#I'm still sad over laika :(

[trenchcrows]

I am a very repetitive person :((

[wizzdot]

The Patron Saint of One Way Trips

Ch12

Description: sorry for the long wait guys! Work has been crazyyyy - anyway. Here it is! Lil bit of progress with Simon - I reckon it’ll be 1 step forward, 2 back for a little while. Simon and Laika are both as fucked up as each other!! It’s a long chapter to make up for the wait. Hope you enjoy!!

*Laika's (Y/N's) POV*

I'd been warned during dinner last night that I was going to be 'put through my paces' today. The Captain told me to get a good nights sleep. Kyle and Johnny dropped me off at my room - Kyle said goodnight with a soft kiss to my cheek, and Johnny told me not to let the bed bugs bite. He also kissed me on the cheek, but it was far too close to the corner of my mouth. He must have missed his target. I spent all night trying to brush it off.

*Johnny's POV*

The pizza had been good, Kyle was bold and kissed our little lass on the cheek. I couldn't stop myself, had to one up him.. Her little blush and awkward reaction made it worth the risk. Gaz and I practically ran back to our shared room - we needed to rest up for training tomorrow. We finally get to see what our little Lass is made of.

*Laika's (Y/N's) POV*

Knock Knock Knock

"Lass? Can we come in..? Y'ready for us?"

I'd just stepped out of the shower. "Uhh - two seconds.. I'm just getting changed" I shout back through the door. I rush to pull on some workout shorts and a black sports bra. I glance at myself in the mirror. I swear that I already look healthier - I'd gone sort of gaunt during my time at the facility. My skin looks brighter, I'm cleaner and relaxed... and happier.

"I'm dressed but still need to braid my hair.." As soon as the words have left my mouth, Johnny barrels into the room, followed closely by Kyle. "Mornin', Lass" - "Hi Johnny" I reply, softly. Kyle puts his arm around my shoulders and smiles brightly at me "ready for today? Cap's in charge of what we're doing.. just need to see where we are at with you.. apparently there's shit going down in Mexico so we might need to step in over there... Just before Christmas too.." he sighs sadly.

I furrow my brows - "Christmas? I thought it was October??" - "Ignore him, Lass, he is one of them crazy people who wants to put the tree up straight after Halloween".

I look at Kyle and giggle. "I thought it was winter when you first found me" - "It's always winter in Russia to be fair" Kyle jokes back. "Yeah but you can't go confusing me like that.. I've not been aware of seasons or dates for years, I was just starting to grasp it again.. so no Christmas stuff until December...?" I explain, feeling more and more relaxed around the two younger Alphas everyday. "You promise to be here for Christmas, then?" Johnny bargains. There's that sad flip in my stomach again. "I - I don't know where I'll be, Johnny.. I don't think I am in control of that decision".

"We'll not let you leave.." Kyle jokes "Aye, hide you away from the others" Johnny continues, nudging Kyle. They both laugh but I just shake my head.

We are interrupted by the Captain who stands in the open door, not stepping inside. "Laika, didn't I tell you that those two shouldn't just let themselves into your room like this...?" - "I - I let them in, Cap- Sorry- John" he huffs a laugh "If you say so. Put your trainers on and let's get to the gym before the basics turn up for the day. Ghost's there already". he grumbles, rolling his eyes at the possibility of basic training turning up mid-session.

"You don't have to worry if the rookies turn up, Lass. They're a bunch of prats, think they're all Billy big baws and like to throw their scents around and show off.. if any of them bother you, we'll sort 'em out" I look at Johnny and nod with furrowed brows. I was nervous.

The Lieutenant is loitering menacingly at the sparring mats when we all arrive at the gym. "Took your fuckin' time" he grunts. I try not to react but I can't help the guilt that washes over me. "Laika, on the mat" he jerks his head toward the mat. I obey and step onto the mat, ringing my hands together nervously, chewing the skin inside of my cheek. "Gaz, I want you to go through basic sparring movements, see what she's made of" the Luitennant orders. Kyle looks between the masked Alpha and myself with unsure eyes. "Are you sure..?" I look up at him nodding "I'll be ok.. orders are orders" I reassure myself, trying to slip back behind my own mask. Trying desperately to become the asset again. Unfeeling, cold and calculated.

My eyes start to take in Kyle's movements, analysing when and how he will move. He is the leanest of the pack of Alpha's, meaning he is probably the fastest. But I'm smaller and, hopefully, smarter. He steps, hesitantly onto the mat and raises his arms into a defensive position. "Gaz, for fuck sake, move!" the Lieutenant barks "She ain't going to throw the first punch!" Something inside of me screams 'NOW'.

I leap forward and slide to the ground taking Kyle's legs out from under him before he has the chance to react. He was too busy concentrating on the upper half of his body.

Kyle falls backwards and lands just beside me, so I scramble to get nearer, using my legs to restrain his arms and placing my forearm over his throat firmly so he couldn't move. I meet his eye, and he looks completely shocked. Then a slow smirk starts to form on his face. He reaches up and taps twice on my back. Impressive, lovie" he chuckles. I release him and clamber away from his body, which is still laying flat on the mat, I start apologising over and over again..

"Soap.. your turn. Try not to get distracted like Garrick did, this is all pointless if you go easy on her.." Ghost barks. I look at Johnny with sad eyes. "C'mon, lass.. you heard the man. Lets have a proper tussle" he wiggles his eyebrows. My body betrays me, as it so often does, falling victim to Johnny's flirtatious comments. I blush and look away. This time Johnny is on me as quickly as I look away. I'm the one caught off guard this time. SHIT.

He gets us both to the ground and I can tell he is attempting to use his weight advantage against me. He just wants to get me pinned which will win him the match. I realise that I need to get back to my feet, and fast. I allow him to roll me far too easily which gives me the momentum to push away from him. I knee toward his crotch while we roll and manage to catch him lightly, just enough for him to curl in on himself slightly, giving me a small enough window to climb back to my feet.

He tries to get up quickly but he is on his knees. I grab his neck and use all of my body weight to pull him to the floor, practically wrapped around his torso like some sort of demented koala bear. He chokes slightly and taps twice on my upper arm, which is currently holding his neck in a headlock. I immediately let go, "Sorry.. I'm sorry. I hate this..." I panic, thinking that I'd pissed him off. "Lass, nothin' to be sorry for. You're a feral little madam on the mats.." He brushes his legs off and grabs me around the shoulders, pulling me towards his chest. He presses a quick kiss to my hair and pushes me gently back towards the mat, not before whispering in my ear "Clever little Lass".

"Not bad" Ghost says. "Tell me what you think of knives.." - "the winner of a knife fight is whoever dies second, or finds help quickly enough to survive. No one stays clean in a knife fight.." I murmur. The luitennant tilts his head and narrows his eyes at me. It's difficult to read his thoughts when he has the mask on, but what I'd said obviously struck a nerve with him. "Show me what you mean by that - here.." he hands me a dummy knife and steps toward the mat behind me..

"Wi-with you..?" I ask nervously. "Problem?" he grunts back at me. I shake my head.

He stands there with confidence. I must look ridiculous. I don't know what to do. The lieutenant suddenly takes a wide swipe with the knife, it narrowly misses my stomach thanks to my quick survival instincts telling my body to jump backwards. I suddenly snap back into the 'asset' mindset. I leap forward and aim for his head. His eyes, to be specific. I see a flash of surprise cross his eyes before he slams the knife from my hand, pain shoots up my entire arm but I ignore it. I react by kicking his outstretched arm so that he is also knife-less. I then leap at him and try to clamber up his back. He grabs me by the shoulder and slams me hard on the ground winding me. I slide backwards, terrified at the behemoth of an Alpha towering over me. I whimper, scared trying to get away, still winded and pain still shooting up my arm.

"Stop. STOP" he bellows. I whimper again, confused and terrified. I can see a storm brewing behind the masked Alpha's eyes. "GAZ - get her up, for fuck sake.." the Lieutenant storms away from the gym, the Captain following closely behind him. My eyes don't leave his form until the gym doors swing shut and Kyle and Johnny are cooing at me, trying to calm me down.

