#i literally told a girl on my track team that day when the thunderstorm was just a storm and not a tornado - and i quote :

[amurder-ofcrows]

i just realized that 12 years ago (as of 4 days ago) was when my town got hit by an EF3 tornado and i remember how the first time a thunderstorm came through after that i was a complete mess and we had to call my friend to calm me down while my parents tried to make sure the leak in our roof from the damage of the tornado didn’t flood our dining room and now 12 years later i sometimes turn on thunderstorm sounds to go to sleep. how times change…

[mirandashadowborn]

Hello I have a mini au idea

“Why are we sneaking?” Mica asked, following the suddenly-devious looking redhead through the alleys of Jarlaheim. “There’s literally no one back here.”

“Shhhhhh!” Zoe Starfire whispered, hoisting a heavy duffel bag onto her shoulder so she could grab Mica’s hand to hurry her along. “Oh hey Malin!” Zoe called and waved to a familiar shop girl as they rounded a corner. “Literally no one, you say?” She whispered to Mica. 

“This entire alley is pretty much deserted though, do we really need to be creeping? Where are we going anyway?”

Zoe had reached a boarded up wooden door and set the duffel down with a heavy clunk. She knocked through the planks that had been haphazardly nailed over it... no answer. Carefully she pulled one of the beams off and set it with some others to the side. “Remember how you took me flying the other day?”

“Yeah that was fun!” Mica said brightly. “That is... when you finally peeled yourself off the floor of the basket and looked out at the beautiful sunset.” Mica stared down at her boots for a beat. She did seem to be having fun, once she stopped being terrified of the heights. Mica thought maybe she’d warn her in advance that her “balloon picnics” usually took place a mile in the air. 

She liked hanging out with Zoe but they had very different ideas of what was “scary”. Like- asking a girl on a date? SCARY. Being several thousand feet in the air in a wicker basket, and strapped to a gas filled balloon, during a thunderstorm? EXCITEMENT. Zoe had braved the balloon, so Mica plucked up her courage and asked the girl out for a second date. She let Miss Starfire choose the location though. What she was NOT expecting was for it to take place in a boarded up facility in the alley at Jarlaheim. 

“You ok with a little light breaking & entering?” Zoe winked, pulling a key from a string around her neck and opening the door, pushing it open beyond the planks she could not get loose. She climbed over and then offered a hand to help Mica in, closing the door firmly behind them. 

Second on her list of “things she did not expect on a date” was a little light breaking and entering. But she pulled a flashlight from her satchel and lit the place they’d just snuck into. 

Past a little hall was a large open space. A few small windows shed a tiny bit of light around the perimeter, not enough to illuminate all of it, but Zoe felt along a wall and soon found the light switch. 

Mica blinked as the florescent lights slowly flickered on. Along the wall were some boxes set up, seemingly for seating. Next to them were water bottles of many sizes and some towels and various sports equipment. And behind them where a handful of push brooms. The place was unused for many years but someone had been here, cleaning up, judging by the wide swath of swept wooden flooring. Ahead of them was a wide open space, like a dance floor, and someone had used tape to make a large oval around the perimeter. Upon closer inspection, Mica noticed a smaller oval inside the first one. A track of some sort? 

“Zoe, what is this?” Mica asked, but Zoe was sitting on one of the crates, pulling things from the duffel bag. 

Mica’s smile faded when Zoe pulled out a pair of roller skates. “No. No I’m WAY too clumsy. I’ll sustain a head injury in no time.” 

Wordlessly, Zoe pulled a helmet from the bag and held it up triumphantly. She already had one on her own head. Mica watched in horror as she pulled safety pads of varying sizes out of the bag, strapping on her own and then placing two for Mica’s knees and two for her elbows on the box next to her. Then she pulled out a second pair of skates. 

She’s serious... Mica thought. 

“These were my moms. But she barely used them.” Zoe said brightly, having quickly laced her own skates. She rolled over to her friend with grace and ease. “She said you could borrow them.” 

Mica allowed herself to be pulled to the box bench. Zoe had eased her jacket off and was attaching arm guards to her elbows. “Why... doesn’t she use them anymore?” Mica stammered. 

“She got a concussion!” Zoe laughed. “But don’t worry that was before she got a helmet. After that she... well I guess horses were her thing. But this?” She plopped a shiny black helmet over Mica’s shiny black hair. “This is MY thing. Isolde and Loki told me about this place- it was one of their hideouts. But its kinda perfect for a skate rink don’t you think? Me and some of the girls want to start a derby league. Some of the Bobcat girls were interested too. its perfect, we’d already have rivals!” Zoe laughed. “But you... you’ll be on my team.”

