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shushiyuii · 3 years ago

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Reunited (Subject T0m part 5)

AYOO PART 5! Woohoo! Angst time!~ :3

(Also I’m out of requests so feel free to send some! Also quick question, would you guys like a new au or more atlantic runaways?)

Warnings: Angst, almost injury and sadness

Words: 1.9K+

Tommy sat next to Wilbur’s desk playing with shroud fiddling with his little arms whilst Wilbur worked on things like usual, things were definitely different between the two of them but not really in a good way.

The two were closer than before if that were somewhat possible, he still wasn’t able to tell Wil about his memories, but he’ll find to do so eventually, but he did notice something, despite being so close to Wilbur there close to nothing he knew of his home life, he knew it wasn’t bad since well, Phil was like a dad to him, he was a good man.

He had yet to ask Phil about his past despite their recent encounters, no moment felt like the right moment.

Tommy had actually been practising some handwriting, although bad was improving with each passing day and each day he showed Wilbur, Wilbur was able to better understand it so his plan was working, just not as quickly as he’d like.

Wilbur was also trying to periodically teach him sign language so that was an added bonus, just none of it came into use when wanting to discuss what he wanted since his vocabulary is still very limited.

He looked over to Wilbur who said he was going to arrange another meeting between him and Ranboo and he was beyond excited! Why? Because Ranboo was one of his very best friends in this facility besides his best pal Wilbur of course.

He whined for the attention of Wilbur, who looked over with a smirk, “What is it bud?”. He brought his hands out to sign but couldn’t think of anything to say. “Is it about Ranboo?”.

He nodded, “Dad said yes to it tomorrow, but there’ll be a new person. He’s a new intern, good friends with Ranboo apparently and needs more experience”.

He tilted his head for a moment then nodded, he wondered who this researcher was. But then Wilbur stretched out of his chair and yawned, seeming tired from the hard day of work.

Tommy responded by picking up Wilbur who looked confused for a moment but just went with it. He hadn’t notice Tommy change size. “I guess it’s sleepover day?”. He got a happy whine in response to that.

Tommy held Wilbur close to his chest as he sat down against the wall, both falling asleep.

The next day, the transportation officers arrived and Wilbur said it wasn’t necessary due to Tommy being friendly, they reluctantly agreed to it. So, for the first time Tommy was allowed into the facilities hallways to follow Wilbur to the destination.

He was mesmerised by how the hallways were architecturally designed, all the patterns looked fascinating, Wilbur had to make sure Tommy kept close and focused but always held a smile on his face.

Soon enough when passing through the facility there was a window that held coral and fishes, he’d never seen such fish before, all the colours were beautiful and soon somebody noticed him looking at the fish.

It wasn’t Wilbur, he had stopped to look back and see Tommy staring and allowed him to since there was now a person inside the tank, they had pink hair and a gorgeous pink tail along with it, with fish like qualities such as fins for ears, scaled claws, and fangs. They also had coral in their hair, which looked like a crown. To say the least she was beautiful.

“Hey Nikki!” the subject inside the tank looked over and waved at Wilbur, smiling. They also made a strange chirping sound, Tommy tilted his head to signify that he was confused, which Wilbur laughed. “Tommy, this is Subject N1KK1, also known as Nikki the mermaid, she’s Puffy’s subject if you remember me mentioning her”.

He remembered Puffy, from that dream and smiled, happy to have made a new friend along the way. “I’ll have to arrange a meeting between the two of you, if possible, Nikki is a sweetheart”. The mermaid on the other side heard and seemed to blush at the statement.

“We better get going now though, don’t wanna be late. We’ll see you around Nikki! Tell Puffy we said hi!”. Then made their way to the meeting cells.

When he arrived, he saw Ranboo sitting down nervously, sitting next to an individual he didn’t really recognise, he could only see the right side of his face which appeared to be scarred and somewhat long grown, fluffy, brown hair but their voice was very much familiar.

He saw Wilbur approach Phil who was sitting at a desk. “Hey, Dad!”, “Hey mate- wait- where’s your transportation officers?”. “Told them Tommy was well behaved enough to be taken by myself”. Phil sighed, “Wilbur, we still need to follow guidelines.”.

Wilbur huffed, “It’s not going to be all the time dad, Tommy can’t be held in there all day”. They both looked back to see Tommy staring at the two of them. “Hey mate! You doing alright?”. Tommy smiled and ran over to hug the man, who happily patted his head.

The three of them then made their way to meet up with Tubbo and Ranboo, which both looked up, Phil looked somewhat concerned at Ranboo, “You okay mate? Do you need time or something?”.

“I-I’m fine Phil, something just feels off…”. When Ranboo had a bad feeling like this it usually meant an enderwalk was coming, maybe they could stop it before anything happened.

Tommy whined worriedly at Ranboo and approached him carefully, embracing him into a hug. “Thanks Toms…”. “Toms?...”. Tubbo looked confused at the name choice, and both of them looked over to Tubbo.

“Oh right! Tommy you haven’t met Tubbo yet have you?”. Phil said excitingly, but he blacked out at that moment, he looked into Tubbo’s eyes who seemed just as shook, yep, they definitely recognised him…

“T-Tommy?...”. There were tears in Tubbo’s eyes, the other three looked beyond confused. Tommy didn’t move, instead thought of something and for reason spoke out the name, “B-big m-man…”. It was barely audible and distorted but Tubbo seemed to understand the tone of it.

“Tommy!” he rushed over and hugged the boy, he had forgotten how strong Tubbo was since he almost fell over but kept the two standing. “You idiot! I thought you were dead!”. A strange sound erupted from his chest, which seemed to be laughter and Tommy had his own tears in his eyes.

Phil had a look of shock on his face as he realised what this meant, “W-wait Tommy, do you remember?”. Tommy looked over to Phil and nodded, Phil’s face turned from one of shock to guilt. “Oh my..”. he couldn’t continue as he looked towards his concerned and worried son.

He sighed as he grabbed him by the shoulder and brought him close to his chest, rubbing his back soothingly despite not needing it, comforting Wilbur was a form of comfort to him, so it was only natural.

Tubbo cried for a while in Tommy’s arms, Ranboo came over to comfort the boy, despite not being able to do much because of Tubbo’s tears. “I-I thought…”. Tubbo tried to speak but Tommy continued to rub his back soothingly, comforting the boy as much as possible. The two were reunited.

After what seemed like a couple of hours, which in reality one hour. Tubbo had finally calmed to a point where he seemed pretty happy. He stood up and playfully punched Tommy in the arm, “How are you even alive?!” He smirked but the answer was already clear and Tubbo couldn’t care, he had his friend back.

Tommy playfully responded by growing in size slightly and pouncing on Tubbo, “Woah! You can do this now?!” Tommy smirked in response. Tubbo didn’t seem to mind the lack of speech from him as he smiled back. The two heard Ranboo giggle behind them.

The three of them then looked to Phil and Wilbur, who was trying to comfort his father. Tommy carefully poked his back to get his attention, Phil looked to Tommy with guilt and went to speak, “Tommy I’m-“.

But Tommy put a finger to his mouth and smiled, signifying forgiveness. “Seems he forgives you Dad”. Phil looked back to his son and smiled, who smiled back. Then they were all grabbed by Tommy and held into a group hug.

But, the emotions of the day didn’t end there, as they were discussing, Ranboo began to walk jaggedly, not being to balance without the help of somebody and complaining of a headache.

Phil tried to reassure him to stay calm and level but that all changed when Ranboo let out a monster roar and his eyes glowed a bright purple. Ranboo was gone.

The ender walk Ranboo then teleported away, Tommy immediately panicked and tried calling out for Ranboo with his whines but got no response, which increased his worry. Then Phil took command.

“Okay, Wilbur go alert security to keep an eye out for Ranboo. Tommy, Tubbo could you help me find Ranboo please?”. As soon as that was said, both of them booked it out of the room, Phil tailing behind them trying to keep up. Whilst Wilbur went a different direction.

The two looked through many different hallways, none of them stopping, they ran into the security multiple times asking for any signs but were told they found none. They kept looking and re-entered the meeting room, they saw Ranboo there, but not in the same way he was different.

His arms were below his hips, his jaw seemed somewhat unhinged, his eyes glowed a bright purple, he was taller, his claws sharper, all the more terrifying. Phil motioned for the two to stay behind him as he went to approach Ranboo much to their reluctance.

Phil managed to get close enough to touch Ranboo, and carefully tapped his arm. Ranboo immediately turned around in alert and roared at Phil, raising his arm in defence.

Before Ranboo could hit him though, Tommy ran over and blocked the attack by forming claws on his own arms and covering Phil.

Phil thanked Tommy as Phil tried to talk to Ranboo, despite being covered by Tommy. Ranboo eyes wandered around the room and looked over to Tubbo, who then disappeared from Phil and Tommy’s sight.

Both turned immediately to Tubbo, who Ranboo teleported over to. Tubbo flinched back but rather than attack Tubbo, Ranboo crouched onto his knees to appear at the same height as Tubbo, who made strange sounds that appeared friendly.

Tubbo approached carefully and raised his arm to touch Ranboo, Ranboo leaned into the touch happily whilst making another strange noise and began to purr. Soon after, he groaned and his eyes snapped open again, to see Tubbo’s hand to his face.

“What happened?”, which made Phil laugh. “Enderwalk mate.”. Ranboo ‘oh’ed at this fact and looked down.

Then Ranboo’s form reverted to what it once was and despite all that, the four settled down and talked, which Wilbur joined soon after with panic as he saw the security feed, worried if Tommy got hurt, which he didn’t much to Tommy’s relief.

Then Phil talked seriously to the four of them about the facilities secrets and all of them were sworn to secrecy.

Wilbur and Tubbo were shocked at this fact but surprisingly okay with it nonetheless since, without it, Tommy and Tubbo wouldn’t be together again and they would all never have met.

#mcyt g/t #mcytg/t #dsmp g/t #Subject t0m au #giant!tommy #sizeshifter!tommy #giant!ranboo #tiny!ranboo #tiny!tubbo #tiny!wilbur #tiny!phil #tiny!nikki #Shushi's writings

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kimageddon · 3 years ago

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A Prince of Dathomir - Chapter 69

-|- Page header by space-b33 -|- Banners and headers by canesjedi31 -|- Masterlist -|- Prince of Dathomir Masterlist (Maul x Nightsister OC) -|- Check out my : Ko-fi / AO3 -|- Prompt Challenges -|- Join my tag list -|- Chapter Summary: Zaiya undertakes her first day of training instruction and sees some familiar faces. Notes: This one was a bit cute, I hope you enjoyed it. Havoc is indeed an OC, idk if there is a Trooper with that name but I thought it suited here. I do plan to have him in there a little while longer, lmk what you think of him! Also yay! We get to see the boys again! I missed them. And the toothpick trick comes full circle! I think Cross was impressed? Maybe? I have so much to get through, and next week we will see a little more of these boys and some of her tactics... the clones might not like her much for a while... oops haha. As always thank you for reading and I love to see when people have read my stuff and what they think, I love any and all comments and I read them all (though I may not reply promptly, I am still enamoured with them). So please, your feedback, thoughts, predictions are always great! I hope you enjoyed and I will see you all next week!

Stay safe and be well! <3

Bide - Part 1

It was a few days of the same routine before Zaiya truly stood up to enact her own lessons. Her first day of command had Jango walk up the line of ARC troopers and hand off the instruction to her, though they were at attention, there were a few glances and slight frowns sent her way. She ignored them for now and took her place before them, relaxed her shoulders, her hands clasped behind her back. She was dressed in her version of armour, even if they were only lined leather plates, it was lightweight, sleek and all in black other than a scarlet sash over her left shoulder and tucked into the wide belt at her waist. She regarded all the clones before her before speaking.

“Soldiers, today you will run what we have dubbed ‘the gauntlet’, it is an obstacle course designed to test your ability in a more realistic situation. Instead of one task you will have several.” she tapped in the commands into the communicator on her inner left wrist, typing in some commands. The training room began to change positions and set up for a sort of trail. She gestured to the new changes with a gloved hand, pausing at a platform at waist-height for the six foot clones. “You will begin here,” she laid her hand on the ‘table’ as she addressed them. “This platform here, you will take your blaster and break it down as if for cleaning. You will leave it disassembled on the platform, then follow this path,” she gestured to a line of lights lit up on the panel floor, “and swing across these bars. If you touch the ground you stop, and move to the next obstacle immediately. Each completed obstacle earns points, each mistake loses points.” She gestured to a set of platforms moving in and out of the wall, seemingly at random.

“From there you must navigate the platforms up to the top, from there, you must avoid fire from the droid, you aren’t to shoot back, but avoid fire through that section, use the low walls as cover.” She paused and smiled, holding up a finger, “But there is a twist; you must then guide your following team mate through after you using only hand signals. If a man is shot, both men lose points.”

She stepped over to the otherside of the little table platform and gestured to the next area. In this there were three very slender droids on platforms leading downwards, and each of the droids had a knife in each hand, though for training purposes they weren’t real vibroblades, and only made of plastoid, but would hurt if they took one to an unshielded face.

“The knives you must counter with your own, making your way down to the tunnel. In here you must get through as quickly and quietly as possible, there are sensors that will let us know if you go through too loudly.” She stepped back to the table and tapped it gently. “Lastly, you will return to your blaster, reassemble it, and down range--” she gestured to a set of moving targets toward the back of the room, “you will then try to shoot as many targets as you can in twenty seconds.” She turned back to face them, “Once you finish your run, you will head back up to guide the next man through the blaster avoidance.” She paused, “and one last thing, you will be asked questions during this course. I will ask you simple requests into your comm, you must reply as soon as possible. These answers along with your time, the mistakes and the hand signals, will be calculated into a final score which we will reveal at the end.”

It was an intense course, but one that she was sure, after witnessing what they currently drilled, was possible for them. It was challenging but she was sure that with practice, they would all have brilliant scores sooner rather than later. She clasped her hands behind her again and looked them over once more, they seemed to be antsy. Understandable since it seemed new and foreboding.

“Any questions?” she asked, stepping over to them. There seemed to be a few murmurs between them and she frowned, “If you have something to say Troopers, speak up.” Her tone was firm and the murmurs stopped. After a moment of silence, then one of the men turned and looked at her with a glare.

“What qualifications do you have that you can stand there and teach us how to be soldiers?” he snapped.

“Havoc!” Alpha stepped forward, shooting a glare at the trooper. Zaiya held up her hand.

“It’s alright Captain, let me handle this--” she walked slowly along the line until she reached the angry trooper. “Havoc, yes?”

“Yes… ma’am.” he added the latter as an afterthought. She would have to punish him for disrespect somehow, though she knew respect was earned and not forced, so she would not be one of those tyrants.

“You disagree with the course I designed for you?”

“I disagree with some unknown woman coming in out of nowhere and with no experience being able to teach us something we don’t know! It’s ridiculous,” he scoffed, “you’re not even of the Republic! I heard what you said, some witch from the Outer Rim? How do we even know that this course is passable?”

“Alright, say I ignore the insubordination and disrespect here…” she began, “and assume that I am just some bounty hunter. In what way does my making an impossible task benefit me? If you fail, I fail. I have observed your skills over the last week and I think you will find this challenging, but not impossible.” She folded her arms and smirked, “That being said, I think we have a volunteer for the first run!” The soldier blanched and moved to say something when she leaned forward.

“That was not a suggestion, trooper.” Her tone left no room for argument and the commanding tone was one that had all the ARCs straightening up slightly. She turned to Alpha and noticed him eyeing her warily. “Captain, would you be so kind as to move to the top ramp to guide him through with hand signals please?” she flashed him a smile and noticed the clone frown. However he nodded and shoved his helmet on his head and headed up to the location she’d indicated.

She activated the course for all it’s moving sections and the intimidating thing came to life before their eyes. She gestured to the spot where Havoc had to stand. He was the most hesitant of the troopers, and she supposed these Alpha series were more like Jango and a little less blindly obedient. The thought worried her a little. If the others were so obedient then she could not imagine what the wrong commander would do. It made her shiver.

