#brooklynne is now my daughter

[campbenji]

*JWCT SPOILERS* very messy first thoughts

OH BOY here we go

-ben and darius's dynamic was epic. the hug. the roadtrip scenes. "is your friend okay?" "no 😊". ben getting darius out of his isolation cabin and darius grounding him in ep2. the parallels with s3ep7. "you kiss your mother with that mouth?" i'm gonna be thinking about that scene for days. their ship is still a swim to me but please they better keep whatever the fuck they have going on in s2 because it's fucking wonderful

-i love that they took the chance to give more light to duos we didn't see much in jwcc. teamups we didn't often see like ben and sammy, THE B-DUO, and darius and sammy got very special moments here

-the amount of pictures/videos from the six years in between??? the brooklynn flashbacks??? we were so well fed

-BRAND!!!!!! i got so happy when i heard him the first episode, he's clearly been checking on his brother and i'm glad he's ok

-bowman family FEAST. brand and darius talking over the phone. the pictures on the cabin. kenji saying he calls mrs. bowman once a week and all the nice things he said about her. the whole mess between kenji and darius. "we're brothers, right?" i died dead. i love this family your honor

-sammy. she's got so much going on and we desperately need to talk about it. i'm so worried about her, she's desperately trying to avoid confronting what happened with brooklynn, with yaz and her own trauma, and then they casually dropped on us that her family isn't speaking to her and never elaborated on that?? sammy, who's love and care for her family was her biggest motivation in jwcc?? i need to know what happened because it must've been big

-mateo!! i liked him a lot, he definitely doesn't want to get into any of this mess but still dabbles around a bit to help the kids, which i respect. also i hope we get to meet his daughter hiraya, she sounds really cool

-MS MICROBANGS (or the handler, or whatever name we're calling her). what is her deal. who is she working for. she's so uncanny, literally almost robotic i need to know more about her

-brookenji over i cheered. don't take this personally i've never been a fan of this ship and a part of me knew they weren't going to last long

-the animation increased in quality so much. the scene after ben, yaz and sammy get out of the sinking van is so well done it's so pretty to look at. and the t-rex with the explosion behind her? it reminds me so much of toro in the tunnels in s1ep8, and i haven't tested this out but i feel like if you put them one next to the other the improvement would be so noticeable.

-also related to the point above: that thing when a character's eyes start filling up with tears but they don't cry just yet? 10/10. chef's fucking kiss

-sure jwct has the same tv-y7 rating as jwcc, but from minute 1 it's obvious it's not the same audience they're talking to. it's not a big change in tone, like for example adventure time/distant lands/fionna and cake, but it's there, you can tell they know it's not little kids watching anymore

-BUMPY IS HAVING A BABY BUMPY IS A MOM NOW they had me shit scared for her and then they pulled a freaking egg my heart was literally pounding. anyways i hope they get both bumpy and the egg somewhere safe and that they name the new anky "speckles" (i've gotten so attached to that name in the last 24 hours it's insane)

-YASAMMY THE QUEENS THAT YOU ARE. their relationship was stellar this season, i was scared when i saw that they were apart but their issues felt organic to their relationship and i just love how they were written in the show, they are still so in love with each other and i can't wait to see where they go next season. they're everything to me

-yeah they were apart for half the season but. benji crumbs. the egg cradle scene. kenji helping ben after he got hit with the stun gun. basically all they did was act like they knew each other but idc. we are so back.

-the brooklynn reveal was... meh?? it could've been more rewarding if they waited until s2 to reveal she's still alive, but at least i hope they take their time before reuniting her with the rest of the camp fam. also i can't believe ppl even guessed what arm she was going to lose y'all have prophetic powers or smth

-bringing daniel back to kill him the same episode was an insane move btw. i would've normally complained but it's all worth it for causing the panic attack scene in ep7. kenji's reaction felt so genuine, i'm forever in awe at how well this show writes grief and trauma

-i'm so conflicted about darius's confession. i like dinostar, but i feel like it wasn't needed for darius to be in love with brooklynn to explain the voicemails and the way he was dealing with her death. she was one of his closest friends, his grief made sense even with them being platonic. on the other hand, i love how he admitted it to kenji and the fact they didn't turn it into a huge fight between them; also, "i didn't know i could even feel that way" aroace/acespec darius truthers never lose

-maybe it's just that i need to rewatch, but i'm lost as to where they're going next season?? i know they're getting on a boat but where does that go?? what are they trying to do?? there's so much happening my head is spinning

-ben... he kind of felt like the comic relief for most of the show, the first episodes showed him as being really paranoid again and struggling with being alone, but halfway through the season they just sort of forgot about it?? idk something was off

-bring back kenji's old latin spanish va idk who this guy is but that is not kenji i can't do this. i'll survive the loss of ryan potter but i won't survive this

anyways yeah i think those are most of my uncooked thoughts, overall i really liked the season, i can't believe we got to see the kids again this is still so unreal to me

[morurui]

Camp Cretaceous/Chaos Theory Arcane AU Part 1

I’ve been mulling over this AU for a while now and I’ll put the info in read more so it doesn’t take over my home page, but I would like to thank @mangosaurus and @theobscuredigit for helping me sort out my thoughts and bounce off ideas regarding the AU! Also this mostly covers act 1 of Arcane so I’ll probably do another part of this covering acts 2 and 3.

I’ve been working through what characters would fit which roles in the arcane universe and I’ve finally come to a somewhat solid conclusion on where I’m taking this AU if I decide to do more about it in the future (or it’s just this one off thing, maybe I’ll write a fic about it. I’m unsure), so here we go!

Yaz -> Vi- A head strong and athletic young girl who lost her mom due to a tragic conflict between the Undercity and Piltover. She’s the leader of a rag tag group of fellow orphans, those of which greatly admire her. While she may put on an act of having everything together she’s extremely terrified of letting those she loves down, especially her adoptive younger brother Ben who is the most important person in her life.

Ben -> Powder- Yaz found Ben all alone during the conflict that took the lives of the twos parents, and from that day forward Yaz became Ben’s protector and sister. Although, timid, Ben is determined to prove he can pull his own weight within the group. However, his attempts often fail leading disastrous consequences, which Yaz and the others have to end up resolving. The only person that Ben believes doesn’t see him as a burden is his best friend, Darius.

Mae -> Vander- Adoptive mother of both Ben and Yaz, she found the two during the conflict between Piltover and the Undercity. She also takes care of two other children she found during the aftermath and is well respected in the Undercity, due to her not so savory past. She now tries to keep the peace between the two nations, while also struggling to manage the rebellious children under her care.

Kenji -> Mylo- One of the other two children under Mae’s care. Unlike everyone else in the group who are orphans, Kenji was abandoned by his father after his mother passed away, using the chaos of the conflict going on in the Undercity as a way to make a clean break. Kenji greatly admires Yaz, and hopes to be someone that can proudly stand by her side, however his cockiness and laziness get the better of him. While he does care for Ben, he ends up giving the kid a hard time due to how often he messes up jobs. He believes that Ben somehow hexes the group whenever he joins them on outings.

Sammy -> Claggor- One of the other two children under Mae’s care as well as Yaz’s girlfriend. During the conflict, Sammy was separated from her parents and later found out they were killed during it. With no where else to go, she finds Mae and gets taken in by her. While trying to keep things positive in the group, it’s clear that she share the same hatred for those in Piltover as her friends, citing them as the reason why she lost everything.

Darius -> Ekko- Best friend of Ben as well as the son of the local pawn shop owner, he supplies tips he hears from his dad’s shop about wealthy customers to his friends. He highly respects Ben and motivates him to keep trying even when he wants to give up, being a guiding light in Ben’s life.

Brooklynn -> Caitlyn- The daughter of one of Piltover’s councilman. Her biggest dream is to investigate the inside details of Piltover and the Undercity’s rocky relationship and hope to achieve this by becoming one of the cities top enforcers in the future. She also assists Henry Wu in his work from time to time as he was taken under her families wing.

Here are the other roles that I don’t feel like writing descriptions for as of this moment but probably will if I go more into depth with this AU

Dr. Wu -> Jayce

Eddie -> Viktor

Daniel -> Mel

Tiff-> Silco

Mitch -> Sevika

Bumpy -> idk she can be heimerdinger or something

If I had better art skills I would draw designs for everyone, but alas I only use my drawing ability for shitty memes.

[aristaspark]

My Chaos Theory... well, theory.

Who's the villain?

I thought about it hard, and I think I came to a pretty solid conclusion as to who's the villain.

And the best candidate is...

Matteo.

There are so many things not adding up with his character, but I'm going to lay out why I think that.

1: He's way.too.nice. I don't buy his whole naive persona, sorry, I still have PTSD from Tiff and Mitch.

2: The night Brooklynn "died". His story is awfully convenient and can actually seem believable from Darius and Kenji POV, but from an audience standpoint? Hell no. We know Brooklynn is alive. She was saved by someone that night (there was only a puddle of blood so it's certain she was picked up by someone with a car). I don't care how strongly he claims he covered his ears, he would have seen or heard something/movements (her screams because she lost her arm, for starters). The fact that, if he tells the truth, he would have magically waited for Brooklynn to be taken away by someone before coming out of the bushes is ridiculous.

3: His reaction when Kenji and Darius are shocked that she had a secret apartment. I swear, I found the delivery of his line suspicious the first time I heard it. "You didn't know she had a secret appartment? 🥴" It seems like he was saying "Well, how could you not know your friend was the kind of person to have a secret apartment, even I KNOW THAT since she's been after my ass for months before I tried to kill her.

4: I don't remember the line exactly, but when the DPW agents said the boss didn't like when things weren't "done right", basically, which made me sure we had already seen the villain.

5: Sorry it took me so long to give the phone of your dead friend back to you, I just conveniently waited for you to be targeted by a psychopath to do so. Just because.

6: Why did he take the phone in the first place? 😂 Even in the scenario he gave to Darius and Kenji that part isn't explained like dude wanted a new phone??? Like in his scenario he had no reason to hide it, if he was who he claims to be he would have given it to Darius right away.

