#dear freakin’ lord

[daughteroftitania]

WHEN WAS THIS AND WHERE DO I FIND THE VIDEO

…sweet fancy MOSES. 🥵☠️

[drawnfamiliarfaces]

[tbyfandoms]

That’s my movie star boyfriend *whew*

[witchyvyx]

I'm curious to know #2

Oooooo, this is a toughie for me! I’m not hugely into music. Or rather, my funny little ADHD brain doesn’t like only listening to stuff (hence why The Magnus Archives took me so long to finish XD), but I love music so I wanna give it my full attention! So I tend to just bounce around whatever recommendations I get, which are rarely from the same artist, never mind the same album! BUT I have been corrupted by the Seelie King, Hozier, since I saw him live the other week, and have been compulsively listening to his discography… And most of my faves of his are from the ‘Hozier’ album

tldr; Hozier (2014)

[daughteroftitania]

Oh. Oh wow. 🫠

Hey @schadentekkers - new ChrisDrew! (and you’re GOING to want to read this - bloody hell…🥵)

me? writing another pro wrestling fic? more likely than you'd think apparently.

drew parker/chris brookes again. more spit. more boot stuff. it's archive locked but i hope u enjoy :)

[tytarax]

Hi, its been a while since I've heard you've open your requests. Can you do a platonic request for Frieza, where female human S/O acts similarly like Twilight Sparkle. I like to think that she would freak out a little when something logically doesn't make any sense of Frieza just messing with her, cause he can.

Of courseee, it sure sounds funny. There's a friend of mine that's like her and I enjoy bothering her with anything (I'm not as brilliant as her (she's a freakin genius) so I just make things work under my logic), so I got inspired.

“Frieza, this makes absolutely no sense!”

You paced back and forth on the pristine floors of Frieza’s spaceship, a clipboard in one hand and a stylus in the other. Your brows were furrowed, and your eyes darted between Frieza and the incomprehensible mess before you. The tyrant lounged in his chair, tail swishing lazily, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Ah, but that’s the beauty of it, dear,” Frieza drawled, resting his chin on one hand. “It doesn’t need to make sense. I simply will it so.”

You stopped mid-step and spun on your heel to face him, your frustration bubbling to the surface. “That’s not how things work! Logic, rules, cause and effect—these are fundamental principles of the universe! What you’re saying is just… chaos!”

“Precisely,” he replied, his grin widening. “And isn’t it delightful?”

It wasn’t delightful. Not to you, anyway. You gestured emphatically at the display screen, which was showing a gravity simulation that, by all accounts, should have imploded the room. Instead, objects floated serenely, unaffected by the laws of physics.

“Look at this! The equations don’t balance. The energy inputs don’t match the outputs. The… the…” You threw your hands in the air, your voice rising in pitch. “It’s impossible!”

Frieza chuckled, a low, almost musical sound that only deepened your exasperation. “Oh, dear, your obsession with logic is utterly charming. But you forget: I am no mere mortal bound by your quaint little rules. If I desire gravity to behave like a playful child, then so it shall.”

You gaped at him, your brain working overtime to reconcile his words with the reality before you. “But why?” you demanded. “What’s the point of all this?”

Frieza rose from his seat with a fluid grace, his tail flicking behind him as he stepped closer. “Why not?” he said simply, the smug amusement in his voice nearly tangible. “It’s so entertaining to watch you squirm, my dear. You remind me of a bird flapping hopelessly against a cage. Adorable, really.”

You crossed your arms, determined not to let him get under your skin. “Well, it’s not entertaining to me! Do you know how hard it is to solve a problem when you keep rewriting the rules?”

Frieza leaned down, his red eyes glinting with mischief. “Oh, but that’s the point. There is no problem to solve. It’s a game. One you can’t win.”

Your jaw tightened, and you jabbed your stylus in his direction. “If this is a game, then what’s the objective?”

“To watch you unravel, of course.” His smirk widened, utterly unrepentant.

You groaned, dragging a hand down your face. “Unbelievable. You’re doing this just to mess with me.”

“Correct,” he said, his tone dripping with satisfaction. “I must say, your reactions are priceless. Do go on.”

You threw your clipboard onto a nearby table, planting your hands on your hips. “Fine. If you want chaos, I’ll give you chaos. But don’t come crying to me when you can’t fix it.”

“Crying?” Frieza echoed, his voice laced with mock offense. “As if I, Lord Frieza, would ever stoop to such a thing. But by all means, do try.”

Challenge accepted. You marched over to the console and began tapping furiously, your mind racing to devise a way to outsmart his nonsensical alterations. Meanwhile, Frieza watched with keen interest, his smirk never faltering.

“Let’s see how your precious logic fares against divine will,” he mused, reclining once more.

You muttered something under your breath, something that sounded suspiciously like, “This is why I prefer books to people.”

Frieza, of course, heard it. His laughter echoed through the room.

Masterpost

DBS Masterlist

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

Request: Velvet and Eleanor reacting to Magilou flirting with their younger sibling (the reader) right in front of them.