For now however, she ignored it, and focused on the task at hand, switching her demeanour from jovial to serious. Havoc stood at the pedestal and once he looked at her, she hit the timer on her comm and commanded him to begin. He was quick, and managed to move from the gun to the next task and swung himself across the bars. It was then she asked her first question.

“Trooper, how do I get to the cafeteria from training room 4?” she asked, he faltered, both in answer and in his swing, losing momentum and nearly falling as he fumbled for the answer, telling her rough directions but missing a few points. He reached the end of the obstacle, his feet scraping the floor just before he landed. She asked her next question and it seemed he was having trouble switching focus, though it was still far better response time than any civilian. The task where he had to watch for hand signals and dodge enemy fire was his strongest, until she started asking him questions. He slowed down, and ended up taking two shots in the pauldron before clearing. The rest was the same, he was skilled and clever though there were a lot of mistakes. Had this been a real scenario, he likely would have gotten himself killed. In the final, he ran to his blaster and as he was putting it together she commed in with one more task.

“Only red targets--” she began but he’d fired off two shots before she’d finished speaking and he froze for a second before only hitting the remaining red targets. The instant he was done she stopped the timer.

“What was that?!” he snapped, yanking off his bucket, “you didn’t say anything about specific targets…!”

“No I didn’t, but command might not either,” she replied, her serious expression melted away and she smiled, making the clone pause and raise a brow, “well done Trooper,” she nodded, leaving him confused, she could feel it coming from him. Had he expected her to berate him for his mistakes? Of course he made errors, it was his first time doing such a thing, if he kept it up, he could only get better.

With one assessment complete, she turned to the rest of the Alpha Company and began directing them to choose the next participant. Things ran a little more smoothly after that. By the end of the session, each man had run the course and she issued each of their scores to their devices, letting them choose whether they wished to share their scores.

As she was returning the room to it’s default manner, Havoc approached her with his bucket under his arm. He stood to her left, just waiting for her to acknowledge him. She was a little confused, he seemed antsy, what was he waiting for? He didn’t have to-- oh, he was a soldier, she was a trainer, he couldn’t speak freely.

“Havoc you can just start talking if you have something to say,” she told him, turning to face him, one hand on her hip.

“The protocol says--”

“Unless I am in the middle of a conversation, then --if you’ll pardon my tongue-- fuck the protocols.” She gave him a flat look and he looked surprised.

“Uh… yes ma’am,” he managed. Zaiya wrinkled her nose.

“I’m gonna have to make someone give me a rank or something, being called ‘ma’am’ makes me feel like some old crone,” she ran a hand over her braid and she heard him choke on a laugh. Well, that was interesting, she hadn’t expected him to crack so easily. “So, what can I help you with, Havoc?” She looked up at him with an amused smile and Havoc stared at her for a second and blinked like he forgot what he was doing.

“I… uh… uhm…” he looked a little flustered which only made her smile wider, “Will… will we get another chance? I want to beat my score,” the trooper finally grunted and frowned.

“Of course, the course is meant to be challenging, but I know you boys will be able to get better and better, you’ll be able to get over 90 in no time.” She grinned and he looked bewildered. Her comm alerted her that the room was reset and she nudged the trooper’s arm and he looked like his hackles were rising. Perhaps this was his attempt to try and intimidate her? Tell her off? She wasn’t sure.

“Alright, head to the mess, soldier, you'll need a decent feed after that workout.” He stood still and she tapped his chestplate with her knuckle, “go on then…!” He seemed to gather himself and go, she suspected he was trying to think of some insult that wouldn’t get him in too much trouble, when he turned back and surprised her with what he said.

“Ma-- uh… well… you… you don’t look old. At all. Uhm… you’re--” he cut himself off and cleared his throat, saluted her and all but ran from the room. Zaiya was left standing there with a tilted head, raised brow and utter confusion on her face. What was that? She blinked slowly, perhaps he was just trying to mess with her? She had no clue. With a shake of her head she turned away. They seemed like good men and she couldn’t say she felt anything other than a gentle affection for them, she looked forward to seeing what they could do and how they would improve. With a soft hum, she finished up and headed out to the other office, Jango had headed there earlier. She would record all the scores into the terminal in order to keep a record. Paperwork wasn’t something Jango had mentioned before, though she discovered that the Kaminoans seemed to like it for whatever reason. Well, better to get it done now rather than leaving it for later.

----

After the work had been done, Jango had wanted to spend time with his son and Zaiya was interested in exploring again, Tipoca City was huge, and she had only seen a small part of it. As she walked along, she realised there was one corridor she recognised from her first visit. If she were to follow the next hallway…

“That’s not funny Wrecker…!” came a familiar irritated voice. Zaiya couldn’t fight the grin that crossed her face as she rounded the corner.

“Aw come on! I’m just messin’ with ya!” The bigger of the four special clones stood in the hallway. She recognised him at once but Holy Fanged God’s sculpted ass! He was at least a foot taller than the last time she’d seen him! He turned and spotted her in the hall and she watched his face go from mild annoyance to shock at being caught, then surprise that she was not Kaminoan and it began to melt into recognition.

“Hey, Tiny,” she grinned and his face lit up. Tech, who had been calling out to him, snatched whatever he had been holding from his hands, but Wrecker no longer cared and bounded toward her with intense energy. Zaiya blinked and a moment later the cadet scooped her up and gave her a tight squeezing hug, pinning her arms to her sides and picking her clean off the ground. She froze and tensed in alarm, looking at him in shock at first, not used to being touched like this… or … at all. True that she had allowed Maul to touch her though this was vastly different. And very alarming. After a few seconds, she forced her momentary panic aside and let out a soft laugh as Wrecker swung her around.

“Easy, big boy,” she chuckled with a half-grin. Tech made his way over with curious steps, while Hunter poked his head out of the private barracks. She noted one absent member but for the moment, focused on the three in front of her for now.

“I wasn’t sure you’d come back!” Wrecker boomed with the biggest grin she’d ever seen.

“Perish the thought, you think I wouldn’t come back to see you boys?” She nudged his arm with her fist in a mock punch, “I am noticing a slight difference with you, though Wrecker…” she paused, looking him over as though she were thinking it over. “A haircut?” she asked, pretending not to notice how she had to look up at him now. His hair was in the same cropped style it was before and he grinned.

“I got taller!” he beamed proudly.

“Either that or I shrank,” she smirked.

“You can do that?” he asked, blinking at her.

“I believe she is being sarcastic, Wrecker,” Tech clarified, Wrecker frowned.

“Well, I dunno, Hunter said she wasn’t human so I dunno whether she can shrink or not…!” he protested, Zaiya smiled, well that was clever of them.

“You could tell?” she asked curiously, looking at Hunter, she tilted her head, were those abilities of his that sensitive?

“You have two heart beats… uh, ma’am,” he added politely. Zaiya let out a soft sigh, she would have to speak to Lama Su about getting some rank or title, she did not like being called ma’am all the time.

“So what are you?” Tech asked bluntly and she tilted her head slightly.

“Zabrak,” she replied.

“Hm… I would have thought you’d have horns,” Tech adjusted his goggles slightly.

“The females of my kind have theirs removed at about one year old.”

“Does that account for the skin lightening as well?”

“And the tattoos, yes.” She was having a sense of deja vu with this line of questioning. He looked like he was going to say more then she looked up and spotted a tall lanky boy peeking out from the doorway. Her lips curved into a smile as she stepped over. “There you are, Crosshair!” she beamed at him, “I was wondering where you were.” The sullen looking boy gave her a wary look.

“Where else would I be?” he asked bluntly, looking like a pouty little child, Zaiya couldn’t help but smile.

“Did your brother help you with a new weapon?” she asked, tilting her head to one side. Crosshair’s dark eyes darted toward the room he had come from, “yeah? What did you choose?” she asked and Crosshair frowned again.

“Firepuncher…” he said finally. Zaiya grinned in approval.

“Now that’s a weapon! A bit sensitive on the trigger, but I am sure you can handle it,” she said with a slight nod. Crosshair narrowed his eyes at her then the corner of his mouth quirked upwards.

“Just need the right hands,” he replied with a smirk, “and deft fingers,” Zaiya let out a laugh, he seemed to be in a better mood already. Crosshair was now the same height as her, he likely would become much taller soon, the rate they grew, it was likely they were more enhanced than a regular clone with their growth cycle.

“I have no doubt of yours,” she shot back with a smirk of her own, then turned to the others, “what have you been up to since our last meeting was so tragically cut short?” she asked with an amused smile.

“The only thing we’re allowed to do,” Crosshair replied, turning to re-enter the barracks, “training.” Zaiya followed him, flanked by the others and made her way to the large table in the centre of the room. With a deft movement she perched herself on the ledge and looked over the maintenance droid in pieces on the table, no doubt Tech’s handiwork.

“You working on something?” she asked the goggled cadet. At the prodding, he rushed forward, seemingly eager to tell her how he managed to improve upon the efficiency output as well as some other little bits and pieces. She listened, curious and mostly just watching how excited he got to be able to talk about his latest project. Though to her eye it seemed too basic for one with a mind like his. Perhaps she should find him something more challenging? She made a mental note to look into it.

Taglist!

@two-black-leviathans @fallenrepublick @eyecandyeoz @ashotofspotchka @sitherin-mxschief @littlepossss @octupus-on-the-moon @by-the-primes @justalittletomato @nxctuaryninetythree @mach-opress @mustluvecho @nahoney22 @leotatombs

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artxyra · 4 years ago

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The Secret Life of MDC | Part 4

Part 4 - Riddle Me This!

Part 1 | 2 | 3 |

It just had to be the Riddler who decides to grace his appearance at the strip mall. Just looking at his outfit was a crime against her eyes. Marinette had her far shares of a run-in with the green suited villain, and after countless complaints, he still hasn’t changed his outfit let alone attempt to contact her about an outfit change. Catwoman literally has her number; he could have just asked.

“Now who wants to go first. Choose wisely and you shall survive, but choice wrong and you may get a bullet.” The Riddler taunts his capture victims. They squirm under the threat, eyes widen beyond belief.

From afar, Marinette could see the shaking figures of her classmates. Years of being under Hawkmoth’s terror, showing little to no emotions during an attack, and they are shaking to the sight of the Riddler. Perhaps it was because there was no Miraculous cure or they have forgotten their permanent residency. To be honest, Marinette was just waiting for Lila to say something stupid that would most likely get them all killed.

“M-my Damiboo would save me!” Yup, there she goes. Everyone, that was not fooled by Lila’s words (ie. Gothamites), facepalmed and groans as she gains the interest of the Riddler.

Tapping his chin, he stares at her before introducing his first riddle of this heist, “It's raining, and you pass a bus stop. There are three people there; your trustworthy friend, the love of your life, and a woman about to go into labor. Your smart car only has two seats. What do you do?”

Lila blubbers her answer, something about taking the love of her life and leaving. She is then scared shitless as a bullet zooms past her, nearly hitting her ear. A shock facial expression stays prominent on her face until she falls down, fainting.

“Oh, how the fibber swoons to darkness. Batsy isn’t here yet and I really want someone to solve my riddles.” He searches the crowd for his next victim. The Parisian teens quickly try to wake up Lila, but they also hope not to be the Riddler’s next targets.

Marinette mentally goes through answering the riddle. Chloe and Adrien stare at one another before shaking their heads. They knew what Marinette was thinking and that is a bad idea. Then again it might bet the better option seeing as they have no idea when the bat crew would make it to the scene.

“You give the keys to your friend so that they can take the woman in labor to the hospital and wait for the bus with the boyfriend.” Marinette confidently answers. The GA Trio stare at the Marinette in awe.

“She does that a lot,” Adrien whispers just enough for their new friends to hear. That was true, Marinette has a tendency of solving riddles which were due to her time being Ladybug.

Chuckling happily, the Riddler turns his attention to Marinette. Marinette doesn’t falter at him glancing at her, but she does narrow her eyes just enough to enforce a challenge.

Dancing closer over to Marinette and her friends, the Riddler chuckles. Half of the weapons turn to them, it's Adrien and Chloe that hold their ground while the GA trio looks like they want to bounce to safety.

“No amount of sass can save you from this riddle, pick the correct answer and your friend shall do free but pick the wrong—”

“They die?” Marinette quirks an eyebrow at the villain.

The Riddler blanches and says, “Only one color, but not one size, stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies. Present in sun, but not in rain, doing no harm, and feeling no pain. What is it?”

Emotionless and quick, Marinette gives her answer, “It's a shadow.”

“How about this one: if eleven plus two equals one, what does nine plus five equals?”

Adrien turns to Marinette, he knows the answer as Chloe taps the ground giving away the crook with a gun behind them. Tensions slowly rise among the group of friends.

“Uh, it’s two o’clock. You’re adding the hours of time.” Marinette answers with a sigh of relief at the end. She knows they are aching to pull the trigger, but unknowingly to the Riddler if anything happens to her, well let's just say he might not live to see another day.

The Riddler growls clearly frustrated with the teen's ability to answer correctly. Only a handful of people can do this to him. “In that case, what is it that given one, you'll have either two or none?”

Marinette only smirks, riddles was also one of her favorite past time against Tim when they are both on the verge of death by lack of sleep. Those late-night twitter messages give much to their twisted mindset on a lack of caffeine.

As Marinette draws on the answer a little longer, Chloe and Adrien take down the henchmen behind them. The henchmen fall to the ground swiftly as the blonde duo nod their heads. Adrien quickly pulls out his phone to see if there were any messages in the group chat. There’s none.

“How long do you think we can hold him off until they get here?” Chloe whispers side glancing at the rooftops of buildings.

“No clue, they haven’t sent anything in the chat, should I try texting Jon?”

Chloe’s eyes narrow causing Adrien to gulp and quickly tap on his phone.

“It’s a choice.” The blonde duo turns their heads towards Marinette who was now toying with the green suit villain. It was clear that she was slowly becoming agitated. “You know, what I have a riddle for you. What’s green and yellow, has no sense of fashion, and is literally killing my eyesight?” She yells at the villain.

It’s like a pin drop as everything freezes once more. Her classmates on the verge of leaving the scene as they were no longer the targets. Seriously, you’re just going to leave them to fend for themselves. Yup, they are as they make a large dash out of the scene. This then creates confusion among the Gothamite as they are used to this and what did they expect, screaming?

“Uh, I—uh…” The Riddle tries to formulate an answer. It takes him a second before pointing to himself. “Me?”

Marinette, like a disappointed mom, nods her head. “Yes. You dare show your face in such a green that could put someone’s eyes out. Don't you dare get me started on the yellow question marks? That tone does not do well on your skin. Gosh, you had one job, Riddler, one fricking job.” Marinette begins to go off. The Riddler and his henchmen pale at every word she says.

Just as Marinette was beginning to calm down, a shadow in the shape of a bat looms over the Riddle.

“Finally,” Marinette huffs as the Riddle turns his attention from her to fight against the Batman.

“Hey, you guys okay?” It was Nightwing who asks appearing behind the blonde duo. If looks could kill, he would have been six feet under with the look Chloe was giving me.

“Oh, my lord, it Nightwing!” Allegra squeals in the background but she goes ignore as Nightwing rubs the back of his neck.

“Get us out of here, like now!” Chloe screams to the vigilante.

Robin rushes to Marinette and tries to take her away from the situation.

“Are you alright miss?” He asks bringing them to the safety of the public. Marinette stares at him deadpanned before nodding. As much as we would like to kiss her lips, he sends her a shrug over to her friends. “Where are your classmates?”

“Gone, unless Alya decided to do something stupid like try and get a film of you guys in action.” Realization began to set over Marinette’s eyes. “You’re going to need to find them. Hopefully, they made it back to the academy without any problems.”

Robin nods then proceed to send a message over the coms about the missing foreign class from Paris. He quickly joins the search as Marinette turns to her friends.

“Do you any idea how ridiculously stupid that decision was?” Chloe grills the designer before whispering, “You know we’re not even in our suits.”

“Sorry Bee, but did you see that outfit?” Marinette counters before going on a massive rant about the Riddler’s outfit and how he could choose it.

