#has never used a bungee cord in his life and it shows

[lookninjas]

It’s not even so much that I specifically want to insult Paul Weller, although he was a dick about Robert Smith but whatever, the insecurity speaks for itself really.

It’s that he looks like what would happen if Iggy Pop grew up in Grosse Pointe, and as someone who grew up surrounded by Grosse Pointers on vacation at their ten bedroom summer “cottages,��� I have a lot of really creative insults that only the 80 people in my graduating class would really understand, and I want to hurl them at someone.

And he was a dick about Robert Smith, so.

[stay-healthy-org]

5 Pillars Of Fitness For Life

5 Pillars Of Fitness For Life - Want stellar health and a killer physique without the forced-march workouts? Get some skin back in the game with these 5 pillars of fitness for life! So, picture this: A 55-year-old grandfather of eight is hanging from a pair of bungee cords 15 feet in the air, preparing to launch himself toward a pipe suspended 6 feet away. At 55? Yup... This is the scene at the 2019 Oklahoma City finals of American Ninja Warrior, and Jon “Rockman” Stewart is tackling Bungee Road, an obstacle that has humbled several competitors half his age. The sinewy 145 pound man hurls himself into empty air, floats, locks onto the beam, swings a few times, and dismounts. The crowd cheers and whistles. The eye-popping move secures the Utah-based construction manager a trip to the show’s national finals. Stewart says he came by his fitness naturally. “I got my core strength from working our family farm as a kid in Idaho,” he says. His ripped upper body and never-quit legs were forged from 20 years of scrambling up rock faces and frequent, rigorous mountain bike outings. In other words, Stewart sculpted his incredible physique and athleticism by following his bliss. He’s not alone. People are coming at fitness from all these different angles now. Online videos have led to an exciting cross-pollination among fitness tribes. CrossFitters are doing parkour and MMA; distance runners and triathletes are trying Olympic lifting. This newly omnivorous approach to staying in shape highlights an element that’s often missing from exercise programs. In the pursuit of ripped abs and flagstone pecs, many of us have lost sight of that most essential property of physical recreation—fun. Maybe it’s time for you to find a plan that can give you the body you want without it feeling like forced labor. A plan that’s both engaging and effective, a challenge for your brain and biceps alike. Submitted for your approval: the new pillars of lifelong fitness. 1. Quit Obsessing Over How You Look Forty years ago, during the Pumping Iron era, fitness was defined by how you looked in a Speedo (yikes! Remember those??). If you didn’t have softball biceps and single-digit body fat, you had no business calling yourself fit. Today most guys realize that getting super jacked and lean is difficult to do and takes years. A recent NCAA analysis found that single-digit body fat is rare, even among elite athletes in their prime. For example: The average body fat percentage for running backs at the NFL Combine from 2006 to 2013 was nearly 12 percent. Indeed, extreme leanness and muscularity—the kind you see in supplement ads—is not only an unrealistic goal for most busy guys but also unnecessary for athleticism. Stop staring in the mirror and focus on performance instead. Work on nailing your first pull-up, then your first five. Try cracking 21 minutes in a 5K, then 19. Conquer a 5.2 rock face, then a 5.3. Train for Performance Consider the fitness journey of Scott Ferrara, 42, a teacher in Los Angeles. “In my 20s, my goal was to be as big as possible. I was in pain. I was eating 10 chicken breasts a day. It wasn’t enjoyable.” Ferrara eventually switched gears. He completed an Olympic-distance triathlon and then participated in numerous obstacle course races on the West Coast. Now that he’s more concerned about his finishing times than his arm circumference, he’s respecting his limits. “I check in to see what my body needs on a given day,” he says. Ironically, Ferrara says he looks better now than he did when he was pumping iron—a common result of switching to performance training. “Aesthetics are best obtained from training for performance,”says Mark Rippetoe, the author of Starting Strength. “Form follows function.” 2. Do Anything But Nothing Some fitness hucksters believe that certain approaches work because they resemble the activities of our forefathers. Nonsense, says Daniel Lieberman, Ph.D., a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard. “Prescribing fitness and diet regimens based solely on what our ancestors did is rife with logical problems... We also evolved to sometimes fight, lie, get anxious, age, and die.” In fact, science suggests that you can get healthier, stronger, and fitter by following any plan regularly. The CDC recommends 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, along with twice-weekly muscle strengthening sessions. It’s not a high bar, but 76 percent of men don’t reach it, the CDC reports. That’s despite the fact that “moderate exercise” covers abroad array of activities, from jogging and yoga to martial arts and rock climbing. It even includes some activities many jocks might consider too easy. “Brisk walking on its own is great for health,” says David Katz, M.D., Ph.D., director of Yale’s Prevention Research Center. The best exercise, he says, is the exercise people actually do. Seek Simplicity and Proximity The simplest rule: do something every day. That’s not easy. For documentary filmmaker George Kunhardt, 29, that lesson came a bit later in life. “I was an athlete in high school, but when I got to college I partied a lot.” By the time he started his career, his weight was normal but his body was soft. That’s when Kunhardt discovered a CrossFit gym near his office. The key variables to its appeal were proximity and simplicity: He could walk there and do the workout that was posted on the blackboard. Now Kunhardt trains six days a week; his body is harder and he can bang out sets of 40 unbroken pullups. He’s rediscovered both his competitive fire and his love of fitness. “It’s my number one stress reliever. When I’m at the gym, I go to my happy place,” he says. So if you simply do anything active for 30 to 45 minutes a day, says Dr. Katz, your health will benefit. You will also likely enhance your quality of life and longevity. Of course, strategically varying the intensity of your activity will impact your results. That’s why we have Pillar 3. 3. Train, Don't Exercise Photo by technotr/Getty Images To a strength coach, exercise and training are as different as chalk and cheese. “Exercise is something you do today because of how it makes you feel today,”says Rippetoe. “Training is a planned process to achieve a result somewhere down the road.” Most gymgoers are exercisers, says Rippetoe. They might hit chest and tris on Monday, run a few miles on Tuesday, and shoot hoops on Thursday. Each workout bears little relation to the one before or after it, so their progress is minimal. Yes, it’s infinitely better than nothing at all. But to improve your performance at a particular activity, you need to program a performance increase for that activity consistently. “I don’t want my muscles to be confused,” he says. “I want them to know exactly how I want them to adapt.” Set Multiple Goals An effective exercise routine is shaped by specific goals—short-term as well as long-term—toward which every workout is a distinct stepping-stone. That often requires taking the long view. “Let’s say you want to run a 10K. You might have five obstacles you need to overcome before you can complete that goal,” says Alex Viada, C.S.C.S., of Complete Human Performance in Durham, North Carolina. You may need to address your mobility or body composition before you can start thinking about your running pace. But even if you have a long way to go, Viada says, just ask yourself what you can do now to bring each goal a little closer and make the big goal easier. Then get to work on that—consistently—one workout at a time. 4 . Change It Up Photo by PhotoAlto/Sandro Di Carlo Darsa/Getty Images Here's the curveball: To make that progress, you need to take strategic recovery breaks. “A lot of activities that we think are helpful are not,” says Andreo Spina, D.O., a chiropractor and mobility expert. Among these are some of our favorite pastimes. When major league baseball coaches and trainers ask him how to prevent elbow injuries in their pitchers, Spina tells them, only half jokingly, “Have them play another position.” From baseball and basketball to swimming and track-and-field events, sports are “man-made” activities, Spina argues. Many of them place asymmetrical demands on the body. Tennis and squash, for example, tax one arm and shoulder while leaving the other mostly out of the action. Swimming works your upper body more than your lower, while running and cycling do the opposite. The potential damage isn’t limited to knees and ankles. A study in the Journal of Applied Physiology revealed that the heart valves of lifelong runners showed elevated risk of failure. Sure, sports belong in your training program, but focusing on a single sport or activity—year-round, with no time to heal and rebalance—might hurt you. For most of us, the ideal strategy is a three-weeks-on, one-week-off plan. For three weeks, gradually increase your workload at your activity of choice. Do more sets, reps, and weight if you’re into strength training; more distance or speed if you’re a cyclist or runner; more height, speed, or difficulty if you’re a climber. Then ease off for a week and come back to focus on a slightly different microgoal. HIIT Your Target “If you’re a runner, you might plan a block where you do hills, another where you do speed or track work, and another where you work on endurance,” says Matt Dixon, a former pro triathlete and the founder of purplepatchfitness.com.“Even that simple change of stimulus will yield bigger results than just working randomly,” he says. Reams of research have shown that one approach worth most guys’ time is high-intensity interval training, or HIIT. This involves multiple short bursts of super intense exercise (like eight rounds of 30-second bike sprints) separated by periods of low-intensity movement or rest (like 90 seconds of easy spinning). HIIT has many proven advantages over steady-state cardio. The workouts are short and adaptable, challenging both your aerobic and anaerobic energy systems and burning fat more effectively. Plus, most guys think they’re more fun. In a 2011 study, just three 20-minute HIIT workouts a week measurably improved participants’ body composition, metabolism, and cardio fitness. The one downside? You might work too hard, too fast—especially if you choose a high-impact exercise like sprinting. Avoid exhaustion and injury by doing bodyweight exercises only once a week. Squats, pushups, and step ups work well—30 seconds on, 30 seconds off for each, followed by a 2-minute rest, for 5 to 10 rounds. Try 50-meter swim sprints on another day (10 reps, resting for as long as it takes to complete 1 rep). Another day you could do hill sprints on a grassy surface (do 10 and then walk down the hill to recover). Bored or excessively sore? Just abbreviate your work periods, or do mobility exercises during your rest time. 5. Listen to Your Body Photo by Mike Kemp/Getty Images Two years ago, John Short, a 60-year-old professor at Cal State Fullerton, was a chronic overexerter. He’d play 90 holes of golf over a weekend, jump into pickup basketball games, and power through sets of burpees—with a 40-pound vest—just to see if he could do it. Sometime between his umpteenth acupuncture treatment and anti-inflammatory injection, Short got wise. “When you’re in your late 50s, you have to walk a fine line between pushing enough and pushing too far,” he says. He dropped the weighted burpees, hooked up with a trainer, and replaced running with rucking—walking with a weighted pack. He’s currently gunning for an injury-free, top 10 finish in a Spartan race. He’s training smarter. “So many guys my age get hurt and pack it in,” Short says. The answer isn’t to give up altogether; it’s to adjust your routine. Exercise is dose-dependent medicine—your body thrives on just enough of it. “Beyond a certain point, there is actually net harm from extreme exertion,” says Dr. Katz. Dialing It Back Can Be Smart How do you find the sweet spot? Make sure your workout feels like work. Lifting to “volitional fatigue,” the point at which you can’t do any more reps while maintaining good form, is a more significant factor in determining muscle growth than weight lifted or reps performed, a new study reveals. “As long as you work to fatigue, it doesn’t matter whether you’re lifting 125 pounds 25 times or 250 pounds eight times,” says study author Stuart Phillips, Ph.D., a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University. Hard work leads to progress, regardless of the load lifted. To determine when you’ve reached your limit on a workout or activity, try the toe-touch test: Before your workout and between sets (or sprints or rounds of golf or sets of tennis), bend forward and reach for your toes. “If the movement you’re performing agrees with you, you’ll find that your range of motion will increase,” says David Dellanave, C.S.C.S., a Philadelphia strength coach. Feeling looser and being able to reach farther means your body is green-lighting that exercise. If, on the other hand, you get tighter (you can’t bend forward as far), then adjust, move on to a new exercise, or towel off and head home. Skipping a set or two in a planned work-out sounds heretical to some hard-core gymgoers. Dellanave disagrees: “Unless you’re a competitive athlete, there’s no need to do any particular exercise in a training session,” he says. Your mission, then, is to put these rules together to figure out your perfect training plan. It starts with doing things consistently (Pillar 2). Fine-tune with Pillar 4. Choose a range of activities in a variety of intensities: two or three days of higher-in-tensity activities (sprints, heavy lifting, climbing, or body-weight strength circuits) coupled with another two or three days of easier stuff, like hiking, jogging, or cycling. Track a few metrics, such as distance covered, weight lifted, and reps completed so you know when you’re get-ting better (as per Pillars 1 and 3), and use those stats to determine if you should go hard or go home (Pillar 5). Finally, whenever and however you can, whether it’s part of a formal workout or not, just play. Shoot hoops with friends, toss a ball with your kid, make like a ninja on the monkey bars. “Pick something you like and go for it,” says Stewart. “If you don’t have a smile on your face when you’re working out, you’re doing something wrong.” Read the full article

[nxrthmizu]

my youth is yours // kuroo tetsurou

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

you don’t know what to expect when kuroo shows up at your front door, one hour before midnight, car keys dangling from his hands like a mistletoe. he wears his signature grin like a tie, disheveled hair gelled at the very tips. 

he doesn’t offer you an explanation to why he’s at your apartment at this hour, and strangely enough, you don’t ask. your brain tells you that you’re being ridiculous, letting a man whisk you away in the middle of the night, but the thumping of your heart overrules all rational thought. you let kuroo take your hand in his, laughter bursting from your lips like a firework. 

you’re dressed in your pajamas, and kuroo is wearing a worn t-shirt he probably used to wear to volleyball practice. the colours of the band logo on the shirt are faded, and the edge of the collar is fraying, but kuroo has never looked so mesmerising to you. 

you don’t question why he’s whisking you away. 

the only question you ask is: “where are we going?” 

a boyish grin slips across his features. “you’ll see.” he says, and you don’t ask anymore, letting him drag you through the bleary, grey corridors of your ancient apartment block. soon enough, the two of you are darting out of the building, hand-in-hand and grinning ear-to-ear. the weary security guard spares you one glance and you’re already bounding away, hand-in-hand with a business major who loves you more than his hectic schedule can allow. 

kuroo tugs you away from your greyscale world and plunges into a world of vibrancy, fingers still tightly wrapped around yours. it feels like jumping off a cliff with no promise of a bungee cord, but fear is strangely absent and you don’t mind. 

your hand is still latched onto kuroo’s as he turns the key and starts the engine, his second-hand jeep roaring to life. the boyish excitement doesn’t fade from his golden eyes, so you don’t let it fade from yours, either. when you twist from your seat to yell goodbye to your apartment, kuroo laughs. he really laughs, in that weird hyena cackle of his, and not in that fake, masked chuckle he uses when he converses at business meetings he doesn’t want to attend. he’s still an intern in the company he’s at, so he can’t afford to lose out on the experience. 

everything feels surreal as you drive through the city, flying past highways and making wishes on the orange orbs of street light that whizz past you like meteors. the clock on the radio reads 23.33 and all that’s playing is preset songs and pre-recorded advertisements. you whoop and punch the air, and it’s like the highway in front of you will stretch on forever. 

it’s 00.14 when kuroo stops. you’re on the bend of a highway that curves around the edge of a cliff like a snake, and the city is glistening in whites and ambers below you. the cold wind caresses you, tossing your hair around wildly. the loose edges of your pajama pants flutter around your ankles, and you feel like you’re royalty, ruling over your lit kingdom from the clouds. 

kuroo leaves the engine running and joins you, watching the city from the top of the world. he leans on the barrister of silver metal, the whites and ambers adding more specks in his golden irises. 

his words are muffled by the wind, and so are your excited cries. your tears are brushed off by the strong breeze, and the only warmth you know is kuroo’s arm around your waist, his chest against your back. it’s illegal to stop on a highway, but kuroo’s jeep is still parked by the curve and neither of you are in any hurry to leave. 

two hours ago, you were just two college students, knee-deep in student debt, wrestling the weight of the world while balancing on the edge of a cliff. 

two hours later, you’re two college students, engaged, knee-deep in student debt, wrestling the weight of the world together. 

two college students, engaged, not so ready to take on the world yet, but willing to do it together. 