*GHOSTS POV*

FUCK, she's not a trained soldier by any stretch. But Christ, she goes into a desperate survival mode. Kill or be killed is the only description I can think of. Watching how she sparred with Kyle and Johnny, she was scared. Acting out of fear, and fear alone.

I wanted to see her knife skills - I don't know why I decided I should spar with her. She suddenly switched. That look in her eyes. She was feral. She was genuinely trying to hurt me. She had no differentiation between training and real fighting. It was all real to her. Kill or be killed - and she thought I was trying to kill her... She thinks I'm a monster.

I try to stop her by disarming her, I know my thumping blow to her arm must have hurt. It had to, but she barely even flinched. She was in survival mode. She caught me off guard and disarmed me. Clever girl, leveling the playing field - if this was a real fight that is - but I was trying to halt the fight. She needed to cool off before she went even more feral.

I was NOT expecting her to leap at my back and try to choke me. It left me with only one option - to flip her and get her flat on the ground. It worked for a couple of seconds. She paused, the look in her eye no longer murderous. But within a split second, she stunk of pure fear. Like she was staring at death himself. Me. I try to step forward with a hand out to show that I was no longer armed but she backed away, eyes flashing like a cornered dog.

SHIT. Why'd my stomach do that. I'm trying to help her and she's fuckin' terrified of me. Fuckin' hurt her too.

"Stop" I try. It doesn't work. "STOP" fuck Simon, why can't you be fuckin' gentle for once?! Brute - my brain shouts at me.

"Gaz - get her up, for fuck sake.." I shout. She looks helpless but, fuck, I feel helpless as well. I've never felt like this.

The sharp, sour smell of her fear. It makes my eyes water. Makes me want to fuckin' hurl. I turn and leave, not feeling well all of a sudden.

She has two Alpha's she actually likes to help her. Fuck, I hope she isn't hurt.. I don't deserve nice things. My Pack are probably going to drop me now. The fucking brute that you are Simon Riley.

The anger at my own stupidity boils over. I'd almost made it back to the Pack room but my fist meets the wall before I get there. I roar, angrily - or did it sound more broken than that? FUCK. Then I smell Price. He is fuckin' seething. I can already smell him.

I slam the door to the shared room and slide down the wall, grabbing angrily at my mask. I rip it from my face. "ARGRGHHHHHH" I roar again. I grab fistfuls of my hair. Fuckin' prick.

I hear the door close and then a presence sit beside me. It's Price.

"What the bloody hell happened back there Simon?" he growls. I can tell he is holding back his rage.

"She was feral" I grunt. I didn't know what else to say..

"And why was that..? Why did you let it get to that stage..?" he asks. Fuck sake, he is treating me like a fuckin' child.

"Wasn't just me. The girl doesn't know the difference between practice and survival.. She was fighting for her fuckin' life" I growl, pulling at my hair.

I feel his hands pry mine away from my head. "Simon. C'mon. Look at me.." - "Alpha - I need some time..." I break slightly.

"Time for what, Simon?" - "Time to think. I don't understand what is happening.. I can't stand the girl. I can't be near her"

John stays silent beside me, knowing that I needed to find my own way out from this maze.

"But.. but when she had that look in her eye, I needed to protect her. Protect her from me.. It's either me or her, Cap. I can't be near her. I'll kill her".

A warm hand grips my shoulder and squeezes. "Simon. You are too hard on yourself. You are the glue that often holds this pack together. Laika is finding her place in a new world. You've been in a similar position. I have a feeling you two are more alike than you think. Please, give it time. I'm not throwing you out of the pack, Simon. I'm not even angry at you. Never doubt your place or importance here, Simon - Never. Is that understood?"

My eyes furrow. I grab my mask and pull it back over my face. "Yes, sir. Understood" - "good, now come. The boys will have calmed Laika down by now" - "I hurt her" I interrupt. "You didn't mean to. I know you were trying to stop the fight. I saw it" - "she will need the medic.. I hit her hard. Can't do anything gentle. Fuckin' brute" - "Simon.. you did what you had to... she was going feral. C'mon, no more sparring. We will move onto target practice and finish with a five kilometer run - together. That'll be enough to fill in her file. We can make up the rest. She is on the team, I don't care about all of the tests".

I can feel my head clearing, the pack Alpha had successfully dragged me from a dark spiral. My panic attacks were not pretty. I get back to my feet when he offers me a hand to help hoist me up. "Sorry.." - "No Simon, save your apologies. Small steps, yeah? Let's work on chipping away at that wall you put up around Laika first. The boys adore her already.." - "I know. Johnny reeks of her at night time. Felt like I was wakin' up next to a fuckin' Omega this morning" - "Simon, she hasn't presented. I had her tested - results aren't back till next.." - "John - she is a fuckin' Omega. Stunk of honey and oranges since the first time I saw her tied up against the wall when Johnny found her. Can't you smell her..?"

"Faintly. The doctors said her scent will settle once the drugs leave her system. But her scent - it's barely there, Simon. She smells more like Johnny and Kyle right now" he shakes his head at me as if he doesn't believe me. "That's impossible.." - "I'll talk to the doctors tomorrow, Simon. We've got to get through today. I've got Kate on at me about Mexico - we will need to decide what to do about that - so the sooner she is cleared to work with us, the better, understood?" - "Yes, sir" - "Right, screw your head back on and come with me. I'll take the lead for the rest of the day. You sit back with Johnny and cool yourself off, ok?" -

“Affirmative”

*Laika's (Y/N's) POV*

Kyle and Johnny saw what happened. They saw me trying to kill their pack mate. "I'm sorry - I don't - I don't know what happened.. I'm.." - "Shhh Love, hey, look at us - you need to look at us. We aren't angry at you. The Captain is with Simon, he will be ok. We need to check your back and your arm. You got hit pretty hard.." Kyle explains, stroking my cheek.

"Aye, Lass, c'mon, let us have a wee look, just want to make sure you're ok.." - "I'm fine.. I'm ok.." - "You sure..?" - "Yeah, promise" I assure them, even though I am feeling the aches from Ghost's hits. I jump slightly when the gym doors crash open. It's them. The Captain and Lieutenant. Ghost stops about 10 yards from the rest of us. I try not to look toward him, still feeling nervous. I see the Captain nod Johnny in Ghost's direction and Johnny immediately walks toward the massive Alpha and comforts him.

The Captain steps closer to me. "You're ok to continue? Not hurt?" - "No, Captain" I pretend. "Ok, we are going to the shooting range.. boys, lead the way" He directs toward Johnny and Ghost. They both turn and lead us to the shooting range. It's a huge open field. Targets and metal human-shaped silhouettes peaking out from behind pretend trenches and sand bag walls.

There are a couple of sergeants already shooting when we arrive. I get handed a set of ear protectors from John. He then walks me to a locked metal shed and explains that this is one of the gun-stores on the base.

"You said you were a sniper?" _ "Yes" - "What'd you use..?" - "Uhm.. A gun..?" - "You don't know what model of rifle?" - "Oh.. sorry.. no - I just used what they gave me, just happened to be quite good" I admit shyly. He huffs a small laugh and then grabs a large case and lays it gently on the ground, opening the top to reveal a huge, dark green rifle.

"This is an Accuracy International rifle.. we've used them for a long while now, best you'll get. We can alter sights and scopes to suit you. They're quite lightweight compared to other manufacturers. In all, it's probably seven kilos - give it a try and see what you think, Love". I stare at the piece of metal as if it would jump out and attack me. "This is the L96 model.. I assume that you used a Russian SV-98 type? They're popular over there. Poor mans sniper they are, if you were good with one of them, you'll be impressive with one of these" the Captain rambles. It's all pretty pointless to be honest because I know nothing about guns. I was just thrown one by a guard and told to shoot it, and punished if I missed. You learn fast that way.

