#i feel like this is true for any kind of fake accent

[grkuvus]

in 2024 i am Still begging people every day to just not do fake slavic accents in their art. either hire an actor who actually speaks the language, or just have the actor speak in their own voice. please.

[hwanchaesong]

Altschmerz Teaser

a/n: imma give you a sneak peek for now to give y'all some idea about my works (i'm terribly sorry bc like i said, i type so slow idek why and my brain lags every 5 mins) this is an apology i can manage for the mean time 😭😭 pls do not hesitate to tell me, whatever means, if you wanted to be added to the taglist, tysm! 🥀✨

genre: angst, fluff, smut, university au, part of the ATEEZ Minisode Series

It is a good day to live and breathe like any normal person.

The weather is actually nice, a little cloudy with a nice touch of spring air, the skies are bluer than Taylor Swift's eyes and said singer's song titled 'The Man' is blasting through your earphones. You feel vigorous, your pristine white uniform for your medical course gives you a certain glow. Your classes went well, acing all of the assessments without much studying done, oh, truly a lucky day for you.

Then all hell breaks loose when your lovely friend, Felix, spills the tea during lunch at the cafeteria, his thick aussie accent that you usually love screeched like a racing car's tire in your ears.

"I heard that Kim Hongjoong of the music department has a crush on you."

"What the fuck?"

He held his hands up, explaining that he heard it while passing by their building. The way people narrated the 'girl' sounds exactly like you, and you couldn't help but roll your eyes at the information as Felix lists out the descriptions that caught his ears.

'She's from the Allied of Health and Sciences department.'

'She's really intelligent and kind, well, that's what the professors had said.'

'A fluent speaker! Shy at times but really bubbly with her friends.'

"I did say that I want some spice in my boring college life but not like this!" you exclaimed, stabbing a kimchi with your fork and aggressively eating it, the spice further heating your head up.

"Not like what?" just then, your other friend Lily, sat down beside you with her own tray of food.

"Felix here is spreading some fake news, he said that someone named Kim Hongjoong has a crush on me." you explained, side eyeing the freckled man before continuing to eat the remainder of your lunch.

"Oh yeah, he does. Some people are already shipping you together."

Then you choked at Lily's nonchalant reply, making her grimace and pat your back as an attempt to soothe your burning pharynx.

You did not expect her to agree at all, and you made sure to tell her that with the way you glared at her.

"He's not that bad, yes he is a music major like Hee-" you stare at her hard, not wanting to hear that specific name. Lily clears her throat and rephrases her sentence, "It is true that he is a music major, but you don't have to lump them all in one category. He's nice, my cousin knows him."

Felix nods, gulping his food before speaking, "Plus, it's just a crush. It's not like he's gonna court you all of a sudden."

They have a point, you don't have to make a big deal out of it. Besides, it's a rumor, most of the time it's plain bullshit.

You need to calm down. You're having a great day, a great start of the semester and you'll be damned if it'll be ruined this early.

Then the students at the library squealed like dying squirrels when they saw you enter. The other music majors at the university gates gave you a wink, hell, even one of the freshmen congratulated you and even said, 'You and Hongjoong-hyung will look good together!'

You mustered a smile throughout the ordeals, opting to finish the day peacefully like how you started it. Whatever happened today shall pass.

Well.. it should be but then you find yourself stalking the man's social media. You have already found his facebook, twitter, instagram, even his fucking youtube account (he has uploaded some guitar covers and you have to admit he's great at playing the instrument.)

You could defend yourself and blame curiosity later, but now, you'll indulge in some information that you could find on the internet. Surely you haven't seen him before, his face is unfamiliar, heck, you don't even know his name, not until your friends brought it up today.

Kim Hongjoong. A music major born on November 7, plays a lot of musical instruments, can write lyrics and is also a good producer. He sings, raps and dances (he was tagged in a dance cover on instagram, courtesy of someone named Park Seonghwa.) A passionate one in his career you assume as you watch one of his vlogs on facebook. You also listened to his recordings posted in his accounts, and you have to give him applause for his aesthetic instagram account.

He takes nice photos of his surroundings, even himself, and he does know how to make himself look good. He definitely knows the colors that suit him, outfits that make him stand out yet fully blended in the crowd if he wanted to. His hair is also unique, seems healthy despite the dyes that had stayed there for months before being layered by another one.

You lie on your bed, thinking that maybe the man himself isn't that bad. That you may have judged him early prior to knowing him. A fault on your part but it's not like you're going to meet or get to know him or the likes, you were simply curious about him and now that you have seen that his surface isn't dry nor rotten, your curiosity shall now die before the cat inside you does... and it's 3 in the fucking morning and you have 7 am classes so really, you'll still die either way.

What you did not expect though, as you wake up at 6:00 am, getting ready with max speed, was a notification that had you stumbling over your feet.

'Hongstagram has followed you back!'

Follow you back what? Since when did you follow him on his instagram?

You were careful! Very careful in what you were clicking and all that shit, not wanting to leave a trace of your visit in his social media accounts but you were so fucking wrong. You could blame the fuzzy feeling of drowsiness but you were so sure that you didn't click anything out of the ordinary.

Fuck your life.

That was your motto all day long, going as far as being dramatic with your friends during lunch break. Rambling about how he'll think you're a creep for stalking him or, or, how he'll think that you're interested in him when you swear to every rat out there that you're most certainly not.

It was horrible, except for the fact that you gotta eat coffee jelly for dinner because your father bought tons during a sale in the grocery and he couldn't resist his sweet tooth ass to buy some desserts.

Maybe you can sleep all of this away, yes, one night of beauty sleep will rejuvenate all of your worries except when Kim Hongjoong himself messaged you.

You jumped up from your bed when you accidentally tapped the notification on the upper half of your phone, due to your persistent tapping all over the screen because fuck that chop chop filter in tiktok (you're pretty sure you can cut that cucumber up to 200), opening the message and you contemplated whether to left it on read or be polite enough to reply.

You chose the latter, not really wanting for your name to be tarnished if this Hongjoong guy goes around and says that you're a snob.

Hongstagram: Hey Y/N! Sorry to disturb you, but may I talk to you tomorrow?

You: Good evening Hongjoong! I'm sorry my sched is kind of packed tomorrow, you can tell it now though.

Hongstagram: It's kind of embarrassing to say it through dms.

Oh my god. No fucking way. He's gonna confess.

Hongstagram: But okay, here goes nothing.

Hongstagram: I heard that you're one of the best students, so, could I borrow your notes for History? I've been meaning to ask you this for a while now because Mr. Lee talks about you every time he's in class and tbh, I couldn't care less about the minor subject. But still, I need to pass it in order to advance soo..

He was yapping so hard and you're ridiculing him inside your head but, the guy needs help and you're not some kind of witch with a stone heart. So you, being the kindest soul out there, decided to help him out.

You agreed to give him your notes and print-outs, but you didn't reply to him when he sent you a time and place for the meet-up.

Imagine his surprise when you arrived at the said café, on time and with a big, thick envelope in your hands, sitting in front of him without any trace of hesitance.

"Hi." you greeted him calmly, offering a handshake which he accepted with a smile, "Y/N here. Nice meeting you Hongjoong."

"Likewise. Thank you for entertaining my request." he replied, short but enthusiastic nonetheless.

Still, the awkward air is suffocating you and thank god the coffee and pastries can provide you some distraction because you truly cannot do this without going crazy.

Whatever confidence you had before was some kind of fallacy because you're a nervous wreck in front of this man. You're suddenly hit by the realization that this is the same guy that was rumored to have a crush on you and now you're sitting in this coffee shop with him, alone.

If someone from your university sees you two, that will surely cause a ruckus and your friends will probably bombard you with questions.

"Thank you for this, by the way." Hongjoong speaks up and it brings you back to reality, this time, you took a moment to take him in.

He really is fashionable, you'll give him that. His previously pink hair had turned into burgundy, he pairs his denims with leather better than anybody, and his color scheme for today is on point.

"You're most certainly welcome, I-"

"Listen, I know you know the rumors."

He cuts you off, rude. But he's getting straightforward now, nice.

Then you held a breath, is he actually confessing? If he did, how should you react? How should you answer?

You gulped, your palms getting sweaty and you couldn't help the tiny bit of excitement that coursed through your veins.

Your first ever confession after your dark, thunderous days of romance.

"Yes, I heard about it." you answered truthfully, giving him a small smile which he purposely avoided. This baffled you, shouldn't he be happy that you're giving him the time of your day?

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience but my friends are idiots. It's not you that I like." he admits, biting his lower lip and cautiously peers over your confused form.

You almost sputtered your coffee out, the sweetness of your iced hazelnut compensates well to the bitterness that was starting to spread out.

You faked a cough, sporting a feigned understanding countenance before asking for more elaboration, "If not me, then who is?"

He beams at you giddily and his answer almost made you want to leave.. almost.

"It's your friend, the cute one that you always help out during 21st Century Literature, Sakura." 

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

taglist:

@hyuckilstan @gwenchwana @minkiflwr @yeosangsbiceps @charreddonuts @justyoonsworld @hwadump @marievllr-abg

[salvadorbonaparte]

2024 in Films - Part I

I watched too many films again this year so here's some reviews from the first quarter of 2024

January

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) - Pretty much the opposite college experience as depicted in 3 Idiots and also there's a scene where a child spontaneously converts to Islam to keep a wedding from happening and that works

Rocky (1976) - I got a little too into that series this year

The Karate Kid (1984) - Turns out the original is actually pretty good and I just watched the bad reboot as a kid! Oops!

Face/Off (1997) - This feels like it should be a fake film within a different film. Why is the face transplant plan A? There are some great scenes though, like the wife not recognising her husband, that made me question if this is actually a really deep exploration of identity. And then it got silly again.

Theater Camp (2023) - Almost makes me wish summer camps were real

Gone are the Days! (1963) - I watched this for Alan Alda's terrible high pitched southern accent but stayed for Ossie Davis infectious energy

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) - Manic Pixie Dream Girl Amnesia. Joke aside, why is it that I can't stand Jim Carrey in comedies but love him in dramas

Moonstruck (1987) - This won an Oscar????

February

That Touch of Mink (1962) - homophobia stops insider trading apparently

Carol (2015) - This probably would have given me a sexuality crisis in 2015

Ay Carmela (1990) - no scene in any film will portray the horror of the civil war and fascism as well as the half eaten dinner table in the abandoned house

Rope (1948) - people only focus on the gay subtext (which is real) but can we pleeaaase talk about the politics of the film

Catch-22 (1970) - did a pretty good job in adapting a book that is really difficult to adapt

Platoon (1986) - This was another entry in my grad school watch list

Pan's Labyrinth (2006) - I wanted to watch this since forever but wanted to wait until I could understand it in Spanish. Well worth the hype.

Rocky II (1979) - a sequel that initially made me go "was this really necessary" but then brought me a lot of joy

Rocky III (1982) - Intricate Rituals

Rocky IV (1985) - A metaphor for the Cold War but also. Bad.

Rocky V (1990) - Bad

Rocky Balboa (2006) - Better but like what the fuck was that editing during the fight

March

Hannah Gadsby: Nanette (2018) - I love when stand up comedy is recommended to me with "this will make you cry and change your life" and then it's true

The Holdovers (2023) - Liked it so much I watched it twice but the guy playing Kountze looked too modern like he definitely knows what an iPhone is

The Zone of Interest (2023) - the banality of evil is kind of a cliché phrase by now but it's real

American Fiction (2023) - clever satire, if I say more it probably turns into an essay

Capote (2005) - Rip Truman Capote you would have loved true crime podcasts. Also this was a continuation of my Philip Seymour Hoffman haunting

An American Werewolf in London (1981) - I love when a werewolf film doubles as survivors guilt

Poor Things (2023) - Horrible

Creed (2015) - Pretty much just Rocky but with a 2015 soundtrack and I'm not mad about it

A Fantastic Woman (2017) - a wrote a long ass review on letterboxd about this film is about loss

Creed II (2018) - As haunted as a sports movie is allowed to get before having to add real ghosts (please tell me there's sports films with ghosts). It's about "like father like son". It's about legacy. It's about being defined by your family names. It's about fatherhood. It's about breaking the cycle.

Creed III (2023) - Finally a film that asks the brave question "what if Rocky V was good?"

Dune (1984) - I liked the worms

The Joel Files (2001) - the story of two families in the third reich and one of them happened to be Billy Joel's

Oppenheimer (2023) - Would have made me insufferable during my teenage physics phase

Shiva Baby (2020) - a film that's also an anxiety attack

Searching for Sugar Man (2012) - insane!!!

Menashe (2017) - first Yiddish film I ever watched

Fruitvale Station (2013) - haunted

I, Tonya (2017) - a film keenly aware of the unreliability and subjectivity of both interviews and biopics, this is a sports biopic but also a moving story about the human need for love and the cycle of abuse and it's also damn funny.

Nosferatu (1922) - both scarier and more boring than the novel and also uniquely blood libel flavoured

Mädchen in Uniform (1931) - people were right this is gay

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) - Lovecraftian horror for cottagecore lesbians

I do not care if we go down in history as barbarians (2018) - history repeats itself, first as a tragedy then as a farce

La Haine (1995) - I watched this because of my professor :)

A Most Wanted Man (2014) - Philip Seymour Hoffman Haunting Continuation

Ödipussi (1988) - "Mommy calls me Pussi" is an actual quote

13 Little Donkeys and the Sun Court (1958) - Yeehaw???

[wizardfrog69]

'•.¸♡ engagement ♡¸.•'

Fyodor x reader

Fluff

Masterlist

Enjoy!

You were finally engaged. The dream of marrying some rich guy was finally coming true, but why were you not... happy? Your fiance looked attractive. He had money and a nice job that would allow him to spend time with you more often than not, so why were you not screaming with bliss? Why did you feel guilty every time you would sleep with him? You never cheated on him, the thought never even came to mind, he was kind and loved you, he never cheated, never looked at anyone the way he would always look at you, and he made you feel special, so why did you, not reciprocate the same feelings?

A grand ball was held on the occasion of your agreeing to be married to your fiance. Everyone would be at the ball, congratulating you and your fiance. You had never felt so alone surrounded by so many people at the same time. The hall in which the ball was held began feeling smaller and smaller, with all the guests coming in, some of whom you did not even recognize, and neither did your partner. At some point, it felt as if everyone in the entire country came to the ball, of course, there was enough room for more, there was always enough room for more, and never enough for you.

Standing endlessly, talking to strangers, hearing them say "congratulations" or "I'm sure the two of you will have a wonderful life together" got quite tedious and repetitive. Your finance, on the other hand, was the opposite, he was greeting all of his guests with a great smile, the same fake smile he gives you when he pretends to be listening, that smile can get tiring so you simply stopped talking about things he had no interest in, after that, he seemingly had more interest in you, but what did you care, the love you had for him had long gone.

The thirst for alcohol grew in your stomach, you walked up to a waiter walking around with champagne glasses on a tray and snatched one from him. The champagne was excellent and light, you needed something stronger. It is unseemly for a host to leave their own dance, especially for something stupid such as a drink, but what other choice did you have?

As your pace picked up while you waltzed through the crowds you accidentally bumped into someone, you had never seen them before but the look in his eyes said the contrary, 'I'm so sorry sir. I hope I didn't get any champagne on you.' None of the drink in the glass you held spilled on him but you still wanted to be polite. 'It has a poor taste anyway, are you looking for something stronger?' You did not recognize the Russian accent from anywhere, so why did this stranger look and talk to you like you were long-term friends? the stranger saw you were lost in thought and decided to break your concentration with a conversation. 'Do you really not recognize me? Well, I guess it makes sense since you were mostly drunk during that time.' 'I'm sorry. Can I ask your name?' 'Fyodor.' You hoped his name would trigger something but, nothing. 'Come with me, I know where you can get something stronger.'

