#he might be the worst out of the gang but he's still pretty good

[inspector-montoya-fox]

During our Sly 3 coverage on the podcast i had said that the main theme of A Cold Alliance is morality and, although i still stand by that, it wasn't until this summer's ice cream discourse that i noticed how this is presented: antithesis. Similarly to how the theme of gender is explored through appearance vs reality in Flight of Fancy, i think morality's portrayal is build upon the various antitheses and contrasts in this one. Let's discuss.

Immediately, the obvious centre piece for the theme is Sly & the Panda King. At surface level, you've got good vs evil, blue vs red, hero vs villain, pretty basic stuff. The odd pairing's juxtaposition is so striking that it forms the initial premise for the episode until we're introduced to Tsao, whose addition to the mix as a deeply rotten individual creates an entire moral spectrum on top of the standard "good vs evil" and positions Panda King right in the middle of it: Sly might not follow the law but he represents the "good"; Tsao's just a piece of shit like downright evil; Panda King is a villain but not necessarily "villainous". I love how SP included Panda King's mirror dilemma because it further paints this character as the true, ambiguous neutral between the two sides, especially with him mentioning the yin and the yang. In the antithesis between Sly and Tsao, the two are easily distinguishable because they're so far apart - hence Sly telling Tsao to his face that he's the worst guy he's ever faced - leaving Panda King to choose who to gravitate towards (i'm just realising that we could have easily been treated to Panda King reverting back to being a bastard and betraying the gang following the whole "hero and villain team up to take down more evil villain" storyline akin to Slade helping the Titans defeat Trigon). Here it's also worth mentioning that Carmelita's presence in this episode serves to match the moral extremism of Tsao, with her being the ultimate agent of "good" as opposed to his evil, but i'll get to her later.

Then, we have fire & ice. I mean yeah duh it doesn't take a genius to figure that one out. What i'm referring to here more specifically is how the weather and temperature are matched to the subplots at hand. This is something very briefly mentioned in Fire in the Sky, with Sly saying that the very sight of Carmelita warms his heart, and A Cold Alliance kinda builds on that. In the analogy of fire & ice, the Panda King finding his zen in his Master Pai Mei get-up is the serene and silent snow, tranquil and white, pure; whereas Tsao is the fire that seeks to destroy that, his hatred and cruelty being destructive, blazing. He's associated with the colour red & explosions: his rooster's "mohawk", the fire-breathing dragon he summons, the exploding vampires (Panda King is also associated with explosions because of his fireworks, but i'd argue it's slightly different because of the blue streaks they leave behind and are more like his form of expression as seen in his Sly 1 introductory cutscene). There's also Murray's heartbreak over the van being manifested as the literal block of ice it's stuck in. It's hard, unyielding and stubborn.

In a similar vein, we've got old & new. I'm going to keep this one brief but part of the reason why Tsao manages to outsmart the gang is because his whole appearance hinges on tradition, making him easy to underestimate. He resides within a palace in the Chinese countryside, he's a "warlock", he has conservative values. At the same time though, he's got his own personalised computer avi and keeps his treasure tucked under high-tech security. We've seen something similar with Jean Bison, who used Clockwerk parts to operate his trains and hid wifi in his boats, but that was kinda different because Bison was actually a clueless hick who wanted to sell his share of the parts to Arpeggio. Tsao on the other hand understands and utilises technology in mesh with his reverence for tradition.

Lastly, we've got the voyeuristic antithesis via Carmelita & Sly. I've recently covered how Sucker Punch's treatment of female characters, although not something to raise pitchforks over, is yeah pretty much designed solely through the lens of the male gaze. Carmelita's entire character is tethered to Sly's perception of her, and more generally how the main trio views her (i'd even go so far as to say this is on display during the operation's grapple-cam segment, where Bentley assumes this kind of like Big Brother role over her, which is later done with Penelope too btw... mama, the layers). In Battery of Peril however, the perspective is swapped with the Carmelita gameplay. And yeah, we've played as Carmelita before by this point, but here's the thing: this time it's all about stepping into Carmelita's shoes the way we've come to know her as for the past two games. Quintessential Carmelita is chasing Sly and now we're placed into that very role. Although the antithesis between law & crime is present throughout the series, here it's explored deeper to match the rest of the episode's interpretations of the theme.

[hoperays-song]

Hey I remember you gave Marcus his status as a pro boxer could you also gave him an AU version as a MMA’st include Stan too…

P.S I also remember an MMA movie of two brother fight each other if they the two ever face other out for some reason in the ring who would win

🏆 🥊🔥🦍🆚🦍

Thanks so much for the ask! I tried to answer it to the best of my ability, sorry if it's not really what you were asking for. I hope you enjoy anyway! - <3 Gooseless

Disclaimer: my boxing knowledge is from google searches and my one friend who did box (who might have been fucking with me with the answers to my questions but oh well). I did martial arts and martial arts sparring soooooo.... yeah this is not my area of expertise.

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

If they were actual professional boxers/MMA fighters:

If they were actual professional boxers, I think they would do a lot of doubles fights together and would be a pretty big force to be reckoned with. Barry would probably be their marketing agent in this case and they would have a lot more counted for wins.

Their first meeting would be different, with them probably meeting during a match when they were younger and becoming friends from that (it would also mean that Stan and Barry got to meet Johnny's mum so there's that).

But the conflict in Sing 1 would be the most different. Instead of training him to be a robber, Marcus is trying to get Johnny to become a boxer. He doesn't skip out on a heist, instead he misses a match, pretty much ruining his record which is what annoys Marcus. The same fight would occur, but both his dad and uncles would be at the performance to support him and apologize.

And instead of Marcus and the other's doing community service in Sing 2, it would have been them getting ready for a match when Johnny calls and them choosing to go help anyways, no questions asked.

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

Currently in the canon universe:

Marcus's Stats (In a Fight Club)

Total Fights: 67

Fight Record (Wins, Losses, Knock-Outs): 34, 14, 19

Weight Class: Super Middleweight

Title Shots: None (They didn't have titles)

Earliest Knock-Out: 2:39

Win Streak: 15

Total Strikes Landed: 1697

Average Strikes Landed per Minute: 7.41

-----------

Stan's Stats (Actually in a Ring)

Total Fights: 54

Fight Record (Wins, Losses, Knock-Outs): 26, 13, 15

Weight Class: Super Middleweight

Title Shots: Essex Junior Middleweight Champion 1993

Earliest Knock-Out: 2:43

Win Streak: 14

Total Strikes Landed: 1797

Average Strikes Landed per Minute: 8.24

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

As for in a match... I think it would be close tbh. I'm not sure who would win, I think it would depend on the day. Marcus is overall stronger but Stan is slightly faster.

[wolfiesmoon]

I can't sleep

Ran x good girl!reader

Do i want a bad boy (literal criminal) bf? Yea but i would probably cry if he insulted me or got into trouble in any capacity at all

(i am totally not unironically vibing to pretty little psycho while writing this)

edit: i made a part 2!!

"I dare you to kiss Haitani Ran." Your friend nudged you.

You knew you shouldn't have agreed to this stupid game of truth or dare. You knew your friend was going to make you do stupid stuff like this.

"Like... the big scary delinquent guy?" You asked, hoping you heard her wrong.

"Yeah, that Haitani Ran." Your friend smirked mischeviously.

"How about I don't do that?" The last thing you'd want to do is get involved wth any delinquents or gangs. You have no idea how dangerous Ran could be and even if he wasn't you'd still refuse to kiss a good for nothing delinquent.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" you followed up, realising just how bad this dare could end up.

"You do know that refusing this dare means that you have to do anything I say for a week, right?" Your friend had a horribly evil look on her face. You don't even want to know the things she would make you do if you refused this stupid dare.

But is kissing Ran any better? Pick your poison, you suppose.

"Fine, I'll do it." You said behind clenched teeth, not at all happy about this outcome. You've never even kissed before, and now you have to kiss freaking Ran Haitani. You might actually die.

Why did you agree? What is wrong with you?

This might just be the worst day of your life.

You ended up being a little unfocused in class, making your teacher worry.

.

"Haitani-san." you call out to him, your voice dying off slightly at the end due to nerves. You're the only ones left in the classroom, with your friend watching from behind the door to make sure you actually do it. He looks back at you and you feel a shiver run through you.

Oh my god, you're actually doing this.

He stops, waiting to see what you want with him. You move closer to him, and his eyes narrow slightly, as if he's getting a good look at you.

"Now, what could the class president herself possibly want with me?" his tone was slightly mocking and you would have showed him you're not to be messed with but honestly you'd probably be the one losing in that scenario.

You inhaled sharply, pulling him down by his braids and planting a kiss straight onto his lips. This feels like a bad shojo plot, the "good girl" falls in love with the "bad boy" and kisses him all of a sudden. Except there's no romance involved here. Just a dare.

Is this how you kiss? Why does it feel so strange? That should be enough, right? You can feel your parents shaking their heads dissaprovingly already.

Ok, now you're just kissing him for way too long. It's time to let go. And you try to, you really do. Since when were his arms wrapped around your waist, anyways? And why isn't he letting you go?!

You can feel your friend's evil stare burning into your back. This is not amusing!

He laughed a little into the kiss, pulling you impossibly closer. Oh, so they're both going to enjoy your suffering now, you see how it is.

Still, kissing him isn't half ba-

Ok, you're actually losing it. You need out and fast.

You wriggled out of his grasp, running away as fast as your legs could take you. You heard both Ran and your friend yell something behind you but you honestly don't care.

Why did you ever agree to do this?!

.

That same thought persisted even as you tossed and turned in bed that night.

"Oh god, he's going to send his goons after me and I'm gonna die... And then I won't ever get to become successful..." you muttered to yourself.

"Or maybe he's gonna come and kill me myself after school tommorow... Ugh..." you can't come to school tired, you won't be able to pay attention in class that way. You can't ruin your perfect record by falling asleep in class.

Who cares about the perfect record?! You should be worried for your life!

"And what is that stupid noise, anyways?" you muttered, grumbling and getting up to inspect the source. Another stone hits the window, making you jump slightly. You walk to the window and open it, narrowly avoiding a stone that was thrown your way.

"Sorry!~"

Wait. You'd recognise that voice anywhere.

It's Ran.

"What are you doing here? How did you even get my adress?" you half yelled, not wanting to wake up your parents.

"You shouldn't sweat the little things. Come downstairs." he was smiling calmly, but you still couldn't tell if he was threatening you. Actually, is that his motorcycle parked next to him?

"You should probably put on a jacket too. It's real cold." he added on, and you nervously closed the window, quietly sneaking downstairs and putting on a jacket. Your pyjamas are not the most presentable, but you really don't want to test his patience right now.

You met him outside. What is he going to do to you now?

"Get on." he pointed to his bike, catching you off guard.

"Not without a helmet, riding a motorcycle without one can be really dangerous and you could lose your life." you couldn't help but bring up safety regulations. It's in your nature.

"I told you, don't sweat the details and just sit down." he completely ignored you, pushing you in the direction of the bike. You complied, sitting down on it awkwardly, not sure what to expect. He doesn't seem violent...

He sat down behind you, revving up the engine and just driving off without a care in the world.

"W-Wait!" you were shocked at the speed, grabbing onto him by instinct and missing the way his lips curved up at that.

"Where are you taking me?! I never consented to this!" you had to yell over the sound of the engine, shutting your eyes. He was right, it really is cold when you're riding on a motorcycle.

"And you know what I didn't consent to? That kiss." he replied and your face scrunched up a little, cringing at the not so distant memory. "But that's fine, because that means you're mine now."

"Huh?!" you finally opened your eyes, looking up at him. His expression was a little hard to make out since the only thing illuminating it was street lights that you were speeding past. Is he even following the speed limit?

"I value my sleep, you see. And that little stunt you pulled made me unable to fall asleep. So I figured I might as well give you a little visit." he placed a hand over you protectively, making you worry about your safety even more.

