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phoenix-downer · 2 years ago

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Enchanted Neighborhood Chapter 4

~2275 words. Sora/Kairi. Post-Canon. Family AU, SoKai Parents AU. Reunions, Fluff, Winnie the Pooh.

This is a sequel to After Ever After and Love’s Cost. There are five chapters total and the story will update weekly on Fridays.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

Summary: Sora introduces his kids to his friends in The Hundred Acre Wood, and they make new memories together.

Haruto wasn’t sure where to look as he followed Dad, Emi, and Pooh. Having a Keyblade was awesome if it meant they got to go on adventures like this. Up ahead was that table they saw in the book, and at the table were a small pink pig, a mopey donkey, two kangaroos, a rabbit with a scowl on its face, a whistling gopher, a rambling owl, and a purple elephant.

Cool, more talking animals. It was too bad the animals back home didn’t really talk. Guess these guys in Pooh’s world were more like Uncle Donald and Uncle Goofy than Destiny Islands creatures.

The rabbit seemed to be scowling at a flash of orange streaking back and forth near the table. “Tigger,” he said as the streak sent everyone’s napkins flying, “stop bouncing around and—”

"The wonderful thing about Tiggers is Tiggers are wonderful things!” the orange and black-striped tiger sang as he bounced on his tail, completely ignoring the rabbit. “Their tops are made out of rubber! Their bottoms are made out of springs!”

“Tigger!” Dad cried, his eyes lighting up, and Tigger stopped bouncing. All the other animals looked at Dad, and their faces brightened and all of them but the donkey smiled. Even the donkey’s eyes got a little brighter though, so Haruto figured that was the best he could do.

Wow, these talking animals must really, really like Dad for them to all be so happy to see him.

“Sora!” they all cried, and a moment later, Tigger sprung at Dad, knocking him over and making them both roll over the green grass. Dad’s laughter filled the air and when they finally settled, he had a big smile on his face.

When Dad smiled like that, Haruto felt like everything was gonna be okay. Memories of when he was little and Dad seemed invincible came to mind. But seeing Dad like this really drove home that he’d been a kid once. Which meant maybe he understood all the weird teenage and growing up stuff too.

The other animals quickly joined Tigger in greeting Dad. Dad got a whole bunch of hugs and head pats as he greeted them all. It helped that he remained on the ground so he was closer to their level. It reminded Haruto of all the times Dad had dropped to his knees to be eye level with him when he was younger. How it made him feel safer and more comfortable.

“Piglet!” Dad cried. “Rabbit! Kanga and Roo! Gopher! Owl and Lumpy! And Eeyore too! It’s so good to see everyone again.”

Dad really was good at this stuff, wasn’t he? No wonder he had so many friends.

“It’s s-so good to see you again t-too, S-Sora,” Piglet said, his little pink face beaming. Dad giggled and lifted Piglet up with ease.

“Oh man, is it good to see you again, Piglet! You haven’t gotten blown away by any strong breezes recently, have you?”

Piglet shook his head. “N-No. P-Pooh has kept me very g-grounded.”

Dad carefully set Piglet down. “Good, glad to hear it. And Rabbit, how are your vegetables doing?”

“There are good days and there are bad days,” Rabbit said. “Maybe they’d grow better if someone stopped bouncing through my fields.” He gave Tigger a pointed look, but Tigger just said hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo and kept bouncing. Did Tigger ever stop bouncing?

“And your tunnels Gopher?” Dad asked. “How are those going?”

“Same as ever, sonny,” Gopher whistled. He dug into the ground to demonstrate, and Dad commented on how awesome his digging was. Again, Haruto was impressed by how Dad knew exactly what to say to his friends. It wasn’t at all like how goofy and awkward Dad could be back home.

“Owl?” Dad asked next. “How are your relatives?”

Owl cleared his throat and puffed out his chest. “I’m glad you asked. My Uncle Albert recently went to sea again, and…”

The other animals groaned, and Owl rambled on for a good couple of minutes about Uncle Albert’s misadventures before Dad politely shut him down and turned to the elephant. “Lumpy? How’ve you been?”

“I’ve been great, thank you, Sora,” Lumpy happily trumpeted, and Dad smiled and patted Lumpy’s head.

“Eeyore?” Dad asked the donkey next.

“My house got knocked over again,” Eeyore replied, his voice dull and lifeless.

Dad scratched his cheek, a pained smile on his face. “Oh, sorry to hear that.” That was definitely his ‘this is an awkward situation and I don’t really know what to say’ look, but he was trying.

“Don’t be,” Eeyore replied, “it’s probably my fault anyway.”

Dad didn’t say anything to that, just turned to the two kangaroos. “Kanga? Roo? You doing okay?”

“Better than ever!” Roo said, his little face beaming as he bounced up and down much like Tigger.

“It’s good to see you again, Sora,” Kanga said. “And who are these people with you?”

Dad’s smile got really big, but before he could say anything, Pooh interrupted. “They’re Sora’s children. Sora’s a father.”

“That’s right,” Sora said, beaming proudly at the three of them. “These are my kids. Kairi and I got married, and I’m a father now. This is Emi, our youngest,” he said, ruffling Emi’s hair. Emi giggled and beamed up at Dad. “She’s eight years old now and very good at hide-and-seek. You’ll have to challenge her to a round.”

“Yes!” Emi cried. “I’d love to play hide-and-seek!”

“We can play after tea,” Rabbit said amiably.

Dad looked to Miyu next, and she cleared her throat and introduced herself. “Oh, I’m Miyu. I’m fifteen, and, um, I like reading books and playing tag?” she offered. The animals all greeted her politely and promised to supply storybooks and play tag after tea.

“Guess it’s my turn,” Haruto said. “My name’s Haruto, and I’m Sora’s son. I like running, painting, and guessing games.” He grinned as the animals greeted him. Was he proud to be Dad’s son? Yeah, yeah he was. And it wasn’t just because Dad was cool now. No, ever since Mom had told them what Dad did for her and then Dad had nearly died saving them, Haruto could deal with a few dorky Dad-isms because Dad was a good guy. And seeing him today, he could see why Dad was so well-loved.

“Well, shall we?” Pooh asked, gesturing towards the table. The group took their seats, and Miyu was on Haruto’s left and Dad was on his right. To Dad’s right was Emi, and the animals were seated at various other spots at the table.

Eeyore, who was seated on Miyu’s left, gave her a morose look. “Sorry you have to sit next to me,” he told her in a flat, lifeless tone.

“Oh, it’s okay,” Miyu replied. She looked at Haruto, clearly trying not to giggle, and he just shrugged.

“Here, dears, have some tea,” Kanga said as she carefully poured them all cups of tea. Roo added cream for them, and Gopher dropped a few sugar cubes in as Owl stirred with one of his claws grasping a spoon. Pooh dropped lumps of honey into the tea with plenty of helpings for himself in between, and Tigger bounded around singing about how delicious a good afternoon tea was. Lumpy used his trunk to carefully place the cups of tea and little plates of cookies in front of them, and Haruto tried to be on his best behavior. Really though he had to sneak a lot of looks at Miyu to remember all those obscure rules Mom and Dad had tried to teach them about fancy dinners and afternoon tea.

The conversation was lively and the cookies and tea were pretty good. Presently, Dad asked him, “You having fun?” in a low voice. Dad’s eyes were bright and he was taking in everything around them like an eagle watching a field.

“Yeah, I am.” Haruto said, then frowned. Dad was clearly having fun. A lot of fun seeing friends he hadn’t seen in ages. Haruto thought about his conversation with Miyu earlier. How much fun and how many old friends had Dad given up for their family?

Of course Dad noticed something was up. “Hey, what’s wrong?” he said under his breath as he reached for his spoon.

“I’m fine,” Haruto said, then caught himself. Nah, he wasn’t fine, he had something on his mind, and it would hurt Dad to push him away. “Um, it’s nothing bad, I just have some stuff I want to ask you. Can we talk about it later?”

Dad’s expression softened. “Sure.”

The tea party was fun, and Owl regaled them with story after story of his aunts and cousins and uncles and other relatives until Tigger challenged them all to a bouncing match. When they were all bounced out, they took a brief break and then played hide-and-seek and tag. Once they were worn out from that, they returned to the table to read storybooks, paint, and play guess who games. Miyu and Emi both giggled when Dad put on one of those goofy sets of glasses with a fake mustache, and Haruto cracked a grin too.

Dad laughed and ruffled his hair. It was funny how Dad was just a little shorter than him now but was still acting so Dad-like. “See, the secret to being cool is being willing to make a complete fool of yourself,” he said, gesturing to his goofy glasses. “It’s when you care too much what other people think that you’ll have a hard time.”

“But you care what we think,” Miyu pointed out.

Dad’s expression softened, and he took off the glasses. “Of course I do. You’re my kids, and I love you with all my heart.”

Man, didn’t Dad ever get embarrassed about so openly admitting to stuff like that? But he wasn’t embarrassed, he was smiling like he really meant what he said. And Haruto knew he did. Maybe that was why he could say he loved them so easily, so openly.