~*~

Nette @GothamsFashionSense Yo, some foreigner just grilled the Riddler on his outfit. I’m so proud of her. #prideful #doIseecompetition

Chloe B. @QueenBeeOfParis Replying to @GothamsFashionSense That was my sista @MarinetteMemes, she too loves your content.

Nette @GothamsFashionSense And I ❤️ her, that rant was amazing ��. Need any tips @MarinetteMemes? #futureapprentice #fashionmess

~*~

Case in point, Alya did separate from the class when they were trying to escape once word got out that the bats were on their way. She is quick to make sure that Lila was alright before dashing back to the “crime” scene with her phone recording.

Batman had found her, but before he could get a word out, Alya was blasting him with questions regarding the situation and personal questions. He, of course, ignores them. Alya even tries to bring up Lila’s name but he doesn’t answer. Nightwing pulls on up on his bike to take the “aspiring” journalist back to the academy against her pleases and constant questions.

Upon returning to the academy, Alya was heavily lectured by the GA’s headmistress before her own teacher baby her. Mlle. Bustier was never one to give punishments unless it was warranted and even then, she doesn’t do it right. Alya was lucky to return to her dorm with a slap on the wrist and detention.

~*~

Babe Bee @Iheartthebatboy23 Um… can we talk about the girl that grilled the Riddler and how she looked so much like a Wayne? #newWayne #theorieseverywhere #brucewayneexplainplease

~*~

After a week of grueling classwork (aka grading assessments), getting pestered by her former classmates in Mlle. Bustier's class, Marinette wakes up with a beating headache. She hasn’t felt that way since the last time she had gone days without sleep, running on twelve shots of expresso before crashing.

“C’mon buggy, it’s Saturday and Jon’s in town. You know how much the kitten would want to spend time with him.” Chloe states, standing in front of Marinette fully dress and with a businesswoman power pose.

“And here I thought you did want to be the fifth wheel.” Marinette retorts only to get a chuckle out of the mayor’s daughter.

“No, but I will be FaceTiming Gami while you and the boys have fun,” Chloe responds back as she laughs at the dismal look on Marinette’s face. “But seriously though, get dressed. We’re meeting the boys in thirty.”

Marinette rushes over to her wardrobe and picks out her clothes then rushes to the bathroom. She comes out in fifteen minutes wearing black leggings and one of Damian’s sweatshirts that look like a dress against her small frame.

As the teens exit the school, they were quick to avoid Lila who was making up another story as to where she’ll be this evening. It was something along the lines of going on a date with her Damiboo. It took everything in Marinette’s body to not grill the liar about her boyfriend, but with soothing words from Chloe, they managed to get out the building without bloodshed.

If only that wasn’t the case later on that day.

Part 5 >>

Tag List: *View my Tagging System guidelines for how to to be properly tagged or removed.

Note: The SPECIFIC Tag list is officially closed. If you wanted to follow the story please mark the tag fic:The Secret Life of MDC.

#maribat #daminette #fic:The Secret Life of MDC #ml x dc #mlb x dc #damimari #ml crossover #dc crossover #teacher assistant Marinette AU #teacher assistant au #ta marinette

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popculturebuffet · 4 years ago

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Lilo and Stitch Crossovers: “Morpholomew” (American Dragon Long): Stop Trying to Make Am Drag a Thing (Commisson Done For WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy people! And welcome to a brand new retrospective/story arc/thing from yours truly, comissoned directly by WeirdKev27. If you’d like to comission your own review or set of reviews like this one, it’s 5 bucks. Just contact me via my ask box or direct messages on this very blog or my discord technicolormuk#6550.

With Shadow Into Light in the books, Kev decided he wanted to comission something not duck related and a bit smaller as a buffer before the next big arc, ALL of three arcs from season 2 of Ducktales, and decided to go with something he suggested to be a while back as a possible future retrospective: The Lilo and Stitch Crossover episodes!

That’s right for the next three weeks, with TWO reviews this week since I had a spot open up and Kev paid for this one in full and way in advance, we’ll be taking a trip to Hawaii to visit everyone’s faviorte little girl, her best friend/pet/killing machine as they try to find homes for his 625 cousins.

I loved Lilo and Stitch when I was a kid: Disney admitely got their hooks in me on that one with their cool prequel comics in disney adventures. These comics set up the movie, showing Jumba creating Stitch and the events leading up to both getting captured. The movie did not disapoint with cool character designs, a drop dead gorgeous recreation of Hawaii, and a really heartfelt, heartbreaking and heartpumping story of loss, family, and ving rahmes voicing one of the few heroic child services workers i’ve seen in a medium, a refreshing change of pace. The film is a masterpiece and I really do need to watch it again sometime.

Given the series was a huge hit and that thsi was before the big lull in the late 2000′s and early 2010′s where Disney refused to make any tv shows based on their movies, a series followed, given a lead in by the direct to video movie Stitch.

The movie set up the basic premise; 624 capsules containing Jumba’s previous experiments, cousins as Stitch calls them, ended up raining over Kauai, awakening when dropped into water or any other liquid. Lilo and Stitch, with help from Jumba, his live in boyfriend Pleakley, her tought but fair sister Nani, and her boyfriend David, who dosen’t show up as much as i’d like but is my boy so he gets a mention here. But anyways our heroes try to reform the various engines of distructoin who all have unique powers and find them their one place they truly belong.

So yes the show was a Mons-type show clearly captalizing off pokemon.. but the slice of life setting as opposed to the shonen style of most shows following in pokemon’s wake, gave it it’s own unique feel: while our heroes did fight, it was more about shenanigans, adventures and what not with these unique creatures and the purpose is very heartflet: Lilo simply wants to give these guys the same kind of love and support she’s given Stitch and a chance to do good.

Opposing them is Gantu, the shark bounty hunter from the first film who, now out of a job, is working for Dr. Hamstervile, an imprisoned sceintest and a character I really don’t like that much as he’s not funny or a genuine threat or both and feels like a waste of time. Thankfully he’s not the focus and Gantu is instead partnered with 625, my faviorite Lilo and Stitch character. 625, as the name suggests, is stitch’s immediate prototype.. but unlike Stitch is too lazy and peaceful to be a real threat and isn’t even really a villian despite being on Gantu’s side. He’s busy making samwitches, his calling to the point when he gets a name in the finale movie it’s naturally Ruben, and snarking at gantu. He’s sadly not in this one but hopefully it’s JUST this one.

As you can tell I liked this show a LOT at the time. I haven’t watched it since, mostly because disney scarely replayed it after it’s run, but it was vibrant, fun and intresting and a nicely laidback and creative take. The fact I came into the franchise with the comics and thus 625, who was introduced there in fact, and had a hunger to know more about the other experiments certainly helped. It was great fun.

But while I grew up with the show and the four shows it teamed up with, i’ve never seen these episodes before these reviews. I wondered why for years as I caught the tail end of the kim possible one and saw images ocasionally, but never saw them.

Turns out it’s because in general Season 2 got screwed over. While Season 1 was pushed out the door fast and aired at a rapid pace Season 2.. was portioned out over several years, and the Recess crossover one, the last one aired and the last one i’ll be covering never even got to Disney channel, only airing on ABC kids, DIsney’s saturday morning block at the time I rarely watched. I did watch it’s predecessor one saturday morning though. Good stuff.

Since I couldn’t find any making of stuff for why these episodes happened, my best guess is DIsney wanted some cross promotion, and the shows used were chosen because they were the most popular at the time and honestly all 4 represent some of disney’s best, with Recess being in heavy reruns at the time, hence i’ts conclusion despite the show being finished before Lilo And Stitch the movie came out, let alone the series.

So yeah i’m taking this ride for the first time.. but I was happy to. While Kev pays for a lot of my work, I still have to accept the idea.. and this was a great one. It allows me to cover 5 amazing series and gage how much people would want to see reviews of said series on this blog in one fell swoop.

So to kick us off we have American Dragon: Jake Long, a series I waited forever to come to Disney + as I loved it at the time, badly need to rewatch it (Been busy ), and find it genuinely great: It’s a great teen superhero story about the magical protector of new york, with a charming lead, a great setting and horrifcally great villians in the violently racist magic creature hunting huntsclan.. and their top agent who happens to be jake’s love intrest Rose. It’s really excellent and i’m glad it’s now widely avaliable for all to see. I will say ahead that all four shows in this crossover arc are excellent, and were fine choices for this.

So what happens when an action comedy about a hip hop teenage dragon meets a slice of life show about aliens? Find out under the cut.

So we open at a fancy hotel where Lilo’s bringing lunch to her sister Nani when she runs into.. Keoni Jameson.

The second I remembered this kid all the hate just came flooding back, coursing through my veigns. Just pure liquid hatred for this little perosnalitiless little punk. Keoni is Lilo’s crush and local “stupid white audience stand in”. He has no real personality other than “generic cool kid” and “likes skating”, and just sucks the air out of the room anytime he’s in an episode. Keoni is part of a recurring problem in cartoons across the ages, one that’s slowly going away: the bland love intrest. Intorducing a character whose only traits are being cool for the lead to fawn over with usually no intent of either getting the two togehter or just ending it. IT’s annoying, it was in a good chunk of my childhood, I wish it’d stop. I cannot tell you how many shows used this trope. There were exceptions, American Dragon Jake Long actually used it well by not only making Rose a fleshed out character.. but making her jake’s nemisis in their other lives, and thus making things increidbly difficult on both once the truth comes out, with Jake grappling with if he can trust her or not and Rose grappling with the slow relization eveyrthing she was taught her whole life was wrong.

And again I have seen GOOD storylines using this as a tool: Dipper and Wendy ended with her having been aware teh whole time, but simply not knowing how to let him down given the age gap, and Regular Show rebounded the best from it: it turned the stop and start relatoinshpi of Mordecai and Margret’s relationship into a character flaw for him, openly explored it.. and ended up having him work past it and actually date her for a bit. Before she moved away, he got an even better love interest, then they destoryed the relationship in the worst way posisble and I wil lbe getting to that at some point. Some point.

So yeah even at the time it was done better, hindsight haas only made it worse and it made watching the first few minutes tough because I had to keep pasuing because I hate him so damn much. He just adds NOTHING to the show and is a blank yanwing void from which no good came out of and I was terrified he’d be in the rest of the episode. Thankfully while he drives the plot he’s only in this scene.. but it’s still one more scene than both 625 and Pleakly got. yeah both are missing, as is nani.

I did uncover one fun fact that made things a bit easier though: The crew ALSO hated Keoni. No really. Disney forced the character on them as they wanted an audience surrogate, and this abomination is what popped out. They DID NOT want him here and likely only used him as mcuh as they did because Disney forced it on them. And Disney would NOT learn from this as Star Vs got saddled with Alphonso and Ferguson soley because of network mandate. The two aren’t TERRIBLE characters but they aren’t great and feel as tacked on as they were. And part of this does fall on the crew: you CAN twist a stupid mandate like this to work well: Joe Murray was asked to add “A female character with a hook”, as in some sort of dumb gimmick to Rocko. He used those words, meant to create a superfical girl power cardboard cutout.. and created the wonderful Dr. Hutchenson, a bright cheery doctor, the series best sidecharacter.. and someone with a hook hand. But I won’t go too hard on them: they probably didn’t have as much room to manuver and the fact Keoni was sitll being shoved into episodes in season 2 tells me they likely had a set number of episodes he had to show up. I’m suprised they didn’t demand they have characters ask “Where’s Keonie?” any time he wasn’t in an episode. He was unecessary and it comes across with a massive chunk of unforutnate implications: that they didn’t think a series with a mostly hawaiann cast would work, that they wanted at least one other “nice” white character to offset myrtle instead of having the only major white character be a bully and antagonist, and that they thought tehir mostly white audience coudln’t enjoy a series without a white character, which as someone who was in the target demo at the time, I call bullshit on. As I said I hated him then, I hate him now and his involvement is the worst aspect of this episode.

So after Lilo fawns over him for a bit we find out this chonk of wood’s purpose in the episode: to set up the plot. There’s a massive Skate Competition coming to town with the prize being a really cool skateboard. This plot point itself.. I don’t mind. Jake is a skater, it’s part of his character and one of the things he loves doing in what minsicule spare time he has. And while it was a common trope at the time having a character skateboard really dosen’t harm most works. We’ve gotten great characters like Jake, Jackie Lynn Thomas, Branwen and Ronnie Anne Santiago out of it, and it feels like natural parts of the character, and frankly An Extremley Goofy Movie wouldn’t be NEARLY as awesome without having skateboarding bizzarley attached to the plot via the college x-games. Granted somtimes you get Rocket Power out of the deal but that’s the price you pay for the good stuff. I only regret it’s involved because Keoni has to be there and I had to pause multiple times to get through his scene. He’s just a sampler platter of terrible decisions made in 2000′s cartoons and he irritates me more than this guy.

And anyone whose read my Loud House reviews can tell you that is a high bar to clear.

So naturally Lilo wants to enter the Hawiann X-Games to get the board for Keoni. Though I will give the writers credit for having Stitch voice their thoughts and the audiences thoughts by having him take Keoni’s picture and throw it in the garbage. Where he belongs.

Lilo’s not great at it as they practice.. and said practice naturally ends up waking up a new experiment, 316.. who i’m just going to go ahead and call Morpholomew. Stitch eventually catches him though like many of the experiments he’s not actively malevelolent and is easy enough to get home.

Jumba gets to his schitck of breaking down what the experiment of the week does: In this case Morpholomew is a shapeshifter though he has a VERY intresting twist on those powers: while he can naturally morph himself into anything he’s seen or has a picture of, he can do the same to anyone he touches. It dosen’t effect their voices, but otherwise it’s a perfect recreation.

So Lilo instead of finding him a home right away.. decides to wait until after the compettition because we need him for the plot.

So at the Skateboard Competittion Lilo tries to enter, but finds she’s too young.. but since she has a picture of Keoni, which is a nice way to use her photo hobby from the movie for plot reasons and thus dosen’t feel like an ass pull. Why Keoni’s not in town to skate is as his dad left because it’d be too crowded.. even though the event is at the resort he owns.

So while Lilo commits identtity theft, our guest star appears. He’s cool, he’s hot like a frozen son, he’s young and fast he’s the chosen one, people i’m not braggin, i’ts the American Dragon. Jake is here for two reasons: the first is that Grandpa Long got reports of magical creatures out in the open, so naturally they need to look into that. It’s a clever way to get him, along with Grandpa, Fu, Trixie and Spud, over to Hawaii. The Dragon Council would defintely be suspcious hearing about this, and my guess to why they hadn’t sent another dragon over is they simply dont’ have one on the islands. As for why the Huntsclan didn’t get involved in any way, it’s simply too public for them. With the magical community in new york, they don’t have to worry about exposure because neither side wants it, so neither side can out the other. Here with a bunch of creatures out in the open it runs the risk of the Hunstclan being dragged into the light.. and given the populace dosne’t care about the “magical creatures” alongside them, it would make them look like the monsters they are.

Spud and Trixie tagging along also makes sense besides “they needed them for the plot”: While they’d obviously want to come to Hawaii, the skate competition is likely Jake’s cover for why he’s there, as well as one for why it’s just him and grandpa going with a couple of his friends so they don’t have to deal with manuvering around jake’s dad. That sad them never TELLING jake’s Dad is it’s own can of worms as it feels cruel, made things harder for jake and there was no real reason not to. At worst he’d want Jake to stop for his own saftey but given ther’es an active threat in the huntsclan for the first season and a half, NOT helping people would be the right thing and I feel he’s a sensible enough man to understand eventually.

And it’s stuff like this that already makes this crossover really work for me: they don’t really have to strain to get Jake over there or tell the audience heavily, the blanks fill in themslves. Or I am but that’s because it’s my job and I love doin it.

So everyone goes off to their corners; Jake to do a few practice runs, Foo Dog to bet on his friend because of course, Trixie and Spud to go to the beach (even though Spud’s terrified of sharks so I question why Trixie needs him for this), and in a delightfully adorable subplot, finds a lady to woo: local fruit stand vendoer and crankly old lady Mrs. Hasagawa.

