#I had this idea in my head but kirby was so difficult(I mean it i couldn't do in a way that looks super cute)but...

[celibibratty]

[batz-surveys]

15.

Do you know anyone who has died in battle? No.

What is your hobby/collection? Haha, I have so many. I collect coloring books and love to color. I love to write, so I have kept a journal since I was about twelve or thirteen and I love to write short stories. I collect action figures if they're from X-Men (specifically Nightcrawler) or A Nightmare On Elm Street. I have a bazillion Squishmallows because I collect them. I love collecting food themed Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars. I love doing makeup and have quite a big collection of eyeshadow palettes. I love anything Kirby and I love playing video games. There's just so many things I'm into! And this is just the tip of the iceberg, but these are my most favorite collections and hobbies.

Have you ever accepted a helping hand from a stranger? I think the last time I asked for help was when I was shopping at Walmart and my husband went into the dressing room or the bathroom, and I asked for something off of the top shelf from some guy in the aisle that was tall. That was so long ago because I haven't been to Walmart in forever. Who is your favorite person in your immediate family? If I absolutely had to choose, I'd say my older brother.

What kind of pizza toppings do you like? I usually just like cheese, but if I want toppings, I go for pineapple and banana pepper. Don't knock it 'til you try it! It's perfectly, sour, salty, tangy, and sweet. Who was the last person to make you do physical labor? The kids at the school I work at. I'm always cleaning up behind them.

What is your favorite piece of furniture in your living room? Our couch. It's so big and comfortable and three of the seats recline, and there's cup holders!

When was the last time you traveled by plane? Haha, not since I was like nine years old, I think. Where is your favorite place on Earth, thus far? I don't think I've been there yet. But if I absolutely had to choose, I would have to say New York City. I love to visit (most of my family live there or near there) but I couldn't live there. Why is marijuana illegal in the U.S.? *sarcastically alarmed* Because what would pharmaceutical companies do?! No, but really. I have no clue. I mean, I have a few ideas and I've even read some shit, but I won't say it here. Who did you last share a bed/bedroom with? My husband. When did you first take a shot of alcohol? Like a shot of something hard? Because I had beer for the first time when I was like ten, haha. I snuck a sip of my dad's and it was so disgusting to me, I never did it again. But then, I turned sixteen and had a shot of vodka for the first time. Where did you sleep last night? My bed in my apartment. Why are you wearing whatever it is that you are? Because I love my Halloween pajamas. They're so comfortable. Who last took you out on a date? My husband. When was the last time you went on an adventure? Please, explain it. Last Friday, we randomly took a trip to Myrtle Beach and we just ate, and walked around a part we've never been to, and then ate some dessert at this really cool place. Then we headed back home. Where would you like to experience the best cuisine? Italy. I love Italian food. Why do your parents keep pictures of you around the house? They don't. All our family photos are tucked away in boxes. Who can you always count on? My husband. What is your favorite way to eat an egg? Scrambled. Why is it difficult for some people to whistle? I'm not sure. I learned how to whistle pretty quickly. Who is your Godmother (if you have one)? I don't think I have one. When did/will you graduate high school? 2007. Where were you during the 911 attacks? I was home, waiting for my mom to finish ironing my school uniform. I remember sitting in my room, waiting for my mom to bring in my uniform, and I heard her yell "oh my God, oh my God." She's from there, so is her side of my family, and I just remember her urgency to get the phone and call my Grandma to see if everyone was okay at the moment. Who was the last person you had sex with? My husband. What are your ticklish spots? I'm not ticklish. I hate being tickled. It doesn't make me laugh, and it just makes me feel awkward and sick. When you have an orgasm, is it real or not? It's real, but I won't lie and say I've never faked it in the past. Where is the craziest place you’ve had sex with a person? Oh jeez, I don't know if I wanna go there. But, just because I'm super honest on these, and it's not THAT crazy, I would say in a moving truck, on the side of the road, haha. Who do you wish was still in your life? What do you miss about that person? When will you see that person again? There are a lot of people that I wish were still in my life, both living and dead. They were great people. Where would you like to have sex with someone? In our bed. Describe your best sexual experience. Oh man. Probably one of the first nights my husband spent the night with me, back when we had just become boyfriend/girlfriend. We had so much sex, and it was just really raw, and hot, and at some parts it was just beautiful. And how attentive he was to me; it wasn't something I was used to. He made sure I finished, multiple times, before he even got there himself. I'll never forget that night. Describe your best drunken/high experience. Hmm. I can't seem to remember. Perhaps it was because I was drunk and/or high, haha.

[inksansfangirl]

I really liked your in-depth analysis of a hypothetical httyd x kirby crossover! It definitely reminded me of Forgotten Land’s plot. I do agree that it can be kinda tricky to see how a crossover would play out when magic is pretty much absent in the httyd universe as opposed to Kirby’s universe being filled with dreams, magic, and ancient technology beyond our wildest imaginations. The closest we’ve ever seen “magic” in the franchise was in one of the Riders of Berk comics where a “witch” casted an eternal night on Berk when all she did was predict when the next solar eclipse would happen, but that wasn’t even magic at all until the gang realized it was all scientific. I do think it’s fun to discuss how magic would interact in the httyd world! Let me know of what other ideas you may have!

Thank you so much! Its been ever so long to speak out my mind about ideas and crossovers like this. It allows me to expand upon my creativity and I humbly thank you for enlightening me on such an interesting concept, my head has been throughly wrapped all around this after the day you introduced the idea!

And I very much agree, with a world that Toothless hailed from where magic is absent it’s no surprise that he’ll also view it as some sort of threat which creates an ever larger wedge between him and the residents of Dreamland. In truth he just doesn’t understand, his fear and confusion is what makes him irrationally stubborn that he cannot begin to fathom or gather the hell hole that he’s in and without Hiccup he feels useless.

As days go by, Toothless becomes weaker and weaker, his hopes on finding Hiccup was waning thin and he was becoming more and more exhausted as days go on. His claws were becoming dull and cracked from his constant searches, muscles tightening till they cramped because he wouldn’t stop from dusk till dawn. No matter how much his stomach pained him from starvation he heaved himself through the thickets of the planet until he finally crashed within a cave, as if his weight was the last thing he’d need to let him know that he couldn’t go on. That he has given up.

It was then as he spent hours laying on the cold floor that Toothless begins to realize of how co-dependent and how incapable he was of making decisions himself without Hiccup’s command to initiate them. Toothless knew from the get-go that he is incapable to fly without hiccup and the many times they have been separated were brief but never has it been longer than this.

He never thought he’d be like this, so helpless, so useless, and it wasn’t like his Alpha status would mean anything in this world that he was in with no dragons to his will.

Toothless felt the same way as he did when he was shot down and lost his fin except he lost something greater and far more painful than loosing flight.

It’s…very depressing I know- at first I’d imagined that’s how it would be for him, but Toothless would soon learn that he wouldn’t get anywhere on this desolate planet without engaging contact with those who lived there. However it left him with fewer options as all the other animals and by-standing enemies fear him of his intimidating stature and raw power. He was a Night Fury after all. It is something that cannot be helped.

For the first time, he makes a decision for himself without having hiccup by his side. He picked himself up from the ground with little strength he had and traveled yet again on a journey to find the four he had encountered previously:

One of roundness and pink hue of a thistle.

One of darkness with wings that resembled his.

One of peaches that wore blue to distinguish himself from the rest of his people.

And the big blue bird who bore red and has such an obnoxious tune…

Despite Toothless’s previous hostility towards them, he wants to make it right. He still doesn’t trust them of course, but they know more than he does and he’ll die if he doesn’t do something about it even if doing so will be difficult on how he dealt with them before.

[theultimateultimateweapon]

Kirby: Meta Knight and the Knight of Hades (Chapter 3)

Kirby, King Dedede, and Waddle Dee boarded the battleship Halberd.

After hearing the story, they were surprised.

“Eh!? The Galaxia has been stolen!?”

“Troublesome, Meta Knight. I guess you weren’t careful…”

Dedede was going to laugh, but when he saw Meta Knight’s enraged mood, he quickly shut his mouth.

“Then, the Meta Knight I found was a fake but his sword was real. This is terrible!” Kirby said with a furious face.

“I hope no one else was hurt with the Galaxia. If it had a heart, I think it would be sad. I’m sorry for the Galaxia!” Waddle Dee was worried.

“He may be doing bad things on other stars. Maybe he’s going to disguise himself as Meta Knight, rampage, and damage Meta Knight’s reputation…”

Captain Vul nodded. “Well, I’m worried about that too. He may be trying to destroy Meta Knight’s honor. We need to act quickly…”

At that time, the communications desk rang.

When Axe Knight hit the switch, a surprising face was projected on the screen.

Captain Vul.

Everyone was shocked, seeing Captain Vul sitting next to Meta Knight.

Taken aback, the eagle stared at his face on the screen.

The Captain Vul on the screen said with a serious look, “Meta Knight, it’s a disaster! I was kidnapped by a bad guy and locked up. That eagle next to you is a fake and is aiming for your life!”

“What did you say!?”

The Meta Knights, upset, compared the two Captain Vuls.

Sword Knight said, stunned, “The voice is the same… which is the real one!?”

Captain Vul, sitting in his seat, shook his fists and shouted. “No, I am real! Don’t be fooled~!”

Captain Vul on the screen also shouted. “Believe me, Meta Knight! I’m the real Vul…”

“Stop this nonsense.” Meta Knight said in a cold voice to the screen. “I know the real Captain Vul is here. What do you want?”

“...”

The Captain Vul on the screen suddenly gave a fearless laugh.

“Hmm, I can’t help it. As you can guess, I’m not Captain Vul. I am the best disguise master in the universe, I can transform into anyone I’ve seen before. I am Beryl.”

“I don’t care about your name. Tell me what you want.”

“It’s about this,” Beryl showed off the Galaxia. “It’s a great sword, just like the legend says. Just swing it lightly and one thing will cut in two!”

Beryl shook the Galaxia and laughed. “If you want this guy to be returned, prepare 10,000 point stars.”

“What?”

“Isn’t this your favorite sword? Compared, 10,000 point stars should be cheap.”

Captain Vul burst into anger and shouted, “You’re asking for a ransom! Monster!”

“Hmm! Don’t you want me to return it? If not, I guess this is mine.”

“Bastard!”

Captain Vul was about to hit the screen until the Meta Knights stopped him in a hurry.

Meta Knight said, “I want the Galaxia back. Tell me where to meet you.”

“Hehehe, you’re different from your subordinates. You seem to understand. The place is the planet Magnus. Come to the southern plains of the largest volcano. Ten thousand point stars, don’t forget.”

The communication was cut.

Kirby spoke. “I can’t believe it! It looked just like Captain Vul, but I couldn’t tell which one was real!”

Captain Vul looked up and said to Meta Knight, “You saw the real eagle without any hesitation! I am deeply moved by this! Thank you, sir!”

Meta Knight nodded silently. 

The knights all whispered.

(There was a fake, but he could tell them apart!)

(That was the coolest thing!)

“Meta Knight,” King Dedede spoke. “Are you really willing to pay all those point stars to that guy?”

“No way,” he replied. “We will regain the Galaxia by any honorable means.”

“In other words, you’re going to take it back with force?”

“It belongs to me!” Behind the mask, the swordsman’s eyes were shining with a strong light.

Planet Magnus.

It’s a rough star with many volcanoes. There are a few inhabitants, and the vegetation is scattered.

The Meta Knights came to the plains on the south side of the largest volcano.

What was waiting there was a sword fighter who looked just like Meta Knight holding the Galaxia.

“He disguised himself as Meta Knight again…!” Blade Knight screamed in anger.

Beryl spoke in Meta Knight’s voice. “There you are. First of all, let’s get the promised 10,000 point stars.”

“Promised? You’re a real rotten guy, you know that?” King Dedede said with a moody face. “You monster, while pretending to be Meta Knight, you rampaged through Dreamland. You should have left us alone. As Dreamland’s ruler, I’m going to make you pay, be prepared…”

“Before you attack, your majesty,” Meta Knight said.

King Dedede raised his hammer and replied. “Just leave this to me.”

“This is my fight. There is no need for you to get involved.”

“But you don’t even have a weapon.”

“I may not have the Galaxia, but this will be enough.” Meta Knight held a regular sword sold at any weapons store.

“With such a puny weapon…”

King Dedede looked dissatisfied, but Captain Vul spoke.

“For Meta Knight, any weapon is powerful. He could even use his bare hands.”

Meta Knight walked towards Beryl.

Kirby and Waddle Dee cheered aloud.

“Go for it, Meta Knight!”

“Rally, rally, Meta Knight!”

Meta Knight was full of rage. Even Kirby and Waddle Dee stopped cheering and took a breath.

However, Beryl did not seem to flinch and held tight the Galaxia.

King Dedede muttered, “He seems to have confidence in his grip, it’s not a bad grip either.”

Sword Knight, annoyed, replied, “That’s just a pose. It just looks strong because he’s imitating Meta Knight!”

While everyone was watching, Meta Knight started.

“Let’s go!” He shouted and leapt at Beryl. He lifted his sword and tried to slash at that moment.

Meta Knight disappeared.

Kirby and the other screamed involuntarily.

“What!? Meta Knight…!”

“He disappeared!?”

Beryl burst into laughter as if he had won. “Fufufu! Hahaha, it was a trap!”

“Wanna… see?”

Kirby and his friends rushed to the points where Meta Knight disappeared. 

There was a deep hole there. It seems there was a thin plate placed on the hole and covered with soil so that it could not be seen. Meta Knight hadn’t noticed and fell in.

“Oh no! Looks like your precious swordsman fell into a pitfall!”

“Meta Knight! Are you okay!?” Captain Vul called to the bottom of the hole, but there was no reply.

Sword Knight shouted, “Pitfalls don’t work for Meta Knight. You may not know, but Meta Knight can fly in the air!”

Beryl laughed louder and louder. “Fufufu! You don’t know anything!”

“What…!?”

“This hole is called ‘Magnus Hades Hole’. It’s so deep that there is a legend that it continues to Hades. Moreover, the hole is filled with poisonous gas.”

“Poisonous gas…!?”

“If you inhale it, your whole body will quickly become numb and you will not be able to move.”

“What did you say…!?”

Kirby and the others were stunned.

The immobile Meta Knight has no choice but to fall to the bottom of the deep, deep hold. And if he keeps breathing the poisonous gas…

“I’ll help him!”

Kirby was absorbed in trying to jump into the hole, but was stopped by King Dedede.

“Knucklehead! The poisonous gas could kill you!”

“But if he stays in there, Meta Knight…!”

“Fufufufu… hahahaha!” Beryl laughed. “Don’t you see? I didn’t come here for some point stars. I want to replace Meta Knight as the number one sword fighter in the galaxy!”

“Monster!”

King Dedede swung his hammer up and attacked Beryl.

Beryl quickly jumped and ran away.

“Wait-!”

Kirby tried to chase after them, but Beryl escaped quickly. He soon lost sight of them.

Captain Vul said, “Kirby, leave them alone. Now, the first thing to do is rescue Meta Knight.”

“Uh, yeah, but how…?”

“Hmm… if only there was a way to get into the hole without inhaling the gas…!”

Captain Vul pondered with his head in his hand.

Axe Knight shouted, “Captain, there’s a hose used for deck cleaning in the warehouse of the Halberd! If it’s long enough, do you think it’ll be useful!?”

“Oh, that’s a good idea!” Captain Vul clapped his hands. “Get the hose right away! Hurry up!”

Kirby and Dedede can both hover in the air. Unfortunately, King Dedede got hungry so Kirby decided to go down into the hole.

“Be careful, Kirby.”

Waddle Dee seemed uneasy, but Kirby cheerfully replied.

“It’s okay! I’ll bring Meta Knight home.”

Captain Vul shouted. “Hurry up, Kirby! We don’t have much time!”

“Alright!”

Kirby grabbed the hose and jumped into the hole.

The inside of the hole was dark and difficult to see.

Kirby went down into the dark at full speed.

He wanted to call to Meta Knight, but he couldn’t speak with the hose in his mouth. In his heart, he kept screaming.

(I’m coming! Hold on Meta Knight!)

As the name Hades Hole suggests, the hole was horribly deep.

There seemed to be no end in sight.

As he went down the rocky interior, the air felt thinner.

(How long does this last… The hose, I wonder if it’s long enough… I might really fall into Hades…)

At that moment, Kirby’s hand finally touched something hard.

(Ah! Meta Knight!)

He reached the bottom of the hole that seemed to continue forever.

Meta Knight was out cold. Even if Kirby shook him, there was no reaction.

(Firmly now…!)

Kirby held the body of Meta Knight tightly with both hands.

He was hovering as hard as he could! He was approaching the light above where everyone was waiting. Kirby sped up.

Rescued by his friend, Meta Knight was immediately brought to the Battleship Halberd.

“Meta Knight! Meta Knight-!”

Captain Vul and his men continued to speak, but Meta Knight’s consciousness did not return. His body temperature was getting lower and lower. He was hardly breathing.

King Dedede said wildly, “Hey, Meta Knight! Buddy, how long are you gonna sleep? Hey, I’ll wake you up!”

Meta Knight’s subordinates rushed to stop him when he raised his hammer.

Captain Vul said. “Calm down, your majesty. You can’t use your hammer, we need a doctor. Find the best doctor in the universe!”

The Meta Knights ran off and began to look in the database.

Kirby and Waddle Dee were sitting in the corner of the lobby drowning in worry.

“...It’s okay, Kirby. Meta Knight will be fine, right…?”

“He’ll be alright. Meta Knight is… strong.” Kirby replied, but his voice was weak.

Sword Knight and Blade Knight called out to him.