──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────

[yutaya]

Iron Fist Week Day 7: minor character/missing scene

Albert is a man. A man... with a van.

He's proud of his van. Sure it was a bitch and a half to get certified and sometimes trying to drive three freaking blocks in this city when he's having a bad enough day can threaten to put his blood pressure through the roof, but he's ground out an honest living for himself with it. That's no mean feat, in this neighborhood.

Plus, Al likes his job. It involves a lot of visiting every nook and cranny of the area, meeting loads of people at varying levels of talkative - it's a job that requires someone personable, and Al doesn't think it's too immodest to say that he fits the bill.

Staring down a fully loaded armoire, though, Al can admit to himself that there are times he's less fond of this job than others.

By the time he's got the thing down on the sidewalk, doors and drawers bound shut and with an initial layer of wrapping to protect it from pedestrian traffic while he sets up the loader, Al has mentally added two upticks to his pain-in-the-ass fee.

"Woah, can I help you with that?"

Al pauses in his transferring long enough to take a look at who's spoken. It's a white guy, 20s, a little scruffy but looks comfortable, and, most importantly, seems genuine.

Al smiles at him. "I appreciate the offer, but these need to be moved in a specific way to prevent scuffing."

"Oh." Al goes back to loading the armoire. "...Would you show me?" Al pauses again. Looks back at the guy. "I'm Danny, by the way," he adds, and smiles beatifically.

Al blinks up at the sky. Had the sun shone more brightly for a second, there? He turns back to wrapping the furniture with blankets and bungee cords. "You need to move a lot of furniture, Danny?" he asks while he works. Engaging in friendly conversation with strangers is second nature to him, at this point.

Danny, who has the courtesy to remain standing out on the street behind the van as they talk, bounces a little as he replies. "Yes, actually! My girlfriend and I have been redoing her apartment."

"Wow, big project. Hey, if you guys need stuff moved around, I've got you covered. Back and forth from the storage unit, delivering your new stuff from the store, bringing your old stuff wherever it's going... My rates are fair and, as you can see, I'd actually take care of your things." He pats the carefully cushioned furniture from his current job in indication.

Danny laughs a little, looking at it. "At least that isn't a piano, right?"

"Hey man, pianos have wheels. I can walk them right up the ramp."

Danny eyes the ramp Al uses with the handtrucks. "Isn't it too skinny?"

Al laughs again. "What kind of piano are you picturing, a grand?" As if anyone who owned one of those would be hiring Al to move it. As if anyone who owned one of those would be living in this area at all.

Danny shrugs, unbothered. "I haven't seen one since I was a kid. Maybe it seemed bigger back then." A beat passes, and then Danny continues talking, the oversharing sort of babble symptomatic of the sleep-deprived. "Anyway, we'll definitely call you for help with our stuff. And you can show me all the right ways to handle everything! I'm probably going to be doing a lot of rearranging furniture and stuff since Colleen is out at Bayard all the time now; she keeps talking about helping the community during the daytime - Colleen's my girlfriend, she's the best - and, I mean, she's right, of course, plus, we just got back to the city and I am not used to not having to do something -" he cuts himself off, lighting up. "Hey, could I get a job with you?"

Al startles. He can usually recognize when someone's coming at that angle. Granted, they usually don't seem to stumble into it by mistake.

"The shop down the street is hiring," he offers. "On the corner."

"Thanks! I'd like to work for this business, though."

Al pauses. Revaluates "Danny". There are only so many reasons someone would be looking for a moving job specifically, and in this neighborhood, the most likely scenario is one that Al has been very carefully steering clear of for 30 years.

"I appreciate the interest," he repeats cautiously, "but we're a small business. I'm afraid we don't really have the means to hire right now." It's a bit of a risk, revealing a vulnerability like that. Luckily, Albert is overstating it a bit; it won't be that easy for any of the triads to put financial pressure on him, and, well. He's stubborn. He swore a long time ago that he wouldn't go there.

"Oh, that's not a problem!" Danny says brightly. "You wouldn't need to pay me. I'm more looking for the experience, you know? I've never had a normal job, and Colleen thinks it'll be good for us to start over."

The alarm bell clanging in Al's head rises to a shriek, then falters. If this is a ploy, it is astoundingly poorly executed. If this guy is in with any sort of organized crime, he can't be more than a fledgling recruit. Al feels a moral obligation to try and steer him better, even if his self preservation instincts disagree.

"Look," Al says, watching Danny's face carefully. "I'm running an honest business, here. I'm not interested in having our name attached to anything. And, if I could offer you a word of advice?" Danny, who mostly just looks confused, nods. "Don't go saying that stuff about working for free. Depending who hears it, that's a good way to end up either severely taken advantage of, or in a coffin. Anyone you might be trying that hard to get a resource for won't be happy about you overplaying your hand."

Danny still looks confused. Al mimes swinging a hatchet. Danny's eyes go wide with clarity.

"I'm not with the triads," he says disconcertingly earnestly. "I'm the Iron Fist. I'm sworn to defend the city from people like them."

...Ok.

Well, at least this is an interesting conversation.

"If you're not with the triads, why do you want this job?"

"I guess I'm looking for something new. For fifteen years, I had one purpose. Now, it's done. Now, I need to build a new life, and..." His voice dips in a certain way with the next words, a way that makes Al's stomach sink with the familiarity of it. "...keep a promise to a friend."

Al looks at Danny, a pit in his stomach and memories in his heart. Resignation settles underneath his skin.

"You have a résumé?" he asks. At least Danny doesn't seem inclined to just throw things around, like some other shipping companies that Al could name. Royal Al Moving provides quality for its clients, thank you very much.

"I don't think so. What is that, equipment? I could buy some."

Al stares at him. He'd been expecting either an agreement to email or bring by a copy later, or a conversation along the lines of 'do I really need one?' followed by a verbal listing off of previous work or even just ability.

"Do you have any previous experience?" Al tries again. "Had any jobs before?"

"Yeah, I have," Danny says, and doesn't elaborate.

White people.

"What about ID?" Al asks, despite knowing full well he'll probably pretend not to notice if anything seems off about it.

Danny laughs a bit, seemingly unphased by his own complete lack of knowledge regarding ordinary job application/interview etiquette whatsoever. "Oh, I definitely have that. Had to fight really hard for it, too. It was almost all gone, but once everything got sorted out, we made, like, 10 new copies of everything." Danny pats around at his pockets, not appearing to notice Al's incredulous expression. "I don't have any of those with me right now, but... Ah ha!" He pulls something out triumphantly. "Business cards! I'm pretty sure my brother thought I was just going to destroy them, but my friend Jeri said it's important to always have one. It might have gone through the laundry, though, sorry."

Assuming this day can't get any weirder, like a fool, Al takes the card.

Even worn and slightly crumpled, the obnoxiously expensive quality of the original card is still clear. There's embossing and gold foil, for god's sake. The Rand Enterprises logo glints up at him almost mockingly even as the three dimensional lines of the border rise and fall under his thumb. Either seems unnecessary and frankly tone deaf for a Humanitarian Aid company, let alone both. Then again, maybe they reserve this version of the card for the executive level, those who hobnob among the elite, who need to make a certain type of impression on the too rich in order to convince them to donate well.

Because that's another thing this card reads, right there in plain English: a 9pt bold 'Daniel Rand', and under that, 'CEO'.

'What,' a little voice in Al's head wails semi-hysterically, 'the fuck?'

"Is this a joke?" Al asks out loud, vaguely surprised by how calm he sounds given the way the voice inside his head might be having a meltdown. "Am I on Candid Camera?"

But, no, wasn't he just thinking that this card is way too expensive - and thus definitely too expensive to be a prop?

"Hey, I know that one!" Danny Rand says cheerfully. "Joy and I used to watch it together!"

'Joy,' the voice in Al's head supplies. 'Joy Meachum.

'Well, at least this explains why he said he doesn't need money.

'Wait, why is he looking for a job in the first place? Is he not CEO? Did they kick him out or something? Did they disown him for wearing a hoodie with holes in it? Is that what he meant earlier when he said the thing he was doing before is over now?'

Al has never felt more rueful that he doesn't pay much attention to celebrity news.

"So," Al tries to find a way to word this that isn't 'have you been cut off or what?' "Why is Danny Rand looking for a job here?"

By "here", Al means a lot of things. This type of neighborhood, in general. Chinatown, out of all of them. At a low-wage position in a manual labor business with very little room for growth, if they're really getting into it.

"I like your name," Danny replies. It's far from the kind of answer that Al was expecting, but he finds himself unperturbed. Maybe he's hit a point where nothing is surprising anymore. "It reminds me of a friend. He was more of a Big Al than a Royal one, but I saw your logo and it seemed right."

-

(Al still pays Danny, because he refuses to be a shady business and because if he's finally getting around to setting up an employee system, he's needs to make it one that will work for anyone he might hire in the future, too. They won't all be Danny Rand. Danny keeps finding ways to immediately give it back, because he's literally a billionaire.)

[phoenixpinks]

Things Team Lazarus said during EoD starters

"When all else fails, Lex Luthor intends to kill Superman with Death." "HOLY BAT, BATMAN!" "WAIT SO WAIT WHAT???" "We're not in any danger! We're just nerds solving riddles on the internet!" "I ain't dressing up every night to find someone to punch" "I don't need to dress up every night to find someone to punch" "my son won't respond to my texts about wearing a bullet proof best, he is so grounded" "HELLO NAUGHTY CHILDREN IT'S TIME FOR FEAR" "NO FORTS. ONLY JUSTICE." "we're conventing court in the fort" "We pun to forget tears though" "Im gonna release all of these come the end of this, nothing is sacred" "he faked his death to get away from us" "but, it's all in good pun" "This is our life now" "you could have fit a meme in there" "oh god it is going to be a time thing" "yes how dare you say a meme I don't know, or whatever that is" "it only hurts if you let it hurt" "lies, I almost cried last night I will have none of your nonsense" "i am of a sensitive disposition. everything hurts" "Worse than my solving my problems with ___ and cocaine idea?" "you don't mix ANYTHING with cocaine, instant death" "Can I mix water with cocaine" "I may not have a coffee problem but I am surrouned by 5 different types of soda cans rn" "the soccer van, but for super villains" "we can alwats tie some people to the top of the car with bungee cords" "free test subject right here" "Ya'll gnna get yourselves killed" "My guy I'm lowekey terrified 24/7." "you're always screaming" "ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT" "I'M NOT SURE ABOUT ANYTHING" "you do not need to focus on that" "bye whoever’s leaving, I can't keep track of all of you" "you're attractive and love crime, I'm attractive and love crime. Let's be attractive and commit crimes together." "Dr we will never send puns again if you promise to stop getting into death traps" "I only said it was nice to see him again with the living. I may not sound it, but I'm absolutely ecstatic" "wow I mean he's probably not the best at running" "Kick him in the knees" "Hes DIED, He'll be fine" "I COME HOME TO PAIN!!!!" "fuck you ____ you suck at taking care of yourself" "Yes now shut up and sleep in a bed tonight instead of a ditch" "Being unconscious does not count as sleep" "IT'S NOT THE PUNISHMENT YOU DESERVE, BUT IT'S THE PUNISHMENT YOU NEED" 'We need justice for these puns" "Honestly anyone int he crowd might have snapped and shit him just to shut him up" "it was me guys" "you did the world a service fam" "YOU HAVE TAINTED HIM" "WELCOME TO THE DARK SIDE, ____" "Nnnnnng that hurt me" "i gtg, I want to finish this report before 3 A.M" "procrastination at its finest" "get in losers we're going spooping" "Why have we formed a cult" "This was not what i expected when i first asked to join the skype group" "All groups of friends make cults at some point" "would it be irresponsible of me to send a message saying 'run bitch run'? "WHEN I TOLD HIM TO KICK ASS AND TAKE NAMES THIS ISN'T WHAT I MEANT" "I GO ON WARCRAFT FOR TEN FUCKING MINUTES AND IT ALL GOES TO SHIT" "I instinctively covered my ears at the gunshots but then I remembered I was wearing headphones" *does the 'I'm so smart' dance "Mother always told me I was special" "I hope we're blowing this way out of proportion but at the same time this would be a hilarious plot twist" "WHOO BOY SCREENSHOT" "He's moved from senpai to fam" "He's probably lughing in his cellar" "dial dow the thirst there my dude lmao, ily thou" "I for one always overreact" "I never overreact. WHY. ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPLY SOMETHING" "___ ARE YOU ON HELIUM???" "I COME BACK AND WHAT DO I FIND" "WHY CAN'T THE RIDDLES LEAD SOMEWHERE SAFE!?! LIKW I DON'T KNOW! A DUCK POND OR I DON'T KNOW!!" "because my mind went from 'do we know any duck themed villains' to that weird French duck from courage the cowardly dog" "SHE'S HATING ON MY BOI JULIUS CAESAR" "it's been 2060 years __ im" "knife to meet your boi julius caesar" "Ok i'll hit you up next year when it's 2061" "YOU CAN HIT ME UP WHEN I'M DEAD FAM" "___ has nominated me as a Fish, or a frog, I don't even know" "if im bill the lizard youre gonna be a fish w me" "MAYBE I LIKE BEING DROP KICKED" "there is so much anger on that voice that is just covered layer of 'fuck this'" "Really? Legwork? Oh, this is grand." "give me your free time im dying in work" "it's a supervillainy way though" "I'm already dating a weeb and then I come here and WHAT DO I SEE" "I'm going to smack you all" "Everyone go stand in the corner" "I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN YOU HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS OH MY GOD" "I never had an anime phase I win" "everybody loves him but the sentiment is not reciprocated" "i will be ashamed for the rest of my life, but sure" "time to Google... aight Google isn't helping" "Tfw you kill ___, Reblog if you agree" "he looks like you should just start punching him and never stop" "when did we start being about ____'s butt" "We're allowed to be proud because it's obvious the guy is salty and not happy with our success." "I'M DISOWNING YOU ALL, EVEN HIM" "oh hey it's midnight" "you can't cheat the champion of cheating" "you cheated and I shall cheat harder" "I'd hope that I'd at least be captured by honorable idiots" "NO DUMBO RIDES. ONLY JUSTICE." "you and I are on separate wavelengths than" "OKAY STRICTLY UPDATE THEY ARE NOW PLAYING WAKE ME UP INSIDE WHATS HAPPENING" "don't meme shame me bro" "Your memes are stale, and you are stale" "lol what is romantic human interaction" "what is human interaction" "what is interaction" "What is human" "this is the worst thing I have ever created and I will burn for this" "I look at him directly and said fuck you" "I gotta go eat dinner y'all are fucking insane" "I WILL RUN EXPERIMENTS IN THE BASEMENT WHO'S WITH ME??" "Do you have any redeeming qualities" "c'mon skype lemme transer sewing via you...." "are you kidding, this is better than all the tv shows I'm behind on" "MURDER ROADTRIP" "Rosaceae are refuscent, Violas are cerulean, Cane crystals are saccharine, homogeneous to you" "WE ARE THE BEST GROUPIES" "shes not even here, she chickened out of the fight" "Tfw your brain is memes" "Twf yer also an adult" "Yup. Exactly Sad O'Clock" "So sad o'clock is midnight o fifty, got it"

[theatrelove3000]

Show Yourself

Hello! I have no patience so I decided to post again. Twice in two days is okay right? It’s fine.  This is another song fic. I know that not many people like them but they relate in terms of how things progress. These fics can stand alone but also work together to form a story. This one is Show Yourself from Frozen II (sorry not sorry, I do what I want.) I do not own Frozen or it’s music. If I did, I would be way better off than I currently am, haha!

Summary: Loki and Thor get in an argument and Loki, being the drama king he is, flees to Jötenhiem. He really should have realized that His Queen would come after him.

Warnings: Nothing too serious. Its a fluffy ball of fluff. 

Show Yourself

Noelle PoV:

"THOR, WHAT DID YOU DO?!" I scream as I storm my way into the throne room, not caring who was in there and what was happening.

