too. Or, not fun. Just… spend time. Yeah.

Hoku groaned, rubbing her sweaty face with her hands.

“About time,” Hau chirped at her. “Let’s go! I don’t care if Shanks and everyone else is there, I want to see Luffy and Sol.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Hoku snapped. “I heard ya. You just want to get touched again.”

Hau flattened, ruffling his feathers, “That’s not true!”

It absolutely is. Hoku sighed, preparing her aching muscles to lift her sluggish body up. Hau was practically touched starved and Luffy’s generous pats were like a drug. He did a good job making sure Shanks never got near him though. Hoku didn’t even flinch. Touching other people’s daemons is still such a weird feeling though, I can’t get used to anyone else but them. 

She’d only ever touched Sable twice. Ki and Kekoa didn’t count because they were family. Soleil was the only one she ever really touch-touched, and even then, it was still a sensation Hoku felt all the way to the tip of her toes and down to her bones. Intimate. 

Bet no one else has a daemon willing to get himself pet. Hoku peeked through her fingers at Hau who jumped from the branch and shifted into a little white butterfly. He’d turn into a dog later because it was easier to play with Luffy like that. What daemon goes up to someone to get themselves touched? 

Some taboos just weren’t meant to be crossed.

A shadow fell over Hoku’s face and she blinked, moving her hands away to look up.

Reina looked down at her.

Hoku froze, stiff against the ground like a corpse. Her heart hammered stupidly loud in her chest, loud enough to burst through her ears. From this spot, she could make out every fine, red-gold hair smoothed over Reina’s slender face. She could see the dark lines that traced her feline gold eyes, followed the slope of her muzzle, to the long, elegant whiskers—a few cut short, and the few scars that lined her soft nose. 

This was the closest she had ever been to the daemon.

She could sense heat from the lioness, hulking power and muscle. Reina’s killing paws sat on either side of her head. She could crush Hoku’s skull without much effort. Rip her throat out. In another world, Hoku would be fearing for her life—even in this world, Hoku was still fearing for her life, but, but, maybe death at the hands of such a beautiful, powerful daemon couldn’t be that awful.

Hoku waited, staring at Reina with wide eyes.

Reina blinked once, slowly. Something like amusement seemed to shift over the fine hairs on her face and she lowered her head over Hoku’s. Her body seized up, unable to breathe.

And then languidly, a warm, wet and scratchy pink tongue rolled once across her face, down her forehead to her lips and over her chin. Reina pulled away, satisfied, looking down at Hoku’s disheveled, slightly wet face and bulging eyes before calmly sauntering off, hips swaying.

It took her a moment. A good, solid moment. Her heart did something funny, her body frozen stiff and ascended to some other plain of existence, her mind whirring and still buzzing from the electricity of the slightest contact with—

Someone else’s daemon—

 Reina—

Shanks’ daemon—

Touched—

Hoku’s face blushed a bright, scarlet red. She grabbed her face with her hands and rolled around in the dirt like the little bug she was.

Hau jealously nudged her face with his little ferret nose, huffing and puffing in displeasure.

She’d never been touched by someone else’s daemon before.

- - - - - - - -

The final nail into her own coffin was done by Hoku’s own hands.

At the crack of dawn, when the light was just beginning to crawl its way out of the horizon to peek over into the sky. Just hours before, Hoku had finally shown Shanks the book, speaking with him in the low light of that bar and making a total fool of herself—enough for Hau to tease and taunt her about it for hours until they fell asleep.

She woke up earlier than Luffy today, leaving him snoring in her hammock with Soleil sprawled as a baby badger over him. Hau woke up, slithering into her shirt and keeping himself warm by her stomach as they walked out into the forest.

Reina was already waiting for them.

“Dove,” Reina greeted, velvet voice carrying over as Hoku trudged through the dewy grass. Sunlight was warming her pelt, heating it up like a forge and turning the red-gold of her pelt darker and brighter.

Hau muttered a low, half-reluctant protest. Yesterday, Luffy had picked him up, holding him close and willingly thrusted Hau toward Shanks like some kind of sacrificial offering. 

Shanks didn’t take the daemon, simply grinning in understanding at Hau’s horrified expression. Her daemon had never felt more betrayed.

“Hau, you gotta get along with everyone!” Luffy laughed. “Don’t be dumb like Hoku!”

Hoku couldn’t stop the greedy, uncontrollable itch in her fingers.

“...good morning,” Hoku mumbled, tucking hair behind her ear out of habit. Reina was stretched out, regal and picture perfect on that same slab of stone. Dawn was rising over the fine curve of her spine and the lioness kept her gaze on them evenly, waiting as Hoku slowly came to stand beside the slab of rock.

Reina’s ears swiveled forward. She watched Hoku, eyes glittering. A soft sound left her parted jaws.

Hoku hesitantly took a seat on the rock, a few inches away from Reina. She could feel heat rising from the daemon, her head turning to follow Hoku as they stared at each other.

She weakly raised one hand. Hau’s heartbeat matched her own.

“Could I… Could I draw you?”

Reina’s jaws parted to let out a soft rumble. Her body curved more, keeping Hoku in the middle. Her paws stretched out and Reina kept her eyes evenly on Hoku’s.

Hoku softly set her hand down on Reina’s side. Warmth flooded into her fingertips, spreading up her arm and making half her body feel almost numb with the sensation. Hoku’s head spun, buzzing with that vibrant thrum of energy as Reina’s pelt shifted under her fingertips. Hoku daringly let her hand come down Reina’s spine, feeling the muscles and scars in one gentle stroke.

Reina’s scratchy tongue dragged over Hoku’s hand in approval.