“Kirby. Let’s leave this to Captain Vul, we’re going out.”

“Eh? Where are you going?”

“We’ve decided. We’re going to catch this disguise master!”

Their voices were powerful.

Kirby stood up in a heartbeat. “That’s right. We can’t let them get away!”

“I’m going too!” King Dedede interrupted. “I’m not doing this for Meta Knight, I just don’t like that disguise guy! I’m gonna have to hit him with my hammer. And…”

Dedede was quiet.

“If he’s still disguised as Meta Knight, making him bruised will feel all the much better.”

“...Sheesh, what a guy.” Sword Knight was disappointed, but regardless, the goal was set.

Captain Vul came in. “Meta Knight will be saved. You guys go take care of this business! Go on!”

“Leave it to us!” Kirby nodded loudly.

(Chapter 2 - Table of Contents - Chapter 4)

[localfanficwriterrainbow]

Take Care of Yourself

CW: many mentions of food- just be aware. Otherwise, enjoy!

-

They had the house to themselves.

Ethel Teavee was out on… some sort of trip. She wanted a break from her “stressful life,” as she put it, leaving Mike with the house to himself.

So what did he do?

He invited his boyfriend over.

Augustus and Mike sat on the couch, waiting in baited breath at a paused screen. They had just finished a Kirby game, and had decided to 100% it. The two nodded and counted down mentally before…

There it was. The beautiful display on the file said none other than 100%

The two stood up and cheered excitedly. They’d been working on this game for a few days, and they finally had it! There it was! In the rush of the moment, Augustus picked up Mike and spun him around, the two laughing in celebration. It was then that Augustus noticed something.

He shifted Mike into a bridal carry, tossing him a bit once or twice. His expression shifted into one of more concern. Mike was still laughing, but slowly came to a stop when he opened his eyes and looked up at Augustus. He was about to ask what was going on, but his boyfriend cut him off.

“When did you eat last?”

That… wasn’t the question Mike was expecting. Well, he guessed it didn’t really matter. Maybe Augustus just wanted to have a late lunch?

“I mean- I had some chips earlier I guess-“

“No, Mike- an actual meal.”

“Uhh.. Like yesterday? I made a sandwich and stuff for dinner.”

“…and?”

“And that’s it?”

“…Mike. It feels like I’m holding a thing of grapes right now.” Augustus stated in a flat tone, contradictory to his usual upbeat self. Mike simply shrugged.

“Yeah, well, I get busy.”

“Busy? With what?

“My games! There’s so much to do, I typically don’t have time to make something.”

Augustus internally facepalmed, but was also shocked. He had to make sure of something- he set Mike down back on the couch and stood in front of him.

“How do you eat throughout the day?”

“I-uh.. I make something for lunch and just throw something together for dinner. Nothing too bad, I guess.”

“And breakfast?”

“I don’t eat it- there’s usually no time when school starts up, so I’m used to not eating in the mornings.” Mike stated simply.

Augustus paused, staring at his boyfriend. An idea came to mind, and he began making his way out of the room. “I’ll be right back. You can play a few solo minigames!” He called.

Mike looked on in confusion. “Uh… okay..? Sure..” He set up one of the minigames, and began playing on his own, trying to beat his high score.

Meanwhile, Augustus made his way to the kitchen. He looked through what the Teavees really even had to eat before finding something more simple. He took out two servings of pasta and pasta sauce and began cooking. The boy was used to the place already, which was most certainly a bonus when it came to finding kitchen utensils.

After awhile, Augustus called for Mike. Mike paused whatever he was on and made his way downstairs, only to be greeted with the smell of spaghetti and his boyfriend sitting across from his usual spot at the table. He took a seat.

“This looks great, babes, but what brought this on?” Mike asked, taking a seat. Augustus sighed.

“Liebling, you don’t have a healthy meal schedule. So, I’m here to change that!” He began diving into and explanation as the two ate together, hoping Mike would understand.

Mike was.. unsure. However, seeing how happy it made Augustus, he couldn’t say no.

“I mean- you’re not my mom, you know.”

Augustus sighed. “I’m not your mom. But, I’m your boyfriend and I still care about you and your health.”

That was.. difficult to argue. The two continued to converse throughout, shifting from topic to topic. They found themselves cuddled up and asleep soon enough. By the time morning arrived, Augustus already had breakfast on the table for the two of them.

After awhile, they found themselves on the couch, watching some TV show they both enjoyed. Mike had his head on Augustus’s lap, with one hand in his stomach and the other dangling off of the couch. Augustus absentmindedly played with Mike’s hair.

“So.. how are you feeling?” Augustus asked.

“Honestly? Kinda nauseous.” Mike responded, a bitter look on his face.

“I’m sorry, schatz. You’ll get used to it eventually. I’ll make sure of it.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Mike’s forehead. The other blushes. “I’m really proud of you.”

“…thanks.”

“For what?”

“For.. Y’know- looking out for me.”

“Of course! I always will, and I know you’ll do the same for me.”

“…I guess you’re right.”

“I know I am.”

Mike laughed playfully, and the two continued on from there. Since that day, Augustus made sure Mike had a full three meals per day. As time passed, as promised, Mike grew used to the routine.

Ethel Teavee was out again for a day, and the two found themselves eating lunch at the table. Once it was over, Augustus suddenly picked up Mike and smiled.

“This is what I was expecting!” He beamed.

Mike couldn’t help but smile back.

-

A/N: If I used those German terms incorrectly, please tell me so I can fix them. I don’t mean to use them improperly if I did

[thestarswhim]

You know, with Animaniacs having been getting a whole lot more attention again, and with me and my sis reading Scoob and Shag, it got us thinking about what the Warners’ ballyhoos might be. 👁️👁️

So, please take a seat, get comfortable, and read what me and my sister have come up with~

Our first idea was that their ballyhoos would be connected in some way which I'll expand more on as we go. For now, I'll explain how each of theirs work.

Starting with,

✨Yakko Warner✨

Ballyhoo: "Manifest Melody"

As we've seen, this fella likes to sing and tries to at any given opportunity. A lot of songs when it comes to these types of cartoons are either informational, or just tell it how it is (i.e, the events that are happening at the moment, what a character is feeling, like telling a story; basically a musical to put it all simply).

So, whatever Yakko sings, it'll basically happen. If he sung about an anvil falling on someone's head, well then an anvil will appear out of nowhere and fall on that person's head, if they don't manage to dodge in time, that is.

He can only go as far as manifesting physical things into reality and being able to alter the area in some ways (if he were to sing about someone about to fall into a ditch, then a random ditch can suddenly appear in the ground and the character would most likely fall in).

It’s possible he could change the way someone feels. The character would still have full control of themselves, but if Yakko were to sing about how sad and frustrated they must be feeling, then their emotions would embrace that feeling which would possibly make it harder for the character to focus on what they were doing before.

Yakko can’t, however, make it so that he could instantly win. Singing about a character losing won’t just make a character lose, it’ll take a lot more than that, sadly (he doesn’t mind, though, it wouldn’t be fun that way lol). He can’t just make a character simply die, either. 

So, it’s all based on physical things, and he’d only be able to affect a character themselves by emotions alone. If he wanted to physically hurt the character or something like that, he would have to sing out about that anvil or that ditch in the ground, etc.

His singing has to have a flow with the words and rhythm and such, because if it doesn’t, then it simply won’t work. Whatever he made happen while he was singing will reset after he stops using his ballyhoo (meaning, whatever items were there would go away, but stuff like the ditch would stay. It is only physical objects that would disappear). It’s similar to how once a song is over, everything that happened during it would kinda be dismissed and the characters would move on as if they didn’t just have the grandest dance number in the middle of the street. 

Of course, the best way to stop him would be to just find a way to keep his mouth shut which many find difficult because it’s flippin’ Yakko Warner.

All right!! His took a lot to explain, but the next two will be more shorter. ^^

Next sibling is...

✨Wakko Warner✨

Ballyhoo: "Infinite Crave”

It's literally like how Kirby works: his stomach is a huge, never ending, spatial void, a whole other dimension.

Wakko can eat anything and it'll just, y'know, stay in that stomach of a void until he brings it out whenever he wants. It's like a hammerspace except that hammerspace is his stomach LOL

He could spit things out like bullets if he wanted to, and yes, he could inhale things up like a vacuum.

The possibilities on how he'd use it are endless~

He only has a void when he's using his ballyhoo, other than that he has a regular ol' stomach.

Wow that was much shorter LOL, I'm sure there's more to be said, but for now we'll keep it as is. 👍

And now, last, but definitely not least...

✨Dot Warner✨

Ballyhoo: "Lady's Purse"

We both noticed that Dot is the one to use her hammerspace the most (at least in the reboot). She just whips out whatever at any given time. So, we thought she would be the one who perfects the technique of the whole thing; has a better grip on the concept.

Just like a lady's purse, anything can be in it, and so Dot could have anything on her, and bring it out however. Her main weapon is obviously her trademark hammer.

Just for fun she would bring out the smallest, slimmest hand purse ever and take out a car out of it or something just ironically huge and bulky.

Her "hammerspace" isn't as vast as Wakko's "whole other dimension," but whatever she can think of, she's able to bring out (while Wakko has to collect all his stuff externally and store them up).

She can only bring out items, objects, and the like. It can't be an actual person, if anything, it'd be a figurine of the person or something. 😂

Whatever she brings out can't be placed back because, though she can use whatever items as they should be used, they're only basically based on her imagination, so once she uses it, it'll just poof away afterwards, as if it didn't exist (similar to what would happen with Yakko). Just like how certain gags work in cartoons.

If she didn't want to worry about an item being poofed away, she'd use whatever Wakko's got as he can keep using the same items over and over again since he'd just bring whatever out, and after he's done, eat it.

Okay! After describing everyone individually, lets talk about how they could be connected in certain ways.

I kind of already explained it in Dot’s section how she would sometimes use whatever Wakko has got, and mostly he’d have to bring whatever item out and she’d use it.

Buuut, she’s also able to connect to Wakko’s “dimension” and use whatever items from there by taking it out of her own “Lady’s Purse.” It only works when they’re both together, so if they’re separated, she won’t be able to do that.

It’s a good trick to use on an “enemy” if said enemy already knew about how Dot’s ballyhoo worked and be surprised when whatever item she brought out doesn’t poof afterwards.

It’s the same case with Yakko. If he had to get specific about some things, and if Wakko was with him, then Yakko could bring out whatever items from Wakko just by singing, and it would pop up wherever Yakko sings it would pop up (no need for Wakko to spit it out, yaaay). The items used from Wakko would then stay after, like I said with Dot.

Basically, Wakko’s their storage unit LOL And so they’re all aware with what Wakko has stored, but only when they’re together.

Nothing is different when it’s Yakko and Dot, but they do work well together (despite all the arguments that may ensue). She joins in on the singing, helping things happen with her in the mix of it, and it also helps her think up some items to use. Of course, Wakko joins in on the singing, too, and all three of them are just nuisances and we love them.

They’re also more aware meta wise when all three are together. They might notice a speech bubble once in awhile, or look to the audience like they’re in The Office, but it’s nothing serious, they just have fun with it.

Also, I’m pretty sure being locked in the tower would do things.

-

ANYWHO That’s all! I’m sorry if this looks all messy, or if I didn’t explain things well enough, we’re still figuring out some things in the process ourselves, but I think we got the general thing out all in all. 

With all that said, YA WANT SOME ART MADE BY MY WONDERFUL SISTER? These are just sketches more so on their designs, and she gave the okay to show them! :D

Warning: instances of blood are shown

-

She said she might draw more stuff for it, and I'll force her to make an account LOL (/lh), so tune in next time!!

Goodnight, everybody!!

[typical-simplelove]

Enemies to lovers with Kirby please

A/n: I made this into another mini 3+1 because why not? This is kind of enemies to lovers, but also not really (sorry). Again, sorry for this request taking a while to get written; Kirby isn’t someone I periodically think about, so it was difficult to get the inspiration and ideas to write for him. Enjoy!

One

You were sitting in a coffee shop enjoying your day off; you were hoping to have the day to be able to just relax. Instead, however, your relaxing day off didn’t end up that way. You were sitting with your back to the counter and failed to notice and acknowledge the rowdy group behind you. You had your headphones in your ears listening to a podcast as you typed away on your computer. You were about to start a new paragraph when you jumped up from your chair and screamed. Someone spilled their very cold and very icy cold brew down your back.

“What the hell?” you say turning around. You look to see who the guilty party was and see a man who’s probably your age wearing a Chicago sweatshirt holding an empty cup.

“Look, I didn’t mean to,” he tells you. “I’m really sorry; I didn’t mean to.”

“Yeah, it’s okay,” you tell him. So much for an enjoyable and relaxing day.

“Kirby,” he tells you as you’re packing up your things.

“Mhm,” you say annoyed. You really didn’t care about him, and you didn’t care to know his name.

“And you are?” he asks in a cocky and teasing tone.

“A human being,” you answer annoyed.

“Yeah, I know that, but what’s your name?”

“A word.”

Kirby looks at you, and his eyes light up. He seems to think you’re making a game out of this, but you’re not. You’re wet, tired, and want to go home. “What word are you called by?”

“Can’t you catch on that I don’t really want to get to know you, and I’m not going to tell you my name?” you say annoyed.

“I gave you my name,” Kirby says to you with a raised eyebrow.

“That doesn’t mean I owe you anything,” you tell him accusingly.

He nods. “Yeah, I guess. Can I take you out for coffee then?”

Your head snaps up quickly and glared at Kirby. “What is wrong with you? Can’t you realize that I don’t want to talk to you or have anything to do with you?”

“Yeah, okay,” Kirby tells you. You were about to walk away from the table and out the door when Kirby made one last comment that made your blood boil. “Most girls find me irresistible, so I bet you’re going to be the same way soon.”

You roll your eyes and walk out the door. You hope you never see Kirby ever again.

Two

After the disaster of your day off in the coffee shop, you went to a park to try to have a better day. You sat on a picnic blanket while you read a book. It was a sunny day out, so you were squinting your eyes to see the pages.

All of a sudden, though, the sun was blocked out. You look up and groan when you see who it is.

“Pretty woman who I accidentally spilled coffee on,” Kirby says. He sits down next to you on your picnic blanket and you glare at him. “What?”

“Why are you sitting on my blanket, Kirby?” you spit out. “I didn’t invite you to sit with me.”

“Oh, hey! You remember my name! I still don’t have your name, by the way.”

“And you’re not getting it.”

“Come on, really?”

You don’t answer him; you just turn back to your book and ignore Kirby. You get to the end of the chapter when Kirby opens his mouth and speaks again.

“So, what’re you reading?” he asks.

“A book.”

Kirby rolls his eyes. “I can see that.”

“So, you can see visible things, but not the very obvious sign that I don’t want to have anything to do with you?”

“I can see that,” Kirby says as he stares out into the horizon.

“Then why are you still here?” you ask annoyed.

“Because I’m irresistible, and I’m giving you the opportunity to admit it.”

You suddenly stand up annoyed. “Keep the blanket; I don’t want it anymore.”

“Why not?” Kirby asks confused.

“Because it reminds me of how much I can’t stand you,” you tell Kirby and walk away. Irresistible? Yeah, you weren’t sure about that.

Three

“Well, well, well, look who it is,” a male voice says from behind you. You turn to see who it is, and your mood immediately deflates.

“Kirby.”

“I’d say your name, but you have yet to give it to me.”

“And it’s going to remain that way.”

“Oh, yn, who’s this?” your friend asks as she walks up to you. “Also, you should definitely go to the washroom here; it’s super nice.” You and your friend were meeting at a restaurant to catch up; it was your turn to pay for dinner, so you were standing at the counter to pay when Kirby walked up to you.

“Oh, so your name is Yn?” Kirby asks and turns to your friend. “Hi, I’m Kirby,”

“Oh, you’re Kirby,” she says. “You’re a lot more attractive than Yn made you out to be.”

“What did she say I looked like?”

“A heinous troll,” you answer for your friend.

“Be nice, yn,” your friend loudly whispers to you. “She’s single, so you should ask her out,” she says to Kirby.

“Not interested,” you say.

“Please?” Kirby asks giving you puppy eyes, but you just stare at him. Who does he think he is?

“No, Kirby, because you’ve been nothing but an ass towards me, so tell me, why would I want to go on a date with you?”

Kirby’s facial expression softens into remorse and regret. “Look, I’m sorry; I never meant to be that way.”

You narrow your eyes at Kirby. “Sure.”

“Look, you have to believe me.”

You don’t say anything for a long moment. “Maybe.”

“A date?”

“No, and I have to go; bye, Kirby.”

You and your friend walk out of the restaurant. “What’s wrong with him?” your friend asks you.

“He’s been terrible to me, so why would I want to go out with him?”

“Because he likes you. Just give him a chance if you see him again.”

You don’t say anything but take a moment to think about what your friend said. Despite Kirby annoying you, he was attractive, and you always went home wishing you did get his number or something. “maybe.”

One

You were sitting in the same coffee shop hoping for a relaxing day off, finally. You were reading another book while you sip on your coffee.

“I believe this is for you,” someone says as they sit down across from you. You look at what this person was handing you and notice it’s your picnic blanket. You look up and briefly smile when you notice who it is.

“Kirby,” you say. “What can I do for you?”

“Yn,” he says. “I want to give this back to you and apologize for the way I’ve acted.”

You nod. “I forgive you, and thank you for bringing back my picnic blanket; I’ve missed it.”

Kirby smiles. “If I may, can we start over?”

You smile at Kirby. “Sure.”

He animatedly lets out a breath of air and flashes you a wink. “Thank goodness. Hello, I’m Kirby.”

