#im not gonna say for sure val is right here

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

this might be the difference tbh

[hxzbinwrites]

Yayyy! Vox was who I wanted to make a request for so I was thinking what if female reader is an overlord who deals with weapons that can kill sinners and hellborn. Maybe she is also an owner of a nightclub? maybe she died in the 1920s and she knew Alastor as well and maybe she’s had a crush on him but he’s not interested in her so then she goes and she dates Vox but then she catches him positioned with Val and she doesn’t know the extent how Valentino is abusing Vox so then fast forward 7 years later and they meet again because she’s helping Alastor and of course that makes Vox jealous and angry and Vox just wants her back and he’ll do anything to show her that he changed and he just wants her back. And maybe he explains how Val treated him and then a happy ending heheh. 🤭 I love your stories. Also maybe reader is badass and is like doesn’t need a man because she got herself but she also loves when Vox protects her? Kinda like that song on TikTok from Olivia Rodrigo that goes “I’m a feminist obviously but I wouldn’t really mind him saving me”

Vox x Fem! Overlord! Weapons Dealer! Reader | Stayed Gone

(A/n): IM BACCKKKK!!! Sorry this is kind rushed, but it was a really fun write!!! I’m promise I’ll get working on more requests but i’m gonna take it easy to slide back into writing after my little break! Thank you to all of those who supported me through this!! ❤️❤️

Warnings ⚠️: Cussing, Vox is OOC, Cheating, Violence, Short (sorry :( )

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!” (Y/n) said, throwing a wine glass across the room, particularly aiming at the TV who was caught in the act with a certain moth.

“(Y/n), babe, ‘ts not what it looks like I swear-“

“Oh really?” She said, a venomous lilt in her voice,”cause right now it looks like you’re getting screwed by your little business partner? Huh? Am I not right on the money sugar? Oh, but where’s that little sarcastic buzzer now?!”

Vox slipped his pants on, zipping up his fly while trying to walk towards (Y/n)

“I swear, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m..this isn’t…we’re not…”

“Save it.” She said,”This, us, is over. Our business deal is over. And if you even try to negotiate or give me some shitty excuse, this little turf you have will belong to my empire and become my next factory.”

Vox was left, standing here, shirt off and wrinkled pants on, watching as the love of his life took the bare necessities and walked out of his life, all while Valentino watched and smirked at the sight.

—————

7 Years Later

“THAT FUCKER IS BACK!!” Vox screamed, his fists slamming down on the table. A month before (Y/n) walked out, the infamous Radio Demon went MIA, and has now returned to the scene, alongside the Princess of Hell, Charlie Morningstar.

“Yeah” Valentino said, in a sultry voice,”I thought he was gone for good too”

“It’s been seven years!” Vox huffed, turning away from the screen, missing a very crucial person who just walked outside to scope the situation of the attack on the hotel.

“You still pissed he almost beat you that time, right before your little angel walked out~?” Valentino teased, rubbing Vox’s digital cheek on his screen, causing a squeegee noise to be emitted

“Uh, fuck you!”

“Just saying!”

“Things have changed a lot since they both left town!”

“That’s for sure”

“I gotta send a message to who’s, really in charge of things now!!”

“Welcome home, I’m gonna make you wish that you’d stayed gone! Say hello, to a new status quo. Everyone knows that there’s a brand new dawn, turn the TV ON!!!”

“Top of the hour, and we’re discussing a certain ‘has-been’ who has been spotted cavorting around town after a seven year absence! Did anybody miss him? Did anybody notice? More on tonight’s program!”

“So the Radio Demon is back in town! Why’s he hanging around? What does that mean for your family? Well handily I’ve got good news, he’s a loser, a fossil, and I don’t mean to sound hostile, but the demon is a coward!”

“You can take that as gospel! Pulling my viewers? Impossible. I’m visual, he’s barely audible! Stop giving him the time of day, don’t listen to a word he’d say! I hope he had a nice vacay, but he should’ve STAYED AWAY!”

“While he rid in radio, we’ve pivoted to video! Now his medium is getting bloody rare!! Hell’s been better since he split! Where’s he been? Who gives a shit!”

“Salutations! Good to be back on the air~!” A familiar, static filled voice responded.

“Yes I know it’s been a while, since someone with style, treated Hell to a proper broadcast. Sinners rejoice!-“

“What a dated voice!-“

“Instead of a clout-chasing, mediocre video podcast-“

“C’mon!”