"Who would have thought the top of the class good girl would fall for me?" he looked down at you.

"I did not fall in love with you! It was a dare!" you shot back.

"Oh well, doesn't matter. You're my girl now. And that's that."

[mothmanssweetsucculentass]

ZZZ Headcanons

Help this game has taken over my free time I love these characters sm <3 Billy Soukaku and Ellen my beloved

Nicole: has a not so secret hobby of bedazzling anything and everything. It’s a real problem in the Cunning Hares apartment, nothing is safe from pink rhinestones and stickers

Anby: cracked at rhythm games to an alarming degree. Can do a 2 person extremely hard DDR song all by herself

Billy: I don’t know how they did it but they programmed an android with autism. Has his own version of a skincare routine which is basically just maintenance on all of his tiny mechanical parts. Can also gain power multiple ways, including solar power. The apartment complex where the Cunning Hares live had a blackout once and everyone used Billy as a personal charging port. Nicole promised to pay him in Starlight Knight merch.

Nekomata: cuts her own hair and offers to do it for other people. DO NOT trust her when she says she’s good at it

Grace: did gymnastics as a kid which is why she’s able to pull off a ton of backflips and flexible maneuvers in battle

Anton: uses actual cement to keep his hair spikes in shape. Koleda caught him in the act once and instead of chewing him out, she decided to apply some to her own hair and now they’re cement combover gang

Ben: is completely vegan and loves chilling at hot springs a lot. Still sleeps with stuffed animals btw

Koleda: I’m making it canon right now Koleda is trans and you can’t do shit about it. Also has welding as a hobby and made most of her accessories from scratch

Corin: when not in Victoria Housekeeping Co uniform, is a Jfashion junkie. I’m talking super dedicated Lolita fits, menhera inspired clothing, the whole shebang. She ofc designs a lot of her own stuff like her bear backpack and is also responsible for a lot of the accessories Victoria Housekeeping Co wears (Rina’s bows, Ellen’s shark jaw head and neckpieces, Lycaon’s eyepatch and tail straps). She also has a massive crush on Ellen and is too scared to admit it

Rina: has a fur allergy and can’t keep animals around. Which also means she’s allergic to Lycaon. She has to take so much Zyrtec before clocking in but has such a good poker face that Lycaon has no idea. Ellen knows tho

Lycaon: specifically wears the heeled boots and has his odd posture because he’s self conscious about his digitigrade legs, he thinks they’re unsightly for a butler of his standing to have. He also tries to encourage Ellen to wear a long maid dress like Rina does to hide her tail.

Ellen: coincidentally falls into a lot of shark stereotypes. She loves seafood, has to constantly be fidgeting or she feels like she’ll go mad, and the kicker, she gets frenzied around blood, or if the thing she’s fighting puts up a struggle. Corin accidentally cut her hand while repairing her saw blade once and both Lycaon and Rina could barely hold Ellen back once Corin began bleeding. Ellen feels awful for scaring the already timid girl. Corin secretly thought it was hot and would die on the spot if anyone knew that

Soukaku: despite being a huge foodie this girl cannot cook for shit. Is also physically cold to the touch and during the summer her coworkers will ask her to hold their drinks because they’ll stay cold. Soukaku always secretly sneaks sips every time they do this to her.

Miyabi: has the worst sleep schedule known to man. Sometimes you’ll find her awake at 3AM and conked out by 4PM, other times she goes to bed at 8PM and wakes up at 4AM. It’s inconsistent and irregular and a gamble trying to contact her outside of work because she might not even be awake

Harumasa: GAY GAY HOMOSEXUAL GAY. Also pretty cracked at chess and other strategy games. Is also a major old fashioned guy and doesn’t own a lot of modern technology. He’s not into retro or old stuff, he just doesn’t like new stuff

Yanagi: her glasses are fake. When she was younger she needed them, but her vision had naturally gotten better over the years, so she now wears contacts, but for some reason still insists on wearing her glasses. Loses them constantly during battle.

Lucy: even though she was forced to play piano as a kid, she really wanted to be a sporty girl and play stuff like soccer and baseball. Now she has the freedom to take part in the sports she likes and watch them surrounded by the people she likes

Piper: insanely picky eater to the point it drives Lucy up a wall. Is also picky about a lot of other things, like how different fabrics feel, different comfort levels of chairs and beds, girl is a complainer and will always find something to complain about

Lighter: has a side gig as a tattoo artist, has really stable hands too

Soldier 11: has 5 younger brothers, a younger sister, and 2 older siblings who she doesn’t see super often. Has divorced parents who also liked to adopt, which is why she has such a huge family. Her younger brothers love it when she comes home and plays secret agent military with them

Seth: can’t drive. That’s it send tweet.

Qingyi: is outwardly dismissive of meditation tricks and hacks and tips but utilizes that shit in private ALL the time.

Zhu Yuan: shares the vegetables she grows in her garden with all her neighbors. Is also a REALLY good cook to the point people have encouraged her to potentially consider a different career path

Jane Doe: the rat girl has pet rats go figure. But in all seriousness she’d die for her little guys. She has a white one named Cocaine and a brown one named Tobacco and a gray one named Crystal Meth. She thinks the names are hilarious and every time she introduces the rats to other people their facial expressions are priceless

[rlimagi]

Eyes

Pairing: Uma x Reader

Request: Hi !! Can I please have a fluff Uma x reader fic ? Reader is Uma’s longtime girlfriend 💙 I’m so excited there’s an account for descendants fem x reader !!!!! I’m so excited to read your writing !!

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: I don’t think there’s any.

Note: I started writing this since a few days ago but I kept rewriting it because I didn’t feel satisfied with the ending. So this might have a part 2 if my brain wants to work with me again.

You were Mal’s twin sister, which meant you had the utmost unfortunate experience of having Maleficent as your mother. You never experienced the motherly love you’ve always craved for, so you didn’t know what love felt like until you met her.

At a very young age, you found your love in books. Fairytales about princesses and magic were your favorites because they’ll always end up living happily ever after, and you wanted that so badly. But your love for what many other kids claimed, ‘nerdy’ became the reason you would always find comfort alone in your room instead of doing things a villain should do. Which meant you were a total loner.

You were a disappointment to your mother and as for your twin, you guys had always been close, though being polar opposites. Mal and Jay were the only friends you had and it stayed that way for years until one night.

You had just returned your books back to the library, if you could even call it that, the area was dark and you couldn’t see the paths clearly so you stumbled on an unfamiliar alley.

It was full of older kids, most of the kids on the isles were trouble makers but the kids there were the oldest of the bunch and the worst of them all.

“Hey! Isn’t that Maleficent’s kid?” An older boy shouted out, walking towards you as his gang backed him up. Those kids were pirates, you weren’t sure how that worked out since the isles had no open water for them to sail and rob other ships, but you weren’t going to question them.

It was ironic that you’re the daughter of one of the most evil villian, yet you could barely make eye contact with people who aren’t your sister or Jay, nor fight.

“Shouldn’t she have purple hair, like her sister? Why is it blue?” An older girl spoke up this time but she was as scary as the rest of them. You stood still as she took a few strands of your hair and examined them.

“What should we do with her? Do you reckon it’ll be a good idea if we kidnap her and ask for ransom money?” Another boy smirked, his crooked teeth showed as he cracked into laughters like the rest of his crew.

You were terrified for your life as the rest of them surrounded you but then a voice called out.

“How about you leave her alone, Henry?”

You turned around to see a girl your age but her eyes showed no fear, only confidence and dominance.

“Uma, you’re no fun. Imagine all the money we’ll get from her mom and don’t you hate her sister?” The boy she called Henry shook his head as he placed his dirty hand on your hair and messed it all up.

“Hands off or I’ll tell my mom that you’re the one who broke all her tables last week.” The pretty girl clapped back as she glared at the older boy.

Henry sighed in annoyance before gesturing to the rest of his crew to follow him out. “You’re lucky Ursula’s your mother.”

Your eyes followed as you watched them kicked everything in their way, probably out of annoyance that they got dominated by a kid 3 years younger than they were.

“Thank you.” You muttered, face reddening up when she smiled and nodded. You’ve never seen such a beauty like her before, not like you’ve met a lot of girls.

“No problem, they were annoying me all week anyways…but hey, what’s your name? I’ve never seen you around here before.” Uma smiled, her eyes were dark yet it was so sparkly for some reason.

“Oh I’m-“ You were about to introduce yourself when your sister and Jay, came out of nowhere.

“Yn! We were looking for you everywhere, where have you b-“ Mal rushed to your side, face filled with worries but she abruptly stopped mid sentence when she looked at the girl standing beside you. “Oh it’s you. Hey Shrimpy~”

Your eyes widened up in shock at your sister’s reaction to Uma. You knew your sister was a bully in a way, to other kids but it was just shocking to see her like that with your own eyes. Especially to the girl who had just saved you only a few minutes prior.

“Why are you here with her sis? You’re going to turn into a shrimp if you stand too close to her.” Mal’s grimace turned into a smirk as she pulled you away from where you were.

Uma’s smile turned sour almost immediately after Mal and Jay came. Without saying anything, she gave them both a nasty glare before running away.

“That’s so not cool, Mal.” You pushed your sister away before heading home on your own, ignoring the shouts from behind.

After that night, you secretly went out late at night looking for her. You didn’t want to look for her when the sun is bright because your sister or Jay might find out. Eventually, you found her sitting alone on a dock.

That night, you gave her the biggest apology for your sister’s behavior and asked her to be friends. Luckily, she didn’t have anything against you and agreed.

That was the day your love story started to blossom. After a year of secretly being friends, Uma she asked you to be her girlfriend and of course you agreed.

But fate separated you both after the 3rd year of your relationship, because you were invited to Auradon. You were ecstatic since all your life you’ve always dreamed of getting out of the isles, and you might have a chance of having a happily ever after like those fairytales you’ve enjoyed so much. But will you actually ever find one if your lover won’t be there with you?

When you told Uma that you won’t be going if it meant that you’ll never see her again, she got upset that you’re throwing away your dream, just for her. She didn’t want you to sacrifice your happiness like that, so ultimately you agreed but with a promise that you’ll try everything in your power to see her again.

Your life on Auradon was great, the people were nice, the food was spectacular, and it was a breath of fresh air and eventually you started to forget the life you left behind.

“Yn, can we talk?” Your older sister rushed to your side as you were lying against a big oak tree, trying to read a book.

There were a few decent books back in the isles but it couldn’t compare to the ones Auradon had. After arriving at Auradon Prep, you’ve gain a lot of friends but got close to Jane the fastest after she discovered your love for books and introduced you to a few of her favorites.

“Oh, sure! What’s up?” You smiled before patting on the grass next to you, gesturing her to sit there. Pulling your attention away from the book, you noticed Mal’s sullen expression and you knew all too well what it meant. “Spill.”

Mal sighed before the look on her face turned on into a slight frown. “I’ve just had a disagreement with the other VKs and Ben. They just don’t get me. And I tried to find you first but I swear you’re everywhere yet nowhere at the same time.”

You chuckled, patting her shoulder before asking. “You know I can’t stay still. Well then, what did you talk to them about? It can’t be that bad right?”

“No, but it’s just…” Mal stopped for a moment while her eyes drifted off to the distance, to where the isles were.

“Okay, I think I get what you’re thinking of. You want to head back and they don’t?” Mal was a hard person to read, but luckily you were her twin who could read her like an open book. Even without the spells.

“Yes! I just miss being…bad, no rules, no people throwing microphones into your face and asking invasive questions. I just miss being me, you get it right?” Of course you understood her, you could see it from miles away.

You saw how she had been dealing with her new title as Ben’s girlfriend and soon the future Queen of Auradon. It was a lot of responsibility being thrown on her, you knew she would break soon enough.