I listen to him talk anyway, enjoying the gruffness of his voice and the fact that he seemed quite interested and excited to talk about guns. I nod along as if I understand what he is saying. "Ok, Let's give it a try then, love" -he hands me the gun and stands closely behind me. "See that target over there" he points "I want you to hit that - take your time". I nod and get comfortable holding the rifle. It feels different. Foreign. I lower myself to the ground and eye up the target in the scope. I breathe in and hold my breath. One, two, click.

"Well done - slightly left but hit the target" the Captain says. I furrow my brows, confused. "Can I try again?" I ask, disappointed. He shrugs and nods. I aim again and concentrate more this time. Breathe in. Hold it. One, Two, Shoot... Fuckin' left again.. what the fuck?

"You're doin' well, Lass. Why are you pissed off. It's not like you're missing.." Johnny pipes up. I scoff at him. "It should be hitting dead center.. I don't miss, Johnny.. I can't miss like this.." I rant. "I'm trying again, I think the guns sight is off.." I get into position the same as the last two tries but this time I aim half a line further to the right of the cross hair. One, two, Click. I huff a laugh. "Got it.. I need to aim off to the right to make a clean hit. I'll get used to it.." I mumble, continuing to eye the scope and point the rifle in different directions, pretending to aim at things. "Whoa, lass. Dinnae point it at us, fuck sake" Johnny jokes as I start turning slowly towards the pack. I was totally in my own little world there.

"We can have the sight adjusted if you like?" John offers "although I doubt it's this one that's been off. I reckon the one you've learnt to shoot with is off - so you naturally drop your rest arm to allow for the difference. Have you noticed that..?" John questions. "Uhm, no.. I've only ever used that sniper rifle.. I don't really know much about guns - was just given a crash course to be honest.."

He smiles and pats the top of my head "Well you ain't half bad for just having had a crash course, love - those hits would have passed you as a sniper here anyway, yet here you are complaining that you're a couple of millimeters left of where you wanted it.." I laugh nervously and look down at my feet.

Kyle walks up beside me and removes the gun from my arms and places it gently back in its case. "Better shot than most of us, anyway.. I reckon with a bit of familiarization with the new scope, you'll out-perform LT" I immediately glance back to the ground and feel nervous, scared to feel the wrath of the Lieutenant again. I subconsciously rub my sore arm before the Captain speaks up. "I wanted to end the day with a quick five kilometer run. It'll give Laika chance to see the perimeter of the base and also good exercise for you three lazy buggers!" he jokes. Johnny clutches his chest in false offence, Kyle just laughs and walks himself over to the Captain, giving him a gentle shove. "Lazy, sir? I'm not sure about that.." I blush - was he flirting with his Alpha? I shouldn't be witnessing this. I'm not one of them.. The Captain chuckles darkly and jokingly grabs Kyle by the scruff of his neck and growls softly at him, causing the younger Alpha to groan and blush. I turn away.

Johnny just laughs along, elbowing Simon who still looks pissed off from this mornings encounter.

The gun case gets placed on the floor of the large cabinet, stood upright. The Captain goes and chats to the supervisor and takes a small paper ticket and signs something. I watch from a distance, assuming he was just signing the gun back into storage. He returns to the group and smiles "Right, get your arses in gear. Take the first km steady as the warm up, then we will see who's the fastest. Finish is back here. Full lap of the base.. no cheating, Simon". I furrow my brows again, god I do that a lot, I'm going to get a frown line if I'm not careful. The Lieutenant didn't strike me as the type to cheat on a simple jog. I shake my head and watch the others limber up and stretch. I don't join them. Just watch, confused. I only ever ran when I was forced or chased. Never for.. leisure?

"Right, Kyle - lead us off for the first few hundred meters, just to get us onto the outside loop" - "Yessir'" Kyle chirps back. He strides off quickly. I try to stay with Johnny. Simon and John jogging gently behind. I stay on Johnny's heels for a few minutes but can feel myself getting tired. He keeps looking round at me as if he is surprised I'm still that close to him. Kyle is away out in front. How does he make it look so easy?! He is barely breaking a sweat, looks like he is just floating. I guess he was the best runner of the team. Johnny runs like a man possessed. I huff a laugh, his run matches his personality. All elbows and fast movements. He looked busy but he was still fast. I glance behind to try and spot the other two Alphas.

"Dinnae' look back when you're running Lassie, you'll trip!" Johnny shouts, while running backwards. What a showoff! I scoff and roll my eyes at him before wiping the sweat from my brow. "The two big'uns are slow, lass! Too heavy to be speedy like me and Kyle.." He jokes, speeding up and slowing down. "Johnny!" I pant, struggling to talk while gasping for air "Stop showing off!" - "No, Lass - I'm impressed, you're doing well! Didn't think you'd keep up with me to be honest - Gaz ran track when he was at school, he coulda been a pro runner, fucken bullshit. He has the record on base - as if I didn't almost bust a fuckin' gut to beat him to still lose" he laughs. I glance up ahead and Kyle is barely even trying. In fact, it looks like he is on his phone.. he has slowed right down as if he is waiting for us.

I just concentrate on forcing my feet to keep hitting the ground one in front of the other. I couldn't say that I was enjoying this, but it was better than being forced or chased.. It was weirdly satisfying. My lungs were on fire but I wasn't in danger.. I was just running for the sake of it - something I never thought I'd ever manage to do again. I felt like a child in a playground. The strange nostalgic feeling helps to push the pain and fatigue away. I actually somehow manage to pick up the pace. I glance back behind me and can no longer see the two larger Alphas. Just Kyle a couple of hundred meters ahead, and Johnny about ten meters in front of me.

I fall into a relaxed state, all I could hear was my own breaths and all I concentrated on was keeping them even. In Out In Out In Out. A few meters we turn a corner and I spot the Captain and Lieutenant ahead of us all. HANG ON A FUCKIN' MINUTE - CHEATS. I speed up, as does Johnny. "Ya see that, Lass, fuckin' Cap dinnae even take his own advice. Let's get them!" He shouts back to me mischievously. I giggle and shake my head fondly, but push myself faster.

Kyle goes past them first and obviously makes a comment because Ghost gestures with his hands and John throws his head back and laughs while still jogging slowly. I don't quite hear as Johnny and I are still about fifty meters behind them. C'mon, lass - you jump Cap, I'll get Ghost.."

"Jump... wait Johnny - what do you mean...?" Johnny had already shot off and almost caught up to them. I push myself into a sprint and my face splits into a huge smile. Johnny had leapt onto Simon's Ghost's back and bundled them both to the ground. I don't quite know what came over me in the moment. I laugh and leap at John in the same style that Johnny had with Ghost. John huffs as I hit into his back and stays running for a few strides before eventually loosing his balance and falling to the ground. He rolls so that he is underneath me and takes the brunt of the fall. He grunts as his back hits the grass. I can hear Johnny cackling like a madman and then the Captain speaks from underneath me.

"Johnny's bad behavior is rubbing off on you, love.." I blush and look away, only to meet eyes with Kyle, who is smiling brightly at the scene in front of him. I decide to be very brave. I stop laughing along with Johnny and sit back on his lap and reply back playfully "Bad behavior, Sir? It wasn't us who broke our own rule of not cheating.." I trail off, feeling nervous at how he was going to take my response. He goes silent before growling. I freeze momentarily before I feel his warm arms around me. He stands easily holding my weight and drops me off in Kyle's arms. "Cheeky little thing, you are. I'll need to ask Kyle to teach you some manners, you little minx.." My face heats up and I hide in Kyle's shoulder, giggling. I look over to Johnny who is beaming even though he is pinned by the largest Alpha. Christ, the Lieutenant is massive. Something inside of me makes me whimper, thinking that Johnny is in danger. I wriggle slightly and Kyle turns me away from the scene and whispers into my ear "Simon would never hurt any of us.. trust me on that, yeah?" I whine a reply along the lines of 'mmmhmm'.