“Hi, Kirby, I’m Yn.”

“Well, Yn, may I buy you a cup of coffee?”

“Um, actually, I’m just on my way out, but maybe another time?”

Kirby’s smiles falter slightly at your response. “Sure, why don’t we exchange phone numbers and pick a time to meet?”

“Yeah, that’d be great!” you say and pull out your phone to exchange phone numbers.

“So, I’ll see you soon?” you ask after you exchange phone numbers, and you’re on your way out.

Kirby smiles at you. “Yeah, it’s a date!”

Taglist: @goalision @coffee-ontherocks @glassdanse @barzal-burakovsky @petey-patty @beauvibaby @boqvistsbabe @rmaye @heatherawoowoo @heaveniish @stars-canucks @tkapuckit @mellany1997 @nhlboyshavemyhart88 @heybarzy @2manytabsopen @besthockeyfics @plds2000 (Join my taglist here!)

[inky-duchess]

Things Writers can learn from Scream

The Scream Franchise though it does have its flaws is actually one of my favourite film sagas. Wes Craven's features have taught teenagers around the world how to avoid slaughter from a masked fiend but as writers what can we learn from the master of horror himself?

Being Meta

Meta is the termed coined for when a particular work takes an opportunity to comment on its genre. Scream is a whole film that spends its entire run poking fun at the horror genre itself. The characters lampshade clichés (Randy has this role over the main trilogy), insult their foils in similar works (Sidney roasting all other final girls as big breasted bimbos for example) and the whole work is unafraid to really poke fun at itself. The comments on the genre, characters and story itself are refreshing but meta references are like salt, too much spoils any dish. Though the concept of Scream is a meta commentary on the horror genre as a whole, the films know when to quit. There is no point beating the audience over the head with commentary. If your story is a journey, any meta reference is a treat of some McDonald's. If you as a writer, chooses to comment on the genre you're currently writing or want to make comment on real world issues, there is nobody stopping you but coose your battles.

Genre Rules

So Scream runs on a very simple formula. Each film follow a series of rules, lampshading that very horror film/ trilogy + reboot does indeed follow formulas. For example- Rules to succesfully survive a horror movie: Never have sex (virgins usually survive these situations). Never drink or do drugs. You will nearly always die if you say "I'll be right back", "Hello?" or "Who's there?". Sequels- The body count (or volume of action) is always bigger. The death scenes (plot points) are always much more elaborate. Never assume the Killer/villain is defeated. The final chapter of a trilogy- The Killer (antagonist) will be more difficult to defeat. Anyone can die (the stakes will go up). The past will bite you in the ass (the past will catch up with a character or prove to be the undoing of the antagonist). Remakes- Don't fuck with the original. As writers, we have to face the truth- all genres have rules and expectations. Don't clock yourself for being unoriginal if your WIP falls into a category. But that doesn't mean we are constrain. You have rules in the genre but that doesn't mean you can't bend them. Sidney has sex in the first film, Randy drinks at the party, Gale says "I'll be back", even Joel the camera guy lampshading that diverse characters don't often make it through to the climax. The audience expects them to die and they are spared, which is a refreshing turn of events.

Red Herring

Scream is also a whodunit at heart. Ghostface is a persona taken on by many antagonists over the four films. Most of the films keep up the suspense by teasing characters as the possible killer. Red herrings is a literary trick devised to mislead the audience and sometimes characters from deducing the truth too easily. In the first film, we are given more than our fair share of red herrings. The most masterful red herring is Billy Loomis. The film makes a hard go of planting the idea that he is the killer: a phone falls out of his pocket after Ghostface has chased Sidney around the house, a tendency appear when Ghostface has suddenly vanished from a crime scene, and acts so creepy, that the audience assumes he isn't actually the killer and the writers are trying to distract us. It all comes to a head when Ghostface stabs him during the final bloodbath right after Sidney plants one last seed of doubt in our heads. While Sidney runs around trying not to die, the audience and no doubt Sidney, feels bad for doubting Billy. But in a twist, he has faked his death and is one of two killers. Multiple characters over the franchise are used as red herrings: the overzealous blade happy Principal Himbry, Dewey who is nearly always absent when Ghostface calls, Derek who is a red Herring by default because we naturally suspect the boyfriend after Billy, Kincaid's knowledge of horror and his popping up odd times, Deputy Judy for her creepy behavior and knowledge of the prior crimes, Billy-Loomis-expy Trevor in Scream 4. Make the audience look left while you hit them from the right. 

Pov trick Shots

So I've spoken about how much I love multiple POVs and all the tricks you can play with them. And Scream 2 provides the best example. All throughout the film, reporters gather about our characters trying to get interviews. Gale and Cotton are both approached by Debbie Salt, a seemingly nondescript background character who is likely there to get killed for entertainment value. Then comes the climax and she strides into view carrying a gun. The audience and Fake don't understand at first but Sidney sure does and she would, as Debbie Salt is Mrs. Loomis. Sid could recognise Mrs Loomis despite her lost weight (Gale only clicks after the fact) but Sidney never meets Mrs Loomis until the end of the film.  Had she met her before or stumbled across her, the film would be over in seconds most likely.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is when the events of a story are lampshades before they happen. Scream is one of the top works that does this well. On the topic of Mrs Loomis, she is foreshadowed so heavily that it almost is laughable when you rewatch it: Randy says that the killer could be somebody other than a white male citing Mrs Vorhees as his prime example (Mrs Loomis is the first Ghostface's mom), Randy is then rather savagely slain in a frenzied attack in broad daylight after badmouthing Billy and then she even foreshadows her own identity by claiming before other reporters that the new Ghostface could be from Woodsboro. In Scream 3, Randy's sister - who we didn't know existed- suddenly shows up with all the answers foreshadowing the reveal that Roman is Sidney's half brother and holds the answers to why all the killings happened. In Scream, Randy jokingly tells Stu that he'll see him in the kitchen with a knife after flaunting the 'I'll be right back' rule - and Stu ends up there, wielding a knife.

Characters

The thing with franchises like this, is that they often bring in new characters to surround the main character as they go through their travails. In the first Scream, Sidney has Tatum, Stu, Billy and Randy as friends. We see them interact with Sidney and other characters, they have personalities and their deaths actually impact us. Each of these characters shine on their own though Tatum is perhaps the flattest of the first group of friends but her rapport with Sidney and Dewey saves her and makes her death impactful. The background characters of Scream 2, we're introduced to Hallie, Derek and Mikey. Mikey did not have enough screen time for the audience to attach themselves to, he's merely as Randy puts it "the creepy film student". Hallie can only be seen around Sidney and does little except support Sidney. Derek does venture out of his supporting role, with having a goal (winning Sidney's trust), having a personality (his humour with his song) and being seen without Sidney (when the frat kidnap him). In Scream 4, almost every supporting character is ridiculously clichéd. You have the douchey guy (Trevor), the nerd (Robbie/Charlie), the edgy cool girl (Kirby), the pretty one (Olivia). The only one who makes any sort of impact is Kirby for showing us some personality and her death is actually hurtful. If you're going to introduce new characters to a story, they cannot be statuesque. They are people too. They need drive, personalities, lives outside the MC's life, goals of their own and should be seen acting as independent entities if they are to be taken seriously as characters.

[vanessakirbyfans]

Some may remember British actress Vanessa Kirby, 32, as Princess Margaret in the first two seasons of the TV series The Crown, or as black-market arms dealer White Widow in Mission: Impossible-Fallout, with Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt. This year she received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress in a Drama from the journalists of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for her performance in Pieces of a Woman, by Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó, a role which had already earned her the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at last year’s Venice Film Festival. She costars with Katherine Waterston in The World to Come, by Norwegian filmmaker Mona Fastvold, which also premiered in Venice, and won the Queer Lion award for Best LGBTQ-Themed Film.

The story of Pieces of a Woman is based on a tragic loss that really happened to the director and his wife, Kata Wéber, who wrote the screenplay. What did they communicate to you about their experience?

I knew that for Kornél and Kata this was a personal story, I didn’t know exactly the circumstances of how they lost a baby, but as we started approaching the movie, they did share that with me. I felt that it came from such a viscerally deep part of Kata and from a real need to share and break the silence around something that for women is so rarely talked about. So, this was a quite therapeutic journey for them, and it was very healing, between them as a couple, to go through this process. I literally saw that every day on set, the conversation that was happening between them, the facing of really painful moments, and their very different grieving experiences. That taught me a lot actually because when you go through any kind of loss or trauma, everyone processes it differently, but sharing that it’s healing, so we always hoped that the film would offer some small comfort for people out there who might need it.

Ellen Burstyn plays your mother in the film. What was it like for you to work with such an experienced actress and to get to know her as a person?

Ellen has always been such an icon in my life and such a legend, I’ve seen all of her performances, and she reminds me of Gena Rowlands, who’s also one of my favorite actresses. She has such a fire as an actress, such a strong energy and presence, and yet you always feel this vulnerability, this fragility, underneath. So, I was excited to go head-to-head with Ellen, because she’s done so many incredible films and she’s head of the Actors’ Studio. It was amazing to work with her and actually, we became really good friends. During rehearsals she invited me over to her house for a sleepover, she called it a pajama party, and we really bonded, we spent many hours talking, we went to bed at 3 am. Since then, we’ve been really close, and she’s definitely very maternal towards me. She’s such a soulful spiritual person and she’s so wise, that I’m very lucky to have her in my life.

In The World to Come you play a farmer’s wife living in Upstate New York during the 1850s. What did you discover about how women lived back then?

When I was researching the film, I couldn’t believe how ignorant I was that, not that long ago, women were completely owned by their husbands, that the home was your domain, you should serve your husband in his home and the children that you had, that it was your husband’s choice what you did with your time, what your name was and everything. That was the law, that was the religion and the way it was. In those days it was all about convention, what you were expected to do, who you were told to be by society and by the structures of a completely patriarchal system. These women, who are literally our ancestors in a way, had to make so many sacrifices and simply didn’t have the choices in their lives that we have now. So that made me incredibly grateful for the choices that I have today, whether it’s what I do with my afternoon or who I love, or how freely I can love. So, I felt very passionate about that story.

Did you come to understand some of the elements that make it so liberating for women to have romantic or sexual relationships with other women as opposed to relationships with men?

Mona Fastvold, the director, told us that these relationships between women have always been there, throughout history, and it’s important to tell those stories now, because, even in times when it was almost completely impossible, there would have been moments when two humans really wanted to be together and didn’t have the choice to be able to, because the only union that should happen is between a man and woman. I’m really proud of the film because it’s a brief moment in these women’s lives, when they are seen for who they really are and they really connect, they feel what they should have a right to feel, and they had the courage to actually do it and to be true to who they were.  The film is an ode to those women, like a cry for them in a way. I really imagined all those moments in life that may have been lit up by a person or something that made you feel so free in yourself, and you may have had that only for a moment, because of the system and the restrictions on who you were allowed to be by society.

We have all had a very difficult year, because of the Covid pandemic, and many other problems in the world. What have been some of your thoughts during this time, and do you hope that this crisis could bring about a change for a better future?

Yes, this last year has been so hard on everyone, and so much of it has been about readjusting. We’ve all had a year, when in many different ways there has been loss and our idea of how our life always has been having completely changed, for everyone across the whole planet. I finished filming Pieces of a Woman about a week before the pandemic happened, and we filmed The World to Come right before that, and both films were about the loss of a child, so they strangely seem spiritually linked. They are also both about women who don’t have voices, so I felt like they were giving voice to a female experience that is so rarely if ever, depicted and represented on the screen. Doing those films definitely left me with a sense of hope, that we can come to terms with tragedies and come out of them stronger somehow, whether that means that we’re more united or more compassionate, that we feel more empathy or more solidarity with what every single person is facing right now across the world. That’s what I hope.

[coffee-n-bagels-comic-universe]

The Salem House or The Scottish Cottage

Quick Tag List: @kuruumiya @spacelizardtrashboys @stupidbluegirl @enigmaticandunstable @nattinngrst

This Passage Contains Potentially: swearing, violence, blood, angst, whump, fluff and smutty content.

Summary: Rod and Kirby move in to their new cottage home in Salem, Oregon.

Kirby's POV:

Rod blindfolded me with one of his ties and drove our rented van out to the property, taking off my blindfold in front of the house.

"There it is, our new home," he twirled the keys around his index finger, "all ours now, Kirbs."

There it was, white panel exterior with fancy windows and lights along both sides of the gravel path towards the house. Without thinking I pulled Rod into a hug and kissed him, tears of happiness rolling down my cheek.

"Woah, baby, are ya alright sweetheart?"

"I love it, and I love you and-" Upon hearing that, Rod hoisted me over his shoulder, "Woah, Roddy, what are you doing?"

"Taking you inside and carrying you to the one room I know you're gonna love."

He carried me through the front double doors, through the foyer and then the kitchen, before carrying me past the television and sofa, past what I believe is the ground floor bathroom and up the stairs, letting me get a glance at the basement staircase as we went up to the top floor of our new home.

He then put me down in front of a pale green door with a childish or childlike, chalk or pastel drawing on the front.

I turned the handle slowly, not knowing what to expect.

Then I saw it.

The lone white bassinet.

Surrounded by soft toys and things you'd assume would be in a nursery.

"The former owners said that they're daughter was gonna move in before she moved to L.A. They knew she had a baby and set this room up. I'm gonna be honest with ya and tell ya that I let a couple tears slip when I saw this room ma-self, so I completely understand if you need a moment alone."

"Rod, Roddy, as much as I hate the weird wallpaper in the foyer, this room is," I took a second to compose myself, "It's perfect."

"Do ya wanna see our bedroom?"

"Yeah."

Rod showed me around the rest of the house before going into the basement.

"There's no attic, so the basement will have to do if we want to store anything anywhere."

The basement was large, the only room separated off from the rest of the basement was another bathroom. I walked to the opposite side of the basement and stopped in my tracks.

"What's wrong babe?"

"They have a hot tub?!"

"What?"

Rod walked over to me, also stopping upon seeing the hot tub in it's own corner of the basement, separate from the gym equipment and rugs and the very empty basement.

"What d'ya reckon they use that for?" Rod asked, teasing me slightly.

"No, Rod, eww, that's gross, you wouldn't dare suggest that!"

"Hot tub sex, babe, it's a thing."

"We are not doing that. Ever!"

"We are alone in the house, you know." He started unbuckling his belt, chucking it as well as his sporran down at his feet, "I know we've gotta fly back to the other side of the country later, but, right now, we're home, honey," He started walking towards me, whipping his jacket and shirt off, leaving him in his kilt and boots as he ran his hand through his hair, letting out a deep guttural sigh.

"I guess we could test out the new bed, Roddy." I started unbuttoning my shirt, exposing the peach toned tank top underneath.

"Or, We could have sex right here and now," He suggested, whipping his kilt off and in true Scottish fashion, revealing nothing but his bare body below.

He unclenched his hand, showing off the fact that he had brought a condom with him.

By the time we got to Taunton, Massachusetts on the first of March, Roddy had set aside some time for us to redecorate the house, and by the time we actually got around to redecorating, Roddy had recruited the rest of the D.O.D as well a Schultz, Orton and Orndorff to help us. We had met back at the house on the Eleventh (of March) and unbeknownst to me, Piper had made a couple calls to his friends from back in his NWA and Mid Atlantic days.

"Woo!"

"He didn't." Schultz grunted out, partly worried and partly surprised.

"He didn't do what �� David?"

Schultz guided me outside to meet the guys.

"Piper! introduce ya wife to the boys, I'll go grab us some beer."

"I'm not his wife," I called after him as he walked back inside, "So, Roddy, who are these guys."

Rod leant up to kiss me, he would have backed me into the nearest wall if I didn't pull away immediately after, concern taking over any hint of a flirtatious mood in me.

"Who's this fine female?"

I recognised the voice from the yell earlier.

"Ric, this is my girlfriend, Kirby. Kirby, this is Ric Flair. Over there," he gestured to the other four, "Are Tully Blanchard, with the black hair, JJ Dillon, the other blonde looking one and Ole and Arn Anderson."

"Are they here to help or are they here to distract you?"

"The only thing distracting me is the idea of seeing you na-"

I covered Rod's mouth with my hand and gave Ric a sheepish smile, "I apologise for my hus, I mean boyfriend's attitude Ric."

"You almost said husband, Kirbs." Rod whispered to me as we led the boys inside, before he took me aside.

"It was a slip of the tongue."

"I'm sorry, about the kiss, I got a bit jealous because I know what Ric can be like, with women in particular."

"Rod, you shouldn't have to apologise for that, I love ya. I was going to start looking for you anyway, what d'ya want for lunch?"

"Don't you worry about that, I'll go grill those hamburgers we have in the fridge and … hey look, beer."

"Thank you, David."

"Anytime, Tall-ass."

"Look, babe, I'll deal with it alright, you stop worrying and I'll deal with it. I'm the man of the house so I'll deal with it."

I came up behind Roddy, putting my head on his shoulder and wrapping my arms around his waist, kissing his neck.

"I'm gonna go rest for a bit Rod, my head feels funny."

"Baby, baby come here."

Rod helped me upstairs, making sure I didn't fall over and letting me lay on the bed.

"We have today and tomorrow here baby, relax."

"Rod, you know me, you know I wind myself up with worry."

"I know," He brushed his thumbs over my knuckles, "I'm gonna get you some hand wraps or something, stop punching things until ya knuckles bleed."

"I thought you were gonna go cook."

"I am, but, right now, I'm taking in every little detail of the woman I love."

"You softie."

"Oh really? I'm soft. You worry way more than me baby."

"I love you, Roddy."

"I love you too, Kirby."