“I hope that man is deep, deep asleep,” Hau muttered. Hoku agreed.

She thought her heart was going to burst.

- - - - - -- -- - -

“This place is crawling with marines now,” Smoker said. “What are you going to do? Let them arrest you like some kind of washed up drunk?”

Hoku lightly pushed the glass in front of her. The bartender nervously refilled the glass, jumping in fear when Smoker glared daggers at him.

“Hoku,” Smoker said.

The woman kept swallowing mouthfuls of the whiskey in her cup, ignoring him. Blanca’s fur had settled over her back, smoothing out. His daemon watched the woman before them in silence, looking at Hau and then back to Hoku.

A soft sound left Blanca’s lips. Smoker shot her a warning look. The smoky colored husky daemon lowered her tail.

“What happened to all that spunk?” Smoker continued. “You don’t give two shits if I cuff you and take you in from here?”

Hoku didn’t even turn to look at them. She kept her shoulders hunched, curling in on herself over the bar’s countertop and refusing to meet the gazes burning into her back. The empty glasses spread out across the wood counter beside her, the heavy smell of alcohol settling amidst the cigarette smoke.

Hau kept silent at her feet, curled up and head low. Smoker observed the daemon carefully, noticing the matted fur, the dirt stains in the crisp white that used to be his go-to for hunting them down in the crowd. His unsheathed claws, caked with dried dirt and blood. The cleanest spot was the blood red ink curled over his half-hidden face under the countertop’s shadow.

A new spot was inked into his fur. A small, blood red flame right where the muscle of his shoulder blade bunched under his right foreleg. Smoker’s eyes traveled upwards to the matching red flame inked into Hoku’s skin over her right shoulder blade.

“This is it?” Smoker said gruffly.

Hoku snorted. Blanca shot him a look, gray eyes hard to read but Smoker never needed to read her eyes, he could hear her thoughts loud and clear in his own head, in the space they shared.

“Who cares,” Hoku muttered bitterly. “You got what you wanted.”

Blanca fell silent. Smoker shot his daemon a sharp look, but she refused to meet his gaze, tail limp behind her and ears pricked far forward, focused on the woman before them.

Hoku bowed her head. Her hands went up, carding through her hair, holding them there as though she were cradling her head in her hands.

“You won,” Hoku whispered.

His daemon took a step forward.

“Blanca,” he warned.

The husky kept her muzzle shut, looking at him.

“Smoker.”

Smoker tossed his cigar to the side. His gloved hand clenched into a fist before it loosened. Smoker let out an aggravated sigh, shaking his head. He took a step forward, raising his hand up.

Hau’s growl ripped through the air like a knife. A single, resounding warning. Smoker glanced down to the daemon, glaring at them with icy venom, fangs and claws bared. Blanca lowered her head only an inch, her only way of showing they meant no harm. Hau pulled his lips back into a louder snarl, tail lashing in aggravation.

Hoku glanced down to her companion, frowning for a moment before she raised her head and looked back at Smoker.

Tears continued to trickle from the corners of her eyes. They slid down the curve of her cheeks, dripping down her chin. Hoku watched him in silence, expression unreadable.

The admiral hesitated for only a second. Blanca let out the softest, softest whine.

For a moment, Hau’s body untensed, staring. The foggy look started to clear. Hoku’s brows creased and Smoker reached out with his gloved hand one more time.

The doors to the bar slammed open.

The light winked out from Hoku’s eyes. Hau stood onto his paws, head lowered, eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. 

His men flooded the dimly lit room, raising their guns and shouting out orders as Smoker cursed in his head and Blanca’s ferocious barks of protest flooded the room over his, ordering the marine daemons to stand down.

Smoker lurched, eyes snapping in surprise to where Hau suddenly had Blanca pinned to the wooden floorboards of the bar. His daemon was silent, rigidly looking up at Hau with her teeth barely bared, body still while Hau’s jaws were wrapped around her neck. Smoker felt his teeth on his own, Hoku’s dead eyes looking at all of them.

“Go ahead,” Hoku said coldly. She turned to the marines by the door, half-smiling. “Just don’t forget, Hau’s got one more life over her.”

Blanca kept silent, staring imploringly at Hau. The panther ignored her gaze, keeping his jaws buried in the scruff of her throat, waiting. Smoker stared hard at Hoku and she kept her gaze on his men, expression devoid of emotion.

-- - ----- ----

“Estrella,” Law drawled, ice dripping with the roll of his tongue.

His daemon pounced.

They poor no-body marine dog never stood a chance.

--- --- ---- ---- --- 

“No,” Law said. “This is rehab.”

He kicked Hoku’s lower back, sending her flying down the stairs with an ungoldy screech and down into the boiler room. Penguin and Sachi peeked their heads around the corner, staring down into the darkest depths of their sub while Law shoved a hand into his pocket.

“Is she still alive?” Penguin asked.

“She’s got a couple, right?” Law asked Hau. “Which one was that?”

Hau flicked his tail tip, the only sign of his annoyance. Estrella watched him with peering eyes, following the sway of Hau’s haunches as he slunk down the steps into the boiler room after Hoku.

“Fuck you, Law!” came the ghostly holler. “I’m going to blow up your submarine! You forgot I’m suicidal, asshole!”

Law looked satisfied, turning his back on them and closing the boiler room door. To Sachi and Penguin he added, “Make sure she doesn’t come out until she’s done.”

---- --- --- --- ---

Law froze, his entire body stiff as ice.

He took a moment, reassessing the sensation he felt unfolding in his chest. He considered it carefully, made sure this… this feeling was not a mistake, that he had not wrongly interpreted the shared sensation between himself and his daemon. He picked it apart in seconds, slowly, rigidly turning his head to the corner of the deck.