Before you knew it, you were walking with Fyodor to the car park of the venue. Fyodor unlocked his car, and took an expensive-looking bottle made from glass, holding an amber-coloured liquid, he also took out two old-fashioned glasses with intriguing designs on them, gave one of them to you, poured the whiskey halfway, and later poured some for himself. 'Thanks.' You thanked Fyodor. 'But why did you bring whiskey to a dance?' you continued. 'This isn't for me but for you. You asked me to bring something to drink tonight, do you really not remember?' Fyodor's cold voice did not sound at all familiar, no matter how many times you try to recognize it, it will always be foreign to you.

'Could you tell me how we met? I don't remember you at all, no matter how much I try.' 'As you wish.' Fyodor took another sip of his drink and began explaining the night you two first met. 'The day after you got engaged you told your fiance you were going out with your friends, but instead, you went to a bar and told your friends over text. You had a couple of drinks. although few, most of the people there were already talking to someone or were asleep, so, once I came in and had a drink, you came up to me, sat down, and asked if you could talk to me before I could say anything you had begun to cry and apologies. I tried to tell you to stop crying but decided to listen to your worries instead. You told me how the man you had just been engaged to did not make you happy and you did not know why, you told me about the events that took place before I arrived and about the ball, you were ashamed talking about it, feeling like a rich, spoiled child. Subsequently, you calmed down and we talked, you had asked me to attend and to bring something to drink as your fiance had poor taste in drinks and always picked the drinks with the least content of alcohol.' Once Fyodor finished entertaining you he sipped some more of his drink. 'Oh my god, I am so sorry I had to put you through that. I get a bit emotional when drunk but I don't typically talk to others. I am so sorry Fyodor, sir.' 'There is no need to apologize, I heard enough apologize that day. But, if you really want to make it up to me, how about talking to me while you aren't drunk?'

That was the day you met Fyodor. You would talk and talk, day in and day out, talking to him felt like escaping reality and going into a world with no troubles, and no sadness. Unfortunately, everything good has to come to an end, those wonderful nights you spent under the covers will have to seize, the sweet kisses Fyodor gave you will have to run out, and the kind man who would listen to you has to eventually go and watch your fiance take you into marriage without him. Your wedding day got closer and closer, and along with the horrible feeling you had in your stomach, it got worse and worse. Much to your misfortune, your fiance had suspected something was going on, usually when you went out with your friends you came back drunk, or lightly tipsy, but now you were staying up later and came back happier than you left. A week before your wedding day your fiance decided to talk to you about the recent change in your behaviour. 'I need to talk to you.' 'What is it?' the two of you were eating dinner at the moment, but he did not seem to have an appetite. 'Are you cheating on me? ever since that ball, you were going out more, you aren't coming back drunk but... happy, you leave earlier and come back really early in the morning.' You were caught off guard but decided to confess before it was too late, with a sigh you decided to confess. 'Yes, I didn't want to make you miserable, or at least that is what I was telling myself, that is why I hadn't told you earlier, I am sorry but I'm cheating on you. I'm sorry, this isn't because of you but purely because I lost my feelings of love, which I did have before, just not anymore, I'm sorry.' It was harder to say each word after another but you managed it, you could not bare to look at him anymore, wishing to leave as soon as you could. 'I... I understand. Could you please pack your things and leave by tomorrow morning. I will be sleeping at my sister's so you can take as much time as you need.' and with that, he only stood up and left, you heard the front door open and shot close a few seconds later.

What now? Do you call Fyodor? What should you tell him? Should you pack your things and book a hotel? What now?

You decided on calling Fyodor and telling the news, he invited you to stay at his house, so you packed your things, took your cat and her things, and left. Finally, you were free, free... free from what? Yourself? Your fiance, or ex now. Free from what? Ignoring your thoughts you drove off to Fyodor's place.

A knock alerted Fyodor and he opened the door to find himself face to face with your cat. 'Hey, this is my friend Star, the one I talked about.' You smiled with a mix of innocence and nervousness. The ginger cat with white socks, a white-tipped tail, and white spots on its belly meowed upon feeling Fyodor pet her soft fur. 'Thanks for letting me stay here, I'll try to leave as soon as I can.' Whilst talking, you let Star jump into the apartment and you dragged your luggage behind you into the living room. 'Why leave at all?' You felt two pleasingly cold hands wrap themselves around your waist, and a soft kiss being planted right behind your ear, causing you to laugh a bit. 'Are you asking to move in?' 'I'm asking for you to not leave.' Fyodor spun you around so you would face him, the soft smile melting your heart in an instant. 'Please, stay with me forever.' Fyodor is never someone who would say such vulnerable things, so hearing him beg you to stay with him led to an instant reply of 'yes'. This was truly one of the happiest days of your life.

༺♡༻ 𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧 ⋆ 𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧 𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 ༺♡༻

I am sick and I'm gonna make it everyone's problem >:(

Have a wonderful day/night and enjoy the evening with a nice cup of tea or iced tea, depending on the weather.

-love, Az

[quibbs126]

Hello! If you don’t mind if you can make Pure vanilla x white lily fan kid?

Alright, I’ve mentioned him long enough, time to introduce you all to Witch Hazel Cookie, formerly known as Vanilla Lily Cookie 

So I chose the name Witch Hazel because it’s a yellow flower, and his design was predominantly going to be yellow. Also, White Lily’s a flower and Pure Vanilla is yellow. But also I kind of liked the name because of White Lily’s ties to witches

Witch hazel:

So I’ll admit, Witch Hazel’s design is a bit simple, but I think it’s fine enough. I decided early on that his colors would be yellow with pink accents, so I just stuck with that

I had made a design for him back in July, but I couldn’t get it to work. From what I remember of that design, I was going to use more green, and that he’d have hair closer to Blue Lily. I think she was a major inspiration for that early design

Though I do also feel like I didn’t capture his height. Hazel’s supposed to be pretty tall, he towers over PV and probably White Lily (I don’t have an idea of how tall she is in my head)

Also, this is completely random, but after finishing the sketch I couldn’t help but feel like Witch Hazel looks like a lesbian. I don’t know why, he just looked like a witch who was also a lesbian. Which was not my intent at all. And frankly I don’t think the name helps. But it’s his design, so you know

Oh also I intentionally kept his left eye covered. We’ll get into it later but he can’t see out of it anymore

So anyways, let’s get into his character, because as I’ve alluded to, I have stuff to say about it

So generally he comes off as a serene and calm individual, similar to his father. He also uses plant based magic with his branch staff

The idea is that some time before the Dark Flour War, he went off somewhere and hasn’t been seen since by any of the Ancients, and they didn’t know what happened to him. Not sure where he went, but maybe he went to take the Twelve Trials of the Sugar Free Road like Pure Vanilla did

I have this idea that some time in present day (as in during the game’s events), Witch Hazel shows up at the Vanilla Kingdom again after he heard of its return, and is welcomed with open arms by his father, as well as likely being received well by the other Ancients (maybe he shows up in Odyssey? I’m not sure, might be too cluttered having both him and the Creme Republic show up with their own separate plots)

However, there are some things off about him. For one, he’s…rather intense when it comes to dragons. He clearly dislikes them, but more so than a normal Cookie, and in a way that implies he has some beef with them. I think another present member at the Vanilla Kingdom in that original idea was Pitaya, and Hazel didn’t make it entirely hidden that he didn’t like them. Another is that despite his serene demeanor, he occasionally showed cracks in his persona, sometimes muttering backtalk under his breath, or his eye twitching when he acts like this for long enough, or being dodgy about what he’s been up to in the past decades

Well, as alluded to in the sketch, it’s because it’s all fake. Not just his demeanor, but his appearance as well, and what he really looks like being partially shown in the sketch (though it’s just a quick sketch, not necessarily the final design). He uses magic to hide his true appearance 

In truth, he’s an angry, bitter and spiteful person with serious temper issues and a pure hatred of dragons. However, his hostile demeanor is more his response to his trauma, lashing out at the world for what happened, but also he finds himself very lonely

His backstory is that sometime after he left the Vanilla Kingdom, he was attacked by a dragon. He tried to fight it with his magic, but it didn’t do much against the beast, and he ended up getting horribly burned by its fire, with it disfiguring his face and body, as well as causing him to lose sight in one of his eyes. In a long, exhausting fight of sheer terror and survival, Witch Hazel eventually killed the dragon, but it was by no means a triumphant defeat. After winning, he took the dragon’s gem and afterwards was able to use dragon fire with it, that being the shape in his real staff, which is made up of a charred old branch. His body is still horribly scarred after the event, especially his face, hence why I kept it obscured. He was never the same after the event, eventually becoming the spiteful person he is today

I think this backstory was inspired by a video I had watched around the same time, in which in talking about the Hobbit movies, the reviewers talk about how Desolation of Smaug implies that Thranduil fought dragons in his youth and that he’s using some sort of glamour to hide his disfigured appearance. I remembered it and then incorporated that into the purelily kid as an idea, which eventually culminated in Vanilly here

Going back to him interacting with other Ancients, I imagine at a point where he snaps, he lashes out at them, saying they don’t know dragon fire like he does, saying that Hollyberry has her magic shield, she’s never actually in danger of it, and Dark Cacao’s dragons don’t even spit fire. His disguise might slip for a bit, with some of his scars on his face showing as he rants about the pain that dragon fire brings

Though at the same time, while he’s afraid of dragon fire, he can be a bit of a maniac when it comes to using his own fire, sometimes getting carried away and burning more than necessary 

Okay, I don’t really know how to exactly describe him. I know who he is, and he’s fun to act out in my head, but I don’t know how to describe his personality. I’m bad at describing things. I just know he’s got a lot of issues

However despite how he acts, he wouldn’t join the Cookies of Darkness or anything. I imagine he might consider it when he learns Dark Enchantress is his mother, but he wouldn’t join

There’s no malicious intent in him coming to the Vanilla Kingdom in disguise. In truth, he really did come to the kingdom because he heard it appeared again and that his father was alive. The reason he came in disguise and acted the way he did is because he was terrified that with how he was, both in appearance and demeanor, his father would reject him, so he put on a fake look with what he imagined his father would like, determined to keep that facade for as long as it takes, never breaking character so that he never faces that rejection. He desperately wants to tell Pure Vanilla about everything he’s been through and to be honest with him, but his fear wins out and he keeps the facade

I want to talk more about the idea I have with Witch Hazel showing up in the Vanilla Kingdom, but I feel like maybe that should be its own post. But I may as well talk about Pure Vanilla in this story

So Pure Vanilla is overjoyed to see his son again, and he’s willing to overlook oddities in his behavior because of it. But when others bring up his odd behavior (and I think Pitaya notes that he’s clearly using magic to hide his appearance), and even he can’t ignore it, he becomes more and more concerned, wanting to assume the best but also aware things aren’t what they seem with Witch Hazel. I also imagine a scene with the two, in which Pure Vanilla goes to talk with Witch Hazel in the room he’s staying in, and the room is completely dark, and Witch Hazel is in his true form, though we (and Pure Vanilla) don’t see it since this is before his reveal. Witch Hazel insists the lights stay off, which only off puts PV more, and he tries to confront Witch Hazel about his suspicious behavior, but Witch Hazel shuts down his concerns, trying to make everything sound fine. Pure Vanilla agrees to leave him alone for now, and at the end of this conversation, Witch Hazel hesitates and almost wants to let Pure Vanilla see his face, but he stops himself before he can

I really want to talk more about the whole storyline, but this is already very long and I explained it better in my notes, so I might as well just post those notes in another post. But for now, I’ll say that Witch Hazel does eventually snap and its revealed what he looks and acts like, and drama happens and I don’t know what exactly goes down, but by the end of it Pure Vanilla does accept him as he truly is despite everything 

I don’t really have much on his relationship with his mother though, I was more focused on Pure Vanilla since he’s actually there

All right, I think I’m gonna stop now, but yeah, that’s Witch Hazel, I really hope you guys like him

[idothingsandstuffs]

I've talk about the Kirby right back at ya reboot I've made in my head, that was inconsistent af.

Here are some more things that I've created in my head that happened in it.

(And if a reboot or a new anime happens and some of this happens, that is not a coincidence I have future vision that is just pretty inconsistent\jk)

•It is called "Kirby right back at ya:deluxe"

•Everyone is a like 5-7 years older compare to the original.

•All the waddle dees were raised by dedede and escargoon therefore bandee start off as a jerk but gets character development.

•One of the waddle dees fakes their own death to join meta's crew as sailor dee.

•Meta knight is a wanted criminal.

•Kirby was raised by sir Arthur before he was send to popstar.

•Kirby is also fullent in Spanish but doesn't have an accent.

•Kirby can talk but still says poyo as a tick.

•Adeline is Ado's younger sister.

•Adeline and Ado live in the castle because Dedede declared both of them royal painters because he doesn't wanna admit he adopted two children.

•Giving children a job in the castle is Dedede's way of adoption.

•That one "how can I help you king Dedede" part from the intro would be change every episode to fit what is going to happen in the episode.

•Marx was also raised by sir Arthur with Kirby and Kirby saw him as a big brother, and milky way wishes messed Kirby up.

•Marx and meta knight are demon beasts.

•The reason sir Arthur raised Marx and Kirby was to keep a close eye on them.

•The reason why Arthur wanted to keep a close eye on them is because the last demon beast that they trusted became a war criminal and Kirby has has the potential to become full on void or zero if they felt a lot of negative feelings.

•Oh and also Kirby is the positive reancarnetion of void.

•If Ado tries draws a copy of someone the copy becomes how that person should be like, while when Adeline Tris to do it, it becomes how she sees this person.

•Adeline tries to turn a blind eye to dedede's bad action while Ado tries to justify them until a point where they can't keep doing it because he started to use them in his plans.

•It is a musical.

•King dedede would have a whole song about how great he is.

•Gooey feels weird around Kirby because he senses an energy that is so unfamiliar and familiar at the same time.

•Gooey is tramutized from zero.

•A song that dark matter sing that happens in dedede's head when he possessed him. In the song he shape shift into everyone who dedede cared about and hurt and sings about how much he sucks, and the worst part is king dedede can't deny any of them because he knows all of them is true.

•A scene where king dedede losses everyone who respected him (waddle dees, Ado and Adeline stopped flowing his orders and escargoon left) and he realizes there is no one to blame but himself.

•Romk arc takes place after the dm arc and is the first time Kirby meets meta knight

•Sailor dee drowns and dies. This event traumitizes meta knight.

•A scene where king Dedede has a mental breakdown because he can't understand why Kirby is so kind to him and doesn't hate his guts like everyone else in the kingdom because he should hate him the most and even begs Kirby to just hate him. Kirby refuses and gives him a hug.

•Meta knight, after trying to take king dedede's throne, goes to king dedede's castle (dedede doesn't know yet) the only people who know what meta tried to do is his crew, Kirby, knuckle Joe (he was helping Kirby) and that girl with a gun that I can't remember the name of.

•Meta and Dedede were friends before dedede became king and he didn't know he was dethrone an old friend.

•The kids were going to tell dedede but when Kirby realized how happy he was to found an old friend. That leaved Kirby in a deilema state where he could tell dedede the truth and ruin his happiness and confirm his belief that everyone hates him in kings eyes or let them play pretend until somebody losses their head.