“We love you too,” Miyu mumbled, her face red, and Haruto nodded.

“We do!” Emi cried. “You’re the bestest Daddy.”

Dad smiled, but a moment later, a tear ran down his cheek. He started and then chuckled as he wiped his face. “This again, huh? I guess no matter what age I’m still a softie.” He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling awkwardly.

“You are,” Haruto agreed, “But that’s okay.” It would be weirder if Dad didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve.

“And you shouldn’t change,” Miyu said quietly. “Don’t ever change, okay?”

Dad’s eyes softened. “I won’t. No matter what I look like, I’m still me.” He rested his hand over his heart as if to prove it.

Emi grinned, a mischievous spark in her eyes, and Dad raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Wait till Mommy sees you!”

Dad laughed. “Oh man, she’s gonna be in for the shock of her life. Seeing me like this again, I wonder what she’ll say.” He rested his hand on his chin as he thought about it.

Lumpy’s big ears perked up. “How’s Kairi? Is she doing okay?”

“She’s doing great,” Dad said. “She’s pregnant again, but once the baby’s born, I’ll bring her to visit, I promise.”

At this revelation, Dad’s friends all cheered and celebrated and congratulated him. Dad couldn’t stop smiling, and it made Haruto excited about meeting his younger brother too. Another younger sister would be cool, but Haruto just had this hunch he was gonna have a younger brother, and he couldn’t wait to meet him.

When Emi was busy playing with Dad’s friends some more, he pulled Haruto and Miyu aside to a nearby creek with a grassy riverbank.

“Is now a good time to talk?” he asked. “I can tell you both have something on your minds.”

Haruto looked at Miyu, and then they both nodded. The three of them sat down, and Dad took his shoes and socks off and let his feet soak in the cold water. Haruto and Miyu joined him, and Haruto wasn’t really sure how to start. Thankfully, Miyu spoke up.

“It’s just that… meeting your old friends, we’re realizing how much you had to give up for us. For our family.”

“Yeah,” Haruto said. “And also, you were really young when everything happened. I guess in my mind you were always eternally ‘Dad,’ but today I fully realized you were just a kid when a lot of your adventures happened.”

“I was,” Dad said softly, “and it’s why Mom and I wanted you guys to have a normal childhood. And having a family was something we both wanted. I won’t lie and pretend it wasn’t an adjustment, but you’re our greatest adventure, and we wouldn’t change a thing about our family.”

He smiled and put his arms around each of them. Emi joined in too, giving Dad a hug from behind, and soon all of Dad’s animal friends had joined in. The group sat at the creek and chatted and had fun until the sun sank low in the sky. At that point Haruto felt a strange tingling in his arms and legs, and he looked at Miyu to see if she felt the same thing. The expression on her face told him that yeah she did.

“Guess it’s time to go,” Dad said as he started fading in and out too. “Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Gopher, Owl, Lumpy, we’ll be back soon, okay?”

A chorus of agreement sounded out, and Dad grinned. “And next time, I’ll bring Kairi too!”

With that they felt themselves being swept out of the book.

#kingdom hearts #sokai #sora #kairi #sora x kairi #sora/kairi #kh fanfiction #sokai parents #sokai parents au #sokai family #sokai family au #phoenix writes #phoenix-downer #post-canon #reunions #fluff

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idv-thespians · 2 years ago

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*slides in* did someone want voice headcanons/ih

Liam always gave off Eeyore vibes when I first kind of met him but now all I can imagine is the stupid Ghost Host whenever I see him talk. If he ever says “Welcome, foolish mortals” for any reason I might just lose my mind/lh

Shiloh kinda just. I mean this in the most loving way Fifi but I get Byakuya vibes and only Byakuya vibes. Oh and Helbram JP I just the bastard energy is so good

Hugo is another Winnie the Pooh case. I’m sorry he just is akdksksk also shoutout to Escanor but even more softer sounding because yes

Quinn sounds like one of my irl friends but in an insulting way/lh but also Cloud Strife because I think the dead but serious but also soft side fits him so well…

Elaine gets the Kaede Akamatsu treatment (lovingly)

THE FUNNY THING IS I’ve always imagined Elaine with a very low voice for a woman. Like a super motherly voice but i get where Kaede comes from HAHAHHA our pretty queen deserves a pretty voice

Liam’s is about spot on but like. His voice is a lot smoother, like very little grit (unlike Quinn) in his voice, esp since he’s canonically good at singing. Maaaybe a bit higher than Ghost Host but he could probably pull off the impression if he wants to�� but not gonna lie Liam with a low voice would be so unbelievably sexy

QUINN… the funny thing is two voices fight in my head one is smth like what you mean the other is lower but i think it’s just. His irritated voice vs his normal voice ( smoking bad for throat. Voice sounds a bit rough too ) his voice is less dead but soft but more of. tired of life in an irritated way and soft lmao

HUGOOOOO??? I’ve always imagined him with a much higher voice but holy shit low voice Hugo might actually be super cool too… I can’t go back anymore what have you done /lh

I totally get Shiloh. The man is walking bastard. I can feel the bastardness and i feel the assholeness HAHHAAHA, it fits and i like how. Its kinda within the vocal range i had in mind for him ( kinda high for a guy, but he can go lower if he wanted to )

#trailer // ask #masked // shiloh monroe #dimmed lights // liam hubert #adroit // quinn stewart #faded pages // elaine schreiber #reserved scripts // hugo drakenburg

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so-emo-i-fell-apart · 1 year ago

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Yes please do bc now I’m interested

Lmao alright a fact from each ig

MCR- between 9/11 and when gerard actually got people together to start the band he had turned down a job to draw for spider-man comics

FOB- this band exists essentially because patrick is a nosy little shit and thought he knew the most about music (this happened in a book store)

Poison- when the lead guitarist didn't want to move to LA to pursue the band the remaining members had to find a new guitarist. Being from Pennsylvania they wanted another east coast guitarist. Which is the main reason they chose CC Deville over Slash (who later went on to join Guns n Roses), even tho the majority of the band hated him at first (and then again later there's a rocky history)

Transformers- Peter cullen (the original voice actor for Optimus Prime) voiced multiple characters throughout the original series (most notably Ironhide) and reprises his role on many of the shows and movies including the live action michael bay films. Frank Welker (the original megatron voice) has also done this! My favorite of their rolls outside of transformers would have to be Peter Cullen as Eeyore in winne the pooh and frank Welker made all the lion noises in the animated lion King movie with trash cans :3

Bonus transformers because pride month- Arcee is canonically trans which further supports the head canon I had where more or less the "female" transformers are an extinct species every female transformer we see in the series is a trans girl! In the original series until arcee and elita were introduced we don't see any female transformer! But even among thag there are still very few the others being chromia and moonracer. I can't even think of any female deceptions off the top of my head (not including maximals and predicons from beast wars this is a bit different as they're technically the same species but evolved in a way)

This is probably more than yiu bargained for (pun intended) but I hope you enjoyed

#asks #number1gal #fall out boy #my chemical romance #poison band #transformers

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cryptid-killjoy · 4 years ago

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@wicked-legacies

Once up on blustery day in Eeyore’s gloomy past he tried to tell a girl how he felt about her. He stood up in a mall full of mischievous lost boys and sang a song to girl a with blonde hair who seemed just as cursed as him. The Forbidden Forest of the Hundred Akre Woods didn’t even have to touch her for disaster to keep raining over her. There was a lot of craziness that went down after the performance with lost boy havoc. Cinderella was caught up in another boy, had some sort of hat on covering a hair issue, gems possibly stuck right to her face. She didn’t stay long and she never seemed to get he was serenading her. She was too caught up in Flotsam Laveau. Eeyore didn’t understand it. Flotsam scared him. But, he’d support his best friend, the best friend who never realized hers had been falling for her.

Later on, he’d actually written a song just for her. Eeyore had to accept how things were going. They weren’t going to go his way again, as usual. It didn’t matter that he lost the girl. It didn’t matter that she never seemed to notice him in that way at all. He cared enough to take his place where she allowed him in. Best friends they would always be. That’s how he came to write Cinderella her own song. He recorded a few and put them on a CD. She didn’t even know how to use one back then. He had to show her how and she almost killed him doing it. She got so emotional over it the car they sat in to listen to it together nearly crushed them from her destructive magic.

Life went on. Eeyore went on as he always did having lots of adventures, some sad, some kinda glad. Between cursed Zoltar machines and many stories written in very special books for him, adventures with her, lost boys, and far off lands across the sea continued. He was there for her for every child she bore and loved being Uncle Eeyore. He went on with his little gay boy life too and put the anomaly of ever wishing Cinderella would see him as special behind him.

Currently, as the pages turned, Eeyore found Cinderella was in a very gloomy chapter of her own story. So, he put the song he’d written for her so many years ago on a new CD and tied it to her Little House door handle with a pink bow, big and fluffy, like the one on his tail. He thought maybe she needed a reminder of what he wrote back then, different circumstances, but it didn’t matter, because every single word still held true to this day.