It was dark, only a single headbeam lit from the corner pathway of the submarine. The deck on top of the rounded hull was bathed in darkness, but even in the thin light, he knew down to his bones he was not seeing wrongly. 

Law gave the woman beside him one discreet, searching glance.

Hoku looked completely and utterly unaffected. He watched her a second longer to make sure it wasn’t an act, but her careless, bored demeanor showed truthfully she had no inclination whatsoever to sharing his barely, barely startled turmoil. Hoku looked completely at ease, still squinting in the distance to see if she could make out the constellation they’d just discussed, mouth moving around the dried fruit she’d just popped into her mouth.

Law carefully, with great composure, withheld the light, creeping shiver that traveled down his spine. He narrowed his eyes, looking back, but Estrella coyly kept her mind blank, hiding all of her thoughts from him the way they’d taught each other to.

There, against the side of the entry doorway, the two of them laid. 

Hoku’s daemon had stretched out, directly in the middle of the deck to keep the perfect distance away from either side of the railings. His long, furred body turned a pale, ghostly shade of white under the moonlight, large paws hiding pearl white claws. Hau’s side rose and fell in lazy slumber, his tail stretched out behind him like a white whip, ears twitching only occasionally.

But the issue was who was beside him.

Estrella had silently made her way from Law’s side across the deck to his. Her lithe, powerful feline body almost nearly matched his in size. Law watched her with rapt, rigid focus, brows furrowed in dark disbelief as his daemon purposefully ignored his silent prodding.

She stopped inches from Hau’s form, sitting on her haunches, tail curled neatly over her paws. Hau’s ear flicked once in her direction to signal he’d noticed, but kept his eyes closed. Estrella stared down at him, icy gray gaze that had stared back as she ripped throats out of marines and pirates and their enemies alike, becoming almost clear.

Estrella rearranged herself, laying down on her stomach barely a centimeter—a heavy, tense centimeter Law could feel—from him. She folded her paws neatly over each other, staring out seemingly in boredom. Her striped black tail flicked from side to side, occasionally brushing against Hau’s limp one. A ghost of a touch.

Touch.

His daemon. Estrella.

Hau didn’t move, tail limp, body relaxed. Estrella turned her head to look down at the other daemon, expression carefully blank. Her tail curled and then the tip of it brushed against Hau’s flank. His fur seemed to shift, bright, scarred pink nose twitching but he remained relaxed. Estrella seemed pleased by this and her tail promptly laid out beside his own, curling idly over his.

Touching.

Law looked back at Hoku and she reached for another dried fruit, popping it into her mouth. She shuffled through her bag, debating whether or not to shove a handful more. Oblivious.

Is your connection to your daemon that terrible? Law almost bit out. Almost. It would have come out calm and cold and collected. Are you that dull? Is it that messed up? Are you an idiot—

He went rigid, gripping Kikoku with white knuckles. 

Law exhaled, slowly. He carefully turned over his shoulder, inch by inch, glaring daggers behind him.

Estrella didn’t even blink at him, eyes trained sideways and away. She looked silver against Hau’s snow white. Her long, raspy pink tongue slid out languidly from her mouth in soothing, relaxed motions. It showed off the dangerous curve of bone-crushing fangs. But Estrella’s tongue was now running over the top of Hau’s face, over his ears, around his neck as she turned her face and—

“Are you grooming him?” Law spat out in disbelief at her. 

The snow leopard lazily flicked her tail behind her in response. Hau yawned, stretching his paws out, unbothered, and resumed his slumber as Estrella continued her grooming, content.

Law ripped apart the shudder that almost raced down his spine. He shoved the sensations traveling from Estrella and Hau’s shared connection, the low buzz of energy, of electricity that came when two daemons touched each. A feeling he’d only ever felt when Corazon’s Rosa would curl her soft, furry body up around Estrella—

He grit his teeth, squaring his shoulders and forcibly maintaining his composure as he promptly knocked Kikoku against the metal railing once.

Hoku looked up, brows creasing. A fruit stuck out from between her lips. She gave him a look, as though he’d done something wrong for disturbing her.

Your daemon is touching my daemon.

“Somethin’ wrong?” Hoku asked.

Do you not feel what I feel?

Law gave her a flat look. Hoku continued to chew.

Go get your daemon—

“Hoku,” she and Law both looked down. Hau’s voice was smooth and not too low, like a melted rumble. He came up to her leg, pressing his big head against her hip and curling his tail over her leg. The white panther daemon blinked blue eyes up at them. Law could see gold.

Hau seemed to examine Law for a moment before his long whiskers twitched. The white panther blinked once. Law stared back at him, curious about the eye contact someone else’s daemon was making with him.

Without even pausing, Hoku’s hand ran over his face, pushing past his soft ears and turning against his cheek to scratch under his chin. Hau lifted his head for better access, a loud rumble filling the air.

Several feet away, Estrella slowly made her way toward them, nonchalant and shifting mass of silver and black fur. She didn’t even acknowledge the icy daggers her other half was fixing her with, haunches swaying as she came up and sat down loyally by Law’s feet. Estrella looked up at Hoku, whiskers twitching.

“What game are you playing?” Law thought at her.

“Nothing,” Estrella thought back at him, innocent. “Nothing at all.”

---- ----- -----

P.S - If you guys like this au, highly recommend checking out 500shadesofblue’s story “Echoes” on ao3, super good.

[poc-movie-supremacy]

Family Traditions

@mousemadej

HEHEHE MERRY CHRISTMAS MAXIE I hope you like this, so much

Shane reminisces about visiting his family with Steven while they wait on the train to visit Steven’s family. They had danced and ate and sang. Old Family traditions are kept alive, and New ones are made. 