(Tales of Berseria) Velvet and Eleanor reacting to Sibling!Reader getting flirted with

To quote our lord Steve Harvey, "KILL"

Velvet was always protective of Laphicet and (Y/N), even before she became a daemon.

And since (Y/N) was the last person Velvet had in her life, she wasn't going to let anything hurt them.

Even beyond just protecting them from harm, her big sister instincts still remained.

Which meant especially that people trying to engage romantically with (Y/N) was signing their death warrant.

And so enters: The Magilou.

(Y/N) was in the middle of preparing dinner for the night before hearing footsteps approach them.

(Y/N) "Hey, whoever that is, could you pass me the ladle? I need to do a taste test."

(Magilou) "Oh, here you go, dear (Y/N)!"

(Y/N) "...Oh no-"

Magilou hopped in front of them, dramatically extending her hands upwards to the sky, ladle in hand.

(Magilou) "Fear not, for I, the great Magilou, will help prepare a dish fit for the gods above!"

(Y/N) "Respectfully Magilou, I don't need help. Velvet taught me everything I need to know about cooking."

(Magilou) "Surely you jest! There's nothing Velvet can do that I cannot perform better!"

She leaned in close to them with a smirk.

(Magilou) "In fact, ignore your sister for a moment and listen to my advice! You may even win my heart, should you perform well enough!"

(Y/N) "I...doubt that.-"

(Magilou) "WHAT?! Am I not the prettiest woman you have ever laid eyes on?! How can you resist such alluring charms?!"

(Y/N) "Listening to you speak, for one-"

(Magilou) "Psh! It seems a foul mouth runs in the family-"

Suddenly, a young voice came from behind the two.

(Laphicet) "VELVET! MAGILOU IS PICKING ON (Y/N)!"

(Magilou) "What the-HANG ON YA LITTLE TYKE! I WAS JUST-"

Before the three of them could even blink, Velvet closed the distance from seemingly nowhere

Magilou fumbled with the ladle in genuine shock as Velvet began speaking.

Magilou backed off in fear, hiding behind (Y/N).

(Magilou) "H-Hang on now! I was just playing around, it was a goof! It was a gag!"

(Laphicet) "That's not what I heard! You said that both Velvet and (Y/N) had a foul mouth!"

(Magilou) "And you have a loose one, ratting me out like this!"

Velvet grabbed the ladle from the floor, and hit Magilou over the head with it.

Saying nothing else, she scooted Laphicet to sit next to (Y/N) before crouching down and turning to her sibling with a softer expression.

(Y/N) "Sis, you don't have to end Magilou, it's nothing she hasn't done before. And thanks to you too, Laphicet."

Laphicet nodded with a big smile as well.

(Laphicet) "Mhm!...Oh, we need to clean the ladle now!"

(Velvet) "Yeah. Give me a sec and we'll see how you did on the soup."

Magilou rubbed her injury, muttering to herself.

(Magilou) "Freakin' sister complex-"

(Velvet) "I heard that."

Eleanor was completely against (Y/N) joining her as she chased Velvet and her group, but the Abbey had decreed it so.

Which resulted in both of them being taken as "prisoners".

She feared for their lives, but she didn't realize that she also had to fear for their love life.

And she sure as hell would not let (Y/N) date anyone from this group of misfits.

Especially a certain one.

Well, two, actually. But Velvet didn't really seem to care about dating, thank god.

Neither did option one, but that didn't stop her from being an absolute nusiance.

(Magilou) "(Y/N)!"

(Y/N) was offput by her sudden arrival, considering that they were just in their room thinking.

(Y/N) "What the- Why did you kick open my door?!"

(Magilou) "How can our days be brightened without the young exorcist's beloved sibling? Instead of being with us, you are cooped up in your room!"

(Y/N) "E-Eleanor told me to stay here for a little bit. I'm not exactly inclined to against her wishes-"

(Magilou) "Ah, but you are shackled in here, like a bird in a cage! You must let your wings spread out and fly, little dove!"

(Y/N) "I think I'm good, thanks-"

(Magilou) "Y'know, listening to your big sister all the time will leave you maidenless for the rest of your life! She'll shield you from all the joys and wonders of the world!"

(Y/N) "I'm not doing your laundry, Magilou. And neither is Eleanor!"

(Magilou) "Fine, I'll just have to put on my dazzling magics to get you to see reason-"

(Eleanor) "YOU WILL DO NO SUCH THING!"

Eleanor stomped towards Magilou, shoving her outside the room before standing at the doorframe, arms crossed.

(Eleanor) "Do not engage my little brother/sister in your tomfoolery! I will not allow it!"

(Magilou) "See? This is exactly what I'm talking about! Eleanor will prevent any kind of love from blossoming-"

(Eleanor) "BE QUIET!"

She turned to (Y/N), getting even more flustered and angry.

(Y/N) "I don't think any other person will be like Magilou...I-I hope."

(Magilou) "Hmph! Both of you don't know a true dazzler when you see one-"

(Eleanor) "All I see is someone trying to leech off my sibling just to get their laundry done!"