She might not have had to carry the weight of the world, but she always did anyway. Eeyore knew she might not ever stop, but he’d be there every step of the way.

The outside of the CD would say

“ No matter what a Cinderella will always be an Eeyore’s best friend. “

"Weight Of The World" Who's to say there's a way this has to end? We're writing our own rules Who's to blame? Give me names and what they said. Oh how could they hurt you? And when you crumble away under pressure... You need to borrow my strength and I'll let ya. It's getting heavier hold, hold it steadier. I see... Life is throwing you curves. You can make it Take it in, try again, you don't deserve this I just wanna save you. You can take it on the chin. Try again. You'll make it... You don't have to carry the weight of the world. You don't have to carry the weight of the world. Separate what you hate from what you love. Once and for all... And if you tumble my way I can catch ya. If you follow my lead, And I'll bet ya its feeling heavier. Hold, hold it steadier. I see... Life is throwing you curves. You can make it. Take it in, try again, you don't deserve this. I just wanna save you. You can take it on the chin. Try again. You'll make it... You don't have to carry the weight of the world. You don't have to carry the weight of the world. Life is throwing you curves. You can make it. Take it in, try again, you don't deserve this. I just wanna save you. You can take it on the chin. Try again. You'll make it... You don't have to carry the weight of the world. Don't have to... carry the weight... You don't have to carry the weight of the world. Carry the weight of the world. Who's to say there's a way this has to end?

#music #cinderella's song #memories #head canon #eeyore's head canon #and yes i may not have the old blog anymore #but I remember the exact video from eeyore at the mall #I bawled my eyes out back then when she didn't pay attention to him #rewind the feelz bitches #eeyore's playlist

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cryptid-killjoy · 4 years ago

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This is Eeyore the day Mary Poppins, lost boys, and Robin Hood’s merry men were “restoring order” to the magic school.. That would be his face the whole time. Like the absolute entire time XD. Pretty sure he’s still looking for his tail and some student has hidden it somewhere or used it for who’s knows what.

#eeyore head canon

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forestwater87 · 4 years ago

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I'm screaming. I just realized this was the legendary Forest Water from Ao3, the creator of the fandom last names Santos and Greenwood, and I didn't know all this time?! What?! I can't actually believe it. Your stuff is legendary! I really enjoy your fanfiction, and you're a great creator. Any advice for a fanfic writer who starts to write a Gwenvid longfic? Any tips on how to become a sucessful fandom memeber? Sorry this is so long, I just really enjoy your work!

These two happened to dovetail really nicely, so I wanted to respond to them in a single (very long) post. I’ve talked a little about getting started writing in the past, but specifically about writing Gwenvid? That’s a little different, and interesting to explore.

I think, anyway. But I always find Gwenvid interesting.

1. Thank you!

I don’t consider myself especially famous or special -- certainly not anymore, when my updates to my flagship fic are annual at best -- so it’s a little weird that there are people looking at me like that. However, it’s also really touching and encouraging, so I’m at a loss for words. Not sure how to respond to such kind comments, so . . . you know, thanks.

2. Writing Gwenvid -- especially longfic

Here’s the thing: There isn’t a single fic I’ve written that I expected to become long. The first “Tigger & Eeyore” was supposed to be like 5 chapters and then ballooned into 14 and a sequel (which it’s now looking like is going to explode into its own sequel, so yikes).

There’s a reason they’re called plotbunnies: they multiply like crazy. So if you have a single-shot idea or shortfic that you’re not sure will have legs, just start writing it. It might end up wrapping up rather quickly and you can move on to the next idea without it hanging over your head, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes something much larger totally organically.

Also, keep your plots kind of . . . vague? At least, in my experience I’ve found that helps. A generic idea of the world you want to build and a couple set pieces (i.e., major conflicts or story beats) gives you room to play around without pressure to make it “add up to” something. I’ve never written a fic that had a story in the first 4-5 chapters, and that’s how I like it. It’ll . . . just sort of materialize, while you’re exploring the world.

I mean, if you want to write a tightly-paced epic with a twisty, intricate plot, then you’re going to want to find an author who does that sort of thing. My stories tend to be a lot more meandering.

OH! Also get really flowery with your language. Eats up word counts like Wheaties.

Okay, but Gwenvid specifically: if you want to be mostly canon-compliant, the big thing is that we only see them in the context of this one improbably long summer. There are years of story before and after that point that we’ll never get to see, and I think it’s really interesting. (Especially the before part; I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone write a “prequel” to Camp Camp, but how fun is that idea???) When it comes to “fill in the blanks” fanfic writing, it’s really nice to have a story, relationship, and world with so many blanks. There’s a lot you can do just by writing about what they’re up to the rest of the year.

As for AUs: go nuts. Fucking go wild, you funky lil person. Groundhog Day. Ghostbusters. Lost in Translation. Movies that don’t star Bill Murray, probably. Find a straight couple and make them Gwenvid, and go goddamn bonkers with the possibilities. Find a world with Gwenvid-like characters and make them Gwenvid. The possibilities are literally endless.

3. Fandom engagement and being a BNF

Huh. Not sure where to go with this one.

Like I said, I don’t consider myself much of a BNF (that’s “big-name fan,” for those of you who might have a life outside of tumblr) -- certainly not anymore. And honestly, becoming “popular” in this economy fandom isn’t . . . necessarily going to be super easy.

I mean, don’t get me wrong! The fandom isn’t dead by any means; people are still writing, and still being read. But if you look at the track record over time:

Average kudos counts of Forestwater’s fics by year:

2016: 574

2017: 277

2018: 79

2019: 60

2020: 50

(if you ever wondered why I had a serious emotional crisis about the quality of my writing and general popularity in 2018 and 2019, that drop should tell you a lot)

Now, some of this is certainly my fault. The most important thing when it comes to fandom success is engagement: the more you write, the more attention you’re going to get. If you can stick to a regular update schedule, you’re going to be on the front page and in the top of the tags, and people will see your stuff and be more likely to read it. And attention is self-generating, because the more kudos and hits you have, the more people are going to check out your work just to see what the big deal is. So getting laid off and deeply depressed, then not updating at a time when the fandom was already beginning a pretty steady downward trajectory anyway . . . was not my best move in terms of relevance.

And engagement doesn’t necessarily have to mean updates, by the way! (Though you should update regularly if you want the attention.) Sharing headcanons, answering asks, starting fandom drama and ship wars . . . that’s all the kind of thing that establishes you as an authority; even if people think you’re wrong, they’ll think you’re someone whose opinion is worth disagreeing with, if they see you mouthing off in the tags enough.

I’m not confident this is a good call, but Snowqueens Icedragon didn’t get massive fandom success by not starting flame wars, is all I’m saying.

If you have the spoons to answer questions, people will want to ask them. No one wants to talk to someone who won’t reply to them. The most popular artists and authors are always going to be the ones who interact with the fandom the most. Higher output, more attention, more praise. I’m not saying it’s fair -- in fact, it very well might not be -- but that’s the nature of the beast.

Also, play to the fandom. Camp Camp fans want to see dadvid. They want to see dan/vid. They want to see Max-centric content, and they probably want it to be angsty. They want to see self-inserts dating David. If you can give them some of that stuff (none of which is inherently bad, to be clear, nor is it inherently good; it’s just what’s popular, and tbh if you can cram it all in one fic that’d be amazing), you have the benefit of giving people exactly what they want.

To be clear, don’t write about things that don’t inspire you; aside from it being a soul-crushing endeavor, it’s noticeable when someone’s heart just isn’t in it, and it’s even harder to keep those regular updates. But if the things you’re passionate about happen to be the things the fandom really wants to see at the moment, then you’re much closer to riding the kudos train, my friendo.

But here’s the thing: even if you do everything right, you might still get screwed.

Some of this is just due to the fact that Camp Camp is always a dead fandom in the off-seasons, and we don’t know how long this current off-season is going to last. Hell, we don’t have to look at me for this:

This is “How to Foster an Asshole” by emiartse. It’s one of the fandom’s most popular fics, with a whopping 962 kudos. Hot damn, look at that engagement. That’s a fucking fic right there!

This is the sequel, which has 122 kudos. Nothing to sneeze at, to be sure -- I think we’d all be delighted to have 122 kudos -- but even the general tendency of sequels to have less attention than a series debut doesn’t entirely explain such a precipitous drop. And emiartse is doing everything right! This is dadvid! And momgwen! It’s just as well-written as the first; it’s not like we suddenly experience a decrease in quality or anything. It came right on the heels of the first one ending, and the updates have been more or less like clockwork, in keeping with the previous story.

So what changed?

Well, HTFAA was first published in 2019, right on the heels of Season 4′s finale and when fandom hype was pretty high. HTAAA was published in September 2020, during this whole “world pandemic and every political disaster all at once” thing that’s got us all fucked up -- and especially, during a period where we all knew Camp Camp wasn’t coming back for the year, and maybe not ever.

