#but he's SO PRETTY and he's like all sarcastic like

[gumii-bearr]

idea maybes

academic rival/nerd satoru… him acting all high and mighty and then is an utter virgin (but you are tew so you too together are hopeless)

YESSSSSSSS HAHAHAHA

thinking about... ❝ hopeless nerds ❞

featuring... satoru gojo

content warning: MDNI (18+), afab!reader, nerd!virgin!gojo, nerd!virgin!reader, academic rivals, two dorks, gojo is such an asshole, smut, creampie, praise kink, masturbation, inexperienced dorks tryna bang, dare i say crybaby dom gojo, sexual tension, somnophilia, sexually frustrated nerds

author's note: im sorry i haven't posted in a while!!!! my town has flooded and we've lost power a few times and i can't leave my house :,)

── nerd!gojo immediately pissing you off the moment he opens his fucking mouth.

── nerd!gojo who shares a few classes with you and he's always talking over you, has to prove your points wrong even when you back them up with facts and research.

── he does it to make you mad, you know he does. he does it because it's so easy to make you mad and it's fucking cute how your nose scrunches and how you fold your arms over your chest and give him the cold shoulder the rest of the lesson.

── "fuck you, satoru."

── "oh you wish, sweetheart."

── nerd!gojo who purposely sits next to you in class because he knows his presence drives you up the wall.

── he points out holes in your research, steals your pens off your desk, leans on your shoulder and stays there no matter how much to elbow his side, there is no peace with him.

── nerd!gojo who is tied for best grade in the class with none other than you. and fuck it makes him mad, though he would never admit it.

── nerd!gojo who teases you when you're even a single point behind him when you get your grades back.

── nerd!gojo who never hears the end of it when you do better than him on a test or essay.

── nerd!gojo who may find you annoying, but he also finds your competitiveness and smart-ass demeanour fucking hot.

── you're the only person to ever one-up him. give him a run for his place as the smartest guy in class.

── you're single-handedly his motivation to do better in class. not because he wants to, but because he needs to win.

── you're so smug when you win and you're so hot-headed when you don't. he starts to find it fucking confusing when you bicker with him or insult his intelligence and he finds it... hot.

── you could be calling him every colourful name under the sun and he would just stand there and take it with a shit-eating grin plastered across his face and his eyes peeking over his sunglasses and staring at your pretty lips.

── nerd!gojo who is also virgin!gojo, which you would never have guessed with how he holds himself– always so outwardly confident and always has soooo much to say.

── virgin!gojo who has maybe kissed two girls his whole life, forced to hole himself up in his dorm and fist his cock when he's so beyond frustrated.

── virgin!gojo who finds himself starting to think about... you.

── virgin!gojo who thinks about burying his virgin cock inside you, fucking you stupid on his cock since you always seem to have something to say.

── you find it fucking weird when he doesn't shoot back with a sarcastic comment one morning, his eyes unable to meet yours.

── now you know something's wrong because it always makes gojo's day when he sees your face flush and watches you stomp around all angry and annoyed at him.

── virgin!gojo who doesn't know what to do when he's cornered by you in the library, and for the first time, he sees you be genuine toward him.

── "aw, you care about me."

── "you know what? forget it."

── virgin!gojo who knows he needs to just shut his big mouth for once and he finally does– by slamming you against the closest bookshelf and messily kissing you like his life depends on it.

── virgin!gojo who realises he's super out of practice when it comes to kissing... or maybe you're both bad.

── virgin!gojo who panics when he gets you back to his dorm room, clumsy fingers pulling your clothes off while you nervously pull at his.

── it's slow and it's messy and there's very obviously an elephant in the room that neither of you want to address.

── but you finally bite the bullet.

── "i'm a virgin."

── "you telling me no one's ever wanted to fuck that bitchy attitude out of you?"

── "don't piss me off."

── virgin!gojo who admits he too is a virgin.

── the two of you acknowledge that there's been a sexual tension brewing between you two for a while... so maybe you should just fuck it out.

── virgin!gojo who sinks to his knees, throwing your thighs over his shoulders and pressing his curious tongue against your soaked slit.

── no one's ever touched you like that– you're getting riled up just seeing him between your thighs.

── virgin!gojo who is finally fucking quiet and lets you show him when you guide him on how to finger you. you show him where to touch you, how to touch you, where to lick and suck on you.

── and virgin!gojo who listens and he's a fast learner because he wants to please you.

── and when virgin!gojo finally sinks his huge fucking cock inside you. you nearly fucking scream.

── and virgin!gojo who has no idea he's big. no one's ever seen his cock, or felt it. he's had nothing to compare it to–

── "you're so fucking big."

── "oh, yeah? you like it, baby?"

── virgin!gojo who didn't think he'd like dirty talk as much as he does. but he likes how you whine and moan just from his voice, how he can rile you up and have you soaking his dick and the sheets just from telling you what a good girl you are.

── but also virgin!gojo who is a fucking whiner when he's getting close to his high. your virgin cunt is so warm and tight, he's never experienced such fucking bliss.

── he's whining about how good you feel, how he's never felt something so fucking mind-blowing. he just keeps fucking talking cus if he doesn't he's gonna cum.

── and virgin!gojo who fucking cries when he cums because he's on cloud fucking nine. his hips slap erratically, his thrusts are shallow and fast as he approaches his high and his fists curl into the sheets by your head to keep him grounded.

── and you just wrap your arms around his neck, hold him close as he breathes in your intoxicating scent, arms wrapped around you as he keeps his cock buried inside you alongside the ropes of cum he messily spilled inside you.

── and nerd!gojo who keeps his cock buried inside you all night, unable to part from your tight warmth.

── and you don't mind, you just pet his hair and tell him how good he did.

── and of course, nerd!gojo who wakes you up with quiet breathes by your ear, his hips slapping against your plush ass because he can't get enough of you.

── nerd!gojo who makes it his mission to make you cum. obsessed with watching you fall apart on his tongue and his fingers, or on his cock or his thigh.

── really just nerd!gojo who finds out a lot about himself and is no longer virgin!gojo because of you.

author's note: someone bring me a NERD RIGHT NOW

permanent taglist: @exclusiverinaa @starpachinko @kentotism @gumisueme @arcanefeelings @cyslips @sojumamii @naammiii @jvpit3rr @nvvxlaya @2ukika @ashyiiy @jud3thedude @antiblfanon14 @capsule-losing-contact @mrs-okkotsu222 @somethinglikero @raya4643 @julieannah @arasakaa @luciferslover @re-tired-succubus @xastoriaaurax @girlexpensive @sobbingscripter @bakuhoe37 @doechiiyz @evergumi @showtimejoseph @kimkimoruo

[livmightlive]

Legend’s real fiancé/fiancée

this is probably my dumbest one yet

The chain has picked up on Legend occasionally mentioning a fiancé. He gets flustered every time. It’s one of the only real ways to catch him off guard. Since it’s a Link trait to be nosey, everyone is WAY up in Legend’s business. Each time they mention it though, Legend just blushes and waves them off.