“Is Vox insecure? Perusing allure? Flitting between this fad and that, is nothing working?”

“Ignore his chirping!”

“Everyday he’s got a new format!”

“You’re looking at the future, he’s the shit that comes before that!”

“Is Vox as strong as he purports? Or is it based on his support? He’d be powerless without the other Vees!”

“Oh please!”

“And here’s the sugar on the cream, he asked me to join his team! I said no, stole his girl, and now he’s pissy, that’s the tea!”

“WHAT?! YOU OLD-TIMEY P-PRICK, ILL SHOW YOU SUF-UF-FFERING!!!!”

“Uh oh, looks like the TV is buffering” A new voice said, mocking Vox’s breakdown. Except it wasn’t a “new” voice, it was (Y/n). (Y/n), with Alastor, at the Hazbin Hotel.”

“ILL DESTROY-Y YOUUUUUU”

“I’m afraid you’ve lost your signal” Alastor said, taking the mic back before finishing his number.

“Let’s begin~”

“I’m gonna make you wish that I’d stayed gone! Tune on in! When I’m done, your status quo will know it’s race is run! Oh this will be fun!”

Vox could hear Alastor laughing alongside (Y/n) in the background, as his monitors start to flash “no signal”

“FUCK!” He whines

————

The gang was all downstairs, Charlie explaining what tomorrows fun activity would be when a loud banging was heard on the door.

“A NEW GUEST!!” Charlie squealed, stars in her pupils, as she ran to go open the door, only to be met with a very tall TV Overlord.

Alastor’s antlers shot out of his head while (Y/n)‘s weapons were at the ready.

“I come with no harm!” Vox said, raising his hands, before locking eyes with (Y/n). His digital eyes made little heart pupils before blinking them away, embarrassed.

“(Y/n)…” he breathlessly said,”I-I know you hate me…but please, I-“

“Save it Vox.”

“I wish I could explain to you that night, or even today, but I can’t! This….deal has my lips sealed shut my love-I mean (Y/n). I-I just…I cannot explain myself with this contract I have.”

“Wait” Angel Dust said,”You’re Valentino’s little situationship, right?”

“If that’s what you wanna call it….”

“Wait….oh shit” Angel said, walking over to him,”I…I know what it’s like…”

“I know…I see you around his studio…I’m not above owning souls, I have my own, but to work with him…? I’d…..I’d free you all in a heartbeat….”

“Vox?” (Y/n) said,”are you in some sort of deal with Val over your…body.”

Vox could only look at her, not able to give her any conformation.

“Oh Vox…I…I didn’t know…I-“

“I know dear…” Vox said, smiling sadly,”but you have a erm….partner, of sorts, not your finest option but whatever, now and I wouldn’t want to intervene-“

“Oh Alastor? Me and him aren’t in a relationship” (Y/n) replied,”You know him, Mr. Ace in the Hole!”

“A what now?-“

“Ohhhhh, that…that explains so much.” Vox said, looking at the Radio Demon.

“Vox…I-I think we need to go home, talk about this in private….after I squish a bug.”

“Okay…” Vox said, holding (Y/n)‘s hand,”but what about this hotel?”

“I’ll still work here, with everyone, I believe in the cause. I just didn’t think you’d want to.”

“Maybe I can….put some ads on if you’d like-“

“YES YES YES PLEASE THANK YOU MR. VOX SIR ID REALLY APPRECIATE IT!!!” Charlie said, shaking Vox’s other hand,”IM CHARLIE!!”

Vox smiled, a genuine smile for the first time in a while,”Yeah, yeah I think I need to hang here a little more often…detox a little…”

“Good, I can’t have you stressed out too much, I just got you back.” (Y/n) said, rubbing his digital cheek affectionately,”my little trophy husband”

[goodlucksnez]

❗ PLEASE NO REBLOGGING TO NON-KINK BLOGS ❗

A/ngel d/ust x husk & an/gel has comes back off set with terrible hay fever after working with flowers, and hu/sk is being nice

no one gets to talk bad about my angel dust voice okay, accent are hard and i am still working on it- I made this quick after work while people were cutting the lawn so sorry if the audio isn't the best

anyway enjoy you filthy sinners

cw: sneezing, (duh) some sniffles, cursing, 2 noseblows some sniffles, and playful nicknames, mentions of s/ex worker

❗ PLEASE NO REBLOGGING TO NON-KINK BLOGS ❗

transcript:

What the hell happened to you? You look like shit.