I slept for a short while until I was woken up by Piper and Schultz yelling obscenities at each other. I ran down the stairs and outside the house to see the two grown men squabbling like children.

Without saying anything I picked Roddy up by his midsection and took him back inside, chucking him down on the sofa.

"I'm gonna fuckin-"

"Roderick!"

"Yes, baby."

"You are drunk, and shut up."

"Yes, Sweetheart."

I helped Roddy up, almost gagging at how strong the smell of alcohol was coming from him, swiftly avoiding his attempts at kissing me and placing my hand over his mouth.

By the Thirteenth we were back working and Rod had started to get fidgety around me until things came to a head on the Thirtieth.

"Rod, are you alright, you've been awfully quiet today."

"I'm fine baby, actually, Kirby?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to be on Piper's Pit?"

"When?"

"Sunday, Yes or No?"

"This Sunday?"

"Yeah."

"Well, there's your answer."

"Wait, you'll do it."

"Of fucking course I'll do it. I don't give a fuck what Damien says."

He let out a chuckle as I pulled into the hotel parking lot.

"How's the Visa status going?"

"It's good, I'll hopefully be a US citizen before the end of May."

"So, May, you'll be a citizen, so," He mumbled to himself for a short while, "Alright, cool."

Before long it was time for me to be on Piper's Pit, fully expecting Roddy to do something and cause a ruckus to occur.

"Well, I'd just like you to know, it's a pleasure to have our first, female, guest on Piper's Pit. I want you to know that I asked every single female in the entire WWF if they would be on the Pit and only one of them said 'yes' to me. The only woman with enough guts to face me with 'Gluttony' herself, Kirby Lucifarian. Kirby, I would like to thank you for being brave enough to come out here and face me. I had Captain Lou on here last week and he said something vague about you and your sisters protecting Lauper. Why would a woman like you, someone who doesn't smoke, doesn't swear, doesn't drink, or shack up with skinny little idiots like Dave Wolff, Why would a great and accomplished female wrestler like you offer her protection to Lauper?"

"First of all, Piper, thank you for having me on here."

"My pleasure."

"Secondly, I was going to let you unmask me, but you showed support of Big John Studd, A man I greatly despise for his disrespect of both me and André."

"I am sorry for going back on that unspoken promise, Miss Lucifarian."

"Thank you for the apology, Roddy, Thirdly, may I say that I did not offer my services of protection to Miss Lauper, instead that was my father who told, Miss Lauper, that the D.O.D would protect her. Why on earth would a woman with an intelligence that rivals, yours for example, protect a girl like Cyndi Lauper?"

"I don't admire a lot of women, but you, I like you. I admire your intelligence, your ability to strike fear into the hearts of men with your words alone. I know that you have been searching for your next challenging opponent, and I for one don't wanna offer myself up, I just want to know how difficult it has been for the past few weeks going without a challenging enough opponent for your skill level?"

"Well, Piper, it's been tough, honestly, I think I may have scared everyone off. As someone who has previously been banned from women's competition, I find getting any support in the ring quite hard at times. I find your lack of fear quite charming, honest to the Lord above, you charm me, boyo."

"Thank you, you're a real sweetheart. Quick question, why do you call me 'boyo'?"

"Don't you call men 'lad' in Glasgow?"

"Oh, I see, anyway, before you go, one last thing."

I wasn't expecting this, the rest me and Rod had planned in advance, but not that line, he said he wasn't going to pull anything, he gave me his word.

Then, before I knew what was going on, he unbuckled my mask, pulling it down for a moment and kissed me square on the lips, in front of the cameras and the fans.

I tried to stand up and he dipped me down into the kiss, much to the enjoyment of the fans, who were hooting and hollering, obviously this doesn't happen much in the WWF.

Roddy kept his right hand intertwined with my ponytail and had his left arm around my back, supporting most of my waist as he brought me back up and helped me re-fix my mask into it's rightful spot.

After the show I tried to avoid Roddy for a couple minutes, trying to make sense of why he would do such a thing knowing full well we were not an 'out' couple or even an 'in' couple with the fans, sure the fans enjoying the moment was nice, but we were both heels, we were not supposed to do that off-screen, let alone on-screen and in front of a full crowd of fans.

I came to the decision to drop it for now and wait for Rod to hopefully explain his actions or somehow work it into a programme.

My mind started to wonder, maybe he would try to use that as blackmail against Damien, or even against me.

The D200's door opening and slamming shut caught me off guard, making me jump a little.

"I'm sorry, baby, I didn't mean to scare ya."

"I'm fine, Roddy, just caught up in my thoughts, that's all."

"What were ya thinking about?"

"Nothing important, mainly just what happened earlier."

"Ya mean, me, Orndorff and Schultz winning the match?"

"No, Roderick, the kiss, we didn't plan that."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot to clear that with ya, but Orndorff and Schultz said that it would get the fans interested."

"Hon."

"Yeah?"

"Next time, please clear everything we do in a promo or interview with me first, so I don't start wondering if you'll blackmail me."

"I would never blackmail ya, maybe Damien, but never you."

"I love you, ya hot-headed, kilt wearing idiot."

"I love you to, ya blonde, gothic, tattooed Ivory tower."

"Did you call me an 'Ivory tower'?"

"You're tall and pale, what d'ya want me to say?"

END OF THE SALEM HOUSE or THE SCOTTISH COTTAGE

[thiswasinevitableid]

Chemistry (Sternclay)

The last of the meet ugly requests. NSFW, because why not end with a bang?

# 33  you’re a nobody actor who comes in for a chemistry read for the part of my love interest but we end up arguing instead of reading [maybe I like that about you and demand for you to be hired or maybe I’m annoyed that you spoke to me like that so I say that I don’t want to work with you and they hire you anyway]

Stern is starting to feel self-conscious. 

He’s been drooled over in every tabloid from here to Tokyo, gets fanmail by the boatload, and once did a photo shoot for Out that nearly broke their website. 

But they’ve been doing chemistry reads for three days now and no one is clicking. True, up until now his action roles have never had a serious love interest. But is he so bad at flirting that he can’t even act appealing to someone?

He’s not the only frustrated one; Ned, the director, has chewed his nails down to stubs, Kirby has tweaked the test dialogue twice to try and help, and Mama, the producer, currently has her head down on the table. 

“Alright Chicane, who’s next?” She groans as she sits up. 

“Barclay Jones.”

Stern remembers his audition tape; for an actor with zero screen experience, he’s quite compelling on camera. Easy on the eyes, too. 

Boyd ushers the other man in. He’s even taller in person, which Stern isn’t expecting. Having to look up during this scene will be novel. 

“Lovely to make your acquaintance, dear boy.” Ned stands, shaking Barclay’s hand. 

“Uh, same to you. Mr. Chicane. It’s a huge honor to even get here.” The baritone is soft, nerves obvious.

“Now now Barclay, flattery will only get you somewhere.” Ned winks, turns to the table, “this is Kirby, our head writer, and Madeline Cobb, one of the top producers at Amnesty Studios. And of course, you know Joseph Stern.”

Barclay looks at him and his brown eyes go wide, “Holy shit. Uh, sorry, yeah, I mean, everyone does. I had no idea I’d be reading with you. I’m a huge fan. Uh, everyone probably says that don’t they?” He shakes Stern’s hand. Lord almighty, even his hands are big and strong. Stern wants to wrap himself up in that voice too.

“A lot do, yes. But it’s always nice to meet a fan, and a fellow actor at that.”

Kirby gets Barclay his pages, allows him a few minutes to read over them as Ned briefs him on the scene. 

“Now, your character and Agent X, that’s Joseph, have been working together to solve a string of mysterious disappearances in the southwest. The electricity between you two has been growing, and we’re only a scene away from you finally confessing your feelings for each other. I want to feel the tension in the air.”

They take their positions, Stern waiting for Ned’s cue to begin. 

“You almost got us killed out there!”

“Whose idea was it to try breaking into the compound without an escape route?” Rather than moving towards him like the script indicates, Barclay leans back against the provided couch, arms crossed, forcing Stern to stammer as he tries to keep the momentum of the blocking going. 

“If we’re playing that game, who got the car totaled in the first place?”

“I did because I was saving your ass, Lucky.” Barclay straightens up, but holds his ground. 

“I never asked you too.”

“Excuse me for not wanting to lose my partner.”

Goddamnit, why isn’t he moving, it’s throwing Stern off. 

“Uh, um..oh please, like you don’t see me as expendable too.”

A perfectly timed shift in facial expression, “I don’t.”

“I find that doubtful--is there a reason you’re not following the blocking?”

“Huh? Oh, uh,” Barclay tightens his hold on the script, turning to Ned, “I was reading through it, and it kinda feels like my character wants Agent X to come to him. Like, he knows Agent X kinda keeps things close to his chest, at least if your version is staying close to the books, so he wants to make him be the one to admit their shared feelings first. I thought, uh, kinda keeping me in one place and making him move would add to that balance.”

“It’s throwing the whole scene-”

“Into a new light!” Ned exclaims, “yes, I liked how that looked a great deal.”

“What? Ned, Agent X isn’t the kind to be, be, jerked around.”

“Not by most characters, but, like, think about it; when you’re really into someone but are trying to deny it, you’re often super-fucking open to them messing with you.”

“No offense, Barclay, but one of us has far more experience developing characters for the screen than the other.”

Fuck, that was uncalled for, even accounting for how exhausted and touchy he is. He should apologize. 

“Look, pretty boy, just because I don’t have a handsome face and a fucking porn-star body doesn’t mean I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Do you think I’m coasting on my looks?”

Barclay holds up his hands, “you said it, not me.”

“Do I sense someone upset that all the hunky mountain parts passed him by because he can’t read his fucking blocking?”

“Gentlemen, please, that’s enough.” Ned waves Boyd over, “thank you so much for your time, Mr. Jones. We’ll be in touch in a few weeks.”

Barclay’s shoulders sag and he thanks them for the opportunity. Stern just thanks his lucky stars he’ll never have to see him again.

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

“You did what?!”

“I offered Barclay the part, and he accepted.”

“Lord almighty Ned, what did I do to get on your bad side?”

“Joseph” the director sets a hand on his shoulder, “I know how much this project means to you. So trust me when I say that, argument included, you and he had the best read out of all the other people we tried. If we want this movie to do well, we need him.”

“Fine. I’ll work with him. But I won’t like it.”

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

He still doesn’t like it. But even he has to admit Barclay portrays Agent A exactly as he should be. He takes direction well, is popular with the crew, and looks aggravatingly perfect in his black suit that matches Stern’s own. If he doesn’t end up a star after this comes out, Stern will eat his right arm. 

They have a lot in common, which Stern could enjoy more if they weren't constantly getting into arguments. He can’t remember what ninety percent of them are about, just that it feels necessary to have them.

They’ve been arguing a lot today, because they’re shooting the first kiss scene and it’s been fifteen takes with no success. Part of that is both of them want perfection in their craft. But the larger issue is…

“Joseph, kindly try to look like you actually want to be kissing him.” Ned massages his temples

“We all know why that’s difficult.” Stern mutters. 

“We’re actors, pretty boy, our job is to pretend.” Barclay snaps back.

“And Barclay, please make it look as if you’ve already made the decision to kiss rather than punch your partner, rather than as though you’re still torn.”

After two more failed takes, Ned calls them done for the day. Stern is pacing in his apartment near the studio when his co-star knocks on the door.

“We need to work on that scene.”

“Work is over for the day, and I just got off a phone interview with Empire. So, no, no we don't.”

“Joseph” Barclay steps into the living room, shutting the door, “look, I know things are weird between us, but you can afford to not nail every aspect of this performance. I can’t.”

“Don’t be so sure; fame is tenuous even for the best of us.”

“Think of yourself pretty highly, pretty boy?”

“No! And stop taking everything I say as being about me. I...I don’t even think I’m that good. Not compared to some people out there. I can’t even get a fucking kiss right.” He cards his fingers through his hair. 

“Neither can I. And I’ve had less practice. Uh, on camera, that is. I’m just so fucking nervous this’ll go wrong and I’ll blow my once chance at being in movies. So for both our sakes can we just fucking try to get this right?”

Stern holds his finger up, “One hour. Then I’m taking a bath and going to bed.”

Barclay sighs, the one he always makes when Stern reacts in a way other than what he hoped for, “Okay.”

They hit the midway point twice, working through some hiccups in tone, Barclay taking his suggestions and Stern following Barclays lead several times. Then they come to the kiss. 

“Damn it” Stern pulls away, “that didn’t feel right either.”

“No shit.” Barclay steps out of his embrace, “it’s because you kiss like you’re scared of something.”

“My kissing is not the problem here.”

“What, you think it’s mine?”

“It’s like kissing tap water; flat and boring.”

“Take that back.” Barclay growls. 

“Make me.”

Another growl, so feral Stern’s neck prickles, and then Barclay grabs him, kissing him like he’s trying to smother him, large hands cupping his face and tongue shoving between his lips. Not to be outdone, Stern grips the back of his neck with one hand and his auburn hair with the other, as if he could force them closer than they are. 

“That brave enough for you, big guy?” He bites Barclay’s ear and gets a snarl in his own in return.

“Dunno, pretty boy, am I still boring you?” Barclay slams their lips together as Stern tries pulling him closer. What he manages to do instead is send himself backwards over the edge of the couch and onto the waiting cushions. 

“Shit, Joseph, are you okayAhnngmph” He’s on his feet before Barclay finishes the question, lunging into another kiss, the pair shoving and spinning, and groping their way down the hall to the bedroom. 

Barclay moans exactly the way he hoped when he bites his bare chest, shirt hitting the nearby chair along with Stern’s. Stern smirks up at him, savoring the sight of him panting and licking his lips, trails frantic kisses down his chest and belly, only stopping when his knees hit the floor. Barclay whimpers for the first time when he bites his hip, undoing his jeans as he sucks a hickey into it. He slips one hand into Barclay’s pants, drags it along his cock once, teasingly, before standing again. 

“I’m sure you can manage the rest, big guy.” He strips off his pants and underwear, is down to his undershirt and socks when Barclay chuckles and grabs him from behind. 

“Of course you wear fucking sock garters.” His beard tickles his neck, making him squirm in the hold. 

“I, I hate it when they fall down.”

“I don’t mind a little falling.” He shoves Stern forward onto the bed, climbing on behind him and running his fingers up his ass. 

“Fuck you look good like this, pretty boy.”

Barclay’s voice has never sounded like this; not a few moments ago, not on camera, not in Stern’s wildest fantasies. Stern is nothing if not versatile in bed, and right now he knows exactly what he wants. 

“C-condoms, bedside drawer, please.” He wiggles his ass in anticipation at the sounds of sliding wood and crinkling foil. 

Barclay pushes his legs apart, “trust me, you’re gonna need ‘em wider.”

“Someone confident about his siIIze! Fuck, oh my lord.” Stern buries his face in the nearest pillow.

“Like I said” Barclay snaps one of the garters, Stern yelping in response, “need you spread wide for me. Now what do you need, babe?” He snaps the other, slowly thrusting as he does. 

“Need, need you to fuck me, Barclay please, need it so bad.”

“Want it hard, or something else?”

“As hard as you can.” He whines, rolling his hips in hopes of speeding things up. 

“Okay.”

“FUCK! Fuckfuckfuckfuckingfuck.”

“You wanted hard, babe, so you’re getting it fucking hard.” Barclay growls as he rams into him, bed hitting the wall with enough force to chip to the paint. Stings ripple up his legs as the garters are snapped, his cock aches for attention, and he’s drooling onto the pillow. 

In other words, he’s in heaven.

Barclay digs his nails into Stern’s hips, “fuck, shit, like to say I’m gonna fuck you like this all night, babe, but I’m close already. Comes with fucking the nicest hole in town.”

“Don’t, not yet, please, fuck-” tears of pleasure well up, his brain and body awash with ecstasy at Barclay’s words, “feels so good, want to come.”

Barclay pats his head, “don’t worry pretty boy, you will. Now be good and take me while I cum.”

“Yes, yesyes, BarclayAHhnn, fuck, fuck.” He whacks his hand into the bed as Barclay’s hips jerk violently, “please.” 

A drawn-out grown as Barclay thrusts all the way in and stays there, fingers clenching and unclenching in Stern’s skin. Then one hand slides down, rubbing his cock as Barclay’s lips find his shoulders. 

“That’s it, so good, so good for me Joseph, fuck, love feeling you all wet and hard ‘cause of me, most flattering thing in the whole goddamn world. Mmmmm” he purrs, nuzzles Stern’s throat even as the smaller man desperately ruts into his palm, “fuck you’re amazing.”

Stern cums with a weak cry, collapsing onto the bed, muscles no longer interested in supporting him. A comforting weight leaves the bed, water runs in the bathroom, and Stern fights the urge to call Barclay back. 

It turns out he doesn’t have to. 

“You with me, Joseph?” Barclay rolls him over, running a washcloth over his sweaty forehead and neck.

“Yes. I, um, I, what, are we, gah it’s so hard to get my words out after sex like that.”

“Flattering.” Barclay smiles gently, kissing his cheek, “I guess, uh, what, what did that all mean to you? Were we just blowing off steam?”

“I...I don’t think so. Or it doesn’t feel like it was only that. What do you want from me, Barclay?”

“To be your friend. Or more, if you’d let me. Gotta say, I think part of the reason we kept fucking up that scene is that we do like each other lie that, but got off to such a bad start we don’t wanna admit it.”

“That about sums it up. I’ve wanted to tell you I’m sorry for awhile now but, well, pride has always been my chief sin.”

“Not lust?” Barclay bumps their noses together.

“If what we did was sinful, I’ll sin any day of the week.”