My friends run in behind me but they have longer legs than I do and keep up easily. Fandral catches me around the waist as I struggle towards Loki's brother. The king.

The king who cowers from me as I burst into the room.

"Lady Noelle, I know you are upset-" He has his hands raised in a defensive position. Sif ushers whoever was in the throne room with Thor out, guards included.

"Upset? UPSET?! I CAN'T SEE 'UPSET' FROM WHERE I AM STANDING!" I lash out at him again but Fandral is stronger than me and contains me easily.

"Noelle, please take a breath and explain what has happened! If this is about the argument Loki and I had, it was nothing that we haven't done before, you know this."

"Yes, well, your little 'argument' has caused your brother, my fiancè, to leave Asgard. Why would he leave me if YOU HADN'T SAID SOMETHING WORSE THAN USUAL?!"

His face drains of all colour. He pauses for a moment, mouth hanging open. I channel my emotions into my magic and bust out of Fandral's grip. Before they could process my action, I had Thor held against the wall five feet up with my other arm stretched out as a warning to the others.

"Loki has taught her well." Hogan murmurs to Volstagg. I wasn't meant to hear it but that's not what I'm worried about.

"What did you say to him?" I ask angrily.

He stutters a bit and I start pushing more pressure into his chest where I hold him. If I didn't need answers, it would be his throat.

"I may have said something about how he wasn't truly the heir because of the monster beneath his skin." He whispers, tears welling a bit.

I drop him.

Sif rushes to his side and helps him sit up. "A stunt like that will get you killed, Lady Noelle. It's treason." She spits at me. I fix my gaze on her and she immediately looks away.

"What did he say to that?"

"He said 'If I am a monster, perhaps I should go back to where the monsters lurk.' I didn't think he meant it, Noelle. I'm so sorry."

I take a deep breath. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." And with that, I teleport to my room.

I fall into the chair next to the door, putting my head in my hands with my elbows on my knees. I try to stop the tears but everything hurts. First I lose my mother, not 4 months ago, then the only man I've ever loved.

"But he isn't lost, is he, girl." I jump at hearing a voice in my room. I look up to meet the golden eyes of Heidall. I stand and bow my head to him slightly.

"Come now, child. You know where he is. You have the ability to retrieve him. Only you can." I nod slightly, not really understanding his words.

"You will need your cloak."

I raise an eyebrow at him but move to my closet to get the dark green cloak that Loki bought for me. 'In case it is ever necessary.' He had told me. As I wrap the heavy material around my shoulders, I feel the Bifrost working around me. I squeeze my eyes shut.

The next thing I know, my hair and cloak are being whipped around by a freezing wind. I open my eyes and realize that I am in Jötenhiem. If the snow and ice don't prove that, then the thunderous winds that chill me to the bone does.

I pull my cloak closer around me and start walking towards the monstrous ice formations where I knew I would be more sheltered from the wind. As I get closer, I feel the familiar tug of my connection with Loki. I know he is close.

He knows I'm here.

"Loki?" I call out to him, not expecting an answer. "Loki, it's me. Please, come out." I wait to see if he responds. He doesn't.

I get a little impatient and very upset.” Loki, don't hide from me. You have nothing to be ashamed of! Thor is an idiot who ran his mouth but you know he was wrong, Loki. He feels bad about it. Please, come home. Come back to me." I feel him pull a little further. It feels like a bungee cord being stretched out between us.

"Please don't leave me." I whisper

The pulling stops. He stopped moving. He heard me. But he still doesn't come out. I suddenly have an idea.

“Every inch of me is trembling; But not from the cold; Something is familiar; Like a dream I can reach but not quite hold; I can sense you're here; Like a friend I've always known; I'm arriving; And it feels like I am home.” I sing in a low voice. I'm mostly trying to warm my voice enough to get louder. It's freaking cold here.

“You have always been a fortress; Cold secrets deep inside; I've had secrets, too; So you don't have to hide; Show yourself; I'm dying to see you; Show yourself; It's your turn; You are the one I've been looking for; All of my life!; Show yourself; I'm ready to learn.” I sing the scales his mother used to him to him to help him sleep. It is returned by a higher pitched version of the same scales coming from the ice formations behind me. I start walking faster towards them, no longer feeling the biting cold.

“I've never felt so certain; All your life you've been torn; But I'm here for a reason; Could you be the reason I was born?; We have always been so different; Normal rules did not apply; Is this the day?; Is this the way; We finally find out why?; Show yourself; I'm no longer trembling; Here I am; I've come so far.” I've reached the first few ice spikes. I put a hand on one of the towering spires.

“You are the answer I've waited for; All of my life; Oh, show yourself; Let me see where you are!; Come to me now; Open your door; Don't make me wait; One moment more; Oh, come to me now; Open your door; Don't make me wait; One moment more!” I slowly turn in my place, taking a few steps deeper into the cavern.

I place my hand on the wall, knowing he is close, when the wall collapses into tiny pieces at my touch. I jump away from it then turn to see there is a whole new room that the wall was hiding.

It looks like a throne room. It's long and narrow and there is an elevated platform at the end of it. That's where I spot my Loki, sitting atop the chair of ice. He looks almost like he has been waiting for me, but I can tell he didn't expect me to come find him.

“Where the north wind meets the sea.” I hear his voice. I respond with the scales. “There's a river full of memory.”

“Come my darling homeward bound;” I stretch my hand out for him to take and he stands, but doesn't move to meet me. “You are found! Show yourself; Step into your power; Grow yourself; Into something new; You are the one we've been waiting for;” I start running towards him.

“All of our lives.”

“All of our lives; Oh, show yourself!”  He reaches his hand out to me.

I sing the scales a few times as I climb the steps up to him. I take his hand and pull him to me. He buries his face in the crook of my neck and I move one of my hands up and down his spine while the other combs through his hair. His arms wrap tightly around my waist and pulls me closer to his chest.

We stand in silence for a moment before I start to shiver again. Loki notices immediately and pulls me to the throne he was in when I got here. He pulls another thick blanket and cloak from thin air. He sits me in his lap and wraps the fabric around me, whatever was left, he pulled around himself.

"You should not have come here. You can't just follow me into a frozen wasteland." He tells me, dragging me impossibly closer.

I curl my fingers into the lapels of his leathers, trying my best to disappear into him. "Then you should not leave me and run away to a frozen wasteland." I reply and he chuckles, kissing my temple. "Please come home with me?"

He stiffens but doesn't let me go, probably for fear that I'll freeze. "I do not belong there."

"Don't say that. You only think that because you were raised to think Frost Giants are monsters. Loki, look at me." I put my fingers on his jaw and turn his face to look at me. "You are not a monster. You are Loki. You are my Loki. You are Frigga's son." He opens his mouth to protest but I keep talking, "Do not go there. You don't have to be blood related to be family."

"That is sort of the definition of family, love."

"Are we related by blood?"

He stops, shocked, then replies, "No. But that is not the same. I plan to make you my wife, therefore you are my family by marriage."

I sigh. "You were adopted. Frigga treated you as her son. She loved you unconditionally. No matter what happened with Odin, she made sure you were taken care of. Is that not what you have done for me? Brought me into your life, your world? Do you love me unconditionally? Make sure I'm cared for? How is this different?"

He looks away from my face, staring at the floor. I press my lips to his cheek before shuddering from the cold again. I nuzzle my face into his neck, anything to keep warm. He starts to stand and put me on my feet but I cling to him.

"Darling, you can't stay much longer. You will freeze."

"I am not leaving without you." I state stubbornly.

He sighs defeatedly before calling for Heimdall. The Bifrost surrounds us and I shut my eyes, curling closer to Loki's body. We appear back in Asgard on the platform of Heimdall's post. From there, he nods to Heimdall and teleports us to his chambers.

Still cradling me to his chest, he pulls back the covers and sets me on the bed. He crawls in next to me and pulls the blankets over us both, wrapping his arms around me.

As soon as I stop shivering, I start taking the cloaks off, but leave the sheets covering me and Loki. I snake my arms around his neck and pull him closer, as if I could keep him there with me. I knew that if he wanted to go, he would have no trouble getting up.

"On the contrary, love." He mutters in my ear, "I am rather comfortable at the moment, therefore not intending to stand in the near future."

"I suppose that means that I'm not standing either?"

He hums in affirmation and buries his face deeper into my hair. I giggle a little at the feeling of his nose rubbing the side of my neck.

I'm not sure how long we lay in the bed, wrapped up in each other. We are so close that it is hard to tell where he stops and I begin. Eventually though, we both get hungry and I leave him in the bedroom to go get some food from the dining hall. I am hesitant to leave the room in fear that he won't be there when I return but he promised me that he would be waiting for me.

I would have followed him wherever he went anyway.

"Lady Noelle!" Volstagg exclaims as I collect some food for Loki and myself.

"Hello, Volstagg."

"Did you find your Prince?"

"I did. Please send my apologies to Thor for my behavior earlier. I would do it myself but I need to return to Loki. He hasn’t eaten today."

We clasp arms and I pick up the plates I made for us. On my way back to Loki's chambers, I get an idea.

"I have had a thought!" I tell him, handing him his plate.

"A dangerous pastime."

I giggle at his reference and respond, "I know."

"What is your thought, darling?" He takes his plate from my hands and picks up some grapes.

"Let's leave Asgard."

He pauses, a piece of bread halfway to his mouth. He sets down the food and looks at me.

"What?" He looks a little shocked.

"Let's leave Asgard. You aren't happy here, you and Thor are always fighting, and whether you realize it or not, you have become increasingly more depressed. I miss Midgard, as well. Maybe we could move there? I'm happy as long as you're with me, I just thought a change of scenery might do you some good." He presses his fingers to my lips to stop my rambling.

"If you wish to go to Midgard, we will go to Migard." He says quietly.

"It's not about me, Loki. It's about you."

"I agree with you. I think that Midgard is the only other realm that is somewhat safe for both you and me, though it is not completely harmless in my case. Where would we stay?"

"When I went back to live with my mother after you died," he shutters at my mentioning it, "I met the Avengers. I worked with them, I helped them in Sokovia. They trust me."

He sneers a bit at the name. "They do not trust me."

"Tony offered me my own floor in the tower, we could live there."

"The Avengers do not like me."

"But they could learn. I could go ahead for a few days and convince them that you weren't yourself and you could join me in a week?"

He sighs, his eyes searching mine. "You think they will believe you?"

I cup his cheek, bringing his forehead to mine. "If I had a better place where you could ease into Midgard, I would suggest it, but since I haven't been on Migard in a while, I don't have enough money to get us an apartment."

He closes his eyes and nods. "We will go to Stark. But I want to come with you. I do not want to wait. We can stay at an inn until you get everything settled with him."

"You are sure that you are okay with this? Maybe if I asked Thor to tag along at first, to help us convince the team, they would be more willing."

"As you wish."