It’s . . . not a great time to be a writer for Camp Camp if your goal is popularity. I mean, it’s never a great time to be a writer if your goal is popularity -- consider the tragic difference in notes between ellohcee’s gorgeous art and their equally-excellent writing just for comparison -- but it’s especially tough now. If you really want to be a huge name in the fandom, my suggestion is to travel back in time to 2016 and establish yourself as the pioneer of something (seriously, it can be anything; there was basically nothing in the fandom at that time. Every idea was a new one).

So . . . what do we do when we can’t be popular? Maybe you don’t want to chain yourself to a strict update schedule, or write the twelve-thousandth iteration of the most popular fandom tropes, or you exist in 2021 when everything is terrible and no one cares about a web cartoon series. What happens then?

4. Do it anyway.

I know, I know -- that sounds hella cheesy. “Write because you love it, not for attention” is one of those statements that everyone rolls their eyes at, because seriously? Please. What’s even the point of sharing something you write if no one reads it?

Well . . . because you made it. Because it’s something that wouldn’t exist without you, and because even though there are such a tiny number of readers in a very small, very dead fandom -- those people still exist. And seeing what you wrote will make them happy. And if they have the spoons, they’ll let you know that you made them happy, which will make you happy.

I haven’t updated my major fic in a year -- haven’t updated any writing in several months. But what keeps me going is the excitement that my ideas bring me, and the pride I feel in watching them come to life. It’s like giving a gift to someone; I get really nervous and giddy whenever I post a sentence.

And does it suck when it feels like your present goes unappreciated? Yeah. If you write the first chapter of your awesome long-form Gwenvid fic and it gets like 5 or 3 or even zero notes, that’s a huge bummer. That hurts a lot, and it can crush your self-esteem worse than even the most vicious hate. But your fic isn’t going to just be around for the few hours or days that you’re watching the engagement. It’s going to be there, growing as you update it or just sitting happily in its tags, and someone is going to find it.

Your story is going to be someone’s favorite fic. I promise.

And hell, let’s make it my favorite fic!

If you post something -- you know what, even if you post something in a trope or ship I hate, or a fandom I’m not in, doesn’t even have to just be Camp Camp; times are hard right now and we gotta support each other -- send me the link in a personal message. (Don’t tag me, I won’t see it. I never see anything on this terrible, terrible site.) I’ll like it; I’ll give it kudos. I’ll probably even share it*, because we’re going through the lean times in this fandom. And we’re writers, so the lean times are extra lean; it’s the bone-and-dust times.

*Okay, but I reserve the right to not support someone’s work that makes me very uncomfortable. I’ll share things I don’t personally stan, but I’m not gonna platform your “why Hitler was good, actually” essay disguised as a fanfic or anything. My 6 followers deserve better.

Write something that excites you, and then tell me about it. If you need help brainstorming, tell me about that too.

I might not have the spoons to keep this up for a prolonged period of time, but I’ll do what I can and you’ll do what you can and together we’ll . . . idk, do something. I’m losing the thread of my great inspirational speech here.

Uhhhh TL;DR let’s just do the dang thing. If we fail we all fail together. Yay team!

#campcamp #fanfiction #fanfic writing #yeah i'm putting these in the main tags #i wanna start a revolution here #a small revolution #of me and my 6 followers #let's do it #also yes i'm still working on my t&e fic #it's the first week of the semester so things have been insane #writing this post was the first time i've had 20 consecutive minutes to sit down and do anything since like january 4th #ask forest #absurdly long post #sorry not sorry #campcampfanfan #no 'keep reading' mark bc this all feels Important to me #scroll away my friendos

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and-then-she-died-tm · 3 years ago

Text

I posted 686 times in 2021

39 posts created (6%)

647 posts reblogged (94%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 16.6 posts.

I added 200 tags in 2021

#ikemen sengoku - 35 posts

#ikesen - 33 posts

#cybrid - 31 posts

#otome - 27 posts

#ikemen vampire - 15 posts

#ikevamp - 14 posts

#cybird ikemen - 14 posts

#ikesen mitsuhide - 13 posts

#mitsuhide akechi - 10 posts

#ikemen series - 8 posts

Longest Tag: 93 characters

#idk i think he was more my brothers fav but he’s the only one o still remember besides eeyore

My Top Posts in 2021

This is the most Nobunaga thing I've ever read. Of course his name is inscribed on his sword.

54 notes • Posted 2021-10-20 22:26:01 GMT

Hahahah so my friend @jinglesmiserablyacrossthefloor said these couple things about Shakespeare and Da Vinci and I can't unsee it now

I can't stop thinking about Leo going to cosplay conventions, it's gonna live in my head rent free now

54 notes • Posted 2021-04-29 13:59:57 GMT

Guys guys

So I keep seeing ads for these Van Gogh inspired clothings (clothing? clothings? clothes? CLOTHES) these Van Gogh inspired clothes and today there was a Mona Lisa one for Da Vinci as well now.

And I just- could u imagine wearing these in front of their respective LI’s?!

The rings are cute and honestly would kinda be cute wedding rings for mc and Vincent tbh.

But the Mona Lisa sweater?!!

My mind is stuck on it and if I could write I would do a head canon but please any writer for ikesen please imagine this hahaha

66 notes • Posted 2021-06-10 04:06:08 GMT

Theo? Sorry, Theo? Sorry, Theo?

72 notes • Posted 2021-10-09 17:30:23 GMT

This has probably been said before but I hate how underrated a lot of the smaller relationship dynamics between the LIs in ikesen are.

Like Mitsuhide and Masamune being the gossip / teasing duo of Azuchi.

Mitsuhide and Ranmaru kinda hating each other.

Ieyasu and Nobu kinda being almost brotherly in a way (I’ve seen Ieyasu step in a lot in Nobu routes and events to help make sure his relationship with mc is ok)

There’s probably some more I missed but I think they are kind of cool.

109 notes • Posted 2021-05-13 21:26:14 GMT

TBH This is the funniest thing I’ve ever fucking seen.

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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3pirouette · 4 years ago

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Fic: Nobody’s Baby (22/25)

Title: Nobody’s Baby

By: TriplePirouette/3Pirouette

Rating: MATURE

Spoilers: Through the Middle of CA:TFA, but characters from Agent Carter do show up.

Disclaimer: They're not mine.

Distribution: AO3 / FF.net. Anyone else please ask first :)

Story Summary: She’s the only woman in camp, so she must be qualified to take care of a baby, right?

Chapter 22 Summary: Anxiety is high as the time for action nears, but the choice to stay or leave is taken out of Steve and Peggy’s hands.

Chapter 22 A/N: For reference, since it pops up twice, current date is April 8, 1945. For those of you who are sticklers for canon, I have found conflicting information for when the Valkyrie was supposed to have gone down, so I’m making my own time line up.

Also, this is it. Parts of this chapter have been written FOREVER. Three more chapters to go. Thank you all for being on this journey with me. You’re amazing.

And, not to spoil anything, but I PROMISE THERE IS NO DEATH IN THIS CHAPTER despite the name. Chapter title makes sense once you’ve read the chapter :)

Chapter 22: The Hill You Die On

She could still smell the brown hair dye, but she hadn’t had time to give her hair another rinse, so it would have to do. She’d managed to hide the pieces she hadn’t been able to curl and set properly under her hat, and she looked presentable enough. She fidgeted her hands in her lap on purpose, biting her lip like she’d practiced so often.

Sore ankle or not, failed mission or not, she needed to move on. Her contact had told her to stay low and quiet, Hydra was falling and so was Masters. If she wanted any hope of having a future in the company, of being a part of taking the SSR down, she needed to blend in for now.

She could have picked any one of a dozen identities she had in her head, but young, lost girl was an easy role to play for these savior types.

“Miss Underwood, what makes you think The Griffith is the right place for you?”

Ida, now Dottie Underwood, smiled shyly at the elderly woman, playing with the hem on her dress. “Oh, why, I just know a woman like yourself runs a safe place, I can tell. You remind me of my mama.”

Mrs. Fry smiled at her, taking the bait hook, line, and sinker. “Well, in a city filled with filth and debauchery at every turn, a young and proper woman needs a haven.”

“And I can just tell that’s what The Griffith is,” Dottie flattered. “I know I have a lot to learn, but I’m hoping that this can be a place to start.”

Mrs. Fry enjoyed having her ego stroked, and it showed. The woman hardened for a moment, looking Dottie up and down. “I’m sure you understand that the rent, and being on time with it, is non-negotiable, as are the rules of this establishment.”

“Oh, of course!” Dottie reached down, flipping open the purse she’d stollen and pulling out a stack of bills she’d acquired by less than legal means. “I can pay in cash right now if that helps.”

Mrs. Fry smiled at her. Money, as they said, talked.

And it bought Dottie a wonderful cover right out in the open.

~*~

Being on her stomach calmed Mandy somewhat, and Steve spent the majority of the morning on the quilt on the floor with her, telling Winnie the Pooh stories with the knit animals (though he did explain that Eeyore was a donkey and not a dog far too many times considering that Mandy would never, ever remember or even understand what he said) and generally tried to keep her entertained.