“I get it, I do miss beating up nasty old men, stealing candies, and...” the thoughts of your girlfriend flooded all over your head. “Her…” you whispered.

“And?” Mal looked at you, confused. You’ve never told any one of your friends, even Mal about the relationship between you and Uma. Mal hated Uma and the feelings were mutual with Uma, they hated each other’s guts and honesty it was hard hiding the fact that you were dating the girl your sister used to bully.

You blinked, getting caught off guard before faking a cough. “Umm, nothing!”

Mal nodded but you knew she was still a bit suspicious but chose to let it go anyways. “I think, I’m going to go back.” Mal claimed confidently as she abruptly stood up. Not even a second later, she looked at you back with vulnerable eyes. “Should I? I don’t think I’ll be coming back and I don’t want to leave if you’re all going to be mad at me for doing so. Especially you, you’re my twin and your words means the most to me.”

You sighed, following her action. “Mal, .you’re my sister and as your sister, I say you should do whatever the hell you want. No matter what, and no matter what we will always be sisters.” you wrapped your arms around her shoulders. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

“Thanks, I really needed that. Do you want to come with me, maybe?” Mal chuckled before punching you jokingly.

Your breath hitched, immediately thinking of Uma. You did promise that you’ll find a way to see her again.

“Thanks Mal, but I do need to return these books back to Jane first. You go a head and I’ll find you there after I’m done.” You smiled before pointing to the piles of books that laid next to you. “I’ll know where to find you.”

“Got it.” Mal nodded. “Talk to the others for me okay? They don’t know I’m leaving, at least not yet.”

“Of course, you can always count on me.”

When you arrived at your shared dorm with Evie and Mal, a freaked out Evie rushed to your side. “Yn! There you are!” She exclaimed, pulling you inside before handing over a note. “Did you know about this?”

You looked at Mal’s goodbye note before looking back at your best friend. “Of course, she talked to me right before she left.”

“And you didn’t stop her?!” Evie gasped, pulling you to sit down on your bed.

“Nope.” You replied casually before popping a few gummies into your mouth. Your table always had sweets in stock for you to munch on. You’ve never had any sugar before but after arriving at Auradon, you’ve never gone a day without them.

“I’m planning to go too, now if you’ll excuse me.” you muttered before walking past Evie to grab a notebook which you had written down all the useful spells on. Honestly, you were cursing yourself for not thinking of a way to meet her until now.

“Wait what?” Evie asked in shock before blocking your way as you were about to head out. “Well you can’t leave, not alone anyways. We need to tell Ben about this, he’ll know how to get her back.” Evie said before pulling you with her.

“Slow down Evie! She’s just giving little old home a visit and if she decides to stay there then, well we can’t do much about it!” Your voice echoed across the halls but went unheard as Evie dragged you into Ben’s office.

The next thing you know, you were pulled into the Limo with Carlos and Jay sitting beside you. The ride to the isles wasn’t too long, but you were nervous extremely nervous yet excited at the same time. You haven’t seen her in 6 months, what if she found someone else while you’re away?

Your worries never washed away, even when you bumped into Gil after landing. He was the only person in the world who knows about your relationship with Uma. How he knew didn’t happen on person.

During your second year anniversary, you and Uma had sneaked out to go on a date late at night on top of the roof of your school’s building. It was sweet and romantic but then Gil for some odd reason was there and walked in on you two making out. He swore not to tell anyone and luckily he kept his words.

“Ben, before you go in and talk to her…you need to prepare yourself for the worse outcome, alright?” You called out to Ben right before he walked up the stairs. He frowned slightly but nodded anyways.

“This is what Mal needs, no offense you’re great and I love you for her but sometimes she just needs to get back to figure things out with this side of hers…alright you can go now I won’t stall any longer.” You patted his shoulder before pushing him slightly.

“Thanks Yn, and don’t worry. Whatever Mal decides, I’ll respect it.” Ben said before rushing up the flights of stairs.

You nodded and looked back at your other best friends who all shared the same nervous looks. Not too long after, Ben came down looking devastated and ran off into the darkness. You knew that he would get lost being all by himself so you left the VKs and followed after him.

“Ben?” You called out but got left with no response, you swore he was just there a minute ago. “Ben, buddy. Is that you?” You asked once you saw a figure walking up to you.

The alleyway was dark since there were barely any light source so it was hard to identify who it was. Not too long after, you found yourself losing consciousness.

You woke up to the sound of people yelling and running around your surroundings. “Hey, Yn! Wake up!” you felt a hand nudged yours and suddenly you were finally aware of where you were. Uma’s territory.

“Ben!? Is that you? Why am I tied up? Why are we tied up? What the hell is going on?” You whispered back, squirming as you tried your hardest to get the ropes to loosen up. Of course it didn’t but it was worth a try.

“I talked to Uma who’s like the captain here, I really messed up by forgetting about the other kids who didn’t get picked” Ben replied, deeply regretful for forgetting his main goal for the future of Auradon and the kids who were punished because of the faults of their parents. “It was my goal to bring every kid to Auradon. But then I got so busy with being a King that I had forgotten about all the innocent lives out here.”

“Wait Uma was here? Never mind, don’t blame yourself. You are an amazing person and King, we’re all forever grateful that you gave us a chance to figure out who we are. And it wasn’t your fault for forgetting, you’re still a kid who became King and suddenly got handled all the responsibilities.” You had always thought of Ben like a brother and he was amazing.

Ben was different than all the other royals, he didn’t have to care but he did by bringing 5 villian kids to Auradon and giving them a chance.

Everyone was outraged, but Ben didn’t care. He wanted change, and it’s starting to happen slowly but surely. “You can always make your goal happen, it’s never too late for anything.”

“I promise the first thing I’ll do when we get back to Auradon is find a way to get more kids out of here.” Ben said in determination. After exploring the island for a while, he could see how terrible the conditions were.

“I know you will.” you replied before everything went quiet. All the pirates stopped at their places and you could hear someone untying Ben and before you knew it, Harry walked past you with Ben being pushed towards the plank.

“Boo!” Someone whispered in your ear, scaring the living soul out of you. Then you heard a laugh, the voice of the only person you’ve ever loved. Uma.

“Hey baby, did you miss me?” Uma smirked as she moved to stand right in from of you. Her hand held up next to your face as she teasingly pinched your cheek. She had always adored the way your cheeks reddened up whenever she did that.

“Do I?” You teased back, enjoying how she acted annoyed whenever you played with her but you knew that she secretly loved it. “Kidding, of course I do! Now can you please untie me?”

“I kind of like it when you’re tied up though, that way you can’t go anywhere else.” Uma replied back jokingly but you could see it in her eyes that there was some truth in that. Ever since you guys became a couple, you had never gone a day without seeing each other at least once. And ever since you got sent to Auradon, you have been apart for longer than 6 months.

“Uma, I really wish I could bring you to Auradon with me.” You said sincerely as she untied you from the pole.

Uma stopped for a moment, looking at you with a smile before leaning in. Her hands trialed from your neck to your face before pulling you in for a much needed kiss. Even after kissing her so many times, the same spark and fluttery feeing from the first one will always reappear.

The way she looked at you, the way she touched your lips, the way it made you feel like you were floating, it was everything. She was everything.

“I know, but don’t worry. You’ll be able to bring me with you after Mal gives me the fairy godmother’s wand.”

You looked at her in confusion. Uma and Mal were clearly not on good terms so why would your sister willingly do that. “What are you saying?”

Your question was left unanswered as Uma broke eye contact, her smile turning into a mischievous grin after seeing visitors stepping in her territory.

You were confused by her sudden change of demeanor before looking the same way she was heading to, Mal and your friends were there.

You knew that it would not end well, at all.

[chaotic-starlight24]

Ponyboy Curtis General Headcanons

Alrighty! Glad so many of you like the Dallas headcanons! Darry is next after Ponyboy then I will probably do another vote :)

Warnings: Spoilers for the book

I did literal scientific research just to figure out some of this stuff :,) I didn't have to but I still did

He is always thinking of the worst case scenario. Not always, but if he’s left alone long enough he’s decided that Darry got hit with a meteor and Soda probably drowned in motor oil. 

He was really gullible as a young kid, like one time Dally convinced him that he (Dally) was a vampire. But then he debunks what he learns pretty quickly. “I’ve never seen you drink blood, you don’t really have “fangs”, and you really like garlic bread!” “OK kid, ya got me.”

For being so young, he hurts his neck and back a lot. He sleeps a little weird, BAM neck pain! He sits upside down, POW his back aches. He sleeps in a soldier position and doesn’t move unless Soda moves him. He also always needs support for his back, usually sitting with his back to the wall or laying down. (Same though)

As we know, this little man smokes a lot more than just about everyone in the gang combined. Which is already extremely worrying on its own, but also really surprising that he manages to be a good track runner. I might ask some of my track runner friends later for info on how they breathe when running. But let’s just say he really enjoys running but also manages to end up wheezing at the end of every practice. He has to take like a 30 minute break after practice just to breathe normally. The coach just assumes he has asthma and probably hints that he needs to get checked out. 

To add a little more to the whole track runner thing, he doesn’t say track AND FIELD. Which means he is doing the track portion and therefore a whole lot of running. I’m still researching the science behind it on what type of running he could manage though. Long distance takes shorter breaths through your nose and enhances your stamina. Sprinters run for shorter amounts of time and need deeper breathing at a quick pace. So he would most likely be a long distance runner. *EDIT* I checked with my track runner friends, I'm correct he would be a long distance runner

Ponyboy is (most likely) left-handed in the movie. And I’m going to take that and run with it. Most items with handles are made for right-handed people. So I feel like Darry or Soda have several times heard a BANG and a small ow afterwards, walked into the kitchen and Pony has once again hit himself in the head with the fridge door. Scissors are also hard to use for him. He never liked arts and crafts.

He had imaginary friends as a kid. An entire cast of them to be exact. A part of him wanted more friends that weren’t just his brothers’ friends. He wanted to be less of a little brother and more of an equal if you know what I mean. He still has those feelings nowadays but he is more thankful for the gang.

He does have some friends at school but he’s more of the “third friend” than anything. So he spends a lot of time at school doing work, reading, or staring into space. The track guys and him are good company to each other but don’t really hang out at any other times. But Pony appreciates them nonetheless.

He writes a lot of notes in the most random places. Like random ideas he gets he just grabs a piece of napkin and scribbles it down. But then it gets left behind and taken out of context. Like Darry once found a piece of paper on a kitchen chair that just said “The ceiling tile shatters and hits him.” 

He has a really contagious smile. Like he starts grinning the rest of the gang can't help but start smiling too.

After Johnny and Dally’s death, he started to see people in more of a gray scale instead of just black and white. He realized there is more to a person than meets the eye. He can still be a little hater but he is a bit nicer about people. 

Him and Cherry started running into each other every so often and will ramble about the most random things, then just walk away like they didn’t just say some analogy between books and people.

He would eventually become a writer of books and own a library. He ends up offering free reading and writing classes for the kids like Dally and Johnny who never had/have the chance to finish school. He calls it “The C&W Program '' saying it stands for Creation and Wisdom program if you ask but the real name is Cade&Winston.

He still goes swimming even after the incident but he doesn’t ever go underwater. 

His favorite books that he constantly rereads are Great Expectations, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Pickwick Papers. But he also just likes most books.

(The girl he mentions at the beginning that called him a hood) I feel like she was a middle class teen similar in age to Pony named Esther. She hangs out with the soc girls more. She actually felt bad about calling him a hood since it just kind of rolled out of her mouth and apologized later on. It greatly surprised Pony and they ended up becoming really good friends. (Possibly starting a relationship later but that is up to you)

He never stops smoking all the way but after a wake-up call from the gang he starts smoking a lot less.