(Magilou) "Why does everyone assume that I'm just here for my stinking clothes?! Can't I be here for romance, drama, or even anything else?!"

(Y/N) and Eleanor glared at Magilou.

(Magilou) "And for your information, I was here to recruit either of you to make dinner instead of me!"

(Y/N & Eleanor) "GET OUT!"

[the-lazyyy-artist]

Who has a wider / bigger mouth: Shidou or Karasu

I think both icl 😆

The kids are asleep, aren't they?

Sigh

They both have wide/big mouths. Can you see how wide Shidou's mouth is whenever he smirk or opens it? Oh, don't get me started with Karasu because that smirk goes all the way and GIRL HE LOOKS SO FREAKIN-????????????

oh dear lord the thoughts in my brain....

[gogobluedynamite]

Curse this sinus infection! Whatever was going on with my niblings have gotten to me and now my throat is jacked up...

And it had to have happened when the TADC Ep4 drops!!!!

But... I digress.

(Spoilers Ahead)

First and foremost...the freakin' animation looks even better! The lighting, how the characters move, their expressions *chef's kiss!*

I love how...mundane this episode was. I can see why Gooseworx warned us about it being boring, but...I don't know. I kinda liked the direction this episode went.

Also...I lowkey knew we were gonna get some Gangle and Zooble interaction, which inspired me to write my recent fic...but this was soooooo cute!!! Not to mention the 'Aw shucks' motion Zooble did when Gangle thanked them for the mask.

And we learn that Gangle was in a managerial position before, so that's interesting. But...man. We also learn that she had dreams of making a webcomic before having them shut down...it really makes me feel sad for her cuz, at a young age, my mom and my dad would always encourage me to improve with my art and writing and, now, I'm trying to improve my writing more and getting into the swing of my art (and might be thinking about doing commissions as a way to make money; why not do something fun for money?). So...seeing that Gangle probably didn't get the same encouragement really broke my heart.

After what happened near the end of the episode...I wonder if Gangle isn't gonna wear her Comedy mask as often or none at all. Granted, she didn't say anything about not wearing it again, but, wearing a 'fake mask' like that isn't exactly good for you. Hell, her keeping her plastic mask on seems to be mentally draining.

I was reading through TV Tropes and whoever was in charge of the edits referred to Gangle's new mask as a Manic mask...which I feel is pretty much fitting. Manic episodes, while typical in bipolar disorders, can happen to people with depression...well, seasonal depression specifically, but as someone who goes through the throws of both seasonal and regular...they're one and the same to me. Manic episodes are like a bad drug, dear Lord...

One of the other highlights of the episode was Jax's reactions to...everything. From him realizing in horror of what their next adventure is gonna be to him being forced to watch the training video, nearly Clockwork Orange style.

And Gummigoo is baaaaaaaaaaack! ...And he doesn't remember Pomni... T.T And Pomni...honey...you are too sweet...I just realized that Pomni was slightly put in the backseat. Which, fair, this is the Gangle episode and I ain't complaining.

In regards to Ragatha's words about preferring Gangle being sad...I want to say that she always didn't like the comedy mask as...well, it's one of those metaphorical masks many of us wear to hide away our true feelings. And Ragatha (maybe) wanted to tell Gangle that, but couldn't think of the right words to say and while high, the words she wound up using was...poorly chosen, at the very least.

Seriously, what is up with that Stupid sauce and how the hell can it effect Ragatha? ...You know what? The less I know, the better.

Caine is still a flippin' delight...but what was up with that glitching near the end? Was it for comedic effect orrrr....

And lastly, Kinger...why were you riding a bull???!!! lol

[chocolate-cake-enthusiast]

chat I’ve become obsessed with Twisters, it’s such a good frEAKIN MOVIE AND AGHHHHHH TYLER OWENS GOOD SIR SAVE A HORSE, RIDE A COWBOY DEAR LORD

and I’ve been listening to Smoke by Connor Price ft. Walker Hayes on loop and I keep thinking of Tyler Owens and now that song is his song and-

Also, Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar Jones did phenomenally. Like their chemistry is amazing✨✨✨

Also Anthony Ramos and Brandon Perea???? Omg????? Love them

[imsparky2002]

Mirrorverse Crossover - Juleka

Julebeast’s claws gripped tightly at the chair she was sitting in. The sorceress noticed this and flashed a taunting grin. “Honestly.” Juleficent cooed. “Can’t we put that little tiff we had last night behind us? Have a pleasant conversation?” The hero couldn’t help but let out a growl as she responded. “How could I ever have a pleasant conversation with you?” Juleficent’s grin grew even wider. “Nonsense! There’s plenty that we can talk about! Our love for the gothic culture, Our beloved Rose…” At the mention of their girlfriend, both Julekas felt themselves soften.

“She is truly one of a kind…” Julebeast replied wistfully. “A lovely petal in a sea of thorns.” The villainess nodded in agreement. “My candy queen is a beacon amongst this flock of mindless drones who believe in…goodness.” She said that last word as if took everything she could not to gag. Outside of the room, both Roses reacted to the words of gratitude by their partners. “See?” Roselle said to her counterpart. “Doesn't it feel nice to see them getting along?” The Candy Queen merely crossed her arms in reluctant agreement. “I suppose.” she muttered. They looked back at the bubble.