Steve was explaining how the game Pooh Sticks worked when Howard finally tore his eyes away from the spectacle that was the world’s strongest and potentially most dangerous man, laying on the floor, playing with knit animals, and turned to Peggy. “You should pack.”

Peggy, who had been passing time by folding and re-folding Mandy’s dresses, looked up at him. “Why? According to anyone but us, we’re staying here indefinitely.”

Howard pulled his chair closer. He was doing a horrible job at being a lookout and had given up hours ago, knowing he was here more for moral support at this point with Sousa outside than anything. “If you two have to skedaddle quick, or if you have to fight your way out of here, you aren’t going to have time to grab anything. And I mean,” he looked significantly towards the bottles and then down to the little knit animals that seemed to be dancing in a parade, “anything.”

Peggy nodded, “True, but I shouldn’t think some clothes and a few baby items will be hard to find.”

“They won’t be, but they’ll damn well be looking for you anywhere you can buy that stuff for miles.” Howard sighed. “I’m telling you, I should have listened to you guys the first time. If you’re going to have to run, you’re going to have to go far and fast, and you won’t be able to stop for things like formula and diapers, and I’m sure Steve’s got only so many undershirts left.”

“Two,” Steve said from the floor, turning his attention to them. Though they’d been talking quietly, it wasn’t hard for Steve to overhear. “I literally have only two left.”

Mandy’s giggle seemed well timed, as if she could tell what they were talking about and found it hilarious that he’d sacrificed so many shirts to the cause of her diapers. She pushed up on to her arms and smiled for the first time all day as Steve turned back to her. They spent long minutes making faces at one another, Mandy trying to copy his faces but failing miserably, happy to giggle at Steve’s antics.

Peggy sighed. “You’re right.”

Howard chuckled, leaning back in his chair. “When am I not?”

Peggy looked sharply at him as she stood, moving toward the metal table that had become their all-purpose area. She pulled both suitcases they had up and started sorting through their things.

Most of their clothes needed to be washed, and badly. She’d worn the couple of dresses she had to the point where the only one that was still wearable was the one she had on. Baby drool didn’t so much stain as crust over, and baby vomit absolutely did stain when not washed out quick enough. There was also a ripe smell starting to waft from the clothes; they were perspiring more from stress than heat, and it was starting to become noticeable.

It had been seventeen days since she’d first laid eyes on the girl that changed her life. It gave her an odd feeling inside to think her life had changed so profoundly in such a short period of time, and yet she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

She shuddered to think where Steve might be right now had he gone with the Commandos on their mission to find Schmidt, where she might be. For all the danger around them, they were much safer here than they could have been nearly anywhere on the front.

Peggy started to pull clothes out and sort them. She tried to make even piles, tried to pull the clean things to the top and stuff the things that were starting to smell musty to the bottom. Steve’s socks, she discovered quite by accident, were the perpetrator of nearly all the worst odors she was finding. Considering it had been seventeen days and she only found three well-worn pairs, she could see why.

She moved on to Mandy’s pile, small a neat, sorting dresses out by size and only packing the largest of them. Howard was right: they’d be easy to spot buying clothes and formula, but there was only so far the supply they had would take them.

She looked over at the neat but small collection of bottles and jars of formula and wondered how far they could stretch what they had if it came down to it.

~*~

Peggy felt pangs of anxiety slowly tendril through her all morning. It lasted well after Howard left with one of their suitcases and all through lunch. It kept creeping up her spine as she played with Mandy on the quilt on the floor and while she made her way through her daily workout routine.

It didn’t retreat as she set Mandy down for her nap, the hairs on her arms raising not from any chill in the air, but from the fear that coiled in the base of her spine as she watched the girl sleep. Peggy fussed with the blanket in the bassinet, tucking it around her, thinking maybe she should tuck her in tight so they could grab the whole bassinet if they had to leave at a moment’s notice. Then she pulled the blanket out, thinking that maybe it would better if they could scoop her up and run without the encumbrance of the bassinet.

Before she could tuck the blanket back in again, Steve’s arms wrapped around her from behind, gently pulling the blanket from her hands and backing her away. He didn’t stop them until he was sitting in the room’s only chair with her on his knee, wrapped in his arms. “Peg?”

She licked her lips. She wasn’t afraid to tell him, wasn’t worried about voicing her fears and anxiety to him, but was rather afraid of saying them out loud, while Sousa was just outside the door and could hear, while anything could happen and it felt like saying it might just somehow make it a little closer to being true. She held his gaze, swallowed heavily, and just wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Slowly she laid her head under his chin, snuggling into his embrace.

Steve held her, his slow and even heartbeat under her ear calming her racing mind. She let her breath slow as his hand would itself in her hair, slowly stroking through the strands and over her neck.

“How long, Steve?” She asked suddenly, the worlds barely audible.

“Last day,” he murmured, kissing her forehead and squeezing her close. “If we don’t hear anything by tonight, we’re gone tomorrow.”

Her hands clutched at the fabric of his shirt, tightening and loosening like she couldn’t decide if she wanted to hold him close or push him away. “We should start planning…”

“I have plans.” He leaned back, lifting her chin and looking in her eyes. “You do, too.”

She could only smile. He knew her so well.

“What if they come in through the front door right now?” He asked softly. He didn’t need to explain who ‘they’ were, the omnipresent threat didn’t exactly need a face. He didn’t let her answer, just pushed her hair behind her ear and smiled softly at her. “You’re ready. We both are. We can figure out the specifics later. Just… just relax for a minute while she’s sleeping, ok?” He threaded his hand in her hair and gently guided her back under his chin, wrapping himself around her. “Just for a minute.”

~*~

When 5:30 came and went and Jarvis didn’t show up for the night shift, they knew something was wrong. Jarvis was never late.

Peggy lifted Mandy from where she was on the bed at 5:35 and began pacing, the scenarios rolling through her head. It didn’t pass her notice that Steve filled one of the glass bottles with dry formula and capped it tight, shoving it into one of his pockets. He filled the other with an empty bottle wrapped in an extra diaper cloth.

She shoved one of Mandy’s knit toys into the side of her bra, cursing her lack of pockets, and slipped a burp cloth over her shoulder, even though she didn’t need it.

Silently, the two worked to pack their pockets, to fit anything on them they could as the minutes ticked by without Jarvis coming in like an apologetic tornado and setting a table for their dinner. Peggy stopped, heart pounding when Steve knelt in front of her, sliding his hands under her skirt to fasten her thigh holster. She nodded at him solemnly as he did the fastenings, slipping her pistol in and securing it tight.

Having the gun on her made her feel a little more centered, a little more capable, even with the squirming girl in her arms. Amanda did not want to be held, and in fact would have preferred to be fed and sleeping. Peggy could feel the change of her weight in her arms- the girl was having another growth spurt, and the handful of dressing gowns in the bag she’d given to Howard might only last a week if they were lucky and if she grew like she did the last time.

They both jumped when Sousa poked his head in. The man smiled and held his hands up. “Just wanted to let you know I’m stepping away for a few minutes.”

He was human, so of course he had to go to the bathroom, stretch his leg, change positions. They’d gotten used to him moving about through-out the day, but they’d always had someone else with them, and they’d never felt so on edge.

Steve let out a heavy breath and tried his best to smile at the man. “Of course.”

“I’m sure Mr. Jarvis is just late. Stuck in traffic.” Sousa wasn’t stupid, and knew they were wound up. “I can, I can wait a few more minutes, if you like?”

“No, go. We’ll be fine.” Steve nodded, his words more confident than he felt.

Sousa was reluctant to go, “Want me to bring you guys back anything from the machine in the lobby? Coffee?”

“A coffee would be great,” Steve responded quickly.

Sousa looked over at Peggy, but she shook her head. He turned back to the door, his face dour. “I’ll be fast.”

They both watched as he left. Peggy sighed as she switched Mandy to her other hip. “We’re that transparent, are we?”

“He’s a smart guy, Peg. He knows us well enough and he knows the situation.” Steve turned, moving back to the table and rolling up his pant leg, fastening all the diaper pins they had to the edge of his sock.

“Picked a hell of a time to use the loo.” Peggy shoved the last of Amanda’s knit animals into her bra. While it was the easiest solution to carrying them, it also left Mandy groping her to try to get them out. Peggy flipped the girl around, cradling her back to her chest so the girl couldn’t try grabbing down her shirt anymore to toss the toys on the floor. “If Jarvis is compromised, so are Howard and Ana.”

Steve looked up at her and rolled his pant leg down, hiding their stash of pins. He stood and held his hands out, smiling at his little girl, taking her from Peggy and lifting her high in the air. “When you gotta go, Peg, you gotta go.”

Peggy laughed without humor as she grabbed a handful of items from the bathroom and sat with them on the bed, straightening her bra and adjusting it to fit the bounty it now held. “But where does that leave us? On foot we’re fast, but only as fast as I am in these heels. I’m sure they’ll be watching bus and train stations, and we have no money to pay for a cab.”