*John's POV*

Simon and I decide to treat the final run as a leisurely jog. I already knew that the two young Alphas would shoot off like bloody rockets. They always did the same. What I don't expect is for little Y/N to keep pace with Johnny. Yes, she looks like she is struggling slightly, but the girl has guts. She keeps the pace.

Simon grunts at me around half way through, says that we should meet them at the end so that they 'don't get up to any mischief'. Of course, I agree, and nod in the direction of the best short cut. My knees aren't getting any younger, after all.

Simon and I rejoin the outer perimeter, having cut the top loop out. Kyle jogs by and tells us that our cheating isn't going to go down well with Johnny. Simon tells him to 'do one, Garrick' and something about how we aren't all 'failed athletes' like him which forces a laugh to bellow from my mouth. Such a back handed compliment.

The next thing that I do not predict happening is for Johnny to fell Simon like a fuckin' tree - the boy near on rugby tackles the lad. I watch it all happen from the corner of my eye, laughing as Simon hits the deck and Johnny crawls over him. The boy is like a terrier. Insatiable and endlessly energetic. The next thing I don't reckon on happening is for Y/N to creep around my peripheral vision and leap onto my back.

It's a given, she is much lighter that Johnny, but she also carries herself with much more grace. Her 'rugby tackle' method was rather cat-like. I manage to stay upright for a few strides until her leg taps mine, causing me to trip. It was one of those falls when you know you're going down. It gives me time to spin and take the fall so that I don't land on her, or catapult her, face first, into the grass.

I land on my back and stare back up at her happy face while she is draped across my chest, clung like a Koala. Her walls were down in this moment. She is genuinely happy. I have to move heaven and earth to not grab at her. Her scent is rolling off of her - as strong and sweet as I have smelt it. Control yourself, John!

She blushes like crazy at my comment - about how Johnny is rubbing off on her. She then sasses back at me and Christ, I need to get away from her before I do something that will scare her away. But I'm a greedy man. I stand with her, not quite able to release her yet. I drop her off with sweet Kyle. He wouldn't take advantage of her like I would. I cant help myself. I make an overly sexual remark about Kyle teaching her manners. We all know it wouldn't be Kyle who taught her manners. That job is down to Simon and I. Kyle and Y/N blush, I notice that Kyle nuzzles into her neck when she hides her pretty little blush in his shoulder. Cheeky boy couldn't help himself could he?

Something changes in her expression when she looks up to see Simon pinning Johnny. Then, almost within a split second, her scent changes to a sharper, sour scent. She is scared again. Simon notices the change without even looking. I can tell by his body language. He softens his hold on the younger Alpha and leans down to scent him, Johnny laughs and nuzzles all over Simon's mask. I glance to see how Laika reacts but Kyle had already turned her away. Damn it!

When will she ever see the soft side of Simon Riley?

I take a deep breath, to try and calm myself down from the earlier excitement. As an Alpha, I hadn't had a woman - let alone a possible Omega - sitting on top of me for years now. Of course, my body reacted accordingly. Once I've successfully chilled out, I turn and step back towards a smirking Kyle and a happier Y/N.

I push the loose strands of her hair back behind her ears. "C'mon love".

She giggles and apologises for her earlier behavior. "Don't ever say sorry for having fun, love. I enjoyed seeing you like that. Even Simon chuckled at your little sassy comment.." I wiggle my eyebrows. She blushes again and looks down. She really is unsure of Simon.

I'd - We'd - need to rectify that...

- two days later -

*Laika's (Y/N's) POV*

Darkness, wet, blood, pain, screaming...

Another nightmare. I thought they were getting better. I cannot get myself out of this one, tossing and turning. I can feel the sweat and tears falling from my face. Was that real or just the nightmare?

*Ghost's POV*

A blood curdling scream echoes the hallway at about 1AM. I was sitting in the kitchen with my feet up on the coffee table, reading a book. I stand up immediately and follow my nose to her room. What the fuck am I supposed to do. The others are all asleep, she is fuckin' terrified of me but she is whimpering and crashing about in there. Fuck it. I'm going in. The annoying Alpha voice inside of my brain is screaming to help her. I wish it would shut the fuck up to be honest. It's been louder than ever since the second she turned up.

I bang on the door - no answer. I step into the strange room hesitantly. Stupid girl didn't even lock the door. I know that Alphas shouldn't intrude Omega's nests, but she needed help.

She isn't on the fuckin' bed. She's ran away, heard me fuckin' coming. She is hiding somewhere. Stupid fuckin' bastard - should never have come in here. She probably thinks I'm coming to kill her.

Over the sound of my thoughts, I hear another pained whimper. The cupboard. Don't tell me that she's-

She is in the fuckin' cupboard. In a fuckin' nest. A nest with Johnny and Kyle's clothes and - is that Cap's missing towel? He lost that yesterday..

I find myself staring at the sight inside of the cupboard. Probably for too long, because I'm drawn back to the situation when she starts breathing erratically.

I try to gently tap her arm. She doesn't wake up. I squeeze her arm now, she flinches, but still doesn't wake up.

"Laika.. it's - fuck - it's me.. Ghost... Wake up..." - nothing. Just more thrashing around.

"Fuckin' hell" I grumble. I lower myself so that I am knelt on the floor in the doorway of the open cupboard. I grab her shoulders and shake. It's the only option I have, having tried everything else.

She snaps out of her nightmare with a shriek, slapping and scrabbling at my chest and face. "Fuck girl - it's me.. I'm - I'm tryin to fuckin' help you" - "DON'T TOUCH ME - GET AWAY" she yells at me.

I'd be lying if my heart didn't freeze over when she says that. Such fear in her voice. Fuck it. Only option left. I grab her around the waist and hold her in one arm, flinging her over my shoulder. She is crying and crashing my back with weak, panicked punches. I hardly feel it. Too numb from her words. I march her out of her room and down the hallway. "Pl-please - please don't" she cries. What the fuck did she think I was gonna do to her?!

I reach the door I was looking for and open in, storming in and dumping her on the bed. She clambers quickly away from me, over the limbs of my pack mates. John wakes up abruptly, instantly in defense mode. She flies towards him and clings to his torso as if she fitted there all too perfectly. She is sobbing now. John growls as he blinks away sleep.

"What the fuck, Simon. What've you done..?" He looks between the sobbing mess clung to him, and me. Great, my own fuckin' Alpha thinks I've 'done' something to her.

By now Johnny and Kyle had woken up too. They move to the space between myself and the girl. Were they creating a barrier?! Didn't they trust me..? Of course they don't. You're a monster.

I sigh, feeling broken, and turn to leave the room. Christ knows where to, but I needed to disappear for a while. I'm almost out of the room. I stop when I hear her. "Si-simon..?"

I don't turn. I just face the doorway, still intending to leave.

Then the Captain speaks up "Answer her, Simon.." I sigh again.

"What?" I snap over my shoulder at her. I see her flinch, "I'm - I'm sorry.." she whines "S'fine" I grunt back, still not turning to face her.

"What happened?" Johnny asks. I don't expect to feel his hand in mine, tugging me back toward the bed. "Get off Johnny" I shake his hand away from mine, but ever persistent, he grabs at my hand again. "Si - what happened?" he asks again.

"The girl was havin' a fuckin' nightmare. Heard her screaming from the kitchen. Didn't even wake up when I banged on the door. She was hiding in her fuckin' cupboard. Didn't even lock her door".

"So.. you helped her..?" Kyle asks hesitantly "what else was I 'sposed to do? Fuckin' let her scream the place down all night?" I snap back - ok fair, that was uncalled for. I have my own fair share of nightmares. Those in glass houses 'n all that bullshit....

"S-sorry.. I didn't mean-" - "I said s'fine" I grunt at her. She hides behind John's shoulder now. She's terrified of me.

"Y/N.. what do you want to do..?" Kyle asks her "Don't want to be a-alone again.." she whimpers back at him. He strokes her cheek. Why can't I be gentle like that?

"Alpha.. can - can she stay here for tonight..?" He asks John nervously. I forgot Johnny was still holding my hand, but he squeezes it excitedly when Kyle asks if she can stay.