“I wonder, my dear, if I may trouble you with a question?” Juleficent asked. “About your... transformation. How on earth did you go from a noble to a beast?” The hero took a deep breath. ” Well…allow me to tell you a story. There once was a princess, lusted after by many.” Julebeast took a moment to scowl as she remembered the countless days having to worry if someone would see her either as a person or an object. “One of those idiots happened to be a decently powerful sorcerer. One night, he came to visit the princess, made his move. And, him being a smarmy little asshole, you can imagine how that went for him.” The villain genuinely looked disgusted. “I take it he was a lout.” She responded.

“Yes, so after she politely turned him down and asked him to leave, he continued to push. She turned him down again… I’m guessing you can put the pieces together from there.” The hero laughed bitterly as she finished her story.

“What a vile creature!” Juleficent hissed. “To think such pigs could exist in our worlds.” Julebeast could only stare at her in a shocked silence. “What?” Juleficent said, sounding hurt. “There’s being evil and then there’s being a crude and objectifying bastard.” The villains observing the conversation agreed.

“OFF WITH HIS HEAD!” screamed the Mad King, swinging his dagger at the air. “He'll be swimming with Davy Jones when I'm done with him!” Reshma Hook snarled, pulling out her sword. ”The lord frowns on such petty hubris!” Simon Frollo exclaimed. Kimton just rolled his eyes.  “You guys are freakin’ out over nothing. What’d he do that was so wrong? She’s the one who-” His remark was cut off when a large burlap fist slammed down upon his head. “I hope you ain’t ferget what happened th’ last time I caught ya disrespectin women?” Ivan Oogie growled. The villainous Kim could only mumble gibberish in response, his eyes struggling to focus due to the blow. Everyone turned back to the bubble to view the two Julekas.

“As infuriating as the actions of that fool who dares call himself a mage, Why did you let him get away with it?” Juleficent asked.

“Why do you throw a bitch fit anytime you get snubbed from a party” The hero countered, as Juleficent’s scepte began to glow.

“As previously discussed, it is a sign of disrespect I can not merely stand idly and tolerate. If you do not fear me, you do not respect me!” she said, haughtily. The hero snickered in response.

“You’re right, I do not fear or disrespect you. But I don’t need to keep you off of a RSVP list, I can just say it to your face.”

Juleficent twitched before deciding to go for the kill.

“Just like I can brag to your face that I never had to play Beehtoven on my transformed brother.”

This insult earned a scratch to the face from Julebeast. Before a brawl can start, both Roses burst into the room and hold their Julekas back.

“My licorice, don't let her get to you, she's not worthy!” QRC pleaded, wiping the blood from her girlfriend’s face. “Let's wait until they sleep, then we can kill 'em!”

The Mistress of Evil nodded, before taking a moment to calm herself. "You are right as always, my queen." she admitted. "Why waste the magnificence of my wrath on these fools?"

“Sweetie, I'm here for you, ok? I'm right here.” Roselle said, soothing JuleBeast down.

“I don’t know what it is about her, Petal. She just…” The hero growled in frustration.

“Knows how to get under your skin. Trust me, I know. You were right to not give in to thoughts of revenge. You'd have thrown your life away, and your own family.”

“I know. Thank you, Rose.” Julebeast responded, hugging her girlfriend while glaring at her counterpart. “But I still hope that dragon bitch gets what’s coming to her in the end.”

“Silly girl, everyone knows that whether hero or villain, the beast is always slain.” Juleficent replied, walking off to her besties Mylensula and YzAlya.

It's finally here! Sorry for the long wait, combo of writers block and school got in the way. It's not as big as some of the other confrontations but tempers are still flying high regardless. Once again thank you so much to @msweebyness for helping out with the dialogue and the idea. Make sure to reblog, reply post and ask for more. @artzychic27 @msweebyness

[joocomics]

to continue the gunil brainrot,, i keep thinking how his arms are just that buffed up cuz of drumming. dear lord him just going insane while playing mitb always haunts me. can i be next sir? 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️ i also keep coming back to this one fancam of his in freakin bad era. HE WAS IN A VEST AND HAS AN ARM BAND LIKE DAMN I WANT TO BITE HIS ARMS SO BADLY OR BE HEADLOCKED BY IT. i gotta be chill...

- 🫧

chill doesn’t exist when we’re talking abt gunil 🤕

and his arms oh my god i have this silly little fantasy… imagine waking up to him, and he’s sleeping on his side facing you. he’s wearing a white tee, and his biceps look so pretty and tempting, they instantly bring up memories from last night when he fucked you relentlessly in a headlock, leaving bruises all over your hips and thighs… you start running your hand up and down his arm, lightly brushing your fingertips on his warm soft skin. it feels so nice it makes you move closer so you can start prepping it with kisses. after he wakes up with a smirk on his sleepy face, you stick out your tongue, letting him feel a few wet smooches on his muscles. playful bites here and there on his biceps. he’s giggling and making jokes about how obsessed you are with his arms, but also having a really hard time ignoring his morning wood 🙈

[verothexeno]

I have some more thoughts after finishing Baldur's Gate 3 a second time. I must indulge - warning for potential spoilers under cut because idk how the post will go.