“We do, if we need it.” Steve spun in a circle, swinging Mandy gently up and down as he went. “Howard handed me a billfold on his way out this morning.” He shifted Mandy to his shoulder and walked over to Peggy, his voice quiet. “There’s enough for us to charter our own private jet, if we need to. But I don’t think it’ll come to that.”

Peggy lifted her skirt and started slipping bobby pins along the edge of her garter. She rolled her eyes at Steve’s hungry look. “There’ll be time for that later.”

“Wish there was time for it now.”

She pushed her skirt down and moved on to securing burp cloths over her shoulders and under the straps of her bra. “You’re insatiable.”

He raised his eyebrows and made a show of looking down the front of her dress as she rearranged the straps. “You’re not wrong.”

She pressed her mouth in a grim line and he set the flirting aside as she slipped her gun from her holster and checked it over for herself. “So where are we going with Howard’s money?”

“Brooklyn.” Steve pulled one of his folded handkerchiefs out of his pocket and covered Mandy’s face, waiting for her giggle before he pulled it off in an impromptu game of peek-a-boo. “I know a place.”

Peggy stared at him as he continued the game, giving her no further explanation. Exasperated, she plucked the handkerchief from his fingers and covered his face with it, trying to hide her own laugher as Mandy giggled riotously and clapped her hands on his covered cheeks. “Care to elaborate?” She asked, trying to keep the amused notes out of her tone. “What’s in Brooklyn?”

Steve made a silly, surprised expression at Mandy once the handkerchief fell from his face and she giggled again, splattering drool on them both. Peggy did chuckle this time, and used the hankey to clean them both up. “Bucky’s Mom.”

“Barnes’ mother?” Peggy asked, letting Mandy grab the handkerchief from her hands.

“Yeah. She was like a second mother to me growing up. She still writes me now that…” Steve trailed off, swallowed thickly, and smiled at Mandy before continuing. “She’d take us in, let us get settled and figure out who we could trust, even just for the night. I know it.”

“I suppose there’s not much chance of her being Hydra,” Peggy mused, running her hand over his arm.

He shook his head, about to speak, when he froze.

Peggy’s heart thumped in her chest as she watched him morph from Steve, the silly and loveable father with diaper pins on his socks and bottles in his pockets, to Captain America, deadly soldier: his spine straightened, his muscles tensed, his jaw clenched, and his eyes glazed over and cleared with a new purpose. He shifted, handing her the baby and turned, pushing her behind him. Mandy reached out for the handkerchief that fell from her grasp, chin wavering and eyes watering at the drastic change in the mood of her environment.

Before Peggy could ask Steve what it was that had put him on edge, she could hear the voices and footfalls right outside the door. She couldn’t hear the words, but she knew Steve’s sharp hearing could. Mandy whined in her arms, obscuring Peggy’s ability to hear even further. Peggy bounced, leaning out to Steve’s side, eyes on the doors.

She could hear Sousa’s voice calling from farther down, and a male voice challenging him. She heard the shuffle of feet and the sound of his crutch hitting the floor.

“Steve…” She whispered, her breaths coming faster, her heart rate ramping up, the anxiety coiling in her stomach as she moved to stand next to him, Mandy between them so either could take her and run. He held his hand up for her to be steady, looking as focused and calm as she ever saw him going into battle. She shifted Mandy even more to her left arm, freeing her right hand and sliding it under her dress to make sure her gun was ready to pull from its holster.

They listened to the scuffle outside for long moments, tears falling from Mandy’s eyes as she whimpered. Peggy was forced to let go of her gun and leave it in the holster to hold the girl tightly, shushing gently to calm her. The footfalls coming towards them didn’t stop, but rather they burst through the doors, a tall, wide man in a suit preceding Vernon Masters, another agent flanking him from behind. Masters looked at them, and without any preamble demanded his prize. “I’m here for the girl.”

“You’re not getting her,” Steve answered, his voice booming. Steve watched the two men take up positions on either side of Masters, hands free and ready to fight or to draw the weapons he could see outlined under their jackets.

Masters turned, waving his hand and dismissing the men to take up guard just outside the door. “We don’t need the muscle to make this a big deal,” he smiled like a shark, his tone patronizing and sickly sweet. Masters was insistent and moved toward Peggy. “Just give me the child.”

Peggy instinctively took a step back. Normally she’d stand up to this type of man, but with Mandy in her arms she couldn’t fight.

He laughed at her modest retreat and held out his hands to reach for Mandy as he closed the gap between them to a few feet. “You will give her to me.”

Steve, without hesitation, put his entire body between them. “I don’t think you heard me.”

Vernon pursed his lips. “And you’re not thinking straight, son.”

Steve lifted an eyebrow. “Oh, I’m thinking just fine.” The man tried to move forward, but Steve put a hand on his chest, stopping him from going anywhere. “I’ll be very clear: if you try to take her, I will hurt you.”

He pressed his lips together, pushing his chest against Steve’s hand even though he knew he couldn’t match Steve’s strength. “I don’t think you know who you’re dealing with, son.”

Steve took a step forward, pushing the man away from Peggy until his back hit the door. “And I don’t think you do, either.” Steve leaned down. “We’ve been cooperative. Until now.”

Masters wasn’t backing down, from hubris or stupidity it wasn’t clear. “She’s the property of the United States Army.”

Steve raised an eyebrow, his voice low and even. “Supposedly so am I.”

Masters smirked, his eyes sparkling. “Is this the hill you want to die on?”

Steve sounded more menacing than Peggy had ever heard as he spoke. “Do you?”

The door started to shake with the sounds of someone trying to get in, the sounds of the agents fighting outside. Steve slammed a hand over the Vernon’s head, holding the door shut. Vernon, to his credit, stood his ground with only the slightest hint of fear flitting through his eyes. “You’re making the wrong decision.”

“And you’re an unethical monster.” Steve didn’t flinch.

The scuffle quieted, the heavy footfalls of boots, several of them, being marched away from the door filled the air. The voice they heard from the other side of the door was decidedly not one they’d expected to hear. Colonel Phillips’ voice rang out loud like it did on the battlefield. “Rogers! You open this door this instant!”

Without hesitation Steve pulled Masters away from the door by the neck of his shirt and swung the door open wide. Phillips sauntered in, flanked by two MPs. Phillips looked around, his mouth a flat line of disapproval. He pointed at Masters then to the MPs. “You can let Mr. Masters here go with these men. He’s got a long night ahead of him.”

Steve walked Masters to the MPs, not trusting that he wouldn’t take a lunge for the baby. Once they had him and were walking down the hall he turned back. “Sir?”

Phillips sauntered through the room, leaving the silence filling the space just long enough to make them both nervous. He took in the rag tag way they’d turned the sparse room into something more comfortable. “So, you’re both Rogers now?”

Peggy and Steve looked at one another, unsure of what to say. Peggy stuttered a bit before finally speaking. “I’ll continue to go by Carter for missions.”

“Won’t be any of those for a while,” he said flatly, turning to look at them. “Close the door.”

Steve did as he was asked and fell in next to Peggy at a comfortable parade rest like he was used to when standing in front of his CO. He tried not to react to Mandy as she reached out for him, tears falling and her chin wobbling with fear and uncertainty after the last few minutes.

Phillips shook his head. “Oh, pick her up, Rogers. She wants her daddy.”

Peggy and Steve looked at Phillips, aghast, even as Peggy handed the fussy baby over who quieted immediately in his arms.

“Don’t look so shocked.” Phillips paced, picking up a half full bottle and looking at it with almost a fondness in his eyes. “That little coded message was sure a surprise, I’ll tell you that. I hopped the first transport to London, then straight back out here after a few enlightening conversations. Howard filled me in this morning on what you have… and haven’t… been telling the people here. And your suspicions.”

Peggy finally started to feel like she was on solid ground again. “Sir, Masters—”

“Masters is our number one suspect for a Hydra mole. He knew far too much, even Dooley conceded that, and Dooley was so far up his ass he could see out that man’s mouth.” He put the bottle down, crossing his arms. “That little lady has caused quite the uproar.” He moved back to pacing. “It gives me no pleasure to do this, but as of 0600 this morning, Captain America was pronounced MIA, likely KIA.”

Steve started to talk but Phillips held up his hand to stop him. “I have sworn statements from Dugan and Pinkerton that Captain America was on the Valkyrie when it went down two days ago. No survivors have been found yet.”

“Why?” Peggy asked, turning away, reaching a hand down her shirt, and pulling the knit pig out for Mandy.

Phillips furrowed his brow at the hiding place as Peggy turned back and handed it to the girl, but continued on without addressing it. “Because we need to stop whatever is going on here at the SSR. Because we need to protect that little girl from Hydra and keep them from doing it again.” He sighed. “Because if we’re right, the war’s almost over, and if anyone deserves to have a little happiness after that hell, then you all do.”

Steve looked at Peggy, his chin set tight. “Sir, with all due respect, we’ve thought this through. It’s the only reason we’ve stayed here so long. If we go into hiding without the resources of the SSR…”

“Didn’t say you were going into hiding.” Phillips reached into his jacket and pulled out a folio filled with documents, handing them to Peggy. “Captain America has been pronounced dead. Private Steven Grant Rogers has been honorably discharged and his wife, Peggy Rogers… Carter…” He shook his head and continued pacing, “Whatever, we can fix that later… has been granted an undisclosed period of maternity leave.”