7: The fact that he was the one at the crime scene is suspiscious enough. If it hadn't been deemed a dinosaur attack, he would have been interrogated by the police right away.

So my theory is that:

Brooklynn discovered that someone was doing some horrible things using the DPW to dinosaurs. She pretty much had all the informations, except for one thing: the identity of the person who was doing these things (aka Matteo). Maybe Matteo's daughter is real, and she is the one who told him Brooklynn was getting closer to him (possible she's the one Ben spoke to on DarkJurassic) (or Matteo's lying about that too and is actually really good at tech). The night Brooklynn died was an ambush and he had planned on killing her, but he wasn't actually there, only his subordinates. Brooklynn was saved by someone though, which is why now he is so hell bent on finishing things. When he arrived, he discovered her phone and took it, in case it could be of some use (and maybe to erase all the things she had on him), and that's when Darius arrived. He decided to leave the campers alone since they didn't suspect anything anyway, but when Ben started questioning the night Brook died on Dark Jurassic, he panicked. For the time being he knows Brooklynn didn't tell anything to her friends and probably doesn't know his identity, but he knows that if the campers start investigating, he's in danger. So I think he has two reasons to target them: So that they don't investigate further but the main reason: to make Brooklynn come out of hiding, and to kill her for good (he now has a personal vendetta kind of thing). Maybe he's the one who put the money in her appartment, I'm not sure about that, he might be willing to put the blame on her so that when she reappears everyone will think whatever he is doing was her doing all along (since poor Brooklynn already appears to be suspicious for faking her own death) and that's why he decided to try and gain the trust of the campers.

I think that's about it.

[ursa9909]

Sammy Knows prt3

Mateo picks her up and Brooklynn gives then burners to communicate with her. Her friend also gives her a small box of muscle relaxants in case of emergency if Sammy starts to stroke out if she's being hunted, by dino or man.

Brooklynn gives her a hug, their weeks together passing in the blink of an eye. At least she was able to put some weight back on Brooklynn, though if she has to make another pie within the year she will end up killing someone.

Still Sammy enjoyed her time mostly, it was almost like they were back at the farm, before the allosaurus, before the DPW corruption was confirmed.

How Sammy missed those times.

"Wow" a voice said, startling Sammy, her foot comming out and digging into soft underbelly.

"Oof!" Mateo curled over dry heaving.

Sammy shook herself and helped the man up.

"Sorry, you startled me" and he did. The man may be older than her but he had a way of just dissapearing, no wonder Ronnie recruited him.

"All--good" the man croaked out, "my daughter loves karate"

"It's capoeira" Sammy mutters under her breath and helps the man to the drivers side, she didn't want to chance an episode while driving if she could help it. Though it didn't help that the tips of her fingers were going numb on and off.

It was night when they arrived back to her farm. She had to take care of some things. Setting Mateo up at her place so he could hide away and take care of Bessy and the rest of her critters, burying Carl and informing his family. Or the estranged siblings he still had living.

When all is said and done she leaves for her mission. Sammy doesn't know when or if she'll regroup with the others, but still she hopes that they're all well. That the dinosaurs haven't hurt them beyond a bad scare and that they don't meet any humans, any of the Broker's people especially.

She bites her lip thinking about Yas, knows now that she's doing better but the urge to go out and find her has had her up and pacing more than once at a rest stop.

Sammy has to push a head, has to keep moving or else she'll stay to worried about Yas, about her friends, and about their future; so she starts taking down the targets Brooklynn and Ronnie are sending her. She hasn't directly put a bullet into someone's head yet, but one through the leg is just as effective when there's a loose dino after you. Maybe it would be kinder if she just started doing that instead. It would at least make it so she doesn't have so many screams stuck in her head.

Every once in awhile she meets with Ronnie when the woman is out shopping for groceries and Sammy herself is back on home turf, because who wouldn't converse with a fellow acquittance at a store.

She was heading along the coast, helping to acquire some sea vessels worthy of getting Brooklynn and Ronnie's teams to the last location of the Broker without the DPW noticing; when there was a close call with the raptor lady again, but at least Sammy didn't miss when she went for the woman's thigh.

For all she knew she saved not just herself but the others too, though it had to be wishful thinking given the fact that a good portion of her side now sported a butchered sowing job...hopefully they'll scar over soon.

Sammy thought things were going not to bad given the current predicament.

Speaking of thinking she wasn't liking any of it, she spiraled once or twice as she was overcome with emotions and memories of her time on a long ago past and the islands that refuse to sink away from said memories...it was enough that she decided using a tranq would help.

Sadly it didn't.

Nor did the muscle relaxers. Sammy counted her supplies, she was being shipped off again; this time to the island the rest of the camp fam were on. And from what Brooklynn has said it seem like they've had their fair share of run in with the Broker's goons.

She still wasn't sure if making contact would be good or even if Brooklynn would want it given how bad Sammy could keep a secret.

She groaned and dry swallowed three aspirins. The headaches weren't as common anymore but somehow she could imagine that the sensation was what people with strokes feel if they could process the bloody clots in their brains.

"Good luck" Mateo said. Holding out a hand. At least Sammy didn't kick him when he scared her again, damn that man really needed a bell.

"And to you as well"

A small cry was all she heard before she was on the ground, a louder and deeper call coming soon after.

"Easy girls" she says standing and dusting herself off. "You two behave while I'm gone"

The baby ankylosaurus screeched again before running in circles. Sammy laughed, did so even louder when Mateo jumped back in fright. The egg had hatched thankfully, and well while Sammy had some names to supply that would be Ben's choice ultimately.

"Especially you" Sammy said, patting Bumpy's head. Her giant friend huffed at her but still nuzzled in.

"I'm gonna miss you girl, stay safe"

Bumpy let out a low groan agian before heading to fallow her little copy.

It's another week full of dusty roads and raging seas till she finds and tracks a set of small feet, runners feet, through the mud. A familiar group of screaming filling the air is all it takes before she's running again.

At least her side has healed.

It also looks like contact with the rest of the camp fam will come a lot sooner than she thought it be, Sammy rolls at the last second so a giant foot doesn't crush her. She doesn't see the confused and startled looks directed at her as she vaults over giant tree roots and boulders.

Instead she focused, has a flare out of her pocket in record time, and fires into the mouth of a Tarbosaurus. She downs all the shots at the creature and switches to one of the dart pistols on her hip but thankfully the flares were enough to make the large dino run off, and hopefully the few darts that do hit make it take a nice nap.

Sammy gasps as she catches her breath, the fear slowly leaving her veins with the adrenaline; she turns around looking for anymore dinos and when she doesn't see any more, closes her eyes and focuses on her breathing. And on the spinning in her vision. Great.

"Thanks man" she turns to see Darius helping Ben up. "Things were getting harry" despite the friendliness in his voice, Sammy could see how tense his shoulders were set and they had nothing to do with the dinosaurs. She takes a good look at him and wonders if it was the Broker's agents or the land eating away at his figure more.

"That was so cool" Kenji said, accusation simmering low, kicking at the flares' discarded casings. "Wish we had some gear like that...the best money could buy"

"Kenji" Darius hissed under his breath. Sammy ignored the two as she focused on the lone woman putting pressure on her blood soaked arm sleave.

Sammy's hands immediatly reach out but stop when Yas pulls away, mistrust in her eyes.

"I have a first aid kit, in my vehicle..."Sammy says, it's only then does she realize her voice is modified by her helmet. A perk from her one armed friend.

"Score!" Kenji says, the other boys wooping at the reinvigorated hope.

"Thanks. You have no idea what is going on here" Ben said, taking a step to put himself between her and Yas, as friendly as always but making sure that she wasn't a threat to her girl and Sammy just wanted to pull him into a hug right then and there.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that" Sammy mutters, but turns forcing herself not to look back as she leads the others to her ride.

There's a low whistle, as she pulls out the aid kit opening it and stepping away so Yas could have the space she needed.

"Reminds me of my ride" Ben says, patting the side of her vehicle, "just like her"

"Uh, Ben, maybe you hit your head because your car was older than actual dinosours and held together by ductape and hot glue"

"Don't be mean Yas" Ben pouts.

Kenji pats him on the back and appraises her vehicle before turning to her.

"You have a lot of nice gear, who do you work for? Because there are some nasty people here and well, you're one of the few with an actual armored car"

Sammy leans against the side, the dark metal already warming her through her clothes. She crosses her arms and shrugs, "I'm making good on my word, a friend needed help and well, I'm a sucker for them"

"That doesn't answer my question. Who are you and who do you work for?"

"Kenji" Ben said lowly, a small strained smile on his face, "don't piss off the person who chased off the dino biting at our butts"

"Looks like you're adding more questions" Sammy chuckles, her eyes slide through the tinted visor at the thankfully not badly cut up arm of Yas.

"And you're evading them" Yas says dryly, still focused on her arm. Sammy could see how tense she is, like a bowstring, or bomb more like, ready to go off.

"Yas" Darius said softly, but the woman shakes off the hand that went to her shoulder.

"Kenji's right, it wouldn't be the first time we've been double crossed and duped"

Sammy purses her lips and is glad her visor can't show them her face.

"Even if it's for good reasons" and there were so many reason as to why she hopped there could be foregiveness at the end of this all.

Yas sighs out through her nose heavily, "I don't know what reality you're living in, but it isn't this one"

Well. Shit. Ain't that the truth now, huh.

"I don't know, my brain is a bit scrambled" technically not a lie, it would be a lot better if she doesn't' do that to much anymore for her sake, "so can't say you're wrong; but hey you got some crazy friends who think they can survive an island with dinos and the Broker, so who's really looking at reality...that said y'all look pretty fine"

It was truly amazing just how unhurt they were given how long they've been out here. Yes, they've had more experience than most, but they weren't just dealing with random dinos anymore. No they were dealing with far worse, put the brains and malice of humans with the weaponry and instincts of dinosaurs and you have a combination that could topple whole countries.