Halsin's romance, oh my dear LORD.

Never thought I'd giggle so much like a highschooler having a crush. What also made this playthrough really special was that Halsin's character is a lot like my partner's current D&D character: A wood elf (although a Fighter, not a Druid) that has people's well-being at heart and actually carves wooden ducks as well (when I say that I laughed so freakin' loud when Halsin mentionned that in-game, Mat and I couldn't breathe). Bear in mind, we've had our Descent into Avernus game running for 3 years now!! And so to have Kara, also my current D&D character, romance him sort of solidified the actual dynamic we have in our real-life sessions.

And the tenderness, the open expressions of love, the wanting to see a greater good in this world - that is also something that reflects the relationship I have with Mat. So that made me appreciate that romance even more.

And to say that I first wanted to romance Gale, but then got locked out of his romance because of a weird bug.... Then again, now I have no regrets - Kara belongs with him - and I will definitely revisit Halsin's romance when time allows. He's easily become a character I love, especially due to his warmth and sincerity. .... Man, I love all the characters in this fuckin' game, I swear... (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

-CRIES FOREVER-

My next romances to finish are Karlach, Astarion, and Wyll (I'm especially looking forward to Wyll's !! He's among my top favorite characters now!). Shadowheart and Halsin are completed, dunno when I'll get to (retry) Gale and also do Lae'zel. It's a lot of time to invest :')

Also I was surprised about the Emperor... I see how manipulative he can be on many instances, but I think there are genuine moments where you see how he truly wants to be free and be his own "person" again - even if in the end it's to look out for his own gains. I enjoyed his character. For most of my playthroughs now I've been rejecting a lot of the Illithid's "potentials", but I may try to go down that path deeper at some point. Who knows... Also yeah, Kara did fuck with him also, woopsie HEHEEHEHE. She's had ... quite the interesting body count in that playthrough LOL.

ANYWAY, gotta stop rambling for now. I'm just really grateful that such a game exists. It's been so long since I had such experiences...

[calliecat93]

...okay, I enjoyed the original Frozen and Frozen 2 just fine. I am not thrilled that a third one is being made because in my opinion it is unnecessary, even moreso than the second one was. But fine, whatever. I thought that Toy Story 3 was a bad idea and that ended up being a fantastic film, so maybe a Frozen 3 will be good...

...BUT DEAR LORD WE DO NOT NEED A FROZEN 4! ESPECIALLY WHEN THE THIRD ONE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A FREAKIN' PREMIERE DATE ANNOUNCED! I... I don't get it. Hasn't the Frozen Fever mostly ended at this point? At least compared to when the original came out? And almost everyone has made it VERY clear that they're sick and tired of Disney's trends (live action remakes, twist villains/lack of villains, the Frozen overexposure) from the 2010's and are ready to move on. So just... why?!

[decibelcoatl]

Little Heartbeats II

Read on AO3

Behold, the long-awaited sequel no one asked for, but is getting anyway.

Also, Happy Valentine's Day! ♥

-

He awoke to the sound of snow thumping loudly against the balcony door, slowly rising from his bed and the blankets that covered his body. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, Lan turned to notice several imprints on the glass where several snowballs had struck, partly blocking out the moonlight that shone upon his room. Looking around, he was surprised (and relieved) that the noise hadn’t disturbed MegaMan from sleep mode.

What kind of maniac throws snowballs in the middle of the night, and what do they even want from me, he thought as he trudged to the door. The moment he opened it, he found himself being blasted by a rush of cold air, causing him to shiver. It almost reminded him of the time he’d braved a fierce snowstorm trying to restore the weather in Sharo, risking his body heat while MegaMan lit the Cyber Torches.

Well, I’m not going to stand around and freeze to death, he thought with a grumble as he shut the door and locked it as tightly as he could. He started to turn around to get back to sleep, only for the snowballs to resume once more.

Letting out a groan, he returned to open the door once more right as a stray snowball flew right in his face. Lan quickly dodged it and watched as the snowball slammed against his collection of action figures. Some of them wobbled in place, while others fell with a resounding thud.

“You gotta be joking…” Lan sighed, putting a hand to his forehead. All that time spent organizing his collection, only for it to be partly wasted. At least none of them broke, including that limited edition Owl Guard figurine. Lord knows how much Zenny he’d spent on that figurine, and having it broken meant his efforts would have been all for naught!

Well, putting the figurines back in place would have to wait until tomorrow. Right now, he needed to find out the cause behind those snowballs.

“Finally awake and showing your sleepy face?” a familiar girlish voice called out to him from below. Lan turned around to find none other than his dear friend Mayl standing below the balcony. Her ruby eyes were shimmering as she grinned from ear to ear.