I am here for this subplot: While Grandpa not focusing on the mission is weird for him that’s the entire point.. and their just really cute together. He’s smitten with her entirely because he sees her chewing out one of the people running the contest for making her sign too small. And he performs one hell of a romantic gesture by, while everyone’s back is turned, using his dragon fire to make an add for her on the skate ramp itself, and they have a lovely montage of their time together.. which also weirdly includes grandpa using his dragon fire on stage inf ront of everyone which makes no sense for his charcter but is so cute and does feature david I really don’t care. The writers of Lilo and Stitch probably weren’t deeply familiar with the show and likely just wanted a fun gag. Could be wrong there but it’s cute. He continues to act grossly out of character by trying to avoid going home at the end.. but again I find it simply because he’s in love, they have genuine chemstiry and I like to think they stayed in touch and he retired out there at some point once Jake was old enough to handle things himself. This may not be a ship I expected to support going in but I will die for it going out.

So back to the main plot, Lilo uses Keoni’s body to imitate him which... she’s only loosely called out on and realizes is bad by the end only because she gets stuck in another body. And that’s not even getting into the fact she BREAKS UP WITH KEONI’S GIRLFRIEND. Yes really.. she just does that to get her out of the way. She comes around and realizes she was wrong and tries to fix it which would be fine.. if hte episode didn’t try to cop it out by revealing “Oh she’s not his girlfriend, she’s just someone who keeps telling people that”. It just feels lazy and dumb and a way to keep Lilo’s crush on Keoni for reasons I DO. NOT. GET. But the identity theft is just brushed aside by everyone: Keoni never finds out, and Jake just brushes it off. The real issue is more her trying to bribe keoni into likng her which while something kids need to learn is not the only thing she did wrong here. It feels like they didn’t think all the implications out here and it hampers the episode

Speaking of which as Gantu captures Jake, he sees him transform into dragon mode and assumes he’s the experiment, Jake’s charactization is pretty shallow. And why yes it DOES feel weird writing sentences about a character with the same name thank you for asking. I wasn’t expecting a deep character piece or anything: This is a guest spot, the writers here are not the same normal ones for American Dragon. That’s fine. The problem.. is that they clearly did not get Jake. Grandpa being partly out of character is half the joke, Trixie actually gets a really nice moment towards the end, and Spud.. is eh. But out of them Jake just feels like a basic character description: He likes hip hop, he likes skateboards, he calls himself Am Drag despite that sounding like a good name for a drag act but a terrible name to shorten your title, he fights.. that’s it.

While jake is all of that in the main series, he’s also a kind young man who while sometimes irresponsible does the right thing when the chips are down. He’s someone weighed down by a responsiblity he didn’t ask for, often makes his life more difficult and often finds himself in trouble because his mother and grandfather won’t bother to tell his dad he’s a dragon. Yes that part still bothers me, and I don’t see why we couldn’t just have a superhero show where both parents know. But regardless this just dosen’t feel like Jake , like they just watched the intro and that was it. Jake feels more like a plot device in his own crossover.

That being said there is some good stuff: The minute Jake realizes some Sci Fi stuff is going on instead of hte normal magic stuff he tells him “The am drag’s show isn’t about sci fi” a nice meta bit and then breaks out. Meanwhile Lilo takes on his form.. and ends up stuck after badly botching her run again, as Gantu finds the real shapeshifter.

We get the best stretch of the episode from here though: Lilo awkardly tries to play jake and like jake we get a nice meta nod to how diffrent their show is as she’s worried about his belief in magical creatures.. and is startled out of her charade when Foo Dog talks, a really nice bit especially since it’s tame compared to the weirdness he deals with. Spud and Trixie have questions... only for Jake to show up and his agressive behavior leads to the best bit of the episode: Jake Vs Stitch. The catlyst is understandable: jake has no idea why Lilo’s taken his identity and Sttich is just protecting his best friend from harm. The animation is fluid, the fight is fun and quick and uses both’s powers stellarl. Whle “two heroes get into a misunderstanding and then fight” is a well worn cliche at this point, it’s moments like this that show why: you get to see two heroes who in this case never have interacted before or sense, duke it out, why each is special and it’s fun to watch.

Lilo breaks it up, and admits to the whole thing.. including the whole give Keani the board stuff. While Jake and Spud, being awkard with girls and a loveable moron don’t see the problem with that Trixie gets a moment to shine. As far as I can remember she really didn’t get much on the show proper so it was a nice suprise to see her mentor lilo her, telling her trying to give someone gifts to love you is not okay, she should just be herself all that good stuff. It’s a nice character stuff and tha’ts the kind of character interaction this episode needed more of.

With the misunderstandings washed away our heroes team up and storm gantu’s ship leading to another great sequence as Stitch rides on Jake’s back while the two keep him busy and Lilo gets turned back, Trixie complimenting her dress “Thanks I have 10 just like it at home”. It’s such a sweet and genuine moment” They head back out and gantu semeingly grabs morpholmew from where they hide.. only to find out when he gets back it’s spud, our adorable little blob monster transforming Gantu into a bunny and our heroes leaving. How does Gantu get out of being a bunny?

But it’s a nice enough gag. So we end the episode. We get another nice gag as grandpa had himself and his lady transformed to try and avoid going home, and Jake is fine with having lost out on the board what matters is he made a friend. Sadly we did not get a followup in ADJL., but spud does name our experiment, Morpholomew.

We end on Morph getting his home: a costume shop where he gets paid in fried chicken, he was shown to enjoy it throughtout the episode and changes people into things. It’s a nice little button to the episode and one of the funnest parts of the show was figuring out where the experiment would end up at the end.

Final Thoughts:

This episode is a really mixed bag. There is some good character interactions, two tremendous fight scens and Trixie gets a chance to shine for once if only for a scene or two, and the clashing genres end up making for some great jokes> The shows do go well together as while Lilo and Stitch is more laid back both have slice of life elements. And hasgawa X Grandpa is just oto cute for words.

The episode is held back by Jake and Lilo’s lackluster characterizatons: Jake is simply the theme song as a character, which in theory is awesome because that theme song slaps but in practice is pretty lame, and Lilo is selfish and irresponsible even for her in a way that dosen’t feel at all convincing. It drags down what’s otherwise a fun crossover and Morpholomew is truly a unique and wonderful experiment. Still if you like either show it’s worth a watch even if you have to suffer through Keoni for it. It’s worth it.. I just wish it was better and hopefully the next 3 will keep the good parts but take out the bad. Granted this was produced last so I could be wrong, but here’s hoping. Oh this episode also featured Miranda Cosgrove as the girl who claims to be Keoni’s girlfriend. This is also Keoni’s last episode meaning I do NOT have to worry about accidently running into him. Thank fucking christ.

Next Time On American Dragon Jake Long: Jake’s dad drags him and his friends on a camping trip and Jake ends up encountering the Jersey Devil. Now all they need is a sexy lady devil cake to lure it out... what it worked for the Cake Boss. And yes that happened, Allison Pregler did an episode on that episode. Check it out.

Next Time On Lilo and Stitch Crossovers: It’s the family, the family, proud familllyyy as the Prouds take a vacation at Peakly and Jumbas bed but not breakfast and we get some kind of squirrel demon for our experiment of the week. We also get Wizard Kelly appearing...

See you at the next rainbow.

#lilo and stitch #american dragon jake long #Lilo Pelekai #Stitch #experment 626 #jake long #luong lao shi #fu dog #trixie carter #arthur p spudinkski #gantu #crossovers #reviews #disney channel #morpholomew

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spine-buster · 4 years ago

Text

The President Wears Prada (William Nylander) | Chapter 10

A/N: The response to last chapter was so amazing and I have been LOVING answering your anons and comment questions! I hope this chapter brings some much needed, uh, happiness to your lives. We’re seeing them get closer and closer..........😊

November 19th, 2019

Aberdeen Bloom was eating Doritos straight out of the bag.

It was a Tuesday night, and she was on the couch with Minerva in her lap and Kasha beside her watching TV. The Leafs had lost to Las Vegas 4-2, and Aberdeen was ready to call it an early night – if only so she could put a facemask on before she went to bed. She didn’t have to be in the office tomorrow until about 10, which meant that she could sleep in. Plus, her eyes hurt. She’d been reading like a mad woman during all her days off, researching everything she could and trying to learn the history of the Maple Leafs: all the different players, the eras, the iconic moments, the not-so-iconic moments – everything. It was a lot to learn, but she knew that the second she typed the words into the Google search bar. She also knew she wouldn’t learn everything in four days, but alas, she was trying. She was doing what she knew she had in her. She was trying.

Kasha snuck one last Dorito before she rolled up the bag and put it back in the designated “snack” cupboard in their kitchen. They folded up the blanket, fluffed the pillows on the small couch, and made sure Minerva had some food and water in her bowl before closing the curtains and retreating to their bedrooms. Minerva hopped onto Aberdeen’s bed, and she scratched behind Minerva’s ears which she knew she liked before changing into her pajamas and going to her washroom to wash her face.

“Do you mind if I phone Evan?” Kasha called out from her bedroom. “I won’t be too loud, I promise.”

“Go for it!” Aberdeen said, truly not minding. She’d hear a few mumbles at most – nothing more – and she knew because Kasha did this often. It was sweet, and they were cute, and Aberdeen honestly didn’t mind. Kasha��s dad still didn’t know, which meant they were in their own world, which was nice. She and Kasha were still harbouring secrets for each other, as they always would.

Minerva meowed when she came back in the room. Aberdeen sat on her bed and cradled her in her arms for a few minutes, scratching and kissing her all over. Just as she was about to shut off her light and tuck herself into bed, her phone began to ring. She looked over to see Brendan’s name flashing across the screen.

She froze. Brendan never called this late. She picked up immediately. “Good evening Mr. Shanahan,” she greeted him.

“You need to be ready in half an hour with a suitcase packed for four days,” he said, his voice stern but sounding somewhat preoccupied.

Aberdeen stood up immediately. “Oh, okay. Of course. Um, why?” she asked.

“We’re taking a red eye to Phoenix.”

She felt like throwing up. That had to mean something was wrong with the team. A player was injured, or being traded, or maybe demoted? What if it had something to do with Kyle? What if it was about John? Was his captaincy at risk because they had only won two games in regulation in the past sixteen games? “Okay. No problem.”

“I’ll be there with Lou in half an hour. Tell nobody,” he said before he hung up the phone abruptly.

Aberdeen began to freak out. She changed into a pair of clothes and threw her suitcase onto her bed, Minerva meowing at her and watching as she stuffed outfits into her suitcase. Minerva even tried climbing into the suitcase a few times, which made Aberdeen sad – all she wanted to be doing was cuddling with her cat, not thinking about the Leafs. She grabbed her travel bags that had her toiletries and travel-sized skincare and makeup products and threw them in as well. When she was finished, she zipped it up. She took a deep breath.

Minerva meowed.

“I’m sorry baby,” she whispered, scratching behind Minerva’s ears again. She grabbed her credentials off her dresser and put them around her neck.

She exited her room and knocked softly on Kasha’s door. “Give me a second,” Aberdeen could hear her say to Evan. “Come in.” Aberdeen opened the door, popping in about half way. Kasha immediately saw that Aberdeen was wearing regular clothes. The look of worry on Aberdeen’s face was a tell-tale sign something was wrong. She put her phone against her chest. “Oh my God Aberdeen, what’s wrong?”

“I’m taking a red-eye to Phoenix,” she whispered, making sure Evan wouldn’t be able to hear her through the phone. Not that he’d say anything. “Something’s happening.”

“What’s happening?” Kasha asked, her eyes wide.

“I don’t know. Brendan hasn’t told me. But this is very unexpected and I’ve just had to pack for four days which means I’ll be in Colorado too. I’ll be back Sunday. But can you please watch Minerva? I know you weren’t supposed—”

“Aberdeen, of course, it’s not even a question,” Kasha said.

“You can’t tell anyone I’m going,” Aberdeen said. “I don’t know what’s happening, but you can’t say a word.”

“No no, of course not,” Kasha shook her head. “Can you at least text me when you land? So I know you’re safe?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Aberdeen nodded, her mind running a mile a minute. What if it was William? What if it was Jason? “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, Aberdeen. This is your job now,” Kasha said. “I’ll take care of Minerva, don’t worry.”

***

Aberdeen waited in the condo lobby for the town car. When she saw it pull up, she began walking towards it, pulling her suitcase behind her. Lou got out and loaded it in the trunk for her, and she opened the back door to sit in her usual seat.

Brendan was, of course, already there, in a pair of slacks and a comfortable looking sweater. “Hi Mr. Shanahan,” she said, putting on her seatbelt. It was then and only then that she noticed another presence in the front seat. Usually, of course, it was just her and Brendan.

“Aberdeen, the only people who know the following information I’m about to tell you are Larry, Kyle, myself, and Lou,” he began. She nodded her head, not believing she was privy to this information before so many other people just by virtue of having to travel with Brendan. She glanced over quickly to the man in the front seat. She saw a familiar face smiling back at her. “You know Sheldon Keefe,” Brendan said as he noticed them looking at each other.

“Of course,” she said. He was head coach of the Marlies. He was around often. Had multiple meetings with Brendan throughout her time working there.

“Well, he’s the new head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.”

***

November 20th, 2019

After boarding the MLSE private jet – not first class on a commercial flight, not even another chartered flight, the MLSE private jet – and everyone sleeping most of the way to Phoenix, they landed and immediately checked into the same hotel as the team without telling a single soul. Everyone went straight to bed but were notified by Brendan that they had to “lay low” for the next day and would be leaving for the arena, where the team would hold their practice, at 1:30pm. Aberdeen barely slept, and had to stay cooped up in her room so nobody would see her and know Brendan arrived. It was torture.

When she arrived at the arena with Brendan and Sheldon, Brendan told her to sit in the stands and wait. That’s when she got really nervous, because she knew he was prepping himself to fire Mike Babcock right after the practice, even though it was going on as they spoke. But she did as she was told, sitting and clutching her iPad in her lap so hard her knuckles were white.

She noticed William first, of course, his blonde hair peeking through his helmet, as he kneeled on one knee in front of Mike Babcock as he addressed the team. John, Jason, Auston, Tyson – they were all there, and she picked them out one by one. Everybody was facing away from her, looking at the whiteboard. Her leg bobbed up and down uncontrollably. In a mere, what, thirty minutes, they wouldn’t even have to listen to him anymore.

When the team stood up and did some last-minute drills, Aberdeen noticed Kasperi look in her direction. William was skating over to him, and when he stopped in front of him, William did a double take. Her heart fluttered at the moment she knew he realized it was her. He would have almost missed his cue for the drill if Kasperi didn’t tap him. When he was finished the set-up drill and skated back to his place, he looked in her direction again, transfixed.

That was when her phone buzzed. She took it out and saw a series of texts coming through from Brendan.

Kyle will be texting you soon. Please go into the locker room with him while he speaks to the team about the coaching change. Sheldon will be there too. Let me know how it goes, as I will be speaking to Mike.

When we release the announcement expect crazy media. I will speak to them. Kyle will not. If Kyle is not done speaking to the team by the time the announcement is sent out and media comes in, don’t worry. Stay with Kyle.

I think the team will appreciate seeing your friendly face when this comes down.

You will have to help set up for a media press conference tomorrow but the Coyotes will also provide help. Me Kyle & Sheldon.

Thank you for not leaking.

By the time she looked up from her phone, half of the team was already down the tunnel. John, Morgan, and Auston had stayed out to speak with Mike a little bit more, but she took that as her cue to leave the stands and at least start making her way towards the locker room. She knew the team probably had to undress, shower, and change into their regular clothes before Kyle said anything to them, but she was so anxious she couldn’t help it.

Another buzz from her phone. This time, when she looked at it, ‘Head Empty’ showed – the name she put for William, so nobody would know it was him.

why are u here?

She had to resist every urge in her to reply. She couldn’t. Brendan had sworn her to secrecy, and had already thanked her for that secrecy. If she typed even one word, William would know what was going on. So she ignored him.

whats going on minskatt?

is everything ok?

pls answer me minskatt. what is happening

can i come see u? where are u?