I smile and press my lips to his. He runs his fingers through my hair and holds the back of my neck to keep me in place. I drag my nails against his scalp, earning a groan from him. He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me into his lap, the food completely forgotten.

~~~~~Le Time Skip~~~~~

"You really believe Reindeer Games has changed?" Tony asks me with hesitation.

"It's not that he has changed. It's like he went back to who he truly is. He was under Thanos' control when he attacked New York." I say.

"How do we know that you aren't under his control?" Bucky questions. I turn and look him in the eyes.

"You know me better than most everyone else, Buck. Am I acting like I am under his control?"

"She is acting of her own free will." I hear the slightly Russian accent of Wanda say from behind me. I spin around just as the glimmer of her red magic disappears. "I would sense his presence if he was there."

"See? It's fine. Please just give him a chance? He wants to prove himself." I take Tony's hand, pleading with him.

"Out of curiosity, why are you so set on this?" Steve asks me. The others murmur around me. Shit.

"I just. He is my best friend and he hates being in Asgard. His other option is Jötenhiem but I don't want him to seclude himself there. Please? He just wants to show you that the being that attacked New York is not the same person I know."

Tony and Steve sigh simultaneously (which makes me smile a little and Buck snort.) "Can Thor back you up?" Tony asks.

"I wanted to bring him with but he is busy with the whole acting as king thing while his father is ill. But he did send his regards and agrees with me."

Tony pinches the bridge of his nose and looks over at Steve. They look at each other for a moment before Steve nods. "Fine. You may both stay here. He will have his own floor when he proves himself but until then, he stays with you. I have a floor prepared, all you gotta do is decorate. There is an office we could turn into a guest bedroom but I would personally make him sleep on the couch."

I grin and throw my arms around Tony. "Thank you so much, Tones! I promise you won't regret this."

"I hope not, Elle. Otherwise it's your head. And his." He hugs me back. I hug the rest of my friends and talk to Tony about the bare necessities for my apartment before teleporting back to the hotel.

When I get there, Loki is asleep on the bed with his book open and laying on his chest. After taking the book on the bedside table, I creep towards him silently and move around the bed. Crawling in beside him, I wrap my arms around him. He wakes up enough to turn to face me, dragging me to his body before passing out again. I'll tell him we have a place to stay when we wake up.

[emsartwork]

What are your winx couple headcanons?

Other questions about relationships also answered below

Like how they interact? I talked a little bit about the canon dynamics in an ask-dump here but I’ll write a little more and copy paste stuff here lol

BLOOM AND SKY:  so bloom and sky aren’t the most stable couple, and in my version it would take bloom a little longer to be ok with dating a prince. Bloom is fairly insecure in her relationships because of self worth issues, and tend to run away from problems instead of dealing with them. Sky on the other hand is confident but doesn’t really know how to handle people’s feelings and tends to push confrontation. Bloom is also prefers to move a little slower than Sky would maybe prefer, like he’s good with their relationship and tries not to push Bloom or make her upset but he’d probably like to be married already lol. Bloom and Sky have figured out that if they’re having conflict issues, one of the best things to do is for them to write out whats bothering them and send letters/texts/emails back and forth. This gives Bloom a safe space and time to process her emotions, and lets Sky express his opinion with out getting to intense and pushing for Bloom to talk to him. They’ve taken to doing this with non-conflict thingies too, like its not out of the norm for Sky to receive a wax sealed envelope with a beautifully calligraphied message on parchment that simply says Bloom saw a super fluffy dog that day lol

STELLA AND BRANDON:  They love each other so much its the best omg. Stella finds her worth in her appearance but she always seems to take Brandon’s complements in a less…. arrogant way? if that makes sense? like she truly appreciates them and wants his support. I wish we knew more about Brandon but he’s legit such a good boyfriend. I think they fight mostly when Stella is being a little selfish, or when Brandon is too busy to meet her emotional needs. I think Brandon and Stella are the kind of couple that could be married for years and still feel like they’re on their honeymoon, They would probably get married because of societal pressure but if Stella wasn’t a princess they wouldn’t bother with the ceremony since it wouldn’t change their devotion to each other. They flirt with other people pretty casually but neither would EVER cheat or go any further than idle compliments. Stella’s fear of being alone/disliked is still present, but Brandon will generally just pick up some chocolate, put on a movie and let Stella do his nails or hair or make-up whenever she’s feeling down. Stella was perfectly fine with Brandon not being a prince, she came to terms with the situation a lot faster than Bloom did. However, she does try to make sure Brandon knows she’s with him for him. One of Stella’s main love languages is gifts, and Brandon does appreciate it, but his main love language is actually acts of service, so sometimes he feels a little underappreciated (if Stella doesn’t pick up on this Sky will and let her know). In which case Stella will sneakily figure out what he needs and will take care of it (shopping for a new coat? done. its super flattering and makes his eyes pop. mess hall cleaning duty at Red Fountain? she’ll do it(with some magical assistance). he doesn’t have time to make himself lunch? she will try her best but it might be safer for her to order him some take out) Like Stella is silly, excitable, and can be self centered but she loves her people and wants to make sure they know that.

FLORA AND HELIA:  So Helia is more of a drama queen in the comics but we’ll ignore that for right now lol. Flora and Helia are probably the least problematic couple in the entire show. They met. Flirted a little. Confessed. and started dating with out any major problems. I think both Helia and Flora’s love language is quality time so they’re fairly low key and just like to be in the same space with each other. Unfortunately their issues stem from both of them being passive aggressive. Like Flora doesn’t want to cause problems or upset anyone, and Helia just doesn’t freaking talk. This can lead to slow simmering fights that build until one of them blows up. They learn to catch the signs of that starting earlier and earlier tho, so they’re both learning its better to bring up an issue earlier if its gonna be a problem later. Flora thinks Helia would be happier as a full time artist than as a warrior or mage, but knows he needs to come to his own conclusion.

TECNA AND TIMMY:  They’re super cute honestly. I think Timmy was probably the one to instigate the relationship and bonded with Tecna over technology since she wasn’t super emotionally available at first. They have issues when Tecna is unable to voice her emotions and Timmy needs to know what she’s feeling mostly, but after the first few times they’ve both learned to give the other space to figure their stuff out. Timmy will ask Tecna to use Emoji’s if she’s having a really difficult time figuring out what she’s feeling. He knows its not fair to Tecna but Timmy sometimes feels a little resentful because she’s had a fairly easy life, access to top rate tech, rich parents, stable environment, and barely had to study, while Timmy scrapped and saved and had to learn fast because of his environment.(his home isn’t exactly unsafe, but asteroid colonies are nomadic by nature which mean a certain level of instability is part of living in one)  

MUSA AND RIVEN:  Ok so, ignoring the several times Riven was LITERALLY MIND CONTROLLED his character is still difficult to deal with. I think Musa and Riven are both very intense people, and while that can be super fun and develop into a good relationship, it can also lead to LOTS of problems. For their relationship, I think they wouldn’t even start dating until like season 3 era at the earliest.(this is partially why season 4 is so rough for them, its a new relationship) a lot of their issues would stem from their attachment issues and how they respond to insecurity. Riven’s mom left him, just fucking dropped out of his life while he was a young kid, leaving him with an emotionally distant and dismissive father he could never please. So Riven responds by pushing people away before they can reject him, becoming controlling, or dismissing them in anger and pretending not to care about their opinion. Musa’s mother was taken away from her by illness.  I think it happened in Musa’s early teens, since it’s clearly still a tender subject in the first season. A parents death is painful no matter the circumstance, but a sickness that slowly steals the person you love away from you must be incredibly painful. As a result, Musa experience a lot of anxiety about the people she loves leaving her(whether by their choice or not), and becomes clingy, emotionally demanding, and sensitive. When Riven pushes her away to protect himself Musa tries to force her way back to him, when Musa wants Riven to act certain way or do something to ease her anxiety (even if its irrational and she is at fault) Riven dismisses her needs because it means he can keep himself safe from failure. They have similar problems but the way they respond to it ends up escalating every issue. They do eventually grow and become vulnerable with each other, Riven tries to express his affection more(even if it’s not through words) instead of hiding them in fear of rejection, and Musa tries to explain when her feelings are hurt more clearly instead of just assuming Riven knows what he did wrong. They also clash a bit over parentage, both only have their dads left, but Musa’s is involved and (now)supportive, while Riven’s is still distant. Musa has positive memories of her mother and misses her a lot, but Riven has very few memories and is terribly angry at his mother. I think that Riven still left at the end of season 6, but they didn’t exactly break up, they both recognized that Riven needed some time away from the specialists to work on his own shit and gain confidence in his own skills and self worth, so it turned into a low key long distance thing. (if he hadn’t come back in season 8  they would just decide to break it off but lol he’s back)

AISHA AND NABU:  ugh perfect couple. minus the kind of sketchy beginning lol. Aisha and Nabu generally don’t fight once they get used to each other. Nabu is a focal point that Aisha is kind of bungee corded to if that makes sense? like obviously not in a restricting way. Its just Aisha is hella active/independent and needs her own space to explore and grow, but Nabu is her solid ground that she relies on and always comes back to. Nabu and Aisha are both smart, but Nabu is a little more of a nerd than Aisha and has a lot of book knowledge. Nabu sometimes gets irritated at Aisha’s impulsiveness, he tries to let it go and jump with her sometimes but generally just lets her do her own thing, of course on the other hand, Aisha can get irritated at Nabu’s resistance to change, she knows pestering and pushing him won’t help tho so she tries to slow down and walk through it with him when she can. 

AISHA AND NEX:  So like I said Aisha is an active, independent woman, and if Nabu was a separate, stationary, focal point for her, I think Nex is related, moving, counter point. So like Nex can actually keep up with Aisha, and push her and challenge her. Which isn’t a bad thing in relationships so long as a mutual respect is there. Nex is aggressive and can be hot headed but I think he actually takes life at a slower pace than Aisha who is a master of multitasking. Aisha admires Nex’s drive but wishes he would be a little more directional with it. When they’re not being competitive, they have a very weird calming effect around each other. Aisha and Nex don’t seem to notice this, but the rest of the group picked up on it one day and could not for the life them figure out how two such intense people could have such a chill vibe. 

Daphne and Thoren actually met when they were kids, but didn’t spend much time together because it was at a formal event. Daphne is technically 20 years older than Thoren(only a few years older than Sky), but they’re the same physical age because Daphne spent so long as a spirit. I also like to think Thoren met her as a spirit(with out recognizing her) during his paladin training. They probably wouldn’t get married as quickly in my version, especially with Daphne’s trauma. Daphne was actually receiving physical and mental therapy on Ohm when Thoren visited the planet as part of his paladin duties. They didn’t hit it off right away, but didn’t dislike each other or anything. They actually bonded over scars, Thoren has scars from some paladin related incidents, but also has a scar from when he attempted suicide. Daphne asked him about his first, she eventually explained hers to him but since they were more recent it took a little longer for her to come to terms with what happened to her. Thoren finds her scars beautiful, partially because they’re a part of Daphne, but also because they mean she survived and that she’s healing. Daphne will have nightmares sometimes and Thoren has a whole routine for comforting her and helping her feel safe and grounded. Thoren gets anxious easily, and Daphne will use her magic to subtly change the environment so he feels more comfortable. They like to watch reality tv together and yell at stupid dramatic people. Daphne is terrified of losing her loved ones and can be over protective of Thoren even though he can take care of himself, and Thoren hesitates to ask her to do anything for him because he’s (irrationally)nervous about overwhelming her. In the future, Daphne is a little unsure about asking him to marry her, not because of their relationship, but because he would assume the role of King of Domino and that’s a lot of pressure but they discuss it and work through everything together. Neither of them are good at gardening, but they have a little section of the Domino castle gardens they like to try and grow things in. Thoren also does fine metal work with wires. 

Their families are very pleased with the relationship. Thoren’s mom and Daphne are pretty different but vibe together really well. Thoren and Oritel take up sparing together and Oritel has no problems with Daphne’s choice of partner. Thoren’s dad finds Daphne to be a very fine young lady, though he has concerns that his son is with some one who has so much recent trauma and he worries it’ll kick start Thoren’s depression again. Marion doesn’t think anybody is good enough for her girls but Thoren comes pretty close, Thoren has expressed interest in learning magic, and Marion is eager to teach him, though he may regret letting her once the lessons actually start lol. 

Oritel and Marion like Sky well enough, and they recognize he’s still young and is growing, but they privately think Bloom could do better. Erendor and Samara are concerned about Bloom’s civilian background (how will she handle ruling a kingdom when she has no political training?) and though the Dragon flame would be a huge asset to Eraklyon in power it could also draw unwanted attention and attacks so they’re also concerned about that. But besides those issues, Erendor actually really likes Bloom. Samara.... is very stiff and formal so its hard to tell if she likes Bloom or if she’s just being civil and tolerating her. 

Brandon’s parents LOVE Stella, they think she’s hilarious and cute and they dote on her whenever possible. If Stella and Brandon ever broke up they would probably still invite her to family events and stuff lol. Luna and Radius, when they’re not dealing with their own relationship issues, enjoy Brandon’s company. They kind of wish Stella had chosen a Solarian partner, but its customary to let Solarian children follow their heart and pick their own partner. 

Timmy’s mom hasn’t met Tecna in person, but Timmy talks about her all the time and Timmy’s mom thinks she sounds wonderful. Electronio and Magnethia were unsure of Timmy at first. They ran the numbers through the Zenithian Compatibility and Success in Relationship Indicator and Timmy + Tecna didn’t do so well on paper. However, Tecna was absolutely firm in her decision to be with Timmy even if it didn’t make sense to her parents, which was unusual for her. They like him a lot now, even if they don’t fully understand how he works lol. 

Helia’s dads think Flora is a total catch for Helia like “damn son how did you convince her to date you???” Helia just groans and rolls his eyes. Magic dad likes to talk nature magic with Flora and Warrior dad is always trying to teach her some new self defense tactic when she visits, much to the embarrassment of his son. Alyssa and Rhodos like Helia, even if they think he’s a little out there. Like Flora, they try to encourage his pursuit of art. Miele likes to mess with Helia and pull pranks on him, Helia pretends to be horribly offended but he actually thinks she’s hilarious.

Aisha was a dream match for Nabu’s parents, they cared more about her status as princess than her as a person at first. After Nabu’s death they blamed Aisha and rejected all of her attempts to contact them. In the process of healing, they’ve reached out to her and are trying to appreciate/get to know her as some one their son loved and not just a rung on the social ladder. Aisha’s parents liked Nabu, they didn’t really get to know him very well, but thought he was a smart, capable, and well mannered young man. They saw Aisha was happy with him and left it at that. 

Aisha’s parent’s were less sure of Nex, Andros is a fairly planet centric culture, and Nex, as a Mare Lynphean especially, didn’t quite fit into their Land/Sea dichotomy. Aisha of course, isn’t one to follow social norms if she doesn’t want to. Nex is a little worried about her parents approval, but Aisha insists that the only approval he needs is hers. Niobe and Teredor are currently leaving the relationship as is, knowing fighting Aisha will just make her dig her heels in more. Nex eventually wins them over with his bravery, charm, and devotion to Aisha. When Nex told his parents he was dating a princess, they were kind of surprised. They were also surprised when Aisha turned out to be an athletic, independent, and brash young woman instead of a delicate, dependent, and prissy princess. They absolutely approve and love spending time with her.

Musa hasn’t met Riven’s dad. Riven and his dad aren’t close, they talk maybe once a month and its usually a text from his dad with “update request; academics, physical health, extra curricular, and relationships statuses.” and Riven usually just responds with “update; fuck off.” Riven’s dad does know he’s dating some one but doesn’t have a lot of information. Musa’s dad DID NOT like Riven at first. He didn’t like his look, his reputation, or his attitude. however, Ho-Boe comes from a warrior background, though he prefer(ed)s musical pursuits, he came to respect Riven’s discipline in those areas, and eventually was able to relate to Riven’s rejection of his heritage.  

Bloom and Daphne are a little.... one sided, at least in the beginning. When Bloom first meets Daphne (that she remembers) Daphne isn’t even a real person, she’s a dream or at most a spirit. Even after Bloom learns her name Daphne is a mystery, and its not until like end of season three that they start talking regularly. On Daphne’s side, Bloom was a toddler, and then is suddenly grown up. Daphne still thinks of her like her baby sister, even tho the two of them are, physically, almost the same age now. Daphne also always knew she had a sister, while Bloom thought of herself as an only child for the majority of her life at this point. So while they love each other and get a long pretty well, they have misconceptions and don’t always view the other person as they actually are.