I will. Thanks, whiskas. Trust me, you don't want to know.

Ohh I most certainly do. What overlord did you fuck this time?

Hey, I will suck all of them. Besides, it ain't your fucking business. That's me and my work. Pour me a drink hard.

I'm not pouring you anything, especially when you're dripping snot all over my counter like that.

You.Suck at it.

Come on. 6 arms. Tell me.

Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you. Val's got this new idea for all the Spring Breakers who fucked a bit too much down here? Well, the Last of Us. A lot. This is a great marketing scheme to make this whole set of tapes about fucking spring. Normally, I ain't complaining. I mean. Look. The hole, the hole I beat, but this time it's a little different.

Judging from your appearance, I can say so. What did he do this time?

Yeah, yeah. He bought every fucking flower to just assault the fucking crew with everything.and towed

Wait, wait. You're telling me that some fucking flowers did this to you? You fucking weak ass bitch Wait. What spiders like live in flora and fauna.

Well, it ain't exactly my sceane. Yeah, I mean, sure have been. Don't get down dirty, but that's what fucking planet.thinks it will strum up bussness. The only thing that's strumming up is my allergies

Breathe.I got you, baby cakes. Just sneeze. You wont feel better till you do.

Impressive. You've got anymore in there?

No. If you tell anyone about.

You ain't gonna do nothing, kid. You're gonna go March upstairs and rest. I'll have smiles. Bring you some antihistamines. You gotta get this **** off of you.

Oh, and what he's suggesting? eh whiskers. You want to see me all nude?

What I want to see is your snot filled face.I'll join you upstairs in a minute. Why don't you go do yourself a favor and start taking a shower?

Oh kitty got claws meow

If you make another fucking cat pun, I will shove this bottle so far.

Oh, don't threaten me with a good time. God I am gonna murder hin (val)

OK, arachnophobia. You get out of here. Go clean up, OK? Ill have a little talk little moth friend.

No, no, no, no. Ain't no way you're going near Val.

Says anything about me? I was an overlord once I got deals. I still know how to play my cards right.

Now you're gonna ask. Shit I'm way too congested just even think about it. OK, im out of here. Bring the fuckin bottle.

poor kids gonna kill himself one of these days. Up to me to clean up the fucking mess.

[sparklingsora]

Hi. I would like to know many things about your roleswap au bc I love it very much but I have no idea what to ask I just want to know many things bc my brain has been consumed already

uhhhhh I guess can you lore dump a little bit on backstories? Idk I just wanna know everything about this au

I will be back in your ask box for this au several times most likely

-Spaghetti Brain Anon

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ASK!!! i am SO glad that i could get this au to live in someone else's brain rent free too. all i could ever ask for in life tbh i guess i'll infodump about character backstories, dynamics, character arcs, all that juicy stuff putting it under cut because HO BOY THIS IS GONNA GET LONG

as a heads up, take the timeframes i give you with a grain of salt, because i still havent completely figured out the timeline so first of all, vox!! he's a sinner, died in the 1950s, as per canon. he's a businessman, but less stable than in canon. he's always jumping from job to job, business to business, which results in him having a lot of connections with various people around hell. soon after arriving in hell, he met and became friends with alastor. cut to, i'd say around 7-10 years before the events of the story? alastor disappears without a trace during an extermination and vox assumes him dead. having now been personally touched by the effects of the extermination, the idea to try and solve overpopulation another way is planted in his head, but wont come to fruition until much later. in the meantime he meets velvette - finds her bleeding out in an alleyway after getting too cocky and trying to fight back to an exorcist (bad idea). he nurses her back to health, they become friends and eventually start dating, yada yada yada. one day vox and velvette find a funky little cat (keekee). keekee takes a liking to them and leads them to the old ruins of a building up on the hill on the edge of pentagram city. they figure out that the cat turns into a keyblade that can be used to magically build shit (only the hotel though, as keekee is the spirit of the hotel or??? whatever the hell the canon lore is idk???) vox finally decides to realize his idea to try and solve overpopulation more humanely - through redeeming sinners! his reasoning is, if angels can fall (as proven by lute and charlie), then demons can surely ascend, right? though he's not as sure or idealistic about it as charlie is in canon. he simply thinks it has a chance of working, and opening up a hotel means a bigger sample size than if he were to just try and get into heaven himself or something like that. besides, he wouldnt wanna go to heaven, he likes it here. also, im not sure where this is situated in the timeline yet, but he was in a band with adam, lute and possibly eve at some point? the band is called brimstone eden, as mentioned in the comic i posted. im not sure yet whether he was in the band prior to eve's disappearance or after it (eve disappears 7 years before the story starts to mirror canon lilith). swap!vox, like his canon counterpart, is a very reactive person. he follows trends, he's extremely go-with-the-flow to a fault. he never really had any strong beliefs until the hotel - his character arc mainly involves him gaining something to believe in and learning to fight for that belief, 'ready for this' being more or less the culmination of his arc. jesus christ i cant believe i wrote that much JUST on vox. *slaps the top of his head* this boy can fit so much lore in him