•When dedede founds out about what meta tried to did he takes him to the forest and fights him. They still hang out after it but they are pretty cold to eachother.

•Susie sounds like a vocaloid.

•Susie talks in a different language but has an auto translator that most of the time doesn't work probably

•A detective arc about what happened to the former ruler of dreamland and if dedede killed them or not.

•Don't worry everyone gets along in the end.

(I can add more by rebloging)

[illarian-rambling]

Thanks for the tag @thecomfywriter!

Character Profile Tag

I kinda feel like answering for Avymere :)

Name:

Avymere Kalaphon Spearsong III

Nickname:

Avy (Elsind tried this once and it did not work out)

Kind of being:

Skysheerian elf

Age:

153 (equivalent to late 20s/early 30s)

Gender:

Fe'penche. Skysheer has a broader concept of gender than most human societies. Fe'penche basically means a nonbianary person who fills a traditionally female role in society. A politician, in this case.

Appearance:

Standing at about 5'6", Avymere is tan for a Skysheerian, which means deathly pale for a human. They have an athletic build, wear gold-rimmed glasses, and have a scar on their right ear. Their hair is snowy white and kept short. Their face is a bit hawkish. They dress in an elegant, feminine fashion. Actually, here's a picture!

Occupation:

Avymere is their heir to the duchy of Salis. Their title is Duchon, and they will become Archduchon when their father, the Archduke, steps down. They also serve as their father's spymaster.

Family members:

Eluan Faltharin Spearsong IX (father)

Amarell Tethanven Spearsong I (deceased mother)

Pets:

Girl, they don't have time for that lol

Describe their room:

It hardly looks lived in. Avymere's room is a vast, marble space of gold accents and mahogany furniture. It's spotlessly clean and at the top of a tower, so it's got a massive window that looks out onto the nearby mountains. The only place with any clutter is their desk. This clutter is a diversion. All of their real paperwork is hidden under their bed, along with multiple weapons and a first aid case.

Way of speaking:

Incredibly formal. They're noble, and they talk like it, even in informal conversation. However, if need be, they can fake almost any accent or style of speech.

Physical characteristics (posture, gestures, attitudes):

Avymere is constantly on their guard. They never sit with their back to a door, always keep an eye on people's stance, and can focus on several streams of information at once. Their posture is royalty perfect. They also have an unconscious tendency to mirror people's accents and mannerisms.

Hobbies:

Talmel Valkys is an ancient elven martial art from when before Skysheer and Nabafyr were separate nations. Even though Skysheerian nobles tend to look down on physical arts, Avymere finds great solace in their practice. When they spar is the only time they get to be sort of a normal person.

Favorite sports:

I guess Talmel Valkys counts for this, too.

Abilities/talents/powers:

No magic for Avymere, sadly. They're the first Spearsong to be born without sorcery in a thousand years. They are a master spy and a top-tier fighter, though.

Relationships (interaction with others):

Despite coming off as exceptionally polite and charming in professional scenarios, Avymere is very stiff when it comes to close emotional relationships. They just don't have much experience in that realm. They could ask you out to lunch, but it'd sound more like a court summons.

Fears:

Given how their mother died, Avymere is very paranoid about assassination. More for their father sake than their own. They fear failing their people and losing loved ones. Also, they've kept up a facade around everyone for so long that they're terrified to be themself or show emotion in any true capacity.

Faults:

Avymere can be single-minded to a fault. They act as a leader even in situations they don't have the experience for because they've been trained to do so. Though they are compassionate, they have a very poor understanding of how the serfs of Skysheer live their life and have some definite unconscious prejudice. Not a good look for a noble.

Good points:

While their single-mindedness can be a detriment, it can also be a great asset. Avymere never gives up, never loses hope, and never backs down from a fight. They will sacrifice anything for the good of their people. On a smaller scale, they care deeply for their friends, and though they can be stiff and unnerving when they attempt to be heartfelt, they do try.

What they want more than anything else:

Avymere will give anything for the prosperity of their city. They hardly see themself as a person outside of their role as heir to Salis. They will kill, lie, and blackmail if it means the happiness of Salis's citizens.

I'll tag @ashen-crest @lavender-gloom @harleyacoincidence @pluppsauthor @vallkary and anyone else who wants to play :)

[sweetlikehoneystingslikeabee]

Can I have a penguin party ask for an S/O that is his sugar baby? What's that dynamic like and what do the penguins expect from them?

"Sugar Baby" Penguin Party Ask

First penguin party ask 🥳 Ohhhhh my god I finally get to write for Burton penguin. He's fun! Gross bird (affectionate).

Tw: sugar daddy/sugar baby dynamics, NSFW 🔞

Batman 2022

Quintessential sugar daddy relationship. You pretty much just need to hang off his arm when he requests, be available for events, and be down for those calls when he needs to relax.

"Relax" is usually his cock down your throat or you bouncing up and down on his lap. Lots of messing around in public, sometimes stealing your panties- He's downright cheeky when he's in a mood.

He likes your company. Doesn't have a particular dress code other than "shows off your assets." The only thing he tries not to involve you in is direct business.

This isn't because he thinks you're not tough or smart enough for it, but unless you wanted to get serious, he likes keeping your relationship light and fun.

He will buy anything your little heart desires. Clothes, jewelry, textbooks, obscure gacha game shit- you earned it. Expect gifts, especially if you spend most of your "allowance" on what he considers responsible things (higher education, rent, groceries, etc).

To be clear, I don't personally like daddy kink, I do not write for it BUT. He would be the most into being actually called Daddy if that is your cup of tea.

Gotham

Least likely to have a sugar baby, but it could happen with the right person. The right person being someone who can put up with all his neurotic, control-freak bullshit.

His sugar baby can't be stupid. Let's be honest, he wasn't crushing hard on Edward just because he's pretty. What this means is any fake cutesy whiny baby voice for stuff is an instant turn-off. Or playing dumb.

His sugar baby is going to wear what he wants them to wear. In truth, it's actually not that bad- not too exposing or skimpy. Definitely black with accent colors to match him. Probably a collar or choker since you're official.

Oh yeah, you're official. He doesn't do casual well. Very jealous and even if you're not in a true romantic relationship, you probably shouldn't date anyone else just in case.

He has a very base set of rules on how to behave that he expects you to just know. Break rules at your own fucking peril. He gets off on sexual punishments. I'm talking leashes and not being allowed to cum.

Really, if you're sweet, complimentary and genuine with him, he will melt like putty in your hands. He'll get you whatever you want as long as it's within means. Stroke him off while kissing his face and he'd probably kill someone for you.

Burton

You should possibly rethink your life choices on this one. Maybe.

Look, I'm not saying you can't be a sugar baby to him, but just because you CAN. doesn't mean you SHOULD. but hey I'm not your fuckin mother.

Sex on demand, pretty much anywhere. He used to live in a sewer/abandoned zoo, he doesn't have high standards on where it is and is not okay to fuck. And you'll be fucking a lot. He's got a fingering trick to show you...

Don't be shocked that he's not shy having sex in front of others. If anything, it's a turn-on for him to show you off.

He likes skintight clothes that show off every single curve and bump on your body. You got it, you should flaunt it. That or fluffy and soft. Definitely cutesy.

There's times you have to think on your feet around him given his business, but honestly? He kind of likes you playing dumb with big fluttering eyelashes and all you want is him. It makes him feel good.

He kind of just tosses money at you every once in a while, or you can just ask? Like, you can tell him what you're going to spend it on, but honestly, he doesn't care.

You make his day a bit brighter, make him feel handsome, and ignore the way he eats. Its all a good transaction and he figures you've done your part of the deal.

Sometimes... sometimes he wishes it was real.

Arkham

Ice, ice baby- you are going to be high end fashion and dripping in jewelry. Huge fur coat (or faux if you have some kind of thing about that, he says), always warm for the Iceberg Lounge. You LOOK expensive.

Even as a sugar baby, you're representing him, his image. He wants you to look like you've just walked out of one of his prized "collection" tanks. A treasure no one else can have.

You need to be tough to be in his orbit. He's sweet to you, of course, but he will murder and maim in front of you like it's nothing. You can have moments of weakness, but if he thinks you can't stomach it, sorry luv, but you're just not cutting it. A final check and a goodbye.

He's going to judge you if you spend your allowance money on stupid shit. In his mind, it should be useful or going towards things you know he likes (read: lingerie he likes to surprise him.) If it's school in particular, he wants to know your grades.

He's surprisingly the least sexual of the penguins on this list. Part of it is age, part of it is he's busy. You're a status symbol of a family legacy long lost. If he likes you enough, he'd probably consider paying you to have a baby to continue the Cobblepot name.

He'd marry you too, of course. But the way he says it is all very transactional. He doesn't expect you to feel anything for him, so it's better for him to not get too invested emotionally.

It makes it hard to connect with him outside the events he takes you to and the times you are physically pleasing him. If you can, though, you'll find he's very fond and protective...

[study-coffee-chicago]

Choices (A Halstead Brothers + Halstead Sister Imagine)

A/N: This is a slight AU...I had an idea...ran with it...wrote it...and I don't know how I feel about it. But, it's out here now, so enjoy, and don't forget to reblog and comment!

"You didn't see anything, alright? And I'm searchin' you when you come in the house," Pat Halstead said to his youngest son, Jay, on the afternoon of Christmas.

"All I've got on me is my service weapon, Pop. And, Hailey thinks I got stuck with mandatory overtime today, so I can't be drinkin'," Jay said, his family's Italian accent rubbing off on him as it always does when he's in the presence of family.

"So you're keepin' secrets from your wife now, huh?" Pat asked.

"Not secrets, more like skirting the truth," Jay answered. "She knows you live in Chicago and Will's a doctor. Hell, she's met you, Will, and Y/N. She just... doesn't know what you do for a living."

"And she hasn't found out yet with all the fancy cop tech you got down there. Wow."

"Well, you bribed Voight pretty well to keep my history—well, my family history—under wraps, so yeah, she has no idea."

"That old man still runnin' around Chicago like a vigilante?"

Despite Jay's feelings about his dad, he had to laugh at his description of his sergeant, Hank Voight, because, well, it was true. "Hey, he's good for the city."

Pat Halstead waved a hand. "Heard that one before. Now, arms out. I'm patting you down."

Jay rolled his eyes but obliged. Once that was finished, he and his dad walked into the house.

"Will, Y/N, your brother's here!" your dad yelled as he and Jay entered the living room. "But, he lied to his wife, so he can't be drinkin'!"

"You lied to Hailey?!" you exclaimed.

"I couldn't have her come around here and meet Dad like this, could I?" Jay asked. Then, he looked down at the glass you were holding in your hand. "Is that wine? You're not even legal."

"The ID in my wallet says I am."

"Jesus Christ," Jay sighed. "If I see you at any insane parties—"

"I know, I know, you'll lose your shit."

"Well, Dad taught all three of us how to hold our own, so I think she'll be fine, Jay," Will said and then stood up to hug his brother.

"Let's not let it get to that," Jay said after he hugged his older brother.

"Alright, enough of the chit-chat!" your dad yelled. "Let's eat! I made your grandma's meatballs and she always said to eat 'em while they're still hot!"

***

"Y/N, you wanna take a walk before we eat dessert?" Jay asked as you, Will, and Jay were sitting on the couch watching Christmas with the Kranks while you could faintly hear your dad talking business on the phone in the kitchen.

"But I like this movie," you whined.

"Will pause the—" Jay looked over on the couch kitty-corner to you two to see that Will was fast asleep. Whether that was because of the amount of food he ate or alcohol he drank, you'd never know, probably a combination of the two. "—I'll pause the movie," Jay finished and picked up the remote, and paused it.

Reluctantly, you got up and put on your coat and boots.

"Dad, me and Y/N are going for a walk! Will's sleepin' on the couch!" Jay shouted.

You barely heard your dad's response before Jay urged you outside.

"What?" You asked, upset you had to leave the warmth of your house.

"We could hear Dad talking business. You don't need to hear that stuff," Jay said.

"I hear it all the time, Jay."

"Well, you don't need to hear it on Christmas."

You rolled your eyes. "What's the real reason you want to talk to me?"

"I can't just take a walk with my baby sister on Christmas without you thinking I have something serious to say? I'm hurt, Y/N."

"First of all, I'm not a baby. I'm eighteen. Second, no, you can't. Now spit it out."

You told him to spit it out, so that's what he did. "Where'd you get the fake?"

"Why's it matter?"

"Are you going to parties? Because the kinds of parties I see Y/N—"

"No. I just wanted to go out with a friend and he suggested a bar."

"He? This friend is a boy?"

"Yes. That's what he means, Jay."

"You're awfully sassy today. Does this friend have a name?"

"You're not gonna stop are you?" You asked, already knowing the answer before it came out of your older brother's mouth.

"No."

"Fine. I'll give you both answers. Luca was the one I went to the bar with and he got me the fake."

"Luca? As in Dad's business partner's son, Luca?"

"If you mean business partner as in the guy who Dad buys guns from, then yes, that business partner's son, Luca."

"Y/N—"

"It's not like I'm dating him, Jay. We're just friends. He's like my brother."

Jay rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. He's bad news."

"Because of who his dad is? If we're playing that game, then all three of us are bad news."

Jay sighed. "Just, don't try and play both sides like Will. You're an adult now so anything you do can stick unless Voight can get you out of it. But, you can't always count on him."

Jay knew there was no getting through to you until you saw for yourself. He knew the minute you said that you had a fake ID that it was bad, but when Luca's name came out of your mouth, it went from bad to worse. Sadly, he knew you wouldn't listen to him and that you had to choose your own path because, if someone forced something on you, you'd do the opposite. Just like how your dad had tried to force the family business on Jay and Will and they went away from it, Jay completely and Will slightly.

Jay just had to wait and see what you'd do; if there's one thing he hated, it was waiting.

***

"What's up, Luca?" you asked when you answered the phone on December 30th. "If you're calling about the party, yes, I'm going. And no, Jay doesn't know."

"That's not what I'm calling about," Luca told you, his voice stern and serious.

This caused you to sit up in bed. This wasn't like him.

"Then, what is it?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Luca, what kind of a question is that? Of course I trust you. We've been friends since we were in diapers."

"I need a favor. And you can't tell anyone about it."

"What's going on? Are you in trouble? Do I need to get my dad?

"No!" he exclaimed. "I mean, no, he doesn't need to be involved in this. I just...listen, can you meet me at the park?"

"Now? Luca, it's one in the morning. What the hell am I supposed to tell my dad?"

"Will he even care?"

You shrugged. "Point taken. I'll still send him a text or leave a note or something. But, what's so fucking important that you can't tell me over the phone and I have to get out of my bed right now? It's freezing outside."

"I'll bring you hot chocolate. Now c'mon."

Then, the line went dead.

***

You finally put your pepper spray down when you met Luca at the swings.

"I don't get it," Luca began and handed you a thermos filled with hot chocolate. "Your dad does illegal arms deals for a living, but here you are with a little can of pepper spray."

"Shut up. You just started carrying a year ago...illegally, might I add."

"It's Chicago. Every gun is illegal."

"I mean, that's—"

"Whatever. Don't get all political on me. Now, I need to tell you something and you gotta promise me that you won't tell anyone in your family."

You took a sip of your hot chocolate while you quickly mulled over the decision. In the end, you decided you wouldn't answer. Instead, you'd just ask your own question. "Luca, what did you do?"

"If I tell you, you can't tell anyone."