Sure! Stormy likes cream puffs, like A LOT. She owns only dark red lipsticks. She likes doing her makeup but has no patience for her hair, she usually chops a lot of it off every couple months and just lets it do whatever it wants. Stormy has a “worry stone” made of metal she keeps in her pocket. She’s got adhd and Darcy sometimes magically helps calm her brain down when she needs to focus. Stormy of course, loves thunder storms, she gets little electric shivers when they’re getting close. She collects static like nobodies business. Stormy is primarily Omegean and Androsian, tho a little Dominian, Zenithian, and Melodian blood runs through her veins as well. She likes cats. 

yaaaaaaas, ok so I actually gave his dads names finally Vaonaaj dad is Bi’ran (bee-ran) and Lynphean dad is Reed (last name is Deshene). When Helia was born Bi’ran used magic to like float him around and keep him out of trouble and stuff and it annoyed the hell out of Reed (like “for natures sake please don’t hex my son” “im not hexing him its just a floating spell!!”) Reed gave Helia a little sword really early and Bi’ran was appalled ( ”why would you give him a weapon he’s like FIVE” “good he can learn early”) When Helia started to express interest in art his dads were confused af because neither of them have an artistic bone in their bodies. They try to be supportive but honestly have no idea what Helia is doing lol. Helia really wants to please them both so he spent a year at Lynphea College in the basic magic course. When warrior dad(Reed) started to pressure him to learn to fight as well, Helia’s grandfather Saladin offered him a place at Red Fountain, partially because he could see Helia needed his own space to figure himself out and partially because it would appease Reed. Helia was only planning on staying at Red fountain for a year but his relationship with Flora and his friendships with the rest of the group extended his stay. Bi’ran and Reed know they need to let Helia make his own path, but they worry and just want the best for him so they tend to stick to what they know and are comfortable with when advising him(magic and fighting respectively). Bi’ran and Reed have a standing date night every week, and usually they get really out of hand as they try to outdo the other in excitement and romance (dinner and movie one week leads to a 5 course meal and an play the next which leads to a private chef, a one of a kind meal, and an entire theater rented out for a personal performance etc etc etc) until they both realize they’re being ridiculous and promise to keep it simple from then on and the cycle repeats itself. Bi’ran really likes to play with Reed’s hair. Helia always beats them both at card games.  

[keeperofhounds]

Lost & Found (Chapter Five)

Special thanks to my beta reader @rachelbethhines and special thanks to Varian 66 on Discord for their part in developing this story.

We all know how the original story started. We all know how it ended too. Let’s see an alternate take if Eugene were to have been adopted rather than being alone for most of his life.

“So, how did you first meet Flynn Rider? This I have to know.” Varian said, as he examined chunks of hair. His goggles gave him a bug-eyed appearance with them on, but he seemed very impressed at how long the hair was.

After getting over the shock that this child was the “dangerous” wizard. Varian was more than happy to help her with the hair. He was an excitable young boy, who wouldn’t stop talking about Flynn. One comment that had her confused though was that he was happy to meet Flynn’s “girlfriend,” despite the thief’s protests to the counterair. Varian really was a character.

“Yeah, so can you do it kid?” Flynn asked, trying to keep Varian focused, “We’re sort of on a schedule.”

“Pft, this’ll be easy. I have something that could help.”

Varian ran towards another room, his feet stopping on the stone floor. As his steps faded away Rapunzel was struck with the fact that she and Flynn were alone. Well not really Pascal was there too. The long-haired girl wasn’t angry at what happened, why would she be? She was the one who freaked out again.

Rapunzel took a deep breath, “Look Flynn…”

“I’m sorry, Rapunzel.”

That stopped her short. Why would he be the one apologizing? She was the one who messed up, maybe Mother was right, maybe she really couldn’t handle the outside world. Flynn wasn’t done speaking, though.

“I exaggerated the entire thing, I thought that if I could just scare you off I could get out of the deal. I didn’t think that you’d pass out the way you did. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you and I’m sorry for that.”

This took Rapunzel for a loop, she hadn’t thought once it was Flynn’s fault. She was the one who wanted to leave the tower. Although hearing him apologize to her really did lift her spirits. It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. This was just a misstep, and there was no reason to just give up now.

Rapunzel still didn’t know how to handle the apology, Mother had never done anything of the needing an apology. All she could do was look at Pascal who gave her a go on motion. Taking a deep breath Rapunzel rose from the stool and walked towards the thief. Once she was face to face or as much as she could given that Flynn was a good head taller than her.  Rapunzel placed both hands over her hips and gave Flynn a hard-look, “You better mister because just so you know we’re still going to see those lanterns.”

Flynn could only stare as the girl who was passed out tried to intimidate him. He could admit that there was a charm in the way she tried to act like nothing had changed. On one hand that makes it easier for him to get the crown back. On the other hand he was expecting more of a reaction than the one he got. Most people would be angry that they got tricked the way she did. He didn’t get the chance to reply when Varian came back running into the room. It also seemed that he had been listening in on the conversation.

“Oh, Flynn’s taking you to see the floating lights? That’s so romantic.” Varian winked at Flynn. Trust the kid to always do this to him.

“I told you Varian it’s not like that.” There was no way he could be the only one with a kid like this, right? Maybe he should stuck around more often, then maybe Varian wouldn’t be giving him that teasing look.

“I know this really nice sweet shop Flynn can take you, the store owner is really nice, Flynn can take you, and make sure he takes you out for dinner and walks you home. He may act like a rouge but he was raised to be a gentleman.”

Flynn couldn’t keep the frustration out of his voice, “Varian shut up… it…. Is.... not… like…. That.”

Both boys held each others gazes with neither willing to look away. Flynn was finally starting to think that Varian finally got what Flynn was trying to say. Instead Varian turned to Rapunzel and asked, “So, you’re taking him out? I knew there was a girl out there who could sweep him off his feet.”

More like sneak up on him and knock him beside the head with a frying pan, but Flynn doubted that Varian would have anything to say other comment on how he probably deserved it. Flynn placed his hands on the younger boys shoulders and turned Varian to face him, “You know what it doesn’t matter anyway, did you get what you needed?”

The visitor could only watch as Varian showed off what he had brought back with him from the other room. It looked like rope made of nothing that either of them had ever seen. They were all sort of disappointed, they were expecting something more impressive.

“This is just rope,” Flynn said voicing Rapunzel's thoughts.

Varian scoffed, “It’s not just a rope Flynn it’s a bungee cord. Rapunzel’s hair is too thick and long for normal hair ties so I thought with this we could use the cord to hold her hair and wrap it.”

Rapunzel was honestly impressed with the young alchemists' thoughts. She had been worried about what the younger boy would think up. Obviously cutting her hair was not an option, but Varian seemed to be rising to the challenge.

Varian held a section of hair for Flynn to hold. “Now come on if we hurry you guys can make a good distance to the castle.”

This is how they spent the next few minutes. Honestly Rapunzel was surprised at how little time it took for Varian to do the entire thing. The alchemist wrapped the cord high on her head in a high ponytail then wrapped a section around the cord. He then puffed the hair in a bubble shape and wrapped another cord under it. He repeated the process several times until finally he was done.

“We’re finished Rapunzel, come on check out your new look.” Varian gently grabbed her hand and led her to a full-sized mirror in the room. Once they reached it Varian moved to the side, “Alright so what do you think? Nice huh?”

What Rapunzel saw took her breath away. The hairstyle itself was impressive considering that Varian had stated that he had never worked with hair before. It wasn’t perfect but it wasn’t bad either but her hair wasn’t falling to the ground. For the first time her hair wasn’t on the ground.

A giant smile sprang onto Rapunzel’s face, she twirled around her hair following her movements. She laughed turning to Pascal who was perched on the nearby table, “So, Pascal how do I look?”

Pascal chirped, and gave her a chameleon smile. He loved it.

Rapunzel screamed, throwing her arms around Varian in a bear hug and twirled him around with her, “I love it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“Don’t… mention… it,” Varian wheezed, he hadn’t imagined the girl being so strong.

Rapunzel quickly let the boy go, “Oops, sorry.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Flynn stood to the side watching. It seemed very silly to be so happy about a new hair do but it seemed to mean the world to Rapunzel. It brought a smile to his face seeing both of them so happy. Maybe this entire situation wasn’t so bad.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Varian patted a cart stuffed full of personal items and food, “Mr. Travis is going to visit family for the festival tomorrow, the route is on the way if you hitch a ride you can make it to the castle by nightfall.”

Flynn and Rapunzel were squeezed into the limited space available in the cart. The tarp used to cover the cart was perfect for someone who was hiding from the authorities. Even better for the person who owned the cart to not notice the hitchhikers.

“Thank you so much for this.” Rapunzel said, peeking from under the tarp.

“Take care of yourself kid.” 

Varian handed Rapunzel a bag, “This has somethings that I made, take it as an apology for scaring you earlier.”

Rapunzel tried to refuse, but Varian insisted by shoving the bag into her arms. He told them to take care of each other and ran back towards the castle. Flynn and Rapunzel prepared to be comfortable because this was going to be a long ride.

[thathopelessromantic]

but at least the war is over (2/2)

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Rating: Teen Relationship: Lance/Keith Note: A very belated part 2 to Lance wanting to return to space and feeling bad about it but with a (cheesy) happy ending. Part of the Growing Up series. *previously titled “all’s not lost yet” until I listed to In Our Bedroom After the War by Stars for the 3 millionth time and had an epiphany. 

No one expected Lance to be the first to want to return to space.

Least of all, Lance.

AO3: (x) Part (chapter) 1: (x)

I see you there and I see your faces And I see you there alone And what does a mirror show you Can you see the grey Your sadness it is quite lovely But it is the sadness of a slave Why don't you give yourself a rest Give your self some room -When the Devil's Loose, A. A. Bondy

When they wake up again, the sun is high in the sky and the small cab has gotten unbearably warm under it’s direct light, but Keith still hesitates to pull away from Lance, as if he might disappear from under his hands if he moves too far away.

So, unsurprisingly, it’s Lance who finally breaks the silence.

“Not that I’m not loving this,” he starts, and his voice still sounds oddly hoarse and broken in places. “But you’re like…right on my bladder.”

Keith lifts his head with a half-hearted glare, but stops short when he finds Lance already watching him with a watery smile.

“Hi.” Lance says softly.

“Hi. What’s wrong?”

“I really missed you.”

Keith was really determined not to cry, honestly he thought surely they were both all cried out, but he can feel it building up in his chest as Lance sniffles. “I really missed you, too.”

“And I’m really, really sorry I made you think I was leaving you.”

Keith leans down to kiss him. He can feel Lance hiccup under him as he starts to cry in earnest.

“I know,” he soothes, brushing the tears away as best as he can. Some are definitely now his too, but reluctantly he admits that maybe he needs this cry too. “Shh, I know.”

“I just...” Lance waves his hand in the air for a moment and makes a frustrated noise. “I just love you so much and I was so happy when you asked me to marry you and I never could have gotten through any of that shit without you and I hate that I hurt you and that I can’t just be happy in our stupid, idyllic married life in our stupid, perfect house on earth-”

Keith can sense he’s edging towards hysterical, so he sits up, pulling Lance with him and intertwining their fingers. With his free hand, he cups his face, running a thumb over his cheek and whispering softly until he can feel Lance calm.

“It’s not exactly…okay that you just disappeared off the grid with no warning, but I can understand it. I get it. But I don’t care where we have to be or go for you to be happy, so long as I can stay in the picture. Okay?”

Lance nods, finally, and shifts down to rest his head against Keith’s shoulder. Keith isn’t sure how long they stay like that. Through the windshield they can see waves crash against the shore while birds fly overhead. In the far distance, there’s a boat chugging along slowly.

“I actually really do have to piss now.” Lance suddenly says.

“Oh my God,” Keith lets go of his hand, shoving him towards the door. “Then get out.”

Lance looks back over his shoulder at him with a cheeky look, and it isn’t a real Lance smile yet, but it’s so much closer than anything Keith has seen in days it makes something squeeze in his chest anyways.

 They’re moving slow, but eventually they load Keith’s bike onto the truck bed, strapping it down with questionably-functional bungee cords from the tool box, and get on the road. Keith drives, insisting he’s probably had at least a little more sleep than Lance the last few days. Lance is quiet for the first part of the drive, just watching the world pass by them through the window, but by the time they’re pulling into the parking lot of a truck stop he’s started sharing with Keith what he and Allura had discussed about the paladins coming back to space.

“I think her and Coran have been really lonely, honestly.” Lance admits as they climb out of the truck. “I think it’s really hitting them, now, everything they lost. They didn’t have a lot of time to really mourn it all in between training us, fighting, running for our lives, and rebuilding, but now that things up there have finally started to slow down and they’re spearheading these changes basically all alone…I can’t even imagine what that’s been like for them.”

Keith reaches out to pull Lance close, wrapping an arm around his waist just to revel for a moment in the feel of having him there again. “It’ll be good for them, then, to have us up there again.”

Lance is looking off into the distance, but he nods. “Yeah, right.”

They pay to use the truck stop showers in the back, and even having to put the same old clothes back on after, Keith has to admit he feels a lot better. Lance meets him in the store front and his hair is still damp and wavy, the drying ends curling over his forehead and around his ears. The dark circles are still under his eyes, but they look better, better than he could have hoped for from a nap and a shower. Slowly, Keith can feel some of his pent-up stress release.

“I kind of feel like a human again finally.” He quips. He looks soft and like little by little Keith’s real Lance is emerging from the sad, lost one he found on the sand. Keith runs a hand through his hair, just because he can and Lance doesn’t stop him, just looks at him with soft, grateful eyes.

They eat in the diner next door. The whole building smells like coffee and grease and the oldie’s radio station keeps going in and out, but the food is cheap and good, and the portions almost feel like enough to make up for the meals they’ve both skipped over the last few days.

Keith is half-way through devouring his third pancake when he looks up and finds Lance just watching him. There’s a pile of eggs on the fork in his hand, but he doesn’t seem concerned about his food for the moment.

“What?”

“I love you.” Lance says.

Keith swallows his food. “I love you, too.”

“We should renew our vows before we leave.”

“Okay.” Keith agrees easily. “Why?”

“Well we talked about having a wedding here on Earth, but life…got in the way, we never had time. So, we should do it for real this time, invite actual guests, leave with one really good memory instead of my breakdown.”

“Lance-”

“I know,” Lance interrupts, not letting Keith get into another spiel. “But I’m still serious about the vows thing. Our first wedding didn’t even happen on an actual planet. Like at all. I just wanna do it right.”

“Okay, let’s do it. We’ll have to plan it pretty quickly, though.”

Lance sighs, finally taking a bite of his food again. “I know. Abuela’s gonna kill me. Or Veronica. Whoever gets to me first, I guess.”

 They fill up before they leave the truck stop, but they still have to stop a few more times before they make it back to town. Lance offers to drive a few times, in between short, fitful naps, but Keith insists he’s fine. But now, just under an hour outside of town, as he turns off the main highway, Keith can feel Lance’s suspicious eyes on him.

“Are you sleep-driving? Or lost? Because we are now going in the opposite direction of home.”

“I know where I’m going, just be patient.”

Lance makes a suspicious noise, clearly not happy about being kept in the dark about something, but he doesn’t protest further.

The desert looks familiar and foreign all at the same time. Keith spent so much of his time out here, alone, it’s weird to think about how far away life had taken him.

Lance grabs his arm suddenly, and Keith is pulled out of his thoughts as the familiar outcropping comes into view over the horizon. When he looks over, Lance’s eyes are wide and questioning, but he doesn’t look upset, so Keith continues on.

Eventually, they have to park the truck and go the rest of the way on foot. It’s been a while since any of them have been out this way. When they first came back to Earth, Allura and Coran were eager to see the cave where the paladins first discovered the blue lion, but it took them nearly two weeks to find it again. And then after a long discussion, they finally all agreed it would be best if other people couldn’t stumble upon it again by accident, and they showed the Garrison it’s location as well. Now as they approach it, there are towering chain link fences that block off their path.

Keith tosses a rock at the fence, just to be safe, and confirms his suspicions. It’s just a fence. No force field or electricity or even a posted guard. Some top-notch security from the Garrison. But he supposes, in this instance, he should be grateful.

Lance is uncharacteristically quiet through all of this. Even when Keith pulls out his Marmoran blade and cuts them a way through the edge of the fence, he doesn’t protest. When they finally reach the mouth of the cave, however, Lance reaches out and grabs his hand.

“Are you okay?” Keith asks, softly. “We don’t have to go in.”

Lance shakes his head. “No, I want to. I’m just…nervous.”

Keith squeezes his hand. “I’m right here. We’re doing this together.”

Lance sets his jaw, determined. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Hands clasped, they step inside, together.

The sun is setting behind them, and the dimming light makes it hard to see the deeper into the cave they go, but the old carvings that used to baffle Keith were still all around them, untouched and unchanged by time.

In the distance, there’s the sound of running water, and they have to step carefully, aware the ground could easily give out under them and drop them into the cavern below.