now, velvette... she's how you'd expect her to be. same old brave, arrogant velvette. she's a fashion designer and seamstress and runs a moderately sized business which she promotes on sinstagram. she's mutuals with val there, which is how he finds out about the hotel. there's not much to write home about when it comes to val - it's insane how similar angel and him are. like literally barely anything changes when you swap them, it's very clean. he's a prn star, sold his soul to angel dust, yada yada. though a bit on his dynamic with vox - vox is very good at reading people, and doesn't like being lied to (he's a bit of a hypocrite in that regard - he puts on a facade all the time when in professional settings). he can clearly tell val isnt doing as good as he pretends he is, and wants to help him really badly, but val just sees it as vox pitying him and rejects his help (its what they fight about in ep 4, as a counterpart to the whole "charlie going to the studio" thing bc vox wouldnt do that) and now here's the fun part - ALASTOR! oh, alastor, you beautiful stuck up bitch! so turns out, he's not so dead after all! he ALMOST died in that fateful extermination, but husk found him and offered him a "give me your soul right now or bleed out in this alleyway" type deal. of course alastor chose the former, but boy he's not happy about it. he's extremely ashamed of how far he's fallen. so ashamed, in fact, that he hid from the world for those 7-10 years! yeah! he's only pulled out of hiding when husk summons him to be the bartender for the hotel. vox is of course, extremely bewildered and demands answers. alastor doesnt give them and avoids him instead. it takes a sincere conversation with valentino in ep 4 for alastor to finally talk to vox again and explain himself. alastor is basically in extremely deep denial of just how fucked his life is. he clings onto his radio demon persona like a lifeline bc its the last thing that can help him feel some semblance of control over his situation. his tension with valentino is twofold - first they butt heads because of opposing personalities, and second because they both see the other's bullshittery. it's a clusterfuck it eventually bubbles over in ep 4, they both admit how absolutely fucked they are and are friends now. wish i could say more on al & val bc i love them very much but it seems ive run out of eloquency for now. though i know i'll draw some comics of them eventually so maybe it'll come across better in comic form. anyway as mentioned above ive run out of eloquency and im honestly not sure how coherent this whole thing is so you'll have to come back for the other characters some other time, dear anon! until then, thank you so much for the ask once again, and have a nice day/night :)

[valscodblog]

hiya !! 💗

do u take valeria (garza, cod) reqs? If so, could i request something along the lines of uhhhh ... knife flirting (・・;)

interrogatinf Valeria but u arent really interrogating her, just pointing a dagger at her, passively aggressively flirtin with her lmaoo 😭 ex: "you wanna go toe-to-toe with me, bonita? I'll rearrange your guts n' have you on your back so fast you'll think you're on a date" "You're not as threatening as you think you are, cabra. you'll be the one having her (or their) guts rearranged when i stick my hand up your --"

...

😵‍💫

thnak u soso much in advance!! If u dont write for val just let this req rot in ur inbox because having pwople post a decline of ur asks is so freaking embarrasing 😨😨😨😨😨

Much love !!!

-🃏🌀⭐️

OMG HIIII??? MY VERY FIRST REQUEST??? AND IT'S FOR MY WIFE? FUCK YES? I CAN TOTES WRITE THIS FOR YOUUU????

Interrogation, Valeria Garza x Reader

Warnings: 15+ THE REST OF YOU LOOK AWAY, dark elements, Mentions of guts (bc we freaky here), SHORT ASFFF bc im on a phone and writing on my phone is KILLING MY BRAINCELLS, HOPE I DID THIS JUSTICE <333

Well. Fuck.