You crossed your toes in your boots.

"Fine. What is it?"

"These guys wanted guns, so I sold some of my dad's to 'em and they were used in a shooting."

"They're all used in shootings, Luca! What shooting was it?"

"The one at the store! The grocery store!"

"The Walmart one? Yesterday? Jesus Christ, Luca!"

You pinched the bridge of your nose and walked a few paces away from him and then walked back.

"Listen, I know I fucked up, okay? But, I didn't know they were gonna go into a fuckin' Walmart and hold everybody hostage!"

"There were kids that were killed! Kids!"

"I know, I know. But it's not like I pulled the fuckin' trigger, Y/N!"

"You might as well have!" You sighed and then gritted your teeth. "What's the favor you wanted anyway?"

"I need your brother and your dad's cop's buddy's help."

Then, you laughed, you actually laughed. "No. No fuckin' way."

At this, he swatted the thermos of coffee out of your hand.

"Luca! What the—"

You went to scream as he put his hands on you and pushed you up against a pole of the swing set, but he was too quick and covered your mouth.

"You do what I say," he growled. Then, he took his hand from your mouth. "Because, let's not forget, I'm the one with the gun." Then, he let you go. "I expect an answer before the New Year's Eve party tomorrow."

Then, he walked off and you dropped to your knees and threw up.

***

You hadn't gotten any sleep and your dad could see it when you woke up. He asked if you were sick and needed to have Will come over (he also mentioned that Will had had a late night last night doing a patch-up job on one of his friends after he got in a bar fight; it had been unrelated to the family business). You told him you just slept really bad last night (you had thrown away the note as soon as you got home from the park) and just needed a good nap later in the day. He told you to get some sleep and left for work, leaving you home alone with your stomach in knots.

You replayed the conversation from last night with Luca for the millionth time.

Shooting at Walmart...Do what I say...Answer before the New Year's Eve party...

All you had thought about for the past six hours was Luca and what you were gonna do and what he would do to you if you didn't do what he said. He had never been like this. Ever. But, possible jail time could make people do crazy things.

You froze.

Jail time.

You know now.

You could get in trouble for obstruction of justice and go to jail.

"No. No, no, no, no," you muttered and slumped down against the wall in the kitchen. You put your head in your hands and just started bawling. "I don't know what to do!"

But, you knew you wouldn't be able to do this by yourself.

If you told your dad, things would just get worse and he'd probably just go after somebody.

Will would go and tell Jay and then the next phone call would be to your dad.

You didn't want any more bloodshed.

You wanted justice and you wanted it the right way.

You took a deep breath and stood up. Then, you went to take a quick shower to calm down and get ready.

Half an hour later, you were on your way to the district to talk to Jay, since you figured having this conversation in person instead of over the phone was the better decision of the two.

You guessed this was what Jay meant the other day when he told you not to play both sides. And, today was the day you were faced with that choice.

You just hoped you were making the right one.

***

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" Trudy asked, tipping down her glasses and giving you a hard stare as you rushed up the stairs to the gate to Intelligence.

"I need to see Jay. It's an emergency!" you told her as you pulled at the gate.

As soon as you gave the door a tug, you heard footsteps. Loud ones, pounding ones running down the stairs and Voight yelling.

It was Adam who you saw first, pointing his gun straight at the gate as he approached you.

The minute he saw you, he holstered his gun.

"It's just Y/N!" he yelled. Then he jogged down the stairs and opened the gate for you. "Jesus Christ, kid. We thought it was some criminal or something trying to get in here cause Platt normally buzzes people up."

"Yeah, just me," you answered awkwardly because really, what else could you have said to that?

"Didn't mean to scare you when I drew my gun. You okay? You look a bit shaken up."

You were shaken up, just not from Adam pulling his gun.

"Is Jay here? I need to talk to him. It's an emergency."

At this, everyone's ears perked up, especially Voight's.

"He just ran go talk to the crime scene techs in the lab," Voight said. "I'll give him a call and you can wait in my office. Maybe tell me what's going on?" he suggested.

You knew he probably assumed that the emergency had to do with your dad and since he knew your family history, he figured you'd tell him.

It was only after you were in his office that you told him out had nothing to do with your dad.

"Are you in some kind of trouble?" he asked.

You looked down at your feet. "Maybe."

"Maybe? Kid, I can't help you if—"

"I just wanna talk to Jay first. Please," you pleaded.

Then you heard Jay's voice ring out in the bullpen and him asking where you were.

Voight nodded to you and then stepped out.

You knew he was probably telling Jay what you told him—which was that you would only talk to Jay—but it was such a hushed conversation that you couldn't be sure.

Then, Jay entered Voight's office and closed the door and the blinds.

"Figured whatever it is, it's private," Jay said when you gave him a puzzled look about the blinds. He moved one of Voight's desk chairs so that it was facing you and sat down. "Now, you wanna tell me what's going on?"

***

By the end of it, Jay was seething.

"He put his hands on you?" You nodded. "I'll kill him."

He moved toward the door, but you grabbed his hand to stop him. "Jay, don't do anything stupid! It was just a little push!"

"A little push, my ass." Jay paused and sighed. He knew if he went after Luca, then he'd be no better than his dad and he had spent his entire life trying to be the opposite of what his dad was. "You okay if I loop Voight into this?"

"Like, make it an actual case?" you asked. You were stunned. You had never known Jay to talk to his sergeant about his family history, except to get into the academy and land his job in this unit. "Wouldn't you have to tell Hailey for that?"

"Yes."

"You're gonna risk your future with her?"

"I'd have to tell her sometime. And, if she breaks it off with me, so be it."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you're more important. Now, I'm gonna go get Voight and you can tell him the story while I talk to Hailey."

"You're gonna talk to her before Voight makes this an official case? Why?"

"Because whether this is our case or not, you're staying with us." You opened your mouth to protest, but he stopped you. "You can give me the excuse that Dad has a gun, too, but mine and Hailey's guns are legal, so you're staying with us. End of discussion."

***

Jay led Hailey downstairs to the basement where the cage used to be and checked that no one was down there and then locked the door.

"Jay, what's going on? Why is Y/N here? And why are you acting so secretive?"

"Hailey, I love you so much and I knew I'd have to tell you sometime, but I didn't think it would be like this."

"You can tell me anything, Jay. You know that."

Jay took a deep breath. "I might have lied to you about my family."

"Lied to me how?"

"About what my dad does for a living."

"Why would you lie about that?"

Jay leaned in closer to her and brought his voice down to whisper. "Keep your voice down."

"Why?"

"My dad's a mob boss, okay?"

Hailey was stunned; it took her a few seconds to process what her husband had just said.

"What? How'd you even get his job? What does that have to do with Y/N being here?"

So, Jay launched into the cliff notes of his dad's business and how Voight struck up a deal with him and then what you had told him.

Once he was finished, Jay asked the million-dollar question. "Does this change things between us?"

Hailey sighed. "I don't like that you lied to me, Jay. But, at the same time, I get why you did it. How about we figure all this out later and go see if we have a new case? Your sister should be our priority."

Jay nodded. He knew she was right. And, he wouldn't admit it, but she was right most of the time.

***

You were anxiously tapping your foot while you waited for Jay to return from his conversation with Hailey. You hoped you didn't just screw up your brother's marriage. Voight had told you he needed to talk to both you and Jay together to figure out how to proceed, but he promised that you would be safe at the end of all this and that you made the right choice.

Five long minutes later, Jay joined you in Voight's office after knocking on the door.

"You tell him?" Jay asked you. You nodded and Jay turned his attention to his sergeant. "What's the plan?"

"That's what I've been thinking about," Voight answered.

"You don't have a plan?!" Then, Jay turned away from Voight and rubbed his hand down his face, "Jesus Christ. She's my sister, Hank--"

"I didn't say I didn't have a plan, Jay. I just said I've been thinking of one. And, I have some options."

"What are--"

"The least dangerous option," Jay said, cutting you off. "That's what we're doing. She's not putting her life at risk for that bastard."

"I'm eighteen!" you argued. "Pretty sure I can make that decision myself. Weren't you the one just lecturing me about choices a few weeks ago?"

"Hey! Just let me tell you the options and then we can go from there," Voight told his detective. "But, you need to make a decision soon since it's eight hours until the New Year's Eve party."

Jay slumped down in the seat next to you. "Okay. What are the options?"

"We have her go undercover, get eyes on Luca and then from there, we tail them and then and arrest them—"

"The other option," Jay said immediately. "I'm not gonna let her go under."

For once, you were glad he was being overprotective. After what Luca did last night, you really didn't want to go around him and anyone else he could possibly bring with him.

"So she becomes a CI," Voight said. "I'll draw up the paperwork and get a judge to sign off on that--"

"No!" Jay exploded and jumped out of the chair."She's not being a CI either because that means that she has to testify and that will put a huge target on her back. There's gotta be another way!"

"There is one more way, but it involves your dad and him leaving town for a while."

"How long is a while?" you asked. His leaving directly impacted you because you were living with him and were still finishing up high school. He wasn't a bad person. He made sure you were taken care of and had everything you needed and he was a pretty good cook as well, thanks to the recipes in your grandma's cookbook that had been passed down to him. He wasn't a bad person; he just made bad choices.

"A year, maybe two at the most," Voight answered.

"And what's he gonna help with?" Jay asked.

Voight nodded toward you. "She can't be here for this conversation, Jay."

"What? Why? He's my dad!"

"Listen, kid. Jay can give you the short version after we talk it over. But you can't go telling people about it if we go that route. Deal?"

You thought for a second. It would probably be safer for them to get your dad involved and do whatever it was they needed to do than to put you undercover or get you involved as an informant.

"Deal," you agreed and left the room, leaving Voight and Jay alone to talk over what the next steps were going to be.

***

"What's the plan?" Jay asked. You weren't going to go undercover or become a CI, so whatever Voight had in mind, well, that's what they were going to do regardless of whether it was off-book or not.

"I'm going to tell your dad the situation--"

"Are you crazy?! I hate Luca, but I'm not gonna go out and murder the kid! My dad on the other hand..." Jay trailed off. Voight knew as well as Jay did that the minute Pat Halstead heard about this, he would go hunt Luca down, guns blazing.

"That's why I'm giving him an ultimatum."

Jay scoffed. "And you think that's gonna work?"

"That's how it's always been between us. Something comes up, he tells me and I keep him out of jail."

"So, my dad's an off-book CI?"

"Something like that."

"And the ultimatum?"

"He doesn't go after Luca or tell anyone about this. If he does or comes back to Chicago before the trial is over, then I will pin all of Luca's dad's charges on your dad as well."

Jay nodded. It made sense. Luca's dad, Mark Delgado, and his dad were business partners, so by default, most of the stuff Mark Delgado did, Pat Halstead usually did as well.

"It feels like there's something you're not telling me," Jay said.

"You, Will, and Y/N can't say goodbye to him," Voight told him. "If we want to get Y/N out of this, I need to talk to your dad, and then we need to tell the team and get things moving now."

"Okay. Just, before you go, let me talk to Y/N. I don't want her to feel blindsided again."

***

Jay was once again in the basement of the district. At this point, he wondered how the Ivory Tower hadn't stepped in and put cameras in here.

"You don't have to do anything except stay safe," was what Jay started out with.

"So, I am going undercover?" you asked, your eyes growing wide.

"No. Stay safe as in with me and Will. Inside. We're staying at Will's house and I'll be there the entire time. And then, after that, you'll stay with me and Hailey just so that we can make sure Luca doesn't open his big mouth."

You furrowed your eyebrows. "So, how are you gonna get him then?"

Jay sighed. "Voight's gonna tell Dad. He's gonna tell him to leave town so he doesn't get in trouble or go after Luca. But, listen...the hard part is...we can't see Dad before he leaves and Voight needs to talk to him ASAP."

"But Dad will come back? Eventually he'll come back?"

"I hope so."

You groaned. "I should've never answered the phone. If I didn't--"

"Hey, no," Jay said and put a hand on your shoulder. "Y/N, you're doing the right thing. The stuff you do now sticks with you. Hell, there is a chance Dad could get caught up in all this mess somehow and go to jail, but he made those choices. Not you. If you went and helped Luca tonight instead of coming to me, then that would stick with you. You're doing the right thing, Y/N."

"You think so?" you asked with tears in your eyes.

"I know so. C'mere." Then, he pulled you into a hug and you finally felt something you hadn't since you went to the park last night.

You felt safe.

***

To say it had been a night had been an understatement. You had been holed up at Will's apartment and had nervously tried to watch New Year's Rockin' Eve on tv while Jay and Will argued in Will's bedroom.

It was basically the same conversation you had had with Jay about all of this, except this time, Jay was yelling at Will and telling him that he couldn't play both sides anymore. If word got out that he patched up Luca or Luca's dad at one point--and you knew for a fact he had taken a bullet out of Mark Delagado's shoulder and sewn it up on your kitchen table before--that he could go to jail. Jay knew Will needed money for med school debts, but he reminded him for the millionth time that that money would be seized the second law enforcement figured out where he had gotten it from.

You figured Jay finally got through to Will because when he came out and sat on the couch with you ten minutes before the ball was set to drop, he was on his phone.

"What are you doing?" you asked.

"Deleting contacts," he answered.

The family business contacts.

Five minutes before midnight, Hailey arrived at the door and was let in by Will. Hailey then motioned for Jay to follow her and they went into Will's bedroom to talk.

Three minutes later, and two minutes to midnight, they came back into the living room.

"Dad's gone, which is good," Jay announced. "And, they got Luca and Mark."

"How'd they leave my name out of it?" you asked.

"Voight told the team it was an anonymous tip," Hailey answered.

You looked between the two of them. "And you're good?"

Jay smiled, knowing exactly what you were talking about. "We're good." He grabbed Hailey's hand. "Right, Hails?"

"So good," she confirmed.

Then, you started hearing the countdown on tv. Eight seconds until the new year...seven...six...

"Happy New Year!" the broadcaster yelled.

Will let out a laugh. "First year in a while we haven't had anything to toast with."

"But, we're all safe," Jay added.

"And I made good choices," you said and gave Jay a look. Then you looked at Will. "You, not as much, but you're turning it around."

Will rolled his eyes. "Isn't it past your bedtime?"

At that Hailey burst out laughing. "Be glad you're not living with him all the time now."

"Oh, Jay won't be much better, Y/N, believe me," Will cautioned.

"Yeah, I might even make her eat her green beans," Jay said.

You wrinkled your nose. You hated green beans. "No."

"Don't worry, Y/N," Hailey reassured. "We won't make you eat stuff you don't like just because Jay's a health nut." She walked over to you and whispered in you ear, "I also have a secret stash of chocolate that I'll share with you."

"What? What did you say?" Jay asked when Hailey went back over to him.

"It was for the girls only, babe. You gotta remember, you're gonna be outnumbered after tonight."

"Good luck, Jay!" Will told him. "I'm gonna go grab some beer from the fridge. And I'll find something without alcohol in it for Y/N."

It was a weird feeling, normalcy. Because, that's what it was. After last night, you didn't know how everything was ever going to be normal again. And look at you now. You were just a family who were hanging out on New Years. For all anybody knew, your mom had passed away and your dad was on a business trip or moved or whatever Voight had told him to say. And it was all because you had made the right choice.

A/N: Thank you for reading! And don't forget to reblog and comment! As always, if you want to be added to my taglist, just tell me and I’ll add you!