Keith came here for Lance, for a rising suspicion he had about the cave and the Blue Lion and his husband, but now that he’s here again, he realizes this was good for him too. He remembers the months he spent trying to understand this cave while looking for Shiro and hitting nothing but dead ends and the frustration when everything just seemed to effortlessly come together for the strange Garrison students who stumbled upon his rescue attempt. And when they first came back, Allura and Coran had so many questions for him as the one to first discover it, when all was said and done, he just wanted a break. But now, he feels more at ease here than he has perhaps anywhere else on Earth since they’ve returned.

The sun continues to drop further and further in the sky. It’ll be dark soon, and difficult to get through the desert back to their car. He doesn’t want to rush Lance, but he’s grateful when Lance finally squeezes his hand tight, reaches out, and touches the wall.

For a moment, nothing happens, and Keith thinks maybe he was wrong, and then, just like that, the cave lights up around them, the carvings aglow in a soft, pulsing blue.

Lance gasps, and Keith can’t help but marvel at the way he glows under the blue lights.

There he is, Keith thinks. His Lance, reemerged. There’s still a lot they need to discuss and deal with directly, but for the moment, his smile and the light in his eyes are genuine and that’s enough for now. That’s enough for Keith.

“We wouldn’t have made it to space, without you,” Keith says softly and when Lance turns to look at him, his awed expression doesn’t change. “All the times I came out here before and made no progress, and we could argue that it was because I was alone or it wasn’t the right time, but I think the Blue Lion was waiting not just for someone like you, but waiting for you, Lance, and without you there wouldn’t have been any paladins of Voltron, we wouldn’t have won the war, or managed any of the great things we did to help the universe. I think, maybe, you’ve always been destined to be a part of space, of something greater than this life on Earth.”

Lance is crying, again, but he doesn’t bother to wipe away the tears as he pulls Keith into a hug. It knocks the air from his chest, but Keith throws his arms around Lance too, and doesn’t dare let go.

“We wouldn’t have made it even this far without you, first. If I was meant to go out there, it was always with you by my side, mullet.”

Keith hides his smile in Lance’s shoulder, and he feels Lance pull him impossibly closer. “We’re better together,” he repeats softly, something Lance has said to him over and over again in the time they’ve known each other, even before they were married, even before they were dating at all. “We’re a team.”

They have no idea what’s waiting for them past tonight, past their next few days on Earth, but whatever it is, they can handle it, together.  

[randomnessunicorn-imagine]

🎲 Cuphead Fanfiction ~

{ This is the second Chapter of another fiction I wrote and it’s very long, wow-! I have to say I had a lot of fun writing this chapter so I hope you all will appreciate it, and everyone can suggest me ideas and plot twists because it can be interesting, I accept every kind of advice. If you want you can visit my AO3 profile }

Pairing: King Dice x Neutral! Reader Rating: Orange (some thematic in this story can be considered blasphemous and harsh)

>>> FIRST CHAPTER <<<

Wicked Game  [ second part ]

"Mother… Mother….Where are you? " you searched for your mother all over the house, with a little bouquet of violets in your hands that you wanted to donate to her. They were so colourful and beautiful, a sweet fragrance caressed your nostrils while you ran and some petals fell down to the ground leaving a trace of your passage. You kept screaming but none answered at your call so maybe your mother was not at home and you were talking with the air. This air was a dirty air; it smelled like dust and mould, because your mother did not pay a lot of attention to the home cleaning and so many times, you have to think about it doing the cleaning jobs for her.

Actually, you did not consider yourself like Cinderella because for you it was not a weight or a torture, you loved cleaning your house and it was still your home and living between the spider webs and rats did not make you feel comfortable. Then, you could distract and be alone with yourself. Cleaning was the only leisure you could have since, in her opinion, you should have spent all your free time reading the bible, praying and doing any activities that concerned religion and, how anyone could understand, they were not activities with which a child could have fun. The cleaning jobs helped you to escape from your Christian’s duties and maybe it was something more useful than praying or speaking with God. Your mother was nowhere to be found and maybe she was vanished into thin air, so you called her name again, "Moth—" when your voice fainted suddenly, hearing a voice. Her voice.

"Oh, God!" your mother yelled at the top of her lungs and you remained immobilized in front of her closed door so you posed your ear on it trying to hear what she was saying but her voice became a sigh and it was difficult to understand the words that came out from her lips. You supposed she was praying, this was one of the activities she practiced the most. She was devoted to God, but she was devoted in ways you could not even imagine… "Oh, Lord, you live in the Kingdom of Heaven, bless my soul…" said your mother with solemnity but there was something else. You opened, trying to be more careful and silent possible, the door, slowly. Shivers of fear were crossing your spine, you were not allowed to be here, and if your mother had found it out it would have not been a good surprise for you. Your mother was laying on the bed and it seemed she was too concentrate to her prayer to notice you. Her breath was heavier and from her mouth came out heavy breaths and sighs and you started worrying, thinking she had spams. She needed your assistance – thought your innocent mind- so, when you were going to show up yourself to help your mother, she spoke again with a louder voice and there was something strange in her voice that, at first, you did not recognize.

"My Lord, take me, I’m yours… Bring me to Heaven! " with your eyes wide open, incredulous in front of the scene that appeared in front of your sight, you held a gasp. That strange sensation, the origin of her screams was relating to lust even if you did not understand well the nature of her action because you were still an innocent child who has not experimented the sin of lust yet, but your instinct told you your mother was sinning. This was an awful truth to discover and you were shocked, tears fell down from your eyes while she was still screaming God’s name with her sinful mouth.

"God, my Saviour. I’ll be your forever!" she was touching herself, lifting her long skirt to show her slim and deformed legs that seemed the legs of a puppet or a branch of a tree. She opened her legs, inserting her own fingers inside her intimacy while she screamed the lord’s name in vain until her spasms became more luxurious and louder, you did not believe your eyes. Your violets were drowning under your own tears, which you were unable to hold back. "Oh, God, please…Come inside me… Yes!" your state of mind was so devastated that you were unable to decipher her words or her intentions. Everything just appeared so wrong in your eyes. So macabre and obscure and you refused to see this scene one more minute.

For all the rest of that day, you hid yourself in your room and, the moment you locked your door, you could hear the ultimate scream of your mother. Her yells of ecstasy echoed in the house as if they were ancient ghosts that paralyzed your body; your hands covered your ears, while she thanked God again.

 ***

 Your vision blacked out and you came back to this reality, the sweat wet your forehead and your breath was heavy and irregular. It was as if you were emerged from the oceanic abyss. It was the abyss of your mind. Of your memories that did not stop to torment you, you shivered like a leaf on a tree during an autumnal night. You forgot where you were, what you were doing, all the audience made of abominable monsters that surrounded you, and they perceived your fears. They laughed of your fears and your terror was their primal source of nutrition.

"Our guest seems distraught" as you heard his voice, your state of mind got back sober even if this reality was too absurd to accept and you were so confused that you just stared at his green eyes without saying a single word. At the contrary of what you should have thought, Dice was not angry with you and he appeared so calm and relaxed while you were as tense as a bungee cord that was about to crack. "Do ya want to make a prayer before the game starts?" remarked Dice, noticing the particular pendant you wore, it was a golden crucifix and it was a gift your mother gave you to have God always by your side. This detail made the dice man a little disappointed but he seemed also so amused because it was rare seeing a believer in a place like this.

He asked himself if you were a sort of lost sheep and he would have been glad to show you the right path to follow. Actually, his thought was not completely wrong because you were so unsure about your faith. You were not an atheist and you were not even a sinner, but you were alarmed and sad, alone and lost in this mad world. "Did they take the wrong way? The church is on the other side!" said a monster and everyone laughed at his joke and you felt so embarrassed. This made your situation more complicated than before. You held your crucifix tightly as if it could help you for real but you were sure that praying was useless. It was useless in everyday life, much less in a demoniac place like this and you supposed sacred items lost their power in this place and maybe you were not even allowed to wear them here.

After a long silent and everyone supposed you became mute, you answered, keeping your head down, "No, I don’t!" and Dice was glad hearing it from you since nobody here had the patience to hear a sermon or some moralist declaration. "Oh, well! Let’s get this show on the road!" proclaimed Dice and all the crowd went wild. You just nodded not so sure about what was going to happen. An intense flash blinded you, as everything appeared so psychedelic and abnormal in your mind and the environment became so illuminated and effervescent that you asked yourself if you were in the same place.

In front of you, there was a big game table, King was staring at you with malice, curiosity, his figure, compared to yours, appeared so majestic and fearsome, and you questioned to yourself if he was the true Devil but you were just a lost soul in this Calvary. You held your breath trying to stay calm or, at least, appear calm since you were freaking out from your head to your feet. His smile was wide open, he was as if he was swinging to the rhythm of your beating heart, you kept your head down concentrating your vision to the table that was very huge, and coloured with words and numbers written on it and you had no idea of the meaning of all of this. Everything appeared just like a mysterious and alien symbolism for you.

"It’s such a shame a pure creature like you ended up in a damned place like this, have you lost your way home?" asked Dice, and his gaze never left you so you tried to look through his eyes but you found yourself caught again. You were not sure if you had to say the real reason why you were here. You took a deep breath before you answered, "I’m here by mistake, I just got lost" none in this hall was so stupid to believe your little lies, and King shook his head, showing a disapproval expression but it vanished instantly and his wicked smile appeared again. "Pure souls don’t tell lies" Dice smirked but the fact that you were not a complete candid soul was a gratification for him. You have still stolen your mother’s money and it was not a pure action, this fact came back to your mind and you understood lying was useless here. You were going to lose your soul, to disappear from this awful existence so you had no more secrets to keep or lies to tell. Everything was unworthy at this point.

"Pure souls don’t exist…" with your eyes still lowered, you confessed your inner thought. Nobody in this world was total good or total bad. Just like the ancient Chinese philosophy said, the yin and the yang could not live without the other. This was the equilibrium of the universe, the basis of life. "Well well, you have finally decided to speak. See, ladies and gentlemen, they’re not mute." all the crowd applauded like if they wanted to encourage you to talk about your story or philosophy of life even if you were not so enthusiasm to tell your thoughts and memories to them, so you decided not to answer keeping your mouth closed while you looked at the void in front of you.

"Ah, they’re so shy, why don’t you fellas be quite for a moment. They will never confide us their secrets if they are afraid so…" his eyes went wide open and he put his hand under his chin, observing you like if you were an object and not a person. You were a form of entertainment and people here could not get bored because of your lack of cooperation so Dice decided to make this game more interesting. You were still silent and impassive. "Let’s make this bet more stimulating" his voice made you worried and you swallowed some saliva as the light became more dazzling and you had to cover your eyes with your hands.

Everyone was waiting for your answer even this time, so you said «What? », you did not want to know in what way this game could be more interesting and you were so sick of everything. "You don’t have a lot to say, we’ll help you to open up a little more, darling" said Dice with a soft tone that scared you to death because it was obvious his intentions were not gentle. Then, he kept speaking again, " For every victory, you have to confess something about your distressed soul to us, are you in?" Dice was still sure your soul was pure despite your little theft and it was a theft he would approve and he could not wait to listen to your little secrets. It might appear not so useful for him but he would have obtained your soul anyway, so it was better to have fun as much as possible.

You were not a lucky person so you did not hope to win not even one time and you would have brought your secrets with you in your grave. This game was strange, you did not understand what Dice’s real purpose was, and maybe he just wanted to play with your little mind to entertain himself and all this audience. "Ok, I accept…" with the usual insecurity of your voice, you said and whatever would happen you were designated to lose some part of your dignity. "So, what do you offer for this match?" you really did not want to offer your soul, it was too odd and the instinct for survival told you to protect yourself. Yes, you wanted to leave your mother but you wanted to live too, despite you were so sad and confused, this was an instinct every human possessed. Then, you remembered the money you stole from your mother and maybe they could be useful for your aim and this was still a Casino, here cash flew but you had to be parsimonious and smart if you did not want to lose everything and then you would not have anything else to offer, other than your miserable soul.

"I have this…" you said showing your cash even if you have not even counted it and you were not so attached to money, you were not a materialist person. Your mother always spoke about humility, you had to be careful not to be tempted by the sin of avarice, and you still did not understand since she was the one who possessed money and not you. Your mother was so greedy and the only good actions she did possessed always an ulterior motive since her charity was a mere ostentation of her fake generosity. More you thought about her and more you understood how she was a true sinner.

"Looks like our guest doesn’t joke" from your appearance, nobody could say you were a rich person, and you did not wear designer clothes. Dice could understand something was wrong in you and he felt more curious than before, he chuckled before he continued, "Where did you steal all this money?" the crowd remained surprised and so many people started saying that maybe you were not that pure and you were going to burn in hell for all these sins. You just ignored them and you did not know how to answer to him because he guessed right and he could find out if you lied so you had to be careful with your words. "I took them from my mother, she didn’t know but I intend to give them back to her quickly." the crowd started mocking you saying how your heart was gold, you were worried about your mommy, what a precious child you were.

"Oh, but they are a lot of money and you have still stolen them from her. Are you sure to win?" King found you too amusing since you appeared so naive and he did not define you like a true sinner. Your action was just an infantile prank but your next phrase convinced him about your innocent mind. "Uhm, but they’re just pieces of paper…" you have never understood the true value of money, you just knew they were used for buying things and most of these things were useless, in your opinion. It seemed that your mother had booked a suite in Paradise if she had all that money aside, there were so many banknotes of 100 $ and some of 500 $ and maybe they were the saving of months since she was greed and she did not spend so much her money. It was absurd she wanted to give to the Church all this money but it was more absurd that you were going to lose all of it for a gambling, and she always said that gambling was the Devil’s work. You were committing the greatest sin of your life and you felt a little guilty for your mother, you had to admit even if she was worthless for you.

Then, Dice’s heart has softened hearing your comment because you were too naïve and he said, "It could be true, dear, but this world still turns around money, ya know!" his tone appeared so paternal and soft that you almost melted and you felt a little stupid. You realized you did not know a thing about this world and how could you win this game without not even know who you were or in what you believed. "Cut to the chase, darling. We’ve job to do and ya have to make your move!" he said smirking at you with his usual lascivious smile but you had to admit you got used to it. The entire crowd was staring at you but you did not care and you kept your cold behaviour. It seemed the time was frozen for you, and you had to start and push your luck –if it was present in you and you doubted very much-.

You had to launch your dice, hoping for some good result but you were still inexperienced in this game or in life in general. You did not know the sense of it and you supposed you were destined to lose. After a reflection, maybe you just wanted to lose time waiting for something or some help from God or some other divinity who could hear your prayer but nothing happened and everyone was still waiting for your move. Therefore, after you placed your bet, it’s your come out and you throw the dice. Your mind was so concentrated and immobilized that you saw the time moving in slow motion and your sight became foggy, it was like you were in another dimension or in another universe. While the dice rolled on the table all the crowd was screaming; the ones who bet on you and the ones who wanted to see you lose but maybe these lasts would have been dissatisfied. It seemed Lady Luck smiled at you this time and you did not even realize since your mind was still wandering in the land of confusion. "Look at that, you got 11!" the crowd applauded you and you did not even realize you won this first part and you have been lucky. With you, all the persons that have bet on the pass line have won with you while the others have lost their money but for now since it was the first round and nobody could say if you would have been lucky a second time.

You were just too incredulous to comment and even Dice was smiling at you but his grin was different, it was less malevolent and he was curious. He was sure yours was all some beginner’s luck and he has not forgotten the new rules about the game. Since you have won, you had to tell a secret. Maybe you forgot this little detail. "Is it ok…? " you asked with a calm and innocent tone of voice that he found adorable and he was almost sorry for you, that you had to confess your intimacies to this audience of monsters but a bet was still a bet. There was no coming back. He smiled at you with a malicious tenderness and you got worried. "Yes, it’s good. Maybe you are luckier than you thought, but we’re lucky, too" and then you remembered the new clauses of the game and you started freaking out.