Here she was. El Sin Nombre. Or, as you forced her to admit, Valeria Garza. Damn...she was pretty. And like all pretty people you had before you, you wanted to play with them. So here you two were.

Your knife digging into her arm as you stood above her, holding her chin as to force her to look up at you. "Bonita...Muy bonita," you mused softly as you dragged the knife down, leaving a visible but thin white scratch mark that soon turned red with irritation.

"Que tu quedes, Pendeja?" Valeria spat out at you, and you giggled. "Information, what else?" and Valeria's jaw locked. "Puta. I'd rather lose my life than give you what you want. Por que-" "I don't care what you have to say, El Sin Nombre. You will give me what I want because, I don't Ever kill my emimys...for there are fates worse than death."

You jabbed the knife into her side gently, as to make sure she didn't start bleeding out on you. Valeria grunted and muttered, "You work for who, then?" "Oh, Val. I work for myself. Not one four one...not Los Vaqueros...Solo Yo." and Valeria saw an opportunity.

"Why don't we-" "Work together? Ha! Who do you think I am, Pendeja? I'm a lone wolf-with the exception of a few goons." "one of them sneaking their way into my-" "We know, we know. Listen. You gonna start talking ro so help me."

"Why? You gonna stab me if I don't, Muchacha?" You gripped her Jaw with an iron grip and said, "No. I told you I don't kill my enemies." and Valeria made a low gurgling noise in the back of her throat.

You held the knife point to her throat. "you wanna go toe-to-toe with me, bonita? I'll rearrange your guts 'n' have you on your back so fast you'll think you're on a date" "You're not as threatening as you think you are, cabra. you'll be the one having your guts rearranged when i stick my hand up your --"

a thick woden door slammed open and Valeria's hands flew up to your wrist. "About time, Luis!" she shouted, grabbing your knife and then shoving you out of the way.

the last thing you saw before she knocked you out was her face right in yours, and the last thing she said to you was, "Never play with your prey, Muchacha. They can quickly turn the Hunter."

[robotgirlservos]

Hello! I hope your day is going well.

I've been talking with a friend who's therian recently, and I'm starting to understand some (potentially?) otherkin feelings I haven't previously examined in my life. The kind of "wait, that's not common?" thoughts that feel really familiar to when I first realized I wasn't a boy and wanted to wear more fem clothes.

I want to explore these robot (and plushie?) feelings further the same way I did with my gender, but I'm having a tricky time figuring out where to start. I was wondering if Val, the robot/AI in your system (I hope I got her name right, sorry if I didn't), might have any tips for things to try? Analogues to the "put on a skirt and give it a spin" strategy?

Hiii! Hope you're doing well too, I've been getting over my sickness, just resting all day and stuff, so its going ok so far.

Most of what worked for me was pointing to various species and eventually types of robot and AI, saying "this is me," and analyzing what exactly I liked and didnt like about temporarily "being" that. I may just be very weird with how my chipset works, but I don't know what kind of process other people go through for this.

Another thing that I think helped me was to play videogames where you play as a robot. Starbound was my go-to and you can kinda tell in my favorite robot model [I actually have a ton of different ones, val is just the one i use most of the time and my real name is our legal name so im not gonna share it across the internet]. But just having a robot skin in minecraft or telling friends "I'm a robot now :3" as a """joke""" or changing your display name and profile to be robotic for a bit helped me out too.

Definitely try stuff and see how you feel, but make sure to think about every piece of it. sometimes there will be one element that you really like but its hidden by your dislike of the entire rest of it or vice versa. And ask some other people if you havent already, a lot of my friends in the tumblsphere here are also machines and you can ask them for advice too.

Also! Don't try to change your identity even slightly for someone else's approval [even mine!]. All too frequently people will look down on certain designs for not being "visually mechanical enough" or whatever, please try to ignore them and be yourself

[2nd-mushroom-circle]

lines that made me cry in my 3rd relisten to the chaos protocol ep 32 (MAJOR SPOILERS):

- “brother heed me, as you ought.” something about the way connie says brother this time… i will never be ok about sing and seir

- i mean i could say the entire rest of the opening monologue. but the little hesitance on “lover, hold me”? OW.