Yas snarls at her, Ben and Kenji hold her back, "we don't have fun toys like you, but we got our legs and our brains and that's quite frankly it. So do we really look fine? Because if we were fine we'd be in a place where dinos weren't trying to kill us, where other humans wouldn't be trying to kill us; so no, I'd say we aren't fine. If we were fine we'd still have a plan, a way to take down the broker--whoever the hell that is--all their goons, and we'd still have our friends like Sam--" She cuts herself off, head turning away.

There's a long second. "You have no idea" her voice breaks and it makes Sammy's heart do the same thing.

Please don't cry, Sammy thinks, she can't stand to see Yas cry.

No higher power seems to listen because she can see the wetness in the woman's eyes.

Brooklynn was going to kill her, if Yas didn't kill her first, or well if Yas didn't kill Brooklynn first before she could kill her. She sighs inwardly, her head was already starting to feel worse.

There's a poorly covered hiccup of tears and emotions as Yas tries to find her voice.

Fuck trying to stay in character, fuck this and the fallout that will surely happen.

"I have some idea" Sammy says, her helmet and visor revealing her face before Yas could get another word in.

It's quiet again, the arms holding Yas back now holding her up and doing little to keep it that way when the boys look just as shaky.

"Howdy, y'all"

A hand reaches out and cups her cheek.

"S-Sammy?"

She leans into the palm, eyes never going away from Yas's eyes.

"Hey, Yas"

[ghostbustersreborn]

Chapter 3

that night. egon was cutting into the road, for one of them to go down to investigate.

as egon cut through, a police officer stopped him.

"hey, how ya doing?" asked the police officer.

egon looked up. he frantically looked around.

"me?" he pointed to himself.

"yeah." the officer confirmed.

he looked around again before going; "fine, fine. it's cutting fine now."

"great." the officer said. "why are you cutting?"

as if on cue, the rest of the group exited the coffee shop from across the street. they were wearing identical outfits to egon's.

"why am i cutting?" egon repeated his question.

he then spotted the boys.

"boss!" he yelled, motioning for them to come over.

"who told you to stop cuttin'?" peter talked in a brooklynn accent.

egon stepped over.

"somebody tell you to stop cutting?" he questioned.

"what are you guys doing here?"

peter moved over to the police car.

"you tell him to stop cutting?"

"yes, i told him to stop cutting." said the police officer. "what are you doing?"

"what's it look like we're doing?!" peter snapped. "why don't you let us work? we let you work!"

"he's been workin' overtime." ray said, using a fake brooklyn accent too.

"bad back, insomniac, workin over-time. let the man be." tara chimed in.

"i'll tell you why we're here. we're here 'cause some diaper bag downtown is being a jerk and makin' us work on a friday night." ray fibbed. "am i right tara?"

"yeah. he's 100% speaking the truth." she added onto the lie.

"am i right peter?" ray then asked venkman.

"of course you're right, raymond. is he right, ziggy?" peter voiced.

"yo." was all egon said.

if this wasn't a serious moment, tara would have broken character and laughed.

"you guys take it easy, all right?" the police officer made sure.

dropping the act.

"how's it going, what have you been doing?" ray asked spengler.

"what have i been doing, while you're getting coffee for an hour?" egon repeated.

"i got a cupcake!" tara gleefully announced.

"tara, i thought you were done that thing." peter said to her.

"no." she pouted.

"just finish it up already, my god." he huffed.

egon sighed. "i've been digging a big hole in the middle of the street." he continued.

ray kneeled down, examining it.

"wow! wow!" he exclaimed.

tara bent over to take a look at the hole too. just as she did, there went her cupcake into the said hole.

"no!" she whined dramatically.

peter chuckled, which earned a glare from her.

"looks like you've uncovered an old air shaft." ray remarked. "man, that just goes on and on."

"this is very intense." egon relayed.

tara nodded, agreeing with him. "so, intense that my cupcake fell into it."

"we should get a deeper reading." he added.

"yeah, we're going to need a deeper reading." ray agreed.

ray got up along with the others.

tara stood there, staring at her long lost cupcake.

"my cupcake.." she whispered.

"get up." peter urged her.

tara reluctantly got up with a frown on her face.

she was really going to miss that cupcake..

"yeah, somebody has to go down there." egon nodded.

ray nodded. "somebody's gotta go down there." he echoed.

"i'll go down there." tara offered.

"no." all three of the boys said.

"aw, man. i wanted to get my cupcake." she whimpered.

"okay, who's going to go down there?" peter asked.

they all looked to ray.

*

ray was now underground. the boys were lowering down the rope, so he could get a closer look.

tara stood off to the side pouting. still sad about her cupcake.

"will you knock it off?" peter demanded.

"no." she objected.

peter rolled his eyes. "it's just a cupcake." he mumbled.

"you whine about not having dana in your life every night, but do i ridicule you for it? no." tara exposed him.

peter closed his eyes and bit his tongue. he was not in the mood. especially not in the mood to be exposed by his daughter, for what he cried about behind closed doors.

"you all right?" he asked, changing the subject.

"yeah, i'm good. speed's good, boys." they could hear ray say. "keep it comin'."

"we're breaking through. see some light."

tara stepped forward.

"i'm in some kind of chamber."

"chamber?" tara repeated him.

"there's tile work."

"slime!" ray then shouted.

tara flinched not expecting him to shout.

"slime?" peter's brows furrowed in confusion.

"it's a river of slime!" stantz exclaimed.

"there's gotta be 25,000 gallons of it!"

"damn." tara said in astonishment. "that's a shit load of slime."

"it's flowing through here like a river!"

the only time she saw slime was from slimer. was this the same kind of slime or was this something entirely different? she began to wonder.

"van horn... pneumatic transit."

"i can't believe it! it's the old pneumatic transit system. it's still here."

"pneumatic transit system?" tara repeated, having never heard of it before.

as they lowered him down more, they could hear ray say "okay, woah, woah! that's good, that's good."

"hold me up, hold me up, that's good."

"what do you see?" peter asked.

tara's eyes widened when the same police car from earlier pulled up in front of them.

"uhh guys." she said nervously.

"all right, i'll see if i can get a sample." spoke ray.

"uhh guys, i think we need to stop." tara frantically looked to the police car then to the boys. "please." she pleaded.

"what's goin on here?" asked the police officer from earlier.

tara's breath was hitched in her throat.

they were in big trouble.

like with the law kind of trouble.

"hey, what's the story?"

the boys got up, going over to the police officer.

there was also a construction worker that was with the officer, which made matters worse.

tara followed the boys over. she rung her hands nervously, she felt like she was going to pass out.

"hey, what, you boneheads are gonna come and roust me again?" asked peter. "i got 3,000 phones out in greenwich village! i got about eight million mile of cable i gotta check."

"dad." tara whispered, tugging on his shirt.

"you're gonna come and shake my monkey tree again?" he snapped.

"what are you talkin' about buddy? the phone lines are over there." the real construction worker pointed.

tara closed her eyes, doing her breathing exercises that her therapist taught her.

peter turned to egon.

"what did i say to you?" he started smacking him. "the phones lines are over there!"

egon winced as he got hit.

"hey! hey! hey!" cried the police officer.

"hey, you're not with con ed or the phone company. we checked, so tell me another one." spoke the officer.

tara reopened her eyes. the breathing exercises weren't working.

they were going to get arrested.

again.

"i got a major gas leak here! where do you think all this is coming from, the sky?"

tara took a couple steps back.

"we're screwed." she repeated over and over again.

egon eyed her. a look of concern plastered on his face.

"uh, okay, boys. boys?" they could hear ray say. "uh, pull me up now, all right?"

"there's some kind of activity going on with this stuff..."

they could hear ray yell.

"hey, help! pick me up."

egon and peter scurried over.

tara watched with bated breath.

god, when this was all over...

"ray, start it!" yelled peter.

they began raising the rope.

"boys! hey, what's going on up there? come in!" ray cried.

"get me out of this hole!" he ordered.

all of a sudden, they heard a explosion go off underground.

then, all of the lights in the city went out.

they were really screwed now.

*

[eadanga]

Christmas Blessings

Summary: Sawyer and Kristen celebrate their first Christmas with their daughter Belle

Kristen walked outside and saw the snow still falling but not as heavy as before. She grins Yay white Christmas She looks around Wonder where Sawyer is

Sawyer walks in from the barn and kicks the snow off his boots. He smiles “Hey beautiful”

“Hi Sawyer everything locked up?”

“Yup we won’t have to worry about animals running”

“Sawyer come on it’s Christmas eve you shouldn’t be doing anything”

“But if I don’t who will?”

“Your brother and me”

“Oh no my wife’s not doing anything tonight especially when she has our child in the house”

Kristen giggles “But she’s out the womb Sawyer I’m not pregnant anymore for you to fuss over me”

“That’s a husband’s job to fuss and spoil his wife” He kisses her softly “Speaking of where’s my little girl?”

“Well she’s”

“Da! Da!” Belle waddles out from the house

Kristen giggles “Well she was playing”

Belle raises her hands “Uppa!”

Sawyer grins and he lifts her up “Hello there cutie can you say daddy?”

“Da!”

Sawyer chuckles “You’re close enough” He grins oh how much he loves her

“She still learning babe don’t worry she’ll say daddy eventually”

“She already says mommy why can’t she say daddy too that’s unfair”

Kristen giggles as Belle turns to her “Mommy!”

“Hello there my angel” She tickles Belle under her chin “But she calls you Dada”

“She can’t even put them together Kristen she only says da”

Kristen laughs “She’s a baby Sawyer what do you expect?”

“Dada!”

Kristen smiles “See she’s learning”

Sawyer grins and kisses Belle’s forehead “So cute”

“Now let’s head inside it’s freezing out here”

Sawyer chuckles as he follows Kristen outside

****

Kristen wakes up the next day to Belle cries. She quickly heads to her crib “It’s ok baby mommy’s here” She lifts her up “You hungry my love?”