“M-Mayl?! What are you even doing here?! It’s the freakin’ middle of the night!”

The girl quickly shushed him before beckoning him to come down. Lan sighed as he went back inside and closed the door. “She better owe me an explanation,” he muttered to himself as he slipped on his bandana. He then headed downstairs to put on his coat and boots before opening the door and stepping outside.

To his astonishment, a gentle snowfall had descended upon ACDC Town, blanketing the whole world in pure white. Up above, the moon was as bright and silvery as ever, coupled with the glittering stars that dashed across the endless black sky. His breath caught in his throat and his hands unconsciously clasped over his chest as his heart began to beat at a slightly faster tempo.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Lan stifled a yelp of surprise upon hearing Mayl’s voice, causing him to turn around to find his best friend right beside him.

“M-Mayl, don’t sneak up on me like that!” Lan scolded her. “You almost gave me a heart attack!”

But Mayl only giggled. He looked so adorable when he was flustered like this – that was one of the reasons why she liked him…more than he realized.

“Sorry about that,” she said. “But there’s something I want to show you. I think you’ll love it!”

She was always like that. Lan had known this aspect of her for as long as he could remember. When they were little and their friendship was nothing more than a bud, she’d take him wherever she wanted to take him, show him what she wanted to show him, and more. He’d been lonely for much of his early life – a fact made more prominent when he learned that MegaMan was his identical twin brother Hub, who died of HBD when they were only one. But he knew he’d be lying if he said he didn’t appreciate Mayl’s company.

Back then, Lan was much more timid and sheltered, with his only “friends” being his dad’s colleagues from SciLab. Mayl, on the other hand, was much more brave and outgoing, and also a secret fantasy nerd. A complete contrast to their present selves, except for the third aspect. Lan never stopped hanging around SciLab, and Mayl continued being a secret fantasy nerd.

With little warning, Mayl grabbed Lan’s hand and began dragging him down the streets. Lan opened his mouth to protest against her act of throwing him off-balance, only to quickly close it upon laying his eyes on her smile – that damned, beautiful smile that always seemed to make his ears burn and his heart race these days (and all without him knowing or understanding why).

Without even thinking, he gently squeezed her hand back as she continued dragging him along. She wanted to show him something she thought he might like; there was not a snowball’s chance in hell he was going to ruin it over something so trivial!

As the two passed by snow-covered buildings and trees, Lan kept his gaze trained on the snowflakes that lazily fell from the sky, noticing the contrast between now and during the snowstorm crisis in Sharo. It made him wonder how Raika and SearchMan were doing back there. Perhaps he should write an e-mail to them sometime, even though he and Raika weren’t exactly what one would call friends.

“And here we are!” Mayl’s chipper voice snapped Lan out of his reverie. He looked down and let out a choked gasp to find a view most beautiful.

There, right before the two, was a sprawling lake encrusted with white snow. Its surface was clear and reflective as any mirror as starlight and moonlight danced upon it, while snowflakes whirled about it in their slow movements. Not a creature was stirring, save for the occasional hoot of an owl or two, and there was nothing that could disturb the stillness of the lake.

All things considered, it was a view and a moment most resplendent.

…Until he decided, against his better judgement, to open his mouth.

“So…you brought me here to tell me that you found yet another possible portal to that realm of witches?”

He was quickly punished by a sharp jab in the ribs, followed by a swift kick to the back of his legs that knocked him off-balance. He grunted in pain as his back met the cold, hard earth, knocking whatever air he had stored in his lungs straight out of them.

He lay there, wheezing for a few moments before slowly sitting up to brush out some snow that had gotten into his hair. He then turned to glare up at the girl, who had turned away with her arms crossed and a pouty expression on her face. “What the hell was that for, Mayl??”

“You’re such a moron, Lan,” Mayl simply retorted. “I didn’t bring you here just to show off some portal!”

“Then what?” Lan rose back to his feet and dusted the snow off his pajama pants, muttering half to himself about how he was going to have them air-dried in the morning.

Just as quickly as she had lost her temper, Mayl was able to regain it as she looked out at the lake. “I heard this place was at its most beautiful in winter, when the sky was clear and there was no one around,” she explained. “I’ve always wanted to see it for myself, but never really got the chance to do so…until now.”

Lan raised an eyebrow. “And you decided to bring me here because…?”

There was a pause as Mayl shuffled her feet in the snow, sprinkling the fluffy pink trim of her boots with a powdery white. She then looked up bashfully at him with a light pink blush on her face.

“Lan,” she began. “Do you know what today is?”

Lan found himself absentmindedly flicking a snowflake off his nose. “No…?”

The girl let out a sigh. “Of course you wouldn’t,” she muttered half to herself before turning to face him. “It’s Valentine’s Day!”

Oh.

Oh crap.

He always forgot about THAT day! The day when he would receive so many cards that he’d go completely speechless, and so many chocolates that he could stuff himself full if he wanted to (though not without receiving a scolding from MegaMan). He knew Mayl would have plenty of competition that day, with all the other girls fawning over him – except Yai, who saw him as more of an older brother figure.