He learned how to read before he even started school. He just loved it and all of the worlds that are created through writing. The funny thing is, no one can figure out who taught him in the first place! Mr. and Mrs. Curtis just guessed he got a hold of some of Darry’s books or something. But Soda was actually the one to teach him. Soda is not in any way an extremely good student. But he is good at explaining things. So a really young Pony saw him reading the comics and asked how he knew what it was saying. Soda taught him the basic words in the comics and Pony went off and grabbed one of the novels from the family’s shelves. He then proceeded to teach himself how to sound each word out and then ask Soda what it meant. Soda was really happy when Pony got a hang of it very quickly. After a couple years, Darry noticed some notes in his books and took a close look at what it was saying. They were annotations IN CURSIVE. He didn’t write them, Soda never picks up bigger books, and their parents have their own books. Eventually Darry caught Pony doing it and was like “WHAT THE HECK??? YOU’RE A LITERAL 3RD GRADER???” 

One time he had to do a presentation in 5th grade about the life of a famous person important to them. People got extra credit if they dressed up like their person and he was extremely embarrassed because he was the only one to do so. He dressed up as Paul Newman. (This legit happened to me though, it was so cringey)

He has naturally wavy hair but he uses so much grease it looks stick straight. It’s also so greased that his hair is actually shiny.

Him and Steve start getting closer post canon as Pony gets older. Mainly because Steve sees him less as an annoyance and the gang is overall a lot closer together. 

If Johnny had survived ( I have a whole explanation that I will share later) Pony would help him out all the time. Johnny may be wheel-chair bound but Pony includes him in whatever he can. He is always there for Johnny since Johnny ends up with so many problems. (Johnny would probably be adopted by a couple who lost their child and have the dedication to take care of him) With spinal cord injuries usually comes respiratory issues, pressure sores, etc. He would help Johnny through the 5 stages of grief (many people who lose limbs or lose an ability do this) and help him set up a routine on how to get through everyday things.

He ends up being a middle ground between Sodapop and Darry when he grows up. Like height and build wise.

[batneko]

I'm forced to listen to Christmas music all day at work, so here's a Last Christmas bowuigi idea for your enjoyment featuring everyone's favorite* trope: misunderstandings!

*(lol nope)

Bowser has unintentionally achieved "friendly rival" status, and is invited to a big lodge to go skiing and snowboarding for a week. He still feels awkward around everyone, but they're all pretty welcoming, and he's not even the only former antagonist invited. Still, he's not quite willing to mingle with the whole crowd, and finds himself spending more and more time with fellow wallflower Luigi.

Luigi is a good listener. So good, in fact, that Bowser finds himself opening up a lot more than he meant to. So good that even Bowser realizes he's been dominating all their conversations. By the end of the week he thinks they're getting along well enough that he might actually call Luigi a friend.

Then, on the last day, he gets a note from Luigi asking him to meet in private. He's happy to do it. Looking forward to it, even. Maybe he can make things more balanced between them by listening to whatever it is that's so important. It had to be preceded with a note.

Then Luigi confesses that he has feelings for him. And Bowser doesn't believe it.

He's certain that this is a prank, and furious that Luigi would toy around with him like that. So he tears into him, breaking down all the reasons he would never even consider a relationship with him. He gets mean. He gets personal.

By the end both of them are heartbroken and convinced they were wrong about each other.

A year passes. Bowser is still sort of kind of friends with the others, and still gets invited to things, but he doesn't talk to Luigi at all. Bowser doesn't know who else was in on the "prank," so he's back to being cautious about who to trust.

Luigi and Mario are close, but they don't tell each other everything about their dating lives, so Mario doesn't press when a depressed Luigi says he got rejected and he'll get over it eventually.

He does, mostly, but seeing Bowser doesn't help, especially since the crush never quite goes away. There's a part of him that knows - even if he thinks it'll never happen - that if Bowser changed his mind Luigi would jump at the chance.

Next winter there's another trip to the ski lodge, and Bowser is invited, and Luigi resolves to put it all behind him and move on. Ask someone else out. Someone... safe.

But Bowser sees that Luigi has his eye on somebody else, and all the anger he thought he'd gotten over rises up again. How dare he act like nothing happened? How dare he think he can just have a normal holiday fling, as if he didn't use that exact premise to shatter Bowser's heart last year?

So Bowser starts blatantly flirting with Luigi whenever they're in a group. Compliments, playful teasing, one or two double-entendres. Whenever Luigi tries to talk to Bowser alone, Bowser walks away and refuses to say a word, but the rest of the gang think that Bowser is Staking His Claim.

The plan works, and Luigi's hopes of a new relationship are dashed before they can really start. The worst part is that the first time it happened Luigi had almost fallen for it. If he hadn't seen the glare Bowser shot him when nobody was looking, he might have done something foolish. Like flirt back.

It's a week of torture, but finally on the last day Luigi manages to corner Bowser and confront him. Ask him why he's doing this, why he feels like he needs to ruin Luigi's chances.

"Are you kidding? After what you did to me last year? You think I'd just forget?" "What I did to you?" "You didn't think I fell for that, did you? I don't know if you were recording it or if someone was waiting to jump out and laugh at me, but-" "You thought it was a prank?" "Yes! ...wasn't it?"

It takes some time (and some more yelling) but eventually Bowser accepts that Luigi wasn't lying, and they both have to re-think the entire last year... as well as what they know about each other. Bowser realizing that he was right the first time about how nice Luigi is, and that he could have had something great if he hadn't jumped to conclusions. And Luigi realizing that if Bowser thought a genuine confession was a cruel joke he's probably not nearly as confident as he acts.

"Give me a second chance," Bowser blurts out. "You're interested? After everything you said about me last year?" "I was mad, I was ranting, I don't even remember what I said." "I do." "Give me... a third chance."

Luigi says he needs time, Bowser (reluctantly) says okay, but also says he will do anything to make it up to Luigi. Favors, public humiliation, anything.

"If you still think I'm the kind of person who wants you to publicly humiliate yourself, you really don't understand me at all."

Neither of them sleeps well. In the morning while everyone is packing up, Bowser sees Luigi step into a quiet corner with the person he'd been planning to confess to this year. He's practically steaming from jealousy, but Bowser forces himself to stay away. He's not going to get a fourth chance.

But as he's about to leave, Bowser is stopped by Luigi. He hands him a scrap of paper with his phone number, and beckons him closer.

"Kiss me." "You sure?" "My brother is watching. So is the princess. You know what it'll mean if you do it, so..."

Bowser doesn't have to be asked twice.

He does get punched thirty seconds in as soon as Mario puts everything together, but it's worth it.

[sparklingcid3r]

i saw a clip of a slime tutorial where darry throws the bills at soda and johnny flinches. which like abhhhhhhhhh, but also, what do you think was johnnys pov watching darrys meltdown? and like wut do u think the gang thought abt darry seemingly changing overnight (which ig he did from brother to parent)?

YAPPPPP TIMEEEE‼️‼️‼️

alr so i think johnny lowkey saw it coming from a mile away. he’s the observant type, pretty much never speaking unless spoken to, so hes got a pretty good idea of what makes everyone tick. it wasn’t for a few months, but eventually johnny was able to pick up on the way darry was starting to slip. the only reason he could keep up the front of having his own emotions under control was because he was out of the house from sun up to sun down, never really giving anyone the literal time to see him wear.

johnny saw tho🤫

when it actually happened, i don’t think johnny was afraid or upset the way he is with his own parents. he knows darry better than that, the only reason he flinched was because of his home environment and the way he grew up, not because he was genuinely afraid. and also, i feel like flinching is a pretty reasonable reaction for anyone when faced with darry at his worst. like i’m not scared of anyone in my family, but i still get startled when i hear them yell🤷‍♀️ i don’t hold it against either darry or johnny for the way johnny reacted to darry physically throwing things around

as for the gang’s perspective on darry, they understood it. i’m not convinced it was an overnight flip of the switch, i think darry experienced a lot of growing pains as he adjusted to his new role. he made a ton of mistakes, but he kept going regardless because he knew how much was at stake, and that’s what kept him respected among the gang.

they’d all seen similar stuff happen, a father running out on the mother of his children when the going gets tough, a teenage mom forced to carry the child with no support, a father getting a child dumped in his lap while she skips town. look at two-bit and steve and dally, who’ve only ever mentioned one half of their whole picture.

running is easy. anyone can run when shit hits the fan. the fact is that they saw darry have chance after chance to give up, turn over his brothers, live the high life he’d worked so hard for, but he made the choice time and time again to stay. didn’t matter if he was barely keeping his head above water. he stayed, and none of them know if they could have done the same.

so yeah, they might get frustrated by him and his iron grip over his family, but they’ll always respect him for what he did. even dally (who’s a whole yap and a half), because where would pony be if darry really decided he couldn’t do it? count ur blessings dally, and maybe don’t antagonize the man who’s already killing himself for the sake of his brothers, or else he might actually agree with you. then what🧍‍♀️

what do i know tho i’m a little jackass who likes to hear herself talk lmao

[berylcups]

(A bit of inspo from song😊, from the Readers POV ) Imagine reader tries to put an end to the growing Mafia-gang Passione. Doing so, they've unknowingly put a target on themself. The boss wants to put a stop to them and any threat to his empire. So he puts a hit on reader. "Make them disappear." Should be an easy job for anyone of the hitmen, when it all goes wrong in trying to put a stop to them. The one that got away. So they stalk them in order to get to know them better, but they accidently caught feelings. The boss did say to 'make them disappear', he just never said how. So they kidnap reader <3 how do you think each of the hitmen would try to accommodate to the readers needs and their new home environment?

Omg that song was sooo good 😩 I have a new artist to go binge now thank you lol

Ask coming right up! (Apologies for the delay!)

“Make Them Disappear” La Squadra X Reader

Cw: paranoia, yandere behavior, kidnapping

Notes: hey everyone! Sorry for the delay! I hope this well done enough, there was so many ways to take this! But I hope you all enjoy! 💜 Beryl

“Make them disappear. I don’t care how. Just make it happen.” These were orders from the boss. Once the order has been made it cannot be undone. Nobody on his hit list survives.

Stay awake. You have to stay awake. They are watching, waiting, praying for you to make that one little mistake. Do you have the door locked? How about the 2nd lock? Did you lock the windows too? …It doesn’t matter if there are metal bars covering them! You have to lock them! The paranoia is killing you. You shouldn’t have messed with the boss of Passione! This is the worst and might be the last mistake you make in your entire short life! You have a stand but it’s not combat or defense worthy. You have to rely on your kitchen knife you have by your bedside, and the meat cleaver under your pillow.

You've been up for 3 days straight now. You know they are watching, but you have no idea what they look like. You have to stay awake.

The only thing you could think of doing is sitting on your bed and playing a game on your laptop. You don’t know where your sleep started and your game ended, but it's game over for you. It was already over, you were just delaying the inevitable.So many access points, so many choices…who was going to take you? There's mirrors in your bathroom, plenty of cracks under your doors, the metal bars could be bent and broken off...I could go on. You don’t know their powers but that’s why you tried so desperately to stay awake.

A crash woke you up with a start. It was pitch dark in the room. When did you turn the lights off?? As soon as you tried to get up you felt a large hand hold you back down and an odd smelling cloth over your face.

“Don’t move, don’t make a sound…” was the last thing you heard before you passed right out.

Risotto

He found his way inside pretty easily. All he had to do was to manipulate the iron bars covering your window.

He keeps you at the base in the basement. Yeah plenty of people died in there but he cleaned it up and sanitized it prior to your arrival.

You have plenty of furniture, a bed, and a tv to keep you entertained. If you need anything like art supplies, video games, and other hobbies he’ll get it for you once he’s sure you are not a danger to yourself or him…you are obviously not but he doesn’t want to deal with his beloved trying to attack him every chance they get.

“Remember, you’re alive because I allow it. The boss has no clue you’re still breathing . You can hate me all you want but I’m not letting you leave my side amore.”

The basement door is locked and even if you managed to open it there’s always someone at the base ready to drag you back downstairs.

