#FELLAS I DO BELIEVE I POPPED OFF

[sbarrysncream1]

"One question. Do you love him?"

"That's ridiculous. Yes."

"Then love him.

Coward."

[gh0stsp1d3r]

ℳ𝒶𝓎𝒷𝒶𝓃𝓀𝓈 𝓈𝒾𝓈𝓉ℯ𝓇

Chapter 5 - tell him, you fucking asshole!

Warnings: mentions of doctor given drugs, strong language, mentions of wounds, being held at gunpoint again 😭 poor you bro

Series masterlist

You stood next to big john, the drugs from the doctor still giving you a little bit of a high. You rambled on and on about something while he nodded along.

“Wait, so you dated Rafe Cameron?” Big John asked you with a quirked eyebrow, finding it slightly hard to believe.

“Yeah. He was sweet but…” you sighed. “Also an asshole. It’s very on and off with us right now.”

“I mean, he’s a cameron, what’d you expect?”

You sighed, nodding and shrugging.

“What about Sarah? What’s she like?” He asked you, looking at you now, pausing what he was doing.

“She’s super sweet. A lot better than Ward. And Rafe.” You said with a giggle. He just stared at you. “Look, I know you went through a lot with…” you glanced at Ward from afar. “But believe me, she’s not like him at all. Try not to be so hard on her?”

He had a hard time believing you, but just nodded anyways, glancing back at his son and Sarah sitting not too far away, before turning back to you.

“How are you gonna make it up on that leg?” He nodded to the wounded one.

“Oh, I’ll make it. I got kidnapped for this shit, and I ain’t missing out on it.”

It was night now, everyone was asleep. You slept with your head against the floorboards, mouth agape.

You woke up to hear the sound of creaking on the dock, you furrowed an eyebrow, stretching as you sat up, looking around for the source. It was then that you saw a figure at the end, the glow of a phone in his hands. You looked around, everyone was there except for Ward.

You were confused as to what he would be doing on his phone this late and why he was all the way over at the end of the dock.

You woke up with an annoyed groan, murmuring out a “what?” As John B shook your shoulder.

“Get up.” He told you, shoving your bag into your face. You sighed, getting up once again and grabbing your bag, slinging it over your shoulder. You grabbed a pain reliever, popping two into your mouth.

“That sites a whole days walk. We gotta get up there before moonrise. If we miss the solstice, then all this was for nothing. So, listen, Sarah, I’m telling you right now, if you fall behind, I ain’t waiting.”

You wondered why he said that sentence directly to Sarah and not you. You shrugged it off, ignoring it.

“Dad. Stop.” John B said to him, slightly embarrassed.

“What? I ain’t. It’s a matter of fact.”

John B stepped onto the dock with you and Sarah. “Sorry about the cranky old man.”

Big John looked at Ward, also stepping onto to the dock.

“I’m gonna go tell that son of a bitch he ain’t coming.”

“Dad, hey-“ John B tried, but he was already walking away and towards Ward.

“Hey, listen, fellas. I’m real sorry, but, uh… I’m not gonna be able to make it up that mountain, not on this leg.”

You wanted to make a joke about how you both were leg twins, the bullet wound in yours and the stab in his. But you just smiled, keeping the comment to yourself.

“I’d be slowing you down, that’s all. So I’m just gonna… hang here. Tell you what, I got a flare gun. If I see Singh come through here, I’ll send up a flare, let you all know he’s coming.” He looked at Sarah. “Least I can do.”

“Thank you.” She said.

“You’re welcome. Good luck.” He nodded.

John B, you and Sarah all began to walk off while Big John stayed for a moment.

“Don’t even think about trying anything, Ward.” Big John warned. “It won’t end well.”

“Just trying to take care of my daughter, John.” He looked at him. “What are you doing with your son?”

“Let’s go, come on.” John B spoke from behind, Big John ignoring Wards words and walking over to the three of you.

The trek up the mountains was treacherous. You had to wind down trees, climb up slopes. Somehow John B was faster than all of you right now.

“Come on, kids.”

“For an old man he walks hella fast.” You groaned, Sarah grabbing your hand and helping you.

“JJ, you were right, that’s Singh and his men. But they’re not looking for us..” Cleo spoke, watching Singh go by on a boat.

“Yeah, they’re moving real quick.” He came to a realization. “They’re looking for John B, Saran and y/n. They’ll know where they’re headed.” He said, standing up. “We gotta go, they’re gonna need us!”

“Stay back, don’t get too close.”

John B fell, you and Sarah going to help him. “Hey, are you good?” She asked him quickly.

“Yeah.” He grunted out.

“C’mon, let’s get a move on!”

John B helped you and Sarah up the slope, Big John still moving.

“Hey, pop, how about we uh, take a breather, you know?”

“How about not? Come on, boy. You guys are slowing me down. We’re losing light.”

“I can’t take this anymore.” John B spoke, turning to you both.

You groaned out. “I know!”

“It’s the only shot we got, come on.” Big John told you both, you sighing. John B went up the the man.

“Hey! Hey. For 30 seconds, can you stop being an asshole?” He breathed out.

“Thirty seconds? I’ve been on this trail my whole life, boy, and we are on the cusp. I got Ward Cameron who tried to kill me, nipping at my heels, his daughter spying on me.” He gritted out.

“You think she’s spying on you?”

Sarah overheard the conversation, breathing out as you had a hand on her shoulder.

“Is he always like this?” She tried to speak a lighthearted joke. You nodded.

“Always has been.”

“Are you really so sure about her? A Cameron? That whole family is trust-challenged, and you know that. So you can stay back here and… babysit your girlfriend and y/n, it’s your choice. I’ll see you at the top.” He pat his back.

John B grabbed Sarah’s hand, you following behind them both.

“Sorry. Cameron’s aren’t really a hiking family.” Sarah said. “If I’m being honest.”

“Sorry about him.” John B nodded up the hill. “He gets a little… obsessive over the treasure.”

Sarah smiled up at the boy. “And you don’t?” She chuckled.

“Stop.” He laughed, you watching the whole thing with a small smile.

“Let’s go, come on.” She said.

“Whoo-hoo!” Big John yelled, looking out over the beautiful mountains. “Come on, take a look at this.”

“Sorry. I had to catch my breath.” Sarah spoke, going over to them.

“Catch it when you get here. Take a look at that.” He pointed to the three rocks on the ground not too far. “We did it, boy.” He looked over to his son. “There she blows.”

His gaze went to his father, and then to Sarah, small smile spreading across his face.

“Come on. Let’s keep trucking.” Big John spoke.

“Now downhill I can do.” You laughed, walking down.

“Whoaaa…” you sighed out.

“Oh my God. It’s just as the legend predicted it. See these four columns here? Mark the cardinal directions. And there it is. The temalacatl.” He pointed to a table in the middle.

“Oh my, I can’t believe it.”

“Oh, it’s as real as the day, boy.” Big John sighed, feeling along the cracks and crevices. “A thousand years of astronomy. Mathematics. Is all contained in this. This proves that the Kalinago were every bit the equal to the Mayans. This… this is gonna rewrite everything. Oh, you see that? This right here.” He pointed to the middle.

“That’s where she goes.”

“Yeah, yeah, get the gnomon out.”

He got it out. “Look at this. This is it, this is the moment, boy.” He put the gnomon slowly over the middle. “Alright, look at this. Please, please, please…”

Big John laughed, the gnomon fitting perfectly. “Yo, listen up, when the moon hits its zenith, that’s when the action starts. Okay, John B, I want you up on translation. Sarah and y/n, gather up some mud. And mark the glyph so we know what to translate.”

You and Sarah got down quickly, grabbing the bowl and putting mud in.

“And be quick about it, okay?”

“Hey, hey. Aye, aye, captain. Relax.” John B muttered.

“We only got one shot at this. I don’t want any back talk, okay?”

“Sar, wanna help me with this?”

“Yeah, of course.”

You all waited, looking at the moon until suddenly, the top of the gnomon started to glow.

“Woah…” you murmured.

“It’s actually working.”

“Okay…”

“Oh my god. Oh my god.”

“Oh, dad, oh guys-“ John B started, one of the glyphs beginning to glow.

“Mark it, mark it, hurry, hurry! Mary it! What’s that?”

“That is the one that looks like a boot.”

You pointed to it on the paper. “Brave traveler.”

“Ah great, brave traveler.”

“Oh, oh, this one?” Sarah asked, another one glowing.

“Wisdom.” You quickly spoke.

“Pay close attention, can’t muck this up. If they shine, mark it, keep translating.”

“Okay, we got it, we got it.”

“There’s two more there.” You pointed out.

“This is… Wealth..” John B pointed to one. “And.. and..”

“Earth.” You told them.

“Earth, earth and wealth. Okay, I think I got this first one sorted. Brave traveler, if you had wisdom, I’ll reveal the wealth of the earth.”

“Wealth of the earth.”

“Wealth of the earth! That’s… that’s El dorado!” Be laughed. “Oh, wait-“

“Something’s happening off the stone-“

“Look, it’s coming off the the gnomon!”

“A horn thing?”

“Patience.” John B told him.

“Patience.” Big John murmured, holding a hand out to you three.

“Whoa, whoa, woah-“

“There, there. Look. That’s wisdom again.”

“Yeah, that’s wisdom.”

“And that’s a tongue…” Sarah pointed.

“Darkness. That one’s darkness.” John B spoke.

“Darkness. Wisdom and darkness.”

“And over there, that’s um, seeker.”

“Seeker…”

“Hey, hey,” John B spoke, seeing another. “Sarah, what is hand? What is hand?”

“I don’t know… I don’t see it on here.” She said, shining his flashlight over the paper.

“Oh, I know this. Hand, hand. Hand- hand means home.” Big John realized.

“Home?”

“It’s showing us the direction to el dorado. It’s showing us the direction to el dorado!” Big John began to walk, before his face fell.

He mumbled, turning back. “Wisdom. Wisdom.”

“What do we got, old man?” John B asked him.

“I… I have no tongue, but I’m always speaking.”

“What does it mean?” Sarah asked.

“I…” he paused, looking up at Sarah now.

“Dad, just spit it out.” John B said.

“I’m- I’m- still working it out.” He told John B, pocketing the notebook.

“Dad, what are you doing?”

“I’ve got all the notes. I… we know which way we’re going. It’s…”

John B turned to Sarah, she was looking back at him. “It’s because I’m here. This is about me, isn’t it?”

“Damn.” You murmured, eyes widening.

Big John looked at her now.

“Big John, I am not my father. And I’m not my brother. You can trust me.”

“She’s not.” You chimed in.

“What does it say? Hey, look at me.” John B snapped. “We all just went through hell and back to get here. Tell me what it says this is what we’re doing, huh? Just gonna use us? Just gonna pull us in and push us out, like you did with mom, with me. Look, now you’re doing it to Sarah!”

“John B, stop-“ Sarah tried.

“No! Tell us what it is! What does it say, dad?! What does it say?!”

“Yea, John! What does it say?” A voice spoke, all of you turning to it.

“No freaking way.” Your mouth went agape, all of you staring at Singh.

“Huh? Tell us all, John! What is the secret of the gnomon?” His hands went to his gun, and he pulled it when Big John began to pull out his own.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, John. I have you surrounded. You’d do best to toss over your gun now!”

People began to crowd in, surrounding you all.

“Careful now, Mr. Routledge. Careful.”

He handed over the gun to one of his men.

“Very good!”

“I thought Ward was gonna send up a flare?” You said.

“Yeah, sure.” Big John scoffed.

“Hey, what did you do with my father?” Sarah yelled up at Singh.

“I’m right here, Sarah! I’m okay! I’m right here.”

“Yo, what the fuck is going on today?” You whispered to yourself. “This feels like a really bad acid trip.”

“Dad. Dad.” She sniffled, walking over. “What did you do?”

“No, no, no, Sarah, I made a deal, Sarah, I had to.”

“A deal?!”

“Yes. I did a favor for Mr. Singh. In return, he’s gonna give me all I want-“

“You think this is favor?!”

“I want you safe! Isn’t that right, Mr. Singh?”

“Mr. Cameron is correct. When we’re finished, you can go with your father. Safe and sound.”

“And you too can live, you know, John, if you just give me what I want!” He shouted. “The way to El dorado!”

“Sorry, Carlos. I can’t do it.”

Ward exhaled.

“And you ain’t gonna kill me… cause I got the treasure. It’s right up here.” He pointed to his head.

“John, John, John, John, John. You know what the Guajiro king did to the slaves that mined el dorado, John?”

“Is this fucking history class now?” You shouted back, Singh deciding to ignore your comment.

“He had them executed, so they could never reveal the secret location, and he did it here, you know, on the stone of Solana. And I think it’s important, very important that we honor tradition!”

Four guards suddenly grabbed you and John B, you whimpering as one roughly grabbed your hair, both of them holding a gun to your head, two of them holding ones to John B’s.

“No..” Sarah whispered.

“So, tell me, John. What does it say?!”

You looked at John B, the same look of fear in his eyes as yours. You swallowed.

“Tell him. Please.” John B spoke.

He stayed silent.

“Fucking tell him, dude! That’s your son!” You yelled at Big John, being silenced when the gun was put on your forehead.

“Make your choice, John!”

“Dad, just tell him.” John B spoke, voice broken.

“John, Jesus, John, tell him!” Ward said, even he could be worried about you and John B.

“Tell him, you fucking asshole! You’re seriously not gonna help your fucking son?!” You shouted, tears running down your face at just the thought of never getting to see your brother again, or Rafe.

Taglist

@cassie0sstuff @rafesgiirl @fals3-g0d @tiaamberxx @callsignwidow @saintnourah @calmoistorm @ethanthequeefqueen @theoraekenslover @just-levyy

(Orange means I couldn’t tag)

[draco-after-dark]

Captured and contained

Little info dump on the whole diamond prison thing with regards to my Feral JD AU

So basically what happened when Velvet and Veneer first captured JD in my au is Veneer is always looking for more animals for his little side zoo project. They happened to be doing a photo shoot outside in the woods for a new album cover. Veneer went on a walk to have some alone time and stumbled across a little goblin boy. Aka JD.

"Oooo aren't you a cute little fella, You would be perfect as desk decoration!"

*JD gets snatched*

Later when Veneer tells Velvet he got a new pet and reveals JD. Her initial reaction is "Okay, but where did you even get that thing it's disgusting." JD proceeds to bite Veneer (multiple times) and wriggle himself free from his hands. He then runs rampant through their dressing room until they manage to contain him in a crystal bottle. The only thing they thought was strong enough to hold him. Later down the line when Velvet captures Floyd (basically the same sequence of events as the movie from here) and starts using him for his talent. That's when they realize that JD is actually a troll as well. JD being JD though is as Velvet described "uncooperative" and "savage" so she refuses to use him for his talent and instead tells Veneer "That one can be yours. You're that one that found that thing anyway." So Veneer does end up using JD for his talent just not nearly as often as Velvet does Floyd. JD does still get hit pretty hard by the whole draining thing considering he is grey and unlike the average troll has in a sense "forgotten/lost" his talent. That doesn't stop him from unleashing hell on the twin every chance he gets. Goblin man will do goblin things

Then things follow the movie pretty much the same except Bruce and Clay end up getting captured when they all break into the dressing room to rescue Floyd. Poppy and Branch end up escaping into the rafters. Velvet ends up sticking Clay and Floyd in her shoulder pads and Veneer gets Bruce. Veneer leaves JD behind in his dressing room because he feels guilty and doesn't want to hurt him any more than he has to.

Fast forward to the family harmony scene where although they are technically down a brother and Floyd is still trapped in Velvet's clutches the 3 brothers and pop sisters sing on anyway. The family harmony DOES end up working to free Floyd and also JD. I'm playing this off on the idea that despite JD not being present physically he could feel the connection to his brothers and their desperation to help Floyd. JD wants the same thing, to free Floyd and that is what connects them all together. It's like Branch said "We don't have to be perfect to be in harmony, We just have to be as we are." (just go with it ok IDK) Once the diamonds are shattered JD is pretty worst for wear, unlike Floyd he doesn't have anyone to support him right off the bat. He is used to being on his own at this point tho and only cares about getting Floyd out. He tucks himself away into a corner of the room behind some furniture to hide and rest up till he can get the both of them out of this hell hole.

Mind you only Floyd knows that he's also being held captive somewhere backstage when all this is happening. So once Floyd regains consciousness and has a chance to take a moment with his brothers. he then immediately goes into full anxiety mode well explaining that they have to get to JD. The others confused about what he's talking about don't believe him at first, but do end up helping Floyd backstage since he keeps insisting that JD needs them. They do end up finding JD and that's where the real story begins.

:D

Hopefully this makes sense? I ain't no writer sorry people

Little bonus scene

"Hey Vel does this look infected to you???"

"I can't believe we're related... CRIMP SCHEDULE A HOSPITAL VISIT BECAUSE MY IDIOT OF A BROTHER GOT BITTEN BY A FUCKING RAT!"

[anistarrose]

coming down with lich allergies

When Merle wakes up from his afternoon nap, duty immediately calls. First aid in the sickbay, to be precise — not on a person, but on the emotional support succulent that Davenport, bless him, overwatered just a fuck ton. The healing energy in the sickbay, that mood for recovering, just wouldn’t be the same without Merle’s garden, even though no one else on the ship believes him, their goddamn doctor — so a flat-out dying plant, well, Merle just can’t have something that.