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[mydarllinglover]

Alone || Till Death Do Us Part

Previous

The Twins mood had seemed to worsen increasingly, during Daryl and Evie's departure, the more people that greeted Natalia, seemed to irritate them more. Archie wasn't enjoying the attention, the heat, or the noise, either.

Judith and Henry had tried their best to help out, whilst Lydia shadowed them, quietly. Natalia left her alone, but made show to keep an eye on the people around her, making sure they wouldn't be giving the girl grief whilst she managed to adapt to the polar change of living for the past decade.

When she had been able to wander off, whilst Henry was distracted with fetching clean rags to help with the mess of lunch, Natalia "gently" pushed the teenager to go after her, who was reluctant to leave the woman with four small children.

Natalia had convinced the girls to focus on Luke's performance, who had also managed to talk Alden into. Enid, Connie and Kelly had offered to keep their eyes on the twins, as well as the two men, whilst Natalia went in search of a quiet room to put her son down for a nap.

"What's the point, Daddy's gonna miss it." Daisy furrowed her brows, her arms crossed as she frowned at the grass.

"Yeah, he's not gonna know how good we are, what's the point?" Bambi agreed, copying her sisters stance.

"Because, Daddy might not be here, but Mommy is, and I really, really wanna see how amazing my girls are, you said that Luke said you have the voices of angels"

"It's true, you have gifted children, well done." Luke stepped in, nodding at the woman, who gave him a gingerly smile before turning back to her twins.

"I'm so excited to see, and then when Daddy gets back, you can perform it for him, too, and Aunt Michonne and Aunt Carol, and your sister." Natalia told them, whilst she bounced Archie, who was crying his eyes out for a nap.

"But you're going too!" Daisy accused.

"No I'm not, but honey, Archie's been up all day, and he's only a baby, and babies need lots of sleep, but Aunt Rosita and Uncle Eugene are in the house, they won't mind watching him whilst I come back, it'll only be for two seconds. Besides, when I get back, it'll be time for the movie, and you don't want Arch crying all the way through it, it'll suck so bad."

"Cause he's a stupid baby, you should of never had him." Bambi scoffed, a surprising statement from the usually kind girl.

"Bambi Elizabeth, that's not a kind thing to say, not at all, you don't mean that." Natalia took her daughters small hand, gently.

"I'm sorry, Mommy, I'm just upset." She sniffed.

"And that's okay to feel upset, I wish Daddy was here, too, but Archie didn't do anything wrong, he's only little."

"I'm sorry, Archie." The girl gave her brother a kiss on the head.

"Just go, we got this." Enid assured her, when she stood up, instead of the crouched over position she was just in. "Evie used to have the same problem, me and Carl managed her." She smiled.

"Oh, Enid, how I love you so, but you underestimate a pair of Dixon Twins, but you already offered."

"It's fine, they can't be that bad." She laughed.

Natalia gave her a quick squeeze before darting towards the building Rosita and Eugene were held up in, keeping her head down in order not to be stopped by any more greetings, that's when she bumped into a blonde woman wearing an pretty green dress, sporting an straw hat.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." She quickly apologised, looking at the woman, someone she didn't know, she must've been from either the kingdom or Hilltop.

Judith's group were the first people who had been accepted in, since the Jocelyn incident, and Oceanside had never liked newbies.

Something seemed oddly familiar about the woman, but Natalia had never seen her, in her entire life, odd.

"Not to worry, dear." The woman said, her voice was high pitched, it was obvious she was trying to fake the accent, cause she was failing miserably. "Hi, I'm Debra, from Alexandria."

"Oh, uhm, I'm Nat, or, Natalia, sorry, did you say you were from Alexandria?"

Natalia stared at her for a moment, trying to work out who this person is, until Archie begun another loud wave of cries.

"How old is ya boy?" The woman asked.

"Oh, he's only four months old, he's never been around this large of a crowd of people before, bit of a shock for him." She replied politely.

"And the father, he not around to help you?"

"Oh, no, uh, Daryl's gone with the others, yeah, he's helping them out."

"A man leaving his wife to fend for the kids to go out and do who knows what? Nasty, useless creatures, a waste of time and resources."

"Oh." Natalia paused. "Uhm, I've really got to get going, I promised the twins I'd get back for their performance, lovely to meet you, though." She hurried away, her smile instantly dropping. "What a freak." She muttered to Archie, who received a harsh wail in response. "Yeah, I know, being adorable and a lovely presence to be around, is exhausting, believe me, I do it on the daily."

Once Rosita assured Natalia that her and Eugene, who were both working on some electrical wire thingy, that they'd both keep their eye on the baby, Natalia went back towards the crowds, finding the auditorium, Jerry, Nabila and their three children, were sat beside Judith and the twins, who were sharing a seat.

"Mommy!" Daisy cheered, but was shushed by someone in the crowd.

Natalia frowned in the direction as she sat down with her girls.

"Where's Enid?" She asked.

"She's with Alden, we said we'd take them here." Jerry grinned at her, passing over a bowl of popcorn.

"And Henry?"

"Fixing the pipes." He replied.

"Lydia?"

"She's sat over there, she's waiting for Henry to come back." Judith answered.

"Oh, okay then."

"Hey, relax, everything and everyone's fine." Nabila told her.

"Yeah, yep, everyone's fine." She muttered, smiling at the woman before looking back at the screen, as her twins climbed into her lap, all three of them squeezing into the chair comfortably.

As soon as the light of the projector had turned on, and the film began, the room erupted into cheers and claps, Natalia couldn't get enough of the wonder and amazement on her kids faces, even her nieces.

"Cool, huh?" She whispered to the ten year old, wrapping an arm around her as they watched the cartoon.

Nabila and Jerry whispered to one another about the King's absence, until Daisy sat up from where her head layed against Natalia's chest, glaring at the pair until they quieted down, then proceeded to lay her head, again.

"Sorry, lil Dixon." Jerry whispered, a laugh hidden in his tone.

Natalia hugged her girls tight, her daughters and her niece, she hadn't even realised a giant smile was on her own face, not until Bambi had began tracing it, looking at her mom in her own awe.

It was the next day, when the bubble was burst for her, when the group had come back, Siddiq among them, who's head was bandaged up.

Dark eye bags settled underneath all of their eyes, and tears stained their cheeks, Evie, who had clung on to her fathers arm, Carol on the other side, lunged for her mother, hysterically crying into Natalia's shoulder, as her whole body shook.

"He's gone, Mommy, he's gone." She weeped. "Henry. He's-" She couldn't continue her sentence as sobs overcome her once again.

"Where did he go?" Bambi asked, gently, patting her sisters back.

"What happened?" Natalia asked Daryl, rubbing Evie's back as Ezekiel came to Carol's aid, allowing the man to swoop up his children, holding them tightly as he looked down, sniffing as he shook his head.

Siddiq had been the one to get on stage, to tell the four communities what had happened, at the funeral of their people, of Natalia's friends, Tara, Enid, and Henry, they were gone, as well as so many other loved ones. 

"I was there. I was taken with the others. And I saw... I was supposed to die with them. I was ready to. Then Alpha whispered in my ear, "Tell them." Something hit me and everything went black. And when I woke up, I was alone. What happened was evil. It was evil. And I think she left me alive to tell you that story. To scare you and to drive us all apart again. But I want to tell you a different story." Siddiq told the crowd of the mourning people, of the ones they had lost, the children of Hilltop, their leader and their doctor. The prince of the kingdom, the highway men, Adam, the baby's, new mother, and the Saviours that had joined them, became their friends and helped to build towards their future.

"See, before the end... Ozzy, Alek and DJ found us... They gave us an opening, and everyone fought back... They fought like hell... And what they did... Was more than brave... 'Cause they defended each other... And they sacrificed for each other... And some of them... they didn't even know each other, but they still fought like they did. Like they were family. 'Till the very end. And in the end, they-- their time was cut short, but ours keeps going. So we have to keep going. For them, and... for all of us... We need to honour them. We need to honour them, and we need to remember these friends, our family, died as hero's. That's the story that I want to tell you. That's the story that I want us to remember."

Evie muffled her cries into her mothers shoulder, she hadn't felt a loss like this since her first father had died, Henry was her best friend, Enid, she knew since she was little, since she had gotten to Alexandria, one of the few other kids that knew what it was like to lose a parent, and then they met Carl, and he became a part of that, but he was gone, too.

Natalia's heart broke, her daughter losing another person, only at the age of sixteen, and to top it off, she had to witness how, seeing his head on that pike, that he was turned, and to hear that he fought to the death in his last moments, and she wasn't there, she wasn't even with him.

Michonne comforted Rosita, who had lost her girlfriend, Natalia had a tight grip on her hand, squeezing three times every so often, reminding her that she wasn't alone, even after all this.

Tara won't be forgotten, and she won't go unavenged.

Months had passed, and a cruel winter was setting in.

And soon enough, the Kingdom had fallen.

Natalia had ended up back in Alexandria with all the kids, whilst, Michonne, Daryl, and Aaron helped the Kingdom relocate to the Hilltop during the harsh snow storm.

Evie had stayed back, deciding not to go with Daryl and the others, but Lydia had, the two had noticed the blondes push back from the other girl, wanting nothing to do with her, barely able to stay in the same room for small periods of time, it was too painful, because all she could see was her best friend and what the girls mother had done to him.

The nightmares had gotten so bad, that Evie had resorted into having to stay in her parents bed, with Natalia, whilst Daryl took Archie and vacated elsewhere.

Natalia wasn't too fond of the fact that when the conditions of the storm had gotten so bad, that the people of Alexandria had no choice but to break into groups, staying in the homes with the largest fireplaces, which she just so happened to end up in the one with the person she hated most in the world than anyone, Negan Smith.

"I swear to God, I have memorised every square inch of this room, and it still feels like a party." The insufferable man laughed, whilst Rosita handcuffed him.

Natalia rolled her eyes as she bounced an nine month old Archie on her hip, who seemed to reflect his mothers feelings, as he cried, his face red and puffy, lip quivering as he clung to his mothers coat.

"A never-ending party from hell." Rosita humoured him.

"I mean sure, all right, it smells like a barn in here, all bored shitless, but..."

"Language!" Judith snapped, pointing at the twins, who were boredly colouring with Gracie and RJ.

"Shit." Daisy nodded.

"Daisy Caroline, uh uh." Natalia shook her head.

"But he said it!" She pointed at Negan.

"You don't do anything that man does or says." Rosita added.

"Mommy, why is Shit a bad word?" Bambi asked. "Daddy says it." 

"Daddy's a grown up." Natalia ran a finger down Archie's face as he continued to whimper and cry.

Daisy let out a frustrated growl as she covered her ears.

"Mommy, shut him up. I drew out of the lines because he's distracting me."

"Honey, he can't help it he's just a-"

"He's just a baby." She rolled her eyes, "and I'm trying to colour, we're all cold, and I miss Daddy too, but all he does is cry!"

"Hey, you cried too, just as much when you were his age." Rosita pointed out.

Daisy furrowed her brows at this knowledge.

"No I didn't." She crossed her arms.

Gabriel snorted at this.

"Uh, yuh huh, your sister lived at my place so she could get some sleep, with the both of you keeping everyone up."

"What about me?" What was I like as a Baby?" Bambi asked.

"You, Missy, puked on me, the second time I met you, just like he did, we called you EJ for months, till your dad made us stop." Rosita smiled, pointing at Eugene.

Daisy giggled loudly at this, whilst Bambi blushed darkly.

"Why did Eugene puke on you?" Gracie asked.

"That's a need to know basis, go back to colouring." Natalia shut the conversation down, placing Archie on the ground so she could dig for another thick sweater, when noticing Evie pull the blanket around herself tightly.

The teenager was sat in the corner, reading a book, Emma, and refusing to look or talk to anyone.

"Hey." Natalia greeted the girl, kneeling beside her as she handed over the sweater.

"Hi." She mumbled, turning over the page of the book.

"What you think so far?"

"S'alrght." She hummed.

"Put the sweater on, you're shivering."

"I'm fine."

"Eves." She sighed.

Evie huffed, snapping the book shut and pulling the sweater over her head.

"Happy now? Can you leave me alone?" She asked.

Natalia was taken aback by this, but decided to pat the girls leg, backing away and giving her the much needed space she demanded.

"Jude, don't sit so close to the window." Siddiq told Judith, who was still staring into the darkness.

She listened, backing away and letting the curtain fall shut.

"Hey, kiddo. you still worried about that mutt?" Negan asked her.

"Hey, don't call my dog a mutt, mutt." Daisy told the man.

"Hey, Daisy, we don't call peop- wait, actually, never mind." Natalia thought. "Just this once, okay?"

"Uncle Daryl told me to take care of him for Aunt Nat whilst he helped the Kingdom move to Hilltop." Judith answered the man. "I don't know where he is."

"It's not your fault, sweets, he'll be okay." Natalia assured her. "He's tough, a lot like you."

Her eyes had wandered to her son, who had crawled his way to Negan, using the mans leg to help himself stand up.

Negan was supporting the baby in order for him not to fall and hurt himself.

"Archie! No, come back here." Natalia told him, scaring the boy, but Negan was quicker to catch him from falling on his backside.

"He's trying to walk, Nat." The man told her.

"Don't call me that. Ro, y'mind grabbing him, I don't want him walking yet, or going near that. I can't either, if you demand he should still be here."

Rosita listened, swooping the baby up.

"Wait, Nat, you're not letting him walk?" Gabriel asked.

"Daryl's not here." She stated, as if that were the obvious response, but when she was still met with confused looks, she was forced to reiterate. "If Archie starts walking and he's not here to see it, he'll be crushed, that's not fair, so if I can just halt it for the moment, until he's back, it'll be fine."

Negan let out a low whistle, amused by this.

"Never had Daryl pegged as that kinda dad that gave a shit."

"Language!" Judith repeated.

Rosita had found his assumption funny, though, letting out a scoff as she shook her head.

"You clearly don't know any of us as much as you seem to think you do." She rolled her eyes.

Before he could respond, something else had caught his attention.

"Does anybody else smell something?" He asked.

"Can you stop being such an asshole?" Siddiq asked, earning a harsh glare from Natalia, because as soon as he said it, her five year olds repeated it.

She envied Michonne, for having a small child that didn't seem it absolutely necessary to repeat every bad word he heard.

"No, he's right, something does smell a little funky in here." Rosita backed the man up, smelling the baby in her arms.

Eugene looked up, sniffing the air, before staring at the fireplace.

"Get away from there!" He demanded, jumping up from his seat to pull Siddiq and Gabriel away, but it was too late as the fireplace exploded.

"As I suspected." Eugene called, once he was able to examine it. "The chimney flue is completely gunkified. What singed your nostrils earlier was no doubt a toxic mixture of creosote and H2O." He then backed out, turning to everyone. "Blizzards done some tearing and blaring. And our chimneys ventilation capabilities are nil to none. It'd be unwise to spark up another blaze lest we plan on ceasing all respiratory functions, A.K.A smoking and choking, and having a lil babe in here, well, it would not be a pretty sight, and an painful end for the fella."

"God, I missed you, Eugene." Negan smiled at him.

"I can't say the same." He replied.

"Mommy, I'm cold!" Daisy looked up, as her and Bambi huddled around their mother.

"I know, baby, me too, why don't you, RJ, Judith and Gracie all get the blankets and make a fort to keep each other warm?" Natalia suggested.

"Okay, Mommy." Bambi listened, then walked towards her older sister, tapping her on the shoulder and asking for her help, to Natalia's surprise, the girl, who was still on the same page when she had gone over to talk to her, put the book down and took her little sisters hand, walking over to the other kids as they grabbed blankets and smothered themselves.