She put her phone on silent. She couldn’t take it. She held in every emotion she had as she walked through the arena and hallways, flashing every worker her credentials, before finally arriving at the visiting team’s area. She walked through the doorway and saw Kyle. He smiled and waved her over.

“Thanks for coming,” he said as she approached him, still clutching the iPad to her chest.

“Yeah, of course. No problem.”

“You know Aberdeen, Brendan trusts you,” he said. He could tell she was nervous by how white her knuckles were. He thought that maybe saying that would put her at ease. “That he made you come on this trip – that he made you privy to the information before a lot of other people…that says a lot.”

Aberdeen shrugged her shoulders. She wasn’t so sure. “I’m just doing my job Kyle. He told me to be packed in thirty minutes and I was packed in thirty minutes.”

“But you didn’t leak it.”

Aberdeen furrowed her brows. “I…why would I leak it?” she asked. It was the most absurd concept to her. “I would never do something like that. He thanked me for not leaking it too—”

“I know,” Kyle smiled slightly.

“But why?” she asked again. “There’s nothing in it for me.”

“Really? It’s interesting you see it that way,” Kyle said. “You could have sold that information to any newspaper or reporter and they would have offered you a job. A chance to write, which is apparently what you want to do, according to Brendan at least. But you didn’t.”

Aberdeen hadn’t even considered that. Sell the information for a writing gig at a national newspaper? She didn’t even know the opportunity was there, truthfully. What it revealed to her more than anything was that others had done it before – betrayed the team in some way. She couldn’t even consider it. She shook her head. “This is my job,” she said, her voice small. “I would never burn this bridge. I’d never sell Brendan or the team out like that for personal gain.”

Kyle smiled. “I’m going to chock it up to the fact that you’re young,” he said. “You’re only twenty-one, Aberdeen. This city is rife with opportunity for people who take advantage of others. But you’re not like that – at least yet.”

“I’d never take advantage of someone.”

Kyle smiled. “Good. I like a person with conviction.” His eyes left hers as he noticed someone walking behind her. He nodded his head at whoever it was. “You ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

He opened the door for her, ushering her into the locker room. As she turned a corner, she saw all the guys sitting at their stalls. Quite a few of them noticed her come in and looked shocked. When they saw Kyle follow behind her, they knew something was up.

“Hey guys,” Kyle began, addressing the room. “I know John let you know you all needed to stay back. It’s because I need to speak to you guys.” Aberdeen looked to her left and saw Sheldon lurking in the shadows. He smiled at her and she smiled back. “I want us to have a long, constructive conversation before you guys go back out there…because when you do, there’s going to be a big change,” Kyle continued. A lot of the guys looked confused. “That change being…well…Mike Babcock has been relieved of his coaching duties with our club,” he announced. She watched as some of their jaws dropped. “And your new head coach is someone many of you know very well – Sheldon Keefe.”

When Sheldon walked into the room and stood beside Kyle, the team broke out into a round of applause. Guys like Zach, Travis, and Andreas were smiling and clapping for him so Aberdeen could only assume that they had played for him on the Marlies. Jason seemed extremely happy. Tyson looked like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders.

She watched William. She couldn’t tell what he was feeling.

***

November 21st, 2019

It was William who texted Aberdeen first that night, when they got back to the hotel after the game. im coming over and u cant stop me. At least he gave her warning this time so she didn’t have a sheet mask on and her hair wrapped in a towel. When she heard the lightest knock on her door, against all her better judgement, she ran over and opened it.

William slipped into her room, wearing trackpants and a Gucci t-shirt that probably cost more than her last paycheque. She closed the door and locked it before turning around to face him. “Hi,” she said, her breath caught in her throat. Here he was, in her hotel room…again.

“Why didn’t you answer my texts after practice?” he asked, getting right into it, not bothering with pleasantries.

“Will, I couldn’t,” she said. “I knew but I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t risk it. Brendan swore me to secrecy. I was on my couch eating Doritos, and then one hour later I was on the MLSE private jet on my way here. I still can’t believe I am here.”

William nodded his head. He broke eye contact with her as he walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry. I was just – I was just so worried when I saw you. I mean I was happy, don’t get me wrong, but you know.”

“Yeah.” She looked at him, lost in his own thoughts. There was a moment of silence because, Aberdeen thought, he was still processing everything that happened today – and that didn’t include the game they won. A good start for a new coach, she thought. “Will?”

“Yes minskatt?”

“How are you feeling about everything?”

He let out a long breath – one he didn’t know he was holding in – as he pushed himself further onto the bed. He rubbed his face with his hands as she moved to sit on the opposite side of the bed cross-legged. “I don’t even know minskatt,” he finally admitted.

“I mean…I don’t mean to tell you what to think, but there must be some…I don’t know…relief,” she said cautiously.

He looked over at her, smiling slightly. “Yeah. Relief.”

“Because, you know…the backhanded compliments. You don’t have to take his shit anymore. You have a coach now who actually, like, values you and your skill and doesn’t throw you under the bus all the time,” she clarified.

“Yeah, I guess. Conflicted that I feel relief, though.”

It was glaringly obvious that he didn’t want to talk about it – well, that, or he really didn’t know what to feel about it all. He was hard to read; he didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve like she did most of the time. And she didn’t know whether to blame him, the time of night they were having this conversation, or something else. “Will—”

“Minskatt—”

“Can you just like…talk to me, please?” she asked, her voice just above a whisper. She didn’t even look at him; she looked down and fiddled with the rings on her fingers nervously instead. “I just want to make sure you’re okay, Will.”

His hand reached out and grabbed hers in her lap, making her stop fiddling with her rings. Her skin felt like it was on fire as she looked up at him as he rubbed his thumb quickly over the back of her hand. Her mind quickly flashed back to the first night they were together in her bed – how electrifying his touch was then, too. Nothing had changed. “I’ll be fine, minskatt. You don’t have to worry about me,” he said, shifting to lie down on his side with her hand still in his.

But she did. That was her problem. She was getting herself deeper into this mess even though she knew she had to get out. Like, he wasn’t even supposed to be here, yet here he was. Never mind just being in her hotel room – now he was on her bed. Lying down. “Will—”

“There’s been a lot of change in my life already, minskatt. This is nothing,” he smirked, letting go of her hand.

She knew that. She remembered what he told her about his family moving around a lot. It seemed like the only thing constant for him was change. She thought maybe his long-term contract brought an end to that, but there were so many other variables in hockey she constantly forgot about. “So long as you’re alright,” she said.

“You know what would make it more alright?”

“What?”

“If you tell me how freaked out you were stepping onto that private jet for the first time,” he smiled.

Aberdeen started to giggle uncontrollably. She shielded her face in her hands and shook her head, hearing William’s infectious laugh. “Don’t even get me started.”

“Come on!” he beckoned.

“It was torture.”

“Torture?”

“I’m not used to all that, Will,” she said, finding herself lying down on her side to face him. She probably shouldn’t have. “Like obviously it was nice – don’t get me wrong. Beautiful. But it was all so…crazy.”

“Crazy?” he just kept repeating her words.

“Not all of us are accustomed to Gucci t-shirts and private jets,” she chastised. “God, Will. Sometimes I feel like the theme song to Murder, She Wrote is just playing in your head on a constant loop.”

“What’s it sound like?”

“Oh my God,” she mumbled, pulling her phone out from charging and opening the YouTube app to find the song. She played it out loud for William, and the more the theme played, the harder William laughed. His eyes crinkled and his smile stretched across his face; her eyes crinkled at the sound of his ridiculous laugh. More than anything, she was just happy that he was laughing after everything that had happened.

Will shoved his face into the pillow as he continued to laugh, the song ending not long after. “Nobody roasts me quite like you do, Aberdeen.”

She thought about the list of the things she’d say he looked like whenever he asked “What do you think?” when he walked in with his game-day suit on, her most recent being, “You look like a medium pepperoni pizza with garlic dipping sauce.” The guys got a kick out of that one when they heard about it. Kasperi was even recording them all in the notes app on his phone. “You love it,” she said without thinking.

“Of course I do,” he mumbled, his dumb smile still on his face. “Tell me something Aberdeen.”

“What?”

He stretched out his hand again, one of them gliding over the skin near her elbow. “What do your tattoos mean?”

It was her turn to shove her face into the pillow. She knew this would come up one day, and truth be told, she wondered why it didn’t happen earlier. “It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got a lot of time.”

He did? That was news to her. It was late at night and he was in her hotel room instead of his own. “This one…” she began, pointing to the first, “‘to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield’…it’s the last line of one of my favourite poems, Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Do you know it?”

“No.”

“Well, it's a good poem. You should read it,” she quipped. “It’s about, like, the need of going forward, despite challenges, despite tragedy, despite anything. About being strong in will, pushing forward relentlessly. You know…persistence. Never facing life passively. It’s an attitude that I want to have in my life too. An attitude I want to try to embody every day.”

William’s warm smile made her nervous. “And you’re other one?”

She paused. “That one’s even more personal.”

“Tell me.”

“Do you promise not to laugh?”

“Of course.”

She paused. “This one is from Seneca. He’s a Roman philosopher. ‘We are waves of the same sea’. It’s…my family,” she began. “Mom is Scottish but grew up in Northern Ireland, and my dad is from Iran. And if you know anything about the history of those two countries, it’s, like, focused on people’s apparent differences with each other creating conflict. But in Canada, when they met, despite the cultural differences, they came together. So like, we’re all waves, but at the end of the day…we’re part of the same sea. We’re in this together,” she explained, embarrassed. “I don’t know. I just thought it was beautiful. We can have all these differences, but at the end of the day we’re part of the same sea.”

The look on William’s face was one of pure adoration. He was biting him bottom lip trying to suppress a huge smile, and his eyes so blue and dewy-looking she thought she would faint if she looked at them any longer. “What’s wrong?” she asked. Maybe he thought the whole explanation was stupid.

“You’re just so adorable, minskatt,” he said, not trying to hide his smile anymore. “I could listen to you talk for hours. Sometimes I even just imagine you talking so I can hear your voice.”

“You do? Really?”

“Aberdeen…I think about you when I’m not even thinking.”

Her heart stopped beating. She felt a rush of blood warm her cheeks as she pushed her face into the pillow again. God, he was really going there, wasn’t he? As they were laying in the same bed together. “You can’t just say stuff like that to me and think I’m gonna react normally.”

“I know,” he said. She shot him a look. “Aberdeen. I could listen to you talk all day and night. I’m serious. And besides, who was Ulysses or Alfred, Lord Tennyson anyway?”

“You don’t know?!” she asked, flabbergasted.

William shook his head. Aberdeen began talking, and he began listening. And to William, all was right in the world.

***

November 22nd, 2019

When Aberdeen awoke sometime the next morning, her body still felt tired and fatigued. She knew the day before was long and tedious with the press conference and the game, but she thought sleep would rejuvenate her. Apparently not. She brought her hand up with her watch and took a look at the time. It was still only 6:30am, so no wonder she felt the way she did. Why in the hell was she waking up now?

She sighed.

Then something moved out of her corner of her eye. A body. On her bed.

As if on cue, everything from last night came flooding back into her mind. William coming over to her room. Talking about Mike Babcock’s firing and how he felt. Talking about her tattoos and what they meant. “Sometimes I even just imagine you talking so I can hear your voice.” “I think about you when I’m not even thinking.” Then he’d asked who Ulysses and Alfred, Lord Tennyson were and she’d fucking taken the bait hook, line, and sinker so easily. They had ended up talking for so long they just fell asleep. Together. In the same bed.

Oh my fucking God.

She looked at how peaceful his face looked. God, he was fucking beautiful. Just…beautiful. But he couldn’t be here. He shouldn’t have been here in the first place. It went against everything. “Will…” she said softly, hoping he’d wake up. He didn’t. “Will,” she said more forcefully.

“Hmph?” he grumbled.

“Will, you have to go.”

He furrowed his brows at the sound of her voice, obviously not expecting it. He opened his eyes slowly, only to see her staring back at him. “Minskatt?”

“Will, it’s 6:30, you have to go back to your room,” she whispered.

He looked around, realizing just like she did what had happened. “I don’t want to.”

“I know you don’t want to but you have to go before everyone starts waking up,” she reasoned. “If anyone catches you walking out of my room Brendan will have my head on a spit.”

He took her words into consideration before nodding his head and getting up slowly. He looked at the time before running his fingers through his hair. He looked back at her as she lay in the bed looking at him. “I’ll see you at breakfast, yeah?”

“Yeah,” she nodded her head.

“Good,” he said as he got up, making his way over to the door. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

When the door closed behind him, Aberdeen sighed and brought her hands up to cover her eyes.

She was fucked.

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tangyblock · 4 years ago

Text

SMSBI AU Masterpost!

Ok so masterpost time! This is mostly a rundown of the happenings in the AU, what role each character plays/their rundown. As an important note, if a CC at any time makes it known that they are uncomfortable with anything I do or include in this AU, it will be removed! There will be no smooth narrative exit, I’ll edit so it would have never happened.

This is set in New York City, during the modern day!

Tommy Robin (15 y/o):

He’s a sophomore in high school (Year 11 for the Europeans)

He got his spider powers at the end-of-year field trip in 7th grade to a science center! He was bitten by a radioactive spider, thus giving him his abilities.

He spends his 8th grade year making sure he has a handle on his powers (I mean, come on, he’s read comics. Now that he has these powers, surely he has to go out into the city and become a vigilante!) and making his spidersuit with his best friend, Tubbo!

He has the following abilities: super strength, spidey sense, increased regeneration, able to stick to walls/ceilings, and his own ~~unique~~ ability to teleport within a short range (anywhere within a 15 foot radius)

He wears his emotions on his sleeve, and is not the best liar.

Wilbur Robin (16 y/o):

He’s a junior in high school (Year 12 for the Europeans)

He has a twin brother: Techno Robin! Wilbur was born second rip

He loves music so much, oh my god-- he has his own guitar and spends most of his time writing original songs and busking on the streets of NYC.

Help this kid, he’s so sleep deprived, he spends way too much time trying to become a well-known musician. He’s really good, too! He’s just not getting recognized for his talents.

Wilbur (nicknamed Wil) is so oblivious to situations, god bless him man

Techno Robin (16 y/o):

He’s a junior in high school (Year 12 for the Europeans)

He has a twin brother: Wilbur Robin! Techno was born first tho lol

He works at a Barnes and Noble, and is on the high school’s Academic Decathlon team! He’s very smart, he knows his shit. You can’t fool him.

Probably has a caffeine addiction, let’s be real. Who is a gifted kid and doesn’t have some sort of caffeine addiction?

Unlike Wilbur, he’s not oblivious At All. He’s lowkey suspicious of Tommy: is he Spider-Man? He has a list in his head, but come on. There are so many people in New York, it can’t possibly be his little brother!

...right?

Phil Robin (36 y/o):

He works as tech support (like answering calls and helping customers) at Huxley Industries, which specializes in scientific/medical tech, as well as household gadgets.

Since he is raising three boys on his own, he has another part-time job at a convenience store.

I won’t go into too much detail, but the bio mom of the three kids divorced and they agreed for her to have no part in their lives.

ANYWAYS changing tone! He’s a very caring dad to his 3.5 kids (the half kid being Tubbo because he’s always with Tommy so he becomes a pseudo kid overnight)

All I can say is Big Dad Energy(TM)

He doesn’t want his kids to worry or overwork themselves. He just wants them to be safe and be successful in whatever career they pursue. No matter what, he’s supporting them.

Tubbo Cooper (15 y/o):

Tommy’s absolute best friend, he’s ride or die, man.

A sophomore in high school (Year 11 for Europeans!)

Helped Tommy make his spider suit! He’s really talented with mechanical engineering!

He lives ten minutes away from Tommy, often visiting him and vice versa.

He learned basic first aide! After every patrol, he meets Tommy in an alleyway and helps cleanup any injuries that would raise concern to his family. Though, he did promise that if a fight ever got out of hand, he would call and tell Phil.

He’s the man in the chair! Think Ned from the MCU and Ganke from Miles Morales’s story.

Installs cameras in Tommy’s suit so he can see what Tommy sees at all times, so he can give the most accurate info.