He pops on a record for it to listen to, and drains the excess water off, giving the poor thing a little magical boost too, for good measure. He’s feeling pretty pleased with the result, about to step back and admire his handiwork, when just his luck, a new problem pops up like bamboo shoots out of nowhere — but like yellowed, sickly shoots, to be clear. ‘Cause it’s a whiff of something necrotic on the air.

And… it’s weird. ‘Cause at first glance, Merle doesn’t see any plants decaying —

So maybe it’s not quite a smell, after all. More like a permeating feeling — of death, nearby and approaching. The aura crackles as it comes into contact with his holy magic, that blessing Pan imparted to his veins — his nose still included, though, which is why it all culminates in making him — making him —

“A-chooo!”

“Salúd, my man, geez! There you are!” Before Merle can even recover, Lup sticks her head out from behind the elephant ear plant. Pan almighty, Merle was too distracted to even hear her footsteps. “I swear, Merle, you’re letting it turn into a jungle in here —”

“A hardworking jungle! These fellas filter the air, boost morale — they’re your teammates too, so show ‘em some respect!” Merle rubs his nose and shakes his head back and forth, getting those dang nasal aftershocks out of his system. There better not be a headache coming on. “Plus, the patients — choo! — the patients love it! And certain people say I’m not allowed to keep plants in my room anymore anyway, so —”

“Oh, yuck. Don’t remind me why we said that,” Lup groans, stepping out of the foliage — but immediately, she winces and lets out a hiss, lifting up a big leaf to shield her eyes. “So do I dare ask since when it’s so damn bright in here, for that matter?”

(keep reading on ao3!)

[dr-spectre]

Helloooo, just saw the big ol Callie rant and thought I’d share my (albeit not as detailed) thoughts cause the first Splatoon game I played was Splatoon 2 and I took my sweet time on the story mode.

Despite her being your main companion throughout the story mode, I found Marie’s spiteful and clearly discriminatory language towards the Octarians to be consistent overkill, while she was obviously mad about Callie “going missing”, these fellas were only doing their jobs and it was painfully clear that Marie had an inherent dislike for their entire species. Since I hadn’t seen Craig Cuttlefish before I didn’t know that this discrimination came from him, with a distinct parallel between their jabs (aggression being directed and focussed at the Octarian species at a whole rather than the reason you’re here in the first place) and with the fact that I was the one barging in and committing wanton destruction and violence in their territory the universal hate felt incredibly undeserved.

As for Callie, no Squid Sisters songs feel so authentic and genuine as the ones made in Octo Canyon. Even Bomb Rush Blush isn’t trying to sound perfect for any pop lover’s fragile little ears, it’s erratic and fills every silence like a one sided argument. With each song sounding like a vent album and the art showing Callie to be miserable and having to desperately hide it on the surface, she’s seemingly using her distance from Inklings as an opportunity to be completely outwardly honest and express the deeper emotions that wouldn’t be accepted in the media she’s surrounded by. Rather than “I REMEMBER!!!” being some ooga booga the cool glasses magic has been dispelled, I saw it more as Callie accepting these emotions she’d kept from expressing and realising her lifestyle and family meant enough to her that it would be more worth it to try and work through those feelings with them rather than use an outlet that worries them. Additionally, she has quite the opposite view on Octarians to Marie, finding them consistently cute and clearly still being friends with Octavio as they collaborated during the Low Water Party after the events of Octo Expansion (discreet lore but it shows she truly had an enjoyable time there!)

Now I could ramble about DJ Octavio for hours so I will cut this short, while - as you mentioned - Octavio was helping Callie escape the stress of her lifestyle in the interest of his own species, (uh oh the can of worms is threatening to open) insert the fact that Octavio winning means species equality through political negotiations put off for hundreds of years. I know! Oh goodness gracious how terrifying! The spicy beats man has used drastic measures due to neglect and forced poverty of a substantially sized society through giving stressed squid sanctuary! Next he might use his technological advancements in energy efficiency to revolutionise our industrial infrastructure- SHIELD YOUR EYES, CHILDREN!!

oh hey! cheers for reading the full thing!

Oh... oh damn... you just plopped your own rant in here, jesus.

I respect it honestly, i respect the hustle.

You know what's kinda crazy? From my knowledge and what people say online, Marie's hatred for Octarians as a species is a NoA localisation thing and not something in the original Japanese version of Splatoon 2. I could be wrong on that but that's just something I've heard in the grapevine.

Yet another example of poor localisation due to deadlines and rushed development cycles!!! ISNT IT SO FUN HOW IT KEEPS OCCURRING AND HOW PEOPLE BELIEVE IT INCLUDING LOUD VOICES IN THE COMMUNITY AND WIKIS TAKING THE NOA VERSIONS AS THE HOLY GRAIL?!?!?! SO FUN!!!!

(Massive fucking sarcasm.)

I dont have much else to say in response to your ask but, I wanna touch on DJ Octavio for a bit because I think the way that Nintendo treats him as well as the fanbase treats him kinda fucking sucks and flips flops between different personalities and actions he's done.

I swear to god people have such different takes on his personality and what he's done over the three games and it's a real headache to deal with. And the way that a lot of people talk about what he did in Splatoon 2 and the suggestions people say.... ugh... they make him so unredeemable and disgusting.

In Splatoon 1, depending on if you play the NoA version or European/Japanese version, he's either very silly and in your face, making musical puns and being a loud mouth. Or he's trying to be intimating and he gets to the point in his dialogue instead of making musical puns.

The worst things he did in that game was kidnap Cuttlefish and tie him up as bait to fight Agent 3, and stealing the power source for the Inklings. Cuttlefish is a frail old man and Octavio has anger towards him, so it makes sense he would go after him and snatch him up.

And then in Splatoon 2, people wanna fucking say that Octavio kidnapped Callie and brainwashed her, removing all of her memories and making her into a slave for the Octarian army... LIKE... WHAT?!?!?! OCTAVIO IN SPLATOON 1 WASNT THAT EVIL!!! WHY DO PEOPLE SUDDENLY SAY HE DID SOMETHING INCREDIBLY UNREDEEMABLE LIKE THAT?!?! WHY DOES NINTENDO PUSH THAT SHIT TOO?!?! ITS SO ANNOYING!!!!

AND PEOPLE BRING UP THIS PIECE OF CONCEPT ART TOO AND GUYS!!! ITS JUST FUCKING CONCEPT ART!!! ITS NOT CANON!! THERES NO EVIDENCE TO PROVE THAT THIS HAPPENED IN THE REMATCH FIGHTS!!! YOU BRAIN DEAD SONS OF-

You can't just go from "im gonna use Cuttlefish as bait because I hate that guy!" To "neheheh, when Callie isn't looking... I'm gonna grab her and brainwash her!" And then to "IM GONNA GET THAT OLD BASTARD AGAIN! HE TOOK MY ARMY!!!" You can't flip flop between silly old guy wanting vengeance against his lover to enemy Cuttlefish, to a malicious beast that kidnaps young women dude. You can't just do that.

You see the issue here? People give Octavio this ultra dark stain on his legacy and I think it ultimately ruins his redemption in Splatoon 3. He did something unredeemable and you cannot go back from that.

It makes more logical sense for Octavio to use his abilities of propaganda and manipulation out of desperation to convince Callie to join him. Octavio is a general and does things out of rage and vengeance from the past. He is not malicious in his actions and a lot of them can be justifiable. It makes more sense for Octavio to go "I need Callie because my peeps are dying, I'll convince her to join me and then I'll hypnotise her so she's more comfortable in the Octo Canyon to help my troops!"

Octavio is still obviously in the wrong for hypnotising Callie, duh. But, like I've said a trillion times, hypnosis isn't mind control, you cannot force someone to do something against their knowledge and morals. So it's more justifiable for Octavio to hypnotise Callie than to literally kidnap her and brainwash her while she was kicking and screaming, trying to stop him. Okay? WE GOOD SPLATOON COMMUNITY?!?!?!

Ugh.

[unformula1]

i’ll never forget you (LS2 x OP81)

the voices get stronger. w/c: 787 day 22 of LOSCAR POSTS until we get a LOSCAR PODIUM (series masterlist) masterlist part 2 of "changed"

It all came crashing down, falling apart at the seams. Thunder came rumbling and the dark days settled in.

Logan can’t believe it, everything doesn’t make sense. He wants to convince himself he’s in a nightmare and he’d wake up for everything to be okay again. He wants to go back to where everything was alright and it all made sense for him.

How did him and Oscar go from deep late night talks to one-sided stolen glances? Logan can’t believe how much things have changed and he doesn’t want to believe things have changed this much.

He wants it all to go back to normal and for Oscar to smile at him again.

-----

Logan sits down in his driver’s room, leaning against the hard walls. It’s just him and his thoughts. They’re haunting, to say the least.

He racks his brain trying to figure out where it all went wrong and what he did wrong for Oscar to not even acknowledge him.

“Hi.” Logan says, raising his hand slightly to wave.

“Hello Logan.” Oscar says as he pats Logan on the shoulder, “How have you been?”

“Alright. I saw your lap time, was pretty good, huh.” Logan says, trying to sound less awkward.

“Yea,” Oscar says as he chuckles slightly, “I saw your driving style today, I see you tried something different yea?”

“Mhm…” 

Logan is about to continue before Lando slots himself into their conversation.

“Hi fellas!” Lando says energetically.

“Hey Lando.” Oscar says as Lando sets himself in between Logan and Oscar.

Oscar eventually turns his focus to Lando which effectively cuts Logan off from the conversation.

Logan subtly excuses himself and slides back to Alex’s side since it’s pretty much the only way he won’t be excluded at this point.

Right…

He hates remembering that moment. The crystal clear, shiny, diamond-like memory that resurfaces every single time he feels left out. 

Because he isn’t the first choice when it comes to Oscar, he isn’t anymore. Sure he used to be the first choice but not anymore, he got replaced quickly with someone even better, with someone Logan couldn’t even be half of.

Lando Norris.

He doesn’t hate Lando, he can’t but it stings hard every single time he remembers Oscar choosing Lando over him.

Logan: are you free tomorrow night or something? for our monthly meetup :) Oscar: mate i’m sorry lando and i have something up Logan: oh it’s okay Oscar: we can schedule something next month alright Logan: okay

It strikes like a dagger to the chest, twisting with every second moving forward.

Logan sits on the bench in his drivers room, fiddling with his shirt before picking up his phone and opening Instagram. 

And as if he couldn’t have any good moments, the first video that pops up is a McLaren video. Specifically the McLaren video he saw Oscar and Lando filming.

He reloads the page instantly and closes the app.

His hands clutch tightly onto his phone as he feels his stomach tie itself into a knot. 

He doesn’t know what consumes him but something makes him open his messages and scroll down to Oscar’s contact. He glances at it for a few seconds before clicking onto it.

The last message was aeons ago. He doesn’t know what he intends to do with this but he stares at it blankly.

His fingers hover over the keyboard, but he doesn’t type anything. 

He scrolls up, all the way up to their old messages. Their happier days.

His phone lags slightly from loading all the messages but he eventually gets to those days where they messages hourly, updating each other on the most irrelevant things that happened to them.

He never thought it would end.

But here he was, crying in his driver’s room reminiscing about those days.

A tear drops onto his phone screen and he wipes it off quickly but it leaves a stain. A stain on the phone screen, a stain over the words “never” in the text message “I’ll never forget you”

I’ll forget you.

It’s like the universe’s largest sign thrown onto Logan’s face.

He can’t do this any longer. He breaks out into sobs. He hates his life right now.

He sends a punch into the bench’s cushions and cries even more.

The voices in his head repeat how he’s a failure, an outcast, a disappointment. They replay flashbacks of Logan and Oscar’s relationship falling apart, like a sick horror film on repeat. They shout endlessly into Logan’s ears about how he messed up and it’s his fault.

There’s a reason Oscar doesn’t talk to you anymore.

Everyone hates you to their guts, everyone.

You are a disappointment.

People don’t like you.

You’re an outcast.

Failure.

[ghoulphile]

I am RATTLING THE BARS OF MY ENCLOSURE WITH EXCITEMENT!!!! do you have an idea of when the chapter will be up???

this is me rn:

and.... bc i love you, here's a treat ❤️~

Then broad palms slide beneath the rucked up hem.

The calloused fingers of one hand chart a path up the line of your stocking, Cooper’s blunt nails skipping across nylon until sheer fabric blends into a delicate dusting of lace covered elastic. The other cups your thigh, his thumb tucking under the garter strap to caress an angry indent.

You tremble.

“Soft and pretty; how the hell’d an old fella like me get so goddamn lucky?”

At the drag of roughened skin, your clit twitches. Meanwhile, goosebumps prickle down your bare arms, baby hairs standing on end as axons fizz and pop. You sigh. “Cooper — oh, I need you — please.”

“That’s it,” he encourages. “Keep talking to me, sugar.”

The unexpected drag of a forefinger over the front of your panties catches you off guard, sends you reeling as a bitten off mewl tears itself from your throat. Your hands shake as you struggle to restrain yourself, hyperaware of the tranquil silence of the apartment interrupted only by an occasional murmur of the TV from down the hall.

“Don’t! I - I can’t--”

Even though the fabric keeps Cooper from touching bare skin, the grind of his knuckles along your pussy feels like a punch to the gut. Your toes curl and your hands yank at the roots of his hair. “Hhn!”

“Thought you said you could keep quiet. Did you lie to me, sweetheart?”

“No, I promise I can. Just not when you d-do things like that…”

His brow quirks. “Why don’t we put that to the test then?”

“Cooper, what’re you — hng! S-Shit, I--!”

He circles the swollen nub of your clit with his thumb, humming in approval when it twitches against the pad of his finger before inching down to the damp seat of your panties. “Fuck, you’re soaked. I can’t believe you’re letting me touch you like this.”

As he plays with the sticky evidence of your arousal, tracing your folds and teasing at your entrance, shame burns quick and bright. Coils behind your navel, a viper in the shade, as little sparks of black thread through blooming passion.

Bastard.

You sniffle, glaring at him through teary eyes. “You said you wouldn’t tease.”

Tiny aftershocks rock through your frame as your legs clamp around his flexing wrist; nerve endings raw and exposed. The languid strokes of his fingers are tantamount to torture.

You’re going to burn up, supernova bright, if he doesn’t stop.

Who knew being silent was so hard?

You’d never struggled before (then again, maybe that says something about the sex you’ve been having) but Janey’s a room away. There’s no other choice, and you’ve wanted this for too long to stop now.

“Well, now, I don’t recall making any promises.”

Cooper smiles, pulling back the hood of your clit through the thin layer of ruined fabric with startling accuracy. His palms stop the squirm of your hips as you try to arch away, electric shocks lancing through you at the rough friction against exposed nerves.

“Guess I can’t seem to help myself. It’s your fault for looking so pretty.”

He’s the furthest from apologetic.

In fact, his voice is low and whiskey rough — full of grit and gravel.

It scrapes down your spine, sinks into your bones. Makes your eyes squeeze shut as you chew on the fat of your lip. A fever creeps up the sides of your neck, settles into the apples of your cheeks; the skin swollen and tight like a sunburn.

A shaky noise of disbelief tumbles from your mouth.

“Don’t lie,” you mumble, your hands flying up to cover your face. His chest vibrates with a snicker and your shoulders tuck towards your ears, elbows drawn into your ribs. “I know you’re loving this, Mr. Howard.”

Cooper groans.

When you peek through splayed fingers, your breath catches.

White lightning. Silken heat.

His dark gaze rests past your chin, caressing the compressed swell of your breasts with avarice. Your arms pushed them up past the neckline of your sundress, the dainty trim of lace mere inches away from exposing your nipples.

“Well, well, well. Looks like I’m not the only one, sweetheart.”

A hand extricates itself from the skirt, snaking up your torso to palm over a curve of exposed skin, fingertips testing the plush weight of your chest with a gentle squeeze. “How long were you planning on this happening, huh?”

“I--”

“Ah,” Cooper tsks, dragging his thumb over where your nipple is, “None of that now. An honest question deserves a proper answer, don’t you think?”

Your hands press on the back of his to strengthen his touch. White static dances along your nerve endings, your nipple pulling into a tight peak as a fluttery sensation roosts in the valley between your hips.

“Since,” your lips tremble on an exhale, and when you swallow, it feels like shards of glass, “since the beginning… Was waiting for the day you’d look at me — see me. Nothing worked, and I almost gave up. But then I caught you staring, and I — Coop, please.”

[cherrycola27]

All Too Well

Series Warnings: Language, drinking, military inaccuracies. Allusions to smut, eventual smut. Unrequited love, enemies to lovers. Adult themes and situations. 18+ Minors DNI

Masterlist

Next Part

...........................................

Prologue: I Remember It

The sun was just setting as a red and black Kawasaki GPZ900R motorcycle pulled into the Hard Deck. The driver quickly dismounted and took off her helmet, shaking out her dark brown hair. She slipped a pair of Ray-Ban Aviators over her sage green eyes to block out the fading rays of light.