- THE WAY VAL’S VOICE SOUNDS ON THEIR FIRST LINE. illegal.

- similarly, the sobbing after “it is lost. forever.” always catches me off guard and RIGHT IN THE HEART

- the way connie just moves on to lumiéra after val says “something snaps”. cause there’s nothing more to say. nothing that can fix it.

- “a door that had been so carefully pried open slamming shut, and… he doesn’t feel.”

- “and he just… looks at where he should have been a shield.” have i ever mentioned that cai is a masterful storyteller? cause cai is a masterful storyteller and god. i’ll never stop feeling things about xainan esch

- this whole scene with xainan crumbling into dust destroys me.

- “you have always been half dead, xainan esch”

- connie calling oblivion the most beautiful person you’ve ever seen as xainan is drifting away from his own life sure is something, huh.

- “i think im just exhausted with being a coward” no cause i have so many feelings about lumiéra waiting, waiting, always a little too hesitant and afraid to tell sing how she really felt, even though sing felt the same, because it’s too scary because it’s too complicated because lumiéra is literally just fucking HUMAN and it takes so much to make that step - only for her to finally do it and it’s just. a moment. too. late.

- the moment when we move from lumiéra’s flashback to the present. the imagery of happy, triumphant, hopeful lumi giving way to lumi crouched over sing’s body, tear tracks staining her face.

- and the imagery of seir holding up lumiéra with his sister. fuck me i guess.

- THE FUCKING PERSPECTIVE SHIFT

- ok being fully fr seir’s monologue here is when i actually started crying in earnest this time. what the fuck val. not one line. all of them

- “the knife that is xainan” always hits me a little bit

- “whelming it’s pitiable vessel” is just such a good phrase. didn’t make me cry but i love it

- the music cue when artemis appears did make me cry though

- “eyes that immediately fall upon sing’s body” if i think too hard about artemis’s relationship with sing (artemis singing the twins to sleep, artemis signing her transfer request because artemis can see right through her, artemis giving them all the warning she can, artemis knowing when they die and appearing right away but unsurprised, with grief that has always been there, artemis making a choice) i will break. and start making some not-yet-canon assumptions about artemis’s own emotional state. so we are not thinking about that!

- “a lance in her chest” “bleeding.” ow ow ow the multiple possible readings of this line. connie and sea kicking off their insane narration chemistry with a lance to my chest. ow

- “those warm, gentle hands, that do not touch, that are so careful with their love” ok so when i said we weren’t feeling things about artemis? i lied

- “and when her hands pass through your flaming horns, snuffing them out like a candle at the end of its wick, it is not violent. it is not to put a cap on your grief, not to quiet you, not to for you into a box or a body that cannot contain you -“ “it is a mercy.” “it is the sweet mercy of rest when you have no tears left to cry.” the actual reason i’m relistening to this episode is to memorize all the words. so i can hold them like precious things in a box inside me. btw

- and artemis sings you and your sister to rest one final time.

ok. *wipes away tears.* anyways.

- artemis wiping a tear from lumiéra’s eye and calling her the bravest girl in the room .

- we interrupt your regularly scheduled tears to bring you: i’m gonna pull an øka* and punch fate in the fucking face. “this pain has a design”. yeah it’s called fate’s a BITCH and a BAD PARENT. and you can quote me on this

*i have not yet watched the second stranger only seen the clip of øka punching fate. so many times. i replayed that clip quite a bit after this episode.

- “and you cannot hold on to your life much longer. you are a dead man walking and you can go no farther than this.” ok back to crying! this is the sequence i was originally most abnormal about. and you know what? it still hits. so much. xainan my beloved

- sea and connie narrative trading my beloved.

- “do you want to live?” “i don’t know.” “then why don’t you come with me, and you can tell me your answer later.” god what a line. what a perfect response. there are no words that can fix this, but maybe with time and love and care someday you will want to live again. why don’t you come with me.

- “and she carries you home.”

- i don’t think i fully internalized the imagery of sing’s sword being driven into the earth by the roots of the world tree and the roots growing up around it before, but this time i imagined wildsailors hundreds of years from now coming upon this site and approaching it with reverence and love, knowing that it was here that something bigger than their world changed forever, holding sing’s eulogy in the very heartwood of the wildsea—yeah.

- “i love my dad, ok?” thanks abasi already sobbing.