Natalia's eyes followed them as she headed towards the other adults to talk about what they were gonna do.

"You know without a fire, we'll never get these people warm enough." Siddiq shared.

"Yeah, we should leave before the temperature drops any lower." Rosita agreed.

"He's ice cold." Natalia muttered, pulling down Archies tiny hat over his head, he had finally fell asleep, his head layed on her shoulder as she soothed him gently, trying to keep him warm.

"Okay, folks. Contingency plan." Gabriel spoke to the people around the room. "We're going to Aarons house. It'll be tighter quarters, but we'll make it work." They then parted to get ready for the move.

"Seriously?" Negan questioned. "Not one of you assholes are gonna untie me?"

"We could tell Michonne it was an accident." Rosita shrugged.

"Or you didn't wanna leave, we had too many people to worry about, she won't blame us." Natalia added.

The plan to get everyone to Aarons house through the storm, was quite simple, a rope that everyone would cling to, in order not to get lost. Evie and Judith were in charge of sandwiching the twins, RJ and Gracie, as they were the two oldest, whilst the adults helped everyone and made sure it went smoothly.

Rosita had helped Natalia secure Archie to her, and so he wouldn't face any harsh winds.

Once they were ready, they set off.

As they walked, a dogs barking had caught the attention of the small kids on the line.

"Dog!" Daisy screamed into the wind, "Dog's here!"

"Dog!" Judith joined in.

"Dog, come here, boy!" Daisy let go of the rope, running into the darkness, Bambi following.

"Wait!" Judith screamed after the twins. "Aunt Nat, they're gone!"

"No!" Natalia cried. "No, girls, wait, come back!"

"Daisy!" Siddiq shouted. "Bambi!"

"Daisy!" Negan shouted, letting go and going in the direction they had gone, shouting their names.

"No!" Rosita shouted.

"Negan!" Siddiq called after him.

"I have to go after them!" Natalia demanded.

"No, you can't!" Rosita told her.

"Mom, don't, I will!" Evie volunteered.

"No, do not let go! We need to get these people to Aarons."

"But my kids are out there!"  Natalia almost shrieked.

"Daisy! Bambi!" They could still hear Negan shout.

"Girls!"

Soon everyone was chanting the twins names, trying to find them, but it was no use, you couldn't see shit in the dark and flurries of snow.

When they were able to reach Aarons, Natalia had left Archie in the arms of Evie, as she ventured back into the storm.

"Daisy! Bambi!" She continued.

"Here!" A males voice called as dog barks sounded.

"Negan?"

"I got 'em! I got both of 'em, and the dumb dog!" His figure emerged through the darkness, limping towards her. "Got 'em."

Natalia ran to him as tears blurred her eyes, in relief.

"My babies." She weeped, as Negan passed the huddled girls into her arms.

"We got Daddy's dog, we found him." Daisy told her in a small voice.

"Mommy's dog." Bambi corrected.

Natalia let out a laugh as she rubbed her hands up her daughters arms, trying to get heat into them.

"Don't ever run away like that, again, you hear me? You near scared me to death!"

"We won't." They said in unison.

"Good, and girls, Daddy doesn't need to know about this, okay? No need to worry him for nothing."

"Okay, Mommy."

"Why don't you go inside, get Aunt Rosita to make you both some hot cocoa, I know Uncle Aaron keeps some in the kitchen."

"Yay!" They both squealed, running into the house, Dog following them excitedly.

"And don't give any to Dog, he can't drink it!"

She then turned to the man, who was watching her with a small grin, but by the look of his leg, he was trying hard to keep the mask on.

"This is the worst thing I've ever had to do, but, thank you." She told him, though the words tasted bitter in her mouth.

"Oh, come on, Nat, you can do better than that." He teased.

"Don't call me that, I still wish harmful violence on you, and I'd do it now, if you hadn't saved my girls, so I'm willing to spare you, just this once, Evelyn or Siddiq will fix up your leg."

"You seriously ain't gonna tell Daryl?"

"He doesn't need to know everything that happens whilst he's away, besides, I'm doing you a favour, he doesn't always carry the same mercy as I do, not when it comes to the kids, because you are wrong about him, everything, you were wrong."

"An' it took you hiding out in the woods to prove this to me? And yet, the man of the hour is always heading off since y'all joined society again."

"Don't make me rethink my morals, Negan." She turned, walking back into the house.

It was the next day, when the storm had finally calmed down, coating Alexandria in a thick snow wonderland.

The kids were playing in it, under Natalia's supervision, Rosita by her side, when the others had returned home.

"Daddy!" Gracie squealed excitedly, running to Aaron, as he entered through the gates, Judith right behind her, as she fled towards her mom.

The twins had looked up from their snow man, following the noise and spotting their own father, and so had Natalia.

Daryl embraced his girls tightly, smiling wide as he took them in.

He cupped Natalia's cheek, kissing her as soft as he could, showing to her how much he'd missed her whilst he was away.

"Where's Archie?" He asked. "And Eves?"

"Inside, hates the cold." She chuckled, kissing him again. "I missed you."

"Missed yer, more." He promised.

They smiled at each other, before something was hurled at them.

The couple turned to where it was thrown, spotting an mischievous looking Judith, who was holding another snowball in her hand.

"Judith Grimes?!" Natalia gasped in faux horror.

She then threw the next one at them.

"Oh, that's it!" She laughed, crouching down to gather her own snow ball, whilst the girl ran away with a scream of laughter.

"Get 'em, girls." Daryl told his twins, teaching them to form snow balls, causing chaos as it turned into a full on war of a snow ball fight, even Lydia had joined in.

"Everyone get Daryl!" Rosita called, as everyone began pelting their balls at the archer.

"Girls, get Daddy." Natalia grinned, throwing a snow ball at her husband.

"Hey, hey! Truce, alright, truce!" He called, his hands up in surrender as he covered his face with his arms.

They gave the man a second to recover, before Daisy threw another snow ball at him, then Bambi.

Everyone gasped, as the girls giggled cheekily, that was until Daryl got revenge, throwing his own back, and the war broke out again.

"Get Mama, get yer Mama." He laughed, encouraging them to turn on Natalia as he grabbed the woman by the waist, using her as an human shield.

"Daryl Dixon, don't be such a coward and let your five year old daughters throw snow balls at you." She laughed so happily.

"Lydia! Help us." Daisy demanded, as she and her twin scooped up snow to throw at their parents.

"What's going on?" Evie asked, joining everyone outside.

Daryl answered her by throwing snow at the teenager.

"Dad?" She gasped, wiping snow of her face.

"Eves you gotta return the favour." Michonne told her.

Evie bent down, scooping up snow and throwing it at Daryl, then at her little sisters, who were already getting ready to aim.

And the war continued, until everyone broke down to the ground, making snow angels.

And just for a little bit, life was good, their problems were temporarily gone, their pain was absent.

Next

[i-am-a-living-god]

Sorry that other anon was so rude to you :((, so you can info dump about Mikey if you want!

:000 it's ok, it didn't really affect me, like I said, I like arguing. But thank you, I would never turn down an invasion to gush about my favorite character :DDD

All version spoilers ahead!

Aight, 03 Mikey's accent is fake surfer dude accent. As in according to my father who grew up in California, and knew a lot of surfers, Mikey's accent is not that of an actual surfer but rather that of someone trying to imitate a surfer accent.

03 Mikey's legs are cursed. /J he's always injuring them.

03 Mikey in my humble opinion is a true feminist icon. "You wouldn't hit a lady, but a lady would hit you!" "I can't wear this, I can't! The color clashes with my bandana!" –he says referring to a pink dress. Did I mention I love him?

2012 Mikey deserves better. My guy was literally insulted in every way possible, the only complements he got being well... Not complements compared to what was said about each of his brothers only moments before. I'm looking at you Splinter and Rennet.

based off my observations, in 2012 Raph is the only person Mikey allows to hit him. When anyone else does it, he gets offended. This I feel showcases how the same action performed by different people can mean very different things. I theorized with a sibling that when Raph hits him it's affectionate, or just not offensive. This is because Raph will hit anybody no matter what. Doesn't matter who you are, what your doing he will hit you. (Exept for Splinter) where as when Leo or Donnie hit him it's usually used as an insult of some kind. Example when Leo slapped him while he was "talking nonsense" this meant that not only did Leo not believe him about what he saw, but also that he was probably calling him stupid.

This is probably nonsensical but whatever.

In 2007 Mikey gets beat up by children at his work place.

Rise Mikey is awesome. Idk what his deal is, I can't figure it out for the life of me.

87 Mikey is fantastic, he's layed back, chill and probably smokes crack. :) /affectionate

87 Mikey has a love interest named kala. She's cool and I like her. The neutrinos are fun.

87 mikey likes gross things on his pizza, just like 12 Mikey, exept the only person who has any sort of problem with it is April and only for like 2 episodes. Oh did I mention all turtles like the same disgusting things on their pizza. Splinter eats only sushi :)

Bay Mikey is in love with his mom :D (and you thought 12 was weird)

I have clear favorites.

Ty for letting me rant anon! Made my night :)

[meowww-ffxiv]

More Maedwyn fun facts as I wait for sleep to take me.

- He's a stupid good liar.

But he doesn't lie often at all. Wherever and whenever possible, Maedwyn will tell the truth, though he takes pains to try and make it as soft as possible.

- He can fake ANY accent and mimic many speech patterns. In fact, Maedwyn can make himself sound remarkably like a Loporrit, just with a rather deep voice.

- Or rather, Maedwyn is a good actor. Both in creating personae to occupy and in assuming others' roles. Maedwyn had a keenness to people and their needs, and the "role" of a good leader, of a living inspiration, of a pitiful fool, of a cast-off wreck -- they were all things he could perform.

- For as long as he had lived, Maedwyn had feared whether or not there was some true, authentic selves under all the layers of traits and personalities he could put on and take off at a moment's notice.

- He doesn't like to be too honest with his pains and difficulties, since it feels like giving someone else a key to your own safe. It doesn't... It doesn't feel right.

It's what most of Maedwyn's various lovers and other torrid encounters of the romantic or sexual nature find the most repelling about him. He's terrible at showing any kind of authentic trust. So naturally, they dump him and run for the hills.

- "Court musician" lol. Maedwyn used to be a mix of elite and discreet royal protector, a spy, and a scout. He was highly visible due to his race and stature, but his discretion was in attentiveness and penchant for convincing others to part with information they might not, even in pain of torture.

But yes he also used to play a variety of instruments, and was a very good dancer.

Maedwyn subscribes to the thought that all warriors should be good dancers, as the mastery of rhythm and movement shared a necessity of control over your body.

- Experiences a very harrowing "damn he's just like me fr" @ Thancred some time in late Heavensward.

Uhhh so they're kind of friends? But it's weird and uncomfortable because both of them are people who get very antsy when others get too close, so it's a very weird and circular dance. Maedwyn and Thancred are both "I'd die for you, I'd even kill for you, but if we talk honestly about anything I'll jump off a bridge."

[the-rewatch-rewind]

Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn make their first appearances!

Script below the break

Hello and welcome back to the Rewatch Rewind, the podcast where I count down my top 40 most rewatched movies. My name is Jane and today I will be talking about number 33 on my list: Columbia Pictures’ 1938 romantic comedy Holiday, directed by George Cukor, written by Donald Ogden Stewart and Sidney Buchman adapted from the play by Philip Barry, and starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn.

Johnny Case (Cary Grant) has just returned home to New York City from a trip to Lake Placid where he met, fell in love with, and got engaged to Julia Seton (Doris Nolan). When he shows up at the address she gave him, he is surprised to find that it’s a giant mansion, and that she lives there with her family, whom she previously neglected to mention is extremely wealthy. Both her lively sister Linda (Katharine Hepburn) and her depressed alcoholic brother Ned (Lew Ayers) immediately approve of Johnny. Her father, banker Edward Seton (Henry Kolker), is initially shocked that his daughter is engaged to someone he’s never heard of, but he is ultimately won over by Johnny’s impressive work history. However, when Johnny reveals his plans to quit working for a while to seek the meaning of life, both Edward and Julia are appalled, while Linda enthusiastically approves, and it becomes apparent that Johnny is engaged to the wrong sister.

There are many things I love about this movie, but the main reason it’s on this list is because of who stars in it. If you’ve listened to the Mary Poppins episode, you may recall me saying that Julie Andrews is one of four actors to appear in at least four of my top 40 movies. Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn are two of the others. Katharine Hepburn will be making a total of five appearances, and Cary Grant will be making ten, so if you really hate him, you’re probably not going to like much of the rest of this podcast. I don’t exactly remember why or how he became my number one fave, and it’s kind of a chicken-or-egg situation – do I love so many of his films because he’s in them, or do I love him because he’s in so many of my favorite films? I have no idea, and at this point it doesn’t really matter. I just know that I love watching him on screen, somehow both suave and goofy simultaneously, and listening to that unique voice that truly mastered the fake transatlantic accent like none other. And I also know that he was a very convenient explanation for why I had no interest in dating anyone in my teens or 20s. “There just aren’t any men out there like Cary Grant,” I’d lament, which was true, but the implication that I wanted there to be was misleading, though even I didn’t understand that for a very long time. There were a few other Old Hollywood actors I would sometimes also claim to find attractive, using the same excuse that nobody in real life was like them. I was aware that it was weird to only have “crushes” on movie stars who were old enough to be my great-grandparents, but that still felt less weird than admitting the truth – I didn’t understand what a crush was and I was too scared to ask, since everyone else seemed to instinctively know. It wasn’t until I was around 30 that I finally asked myself, if I met a Cary Grant clone who was my age, with his exact appearance and mannerisms and voice, without his traumatic childhood, would I want to date him? Or sleep with him? And I had to admit that the answer was no. What I feel for Cary Grant is appreciation for his work, and perhaps some aesthetic attraction, but nothing romantic or sexual. He’s still my number one fave, and I still celebrate his birthday every year with a multi-day marathon of his work, which explains why so many of his movies made it into my top 40. Since Katharine Hepburn is another actor whose birthday I celebrate every year (although not quite as enthusiastically), and Holiday is also a perfect New Year’s Eve movie, I have many occasions to revisit this one. I can’t remember if I’d seen it before I started keeping track, but I watched it once in 2003, once in 2006, once in 2008, once in 2009, once in 2011, twice in 2012, once in 2014, once in 2016, twice in 2018, twice in 2019, and once in each year since.

One viewing in particular stands out to me. It was January of 2012. I was in college and I had a lot of intense family stuff going on, and then a snowstorm hit on a Tuesday night, which happened to be the night before Cary Grant’s birthday. Classes ended up getting cancelled for the rest of the week, and I used that time almost exclusively to consume Cary Grant movies. On his actual birthday, I managed to convince some friends to watch one with me, so I went to one of their dorm rooms and we ended up watching Holiday. I want to say that overall it was a good time and most of them really enjoyed it, but I honestly don’t remember for sure. What I do remember is that there was one person in that group of friends who didn’t want to join us, declaring that she refused to watch any movie made before 1990, but then kept coming into the room after we started the movie to make comments like, “Ugh, I can’t believe you’re watching this!” “Ew, it’s in black and white!” and such. I should have just let it go – after all, it was her loss to miss out on great movies due to some arbitrary date cutoff – but I got very upset about it. The disrespect! On Cary Grant’s birthday of all days! I didn’t really know that person very well, and we haven’t kept in touch, but I hope she has forgiven and long forgotten any angry comments I may have directed toward her that day.