Mica was still concerned over her ability to stay upright on eight wheels, but looking up at her crush’s smiling brown eyes, and watching her skate smoothly around the track, she decided to at least give it a whirl. 

After all, uncle Nic didn’t raise no chicken. 

*THAT’S ALL I GOT FEEL FREE TO TAKE IT AND RUN WITH IT. MOSTLY I WANT A DERBY AU CAUSE I NEED TO KNOW WHAT ALL YOU MUHFUGGERS DERBY NAMES WOULD BE. I’M NOT DOING A WHOLE STORY BUT WILL COME BACK TO THIS. PEACE OUT*

@jinx-kitty-cat

[kirain]

More kids movies! More kids movies! These are my childhood!!!!

How about a top ten list of animated non-Disney films, since I tend to enjoy them more?

1. The Iron Giant

This was one of my favourite movies as a kid, and nothing about it is dated. No matter how advanced we get in animation and story-telling, I can’t imagine The Iron Giant ever losing its relevancy. The story follows a young boy named Hogarth, who lives with his single mother in 1957 America during the height of the Cold War. As Hogarth is a bit of a nerd and “poindexter”, he’s often bullied at school and doesn’t have any friends. That is, not until a giant robot seemingly falls out of space. Hogarth becomes its first human contact and comes to rely on him in order to survive. While Hogarth works to keep the giant’s existence a secret from the government, their bond strengthens as they experience life through childish innocence.

2. The Secret of NIMH

I think I mentioned before that I don’t like movies with anthropomorphic animals, but there are always exceptions. NIMH is one of those exceptions, and is in fact one of my favourite children’s movies/books ever made. The story follows a common field mouse named Mrs. Brisby, who’s only goal is to protect her beloved children. As she lives on a farm, she must soon move her children to avoid plowing season; however, her youngest son becomes bedridden with pneumonia. Her family friend and doctor, Mr. Ages, tells her that her son must stay inside or risk death– but if she can’t move they will all be in danger. As such, Mr. Ages tells her to seek out the rats of NIMH, a pack of escaped genetically mutated lab rats who live in a nearby rosebush. He explains that with their heightened intelligence, they might be able to devise a way to move her whole house, and that since her late husband Johnathan was one of them, they’ll likely feel obligated. When she seeks them out, however, she stumbles onto a mess of conspiracies, power struggles, and murder most foul.

3. The Pagemaster

Definitely dated and not the nicest animation, but an amazing children’s story nonetheless. The Pagemaster is a movie about a young boy named Richard Tyler who lives his life based on statistics and fears literally everything. One night, during a thunderstorm, he wanders into a huge library where he meets a strange librarian. While the man tries to figure out what kind of books Richard likes, all Richard can think about is getting home. When the librarian fails to trigger Richard’s basically nonexistent imagination, he sends the boy on a wild goose-chase through the massive bookshelves to find a phone so he can call his parents. While searching, he slips and hits his head, then wakes up in the form of an illustration. In this new world, he befriends three living books, Horror, Adventure, and Fantasy, whom he works with to face several trials before he can return home. The overall message of this movie teaches children to face their fears, believe in themselves, and enjoy their childhood while they have it.

4. The Road to El Dorado

My favourite unlikely tale of two Spaniards who set out to find the lost city of El Dorado. One craves adventure, the other craves gold. This fun little travel-comedy shows children the consequences of lying and greed. When Miguel and Tulio manage to traverse a dangerous jungle and find the great City of Gold, they pose as Gods to trick the natives into forgiving their trespass. Spoiled, pampered, worshipped, all seems to be going well for our “heroes”, until a real threat emerges and they struggle to save face. How long until their farce is discovered, and how many people will they hurt along the way?

5. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

Essentially, Spirit is a movie about severe animal cruelty and how horses were treated during the construction of the railroad in the middle of the grisly Indian Wars. A nameless horse, dubbed “Spirit” by a Lakota boy, is captured by some American wranglers in an attempt to be domesticated. Strong-willed and stubborn, Spirit does whatever he can to defy his captors, eventually escaping with the help of the aforementioned Lakota boy, Little Creek. His newfound freedom is short-lived, however, because the boy’s tribesmen appear, tie him up, and take him to their camp. There he meets a beautiful mare named Rain, who attempts to show him how well animals are treated among the natives. Despite the softer and kinder approaches, however, Spirit refuses to be ridden and only longs for his freedom. It just goes to show that no matter how tame a creature may become, it deserves to run wild.

6. Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland

Looking back on this movie, I admit that the plot is somewhat messy, but it’s still a solid children’s movie that’s sure to bolster their imagination. Little Nemo is a story about a young boy who experiences bizarre dreams. It’s never known why, until one night he’s taken to a magical kingdom called Slumber Land. It’s here that he meets King Morpheus and Princess Camille, who tell him that he is ordained to become the new prince. Without much explanation, Nemo is entrusted with a key that keeps the evil Lord of Nightmares sealed behind a giant, mystical door and told to protect it. Unfortunately, a local troublemaker named Flip convinces Nemo to open the door, and the nightmares spill out, shrouding Slumber Land in darkness. Determined to fix his mistake, Nemo and friends set out to Nightmare Land to find the evil king and put a stop to him forever. The animation, colours, music, and visuals make this movie quite compelling, and I’d recommend watching it at least once.

7. Balto

Balto is a wonderful tale based on a true story. Balto is a shunned half-breed from the small Alaskan town of Nome, where no one (man or dog) is willing to trust him because they believe his wolf blood makes him dangerous. One day, however, a little girl named Rosie shows him kindness when he prevents her new hat from being squished during a sled race. He leaps in the way and grabs it just in time. In thanks, Rosie pets him, compliments him, and lets him pull her sled– until her father kicks him away. Sadly, a few days later, Rosie is hospitalised with diphtheria, a horrible disease that killed many children in the winter of 1925. Due to severe whirling snowstorms, the train carrying the antitoxin to save Rosie, and countless other children, is halted. It cannot be transported by air or vehicle either. As such, the people of Nome devise a race to find the fastest dogs, which will join the sled team that will risk everything to retrieve the medicine on foot. Balto wins, but is once again shunned when the musher realises he’s part wolf. Balto is left behind, but soon gets word that the sled team fell off the grid, taking the serum with them. Determined to save Rosie and the other innocent children, Balto sets out to find the team and bring them home. Naturally, this movie is about prejudice, and not judging people based on their heritage.

8. FernGully: The Last Rainforest

Definitely one for the environmentalists, FernGully is a movie about a young fairy name Crysta who lives in a stunning rain forest that’s been untouched by man for centuries. Naive and curious about humans, Crysta flies off and encounters a vile construction zone where a young city boy named Zak is cutting down trees. When he sees her, he attempts to catch her, thinking she’s some bizarre bug he’s never seen, but in doing so gets distracted. A large tree begins to fall, and in order to save him from getting crushed, Crysta shrinks him down to her size and flies him out of the way. Soon, Zak gets pulled into her world, where he learns the value of nature– but by the time he figures it out it’s too late. His employers cut down a sacred tree and release Hexxus, a man-made embodiment of pollution whom the fairies locked away centuries ago. In order to save the forest, Crysta and Zak must work together to stop Hexxus and the lumberjacks before there’s nothing left.

9. A Troll In Central Park

A Troll in Central Park is one of those rare gems that few people seem to have heard of, but it’s a fantastic children’s movie nonetheless. The story focuses on Stanley, a troll with a green thumb who’s been driven underground because humans have ruined the surface with buildings and bridges and roads. Fearful of humans, he tries to avoid them at all costs, until one day an infant named Rosie falls into his hidey-hole. Desperate to stop her crying, he shares his magic and begins to sprout colourful plants left and right. Just when Stanley begins to think he may have judged humans too harshly, Rosie’s older brother Gus tracks them down and begins to destroy the place. Seeing how angry Gus is at his parents (who are often away at work), Stanley instead decides to teach Gus the importance of happiness, forgiveness, and beauty. The story does take a very dark turn, hoever, when Gnorga, Queen of the Trolls, attempts to kill Stanley, as she believes trolls are meant to be crude and callous. I don’t want to spoil too much, but I honestly can’t do this movie justice. I highly recommended it to anyone and especially to anyone with children. They’ll love it.

10. We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story

This movie is weird. Even when I was a child I thought it was weird, and as an adult … I still can’t come up with a better word to describe it. It’s a weird blend of magic and science, past and future, dinosaurs and humans. It’s just weird. But it was also one of my favourite movies as a kid, and one that I watched over and over with no regrets. The plot follows a group of four dinosaurs who are brought back from the past by a crazy scientist who invented time travel. With a special cereal, he domesticates these otherwise murderous giants and gives them human-like features. When he releases them into the streets of New York, they quickly become the talk of the town, and befriend a lonely young urchin boy named Louie and a neglected rich girl named Cecilia. Joy abounds, until the children run into a creepy old man named Professor Screweyes, who seeks to revert the dinosaurs back to their prehistoric form and use them to terrify others. To be completely honest, there could be countless meanings to this movie, or really none at all. Either way, it’s a movie I highly recommend to anyone who might be looking for a little something extra in their kid’s movies. After all, it’s really weird.