Sawyer comes in room and sighs “Aw man I was hoping to get her bottle before you woke up”

Kristen giggles “Well you can thank Belle for that”

Sawyer walks over and chuckles “I told you not to wake up until daddy came back”

Belle babbles and waves her hands excitedly

“Ok ok here you go princess” Sawyer hands her a bottle and Belle takes it shoving it to her mouth

Kristen giggles “She woke up in a happy mood”

“She must be excited it’s Christmas”

“I’m excited too her first Christmas”

“And our first Christmas as a family” Sawyer kisses her cheek

Kristen giggles as she blushes

“Uncle Sawyer! You coming down yet? We’re waiting for you, Kristen, and Belle to come down!”

Sawyer sighs as Kristen laughs “We’re coming Brook!”

They head downstairs and find Brooklynne and Duke waiting for them “Finally Uncle Sawyer let’s open the gifts already” She grins at Belle “And wait till you see what I got for you Belle” She holds up a dress “For you my cute cousin”

Belle laughs as she shakes her bottle

Sawyer laughs as he stops her “Baby let’s not do that you’re getting milk everywhere”

Kristen laughs as she wipes Belle’s face “Cute messy baby”

Sawyer picks up a gift and hands it to Kristen “I’ll take her you open this”

Kristen hands Belle to Sawyer “Aw Sawyer you didn’t have to get me anything” She unwraps it and sees the leather bag with her name engraved in it “Sawyer this is really nice is this reall leather?”

“It is”

“Awww I love it”

“And I love you” Sawyer kisses her softly

“You’re amazing Sawyer”

“So are you”

“I’ve got your Christmas present outside”

“Outside?”

Kristen nods “Brook take Belle and we’ll all head outside”

Kristen covers Sawyer he playfully pouts “I can’t even see it yet”

“You will Sawyer be patient” Kristen leads him outside “Ready?”

“Beyond ready”

“Ok 1…2…3! Open your eyes!”

Sawyer opens his eyes and his eyes go wide at the sight of the red truck. He turns to Kristen “Is this mine?”

Kristen holds up the keys and jingles it “Yes this is yours”

Sawyer laughs as he picks her up and spins her around he kisses her deeply “God you’re amazing how did you do this?”

“I had some money saved up bought this for you”

“Babe you didn’t”

“Shush” Kristen places a hand on her shoulder “You deserve this Sawyer”

“Thank you baby you’re seriously such a blessing”

Duke claps his shoulder “Nice car bro”

“Thanks I can’t wait till this snow melts away and I can drive it”

Kristen smiles “Merry Christmas Sawyer”

“Merry Christmas baby”

Tags: @indiacater​ @mfackenthal​ @the-soot-sprite​

[sakuramidnight15]

-DAC OC Information-

Character Bio

Name: Akira Brooklynn

(Japanese: アキラ・ブルックリン)

Romaji: Akira Burukkurin

Quote: "Tch, that blondie bitch is doing whatever she wants to, don’t make me change my thoughts and opinion on her Alli."

V/A: Rie Kugimiya (Japanese)

Gender: Female

Age: 17

Birthday: December 1

Star Sign: Sagittarius

Eye Color: Neon Yellow (Left-Beast Eye), Dark Marmalade (Right-Normal Eye)

Hair Color: Dark Rose Red

Height: 171 cm

Race: Inner Beast

Species: Three-stinging Scorpio

Homeland: Revoltion City (3rd Level District)

Family: Quill Brooklyn (Father)

Soneta Brooklyn (Mother)

7 Unnamed Older Sisters (The seventh eldest is currently bedridden)

Unnamed Family Relatives

____________________________________

School Status and Fun Facts

Dorm: Ketsuekitöten

School Year: Second

Class: 2-C

Student no. 17

Occupation: Student

Pro Assassin/Hitwoman

Club: Dark Magics Club (Member), Basketball Team (Member)

Best Subject: Physical Education, Blade Handling, and Mathematics

Dominant Hand: Ambidextrous

Favorite Color: Dark Red, Black, and Yellow

Favorite Food: Pasta with extra tomato sauce, Fried Ribs, Pizza but with extra toppings, Crispy Chips, 

Least Favorite Food: Sweetness, Bittersweets, Lime Juice, Pineapples (Mostly on Pizza), Sour Cream Chips,

Likes: Fair-play Competition, Sharpening blades, Sword-plays, Napping under the tree shades, Hunting new prey down (Is a bit picky), Fresh Air (of a new wind to blow),

Dislikes: Clementine causing a ruckus (Mostly), Disappointment or Failing, Her knives getting rusty, Getting disturbed (Mostly), Himari getting into trouble (Mostly), Revealing the ‘real’ Venom Queen, 

Hobbies: Assassination Missions, Hunting (Mostly), Reading Horror Novels, Watching Horror Movies (Mostly), Sharpening her knives, Chopping Firewood, Sculpture-making, 

Talents: Inner Beast Sight, Beast-mind Takeover, Assassin/Hit woman Skills, Poison Stingers, Knife-playing, Agility, Sleuth Master, Numbly Strikes, 

Nicknames: Ai (From her family and friends)

Scorpion (Assassin Nickname)

Akira-senpai or Brooklynn-senpai (From the freshmen students)

Ai-chan (From Clementine, it sounded annoying)

Kira (From Himari)

Mrs. Scorched Face (From Geoffrey, somewhat a less insult but is fine with it)

Other Nicknames:

N/A

____________________________________

Appearance and Personality

Appearance: Akira is a average but petite female body build. She has long dark rose red colored hair that reaches to the bottom ground and ties it up into low twin tails. Like her dorm leaders, Clementine and Allison, she too is also born with heterochromia. Her dark marmalade color for her right normal eye while her left is neon yellow colored for her inner beast eye. Akira has a balance personality of being ruthless and stubborn.

Personality: Born as the youngest daughter amongst her seven older sisters, Akira had a slight but friendly rivalry with her sisters during her childhood till around at age eleven, a certain accident that involved herself and the seventh eldest sister in it, currently her seventh eldest sister is currently in bedridden for the time being while the remaining of her oldest sisters and herself continued their duties as an assassin.

However the incident permanently haunted Akira, thinking that it was her fault that it happened but actuality, she was knocked out cold while her seventh eldest sister saved her from the monster raid that costed her bedridden. Her family didn't blame despite it, but Akira felt it till now, she still visited her sister but still feels guilty.

The current Akira we're seeing is now stubborn and slightly ruthless to some individuals that she doesn't consider in her social circle but except for some of her dorm mates and Himari who she is her childhood friend. Has obtained a personal habit of giving cold stares and then gives seriously shivers to anyone who stares at her for too long, a small bits of a warning if you were try to talk back at her, but Allison and Himari would try to stop her, much to her dismay.

Despite her ruthless attitude, she has an interesting personality if you're on her good side for now. Do expect for her to do a slight close body contact if she anything that she find interesting and finds with her keen eyes, has a tendency of doing a couple of flirts but isn't easy to get flustered, I'd you tried to, you're going to make the situation even worse as she gives her some very tensions that is very heated. For the better, she's sly and cocky.

Better not get the bad side in her even worse, she can bite more than she can take. Akira can be rather the one to shut conversations with brute force or with poison she stores in herself on a daily basis, needless to say long debates of cursed words would bore her and rather shuts you up, deadly or not. She cares less on anyone opinion that bestowed upon her.

Fight venom with venom, that's a motto for herself to remember within her heart and brain...

____________________________________

Trivia

-The name 'Akira' bright, clear, ideal. Akira is a gender-neutral name of Japanese origin. While her surname 'Brooklynn' is primarily a gender-neutral name of American origin that means Broken Land Or Pretty Brook.

-She's based on Karma Akabane from the series, but is made a bit more feminine and cold.

-An expertise at poison and potions, studies a lot with it and got excellent grades in potions despite it's not one of her favorite subjects.

-Had been childhood friends with Himari at age six, reunited after entering to DAC. Both girls are pretty much close with one and another.

-Is not a fond of her dorm leader, tends to bicker a lot with Clementine and fights with her alot as well.

-Seems to be in neutral terms with Geoffrey.

-Her family works alongside with Hotaru's family, apparently knows Hotaru and has the tendency of messing with him at whatever chance she had.

-As mentioned, she's pretty close with her seven older sisters. Until one incident that putted herself into serious danger and was knocked out cold but then the seventh sister had saved her but was now current bedridden. She seems to blame herself for it while her family didn't blame her.

-Despite that she's ruthless, she's one of the few who knows about the 'real' venom queen. However it made her slightly worried.

-She has feminine voice but it sounds pretty sly and cold. Which is why I chose Rie Kugimiya to be her voice actor.

-Is definitely a dog person, has a pet labrador named 'Fixen'.

-Is allergic to pollinated flowers like Lynette.

-Has an excellent hand-writing for poetry, which only Himari knows it and no one else would.

-Definitely has challenged Lynette and Freya to a couple of duels in the past, a competitive and friendly rivalry.

____________________________________

One left-

[anxiety-party]

So I’ve moved my Meadows Family to a new save finally along with Brooklynn, Hudson’s fiancé, and now they have no friends to go to their wedding and they’re living in a smaller house. Also I changed up Ariella’s style since she’s losing control of her life and I’m thinking of changing her hot-headed trait to erratic because of how she was acting before.

Hoping to do Hudson and Brooklynn’s wedding soon but I need to get them new friends first, same with everyone else. Celesta has already made friends with Nina Caliente so let’s see how that goes. Nothing will ever beat Castor’s friendship with Venessa’s daughter but I don’t know how to add her in because Venessa Jeong is a young adult now so her daughter can’t fit very well. Maybe I can make them sisters instead?