- “it is effortless, the care that they hold for you. it is a reality unto itself.” just. cause. this is what i was hoping the whole time in the lead up to this episode. i know it would be awful and crushing and it would break them, and i was so worried that they would have to just. find a way to push on somehow. make plot happen anyways. but this, nova being cared for and held and protected in their grief? someone carrying them home when they can’t do it themselves anymore? this was just what they needed. and what i needed. i cannot wait for arc 2.

[fairybinie]

my bday is june!! but val pls say you're older im sick of making younger friends 😟😟

omg sociology is so cool i was gonna take that as an a-level (3 subjects u take between high school and uni to study for two years booo i do not recommend) but i found out it's very essay based and i couldn't do three essay subjects so i said no lol

how's pre-socio different to a sociology degree?? is it like a foundation year and then u move onto the degree the next year orrr is that a british thing 💀

and ye!! i applied for management whoop whoop 🥳

i'm sorry to disappoint .. i am july literally a month after THIS DOESNT FEEL RIGHT THO

omg was it .. i'm not sure if it's the same here but eh i like writing essays for the most part but it really depends on what the topic is yk? i think i'll like it there or at least hopefully i do LMAO

i'm actually not sure i should look into that .. i'm assuming so? like just to start out with but i do know that socio wasn't available so i went with that and i had no idea you were british ... Shocked.

omg i had no idea management was a thing for uni HELP but that sounds so cool !! is there anything else you'd be interested in too??

[archersgaymerblog]

“Hey volo I don’t mean to be rude but your left foot is doin some WEIRD ass clipping at the moment” “… all apart of Arceus’ divine powers!” “what-” (also fascinated that despite supposedly not having the plates at any point… Volo knows what’s written on them… wonder if it’s implied to be written down in the ruins somewhere? Altho even Cogita mentions that Celestica legends were usually passed down orally so I’m unsure.)

Hold on I have MORE VIDS so im gonna reblog this post with more EDIT: NOOOO I CANT… we’ll just gonna add some more photos here then!

Some of these screenshots I take bcus I think OO I WANNA REDRAW THAT… this is one of those… I like the composition of this wjdbdjdb

Tfw Motherfucker Unlimited Spotted NSBDJSB

IMMEDIATELY uses Val’s cred to get more info from Cogita BDBSN also my hc is that Cogita & Volo are mother-son and so many of these convos are just. Yea Cogita is the EXASPERATED mother of Volo BEHDBDB

“Well, I know where we can get more wood ;)” “Trees. Everyone knows this Val.” “… ;)” “… t. Trees right. WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT-” BDBNDBDN also love Volo’s one track ass mind. “AHA so Cogita has brought up WOOD so therefore WOOD is CONNECTED to the PLATES! I am so smart :)” HDVDHD you sure are bud 10/10 work.

AH HOW QUICKLY THE ILLUSION BREAKS

Also again with my own personal interpretation… I think Cogita says this and Volo’s heart just lowkey shatters. The last thing he’d ever want is to be burdensome to Ginter, and if he ever thought he was, well… RSD says it’s time to go into the woods and fuck off forever!! HHH

[holdingforgeneralhugs]

Bitter Pill to Swallow

Chapter 5 (Ch.4, Ch.3, Ch.2, Ch.1)

Thank you as always to @tvserie-s-world for the lovely screencaps 💕

It had been five days since they'd set sail for England, and safe to say tensions were starting to fray. Valerie was lucky to be bunking with Harry, but even they'd had a few disagreements.

"If you don't quit your snoring I'm gonna strap you to the bow to scare off the sharks," he'd sworn one early morning, tying his shirt buttons roughly.

"My snoring?" Valerie replied incredulously, "I'm surprised you can hear me snoring over the droning of your own."

She was playing a game of fish with George when the fight of the day broke out. She'd been laughing at his master plan to snag an English dame when they'd overheard Bill Guarnere talking shit. Valerie looked up in alarm when she noticed Lieb jumping down from his bunk and getting up in Bill's face. She sighed and jumped down herself, intending to step in between them and prevent any fists from flying.

"Hey, hey," she shouted, pulling Lieb back behind her "break it up you two, and watch your damm mouth Gonnorhea. Quit talking shit about Jews, you know where we're going and who we're fighting so why don't you show some goddamn respect. " She put a hand on Lieb's shoulder to steer him back towards his bunk. "Don't listen to him Lieb, he's just being an idiot."