“Hate to say it, but my reason was kinda similar. I, uh, I’m always the one to apologize in life, I’m always trying to make things okay even when I’m still hurt and I just couldn’t do it this time. I didn’t want you thinking I was a pushover.”

“Mission accomplished. Lord, what duo we are.” Stern laughs. 

“Yeah. Do, uh, do you think we could try being a different kind of duo?”

“I would certainly like to try.” Stern kisses him tenderly, and the feeling of Barclay’s lips on his is so perfect, the way they fit in each other’s arms so snug that he wonders how he could have missed it for so many weeks. 

They talk in bed for hours, until Stern;s stomach rumbles and Barclay insists on making dinner. They fall asleep in bed, kissing lazily and lovingly until Barclay’s head flops into Stern’s chest. 

And in the morning, they nail their scene on the first take. 

[savannahsdrabbles]

Ocean Song - Part One

rating: PG summary: Marine biology student April O’Neil makes a startling discovery.

notes: An AU originally based off of the 2012 TMNT universe, but can be compatible with most versions of the characters. <3 2.7k words. A03 link can be found here. Also special thanks to @cloakedrabbit and @starfiretheninja for beta-reading!

Looking back on the past couple of days’ events, April should have realized that kidnapping an endangered creature was a bad idea.

Well, scratch that.

Maybe attempting to break into a high security laboratory was where she went wrong. Or –

“This is totally wicked!” Casey Jones hollered from the driver’s seat as they took another sharp turn, tires spinning and spitting gravel up into the windshield wipers that were already working overtime. The creature in the backseat squawked and flailed as he skidded across the torn upholstery, desperately trying to sink his claws into something to keep from being thrown about like a rag doll.

“Slow down – and calm down!” The red-head snapped first towards the driver, and then over her shoulder at their passenger as she rapidly typed away on her laptop. A large jolt suddenly rocked the Jeep to one side and then the other, and April threw her arms out as a scream escaped her mouth. “CASEY! BRIDGE!”

Okay. So there were a lot of things that went wrong.

***

“Here we are!” A voice called loudly, causing April to jerk her head up and nearly lose an earbud in the process. “Now I know you’ve told me before, but remind me – what class is this project for? I don’t recall having to do anything like this until I’d reached graduate school.”

April smiled as she rose from her seat and shouldered an air tank onto her back. She carefully pulled the earbuds from her ears and tucked them into the bag of dry clothes she’d brought, then paused to looked out across the ocean. The sky was overcast that afternoon, leaving glare so minimal that even as the boat chugged to a stop beneath them, she was almost certain she could spy movement in the water below. “It’s for a dual-credit course. My science instructor knows that Dad is stationed here and that I study under him, so he said that I could use some of my research work as a science credit.”

“My word,” The fourty-something Japanese man at the stern shook his head in amusement as he pulled a lever to lower the anchor. The ship responded with a groan, lurching slightly at the movement, and the air was soon filled with a steady clack-clack-clack as chains were steadily released into the depths. “I swear, April – you work more than most kids your age. It’s a wonder you even have time to consider college courses. And you’re only – what – sixteen?”

“Seventeen as of last month,” April shrugged lightly and fought back an amused eyeroll as she continued to adjust her gear and flippers. Once she was certain they were secure, the girl reached for her camera and looped the strap over her wrist. She’d known Miles for a few months at this point and was pretty sure that they’d had this exact conversation every time they spoke. Her dad joked that his memory retention was about as long as that of the goldfishthat he studied. “Thankfully most of the college stuff is online, so I don’t have to worry about dealing with all of the paperwork from moving between schools. So it’s not too bad.”  

“Ah. Well then, I won’t keep you from your schoolwork any longer.” Miles tapped his wrist and jerked his chin towards the cloudy sky before moving towards the stairs that led below deck. Typically the rule was to never dive alone, but… “Remember, one hour tops, and then I have to check the boat back in for the evening – no exceptions.”  

“I know, I know – see you in a bit!” Positioning herself on the side of the boat, April fitted the mouthpiece from her tank into place, flashed an okay sign, and then pushed herself backwards into the rolling waves.

***

No matter how many times she dove, April could never not be amazed by the sheer beauty of the sea.She often wondered if she’d feel the same had her dad chosen a different line of work, but she ultimately pushed those thoughts aside and chose to simply be grateful that she’d always had the opportunity to live near open water. It was, after all, one of the only consistent things in her life.

She couldn’t even begin to count the amount of times that she had moved in her short life. Once or twice a year, her dad was reassigned to a new zoo or university and that meant uprooting everything and moving to the next body of water. Everywhere from Florida to Quebec to now Osaka – a large port city in Japan – had served as a temporary place of residence to April, her father, and the rest of the research team.

“Don’t worry, Pumpkin,” Kirby O’Neil had smiled at April over his mug of hot chocolate – a relocation announcement tradition in the O’Neil household. April remembered scowling into her own mug in response. “I spoke to the Board, and they’re willing to keep us in Osaka at least until you’ve graduated from high school. That way you can finish out your diploma in one place!”.

Five months later and the Board – a maniacal creature seemingly dedicated to repositioning its prisoners at random – had remained true to its word. April had quickly settled into the Japanese immersion class at her high school and was actually doing quite well in the school environment – enough so that the headmaster had paired her with another immersion student to help tutor him in math.

Casey Jones was an up-and-coming hockey player, the oldest child of the English Foreign Language teacher, and a big pain in the butt. Even though he was scheduled to graduate later that year, Casey seemed bound and determined to fail all of his classes – meaning that he and April spent more than the intended amount of time studying and hanging out together.

“It’s just you and me against Japan, Red,” Casey often joked as he would flash her a gap-toothed grin. “Us immigrants gotta stick together.”

If not for his cocky attitude and constant flirting, April might have thought that he was cute.

Might.

April gave a few kicks as she allowed thoughts of school to drift away and happily rolled in the cool water. Several silver fish darted out of her way as she sank lazily past, raising her camera in time to capture a couple of photos. Her blue eyes widened in awe as a class of clownfish and several jellyfish followed, and she rapidly snapped several pictures before they could float out of range. The water grew rapidly colder and darker with every few feet, aided by the clouds that were constantly drifting in front of the sun. Minutes slowly ticked away as her distance from the bobbing boat lengthened until it was no more than a misshapen shadow on the surface of the water above.

Thick, twisted chunks of orange and pink coral and a forest of seaweed eventually began to rise up around her, and she paused in the shadow of a particularly large structure to glance at the time on her camera screen – only twenty minutes left before she had to head for the surface. Yikes – that didn’t leave very long to get more decent shots.

She furrowed her brow in thought – maybe she could convince Miles or another research assistant to bring her out again tomorrow -?

Suddenly, a burst of movement out of the corner of her eye grabbed April’s attention and sent her reeling backwards against the coral. Hundreds of tiny fish blew past her in a frantic, unorganized mass, the undertow tearing at the surrounding seaweed and adding to the chaos and confusion. Before she could right herself, a much larger form shot after the fish, closely followed by another of similar size. The masses cut through the water without a glance in her direction, clearly intent on their prey and unaware that they had been seen.

April gasped as she righted herself and stared at the large, rapidly moving shapes that were quickly disappearing into the distance – what the heck had she just seen? For a moment she wanted to brush it off as simply two seals hunting dinner, but something made her hesitate. Something was off.

Heart pounding, she slowly peeled herself off of the coral wall and ducked into the thick seaweed. Once she was sure that she wouldn’t be spotted, April raised her camera and aimed it at the creatures. By now they were far enough away that the camera wouldn’t focus, but this confirmed what she’d thought she’d seen. Those were not the usual side to side movements that most fish travelled by, or even an up and down motion like dolphins or seals would use – these things had arms and legs that they were kicking like human beings.

Still not acknowledging April’s presence, the two creatures suddenly split up and each silently moved to one side of the school of fish. They then began to duck and weave, almost dancing with each other as they continued to direct the fish into a tighter and more condensed mass.

The numbers on April’s camera screen blinked a warning, reminding her that she only had a few more minutes before she needed to head to the surface, but she shoved the thought aside. She had to get closer.

With one hand firmly clutching her camera, April pushed off of the coral and began to propel herself through the clinging seaweed. The creatures had already put several dozen yards between herself and them, but appeared to be slowing as they closed in on their prey.

Moving through the dense seaweed was more difficult than her targets had made it look, however. The girl grimaced as her limbs repeatedly got tangled in thick pieces of the plant, slowing her motion until she tore them loose. She was almost to the edge of the seaweed when the bigger of the two let out a sharp clicking noise, causing April to freeze in place.

Before she could determine what was happening, a net appeared between the two beings and they cast it across the fish. The smaller creature then reached for a long strand of seaweed that had been wrapped around his forearm and tied the bag shut, thoroughly trapping their dinner. He squealed and clicked in pride, sounding like a dolphin that had just performed a trick and was now expecting a treat. The larger creature chirped in response and reached out to pat the smaller one on the head.

April kicked forward, mind reeling as she struggled to comprehend what she was witnessing, when a thick piece of seaweed tangled itself around her thigh and brought her chase to a stop. The sudden change in momentum caught her off guard, and April flailed her arms around in surprise – only for her camera to slip from her grasp. The small device, now free of anything weighing it down, rocketed towards the surface as the girl let out an exasperated string of curses that were only just masked by her mouthpiece.

Eyes straining to not lose the creatures amidst the bubbles that had stirred up around her, April violently jerked her leg to snap the seaweed. When the clinging inhibitor only seemed to tighten in response, she let out a huff of frustration and reached down to quickly untangle her leg. What met her fingertips, however, was not part of the slimy plants that surrounded her.

The girl let out a muffled stream of bubbles as she twisted around and gasped sharply. The dark tentacle around her leg tightened in response, and several more shot out from the shifting forest to pull at her arms and hair. April instinctively reached for the emergency knife on her belt, but the massive squid let out a fierce grumble as its tentacles tightened around her arms and pinned them to her sides. April’s heart pounded loudly in her ears as she struggled fruitlessly and let out a garbled yell of panic.

Had she been diving with a team, the others would have stepped in at this moment to help her get away. But now here she was, alone and trapped with her only hope nearly twenty minutes away from even beginning to question where she was.

Am I going to die down here?

Just as another tentacle snaked forward to tug at her airline, the water around her erupted into bubbles and April felt herself being violently thrown back and forth. The tentacles remained firmly wrapped around her body, but she felt their grip slacken ever so slightly as two blurs rammed into the squid’s head with claws outstretched. Blood filled the water as the squid flailed beneath its attackers, scaly skin tearing underneath their claws.

April screamed again as one of the creatures suddenly turned on her, eyes wide and ghostly white, and then began to violently attack the limbs holding her tight.

Even as she was being tossed back and forth, April could tell that the creature fighting for her freedom was like nothing she had ever seen in her research. Shape-wise, the creature appeared to be a mix between a human and a turtle, roughly several inches shorter than she was. The terrapin was a pale olive color, covered from head to toe with splotches of purple scales. Thick claws protruded from large, rounded limbs and with each swipe it was clear that they were sharp enough to cut through flesh without much effort. A ramshackle string of lavender stones hung from one of the terrapin’s upper arms, somehow not getting cut or knocked off during the fight, and a quick glance told April that the other creature bore similar decorations on its own body.

When the thrashing tentacles finally began to loosen, the turtle nearest to her grabbed April beneath the armpits and quickly jerked her out of their confinement while the other continued to distract the squid. The turtle’s claws dug into her sides painfully as it held her to its plastron and began to swim awayupwards, causing April to cry out and kick her legs in panic. A series of sharp clicks echoed in April’s ears as she fought, and then several things happened all at once.

The water erupted with even more noise and movement – though April hardly believed it possible – and then the arms around her slackened and fell away, almost immediately to be replaced by several pairs of hands that she could recognize as being human. The next few minutes happened as a blur – she vaguely remembered several decompression stops as they ascended, each accompanied by hands gently patting her body and checking for injury – but before she knew it, they were breaking the surface of the water. There her world continued to move in a confusing blur of shapes and colors as more hands hooked under her arms and heaved her on deck, where her diving equipment was quickly stripped away and replaced with warm towels and gentle touches.

April blinked rapidly, her eyes stinging as they adjusted to the sudden brightness. “What – ”

“We’ve got you, Little One,” A female biologist that April recognized from her father’s crew came into view amongst the blur of movement and blankets being piled on her shoulders, her face creased in maternal concern. “Delta Team was out patrolling and pulled up right alongside Miles just as your camera surfaced – we were afraid something terrible had happened to you! And – oh, you’re bleeding!”

“I –”

Miles’ voice suddenly broke through the chaos. “Give us a hand – we’ve got something big!”

Rina’s head jerked around to look at something out of April’s line of sight, and then she wrapped her arms around the girl and turned her away from the ruckus occurring on the other boat. The woman muttered something softly in Japanese, her eyes widening as she pulled April tighter against her body. “Oh my word…”

“What’s going on?” April turned against the arms holding her right as a full net thudded onto the deck she’d been on less than an hour ago. The large mass inside of it was curled inward and bleeding slightly, but one limp arm was clearly visible, bearing a bracelet of string and lavender stones.

Next Chapter

[parttimepuff]

The only reason that Gremlin wasn’t actively shrinking right now was on account of everyone else’s nervousness. Somehow, the opening of the doors, the last barrier between him and the penguin, made this whole scenario more real. Though they’d only met briefly, he had an idea of the king’s character and knew that he was not always the most forgiving sort. Having Kirby and Luna on his side helped, but in that moment, the looming possible future of being taken out rather than accepted felt too close.

One might have expected the throne room to be more extravagant and while it was the biggest room they’d been in, it was relatively simply decorated. A long red carpet lead to the elevated throne upon which sat King Dedede, propping his chin up with one arm and tapping an arm of the seat with the other. He seemed impatient more than anything, but Gremlin knew better. The penguin did a surprisingly good job hiding it, but he was absolutely scared of him. Something he expected. Frankly, they were equally afraid of each other.

Dedede huffed. “Took ya long ‘nough.” He sat up straighter and motioned to his right hand Dee. “Close th’ door, we ain’t in need of an audience.” “Yes, sire!” Bandana replied, running back to the entrance and shutting the doors, leaving the guards outside. Gremlin couldn’t help but find that weird. Didn’t the guy want more security? Maybe he was trying to seem less scared then he was. Kirby took the opportunity to walk closer to his rival. “So! Dedede, this’s Gremlin. Gremlin, this’s Dedede. I’m sure you’ll both be good friends after we talk things out!”

There was a period of awkward silence after that. The puff’s enthusiasm was admirable, but it didn’t seem like anyone else was so optimistic. Dedede shifted in his seat, leaning forward and squinting at Gremlin, something that Gremlin pretended to not be bothered by. After another moment, he spoke. “I ‘member ya bein’ taller.” Under almost any other circumstance, that would have made him laugh. Instead, he crossed his arms. “You remember right.” Luna internally sighed, glad that he hadn’t taken the opportunity to be sassy.

Narrowing his eyes, the king continued. “Ya didn’t sound like that, either. You were all, big n’ loud n’ what not.” Was he just trying to get on his nerves? Gremlin shrugged. “Lot changes over nearly three decades.” It was already getting incredibly difficult not to, well, act like he normally would if someone were to say that. Kirby seemed to pick up on this. “Dedede! Are you just gonna make fun of ‘im?!” He huffed, the king waving him off. “Ay, I’m giving the guy a shot on your word, ‘member? Lemme do this my way.”

“An’ my way means figurin’ out whether dust devil here’s turned over a new leaf or if he’s just givin’ me lip.” Dedede continued. “Though, I gotta say, if yer new look is ‘sposed ta get my guard down, ya coulda done a way better job. Ah mean, c’mon, didn’t think ya could even update yer villain of the week outfit?” Every jab was delivered completely deadpan and Gremlin could feel his metaphorical blood boiling at not being able to return any of them.

Kirby moved to say something again and Luna glanced between the king and her friend, about to try to calm Gremlin down when Dedede said one more thing. “An’ another thing: where’d ya get the puff? Ya can’t expect me ta think she actually likes yer company. Didja blackmail ‘er or what?” Luna’s feathers stood on end and she found herself starting to see red. She had to say something, but she had hardly the chance to open her mouth before someone else’s dams broke.

“It may come as a shock ta you,” Gremlin started, “that anyone’d be willing to be in your company without having something over their head, but it does happen.” Everyone’s, aside from the king’s, eyes widened. “And you’re one to talk about outfits. Unlike me, you’ve got a whole kingdom’s worth of taxes and yet can’t be bothered to switch out your coat every now and then? For nigh on thirty years? And, as it turns out, I can turn over a new leaf and give you all the lip you want at the same time.”

There was shocked silence for a moment. Until it was suddenly broken by laughter. From the king, no less. “Now there’s what I’ve been lookin’ for!” Dedede slapped the arm of his throne, to everyone’s confusion. “S-sire? What do you mean?” Bandana inquired, the king rubbing a tear from his eye. “Heh, said I didn’t want lip. He’s jus’ been reacting the way he thinks he’s ‘sposed ta. That there was the genuine article.” Adjusting his seat one more time, he looked at Gremlin. “Now, let’s actually get started.”

[aboutcaseyaffleck]

Casey Affleck Gets Philosophical About Life, Time & The Whole Damn Thing

“Time,” reflects Casey Affleck, “is something I have been thinking about lately. It is ironic how the older you get, the better you are at being patient. With less time left, people become better at waiting. But this year, I feel much older and a lot less patient. I guess you’ve got to accept that time is never wasted? That doing is no different than not doing? That you can’t kill time no matter what you do, and that no matter what you do you can’t prevent the opposite from happening either? I don’t know. It’s a double-edged sword.”