The chain meets Fable at some point and she’s cunning, sarcastic, and funny. She seems like a very good match for Legend and… She goes doe eyed around him. She can’t take her eyes off him and she seems to hold onto his every word. Sky can recognize her affection for her hero from a mile away. He’s so happy to see that he’s not the only one in love with a Zelda. Twilight hangs over his shoulder, also understanding the love between a princess and her hero. So they slide up to her and asks if she and Legend are engaged. Her reaction is a little shocking. Her eyes go dark, her posture rigged. Her good mood is ruined. No. She’s not his fiancée but she wanted to be and tried. There’s so much she could offer him. They could be so happy. But no. To both men’s horror she has angry tears in her eyes. “I hate his stupid partner. It’s just.. AUGH.” She stomps away to sulk.

When the chain meets Ravio it all clicks. The man practically hangs off of Legend, linking their arms, hip bumping him as he passes. For Hylia’s sake they’re ROOMMATES. Time and Wars share a knowing look. During the war Ravio was always mentioning a special someone after all. So Time and Wars slide up to Ravio, teasing grins and all. They ask him if Legend was his bunny. They ask if the two are engaged. Ravio gets a wistful look on his face. It’s a bit sad and a little confused. Ravio tells them all about how he had asked Legend if he wanted to be more than roommates, not necessarily engaged, but partners. Legend apparently turned him down with lots of grace explaining he was already taken. Ravio had thought that maybe Legend was put off by them being mirror counterparts of each other, that could get pretty weird to be honest… but… it couldn’t be more weird than what Legend had!! Who he was engaged to! Ravio goes to the cellar to find the hard cider they make TOGETHER from their apples from the orchard.

Wind and Four are hanging out an a beach when a seagull joins them. Between Wind’s affinity for ghosts and Four’s Minish magic, they can understand her squawking. She asks about Legend, she’s very worried about his wellbeing. She relieved when they tell her he’s doing well. They piece together that this is the lovely Marin Legend has spoken of on more melancholic nights. She must be… ah it all makes sense. Fable’s frustration, Ravio’s hurt. Legend must’ve been engaged to his dream girl. The girl who he had to leave behind. The girl that still keeps vigil over him even when he doesn’t know she’s there. He must be unable to let go… So they ask her if she’s Legend’s betrothed. Somehow, for a bird, she puts on a stank face. Her feathers ruffle, she smooths them down with her beak. Ahem… no she’s not. She looks annoyed for a bird. Even while Legend was sleeping and she was there as his literal dream girl, Legend didn’t even go so far to kiss her. He just had such a strong feeling that somebody else was waiting for him… When she started a new life, that of the sky and sea, flying as a bird, she went to see who this person who was so special to him was and… she huffs and flies off, leaving a plume of feathers behind.

The chain ends up in Labrynna and there they meet Ralph who is ecstatic to see Legend. He also wears just as many if not more rings than Legend himself does. Wild and Hyrule exchange a look. Could it be possible that one of those rings might be a wedding ring? So Hyrule and Wild ask, probably too directly but Ralph… He sighs, shakes his head. When Legend came this way it seemed everyone had wanted chance to go on a date with the hero. Ralph wasn’t excluded from that group… but by the time he asked Legend to do something sometime, maybe something a little romantic, Legend kindly shot him down and told him of his engagement. Ralph was like ??? we are 15. (At the time of oracle of ages) Ralph gets a strange look on his face. He tells the chain that Legend’s betrothed is HERE. In Labrynna.

so of course they beg to meet this person. Everyone has so many questions. Legend has so many people that want him, who are so into him. How does this person surpass all of them? Legend, blushing like a maiden, agrees to introduce them. He leads them through the forest.

and this is her.

when he introduces the chain to a tree they think he’s lying. Not just a normal tree, but a talking one. A talking tree that’s annoying. She’s so offended when they don’t believe Legend. She demands her fiancé, omg is this real??, make them apologize. The chain doesn’t know what to do. Legend hugs her bark and she giggles. Hyrule breaks away from the chain. He looks concerned. “Legend. You were 15 when she proposed. How old was she?”

pandemonium breaks out when he mentions she must have been somewhere over 400 years old. He tries to claim that she’s like their age in tree years but it doesn’t really work.

idk if they stay together after this but I couldn’t get this stupid idea out of my head 😭 I hope somebody enjoys this!

[ladykissingfish]

Deidara: So you may be wondering why I called this meeting …

Hidan: “Called a meeting” my ass, blondie. You got us out here by screaming that the house was on fire!

Deidara: Anyways, I think it’s more than time we address the question that’s on everyone’s minds: which one of you gets to date me?

Itachi: … Pardon?

Deidara: It’s obvious that you’re all in love with me a little, hm. But I can’t just pick one of you, so I thought we should decide it as a group.

Sasori: Brat, I have to say, as far as delusions go, this may be your biggest one yet.

Deidara: I know you’re angry about this, Danna, because we’re partners and you think your claim should be stronger than anyone else’s. But we gotta be fair to the others, hm.

Hidan: Fuck that, you can keep him, puppet-dick. I’m definitely not interested in his dumb ass! I mean if he wants to bang a few times, sure, but —

Itachi: Deidara, why am I here? You don’t even like me!

Kakuzu: I cannot see how “dating” you would do anything other than cost me time and money. Pass.

Kisame: I would eat you alive. And I don’t mean that figuratively.

Konan: No offense, but I’m pretty sure I don’t have, er, the right “parts” to interest you.

Tobi: I’d love to date Senpai … *switches to Obito voice* You and I would make beautiful music together ~

Deidara, blushing: Well, I —

Sasori: Wait a second … Deidara, are your standards so low that you would actually date this masked idiot?

Tobi, still in Obito voice: I could take care of him better than you ever could, you wooden asshole. You, or anyone else in this room.

Itachi, sarcastically: Indeed. Because if Deidara just suddenly decided to stop hating Uchiha’s, he’d pick the least talented one of the group to date.

Konan: … Who’s an Uchiha, now?

Hidan: Holy Jashin, blondie … maybe we should be dating after all. I’d feel fucking guilty leaving you with this pool of losers. 

Kakuzu: Oi, if this is going to distract you all from your missions and hinder your bringing in money, then I will date the brat after all. I’m the only one with the self-control necessary to not let personal ties interfere with business.

Kisame: Pardon me, but you’re not the only one with exceptional self control, Kakuzu-san. I believe I’m talented in that area as well.

*everyone in the group begins loudly arguing with each other*

Konan, to Deidara: So was there anyone in particular you had your mind on?

Deidara: No, hm. I was just bored.

Konan:

Konan: Why are you like this?

[broidobe]

𝔭𝔢𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔢𝔩𝔢 𝔡𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔞 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔯 𝔴𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔦𝔫𝔠𝔩𝔲𝔡𝔢

requested! this is mid-2000s specific!