He slowly tries to get you used to him by visiting frequently by bringing you food and taking you upstairs to shower. He talks softer around you to ease your anxiety. He makes sure you have your medication too.

Once your accustomed to him you’re free to roam around the base itself since someone is always there. You’ll share a room with Risotto able to decorate the room to a degree. He can only allow so many Sanrio plushies on his massive bed.

Formaggio

He was able to shrink himself to get small enough to get under the tiny gap of your door.

He makes sure you're nice and cozy in a doll house he has in his room. Don’t worry the cat can’t get you, she’s in the living room. Now if you leave the doll house and sneak out of my room I can’t help ya if the cat sees you as a cat toy…or a snack…

“Hey hey now, calm down! Im not some big bad boogeyman! I’m here to save you from being on the boss’s shit list! You can trust me—well…I guess that’s hard to do since I stalked you for weeks… but I swear I’m not gonna hurt a single hair on your pretty little head!”

He’s gonna to win his way into your heart through your stomach. He’s a great cook! But if you don’t trust him and refuse to eat he’ll taste test the food for you in front of you.

“See babydoll? I told you I didn’t put anything funky in your food!” He talked with his mouth full. “You need to eat, don’t make me feed you like a baby~. I swear I’ll start making airplane noises if you don’t ~! Hehe” he jokes.

Illuso

He slithered his way through your bathroom mirror.

He’s probably the most unsettling to get used to. He puts you in the mirror realm of his home so you have no way of leaving.

“Why are you fighting me??? I’m SAVING YOU. Don’t you know the Boss wants your pretty little head served to him on a silver platter???” He frustratedly asked as he restrained you from trying to claw his face.

“He what?!” You burst out into tears.

“I-I-I don’t mean LITERALLY!!! Calm down with the waterworks! Please!” He panics.

When you do stop fighting him he does treat you very well. Anything you want you will get—except your freedom of course. The boss thinks you're dead!

He brings your things from your apartment to make you feel more at home. He brings your favorite shampoos, lotions, perfumes, home air fresheners… all scents that helps you be reminded of home.

He’s going to refrain from making fun of you and treat you gently since he wants you to like him.

If you allow him—or at least don’t fight him, he’ll try to bond with you by brushing your hair and styling it…washing it (in the sink salon style of course), he picks out your clothes and wants to see you model for him. He’s going to have nothing but nice things to say or say it’s not really “your style��.

“Looking good! That dress looks great on you!” He says giving an ok sign. “But the color…hmm… I don’t know… I think this other color would look better with your hair color. But what do you think? You should wear the color you like best.”

He holds up a poofy white dress that oddly reminds you of a wedding dress.

“Think you can model this for me doll?” He asked blushing with a sly smile.

“Uh…” you could feel your cheeks heating up.

Once you get close enough and he feels you ready he will allow unsupervised access to his home outside of the mirror realm. But don’t think about leaving. He has eyes everywhere…

Pesci

This poor guy had a tough time getting into your home. 😢 (but good for you!) he used Beach Boy to snake his way under the door and use the hook to unlock the door knob and security locks.

“Sorry sorry sorry” you’re going to hear that word so much that it has no meaning anymore.

You can yell at him, scream at him, punch him, kick him, ANYTHING to the guy and he won’t fight back. (I know he kidnapped you but can you not??? 😭)

“Please forgive me Y/N!!! I’m only keeping you here to keep you safe from the boss!” He panicked while blocking your attacks.

He’s the most accommodating. He practically moves everything from your apartment into his. Hell, he’ll throw away ALL of his belongings just so yours have room. He somehow managed to make his home SMELL like yours.

If you have pets he’ll bring you those. Even if he’s allergic. He will deal through the sneezes and sniffles to see you have a moment of peace.

He lets you roam his home while he’s home, but there’s Beach Boys hook dangerously close to your heart threatening to rip through if you try to leave. (Reality: he won’t. He’s too much of a mammoni 😢 but he’s not going to let you know that)

Once you two get along finally he lets Beach Boy inch away less and less from your heart until you get full freedom. But you have to stay in the house. He’ll remove his stand once he trusts you, and he’s very smart so he’s able to tell if your love is genuine. He can smell bull shit from a mile away. So no funny business!

Prosciutto

It took him a little bit but he had all the time in the world…He used Grateful Dead to age the door knob to rust off and wood to wither so he was able to weaken the door. (I’m assuming GD can be used on objects 😅 if not just bear with me)

He doesn’t understand why you are being so difficult right now. He’s saving you from death. You should be grateful!

“Enough with the dramatics! If it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t be here on earth right now! I demand that you calm down right away!” He chastised you.

You only cried louder.

…That went well. Prosciutto really has his work cut out for him.

He keeps you in his apartment . He has you restrained to a support beam in the home. It’s long enough to where you are able to get to each room without difficulty but not long enough for you to exit the place.

You don’t want to leave even if you could… he threatened to age you with his creepy looking stand and it’s the thing of nightmares.

He makes sure you have the best of the best. You get the best clothes, the best healthy organic food, multivitamins and medicines, best shampoo and conditioner, body wash, lotions, fragrances, toiletries, your hobby stuff, and everything else you never knew you needed before.

He’s stern but in order to win you over he tries to be a bit more laid back in his approach. He becomes more doting in a sense.

“Y/N dear, come over here please.” He pats the seat next to him. “I want to fix your hair… I think there’s a tangle in it. Are you using your detangler after your shower? I don’t want you to end up with split ends. Your hair is just so delicate, and I can’t exactly take you to a hair salon anytime soon. Not until I’m able to secure that plastic surgeon.” He murmured as he brushed the knots out.

During the night he makes sure you two have matching pajamas. He’s very pleased when you allow him to cuddle with you. ♥️

Melone

He had to use 4D thinking on getting in. He got BabyFace since he’s small enough to climb through the vents and plop out of the bathroom air vent and unlock the door for him. 😭

“Hey wait—!”he feebly yells out before he gets slapped. “I’m just trying to protect you from the boss! … nice slap by the way. You're very healthy-oof “ he says as you slap him again.

Being around him would be the most awkward…for you, not for him. He doesn’t pick up on any of the signs that you’re very uncomfortable…(or that he doesn’t care? Rude.)

He probably has everything you need and want because he’s the most observant. He has all of your favorite bath products, foods even if they are foreign and can only be found in another country (jalapeño Cheetos in Italy? He has them. For YOU.), clothing brands, anything you name it.

He's on the frail side and can’t exactly bring all your furniture, but he can bring you your favorite pillows, blankets, plushies, Knick knacks, and your pets.

Don’t think because he’s frail that you can waltz right out. BabyFace don’t play. And it’s a long ranged stand so it hang around to babysit if needed. He also has cameras everywhere in every room. (Yes, even the bathroom. He’s a pervert.)

He’s very doting once you stop hitting him. He’s always here for physical affection whenever you need it and he loves to praise you.

Ghiaccio

This brazen man just froze the hinges off the damn door. 😭 he doesn’t even worry about the noise, he’s coming to get you!

He’s the most stressful to be around. He has no clue why you are so upset right now!

“Why the hell are you crying?! I’m saving you from the boss! Don’t you know I was ordered to kill you because of him?!” He snapped.

This made you scream louder and tried to pry yourself out of his grip.

“I said I WASN'T going to kill you! I’m going AGAINST his orders! Stop wiggling and biting me!”

He’s the most obsessive so he probably already has his home decked out to look just as much like yours as possible. It’s actually unsettling how homey he made it.

“I live minimalistically so it didn’t bother me to deck my house out like yours with all your weird shit.” He said, trying not to seem creepy.

He tries his absolute HARDEST not to yell in front of you so you can become accustomed to him.

He’ll talk for hours nonstop if you aren’t much of a talker. He doesn’t mind. He tries to get on your good side by engaging with your hobbies and making sure you have your favorite shows to watch while he’s gone. He also has every gaming system so you have a nearly a full library of games to choose from.

He can’t cook for shit so stocks up on foods that you know how to make (and he secretly expects you to cook for him as well…poor baby never eaten home cooked food in ages), and foods that easy just to grab and go.

He has no idea what specific brands of toiletries you use so you need to let him know which ones you want because right now you’re just using his. 😅

He makes sure you can’t leave by freezing the doors and windows shut.

It’s going to take him a very long time for him to trust you enough to not do that but he also has a camera or two installed for security.

Sorbet & Gelato

They made copies of your apartment keys. How did they get a hold of them to even get copies? Your landlord did suddenly get replaced by another one without prior notice. But you were too paranoid to see the missing person posters all over the city with your landlord’s face plastered all over it though.

They put you up in their own home. There’s always one there while the other is out.

Gelato is unstable but is very affectionate. He’s always there to wipe away your tears when you're panicking and demanding to go home.

Sorbet… he’s stoic. But he gives you your space. He’s also mindful to feed you 3 times a day since Gelato always forgets. It’s not that he forgets about you he forgets to eat for himself too.

They don’t bother to lock any doors or windows because someone is always in the room with you.

They know not to take naps without restraining or chaining you to the bed after that sneaking off stunt you pulled.

You were sooooooo close to freedom. Your hand was on the front door knob. Then you felt something sleek and cold up again your throat and a fist in your hair.

“Where do you think you're off to Y/N~? You weren’t thinking about running away were you?” Gelato asked playfully while pressing the knife more firmly to your neck.

“If you tell us what you learned about the boss when we were watching you…we will forgive that reckless stunt you just pulled.” You gulped hearing the 2nd voice. Sorbet is awake too. Better tell them everything you know.

Even with every attempt they still treat you well. They feed you and make sure you bathe regularly and get your medicine and they bring you your comfort items from home.

Gelato plans on looking for plastic surgeons so you can go out with them on dates instead of only having at home dates.

Sorbet uses some of his computer knowledge to make deep fakes of you dead as proof to the boss to assume that you are dead.

[cakerybakery]

I was thinking about one of those alpha/omega stories (Adamsapple of course). Where heaven is like this traditional roles place. Lucifer being an Omega was expected to follow orders, be submissive, etc.

Earth was supposed to follow the same order. Adam and Lilith both made into Alphas as the first, and the humans that followed would fall elsewhere on the spectrum.

Adam took that to its logical conclusion and went, we might be both alphas but you’re still the one who’s supposed to get pregnant therefore I’m the alpha alpha. Lilith told him to get bend and left. Lucifer tells heaven to get bent and leaves. They meet.

Heaven goes, maybe the humans can’t handle our system and scrap it. Adam’s still an Alpha but they just make Eve and the rest of humanity Betas. Sometimes an Alpha or Omega is born but no one knows what those are as Adam and Eve were forbidden from talking about it.

When Lilith and Lucifer fall, hell more mirrors heaven than resembles it.

It’s more like clown fish?

Lucifer rules bell because he’s the most powerful Omega. Lucifer as his queen is his second as an Alpha. A person’s own status is affected by their own power and those around them.

As hell grows only the most powerful become full Omegas. Sinners on average are betas, but becoming an overlord turns you into an Omega. An Omega can give themselves an Alpha by favouring someone, even have children with them.

Lilith is still basically stuck on the same situation as she had been in Eden as second when she wants to equal at least. Eventually she leaves for heaven where Alphas rule.

Since status changes you, just being in a gang or group long enough can start the process. So for the hazbin gang Charlie would become the Omega, Vaggie her chosen Alpha. Alastor would be on the spectrum as being an overlord made him an Omega but being around Charlie a lot slides him back toward Beta. He likes it that way cause the Betaness numbs out the Omega instinct for sex, which his being asexual clashes with. It’s like he constantly wants peanut butter but absolutely hates everything about peanut butter. The texture, the taste, the smell. Being around Charlie nulls his craving for the thing he doesn’t want. It’s a delicate balance (why he spends a specific amount of time away from Charlie and keeps his beta souls around the hotel) and he can’t handle Lucifer it if he were to suddenly want to stay at the hotel. Lucifer is the ultimate omega, he could completely shove Alastor back to full beta. Everyone else at the hotel would be a beta.