To a certain extent, I understand her attitude. Old movies portray outdated ideas and ways of living that can feel strange and even offensive to watch. But they also tell us a lot about the history of our society. Holiday in particular still feels extremely relevant. It’s set during the Great Depression, a time when there were a few very rich people and many very poor people, which sounds a lot like today. It’s about a wealthy family with one child who takes their privilege for granted, one child who is dissatisfied and abuses substances to cope, and one child who actively tries to rebel against the idea that money makes their family inherently superior. And when the entitled head of the family and the child who is most like him hear about a working-class person who has saved up enough money to spend some time enjoying himself instead of working, they scoff at that idea. Doesn’t that sound like it could take place right now?

Modern audiences might find the lack of action in this movie a bit tedious – it’s very apparent that it was based on a play, as it’s dialogue-heavy and almost the entire movie takes place in a few areas of the Seton house. But the wittiness of the lines and the punch of their delivery more than make up for the lack of action, at least in my opinion. I do wish the movie started a little earlier in the story, so that we got to see Johnny and Julia at Lake Placid. Apparently scenes were actually filmed for this, but George Cukor, the director, didn’t like the footage and decided to cut it all. Julia just seems so completely wrong for Johnny in every way that I really want to see how she behaved when they first met to convince him otherwise. From the very first scene when Johnny goes to their house, it is clear that Julia neither shares nor appreciates Johnny’s sense of humor, while Linda is swapping jokes with him as soon as they meet. I don’t necessarily think that means Johnny and Linda need to get together (although of course they will, because it’s a rom com and they’re the stars), but I do feel like it demonstrates that Johnny and Julia would not have had a functional marriage. I’ve never been able to understand what he saw in her, although a possible explanation is vaguely addressed by her brother Ned’s perceptive line, spoken to their sister Linda: “You know, most people, including Johnny and yourself, make a big mistake about Julia. They're taken in by her looks. At bottom, she's a very dull girl and the life she pictures for herself is the life she belongs in.” In other words, Johnny saw a beautiful woman and imposed his ideals onto her. When he finally learns that the woman he’s attracted to – and believes he’s in love with – neither shares nor supports his point of view on life, he has to decide how much of himself he’s willing to compromise.

It would have been so easy to let this story deteriorate into a two-sisters-fighting-over-the-same-man love triangle scenario, but it doesn’t. Linda has no desire to interfere with Johnny and Julia’s relationship, even when she is finally able to admit to herself and Ned that she’s fallen for Johnny. Linda actively tries to repair the rift that forms between Johnny and Julia when they discover they have different values. It’s only after Julia tells her that she doesn’t care about Johnny and is relieved that he’s decided to leave on his holiday without her that Linda decides to go with him. As Ned observed, Linda, like Johnny, has always imposed her own values on Julia, so it takes her just as long as it takes Johnny to realize that he and Julia are completely unsuited for each other. And I love the way that’s portrayed. Too often, sacrificing other relationships for the sake of romantic love is glorified. But Linda is willing to sacrifice romance when she thinks pursuing it would hurt her sister, which I appreciate. There is a part of me that would like to see a version where Linda and Johnny realize that their love is actually platonic and decide to go on an adventure as friends – and who knows? That could happen. The movie ends with them kissing, but afterwards they might decide they don’t feel those kind of feelings for each other and it was just amatonormativity convincing them they did. But that feels like a major stretch. It does seem clear that if they do get married, theirs would not be a particularly conventional marriage, especially for the time, so they’re definitely still rebelling against some societal norms.

That’s really what this movie is about: questioning the things that society tells you should be important. American capitalist society says pile up as much money as you can, and if it’s not much, you’re doing something wrong. Johnny Case says, “Wait a minute. That can’t be all there is” and decides to find different goals for himself. But the movie also portrays how difficult it is to break away from the norms. Ned desperately wants to get away, but his father has a very tight hold on him and won’t let him out of the banking business that Ned despises, so he drinks excessively because he sees no other way out. Linda finds it a little easier to question and rebel against things, but is rarely taken seriously by her father and sister, who patronizingly dismiss her ideas as silly little trifles and assume that she, along with everyone else who is being “difficult” in their eyes, will come around eventually. We get the impression that this is a frequent source of tension in the household, but the main example in the movie is when Linda desperately wants to throw a fun, intimate little New Year’s Eve party to celebrate Johnny and Julia’s engagement, but Mr. Seton insists on throwing an enormous fancy gala instead. Linda protests by staying in the small playroom, where she is joined by Ned along with Johnny’s friends, Nick and Susan Potter, played by the wonderful character actors Edward Everett Horton and Jean Dixon, who feel incredibly out of place at the main party. It’s a delightful scene that contrasts the coziness and warmth of the playroom with the stiffness and formality of the rest of the house. At this point, Johnny has started to conform to the “proper” life Julia wants for him, and he initially enters the playroom to convince Linda to be reasonable and join the big party to keep from embarrassing the family. But he soon realizes that the smaller party is much more his style. And it’s soon after that when he learns that an important deal has come through which has made him enough money to quit his job (why an important business deal would be going through at 11:45 pm on New Year’s Eve has never made sense to me, but oh well), and that’s when he tells Julia and Mr. Seton about his holiday plans and they flip out because he’s challenging the status quo. Eventually, after taking some time to clear his head, Johnny tells them he’s willing to compromise and try the life Julia wants, agreeing to work for Mr. Seton’s company for a year or so and then go on holiday if he still wants to. Julia and Mr. Seton are delighted, making it clear that they believe that once he starts this life, he’ll change his mind completely and give up on what they view as his foolish fancy. But traveling to find the meaning of life is even more important to Johnny than the party was to Linda, and he decides he can’t compromise. He has to live his life the way he chooses, even if most people think it’s foolish. And that message still feels incredibly profound and necessary today.

I think that’s the main reason this movie has resonated with me so much. As someone who has always felt like the things I find important are often dismissed as trivial by mainstream society, while the things mainstream society deems important have never made much sense to me, it feels incredibly validating and encouraging for a Cary Grant character to confidently declare that he doesn’t want the life he’s “supposed” to want, and ultimately decide not to back down even when people he cares about just as confidently scoff and tell him he’s wrong. Not that I would ever have the courage or self-assurance to just drop everything and leave on a trip with no plan other than “find the meaning of life” – that sounds terrifying. But when you’re aroace – and I imagine this is similar for other queer identities as well – you’re constantly bombarded with the message that the “correct” life path is something that doesn’t feel right, and that the life you do want is not only incorrect, but shameful. Of course, a movie made in 1938 would never have dreamed of addressing LGBTQIA+ issues directly, but somehow, even with its straight romances, Holiday almost feels queer. That might be taking things too far, but the film is certainly about living as your true and authentic self and not letting anyone convince you to be someone you’re not for the sake of “respectability,” which feels like basically the same thing as saying “queer rights,” at least to me.

Much as I love the message of the story, I do want to emphasize that ultimately this is a comedy, and a big part of its appeal is just getting to see Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn being silly together. The way their characters meet and instantly establish an easy rapport feels so natural and authentic. Whether they’re disagreeing about the difference between goat and sheep noises, trying to invent a fancy pedigree for Johnny, or actually being real with each other, they are such a delight to watch. Nick and Susan Potter are also very fun characters, and their friendship with Johnny – and later Linda – is beautifully portrayed. I would love to see a sequel of the four of them traveling the world together. However, that was not to be, partly because despite receiving critical acclaim, this movie was a box office failure. It’s been speculated that perhaps Great Depression audiences who would have done anything to find jobs did not sympathize with Johnny’s plans to quit his. At the time, Katharine Hepburn was deemed “box office poison” because audiences thought she was past her prime, so that didn’t help either. After this movie, Hepburn left Hollywood for Broadway, where she starred in a new play that Philip Barry – who also wrote the play this movie was based on – had written specifically for her, which she then took back to Hollywood and used to turn her career around…but more on that in a future episode.

A few more fun facts about Holiday that I need to share: in the original Broadway production of the play, Katharine Hepburn understudied the role of Linda, and she performed a scene from the play in her first screen test, which led to her first film. The role of Nick Potter was originally played on Broadway by Donald Ogden Stewart, who co-wrote this screenplay, and then was played by Edward Everett Horton in both a 1930 film adaptation and this 1938 remake. This was the final feature film appearance of Jean Dixon, who played Susan Potter, although she continued to act on stage and television, and she will be making another appearance on this podcast for an earlier film. And finally, this movie provided Cary Grant an opportunity to show off the tumbling skills he learned while touring with an acrobatic troupe as a teenager, as Johnny likes to use acrobatics to calm himself when he’s nervous. It kind of looks to me like at one point they may have used a stunt double, but for most of the flips you can clearly see his face, and I think it's so cool that he was able to do at least most of his own stunts. What a performer.

Thank you for listening to me chat about another of my most-rewatched movies. Be sure to subscribe or follow for more, and leave a rating or review to let me know how you’re enjoying this project. Next week I will be joined by another guest, and as always, I will leave you with a quote from the movie we’ll be discussing then: “Yeah, he was here, but he put an egg in his shoe and beat it.”

[kaasknot]

Heyo! Hope you’re having a good weekend!

I saw this today and wonder if you have a take on it?

https://www.laineygossip.com/rami-malek-to-star-as-buster-keaton-new-drama-series-seems-like-job-for-johnny-knoxville/73389

i've seen so many takes flash through the buster keaton fandom in the past 48 hours, lol. as for this article, i mostly agree with the author's objections to rami malek. he doesn't especially look like buster, but eh, he's got similarly ginormous buggy eyes, which imo is more important than <checks writing on facebook> nose, jawline, or height. also he's a good actor and good with accents, so at face value he's no worse than donald o'connor in 1957's "the buster keaton story."

the thing that took my fucking breath away, though, was this sentence: "Over the last twenty years, no one has done more in cinema to keep the spirit of Buster Keaton alive than Knoxville and the Jackass crew." i am SORRY??? this author thinks fucking jackass is the true spirit of buster keaton???

rant incoming.

i don't particularly like comedy as a genre. it relies too much on idiotic situations, juvenile humor, or humiliation. i've never watched an episode of "jackass," but from what i've heard, it leans hard on the last two. i cannot stress this enough: buster's sense of humor bears almost NOTHING in common with johnny knoxville's, aside from stuntwork.

i hate humiliation-based comedy beyond words. i hate it. i got bullied severely as a kid, and candid camera-type shit where some quote-unquote "comedian" comes along and torments another person for laughs reads to me as pure bullying. when buster cameoed on "candid camera" in 1962, the joke was always on him. he would go into a restaurant and suffer mishap after mishap, to the point that the other patrons would try to help him. the best modern comparison is that tiktok of the guy faking phone confessions so he can capture the eavesdropper's reactions. it's the kindest form of bystander humor i can think of, and a far cry from "jackass."

i have a low tolerance for that kind of comedy too, tbh. it's better than making someone else the butt of the joke, but it's so hard to get the balance right, and more often than not it makes me want to curl up and die of secondhand embarrassment. but i never get that feeling in buster's films. sure, he goes through embarrassing situations, but it never hurts. there's a gentleness and deft touch that keeps it from being sadomasochistic. and i think this is something people don't really understand about his style of comedy: yes, it was physical, and yes, it was slapstick, but it was also surprisingly cerebral. he wasn't just a manchild yelling and throwing pies around; it could be very subtle stuff. and, god, he would have fucking died before he did something like nailing his balls to his thigh or snorting wasabi till he puked. just trying to imagine him doing that is—it's like trying to open a lock with an orange peel. it's not only laughable, it's absurd to try. buster's humor wasn't based in shock value. it was based in logic, wry commentary on humanity, and yes, eye-popping stunts that he walked away from—unharmed.

it's straight up comparing an arabian to a donkey. i mean sure, they're both horse-shaped, right?

back to the article, the author's correct that stuntwork is vital to any buster keaton biopic, and i do have reservations about rami's casting on that front. buster learned how to tumble at the age of three, and he practiced it continuously for the next 67 years. unless rami has a background in dance, gymnastics, or stuntwork... i'm not sure he'll be able to train up the kind of muscle memory he'll need before filming.

but i'm also willing to extend the benefit of the doubt. i heard a rumor that he's also a producer on the series; to me, that indicates he's invested. he wants it to be good.

brace for the worst, hope for the best. that's what i'm doing.

[mrlenesmck]

( florence pugh , 20 , 10 april , cisfemale ) ϟ  ━ woah , i think i just saw MARLENE MCKINNON ! there’s been so much happening lately that i totally forgot about the HALF BLOOD but i am glad to see HER still around . they always had wanted to be A HIT WITCH , i wonder how that’s going. the last i heard about them was that they might be involved with THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX , but i’m not sure how true that is. besides, they always seemed UNFLINCHING and COMPASSIONATE . although , now that i think about it they were also RECKLESS and SELF-DESTRUCTIVE . still the GRYFFINDOR alum always reminded me of EVERYTHING I WANTED by BILLIE EILISH and THE SEA BREEZE BATTERING DOWN YOUR WINDOWS , THE KIND OF WARMTH YOU FEEL IN YOUR BONES , CIGARETTE ASH ON YOUR TONGUE. i hope they haven’t changed too much !

I N T R O

full name ➵ Marlene Mórrígan McKinnon.

nicknames ➵ Marls; Kinno; Marley; Lena; Mick; Mickey.

pronouns ➵ she/her/hers.

birthdate / age ➵ 10 April, 1960, 3:07 am / 20 years old.

birthplace ➵ Blochairn, Glasgow, Scotland.

childhood home ➵ The House of Scar, Sanndaigh (Sanday), Orkney, Scotland.

current residence ➵ Diagon Alley, London, England.

sexual orientation  ➵ Bisexual, Biromantic.

blood status ➵ Halfblood.

occupation ➵ Hit Wizard.

affiliation  ➵ Order of the Phoenix.

P H Y S I C A L

height ➵ 5 feet, 3 inches.

body type ➵ slim figure; soft natural kibbe body type.

hair ➵ dirty blonde or dyed brown; soft and straight or wavy.

eye color ➵ green.

dominant hand ➵ right.

FC ➵ Florence Pugh.

voice ➵ Laura Fraser ( natural Scottish accent ).

special characteristics ➵

prominent freckles on shoulders;

birthmark shaped like a stone on her left thumb;

tattoo of arrows pointing down on her left forearm just below her inner elbow;

tattoo of a bee on her inner left wrist;

tattoo of a match stick on her inner left wrist;

tattoo of a doe for Lily.

smells of ➵

salt and seaweed;

apple shampoo;

dragonhide leather;

cocoa butter lotion;

coconut body wash.

E M O T I O N A L

zodiac ➵ aries sun; capricorn rising; virgo moon.

MBTI ➵ ENTJ (“The Commander”).

positive traits ➵ dauntless; compassionate; family-oriented; unflinching; adventurous; dedicated; observant; vibrant; benevolent; loyal.

negative traits ➵ self-destructive; reckless; overprotective; dogmatic; relentless; ruthless; restless; impatient; stubborn; blunt.

likes ➵ arguing; Firewhiskey; Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them (the book); dueling, family; cobblestones; buying records; bell bottom jeans; the Montrose Magpies; protecting her friends; Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans; apple crumble; Quidditch World Cup; Led Zeppelin; salted popcorn; coffee; red wine; going to rallies; parties; smoking (of any & all varieties); making her dad proud; her owl.

dislikes ➵ having to follow instructions when she knows she’s right; bigotry; Pepper-Up Potion; silver masks; the color orange; fake banana sweets (c’mon, really); any team other than the Scotland National Team (because Scotland is FAR superior, losers); losing; being asked why she supports the Magpies when her great great grandmother (maternal side) was a Parkin in blood (of the Wigtown Wanderers); mayonnaise; foods that are too spicy; strawberry jelly; disappointing people; funerals.

amortentia ➵

broom wax;

apple cider vinegar;

leather;

the sea;

water lilies;

shortbread.