---

They were in the back of an uber heading to the airport. Steven sat beside him in the passenger seat reading from his phone. A light snow had just started and the roads were thankfully empty. Driving in the snow never made him feel easy. As they drove along silently, Shane reminisced about visiting his parent’s. 

This was the first year in a while that he was able to visit them instead of them visiting him. His parents, his brother and his wife and their daughter were spending the holiday together. Scott, his brother, and Sofia, his niece, met him and Steven at the airport. Sophia sprinted toward her uncle giggling wildly. Shane handed his one bag to Steven and bent down to pick up Sophia. He swung her around before peppering kisses onto her face. Scott gave Steven a hug before taking some of their bags. Steven watched happily as uncle and niece reacquainted themselves to each other. She was rapidly telling him some story about an incident in school. Sophia talked so quickly that Shane could only nod along. The interaction made Steven giggle. 

This alerted Sophia to Steven’s presence. “Hi Uncle Stevie! Merry Christmas! Can you believe what Eleanora did?”

Steven shook his head, trying in vain not to burst out laughing. Sophia paid it no mind, and continued telling her story. Steven took Shane’s hand and together left the airport. 

Christmas with the Madej’s was fun. It snowed the entire time they were there, making it the first white Christmas they’ve had in a while. Sophia was ecstatic and pulled whichever uncle was available into playing in the snow with her. Shane thought he could handle the snow but he was sorely mistaken. Being a California boy took a toll on him and forced him to layer up more than usual. Steven was a little smarter and layered up from the get go. Together, with Sophia, they played many games in the snow that Shane used to play as a kid. They made gay snowmen, had a snowball fight and went sledding. By the end of it, Shane was shivering. Scott gave him an earful for it, but Steven took the opportunity to curl up against him, making up for it. 

Late nights with the Madej’s were just as fun. Some nights, Sherry and her husband regaled the room of Christmas stories from old, other nights they put on a record of old Christmas and dance the night away. Shane would get up and stretch out his long legs before extending a hand to Steven. Steven would blush but accept. Shane would pull him close to do a little waltz around the living room. Lowly, ever so softly, Shane would whisper the lyrics of the songs he knew best into Steven’s ear. The crackling of the fire, the twinkle of the Christmas lights, and the glint of their wedding rings (because of the fire) provided a nice ambiance. 

“Here we are, as in olden days… Happy golden days, to youuu.” Shane sang into Steven’s ear. 

Steven hummed, “This what your childhood was like? Dancing with someone to your parent’s old Christmas records?”

“Not exactly, as a child I didn’t have a pretty partner.” Shane’s voice was deep and low and he caught Steven’s eye to wink. It made the other man giggle aloud and blush deeply.

“We also used to eat the snow.” Shane added absentmindedly. 

“Eat the snow?” Steven prodded, curious.

“Yeah, I’ll show you sometime. Mom would send me and Scott out with tins to collect fresh snow. When we’d get back, she’d coat them in syrup and give us a spoon. Free food!” Shane exclaimed excitedly. 

“One day we’ll have to try it,” Steven said with a smile. 

They were only able to stay at the Madej’s for a short while before having to pack up and head over to Steven’s parents house. They devised a system where they would spend five days with the Madej’s then take a train to the Lim Family and spend another five days there before going home. 

Finding out Uncle Steven and Uncle Shane couldn’t stay for the whole holiday devastated Sophia. Shane almost, almost, changed his mind for her, but knew they had to stick to the plan. Before they left, Sophia handed the two men a couple of messiled wrapped Christmas gifts. Steven smiled at her and gave her a thank you hug. Shane shared similar sentiments making Sophia beam.

“I’m sad that you can’t be home for Christmas, so I wanted to give you these now, so you’d have it one Christmas. You can’t open it before Christmas okay?” 

Steven nodded solemnly, “We promise sweetheart. We’ll even facetime you so you can watch us open it.”

Sophia looked up at them with hopeful excitement. “Really, you promise?”

Steven smiled warmly at her and put a hand on her cheek, “We promise.” Sophia squealed excitedly and ran off to tell her mom about the new development. 

Shane smiled gratefully at Steven. “You’re a lifesaver.”

“Is getting a kid my reward?” Steven teased.

“When God gives me the ability to have kids sure. Until then we wait.”

“I can be patient, I guess,” Steven teased. He held up his pinky in a promise, “kids one day?” 

Shane finished the pinky promise, and chuckled. “Kids one day, baby, one day.” 

“Can’t wait.” 

As Steven went around the upper half of the house checking to make sure they didn’t forget anything, Shane took the bottom half. When he noticed the to-go syrup packets, Shane stuffed a few into his pockets. 

They headed off to the train to catch the next ride to Ohio. Luckily they arrived with time to spare. Steven settled in to wait for the train with a novel. Shane still felt a little restless though, and went to walk around. It was still snowing outside, enough that a decent layer of snow covered the ground. 

Opportunity struck Shane, making him smile. He walked back into the airport and found a souvenir shop that sold nice cups. Shane picked one that he knew Steven would like, a cup that had many little drawings on it. It was a fox and a cat in the woods with strawberries and blueberries around them. He thanked the clerk before heading back out. Quickly, it was cold, Shane scooped up a cup of fresh snow. He poured the packs of syrup onto the snow to create a thick layer. A pop up restaurant had some plastic spoons he could use. With his little treat ready, he headed back to his husband. 

Steven had his forearms resting on his thighs trying in vain not to fall asleep. Shane let out a soft chuckle and plopped down next to him. “Wakey wakey baby. Look what I made you.” 