"Y/N.. would you feel comfortable here..? I give you my word, we will not touch you.. not hurt you..it's your choice.."

*Laika's (Y/N's) POV*

"Y/N.. would you feel comfortable here..? I give you my word, we will not touch you.. not hurt you..it's your choice.." The captain asks me.. I sniffle into his shoulder. His bare shoulder. "Please.. please, if it's ok - ok with everyone.." I stutter and sniff. "Shhh sweetheart, it's ok.." John reassures me, rubbing my back softly.

He lays me down between him and Kyle. I glance towards Johnny and Ghost. Johnny has finally succeeded in dragging Ghost into the bed. He is as far away from me as he can possibly be on the massive bed. Johnny snuggles up to him and rests his head against Ghost's chest. I can almost see some of the tension leave Ghost's body. I look away and roll to face Kyle. He is already looking at me as I turn around. He smiles softly down at me and whispers "you ok, love?" I nod against the pillow. He motions towards himself and as my eyes meet his motioning hand, I notice that he is also shirtless. Do none of these men wear a shirt to bed?!

I furrow my brows at his gesture "C'mere love, snuggle up to me" he chuckles. "I don't want to be a burden" I sniffle, my face still red and puffy from all of the crying. "Never, now come here" he motions towards himself again. "Gaz.. behave" John warns from his position behind me. "Behaving, sir" - "Better fuckin' be" he grumbles back. His voice was extra gravelly at this time of night. I shuffle towards Kyle and he engulfs me in his arms. He is so warm.. His scent calms me down almost immediately. I push my head so it's resting atop his chest. He slots his chin over the top of my head.

I drift off to sleep, quicker than I had for years. The last thing I feel is a strong, hairy arm wrap around both of us and pull us slightly closer.

[letshaveadepressionparty]

Gus Gus!! I can't remember if I asked you this or if we've discussed it but I'd love to know or re-learn it again lol.

What's your favorite movie and why? It can be any medium, live action or animated! *but bonus points if it's animated jk hehe...maybe lol*

I'll do you one better, I'll tell you all of my favourite animated movies because honestly I can't pick only one AND SORRY I TOOK TOO LONG TO ANSWER I went completely nuts with this btw.

The Tigger Movie

This movie, this fucking movie, because of this movie and Winnie Pooh in general I love the found family trope. That need of Tigger to find his family, all the others jumping in to help him and then trying to cheer him up, and then him realizing that his family has been there right in front of him all this time, his relationships with Roo and Rabbit mean everything to me, the acting and animation YOU COULD FEEL TIGGER'S SORROW, Tigger is my favourite character and this movie fucked me up emotionally and I love it so much.

Lilo and Stitch

OHANA MEANS FAMILY. FAMILY MEANS NOBODY GETS LEFT BEHIND OR FORGOTTEN. It has aliens, complex but loving family dynamics (with found famiy mixed into it), great fucking music (I knew all the dances) and it's beautiful. I've watched every single bit of media related to Lilo and Stitch, every movie and the tv series, and I love it all, but the first movie is so very special to me. The movie kinda grew up with me in a way, because when I was younger I related a lot with Lilo, but then I started relating so much with Nani, mostly because I'm the oldest sibling. Also Jumba and Pleakley are married I will die on this hill.

The Iron Giant

He wanted to be like Superman and he WAS he really was. I haven't seen this movie in a while now, I should rewatch it, but the friendship the kid and the robot had is something beautiful, and just all the humanity and care and love he experienced, he showed all of that way more than most of the humans from that movie. IT'S ART.

Ice Age

The first one specifically, the second one is really cool too but the others are kinda meh to me. Anyway I had this movie on vhs and I watched it so so many times, I know most of the movie by heart. And hey we have a beautiful found damily dynamic yet again!!! How Manny, Sid and Diego's friendship and companionship evolves as the movie progresses is awesome, Sid is fucking hilarious, Manny is a mood, I had a bit of a crush on Diego I'll be honest, and you really feel for all of them. And Scrat is Scrat, an absolute delight to witness.

The Spongebob movie (the first one ever created)

Just like with Ice Age, I know basically all the dialogue all the songs, I would watch this again and again with my little brother (this time on cd) it never gets old man. No thoughts only SpongeBob.

Over the Hedge

I have the soundtrack for this movie in my playlist, enough said. THIS MOVIE IS EVERYTHING, AND AGAIN FOUND FUCKING FAMILY. I'm realising with this list that I like that trope more than I thought, idk what that says about me. Hammy is my favourite guy, he's my little guy he can do no wrong whatsoever. And Stella the skunk is the character ever we love her in this house.

Shrek (the whole fucking saga)

There's no need for explanation here. Might be one of the best animated movie saga out there let's be honest here. AGAIN I have seen these movies so many times I know everything about them but I still enjoy the absolute fuck out of them.

Aardman Animations

Chicken Run, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Flushed Away, The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!...AMAZING FILMS ALL OF THEM. I know not ALL of them are stop motion/claymation, some are computer animated, but because of these movies (and Laika's of course) my love for this animation medium began, and I could not be more thankful for that.

Monster House

My love for horror increased 100% after this movie, it's funny, it's spooky, it gets sad as hell, it has a great plot twist???? What more do you need.

Laika

Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings are my favourites from Laika, but all their other movies are gems as well. Coraline, I don't know if I can completely express why I like it, it's a classic and it's so ingrained in myself after so many years, I can't not love it. Kubo and the Two Strings is a movie I watched much recently, last year I think, and I love it so much, the way it's animated is absolutely stunning it's a beautiful piece of art (much like all of Laika's work) and the story and characters are so lovely. Like I said before, seeing Laika's animations, seeing how much work and love is put into these films made me love stop motion so much and inspired me to become an animator.

Meet the Robinsons

THIS MOVIE MAKES ME SOB UNCONTROLLABLY. That part when Lewis sees his bio mom leave him at the orphanage???? The ending???? The message???? FUCK AHHHH. I'm a mess every time I watch this movie. Everything about it is, lovely oh so lovely, the characters we meet, the story, how we put the pieces of the puzzle together as the story goes, Goob kills me man (also he's literally me for real) I just, this movie means a lot to me. "Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." Reading that and hearing the ending song absolutely DESTROYS ME.

HONORARY MENTIONS (that everyone should check out btw)

Emperor's New Groove and Kronk's New Groove, Road to el Dorado, Treasure Planet, Monsters Inc, Ponyo (and every other Studio Ghibli movie), Song of the Sea (and all other movies made by Cartoon Saloon because they are top tier, absolutely incredible movies), Megamind, The Lego Batman Movie, Manuelita (argentinian animated movie), every fricking 90s/00s Scooby Doo animated movie, Chicken Little, Brother Bear (the first one, the second one is kinda meh to me personally), Sword in the Stone, Klaus, Bolt, Spiderman into/across the spider-verse movies, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs.

[curiouslavellan]

ELLYYYYYY!!!!! 📻📻📻 gimme three for everyone? and also three for soupmates? mayhaps? 👀👀

I'm gonna do everyone who pops into my head right away but I'll try to keep the post from being nine miles long 😂

I don't have a specific playlist for the fic but my Ariel playlist is just also the Ariel/Anders/Justice playlist so let's start there!