Adam falls and wakes up to find himself an Omega. His worst nightmare. Worse yet, he’s way too strong for even Charlie’s presence to nullify him to at least a beta. The only hope for Adam to turn back into an Alpha is to either get back to heaven or convince Lucifer to make him his mate. He sticks to Lucifer like glue cause he’s at least able to stop being so horny to be bred as Lucifer pushes him into beta. Eventually anyways. Lucifer certainly has fun toying with Adam's new needs until he's around long enough to be pushed into being a beta. Which takes sometime as he's pretty equal to Charlie in terms of raw power.

Of course, unless Lucifer chooses to make Adam an Alpha he's stuck as beta. Adam's ego hates that. He doesn't want to be Lucifer mate, but he hates being a beta almost as much as he hated being an Omega. To make things worse, the sex is good and they might both be catching feelings as Adam starts to see how the system he always benefited from is pretty fucked up from the other side. And all Lucifer has ever really asked for was some understanding, something Adam is starting to show him.

[im14andivebeen14foramonth]

do you have dally hcs...?

OH BOY DO I

when dally was younger (13-14ish) and he first started getting into horse riding, he would wear a cowboy hat all of the time. he thought it made him look super cool. he still has it now and ofc he'll whip out a cowboy hat when he's riding his horses. he pulls it off surprisingly well

this man will NEVER get a tattoo he hates the idea of messing with his body and his appearance like that

he can play the guitar a little bit, just a few songs here and there. when he's in a really good mood the gang can usually convince him to play for them

this poor boy sunburns so easily. in the summer he almost always has a pink tint across his nose and cheeks. the worst is his shoulders and chest, they burn sooo easily. whenever the gang goes swimming or plays football or smthn in the summer, darry has to spray sunblock all over dally ever hour. darry's also the one putting aloe vera all over dally's back when he does end up burning, which he keeps in the fridge so that its cold when dally shows up with a really bad burn

dally ran away from his dad and came back to tulsa alone. his dad hardly cared that he left and dally thought he was finally free. one day though, dally shows up beaten at the curtis house. it's the worst he's ever looked, and darry knows that something's wrong because dally never walks out of a fight looking that bad. dally tells him that it was his dad, who had showed up in tulsa out of nowhere, and it's one of the only times darry has ever seen dally cry, let alone breakdown in the way dally did. he ends up spending a few nights at the curtis house because darry can see how scared dally is that he might run into his dad again

dally's best core subject in school was science. people always thought he was just dumb at school, but he was actually pretty smart and just didn't care enough to apply himself. he had a lot of fun in science though, especially when they would do labs and experiments, and when he was still going to school, he'd sometimes help pony with his science work

his eyesight and hearing aren't that good, he's usually squinting when he has to read something or look far away, and the gang knows to speak up around him so that he can hear them

dally can't really grow a beard or anything, but he does have to shave every few days. whenever he gets out of the cooler the gang is always shocked when they see that he has stubble

easily one of the most ticklish members of the gang, but no one is going to test that and risk a broken nose

he's sooo prone to sinus infections. half of the winter his voice sounds all raspy and nasally and he's sniffling every five seconds

he loves photography. he often described scenery in detail and stuff and would say "man, that'd make a great picture" and so for his 17th birthday darry got him a little camera. dally tried to look tuff but he was smiling like an idiot when he opened it. he takes lots of good photos of scenic places and of the gang

this sort of goes along with the last one, but if dally ended up really applying himself, he'd get a job in film making. he's great when it comes to setting up visuals and making the scenes and sets look amazing. he honestly really has a good eye for making things look pretty. when he's older, he'll sometimes let the gang come on set and just watch him work and experience the behind the scenes of the movie making (even better if dally's working on a movie adaptation of one of pony's books. or I can see two-bit being an actor and starring in the movie dally's working on)

[forwhump]

a/n; a radio station in my town took out a massive highway billboard that’s just a huge sign that says LONG LIVE COWGIRLS & I pass it on my way to & from work everyday & GUESS what it makes me think of LOL

anyway I can’t see any of the asks I’ve ever gotten for some reason so I can’t remember if somebody actually asked for more wren pov or if I was just scrolling the folder for fun but regardless here’s some more wren pov <3 a horrible little drabble, as a treat :’)

tw/cw: rape, noncon, transphobia, misgendering, sexual violence, captivity, psychological torture, medical torture, dehumanization

military whump, creepy whumper, mentions of living weapons, sexual servitude

There was a time, not even all that long ago, that Wren’s biggest fear was standing too close to the microwave while it was being used because he had a thing about it blowing up in his face. He would never stand directly under street lamps or traffic lights on the off chance they would fall and crush him. He didn’t like to drive behind logging trucks. He wasn’t a good Texan, and he’d always been a little afraid of horses.

Seems like such a fuckin’ joke now.

It’s pretty pathetic, actually, and Wren’s already crying but he sobs with this, too, muffled by the strip of lacy material they’d gagged him with. It wasn’t even all that long ago, and still, it’s hard to think back on a version of himself that thought the very worst thing that could happen to him was a microwave blowing up in his face.

He doesn’t even think I want to go home anymore. He doesn’t know how long it’s been. He thinks, I want to go back to bed. He thinks, I want Silas.

But he’s in bed, where he’s supposed to be safe, and Silas had been shot so many times in the face that even Medic couldn’t help him. He’d been handed over to the biomedical surgeons so they could try and salvage his brain. Nobody was sure if they could.

Point, of course, is delighted. All of his men are. Silas likes them the least, and there’s less of a threat to their lives when he’s dead. They can relax. They can play with Wren, and they don’t have to worry about his guard dog.

This time, they might not have to worry about him again. They’re celebrating. They use Wren’s body to do it, as they always do.

For the first time in a long time, Wren thinks, I want to go home. He sobs again.

As a kid, he’d been really scared of quicksand and of snakes crawling out of the drain to bite him. As an adult, he’s gagged as he’s gang raped in his prison cell by military guards. As a teenager, a teenage beauty queen in Texas, he had started to transition and that had come with a lot of real world fears that never came close to touching on this. It’s hard to imagine anything worse than this.

Silas is dead, and there’s a part of Wren that resents him for leaving him here but there’s a bigger part that’s desperate to join him. He doesn’t want to be here. He doesn’t wanna do this. He’s so dehydrated the tears had stopped hours ago but he hasn’t stopped crying the whole time. Sometimes he wishes he could. He wishes he could get angry and stay angry and not give them the satisfaction. Sometimes, most of the time, Wren is weak and pathetic and scared and it hurts, it always hurts, and he can’t help it. He cries. He gives them the satisfaction. He wants to be where Silas is.

Point watches from the chair he had pulled up from Wren’s desk. Vineyard is behind him, chest against Wren’s back, holding him in his lap with a broad arm curled around his waist. His other hand is curled around Wren’s throat, not hard enough to cut off his air, not completely, but hard enough that it hurts. Hard enough that Wren will bruise around the throat in the shape of his handprint.

Hurt is between the spread of his thighs, pulling chunks of flesh out of his hips with his fingernails, frantic and feral to Vineyard’s calm and dominating. It’s overwhelming and they’re everywhere, they’re on all sides they’re in all of his senses they’re inside him, and they’re both so much bigger than him and Wren has never felt so small and helpless in his life. It makes his chest feel tight, it makes his chest feel the tightest it has ever felt and he can’t take a full breath in but he still finds it in himself to sob, somehow.

It’s a familiar sort of panic, thinking of Silas in times like this, but this time it snags on the cracks of that tightness in his chest and start to break it open, to fill him with something so desperately empty it has him gasping for breath.

Silas is dead. And what does that mean, really, when Silas is Silas, when Silas dies all the time? But Silas hadn’t just died, Silas had been slaughtered, and it wasn’t a matter of trying to bring him back from the dead but of trying to salvage his brain. To salvage it. He had died so completely Point felt comfortable celebrating the loss of him, and Point was never comfortable when Silas was involved.

I want Silas, Wren thinks, and that’s familiar, but Silas doesn’t come to his rescue this time. Wren has to fend for himself, and he’s so fuckin’ tired. He’s so tired. He wants to go where Silas went, and it’s not fuckin’ fair because he also just wants to die and he doesn’t even get that much. He’s wanted to die for longer than Silas can remember and Silas, of all people, beat him to it? Fuckin’ Silas?

He screams and he doesn’t know why, it’s too hard to narrow it down. Maybe a bit of everything. It’s muffled, anyway, by the gag, and it’s answered only with the rumble of Vineyard’s laughter against his back.

Silas had somehow brought out in him again that idiot kid that was afraid of drains because snakes might be hiding in there, waiting for him. Silas had made him stupid. He’d promised Wren he’d get him and he’d die to do it, if that’s what it took. Wren had made him promise right back not to die, that he had to come with him — he’d hardly doubted that Silas would get him out of here, away from all this. He had a resolve that was inhuman and a strength that outweighed it. He never said it like he was gonna try, he said it as a matter of fact, and Wren had believed him. He’d thought about introducing Silas to his mother — what would she say? She’d been a bit of a judgemental bitch when she was Wren’s mother, but how much had she changed?

Would she even want to see him? What would she think of him now? What would she think if she knew?

Point leans in close, too close, and Wren tries to flinch away but he takes a fistful of his hair and keeps him where he wants him. Wren’s wrists have been tied behind his back so long he hasn’t been able to feel anything but static in his fingers for hours. Point mouths along the line of his jaw, the edge of the gag, and murmurs, “that’s my girl.”

Silas loved him. Silas loved him so completely it killed him. He’d lived and died underground and nobody outside of this place will ever know he’d lived at all, but he had and it had been a life that was short and gruesome and miserable. But he loved Wren so much he died for him, and it’s not fuckin’ fair. How is that any fuckin’ fair? Wren spent a lot of his time reading, and he’d read enough that he knows this is not how this is supposed to go. A love like that is supposed to have a happy ending. A love like that was supposed to save them both.

He sobs and it gets stuck in his throat. Point smiles against his skin. “I’m sorry we had to put your dog down,” he murmurs, just as soft, and the warmth of his breath makes Wren’s skin crawl. “We gave you so many opportunities to be good for us. All you had to do was be a good girl.” Wren tries to turn his face away and Point bites his cheek so hard it makes him cry out. He hiccups out a sob, humiliating, and Point coos against his skin. “Look at you,” he says softly. “How could I stay mad at you?” He kisses Wren’s cheek so gently it gives Wren goosebumps and he sobs again. “You’ll forget all about the freak,” he murmurs. “We’re gonna fuck the memory of that thing right out of you, cowgirl.”

Wren tastes blood and he thinks his cracked lips are finally bleeding. His chest is hitching with trapped sobs but there are still no tears. Hurt groans, long and low and it makes Wren gag under Vineyard’s hand.

He wants to go back to sleep. He wants Silas. He doesn’t want to live like this anymore.

What a privilege to be afraid of the microwave. What a stupid little asshole he’d been.

But he’d been a whole person once, a human being. Somebody with feelings and regulated emotions and irrational fears. He doesn’t know what he is now, not really, but he’s less than human, he knows that much. He isn’t worth nearly as much, either. Nobody even knows he’s here, nobody that’s still alive or that’s not down here with him. Nobody’s coming to his rescue. Nobody’s gonna save him this time. When Wren’s finally allowed to die, he’s gonna die down here, cold and pathetic and worth no more than warm flesh.

It isn’t fair. It’s all so fuckin’ unfair.

He wants to go where Silas went.

[cheesus-doodles]

How do you think toman would react to darling coming back with the tattoo?

reader better hide that tattoo from toman bc once they find out they’ll be begging her to get their names as well

Link to relevant Soulmate Ask | Name Tattoo Ask | Soulmate AU List

Masterlist

‎‎

Oof. It's not going to be pretty.