[theoracleofgiana]

Friendship

(Wolfhound Mansion, Amora)

Camillia could only stand there in shock. I take charge and move a bit closer to her. "We haven't seen nor met any Auferos, Mr. Wolfhound," My voice is steady and cold. Camillia stares at me with hate and understanding in her eyes. I almost shiver at how hard the look is, but I keep my composure. Mr. Wolfhound nods at me and looks at his daughter with something akin to pity. "Camillia, you know I wouldn't be asking you this if I wasn't worried. These creatures can be dangerous and I just want you safe," He attempts to step closer, only to be stopped by Camillia shaking her head. "I know, dad, I know," She says with a sigh. "Let's go Brooklynn." I almost freeze at her using my full name. She always calls me Brookie even when she's mad at me. I try to remain calm and follow her out. We make it out the door and start the trip to the cafe. The sound of our footsteps helps fade away some of the tension. "I don't use nicknames in front of him," Camillia breaks our silence first. I nod in acknowledgment knowing there is more she wants to say. "I just," She stops and turns to me. "I don't understand how you could lie like it was nothing." Ah, the root of the problem. I should have guessed this would be it. Camillia balls her fists at my silence. "Do you even care?" Such a simple question and yet it feels as though I'm falling through the world. "Of course, I care. It's not that simple," I manage to get the words out. Camillia shakes her head. "How is it not?! He insulted Marcie and you just let it happen!" Camillia is raising her voice now. "Camy," I speak softly, trying to get her to calm down a bit. It works as she looks at me with confusion and almost tears. "If I got mad at him, then he'd know about Marcie and we'd lose her. I can't lose any of you again," My voice breaks a little as I remember the years without Emil. Never knowing if he was okay or if he was even alive. Camillia's anger seems to dissipate and she wraps her arms around me. "I'm sorry," She mumbles burying her head in my shoulder. I give her a weak smile and hold her arms. A few moments pass and we finally part. Camillia wipes her tears and then chuckles. "What's so funny?" I ask with a small head tilt. "That's the first time you've called me Camy," A teasing grin has already made its way to her face. I roll my eyes. "There's no way I haven't said it before. We've been friends for ten years, I must have used it at some point," I give her a pointed look but I know my smile gives my true thoughts away. "That's true, but this is the first time I remember," She loops her arm around me and we continue walking. The silence is comforting and I know that no matter what comes our way we will always make it through. Emil has always said we're all gonna be friends to the end and I know that, like always, he's right. 

(A/n: Welcome back to Amora! (I'll be switching back and forth a lot, Sorry) Camillia, Brooklynn, Marcie, and Emil make up the Dummies (or Dumb*ss Trio). A friend group that have all been friends together for 10 whole years. I love their dynamics and their love for one another. I honestly never write enough scenes of Brooklynn and Camillia together so I was happy to do this. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! Bye!)

[kadtherine]

⭐️ big sky country ⭐️ brooklynne shao-oakley

↳ Waking me up before 7:00 is a safety issue.

[vahlee]

JWCC headcanons

< Spokane Alternate Universe >

My headcanons for character birthplace (in the order of revelation)

1 - Sammy – Dallas metro

2 - Darius and Brandon – Los Angeles

3 - Kenji – Manhattan Island

4 - Ben – Minneapolis

5 - Brooklynn – Omaha

6 - Yasmina – Spokane

SAMMY Gutierrez (lesbian)

– She is the only person in the group who uses Yasmina's whole name when either upset or scared.

– doesn't like driving in snow.

– very strong and knows how to use guns, but prefers not to.

– she has two younger sisters named Paula and Rose and a younger trans brother named Camarillo.

– she survived the Texas winter storm of 2021 with her three siblings, spending two days trapped in her ice-encased car.

YASMINA Gutierrez (lesbian)

– married to Sammy, met in 2020.

– oldest of the six original characters and Brandon.

– known as either "Yaz" or "Yazzy" to everybody else in the AU

– suffers from autism, OCD, severe anxiety, and severe depression.

– ankle shattered in a car crash / murder attempt in June 2020, contributing to one of her worst sources of trauma and PTSD.

– renounced Islam as a kid due to the loss of a friend, triggering a life of pain at the hands of her parents.

– has an arson charge from 2015.

DARIUS Mulholland (straight)

– Married to Brooklynn, met in 2015.

– helped spur a small anti-suicide campaign in Los Angeles.

– renounced Christianity in 2015 due to his abusive mother. Lots of religious trauma.

– moved to Spokane in 2017 with Brooklynn.

– organized a Black Lives Matter protest in Spokane in 2026, which was later attacked by police and counterprotesters.

– has nightmares about the protest.

– survivor of child abuse, along with his older brother Brandon.

– struggles to cope with not being able to help everyone, and believes little mistakes on his own part are disastrous.

– adopted by Yasmina and Sammy in 2027.

– father died at the Grand Canyon in 2015.

BROOKLYNN Mulholland (straight)

– started her YouTube career at a young age.

– mother died during childbirth, father remarried to a man.

– helped Darius lead the protest.

– has panic attacks caused by freeways and nightmares about the protest.

– she survived the 2013 El Reno tornado in Oklahoma, which she was trying to livestream for her channel. One of her fathers was killed.

– moved to Los Angeles with her remaining father in 2015.

– currently pregnant with her and Darius's fisrt child, Dar-lynn.

KENJI Pincus (bisexual)

– dated women to please his dad, but likes men more

– former heir to Kon Industries

– isn't as playful as he is in the show.

– has never been to Japan.

– helped finalize plans for an Amazon warehouse in Spokane Valley.

– married to Ben, met in 2022.

– has adopted daughters named Emma and Darcy.

BEN Pincus (gay)

– has an excellent history of childcare

– has a younger sister named Amy

– he was gravely injured in Darius and Brooklynn's BLM protest in Spokane in 2026. Now has severe mobility and speech impairments.

– has nightmares about the protest and doesn't like police.

– was unintentionally in the very first George Floyd riot in Minneapolis in 2020, just before moving to Spokane.

– lived with Emma and Darcy and their mother when he moved to Spokane, for three years before their mother died. Adopted them in 2027 with Kenji.

[sims4royalsandimperials]

Bumpass Residence - 12:40am

W: Nudity, Naughty Language TW: R*pe, handcuffs MTW: Captivity If this bothers you, please do not read under the cut. If you want, DM me so I can summarize the post. Thank you.

*Branson brings Jose-Luis and Astrid back home from the strip club*

Jose-Luis: So, I get a crack at her when you’re done? Branson: That’s what she’s here for. Ain’t Brooklynne gonna pissed at you if she finds out you fucked a stripper, though?

Jose-Luis: Bruh, she’s been a massive bitch the last few weeks. A change of pussy will be refreshing for me. Branson: I’m pounding this piece of ass on camera! Whoo! Astrid: *thinking* He’s gonna record himself r*ping me?! I gotta get out of here! Where are you, Dad? ________________________________________________________________

-Ten Minutes Later -

*The camera Branson mentioned is set to record*

Branson: *grunts* *Astrid can only flash back to that day at home, while trying not to actively pay attention to what Branson is doing to her*

???: Hands up, Anderssen… or your daughter gets it! PM Anderssen: Kelley! Please, put the gun down, and let my daughter go.

Agent Jacob Kelley: Ay, fuck you! You and the Imperial Family put a lot of pressure on me to reveal Giacono’s deception! You’re the cause of it, so, you’re going to die! Astrid: Please, don’t shoot my dad! He didn’t do anything to you! Agent Kelley: Shut up! Here’s what’s gonna happen, Anderssen. I’m taking your daughter… and you’ll never hear from her again.

Agent Kelley: There’s nothing more to talk about. You asked too many questions, Anderssen. Now, it’s time to repay your meddling with bullets. Astrid: Daddy, run!

PM Anderssen: Look, Agent Kelley. Just put the gun down, let go of my daughter, and we can discuss this. Please.

Agent Kelley: Hejdå, Anderssen! Astrid: DAD!! *BANG*

Branson: *groaning* Oh! Fuck, Tawny! Oh, that feels so good! *Branson climbs off Astrid and gets his boxers on*

Branson: I’ll be back down in a few minutes to take you to Luis. Stay there.

*Astrid, who’s now in complete and utter shock over what just happened to her, stares at the glass door, then sinks her head down and begins to cry*

Astrid: *sobbing* Where are you, Mom and Dad? Why aren’t you looking for me?

[woodswalker96]

Some Camp Cretaceous Season Two Theories!

Okay, let’s get this out of the way before I watch Klayton Fioriti’s video and that topic bleeds into mine. I’ve got a couple of theories that are based off some of the other tumblr peeps posts as well as some Fioriti’s videos, along with some that I surmised from my own viewing. I start with the obvious one(s), and go from there. 

Theory #1: Ben is alive and reconnects with the group.

Like I said, pretty obvious. Even though the ending is pretty ambiguous and a more cynical side of me could say the finger twitching is postmortem muscle twitch, I highly doubt the writers will kill him off and not have him return to the group. That being said, the exact nature of this reunion is up in the air. Will Ben be mad at the group for leaving him and losing track of Bumpy? Will it be a joyous return full of strong emotions? Will Ben be understanding of them being forced to leave him, only to ironically be left behind themselves? There are a number of ways this could go down, I just hope that the writers continue to do it well. *By the way, if you haven’t yet, check out @ren1327 ‘s fan-fic titled Sweet Survivor for a possible way this could go down, especially if you ship Ben and Kenji.

Theory #2: Bumpy could be at least horse-size by the time the group catch up with Ben and Bumpy.

Given that Bumpy was a mere hatchling when the gang sans Kenji and Darius first met her and she was the size of a mid-sized to average dog the next time we see her (a few days at best), Bumpy could continue to see accelerated growth to end up the size of a horse by the time the rest of the group reencounter her and Ben, if given a few days in between then and the s1 finale. But I should also take into consideration that Bumpy could stay that size for a little while longer. For this, I point to the baby T. rex from The Lost World. Already a dog sized animal, characters Roland Tembo and his hunting partner Ajay discuss how it’s “probably only a couple of weeks old, never left the nest”. Now, this could mean either the baby (big) dinosaurs start to slow their growth down at a few weeks, or they just continue to ramp up their size. It should also be noted that Rexy was only a few years old (possibly three) by the time of Jurassic Park, when she was already at adult size. Either way, Bumpy could stay small for a while, or she could get big all of sudden again. 