If you did not lose your money or your soul, you had to lose your dignity, at least. You would not get out from this place safe and sound and without any scars because you knew the inner scars were the most painful and terrifying than any other visible wounds. "Pretend we’re your friends, darling. Here none of us wants to harm you, we’re playing for fun, it’s all a game, just trust in me. Nobody is going to hurt you. " you lost yourself staring at his green pupils and his soft and alluring voice was bringing you to Paradise and it gave you peace and serenity, you could tell to this man all your secrets. King was hypnotic like a sin and a temptation.

"Uhm… What should I say?" you asked trying to find yourself but it was so difficult and you did not want to recall your awful memories about your mother.

"Everything, darling. Everything…" the more you looked into his eyes and the more you desired to confide to him all your darkest thoughts and you felt trapped. You ran away from a cage to find yourself in another cage and it was not luck but only a miserable wicked game between you and him.

[ THIRD PART 

FOURTH PART

FIFTH PART  

SIXTH PART  ]

[garden-ghoul]

bloggbblog, part 8

“my GOAL for this one is to do 2 chapters since I have jack else to do. idk if I’m using jack correctly in this sentence.”

FLIES AND SPIDERS

Why is it my most vivid memories of this book are of the dwerrows getting captured in sacks/spider webbing. Is it just because it’s KIND OF WEIRD that this exact thing gets repeated. Wait shit the point is probably to contrast “Gandalf has to save everyone while Bilbo hides” and “Bilbo saves everyone because getting the Ring made him suddenly competent.” No uh why is he competent now? I like the bit where he’s the only one with eyes sharp enough to spot Beorn in chapter 7, and now he’s turning into a real hero. I think what might have done it was the moment when he steps out of the cave, finally free, and then realizes he’s going to have to go back into danger to save his friends. That bit was really good, like just understated enough that clearly Bilbo doesn’t even realize how much he’s changed.

Sorry. That’s what I got from the TITLE of the chapter. Uhh let’s start reading it. So far the first paragraph informs us in a very fun way that the forest is dark because it’s covered in trees. It’s also full of cobwebs bigger than any Bilbo has ever seen, though thankfully (but mysteriously) they don’t go across the Path. And at night many eyes come to stare at our heroes--the forest is completely zero-photon black, though, so honestly this just proves that Tolkien put all his points into mythology and none in biology. I’m pretty sure spiders don’t even have tapeta lucida, so what the fuck. Basically Tolkien spends a couple pages enumerating all the ways the forest sucks, and then the party stumbles upon the Lethe. They don’t want to wade it, for fear that forgetfulness is absorbed via skin contact, BUT there is a boat on the far bank that they are able to hook with their convenient grappling hook (it’s not a grappling hook it’s like one of those bungee hooks).

As they’re just barely across a hart runs over Bombur and knocks him into the water, causing him to fall asleep. In the distance: a horn, baying hounds. Maybe they were hunting the hart! Or maybe they were hunting these other deer that show up--the dwerrows use all of their remaining arrows trying in vain to shoot them, and now the bows are useless. Fools. Tolkien informs us that they are actually getting close to the eastern edge of the wood, but they don’t know this and are beginning to despair, because they’ve been carrying Bombur for four days. Um is he just. Asleep now, permanently. In time the trees start to thin, even as the party begins to hear strange eerie songs and laughter. I wonder if the elves also don’t want to live too deep in the forest. Bilbo is made to climb a tree to try and see the end, because he’s lightest; finds some spiders “after the butterflies.” Listen. Butterflies are a fool’s errand. They’re mostly wing and they destroy webs really easily. Don’t bother with them. I get that this is like a metaphor or something but I’m cheesed. Oh they’re cool butterflies, though, and tons of them. With velvet black wings. Bilbo sees no end to the forest, because he’s in a valley, and everyone is miserable.

Bombur wakes up. I’m not sure if this is of consequence yet, but he has dreamed of feasting with the elves. He sees torches and fires lit, a ways off the path, which is honestly very will-o-wisp and oh great there he goes. He’s trying to go over there. It is decided that a couple people should creep over and spy, but since they might get lost forever, uh, everyone decides to go, which is the opposite of what makes sense in this situation, but whatever. They smell roasting meat and all try to leap toward it, and the elves vanish. Orrrr possibly they were an illusion the whole time, unclear. Now everyone is lost, so good job. Should have! left someone! on the path!

The lights come on again. Thorin decides to send Bilbo, the least scary, to parley.

The lights go out, and Bilbo is lost. They find him asleep a while later (weak from hunger?)

"I was having such a lovely dream," he grumbled, "all about having a most gorgeous dinner."

"Good heavens! he has gone like Bombur," they said. "Don't tell us about dreams. Dream-dinners aren't any good, and we can't share them."

This is just cute dialogue. The dwerrows STILL haven’t learned their lesson, because the next time they see lights--a huuuuge feast--they go and try to crash it again. Look the elves are just trying to eat and they keep having to pick up all their stuff and sprint away while they’re trying to have a good time. Let them alone. Thorin steps out and everyone looks at him for a moment, and then they snuff the lights and kick ashes in the dwerrows’ eyes. All the dwerrows get lost, and Bilbo can’t find any of them. So he lies down against a tree and goes to sleep, the only reasonable course of action.

He wakes up and a spider is trying to wrap him up. He panics but manages to kill it with his sword, and then passes out again. When he wakes up there’s a dead spider and he’s still alone. But.

Somehow the killing of the giant spider, all alone by himself in the dark without the help of the wizard or the dwerrows or of anyone else, made a great difference to Mr. Baggins. He felt a different person, and much fiercer and bolder in spite of an empty stomach, as he wiped his sword on the grass and put it back into its sheath.

"I will give you a name," he said to it, "and I shall call you Sting."

Birth of a legend.

He uses his innate hobbit stealth and also the Ring to sneak up on some spiders. That is, he sneaks in a random direction and falls ass-backward into a rescue. Also I want to interject here that the cobwebs these spiders make, unlike normal cobwebs, are black. If their hugeness wasn’t enough, this is probably a Clue that they are descended from Ungoliant or her like. They digest the light and excrete the darkness that is left over! Maybe that’s why this forest is so dark! Hey hey did we ever get any good descriptions of Nan Dungortheb. I bet it’s like this.

Bilbo listens in on some spider conversation, which makes me really wonder if Shelob could talk and just didn’t feel like it. It’d make sense if she could talk, right? Anyway it’s really fun how all the Horrible Monsters in this book talk like average Toms, Dicks, and Harrys. Hang ‘em up for a couple days and they’ll be bee-autiful, says one of the spiders. I’m serious. One of the spiders goes up to inspect Bombur and almost gets kicked off the branch and everyone else laughs. It’s like. Every kind of sentient creature is essentially the same. Why does Tolkien keep making people relateable and humanizing them and then turning right around and having the heroes remorselessly kill them?? Johnald you might want to get that checked out???

Turns out Bilbo is a good shot with a stone, and always has been. This is one of those things where you just assume he has a lot of mundane skills and you can just make one up if it happens to be useful. Bilbo throws the stone at the spider that’s about to gank Bombur (?usage?) and it falls off the branch and lands flop with its legs all curled. I like how he sometimes puts onomatopoeias into sentences like that, it flows real nice.

The next stone went whizzing through a big web, snapping its cords, and taking off the spider sitting in the middle of it, whack, dead. After that there was a deal of commotion in the spider-colony, and they forgot the dwerrows for a bit, I can tell you.

Good diction thanks. AND THEN HE SINGS. I love these songs so I’m going to stick them right in for you to enjoy too.

Old fat spider spinning in a tree! Old fat spider can't see me! Attercop! Attercop! Won't you stop, Stop your spinning and look for me! Old Tomnoddy, all big body, Old Tomnoddy can't spy me! Attercop! Attercop! Down you drop! You'll never catch me up your tree!

I think I recall at one point looking this up and finding that ‘attercop’ and ‘cobweb’ have a common root that means spider in like Old English. Tomnoddy, from a cursory googling, means “hey dumbass.” Bilbo successfully leads the spiders away from his friends, but now they are weaving webs to fence him in. Tolkien doesn’t know how long it takes to make a web, either.

Lazy Lob and crazy Cob are weaving webs to wind me. I am far more sweet than other meat, but still they cannot find me!

Sounds like Shel Silverstein. Alsooo I’m very happy about both internal rhyme and alliteration. Bilbo is a great fight-for-your-life spur-of-the-moment poet. Bilbo books it back to where his friends are (impressive sense of direction) and starts freeing them. After killing another spider! And then half a dozen more when they start to return! He’s growing into quite the murderer, is our Bilbo! The dwerrows try and join in, but they uhh have all been poisoned, and aren’t doing too good. Eventually Bilbo decides in desperation to draw the spiders off so they rest can escape. It takes hours but finally they do. 

Everyone is bone tired. They rest in the elf campsites, which are maybe protected? And Bilbo tells them the story of getting the Ring, and they all decides that he Knows Things and must have a way to get them out of their pickle (still starving to death). Oh also Thorin is just straight up missing, he was kidnapped by the elves. Tolkien hastens to assure us that even though wood elves are dangerous and have kidnapped Thorin, “still elves they were and remain, and that is Good People.” Fake. Don’t tell me every elf is good. You’re the one who came up with Eol and Maeglin. Feanor. Every one of Feanor’s dumb ass sons. Anyway the woodland king is questioning Thorin. This bit’s hilarious.

"Why did you and your folk three times try to attack my people at their merrymaking?" asked the king.

"We did not attack them," answered Thorin; "we came to beg, because we were starving."

"Where are your friends now, and what are they doing?"

"I don't know, but I expect starving in the forest."

"What were you doing in the forest?"

"Looking for food and drink, because we were starving."

At least Thorin gets fed in elf jail.

BARRELS OUT OF BOND

The party is sort of staggering along, hopefully in the direction of the path, when twilight falls. Twilight is Elf Time. The dwerrows are glad to be captured, though; Bilbo goes invisible and sneaks after them, so as to have a hope of rescuing them. None of the dwerrows is willing to talk when questioned by the elf king, so that’s good. Apparently he has a great liking for treasure and is probably trying to get gold out of them. How the tables have tabled! He gets angry at them for just being in his kingdom and throws them in prison with some food but no talking. And he doesn’t tell them he has Thorin.

Bilbo lives for a week off stolen food, creeping out the door after hunting parties occasionally but unable to find the way out of the wood. It’s absolutely miserable, he never takes off the Ring and hardly dares to sleep. He finds Thorin eventually and acts as a secret courier between him and the rest of the dwerrows. Guys I Fuckin Love the narrative where people are imprisoned and have only the slimmest hope of getting out, someone sneaking around in desperation for their own life. It’s such a specific thing but I Love It.

Bilbo does not love it. He doesn’t like the hypervigilant life, and he doesn’t like having fourteen lives on his shoulders. Eventually he puts the river delivery service and a lucky break of the guard getting drunk... into a Plan. Steals the keys and goes around unlocking dwerrows. They don’t like “escaping in barrels on the river” but what are you going to do? Unfortunately Bilbo packs everyone into barrels and then has no-one to pack him. He panics while the barrel-rollers sing a barrel-rolling song that is much more elvish than their dialogue, puzzlingly. Bilbo has to cling to an empty barrel “like a rat.” It’s hard, because of how it is Round. The rest of the chapter is basically more “barrels are hard and the dwerrows might be dead.”

[stone-man-warrior]

July 22, 2018: 2:08 am:

July 21, 2018:<br><br>Has anyone noticed that the idiot who calls himself &qu... StoneMan .Warrior - 2018-07-21T21:16:49-0400 - Updated: 2018-07-22T05:08:31-0400

July 21, 2018: Has anyone noticed that the idiot who calls himself "Q", and the other idiot fake people who defend and support "Q" all showed up at the same time as Donald Trump showed up as President? Coincidence? Evidence! I am convinced that "Q" is actually "cue", as in the idea of a signal to advance, but presented to a large army over the internet and other media. A gigantic cue. In case anyone is wondering, I have given up on Donald Trump. I gave him a chance. He failed. The words "You're Fired" should be ringing loud and clear soon. Send a freight train filled with peach yogurt to: Donald J. Trump POTUS 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington DC, 20500 Mr. Trump has betrayed us all. He is the head Screen Actor. He is the head Seventh Day Adventist. He is the head Q. "Q" is an abbreviation for Quebec. POTUS, Donald Trump is the head terrorist. He has his generals in the Governors seat of the nation. The Governor Generals use their army of soldiers supplied by Screen Actor Guild to portray themselves as State Police Officers of the States they represent, with highly trained and specialized Canadian Mounted Police Officers leading those from the Guild while pretending to be State Police. With the uniforms, squad cars, guns, badges surveillance equipment and orders to carry out, they are destroying the country they are responsible for running. This unbelievable truth is overwhelming. False State Police in association with the Department of Motor Vehicles is currently in the ongoing practice of accessing the Driver License and State issued ID cards of US citizens. Soldiers from Quebec are summoned such that those soldiers look reasonably similar to the information printed on the Drivers License of the American Victim. The replacement soldier assumes the identity of the host American victim and occupies that persons home. Entire families and circle of friends are taken captive this way with the aid of the victims contact list in their cellular telephones and social media accounts. The replacement soldiers assume the VOTING REGISTRATION STATUS of the host American victim. Even if the information in the paragraph above turns out that Mr. Trump is not at the helm of the terrorist take-over, the truth is that he is at the helm of the United States of America and is the Commander and Chief. The Commander and Chief has been informed of the Screen Actor Guild take-over coup, he has not protected us from it. Some smart person in my life told me that when the problems we face are very important and are life threatening, then those who are not part of the solution are part of the problem. It may be a presidential quote. Who ever said that understood what freedom is. Freedom is the kind of thing that once it's gone, there is no way to get more of it. Ever. Freedom is quickly becoming obsolete. The absence of freedom is the presence of captivity. In the absence of Donald Trump, we would have Mike Pence. Mike Pence in charge would be a whole new kind of "Bible-Thumper". There does not seem to be a remedy for the sickness that has captured our nation. Freedom is being sold to captivity at a dys-count. Quantities are limited. Time is running out. Fight terrorism with a Bic Lighter. Don't get on the bus, never get on the bus. Send Peach Products to Washington DC, it does not even matter who you send it to at this point, just send the yogurt and drown the swamp. It would be wise to exit from FaceBook. Exit FaceBook by deleting the information there one bit at a time rather than deleting the entire account at once is my recommendation. Change your contact lists to nicknames or delete your contacts all together to keep them safe. You can find other ways of remembering their phone numbers. Enter the phone numbers of the police departments in your area in your phone instead of the numbers of your family. There are creative ways to fight this if you consider that a phone stolen is a map to your loved ones. My family is dead as a result this coup. If the Screen Actors Guild, movie stars, rock stars, entertainers, clowns, jugglers, organ grinders, news anchors, political analysts, the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause and Sheriff Clarke along with Fox and Friends ever wind up doing live streams from the Pentagon, we are truly doomed. At that point, Vladimir Putin would have no choice but to attack the USA if only to keep those fools away from all of those buttons, big guns, boats, and airplanes that are accessible from the Pentagon. And, to keep them from coming to his house to party. Mr. Putin gave Mr. Trump a gift. A clue. He gave him a ball made of Pentagons. What a ball game this is. Who's on first? Shared with: Public

+1'd by: Bryan Milen

StoneMan .Warrior - 2018-07-21T21:59:11-0400

July 21, 2018: What I cannot figure out, is why the Sheriff of Klamath County Oregon and members of the Jackson County Sheriff's office attempted to blow-up and kill Mr. Trump with a statue-bomb. You did not read about this in the news papers or see it on television because it happened in real life in Oregon. The bomb was real, it exploded. It was not supposed to explode until it reached Mr. Trump. The statue bomb exploded and blew up a bus... presumably with Noah Strohmeyer holding the coconut. Bananas. It's a banana republic with coconut bombs and Flintsone television, except it's not. The bomb, the bus, and people exploded in Medford Oregon in February 2017. I was there, I saw it, I nearly crashed into part of the bus as the bus bits sailed in front of my truck. Comey was part of the banana bunch. Why make a Sheriff statue bomb to blow-up trump if he is the leader of the coup? That is a mystery. And no one has asked about the explosion, or what I know of it! Coconuts!

StoneMan .Warrior - 2018-07-22T02:09:13-0400July 21, 2018:

(4-5-2019: Authors Note: There was a link here in the original Google+ posting. It’s gone. Google deleted it from the downloadable archive. The link was part oh a hit order to kill two police officers. Google arranged that my downloadable archive had been packaged by hand. That is, my archive was sorted through by Google, and many of the entries are not complete. All of them are scrambled a bit, and there is no continuity in the archive package received from Google resultant of their purging of the entire Google+ platform.)

StoneMan .Warrior - 2018-07-22T02:23:18-0400 - Updated: 2018-07-22T02:47:10-0400