I'm sure that everyone already knows of the soulmate phenomenon given how common it is for soul marks to be appear at around their age, and its been the one thing that your Toman friends haven't been able to stop thinking or worrying about. But they've been holding out hope that maybe you were one of the rare few that didn't have a soulmate, for example if your soulmate already died before their soul mark ever appeared. Or even better, if one of the six founders were your soulmate. Yet even in the unlikely case that your soul mark did appear and it wasn't black (indicating a deceased soulmate), the Toman founders were still relatively certain that they were strong and thorough enough to keep the two of you apart long enough to make you think that you would never find your other half, maybe even kill whoever that fucker might be that will eventually try to steal you away from them before you find out.

But when you went missing for a whole day and then reappeared back home with a tattoo of someone's name of your wrist, a tattoo that when they grilled you on you admitted not knowing where you got from - it was like they've been hit in the gut by a bus, their heart dropping to their stomach. Mikey's voice turns icy cold in a blink, ordering you to show them your soul mark, and the other founders' glares turn almost predatory, to which you didn't dare to disobey. It was the first time you had ever felt scared of your friends and how they were reacting, and your thoughts instantly turned back to Izana and how safe he made you feel.

You reluctantly hiked up your skirt and showed the Toman boys the soul mark on your inner thigh, and to their horror, it was the worst case scenario that they didn't plan for. The mark wasn't black, and you had already found your other half. Draken grabs your wrist, reading and re-reading your new marking: Kurokawa Izana. This bastard must have gone to the tattoo shop while body swapped with you, and tattooed his name on your wrist to make it clear who you belonged to given the inconspicuous location of your soul mark. The world almost seemed to stop in that moment, you almost quaking in your shoes facing down the anger of the Tokyo Manji gang founders; you pitied the rival gangs so much more now.

Fortunately for both you and the Toman boys, the tension broke right on time, right as you were ready to turn tail and run, with Kazutora bursting into tears and flinging himself on you, all the accusations about you hating them and trying to leave them for your soulmate bubbling out along with his tears. And with that, the other five boys turn back into the baby boys you know, descending on you like a wave of crying children and demanding to know everything that happened: who was this Izana? Where was he? What did he look like? Because they were going to kick his arse good and proper for tattooing you like an animal. You heaved a sigh of relief, the fear evaporating into the wind: your friends were back to their normal self - seems like they got a lot more upset at you having a soulmate than you thought they would, but you were sure that they would come around soon enough.

You did assure them that you would introduce him soon - you didn't think it was the best idea, given how Izana was a gang leader as well - but you knew your friends would never let up and would never have a good night's sleep again if you didn't. Perhaps if you were there to moderate it wouldn't turn into an all-out disaster.

No doubt Mikey and Kazutora would be the first in line to insist that you tattoo their names on you as well, like a permanent promise that you weren't going to abandon them for this nobody. Maybe even tattoo it over his name, they wouldn't mind. You laugh and kissed their foreheads, but that doesn't stop the two boys from pouting and clinging on to you, continuing to insist on their names. If they can't get you to do it now, they will get you to do it later - even promise to tattoo your name back on their own skin. Be prepared to spend the next few weeks with Mikey and Kazutora doing anything and everything to try and convince you to get their names tattooed, with "subtle" encouragements from the others. You were just overall very amused at their attempts.

Internally, the Toman boys probably knew good and well that they scared you, with Baji, Draken and Mitsuya immediately starting damage control the moment Kazutora's self-control failed; scolding and shouting at the other founders while buying you ice-cream and sweets and pampering you, asking you if you were hurt anywhere and how you had them worried. None of them liked it one bit that you had a soulmate now: that only meant another person you could rely and depend on instead of them. But showing their monstrous sides and scaring you away from them and into the arms of your soulmate was an even worse outcome: they didn't want you to see them in that light, and the darkness that they used to crush anyone who was the slightest threat to their relationship with you should be well hidden in your presence.

So for now, they would settle for spending time bringing you to all your favourite hangouts and cafes, taking up as much of your time as possible while keeping an eye on you. Until they can determine who this 'Kurokawa Izana' was and how best to deal with him and separate the two of you permanently that is.

[official-darkforest]

just a suggestion but i would either go full in or full out of the tribe. either make them a tasteful adaptation such as a native reservation that feather joins in protest when they were heading up towards canada or make them completely different. maybe they're a group of homeless cats trying to get by near the cities, and maybe even purdy used to be in the group and he's the one to mention their protests to feather which encourages the gang to all go help. but regardless of what you do i'm sure we'll all enjoy it!

oh yeah of course, full in or full out were my options but im doing research on different indigenous peoples in the midwest/western US i could potentially place brook specifically into, at least.

as far as the actual protesting goes, feather and storm were already pretty vocally anti-war before going west (hence why they're helping bramble dodge the draft in the first place). its just they're small town folk and their experience in such wide-scale protest groups is very minimal, especially with crow, bramble, and squirrel added to the mix. tawny was a uni student at a pretty decently sized college so its not unfamiliar to her, but it's not a scene she's participated in until recently. it's probably not the first protest the group has been part of, but its not enough to be prepared for the worst. depending on what i do with brook's family/origins she might be familiar with the city and the risks that come with protesting and other social revolutions, or another rural hitchhiker they picked up on the way, so either way i still gotta figure out what to do about her regardless of her heritage LOL

i dont have any plans right now to actually write wvery single detail out book-style so there is some wiggle room and things i can leave vague but its all still worth consideration and all that ^_^ i like covering my bases even if i dont share everything LOL thanks for the suggestion tho!! its a good one i think so i'll keep it in mind

[yannig]

One of us has to make it

Okay so @kimkhimhant

I said I had Neil thoughts to share so here is the one I can’t get out of my head right now.

When Neil decides to stay, his reasoning is “One of us has to make it”. Kevin and him can’t both loose to the mafia, and if someone wins it’s clearly not gonna be Neil, so it might as well be Kevin, and he can’t leave until he knows Kevin will be okay.

"One of us has to make it, Mom." It wasn't going to be Neil. It was obvious he was too stupid to survive without his mother if he let himself get into messes like this. But maybe Kevin could do it. Maybe he'd get through this somehow, riding his talent and Andrew's psychotic obsession and Wymack's fierce protection. Maybe he'd get through this season on the Foxes' roster and be safe. He'd recover and he'd be free. Neil couldn't leave until he knew Kevin would be okay. He didn't want to find out from half the world away.

So Neil decides to stay, decides that making sure Kevin gets out is worth putting himself at risk of being found by the mafia he’s been fleeing for the last 8 years. Because one of them has to make it.

And I think that this logic is actually what fuels a lot of the characters in Aftg, and helps understand a lot of what happens afterwards.

A number of characters are trying to protect everyone else from their own worst nightmare.

Because someone has to make it, and if it won’t be themselves, might as well save someone else.

They all have this one thing that almost killed them, either because they couldn’t protect themselves from it, or because they couldn’t have it.

Neil's thing here is of course the mafia, and protecting others from it even though he was running from them for 8 years is what is going to fuel him later, when he agree to go to the Nest to protect Andrew, and when he follows his father’s men in Baltimore to protect the Foxes.

Andrew is pretty much the same, except his thing is bodily autonomy. He might not be able to protect himself against his rapists or abusers, past or present, but nobody will touch anyone under his care. That’s him killing Tilda for Aaron, his deals with everyone (Neil, Kevin, Aaron), protecting Nicky at the bar, getting himself in juvie so Drake won’t get anywhere near Aaron.

Kevin is a bit more complicated because his worst nightmare is loosing his reason to live (aka Exy), so he’s trying to give other people a reason to live. That’s his deal with Andrew (finding him a reason to live), and that’s why he picks Neil in the first place, because he sees him and understand that Exy is the only thing he has left (“You play like you have everything to lose.”)

Nicky’s thing is family, both as the thing he couldn’t protect himself from (his family hating him) and the thing he couldn’t have (a loving family). So he’s both trying to protect Andrew and Aaron from his own shitty family, and trying to give them a good one. That’s why he flies back from Germany when Tilda dies, and that’s why he stays when the twins get into Uni (they are 18 now, they’re independent, he could leave, except Andrew negotiates a scholarship for him, and he couldn’t be asking Nicky to stay any louder), because they might not need protection anymore but they still need love.

I’m not too sure what to make of Aaron. He might be about solitude/abandonment issues, since his deal his to stay at Andrew’s side. Also everything about his mother, from her abandoning both her twins but only coming back Aaron, to Andrew killing her. So he might have something going on about not leaving Andrew alone ever again, because Aaron knows how much solitude and abandonment can hurt. In which case him killing Drake is even more significant because it’s of course it’s him killing Andrew’s abuser the way Andrew killed Tilda, but it’s also him showing up and not letting Andrew go through this trauma alone the way he did before.

I’m not too sure about the rest of the Foxes, but a few trow-away ideas:

Renee is about getting out of her gang, which she might be doing when getting Jean out of Evermore

Wymack is about second (and nth) chances. He either got a second chance that saved him, or he never did and it almost killed him. Hence the Foxes.

Idk yet about the others, will have to re-read the books with this analysis in mind.

Hypothesis: while the Monsters are still facing their worst nightmares, the Upperclassmen have mostly overcome them already. So for them it might be more a “becoming the person you needed when no one came” case.

Anyway my point isn’t just to point out these parallels, it’s also what they bring to the analysis of how the Foxes behave.

I believe Neil has kinda picked up on this trend. Not fully, not really consciously, but he his the one to put it into words first. And Andrew isn’t exactly subtle about his own version of it.

Problem is: both of them are being incredibly self-sacrificing about it, and it’s a very bad standard to use to judge other characters, which I believe both Neil and part of the fandom is doing.

I think it’s partly why he calls Kevin a coward that much. Because he thinks his worst nightmare is Riko, and that he’s running away from him instead of facing him. Which he would be perfectly justified to do, but it’s not true. Riko is awful, of course he is, and Kevin is terrified of him, of course he is; but Kevin was ready to stay with him forever if that meant being able to play Exy. Kevin’s worst nightmare is loosing Exy, and he’s facing that everyday he’s back on the court trying to relearn how to play, and every time he tries to get Andrew interested in Exy or to train Neil. He’s less self-sacrificing about it, so it’s a bit less obvious, but he’s still dealing with his worst fear everyday and trying to protect others from it. Considering the role the Foxes play as a team of a last-chance place, I'd argue even going to the Foxes as an assistant coach was a way to help others on top of trying to keep himself afloat.

Also explains why Neil sees Aaron as really selfish (I mean he is but). Assuming I’m right about Aaron, his version of this deal is both pretty discrete (especially when he’s being an asshole about it) and might be centered exclusively on Andrew. And also shows better self-preservation skills than Andrew and Neil (as in he isn’t trowing himself directly in front of people who want to kill him).

Might also explain why Nicky gets some level of respect from Neil for coming back for the twins (Neil acknowledges the sacrifice it was to leave Erik and his family) but definitely not as much as Andrew (because part of Nicky’s deal is also good for him, as in trying to be a family with the twins, instead of a pure sacrifice, as in leaving the family he found in Germany).

TL;DR: Not everyone is being self-sacrificing about it, but that doesn’t mean the Foxes aren’t trying to save others from their own worst nightmares. Some of them are just more subtle about it than others.

[maddilynmuse]

The Midnight Snack Shack

In a shocking turn of events, I’m positing something on here before AO3… largely because I meant to write at least one other thing before this but oh well???? It’s fanfic, I can be a hedonist!

So let’s just consider it a Scriptfrin Saga Sneak Peak!

The gang are at Bambouch, and Mirabelle commits the sin of arriving late for dinner. There are no leftovers. As punishment for this offense, Siffrin does a little trolling on the way to seek out a restaurant.