It’s a Wednesday afternoon in early January, and Affleck and I are doing the Zoom thing, ostensibly to discuss his two new movies, the recently released indie Our Friend and the upcoming 19th-century period drama The World to Come. Yet our virtual tête-à-tête has become far more interesting, jumping wildly from his love of trains and travel to weightier topics like family, the future and the search for something more, something meaningful.

“I like the idea that time is an illusion. That past, present and future are all happening at once. I like it even though I can’t totally get my head around it. But either way, the me in the mirror gets older every day.”

Like most of us, he’s not only had plenty of time on his hands in recent months, housebound in L.A., but he’s tried to use his downtime wisely. “I tried to use this year of quarantine constructively,” the 45-year-old Oscar winner says. “I tried to see it as a winter season for shutting down and restoring something inside, but I just couldn’t. I’m not that evolved, I guess. I didn’t take up a new hobby or learn an instrument or get better at ‘self-care.’ If anything, I let my better habits and routines fall off. It was all I could do to keep my head above water and help buoy my friends and children when I could.”

As a guy with two teenagers at home — Indiana, 16, and Atticus, 13 — it hasn’t been easy, but he’s doing his best. He tried taking his sons on their annual camping road trip over the summer, but it was short-lived. Instead, he’s been focusing on making a happy home. “My kids don’t get to see their friends a lot, so I’m doing a lot more stuff with them, coming up with activities for the three of us, which they mostly hate, and I mostly let drop. And then I try again with the same outcome 90 percent of the time.”

While trying to create innovative plans to sustain his boys, he came up with one he thought might do some good, too. In June, he launched Stories from Tomorrow, a social-media initiative focused on creative writing by kids.

“At the beginning of all this last March, the first thing that occurred to me was that the quarantine would have a big impact on young people’s emotional well-being — the disruption they’re going to feel is really going to affect their mental health more than anyone else,” he says. “When I would sit down to write creatively, I felt better. But I couldn’t get my sons to journal or do creative writing much. I didn’t want to twist their arms about it. So I was like, ‘I’ll make a social media platform that inspires young people to write creatively, because it is such a good way of working out difficult feelings. And the way I will do that is have well-known people read the kids’ writing publicly.’ I knew that hearing your own writing read was exciting. I thought it would be really inspiring, that creative writing would be a great outlet for kids stuck at home.”

He enlisted some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Robert Redford, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Jon Hamm, Matthew Broderick, Kyle Chandler and Danny Glover, as well as two current costars, Vanessa Kirby and Jason Segel, and arranged for donations made through the program to go to children’s hunger nonprofit Feeding America and Room to Read, which supports female education. He reached out to schools in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Haiti, hoping to create a global community.

Affleck was excited to make progress, to have done some good, but the initiative didn’t take off as planned. “In the end, an Instagram account for creative writing by tweens just couldn’t possibly compete with the quintillion bytes of daily data generated online. I don’t know. But I tried! And anyway, since then lots of other organizations started doing basically the same thing, and they are more organized than I am, and they have done a better job. So be it.”

Yet, adults have been disrupted, too, including Affleck himself, who is aware that, relatively speaking, he has gotten through mostly unscathed. “Am I happy? I mean, I’m relatively okay. It’s been a hard time to find balance and to keep it. I would say it’s been a hard time in my life, but I know that it’s been harder for other folks. So far we haven’t lost anyone, and we haven’t lost our house. And I rediscovered that when you’re feeling bad, there’s nothing better to do than to try to help other people. Being of service not only helps others but is a great way of getting outside of yourself. Also — and I really believe this — I think this time will be remembered as one when our country made leaps and bounds in the right direction; we are changing and growing and it’s uncomfortable, but we will be much, much better. I wish I could see the next couple hundred years. It’s going to be amazing.”

At the end of the day, it’s family that’s keeping him going. “Having my kids around and being able to spend so much time with them has been amazing. It is the brightest silver lining in all of this. They are what gives me the most joy. They are funny and smart and interesting and interested. They are just the best company ever,” he says. “Anytime I try to parent out some ‘teaching moment,’ I find they are two steps ahead. They help me make sense of stuff just as much I help them, if not more. I don’t have any answers, but batting the questions around, back and forth, is a good way of coping.”

CALEB CASEY MCGUIRE AFFLECK-BOLDT feels he is luckier than most. Although he and many of his peers have gone jobless for a full year, he spent 2019 working hard. He had not one but three films done and dusted prior to the start of the pandemic; the last one wrapped a week before mandatory quarantine. Two of these have back-to-back release dates: the tearjerker indie Our Friend came out in January, and sweeping period drama The World to Come will be released February 12. Thriller Every Breath You Take is slated for later this year. “I am so, so, so glad I spent 2019 working that much. It is what kept us afloat all through 2020,” he says.

The films themselves are radically different, but there are a few common threads. In both of his winter releases, Affleck plays a man who has lost a family member and whose marriage is in shambles. In both, he is a man in pain.

In the LGBTQ masterpiece The World to Come, which revolves around the love that blossoms between two married women on the mid-19th-century American frontier, his character, Dyer, says very little but manages to convey a wealth of emotion with his eyes alone. He may seem stoic, but he is suffering.

“The World to Come is a story about a couple who have lost a baby. They’re dealing with the grief in totally different ways and having a very hard time coming together again,” he explains. “My character wants to heal that by having another, but his wife [played by Katherine Waterson] is coping in a different way. She is severing all emotional attachment to him because it triggers more and more grief. She [only] seems to come alive when she is with their neighbor, a woman on the next farm [played by Vanessa Kirby]. He wants his wife happy, but he also would like her to love him. To me, this is the story of how couples can have their relationship shattered by a sudden loss. And it’s definitely a beautiful story about two women who feel that they have to hide their love and find the courage to love each other anyway.”

Affleck likes layers. He himself has many, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he’s drawn to roles written as fully formed characters, not caricatures. With Dyer, that’s abundantly clear. “Crisis is fun to play, [and Dyer] is in an interesting crisis,” he says. “I think he’s a really good person — a really decent, solid, loving person — which is what I loved so much about playing him and what I love so much about the writing. It’s more interesting when there’s no bad guy, just a conflict of circumstances and feelings that get so complicated that it drives two people apart.”

In Our Friend, a different set of circumstances drives the leads apart. Affleck and Dakota Johnson take on the true story of Matthew and Nicole Teague, whose imperfect marriage was strained by his long absences and her affair, neither of which seem at all important when she’s diagnosed with terminal cancer.

“To me, Our Friend is really a story about how petty grievances between people can divide them and then be forgotten when a gigantic tragedy is dropped in their laps. [Matthew] was wronged, it’s true — his wife cheated on him. On the other hand, he wronged her in a bunch of ways; [they] were just more passive and not quite so salacious. He wasn’t around. Matt got to be a dad and he got to travel the world as a journalist. He left her to take care of the kids. She wanted to have a life too, she had dreams of her own — she wanted to be a singer, she wanted to work — but she didn’t get to do that. She just got to be a mom. She was left holding the bag, and it wasn’t fair.”

He spent a fair amount of time immersing himself in the journalist’s life while filming in Fairhope, Ala., in 2019. (The film’s title is taken from Teague’s award-winning Esquire essay, “The Friend: Love Is Not a Big Enough Word.” The friend in question — played by Jason Segel — is a man who puts his life on hold to help the family during their darkest days.) But he did not become Matt Teague, which is an important distinction. “[Director] Gabriella Cowperthwaite asked that we not portray the personality traits of the real people. No accents, no mannerisms. [But] I did steal his style, because I had never seen someone nail the dad look any better than Matt. I say that with affection.”

As for the dreams Nicole gave up for her family, Affleck says, “If you were to ask Matt, I’m sure he would acknowledge that he was neglecting his role. He was neglecting her dreams, and that is a part of marriage, supporting what the other person wants. Like all relationships, it was complicated.”

Like life itself, really. This is why he can identify with both sides. He understands Nicole’s pain about the deference of her dreams as well as Matt’s desire to escape through travel — especially now, when Affleck himself has been completely grounded. Since the age of 17 he’s taken 20 cross-country road trips. His love of driving is secondary only to his enthusiasm for trains: Amtrak is his jam. He even fantasizes about owning his own train car one day.

Immersing himself in each location — whether it’s the sleepy Alabama town of Fairhope or the more exotic locale of Romania, which served as a stand-in for the East Coast of the U.S. in The World to Come — is actually one of the most desirable parts of the acting life, he says. “One of the things I love about working as an actor is that you go to some brand-new place and the community invites you in in a way that they don’t usually if you’re a tourist,” he confides. “You get to see what it’s like to really be there and imagine yourself living there.”

And he has — over the past ten years he’s spent so much time in cities including his hometown of Boston; Vancouver, British Columbia, the location of Light of My Life; Atlanta, where he shot the 2016 action flick Triple 9; Argentina, where he made Gerry; Dallas, for A Ghost Story; Calgary, Alberta, where much of the epic western The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford was filmed; Our Friend’s Fairhope set; Cincinnati, for The Old Man and the Gun; and Braddock, Pa., where he filmed the 2013 drama Out of the Furnace. “I have loved moving in and settling down and living a character’s life and then moving on. But I feel most at home in places that are struggling to get by. It reminds me of the neighborhood I grew up in. I feel lighter in those places, more relaxed. I feel like myself. I fit in.”

For him, the where is almost as important as the who — immersing himself in the place is imperative to understanding his character. This is part of what makes him such an accomplished actor — he and most of the parts he plays merge. I draw a crappy analogy about how the characters are like a coat, which he very obligingly works with. “You have to build the coat from all of the scraps and pieces of yourself; all these characters are made up of little pieces of me,” he says, noting, “Obviously, sometimes they can’t be. Sometimes I have no connection whatsoever, and those are the jobs I look back on and I either feel nothing for, or worse. But sometimes you have to take the job that is available, like most people in the world. You know? I don’t think my dad wanted to be a janitor. But he did it.”

He’s won an Oscar, a BAFTA, a Critics’ Choice Award, a Golden Globe and an Independent Spirit Award, among others, and appeared in films that run the gamut from box-office juggernauts like the Ocean’s 11 franchise and Tower Heist to indie darlings like brother Ben’s directorial debut Gone Baby Gone and Manchester by the Sea. He has even written and directed, most recently 2019’s Light of My Life, a bizarrely prescient movie about raising children in a pandemic. At this point in his career, he should have his pick of parts. “Not really,” he says. “There are a lot of people out there who have done good work, who are driven, and who have something to share. I have never been someone studios embraced as a ‘movie star,’ never knighted. I have always had to fight for the parts I have gotten. And you know what? That’s fine. Let me fight. It’s how I cut my teeth, and it is how I will keep them sharp. You can’t ask for more than a chance to be in the ring. Also, movies and TV aren’t all I care about. Sometimes I think, ‘Well, jeez, I have to work, and there are two jobs available to me, and the one that isn’t as good is the one that is close to home and I can see the kids, so I guess I am doing that.’ I love movies and really try hard to make them good. I really bust my ass every day when I get the chance to make one. I care more about my family than any movie. It’s not [always] the job I love, but this is the reality of my life. But maybe life will be long enough for a few more chapters.

The forward momentum of his future is an interesting topic. At the moment, he isn’t so much planning for the future as he is exploring it, because Affleck is not someone who likes to live with regret.

“I guess [at the end of the day], regret should be reframed as a reminder to be different,” he observes. And so, with this in mind, he embarked on a personal journey several years ago and decided to go back to college (at the Simon Fraser University in British Columbia). He had completed two years at Columbia University, but he never graduated — his film career kept getting in the way.

“I went back to school because I hadn’t finished, and I wanted to think about new things in a way that school can help you do,” he says. “I couldn’t go in person, so I found a strong online school and got started. You know, I’m 45, and I just thought, ’This is halftime. This is where you hit the locker room and think about how you want the rest of the game to go.’ You know what I mean? Like, ‘Okay, we went out, we played our best, we didn’t know what the other team was going to be like, we made some mistakes, we are in the game, so let’s adjust like this.’ Also, I’m not sure I want to be an actor forever. I had made a small pivot from acting into directing, and into producing more. And I like to direct movies. The most satisfying creative experience I’ve had in a long time was being a director. But ultimately it wasn’t quite enough. So I wanted to go study some of the things I was interested in. I wanted to do more with my life.”

Although he needed general credits to graduate, he found an unexpected passion for juvenile justice along the way, with a particular focus on alternative accountability programs. “I don’t know where this will lead me, or why I am so interested in it, but finding and implementing better systems for addressing harm and conflict among kids, adults too, but mostly young people, is something I care about. And the work that I have done so far has been fascinating and deeply rewarding.”

When I ask if this stems from his own experiences as a troubled kid growing up in Cambridge, Mass., with Christine, a single mom — his parents divorced when he was 9; his father, Timothy, an alcoholic tradesman, checked into a rehab facility in Indio, Calif., when Affleck was just 14 — he muses thoughtfully, “I love my parents and think they both did the very best they could and cared a lot. Period. Did I get into some trouble as a teenager? I got into some trouble when I was a kid, and I struggled a lot through high school with depression and substances, yes. Much of it I didn’t even know wasn’t normal. I don’t know if I was ‘troubled.’ Either way, as an adult, I’ve come to see that, regardless of how I compare to anyone else, I want less conflict in my life. That might be part of the reason why I’ve been so interested in learning about better ways of resolving conflicts, both with children and with grown-ups. It isn’t something they teach in school for some reason. Man, there is a lot they don’t teach you in school, huh? A lot you’ve got to learn on your own.”

And on this journey, mistakes will be made. That’s par for the course, and Affleck is no exception. “I have made so many mistakes, but life is the time for mistakes. I do believe people should hold themselves accountable and repair harm they have caused. That is important to me, and I try hard to do that whenever it is called for: apologize for mistakes and repair them,” he admits.

This is when our conversation, as such conversations are wont to do, comes full circle. Before we say goodbye, Affleck remarks, “You know, I heard Bono talking on Howard Stern’s show, and he said something about Frank Sinatra that was interesting. He said that he heard two versions of Frank singing ‘My Way.’ One version was recorded when Frank was young, and the other version was recorded when Frank was old. Each had the exact same words, same arrangement, same everything. But when Frank was young the line ‘I did it my way’ sounded proud, and when Frank was old it sounded humble. Whatever else time does to a person, I think it also does that.”

[source]

[9worldstales]

INTERESTING POINTS TO PONDER FROM INTERVIEWS 3

Interviews might not remain forever available or not be easy to find so I’ve decided to link them and transcribe the points I find of some interest so as to preserve them should the interview had to end up removed.

It’s not complete transcriptions, just the bits I think can be relevant but I wholeheartedly recommend reading the whole thing.

And of course I also comment all this because God forbid I’ll keep silent... :P

Title: Kevin Feige (President of Production at Marvel Studios) On Set Interview THOR; Read a Massive Interview Done on the Soundstages of THOR!

Author: Steve Weintraub

Published: Dec 10, 2010

BEST BITS FROM THE INTERVIEW

ABOUT THE ULTIMATES INFLUENCING THE SCRIPT

So you guys aren’t taking from The Ultimates standpoint where there is supposed to be a recreated Asgard on Earth.

Feige: There’s some… No, is your answer. But there is certainly influences of the [J. Michael] Straczynski run over the course of the film. It is, as I said, Kirby/Lee, for some aesthetic and characters, Simonson for aesthetic and characters, and Straczynski for our inspiration of the Earth-bound stuff, but not Asgard floating above.

Question about the comic art we saw earlier. It’s a lot of the classic Thor panels up there, but he definitely has more of an Ultimate comics look. Were any of the Ultimate comics consulted or were those books consulted for this look?

Feige: I don’t know about consulted, but we certainly pulled and looked at all of the renditions. Frankly, the Thor costume you see is closer to the JMS comics than the Ultimate comics.

So none of the actual artists or writers are active consultants on this?

Feige: We wanted to talk with [Olivier] Coipel but he was just too busy. Walt [Simonson] and Joe [Michael Straczynski] were, and Stan [Lee]. The way we usually do.

ABOUT THE WORLD OF “THOR”

What’sthe difference between the comic book look and the historically Nordic…

Feige: The comic book wins, in most cases. We’re going with the theory in the comics which is there, in your face, and sometimes it isn’t, that these are being who live in another realm, who live on another planet, who had a way to travel to here and has travelled here in the past. Specifically, a thousand some odd years ago, in which the locals interpreted them as gods and started mimicking some of their clothing and some of their helmet and weapon designs. But they didn’t have access to the building materials that Asgardians did so they made it out of wood and horns and fur. That’s not a whole lot of this movie, but that’s a lot of the backstory that we’re coming from. Which is why Odin’s bed, there, for the Odin sleep, yes there’s sort of a Viking-esque [feel]. The head of the bed there, the Viking-esque longboat ends. But they weren’t inspired by the Vikings, the Vikings were inspired by them.

This has a lot of elements that are probably a little more difficult to get onto the screen to combine with Spider-Man and the other Marvel things. How much of a consideration is that with managing and combining all these universes?

Feige: Well we’re not combining Spider-Man but we are… it led us to the movie we are making. That consideration you brought up led us to the film we’re making. The theory behind it and the science behind it. Was it Arthur C. Clarke or Asimov who said, “Technology significantly advanced would be indistinguishable from magic.” That quote is what we used a lot and continue to use with all of this. Something that looks like magic to us, but it’s not magic to them. That is where we are coming from and when these worlds eventually collide, it will be in a pretty scientific manner. Not a boring scientific manner, I hope, but in a cool one.

On that note, you did say that science is basically going to be mistaken for magic, and you are hot to trot for Dr. Strange, so is that how you are going to try to ease audiences into this other kind of realm beyond just the superhero stuff?