Theory #3: Blue will become an antagonist, at least at first.

This goes back the end of episode one and beginning of episode two, primarily the latter. Blue is typically thought of as the tame, new mascot of Jurassic World and the modern Jurassic Franchise. I would disagree to an extent. While I like the idea of Velociraptors being the menacing threat that they are, I think that Blue opens the door for just how far one can take raptor intelligence. Blue, like animals in general, isn’t always on the hunt for food or seeking to kill all humans. She knows when to discern a potential threat from an ally or just some rando shmoe. When we first saw her Camp Cretaceous, I didn’t take her appearance either a tame dog or a man-hungry monster. She just curious. She only turned menacing toward Kenji when she felt threatened by the camera flash, and towards Darius when he invaded her space. But all of this context aside, we know that she���s out now, and we know that from the stare-glare she gave Darius back in episode two that she’ll likely run into at least him, if not the rest of the group. Perhaps being the only raptor on the island, she might target the kids before any other dinosaur, because she might be aware that little teens are easier targets than most other dinosaurs. She could even attempt to attack Ben and Bumpy. I could also see her terrorize the group once they’re reconnected until Darius manages to come across a resonating chamber from one of the fallen raptor squad and uses it to communicate with Blue, too which she is intrigued, confused, and possibly feel some other strong emotions from hearing the voice of one her dead sisters coming from this teenage human. At that point she leaves the group alone and gives Darius one last look before jetting off to live out the rest her life on the island in solitude.

Theory #4: Mantah Corp come to the island.

This something I found on the TV tropes website (tvtropes.org); quick summary, Mantah corp come to the island to obtain dinosaur assets and the kids who were once fighting for survival against the dinosaurs now have to save them. Mantah corp is likely one of many different corporations who want their hands on that sweet dinosaur-cloning, genetic power. With their ties to Sammy, this could give her a personal arc to stop them (the whole “it’s personal” thing), as everyone, especially Yaz, and maybe Brooklynn and Darius, feels majorly invested to help her. Related to this...

Theory #5: Dave and Roxie run some kind of rescue mission to the island.

Another one courtesy of TV tropes, they mentioned that these two, along with potentially the parents of the kids, mount up some kind of rescue mission to Isla Nublar. There are many ways to go about this. They can do illegally or under the table, like with the Kirby’s in JP3, or as in Fallen Kingdom with Lockwood, Eli Mills, and Claire. I don’t think they’ll straight up kidnap someone and lie their way with money bribery. Instead, I can actually see a more underhanded mission go down, one involving Mantah Corp. Get this: we know that when Mantah Corp wanted something from the Gutierrez family, they didn’t straight up go “Hi, we’re from Mantah Corp! We give cash if you give us your teen daughter to us as a spy!”. They will likely send some agents that don’t reveal themselves as Mantah Corp to Dave and Roxie, only that they hear their plight to bring the Nublar Six (that could be the name Dave and Roxie give them to raise awareness of their plight) home, since government officials won’t risk a mission to privately owned island, and Masrani Global also won’t risk it (This could come back to JW:FK, as they are too rash here with these kids, so they debate about it for the dinosaur survival in 2018). Dave and Roxie are suspicious but are without any other option, and choose to go with a bunch dinosaur mercs (this is what I’m calling the nameless mercenaries of the Jurassic franchise). Only after they’re on the island do they realize what’s going on, and join the kids to save each other and the dinosaurs from Mantah Corp. 

Theory #6: Baryonyx is the new primary antagonist(s).

There are three differently colored Baryonyx in connection with Jurassic World through the toy line. It is possible that they become the new antagonist theropod for the second season.

Some other theories are the inclusion of Rexy and other dinosaur species from the Jurassic World movies, seeing species going extinct again, the Dilophosaurus and Spinosaurus coming back, and possibly even running into other stranded survivors.

So long this post was, hope y’all enjoy!

[ren1327]

Sweet Survivor Ch.9 Final

He moaned as he woke up, hearing a loud but steady beep to his left.

Why was his right side so warm?

He took another deep breath and heard a hum in his ear from the warmth under him.

“Kenji?”

His vision cleared and he found Ben pressed against his side in robe matching his, legs and feet bare.

Ben had bruises on his collar and a cut on his lip. But he was smiling at Kenji so brightly, Kenji swore he had never seen him look so beautiful.

Kenji was in a bed with him curled against his side, an arm around his neck.

If this was heaven, he would enjoy eternity in Ben’s arms.

“Did I die?” He asked him, leaning close to kiss him.

“You better had not!” A voice said from over them, startling them apart.

Kenji looked up to see a short plump woman with mocha skin, her curly black hair put up in two panda buns. Her soft cotton shirt that said “Property of Kon Incorporated” stretched over her baby bump. Her soft green eyes looked down at him in worry and he wanted to cry as her always warm hands stroked over his cheeks.

“Mijo, you scared me!” She crooned and took Kenji’s face in her hands and kissed his forehead. Ben moved back to give them space.

Kenji sniffed as she used her thumbs to brush away his tears before they fell.

“Candy?” Kenji asked. “Where am I?”

“You passed out from blood loss, Kenji.” She said, voice shaky. “Your father got you and your friends private rooms. Ben is technically supposed to be in that bed over there, but…”

She chuckled and hugged him. “Neither of us could leave your side.”

The Puerto-Rican smiled sweetly, eyes shining with unshed tears. “I want to tease you, but I’m just so happy you’re safe. Your father was a mess and little Carmen kept kicking as if to tell us her big brother was still…”

She sniffed loudly, looking up and fanning her face. “Dios mio…”

Ben smiled at Kenji, who finally looked around to see he was in a large private room, a bay window looking out over a busy city. He and Ben were in hospital robes, the lights turned low and a curtain most likely hiding the other bed and the door where he could hear people passing by.

“You’re in San Jose, Papa.” She said. “We’re staying at my old apartment.”

“We’re…We got away.” Kenji said.

“We did.” Ben said. “And Bumpy is okay from what I saw…”

Ben shook his head, schooling his anguished face into a shaky smile.

“Candy was telling me how she and your Dad met when he first came here to see Jurassic World.” Ben said. “And we just kept talking.”

“Yes.” Candy said, sitting on a plush armchair with a groan and stroking her belly. “Your Dad went to go pick up your friends families. Ben told me about Toro and Bumpy and the suck-os.”

“Suchos, Mom.” He said and Candy squeaked.

“Baby boy, you’re lucky I can’t get up right now or I’d smother you with love.” She said with a blinding smile, reaching out a hand and waving it like a fan.

Kenji took the hand she offered, noting her nails were bitten and chipped. He looked at her again, noticing how red her eyes were. How tired she looked.

“So,” She said. “I’m assuming I’m going to be getting use to my future partner hanging around?”

“What?” Kenji asked.

“Ben here has some amazing ideas for new products. A white tea mask with carob seed extract? I had no idea it could be a daily moisturizer!” She said. “That nice girl, Yazmina? She had packed a lot of things in hers and Sammy’s bags, including a book Ben said you gave to him and he has been going off about how different plants can be crushed, or oils extracted. I always get so bored when my scientists tell me this and that, but Ben really has a zest for this!”

She waved her free hand around excitedly. “I’m thinking a new daily skin care line! The launching off point of my new and improved company!”

Ben smiled up at Kenji. “She likes my ideas.”

“And I need to try that banana carob loaf.”

“Ben!” Kenji exclaimed with a blush.

“I’ve was working on that vest of yours, honey.” She said and held up his vest with thick black stiches holding the claw marks together like torn flesh. “I can get it repaired at home.”

Kenji laughed, imaging Candy struggling with the needle and her excited face when she would make the thread connect the two sides.

“Thanks Mom.” He said again.

“Oh, Baby boy.” She said as the door opened.

“Candela?” Mr. Kon called.

“Kosei!” She called. “They’re awake!”

A woman with a messy brown braid threw the curtain open.

“Ben!” She yelled and gathered Ben in her arms, picking him up like he weighed nothing, holding him like a toddler. She was petite and thin, but obviously had hidden strength.

“Whoa! Mom—" Ben said, holding on tight to her shoulders.

“Oh, my baby! I’m so sorry! I will never ever force you to do something you don’t want to ever again—”

“Sandra, he might be injured!” A broad blond man in a rumpled and stained button up said. The poor guy looked like he lived off coffee and pure anxiety.

“David!” She hissed, making him flinch back. “I thought my son was dead yesterday!”

“Ma’am?” Kenji asked.

Her big blue eyes snapped to Kenji. Her husband came up next to her.

“He has a bruised tailbone, so he should take it easy.”

“O-Oh…Was he in the same bed as you?” She asked, looking very confused as Ben hugged her back and swung his legs down to stand. His father pulled him into a hug too.

“Hey, Son.” He said, voice thick as he rubbed Ben’s back.

“Hey Dad.” Ben sniffed and turned to hug his mom again. “I missed you guys so much!”

Mr. Kon sat next to Kenji and stroked his hair.

“Mrs. Pincus?” He asked in his stern voice.

Ben’s mom looked at the man in the clearly expensive business suit. “Oh, yes, Mr.…?”

“Kon.” He said. “Kosei Kon.”

“Of Kon…” She swallowed. “Kon Incorporated?”

“Yes. I am very sad to hear of what happened to Simon.” He said, face falling as he bowed his head.

“Yes. He was a good man.” She said softly. “It’s going to be hard without him. And I know it will displace a lot of good people who loved him, loved working for him…”

“Do you have a resume handy?” Candy asked from her seat.

“Candy!” Mr. Kon scolded lightly.

Candy blinked at her husband and pouted. Kosei stared her down and her bottom lip wobbled a bit as she stroked her baby bump. The older man’s cheeks reddened at the sight of her big eyes practically begging for something unspoken between them, and he sighed.

Ben was impressed with how she was able to break down such a stern looking man.