⁎⁺˳✧༚80s-90s rock masterlist

peter, always a lover of deep, melancholy music, loves to introduce you to his favorite classic albums.

he’ll make a playlist for you, mixing goth, industrial, and classic rock, and you'll spend hours listening to it while curled up in his dimly lit apartment.

he’d often say, this is music that speaks to the soul and you’d both get lost in the haunting melodies.

despite the age gap, peter’s got a playful side.

he’ll joke about how "young" you are by asking if you even know what "real" music is, and then mockingly ask you, what’s next? you gonna show me your ipod nano playlist? 

he might tease you about trends that were popular when he was younger, but he’ll always be affectionate about it.

peter is a deep thinker, and he loves to engage in thought-provoking conversations about philosophy, life, and art.

you’ll find yourself staying up late, discussing everything from nietzsche to the meaning of love.

sometimes, he’d get a little carried away with his ideas, but his voice is so captivating that you just let him go.

peter’s protective of you, though he won’t admit it at first.

if anyone disrespects you, he’ll give them a cold, brooding stare.

at concerts or shows, he’ll stand close to you, ensuring you’re safe while also giving off that cool, untouchable aura. if someone’s being too loud or obnoxious, he’s quick to quietly lead you away, making sure you’re comfortable.

peter doesn’t do the typical “dinner and a movie” kind of date. instead, he’ll take you on spontaneous midnight drives, heading to a random place, whether that’s an old cemetery (because goth, right?), a quiet park, or a hidden speakeasy that’s been around for decades.

his idea of a good time is something off-the-beaten-path, making every date feel like an adventure.

romantic, in his own way

peter’s not the type to flaunt his affection publicly, but when you’re alone, he’s unexpectedly tender.

he’ll gently brush your hair behind your ear, kiss your forehead, or hold your hand while he’s driving.

every gesture feels meaningful, but understated. he may not say it often, but his actions speak louder than words.

he’s a master of sarcastic, dry humor, and his flirting is no exception.

he’ll make sly comments about how you're “too young to understand” certain things, but you can tell it’s just his way of getting your attention. there’s always a playful smirk after every teasing remark, and he knows exactly how to make you blush.

peter’s pretty private, so he’s not the type to want to hang out with your friends all the time.

but, if you ask him, he’ll make an effort to show up for your events or gatherings.

he’ll mostly sit back and observe, throwing in the occasional dry remark, making everyone laugh without ever breaking character. you can always count on him to be your rock in social situations.

in between all the sarcastic banter and intense talks, there are these rare, soft moments where peter’s completely at ease with you.

you’ll be sitting next to each other, maybe watching a movie, and you’ll catch him staring at you with this intense, almost longing look in his eyes. he doesn’t say anything, but you can feel the weight of his emotions in those moments.

loves to surprise you

peter’s not the biggest fan of over-the-top romantic gestures, but every once in a while, he’ll do something unexpected, like sending you a rare album he knows you’ve been looking for, or showing up with your favorite obscure band’s vinyl. he’ll act like it’s no big deal, but you know it’s his way of saying he’s thinking of you.

you’ll go to underground goth clubs, but it’s never about the party scene—it’s about the music, the atmosphere, and the quiet connection between you two.

peter doesn’t really enjoy the chaos of being "the star," so he prefers to stand off to the side, watching you enjoy the music. his hand will be casually on the small of your back, making sure you're safe, but also allowing you to feel free.

peter doesn’t need to say much. there’s a level of understanding between the two of you that transcends words. sometimes, just a look is enough. you can feel him noticing when you’re upset or in need of comfort, and he’ll quietly take your hand, pulling you close, offering his presence as solace.

he’s so fucking proud of you

despite his tough exterior, peter is so proud of your accomplishments.

whether it’s a career goal you’ve hit or a creative project you’re working on, he’ll show his pride in subtle ways—by bragging about you to his close friends or making a comment about how lucky he is to have someone so driven by his side.

if you’re into music, art, or writing, peter’s the kind of guy who’ll reluctantly offer advice, guiding you with his own experiences.

he may act like he doesn’t care, but he’ll be genuinely proud when you take his advice to heart. if you’re a musician, he’ll sometimes sit and show you guitar riffs or vocal techniques, teaching you little tricks without ever boasting about his own talent.

peter’s not one for heavy pda, but you’ll still see moments where he shows his affection. it might be as simple as putting his arm around your waist while you’re walking together, or giving you a quick kiss on the cheek before heading out the door.

these little moments feel like he’s keeping you close, even in public, without ever drawing too much attention.

[alittlegiraffe]

Title: Unintended Acceptance Speech (Part 2)

@tomdayaloveforever this is the best I could do, I'm sorry 😭😭😭😭

The night was buzzing as Marshall and you made your way down the red carpet at the next big awards show. You were dressed to the nines—elegant and understated—while Marshall, ever the reluctant fashion icon, had settled on a sleek black suit with a touch of his classic rebellious flair.

But as soon as you two hit the carpet, flashes exploded in your faces. Reporters clamored, eager for a glimpse of the elusive Eminem, the elusive legend.

“Em! Em! Over here!” One reporter waved eagerly, a mic in hand. Marshall gave a small nod in acknowledgment but kept walking. It was nothing new—he’d been in this game long enough to know how to navigate the circus.

Then, it happened.

Another reporter—who’d clearly been waiting for this moment—suddenly grinned, practically bouncing on their heels. “Eminem! Quick question: after your… flower park incident at the Brits, what are you expecting tonight? A more traditional acceptance speech, or should we expect some floral-inspired moments again?”

The second those words left their mouth, the crowd went silent. It was like a collective gasp filled the air.

Marshall froze mid-step. You could almost feel the weight of his frustration building, but before he could process it, another reporter jumped in. “Are you planning on taking Y/N to a rose garden tonight? I mean, could we see a new ‘Eminem and Flowers’ series?”

Marshall turned to you, and you could practically see the gears turning in his head as he gave you a look. You tried to keep your composure, but you couldn't help the giggle that escaped.

“Man,” he said, shaking his head and holding up a finger for emphasis. “Look, I wasn’t out there tryna’ start a trend. I went to a flower park with my wife, and somebody had to FaceTime me right then. That’s on them. Don’t blame me for the heart-shaped bushes.”

You let out a snicker, covering your mouth, but it only made Marshall roll his eyes even more dramatically.

“Hey, we all need a little flower power in our lives, right?” you teased, nudging him. “You were just living your best life.”

Marshall gave you a side-eye. “I swear, if this turns into my new ‘brand,’ we’re gonna have a serious talk about these flower-themed fan clubs popping up.” He shot a playful glare at the cameras. “I mean, come on. When I signed up to be a rapper, I didn’t think I’d be known for being the guy who loves flowers.”

The crowd burst into laughter, but before Marshall could take the next step, a reporter asked, “But seriously—does it feel like that moment changed how people see you, like, maybe it humanized you?”

Marshall blinked, clearly thrown off for a second. You could see his gears grinding, but then, he shot the reporter a knowing look.

“Humanized me? Man, I’ve been human. I’ve just been gruff about it for a minute. I still got bars, though. And flowers.” He raised his hands in mock surrender, making sure everyone knew he was fully aware of the absurdity of it all.

You chuckled, leaning into him. “To be fair, I think the flowers really did suit you. You were looking pretty peaceful out there.”