She draped her red leather jacket and helmet over the seat of her bike. No one around here would be stupid enough to mess with her things. After adjusting her clothes, she made her way across the sandy parking lot into the establishment.

Phoenix, Bob, Payback, Fanboy, and Coyote were gathered in a corner booth as they watched Hangman and Rooster duke it out in a game of pool.

It was a relatively quiet night at the Hard Deck.

Phoenix was busy telling the squad about her recent trip back home to see her new niece. She was just about to show the group some photos when the bell above the door chimed. Her eyes moved to see who the new patron was, and when she saw them, her jaw dropped.

"No way." She breathed out. "No fucking way." The group of men she was sitting with looked at her confused. Her eyes darted over to Rooster to see if he'd noticed who'd walked in. He was too focused on the game to pay attention.

Phoenix watched the woman head over to the bar and greet Penny and Maverick before getting a beer and turning to scan the crowd.

"Phoenix, do you know her?" Bob asks. "You guys don't?" She asks the group. "Should we?" Payback questions her. "Who is that?" Fanboy asks.

"Fellas, that right there is Y/N Benjamin-Mitchell, better known by her callsign, Hustler." Phoenix tells them.

"Benjamin- Mitchell? Like—" Coyote asks as he gestures to Maverick and Penny at the bar. "Yep." Phoenix replies, popping the "P."

"She's their oldest daughter. And she can fly circles around any pilot in the Navy, including Maverick." She tells them.

A voice yells out, "Bradshaw!" Everyone's head snaps up to see its the mysterious woman. She runs over to greet Rooster with a hug who looks dumbfounded to see her.

"She also the only woman Rooster has ever loved." Phoenix tells them. As all eyes turn to watch the seen before them

...........

"Hus? What are you doing here?" Rooster asks you as he pulls back from your hug.

"Dad pulled a few strings and got me a permanent duty station here. He wants the family to be close again." You tell him. "Plus, I couldn't pass up on the chance to be close to my favorite guy again, now could I?" You bat your eyes and give him a big smile.

"Don't give me that look Y/N." Rooster warns you. "What look?" You ask coyly. Rooster knows exactly what you're doing. It's a routine he's fallen for many times, but he's determined not to let it happen again.

He grabs his beer and takes a long sip before speaking.

"It always ends the same with us, Y/N. Let's not start this time." Rooster tells you before returning to his game.

Dumbfounded, you turn on your heels and head back to the bar. You can already tell you're going to need your mom to make you something strong.

You sigh as you sit down next to your father before a tequila-soda is placed in front of you. "Maybe it was a mistake coming here." You tell your father. "Y/N, give it time, Bradley wasn't exactly jumping for joy when he saw me either." Maverick tells you.

"I just can't believe after all these years, he's still holding a grudge over something I didn't do." You say. "And the fact that you've breezed in and out of his life so many times doesn't make the situation any better." Your mother tells you. You look up and meet her knowing eyes. "Believe me. As someone who's been in his shoes, getting their heart broken by a Mitchell, it's not something that you just get over. Especially when you have a knack for re-opening the wound right after they thought it had healed." She tells you as she wipes the counter.

You sink down in your chair. You know what she's saying is true. Your parents had been on and off for the first few years of your life before your mom eventually gave Maverick an ultimatum, stay, or leave for good. He chose to stay, and it worked out for them.

But they were different than you and Rooster. You didn't choose to leave him the first time. No, the first time he pushed you away, calling you a liar and a manipulator. Saying that you were no better than your father. He called you a hustler, screaming that you used him to further your career.

You tried to make him understand that it wasn't true. You can still feel the got tears that streamed down your cheeks when you begged him to believe you, but it was too late.

So, you decided to lean into his words. If he was going to call you a hustler, then that's who you'd become. And for the past eight years, that's who you've been. Hustling your way to the top, becoming the best of the best, breaking records, and breaking hearts along the way.

It was thrilling at first, but then you were stationed with Bradley for a few months in Virginia. The two of you found yourself enthralled with each other once again, ending up in a tangle of sheets and mixed emotions before you were reassigned. You'd left without telling him. A year or so later, the two of you spent a few weeks in Lemoore, only for it to end with you leaving him again.

Then last year, you were in South Korea. You spent six months with him, and then one night, as the two of you laid together, he confessed that he loved you. That you were the only woman he'd ever truly loved. Instead of saying it back, you quietly slipped out of his room that night as he slept and avoided him on base. Two days later, he was called back to Top Gun for that faithful uranium plant mission.

You never got the chance to tell him that you felt the same. You were too scared to admit.

And now, you were back, and he was here, and you wanted to make everything right. You just didn't know how.

......................

Over at the pool tables, Phoenix and the rest of the Daggers had joined Rooster and Hangman. Jake and Javy were currently playing a doubles game against Mickey and Reuben. She, Bob, and Rooster were standing against the wall.

"So—Hustler is back." Nat spoke. "She is." Bradley breathed out. "How's that make you feel?" She asked him.

"Angry—frustrated —nervous—like—" Rooster trailed off.

"Like you never stopped loving her?" Phoenix finished for him. Bradley shook his head before downing the rest of his beer. He throws the bottle away and excuses himself to the bathroom. Phoenix doesn't miss Rooster's lingering gaze towards the bar as he walks away

"Bob," Phoenix begins as she turns to her back seater. "I think I've seen this film before, and I didn't like the ending."

Okay, I was kicking this around in my brain. I'd appreciate some feedback on this prologue to know if this is a project worth pursuing!

Tagging some who might be interested: @thedroneranger @roosterscock @gretagerwigsmuse @desert-fern @teacupsandtopgun @mayhemmanaged @lovinglyeternal @lovingbradshawafterdark @wkndwlff @shanimallina87 @roosterforme @daggerspare-standingby @dakotakazansky @startrekfangirl2233 @hecate-steps-on-me @bradshawsbaby @cassiemitchell

[povlvr]

9. A Sticky Situation | YLGSE

Pairing: Mob Boss! Bucky x Baker Reader

Summary: With two unwanted guests in your bakery & no one to help you, you need to work out how to get yourself out of a sticky situation.

Word Count: 7k

Warnings: Violence, Swearing, some inappropriate thoughts, mob life, guns, can you say kidnapping if the victim isn't a child?

A/N: I can't apologise enough for how long this has taken to finish, I've been so busy at work my brain hasn't had the capacity to be creative.

Graphics by @firefly-graphics

Series Masterlist

[Previous Chapter] [Next Chapter]

… as you were taking stock of supplies underneath the counter you heard the bell ring, popping your head up to tell whoever it was that you were closing you noticed the empty bakery save for the two gentlemen in pinstripe suits making their way over to you.

The hair on the back of your neck stood up at the sight of them, you remained crouched behind the counter reaching for your phone in your pocket, without even hesitating you called James & somehow managed to shakily mute his end & put the speakerphone on, before slipping it into your apron so that he could hopefully hear what was happening.

You hoped it was nothing & that you were overreacting but seriously why did you tell him to stop following you? & why the hell did he listen? It didn’t take Einstein to work out these two guys were not here for a cupcake & coffee, they didn’t look like they belonged in your pink frilly bakery, their entire auras were dark & menacing & your gut told you they wanted to harm you.

Your intuitions had kept you safe to this point living alone in a city overrun by mobsters & you never ignored them, your dad always taught you that being rude & keeping yourself safe was an easy trade off, if your instincts let you down you could always apologise later but you couldn’t do that if you ended up in harms way by ignoring them for the sake of being polite. 

You hoped & prayed to all the gods, even if you didn’t believe in them, that Bucky would stay on the line long enough to realise you were potentially in danger. You were not a damsel in distress by any means, but you knew your limits & you knew not to mess with these men, precariously you rose from behind the counter to greet them.

‘Afternoon gentlemen, we’re actually closing now so I can’t offer you any coffee, but I could rustle you up a pastry if you’re in the market.’ You tried to sound somewhat confident addressing the two men, plastering on a sweet smile with the attempt to kill them with kindness, although you were sure that old adage didn’t count when your adversaries most definitely carried guns.

With a cold chuckle the tall slender visitor, who looked like he only appeared when the sun went down, piped up, amused at how clueless you were, ‘We ain’t here for food darlin’.’ You noticed his suit hung off his slim frame like it had once fit, his translucent pale skin & hollow cavernous eyes were haunting to look at. 

‘Oh … well then how can I help you fella’s?’ No matter how much you detested it, playing dumb usually helped plump up men’s egos, if they underestimated you knew there would be a chance you could delay whatever they were here for, at least long enough for Bucky to get to you. 

The two unwanted guests looked at each other not quite believing their luck that Bucky Barnes hadn’t prepared his girl for the inevitability that one of his enemies would come for her & even worse leaving her vulnerable to the wolves at his door. 

‘Thing is darlin’ Jimmy & I heard a few things on the streets & wanted to get to the bottom of it, so we thought we’d keep an eye on ya & couldn’t help but notice all of the flowers you been givin’ away, not the sorta thing you expect with a $4 coffee.’

You forced out a shaky giggle, ‘Hmmm I guess not, but there was an unexpected surplus, so I thought I would share the love with my customers, put a smile on their faces.’ 

‘Well, we heard differently’

‘yeah, we heard the King of Brooklyn had found his Queen.’ 

Your stomach dropped & your intense polishing of the counter with the cloth clutched in your hand ceased, you didn’t like where this was going, you had no idea if Bucky could even hear any of this or if the phone was even still connected but you knew he would get to you if he could. The potential of him not coming to rescue you was a real possibility & somehow you needed to come up with a way to get out of this on your own.

Before you could open your mouth the smaller one interrupted, a dark smirk overtaking his face was chilling you to the bone, he looked the epitome of evil & you wanted nothing more than to run from him. ‘No need to protest that sweetheart.’ You shuddered at the nickname, swiftly moving your hand from the counter when he tried to place his own on top of yours.

‘You see, at first we found that hard to believe that Bucky Barnes was pussy whipped, because everyone knows James Barnes isn’t a one-woman kinda guy, but when we saw him & his crew fill this place up with flowers at the crack of dawn we started to think there might be some truth to it.’

‘Well, looks like you have the wrong end of the stick gentlemen, he is a business associate & it was a thank you gift for arranging a last-minute delivery.’

The tall one laughed, except it didn’t feel at all joyful, ‘I don’t think so sweetheart, nice necklace.’ Your hand on instinct wrapped itself around the emerald pendant, maybe they were robbing you? You didn’t want to part with it, but if the alternative was you getting hurt, you were sure Bucky wouldn’t mind you handing it over to them.

‘Hmmm doesn’t it look familiar you Jimmy?’

‘Yeah, now that you mention it,’ he drummed his fingers on his chin as though he was deep in contemplation on where he had seen it before, ‘it kinda looks like the one his mom used to wear.’

‘That’s where I know it from.’ He acted as though it was some sort of big revelation, when in fact the surprise was written on your face, shit, you didn’t even want to go into why Bucky would give you such a sentimental gift, but you knew they wouldn’t believe any lies you came up with to explain it away.

Trying to be as nonchalant as possible you shrugged, ‘News to me, are you here for any reason in particular?’

‘Thing is sweetheart, your boyfriend & my boss have some outstanding business & your boyfriend isn’t being too forthcoming to sort it out, clearly too busy being distracted by a pretty young thing such as yourself.’

‘So, we thought we’d do him a favour & help focus his attention on what really matters, so you’re going to come with us. No need for a fuss or a fight darlin’, we’ll be real nice to ya as long as you behave.’

The thought of what he was implying made you recoil, your phone felt like a lead weight sat in your apron, to keep as calm as possible you repeatedly told yourself that even if the call didn’t connect, as long as you got away from them you could ring Bucky & he would come & keep you safe, he would keep you safe. 

You weren’t even listening as they rattled on about their boss being pleased, your mind in overdrive with what you were about to do, you let them escort you through the tables towards the exit & your heart felt like a jackhammer in your throat.

Before you were manhandled through the threshold to the car waiting outside, you raised a foot stomping down you heel as hard as you could into the tall man’s foot, then not wasting a second you elbowed the other in the gut with as much force as possible.

With the two momentarily incapacitated you darted back through the bakery throwing whatever you could get your hands on behind you as you ran to try & slow them down, you didn’t have much of a head start but you’d take it. Knowing the place inside out you easily manoeuvred through the tight passageways to your office slamming the door & frantically locking it. You knew the door wouldn’t hold for long, without thinking you somehow gathered the strength to push your desk in front of the door, paperwork flew in every which way from the force of you violently shoving the solid wood towards the entrance, barricading yourself in, hoping beyond hope that it would hold. 

Your hands were trembling pulling your phone out of your apron, in your haste to hear Bucky’s voice you repeatedly fumbled & dropped it, cursing yourself before forcing yourself to take a deep calming breath. Finally, you gathered your phone off the floor relieved seeing that the call was still connected.

‘James.’

‘Bunny, what’s happening, are you ok? where are you?’ He sounded breathless, almost on the precipice of panic.

‘I’m at the bakery, Bucky some guys tried to take me. Come please, they’re trying to get through the door.’ You sounded as terrified as you felt, you wondered if your makeshift barricade would hold for as long as it took for Bucky to get to you.

‘Already on my way Sugar, just hang tight I’m not far, I promise I’ll get to you. Where are …’

The sound of a gun firing stole you from your momentary reverie as one of them began unloading bullets into the door, the scream that left your body would haunt Bucky until the day he died & right there he knew he wouldn’t allow the people who tried to take you any mercy, no questioning, they were dead on sight.

‘Fuck bunny I’ll get to ya, where you hidin’?’

‘In my office. Please hurry.’

‘Just keep yourself away from the door, I promise nothing is gonna happen to you, ok?’

You nodded wishing he would just come crashing through the door & wrap himself around you.

‘Bunny, are you nodding even though I can’t see you?’

‘Yes.’

Cowering in a corner on the floor, trembling whenever the door handle rattled, or a shoulder barged into the wood wasn’t exactly how you thought your day would end but here you were clutching onto the necklace Bucky gave you like it was a lifeline hoping he would get to you before they got through the door.

The Mob Boss was about to combust, every promise he made to himself about keeping you safe he failed on, failed the promise he made to a dead man that very morning that he would keep his daughter from harm. Of the many unforgiveable things he had done in his life, this was the one that would live with him, the sound of your voice on the phone, the utter terror would haunt his nightmares.

When his cell illuminated with your call he couldn’t mask the smile on his face, despite being in a meeting he didn’t hesitate to answer hoping that you weren’t still mad that he bombarded you with flowers.

His heart stopped the moment he heard the fear in your voice & he dismissed the meeting, then began ordering people into action as he ran to his car with his phone pressed to his ear making sure not to miss a single thing said. 

He thought he could hear some commotion on the line after the talking died down & a few grunts, he forced himself to keep going & to not pull over to be sick on the side of the road, he sped up not caring about how fast he was now going or the danger he was putting himself in, he needed to get to you before they did.

Finally, he heard you call his name & he thanked every star in the sky that you had some how gotten away from them, if their focus was on getting you out of your office he knew they would be distracted enough to put a bullet in each of their skulls before they had chance to even know what’s happening.

Pulling up to the bakery he saw their car, ordering his men to destroy it, like a military operation they entered the bakery in absolute silence, Bucky taking lead, walking a well worn path to where the two stood feebly trying to open the door, completely outsmarted & out manoeuvred by his dainty real life angel, it was almost too easy as he stood barrel facing them & as quick as a flash with two clean shots they were on the ground. Exterminated.

You heard more bullets before two loud thuds, then silence. It was unnerving, did they finally give up & leave or go to get more men, you were tempted to look out & see what was happened, but you followed Bucky’s instructions & stayed put, knowing he would be there soon.

A sharp knock on the door broke the silence, ‘Bunny.’

His unmistakable voice steadied your trembling body, you needed to get to him & every second you took was a second too long, without hesitation you ran to the door & began disassembling your panicked barricade, ‘James.’

‘Move the desk Sugar, told you I’d get to you.’

Somehow even exhausted you managed to move the desk back enough so Bucky could squeeze through the gap, he was breathless, eyes darting around the room, assessing the danger, checking everything he needed to in order to calm down after the frantic journey to get to you.

With two long strides he wrapped his big arms around you, engulfing you entirely, the irony that you felt the safest you ever had within the arms of the most dangerous man in the city did occur to you but at that moment you didn’t care, pulling away he began running his hands around your limbs, holding your face, checking every inch of you looking for injuries of any kind.

Satisfied that you were unharmed he leaned his head against yours to calm the overwhelming panic your phone call had induced, he couldn’t even begin to comprehend how you were feeling.

‘Hi’

‘Hi’

Without pause he connected your mouths in a fiery kiss, his grip tight on the back of your head as though he was absolutely making sure you were ok & still there with him. Not thinking straight, you couldn’t stop the moan that escaped or from pushing yourself against him, you needed him closer & to never let you go, it was stupid, but your body craved the safety of his arms.

Reluctantly, painfully almost, he prised his mouth from yours to give you some air, sheepishly clearing his throat to mask his amusement at your angry little pout, he wanted to kiss it away more than anything but knew better than to take advantage of your need for comfort after what had just happened. ‘Sorry.’

‘It’s ok.’