Hungover in the City of Dust by Autoheart

The phrase City of Dust has always given me Kirkwall vibes, and I think the progressive sort of panic/agitation in this song reminds me of the build up of the mage issue over the years. There's also a line later that says "powder in my fingernails" which makes me think about the bomb

2. Dinner & Diatribes by Hozier

I think this song would be Anders vibe at any social gathering Ariel ever goes to as Champion lol. big "let's leave." energy. Also I do think Anders cares about the Kirkwall crew and they care about him, but "your friends are a fate that befall me" is undeniably a funny line for hime

3. Share Your Address by Ben Platt

This song is just cute and suits the way Ariel immediately moves them into the estate. There is no such thing as moving too fast in this trio. Make being obsessed with each other wholesome <3

for three more Aurelia songs, I'm gonna go with

Nothing At All by the Crane Wives

This is the first song I ever put on her playlist and actually one that helped me start making her characters, all about how feeling awful is actually better than feeling nothing

2. A Lady by Tally Hall

Very short but I like the sort of dreamy sound of this one for Aurelia and Cole. The phrase "Showed me that I was a gentleman" ties into Cole's quest, especially the way I eventually want to change it for See Fire

3. Something That I Want by Grace Potter

Also sort of a shippy song for the two of them but mostly about her finding drive and some healthy selfishness again after she's cured

More Helaine songs because I'm still working my way through Deadfire so she's heavy on my mind

Infinitesimal by Mother Mother

She literally does have scars on her soul, a problem that consumes her life in the first game. She also has a lot of issues about legacy and the idea of MatteringTM

2. Inkpot Gods by The Amazing Devil

Perfect ship song for her and Aloth, also the lines

And to those gods, I will speak bluntly "We've an accord, if you ever touch or harm him Please, rest assured that you might not fear a man But to a woman, by the end, you'll kneel and plea 'Cause I'm more than what my mum told me to be"

are basically a summary of her entire character

3. My Little Phoenix by Tarja

recommended by @herearedragons <3 I can't help but love attaching very literal fire songs to a girl with a flaming head

Also 3 Halveri songs because she's on my mind a lot now that Veilguard's on the way. heads up 90% of her playlist is sad.

LAIKA by Pigeon Watch

This song. Makes me cry. Every time I hear it. Yes it is literally about the dog, but I also put it on the playlist of any protagonist who just gets chewed up and used by the narrative, so it definitely suits Hal

2. The World We Knew (Over and Over) by Frank Sinatra

This really suits the vibe of the years in between the end of basegame Inquisition and Trespasser, when Halveri didn't even know about the Fen'Harel thing and just thought her regular boyfriend had ran off and abandoned her without warning or explanation

3. Rule #34 by Fish in a Birdcage

I have a worldstate where Halveri and Bull get together instead of her and Solas. This song is blatantly about BDSM. I feel like I don't need to elaborate much here lmao

[safesthaveninexistence]

So grateful I graduated high school. So grateful I graduated middle school. So grateful I left Gallaudet. So grateful I got my black blanket. So grateful I'm not anxious about whether or not I'm accepted by Paris, Milan, LA, New York fashion week. So grateful absolutely nothing was taken from me. So grateful I have absolutely everything I want and need. So grateful I have Magic. So grateful I am enough. So grateful I am more than enough. So grateful I am Magical. So grateful I'm desirable. I'm so grateful I'm attractive as hell. So grateful I LOOK FAMOUS AS HELL IN EVERYONE'S EYES. SO GRATEFUL I DONT CARE ABOUT AGE. So grateful every energy level I'm reigning supreme. So grateful the behind the scenes got my back. So grateful I'm still progressing. So grateful my inner growth doesn't stop for anyone. So grateful I don't have to regret. So grateful I don't have to wait as I can date anyone I want! So grateful I can fuck anyone I want! So grateful I can kiss anyone I want! So grateful I'm loyal to only myself! So grateful I'll move the fuck on! So grateful I'll never regret! So grateful I'm never sad or disappointed over anyone! So grateful no matter what I'll have my love life! So grateful I can have ABSOLUTELY ANYONE I WANT! So grateful I'm not doing anything wrong! So grateful I inherently let go of Laika! So grateful I don't stress over Laika! So grateful I only care about myself. So grateful the Vortex is taking care of everything for me! So grateful I'm on the right path! So grateful I'm naturally following my destiny by being loyal to only me! It's OKAY FOR ME TO WANT ROMANCE THEREFORE IM GETTING ROMANCE RIGHT NOW AND ILL FIND IT IDC. SO GRATEFUL IM SO OVER MY EXES AND FOUND SOMEONE NEW! No matter how I feel, my life is much better than I think and feel. No matter how I feel, I'm actually doing supremely better than I think. No matter how I feel, the behind the scenes puts me at ease FAR INCREDULOUSLY MORE THAN I THINK. No matter how I feel, the behind the scenes INCREDULOUSLY SATISFIES FAR MORE THAN I THINK. No matter how I feel, the behind the scenes INCREDULOUSLY PUTS ME ON THE PEDESTAL FAR MORE THAN I THINK. No matter how I feel, the behind INCREDULOUSLY CARES ABOUT ME WAY MORE THAN I THINK. No matter how I feel, the behind the scenes INCREDULOUSLY PAYS ATTENTION TO ME WAY MORE THAN I THINK. No matter how I feel, the behind the scenes INCREDULOUSLY CHERISHES AND VALUES ME WAY MORE THAN I THINK. No matter how I feel, the BEHIND THE SCENES VALIDATES ME FAR INCREDULOUSLY MORE THAN I THINK. No matter how I feel, the BEHIND THE SCENES IS INCREDULOUSLY FAR MORE IN MY FAVOR THAN I THINK. No matter how I feel, the BEHIND THE SCENES IS GOING THE WAY I DESIRE IT TO INCREDULOUSLY AND SATISFYINGLY WAYYYYYYYY MORE THAN I THINK. So grateful no matter how I feel, the BEHIND THE SCENES IS PREPARING INSANE ASS MAGIC THAT WONT EVER LET ME FEEL LET DOWN EVER AGAIN WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY INCREDULOUSLY FAR MORE THAN I THINK. So grateful I can sleep with Kim k if I wanted to. So grateful I'm blessed to have ABSOLUTELY ALL OF MY HEARTS DESIRES. So grateful I'm in a MOVIE!!!!!!!!! No matter how I feel, BEHIND THE SCENES IM INCREDULOUSLY REIGNING SUPREME INCREDULOUSLY FARRRRRRRRR MORE THAN I THINK LOL! So grateful no matter how I feel, BEHIND THE SCENES I'm INCREDULOUSLY AND STAGGERINGLY WAYYYYYYYYYY MORE UNFORGETTABLE, INDISPENSABLE, IRREPLACEABLE AND INDISPOSABLE THAN I THINK! So grateful no matter how I feel, behind the scenes I'm INCREDULOUSLY FARRRRRRRRRRRRR MORE HAUNTING THAN I THINK. So grateful no matter how I feel, behind the scenes IM INCREDULOUSLY WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY MORE LOVEDDDDD FAVORED RESPECTED ADMIRED CHERISHED REVERED THAN I THINK! So grateful no matter how I feel, behind the scenes THE UNIVERSE IS INCREDULOUSLY SPEEDING ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING UP SO I CAN HAVE MY LAIKA IN THE PHYSICAL REALM RN!!!!! So grateful No matter how I feel, behind the scenes THE UNIVERSE IS ROOTING FOR ME AND LAIKA TO BE TOGETHER IN THE PHYSICAL REALM RN AND GOING APESHIT AT ENSURING WE FIND EACH OTHER IN THE PHYSICAL REALM IN THE FLESH RN.

[worldwright]

Good evening !

We're planning to move in middle june if we're late. omg i can't believe we're so close to this >.< i'll be OUT in no time and barely talking to my parents

i'm gonna prepare my meal for tomorrow (there's smth happening in my town, and we'll ate in a park with some friends, if i take pictures and all, i'll send you them over on discord bc i'm NOT putting my face and my town out there on tumblr, not even disclosing the event lmao, my father basically worked in digital security/hunt back when he was still in the military, so i know things too well), gonna make some onigiri with eggs in it

so i might be late tomorrow

Laika went to the groomer today, i don't like that since she doesn't smell like she normally does (i don't like artificial scents :/ hurt my nose), but she's an australian shepherd so it's needed

have a wonderful morning my friend !

yeah digital safety is good lol, I should probably start doing better myself (:

non-smelly dog?? sad :((((((( it's ok, she'll be stinky again soon 🥰🥰🥰

my friend and I finished the main story if cyberpunk 2077 last night, and I was so sad that it was over :(((((( AND THEN THIS MORNING THE GAME WAS 50% OFF ON STEAM??????? anyway I got it and now I gotta like. learn. how to play video games. or I could just fuck around in character creation lol

tattoo today and picking up the car for apartment walkthrough tomorrow!!!!!!!!

hope your potluck is fun!! have a wonderful evening, friend :3

[fairyhaven13]

Friend the thing about Russia killing the dog is a lil… ick. Like yes it was sad, but she’s remembered because the Russians took great pains to honor her!!! America did a lot worse stuff to animals in their space program/ science fields. Like Russians aren’t some big scary monstrous people- this is Cold War era anti Russian sentiment and we can do better than that.