M A G I C

blood status ➵ halfblood.

wand ➵ Aspen, White River Monster Spine core, 12 inches, unyielding.

Pottermore, Ollivander: Wand-quality aspen wood is white and fine-grained, and highly prized by all wand-makers for its stylish resemblance to ivory and its usually outstanding charmwork. The proper owner of the aspen wand is often an accomplished duellist, or destined to be so, for the aspen wand is one of those particularly suited to martial magic. An infamous and secretive eighteenth-century duelling club, which called itself The Silver Spears, was reputed to admit only those who owned aspen wands. In my experience, aspen wand owners are generally strong-minded and determined, more likely than most to be attracted by quests and new orders; this is a wand for revolutionaries.

Aspen  ➵ ‘yearning for justice’ comes out as them being executors; adaptability is core trait; least associated with death compared to poplar and black poplar; communication comes easy for them; highly aware of own mortality; elemental composition is primarily fire and ice based; talent for charmwork, dueling, martial magics, ancient rituals and magics; best subjects include charms, defense against the dark arts, history of magic, ancient runes and arithmancy; aspen wand owners work best in groups and are energised by the presence of other people.

Pottermore, Ollivander: American wandmaker Thiago Quintana’s harvesting of White River Monster spines initially raised concerns of over-fishing, but because he was the only one who knew how to lure the creatures, the ecological impact was not severe. They were no longer used as a wand core after Quintana’s death (in new wands), as he took the secret of luring the creature to his grave. This core produces spells of force and elegance.

White River Monster Spine  ➵ often choose masters who are steady, observant and passionate, who choose what is right over what is easy, are unafraid of hard work and enjoy challenges but also stubborn, stubborn enough to feel like they have to go it alone even when they don’t have to and have strong instincts that make it difficult to accept being told to stop when they believe they’re in the right, are self-sacrificing and far too willing to play martyr, good at adapting to tragedy and putting aside their own feelings, highly attached to certain places and people and will defend them to their utmost ability; masters are often sensitive to people’s and creature’s vibrations and are good at judging the intentions of others and their presence in general and if trained could be able to distinguish between vibrations of different creatures, at highest level this would bean differentiating individual being’s vibrations; elemental composition of this wand is water and plant based, with earth as secondary element; talent in magic with transformation, travel, protection, regeneration, agriculture and sensing; best areas of magic include transfiguration, herbology, defense, magical creatures and potions (divination may be too overwhelming for them); ivory, navy blue and black ripples are emitted during spellwork and magic smells of algae, water lilies and a tang of apple cider vinegar; possesses ability to self-heal after being injured; highly attuned to owner’s favorite places and can act as a compass, pointing their owner towards home.

Ellie, McKinnon lore: Aspen and White River Monster Spine is a very rare, if nigh on impossible to find, combination. Quintana took the secret of acquiring the spines to his grave, and no other attempts since his death in 1934 have ever been successful. Only 3% of his wands were ever created pairing the core with Aspen. Some years before his death, the then 74 year old Chalmers McKinnon purchased 6 of Quintana’s wands - one Aspen, one Poplar, one Lilac, one Sycamore, one Sea Buckthorn, & one Black Locust - at the request of his wife, noted Seer Ismene McKinnon, all of which were ended up locked away in the McKinnon family vault until the newest generation of McKinnon’s turned 11 and were able to attempt to find their match. Until Marlene came along, only two of the wands ever found their master - her father, and her aunt, Iola. The rest of the wands still remain unclaimed, and after her father and her aunts deaths, both wands were buried with them.

Combination  ➵ makes for an excellent and complementary combination; the owner is a passionate revolutionary who are never content with the state of things and are persistent and steadfast in their desire to change the world around them; reliable wixes who perform best under pressure, who are strong willed and refuse to back down from just about anything, which is especially true if they are defending or protecting something or someone; good at compartmentalizing and focusing on a mission to the point that people can believe they are cold and unfeeling but the opposite is much closer to the truth as they put their all into their beliefs, often stretching themselves thin, are horrid on relying on others and will work themselves to the bone if permitted; martyr complex is woven through their very being; observant, not much gets past them, and are excellent judges of character like a ‘human sneakoscope’; can be excellent leaders or followers if they are being led by someone they consider competent; don’t care much for material objects; excellent reflexes and above average pain tolerance; elemental composition of this wand is fire, ice, water and plant based; talent in magic with transformation, rituals, travel, protection, regeneration, agriculture, vibrations, dueling and charmwork; overall an excellent all-around wand; silver, black and periwinkle ripples are emitted from this wand during spellwork and its magic smells of snow, water lilies and cinders; works well in all temperatures and does not need special products for hot temps like other aspen wands; when grouped with other aspen wands they will communicate with one another and can perform group spells if required; core is territorial against other white river monster cores and the cores feed into each other during duels (the longest duel of such endured for 12 straight hours); has the ability to self-heal after being injured; wand can act as compass.

patronus ➵ Hippocampus.

animagus ( would-be ) ➵ Horse ( Thessaly breed; white with grey dopples ).

E D U C A T I O N

Hogwarts class ➵ Gryffindor, 1978.

extracurriculars ➵

Gryffindor Beater / September 1973 - June 1978.

Wizards’ Chess / October 1973 - June 1973.

Duelling Club / September 1974 - June 1978.

Remus Lupin Appreciation Club ( unofficial club ) / September 1975 - June 1978.

Duelling Club President ( unofficial position ) / September 1977 - June 1978.

courses & exams ➵

O.W.L.s

Ancient Runes - O

Arithmancy - O

Charms - O

Defence Against the Dark Arts - O

Herbology - O

History of Magic - O

Muggle Studies - E

Potions - O

Transfiguration - O

N.E.W.T.s

Ancient Runes - O

Arithmancy - O

Charms - O

Defence Against the Dark Arts - O

Herbology - O

History of Magic - O

Potions - O

Transfiguration - O

M I S C E L L A N E O U S

health ➵

suffers from an undiagnosed panic disorder.

pets ➵

Apostolos; the Eurasian eagle owl.

handwriting ➵ Signerica.

F A M I L Y

Chalmers McKinnon ➵ b. 1828, d. 1945; great, great - grandfather; Ravenclaw; deceased; pureblood

Ismene (née Dumont) McKinnon ➵ b. 1830, d. 1960; great, great - grandmother; Beauxbatons; Seer; deceased; pureblood

Kinloch McKinnon ➵ b. 1868, d. 1954; great grandfather; Hufflepuff; Mermish translator; deceased; pureblood

Astraea (née Greengrass) McKinnon ➵ b. 1869, d. 1979; great grandmother; Slytherin; stay at home mother & socialite; deceased; pureblood

Phillip McKinnon ➵ b. 1899, d. 1980; grandfather; Ravenclaw; Unspeakable; deceased; pureblood

Amaryllis (née Parkinson) McKinnon ➵ b. 1907, d. 1980; grandmother; Apothecary; Slytherin; deceased; pureblood

Sebastian McKinnon ➵ b. 1933, d. 1976; father; Gryffindor; Cursebreaker; deceased; pureblood

Clothilde (née Watkins) McKinnon ➵ b. 1935; mother; Ravenclaw; retired Healer; alive; muggleborn

Iona (née McKinnon) Moody ➵ b. 1942, d. 1979; aunt; Ravenclaw; Auror; deceased; pureblood

Alastor Moody  ➵ b. 1943; uncle; Ravenclaw; Auror; alive; pureblood

Marlene McKinnon ➵ b. 1960; herself; Gryffindor; Hit Wix; alive; halfblood

Alexander McKinnon ➵ b. 1962, m. 1980; younger brother; Ravenclaw; Unspeakable-in-Training; missing and presumed dead; halfblood

Ambrose McKinnon ➵ b. 1962; younger brother; Slytherin; Tattoo Artist; alive; halfblood

Iris McKinnon ➵ b. 1965; younger sister; Hufflepuff; student but also a Seer; alive; halfblood

T L ; D R 

Gryffindor 1978. Seeker (‘73-‘78), Wizards Chess (‘73), Duelling Club (‘74-‘78). Graduated (mostly) with O grades and despite a less than stellar detention record.

Eldest child of Sebastian & Clothilde, older sister to Alexander, Ambrose and Iris McKinnon. She was taught piano at a young age, though Iris had more musical talent than Marlene ever did, and Alexander used to pretend he knew how to play the bagpipes, when he did not. Alexander and Ambrose were a Ravenclaw and Slytherin respectively, and Iris was sorted into Hufflepuff. (She’s always been fiercely protective of Iris - she once punched someone who called her a duffer.)

Parents are Clothilde (Hilde) and Sebastian, Hilde being a former Healer (having retired after giving birth to Marlene) and Sebastian remaining a high profile Cursebreaker until April 1980 and his untimely death. Hilde often referred to Marlene as her ‘wilder’ child, though Alexander and Ambrose were both plenty wild in their own ways and often roped Marlene in on their games and vice versa. Sebastian was very proud of his children - he considered them the best of him, and he was open about it, to a fault.

She’s very proud of her family. She always has been. Being sorted into Gryffindor only bolstered it - she’s proud to take after her father, to be like him in so many ways that infuriated her mother almost to no end (and also endeared her to the same extent, too). It was there that she met her other family - the only family that she now has left. She didn’t like them all, not at first, but she loves them, deeply, down to her bones.

She came out when she was 15. She’d been caught behind the greenhouses with her hand down Florence’s blouse when they’d been caught by Sprout - which ended with her nearly knocking all of them out with the potted Mandrake she was holding and, also, two weeks detention for skipping class. She wasn’t scared, really, to tell her friends - she was more apprehensive about what her brothers would say. (Her first kiss with a boy was with a fellow Gryffindor.)

A couple of months after that incident, Marlene’s father died - the details she was given were sketchy, and she was the one who had to forced her way into being there when her siblings were brought out of class to be told about it. The only person she let see her cry the day they buried her father was her aunt Iona. Her mother needed her to be strong for the funeral, her siblings needed her to keep them together (especially poor Iris), and she refused to let them down.

She once made the girls - Mary, Lily and Dorcas - promise that they’d be friends forever. It’s gotten a little harder to keep that promise over the years, but she loves them - and the boys (men, now) - more fiercely than she loves almost anyone else in her life, even if it’s all so much more complicated now than it had been when they were at Hogwarts, when they were just children, not people forced to grow up too fast, to fight a war.

For Marlene, graduation couldn’t come soon enough, but then tragedy struck: her favourite aunt died after there was an attack on her and her husband’s home. The grief was too powerful for her to put into words. The anger and confusion she felt, the blame she felt was on not only Alastor but herself for being too slow to answer the call for help (despite not being law enforcement at the time). It was all devastating for her, and led to somewhat of a downward spiral for several months.

She applied in December 1978 to be a Hit Wizard under then Head Archwilt, having been a bartender for a few months in self-imposed exile (she refused to see her favourite uncle Alastor when all she could feel when she looked at him was that he was to blame) - when she was accepted, she, of course, got blackout drunk and woke up in Hogs Head. (She has since developed somewhat of a rapport with Aberforth.) (He would not entirely agree, but begrudgingly allows her to stick around on her days off. She enjoys the time with his goats.)

More recently, her younger-but-eldest brother, Alexander, just a month after graduating and being accepted to become an Unspeakable, disappeared without a trace. They searched and searched and searched - Marlene all but begging the Auror Office to keep the case open, but nothing, yet, has been found. Suffice to say, it’s a blow that Marlene doesn’t think she’ll ever fully recover from. The Order has been more than a safety net for Marlene: it’s the one place where she feels like her grief, her anger, her heartbreak, is even being heard anymore.

[saviourkingslut]

ok here's my day 1 review of engage. i just finished chapter 6 and did all the paralogues/side maps to chapter 7.

the first thing i noticed was the graphics. i don't normally care much about graphics, but in this game they are noticeable bc they are so good! like even better than xenoblade 3. i didn't think the switch was capable of such graphics.

the art style is still... Like That though. i am still not a fan of it, even after playing the game nearly all day. there are times when i am internally cringing bc the child character's eyes are the size of baseballs. speaking of child characters, there's a LOT of them. i am not a big fan of child characters so they're all getting benched in my playthrough. one also has a fake british accent.

no shade to anyone reading this who DOES like the art style! it's just a personal preference of mine, we all have our own preferences of what looks good and what doesn't.

anyway. i've gotten a few c supports by now and they are all pretty meh. very short and not much depth to them compared to previous installments of FE (i don't just mean 3h i mean fates, awakening, etc). i know i technically can't judge them by just c supports so i'm reserving some judgement until i get up to A supports.

the story is cheesy. not unpleasantly so, but at least in the first few chapters it wasn't very riveting. i'm hoping it gets more interesting soon. rn i'm more invested in meeting new characters than i am in the story. the story feels almost like a background thing to me. there's nothing inherently WRONG with the story, it's just more chill than other FE games. kind of like awakening but without the time travel stuff, and more relaxed (at least in the first 7 chapters)

now onto the game play- it's pretty good! the weapon triangle makes things interesting, as do the rings. the rings are actually pretty fun to use and can make characters more interesting to use. like one gives any character the ability to use healing spells, which is great bc otherwise all the healers are children units and i'm not a big fan of the healing brawler class so i just give the healer ring to a regular unit instead.

there are also side battles that are much akin to FEH battles. there is a tempest trials (it's literally called that) that i haven't unlocked yet but from the description it's basically just like feh. they also have a version of aether raids.

speaking of side battles, there are only occasional auxiliary battles. kind of like awakening, some of the monster dudes spawn on previous maps. which reminds me of something else i should mention - there's a map again, like awakening. you travel across it for different chapters.

oh also! class promotion is like fates/awakening again. level up to 10, then gain a master class and start at level 1 again. personally i kind of preferred the 3h way where anyone could be any class (even if they sucked at it) but whatever i think this is fine too.

that's basically my first impression of things! if you have any specific questions feel free to ask me, i'm happy to tell you anything about it so far.

woah, thanks for the extensive review! it's pretty interesting you mention the graphics, bc i didn't think the game looked good at all in the trailers - very blandly rendered overall. im not expecting botw here bc it's fire emblem, but it all felt pretty lifeless to me. maybe it's different in the game itself though?

also not the child characters... that is a bummer, i don't like them either. i guess it's going to be an exercise of choosing the few that really add something important to your gameplay and aren't too annoying, and benching everyone else lmfao.

as far as the story and supports go, i already thought they were going to be less than stellar after the first few trailers came out, and then that belief was more or less confirmed by the leak. unfortunate that it does turn out to hold true so far. it'd be great if the supports get better higher up the chain and the story picks itself up a little, but im not holding out too much hope tbh. knowing me im probably going to be irritated by their flimsiness, especially by the narrative itself if it doesn't really go anywhere interesting. a bit of cheese can be fun, but too cheesy stories often just feel too childish for me to enjoy. and idk. never great if a story doesn't really feel like the centre of the game as you're experiencing it in this case. hopefully that'll change?

good to know the gameplay is pretty fun at least! that was the one thing from the trailers that i thought looked engaging (lmfao). if im buying the game that's what ill be buying it for