You tried to pull yourself from his grasp & explain to him what happened, but he still wouldn’t let you go, keeping his head firmly against yours, eyes closed, breathing you in, trying to find his way back to the peace your presence usually granted him, ‘Just gimme a sec.’

Finally, he looked into your eyes, you were lost in his the second they connected, still as blue & piercing as ever, just as you were about to tell him what happened when Steve appeared at the door.

‘Everything is secure, you’re good to go. We’ll stay back & make sure everything is cleaned up.’

Remaining completely focused on you he didn’t even look at Steve when he spoke, ‘I want it spotless.’

‘Understood.’

You glanced between the two men not really knowing what they meant, but not having the capacity to think about it you let it go for once, if James said it was taken care of you knew it would be.

Holding your face, he brought your attention back to him noticing you had zoned out, before the adrenaline wore off & you shut down completely he needed to get you to safety, if there were two guys after you, there was no doubt in his mind that more would follow.

‘Come with me Bunny, we’re gonna go back to yours, pack a bag & you’re gonna stay with me for a while, least until I find out who sent them guys.’

‘What no, that’s so unnecessary.’

‘Sugar, these guys are bad news, there will be more if they know about you.’

His voice faltered, as if he was struggling to even verbalise the danger you were in. ‘Please, please let me keep you safe. Do you trust me?’

Hmm trust him? To keep you safe yes, absolutely, trust him not to break your heart, you weren’t so sure. Maybe it wasn’t the time to clarify your answer with him, so you just nodded, ‘Yes, I trust you James.’

‘Good, so please trust that I know best.’

Again, you nodded.

‘We’ll get to my house, get some dinner in you, then we will regroup & come up with a plan.’

‘Ok, will Alpine be there?’

‘Of course, she’s misses you Sugar.’

Just as Bucky began to guide you out he realised there would likely still be two dead men outside the office, ‘Bunny, I don’t want you to see out there so I’m gonna pick you up & I want you to keep your eyes closed until I tell you, ok?

You nodded holding out your arms to him without hesitation, a sight he would have killed to see 24 hours ago but now it filled him full of guilt & sadness that you had been traumatised in order for it to happen, you jumped up wrapping yourself like a little koala in his arms tucking yourself into his neck as he effortlessly carried you out into the night & into the car waiting outside.

It felt like some sort of manic house raid when you got to your apartment, bags were swiftly located & your possessions tossed in, from the amount of clothes Bucky was packing you weren’t sure when you would return, so you brought your father’s recipe books & some home comforts that you knew you wouldn’t need but liked to have near.

With a deep sigh you zipped up the final bag ready to leave behind your life, Bucky gathered them all in his hand despite your protest that you could help him with them, the other hand was entwined with your own, ‘if you need anything else I can always send one of my men over to get it ok Bunny. Or you could finally let me spoil ya silly & buy you whatever you want.’

He gently pressed his lips to your temple at the tiny smile he managed to coax from you, he could tell you were in shock from how quiet you had been since he got to you, so he just made sure to be close but not overbearing & let you work through it all.  

Taking your keys from you to lock up, you instinctively wrapped your arms around him for some comfort, you knew you were in this mess because of him but you absolutely knew to your core that he would handle it. In the grand scheme of your life you hadn’t known him very long, but you knew him enough to know you would be safest with him.

Pulling up to Bucky’s estate a second time didn’t seem as daunting & the thought of living with him didn’t faze you at all, ‘Home sweet home.’ He lifted your connected hands to his lips, trying to reassure you, he would be thrilled with you staying with him but under the circumstances he was trying to keep his rage suppressed in your presence that someone would dare try & take you, he hadn’t even begun to apologise for this happening to you, he needed to take decisive action. 

Sam was at the house waiting on your arrival, you giggled at Bucky darting out of the car & have a hand slapping standoff with his friend in an attempt at trying to be the one to open your door, he won, of course & held out his hand to guide you out of the car.

‘Can you get Bun’s bags & put them in the room next to mine please. Come on Sugar let’s get you something to eat. Alpine’s gonna love having a new roommate.’

You took his outstretched hand, appreciating the coy smile on his face, as he led you through to the kitchen you noticed the hive of activity in the vicinity of his office, spotting your attention on them he put his palm on your lower back & guided you away from anything you could potentially hear. ‘Ignore them Darlin’, I’ll set you some food & then I have some business to take care of. I’ll make sure they’re out of our hair in no time.’

The fillets of salmon were sizzling away on the griddle pan once you returned to the kitchen, you had excused yourself to change out of your work clothes into your overpriced cashmere loungewear, the comfort of some familiarity in a foreign environment felt like it would soothe your overwhelmed brain. 

Noticing how zoned out you still were Bucky turned back to the stove reducing the heat, you hadn’t even noticed him approaching let alone the sound of Sinatra playing until his deep gravelly voice pulled you from your reverie, ‘Dance with me Bunny.’

A whisper of a smile crossed your face & as he held out his hand & you looked like you were coming back up to the surface accepting his invitation, your head tucked perfectly under his chin as you swayed on the on the spot, like you were made to dance with him. You always felt so protected in his arms, the warmth & safety of his embrace was all it took to open up, ‘they said their boss had some business with you, but you were too distracted with me, so they were taking care of it.’

Your voice was so quiet, he held you that little bit tighter for it, ‘I’m so fucking sorry Bunny, I swore I would keep you safe & I didn’t.’

‘I’m here aren’t I? Safe & Sound.’ You looked up at him resting your chin to his chest.

‘Not because of me, what did you do to them?’

‘I took some classes on women’s self-defence last summer at the YMCA, I kept calm & waited until they tried to get me out the door, I stomped on one guys foot & then elbowed the other & ran.’

He looked down on proud face lighting up at the sight, ‘You’re so fucking smart, you know that, even calling me as soon as you did.’

‘Well I knew they looked evil I just trusted my gut.’

‘Why did you call me?’

‘I knew you’d come & keep me safe.’

‘Always Sugar.’

‘You got to me quickly.’

‘Not quick enough Bunny, couldn’t fucking breathe listening to it. Nearly shot someone who got in my way.’

You gasped, hoping no one came to harm because of you.

‘Knew you wouldn’t like it if I did, so just punched him.’

You giggled & it was like the heavens opened & angels sung to him, ‘That’s ok then.’

‘See, knew you’d understand.’ He gently moved some hair out of your face, tucking it behind your ear & you couldn’t help but swoon with how delicate he always seemed to be with you. On your tip toes you reached up to place a kiss on his cheek, despite all the kissing you had previously shared the blush on his skin was unmistakable.

You managed to pull yourself together before you did anything too stupid in order to calm your racing mind, ‘So, what’s the plan?’

‘We have our dinner, you go, shower & do whatever you need to do to feel ok.’

‘I feel ok like this.’

‘Dancing?’

‘With you.’

‘Then I’ll do my best to keep close, if I can’t be, you’ll be surrounded by people who will lay down their lives before any harm comes to you, just like I will.’ An effortless twirl in his arms really didn’t help the swooning & you weren’t sure if your legs would give out any minute, but you knew he would catch you when they did.

‘I don’t want anyone hurt because of me.’

‘It won’t come to that, In the mean time you stay here, I can’t risk you going to the bakery, out in the open.’

Your brow furrowed at the thought, you mind in overdrive yet again, ‘But I can’t close.’

‘I will take care of everything.’

‘But…’ 

He cut you off with his thumb over your lip, ‘Please, please let me take care of you, of your business. Take this time to actually rest & it will be right there when this is all over.’

The pleading in his eyes was all it took for you to agree with a firm nod, ‘When will it be all over?’

‘When I find out who sent those two men, when I find him & kill him for trying to take my girl from me.’

‘Bucky ... I’m not…’

‘I know Sugar, I know you’re not my girl … yet.’

He pulled you in selfishly, connecting you to him & yet again you did nothing but comply, he savoured your taste & reassured that you were safe & taken care of. 

When your lips parted, you couldn’t help repeating his words.

‘Yet.’

Never had Bucky ever wanted to be somewhere less, he kept trying to subtly watch the live CCTV of you cuddled up to Alpine watching a movie in the snug but being interrupted with business at hand was irritating him no end, he should be right there with you holding both his girls close & enjoying a Saturday at home, instead he was sat with his crew drawing up plans to take down Pierce once & for all.

He was more determined than ever to do right by you, having someone to come home to every night had been a revelation, walking in on you in the kitchen at various stages of your baking process never failed to put a smile on his face. You said you were bored & wanted to test out new ideas, so Bucky had every type of ingredient he could source stocked in the pantry for you to work with & would often find you talking to security getting their feedback on your creations.

The bakery was running smoothly with Yelena, MJ & Peter plus one of the finest pastry chefs flown in from Paris who meticulously followed your recipes, you had begged Bucky for him not to be ‘too good’ so your regulars wouldn’t get used to having a ‘real baker’ making their pastries. You refused to entertain his argument that yours were just as good as any trained chef, he would argue until he was blue in the face to get you to believe him but relented & made you write down your recipes for the ‘proper chef’ to ‘lower himself to’, you didn’t miss the way his jaw clenched whenever you talked yourself down.

Still, he looked forward to the minute he could leave the office each day & almost shot Steve at one point when he asked him a convoluted question at 5pm expecting him to come up with a detailed answer, he didn’t miss the smirk on the punk’s face when it was a very brief sentence followed by him rushing to get out the door.

Unfortunately, the meeting Bucky was currently enduring was necessary, after days of his scouts out on various missions they were finally ready to formulate a plan to deal with Pierce & if they were strategic the entire organisation could be wiped out in one night, no one comes after his girl & after this was done no one would ever dare again.

An exasperated sigh fell from him as he studied his rough cuticles, letting the men around his desk mutter away whilst his thoughts were consumed by you, ‘Talk to me, what do we know.’

Steve glanced around the table waiting for someone to speak, the blank looks on their faces told him he would be leading this particular operation, ‘The second you shot Malone & Fingers, Pierce went into hiding getting his little bulldog Rumlow to do his dirty work, but Parker & I managed to track one of his men making some suspicious supply drop offs at a place up in Rochester, nice big place surrounded by fences.’

With his eyebrow quirked he quickly weighed up the pro’s & cons of entering the lion’s den, ‘Impenetrable?’

‘Not with Peter hacking the feed & the security system.’ 

‘How many men do we have?’

Sam unusually quiet until this point perked up, ‘Enough to take all of them at once, swarm the place. There’s been some chatter about a meet up, they will be gathered & sitting ducks.’

‘When?’

‘Tomorrow 9pm.’

Running his hand through his hair he let out another sigh, the thought of inevitably losing men weighed on his conscious, but this needed taking care of once & for all, ‘Ok, do what you need to do.’

Steve’s demeanour shifted at the Mob Boss’ apparent detachment from the plans, Bucky Barnes would usually hyperfocus on each detail of an operation until he could recite each split second of the plan, ‘You not joining us?’

‘Who do you think will be putting the bullet between his eyes? I trust you all to handle the rest, have someone collect me from the house on the way. I’ve got other business that requires my attention.’

‘hmm I wonder what.’ Walker was always a thorn in Bucky’s side, there wasn’t a day he didn’t irritate everyone around him, he was a nobody in the organisation but acted like he was the saviour of the new world & 2nd in command at times.

Without pause, Bucky reached for the gun tucked in his belt, before anyone could anticipate his next move the safety was released & he shot one single bullet into his skull, the lifeless body falling to the floor with a thud. He could tolerate a lot from his men, but disrespect wasn’t one of them, his father taught him once you lose that you’ve lost all hope of them following you into battle. It was a warning to the rest that Bucky Barnes might have softened for you, but he was every bit the Mob Boss his reputation warranted.

‘Anyone else got anything to say? … No, I didn’t think so, clean this up.’

Standing against the door frame he watched on as your tongue poked out of the corner of your mouth in full concentration meticulously decorating the decadent eclair with gold leaf. He had informed you of the plans when he got back from the office, despite his business being unsavoury & in complete contrast to yours he had promised to keep you in the loop, even if you didn’t like what came out of his mouth sometimes. 

He had found you & Alpine sprawled out in the snug enjoying a nap with the golden hour sunshine splintering on your face, looking like a real-life angel, he knew that in less than 48 hours you would be back to living your normal life & some part of him wanted to selfishly draw out the whole mess, so he could keep you here longer. 

‘Bunny, what you still doing up?’

Only when you tilted your head to look up at him did he realise you were crying, he was in front of you lifting you up on the counter before you could even wipe away your fallen tears.

He cradled your face in his hands, ‘Hey what’s got you upset?’

You shrugged, ‘just worried I guess.’

Moving to rub your thighs with his warm palms, he needed to soothe & comfort you, his real-life angel being upset wasn’t an option if he could do anything about it, ‘What about Bun?’

‘Tomorrow.’

He sighed, the last thing he wanted was for you to be worried about that. ‘Oh, Sugar there’s absolutely no need, this place will be guarded & you’ll be completely safe.’

You shook your head, ‘No, worried about you.’

‘Worried about me? Thought you’d be glad to be rid of me.’

‘I don’t .. I don’t want you to get hurt.’ You rested your elbows on his shoulders playing with his hair like you always seemed to do when your mind drifted.

‘I’ll be fine.’

‘Wish you’d stay with me instead.’

‘Trust me, there’s nowhere I’d rather be than right next to you, but I need to be the one to do it.’

‘Mob etiquette?’

‘Something like that. Whatchya got there anyway.’

You reached forward picking up the dessert, holding it up to Bucky’s mouth for him to take a bite, the sight was enough to flood your underwear & placing the remainder down on the side you licked the remains from your fingers not missing the way his eyes followed every movement absolutely captivated by you.

You didn’t care about what had gone on anymore, he was all you wanted & you were sick of being on a high horse about something that really didn’t matter, you wanted him. Moving your hand to the back of his neck you pulled him towards you, smashing your lips against his, tasting the sweet cream in his mouth.

You’d probably kissed him every day at one point or another since you were staying with him, but this felt different, it had purpose, you were leaning into him & not holding yourself back as he stood between your legs, his hands on your waist pulling you to the edge of the counter pressing you against him, feeling his abs rubbing your centre.

Your hands made their way down his body, his muscles rippling on contact until you reached the hem of his t-shirt pushing their way under trying to rid him of a layer separating you.

‘Hold on Bunny, hold on one second.’

You draped your arms over his shoulders to pull him back to your lips, ‘James, please, I want you.’

‘No darlin’, not like this.’

You moved your legs up to the counter blocking yourself from him, trying to wiggle out of his grasp as the humiliation rose at his rejection.

‘Hey, hey, I don’t mean I don’t want you, you know I do, but you’re not in the right headspace for decision making & I’m not taking advantage of you when you still haven’t forgiven me for the shit I pulled in that club.’

Again, you draped your arms around him, arching your back as you whispered into his ear, ‘But maybe I have.’

Reciprocating your body language his hands held your back, pressing you against him as he lay a delicate kiss below your ear, ‘Well then if that’s the case, it won’t hurt to wait until this is all done & settled, only then will I accept that you have.’

You reluctantly yielded, it would have been pathetic if you kept pawing at him to get your way, but you knew you’d eventually be grateful that he gave you time to process everything once your horniness subsided. 

Like the gentleman he was turning out to be, he helped you clean up your mess in the kitchen before he walked you to your room, you wanted to ask him to at least stay in your bed tonight but thought better of it in your current state. You couldn’t be held responsible for dry humping him in your sleep, instead you settled for a good night kiss with the promise of new beginnings on the horizon & maybe you would have to take care of the ache between your legs yourself in the meantime.

The tension was at boiling point throughout the day, you tried to be present in the moment spending the day with Bucky but feeling physically sick at the thought of him in harm’s way meant you couldn’t stomach any food or pay attention to whatever movie was on. You instead, paced back & forth in the snug whilst he sat watching you intently telling you to come sit & that everything would be fine, it wasn’t until he pulled you on to his lap that you finally calmed somewhat until the foreboding grandfather clock chimed that it was time. This was it. 

You felt a sense of dread that couldn’t be explained, convincing yourself that he would come back missing a limb or worse & it made you sick to your stomach. When this was all over you told yourself, you would take some time to assess how you were feeling about the man keeping you from harm because the visceral reaction to him suiting up getting ready to leave was overwhelming.

You almost felt as though he was being shipped off to war & you needed to confess all your feelings then & there like it was your last chance, then telling him that you would be waiting for him, hoping & praying he would come back unharmed.

The car pulling up to the front of the house had your lip trembling, you clung to the mobster who looked composed as ever but feeling his racing heart at the thought of leaving you showed his hand. 

‘Try & sleep Bunny I’ll see you in the morning.’

You pulled his face to yours in a desperate kiss & his hands instinctively found your waist to hold you to him, parting was such sweet sorrow, ‘Wake me up when you get in … I’ll sleep in your bed.’

‘Might not leave now if you’re gonna be saying that.’

You giggled & like always it was music to his ears.

As he began walking towards the foyer his arm was draped over your shoulders & his head leaned down with his lips to your ears ‘Got a real important job for ya Bun.’

‘Hmm.’

‘Yeah, there’s a little white kitty around here somewhere, you gotta keep her out of mischief & safe while I’m gone. She doesn’t like her daddy leaving her.’

You let out a deep sigh, ‘Neither do I’.