God he loves his friend, and yes gamers, he still loves bees ;D

Jordan Cooper (25 y/o):

Tubbo’s older brother! He does his best.

This one isn’t too obvious, but it’s CaptainSparklez!

It’s the Captain! He got the nickname from Tubbo, since he was Percussion Captain in his high school’s marching band and Tubbo instantly started calling him Captain

He works as a video game designer/programmer, or so that’s what he says...

He has a mini-van and no you can’t convince me otherwise.

He watches over Tubbo, as his older brother, since their parents aren’t around.

He has a strict moral compass, he believes in justice above all else. Without justice, good cannot be accomplished.

He works out so much, he has a little gym in the apartment.

George Alexander (30 y/o):

Since I don’t think this one is inherently obvious, it’s GeorgeNotFound oop--

He’s the founder and CEO of Huxley Industries, and also the villain Inveni (thank you Jean for the poggers name)

He works with his two “buddies,” Dream and Sapnap, who only go by their villain names.

Think Kingpin.

Messed up morals, but untouchable: if you try to bring him down, his money can make him recover.

Dream (??? y/o):

Think Mysterio, but like. Not special effects.

He is a master of illusions! He loves getting into his enemy’s head and just messing with them. To him, mental damage is the most powerful.

How he got his powers is unknown to the public, but it’s thought that he got them alongside Sapnap.

Sass Master 10,000(TM)

Sapnap (??? y/o):

Think Fire Elemental, but like. Human.

He has the ability to summon and manipulate fire to however he sees fit! He’s a bit more of a brute, and my god, he hates the sass he gets from Spider-Man.

His power’s origins, just like Dream’s are unknown, although there is speculation.

Future characters may be added, but the above are who we have so far!

Additional Facts:

Tommy has a white/red suit, with blue and purple accents. It’s mostly white with red lining!

Tommy has saved Wilbur and Phil, without them knowing. Wilbur began busking in the wrong area, and nearly got jumped, and Phil was on a hijacked subway train.

Phil panic cleans, this is canon.

It took Tubbo and Tommy MONTHS to figure out the perfect web fluid formula. Imagine their absolute joy when they figure it out!

We got a Spotify playlist! Here’s the link, enjoy~~: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0bM10OHfYRdL86UzKT7Frf?si=FTH-i9H8RK28zVgeOEdy7g

PS: Asks are open! Feel free to ask away about this AU, I’d be more than happy to answer!

PPS: SHOUT OUT TO THE BINGO STANS FOR HELPING ME MAKE THIS AU YALL GAVE ME SO MANY 10/10 IDEAS

#mcyt #smsbi au #sbi #sleepy bois inc #sleepy boys inc #philza #ph1lza #technoblade #wilbur soot #tommyinnit #dreamwastaken #georgenotfound #sapnap #dream team #captainsparklez

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ariparri · 4 years ago

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Veruca Then vs Now

Hello! Not officially back because I'm still taking my break from here but I wanted to share this. As the title suggests, I will be sharing all the things about Veruca that I've changed throughout the year. I recently started looking back on Veruca's character on when I first made her and realized just how different she is to the Veruca everyone knows today.

Not sure how many facts I'll be going over, but this will be interesting. Let's get started!!

Before officially becoming a Hogwarts Mystery OC, she was made for the Golden Trio Era. She was three years older than the trio and hung around isolated places such as the astronomy tower or the owlery.

Veruca was originally a daughter to deatheaters but was later disowned when she refused to follow in her family's path. She was then forced to become a deatheater when they ambushed her during the attack at the Quidditch World Cup.

Veruca was originally supposed to be shipped with Carson but I ended up liking some characters a lot more than I initially thought. And now I can't view the two as anything BUT siblings.

Veruca's old concept design had her with slightly tanned skin with black hair. And you can't really tell from the image, but she also originally had fiery orange eyes. Clearly different than the Veruca we're all used to today.

Veruca's personality had her much more colder and intimidating due to her being a daughter of death eaters and then eventually disowned by them. She also preferred being alone, even telling Carson she didn't want any rumors about him going around. She was also much more moodier than how she is now, quickly losing her temper at the slightest thing.

She was originally skilled at 'dual wand wielding' after stealing someone else's wand and practicing with both of them. That was later swapped for wandless magic.

She originally hated her brother Coby. Their relationship wasn't exactly great. With Coby being the pride and joy to their mother, was always being neglected by her mother. Veruca's relationship with her mother was very bad. Wilhelmina outright telling her that Coby was the only child she was proud of and that Veruca was merely a child who kept making mistakes. The neglect made Veruca desperate for her mother's affection that when Coby went missing despite being happy about it Veruca didnt hesitate to try to find him hoping that by finding him her mother would love her. Now her relationship with her mother isn't entirely great now, but it's clearly a lot better than before. Wil does love her daughter, but as an Irish woman, they tend to favor their sons more.

After changing Veruca's backstory, she was also going to have an older sister named Cerise. Technically that was a placeholder name but let's roll with it. She was disowned and never mentioned by the family due to her psychotic and sadistic view. Veruca never liked her as she was always physically or verbally abused by Cerise. During the search for Rakepick in the forbidden forest, instead of her showing up Cerise does leaving Veruca frozen in her spot. She tried to fend Cerise off but eventually fell short when Cerise casted a spell towards Rowan to distract her before Cerise casts a spell strong enough to send Veruca flying back badly wounded that she needed to be sent to St. Mungo's for recovery. This was now changed to be more of an au and the original storyline was scrapped.

Veruca runs away from Hogwarts and everyone after she couldn't take any more of the dangers and stress from searching for the vaults, and the fact her friends were slowly turning their backs on her after hearing them talking about how much she just needed them for the vaults or how she didn't really care about their feelingswith the exception of Carson. This was scrapped in favor of the one now, this is now an au idea instead.

Veruca was planned to die within the final vault where she materializes into nothing right in front her friends' eyes. Has now become an au idea. And a drawing idea

The original idea for the final vault was to have Veruca sacrifices herself from her friends' memories so they no longer remember her. She doesn't bring herself to interact with them again, and would rather suffer alone with her own memories of everyone else. Also now has become an au idea in favor of her story now.

Veruca was also supposed to have another sister for her deatheater backstory. Her name was Heidi and she was 8 years younger than Veruca. Their relationship is a little rocky as they used to be close when they were younger but Heidi was always told not to play with Veruca. When Veruca was disowned, Heidi was told Veruca had betrayed the family which angered her.

———————————————

Well, that's all the things I was able to recall for Veruca's past concept. I'm sure there was more hidden in my memories somewhere but these were the ones that I remembered the most

I definitely like how Veruca is now as compared to back then. She has definitely gone through a lot of changes throughout the year. And I'm glad that there are people who actually like her character! I was a little worried about that honestly xD

I'm also working on a new post regarding genderbent Carson and Veruca. And maybe I might also make a Then vs Now post for Carson too!

What are your thoughts on Veruca's character back then? Do you like her now or did you find her past portrayal interesting? Do you have anything to share about your MC from how they were when you made them to how they are now? I'd love to read about them.

I'm just gonna tag this as #MC Then Vs Now for future reference because I know I'll make a similar post for other characters of mine =w=

#veruca mcquaid #mc then vs now #hogwarts mystery #hphm #harry potter hogwarts mystery #ariparri #okay back to my break! goodbye!!!

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causeiwanttoandican · 4 years ago

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The Telegraph

How Harry’s very LA relaunch has only just begun

From Prince to campaigner and Silicon valley ‘tech bro’ what wider impact could the Duke of Sussex's new jobs have?

By Camilla Tominey, Associate Editor28 March 2021 • 6:00am

Jobs appear to be like buses for Prince Harry. Wait a lifetime for an opening and two come along at the same time.

The former Royal’s first foray into the corporate world has seen him take up the role of chief impact officer at Silicon Valley coaching firm BetterUp, while also sitting alongside Rupert Murdoch’s daughter-in-law on a commission aiming to fight “misinformation”.

Neither role appears to have required the 36-year-old former Army captain to submit a CV or go through the usual vetting processes as he adds mental health coach and anti-fake news campaigner to his résumé.

Yet in keeping with a new breed of “celebrity responsibility”, which has increasingly seen the rich and famous flex their corporate muscles for the greater good, the highly prominent positions look set to propel the cash-strapped Prince to ever more lucrative heights, as LA’s most sought-after recruit.

Just as when Jennifer Aniston became the ‘chief creative officer’ of a natural supplement range or when David Beckham backed a cannabinoid skincare company, these mutually beneficial ‘ethical’ tie-ups can be worth their weight in publicity gold. And not just for the company that gets their endorsement.

As showbiz agent Jonathan Shalit puts it: “Like corporate responsibility – this is celebrity responsibility. There’s been a shift in people’s mindsets. Two, three years ago the mindset was: ‘What’s in it for me, how can I get paid a shedload of dosh, how can I maximise my income?’ Now people desire to give back and give back support to the community.”

While pointing out that Harry is “above celebrity,” he adds: “Many celebrities are very responsible in trying to use the strength of their platform to help others.”

The announcement of both roles last week certainly played into the idea that this was more than just a money spinner for the Montecito-based ex pat – although there is no doubt all sides are set to benefit financially.

While BetterUp may be carrying out noble work in its offer of “personalised coaching, content and care designed to transform lives and careers” – it all comes at a price.

Having spoken about his struggles with grief following the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, Harry said of his appointment to the “unicorn” tech firm: “(I) want us to move away from the idea that you have to feel broken before reaching out for help,” insisting he intends to use the job to “create impact in people’s lives”.

The Duke added: “Being attuned with your mind, and having a support structure around you, are critical to finding your own version of peak performance. What I’ve learned in my own life is the power of transforming pain into purpose.”

He said his goal was to “lift up critical dialogues around mental health, build supportive and compassionate communities, and foster an environment for honest and vulnerable conversations” and he hoped to “help people develop their inner strength, resilience and confidence”.

It might strike the cynical as Californian word salad akin to Aniston’s declaration, upon joining Vital Proteins, that: “Collagen is the glue that holds everything together. I’ve always been an advocate for nourishing your wellness from within.”

Yet as Alexi Robichaux, who co-founded BetterUp in 2013, points out, Harry does bring a unique perspective. “He comes from a very different background,” to other executives, he says, adding: “He’s synonymous with this approach of mental fitness and really investing in yourself. It was not a hard internal sale. He will obviously have the whole organisation sprinting to help him.”

Robichaux confirmed Harry was joining the company’s leadership team as an “officer of the corporation”, which suggests it is a paid role, although public relations expert Mark Borkowski thinks it “highly likely” he has been offered equity in the firm, which values itself at $1.73 billion.

“This previously unknown start-up has now got instant recognition,” he says. “I always said that if Harry and Meghan wanted to generate income, they should look to Silicon Valley. Getting eyeballs onto the company like this, with all the competition, is the hardest job in PR – but now the whole world is talking about it. That’s the effect signing up someone like Harry can have.

“If he’s got points in this firm and it goes gangbusters, he could make some serious money.” Borkowski cites the example of shares in Cellular Goods, the synthetic cannabis firm backed by Beckham, shooting up by 310 per cent after it launched on the London Stock Exchange in February following news of the star footballer’s investment.

“This is all about the ongoing narrative, now,” adds Borkowski, referencing the Oprah Winfrey interview in which the Sussexes raised serious concerns about the Royal family’s handling of racism and mental health issues.

“The impact of generating more connections to his brand is an ongoing struggle for him. But by taking that narrative, which is embedded with that interview along with mental health issues, then he can certainly have a credible corporate platform.”

Yet considering some of the discrepancies that have surfaced since the interview aired in the US on March 7, can Harry really be considered a reliable voice when it comes to combating what he has described as the “avalanche of misinformation”?

Critics have been at pains to point out that his appointment to the Aspen Institute’s new Commission on Information Disorder, a six-month project that will examine the “modern-day crisis of faith in key institutions” appears somewhat at odds with the Sussexes’ repeated insistence that they do not look at newspapers, magazines or social media.

Equally awkward is the fact that the Prince will be sitting alongside Kathryn Murdoch, who is married to James Murdoch, the former chairman of News of the World publisher News International, who resigned from his father Rupert Murdoch’s media empire last year.

As with Harry’s decision to appear on CBS, despite the US network once sparking outrage in 2004 for showing a “distasteful” photo of his mother after her fatal Parisian car crash, the move suggests the exiled Murdochs are now considered reformed characters thanks to their new found work on democracy reform and climate change.

As Harry himself put it, information disorder is an issue that demands “a multi-stakeholder response from advocacy voices” including, apparently, the wife of a man who was found by a Parliamentary report in 2012 to have shown “wilful ignorance of the extent of phone hacking” and being “guilty of an astonishing lack of curiosity” over the illegal practice that Harry, William and Kate were all subjected to along with Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and a string of palace aides.

It is not thought Harry is being paid for his work with the think tank, founded in 1949, which will look at everything from last year’s US election to vaccine safety and marginalised communities.

It is his listing on the Aspen Institute’s website, however, which perhaps provides the biggest clue to the sixth-in-line to the throne’s direction of travel as he settles into life in the US.

Referenced by his full title, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the soon to be father-of-two is described as a “humanitarian, military veteran, mental wellness advocate and environmentalist.”

Despite his blood-born Royal status, Shalit believes this repositioning is actually intended to put him on a par with his high-achieving wife. For unlike her husband, who left school with two A-levels before training at Sandhurst Military Academy, it is Meghan – a Northwestern University graduate with a successful acting career under her belt – who is arguably the more employable of the two, on paper at least. As an American, the pregnant mother-of-one also doesn’t carry the burden of Harry’s complicated visa and tax arrangements, amid confusion over whether he is living and working in the US as a “diplomat” or as a person with so-called “special talents”.

“I’ve met Meghan on a number of occasions and she is a hugely astute woman, very bright, incredibly impressive,” says Shalit

“So for Harry to keep up with his wife, he’s got to find his own name and identity and this is the start. He doesn’t need celebrity. When you’re Royal, you’re the biggest celebrity in the world. But what this does is allow Harry to have relevance.”

When it comes to making an impact, Royal relevance is clearly going to be the jewel in the crown of Harry’s very LA relaunch.

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crankgayplays · 5 years ago

Text

Regret

Dark had a weird sense of identity, he was his own entity and at the same time he wasn’t. He considered himself a kind of fondue, he was a mix of these ... things he felt in the back of his head. A soft mans voice telling him what he needed to do, the goal he should point towards that kept repeating the word “Villain” over and over again.

He also felt a soft presence, a woman. She herself was by no means soft, Dark could feel her restrained and righteous fury. He felt her soft and delicate as she slept, allowing herself to be vulnerable and a weak presence in his mind giving most control to this man and giving him the responsibility of protecting her while she slept.

The other part of him that spoke was softer, much much weaker but he would hear it on occasion. He couldn’t peg who or what they were but they were sad. This part always lead him to this same building. It was an old mansion, decrepit, clearly having been abandoned decades ago. Every once and a while Dark found himself outside, just staring with an empty feeling in his chest. Something about this place made Dark angry, sick, sad, regretful, furious. So many emotions at once it made his head swim. Yet he always came back, like now.

The flickering entity was so focused on the home in front of him, he missed his approaching friend until a firm hand grabbed his wrist with a surprising lack of gentleness for who the hand belonged to. Without showing it visibly, Dark felt a jolt of surprise and turned to face the grabber, Wilford. Another, very confusing element towards Dark’s lack of a personality or identity. This, wonderful chaotic man.

He would never, ever be able to explain why directly, and would never admit it but something in his heart truly sang seeing the other man. Different kinds of love from different parts of him burst when seeing him. Affection, love, passion, regret, a bit of anger, sadness. It confused Dark, a lot and he tried his best to keep him at arms length though he was bent on making sure he was glued to Dark’s side.

“ Why are you here? “

This was, surprising. Wilford always seemed to have his own softness and kindness when around Dark, a certain restraint he never showed around the others. So to hear a harsh tone, see the hard look from a man he’d gotten so used to seeing a soft and affection was a jarring experience.