“Peaceful? I’m hardcore!” Marshall shot back, but his smile betrayed him. “At least now I know… no more FaceTime calls when I’m out flower-hunting.”

You winked. “I’ll take you to more parks, though. Just promise me no more heart-shaped bushes for the next big award show?”

He narrowed his eyes, sarcastically. “I promise. No more bushes. Or if I do, it’ll be some real hardcore, dark, Gothic bush.”

The reporters were cracking up, the tension gone. Marshall was, once again, being the real Marshall—fierce but with a sense of humor that no one could resist.

As the questions continued, one reporter couldn't help themselves. “So, when’s the next Eminem Rose Garden album coming out? Or are we getting some lavender-scented merch?”

Marshall groaned, rubbing his temples as you laughed beside him.

“I can already see the headlines tomorrow,” he muttered. “The ‘Eminem Flower Collection’ drops just in time for spring. Real tough guy vibes.” He shot a look at the cameras. “Y’all really want me to become a florist now?”

“No, but you’ve definitely made it interesting,” another reporter quipped, with a smirk.

As you and Marshall continued down the carpet, the laughter and the jokes followed. Somehow, the flower park moment had turned into a hilarious piece of pop culture history, one that Marshall would never live down. But at least, for once, he could take the absurdity in stride.

You leaned into him with a smile. “I guess ‘hardcore rapper with a soft side’ is gonna be your new tagline.”

Marshall glanced at you, his eyes softening, before he said, “I’ll take it, as long as it doesn’t come with a damn bouquet.”

You burst into laughter. “It’s a deal, babe.”

[joces-wrld]

𖦹✶𓏲ּ꩜ .ᐟ midnight shopping

�� blurb!

IN WHICH— fratboy! chris hits the jackpot and decides to take tomboy! reader shopping

| no warnings! enjoy <3

"i got bandssssss" chris announces, nonchalantly walking into your dorm, spreading a stack of hundred dollar bills on his arm

"hello to you too, christopher"

"lets go shopping, wanna spoil you" "its literally almost 11pm?" "and? i know these outlets that're opened till like 2am, its 30 minutes away, cmon ma?"

"chris im in pajamas and i already took my makeup off" you protest, watching him shake his head. "already told you you dont need that shit", you sigh, "give me 10 minutes to do my eyeliner and mascara?"

the boy rolls his eyes, grabbing your hand and dragging you out the door. "chris! what the hell?!" "you look good like this ma. barefaced, in spiderman pajamas and uggs, prime y/n right here" you roll your eyes, "well its like 40 degrees out here, imma freeze to death" "relax will you? i have an extra jacket in the car"

minutes later, the 2 of you were on the way to the outlets, chris allowing you to have aux. "where'd you even get all that money from? like i know you make money selling, but never that much, not in less than a week at least" "oh yeah, there's more by the way" "WHAT?!?" "yeah, got this new shit and it's selling quickly" "i can tell..." you mumble, putting the sun visor down and opening the mirror

"EW! chris what the hell?! i look so ugly. i no joke look deceased, i NEED my makeup", you can practically hear chris' eyeroll, watching him shake his head in annoyance. "you're so dramatic. i think you look pretty" he mumbles that last part, ears turning red. you smile slightly, deciding to spare him by changing the topic. "so where's your jacket?" "behind your seat"

you reach back and see a black zip up, you grab it and quickly shrug it on, taking your uggs off to cross your legs on top of the seat. "if you were anyone else, i would literally kick you out" "awww, im special" you snicker, watching as he shakes his head, smiling nonetheless. the 2 of you fall into a comfortable silence, watching as cars pass by, that is until Open Arms by SZA comes on. you gasp dramatically, repeatedly hitting chris' arm

"what the fuck?!" "i LOVE this song!!" you turn the volume up to max, grabbing the boys phone and opening snapchat, recording yourself and chris singing along

"i hate myself to make you stay. push me away, i'll be right here" you sing, admiring chris through the screen, watching as his head bops along to the beat. "with open, open, open arms. open arms, you keep me open, im so devoted, you keep me open, open arms, im so devoted to you, to you, to you" you motion towards chris with your head, a big smile plastered on your face

"no matter what come between us, yeah, i decided, i'm forever riding, we forever guided" chris raps, stopping due to a red light. "drew my favorite color, now you seeing every shade of me" he quickly turns his head, clearly dedicating those lyrics to you. his mouth opens wide in surprise when he notices you were recording, "locked in for life, on God, no replacing me" you rap back, watching him hide his smile by turning back to face the road, stepping on the gas as the light turns green

the song soon ends, you stopping the video and saving it to his camera roll, sending it to yourself before closing his phone. "you really love sza, dontcha?" "hell yeah i do. she's like, one of my top 3 artists" the boy nods to your words, turning onto some street. 10 minutes later he turns into a parking lot. "we're here, ma"

you and chris exit his car, walking towards the stores. they were surprisingly not too empty, of course they weren't packed, but you could tell there was a good chunk of people at every store. "where to?" you mumble, slipping the hood of chris' jacket on. "they have a starbucks, so lets go there first, get something warm"

-

"what happened to something warm" you sarcastically ask, watching as chris sips his caramel frappuccino. "change of plans" he mumbles, watching as you sip on your macchiato. "come on, they got a lids somewhere"

you happily follow him, not a thought in your mind as you admire your surroundings. walking into the store, you notice it was fairly empty, no more than 7 people in there. "hey guys, need any help?" an employee asks, chris shaking his head no. "no thank you" you verbally say, offering a small smile. "alright, well if you do just let me know"

you slightly zone out after that, just staring at chris as he pick hats up and down. he does that for a while, finally settling on a light grey one with a light khaki visor. he nods his head and looks for another one, quickly finding it and calling out to you

"try this on, ma" you nod your head and take your hood off, popping the hat on. chris does the same with his hat and pulls his phone out, going to the camera app. "oh they're the same!" you exclaim, a big smile immediately forming on your face. chris quickly snaps a picture before putting his phone away, "yeah dummy, thats the point"

your mouth falls into an 'o' shape, realizing thats why he took a while to settle on a hat, he was searching for one that had your hat size. "stay here, imma go pay" he instructs, walking off to the register. he returns moments later, no hats in hand??