Anyways, no real content warnings that I can think of, though tell me if you think I should tag one. That said, there are Spoilers for In Stars and Time. Please finish that before reading this! Also, while not necessarily required, this is technically part of a series.

Enjoy~

.

It’d been a wonderful day in Bambouch! Bonnie had (understandably) wanted some alone time with their sister, so that left everyone to wander about and do their own things. Mirabelle had had a lovely time talking to some of the other house maidens in the local house of change. One of them had taught her about this thing called surfing! She wasn’t very good at it yet, but it was still exciting! Even if being in the ocean was kind of scary? It was so big…

It wasn’t until the sun started to dip below the horizon that she realized how long she’d been out. Oh no oh no oh no! She had to get back to the others! What if she missed dinner?!

As she ran back, her worst fears were confirmed. She sprinted to Nile’s house only to see everyone cleaning up dishes…

“Crab- were there, um, leftovers?” she said, righting her bow upon on her head and trying to brush the salt off of her and suddenly very aware of the fact that she was dripping on the floor.

“No…” Bonnie said. “I thought you went to a restaurant or something. I mean, I always make some extra…”

“Buuuut I ended up wrestling some other dudes on the beach and worked up a huge appetite,” Isabeau said, flexing one of his arms.

“He is very good at it,” Sif purred, wiggling their eyebrows and putting a hand on Isa’s bicep.

Isabeau’s face darkened as he made a tea kettle sound. Huh, weird. Why would he get embarrassed about being good at wrestling? She could only assume it was a weird romance thing, but was wrestling romantic??? She hadn’t seen anyone propose via wrestling in her books (not that those were realistic), but…

Oh whatever. Boys will be boys.

“Well, that’s alright. I’ll figure something out, if that’s okay?” Mirabelle said. They had to have something lying around, right? If not, missing dinner wasn’t pleasant, but it wasn’t the worst thing that had happened to her. There might still be workarounds though! She could ask the neighbors or maybe the local house, maybe go fishing? She’d never fished in the ocean before, but it couldn’t be that different from fishing in a river, right?

(If she wasn’t quite so deep in thought, maybe she would’ve caught some of the sneaky smirks shared between her friends).

“Actually, I think I heard someone say that one of the restaurants here should still be open,” Siffrin said.

“Oh yeah! Is that still a thing, Nille?” Bonnie said.

“Unless it closed today, should be,” Nille said. “Think about eight thirty is when they change the locks.”

Mirabelle looked at the clock. It was around eight now, so that still gave her time! But it was getting pretty dark…

“Perfect. I think I remember where it is,” Siffrin said. “I’ll take you! Maybe I’ll get some dessert too~”

… she had no idea how to say nicely that she would prefer anyone but Siffrin to do so right now. She loved him deeply, but he had the memory of a goldfish sometimes. It was kind of concerning, actually??? She looked to the others in a desperate, silent plea for help, but apparently the exact opposite message got through.

“Great idea. You have the best night vision of all of us, after all,” Odile said.

“Yeah! And he’s, like, really great at finding stuff!” Isabeau added.

“I trust him completely to remember what I said before dinner,” Bonnie said with a grin. “No more telling needed!”

“Can you tell me anyways?” Mirabelle squeaked. Oh Change, please help her. As usual, her deity did absolutely nothing of note as Siffrin led her out the door.

“So… are you sure you know where you’re going?” Mirabelle said.

“Absolutely! I always remember everything.” He held his head high as he led the way.

“… not that I’m doubting you, but I think. This is. The way I came from?” The buildings looked familiar, and while she was not typically the navigator, she was pretty sure the setting sun being on the opposite side of her meant she was just heading backwards.

“And?”

“Siffrin, that’s the way to the ocean!”

“Yeah,” Siffrin said, not even missing a step.

Maybe this could still make sense? “Is the, um, the restaurant on the pier then?”

“Nope.”

…

“Siffrin. Why are we going to the ocean.”

“Thought you might want your clothes.“

Oh. Right, she was still wearing swim clothes! In her haste, she’d forgotten. How sweet of Siffrin- wait. “Siffrin, I-I mean, that’s very nice, so thank you! But we don’t have time! I’ll pay extra I’m sure they’ll forgive me dripping a little!” She’d chosen a one-piece that covered her well enough and even had a pretty skirt-thing, so it’s not like she was being indecent! “Besides, my clothes are at the house… I didn’t get changed on the sand in front of everyone…”

“Oh. Should we go there instead?”

Mirabelle’s eye twitched a little. “Siffrin! Restaurant!”

“Hehe, okay, okay.”

Hopefully that would be the end of it.

———

That was not the end of it. She loved Siffrin, she did. A lot of the time on their quest, his tendency to pick up random objects and inspect everything was useful! Vital even! And while a slight problem at times outside of questing, it was still endearing. But did he have to do that now? Sure, they hadn’t had any real sense of urgency in months, and she doubts he kept on his toes and rushed through every loop (she hopes he didn’t, that sounded exhausting), but she hadn’t realized you needed practice in it! Because why else would he be! So! STUBBORN!

“Hey look, this rock looks like a seashell!”

“Siffrin, that IS a seashell!” There were a million seashells! They were near the seashore!

“Oh. That makes sense!”

She was going to get… what did Odile call it? An ulcer. She was going to get an ulcer.

It didn’t help that people kept staring. One might think Mirabelle would be used to it by now, but this seemed more than usual??? The feeling of being watched put chills down her spine. The occasional whispering didn’t help either, but it was hard to hear over the occasional chatter.

Siffrin took a right and then stopped, turning to her, “Do you think anyone sells seashells?”

“Um, no? We’re by the seashore!”

“I think Odile could.”

“Even she can’t sell seashells by the she- um, sea sore- shore- SIFFRIN THIS IS NOT WHAT WE NEED TO BE DOING RIGHT NOW!”

Siffrin laughed and looked up at who knows what. “Oh, huh. It’s almost dark! We should get going.”

“Yes. Yes we should. Thank you, Siffrin.”

He decided to leisurely walk to wherever they were trying to go up until they got close enough to see someone by the door with her keys.

“NOOOOOOO!” Mirabelle moaned, running over. “Are you closed?! Were we too late? Oh please oh please tell me you have a few leftovers! I’ll pay extra!”

The person—a heavyset sort with skin a few shades lighter than Bonnie’s—gave her a sympathetic smile. “Sorry sweetie. No leftovers, I’m afraid.”

Her stomach chose then to grumble and she sunk dramatically to her knees.

The person locked eyes with Siffrin, both grinning, and chuckled, “We’re only just opening, a little early to have any leftovers!”

What.

Siffrin burst into laughter beside her. “Your face!”

WHAT?!

“Siffrin! Did you know?! Did you do did this on purpose?!”

“Mm hmm~!”

“Stars, you got her good, didn’tcha?” The woman said.

“SIFFRIN YOU- YOU…” she took a deep breath and LET IT ALL LOOSE, “YOU CRAB!”

“GAAAAAASP! BELLE SAID CRAB?!?!”

Mirabelle’s head snapped around. There, around the street corner, was…

“Bonnie?!”

“CRAB! GUYS! SHE SAW ME!”

“Aaaaand you just gave away everyone else,” Odile said as she also stepped out from the shadows. “A pretty good tailing session, I would say, but try not to be a sellout.”

“Oops,” Bonnie said.

“MADAME YOU’RE HERE TOO?!” Mirabelle said.

Siffrin was leaning against the wall he was laughing so hard. And the mystery person didn’t look much better.

“In my defense, I intended to see this supposed ‘Night Market’ with my own eyes,” Odile said. “Any amusement I got from watching you and Siffrin was simply an added bonus.”

Mirabelle stared into her soul, but Madame’s poker face remained as good as ever. “You knew.”

“Yes,” Odile said. “And I’m not going to be the only one to go down with this ship. Bonnie’s already sold us out. Show yourselves.”

Nille, Isabeau, and two strangers stepped from the shadows.

Mirabelle’s eye twitched. “HOW?! WHY?! WHY ARE YOU HERE AND HOW DID WE PICK UP MORE PEOPLE?!”

Nille held her hands up defensively, “I wasn’t letting Bonnie go out at night alone.”

“I wanted to feel included,” Isabeau said (and honestly that was so adorably earnest she couldn’t even be mad at him for it).

“Also, people saw us following you and called the defenders,” Bonnie said.

“Hi. That’s us!” One of the apparent defenders said. “So… you do actually know these people and are not passing charges on a group of stalkers?”

The other had become a few shades lighter. “Dude. I’m pretty sure these are the saviors.”

“What?”

To add further salt to the wound, someone else had come from inside the restaurant—a cook, presumably—and was surveying them all with a raised eyebrow and a chuckle. “Oh, they got you good good.”

“I think Sif’s dying,” Isabeau said jokingly.

Their rogue was on the ground absolutely wheezing, laughing so hard sound had stopped coming out.

“Death by laughter…” Odile said. “A new one, I take it?”

Siffrin made a hand gesture Mirabelle did not recognize at Odile, but did not stop.

Mira stared down at him. “Siffrin. You are my friend, and I love you. That’s why I’m giving you a three second head start to run.” She drew her rapier. “Three…”

That was apparently enough to make Siffrin hop up and start running, though he was still laughing so much he might as well have been drunk.

“Two…”

Almost immediately, he managed to trip on a rock and do an impressive cartwheel only to then hit a wall and scramble back up.

“One~!”

“DISTRACTION!!!” Bonnie shouted, tackling her.

“Oh! Bonnie! You wanted gotten too?” Mira said, smiling sweetly (knowing good and well she would never hurt them, or Sif for that matter, all in good fun!).

“CRAB!” Bonnie jumped off like she was a hot pan. “SCATTER! SHE CAN’T CATCH EVERYONE!!!”

The next few minutes were spent in the world’s most disorganized game of chase with the poor, baffled defenders trying to explain to passers by that it was just the saviors pranking each other which did somehow less than nothing to dissuade anyone from watching.

But eventually Mirabelle had to concede, leaning against the wall to catch her breath and, “Pfffff, hahahaha!”

“You laughed, so I’m off the hook~!” Siffrin said.

Mirabelle rolled her eyes, but was smiling. “Yes, yes. Okay, I’ll admit it, that was funny.” She stood up and brushed the dirt off the swim wear the best she could. “A little mean, but funny.”

The group congregated and laughed together. Siffrin in particular was absolutely beaming (it felt nice to see, more than worth it, even).

“Sorry,” Siffrin said, “But what can I say? I’m a professional little stinker!” They snickered. “Besides, it’s tradition to mess with unwary tourists!”

“Especially Vaugaurdians,” the person from before—the one who’d been at the door—said.

“Mm hmm! And tip well too,” Siffrin said. “I used to wait around the docks and do the same trick to people coming off the boats. Mom ‘officially’ told me to stop, buuuuut she’d sneak me some extra snacks when I lured them to the shop.”

Odile scribbled something down in her notebook, and Isabeau’s eyebrows went up…

But Mirabelle could only gasp. “Siffrin lore?! And! Using your mischief? For profit?! For shame!”

“What. I, um, you know I’m not getting paid for this, right Mira? I only just met… hmm. Sorry, pronouns?” They said to the person.

… what? Hmm. Well, it wasn’t the first time Siffrin forgot what he was talking about as they said it, though still concerning…

“I’m not picky, but eh, been leaning towards she/her lately,” the woman said. “Name’s Vivian, but Viv’s fine. Now then, weren’t you hungry, sugar? Let’s get you something nice and fresh. And hey, your friends can come too if they’d like! Honestly, that was enough of a laugh that I think you’ve earned yourself a discount. Oh, and being the saviors and all too.” She chuckled and waved them inside.

Siffrin was the first in.

————

And that’s it, hope you enjoyed! This originally was just supposed to be a small set up to introduce Vivian, but as you can see, it got wildly out of hand and now Mirabelle is living a comedy sketch. This was so fun to write.

I prefer tea, but buy me a Kofi?