Did I imply that my disgust over the dog meant I was xenophobic towards Russians and thought Americans were better? Because if so, I'm sorry, that's not even slightly true. I don't think Russians are, like, animal torturers or something like that. That's ridiculous. I'm disgusted over Laika because her death was horrid. It has nothing to do with them being Russian, and frankly I'm not sure why you even brought that up as if it would convince me my repulsion is wrong. If I was talking about how Americans had forced an animal to die a long, slow death for science -- which I know we have before -- I would be and am just as repulsed.

Sure, it's nice they remembered her and honored her. She doesn't care. She's dead. She died in a very sad, very painful way, and a lot of the people in charge told the public it was quick--a direct lie--in order to keep people from being too upset. A few of the scientists have come out saying they feel awful. Which I'm not surprised by, because they're human and they should feel awful. It was awful. It's nice people write songs and draw art of Laika, but it doesn't excuse it. I genuinely don't care what people group did it. It's still wrong. I'm sorry it makes you feel icky for me to acknowledge that instead of pretending to be xenophobic so you'll feel better.

Think of it this way. A man is on his way to work. A bad man holds his bus at gunpoint. Someone calls the police but they are coming very slowly instead of driving directly there. The work man gets up and fights the bad man, getting shot but still holding the bad man back from shooting others. The others cheer but do not help. The work man doesn't know why they aren't helping. The police finally get there and arrest the bad man. The good man dies after fighting with extensive injuries. Statues are erected of him in his honor. Does his ghost appreciate the statues after dying in such a painful, confusing manner? Or is the sentiment just a little... ick?

[leporellian]

i think it 100% depends on exactly what it is we're trying to do with the production...

like IF i'm going to see a fairly lighthearted take on it or a 'there's something for everyone' type show... yeah cutting it is best tone-wise because otherwise the whiplash between 'show for everyone :)' and 'God let me tell you about these Fucking women' is enough to kill a wildebeest with cranial tension. also i am of the opinion we should be allowed to change the magic flute in whatever way we want, just like in general (to a degree far more drastic than most operas), and there's some pretty interesting and creative ways to cut the sexism or explain what exactly is sarastro's deal.

IF a production is trying to interrogate the work or ask why we still do it or any other sort of darker takes on the whole thing, then i'm more fine about it staying in- that is, IF the production can do something smart about it. which is a very big IF and honestly not one i trust many people with.

with Song of the Sky i just cut out nearly all of the gender-related conflict entirely. this is actually one of the reasons i wanted to do the magic flute with animals- specifically cats- and not something more person-adjacent. like they're cats man it doesn't matter. tamino and pamina don't fall in love, monostatos doesn't have a thing for pamina, the queen and sarastro being enemies has nothing to do with their gender, the only real trace of it is papageno and papagena and even then given she's dead before the story even starts they won't be going very far. (note: i am also bad at writing romance.) sarastro's council is gender-neutral; the character of the speaker is female. i don't want to be dealing with writing misogyny when the focus of SotS is elsewhere and too many animal books are like weirdly focused around it.

i am a believer in both sarastro and the queen sucking, and i like it when productions make it clear that they're both bad- or at least deeply, deeply flawed people. but you can still get that dynamic across without including the racism and sexism. sarastro still kidnaps pamina and tears her apart from her mother just so he can offer 'his side of events'. he still is fully willing to let tamino and pamina die if they can't become what he wants them to be (with the text implying that sarastro would absolutely subject papageno to this fate also and is simply choosing to spare him). he still goes about parading that he knows everything and that everything he does is correct, and finally i dunno i feel like the fact two different people nearly kill themselves over something caused by his bullshit kind of makes the point that Something is Wrong about this Man! like you don't need the misogyny when all that is happening!

(always so crazy to me that BOTH sarastro and the queen are like, kind of sacrificing tamino. like WHY would the queen send tamino if she can clearly just walk right on over herself like she does later, and why does she claim she's 'too weak' to do it. it feels like she's deliberately sending him because that way he'd die instead of her. then you got sarastro and his 'either you say i'm always right abt everything or you Die' thing. like god it's sad. tamino!!! tamino you laika coded bitch!!! you're not escaping the fucking cycles!!!!!! God Fuck! anyway.)

finally: i DO think productions should always work to cut the racism around monostatos's character and to reinvent much of him every time around, because i think that's an entirely different power dynamic at hand than the misogyny thing and can't be made into a 'haha! they are being proven wrong!' thing like the sexism can.

@leporellian

[stickynotestoletters]

May I request some more about those threesomes with Sal and Larry mentioned in your last SF post, bestie? Because I'm living for it.

of course bestie 😫🖐

Keep in mind I do like SalLarry a lot so if I say that they don’t “match up” It’s 'cause you’re in this universe which changes the relationship dynamic a lot, think of the Butterfly effect

og hcs here

Warnings: NSFW, top larry, switch sal, kinda turns into a poly dynamic a bit I’ll probably write a poly dynamic like that officially later

SalLarry x GN (Masc Body) Reader

I’m gonna start this off with Sal and Larry before

they had a great friendship even with them being fuckbuddies sometimes 

it just wouldn’t have worked out with this dynamic preference

Sal was always bottoming and even if he likes it more than topping he still wants to top sometimes

so he tries to convince Larry to let him top and Larry’s like “k, I mean, I’ll try it”

And so they prepped him up and it was okay but then Sal put it in and Larry just started to laugh-cry because it felt so weird

So the dynamic stayed

Then you came along and so Larry and Sal stopped for a while

They were both chill with it

fast forward to after senior year in the college house once you moved in with Sal

Where one night Larry came over with Sal to the house really drunk

I mean they were absolutely pounded by the time they got there

And they were horny as fuck

So they asked if you’d be down to fuck them both

And obviously, you fucking agreed

I mean you and Sal talk about it later because how could you not, but if Sal is proposing the idea you’re not saying no

Sal is possessive about you sometimes but Larry’s his best friend

So they lay you down on the bed and prep you

Sal’s different from how he usually is and it is not just cause of the alcohol

you realize he’s in one of his dominant moods

And not only is this exciting just because he never really feels like this in general it’s exciting because Larry’s here and he’s just as dominant as Sal is

So they end up taking you to pound town and you don’t end up stopping until the sun rises that morning

Sal was so different that day you agree to more threesomes just to feel him go that hard

Sal is a gentleman in bed whenever he can be with you

but something just happened that night and you wanna see it again

not to say Larry was bad, if anything he was one of the best you’ve had, besides Sal of course

Sal is almost always topping whenever your threesomes do become a regular occurrence

But when he does bottom, he’s letting you ride him while he’s taking Larry’s cock

Whenever Larry is the one fucking you, he’s so rough with it

 just not caring about if you get pleasure or not but how could you not with how good he’s hitting your prostate???