‘Fuck, Sugar, why you gotta say that.’ He pulled you to him in a tender kind of kiss that you didn’t want to read into, did it feel like a goodbye? Maybe. Did it break your heart a little? Yes, but crying into a guy’s mouth isn’t hot & you somehow kept your composure so that he wouldn’t worry about the state he left you in.

A split second later he marched out the door not looking back, he needed to focus & if he saw you upset he would have marched right back to do anything & everything to make you smile. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he was in love with you.

The drive was tense, he studied the floorplan & strategy being presented to him from the back of the convoy, a simple plan for the others to go ahead & take out any members & leave Pierce for Bucky, he allowed Steve & Sam the pleasure of playing with Rumlow to their heart’s content, but everyone knew the boss was his for the killing.

Pulling up to the estate the CCTV feed was being monitored, Hydra’s entire organisation cooped up in two small rooms & Pierce sat in his office, the whole operation was in place ready for the annihilation of the Mob Boss’ perpetual headache. From the car in front Peter hacked their system with a feedback a loop of their external cameras to mask their arrival, signalling once they could go ahead. 

The first wave of security wasn’t any kind of an issue & removed without breaking a sweat, a silent biometric lock picking later & they had access to the building. Bucky strolled in the place as though his name was on the deeds, the security was pathetic, their arrogance amused him no end & he couldn’t wait to see the look on Pierce’s face as he planted a bullet directly in his skull. 

The sight of his rival’s office doors came into view & as he smugly opened the door with his silencer pointed directly at the chair his stomach dropped, it was empty. He quickly assessed the room, eyes darting back & forth to look for escape routes, secret rooms not on the plans but came up short, he was there mere moments before.

The heckles rose on Bucky's neck from the silence of the place, there should be more noise, bullets, anything. His cool calm demeanour was failing as he searched the room, looking for a clue as to where he went, until Steve ran into the room, he almost sounded muffled as he spoke because the Mob Boss’ whole entire focus laid on the desk he had just walked behind. 

His eyes darted to Steve, the sorrow deeply etched on his face told his lifelong friend that nothing had gone to plan, this was a trap.

Captured in a picture frame stood on his nemesis desk was a photograph of Bucky dancing in his kitchen with the love of his life looking at him as though he painted the entire night’s sky with stars, chilling him to his very soul & he could only manage one word.

‘Bunny.’

Tag list

@matchat3a @hallecarey1 @oliverqueen66-blog@broadwaybabe18@meowmeowyoongles @abaker325 @glows-n-the-dark @barnesml @getofffmydick @omegaevans @cjand10 @pono-pura-vida @stoneyggirl2 @winters1917 @rowaelin4ever12 @theecharlotteyork @saranghaey @ace-27749 

[verdemoun]

there will be a detailed post about dutch van der linde in timewarp in the next 24 hours watch this space but before then The Ex's of Dutch Van Der Linde is an absolute posse

the main trio is annabelle, susan grimshaw and molly o'shea. molly catches up with the girlies more than any other members of VDLs. side tangent i know in my soul grimshaw and molly made up like grimshaw thought she was protecting the gang. molly would be hurt grimshaw actually believed she talked. she was just saying it to get a rise out of dutch. grimshaw would recognize the effect dutch has on the people that love him and be very apologetic for being blinded by the idea of molly talking and putting the gang at risk, and not doing more to help her as she mentally declined in 1899. they made up they're friends shut up let me dream

the first time molly went over for a formal exes of dutch meeting kieran was also there and the sheer panic poor molly felt please please do not tell me dutch slept with the o'driscoll!! he cheated on me with the o'driscoll!!!?! (she doesn't love dutch but she damn well will have another reason to hate him if she's adding cheating to the list)

he didn't!! he was hanging out with annabelle before the meeting. 1. she lowkey forgot he was there because he's so quiet 2. she's holding him hostage in an effort to get hosea to come. they all damned well know 3. it's a surprise tool that'll help us later

it starts off as just a nice wine dinner talking about girlie things bitching about work, modern era life but by the second bottle of wine someone has to break the ice 'remember how fucking annoying it was when dutch put on the gramophone' 'jesus christ yes i still fucking twitch hearing opera' and then it is all out war they are holding the roast of dutch van der linde

it is very stereotypical like they're making fun of how he preens like the pits of fashion they're saying he was bad in bed and things he did that gave them universal ick they're making fun of mangy tobacco pipe breath when he kissed them and all the red flags in hindsight like the gaslighting and the whole time they are still pouring more wine and smoking and getting more and more animated

finally, with the biggest shit-eating grin on her face, annabelle goes up to kieran who's just been sitting there playing on his tablet having a few drinks and zaza and casually asks 'hey kipper what do you think of dutch'

and fellas let me tell you when he's drunk enough to be chatty kieran duffy has Opinions. he will talk so much shit and the girls are just sprawled on the couch drinking wine listening to kieran duffy pace around calling out shit like 'why is dutch such a creep around women has he ever dated a woman older than 25 also what the Hell is his deal with pretending he's a moral superiority 'dutch is a teacher uwu' fucking horseshit half the gang was only so devoted to him because they didn't know anything else and he deliberately picks out people he can mold people to follow his ideals at least colm had the decency not to pretend he cared about people i wanna punch his god damn face so BAD and his moustache is stupid'

the girls are just sitting there snapping their fingers go off kieran he was there for entertainment value the whole time. annabelle just adores him if she could steal one of bessie's boys it would be kieran they have such a special bond as fellow victims of o'driscoll torture. she is his timewarp mom

they put on REAL music out of spite and by real music i mean they are drunk dancing and shout-singing along to 'vampire'. by the time hosea gets there the energy is just so contagious he does join in the 'fuck our ex dutch van der linde' party while bessie is stealing the leftovers. kieran has somehow managed to fall asleep on the couch and bessie quietly sits beside him and has herself a sneaky glass of whisky while the girls + her husband have moved from alternative pop 'i hate my ex' to country 'i'm going to fucking murder my ex'

[elacular-kink]

Hicvember 21: Fav Fandom

Believe it or not, I actually had some trouble figuring out what to write for before I abruptly remembered what my profile pic is.

As I warned you all yesterday, this is, in fact, the silliest shit I've ever written in my life. Bear that in mind before reading.

Content: Pokemon, Non-humanoids with hiccups, Cartoony nonsense, being a furry on main.

The GBC, Galar Broadcasting Corporation, presents Pokemon Earth.

Hiccups

Ashenbough: Hello. I'm Professor David Ashenbough. With me as always is field researcher Steve Rowan.

Rowan: G'day mates!

Ashenbough: And this is Pokemon Earth. Hiccups. All humans experience them. But strangely enough, all Pokemon do as well, despite branching out far beyond the mammalian in nature. To what extent and in what way they experience them is as varied as the Pokemon themselves, so Steven and I will be taking a look at some of them today. As always, the first half of our program will feature Pokemon both domestic and wild who have agreed to be on the show, while the second half will feature...attempted candid shots of Pokemon in their natural habitats.

Rowan: Now let's get right into–HICCUP!–it!

...

Ashenbough: Here we see a nest of Marill and Azumarill. Though this stream looks placid, beneath the surface the water runs swift and roiling. In spite of this, you can see these water mice and rabbits swimming upstream and playfully splashing both one another and our hapless camera people.

A POV camera is swum up to by a Marril which then turns around and uses its large, round tail to splash water on the camera.

Rowan: That's 'cause this lovely blue fur of theirs produces natural oils that repel water, making it easier for them to swim through currents, or even bounce along the river's bed! Now! Speaking of bouncing, we have here a nice little group of bubblers and some very very spicy pokeblocks. Here you go, little mates!

A group of Marill and Azumarill gather and nibble at the pokeblocks. Though some immediately run off, others start eating even more quickly.

Ashenbough: Hmm. It seems we have a few here who take quite well to this spiciness.

Rowan: Careful with those ones. Pokemon who like spice tend to be on the strong side! Now remember, even friendly Pokemon like these little guys can be dangerous. And the Marill family specifically is one you don't wanna underestimate! You never know when one of these round little fellas is actually hiding some huge power!

One Azumarill pauses in its eating, then squeaks loudly, bouncing up into the air as it does.

Rowan: Whoa! And speaking of huge power! You okay, little guy?

The Azumarill nods, though it's rapidly bounced again.

Rowan: These fellas got lungs that can hold onto air for hours at a time, so makes sense they got some powerful diaphragms to go with it! And this big girl seems like she knows the move Bounce pretty well! Not surprising, since they can learn it before they get tough enough to evolve.

Ashenbough: While the stronger Azumarill demonstrates her admirable elasticity and buoyancy, the Marills which have not yet trained enough to evolve demonstrate a far less chaotic but no less cute reaction.

The camera focuses in on a pair of Marills, both of which are hiccuping small clusters of bubbles, though one is still trying to eat more pokeblocks around them.

Rowan: Cute, it's true! But be careful! Not all bubbles are safe to pop. You can tell that this little guy's actually using bubblebeam 'cause his are glowing, but his friend's here should be safe.

Rowan pops the bubble over one Marill demonstratively, then steps back before throwing a rock at one of the glowing bubbles, which pops loudly, causing one Marill to jump into the water while the other continues eating. Even from under the water, bubbles rise up at regular intervals.

...

Ashenbough: That a mammalian Pokemon such as the Marill family can catch the hiccups is perhaps not all that surprising. More unusual are hiccups in those who more closely resemble reptiles.

Rowan: Here we've got a pair of performers from one of Galar's most popular Pokemon-fronted bands, Eddie and Michael the Toxtricities!

A pair of Toxtricity, one Amped, and one Low Key are visible. The Amped one is mugging for the camera as it chows down on bright red pokeblocks, while the Low Key one is lounging back on a couch, lazily tossing pokeblocks into the air and catching them in its mouth. The Low Key one is the first to start hiccuping, looking mildly surprised as its chest starts jolting and the four protrusions vibrate, creating the sound of a bass guitar. The Amped one sneers at the Low Key one, audibly laughing at it.

Rowan: Now, even though Low Keys are calmer, you oughta be careful around both types of Toxtricity. Just 'cause they aren't mad about it doesn't mean that a Low Key isn't liable to pick a fight. At least if an Amped one wants to fight, they'll let you know about it!

Ashenbough: Eddie clearly sees this as some sort of competition, though Michael doesn't seem interested in rising to the bait. With each of his hiccups, you hear the characteristic low register sound of a Low Key Toxtricity, greatly resembling the strum of a bass guitar. As it is now, those noises seem to have convinced Eddie that he's won, but hubris isn't always befitting of a rock star.

Abruptly, the Amped Toxtricity's laughter is cut off by a loud hiccup that judders the protrusions on its chest, making the sound of a wailing, screeching electric guitar. It begins rapidly hiccuping and making more screeching guitar sounds, and the Low Key Toxtricity smirks and chuckles between its own hiccups.

Ashenbough: Although both band members have their part in this duet, you would be forgiven for mistaking it for a solo by Eddie. As is often the case between strong egos, a performance of Dueling Guitars is never out of the question.

The Amped Toxtricity leaps at the Low Key one, which seems perfectly happy to indulge him in a fight, the two hiccuping loudly as they grapple, electricity and visible sweat spitting out of them as Rowan backs quickly away.

...

Ashenbough: Still in the realm of performance, we were approached by a friendly Mr. Mime who wanted some time in the spotlight herself, but refused our offer of pokeblocks.

A kantoan Mr. Mime is miming holding a bowl and rapidly stirring something in it. She then pours the invisible batter into nothing, mimes holding a baking pan and opening an oven before placing it in and crossing her arms, her foot tapping.

Rowan: What a talent she is! Mr. Mimes are tricksy, so you can never be sure whether they're doing their act, or if they've actually summoned up something invisible to work with, so never take the space in front of one for granted.

The Mr. Mime's ear twitches despite no obvious sound and she grins, opening the "oven" and reaching in before yanking her hand out and shaking it. She goes through a whole rigamarole of putting on "gloves" to get the "pan" and using "tongs" to remove the invisible nothing inside of it, blowing on it, and then popping it into her mouth. After chewing and swallowing, she stands still for a second, then jolts violently, her mouth opening and closing, but no sound coming out. She covers her mouth and jerks again, then a third time.

Ashenbough: It seems that our spicy pokeblocks weren't needed in this case. Although...it does beg the question. Steven, do you think that she actually has the hiccups?

The camera shows the Mr. Mime holding her breath and jolting before she exhales, pauses for a long second, then silently spasms again with a look of shock.

Rowan: ...honestly not sure, mate.

...

Ashenbough: And now we switch to our second segment. For the most part, we attempt to film wild Pokemon behaving candidly and do not try to interact with them. Here you'll see examples of Pokemon catching hiccups in their everyday lives without the assistance of extra spicy pokeblocks. Onto pre-filmed segments featuring Steve Rowan, with my commentary overlaid.

...

Rowan: Now here we see a Snorlax in her natural habitat: someplace that's as inconvenient as possible for her to be.

A Snorlax is visible in the middle of a bridge, currently lying on her stomach and yanking huge fistfuls of kelp and other river detritus out of the water and cramming them into her mouth.

Ashenbough: Nobody knows what draws Snorlax to areas that tend towards high foot traffic. There's a decent possibility that it's just where they're most often seen, for obvious reasons. Whether or not they prefer to be in the way, though, that's frequently where they end up.

Rowan: Now, maybe you look there and say "Arceus, that's a big girl!" And you're not wrong about that, but this lady's actually a bit on the petite side. We'll see if she's just got an unusually empty tummy or if she's just a dainty little thing once she's done having supper.

Ashenbough: Those of you familiar with this particular river might believe that this Snorlax's growth could be stunted by pollution, but while that is a problem the local environment is still dealing with, for Snorlax, it's no issue at all. A Pokemon that needs to eat nearly its body weight in food every day can't afford to be picky, especially with a body as weighty as a Snorlax, so their extremely omnivorous stomachs can handle even the most toxic of poison types, though they prefer food that isn't inclined to fight back.

Rowan: Hey editors, you'll probably wanna fast forward this part a Bergmite. When a Snorlax is asleep, the only thing you have to worry about is getting around the big bugger, but when it's awake and eating, any smart trainer'll stay the heck out of their way.

There's a brief montage of Rowan and various camera people fishing, getting B roll, and having a small Pokemon battle while the Snorlax continues eating in the background before the montage is abruptly stopped by a loud noise from the Snorlax.

Cameraperson (offscreen): What was that?

Ashenbough: It seems that a Snorlax's iron gut may not be quite immune to all ills.

The camera focuses on the Snorlax, who has stopped eating with a slight look of confusion. With a loud, deep grunt, she wobbles on top of her stomach, then does it again.

Rowan: Whoops! Looks like the sheila ate a little too fast there. Do we think she's gonna learn a lesson from it?

The Snorlax wobbles with a few more hiccups, then goes back to devouring from the river, still bouncing but ignoring them.

Rowan: Nope! Right back to work!

Ashenbough: Whether her hiccups were a factor in her decision we can't say, but it wasn't long after she caught them that this petite giant chose to go back to sleep. It seems that hiccups are one status effect that the move Rest can't cure.

The Snorlax lays on her back, still in the middle of the bridge, Snoring loudly and her massive gut bouncing with huge hiccups every few seconds.

Rowan: Like I said, once they're sleeping, they get so deep in that it's safe to even climb on 'em. Some people and Pokemon even like bouncing on their bellies. But in this case...

Rowan climbs up the Snorlax's arm, then hops onto her stomach between hiccups before being thrown into the air by her next hiccup. This happens a few times before he falls off on the same side he climbed up, looking mildly dizzy, but laughing.

Rowan: You might get a little more bounce than you bargained for!

...

Ashenbough: Many wouldn't expect an abandoned casino to be a place worth searching for Pokemon, but there are a large number of reasons it could be worth looking through.

Rowan: Right. If we find any ghosts of people's paychecks here, they might be on the nasty side, so we're gonna want to stay quiet and approach carefully if we approach at all.

A strange electrical sound is audible and Rowan motions for the camera people to be quiet. They slowly move in between old slot machines until they see a group of Porygon and Porygon2 all surrounding a single Porygon-Z whose head is repeatedly bouncing and spinning with noisy electrical hiccups.

Rowan (sotto voce): Ah! It's a zip of Porygons! You never see this many of 'em in most places, but since they're artificial and not found in the wild, unscrupulous casino runners would use 'em as prizes to keep people coming back.

Ashenbough: Porygon are not able to reproduce sexually, and the copy protection all members of the line share stops them from being replicated while inside of a computer, but just like every other Pokemon, if one encounters an accommodating Ditto...

The camera pans, showing that one of the Porygon2s has a set of beady black eyes instead of round googly ones.

Ashenbough: Life...finds a way.

Rowan (sotto voce): That middle one's looking like it's havin' some trouble there. What's it doing, is that...hah. I think it has the hiccups! Hey, make sure you get a shot of that!

The Porygon-Z continues hiccuping, its head flipping and tumbling with every hiccup as it waggles its arms and tail angrily. One of the Porygon2s moves forward and pokes its "chest" with its bill, at which point the Porygon-Z violently pecks its head.