"had to embroid sum on them" he mumbles, grabbing your hand and leading you out the hat store and towards a bath and body works. "nicks been wanting some new candle that came out so imma go look for it. get whatever you want, dont matter how much" he says, going off towards the candles

you smirk slightly, grabbing a bag and getting to work. walking towards your go to scent, you grab 2 bottles of the fragrance mist, a bottle of lotion, and another bottle of body cream. you then go towards a thousand wishes, grabbing a body wash and a mini fragrance as you needed a restock. with a nod, you go find chris

you're quick to spot him, 3 candles in his grasp. "for nick," he shows you the pistachio honey milk candle, "for matt," mahogany coconut, "and for you, saw you were running low" you smile, your favorite candle being placed inside the bag alongside the others

"is this it?" the boy asks, slightly disappointed in how little you got. "i think so?" "you get that strawberry shit you like?" your eyes widen, how could you forget about your soap and hand sanitizer?!? you quickly run to get them before standing in line with chris

-

it was now 1:50am, 10 minutes before the outlets closed. you and chris loaded with shopping bags, he truly had spoiled you. you got 3 new pairs of jeans from levi's, some 2 pairs of jorts from gap, along with overall shorts, 3 or 4 shirts from h&m, a restock on your skin care items, the one size setting spray, another liquid eyeliner, elf lip oils, pimple patches, face masks, a pair of ugg minis in the color chestnut, some timberland boots, white crocs (with random jibits chris liked) the stuff from bath and body works and the hat; which had a small C♡ embroidered into it (his had your initial with a heart as well)

"i think you bought me too much stuff" you say, stuffing bags into the trunk and backseats. "not all of it is for you, i bought matt and nick stuff too" "yeah, but the majority of the stuff is mine.....i feel bad" "nonsense" he waves his hand, dismissing your statement like nothing. "now lets go get some food"

a/n: STOP THIS SUCKS but this is like my LONGEST draft, its been sitting in my drafts for a fat minute. feedback is appreciated :) i hope you enjoyed!

once again, dividers from @dollywons

[mask-of-prime]

VG: Mystery of the Outlands - PART 1

Previous | Next (Next Month)

________________________________

Years Ago…

“You… You wouldn’t! We’re lions!”

An enraged roar reverberated throughout the land. The winds and ground acted with it, as if the heavens and its residents were helping it.

Terrified screeches filled the sky. Pretty soon, the miraculously-airborne lions plummeted to the ground, each with a loud thud and pained groan.

"Uhhh..." Nuka moaned groggily as he shakily got onto his feet. His whole body ached from the near-fatal fall. 

"Where are we...?" he asked, glancing side to side at the wasteland.

Zira sighed irritably as she shot up from the ground. Nuka was either dazed from the fall, or just being his typical, clueless self.

"Our new home." she sarcastically replied.

She glanced toward the horizon, her face clenching hard with rage.

Back to square one…

Later that day…

Night fell across the Outlands. The buzzing of termite wings was soon replaced with the sparse population of crickets, whose chirps were still enough to break the deafening silence of the barren wasteland.

Atop a prominent rock amidst the flat land was a lioness that sat sternly, looking out into the rather empty and drab escape. She may have been looking, but she wasn't seeing, as she was too deep in thought.

'That miserable brat...' she thought, 'All hyenas know is deception and lies. The hyena only got her way because she knew royalty. If she were alone, she and her kind wouldn't stand a chance...'

A small, adolescent cub timidly approached. She tried not to make a sound, as she debated even bringing up what was on her mind at all.

Mother told her to go to bed with her brothers, as she did every day once it was dusk. She wanted to obey her mother, but countless questions buzzed through her head following what had happened earlier that day.

What was a 'Lion Guard'? What was this 'Roar of the Elders'? How did it work? Were they really just going to experience first-hand what might've been the craziest, supernatural event ever, only to just get up and never speak a word of it again?

"I can hear your footsteps, Vitani."

The cub's heart nearly leapt from her chest. The jig was up.

"Oh..." she mumbled, coming out of hiding.

"You need to work on your stealth. We'll go over that starting tomorrow morning." Zira dryly said.

No going back, now. If Vitani had a question, she'd better ask it now before it gets ignored in favor of endless training. She ascended the rock, gulping.

"Mother...?"

"Do speak up, dear. A soldier doesn't mumble."

"Um..." Vitani quickly cleared her throat to talk louder, minding her mother's comment, "Mother, how do you know so much about the Lion Guard?"

Zira stared off for a moment, images of her budding friendship with her beloved Scar raced in her mind. He was without his shoulder mark, a fresh, bleeding wound over his eye. He looked like he had been struggling internally.

“Well, it’s like I’d said earlier.” Zira began, “Scar told me all about what the Roar could do, and what he’d done to lose it. Oh, had his pompous brother not ticked him off, he wouldn’t have wasted it on his fellow lions…”

The preteen tilted her head. She didn’t remember this part at all. Zira saw her cub’s confusion, and continued.

“Yes… it had been the final straw. His father swiped Scar over the face, and Mufasa gave him a cruel nickname to top things off. And what for? Scar had done nothing!” she huffed, “And that mother of his. She was no help, I could tell. She was my hunting teacher. She never gave me so much as one glance. Always had her eyes on that Sarabi. That goody-goody little nerd saw herself as a miniature version of the Queen! I –”

She glanced down at her daughter. Realizing she’d gotten off-track, she quickly regained her composure.

“You’re a very astute listener, Vitani. That will serve you well as you grow.” her mother grinned, “You get it from me, of course. If only the Queen hadn’t picked favorites, she would’ve seen the greatness in me as I see in you. I care about you, all of you, when no one else in this world will.”

Vitani smiled softly, despite still reeling from her mother’s sharp mood shifts. Compliments like that didn’t come often, she cherished what she could of it.

“Anyway,” Zira cleared her throat, “Scar would always turn to me for comfort, and trusted me with the secrets of the Roar. He would tell me about the way it had controlled the wind, the ground, the sky… and animals…”

Vitani gasped. That last part reminded her of her other question. 

“What did the Guard do that made Scar kill them?” the cub asked.

“They refused to help overthrow Scar’s tyrannical family.” Zira scowled, “I wish Scar had reserved it for his family, but he’d instead lost control, and used it on his unruly Guard. The little sycophants favored Mufasa over their own leader… It didn’t stop there, either. Scar’s newfound hyena friends he made had replaced his Guard – and me. Those slobs almost made Scar’s reign unenjoyable, what with their insufferable complaints and endless appetites.”

Vitani’s face fell as her mother continued to vent at her. Quality talks with her had never lasted long.

“They’d always steal his attention from me up until Simba came along.” Zira spat, “Had he not come back to steal the throne, those ravenous heathens wouldn’t have torn my beloved Scar to shreds!”

Zira teared up as her claws gripped the rock she had lain on. The edge now sported eight streaks that briefly sparked upon contact.

“If only I’d been there to protect him…” she turned to her daughter, “Just as you protected your brother back there.”

Vitani opened her mouth. She didn’t know what to say.

“Yes. I saw you stand up against that hyena. Excellent work. That’ll come in handy once you become an enforcer of Kovu’s, one day.”

“R-Really?” Vitani smiled again.

“I can see it now! You, with your very own Lion Guard protecting Kovu’s place as King. You’ll be far better enforcers than Scar’s hyenas, my pet. You won’t even need the Roar! Why, I see a great reign in our future atop Pride Rock…”

Vitani followed suit and gazed at the faraway Pridelands as her mother had. To be a strong leader, just like her mother. She didn’t think herself to be the type, but Mother saw it in her. She wondered what lions she would someday lead.

"Now, off to bed with you." Zira said softly, but still with command, “You need to be well-rested for what lies ahead…”

Vitani understood, and trotted to the main termite mound fortress where her brothers had already been fast asleep. 