He’s going so fucking hard it’s making you cry

They like to put you in the middle, getting fucked so hard by Larry and hearing Sal, so fucked out, moaning about your cock

Larry, you’ve found, really likes to leave hickies

especially on your shoulders

he likes thigh fucking Sal sometimes and leaving hickies on his thighs as well

Larry prefers Doggystyle as well, it’s just so easy to pull Sal’s and your hips back onto his 

Larry doesn’t have the strongest libido but he’s strong regardless

like really strong

he’s just a naturally buff guy! And when he starts working out to help around with Lisa more god is he buff

sometimes, if you’re tired you agree to let them fuck

and the first time they did that you were in the room, just cause it doesn’t really bother you to hear people fucking it out

Also, cause you enjoy looking at Sal getting the fucking of his life

And you glance over so casually just in enough time to see Larry slamming Sal up against the wall, holds his legs up all the way to his chest at the juncture of his knees, and fucks him so fucking fast and hard

Sal’s crying out so much

gasping so pathetically and holding Larry by the neck, pulling his hair

So pathetic and so pretty for him

Larry’s saying all this dirty shit to him and Larry’s probably the best dirty talker you’ve ever heard

“God, pathetic little puppy, so good taking my cock” 

“That’s all your pretty little hole’s good for huh? Fucking?” 

And Sal’s crying out and you’re sitting there watching Larry’s arms flex and so you put down your homework cause that can wait

right now all you’re thinking about is getting fucked like Sal

So Larry ends up fucking both of you so well that day

Although you were responsible enough to be able to finish your homework anyway it was a lot

When Sal brings up kinks, cause although the sex is amazing he just feels like it could be just that little push more

Larry’s really into seeing you and Sal dress up for him

Not roleplay per se but just you in a cute little maid outfit and Sal fucking you is just so hot to him

Larry also likes creampies 

It’s just really hot to him and honestly, anything with cum is hot

He enjoys ropes and gags and most of the other kinks you propose but Larry’s a simple man

He’s good with everything except hurting you guys

He can get into degradation and all that but actually hurting you guys would not be his thing

The mornings after used to be really sad

Larry would feel bad like he was imposing on you two or something

So he would leave once the two of you fell asleep to go sleep in his own bed

He’d tried to act like it didn’t happen cause he felt like you two would be weird about it or get freaked out

despite how he looks he’s a sensitive guy

So you and Sal talk about it

You’re both fine with including him in your dynamic, but it really depends

So the night after you two invite him for a threesome and when he gets up to leave you two pull him back into the bed

You talk about it there

Larry says he loves the threesomes ”Who wouldn’t? haha” He just feels like he’s imposing and doesn’t really wanna get involved with something romantic at the time because he’s not ready

He’s still figuring himself out with life in general and all that so he’s not ready for something romantic with anybody, especially with his two best friends

You all come to agree that it’s not going to be an official thing unless Larry feels like it should be, you already love each other so you don’t want to mess up your friendship with this

So you spoil Larry, make him feel welcomed and included

And he does the same in return

At one point Larry tells you two he just can’t have romantic feelings for you two and you’re both okay with that

So, once Larry feels ready, he ends up getting a cute s/o and moving out

Sometimes you still have threesomes/foursomes

but it’s all smooth sailing from there

Okay, so this did end up with really implied poly dynamics at the end so I think I’ll make a different one where you all do end up together. But for now, I’m gonna clarify, the whole time you guys were fucking none of you had romantic relationships with each other (except you and Sal) so Larry just felt like he was imposing or y’all were taking pity or whatever so you guys just tried to conveyed that he was welcome. It wasn’t because of some stupid anxiety he had it was because you two genuinely enjoyed having him there.

 Anyway just request and I’ll be happy to write!

-Laika

[animated-atrocities]

Coraline: Seriously, Be Careful What You Wish For!

Coraline (2009)

Synopsis:

While exploring her new home, a girl named Coraline discovers a secret door, behind which lies an alternate world that closely mirrors her own but, in many ways, is better. She rejoices in her discovery, until Other Mother and the rest of her parallel family try to keep her there forever. Coraline must use all her resources and bravery to make it back to her own family and life. -Google

Memorable Quotes:

"No way I'm letting you sew buttons in my eyes!"

"I have no clue where your old parents are... perhaps they got bored of you and ran away to France."

"Say got any magic mud for me? I have a serious case of writers rash on my a-"

Does it hold up to how I remember?

Laika Studios is a studio a lot of us are familiar with but also just don't know it! They've produced movies like Paranorman and the movie I'm reviewing today, Coraline! One thing I loved about this movie is the incredible foreshadowing, I'm sure it's well known by now that I love animated movies that don't dumb down their content just because it is for a presumed 'child audience.' Instead, it's witty, smart, and so much fun!! (for goodness sake she's searching for kids eyeballs) So getting into the film itself and whether or not it holds up... obviously, I still love it and probably always will but let's get into why! One of the first things I caught on this viewing and really stuck with me now that I'm older is just how exhausted Coraline's parents are with her, honestly, it's kind of sad to witness them just be completely annoyed and over her well overall existence (can't blame 'em though, Coraline was lowkey a brat, respectfully!) One character that I found a delight in the movie was the Other Father, man was the light in the Other Mother's dark, wicked world. Being nothing more than a pawn in her sick game, but still having genuine love or at the very least remorse for the Other Mother's latest victim. Needless to say, Coraline is such a sick protagonist!! if I were in her shoes I woulda just killed myself no lie. I mean the Other Mother's transformation to not only the spindly witch but also a giant frickin' spider was just the icing on top of a nightmare Sunday!! I'm very happy this movie is as well known as it is, it deserves all the hype.

Annnd that’s all, thanks for reading! If you'd like to recommend a Halloween movie you can find it on the sidebar under 'recommendations' :D

[sleepy-writes-stuff]

(short continuation to the prompt I wrote, which is linked below. I thought I was done with this, but then @victoria-has-no-secret and @bluerosefox had some ideas to incorporate into it. Screenshots of said ideas are also below but are sprinkled throughout the post too.)

(*) = Me building off of other ideas

TW: mentions of animal death

← previous

✦

After the whole fiasco with the Justice League, Danny gets an idea. Not very many people actually know about Laika, at least from what he could see of the majority of the Justice League who had never learned about her. Although, to be fair, a lot of them come from different planets. Either way, it gives Danny the idea to create a YouTube channel starring Laika to teach the people of Earth about the pup.

The channel immediately garners attention from all around the world, and even winds up on a couple of news stations too! It grows so much that Danny decides to expand further than just Laika, but to the other things that were sent into space in the quest for knowledge: The space rovers as well as many other animals.

Laika even leads Danny to them as he ventures further into space with a specially made camera that can withstand traversing space and the differing atmosphereic conditions of other planets. He manages to find every single one of them, discovering that maybe Laika hadn't been as alone as he'd first thought as he watches and records her playing with the spirits (imprints?) of the rovers, chimps, mice, and many other animals haunting the endless void of the cosmos.

People back on earth are going wild with the knowledge that their hopes, thoughts, and feelings helped to give life to beings that had long been dead/stopped working. They have no idea what to feel about this new information except an amalgamation of pure awe, curiosity, joy, guilt, and sadness. They still mourned the loss of Laika, the rovers, and everyone before and after them, but knowing that their existence wasn't completely lost soothed an ache many didn't know they carried with them when they were there to witness the beginning of such astronomical leaps in technology.

To also know that out of the many stars shooting across the sky, one of them might be Laika happily racing amongst the stars with her friends brought many to tears. At every opportunity, they wished for the sweet pup's happiness and the continuing health of their own furry companions down on Earth with them. They also wished that upon the eventuality that they have to part with their companions that maybe a few of them would join Laika and her friends in stars to keep them company for many years to come.

Although many of these wishes were heard by Desiree, she refused to touch such hopeful and well-meaning wishes for fear of twisting them in unseemly ways, allowing them to form on their own. The other ghosts among Danny's rouges even made a deal with each other to not interfere or attack the town when Danny was recording his videos out in space.

It was beyond bad manners to interfere with another ghost's obsession, after all.

✦

I'm gonna go cry some more. I've learned more about the progress of space exploration in the past couple hours than I probably should. This is the last thing I'm adding onto this prompt. If any of y'all wanna continue it, be my guest!

Notes:

(*) One more thing to add. Where are the ghost hunters/Guys in White during all of this? If they start making a fuss over Phantom and all the ghost animals, do they get a bunch of civilians raiding their government facilities and causing them bodily harm? What's happening with the Justice League? Are they sitting back and eating popcorn while all this goes down? Who knows. :)