“People will know his face,” Peggy started as she unwrapped the documents and read them, parroting the very arguments she’d shot down way back when they were on the boat and first trying to figure this out.

Phillips shrugged. “Grow a beard, get some glasses.” He looked Steve in the eyes. “The public knew you with a mask and shield. The majority of the men you fought with think you’re dead. The only men who know the truth, the Commandos, are smart enough to keep their mouths shut.”

Steve was unconvinced. “Masters?” he asked, rocking side to side as Mandy chewed on her pig, tears slowing as she calmed down.

“That man’s going straight to prison for suspected treason.” Phillips stood tall, a hint of a smile on his face. “Anyone else here will be debriefed that you’re a look-alike used for security purposes to hide your- his- death from the country until we couldn’t hold it off any longer.”

“Rose?” Peggy asked. “Sousa?”

Phillips shook his head. “Howard’s already approached her to work with us. We’ll be setting you up in a safe house for the time being, Rose will be your liaison. I’m assuming Sousa was the guy they had knocked out at the end of the hall. We’ll get him patched up and offer him a spot, as well.” He pointed at the baby in Steve’s arms. “First priority is keeping her safe until we find out more about Leviathan and why Masters wanted her so badly.”

Phillips stopped talking, watching as Peggy got to the last page in the docket, a smile slowly blooming on her face as she held the paper up for Steve to see.

“We can change the date, if you want. We still haven’t found a single word about her or what they were doing, but Dugan’s on it. Figured you’d need a birth certificate for when you enrolled her in school.” Peggy looked at him, warmth radiating from her eyes. He just shook his head. “I’m getting soft, Carter. Good thing the war’s over or next thing you know I’d have brought you a dog.”

“I mean…” Steve started, a small smile on his face.

Phillips frowned at him. “Watch it, Rogers. I’m not buying you a dog.”

Steve begrudgingly brought them back to the task at hand. “What’s the game plan?”

“Take what you need, I’m driving you to the safe house myself. Once Emke’s caught or we have more information, we’ll reassess.”

~*~

The safehouse was an apartment in New Jersey on the second floor of an old building that was sparsely populated. It had charm, and more room than either the observation room they’d just been in or their room on the ship, and for that Peggy was at least somewhat grateful.

Peggy walked through the apartment with Mandy asleep in her bassinet, following Steve as he checked over every room with the little black box Phillips had handed him courtesy of Stark. No bugs and no two-way mirrors.

With Emke out there they’d still need to be vigilant. With an empire like Hydra falling, it made people desperate.

But now the door wasn’t locked to keep them in, it was locked, and there were two armed guards in an apartment below them, to keep her out.

There were windows. Big, wide windows in every room that let in the orange of the sunset and the cool breeze when she cracked them open. She hadn’t realized how claustrophobic that observation room had felt until she was rid of it, how much she missed the sunlight until they were sitting in the car, the warmth of the sunset on her cheeks.

She looked at the one large bed in the bedroom and the standalone bassinet in the corner. She felt both excitement at this new turn and fear that it was going to be easy to forget just quite how much trouble they were still in.

Steve pulled their bags in from the living room; they still didn’t have much, but it was enough. Peggy and Steve had hastily pulled off all the items they’d stashed on themselves and packed the remaining suitcase with everything they had. On their way out they’d spotted Mr. Jarvis’s car in the parking lot, with Mr. Jarvis and their other suitcase both stashed in the trunk.

Mr. Jarvis had followed them to the safe house and was currently on his way to a grocery, insisting they have enough food in the house for several days once he saw that their icebox was bare.

Peggy lifted one of the bags onto the bed and started to sort their things out. Most clothes still desperately needed to be laundered, and she was sure Mr. Jarvis would be a great help in that, as well. There were a handful of things, like her satin nightgown, that were still good.

The thought of putting on that satin nightgown that been untouched for weeks was thrilling.

Even more thrilling was the thought of Steve pealing it off of her.

She set the nightgown aside and continued sorting the clothes, then stood over the bassinet, running her hand over the soft, clean linens. It felt like a dream, and she was loathe to lose herself to it and find in a few hours, or in the morning, that it couldn’t be hers.

But it was. The threat was still there, but this wasn’t their prison, wasn’t their cover, it was their haven where they could be themselves without being watched, without being afraid. She smiled, walking out of the quiet room and towards their small living room, listening to Steve as he pointed out everything in the tiny kitchen as he ran through the contents of the cupboards with Mandy in his arms.

Peggy sat on the couch in the small living room and let her head fall back. “It’s so soft.”

“When was the last time you sat on one?” Steve asked, setting Mandy back in the bassinet they’d brought with them and putting it on the coffee table in front of Peggy.

She smiled as Steve sat next to her, gathering her into his side. “1943.”

He held her close, enjoying the softness of the couch and the warmth of her body. “We’re almost there.”

#SteggyWeek20 #Steggy Fic #3P's Fic #Nobody's Baby #OMG ITS HERE YOU GUYS I NEED TO KNOW HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS

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chaifootsteps · 5 years ago

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Let's go with SkekLach!

Hell yeah, let’s start this party off right with a goo bird!

Why I like them

Beyond their general oozy, Eeyore-y, voiced-by-Awkwafina-y charm? I love the fact that Lach was a Skeksis and a deeply gross one and also very, very loved. I love that one of their first major scenes is with Ok, bitching amicably about the upcoming trip and being offered a poultice remedy, and the last time we hear their name is as Ok and Ekt are mourning them.

Skeksis sincerely caring about each other is my jam and thankfully AoR’s full of it.

Why I don’t

The gender situation doesn’t bother me the way Ekt’s does (Lach doesn’t have the same history as Ekt) but it does complicate matters. Although if we do need a carefully prescribed number of girl Skeksis, I’m glad Lach’s one of them -- let girls be foul.

Favorite episode (scene if movie)

The first episode, and specifically the carriage scene. My heart pretty much melted the moment I realized that when Ok starts cackling, Lach’s laughing too.

Favorite season/movie

I prefer AoR Lach to comic Lach.

Favorite line

“Are you gonna eat that?” *Rips massive fart*

“…That wasn’t so bad!” because the way they say it is really cute.

“Away…away,” because it’s very gentle compared to the way they were speaking to Brea earlier.

Favorite outfit

They only have the one that I know of so that one.

OTP

Ok/Lach.

Brotp

Also Ok/Lach. I love the idea that they were buddies who just kind of moseyed into a relationship and their dynamic never changed.

Head Canon

Lach is genderfluid. The Skeksis make it a point to think about gender as little as possible and skekLach thinks about it the least.

Unpopular opinion

I don’t think they were setting out to be shitty to Brea in the carriage. In fact, once Ok and Lach realized their usual routine was freaking her out a little, I firmly headcanon that they eased back and the three of them had a great time.

A wish

Ok continuing to miss Lach long after they’re gone.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen

The opposite, Ok’s fondness of Lach getting backpedaled on because whoops can’t let the Skeksis have meaningful relationships.

5 words to best describe them

Oozy, gross, nasty, round, cute.

My nickname for them

The Queef Sisters, Statler and Waldorf

Oh, you meant not as a package deal with Ok. Gross wife.

#lickoutyourbrains #skeklach #memes #actual blog post

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dweemeister · 6 years ago

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Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)

The Walt Disney Company is on a financial rampage. Its pending acquisition of 20th Century Fox will be just the latest of a long line of safe purchases by its chairman and CEO Bob Iger – perhaps the first step in erasing the glorious history of a rival, formative major Hollywood studio. In the midst of rapid change in how television and cinema is consumed and distributed, the Walt Disney Animation Studios remains the spiritual home of the corporate behemoth that has been banking hard on monetizing nostalgia to decrease its risks. Apart from (recent) Pixar, Lucasfilm, Marvel, and whatever else Disney has acquired, the Walt Disney Animation Studios can be proud of its history of artistic innovation and narrative timelessness. So it is dispiriting that Rich Moore and Phil Johnston’s Ralph Breaks the Internet will be the first of two of the Animation Studios’ sequels over the next two years (the other is 2019′s Frozen 2 – good riddance to John Lasseter). This sequel to Wreck-It Ralph (2012; which I enjoyed) drowns in its thematic incoherence about the Internet, muddles a well-intentioned center about the nature of friendship, and overdoses of my least favorite things about recent Disney movies – making hollow metatextual jokes about the Disney Company and previous Disney movies; the latter reveals a modern-day Disney ashamed of its past in all the wrong places.

For all that and more, Ralph Breaks the Internet – which, again, I enjoyed while watching it in a theater – is the worst Disney movie for at least a decade. It goes beyond Big Hero 6′s (2014) bombastic Marvel-sized corporatism and Zootopia’s (2016) ultra-contemporary character behavior. As a professed Disney fan cut by a different cloth, the passes that recent canonical Disney movies have received from other, noticeably hesitant-to-criticize fan-reviewers (apologies for all those hyphens) reveal a brand loyalty that yours truly does not possess. Animation history cannot be written without mentioning the works of Walt Disney Animation Studios. And thus they must be held to highest standards.