Inside the den was a sight Vitani distinctly remembered, and one her older brother would to this day refuse to acknowledge ever happened. The brothers had embraced each other in their sleep, Nuka had a long arm draped around Kovu, and Kovu hugged said arm. Both snored in their own ways, Nuka with his obnoxious, nasally snorts, and Kovu, a soft buzz. 

For a moment, the preteen stole one last glance outside, her eyes reflecting the deep red sunset at Pride Rock, the peculiar lighting making her look not so different from her cunning, ruthless mother, whom she'd been shaping up to be more and more like for years to come...

________________________________

Present Day...

The fully-grown lioness stared off towards the Outlands. Her eyes were her usual electric blue color, as she'd faced away from the sun.

She looked deathly drowsy from a night of no rest due to her intense fixation on her cave paintings. Everything made her drowsy. Everything that had ever happened. Her mother had conditioned her into quite the restless and fidgety lioness, and it showed as she had looked twice her actual age.

Still, she had a territory to patrol. The one she'd inevitably end up guarding like Mother said she someday would, just not like how she'd imagined. 

A familiar sight had grabbed her attention mid-patrol – the termite mounds that she and her family once begrudgingly called home.

But before she knew it, her eyes wandered West, towards a prominent structure that towered over many locations of the Outlands – besides the volcano, of course – the cave that took on the shape of a lion's head. A cave that stood just beside a luscious watering hole, possibly the best one that could be found in the Outlands. One that had been protected for years... by hyenas.

Glancing back at the lion-shaped cave, she saw a leonine shape that stood in front of the mouth. Sporting a dark bluish tint, it had a large, red mane, a head stripe like her mother's, and a bulbous snout like her older brother's. 

"Who goes there?!" Vitani barked.

It walked back to the mouth, and faded away as if it weren't solid.

"Hey!" the Fiercest charged, the rest of the Guard far enough along the patrol route to even notice her leaving her post.

As she bounded, her ears rang from overwhelming glimpses of voices of the past she'd recently heard.

"Get up before I give you a real reason to cry!"

"Lions Over All!"

"What's wrong, my little Moonlight?"

Vitani stopped in her tracks from the sudden migraine that had taken place, but not before crashing into something: An animal that yelled for her to stop, just before impact.

In shock, the lioness quickly shifted to combat mode. She charged as fast as she could, and body slammed the animal with full force before climbing atop of it and pinning its forelegs down to not let it escape. Her snarl lessened as the animal's form came into picture.

"It's... You." was all the lioness could make out.

"I have a name, you know..." the long-haired hyena playfully scoffed.

Before Vitani could think, she was flipped on her back, with far less force than what she, herself, had used. 

"..and a few moves up my sleeve." the hyena giggled.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember you... Prime Minister."

Vitani rolled, and the hyena responded mercifully by gently releasing the lion.

"It's Jasiri, or something, right?" Vitani groaned, "Never bothered to really get to know you."

"I can see that." Jasiri deadpanned.

"I GOT YOU, JASIRI!" a male voice yelled.

"Janja!” Jasiri hopped in front of him, “There's no need."

“B-But that’s –” “I know. She’s welcome here.”

“Alright.” he grumbled, “It… It’s time for my shift at the cell, anyway.”

“Good boy.”

“Cell?” Vitani’s brow arched.

“He’s one of my trusted enforcers. Head warden of the Kizimba Caverns.” “‘Trusted’...” Vitani balked.

"He'll get the hang of it, eventually." the matriarch rolled her eyes, "So... what brings you to the Outlands?"

Vitani rubbed the back of her neck, "Ah, thought I saw something. L-Like, something I recently saw in a dream. Had to chase it. But... I can't explain it, it's too ridiculous."

"You look like you haven't gotten a wink of sleep. Animals' minds tend to go wild without rest."

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Vitani trailed off, staring onward as her eyesight no longer had a trace of blue. How much of that Zamani stuff did she take?

Realizing she had found herself near the entrance of Jasiri's Watering Hole, she looked to the left, then upward at the lion head monument towering over the region.

"Jasiri...?" she broke the silence, "Do you ever wonder what that thing is? My mother wanted to live nearby it so badly. She said she knew of it like the back of her paw, but, never went into how..."

"I’ve peeked at it a bit on my patrols. I haven’t really been wanting to go in, since, well, what happened when we were younger…” Jasiri said, “It seems like an abandoned arena of some sort, by the looks of it. Could’ve sworn I saw paintings in it."

"You're kidding?" Vitani's eyebrows flew upward.

Jasiri smiled. Beyond the paintings, she had a lot of things she wanted the former Outlands resident to see on the way.

"Why don't we find out?"

This had better not been a trap. Vitani had only ever known deceptive, fickle hyenas in life. But, only because of everything Mother had talked her ear off about. She jotted that down as one of the many questionable things Zira had believed, given what she’s recently seen of Jasiri and Janja. Not only had they claimed to be Prime Minister and head warden of the Outlands, respectively, but she’d remembered their collaboration to fight beside Kion. Perhaps Mother was wrong about all hyenas…

But, she had to know about these paintings, if there were any. What could they tell her? 

Semi-reluctant, the lioness followed the Prime Minister of the Outlands.

The two passed the Watering Hole. The older hyenas looked welcoming enough, but the younger ones found the lioness' presence odd. 

The girl had long hair and purple eyes, like Jasiri. The boy with only a few strands of hair and blue eyes. Both sported a wary look at her.

Vitani subconsciously returned the gesture with a puzzled look of her own. What was their problem…?

Vitani digressed. Meanwhile, she noticed something different about the Outlands. She felt something soft under her paws. Grass.

Throughout her trek across the Outlands was an overall pop of color and biodiversity. The Lioness could smell flowers she didn't know had grown in the area, and she observed more potable water sources outside of the notable one in Jasiri's territory.

"Here we are!" exclaimed Jasiri.

Vitani looked up, and saw the lion-shaped cave. It had been overgrown with moss, and even more flowers, funnily giving the cave a mane, somewhat, like it must've been meant to have. A dense, flourishing colony of bats flew from the cave, almost making the lion head look like it breathed fire.

Jasiri smiled warmly at the sheer surprise in Vitani's face.

"A lot has changed since you left the Outlands." the hyena began, "I heard about the monsoon at the Pridelands. The Outlands were in just enough reach to get some of it. We needed it for decades. The lands were so thirsty, that I had to help evacuate the animals from floods. But... It worked itself out, eventually."

Vitani was nearly moved to tears at the potential beauty that finally showed throughout the Outlands. Why couldn't she live in something like this all along? She had to wonder what became of the particular home she survived through every day. Had the Termite Mounds turned many colors, too?

Jasiri tilted her head towards the prominence, “Shall we?”

Vitani gave a quick nod, and soon enough, they walked towards the unexplored section of the Outlands.

________________________________

At the Northern Pridelands Outskirts…

“Would you believe the nerve of some of these animals around here? You’d think the herds would be over this whole separation thing after that old rhino keeled over.”

“Guess he set the blueprint.” Imara shrugged, “All he had to do was set an example for the next animal. There will always be a bigger, scarier successor.”