“Mrs. Pincus. My wife would like to rebuild her own business after our daughter is born and I…we were wondering if you would be able to help by joining her employ.” He said. “I was planning on asking you after our children had rested enough, but now seems as good a time as any.”

“I’m sorry, but how do they…how do they know each other? From the camp?” Mr. Pincus asked.

“He’s my boyfriend, Dad.” Ben said, making Kenji’s head snap in his direction.

“Kosei Kon’s son is your...” Mrs. Pincus said.

She sat on the bed.

“Yeah. We kinda confessed after I survived falling from a monorail when Pteranodons attacked us. After almost dying, like, more than once,” Ben said with a tilt of his head. “We thought it best to just be honest about our feelings.”

Mr. Pincus sat down next to his wife.

“Oh.” They both said at the same time.

 *

 “You’ll come visit, right?” Sammy asked as Yaz’s Dad loaded her backpack in the backseat of their cab and her Mom hugged both of Sammy’s Dads.

“Well duh.” Yaz said, taking her girlfriend’s hands. “Gotta come see my sponsor’s new investment!”

Sammy smiled and kissed her cheek, hugging for the umpteenth time.

Darius waved as his mom hugged him close.

“Don’t forget to message me!” Brooklynn called.

“Every day!” He promised her, sliding in his own cab behind his brother.

Roxy gave Brooklynn a big hug as her mom and aunt thanked Dave and Claire over and over, her aunt still crying happy tears.

Kenji held Ben’s hands as their parents waited for them in separate cabs.

Kenji rubbed his thumb over Ben’s bruised knuckles.

“It’ll only be a few months, right?” Kenji asked.

“Well, we need time to pack, pick a house and settle.” Ben said softly. “Besides…still…a little fast for me.”

“Scared of the B word?” Kenji joked.

“Scared of the expectations that come with being a boyfriend. Not to mention all the new things.” He said. “I mean, realistically…we might not even last.”

“Don’t worry.” Kenji said. “When you move to California…I’ll drive over whenever you want to see me and give you space when you don’t.”

Ben blushed and gave him a blank look.

“Who are you and what have you done with Kenji Kon?” Ben asked, making a face.

Kenji kissed the wrinkle over his nose. “I’m still Kenji. Being the best at everything. Including boyfriend.”

Ben leaned up and kissed his jaw. “You already are. No expectations needed.”

“Back at you.” Kenji said, kissing him softly. “Besides. I think my Mom and Dad love you too much for me to mess this up.”

Ben chuckled and smiled softly up at him. “See you later?”

Kenji put on his rose-gold aviators.

“You betcha, Sweet thing!”

Ben wrinkled his nose, but couldn’t hide his smile as they parted.

  THREE YEARS LATER…

 The shrill beeping of his phone went off.

Kenji took a deep breath and tried to sit up, but two arms refused to let him budge.

“Seriously, what’s with this grip?” Kenji whispered, trying to peel off his boyfriend’s fingers.

“No…” Ben whined, adjusting to hug him around the waist, the thin sheet covering their bodies falling to expose more of Ben’s skin.

“Baby, I gotta get my phone.” He said and Ben whined again, hugging a pillow.

He sat up and reached over to get his cell, seeing Brooklynn and Darius’s picture on it. He swiped it and sighed, seeing it was four am.

“What is it, Dino-Nerd?” He asked. “Ben has class tomorrow and I got a meeting I gotta shadow with my Dad—”

“Is Ben there?” Darius asked.

“My boyfriend of three years who lives with me? That Ben?”

“Kenji!”

“Yes! Ben is here!” He groaned and Ben sat up, pulling the sheet up to his chin. “Aren’t you supposed to be at Claire’s office or—”

“Put me on speaker.” Darius said.

Kenji tapped the button and sighed. “Done.”

“Ben?”

“Yeah?” He asked sleepily. “Did the relocation go okay?”

“Bumpy was moved.” Darius said, sounding out of breath.

“Yeah, you told me Zia said they were gonna be relocated to—”

“She wasn’t relocated to the island!” Brooklynn’s voice said suddenly. “We came to check up and—oh my god, they’re getting away!”

“What?!” Ben yelled, and Kenji hugged him close.

“I can see Claire and Owen!” Darius said in the background.

“Guys? Wait, then where is she?” He asked.

“She’s on the mainland!” Brooklynn said. “She was taken to Lockwood Manor and—Darius, duck!”

They heard a squeal. “We’re okay.”

“Lockwood Manor?” Kenji asked.

“She’s not the only one!” Darius said. “There’s so many! Wait is that…Toro?!”

“Get in the car, get in the car!” Barry yelled over the phone. “We’ll recon around the property and pick them up.”

They heard a far-off roar and the sound of an engine.

“Guys!” Ben yelled.

“We’re okay! But you need to spread the word! Get your families up north as soon as possible! We’re going to stay and help Claire and Owen!” Darius said. “There’ so many and I know Owen and Claire are going to need help. We hate to ask you…”

Kenji looked at Ben. His boyfriend nodded; determination set on his face.

“We’re in.”

[sleepyskunk]

List of Movies / 2020 Movie Trailer Mashup

* * * PART I - LET’S ROCK * * *

0:10 - Wander

0:11 - The Wild Goose Lake (double shot)

“I don’t know who you are, but I’m coming for you.” - Aaron Eckhart, Wander

0:13 - I’m No Longer Here

0:14 - Freaky

0:15 - The Rental

0:16 - Deerskin (double shot)

“What do you want?” - Chris Messina, The Secrets We Keep

0:17 - 15 Years

“It’s not what I want, it’s what I need. And I need you to learn... what a bad day really is.” - Russell Crowe, Unhinged

0:19 - Unhinged

0:20 - Fatman (double shot)

0:22 - Alone (double shot)

“Whoa.” - Lesley Manville, Let Him Go

0:24 - Let Him Go

0:27 - Becky

“I did something... unexpected today.” - Haley Bennett, Swallow

0:28 - Shortcut (double shot)

0:29 - Promising Young Woman

0:30 - The Mortuary Collection

0:31 - The Craft: Legacy (double shot)

“Don’t try to understand it. Feel it.” - Clémence Poésy, Tenet

0:33 - Swallow (double shot)

0:35 - The Rhythm Section

0:36 - 1BR

0:37 - The Grudge

“Repent, and you will find salvation.” - Jarred Atkin, The Lodge

0:38 - The Lodge

0:39 - Saint Maud

0:40 - Behind

0:41 - The Call

0:42 - Come Play

0:43 - Saint Maud

“Repent.” - Jarred Atkin, The Lodge

0:44 - The Lie

0:45 - Freaky

“It wants to take over us.” - Elle Lorraine, Bad Hair

0:46 - Bad Hair (triple shot)

0:49 - Come Away

0:49 - Kindred

0:50 - Nocturne

“No one... loves their kid more than I do.” - Sarah Paulson, Run

0:51 - Run (double shot)

0:53 - Brahms: The Boy II

0:55 - Host

0:55 - Vivarium (double shot)

0:57 - Come to Daddy

“I don’t go in that part of the house.” - Brooklynn Prince, The Turning

0:58 - First Cow

0:59 - The Turning

1:00 - The Owners (double shot)

“If I don’t make it... the world needs to find out about this place.” - Tongayi Chirisa, Antebellum

1:02 - The Devil All the Time

1:03 - The Invisible Man

1:04 - The Wretched

1:05 - The Secrets We Keep

1:06 - The Platform (double shot)

1:08 - Fantasy Island

“It’s just the color.” - Nicolas Cage, Color Out of Space

1:09 - Gretel & Hansel

1:10 - Color Out of Space (double shot)

1:11 - Blood Machines

1:12 - Nocturne

“Who wants to party? Without smiling.” - Anna Kendrick, Trolls World Tour

1:13 - Trolls World Tour (double shot)

“Let’s rock!” - William Sadler, Bill & Ted Face the Music

1:18 - Bill & Ted Face the Music

1:19 - Trolls World Tour (double shot)

1:20 - Monster Hunter (double shot)

1:22 - Tenet (double shot)

1:23 - The Invisible Man

1:24 - The Empty Man

“Come out or I’ll do it!” - Christopher Abbott, Possessor

1:25 - Old Guard

1:26 - Sonic the Hedgehog

1:27 - Bad Boys For Life

1:28 - The New Mutants

1:29 - Parallel

1:29 - Spree

1:30 - The Wild Goose Lake

1:31 - Monster Hunter (double shot)

1:32 - Birds of Prey (triple shot)

1:35 - Echo Boomers

1:36 - Spontaneous

1:37 - Train to Busan 2: Peninsula (double shot)

1:38 - Guns Akimbo (double shot)

1:40 - Extraction (quadruple shot)

1:41 - Train to Busan 2: Peninsula

1:42 - Capone

1:43 - Underwater

1:44 - Greyhound (double shot)

1:45 - I’m Your Woman

1:46 - Greenland

1:46 - Bloodshot (double shot)

“I can’t hear anything.” - Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal

1:48 - Sound of Metal (double shot)

“Hey Winnie, it’s me. Can you tell me if you’ve ever heard this sound before?” - Sierra McCormick, The Vast of Night

1:54 - The Vast of Night

* * * PART II - HOW MANY DAYS WHILE THE SUN SHINES * * * 

2:06 - On the Rocks

2:08 - The Invisible Man

2:09 - Earth and Blood

2:10 - Promising Young Woman

2:11 - The Rental

2:13 - The Burnt Orange Heresy

2:14 - Relic

“Hey Winnie, it’s me. Can you tell me if you’ve ever heard this sound before?” - Sierra McCormick, The Vast of Night

2:16 - The Assistant (double shot)

“I just want you to know that, I know that I failed you. And I hope that, one day, you can see in me, the man that you once hoped I would be.” - Ben Affleck, The Way Back

2:19 - Relic (double shot)

2:20 - The Roads Not Taken

2:23 - Downhill

2:25 - Another Round

2:26 - Nomadland

2:28 - Artemis Fowl (double shot)

2:30 - The Nest

2:31 - The Photograph

2:33 - The Way Back (double shot)