The link above regarding the Officers is a hit. They were assassinated. The two Officers that died in the helicopter crash were likely to be good officers who would not do as the Screen Actors Guild had arranged for them to do. They were killed. Everything else about the event in Virginia that day is Bullshit. The events that took place were scripted. The photos we see are staged. The  people involved, each and every one of them, are actors. Hollywood Hit Helicopter. All of those different groups of demonstrators are figments of the imagination of a screen writer. Those groups are useful for terrorism performed at the hands of Screen Actors Guild. The two officers died. That leaves two openings on the police force there for Screen Actor Guild Canadian Mounted Police trained terrorist soldiers to fill. Near Langley Virginia, the terrorism is done a little differently than in Oregon. In Oregon, the police would have been killed and replaced without all of the fanfare. The part with the Dodge charger was practiced on the street I live on. The bumper of the car was supposed to fall off. I saw them practice and they used props to mimic the bumper falling off. Burton Mitchell Dietrich, and Richard Chartrand of 97526 played roles in this event that include the Charger, along with some other Oregon local young people in the demonstration who had large colorful flags. Some of them must have traveled to Virginia from Oregon, probably by private "Junket Jet". If you look at videos of this event with the Charger, look for the bumper and red bungee cords holding it on prior to impact. Red bungee cords were under the wheel wells to quick release the bumper Hollywood style. Since Donald Trump was made aware of the terrorism, he should be charged as an accomplice to the murder of these two officers. This activity is too close to Langley to ignore. Fight terrorism with a Bic Lighter.

[asksander]

ice breaker tag

i got tagged by @localbrownbitch to do the ice breaker tag ! jesus christ, this took forever to do. 1 // are you named after someone?
 no, i really don’t think so! nawaal’s a bit of an uncommon name, but i think it’s of arab origin and is somewhere in the qu’ran.

2 // when was the last time you cried? i am not the type of person that cries. at all. i really can’t remember that far back.

3 // do you like your handwriting?
 yeah, i do! it’s difficult to read but i personally think it’s quite pretty.


4 // what’s your favorite lunch meat? um, chicken?

5 // do you have kids? i’m still in high school, brochacho.

6 // if you were another person, would you be friends with yourself?
 sure? i’m pretty irritable, though, so i don’t know.

7 // do you use sarcasm?
 do you breathe?

8 // do you still have your tonsils? yup! and unlike most people, they don’t cause me any bother. 9 // would you bungee jump? nope! initially, i really wanted to, but i recently watched this video of a woman whose cord broke after she bungee jumped over some river. she survived, but it fucking scared me.

10 // what is your favorite kind of breakfast cereal? i really like regular cornflakes, or those cute little cinnamon roll ones. 11 // do you untie your shoes when you take them off? yeah! it really bothers me if my shoelaces are still tied while not on my feet.

12 // do you think you’re a strong person? i have no clue if this is meant to be physical or mental, but: i have a very strong body but an incredibly weak sense of will. 13 // what is your favorite ice cream flavor? i really like coffee ice cream, or classic ol’ chocolate. 14 // what is the first thing you notice about people? their height (i’m forever salty about being so short) and their eyes.

15 // red or pink? red !! it’s such a lovely color, especially in darker shades. 16 // what is your least favorite physical thing about you?
 i would say, probably my nose. it’s too big.

17 // what color pants and shoes are you wearing now? black pants, but i’m barefoot because i don’t usually wear shoes at home. 18 // what was the last thing you ate?
 toast.

19 // what are you listening to right now? cheese & wine by LIVE. his debut EP is fantastic! 20 // if you were a crayon, what color would you be? i would probably either be burgundy or black, to be perfectly honest.

21 // favorite smell? coffee. the smell of it wafting into my room every morning is more than enough to motivate me out of bed and into school. 22 // who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? i think it was my mom? i don’t use my phone much at all. 23 // favorite sport to watch? believe it or not, i don’t actually watch sports, even though i play so many of them. sometimes, i’ll watch cricket with my mom and brother, and i tune in every couple years for the world cup, but that’s about it.

24 // hair color? dark brown. 25 // eye color? dark brown. i’m boring as shit, i know. 26 // do you wear contacts? no, but i will be getting some to replace my glasses! i’m not a huge fan of super unnaturally colored ones, so i’ll probably stick to grey and hazel, colors i think complement my skin tone very well. 27 // favorite food to eat? i’m a fatass, so i eat anything with carbs. but, honestly, pasta’s the fave.

28 // scary movies or comedy? comedy, my dude. scary movies can suck a dick. 29 // last movie you watched? even though i’m not into the franchise, i watched that new star wars movie with my roommate and my host family’s daughter in their theater room while i was in germany for the ISSTs. 30 // summer or winter?
 winter !!! summer is disgusting, even though i’m a summer baby. i just can’t handle the heat at all.

31 // hugs or kisses? i’m a really touchy person, so both. i love hugs, especially from tall people, and of course i love kisses !!

32 // what book are you currently reading? the war that saved my life by kimberly brubaker bradley. it’s actually surprisingly good, even though i rarely read books like this one! 33 // who do you miss right now? my friend laura. i love you, man.

34 // what is on your mousepad? my mousepad? i have a macbook pro: the only thing close to a mousepad on it is a flat grey trackpad. 35 // what is the last tv program you watched?
 i actually think that the last tv show that i properly watched and finished was weightlifting fairy kim bok joo. i have a lesbian crush on sungkyung, fucking fight me.

36 // what is the best sound?  i never, ever pay attention to sound, but i adore the sound of a violin. think ahn junsung, for example. or henry lau, lmao. 37 // rolling stones or beatles? the beatles. i grew up listening to them (and loads of traditional bengali music).

38 // what is the furthest you have ever travelled? i’ve been everywhere, but probably canada? 39 // do you have a special talent? a dust mite has more talent than me. it’s fact. 40 // where were you born?
 bergen, norway ! i’m european-bengali ;-) now that we’re through with this mess, i tag @hobirap, @when-will-your-faves-ever, @evolutionofbitch, @slaypjm, and @umbrellamilk !! this is 100% optional, but i love all y’all !

[fakesurprise]

Playing, With Fire

Being a magician is about carrying responsibilities as though they were not burdens. A magician protects the universe against threats from the vast wild spaces Outside. One result of that is that few magicians have ever left the universe for one reason or another; even fewer have returned.  But sometimes there are no choices that can be made easily. Perhaps part of being a magician is that no one makes your choices for you, but it has been a long time since I believed that.

I park the borrowed car beside a closed service station. The car could barely run, and gives up the last of its strength in a satisfied rattle. Better this than to sit and rust to nothing. I could have repaired it more, but had neither the time nor energy to spare. Sometimes being a magician is just about choices. But that is life as well, magician or not. All we can sometimes do is make choices for those who can’t make it for themselves; given them a nudge, a touch, a push. The magic helps others; being a magician helps the universe.

This does not. I almost expect resistance. The universe to bend itself against me, the fae to show and demand I do not do this thing. That nothing stirs is a relief as much as anything else. I have enough to bear without that, and the door opens to the service station as I push it and walk inside. Service stations tend to be frequented by any magician who lives near them, often to make sure barriers don’t break down between the universe and the Outside.

I walk to the centre of the room, the door closed. I draw up wards from the place. Of travel and aloneness, of decay and fear, and turn them into a barrier to keep others out. That much energy I spare. The rest has gone into clothing, pockets, items I carry and have woven into me. the magic in me is almost smothered under the weight of the wards and places we’re carrying. It is afraid, and so am I.

I draw symbols I learned in a bookstore a decade ago. Reggie let me read anything I wished to in the store. Anything included books that took me weeks to even begin to understand. But knowledge is important if one is the wandering magician of an era, and I learned all I could. I speak words human tongues aren’t meant to utter, draw symbols that are barely that at all. The world shudders, presses down against me, resists my invocation: I bring my will to bear against it, avoid the attention of Entities meant to guard against such journeys.

There is no door, no hole. A feeling like bungee jumping without a cord, and moments later I am Outside the universe.

No reference points. Nothing, none. I see/hear/feel only by an effort to translate the unknown into the known. What was once clothing gleams, wards burning in the air and nothing else holds me together. Not-winds buffet me, but I move with them. Everything out here survives the chaos by moving with it. I find balance, let it go. Bounce. Twist. Flow. Shift. I have put magic from cities and towns and places for over two weeks into the items about my person. I begin letting them go. Shaping the power.

My body isn’t a body here; it is the only reason I am surviving this.

I brought as much power here as I could carry. As much as I could dare without also being a doorway back into the universe. It won’t be enough. Can’t be enough. I turn the magic into a seeking, a finding, a knowing I send out across distances so vast the term has no meaning. I am formless in the living void, but still a magician, still the magic and I feel the seeking twist. Caught. Bound by power I did not seek.

There is ground under my feet.  I have flesh again. Blood, and bones as the wild of Outside is shaped into a solid place for a moment. It is the most beautiful place I will ever see, because I know the Walker of the Far Reaches who has made it.

“Moshe.”

“Nathen.” I’m not certain he has ever spoken my name before. And never in this tone. “What the fuck do you think you are doing?” he demands, and his power drives me almost to my knees.

I have bound him before, once without even knowing what he was. The Far Reaches are the only solid places Outside the universe, the Walkers who serve them the closest thing the Outside has to magicians. In the universe, I am perhaps more than Moshe; here the roles are reversed but even so I stand. I have bound him before, and that gives me an edge even now.

“Finding Jay’s mother.”

“What?” And sounds so shocked it would be funny anywhere else. Perhaps.

“Jay doesn’t have dreams. I am pretty certain his progenitor is a key to why and I’d like him to be able to have them.”

“Dreams. You make a hole in the universe yourself, you risk –.”

“Nothing.”

Moshe pauses. Stares at me, through me. He smiles. It’s not Jay’s smile. Nothing else is that, but it’s warm, and grudgingly impressed. “You’ve left a way back for you that nothing else can use. I should have guessed, but I never thought you’d be this – this – foolish. Even you know better than to play with fire like this, magician.”

“Sometimes being burned is worth the cost.”

“Not in this.” And for the first time Moshe almost drops his perfect, impossible beauty before he recalls himself. “What made Jay is far beyond me. I could not face her; you more certainly would not survive even an approach to such a Power.”

I blink. I’d suspected for a long time that Jay’s progenitor was one of the Far Reaches in some fashion; this seemed to mean she was something else entirely. “I’d like to give him this much, if I can.”

“I don’t see how.” Moshe returns the seeking I’d made back to me almost gently. “Return, magician. This place is not for your kind.”

“Can you do it?”

“I will not.”

“We could make a deal.”

“No. My destruction is not worth you nor anything you could offer,” Moshe says flatly, and pushes.

I could resist. I could even try and bind Moshe. Instead I fall back, using the last of the magics I had stored in tattoos upon my skin to bind the way back into the universe closed. I land on concrete, my ears ringing. I can taste blood in my mouth and every bone in my body aches. I sit up slowly, hiss and realized the middle of my chest were Moshe had pushed me contains a small burn. A statement, a reminder? I have no idea.

I stand, letting go of the wards I made here and walk outside to find a ride back into town.

The universe bends itself toward the needs of magicians. Most of the time. it takes almost five hours before anyone stops. I wonder if the universe is making a statement, but I have no idea and I’m too tired to ask. The man who lets me into the cab of his truck asks what the hell I was doing out here.

“Playing with fire,” I respond, and he says nothing after the truth in those words. I close my eyes and fall asleep moments later, and my dreams make no sense to me at all.

[salmankhanholics]

★ Bigg Boss 10 winner Manveer Gurjar: 'Salman is a desi banda who'll give the right advice' !

Seema Sinha | January 30th 2017

When ‘notorious’ Noida boy Manveer Gurjar entered the Bigg Boss 10 house, his boorish demeanour and violent streak raised doubts about his ability to be a sensible and prudent player. But as the days passed, one saw a complete makeover in his behaviour, and it was his tenacity, simplicity, attitude, loyalty and hunger to win every task that made him the most admired contestant of the season — so much so that the 29-year-old ‘Indiawala’ walked away with the trophy after giving tough competition to VJ Bani.

“Honestly, I hadn't thought about it at all. I had never imagined this, it has happened without any sort of expectations. If I have won then perhaps I have done something good. But jis raaste se mein ja raha tha, the support and the votes I was getting, I realised that I was doing something right. It was only half-way through that I started thinking about winning the show,” said Manveer, holding his heavy trophy and mischievous glint in his eyes, meeting with Firstpost immediately after his win was announced in the two-hour plus grand finale aired on Colors TV on Sunday night (29 January).

“I entered and contributed to the show as a commoner and I don’t have any feeling of a celebrity. Maybe that feeling will sink in when I go back to my hometown,” Manveer added.

Time and again he lifted the trophy for pictures and despite the pain in his right shoulder, never once did he stop smiling. Recollecting his winning moment, Manveer said, “On one side was Bani and on the other side was me, with Salman standing between us. That feeling was simply great. Even if I had lost to Bani, I would have felt that I got lesser votes because Bani has a bigger fan following. But now that I have won, I feel my supporters overpowered her fan following and I thank all those supporters.”

“When I went inside the house I was a different person," Manveer admitted, looking back over his journey. "I was short tempered and people were really scared of me — which was quite apparent in the first week. Salman Khan also pointed out that to me. I thought if I am going to stay in the house with the same attitude as I was outside the house, then I won’t be able to survive and I decided to go on the backfoot. I played more with my heart than my mind. I feel as if an entire makeover of my personality has happened after coming out of the Bigg Boss house.”

He further said, “When I walked inside the Bigg Boss house, my only aim was to mend my broken relationships and show the world who the real Manveer is. Each day in Bigg Boss, I strove to achieve this goal. Today, as I hold the Bigg Boss trophy, I cannot help but recollect every single day that I have spent inside the house — every task, every circumstance.”

Manveer valued everything that Bigg Boss offered him. His chemistry with Manu and Mona Lisa set new benchmarks of friendship, and proved that relationships fostered on a reality show can last a lifetime. Not only did Manveer live through the challenges but he also managed to repair his relationship with his father.

Initially, for first few weeks, Manveer was not seen as confident and depended heavily upon his buddy Manu Punjabi. So what changed? What was the turning point for him?

“Going inside the house and isolating oneself is very very easy, but for me to live life, I think it has to be shared with somebody. There was that bonding between Manu and me and I didn’t have any problem taking suggestions or advice from Manu. Walking in Manu’s shadow didn’t make any difference to me. But the day I saved Manu from nominations by shaving off my beard, the same day I landed in trouble because the other person didn’t save me. I finally realised that if this game will continue like this, then I will have to play smart. For the first couple of weeks, my co-contestants felt I was a strange personality, and at that time I needed somebody’s support. Manu had some experience as he had already done a show, he knew how to play in front of the camera. But though I listen to others, I eventually listen to my heart. Then I decided to play the way I wanted to, and I came to know that I was being appreciated outside. So if people liked me the way I was, then why should I hold somebody’s hand? Further, my father wanted me to pull together my act.”

While Manveer takes back many good memories from his stay in the Bigg Boss house, he would like to go back and change one thing in the house — the food scene. “I was quite rattled by the food rationing. I got to know about it only once I was inside the house. People were hiding eggs, rice and other food items! I wish they sent food from outside so that this doesn't happen.”

Among his memorable moments, he counted: "I will certainly miss the voice of Bigg Boss, the way he would call us in his booming tone... I will remember our interactions in the bedroom, time spent in the living room, activity room and then all those tiring tasks. Then, when I was fighting for captaincy with Gaurav, I slipped and fell with my head hitting the floor. I got five stitches for the same but I continued. And I will never forget the task towards the end — the 'Bungee Cord' — that brought me to the finale when we were tied to the harness. I held myself in place for over four hours while facing many rough and tough situations but eventually I got good results."

Of course there were certain unfortunate events too that Manveer would like to permanently erase from his memory — especially the presence of Swami Om and Priyanka Jagga, who were shown the exit door of the Bigg Boss house for their obnoxious behaviour. “In the beginning, we couldn’t gauge what kind of people Swami Om and Priyanka Jagga were, until we started interacting with them. And when we saw the real side of these two, things had gone out of our hands. Both left the house on a very bad note and I feel bad because like us, they were categorised as commoners. Here I have won the show but they disrespected and were made to leave the show,” said Manveer.

And if there is one more person who the winner feels didn’t deserve to be in the house, that is the television actor Gaurav Chopra. “That's because there were a lot of expectations from him. Even in the show, both of us had problems with each other and they never got cleared. I think he was conscious about his image and did not give much to the show — he remained an actor," said Manveer, adding that he would want to stay in touch with Manu, Mona, Nitibha and Lokesh. Also on the anvil — growing back his beard!

Manveer is now chalking out his future plans, and he is very clear that he wants to continue entertaining people. “That can happen only if I enter the profession of acting. I would like to take up anything that would suit me and my personality. I would like to get into movies or television, but never politics. When I asked Salmanji, what I should do, he said, 'Do whatever you do want to do man!' So I would like to shift to either Delhi or Mumbai and I will also bring my father along,” said Manveer.

And what has Manveer decided to do with his prize money of Rs 40 lakh? “I have already handed over the money to my father, my family, and we have decided to donate 50 per cent of the amount to Salman’s charity. Let my family decide what they want to do with it, now it is all their money,” said Manveer, who was feeling extremely anxious and curious about attending Salman’s after party for the present and past contestants. And about his bonding with the show host, he said, “Salman’s large-heartedness is something I could relate to and hence I kept addressing him as ‘Ji Bhai’. I felt he was a desi banda who wouldn’t cheat but always give me the right advice.”

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