“Maybe,” Kasi huffed, But, wouldn’t they just leave the Pridelands instead of trying to change – OOF!”

Before she knew it, Kasi found herself briefly sandwiched between the heavy Imara, and another lioness who had stopped dead in her tracks long before her own group partner did.

“Tazama?! What’s going on?”

The Keenest of Sight stared off toward the Outlands, “Vitani’s not with you. I’d like to think –”

Kasi gasped as she looked where Tazama was looking, “Oh, no… She didn’t…”

“I’m afraid so…” the aqua-eyed lioness frowned slightly.

Pretty soon, Shabaha could be seen bounding from the distance, on her way to catch up with the group.

“Taz, why’d you stop?” the Bravest panted, “I know you’re quiet, but I didn’t think I was actually talking to nobody, this time – What’s everybody staring at…?”

“Tazama saw Vitani wander off to the Outlands.” Imara said.

“Was she snatched up, or something?”

“I didn’t see anything from here,” Tazama answered, “but within the Outlands, she could’ve been…”

“We’d better hurry,” Imara stepped forward, “c’mon…”

The Lion Guard headed Northeast, crossing the river that bordered the two territories. Pretty soon they ended up in an escape that was fogged and illuminated by geothermal gases and their periodic explosions.

“Hey! Who goes there?!” a voice barked, “No animal is allowed beyond this point!”

The fog cleared a bit, revealing a clan led by Janja, old enemies who once had their share of territorial disputes with the Outsider pride.

“Really? No animals allowed?” Cheezi tilted his head.

“Guess this means we gotta go, then.” Chungu muttered.

“Not us, furbrains!” the leader groaned.

“Hyenas!” Imara bellowed, “We know you have Vitani!”

“What? No we don’t!” Janja cried. Irritably, he whipped his head toward his fellow clan, “Alright, which one of you’s talked?”

“Enough talk!” Kasi snapped, “Get them!”

Shabaha loved that part of every fight. She couldn’t contain her eager cackle as she went to execute the order.

Janja remembered that laugh. Horrified, he glanced around at the lionesses that had surrounded him and his dimwitted squad of enforcers.

“Uh-oh…” he groaned, not liking their chances.

WHAM! Imara tackled Chungu.

SLASH! Kasi’s paw swiped Cheezi.

WHOOP! Tazama tripped Nne.

Janja’s hackles raised in defense as Shabaha slowly made her way towards him.

PUNCH! BEAT! POW!

Before the hyenas knew it, they were knocked to the ground. The hyenas that remained conscious moaned, saddened and confused as to what came over these lionesses.

What did they do wrong…?

Without a word, Imara took the lead towards the fog. The rest followed.

“Yeesh, we’re in the Elephant Graveyard.” Tazama shivered a bit.

Kasi looked around, “Is it me, or does this place look a little more organized than I remember?”

GROWL!

The Guard paused, hearts nearly leaping from their chests. They looked towards the location of the noise. It had come from one of the ribcages from a pile of elephant carcasses.

"Vitani..." Kasi slowly turned, "Is that you?"

“What are you guys doing, here?” said a gravelly voice.

Squinting to see past the large, petrified elephant ribs, Imara recognized the lion pacing back and forth in his enclosure. He had a scruffy, dark brown beard, a well-muscled body, furious auburn eyes, and a lack of a mane due to it once being burned off by Vitani’s Fire Roar.

“...Kiume?” she finally guessed aloud, taking a step closer to be sure.

“Watch your step.” Kiume smiled.

Imara glanced down and noticed the molten liquid that formed a moat around the maneless lion’s prison cell. Gasping, she placed a large arm in front of the rest of the Guard to keep them from inching any closer and getting badly hurt.

“Molten metal.” the lion clarified, “Keeps me from escaping with my life. A good backup when the hyenas aren’t awake to watch my every move…”

“The hyenas were…? –” Shabaha cringed hard, “Ooof…”

Imara's heart dropped, body going numb. There was no undoing the damage they'd inflicted.

She leaned against the cage bars for a moment and breathed deeply. They hurt animals who were doing good. The Prime Minister would banish them, and rightfully so.

“So that was the commotion outside? Thought the hyenas were up to no good, just because they’re hyenas? Looks like you guys got some prejudices to work out…” Kiume chuckled.

Kasi balked, “Oh, you would know –”

Imara waved a paw to quiet her down, “Look, Kiume. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… We were hoping you could help us find Vitani…”

“Why would I wanna help you, and how?” Kiume continued to pace.

“Well, we figured that since you’re the only one available, right now.”

“No thanks to us… Shabaha muttered in regret. 

“We just wanna know if you might know where she might’ve gone, and who with.” Imara continued.

“Well, I can’t exactly just give you pointers.”

“Why not?”

“You don’t know this part of the Outlands like I do, I’d have to walk you through it. You’re not gonna understand if I just tell you.”

“How do we know you’re not lying?” Kasi glared.

“Girls, trust me, I know the Outlands. I spent a good while here with my boys. We studied up on paintings we saw around here.”

“Paintings?” the Strongest raised her brows.

“Sure. Some paintings you lionesses ought to take notes from. It’ll show you the way a lion’s pride is meant to be. I’m telling you, it’s always been males that have led prides.”

“Whatever.” Imara glanced sideways, “Well, haven’t you tried busting out now that the hyenas aren’t watching?”

“You’re stronger than me – Well, I mean, I’m not saying you’re any stronger than a man, of course.” he said with a passive-aggressive whine that grated the lioness’ ears, “I’m a little out-of-shape since, you guys, you know, imprisoned me here. The hyenas starve me and hardly give me any water to live.”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it.” Imara cut him off.

“Not to mention, these bones?” he knocked them, “Solid. Gonna need something hard and heavy, like that plank the hyenas use to give me water, over there.”

They all looked. It was a heat-resistant slab of rock that must’ve been occasionally slid across the ground by the hyenas. They looked back towards the maneless lion.

“How about this, you get me out, and I'll help you straighten this whole hyena mess out. Have we got ourselves a deal, girls?” he grinned, offering a paw for Imara to shake.

Imara scowled at Kiume for a long time before looking at the rest of the Lion Guard, who were seen exchanging uncertain looks.

The Strongest looked back towards him, glancing rapidly as her mind raced.

She continued to hesitate.

________________________________

Pride Rock...

The Future Queen tried hard to think her own thoughts, but a force kept her from it. Something, or someone, with their own memories had taken over her very mind and movement.

The Lion Guard vanished from Pride Rock, and the possessed lioness did not know where they could be, she sniffed around for the scent of any Lion Guard member. The trail led her to the Lion Guard Lair. 

Empty. Of Course…

The Water Spirit within Kiara remembered this place, however. She would often lounge in the once abandoned underground lair, discussing her points of view with her fellow lionesses – her original followers. They didn’t seem to live in the Pridelands, despite earning their right to live here.

Suddenly, her focus was broken by the sound of a young mandrill rushing to another section of the Lair. She watched the mandrill from the other side of the wall, well-hidden behind a dense patch of vines.

“Okay, okay, okay…” Makini breathed, “If I were paint restoration materials, where would I be…?”