“ I got where I please Wil.” he responded, a calm and cool tone lacing over his words, despite his surprise and discomfort with this demeanor change. Just because he felt this love for the other man, didn’t mean he deserved to see any weakness. That was a strong thought screaming from both sides of himself. This response only mad Wilford frown even more, his grip falling from Dark’s wrist.

“ This is a bad place, dear friend. People, get hurt here. “

Dark shook his head, turning back to look at the dilapidated manor. “ I keep being drawn back to it for some reason.” Sharp teeth angrily digging into his tongue at the admission, frustrated at how loose his words seem to flow around Wilford. The statement had a shocking effect, scaring him. The assassin’s hands shook delicately for a moment before he stuffed them into the pockets of his beige trousers.

“ I’m not surprised. Just, be careful if you go in and remember . . . . it’s , not how it seems. Don’t be so hard on yourself, my dear friends.”

With those last words, Wilford was gone seemingly from thin air before Dark could question the plural. How could he know? Dark had never shared the components of himself with anyone he barely understood it.

Shaking off the thought, sometimes Wilford was just an odd man, Dark decided to take a chance and step into the manor for the first time since this fascination started.

It was , simple. He expected a home absolutely thrashed by the ravages of time and was pleasantly surprised to find a home mostly preserved if fallen into disrepair. He could see the early forties influence in the architecture and design.

Crossing the threshold made the soft part of Dark sick, shaking and shifting as if having a nightmare. He may not have a good sense of self and identity but he understood trauma. Something about being here was triggering this woman that lived and slept inside him, and it made him hurt for her but his feet continued forward. Suddenly, he needed answers to questions he didn’t know he had and was convinced they were here.

He stopped pretty soon into the grand hall, a shattered mirror drawing his attention. This was familiar, it was a vague foggy memory but it was there, one of his first. Looking into this mirror, feeling a weakness leave his body and marching away with purpose.

“Weakness? That’s kinda mean.”

Dark looked around suddenly, wondering where the giggling voice came from. It was amused and tinkling, it didn’t sound aggressive or angry and seemed to fluctuate in tenor and pitch. “ Who said that?”

“Me ding dong, you for sure didn’t get your parents smarts.”

Dark spun back around on his heels to face the mirror, and there on the mantle in front of it sat, something. A vaguely formed being, no real distinct shape other than “human”, comprised of smoking sparkling pitch black clouds, shifting and moving and fluctuating shape even as it sat perfectly still. Large almond shaped eyes watching him curiously, taking up a large portion of what Dark assumed to be the beings face and sparkling like small galaxies with every color an eye could possibly have both naturally and unnaturally. Their large stretching mouth closely resembled a Cheshire cat, with far more threatening sharp teeth. Even what was supposed to be clearly a kind smile looked threatening and had Dark on the defensive.

However another part of him spoke, that small quiet part spoke of familiarity and want and the louder man that protected his sister hurt deeply. Regret, missed chances, unspoken words of affection, all rang in his heart like a bell and made him angry. Who was this person? Why did the dominant half of his heart care so much for them and why did the sleeping woman feel nothing.

“Who are you?”

This question seemed to, actually hurt the entity a bit who let out a weak sigh. “Well, I guess I can’t expect you to have access to all your memories.” before shaking their head. “Who I am is not important, what is important is I am holding you back.” Dark frowned crossing his arms, it angered him this stranger would think they had such power over him but .. they were correct. This, thing drawing him to the house was consuming his mind and he had a feeling deep in his chest that this thing in front of him was the core of that.

Giggling, they reached out with a shapeless hand and unfolded Dark’s arms, taking his hand into their own, and Dark let them. Smiling in what, he assumed was sadness and regret the entity looked at their joined hands. “I always loved holding your hand, people gave you funny looks because they couldn’t tell what I was or what I was to you and you didn’t care. You just wanted to soothe me and let me know it was okay when my anxiety overtook me.” Dark blinked away tears he didn’t remember feeling, that man settled in his chest getting heavier and heavier with each word as if his own separate heart was breaking.

The being stood, standing in Dark’s space and looked up at him with a wide smile that made Dark’s heart scream a song he didn’t understand, almost seeing an actual human face that was both familiar and a stranger.

“Listen, both of you. I love you. I’m no longer angry, I am always watching you and i’m so fucking proud of you and everything you’re doing. Please, stay strong get stronger and break this sick game Mark has all of us playing.” It was getting harder and harder for Dark to breath, which he didn’t even need to do.

“My eyes are with you always, and i’m rooting for you so much. Celine, rest, Damien be strong. I love you so much my heart bursts with it and all i want is to see you finish this mission and free all of us. “

Tears fell freely and silently down his grey ashen skin, which the entity quickly wiped away with a warm gentle shapeless hand that cupped Dark’s face with a gentleness he’d never felt from his own self. “You’re so strong” seeming to grow in height without leaning up, the entity brushed their mouth against Dark’s cheeks in a soft ghost of a kiss, before their sparkling cosmic spoke evaporated around them and he was alone again.

Except, not? Somehow he felt, lighter and more at ease. As if the wall around the man and woman fell just a little and he was more connected to himself. Wiping what was left of the tears away, Dark turned and made his way towards the front of the manor a new confidence in his step and new names on his lips.

Caline and Damien.

He didn’t know them, he didn’t know their story but he knew they had a mission and he would fuffill it. He exited the mansion to find Wilford waiting for him patiently, a scared look on his face.

“How are you feeling friend?”

Dark shook his head, allowing a small smile to grace his features. “Better, actually. Thank you, William.” the name slipped, almost on reflex and made him frown in confusion. It clearly did something to Wilford, but he masked his reaction quickly and smiled taking Dark’s hand in his own.

“That name isn’t important, all of that’s in the past my friend. Let’s move forward and create memories to last forever until the last grain of sand falls in this crazy hourglass we call life.”

Chuckling with a deep echo, Dark simply nodded and allowed Wilford to hold his hand and drag him a bit behind him as he marched forward confidently with long strides. “I agree, old friend.”

#darkiplier #who killed markiplier #wkm #meta #markiplier #wilford warfstache #darkstache #if you squint

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fanfic-inator795 · 4 years ago

Note

For the character thing: The one and only, #1 news anchor, Warren Stone

Yaaaaaaay ^v^

Sexuality Headcanon: Gay

Gender Headcanon: Cis-male

A ship I have with said character: HIPPOWORM FOR LIIIIIIIFE! ...also I kinda ship him with Stinkbomb, mostly for aesthetic reasons and because it just seems kinda cute to me, but Hippoworm’s still my #1

A BROTP I have with said character: Hypno, Stinkbomb and Wil (my best friend’s OC).

...also because of this fanfic idea I just had, I may or may not see a small friendship between him and Meatsweats being possible. Like, it wouldn’t be a super deep friendship or anything but, as I’ve said, they’re the only two villains we’ve seen actually express negative emotions towards their mutations instead of being totally happy or completely indifferent with them. That could lead to a connection, at the very least.

You could also sorta pair Warren up with Splinter or Bullhop and pretty much get the same results: a friendship based on understanding and empathy instead of what they have in common or whether or not they actually like each other. (I actually wrote a fic with Warren and Bullhop a while ago if anyone’s interested)

A NOTP I have with said character: Anyone who’s not Ron or Harold, pretty much (I’m sorry, lol)

A random headcanon: He’s a really good singer, and often takes long showers just as an excuse to sing to himself

General Opinion over said character: He’s trash, but he’s my trash. I think he’s hilarious, and like most of the villains on Rise, he’s a pretty terrible person (selling out the Turtles after they agreed to help him was a pretty dick move for example) but still super likable. John Micheal Higgins’ voice work helps with this a lot, as does his design.

He’s also a surprisingly compelling character, between his determination to try and make a name for himself as a villain just to get some spotlight back, his desire for power to help compensate for the fact that he’s now a literal worm, and just how attached he is to his former life as a human - moreso than any other villain, even Meatsweats, and almost as much as Splinter.

I guess my only complaint is that he doesn’t get used very often, and I wish he got more screentime :/ Once again, I find myself loving a character that has a TON of potential when it comes to their motivations and introspection/character development stories, buuuut isn’t used often and when they are it’s for comedy purposes (which is fine, like I said part of the reason why I love Warren is because he makes me laugh, but still).

You’d think I would have learned my lesson after becoming attached to another similar character (Emperor Awesome from Wander Over Yonder) that ultimately got short changed in the character development and exploration department, to the point where I ended up writing an eight part fanfic series just to try and tap some of that potential after canon disappointed me. ...Ah well, ‘tis the life of liking a side character/villain in a comedy cartoon, I suppose.

#Anonymous

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cerastes · 5 years ago

Note

So you've probably heard by now that the code vein dlc is Not Too Hot and I have Thoughts to write about that once the 3rd and (I think) last dlc comes out, thats for another time, but the biggest draw to the dlcs I've found is the blood codes and new gifts. I ended up changing my Queenslayer build to Ishtar for a variety of reasons I wrote about, namely a new buff that requires Fortitude S to use and it's a ton of fun just Never Having to Stop to Wait for Stamina, as shown /watch?v=kAAQ0-HhSCc

wisteriafield said: Basically I'm a sucker getting dlc3 bc I'm too curious about trying and seeing new gifts for myself. If you like 1h swords and agile stuff hellfire knight is worth a look. Achilles is DEX/FOR with a 1h sword specific gift and stamina toys, Surt is STR/WIL with 2 unique spells. Helps that Hellfire Knight is also a fun and memorable fight, even if it is based off a GE monster, it has more memorable moves and solid fight design than some of CVs bosses. I ddin't like it at first but changed my mind

Yeah I’m like not entirely convinced to buy ‘em, maybe down the road but not right now. I don’t really care for any of the weapons they added, and I like the base game a lot, enough that I can make do without ‘em for now. Maybe after I’ve run it a couple more times, bwahaha. Yyyyyyou know how I am when it comes to this so it’s not like I use or care about flashy cool new gifts and such, I am fine with The Utilitarian Experience just fine, haha.

I’ll wait till you review it properly, too.

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kjs-s · 5 years ago

Text

Scrapper to hero

Fandoms Marvel and Star Trek AOS

Pairing Brunnhilde|Vlakyrie x reader

Summary During a bounty hunting job gone bad Valkyrie and the reader encounter the Enterprise

Words 1730

Warnings mention of injury and fighting

A/N This is my first entry for @locke-writes cinema rewrite challenge. I hope you like it. I haven’t actually watched either movies I used the plot and script from the 2009 Star Trek. I Just finished my second entry and i wil post it next week.

I tried to not make the reader female or male. Hope i achieved that.

‘’If he is not here I suggest we just leave. We have been searching all over Saturn for the last few days. I am exhausted. Not to mention the information about him traveling to Titan was sketchy at best. Who knows if the officer who told us that wasn’t working with him? Maybe we agree that he is not worth it.’’ You asked your girlfriend knowing that she would argue with you. However, you still had a faint change that she was frustrated with the alien you were looking for as well.

‘’No way (Y/N), the bounty on him is worth losing some sleep. It’s so high that I believe this could only mean he is an extremely dangerous criminal. Why else would the federation offer so many units to whoever captures him?’’ The alien you were chasing didn’t seem as threatening as Brunnhilde was making him out to be. Then again, the bounty money suggested otherwise.

‘’I wish you are right Brunnhilde. Otherwise, we just missed our anniversary dinner for nothing. And I was planning something special for us.’’ She knew immediately that you were just disappointed by the change of plans and not at her. She loved you and had every intention to refuse to hunt a bounty so you could spend time together. She had told you this one was for the money although she didn’t mention that she wanted it to be able to get you a present.

Before she could apologize for ruining your dinner plans, you spotted the target. He was trying to escape from someone else and failed to notice the two of you. As soon as you saw him, you pointed a gun at him and ran.

After losing you in the crown for a while, Brunnhilde turned on her communication to contact you. She hoped you would be fine but needed to make sure the target hadn’t hurt you in any way. Having following the signal from the tracker, she had given you last year for your birthday; she froze when you screamed out in pain.

‘’I hate shapeshifters.’’ You yelled out while struggling to stop the blood running from a wound on your left calf. Your knee was bruised as well except the pain wasn’t that bad due to the adrenaline.

‘’What happened? Did the target hit you? Where is he? I will make him regret touching and hurting you.’’ She looked around only to find nothing.

‘’There’s no point. Apparently, the reason he is so valuable is that he can change forms. I lost him for just a moment when I almost tripped on a vendor’s cart. I asked a little girl if she had seen something. She pulled out a knife and stabbed my leg. I was so confused but she turned back into our target after fleeing. However, that doesn’t matter. I need help with this.’’

You managed to stand up and let Brunnhilde wrap a piece of cloth from her sleeve. She suggested carrying you back to your ship. The idea sounded good up until you remembered that there were no medical supplied on board. And that carrying both you and or your guns will definitely be exhausting.

‘’We need to locate a ship. Hopefully, they would have a doctor or at least some bandages to treat you. Does anything else hurt?’’

‘’My knee, however, I can cope with it. Thanks for supporting me while having all the guns.’’ You paused and focused on a sight you never expected to witness. A large saucer-shaped ship flew above you and into the cloud surrounding the moon. Nobody else around you paid it any attention except you knew exactly which ship this was. Being a fan of the federation’s space program from an early age, you always dreamed of visiting the enterprise one day. One of your aunts used to work there before she retired and her stories about their mission was a daily entertainment in your household growing up.

Brunnhilde was planning a way to search for a ship in order to steal the medical supplies you needed while you were daydreaming about your passion.

‘’There is no need to steal anything. Did you spot the ship that flew above us earlier? It was the enterprise, the best vessel the federation owns. I bet they will have everything I need, including a doctor. I have heard a lot about the crew of the ship and if the captain is the one my aunt knew while she was working there, I know they will help us.’’ Your confidence assured your girlfriend about seeking help from them.

Approaching the ship made it obvious that they were hiding from someone. You couldn’t tell how many people there were on board, although Brunnhilde commented about hearing arguments. Her faith in your judgment faded with every passing moment.

‘’Don’t move. State your names and your business here.’’ A security guard questioned you. After explaining the situation and determined you are not a threat, he walked you to the bridge.

‘’Welcome to the enterprise. I am captain Kirk, my officer informed of your issue and you have nothing to worry about. I already alerted the med bay and they are waiting for you.’’ Both of you were surprised at the captain’s hospitality and that he asked you nothing about the guns. Being bounty hunters was never addressed so he would have every right to not trust you or think of you as thieves.

‘’Thank you, captain. My partner needs the help of your doctor and we are grateful for your assistance. We were after an extremely dangerous individual and we will be out of your way in no time.’’

‘’There’s no need to rush their treatment. They could have a serious injury that would prevent you from your bounty hunting. However, I will alert doctor McCoy to take care of them as fast as he can.’’ He noticed your surprise and informed you that the security guards mention your profession. He also had made sure to familiarize himself with bounty hunters and their tactics just in case he might need to use them.

Brunnhilde escorted you to the med bay and stayed with you until a very attentive nurse had to ask her to leave. She passed the captain and overheard him talking about waiting for a ship to cross their path. Having heard of the name before she offered to aid the enterprise with their mission.

‘’I can’t ask that of you. Having my first officer risking everything to stop the distraction of Earth is already too much.’’ Kirk was feeling so stressed to protect everyone and having two more people on the ship was added pressure.

‘’I used to be a Valkyrie before becoming a scrapper. Whatever threat you are facing, I can handle this. In addition, my weapons are nearly as powerful as yours are.’’

‘’I think she should come with us. Neither of us is as skilled fighters as a former Valkyrie even despite me being trained in martial arts. Fighting is what they are known for.’’ Spock showed his admiration to the warrior and they entered the transporter room.

‘’ Transporter room. We are in position above Titan’’ An announcement was heard and Brunnhilde felt confident that she can help the team and return the favor. She had no idea what their mission was before the captain showed her a hologram of the person they were trying to rescue. He was the one you were saying would let them both in since he knew your aunt.

‘’Whatever happens Mr. Sulu, if you think you have the tactical advantage you fire on that ship even if we're still on board. That's an order. Otherwise, we'll contact the Enterprise when we're ready to be beamed back.’’ Kirk thanked both Spock and Brunnhilde for following him.