Feige: Yea. Absolutely. I mean, most of our characters are rich enough that they can carry their own movie. Instead of just combining them together at first, we do want to introduce them in a movie, and within each of them they will break open other avenues. Iron Man is entirely about tech. Hulk starts the break open the idea of biological enhancement which clearly goes into Cap. This cracks into the cosmic and other worlds. Dr. Strange will eventually get into the supernatural.

Producer Craig Kyle: Once you step inside the observatory, you basically tell Heimdall where you want to go. The sword Heimdall uses is not only used to defend Asgard, but it’s also the key to this device. We looked at Tony Stark and that movie, Iron Man had holograms and was stepping inside virtual worlds. Asgardians have kind of “been there, done that” when it comes to that kind of stuff. So for them to send you across the universe it’s as easy as turning a key. It’s why it’s a system of gears and wheels. It’s a machine. Their technology is only as sophisticated as it needs to be to do extraordinary things. Once you’ve said you’re going to go, the outside of this building begins to spin around, while the inside is stable and the rainbow bridge pumps energy inside this place. Then this major steeple that fills up the top here begins to lower and it points in the direction of the destination of the world you choose to go to. You step out on the edge and BOOM! You’re fired across the universe. You get the rainbow bridge when you arrive or leave Asgard, but when you want to get from this side of the universe to ours, you need to step through this gun that will fly you across the universe.

ABOUT THE FROST GIANTS

Feige walked us into another room filled with artwork and images of the Frost Giants.

Feige: Early versions of the...frost giants play a major role in this movie. What you’ll see today are legacy versions of the frost giants. Some of it will be in the movie, and some of it will be enhanced through Digital Domain. So these are early molds. We wanted there to be practical frost giants for the actors to interact with, we have a wonderful actor named Colm Meaney* who plays one of them. I think a lot of his stuff and his face we wanted to be him. A lot of them will be further enhanced from what you’ll see today.

Does this character have a specific name or is he just referred to as a frost giant?

Feige: He has a name. I’m not going to tell you what it is but he has one.

* (I think Feige actually mean Colm Feore, who played Laufey, as there’s no Colm Meaney in the cast and Laufey is the only Frost Giant who has a name)

ABOUT CHRIS HEMSWORTH AS THOR

Feige: Thor is not here today. Do not judge the Thor double as Thor. When Chris is Thor, well, let me just say there are certain individuals who begin questioning their sexuality. [laughs]

MY TWO CENTS

Well, for start this confirms my feelings that people expected a “Thor” based on “The Ultimates” and I bet they made the trailer in that way to use this expectation and raise viewers’ interest.

It also confirms what said in other interviews by other people, that Feige was interested in giving “Thor” a scientific look... though I’ve to say in the final product there’s very little of it.

And this also confirms my feelings Frost Giants were meant to be more than what we just got. I mean, in “The art of Thor” they mentioned how they wanted them to be characters, not monsters/creatures, but in the movie they seem to be there mostly to be killed and be considered monsters by the Asgardians. So it’s nice to know they originally were meant to be more... although it’s a pity this more disappeared somehow.

I really, really really would love to see the very early plans for “Thor”. I know of course of the old script that had been shared and on which the novel “Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One: Thor” is based but, well, call me greedy but I would love to see the previous ones as well, and especially look at how they were planning to handle the Frost Giants. It’s a pity their role had been cut so much.

Last but not least, this is not the sole interview in which I get the feeling Marvel was more interested in Chris Hemsworth/Thor for his look than for anything else.

I mean, okay, he’s very nice to look at to say the least and this is something I surely apprecciate but sometimes I wish they cared more about his character and his interpretation than about his body. He’s not in the story to be just an eye candy after all... but whatever, maybe that’s just me.

On a sidenote it’s not the first time I see Feige mentioning “Doctor Strange” way before the movie was done (we’re in 2010 here, “Doctor Strange” will be released in 2016) so it seems he really wanted to release it.

[sinjata]

Inuyasha / Kagome Fanfic : When Your Heart Makes a Wish - Chapter 3 - A dear memory

A/N: Hopefully you readers had peaceful All Saints' Day and Happy Halloween. ( ( ^ o ^ ) ) 

I have cried and screamed here like crazy today, because the news of the Yashahime English dub cast! They are all back; Richard, Kira, Kirby, Kelly, Jillian and David!!! I’m just so happy right now, you have no idea! I have been waiting those news so much! ♡ Ehem... I try to calm down now. ^^’ So, this chapter became a little long one, also very fluffy and syrupy sweet. Just warning! Hopefully no one will fall asleep, while reading. Oh, and thank you so much for reblogging chapters! :) Enjoy of reading!

Chapter 3 - A dear Memory

Kagome stares at the sky, feeling the coolness of the bench underneath her. One memory has been really hidden for a long time, but now Kagome decides to give it permission to come out. She sighs and clears her mind of everything else. Maybe it would make me feel better this time? Or then it just kills me... Kagome thinks and closes her eyes.

*****

The day began to turn into an evening at the well of a bone eater. Kagome squeezed the familiar wooden edges of the well with white knuckles. She had to get somewhere to calm down, this place was important to her and just right for it. Sango asked earlier about her well-being and Kagome did know well, why she was worried about her.

She was lucky to have Sango as a friend, with whom she was able to clear up her thoughts, like Sango did too with Kagome. Inuyasha and Miroku were certainly not the easiest travel partners. However, Kagome had not been able to give the correct answers to her questions. She felt somewhat restless and went through her distressing thoughts with herself.

Inuyasha was going to kiss me in my room back then and said he would protect me, but... I guess even then he was only thinking of Ki - Kagome couldn't continue her thought to the end, feeling like even the mere thought was still hurting.

“And when I come back here just for a moment, we just get into a stupid fight with each other. As always... Even that tells it, right? No, there's nothing else between us! It wasn't even two-timing before, because there hasn't been anything like that, right? Damn... If only I could talk about this with mom, she could -”

Suddenly she felt like she wasn’t alone anymore, but too late, when someone was already behind her. She startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Are you trying to drop me...? She thought as she turned to swing that hand away, but she stumbled and was going to fall into the well.

Kagome instinctively closed her eyes, waiting to fall into the glow of the well, moving to her own time. Or worse, she would just flop to the bottom of the well, among to the bones of the demons. At the last moment she felt arms around her and someone pulling her up from the well. But Kagome did recognize those someone's hands. Amazed golden-yellow eyes stared at her, while she realized that she was face to face with very familiar hanyō.

“Inu-Yasha...” she said in fright.

Their faces changed color in a redder direction, as they noticed how close they were each other and Inuyasha still holding on her for some reason. Why he won’t let go...? Or maybe it’s a good thing... Kagome thought, she was somehow feeling weird. She didn't know how well her numb feet would carry, if Inuyasha would let go of her.

Kagome didn't seem to be happy to see me here, but... Why I wouldn't want to let go of her yet? Inuyasha who was unable to move, thought.

“Oi... Are you okay?” Inuyasha asked softly.

“I’m... I’m just fine!” a little bit panicky Kagome responded with shrill voice, struggling away from Inuyasha's grip. No no no, that tone is already too much!

No, don't go yet… Uhh. Inuyasha thought a little disappointedly.

Kagome slammed into the ground to lean against the well, blinking her eyes. My heart beats like crazy, because of fright... Or for some other reason? Oh, shut up now, brains! Kagome said in her mind. She pulled feet against her chest and buried half of her face behind arms, suddenly feeling how the color flee from her face. Ooh no, did I speak out loud before?? How long has Inuyasha been watching, did he hear me? Damn snooper!

Inuyasha also sat down on the ground next to Kagome. Strange feeling... Where does this disappointment come from? Well, I prevented Kagome from escaping home! He thought contentedly.

“Were you going home? Keh, you shouldn't jump like that, head first! It can hurt if you just hit the bottom!” Inuyasha grinned, Kagome felt how a gust of anger wanted to come out and she had no time to stop it.

“You crazy, you almost scared me to death! Do you have to sneak around like that??” she turned to Inuyasha, spat the words from her mouth with anger in her eyes, but then she was little startled too by her own outburst.

Inuyasha rushed closer to Kagome, after surviving of the fright she caused.

“You were going back home, right?! Well, I'm sorry that I saved Miss sourpuss from falling! Should I just have given you a boost, huh??” Inuyasha barked back.

They looked at each other in anger and their bangs mixed together. Does she look - sad? Inuyasha noticed, when their gazes were reconciling.

He's so... Too close! Kagome swallowed her anger, shook her head and backed away from him.

Damn it... Why this always happens? Situations just explode in our hands, just like that. Even if I wanted something completely different... Inuyasha thought.

“I wasn't running away, what do you think of me?” Kagome glared him. Yes, I know... Sometimes I have gone without telling him, but Inuyasha was the one, who in most cases caused it.

“I just miss home sometimes, even now when I really should be there”, she said with an apologetic tone in her voice.

“Here I'm just able to be a bit closer to home, even for a moment”, Kagome said, while she stroked scar on her knee with her fingertips.

When Kagome has hurt her knee? Why she hadn't shown it to me? Inuyasha looked at her wondering. The “weathervane” seems to have subsided for a moment, but doesn't she like to be here anymore…? He worried.

“Homesickness, huh? Everyone always misses you back here”, Inuyasha said knowing really well, who misses the most.

“Hm, really?” Kagome looked at Inuyasha, who nodded with a smile.

“Thank you, you’re kind when you say that”, Kagome smiled and found herself feeling a little lighter.

Inuyasha often managed to annoy her, but also occasionally cheer her up.

“Keh, just saying...” Inuyasha mumbled while he chewed a straw, feeling how his cheeks heated up.

A moment of silence descended between them. Inuyasha cleared his throat and scratched head with a fingernail. He wondered, how to formulate his question and then just asked directly - to her horror.

“Kagome... About what, or rather, about who were you talking about recently, alone?”

Kagome blushed harshly, suddenly she just wanted to jump into the well and disappear for a moment.

“Wha... You - or no one else - should have been hearing my private stuff, you stupid!” Kagome snapped, struggling with controlling her anger. Why Inuyasha is always challenging me, at the worst moment...

Inuyasha was frightened, deciding to shut up. Why the hell do I never learn?! After all, that woman goes angry from zero to a hundred in seconds... She will probably tell me to sit, unless I won’t shut my snout in time.

If only I had a nose as good as Inuyasha's, I would have smelled him from afar... Kagome thought and snorted frustrated. Then she surprised herself with her courage. I guess there's nothing to lose, just my face.

“You know, about us”, she said like it wouldn’t be a big deal.

“Eh-h...” Inuyasha heard enough to realize it, but he never thought Kagome would admit it to him like that. Why I had to ask... But I thought for a moment, that she would have someone else...

Kagome felt how Inuyasha solidify beside her. Before he got even whole word said, she continued to burble nervously.

“Just that there’s nothing... Uh... You’re just terribly kind, when you take care and protect me, as you do for everyone else around you too, because that’s how you act. And you mean a lot to me, but... There seems to be nothing else between us, right? I mean, if there was anything else, things would be quite different then, I think? Surely, we wouldn't be tearing off heads from each other like this, but instead... Uh... Mmh...” Kagome tried to sound light, but was terribly afraid that it didn't work out very well.

Just a badly escaped thought... How wrong I formulated all that, help! And I almost forgot to breathe... Kagome thought in horror, feeling suddenly weak. She forced herself to shut up and buried her glowing red face in the palms of her hands.

But instead tearing off what? Inuyasha became curious, but he knew he would not dare to ask. He was like a statue, not daring to look at Kagome or barely breathe. Nothing else? Have I just imagined everything...? He tried to deal about things he had just heard, but violent heartbeats and too fast galloping thoughts made it difficult. Luckily, I'm not in my human form now... He thought, then hearing Kagome continuing.

“We're just good friends, aren't we?” Even though I love you more than anything, I just can’t say that to you... Kagome finally huffed, though the rest only in her mind. She would have just liked to clog her mouth to avoid further humiliation.

Her mouth or no other part of her body obeyed of her commands at that moment. Kagome did not dare to look at Inuyasha at all, fearing too much of his reaction. She just had to get clarity to all of this, or she would have gone nuts. Yet remorse struck into Kagome, like a cold stone and the situation began to embarrass her badly.

Why did I answered absolutely anything, what on earth did I do?? How can I ever look Inuyasha in the eye again? What if he talks to others about this, how that silly woman might have imagined there was something between us? What if I just drag him into my own time for a moment and try to shut his mouth about the whole thing? Soon he's probably just bursting out laughing... Kagome didn't know what to do, her cheeks almost burned her hands and panic was growing inside her.

Inuyasha was in his thoughts, while he leaned his head against the edge of the well and stared at the sky. His hands were hidden in the sleeves of the kimono. What exactly did she mean? Her heart is pounding so fast... Where did all this come from now? Did she wish, that there would be - something else? Or is it just me, who hopes that Kagome hopes, that there is something else? Inuyasha sighed, his head was getting more and more confused. Damn, you're important to me, even more! I wish I could only dare...

“I guess so? You’re my best friend, I think...” Inuyasha said very cautiously.

Though he was regretting it right away and slapped his forehead with his hand. My mouth is always open on the wrong moment, damn it... Really, there isn’t man enough in me to admit my feelings, but to swing the sword is at any time?!

Best friend. Kagome was startled by her own disappointment, which she felt hitting into bottom of her stomach. Though she had imagined the worst she could expect to happen.

“I thought so, maybe it’s best like that... I have to go -” Kagome stated and tried to get up quickly to leave, tears were too close to fall from her eyes. What else did I even imagine...

“Oi, just wait! Don’t go -“ You’re really not running away from me! Inuyasha said and acted quickly.

She couldn’t get up, when Inuyasha captured her in his embrace. Please, Kagome. Stay for a moment...

“Inuyasha, what are you...! Let me go!” Kagome miserably wanted as far away from him as she could, but Inuyasha did not loosen his grip.

She tried to struggle away from Inuyasha, as if she had the strength against his powers. But she just had to get away. Becoming rejected seems to hurt more and more... Damn these feelings!

“Calm down, woman! Stop raging!” Inuyasha was a little surprised by Kagome's powers, even though she had no chance against him.

“Let go, did you hear me, you idiot!” Kagome shouted wildly.

“Just listen for a moment -“

“I don’t want to hear! Let me go! Inuyasha, si -”

“Kagome, NO!” Inuyasha exclaimed and covered her mouth with his hand in distress, feeling how the pearl necklace was already tightening menacingly around his neck.

“Don’t say that word! I want to talk to you, we have to talk or I’ll burst!” Inuyasha shouted, despair hearing in his voice.

Kagome just totally frozed. Did Inuyasha just block the sit-command?! Inuyasha seemed to be shocked about what happened.

“I’m sorry, Kagome... I'll never try to block that again, I promise, but I couldn't do anything else... Don't say it now, please! Just don't say the word...” Inuyasha was slurring breathlessly and when Kagome shook her head as saying no, he slowly took his hand off assuming she would at least bite him.

However, Kagome had calmed down a bit. No matter how chaotic the situation was, she noticed how good it felt to be in near him. I haven’t figured out until now how I've missed, that someone would keep me close. That he would keep close...

She turned to look at Inuyasha, who was pale with his head down, looking unwell. Kagome began to worry as she felt, that Inuyasha was shaking.

Inuyasha tried to calm down himself, which was not easy, as he went through a horror scenario in his head. What would have happened, if the command had been fulfilled with Kagome near me? She could have -

“Inuyasha?” Kagome said touching his arm and he raised his head.

“Hey, I-I’ll stay, don’t worry”, Kagome said quietly and although Inuyasha saw concern on her face, for some strange reason, it just reassured him.

“Kagome, do you realize this could have ended really bad way??” Inuyasha asked, grabbing her tightly by the shoulders, his eyes looking scared.

“I would have crushed you under me, if the command had been fulfilled. I really didn’t know, if I had time enough, but I had to try to stop you...” Inuyasha said before he went silent and let his hands fall down.

Inuyasha... Oh dear, what was I causing just now! Kagome felt, how cold shivers passed through her. He must have used all his powers to stop the command being fulfilled...

“I’m so sorry... I-I didn’t understand at all -” Kagome’s eyes filled with tears as she finally understood the seriousness of the situation.

Inuyasha just shook his head and pulled that sobbing girl into a firm hug.

“I don’t know what I would have done if you had -” he said but couldn’t end his sentence.

“Inuyasha, I guess you just saved my life, thank you...” Kagome whispered.

Inuyasha felt Kagome's warm breath on his neck. He embed his face in her hair, knowing that Kagome's scent was something he would never forget.

Kagome didn't know how long their hug had lasted, but she felt it calmed them both. Not knowing what Inuyasha still wanted to talk about, Kagome just was not sure, if she was able to hear what he had on his heart. But she could not leave, because that was the right place, where she had to be now.

Why couldn't this have happened before, how good it feels to be like this... Inuyasha thought with his eyes closed, Kagome in his embrace. After a while, Kagome moved a little further and examined Inuyasha with her gaze.

“Are you okay?” He seems to be somehow himself again, I’m so glad... Kagome thought, when Inuyasha nodded in response.

“You?” he asked, noticing Kagome's slightly pale face.

“I’m, but... Can I stay here, for a moment?” Kagome wanted to make sure, because she had just recently tried madly to go away from him.

Inuyasha was surprised, but he felt mere joy inside and the red color on his face might had revealed it to Kagome as well.

“Keh, as if I even would let you leave...” Inuyasha said without looking her in the eyes. You can stay as long as you want...

Kagome was relieved by the answer, making her feel more at ease. She decided to take a better position and touched Inuyasha’s hand as she took support from him.