Ashenbough: Perhaps it's not so surprising that a Porygon-Z, exposed to dubious programming as it has been, has more than a few glitches and idiosyncrasies in its behavior. Although, even from the simply-coded start of its line, Porygon have always had their quirks.

Rowan (sotto voce): Now remember, none of these little guys actually likes being on film. We're getting real lucky here, so let's—

There's a loud clunk and then the sound of spinning slots. The camera whips around and catches a glimpse of a snickering Haunter with its hand on a slot machine's arm before it fades away. Rowan yelps and something is bleeped out as the camera turns back around, briefly showing all the Porygons staring at them before static fills the screen and a set of Unown reading "TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES?!?" appear.

Ashenbough: This...is not a graphic that we made. That is, in fact, what was recorded by the camera until Rowan and his team left the casino a few minutes later.

The image futzes back in, showing a cameraperson adjusting the lens, then nodding before it's pointed at and focused back in on by Rowan, who has a Porygon on his arm.

Rowan (sotto voce): Well, seemed the little prankster back there managed to scare the hiccups out of the Porygon-Z, so they weren't too mad at us. Still, little guys are pretty camera-shy. This friendly fellow decided to let us get a good look though!

Ashenbough: You may recognize this footage from our episode on artificial Pokemon, so no need to use any more of it here. After all, our previous hiccuper was apparently cured by our ghostly interloper.

...

Ashenbough: Pokemon are mysterious creatures. Diverse in appearance, type, egg group, gender, nature, and just about every other way, there are many things about them that we'll never know.

A Falinks is shown marching along. The leader bounces with a hiccup, and then all five of its followers bounce in turn as they walk past the same spot.

Rowan: Do they actually all have the hiccups, or are they just following the Brass?

Ashenbough: Some things that bring one creature strength—

A Bellibolt is shown hiccuping, bouncing up and down as the hiccups expand and contract its body, visibly building up electricity in its stomach.

Ashenbough: —could be absolutely devastating for another.

A Primarina is seen singing on a stage before suddenly hiccing up a cluster of bubbles. They cover their mouth with their fins, hiccup again, and then dive into the fountain on stage behind them, vanishing.

Ashenbough: But even with all our differences, humans and Pokemon alike, there are some things that bring all of us together, even something as inconsequential as a hiccup.

A shot of Rowan and Ashenbough has Rowan staring expectantly at him. Ashenbough arches his eyebrows at him.

Ashenbough: No Steve, I'm not going to hiccup for you.

Rowan heaves a comically overwrought sigh, then smiles at the camera.

Rowan: Guess that's still my job then. Right! Until next time, mates! This has–HICCUP been Pok–HIC–mon Earth!

Brought to you by the GBC.

[twstinginthewind]

Grand Finale!

“... and that’s our first NRC Music Fest!! Thank you, and good night!!”

The lights on the stage flashed in a rainbow of colors, and the audience exploded into cheers and applause. The main trio of the Pop Music Club - Cater, Lilia, and Kalim - waved towards the crowd, and made their way backstage.

“That was amazing!!” crowed Kalim, excitedly tapping his drumsticks along every surface he could find. “I really feel like a rock star! Can you believe we actually made all of this happen?”

“Of course we did! We’re highly accomplished representatives of Night Raven College, isn’t that what old Crowley says?” Lilia laughed. He looked back towards the stage. “House lights aren’t back up yet…”

Cater grinned, picking a few notes out on his guitar. “We know what that means, right besties?”

Behind the three of them, the audience began to chant. “One more song! One more song! One more song!”

“We gotta give them what they want. As the hosts of this party, it’s only right,” Kalim said thoughtfully.

Lilia nodded. “Absolutely. After all, it’s a fine tradition of the last band of the night to perform an encore.”

“But it’s not just our party.” Cater looked at all of the other performers backstage, and waved them over. “Come on, everyone! Smash follow, and come on stage again with us! We’ll give the crowd a finale that’ll knock their socks clean off!!”

As the Pop Music Club stepped back onstage, the audience roared with approval. “Keep that livestream rolling, AV Club, and follow my lead! We’ve got another song for everyone!” Cater called out as the other two began to play. “Are you ready, Lils? Kalim? Everyone? All right fellas, let’s go!” He started in on a familiar riff, and gestured to the side of the stage.

A cool female vocal began over the music. “It’s been getting so hard, living with the things you do to me.” Mina walked onstage to a wave of appreciation from the audience, already feeling the groove. She was followed by Joker, riffing along on her accordion with the guitar line as Mina went on. “My dreams are getting so strange, I’d like to tell you everything I see.”

The vocals shifted to a man’s voice, and Lázaro came on stage, tapping along with the drumbeat on the body of his guitar. “I see a man in the back, as a matter of fact! His eyes were as red as the sun!” His percussive tapping was joined by a tamborine, and Simon came in with him on the next line. “And the girl in the corner that no one ignores, ‘cause she thinks she's the passionate one!”

The lights flared on at center stage to reveal Alcestris and Lorne, facing off with guitar and keytar respectively, adding vocal harmonies as Lilia came in with the pre-chorus. “Oh yeah! It was like lightning! Everybody was frightening! And the music was soothing! And they all started grooving! Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah!” he screamed, as three lovely girls came in downstage.

Rosalind, Daisy, and Violet, in their shimmering dresses, delivered the chorus of the song in perfect three-part harmony. “And the man in the back said, ‘Everyone attack’, and it turned into a ballroom blitz! And the girl in the corner said, ‘Boy I want to warn you’, it’ll turn into a ballroom blitz!”

“Ballroom blitz! Ballroom blitz!” echoed the rest of the collected performers, as they adjusted their positions to make room for the next wave of entertainers to be introduced.

Nixie came on next, microphone in hand and already dancing. “Oh reaching out for something, but touching nothing's all I ever do.” From backstage, the silly little rabbit K came out to join the dance, with a flustered Cass’ gesturing from the wings for her to stop as Nixie went on, laughing. “Ooh! I softly call you over, when you appear there's nothing left of you.”

Cater was about to sing the next line, but a clever pair of hands had already plucked the mic from his stand. Xiáng grinned cheekily at him as he picked up the melody. “And the man in the back is ready to crack as he raises his hands to the sky! And the girl in the corner is everyone's mourner - she could kill you with a wink of her eye!” Cater used the opportunity away from his mic to drag a reluctant Sorrel onstage, cowbell in hand; he was not about to let his co-writer get away uncelebrated.

Meanwhile, Kalim took his turn on vocals, trying to imitate Lilia’s impressive metal scream. “Oh yeah! It was electric! So frantically hectic! And the band started leaving, ‘cause they all stopped breathing! Yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah!”

Flying in from above, Ortho descended onto the stage, dropping down next to a terrified Wiro to sing the next chorus. “And the man in the back said, ‘Everyone attack’, and it turned into a ballroom blitz! And the girl in the corner said, ‘Boy I want to warn you’, it’ll turn into a ballroom blitz!”

Everyone came in together, brilliantly lit under the swirling lights, echoing the words “Ballroom blitz!” as the crowd cheered excitedly. They spent the rest of the song trading lines and featuring instrumental solos, and as their song finally came to an end, an explosion of magical fireworks were set off in the sky above the stadium.

Cater grabbed his microphone back, smiling triumphantly. “Thank you, everyone!! We are Night Raven College’s Pop Music Club, and we wanna thank all the performers, backstage folks, sound and light crew, the merch and refreshment teams, and all our new club members. And especially you, our audience! We couldn't do it without you! Thanks again, and good night!!”

—

And now I want to thank everyone who participated with your stories, art, music, and even just with your support in reblogging and enjoying everyone’s entries! This was my first time running a fan event, and I really loved seeing the creativity and heart that went into everything!

Once again, shout out to @konoharfts @the-trinket-witch @cyns-ramshackle @explorer-of-art @twst-cweam-sod4 @k-looking-glass-house @ramshacklerumble @tixdixl @althea-and-alcestris & @ocean-blue-orchids, and to everyone who took the time proofread my stories and help me along with my artwork.

I hope I did the kids all right in this little story. May we rock out again together sometime soon!

THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT!!!

[banshee1013]

Suptober / Flufftober Day 2 - Pumpkins and Porcupines

Still doing this thing (albeit WAAAAY behind). As soon as I stumbled on this video I knew he would have to be the star of today's entry.

This one is for Day 2 - Prompts: Suptober: Pumpkin Patches Flufftober: Family, Friends, Loved Ones

Entry is below as well as on AO3 as part of the October Days (and Nights) series.

Title: Pumpkins and Porcupines Rating: Teen Warnings: No Warnings Apply  Tags: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, Donna Hascomb/Jody Mills, Kaia Nieves/Claire Novack, Wayward Women, Harvest Festivals, Family Gatherings, Domestic Fluff, Animal Encounters Summary: Dean is excited to take Cas to the Harvest Festival, but is also looking forward to seeing his two favorite lady sheriffs and their wayward girls. But there's an adorable prickly surprise waiting for them there, as well. Words: 1,055 AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/series/3758800

=================================

“Hey, there they are!

Dean squeezes Cas’ hand and pulls him through the milling crowds who, like them, had turned out for the first day of the annual Autumn Harvest Festival and Pumpkin Patch. He assumes Sam and Eileen are following but doesn’t turn to find out. Keeping up — that’s all on them. He’s here for two things: pumpkin apple pie, and having a fun day with Cas.

Okay, three things: seeing his two favorite lady sheriffs (and the gaggle of girls — well, women, now — with them). “Donna! Jody!” 

Donna turns and Dean stifles a laugh at the dusting of powdered sugar on her chin, the source being the large plate of fried dough in her hand. Mouth and hands full, she pops out an elbow and nudges Jody, who squawks as the cup of hot apple cider sloshes in her hand and just misses spilling. Donna nods in their direction and Jody beams as she spies them.

“Dean! Cas!” Passing the cider to Donna, she strides to meet them and wraps them both in a hug, the strength of her grip all but forcing the air from Dean’s lungs. She may be small, but she is mighty. 

She glances over Dean’s shoulder and pulls back from the hug with a raised eyebrow. “What, no Sam or Eileen?” 

“They arrived with us,” Cas explains, “but I believe Eileen saw something of interest in the craft vendor’s area and pulled him in that direction.” 

Donna joins them, balancing the plate of dough on top of Jody’s cup to wipe the sugar from her face, then passes both to Jody to hug them both herself. “It’s good ta see ya, Dean-o. You too, Cas. It’s been too long since we’ve seen you fellas.” She pulls back, her smile wide and bright as the sun. “But no matter, you’re here now!”

“Oh my God, are you holding hands? Gross.” Dean can’t help the smile as Claire comes up behind them. She punches Dean in the shoulder and then shoves herselt between them, pulling Dean into a sideways hug; then sliding under Cas’ arm to wrap her arms fully around him. Dean’s heart clenches at the soft, startled look on Cas’ face as he returns the hug, brushing his lips against the top of her blonde head. 

“Wow… Claire, showing affection like a functioning human being,” Alex says as she, Patience, and Kaia join the group. “Someone get a picture, quick.” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kaia says, crossing her arms. “Claire has no problems hugging me.”

Patience snickers. “Yeah, there’s a reason for that.” 

“Yeah, yeah, you can all shut the hell up now.” The effect would have been a lot different were Claire’s voice not muffled by Cas’s shoulder, releasing him to glare at them over her shoulder.

“Anyway,” Alex says, “we came over here to find out where Claire ran off to, but also…”

“Oh, right!” Claire grabs Cas’ hand and starts tugging him toward the pumpkin patch. “You guys absolutely need to come see this!”

“See what?” Dean says, just as Sam approaches and says “See what?” at the exact same time. 

Dean’s eyes roll as Jody nudges Donna, laughing. 

Patience glances between them, confused, but shakes it off. “The porcupine.”

“Excuse me, did you say ‘porcupine’?” Cas asks, taking the words right out of Dean’s mouth. 

Claire nods excitedly and starts tugging his hand again. “Yes, a porcupine and he’s amazing.” With a shrug, Cas lets Claire pull him toward the pumpkin patch, grabbing Dean’s hand to pull him along with. Over his shoulder as he’s being pulled away, Dean sees the rest of the group following with bemused expressions that are probably reflecting his own. 

It’s not too hard for Dean to guess where they’re headed — a group of people huddled at the far corner of the pumpkin patch around one of the bales of hay that had been set out as both seating and barrier for the large array of pumpkins available for sale. 

And from that bale of hay came the most adorable noise Dean had ever heard — something between a whine and a growl mixed with munching noises.

“I think Teddy Bear found some pumpkins for Halloween,” a woman says as they approach, Dean peering over Cas’ shoulder to see a large porcupine sitting on the hay bale, a small black plastic cauldron filled with tiny pumpkins in front of him.

“What did you find, Ted?” the woman asks, and Dean swears he hears the porcupine say “Pumpkin!” in his little whine-growl.

Apparently he wasn’t hearing things. “Dean, did that porcupine just talk?” Cas turns to whisper and Dean quickly shrugs to both answer the question and shake off the shiver Cas’ breath on his ear raises. He’s not completely convinced yet — it’s a porcupine, not Scooby Doo, after all. 

Talking or not, Claire was right, Teddy was completely adorable, chirping and munching away on his pumpkins. Not that Dean was ever going to admit it out loud, though. 

“Yum yum?” The woman asks, and Teddy says “YEAH!” 

“Dean,” Cas whispers urgently in his ear, causing a fresh bout of shivers with accompanying goosepimples.   “He’s definitely talking.” Cas squints suspiciously and its adorable. “Is he possessed, do you think?” 

Dean’s laugh bubbles out of his chest, and he pulls his hand out of Cas’ grip to wrap an arm over his shoulders and pull him close. Claire glances back at them and her eyes all but roll out of her head, whether the open cuddling going on or at Cas wanting to smite a porcupine, Dean can’t guess. 

Just to spite her (and Cas is right there, after all), Dean brushes a kiss against his temple and grins inwardly at the quickly-masked soft smile on Claire’s face as she quickly turns back to watch the porcupine. 

The spiky little guy continues to munch  on his pumpkins, chattering away as Dean glances around him, at the friends and family gathered around him. The love of his life in his arms, his brother by his side wrapped in the arms of his own love. Donna and Jody arm in arm with their girls wrapped around them as well. 

A warm, happy feeling floods through him and he savors it, as much as Teddy Bear the Porcupine savors his pumpkin treat.

[gortrash]

Been working on a basic height chart for all my TES characters, so here are my dysfunctional babies (and here’s to hoping tumblr doesn’t kill the image quality, but if it does, just click on it to see it better.)

From left to right, we have Ilyavanthra, Evelynn, Morganne, Delilah, Taka-Xil and Jacken.

More info on these guys under the cut!

Ilyavanthra Atyreni is my resident villain, a Thalmor superior who thinks she’s god and refuses to acknowledge the Divines out of spite— which won’t go down well with the rest of the Thalmor, but that’s fine, she’s got big plans for them along with the rest of the world. The pivotal point for her was when she went missing, lost her legs under mysterious circumstances, came back wrong, refused to elaborate. After that she began frantically planning some kind of ultimate design and built new legs as proof of her efficiency. She’s positively obsessed with the Dwemer, their ideologies and methods and studied them for a large part of her life. At some point she was married to Evelynn, but their relationship is… difficult. All in all, giant scary lesbian Altmer with religious trauma and one hell of a god complex about to make it everyone else’s problem.

Evelynn is my favourite child, she’s my Bosmer Vestige and has lived for a very long time after the events of ESO, in which she has spent the years going from outright saving the day to falling into the background and preferring to work on the preservation of Tamriel from behind the scenes, as she knows no other purpose. Super complicated bisexual disaster love life, let me tell you about it, sheesh. She’s been around to help put down Mannimarco whenever he pops up, but has been running from Molag Bal and the looming feeling of impending doom he carries— little does she know she’s in a rat trap. Because of her extended life, her mind has far outgrown her body and by the time the fourth era rolls around, she’s less than all there, susceptible to any forced that would wish to control her (she’s also the character I put through the Vicn Trilogy, because putting her back in Coldharbour sounded like the worlds sickest joke.) I love female characters who have been put through extreme tribulations and come out of it little bit off the rails RAHHH!!

Morganne is my Imperial Dragonborn who remembers absolutely nothing prior to the carriage ride except her name. She fulfils her destiny in not only slaying Alduin but also taking up the role of Konahrik, which only strengthens her power as Dovahkiin. But what does it mean about you if you managed to destroy the destroyer of worlds? Does that not make you just as, if not more, dangerous? Perhaps. She’s still young and pretty naive but by god, is she as stubborn as a dragon should be, and keeps doing impulsive dumb shit she gets in trouble with everyone for. She refuses to kill Paarthurnax, who she ends up considering her father figure, refuses to kill any more dragons considering it ‘kinslaying’, as well as arguing that she believes Odahviing and Durnehviir to be her most loyal brothers, and instead of killing him at the summit of Apocrypha, releases Miraak and keeps him on a leash. They hate each other’s guts (code for they are deeply in love and cannot resist one another but both won’t make the first move out of pride)

That tiny lass is Delilah, a Breton with big dreams of being a sorceress but unfortunately also sucks at magic. See that staff she’s holding? She doesn’t know how to use it aside from thwacking people. She does however have a mass aptitude for Restoration locked away, she just has to figure out how to harness it, because without control, her emotions dictate her powers in miraculous ways, even resulting in resurrecting the dead. See that big fella beside her? He’s proof of that. Also, don’t let her baby face fool you. She’ll bite your ankles and she has a thing for monster boys.