‘’If there’s any common sense in the design of the enemy's ship I should be putting you somewhere in the cargo bay, shouldn't be a soul in sight.’’ As soon as hearing that, they indeed found themselves where they expected on board the Narada. However, they encountered six guards working on cargo consoles.

They all seemed surprised at the intrusion but Brunnhilde led the attack on the crew. Once everyone was apprehended, Kirk ordered the others to destroy the black hole drill while he would search for captain Pike and deal with Nero.

‘’We have to find a way to destroy the drill but I can’t see any way. Maybe we can borrow another ship and make it collide with this one. That way both the ship and the drill will be consumed by the dark hole.’’

‘’I love your idea. I suggest we borrow mine. If we can have someone of your teammates set my ship on course to collide with this one, we can calculate when we can beam back.’’

Before setting the plan in motion, Brunnhilde talked to the captain to make sure he was ok with their plan. Luckily, he has rescued his mentor and agreed with everything. He even tried to offer his enemy a chance to escape which he refused.

Back to the enterprise, you woke up only to hear everyone being frantic around you. You saw captain Pike being treated and you asked whomever you could find about what happened. Brunnhilde explained everything to you including how she sacrificed your vehicle.

‘’I’m sure it was worth it. The nurse informed me that I would need at least two weeks to have a full recovery. I am afraid I won’t be able to follow you to work.’’

‘’It will be fine. Besides the new captain of this ship offered us both a job. There are rumors about Pike being promoted after everything and Kirk seemed impressed by both my skills and what I told him about you. Therefore, we can both stay here on one condition. We will have to complete the academy’s training program.’’ You were thrilled about it because you always hoped you would have the opportunity. In addition, experiencing it with your girlfriend would be the best time of your life. Not included the ceremony for the promotion, in which the federation awarded Brunnhilde with a medal of valor for her part in the operation.

@bookcaseninja @writing-journeyx @sprinkleofhappinessuniverse @ohyesmarvel @agentpeggicarter @buckyofthemyscira @romantichen @once-upon-an-imagine @marveliskindacool @captainrogerss @jurassicbarnes @uncomfortable-writers @sgtbxckybxrnes @bennyhargreeves @goingknowherewastaken @thetherianthropydaily @dresupi @imamotherfuckingstar-lord @murdocksmartinis @outside-the-government @thefanficfaerie @admiralamott @yallneedtrek @goingknowherewastaken @girl-next-door-writes @janeykath318 @kaitymccoy123 @musikat18

#noahs cinema rewrite challenge #valkyrie x reader #marvel fic #star trek aos #marvel #movie rewrite

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heathert456 · 4 years ago

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Character Descriptions, +drafts

Final 100 words for each (below)

Character 1- a boy with an imaginary friend.

Character Ideas 1:

What world do they live in? - A regular world, a school/suburban environment

External (plot-driven) conflict - (motivates characters to take action) - Character vs society/character vs nature/time, moving schools, leaving comforts, bullies, no real friends

Internal (character-driven) conflict/Major flaw - A fear of growing up, which stops him from experiencing or trying new things

Minor flaw - Shy, quiet, timid, unadaptable, introverted, reserved, keeps to himself

Quirks - Wilfulness, unusually small, stutter, hates being inside

Strengths talents - High intelligence, great imagination, creative

What is their goal/obstacle? - To face his fears, moving schools/towns

What do they learn? - As he is growing up, he has to accept that as a natural stage, accept his flaws-works on them to grow- has to learn how to adapt, in order to grow

100 words. Draft 2

Benny has always been shy and quiet, but he doesn’t seem to mind. He doesn’t feel alone, although he may look it. He has an imaginary friend to keep him company. Even when he gets bullied, he can always turn to his friend. Benny doesn’t like to try new things because he is afraid to grow up. But one day Benny’s life changes dramatically when his parents decide to move to a new town. He has been told that he needs to face his fears, to do this, he knows he must leave his imaginary friend behind and learn to adapt by himself.

Character 2- a journey of self-discovery, led by a child.

Character Ideas 2:

What world do they live in? - A world where robots and humans co-exist

What do they want? - To become an artist

What is an external problem/challenge? - The society she lives in doesn’t believe in creativity or individualism

What is an internal problem? - She doesn’t feel satisfied with her life

What do they fear? - She fears what others might think of her dream

What is a special skill they have? – She is very artistic

How will they overcome their external challenge? - She meets a human child who teaches her, while they go on a self-discovering journey

What do they learn? - Through her experience, she learns to let go of her fears

100 words. Draft 5

Sarah the robot is different from the rest, she does not like doing menial tasks. She dreams of becoming an artist, but the society she lives in does not believe in creativity or individualism. She fears what others will think so she hides her dream, but keeps herself busy by doing her job as a domestic servant. One day, she meets a meddlesome child, together they go on a journey of self-discovery. Along the way, she learns to let go of her fears. When her society tries to stop her, she must use everything she has learned to guide her.

Character 3- an elderly person who escapes retirement home.

Character Ideas 3:

What world do they live in? - A rest home

What do they want? - To rescue their grandchild

What is an external problem/challenge? - Family doesn’t visit him, trapped in a rest home, needs to rescue grandchild

What is an internal problem? - They are afraid of the outside world

What do they fear? - They fear going out into the outside world

What is a special skill they have? - They create nautical ships in bottles

How will they overcome their external challenge? - They need to find a way to rescue their grandchild and complete the mission of building an actual-size ship

What do they learn? - Through their adventure, they learn to overcome their fear and adapt. By reconnecting with their grandchild, they learn to be kind-hearted and happy

100 words. Draft 4

Jo lives in a rest-home and hasn’t left for years, instead, he creates ships in bottles. He doesn’t have any family as far as he knows, and he fears the outside world. One day, he gets a letter from his grandchild saying they want to meet. The child has no parents, but Jo is not allowed to make contact with them. He must make a choice; ignore the letter or decide to do what he hasn’t done in years, leave the rest home, to rescue his grandchild. To complete his mission, he must build the largest ship he’s ever made.

Final Decision.

I have decided to forward with the robot character because I like the story better, I think it will have more potential for visual interest. At first, I liked both stories for the characters and I thought that I would try to see what to choose by answering questions about them. But as I was answering the characters for the elderly character, I got a little bored and I didn’t think there was as much depth as what I could put into the robot character. As I was answering most of the questions the answers were just ‘no’, and I found that a little dull. I am happy that I decided to explore both character ideas, but I am looking forward to further developing and exploring my ideas for the robot character. I have also decided to change her name to Bristle instead, because it relates to a paintbrush, which is a part of her dream, to be able to paint. I think this name will be a name that Ensley, the girl, names her (prior to that she only had her model number as a name). I have also decided that Ensley will be older because I think it will make more sense to the story for her to be a teenager and not a child. I will re-write some aspects of the 100 words later, to make them align with these changes. I am looking forward to designing both of these characters.

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alifeleadsimply · 4 years ago

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How to feel more in control when you are a newly single mama

A few days ago, I read that a mommy whom I have been following for a while now is newly separated, waiting for their divorce to come through. She has two small kids, and although she never said it, I could see the fear and uncertainty in her eyes in every photo she posted. Yes, even in the ones where she was laughing.

This was a bit triggering for me, for a few reasons.

Firstly, I remember those first few days and weeks and months when I was forced to go at it alone. I remember the overwhelm, the anxiety. Back then, my co-parent was living across the world from us, so when I say I was doing it alone I am not exaggerating.

Secondly, the pang of loneliness hit me. In those first stages of breaking up, you feel acutely alone. Even when surrounded by people who care for you. The breakup of a marriage is much more than just the end of a relationship. You lose a bit of yourself, in some cases, you lose your entire identity. Trying to find the pieces to put back together can be a daunting task, especially when you are already exhausted trying to stay upright for your kids.

Thirdly, I remember feeling severely misunderstood. Although some statistics and stories were similar to mine, I did not care to be generalised, and neither did I like it if my marriage and the subsequent split were generalised. We were people, with unique needs and dreams and desires. From the comments to her post where she broke the news of their pending divorce, I could tell that most people only know how to offer these general, shallow platitudes, and I could practically hear her scream that that was not what she wanted to hear.

But more than anything, I realised that I have gone through these waters and survived. Not only survived but in so many aspects thrived. And I have the experience and knowledge to help newly single mamas like her to get through their own storm quicker, with less damage. To get through it and out the other side, and to start to heal on the way.

My one-year anniversary as a single mama

5 Things you need to know to be a successful single mama

Today, I can confidently say that I am over my ex, have figured out my life as best I can, and I am happy. I am rebuilding my life the way I want it. Overwhelm? Sure, at times. But nothing compared to the beginning. What has changed? The natural flow of time definitely helped, but there were a few other things I did that helped me put the pieces back together, in the shape that I wanted them to go.

Newly single mom? Get my survival checklist!

Things you can start to help you feel more in control and to make the healing process a bit easier:

Write it down.

I am not a journaler, I don’t have the discipline nor the lifestyle to sit down daily and write down how I feel. What I did was document every time I had a big feeling, whether positive or negative. I would keep track of it in my day planner, never going into too much detail. Just what I felt and quickly what happened that triggered the feeling. Most days had little to no severe ups or downs, so documenting these feelings made me recognise patterns and definite triggers, making it easier to steer clear of situations or people that had a negative effect on me, or seeking out those ones that made me feel good. Writing things down also helped me make sense of my situation and how I felt in it. I highly recommend that you put pen to paper and get those feelings out, how often or in whichever way you feel comfortable.

Another point I wish to add here: if you do seek professional help, you can take your writings with you as a point of reference. So often when we are asked to name specific incidents or feelings we draw a blank – this is your cheat card out of that.

Communicate and share.

The first thing I did was gather my people. I had lost so many deep friendships over the course of my marriage that it took wilful determination to get these relationships back on track. That looked like me being vulnerable and fragile in front of people who, I think, at first were a bit confused. After time, they started to share back and now I can say I have more than a handful of very close friends. But these relationships took work. I encourage you to seek out your tribe and share with them even when it hurts to say the words out loud. These people are the ones who will invite you over on the first weekend that your kids go to their dad, or listen to you vent when the lawyers make your life difficult. They are also the people who will keep you from doing something stupid like drunk dialling your ex, or jumping into a relationship just because you don’t want to be alone.

Surrender and search.

Just give in. Feel the grief. Mourn the loss. Cry, weep, sob. Then when you have laid everything bare, look up at God and see His loving kindness. Fall into His arms and allow Him to comfort you. Look for Him and you will find Him. My best tip? Prayer. All. The. Time. The. Whole. Day.

Where is God in single parenthood?

Create routines.

Finding a new normal is difficult, and frankly – it hurts. Going from the known to the unknown takes work and a lot of suppressed tears, so my best advice would be to do it quickly. Much like plucking off a Band-Aid – do it without pause. The moment you walk out and find yourself on your own, stop doing the things the way you always used to do them. Explain to the kids that this is a new adventure, and you get to write the story. Design your day according to your needs and your abilities, create routines that work for you and your new life. Then stick to them. By creating and sticking to routines you bring structure into a world that was turned upside down, creating calm amidst all the chaos. You give the kids, and yourself, a framework so that they, and you, know what to expect and when. This gives them certainty and will make your life a lot easier.

How to make life easier as a single mama

Simplify your life now

Be still and wait.

So often our way of dealing with hurt is to get a crutch. The best advice I got was that I had a free pass to be a mess for a year. During that year, I was allowed to wallow and not wash my hair and feel sorry for myself at times. But this free pass expired 365 days after day 0, and then I had to have my life in order. Being a mess does not mean relying on crutches to get through it, so if you are turning to alcohol (or drugs), new relationships or any other obsessive behaviour YOU NEED TO STOP. You are not doing yourself or your kids any good. And while you are in this season, don’t wish it away. Do the work, sort out your feelings, find your identity and work out what you want in life. Then when your free pass has expired you will be ready to face life, head-on, and stronger than before.

Reflect and question.

Question everything. Leave no stone unturned – ask why your relationship didn’t work. What went wrong. What went right. Why did things happen the way they did. Question your own childhood, deal with any traumas that might have happened. Heal old wounds. Make sure you will not repeat the same mistakes – life is too short to do that. By reflecting on the past you can help shape a healthier future. A wise man once told me the way you leave a previous relationship is the way you will enter into a new one. Make sure any possibility of future happiness is guaranteed by dealing with the past.

Learning to accept myself as a single mom

Get out there and try new things.

Notice how I said new things and not new people Find new hobbies. That thing you always wanted to try but were too scared, or could not find the time, or whatever the reason/excuse was – now is the time. Try it, if you don’t like it you can ditch it. If you do like it? Well, hello new you, welcome! Put yourself out there and meet new people. Be interesting and fun-loving. But a word of caution: be careful of opening yourself up to dating too soon. You first need to get over your heartbreak and anger before you can allow yourself to find love again. Don’t fool yourself by thinking you are only doing it for fun – often relationships start on a foundation of trauma or hurt, and then we are surprised later on when they fall apart. Be whole, and then start to date.

The tip? When it feels good, not forced or uncomfortable or you feel shame, then you are ready to get back into the dating pool. Until then, try your hand at crocheting or rock climbing.

Dating after divorce

Look after yourself.

Self-care is a drum that has been beaten to death, but that does not make it less true or less important. You need to look after yourself in order to be the most and best you can be for your kids and to get through those first few months sane and intact. Remember, you get that free pass for the year to be a mess, to not shave or not wash your hair. Luckily self-care isn’t solely based on physical appearance. Focus on getting to know YOU, the real you, the one that was buried in a marriage, in being mom, in being a wife. Spend time with that person, eat ice cream in bed and drink champagne in the bath with that person. Go for walks. Introduce that person to your kids and your friends and your dog. Do what you need to do to look after the whole you.

Address the “I” in parenting

Why you need to prioritise me-time, especially if you are parenting alone

Value your time and boundaries.

This is something I still struggle with, although a lot less than I did initially. I am a pleaser, and I am betting my hat that you are too. Now, you have one less person to please, but you are feeling fragile and alone so instead of saying no to things you don’t want to do, you say yes out of a feeling of guilt (usually your family or tribe – how can you say no when they are doing so much for you?) or shame (if I say no they will read more into it than they should, or they will think I am weak) or even because you still don’t understand that you are more than enough. Let me tell you this, I wish someone had told me this at the beginning: your kids will not suffer if you say no to things you don’t want to do. Even if those things involve them. You are not adding to their burden or making their trauma worse. And secondly – if people are nice and supportive to you because they want it to be paid back, they are not the right people to have in your life. Refer to point 2 as well as point 7 – find a new tribe.

Boundaries are a good way of protecting yourself and your new family unit. Building your no’s into these boundaries will quickly get you to a point where you no longer feel guilty for using that small yet powerful word. Remember, this is your new life, and you are in control.

Help your kids cope with separation/divorce

Seek professional help.

Lastly, realise that asking for help doesn’t make you weak. It reveals a strength far greater than you will ever be able to grasp. Going through a divorce can be likened to facing death. Death of your marriage, death of the person you were before the relationship, death of the person you were in the relationship, death of all the hopes and dreams you had. Grieving this can be debilitating, and again – the way you leave your previous relationship is the way you enter into any new ones. Find someone you can talk to and who can objectively give you insights and advice. Friends are great for listening, but often we need a bit more. There are many cost-effective ways of seeing a therapist, including virtual sessions, seeing someone at your local church, going to support groups or even finding a virtual group. Reach out.

Asking for help doesn’t make you weak – it reveals strength, even when you don’t feel strong

Time is a great healer, but only if you commit to doing the work. Following an ostrich-approach will not get you anywhere – you cannot ignore the problem with the hopes that it will disappear. You need to face the fact that you are now a single mama, deal with the grief, and rebuild your life (using some if not all of the tips above). You owe being happy to yourself as much as to your kids, so go be happy.

To the mama who is facing the death of a marriage, I know it hurts. Even if it was your choice. I can tell you it won’t be easy, but it is possible. Get up. Make the choice. Just start. You have got this.

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#Alifeleadsimply #singlemama

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