“D-damn, you’re ice cold! Stupid, you should have said that you are freezing”, Inuyasha said, took off his red kimono and swing it around Kagome.

“No need to look at me like that. I do well without it, unlike you”, Inuyasha said as he placed kimono over Kagome, so that it also formed a hood on her head.

“Better?” he made sure, looking at her for a moment. That suits you well...

“T-thanks, I didn’t notice how chilly air already is”, Kagome said gratefully, but would not have wanted Inuyasha to get cold either. So warm, his warmth...

“I don’t want you to get sick. We don’t have time for that now”, Inuyasha said, took Kagome’s shaking hands between his and rubbed them to warm them up.

Kagome couldn't do else than stare at their hands, feeling how the heat spread from the kimono and Inuyasha's hands to her own body. Do best friends do - this? She thought and felt, how her heart was pounding faster.

“Kagome, it’s probably time for us to talk, about everything”, Inuyasha said after a silent moment, waking her up from her thoughts and releasing, reluctantly though, her hands.

Kagome knew that, what the end result would be, it remained to be seen later. After all, I can’t help it how I feel. The brain - or heart, let’s do this.

“All right”, she said and hid now her warm hands under the kimono, trying to stay calm.

Inuyasha was thinking hard and tried to put his word right. He didn’t want to ruin this, but he knew he could do it all too well. Just don't back down now, man! Inuyasha encouraged himself. The ears on top of this head sank a few inches down, as did his gaze.

“Kagome, I want to apologize for what stupid things I have ever done along our way. Even now and before at the village I just made you angry, I guess I always say the wrong things or things wrong. And I guess sometimes I was blind to see, what was happening around me. However, sometimes you haven't treated me so kindly either. I mean, I think I have suffered a few sit-commands, even when I have been certainly innocent...” Inuyasha said.

Wow, he really started... Kagome was puzzled by Inuyasha's flood of speech. She agreed but was still silent.

“On the other hand, when you think about it... In those situations, it may have been slightly my own fault too...” he muttered and grope his hair nervously with his hand.

Kagome listened and stroked the kimono in her hands. She was little amazed as he behaved like that. Who are you and where have you hidden my grumpy friend? She couldn't help but think. At least you can't be Shippo, his fluffy tail would have exposed him a long time ago.

“But... That one time, I felt like I had done something really bad, when you said you hated me. It felt... Damn it, it felt like a knife blow to the back!” he sighed. Or rather to the heart...

“And I would never want you to feel that way about me. It seems like - somehow I can't forget it”, Inuyasha remembered the words Kagome said at the time, and they still seemed to cut deep.

Kagome looked up. It feels miserable to see him like that... Inuyasha must have seriously thought about these things, as they still bother him.

Inuyasha fell silent, but when he noticed Kagome's staring, he looked at her.

“What now, did I say something strange?” he asked, seeming to soon lose his self-control.

Kagome shook her head quickly and continued reassuringly.

“No, you didn’t, I just got little sad about your words. I really didn’t know you were still thinking about the past like that. Oh and - I forgive you”, Kagome said smiling and put her hand on Inuyasha’s hand.

“I’m sorry, Inuyasha”, she continued, looking into his eyes and really meaning it.

“I don’t hate you. I wouldn’t even be able to do it, no matter how mean you were to me. And no, thankfully, you’re no longer as mean towards me, as you were in the early days”, Kagome continued quickly, when she noticed, that Inuyasha was preparing to rise to defend himself.

“I just couldn't imagine that we would be here like this, after you tried to kill me and take the Shikon jewel”, she said, but smiling.

I'm not that mean anymore, am I? Inuyasha thought and was ready to throw his protest, but seeing how Kagome smiled to him, he couldn't help but melt into smile himself too. She doesn't hate me, how hearing it can feel so liberating...

“Hey, I wasn’t really trying to... Look who’s talking, I've been a few times the target of your arrows, remember?” Inuyasha said and raised his finger in front of Kagome's nose.

Kagome touched gently Inuyasha's cheek, making him look at her little confused.

“But I didn't seem to be my real self in those situations, right?” Kagome looked at him, smiling sideways.

Inuyasha didn’t found no more defensive words and lowered his hand. Kagome knew him somehow all too well already, which he felt kind of strange, but in a good way.

“I didn’t know you then. You were a bit like an enemy, in your strange clothes. All I had was confused, betrayed feeling when you woke me up from the curse. All that bad what had happened, it felt like, it had just happened day before or something. I didn't know about anything else. The villagers were immediately bugging me as well...” Inuyasha muttered. And I didn't know yet, that I want to get to know you thoroughly...

“I understand. And it didn’t take long time, when on the second moment you tried to block the well with the stone, so I wouldn’t get back home anymore. And on the second, you forcibly pushed me to the well and blocked it, so I wouldn’t be able to return anymore. Because you wanted to protect me, right? And now... The well always seems to bring us together somehow”, Kagome said smiling.

While looking into Inuyasha's eyes, she surprised herself wondering, how much she likes them. Especially when his gaze is as calm as it is now, even gentle. Often when she had only seen those eyes flashing like lightning, from anger or something else. I just want you to be happy... Kagome lowered shyly her gaze, as she awoke from her thoughts.

“When I said that thing to you, I was just so upset back then, for too many reasons. And I couldn’t stop myself, so I just threw all my bad stuff towards your face. It was wrong and I guess, I hated more myself a little. I stayed because I wanted to, it was my own choice and you let me stay. I just - couldn't imagine how much it would... Forget it, it doesn't matter anymore. Maybe at times I felt like you tolerated my presence, just because I was able to see the Shikon shards. To be honest, I was afraid I had made a mistake by staying - just for a little while. Not really knowing at all, what I’m to you and -“ Kagome explained.

Inuyasha listened intently, until he felt that he had to interrupt her. He suddenly grabbed Kagome by the hand, and it made her to look up at him.

“Ka-gome, even though at times you can be really reckless, intractable and insanely challenging... And... And even sometimes it may seem like we’re almost just strangling each other, I still don’t want to lose you because of any silly quarrel. Do you even understand, how much I care about you?” he said very seriously. And how damn hard it has been to admit it...

“Eh, I...” What exactly is going on here? Kagome thought, feeling like her heart would have forget a few beats. I care about you too, but...

“And no, it definitely wasn’t a mistake that you stayed. You haven't been with me just because you see the Shikon shards, you're with me because... I wouldn't have survived this far without you by my side, you have to know that. Also considering others; Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, you are very important to them too - a friend”, Inuyasha looked Kagome's hand in his as he spoke, and she listened quietly.

“Though, the worst thing about this trip has been almost losing you, more than once. To see, how you have got been hurt... It’s been hard, especially if I haven't been able to help in any way”, Inuyasha continued more gently and Kagome noticed, that he was going through different emotional states.

“Especially when I saw you three; you, Sango and Miroku lifeless, as Shippo told me that none of you were no longer breathing... And hear that awful silence, when I didn’t hear your heartbeats anymore. I remembered how you once taught us how to find a pulse in a hand or neck. I couldn't even try it, because I already knew, it wouldn't be found no longer from any of you...

I felt like I had lost the reason to continue our journey. I also felt like I was gradually being left alone again in my own little, beneath me friable world and that was my own fault. I have often wondered, how I would ever be able to return to your time, carry your lifeless body and face your grief-stricken family...” Inuyasha spoke quietly and was silent for a moment.

Kagome watched him with teary eyes. Inuyasha really cares, he does take care of us - all the time... She thought, when he continued.

“I have seen it in my nightmares, felted that heavy guilt and it has slowly torn me into pieces. Hearing Koga’s words over and over again, what he said when he realized, that you had been in great danger because of me. How cold your hands were, how your before so red as cherry blossoms cheeks were so pale... How he would never have let that happen to you. The truth is, that because of me you’ve been in danger so often, that it’s a miracle that you’re still here. And I’m so grateful, that you are”, Inuyasha said and wiped Kagome’s tears from her cheeks. My miracle...

“But we got you all back, thanks to Myoga flea, who removed the miasma. And I do hope, that we are together all the way and beyond. I will protect you with my life, as I promised. So, I forgive you”, Inuyasha stopped speaking and looked into her eyes, squeezing Kagome’s hand gently in his hand.

“Thank you, Inuyasha...” Kagome nodded slowly to him, thinking about everything she had just heard.

Inuyasha just realized to release Kagome's hand and acted, like he was going to scratch his ear. When she didn’t say anything for a moment, Inuyasha began to be a little impatient.

“Well, are you even a little happy now?” Inuyasha asked and his eyes twinkled of the enthusiasm he felt.

“Hm?” Kagome gave him a questioning look.

“Well, when I talked to you like this before, told you about my feelings and thoughts... You once said, that it makes you happy and that - I'm not alone...” Dang it, what’s with the face? Did I just make you sadder...? Inuyasha thought as he looked at her concerned.

She smiled at Inuyasha a little, nodding, for she was happy to hear Inuyasha's thoughts. They had had far too little time to talk to each other in private. Kagome just felt like all the emotions were somehow knotted together inside her, not being able to distinguish those from each other properly anymore.

Hmph. Something here is still not right, woman! Inuyasha thought and looked at her with suspicion. You’re too quiet, you’re never speechless... At least not for this long.

Kagome considered for a long time, whether she would dare to ask, what had been on her mind for a while. Well, once we're now opening up our thoughts... She sighed deeply and determined to dare.

“Inuyasha...” Kagome started and felt, how the painful piece already rose to her throat.

Inuyasha's expression brightened for a moment, but then very suddenly changed to another, seeing Kagome's face as she continued. Why does she look like that...? Did I do something wrong?

“I guess you still see only Kikyo in me, like before... Do you see her when I sometimes dress like miko? You couldn't even look at me then... And do I smell like her and just because of that, you think - that you care about me? I know, I’m useless now, because my powers are gone, but... I have tried to say in a million times, that I’m Kag -” Kagome finally cried out with a voice, that wasn't recognizable when it cracked, no matter how she tried to sound convincing.

This can't be true... How I haven't noticed this before, that she still thinks...! Inuyasha thought in shock and shook his head as he listened to her.

“Just hear me now and well!” Inuyasha interrupted, grabbed tightly from her upper arms and forced her to look himself in the eyes.

Kagome looked broken and it hurt Inuyasha like hell. It's my fault, that you are still feeling like that... He growled in his mind.

“When I look at you, what I see is just yourself, whatever you are wearing”, he replied firmly.

“You never, ever have to think about such things again!” Inuyasha said but began to feel hopeless. How in the world will I convince you? At first, I did see the features of Kikyo, but soon I learned to see you only as your own self and it’s just a good thing.

“Kagome, you have your own heart to take care of and that belongs only to you. And you smell only and alone just from yourself - damn good, do you understand, Ka-go-me?” Inuyasha said softly, smiling encouragingly and meaning every word.

He relaxed his grip, hoping that Kagome would finally believe him.

She tried to calm down, as her heart pounded in her chest so hard, that she was already little bit afraid for it. Damn good? He likes my scent... Kagome felt blushing completely. Does it feel like this, when you’re happy as can be? When you just want to scream for joy?

The fear inside her seemed to fade away. The times had been very demanding no matter in which time she was, so she didn’t properly remember, when was the last time, that she had felt as good as now. She couldn’t help but think, how adorable Inuyasha looked right now, how beautifully he spoke to her. A tear fell on Kagome's cheek before he had time to stop it. Inuyasha noticed it and took the tear on his finger.

“Hey, no more these, okay? I have seen those small pearls of yours so very often, aren’t they ever gonna stop hurting you?” Inuyasha asked little sadly.

Kagome landed now completely near to Inuyasha, pressing her ear against his chest. Inuyasha's breathing was blocked for a short moment, but he soon gave in to the familiar feeling of joy. He puts his arms around Kagome. It feels so good, when Kagome is close like this... Does she feel the same...?

“They don’t always hurt. Sometimes it’s the opposite, like now”, she explained closing her eyes.

She heard Inuyasha's heartbeat, which was unusually agitated, but he still seemed calm on the outside. Maybe it's some hanyō thing... Kagome thought as Inuyasha stroked her hair, like his mother had sometimes done to calm him down.

“I bet my head as a pledge, that you’ve cried a lot less in your own time”, Inuyasha muttered. You've cried too many times because of me...

“Inuyasha... I've felted here, in your time, more than I have ever felt before anywhere - with you”, Kagome confessed, to herself too.

Inuyasha's heart was beating faster than ever before, he couldn't calm it down. Is this the right mood, of what Kagome has been talking about? At least that's how it feels I think... Now. Or never. He thought, gathering courage. And I will sharpen my nails on everyone, who dares to spy on us! Inuyasha thought, glancing around them, not noticing others nearby. Be a man, do it!

“Kagome - I can’t say if there was something between us...” Keh, is there even any ambiguity in it... Inuyasha paused and continued slowly.

“But I hope you don't mind, when I make sure, that there's definitely something between us...”

Kagome rose carefully from Inuyasha's embrace and looked at him without believing her ears.

“You, what...?” she asked, even there really wasn't nothing ambiguous in Inuyasha's deep gaze, with which he shackled her.

Inuyasha pulled Kagome gently a little closer to him. He wants to kiss me - still... She thought, knowing her answer, and met Inuyasha's lips with her own. And I want to kiss him.

Inuyasha was afraid, that soon he would wake up from a dream, the best dream ever. Dear Kagome, my Kagome... He couldn't believe, that he had finally dared to show his feelings again like this. And even less, how Kagome responded to those.

“Inuyasha, I...” Kagome began and retreating from him a little, she lowered her head shyly as thoughts crisscrossed in her mind.

“Your answer might be ‘I don’t mind’, right?” Inuyasha asked happily, looking at her with his head slightly tilted.

Kagome smiled and her answer could be seen from her face, even miles away.

“But oh no, more than just my best friend, that sadly wasn't enough for that yet...” Inuyasha said hoarsely, looking into her eyes.

They are - sparkling! He smiled happily, as he slid his hand into nape of Kagome’s neck, caressing it and pulling her into another kiss.

Inuyasha's touch was driving Kagome crazy. I've never been kissed like this before... She felt that kind of sensation in bottom of her stomach, that made her want to get more closer to him.

Kagome wrapped gently her arms around Inuyasha's neck, and he didn't resist at all, but pulled her closer to himself.

As the kiss became more demanding, Kagome felt Inuyasha's sharp fang touching her tongue, making her draw breath a little.

“Sorry -” Inuyasha said, as smiling Kagome shook her head silencing him, continuing the kiss. I try to be careful, I don't want to bite you unintentionally...

Neither of them had not felt such a feeling before, neither would not want to stop. Not now, when the other was finally there - near, for each other.

But Inuyasha had to do so. He looked at Kagome while stroking her back.

“When your family... Eh... Interrupted us last time, at your home...” he tried to speak.

“Yes?” Kagome asked, she had cursed that moment in her mind so many times.

“I hoped so much back then, that Sota wouldn't have appeared at the door of your room. Because I didn't have no idea, how would I ever dare to do that again”, Inuyasha continued.

“It’s good that you dared now, and I didn’t mind at all”, Kagome said as a smile spread across her face.

I never want to forget this moment, you... Kagome said in her mind, resting her forehead against his.

“Are you going back home?” Inuyasha asked quietly.

Are you crazy, after a kiss like that? Kagome thought.

“Not yet, but tomorrow I have to go back. I only came to pick up my schoolbook, which I forgot last time, but time goes by so fast on this side... But I’ll be right back, as soon as entrance exams are over. We have things like Naraku and Shikon jewel to take care of, so we still have a long way to go. By the way, we should probably return to others, they may already be worried”, Kagome said. Though I would have liked to stay right here, even forever... She thought and wanted to remember everything from that moment.

“Yeah, we should go back. But I just want to say, you will get your powers back, I’m sure of it. Don’t worry about that, okay?” Inuyasha said to her.

“I really hope so. Inuyasha, would we still keep this as a secret?” she proposed.

Inuyasha nodded, as thinking the same thing. Although it might probably be somewhat difficult to hide my feelings anymore, after now when I have already revealed those...

“It’s agreed then”, Inuyasha replied, agilely rising from the ground and holding Kagome still in his arms.

“Do you want a ride?” he asked, kissing her one more time.

Kagome nodded with a smile, when Inuyasha gently lowered her to the ground and she jumped on his back. Feeling the warmth of Inuyasha against herself and the cool breeze on her face, as they ran through the forest towards the village, she felt a good feeling that totally filled her; happiness.

*****

Kagome opens her eyes and gets up to sit on the bench, slightly trembling. She is surprised, how the memories feel still fresh, even after those years.

A tear drops down from her cheek to her lap, but she finds herself smiling. I was so happy back then. Inuyasha not only wanted to protect me, he felt something much more towards me. But how was it supposed to end like that...

However, since that evening, as their gazes met, they both felt a longing close to each other. When they passed each other, their hands could only touch for a few seconds, but that was enough to make their hearts pound faster. On a few rare times, Inuyasha had unexpectedly hugged her, when they were hidden from the gaze of others, for even a tiny moment. Those little things, how big they were in those moments...

Kagome wakes up from her thoughts to look up at a bird, which rises on its wings from a branch of an old tree.

“I miss you, Inuyasha, wherever you are”, she puts her arms around her and whispers to the morning.

...To be continued...

A/N: That’s was it, hopefully you liked! On next week I’ll take a nap on a surgery table, so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to post chapter 4. But hopefully everything goes fine and that day will come sooner or later! Again, Kagome and Inuyasha shared their memories, each in their own minds, in their own time. That’s why there are perspectives on both points of view in the memory part. Just for clarification, why it’s like that. Take care and please, leave a word or two, what did you like about this chapter! Thank you for reading. ♡