Steven moved slowly, like his brain was lagging. He blinked at him, slightly confused like his brain wasn’t aware of its surroundings. The look on his face was open and trusting and tinged with love and confusion. It made Shane smile for a second, calmed by the steady love his husband had for him. Then a sense of excitement took over when he remembered the gift he had. 

“I got something for you!” Shane singsonged. He pulled out the cup of what was basically sweet sugar ice and held it out to Steven. The other very tired man perked up instantly. His eyes widened at the cup full of treats with pretty designs. His mouth dropped open into a pretty o shape while his hands carefully cradled the cup. 

“Baby…” he breathed.

Shane chuckled nervously. “Do you like it?” 

Steven nodded frantically with a slow bashful smile creeping onto his face. He took the spoon, swirled the snow and syrup before taking a bite. Shane waited ‘calmly’ for his husbands reactions. 

It didn’t disappoint. Steven made a happy noise before continuing to scarf it down. When he finally took a break he smiled happily at his boyfriend. Shane reached over and thumbed away some excess syrup on Steven’s upper lip. 

“This?” Steven gestured to the half full cup of syrup snow, “This is good. Very good. I get why you loved it as a kid. Thank you for getting me some.”

“Of course Stevie. I’m glad you liked it so much.” Steven nodded then went back to eating the treat. By the time Steven fully finished his icy treat, the train was ready to board.  They carefully packed up the cup, which Steven loved, into one of their extra bags before boarding the train. It was relatively sleek with many red velvet booth seats. They found their row and put away their bags. Shane settled in to watch a movie on his phone while Steven picked up his book from earlier. 

They sat together in silence for a while. The train conductor gave announcements before leaving the station. Once the sugar rush cleared up, Steven passed out. Shane closed his book and made sure Steven was comfortable beside him. Shane plugged in some soft Christmas music and let himself relax. 

“What are you listening to?” A groggy voice asked beside him. Steven yawned and stretched out beside him. 

“Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” 

Steven made grabby hands for one of Shane’s airpods. Shane gave him one of the airpods and started the song up again.

“Mmm. Nice song, Is this your favourite?” 

“I’ve never thought about favorites. ‘Is Christmas only a tree’ is a good one. My mom’s always loved ‘Your a Mean One Mr. Grinch.’ She’ll put on this green mask and get my father to dance with her.” Shane laughed at the old childhood memory. 

“My parents were a little more formal. My father used to sit at the piano and start the music. Then my mom would stop whatever she was doing to join him on the bench. Together they would sing a few Christmas songs. O’ Holy Night was a favourite of my parents.”

“It’s a nice song. Melancholic, but i don’t know… moving? If that makes sense.”

Steven nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, you feel something while it plays.” Shane let his fingers play with Steven’s as ‘Have yourself a Merry Christmas’ comes to a close. 

“What to play next…” Shane mumbled as he looked through the different options. With disdain he scorned, “Not ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside.’ I don’t like that song.”

Steven made an unhappy sound, “I don’t like it either.” Steven tightened his grip on Shane’s fingers, “Oh look! ‘The Christmas Song’ by Nat King Cole, play that one.”

“Is that your favorite?”

“Nope, I actually like “Christmas Tree Farm” by Taylor Swift. Very upbeat and happy song, but still feeling almost vintage. My parents would always play the more Catholic Christmas Songs, and they were great, but not like upbeat, you know? So hearing this song that I definitely mistake for a slightly older one, with nostalgic family vibes that was happy was an instant win for me.” 

“It is a great song, I like the violins in the beginning. Really spices it up.” Shane took a deep breath, “I think I picked a song I really like.” 

Steven quirked an eyebrow at him. “In the spirit of upbeat songs, ‘I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas’ is a favorite one. It’s so weird but happy. I don’t know why but I’ve always liked it.”

Steven smiled at his husband. “It’s a nice song. Whenever it plays I can’t help but giggle at it. The girl singing is adorable.” 

“She needs her hippopotamus!” Shane joked, unintentionally making himself laugh softly which made Steven laugh too. 

“She needs her hippopotamus,” Steven echoed through his giggles. When they calmed down he looked around the train car. It was empty save for two waitresses talking in a booth, booths away from them and a few passengers in the single seats near the front of the car. An idea struck Steven. He disconnected the air pods, searched up ‘I want a hippopotamus’ on Youtube. 

“Another time maybe I’ll show you a family tradition. Maybe I’ll play you O Holy Night on the piano while you sing, but for now why not do one of yours… ish. Ok maybe this isn’t one of your family’s traditions, but its still nice.”

Shane looked at his husband apprehensively. Steven smiled back at him, wobbling between awkward and excited. “Stevie, what do you mean?”

Stevie stretched his hand out, “Dance with me?” Shane laughed out loud. He took Steven’s hand, played the song at a low volume and danced. It wasn’t like the half-waltz back in the cabin. This was flailing limbs, loud laughs, and soft touches. It was really pretty bad, but it was there’s, so that made it special. 

“We should do this again.” Steven told Shane as the song came to an end.

Shane looked at him, perplexed. “Dancing on a train?”

“No, visiting both our families and dancing wildly on a train. Maybe this could be our family tradition.”

“It’d be a pretty funny tradition. I love it.” The boys got back into the car seat and talked quietly about other Christmas traditions. The car ride went on smoothly. Snow hit the window as one of the workers passed out some hot chocolate. This time Shane would be the one to fall asleep during the last leg of the journey. Steven sipped on some hot coco as he watched the snow fall.. He made sure Shane was comfortable sleeping next to him. Before checking up on work, and with Ryan and their other friends, Steven fingered his wedding ring. “Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night,” he joked. It was a good night indeed.