The big fella in question is named Taka-Xil, and oh boy, does he run on pure spite. He’s not had a very good start to life, despite being born under the Hist, he seemingly had no connection to it whatsoever and couldn’t properly read the social cues of his kin or fully understand them. For that reason, he was deemed soulless, and no matter how much sap he consumed he couldn’t connect to the Hist— the amount he drank only made his scales much tougher, his tongue golden and his height drastically taller than by Argonian standards. So he runs off to join the Dark Brotherhood and developed a great deal of reverence for Sithis. He becomes Listener and lets out all that steam on contracts, until he meets Delilah, who teaches him that being soft is just as important as being strong. She’s the only one he sees any light in and he adores her. Big gruff guy soft for sunshine girl plus dramatic height difference trope here.

Lastly, we have my most experimental OC, the wonderfully unhinged Jacken Archanymia, the very last Cyrodiilic bird person. He’s been alive all these years due to a curse bestowed upon him by Peryite, and has since dedicated his life to creating the cure to everything. Yes, everything. Beginning with his own terrible affliction. He’s a brilliant alchemist and doctor, and regardless of how spooky his attire is and how… rotten he is beneath it, he’s very charming and animated, and does his very best to act gentlemanly. Just don’t get too close or you might get sick. That mask is more for your protection than his.

[haus-mom]

1, 10, 20, 30 and 40! And 9!

aaaa thank you mar!!!! you better believe i'll ask you back! though when this gets posted the questions will already be on your askbox but anyway

who is/are your comfort character(s)?

AUGH I HAVE. A LOT ACTUALLY but if i had to choose a few hmmmmm

first there's ninten!!! yes that's actually his name. or ken. he's named ken in the novel. any mother/earthbound character would fit but i'm specially attached to ninten because Back Then he used to get characterized as this super silly guy with millions of penguin plushies in his room and he's just. he's a cool dude! his first and only quote in the entire game is at the end, when the adventure is over, he just plops into his bed and falls asleep mid sentence. the penguin thing is kinda canon btw. he loves penguins <3

then there's neku from twewy!!! i'm trying to go chronologically or i'll get irrevocably lost. met him through kingdom hearts and seeing as his game was on the ds i was like "eh why not" (<- this later led to a life changing experience)

he's such an idiot and i actually hate him a lot <3 (affectionate. like, really affectionate) he's the definition of a closed off edgelord but he grows so much and learns so much and dhsbhdabhjhjbhj

there's another reason why he's here though!!! twewy is played with both screens on the ds, neku being on the lower and his game partner on the upper. but i absolutely sucked at keeping track of both screens so my brother would control the partner so when i see him i smile remembering everytime my brother and i almost broke my ds in half trying to beat sho <3 it was christmas too! yay!

the fun part about being a fan of this game is that the only official art that came up when i looked him up were a super close up of his face and a spoiler. so i had to go into the game files and get this pic myself.

anyway.

this is yuuichi mizuoka from re:kinder, he's the last character someone would consider a comfort character, and he basically invented being a princess with a disorder (sort of. heart did it first)

this is also the little guy who went around biting people (like chibita!) and telling you why he's a comfort character would both be extremely spoilery and extremly sad, because i already showed you his introduction and he's just. he's a murder baby, what else do you need? the things that this li'l fella has both gone through and done are unspeakable. he's unfixable. he's also 8 years old.

honestly every parun character (that. that i know of (?) is a comfort character in the sense that if i see them i get all happy and [FLAPS HANDS]

some more than others, like, i can highlight tokimeki, gote, ramu, and if you show me a picture of handa i will actually do the 🥺face irl. does that make topema from henderland no daibouken a comfort character? wait, she actually kinda is, isn't she?

i have some more but this ask would never get actually answered if i listed them all, have the ones from my formative years (11-13 y/o, everyone's formative years, right?) honorable mentions are the second year trio from inago, kasane teto, ryuunosuke naruhodou, minori hanasato, sora kingdomhearts (that's his actual name), takane enomoto... see, this is why we go chronological, otherwise we get confused and forget characters </3

9. which do you prefer, hot coffee or cold coffee?

neither, actually, i don't like coffee and caffeine makes me sleepy, so i normally don't drink any... i don't like tea either, so i'm team third option: chocomilk :D!

10. would you slaughter the rich?

not realistically, because i'm hilariously weak (physically), but i'd gladly watch others slaughter the rich! i'd feel bad doing nothing so i can offer emotional support! i can even dress as a cheerleader. or the cheer squad from osu tatakae ouendan. hell yeah.

20. do you say soda or pop?

les digo FANTA y COCACOLA porque creo que aparte de "bebidas gaseosas" no tenemos ninguna palabra así cortita para definirla, así que en españa (no sé si en alguna parte de latinoamérica tenéis alguna) siempre les decimos como las marcas. creo que rebloggeé hace poco un post sobre marcas teniendo que ceder derechos porque la gente empieza a decirle a los productos como las marcas y me resulta hilarante

when speaking in english i say soda because, despite my (british) teacher's best efforts, i was raised by american youtubers and that cannot be undone. pop is a hilarious word to me because it is what it is. it goes "pop!" when you open it, so it's called pop!

30. is there dishes in your room?

there were two (2) dishes in my room when you sent this ask, but i decided to be a responsible adult and wash them before having dinner. there's a cup here though. from dinner. because i don't feel like leaving it in the sink just yet.

40. did you have any snacks today?

uhhhh, do chewable fruit candies count? when it's exam season i usually have a bag of snacks nearby because the sugar does wonder to my concentration ✨ might be placebo, might be me doing better because i get to have A Little Treat, who knows

(these candies have the flavour written in portuguese, i think, and i was so confused like 'what the fuck is a mirtilo 😭'

cuando vi el limón, que pues, es literalmente limão, quedé como así

[princess-of-the-corner]

Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix Recap: Hollow Bastion (The Showdown)

“Did it work?” Donald asks as Sora looks at the computer with crossed arms.

“Hey! These things take time, okay?” Sora snaps.

He pokes the keyboard a few times, and a window pops up.

“Woah…” a wowed Sora remarks, “It’s doing something!”

“I think it wants to know what we wanna know!”

Sora pokes a few keys and tries to ask the computer about Riku and Kairi, very clearly STILL not getting how this works.

He gets an error message.

“Even Ansem’s computer doesn’t know…” Sora laments, sulking away from the computer.

Goofy decides to give it a try, and tries to ask the computer for information about the Nobodies.

A report featuring the Nobody Emblem appears in a window on screen, followed swiftly by an error message.

“The data is corrupt,” a computerized voice (not the MCP, Sark, or Tron) announces.

Goofy tries to ask about the Organization.

“The data is corrupt.”

“Stupid computer!” Sora snaps, before mashing the Keyboard.

The others try to calm him down as multiple windows open at odd angles, until suddenly, a picture of a light skinned, blond, bearded man with amber eyes appears on screen.

“Who’s this guy?” Sora questions.

“Welp, I see ya got things workin’!” King Mickey remarks.

“Oh! Your Majesty!” Sora and Donald reply.

The King hushes them again.

“Good goin’,” he praises, “The computer should tell us the things we need to know.”

“But it keeps sayin’ the data inside’s all ker-skuffled,” Goofy replies.

“All we got is a picture of some guy we don’t know,” Sora explains.

The King, however, does know that guy, and leaps for joy.

“Ansem the Wise!” he declares, much to SDG’s confusion.

“Come on, are you teasing us again?” Sora replies.

“Did you forget what Ansem looked like, Your Majesty?” Donald asks.

“Of course I do!” the King replies, “And this is him! I’m positive!”

“Excuse me?” Sora remarks as he takes the King’s hand and drags him out of the computer room, “Could you come this way, please?”

Donald and Goofy follow after him as Hollow Bastion’s music fades out, along with the camera.

When we fade back in, they’re standing in front of the portrait of “Ansem”.

“Look, THIS is ‘Ansem’,” Sora explains, “You know, the guy we all worked reeeally hard to defeat?”

“Oh, that’s right–” the King remarks, “I never finished explaining.”

Fade to black, fade back in to a montage of “Ansem’s” scenes form the final boss and ending of KH1

“Well, the man in the picture is definitely the one who tried to take over Kingdom Hearts – the one you fellas defeated,” King Mickey explains, “But, what you guys actually fought was his Heartless.

“Ya see, he wasn’t really Ansem. He just went around telling everybody that he was.”

Fade back to Ansem’s Study.

“You mean…” Sora’s voice trails off as he shares a glance with Donald and Goofy, before all three say the exact same thing:

“Whaaaat?”

“We went through all that trouble to defeat an impostor?” Sora exclaims.

“Yep. A fake,” King Mickey responds, “But he still had to be stopped.”

“Aw, I can’t believe it…” Donald groans.

“Uh, I’m kinda confused,” Goofy admits, “If he’s a fake, then what happened to the real Ansem?”

“Welp, that’s just what I’m trying to figure out,” King Mickey explains, “Ansem the Wise should know all about Organization XII’s plans, and what’s happening to the worlds.

“I’m pretty sure he’ll give us some help.”

Goofy scratches the side of his head.

“Don’t tell me there’s more!” Sora begs, “I’m lost enough as it is!”

“Well, let’s see,” Goofy opens, “Some feller named Ansem, who wasn’t really Ansem, became a Heartless.

“Does that mean a Nobody got created when that happened, too?”

“Yup!” King Mickey answers, “And that Nobody is the leader of the Organization!”

“Whaaaat?!?” SDG shouts.

“I know I’ve met this fake Ansem before,” the King explains, “and I’ve seen the leader of Organization XIII, too.

“Hmm, kinda felt like being around the same fella.”

“So, where did you meet this guy?” Sora asks.

King Mickey crosses his arms and closes his eyes.

“Gosh…” he comments, “I can’t remember.”

Sora, Donald, and Goofy slouch in disappointment.

“Ansem the Wise – the real Ansem – must know the imposter’s true identity,” King Mickey continues, “That’s why I’ve got to find him and ask him about it.”

Sora, meanwhile, is glaring at the portrait.

“You…!” he growls, “You started all of this! Because of you, Riku and Kairi…” Sora suddenly remembers something. “Your Majesty, do you know where Riku is?”

The King flinches.

“He’s…” he sighs, “I’m sorry… I can’t help.”

Sora looks at Mickey for a second, before pressing.

“Really, Your Majesty?” Sora asks as he walks up to the King and steps around his back and into his peripheral vision, “Are you sure?”

“I’m sorry, Sora,” the King replies as he turns his back to Sora, despondent.

“What about Kairi?” Sora asks, “Organization XIII might’ve kidnapped her.”

“Oh no!” King Mickey whirls around to face Sora, and then turns to the portrait of “Ansem”.

“Sora, Donald, Goofy,” he opens, before turning to face SDG, “I was plannin’ to go get help from Ansem the Wise. But – now I know I forgot the most important thing.

“Helping others should always come before asking others for help.

“We’re safe and sound – and free to choose! So there’s no reason we shouldn’t choose to help our friends!”

SDG nod.

“Let’s look for Riku and Kairi together,” King Mickey proposes.

BOOM!

The entire castle shakes, causing the King to briefly lose his footing until the shaking stops.

“Outside!” Sora shouts.

“Sounds like we gotta start by helpin’ out here!” King Mickey declares as Sherzo di Notte starts playing.

He dashes out into the maze-like corridors to provide his aid, and the cutscene ends.

The Battle of Hollow Bastion has begun.

The battle theme continues playing as you regain control of Sora, and Donald and Goofy are both currently NPC’s you can talk to.

There’s still that Save Point by Ansem’s Computer, and it ISN’T too late to go and finish your business in Agrabah, Halloween Town, the Pride Lands, and/or Twilight Town. You can in fact replay the summer job minigames (even if Sora won’t get paid), or play Struggle by talking to the tournament announcer. (Defeating Hayner 20 times unlocks Setzer, defeating Setzer 20 times unlocks Seifer, and Seifer is by far the easiest opponent in the entire game, even more pathetic than his simulated counterpart was during Roxas’ combat tutorial).

Regardless, exiting Ansem’s Study and going into the Corridors kickstarts the next cutscene.

Survey Robots and Armored Knights spill through a hole in the wall and flood into the Restoration Site, marching into the town and castle.

Exiting into the Corridors progresses the story.

Just outside Ansem’s Study, Maleficent and Pete are leading the Heartless in battle against the Organization’s Nobodies, with the Nobodies gradually thinning the Heartless’ numbers.

“Hear me, my Heartless!” Maleficent orders, “Attack the white husks! Sweep them away!”

“What are you nuts? We’re never gonna win!” Pete declares, “I don’t know about you, but I’m outta here, sister!”

Pete dashes down the corridor, leaving Maleficent to direct the Heartless against the Nobodies.

“You pathetic coward,” Maleficent groans.

In the manga, Pete stuck around throughout the entire battle and risked his life to save Maleficent from a crumbling tower, at which point she berated him for not doing a good enough job in SPITE of her coming out unscathed.

In the novel, she instead stumbles upon Riku’s old room from when he worked for her and starts getting nostalgic, with the implication being that she wasn’t lying when she said Riku was like a son to her. Which, honestly feels like it kinda undermines the moment where Riku stands up to his memory of her in Castle Oblivion.

She then looks back towards the battle, where most of her Heartless have fallen, and the no-longer preoccupied Nobodies have turned their attention towards her.

She also notices Sora, Donald, and Goofy dashing into the room.

She and Sora glare at each other.

With a scoff, Maleficent teleports away, then orders the Heartless to ignore the Nobodies to focus on Sora and his friends.

The Nobodies, who were only fighting off the Heartless to protect themselves, also turn their attention to Sora now that they have the freedom to.

You need to defeat all of the waves of enemies that spawn.

Another new Nobody is introduced in this battle: Dancers. They’re feminine-looking Nobodies in pink, and their swaying and pulsating is a lot more dance-like than with the other Nobodies.

Avoid them at all costs when their hands light up, as that’s an unblockable attack wherein they grab Sora, dance with him for a bit, and then throw him in the air to deal massive damage.

When fighting multiple Dancers, this can easily end in Sora getting stun-locked and killed in a matter of SECONDS.

It is IMPOSSIBLE to escape a Dancers’ grasp once it grabs Sora and starts dancing with him, meaning you are powerless to do anything but WATCH in most circumstances.

They primarily attack through kicking, however, and are weak to Magnet.

The Nobodies in the battle also ALL have more HP than the Heartless, so be aware of that.

The battle ends when there are no more Heartless or Nobodies to fight.

The Gullwings fly into the room.

“Where’s Maleficent?” Yuna asks.

“Looks like she ran away,” Sora answers.

“Well that was PRET-ty lame of her,” Rikku remarks.

“I guess we picked the wrong side,” Payne deadpans.

The Gullwings turn and whisper amongst themselves, and I have no idea what any of them say because they’re all talking simultaneously and it isn’t subtitled.

“Um, hey…” Sora cuts in, “if you’re looking to pick sides, why don’t you pick Leon’s? They can always use help.”

The Gullwings turn to face Sora.

“Does this Leon have any treasure?” Yuna asks.

“Yeah, lots of stuff!” Donald claims. (Note: I read a particularly humorous fanfic, YEARS AGO, where this claim lead to the Gullwings digging through Leon’s or Cid’s sock drawer to try and find the treasure. I sadly can’t remember the name, but it was on FFN.)

“Perfect!” Rikku declares.

“Come on,” Payne states.

“Who ARE you?” Sora asks.

“Oh, we’re nothing worth mentioning,” Yuna claims.

“Just three treasure fanatics,” Payne remarks.

“Later, taters!” Rikku shouts.

The three sparkle away.

“Did Leon… really have any treasure?” Sora asks.

Donald chuckles evilly and runs off, prompting Sora and Goofy to run after him.

In the manga, what prompts the Gullwings to ditch Maleficent is her berating Pete after he risked his life to save hers from a crumbling tower, deciding they had no interest in serving an ingrate.

The game skips straight ahead to the Postern, where SDG are met by three Dusks.

“We don’t have time for you!” Sora declares, before our Junior Heroes proceed to finish off all three in one hit each.

They dash up the ramp to the platform where they spoke with Aerith earlier, only for a beam of light to strike the ground in their path.

When the light clears, Sephiroth emerges from the spot it struck, unfurling his three wings as he rises to his feet and turns to face our Junior Heroes.

“Sora, it’s Sephiroth!” Donald shouts.

“Ain’t Sephiroth the one who’s supposed to be the dark part of Cloud’s heart?” Goofy asks.

“Did Cloud tell you that?” Sephiroth asks, “Then he must understand now.”

“Just what are you gonna do to him?” Sora asks.

“Nothing,” Sephiroth answers, “Cloud is the one who hungers for darkness.”

“He said he’s got a score to settle with you,” Sora remarks.

“I see…” Sephiroth replies, “He wants to meet me again.” He turns and walks away from SDG. “Then I should give him what he wants.” He stops walking. “That last bit of light is always the hardest to snuff out.” He rises into the air and vanishes into a dark portal of some kind before Sora can catch up to him.