The film begins six years after the original, with Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) the best of friends at Litwak’s Family Fun Center and Arcade. Vanellope is tiring of her game, Sugar Rush, and a contrived moment which will make you question whether the arcade characters have free will and which results in the destruction of the game’s steering wheel controller sees Sugar Rush being unplugged – leaving its characters homeless (if this makes no sense to you, you probably did not see the first movie). Soon after, Mr. Litwak has plugged in a new Wi-Fi router, connecting the arcade to the Internet. Ralph and Vanellope decide to travel to the Internet and purchase a replacement wheel as soon as they can. They head to eBay, and in their enthusiasm, overbid for the wheel. As a result, they must raise $27,001 – which looks like a decent final score in a game of Jeopardy! – as they navigate pop-up advertisers, the dark web, a Disney fansite that needs more Eeyore and Grumpy, a YouTube knockoff led by an algorithm named Yesss (Taraji P. Henson; no the character is not named “Yasss”), and a Grand Theft Auto-like online game called Slaughter Race.

In Slaughter Race, in conversation with charismatic racer Shank (Gal Gadot), Vanellope finds what she believes to be her virtual calling. Ralph, who has been monetizing videos on that YouTube knockoff by making an absolute fool of himself, overhears his best and only friend thinking about leaving Sugar Rush. He is despondent, and willing to do too much to keep Vanellope in Sugar Rush. All this inspires plotline (Vanellope, who is essentially a child, wants to live in what probably is an M-rated game? Do these concerns make me a game-phobic adult?) and universe logic questions that are too numerous to bring up in this review. For that alone, Phil Johnston (Zootopia) and Pamela Ribon’s (2016′s Moana, 2017′s Smurfs: The Lost Village) screenplay can be described, charitably, as calamitous.

Take a deep breath; that synopsis was a lot, I know. Now, do you like Fortnite references? What about Internet memes that allow this reviewer to approximate when this screenplay was finished within a three- to six-month window? Do you care for lazy product placement for Twitter, Google, YouTube, Facebook, eBay, Amazon, Instagram, Snapchat, and especially ©Disney and its ever-growing list of intellectual properties? If you said yes to each of these questions, then Ralph Breaks the Internet is probably going to be your favorite film in the Disney animated canon.

I am just grateful the film did not find the space for 4chan or InfoWars.

In a year where all these corporations and some of their most prolific, famous users have been under much-delayed scrutiny for their ethical misbehavior, Ralph Breaks the Internet seems to want to say something, at times, about their worst aspects. The comments section in the YouTube knockoff that Ralph attempts to monetize videos with has a comments section room, teeming with negativity and cruelty. Because this is a Disney film, you have to imagine casual racism and sexism must be buried in there, but Ralph – whose self-worth has become defined by his friendship with Vanellope – shrugs off his momentary disillusionment with how some on the Internet think of his videos. Most everyone who has engaged in social media and has received nasty comments from anonymous or known users online never pick themselves up that quickly. The film looks like it wants to make a statement here – whether subtle or as obvious as a clothed person at a nudist colony. But the plot must progress to the next frantic sequence or extremely contemporary joke that will date badly in a years’ time let alone fifty years’ time, as Ralph’s Power of Friendship with Vanellope is so unbreakable that the film cannot take a few minutes for the audience to reflect on why people (perhaps themselves) act like this online. Mind you, this paragraph is only on social media negativity, in the light of revelations that video-sharing site algorithms reward the vapid and the controversial.

Johnston and Ribon deserve credit for the film’s crux, however: that friendship, any worthwhile relationship of any kind, is not what a person provides you, but what you can do to foster that person’s growth into the best individual they can be. Ralph, understandably, given how ostracized he was for decades among those at Litwak’s Arcade, is terrified of losing his best friend. But that is no excuse for keeping a friend away from what they want most, especially if what they want the most will take them elsewhere – best intentions be damned because best intentions do not always yield behavior that is healing. Unfortunately, the film’s message contradicts those from Wreck-it Ralph if only because of the inconsistent universe rules established in the first installment. Vanellope’s final decision seems not to consider how much she is valued from the place where she has come from (Ralph has more to learn, yes, but so does Vanellope, and her bit of introspection is exclusively understanding what she, and she alone, wants). Ralph’s flaws are also portrayed far too literally – no spoilers here, but the animation in this over-literalization of Ralph’s clinginess is outstanding – and manifests itself in a fatiguing action/chase/rescue setpiece. And to further bury this integral part of Ralph Breaks the Internet, there is barely a reprieve – once Ralph and Vanellope have departed Litwak’s arcade for the Internet – from a comedic scene where Ralph suffers as a result.

Some of the film’s funniest, but simultaneously disheartening, sequences occur when Vanellope finds herself at the Disney fansite – a detour that the overstuffed screenplay does not need. The most discussed moment is when she meets the Disney Princesses (all voiced by their original voice actor if that voice actor is still alive – with the exception of Mary Costa for Aurora), from Snow White to Cinderella to Belle (1991′s Beauty and the Beast) to Moana. Yes, this is a light-hearted aside from the main plot. But what is bothersome is that every joke in these few minutes are based on online-generated criticisms or perceptions on each of the characters. To dig the hole deeper, the film appears to insist that these versions of the Disney Princesses are the actual Disney Princesses. Snow White is useless and has that high-pitched voice. Aurora (1959′s Sleeping Beauty) is a tad drowsy. Don’t get me started on Merida (2012’s Brave). The Walt Disney Studios that has operated after Walt’s death – aside from nephew Roy E. Disney’s tenure through the 1990s – bears little to no resemblance to Walt’s artistic vision. Likewise, the depictions in Ralph Breaks the Internet are not reflections of what made each of those princesses’ appeal to audiences worldwide – aesthetically (many of the features of the pre-2000s princesses have been poorly rendered) or characteristically.

Before getting to the point, though, I will note that “A Place Called Slaughter Race” – with music by Alan Menken (numerous Disney Renaissance films; if you do not know Menken’s name, you should) and lyrics by Phil Johnston and Tom MacDougall – is delightful, and elicited the most laughs out of me during the entire film. Anyways, back to the Disney Princess scene.

That scene, in addition to the interminable parade of live-action Disney remakes of their animated classics, is part of a worrying trend for the studio’s 2010s movies. In films like Tangled (2010), Frozen (2013), Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Moana, this film, and probably the foreseeable future given the history of the Walt Disney Animation Studios’ chief creative officer Jennifer Lee, Disney’s animated films cannot stop making self-referential jokes about Disney tropes and previous Disney movies. The live-action remakes and the animated films are both responding to contemporary criticisms of Disney classics (foxes aren’t always devious creatures, Zootopia trumpets deafeningly; if you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, you are a princess, says Maui from Moana; etc.). For Ralph Breaks the Internet, the central criticism of these Disney princess movies is that none of these princesses – especially the earlier ones – were feminist “enough”. I acknowledge (and almost entirely agree) the points from anyone who says that some of the older Disney princess movies have serious problems in how they portray gender stereotypes. But Ralph Breaks the Internet is judging the princesses on a standard that has not withstood the unforgiving passage of time, unwittingly close to saying it is not worth anyone’s time to see Snow White. Intersectional feminism, from my understanding among its many facets (full disclosure: I’m a dude), seeks to understand the environment in which a work of art was produced. It critiques that art for the gendered inequalities within, but reserves praise for those works in what good they did for depictions of women in their time.

Ralph Breaks the Internet represents a concerning turn in the artistic direction of Walt Disney Animation Studios. Its impulses to become a studio of the likes of Illumination (of Despicable Me fame) are rooted in the early 2000s, when Disney’s then-Chairman/CEO Michael Eisner proceeded to destroy the hand-drawn animation department after the box office failure of Treasure Planet (2002) and the success of Shrek (2001) – I am not saying that a hand-drawn animated movie is necessarily better than a CGI movie, but have you noticed how poorly the referential, cynical humor in Shrek has dated? That transformation, noting the résumés of the people in charge at the key positions at Disney, is nearing completion. Will Disney’s past be prologue? This axiom proved itself true once before, but the appetite nor the groundwork seems to be apparent for a second sampling.

If nothing more, Ralph Breaks the Internet is the sort of movie I – if I was a parent or a babysitter – would put on the television (or tablet or phone... there are many reasons why you should never watch movies on a tablet or a phone if you cannot help it, but that rant is for another setting) to distract children with. The film is almost devoid of thoughtful discourse about how the Internet has changed human behavior for better and worse, preferring to occupy too steadfastly what is now, leaving others to write the future.

My rating: 5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found here.

#Ralph Breaks the Internet #Rich Moore #Phil Johnston #Disney #Pamela Ribon #John C. Reilly #Sarah Silverman #Gal Gadot #Taraji P. Henson #Alan Menken #My Movie Odyssey

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