[valkyrisffvii]

60 Questions about Mithra

Some background information about Mithra Valkyris

1: What’s your OCs favorite color?

Mithra’s favorite color is most definitely red, specifically dark crimson, the same color as blood. Her 2nd Class SOLDIER uniform sports this color, as do several other outfits that she wears.

2: Where does your OC work?

Mithra used to plunder people’s homes for clients as a part of a thieving ring. She was rewarded for her skills with food, clothing, and a place to stay. Unfortunately, the job ran out of use for her when she reached her late teens. In order to avoid having to sell her body to ensure a stable life, Mithra ran away from that particular part of Midgar and joined SOLDIER, the elite military group. They were reluctant to accept her at first due to the fact that she was female, but her skills in stealth ended up proving quite valuable to Shinra.

3: What’s your OCs favorite food?

Mithra is fond of anything that’s spicy. She can tolerate spicy food better than most of her friends. Mithra also has a very strong sweet tooth, preferring her coffee sweet and having a fondness for anything with chocolate. 

4: Does your OC prefer paper or plastic?

Gil does not come in card form nor paper form, so Mithra carries her gil in a pouch that attaches to her belt, much like others who don’t carry bags.

5: How old is your OC?

Mithra is around 14 when she first finds herself in lower Midgar. She joins SOLDIER at the age of 17 and is promoted to 2nd class at age 19. She is 22 when she gets into her first relationship with Sephiroth.

6: Does your OC have any supernatural powers?

Like other members of SOLDIER, Mithra receives Mako injections which give her enhanced speed, jump height, strength, and other powers. She learns several ice and electric spells to use in combat as a contrast to Genesis’ skills with fire. 

7: Is your OC in a relationship?

Before she joins SOLDIER, Mithra does try to get the attention of several girls her age, with no luck. She believes that she only holds feelings for females until she meets and falls in love with Sephiroth, whom she is afraid to confess her feelings to. Luckily, a slip of Zack’s tongue allows the two of them to confess their feelings to each other. They maintain a loving relationship for many years, and their commitment to each other pushes them to fight against those who threaten them.

8: What are some of your OCs strengths?

Having faced great adversity at a young age, Mithra is no stranger to conflict, and she has no problem with standing up for herself. She’s also very crafty with her words and actions, and she can manipulate anyone into giving in to her wishes, though she’d rather not do this unless she’s dealing with an enemy. Mithra’s stealth skills have made her a valuable asset to SOLDIER; she is a skilled lockpicker and pickpocket, and she can move silently and hide easily due to her short stature and small frame. She’s a patient teacher as well, taking some time out of her days to help infantryman Cloud train so that he can become a SOLDIER.

9: What are some of your OCs weaknesses? 

Having little to no memory of her childhood, Mithra struggles with understanding her identity. During her teenage years, she feels that she’s different from other girls because she does not hold romantic feelings towards men. Luckily, she comes to accept herself fully once she finds her place as a member of SOLDIER, and she comes out as bisexual. Mithra is also somewhat of a hothead, albeit less than that of someone like Genesis. She can get overwhelmed easily and this can result in impulsive decisions, some of which don’t end that well.

10: What is your OCs favorite outfit?

Once she hits the age of 18 and comes out, Mithra feels much more confident in her clothing choices. Like many other young women in Midgar, she likes wearing crop tops, even going so far as to alter her SOLDIER uniforms to fit her style. She hates anything that is tight around the neck, so she removed the turtleneck on the uniform as well. When she’s not in uniform, Mithra normally wears cropped tanks, as she hates sleeves. She also prefers going barefoot over constantly wearing boots.

11: What animal does your OC relate to?

Mithra probably relates most to a fox. She’s sneaky, both in physical prowess and her speech. She’s also quite solitary before she befriends the other SOLDIERS. 

12: Is your OC sexually active?

Mithra has little to no interest in a sexual relationship at first due to some bad experiences with older men on the streets. Even after she gets into a relationship, sex is not high on her list of desires, as she prefers to go on adventures with her S/O rather than have intimate moments. That being said, she does make perverted jokes occasionally… 

13: What is your OCs earliest memory?

Mithra’s earliest memory is waking up on the ground in an alleyway in Midgar. She can recall faint snapshots of her supposed childhood, but there’s nothing solid enough for her to remember vividly. She did remember her age and birthday, as well as how to fight.

14: Does your OC have a cell phone? If so, what kind?

Mithra has a touch screen smartphone like everyone else who works for Shinra. She is in several group chats including one for the six main SOLDIER members as well as SOLDIER Director Lazard, one with herself, Zack, and Cloud Strife, and one with her female friends Tifa Lockhart and Aerith Gainsborough. She often sends her friends “memes”.

15.What makes your OC angry?

Anyone who says that women are weak immediately get disapproval from Mithra, as does anyone who hates members of the LGBTQ+ community. She is also angered by those who threaten or make fun of her friends, especially anyone who antagonizes Sephiroth. The thing that she absolutely cannot stand, however, is being told to “know her place”.

16: When is your OCs favorite time of year?

Mithra loves the summer because she and the others usually get longer vacations. They often go to Costa Del Sol or another exotic location and just enjoy their time together. She is also fond of the winter cold and snow that sometimes falls in Midgar, and she can spend hours sitting at the window watching the snowflakes fall.

17: How long can your OC hold their breath?

Mithra’s SOLDIER abilities include the ability to hold her breath longer than the average person. However, she does have her limits, as seen when she dives into a reservoir lake to search for a piece of materia and gets attacked by mutated Shinra creations, which results in Sephiroth having to save her.