He turned away as he put a hand to his chest, his heart pounding a little bit more than usual.

Mayl frowned. “Is there something wrong, Lan,” she asked.

“W-well,” the boy stammered. “It’s got nothing to do with you, or the scenery. And I do appreciate coming out here with you, even if you had to drag me out here in the middle of the night…but…”

How could he formulate his next thoughts into words? It had been a few months since the fall of the Nebula crime syndicate and the permanent deletion of Nebula Grey. Dr. Regal had been completely reformed through mysterious circumstances, but he and Dr. Hikari were certainly on better and more friendly terms now that they were colleagues in SciLab.

Despite all that, however, Lan just couldn’t shake the feeling of regret and guilt that was building up inside of him. All this time, he’d been hiding so much from Mayl, Dex, Yai…even his own mother, whom he’d disobeyed for the sake of working alongside Chaud and Baryl to rescue his father and put a stop to Regal’s abuse of the SoulNet. In the end, they did succeed…but Lan was worried that he had put a wedge between himself and Mayl in the process.

He recalled how upset and distressed she was when she learned the truth. The only thing he could do was comfort her with words of reassurance that he would rescue Roll, GutsMan and Glyde, and all the other Navis who were corrupted by Regal’s Dark Chips, and that he would come back to her…and even then, he knew these words were just illusions to keep her out of any more danger than she was in now.

He turned his attention to the distant horizon, taking note of an owl that had just crossed his line of sight before vanishing into the dark canopy of the trees.

“It’s not on you, Mayl,” he spoke rather absentmindedly. “It’s on me.”

Mayl blinked in surprise. “What do you mean?”

Lan let out a shaky breath as he felt his eyes begin to water. “During the SoulNet incident, I’ve been nothing but selfish. I lied about teaming up with Chaud and Baryl, I hid the fact that I was operating within Higsby’s chip shop to take down Nebula…hell, I even disobeyed my own mother about staying put! And all because I was too weak and selfish to stop Regal from hurting the one closest to me! If I hadn’t asked Dad to bring you, Dex and Yai along, Roll and the others wouldn’t have been kidnapped, and the whole mess wouldn’t have happened to begin with!”

You don’t deserve me.

Tears were now streaming down his cheeks, but he pushed himself to continue. “I’ve done nothing but screw things up. I couldn’t protect my family. I couldn’t protect my friends. I couldn’t even protect myself or Hub. I pushed everyone away to try and change who I really was.”

He lowered his head and wiped the tears from his eyes. “Chaud was right…I’ll always be just a burden.”

You deserve better.

The feeling of Mayl’s pinkie finger intertwining with his own caught Lan’s attention as she inched closer to him. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Lan, and you were never a burden,” she told him as gently as she could. “You did the best you could – no one can blame you for that.”

She leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder as she bumped her wrist against his, smiling softly. “The fact that you’re still here is more than enough. After all, you mean the world to me. I brought you here to remind you that there’s more to life than stopping cyber terrorists.”

A light blush appeared on Lan’s cheeks as her kind words touched him. He could almost swear the beating of his heart filling his ears as it hammered within his ribcage.

“I…I don’t know what to say,” he whispered.

Without warning, she suddenly wrapped her free arm around him, pulling him in for a hug. Lan was completely caught off-guard at first, but then slowly returned the embrace. He felt a warm feeling overcome him as he did, and he couldn’t help but smile a little.

“By the way,” Mayl said as they pulled away and she placed a finger on the tip of his nose.

“U-um, yes?”

“No more putting yourself down and calling yourself a burden,” she admonished him. “Or I’m going to get really mad.”

Lan gulped, but smiled sheepishly and nodded. “A-as you wish, captain,” he replied.

His only response was a silly little giggle that escaped the girl’s mouth.

* * *

After what seemed like a long time, Lan and Mayl decided it was time to head home. Though Lan would have liked to spend just a little more time at that moonlit lake, he also knew that if stayed there too long, MegaMan would likely get suspicious.

The two of them spent the entire return trip home in complete silence, taking in the gentle snowfall that surrounded them and the quiet, snowy town of ACDC. The only lights to guide them other than the moon or stars were the streetlights that illuminated their path, and even then there wasn’t anyone around except for themselves.

All the while, Lan kept Mayl close to him, his hand held in hers. He could feel his heart thumping a happy tune in his chest as his cheeks became flushed. Normally, such display of affection from Mayl would have left him feeling bewildered and confused. But tonight was not the case.

Tonight, he just felt happy having her by his side.

Plus, Valentine’s Day was coming up. Maybe for once he should try and get a bit more involved this year (provided he didn’t die of secondhand embarrassment first).

“Well, here we are,” Mayl’s voice broke the peaceful silence as they finally arrived back home.

Lan let out a sad sigh as he reluctantly let go of her hand, knowing that this would be a parting of ways for now. But at the same time, he also knew that they would meet again in school.

“I had a lovely time going out with you,” Mayl chirped, drawing his attention back to her. She had her hands behind her back as she smiled her brightest yet (damn, she could outshine both the sun and moon with that smile if she could!) “Even if it meant having to wake you up in the middle of the night.”