“I’m on the verge or forgiving you.” - Juliette Binoche, La Vérité

2:36 - Artemis Fowl

2:39 - La Vérité

2:40 - Love and Monsters (double shot)

“Now I understand... how much that means to you.” - Yifei Liu, Mulan

2:41 - To All the Boys PS: I Still Love You (double shot)

2:44 - Rebecca (double shot)

2:46 - The One and Only Ivan (double shot)

“It is my daughter... that means everything to me.” - Tzi Ma, Mulan

2:49 - Mulan (triple shot)

2:55 - Come Away

2:56 - Over the Moon (double shot)

“I need your help, I can’t do it alone.” - Ibrahima Gueye, The Life Ahead

2:59 - The Life Ahead (double shot)

3:02 - Looks That Kill

“What if I’m not supposed to be healed?” “Don’t say that. - Ibrahima Gueye, I Still Believe

3:03 - I Still Believe (double shot)

3:06 - Zombi Child

“I didn’t get to say goodbye.” - Marina Domingues, Vitalina Varela

3:07 - Papicha (double shot)

3:10 - Ordinary Love

3:11 - Minari

3:12 - Only

“You try harder than anyone I’ve ever met.” - Leah Lewis, The Half of It

3:14 - The Half of It (double shot)

3:16 - Wild Mountain Thyme

3:17 - Hillbilly Elegy

“I’m sorry but I can’t put you through that.” - Charlie Plummer, Words on Bathroom Walls

3:19 - Words on Bathroom Walls (double shot)

3:21 - All My Life

3:23 - Endless

3:24 - Ordinary Love

3:25 - Life in a Year

3:26 - A Perfectly Normal Family

“How many days do we have while the sun shines?” - Emily Blunt, Wild Mountain Thyme

3:28 - The Call 콜

3:29 - Weathering With You

“It’s not shining.” - Jamie Dornan, Wild Mountain Thyme

“I believe that it is.” - Emily Blunt, Wild Mountain Thyme

3:31 - Wild Mountain Thyme (double shot)

3:33 - Hala

3:34 - Kindred (double shot)

“Dad... told me to give you this.” - Chris Pratt, Onward

3:34 - Onward (quintuple shot)

“Do I have to keep listening to Beethoven or can we f*cking get on with it?” - Betty Gilpin, The Hunt

3:39 - The Hunt (double shot)

* * * PART III - YOUR LIFE IS ABOUT TO START * * *

3:52 - She Dies Tomorrow

3:53 - Hope Gap (double shot)

“Without really knowing, I wasn’t worried about what would happen if I lived. I was worried about what would happen if I wouldn’t. What I would miss. I worried about not remembering. Not remembering that there are bright places, even in dark times, and that if there isn’t... you can be that bright place.” - Elle Fanning, All The Bright Places

3:56 - Project Power

3:59 - The Photograph

4:02 - Yellow Rose

4:05 - Uncle Frank

4:06 - Yellow Rose

4:08 - She Dies Tomorrow (double shot)

4:11 - I’m Thinking of Ending Things

4:14 - Beans

4:17 - All the Bright Places

4:20 - The Broken Hearts Gallery

4:21 - The Midnight Sky

4:22 - The Burnt Orange Heresy

4:23 - Monsoon

4:25 - The Lie

4:27 - Wander Darkly

4:28 - Babyteeth

4:30 - Life in a Year

4:32 - Nocturne

4:34 - Come Away

4:35 - Love and Monsters

4:36 - Gagarine

4:37 - Ammonite (double shot)

4:39 - Kajillionaire

4:40 - Call of the Wild

4:41 - And Then We Danced (double shot)

4:43 - Dolittle

4:44 - Emma.

4:46 - Summerland (double shot)

“That place.. will never abandon you.” - Paul Raci, Sound of Metal

4:47 - Dolittle (double shot)

4:49 - On the Rocks

4:50 - Black Beauty

4:52 - Stargirl (double shot)

4:53 - Mank

“There’s so much in there that the world needs to hear.” - Lil Rel Howery, Clouds

4:55 - Clouds (double shot)

4:57 - Palm Springs (double shot)

“Get ready... Your life is about to start.” - Jamie Foxx, Soul

5:00 - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (double shot)

5:02 - Soul (double shot)

5:04 - The Secret Garden

5:05 - All My Life (double shot)

5:07 - Undine

5:08 - Unpregnant

5:09 - Wonder Woman 1984 (triple shot)

5:11 - Over the Moon

5:12 - The Croods: A New Age

5:14 - The High Note (double shot)

5:15 - Prom

5:17 - Birds of Prey

5:18 - Eurovision

5:18 - Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey

5:19 - The Witches

5:20 - Borat Subsequent Movie Film

5:20 - Valley Girl

5:21 - Life is Beautiful

5:22 - Wolfwalkers

5:23 - Bill & Ted Face the Music

5:24 - The Midnight Sky

5:25 - Jiang Ziya

[jamesashtonisbae]

Merry Christmas, Baby

Word Count: 979

Pairing: Dallas James x MC

Book: Big Sky Country

Rating: PG to be safe

Warnings: cuteness!!!

Summary: Dallas and Tara spend their first Christmas together.  She cannot wait to give him his gift.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, Pixelberry studios does!

Author’s Note: Here’s a Christmas fic that is way late and way cute! I am soft for Dallas James from BSC!

Tara was in the Oakley kitchen, prepping the turkey for her and Dallas’s first Christmas together.  Sawyer had gone out of town with Duke and Brooklynn, so the newlyweds were all by themselves.  That meant lots of peace and quiet, but also that all the responsibilities for the chores fell to them.  Dallas was outside bringing the animals in for the night and making sure they had all they would need for the night.  The couple planned to open gifts first thing in the morning, so the animals would have to wait a little longer for food and to be let back out.  Tara insisted they be more comfortable that night.

But Tara did not know if she could keep herself from giving Dallas his big present that night.  She reached down and touched her hand to her stomach, “Just a little while longer, little baby.”  Just a little longer of having this secret all her own.  Just a little while longer before Dallas James became the world’s happiest man.

Tara knew all Dallas wanted was to be a dad.  He talked about it all the time.  While it was something Tara definitely wanted, and definitely wanted now, Dallas wanted a little Dallas or Tara running around the house more than anyone on the planet.  

She smiled softly as she imagined Dallas running through the house, chasing after their child.  In her mind she could see him helping their baby up onto a horse and leading them around the corral.  They were running errands in town, Dallas showing his son or daughter off to all the townsfolk.  

He was going to be the best father.  And Tara wanted him to know.  Now.

When he came in a few moments later, his Carhartt jacket covered in dirt and snow, Tara ran through the home, her socks getting wet from the snow he had tracked in, and threw her arms around him.

“Ooof!” he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her too. “What’s going on, Baby girl?”

“I have to tell you something and I can’t wait any longer!  Take off your clothes and come down to the tree as quickly as you can!”

He laughed, “Okay, Tara, I’ll be right back.”

Tara picked up the small, thin black box under the tree.  All she could picture was her husband’s happy face.  She was so excited.  He would be too.

After a few moments of quiet, Dallas ran down the stairs in his red plaid pajamas and sat down next to her under the tree.  He noticed what she was holding in her hands, then took one of them in his.

“Is this the something you want to tell me?” he asked, kissing his wife’s forehead.

She nodded and removed her hand from his, placing the box there instead.  He took it and opened it gingerly.  There was a moment of silence as he lifted the positive pregnancy test and read it, then another moment as he looked up and met Tara’s eyes.

“Is this…” he trailed off, his dark soulful eyes glinting with tears.

“Dallas,” she whispered, sitting up and crawling closer to him, “we’re having a baby.”

He covered his mouth as a sob choked out.  His shoulders started shaking as he looked down at the test.  

Tara reached over and ran her hands over his shoulders gently.  He leaned his head against her as he cried into his hands.  She held him tightly, completely unsure of what was eliciting this response.  Was he upset?  Did he not want kids?  Should she have told him a different way?

Instead of asking, she just held him.  Her husband was a man of few words, but he would always tell her what was going on, eventually.  But that didn’t mean she wasn’t worrying.

After some time, Dallas looked up, “Tara I’m so sorry.”

Tara gulped.  What was he sorry about?  Was he going to leave?

“I just never thought I would get so lucky to have kids, especially with the woman of my dreams.  I’m just so happy, I never thought I’d cry like this.  This is all I’ve ever wanted.  I’m so sorry if you didn’t know what I was thinking for a moment there.”

Tara laughed and kissed him, “You get very talkative when you find out you’re having a baby, don’t you?”

He laughed, tears still streaming down his cheeks, “I guess I do.  We’ll just have to wait and see with the next baby to find out.”

He leaned in and kissed her deeply.  She crawled up into his lap as he began to run his hands over her.  He caressed her back, her shoulders, her hips, and then made his way to her stomach.  Gently, he pulled away and looked down at her stomach.

“May I?” he gestured towards her stomach.

“Dallas James, you’ve never needed to ask permission to touch my stomach before.”

He looked up at her sheepishly, “It just feels more important now, somehow.”

“Go ahead, sweetie,” she guided Dallas’s hand to her stomach.

Dallas grinned widely, “I know I won’t be able to feel anything, I just am in awe.  That’s our baby in there.  A human being, who we made.  Together.  Our baby.  I can’t stop talking, I’m just so happy.”

Tara laughed and took Dallas’s hands in hers, then rose, “Come lay on the couch with me.  I want to cuddle, just the three of us.”

Dallas grinned and followed Tara, laying down on the couch with her, sliding down so his head was resting on her stomach.  As Tara ran her hands through his hair, she noticed him whispering softly to her stomach, running his hands over her stomach.

“I love you so much little Baby.  I cannot wait to meet you.  I hope you have your mother’s eyes and her spirit.  I love you both so much.”

Tara glanced down at him and sighed softly.  This was the life she had dreamt about for so long.  Her little family.

“Hey Dallas,” she smiled down at him.

“Yes?”

“Merry Christmas.”