18: What kind of underwear does your OC wear?

Cotton. She thinks lace and silk are stupid, not to mention the mess they’d become during one’s menstrual cycle.

19: Does your OC prefer plaid or polka dots?

Mithra isn’t particularly fond of either. 

20: What’s your OCs favorite kind of pizza?

Either Margherita or barbecue chicken. She will judge anyone who thinks pineapple on pizza is good.

21: Who is your OCs best friend?

When she first joined SOLDIER, Mithra felt out of place because she was the only woman. However, Zack Fair, who was on the brink of making 2nd Class at the time, was quick to introduce himself to her and make her feel welcome. She and Zack quickly became close friends, both of them having a sense of humor and outgoing personalities. Through Zack, Mithra met and befriended the elite 1st Class members Genesis Rhapsodos, Angeal Hewley, and Sephiroth. Mithra became close friends with Cloud Strife after she helped him make SOLDIER. Mithra also became close friends with Aerith after helping Zack get closer to her, and Cloud introduced her to his childhood friend Tifa. 

22: Has your OC ever killed someone?

Before joining SOLDIER, Mithra had actually never killed anyone. She had to knock a few people out using her rock sling in order to escape a few fights, but she never murdered anyone in cold blood. After she became a SOLDIER, she’d do regular jobs that sometimes involved killing people, but only because it was her job and not due to personal grudges.

23: What's your OCs biggest secret?

Mithra was groped several times in her teen years by older drunk men, which fueled her dislike of alcohol. She also has a prominent scar behind her right ear that spans vertically from the top of her ear to the upper part of her neck. This scar was given to her by a drunk man who smashed a beer bottle into her head after she refused to sleep with him when she was sixteen. Had she not jerked her head away, the broken bottle would have disfigured her face, maybe even rendered her blind in her right eye.

24: What does your OC smell like?

Mithra doesn’t like perfume, so unlike Sephiroth, she simply smells like powder-fresh deodorant. Her hair can smell badly if she doesn’t wash it daily.

25: What time of year does your OC prefer?

(Same as 16)

26: Is your OC a human or an animal?

Mithra is very much human, albeit somewhat of a superhuman due to Mako injections.

27: What languages does your OC speak?

Mithra only knows the common language spoken by most people on Gaia. She also doesn’t have an apparent accent. 

28: Does your OC like anime?

She’s not really into it itself, but she does like the art style and tries to replicate it in her spare time.

29: Can your OC swim?

Mithra is a surprisingly strong swimmer. Her small frame allows her to move in the water swiftly, and she has strong arms and legs thanks to SOLDIER training. She enjoys swimming whenever she gets the chance, especially during the hot summer months.

30: What does your OC choose to do about the, er, hair down there?

She shaves, but she would never let anyone wax her down there.

31: Does your OC believe in fairies? 

Mithra isn’t overly superstitious, but she believes in ghosts. 

32: Did your OC go to college? What did they major in?

Anything Mithra learned was either a result of an experience (bad or good) or from being in SOLDIER. She did know how to read and write when she woke up, though. Zack introduced Mithra to Angeal, who took her under his wing alongside Zack. Angeal taught her most of the skills she needed in SOLDIER, and Mithra caught on pretty quickly.

33: Are your OCs parents dead? 

Mithra does not know who her parents are or if they abandoned her in that alleyway. She has faint visions of people whom she thinks are her parents, but she isn’t sure if they’re still alive or not. Seeing as no one came looking for her, it’s most likely that she was left to die by her parents, or her parents had died and whoever was caring for her got rid of her. 

34: Is your OC religious?

Mithra does sometimes mention Shiva when she’s surprised, but for the most part she is agnostic.

35: How flexible is your OC?

Mithra is much more flexible than any of the other SOLDIERs. She is great at climbing and has great balance. One of her pastimes is doing parkour in the simulation room with the scene set to rooftops in Midgar. Her past life as a thief gave her the ability to jump fences and squeeze into tight spaces. She also has great grip strength and can hang on for long periods of time without letting go.

36: What turns your OC on?

Mithra loves people who are confident and assertive. She believes that the most “masculine” thing that a man could do is not care about what others think. She likes girls who also don’t care about outside opinions and stand up for themselves. The most attractive trait that a person could have, in her opinion, is undying loyalty. 

37: What was your OCs first word?

As for the first word she uttered as an infant, Mithra has no idea what it was. However, the first thing she said when she woke up was “Huh?”

38: Does your OC have any pets?

While she’s living in the Shinra building in Midgar, Mithra does not have any pets. However, she dreams of getting a dog someday, particularly a husky or a corgi.

39: Who is your OCs biggest enemy?

At first, Mithra’s enemies are the criminals she works with as they try to force her into submission. When she escapes the criminal underworld and joins SOLDIER, her greatest enemy is Professor Hojo. She harbors a strong dislike towards him from the very beginning due to his obsession with using live subjects, and the hatred only grows when she finds out the truth about Sephiroth’s origins. Hojo’s feelings towards her are mutual, and he even goes so far as to torture her for meddling in his work. 

40: What is the craziest thing your OC has done?

The craziest thing Mithra’s done is probably dating the famous, elite Silver General despite his hoards of fangirls, directly contributing to thousands of jealous women all over the Planet. She does not fear them one bit even though they are notorious for fanatically snooping and gossiping about Sephiroth. Then again, the Silver Elite are also terrified of her.

41: What is your OCs motto about life?

“I’m selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and, at times, hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.” - Marilyn Monroe

42: Does your OC drink coffee or tea?

Mithra is partial to both, but she prefers green tea and likes her coffee sweet with plenty of cream. She hates iced tea but she loves iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk.