Following this is a Final Mix-exclusive textbox cutscene, where the Gullwings fly overhead.

“Huh?” Sora remarks.

“They came from that hole over there,” Goofy points out.

Low and behold, there’s now a gaping hole in one of the castle’s walls, leading to a cavern that was NOT present in vanilla KH2.

“I don’t remember that being there before,” Sora admits, “I wonder where it leads.”

“We don’t have time for that now!” Donald shouts, “We have to go after the King!”

The Postern still has a Save Point, and Donald and Goofy are now NPC’s you can talk to, so no enemy spawns here.

Additionally, that hole leads to the Cavern of Remembrance, a special Bonus Dungeon created for Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix.

Even if you can survive the super powerful Heartless that call the cave home, you CANNOT reach the end until you’ve maxed out all of your Growth Abilities, so don’t even BOTHER going in now.

Instead, progress to the Restoration Site for the next cutscene, where Sora, Donald, and Goofy find Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith battling the Heartless.

“We’ll help!” Sora calls to them.

Aerith turns around.

“Sora! Behind you!” she warns, sounding genuinely worried.

Our heroes turn around to find a bunch of Dancers creeping up behind them.

Welcome to one of the WORST fights in the whole game!

These gals will JUGGLE YOU TO DEATH if you slip up even ONCE!

I struggled HARD on this battle back when I played KH2, and it’s the ENTIRE reason I DESPISE fighting Dancers!

They REALLY needed a Reaction Command or SOMETHING to turn that devastating attack back on them!

After the last Dancer FINALLY falls, Aerith and Yuffie run ahead while Leon tells Sora that the King is in the bailey.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy run straight there during the cutscene.

Upon arrival, our Junior Heroes spot a massive hole in the wall that leads beyond the borders of the town, explaining what the explosion they heard earlier was.

Sora looks out over the battlefield.

An army of Armored Knights and Sentry Robots is advancing through the Great Maw, the LARGEST Heartless army depicted yet in the series.

More Heartless approach from the outcroppings above the valley and jump down to join the assault.

There are enough Heartless that the ground shakes as they advance.

Yuffie catches her shuriken and falls over from exhaustion as the army rushes past her, until Aerith gets her back on her feet with a Curaga, and the two rejoin the fray.

Stitch leaps into action, dual wielding his blasters as he guns down Heartless after Heartless.

Payne lures an Armored Knight to a cliff, allowing Yuna and Riku to kick it over the edge, at which point reinforcements force them to retreat.

Cloud and Leon stand back-to-back on a cliffside path, Heartless advancing from all directions.

“Think you can handle this many?” Leon asks.

“Well…” Cloud replies, “Might be tough if one more shows up.”

Leon chuckles.

“Then that’ll have to be the one I take care of,” he snarks.

“What, you’re fighting too?” Cloud jokes.

Leon chuckles again, and the two leap towards the armies advancing on them, cutting down Heartless after Heartless.

Fade to black.

When it fades back in, Cloud is surrounded by armored knights, when Sephiroth cuts down a dozen in one swing of his sword, Villain’s Vale just barely visible on the horizon as the music fades out.

The camera zooms up to Sephiroth’s face, making Villain’s Vale and the entire crevasse outside of Hollow Bastion look downright miniscule compared to him.

“Sephiroth!” Cloud shouts as he brandishes his weapon, and the Heartless scatter.

Sephiroth takes a handful of steps towards Cloud and points his sword at him.

“I understand that you’ve been looking for me,” the SOLDIER states as he raises his sword.

“Yeah,” Cloud replies, “Once I get rid of you, the darkness will go away.”

“Can you do it?” Sephiroth asks, “That darkness comes from your own dark memories. Do you think you can erase your past?”

“Shut up!” Cloud snaps.

“Face it – you turn your back on the present and live in the past,” Sephiroth states, “Because the light of the present is too much!”

“You don’t know me!” Cloud insists.

“Cloud!” Tifa calls.

A bright flash covers the screen as Cloud shields his eyes.

Sephiroth grins.

“I know. Because… I am you.”

He teleports away, leaving black feathers to flutter away on the wind.

Cloud glances around, then runs off.

“Cloud! Wait!” Tifa calls as she runs after him.

Some Armored Knights make the mistake of blocking her way and surrounding her, prompting her to punch and kick them all to death.

Fade to black as she glares at the nearest Heartless.

We return to Sora’s POV.

“Leon, everybody – hang in there!”

The battle theme restarts. Proceed through the hole in the wall to the warzone outside of town to continue the story.

However, before they can advance to the battlefield, the King spins/rolls through the air and lands on the ground in front of them, albeit facing towards the battlefield instead of towards our Junior Heroes.

“Okay, fellas,” he starts as he spreads his arms out, “you’ve gotta go find Riku and Kairi!”

“But Leon and the others are friends too!” Sora protests.

“Don’t worry,” the King replies, “There’s already lotsa help here.” He briefly glances over his shoulder back at them. “We’ll take care of this fight.”

“But… I promised Leon!”

Donald and Goofy give Sora a sympathetic look.

“Donald! Goofy!” the King orders, prompting both to stand at attention, “Take Sora and get goin’!”

The music fades out as the camera focuses on Sora.

“Riku, Kairi…” he opens, “give me a little time, okay?”

Donald and Goofy share a glance, and nod.

“Your Majesty!” Donald calls as he looks up in the air AWAY from his King and moves rather stiffly.

“We understand,” Goofy continues, doing the same, “We’ll go search for Riku and Kairi!”

“Right. Watch for danger!” the King directs, not even turning to face them.

“You be careful too!” Donald replies, not taking a step to take Sora anywhere.

“Wait, you guys!” Sora protests.

The King continues surveying the battlefield.

“Sora, do as you’re told!” Donald replies.

“You’re comin’ with us whether you want to or not!” Goofy adds.

“C’mon Sora! You gotta be good!” Donald adds, before winking at Sora.

Sora catches on to what they’re doing.

“Gotcha,” he says with a smile.

“Well then, skedaddle!” Goofy orders.

Sora mouths a thank you.

“Let’s go!” Donald declares, and the trio rushes right past King Mickey, jumping over the edge onto the lower outcropping, catching the King off guard.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty!” Sora calls, before leaping down into the battle.

Donald and Goofy salute.

“Hope you can forgive us!” Goofy calls as Donald jumps after Sora, before jumping after them himself.

The King watches them go, sighs, but still smiles sadly.

Cue a Final Mix exclusive cutscene where a security camera scans Ansem’s computer room and spots the Unknown

It zooms in on him, fails to identify him (even calling him “Unknown”), and is swiftly destroyed by one of the Unknown’s signature energy attacks.

The Unknown slides a disk into the computer, which prompts it to load a password window.

The Unknown types in “ANOTHER” and the computer brings up six more password prompts.

The Unknown types in six passwords, and while all six are shown as asterisks, we can infer what they are from later Secret Ansem Reports.

The computer starts the system and ejects the disk, at which point the Unknown walks out the other end of the computer room and goes down to the room that’s visible from Ansem’s study but you have yet to visit.

Upon reaching the floor, it opens up, and a ramp materializes. He walks down the ramp, which dematerializes as the door closes behind him.

This leads to a spiraling ramp that leads even DEEPER below the castle, as the Unknown has an audio-only flashback about a moment that we’ll see in a couple of cutscenes, ruining the impact of said scenes by dropping the big reveal NOW instead of then.

Once he reaches the bottom, he steps into an eerily pristine and well-lit hallway, full of empty cells where his original self had experimented on Hollow Bastion’s residents. For maximum eeriness, the camera follows him from INSIDE the cells, giving the perspective the false Ansem’s victims would’ve seen all those years ago as he walks past the unlit cells, until he reaches the doorway at the other end of the hall.

He steps through, to a small room with a throne at the center, it’s back to the door.

He sits down in the throne, and the chain-patterns on the floors and walls light up, revealing a battered, blue armor on the floor.

“It has been far too long,” he comments, “’friend.’”

The camera cuts to a view of the armor and zooms out, revealing a thin, blue Keyblade leaning against the wall near the helmet.

Flashback to the Organization’s headquarters, to a few years ago, as Zexion walks  across a glass platform in a large, empty room.

“Zexion! Zexion!” Vexen calls

“Right here,” a clearly annoyed Zexion replies as Vexen dashes down the stairs towards him, “What is it?”

“Where is Lord Xemnas?” Vexen questions.

“His usual spot,” Zexion answers.

Vexen scowls.

“The Chamber of Repose?” he questions.

“Yes,” Zexion answered, “Go and see for yourself.”

“That isn’t funny,” Vexen snaps back, “I suppose I have no choice but to wait. But the clock is ticking. Time is running out. What to do?” Vexen stomps off down the stairs past Zexion. “Why is he never around when I need him? It’s almost as if he knows I’m looking for him.”

Zexion tries to make his way up the stairs.

“You know, I don’t like that place either,“ II replies from offscreen.

Zexion looks up to the pipes where his colleague is sitting.

“What about you, Zexion?” II asks from his perch, “What do you think?”

“I think eavesdropping is intrusive,” Zexion replies, “Why are you even here? You and Xaldin were tasked to recruit new members.” II jumps down as Zexion continues. “Have you forgotten, or were you procrastinating?”

“As if! I’m doing my job,” II answers, “I’ll have you know, I found one just yesterday. ‘Mar’ something. That puts the Organization’s count at 11.

“And since I’ve been working so hard, I had Lexaeus take my place for today.

“I want to rest up for tomorrow, so I can wake up feeling nice and refreshed.”

“Is that so?” Zexion questions, “Well, then, I’ll leave you to it. I have work to catch up on. Good day.”

Zexion tries to walk off, only for II to run after him.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” II remarks as he throws an arm around Zexion’s shoulders, “Come on. Stay and talk.

“Isn’t it time you told me about Xemnas’s secret?”

II releases Zexion’s shoulder and walks ahead a bit.

“How long ago was it?” II asks, “When a bunch of warriors wielding key-shaped swords appeared and unleashed a spectacular battle. And when it was all over, all that was left was a man lying unconscious without his memories. Xemnas… er,” II says the imposter’s real name, “was found by Ansem right around then, wasn’t he?”

“Your point?” Zexion asks.

“The Chamber of Repose,” Xigbar answers, “If you recall, that’s where we spent our time researching the darkness that resides within people’s hearts. It’s a graveyard that was sealed by order of Ansem the Wise.

“The first thing Xemnas did once he got rid of him was to undo the seal and build a room in the back. Ever since then, he holes himself in that room when he can, and he talks to someone.

“But who? For all I know, he’s the only one in that room.”

“Need I repeat myself about eavesdropping?” Zexion asks as II approaches him.

“Not eavesdropping,” II insists, “Couldn’t hear what they were saying. Dying to find out what it was though.

“You wouldn’t know anything about it, would you?”

“I know I would very much like to focus on my own duties,” Zexion replies, before continuing past II and up the stairs, “As you should with yours. For we need to prepare the new facility immediately, but there are only 11 of us in the organization. We’re going to need a few more hands on deck.” Zexion continues walking.

“What new facility?” II asks, “Oh! You mean Castle Oblivion?

“What does Xemnas plan on doing with that place, anyway?”

“He already shared his intentions with us,” Zexion remarks as he keeps walking.

“But did you know there’s something he DIDN’T share?” II asks, prompting Zexion to pause once more.

Silence falls over the room.

“The Chamber of Repose is part of a pair,” II explains, “The Chamber of Waking is the other.

“Another graveyard, if you want to call it that.

“It was constructed by someone other than Xemnas himself. And that’s’ where he’ll find it.

“That’s where he’ll find his other ‘friend.’”

Zexion stares at II as the cutscene fades to black.

Hollow Bastion’s battle theme starts playing again as we return to scenes from the base game.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive at the Castle Gates, where Demyx emerges from a Corridor of Darkness as the music fades out once more, an awkard bit of editing brought on by the point the new scenes were added in.

“Hey, you guys are looking lively,” Demyx greets.

“Scram!” Donald shouts.

“Didn’t we catch you messing around in the Underworld?” Sora asks, “How’d a wimp like you get into Organization XIII?”

Demyx flinches and recoils.

“I bet you can’t even fight,” Sora taunts.

“Yeah, but we can!” Donald adds.

“You shouldn’t judge anyone by appearance,” Demyx scolds.

Our Junior Heroes summon their weapons.

Demyx flinches and turns away.

“I told them they were sending the wrong guy,” he grumbles.

“Who is this kook?” Sora questions.

“Remember, the Organization’s made up of Nobodies,” Goofy reminds him.

“Right – no hearts!” Sora remarks.

“Oh, we do to have hearts!” Demyx claims, “Don’t be mad…”

“You can’t trick us!” Donald snaps.

“Silence, traitor,” Demyx coldly replies as he points at Sora.

All of the required Organization XIII battles so far have used either The 13th Struggle or Tension Rising.

For the first time ever, The 13th Dilema starts playing as Demyx forms a dome of water over himself, and summons his sitar to his hand, forming it out of the water.

Cue Demyx’s ACTUAL boss battle.

Demyx opens the battle by shouting “Dance Water, Dance!” and summoning a bunch of clones.

Destroy them all within the time limit, or you’ll get the “minigame/mission failed” game over screen, with Sora looking disappointed.

No in-universe explanation is provided for why failing to destroy all the water clones in time does this, but whatever.

When the water clones are turned into music notes, Sora can use “Wild Dance” to take a lot of them out at once. Be warned that the Water Clone you initiate “Wild Dance” with will not count as defeated until the end of the Wild Dance, meaning that time can run out while the only water clone left is one that you’re spinning around as a flail, and it’ll still count as a failure.

Fire and Limit Form are also good to use, thanks to Demyx and his Water Clones counting as Blizzard enemies.

As soon as the last water clone falls, the fight with Demyx begins proper.

He attacks by summoning jets and waves of water to strike you with, leaping around the arena and calling up geysers behind him as he goes.

He can do this even when knocked into the air by aerial combos.

He’ll even summon blobs of water from above to dump on Sora. He’ll also summon several water spheres around himself and detonate them.

Occasionally, you’ll get the “Show Stealer” Reaction Command. Hitting it will cause Sora to interrupt Demyx’s sitar strumming to stun him.

Failing to hit it will result in a cutscene where Demyx slams his sitar into Sora’s face.

He’ll occasionally repeat his “Dance Water, Dance!” attack, such as when his health drops below half, so try to be quick.

And as you’re outside the town’s limits, the defense system can’t help you.

Wisdom Form, Fire Magic, and Thunder are the best strategies here.

Many people consider this to be one of the most frustrating bosses in the series.

Kinda appropriate when you realize that the Dancers work for him.

Defeating Demyx awards Sora with an Armor Slot and Blizzard Element (boosting Blizzard to Blizzara), Donald with Blizzard Boost, and Goofy with +4 Max HP.

In the post-fight cutscene, Demyx’s sitar dissipates back into water, and Demyx himself wails in despair as he fades from existence, vanishing into a pillar of water.

“Anyone from the Organization who’d like to be next?” Sora asks.

“Hey Sora!” Donald shouts, “Don’t antagonize them!”

“Yeah, we gotta go help our friends out first,” Goofy adds.

“Oh. Sorry,” Sora sheepishly replies.

“Then lets go!” Donald shouts.

He and Goofy take a step forward.

“Aha! There you are!” the King shouts.

He stomps up to the trio and crosses his arms.

The trio have the decency to look guilty, but the King drops the act pretty quickly.

“You sure have lotsa friends to help,” he remarks, “So, I guess we better all pull together and finish this battle for good!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” SDG chorus.

King Mickey walks towards the trio, unaware of the battle between a Survey Robot and a Dusk on the cliff above his head.

BOOM!

Goofy notices that some of the debris is heading straight for the King.

“Look out!” he shouts, shoving the King out of the way.

The boulder hits Goofy square in the head, sending him sliding across the ground and hitting a rock wall.

“Goofy!” Sora shouts as he, Donald, and the King rush over to him.

“No…” Mickey mutters as he realizes Goofy isn’t getting up.

Sora and Donald run right up to his side.

“Hey! You’re the King’s captain! You gotta get up!” Donald shouts.

“C’mon, wake up!” Sora begs.

“I’m sorry about the ice cream!” Donald adds.

“Goofy…?” Mickey begs.

No response.

“Goofy…” Donald weeps into his friend’s chest.

“This is not happening…” Sora tells himself, “It can’t be happening… It can’t…”

The King’s fingers curl into a fist as his eyes harden into a glare.

“They’ll pay for this.”

He tears off his black coat to reveal his Kingdom Hearts II outfit, summons the Kingdom Key D, and rushes towards the battle.

Donald’s grief turns to rage as he brandishes his staff and charges into battle.

Sora spares Goofy one last look before rushing after him.

The camera lingers on Goofy’s unmoving body for a few seconds, before cutting to Sora running further into the battlefield as the cutscene fades to black.

-

GOD this is tragic and epic and lore-filled and Goofy fuckign DIES but also I’m laughing because the Final Fantasy Characters /REALLY/ seem to just be doing their own thing with no fucking context why are they here lmao