Lan remained speechless. Then, he chuckled. “I-it’s alright,” he replied, averting his eyes and clutching his right arm with his left hand. “I had a nice time, too.”

Mayl smiled, drawing out those adorable dimples on her face as she did.

Then let out a yawn.

“Well,” she said drowsily. “I’d better get some sleep. You’d better, too.”

Lan chuckled. “Heh, yeah,” he commented, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. “I bet MegaMan is probably out of sleep mode and wondering where I snuck off to.”

Mayl giggled. “I bet Roll is, too. Well, see you.”

She then turned on her heel and began to walk towards the front door of her house. Lan did the same, but only took a few steps before he paused.

“H-hey, um…Mayl?”

“Hm?” Mayl turned to him, her eyes brimming with curiosity.

Lan took a deep breath and turned to face her, this time with a much more genuine smile. “Thanks for what you told me back there,” he said. “You…” He turned away and blushed while maintaining eye contact with her. “You mean the world to me, too.”

Mayl’s eyes widened with surprise at this statement. She hadn’t expected Lan to say something like that, especially after all that emotional turmoil he went through.

Still, she couldn’t help but smile warmly. She was glad she was able to at least help him in her own way, even if it wasn’t what either of them had expected. It felt like a weight had been lifted off both their shoulders, and they could finally rest easy with the knowledge that Nebula was gone for good.

“I’m glad,” she said. “Well, see you tomorrow.”

Lan nodded as she watched her disappear behind the front door of her house. “Yeah…see you.”

He stood for just a little while longer before a sleepy feeling came over him. He decided it was best to get home and get some rest.

As he approached the door, he took one last look outside, taking in the moonlight that shone upon the streets, and smiled. Tonight might not have been what he had expected in the slightest, but he knew in his heart that it was one he would treasure for as long as he lived…just being that that moonlit lake, alone with the one person who mattered the most to him.

[knight-of-the-graces]

I… have a few. (This was originally in the tags but there wasn’t enough room so you get this in post form instead.)

“So Will I” by Ben Platt. I heard this for the first time and immediately sent it to my best friend. It’s us. In every possible way, this song is us. My friend has anxiety (and so do I) and neither of us have had great luck with friends who actually stuck around and weren’t objectively terrible. So the call-and-response, of an anxiety and a reassurance… really feels like the two of us. But particularly:

“Well, I can move a mountain / But only by your side”.

Because… I can. But only by their side.

“The Line” by The Accidentals. This is a newer one, but…

“One day we’ll talk about what stars used to be like”.

I can’t. I can’t.

Then there’s… about half the hymns we sing at my church. Can’t list them all right now. And, on the subject of Christian songs, “Dear Younger Me” by MercyMe. Just… listen to it. You’ll understand. It’s good for my aforementioned anxiety.

“Home” by Gabrielle Aplin. It’s… such a neurodivergent song. Just, the first two lines: “I’m a phoenix in the water / A fish that’s learned to fly”. Tell me that isn’t how being neurodivergent feels. And, as someone who’s always wanted to wander back into Tir na nOg to my faerie family, or to find my way back to my fellow trolls in the mountain… yeah. A fish that’s learned to fly indeed.

“Home” by mgk, X Ambassadors, and Bebe Rexha. Yes, songs about home make me cry. A lot. But, even with the changeling-esque nature of the previous song…

“Home / A place where I can go / To take this off my shoulders/ Someone take me home”

“A place where even if there’s no closure, I’m still safe”.

And, well… I love my home. It is my safe place. My favourite place. My favourite people. Home. A place where I belong. And nothing —come hell or high water— will keep me from it, and them.

To give me the strength to look the devil in the face and make it home safe”. That line feels like a freakin’ prayer to me. Lord, give me the strength.

“Brother” by Kodaline. It’s me and my unofficially-adopted siblings. I can’t just pick ‘a few’ lyrics from this one, it’s the whole song.

“We’ve taken different paths / And travelled different roads / I know we’ll always end up on the same one when we’re old”. We’re… going in very different directions at the moment. Different colleges, different career paths, different dreams. But, well… I know we’ll always end up on the same one when we’re old.

“And when you’re in the trenches / And you’re under fire I will cover you”. We’re the ‘weird’ kids. And yeah, we covered each other’s backs from bullies. Always. And it definitely felt like the trenches sometimes.

“If I was dying on my knees / You would be the one to rescue me / And if you were drowned at sea / I’d give you my lungs so you can breathe”. I would. I’d die for them. I’d walk through fire if they needed me to. Heck, I thought I’d have to at one point, and I was completely at peace with that.

“Though we don’t share the same blood / You’re my brother and I love you that’s the truth”. We’re family. I don’t care that we aren’t related. I love them and they love me and that’s about as good as it gets.

“Five years, twenty years, come back / It’ll always be the same”. …yeah. Yeah, it will.

Just… listen to it. Listen to it and think about the friends you love most.

If yes, tell me what it is in the tags!