43: Who is your OCs biggest hero?

Probably the three Firsts. Between Genesis’ dramatic personality, Angeal’s devotion to honor, and Sephiroth’s inner warmth, she deeply admires all three of them. However, unlike their fan clubs, who love them for their deeds, appearances, and heroics, she appreciates their personalities and her friendships with them. 

44: What color eyes does your OC have?

Unlike most other SOLDIERs, Mithra does not have the signature “Mako eyes” despite receiving Mako. This makes it easy for her to hide the fact that she’s in SOLDIER. Her eyes remain their natural warm brown, and they appear to have golden reflects in direct sunlight. 

45: Does your OC like reading?

Mithra absolutely hates reading. Part of it is from constantly listening to Genesis recite LOVELESS, and most of it is because she prefers actually doing things rather than reading about other people’s experiences. She has stolen LOVELESS from Genesis multiple times, much to his annoyance (don’t worry, they’re still best friends).

46: Is your OC loyal?

Having been betrayed before, Mithra vows to never betray her friends. She is an incredibly loyal friend and girlfriend. She would never cheat on Sephiroth with anyone, nor would she sell anyone out for her own gain. If she ever accidentally betrays someone, she will do anything to gain forgiveness. 

47: Does your OC tolerate violence?

Unfortunately, Mithra has to tolerate some violence as a member of Shinra’s elite military. She is not overly fond of violence in situations where it’s unnecessary. However, she is more than willing to kill people who have hurt her or her close friends. 

48: What social class is your OC from?

Mithra started out as a thief, a class that no average person would want any association with. She jumped dramatically in social hierarchy when she joined SOLDIER, becoming a high-ranking member of society. When she enlisted, Director Lazard was quick to remind the other members that she deserved respect as the only female. She was even given her own private suite with a full kitchen, bathroom, living room, and bedroom in order to ensure her privacy among all the men in SOLDIER.

49: What country was your OC born in?

Somewhere on the planet of Gaia. It’s not exactly known where Mithra was born, as she was already a teenager when she found herself in Midgar. Her family could have very well either been from Midgar originally or they may have moved from another town. 

50: Does your OC cry easily?

Mithra has taught herself to be strong and stoic in times of hardship and show little emotion. She does not cry easily, but she prefers to work off her anger and sadness by doing target practice. When she meets her friends and eventually gets into a relationship, however, Mithra becomes more open with her feelings and is willing to let her emotions out rather than bearing her burdens. She feels that her friends accept her fully and will be there for her even when she seems weak.

51: What is your OCs favorite genre of music?

Mithra loves instrumental music that she can play while doing things such as cleaning, cooking, or drawing. She also loves songs that she can sing or dance to. She would often sing to herself when she was alone in order to keep herself occupied. 

52: How does your OC feel about insects?

Despite her adventurous personality, Mithra is terrified of cockroaches, slugs, and moths. She likes flies and mosquitoes and the like as much as the next person, and she thinks that bees are cute at a distance. She is extra happy when Sephiroth moves in with her because it means that she doesn’t have to kill any roaches that wander into her apartment. 

53: What is your OCs sexual orientation?

At first, Mithra believes that she is a lesbian, as she only feels attraction to women during her time as a thief. However, everything changes when she joins SOLDIER and she’s exposed to charismatic men such as Zack, Genesis, Angeal, and Sephiroth. She comes out as bisexual at the age of 18, which makes her the only member of SOLDIER to be an open member of the LGBTQ+ community at the time. 

54: Does your OC smoke?

Similarly to her feelings towards alcohol, Mithra loathes tobacco. She was forced to smell it when wandering around the criminal underworld and never got used to it. She also knows that smoking can ruin one’s body and does not want to destroy herself at such a young age.

55: What gender is your OC?

Mithra identifies as a cisgender female. She is mostly feminine, but she enjoys crossdressing in men’s clothes. A particularly amusing instance of this is when she tries on Sephiroth’s coat, which drags behind her like a cape, and the sleeves are several inches too long. Sephiroth does get a good laugh out of this, though.

56: What kind of clothes does your OC wear?

Mithra’s wardrobe consists of crop tops and comfortable pants such as sweatpants or leggings. She hates long sleeves and therefore wears tanks most of the time. When she’s not wearing her SOLDIER combat boots, Mithra is normally either barefoot or sporting sandals. She’s also quite fond of two-pieced dresses, as seen with her choice of fashion for Shinra’s annual banquet. 

57: Would you call your OC adventurous? 

Mithra lives for adventure. During her time as a thief, she would wander around the slums of Midgar with constant interest in the different people living in the city. Her job as a SOLDIER only gave her new opportunities for adventures around Gaia. She has traveled to Costa Del Sol, Banora, and several other small towns. She also travels to several remote areas.

58: Is your OC introverted or extroverted?

Despite seeming more introverted at first due to her solidarity, Mithra is actually very extroverted and loves being around people. Befriending Zack and then the others turned out to be one of the best things that happened to her, as it allowed her to relate to other people and feel a sense of belonging. 

59: What is the first thing that someone would notice about your OC?

Mithra is very short, standing at 5’3”. She looks even shorter when she’s with her fellow SOLDIERs. The only one close to her height is Cloud Strife, and even he is four inches taller than her. She also does not sport blue eyes like other members of SOLDIER, but instead retains her natural brown eyes. 

60: Does your OC enjoy nature?

Even though she’s mostly a city girl, Mithra does enjoy the great outdoors. She goes camping with Zack and Cloud several times and fully enjoys it (partially because she can scare Zack). She does drag her boyfriend with her a few times, much to his displeasure.