She brushed small vines out of the way to reveal a shelf holding orange powder.

“Oh, hello, Baadaye powder! Right where I left you. Good thing Rafiki told me to keep this stuff out of the wrong hands. I’m definitely the ‘wrong hands!’”

Something to be kept out of the wrong hands sounded exactly like something Zira’s spirit probably needed. Ever so silently, the golden lioness inched closer to inspect the powder.

“Oh, there’s the restoration stuff!” the mandrill beamed, still not noticing the lioness.

In her excitement, her hand accidentally brushed by the powder on the shelf. Like another lioness, recently, the powder shot into Zira’s eyes. She grunted, but pretty soon, her world took on an orange hue.

Opening her eyes, she could see her perspective change to the top of Pride Rock. She looked down on various animals who leaped and cheered. 

The Pridelands looked drenched. Grass was saturated, mud was everywhere, everyone looked heavily rained on, and yet, they looked elated.

“Our Queen! Our Queen! Our Queen!” the swarm of animals chanted.

Could this be…? Was this Zira’s destiny? 

Will she have won whatever war was coming?

To Be Continued...

________________________________

Author's Notes:

In order to make sense of that chronological mix-up that happened at the end of Lions of the Outlands, I decided to make the exchange Zira and Nuka have be out of confusion and frustration that they were sent back to the Termite Mounds, rather than Disney implying that this is how they discover the Termite Mounds.

Kizimba (Zulu for "cage") is what I call this makeshift wild animal equivalent of a prison. It's comprised of centuries-old, petrified elephant ribs, a pool of molten iron/nickel, and would usually by guarded day-and-night by Janja's hyenas, who volunteered to be Jasiri's enforcers, and had constructed the prison cell (I figured they'd mastered that since they did something like that in the Morning Report episode).

I know Vitani and Jasiri (and the Guard and hyena clan by extension) should be on good terms by the finale of TLG, but something made me feel they weren't quite: Vitani didn't recognize Jasiri and she saw her as a threat first thing in S3E19, which gave me the vibes that she never bothered to befriend her, so I felt that she and the Guard have some more teachings of Zira's to unlearn.

Kiume's passive-aggressive remarks are based a little on how Butterscotch Horseman always laments every minor inconvenience. I can see Kiume being a lot like Butterscotch in a lot of ways: The constant complaining, generalizing women and just about any vulnerable group, etc.

Where would the hypothetical musical number be? I was kinda thinking, since I was going for an evil We Are One type of scene in the first image, perhaps Zira and Vitani would have a sweet yet sinister mother-daughter duet of some kind.

Artist Notes:

This subconsciously came to me as I was drawing it, but I found the first panel slowly looking like something out of the We Are One scene. Fitting considering that this is about unifying, but for sinister and rather eugenicist reasons instead.

The whole idea for the shot in Image 2 may look like something out of a certain other movie. When I very first saw the mouth of the Outlands cave in TLG, I instantly thought of the serpent-shaped cave formation from Road to El Dorado, but instead of butterflies, we have bats, since they're shown to reside in the Outlands.

Did Kiume get some design tweaks to his face and colors along with that noticeably absent mane? Yes, because it has to do with a big lore drop I plan to write/post art of sometime, something I think would bulk up the story retroactively once I start writing the Ao3 Novelization of VG.

Panel 5 was super easy and cathartic to draw, all it took was scratchy, warped cloud patterns and a mostly monochromatic color scheme. It's very much based on the future hallucination sequence in the Disney Villains: Scar comic.

[sneebl]

you have leaves in your hair (i love you) your face looks silly when you pout (i love you) keep dancing excitedly when your favorite song comes on (i love you) tell me about what you did today (i love you) i bought you this (i love you)

[show-us-kaidenshenandoah]

every time i watch anything with him in it (admittingly, predominantly from the Dropout app), i am reminded that Lou Wilson is the most handsome man to have ever lived. like, objectively. he just is. i will hear no arguments for any other person to be ranked higher. Lou Wilson: whose face single-handedly shows humanity can go no higher in beauty. he is THE most attractive man in the world. argue with the wall lmao

[cicada-candy]

I get the sense that Nina is gonna haunt the next season.

[orcelito]

Considering the. Ahem. Ways this year has gone, I've not been thinking about it all that much, but. I did start this year with the motto of Year Of Unfucking My Life. With a few goals involved in that.

I got an official adhd diagnosis, as well as a diagnosis for PCOS. Other diagnoses in progress. Gotten adhd meds and birth control to regulate periods. I've gone back to school and I'm keeping up with it better than ever before. I've even been working on practicing driving, something I've been largely neglecting since I first got my driving permit, um... 11 years ago...

I just need to actually Get my license. And I need to get it before the end of the year. If I can accomplish that, then I'll say the Year Of Unfucking My Life was successful.

[akascow]

just watched 21 jump street and looked up the cast bc thats what i do when i watch movies and found out that there was a tv show also named 21 jump street that the movie was a kinda sorta but not really sequel to the show and that the random cameo with johnny depp at the end was in fact not a random famous comedic actor cameo at all bc he was like the main character in the original tv show and that led me down a weird rabbit hole (incoming pun not intended) and learned about the other cops in that show one of them being Judy Hoffs which if youre like me ur former disney brain immediately connected that to Judy Hopps from zootopia and looked it up to see if it was intentional and apparently the name (and job) similarities were not supposed to be a reference on the zootopia team's part and its "just a play on how rabbits jump" and they were "unaware of the 21 jump street character when naming judy" which i think is some pretty big bullshit because theres no way a character who's first name is Judy and last name is hopps (spelled with two P's the way hoFFs is spelled) and just so happens to also be a young and brand new cop is just a crazy random coincidence

[therevengeoffrankenstein]

i love defending pete wentz against the mania haters who call him the music industry's mr krabs bc he sucks in other ways.

[ultravioart]

Okay so. Dee WAS going to be a wackyass vulgar bully in canon, so.... my Dominion au is going to be......certainly, something. With that out of that way and decided though: I have come to some cute ideas for nicknames between the two. At some point Dominator already calls him Pipsqueak (to his annoyance) and she ends up laughing off his "Miss Dominator, sir!" nonsense until she brings up the idea of having some kind of short hand (mostly to peeve Hater and rub it in his face that she and pipsqueak are on buddy-name basis). I can imagine Peepers stumbling over various honorifics from various languages (notably french ones as well), with Lord Dominator balking and dangerously disagreeing with each one until she's had enough toying and "ugh"s with a "Just call me Dee. (silence) You know, like LD." "Hm... What about Le Dee?" "Hah! Yeah sure, whatever dork." Peepers pops up with a "Sure thing, Lady!" and skedaddles off to his next assignment. "wait--that's not what i--oough you know what? WHO CARES........... PIPSQUEAK!!!" Lady Dee and..... Pipsqueak!!! ultimate evil buddies.

[heavenknowsffs]

Kicking my feet in the air and giggling

[jackalhadrurusluvr]

i fear that i’m a basic bitch and i will, in fact, be romancing lucanis dragon age: the veilguard