As they moved away they heard Bill grumbling something about 'goddamn woman must be on the rag," and Valerie saw red. She dropped her hand from Lieb's shoulder and marched back towards Bill.

"You wanna say that again to my face Guarnere?" snapped Valerie, "who do you think you are saying things like that about a ranking officer?"

Don was desperately trying to pull Bill away, warning him to cut it out before he gets himself in more trouble. A hush settled in the immediate area surrounding them, everyone afraid to intervene but too nosy to look away.

"I said what I said," Bill snarled, pulling his arm out of Don's and clenching his jaw. Valerie narrowed her eyes at him and glared coldly.

"I'm gonna give you one more chance to take that back Guarnere," Valerie warned, crossing her arms. She felt Lieb step up beside her protectively, and even though she didn't need it she was eternally grateful for him in that moment. He had her back, and he wanted her to know it.

"I ain't taking nothing back, I said what I said," he insisted, ignoring Don's contined pleas for him to back down.

Valerie narrowed her eyes at Bill, her fingers clenching against her crossed arms and her face reddening. Beside her, Lieb was clenching his fists so hard she was sure they'd split open at the knuckles.

"You really don't know when to shut your damn mouth do you?" Snapped Lieb, stepping forward and raising his fist for another go at Bill. But Valerie threw her arm across his chest and stopped him, shaking her head and silently trying to tell him that she could deal with this herself. He huffed but stepped back beside her, continuing to glare harshly at Bill.

"Well you know what gonorrhea," Valerie hissed coldly, stepping up to him "next time why don't you say that to my fists huh? Because you are sorely mistaken if you don't think I could punch you so hard you'd be seeing Lady Liberty dancing the jive."

Bill was about to respond when they were interrupted by a stern voice.

"What's going on here?" Asked Lieutenant Winters, who'd appeared behind Valerie without her noticing. She took a few deep breaths before turning on her toes to face him.

"Nothin' for you to worry about Lieutenant Winters," she replied. He glanced between her and Bill sceptically, his eyebrows furrowing as he assessed the situation.

"Well," he said evenly, "whatever fight was going on here that you don't want me to know about, break it up. We've got a lot of training and work to do once we get to England so use these next five days wisely and take all the rest you can get."

The men who'd gathered on the floor dispersed hastily with a few 'yes sir's'. With one final lingering glare, Bill and Valerie turned away from each other and went their separate ways. She was about to follow Lieb up to his bunk when a tap on her shoulder stopped her.

"Could I talk to you up on deck Lieutenant?" He asked tightly. Val stared him down for a moment before nodding her agreement and following him up the steps and onto the breezy deck.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" She asked after a few beats of awkward silence. His shoulders tensed and he looked out over the ocean for a few seconds before speaking.

"Lieutenant Landry, I don't want you to think I'm criticising you but..."

Look," she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest, "whatever it is you gotta say to me jus' get on with it."

He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face roughly. "I really don't want to fight fight you so please, don't get all offended about this," he paused in his speech and took a deep breath before continuing, "you're a ranking officer Landry, you cant just go around threatening your NCO's, or any of the men for that matter. It's completely out of line."

"Out of line?," she hissed, narrowing her eyes, her temper immediately flaring at his accusing tone, "Guarnere was out of line makin' comments about Jews and then disrespectin' me. So I think I had every right to say what I said, an' I'd say it again too. You weren't even there, you have no idea what happened before you turned up."

"Then tell me," he sighed, "tell me what happened and I'll go down there and deal with Bill right this minute."

"I just told you, he was making comments about Jews and then he disrespected me," she explained tersely, "And I don't need you to go down there and deal with it. I was dealin' with it jus' fine until you showed up." She couldn't believe he was standing there reprimanding her, nor that he wanted to play the white knight and go deal with the situation for her. She had been handling the situation and herself just fine before he showed up.

"I understand that Guarnere is difficult, and I have no doubt he was running his mouth and deserved a reprimand," Winters groaned, "but you still shouldn't have spoken to him like that, especially in front of the rest of the men. You should have officially reprimanded him in a calm way like a ranking officer should."

He was questioning her capabilities as an officer. He honestly believed that she couldn't behave like an officer should. They'd never been friends, hell, they couldn't even have a conversation, but she'd always grudgingly respected that he was a good officer. She'd never once doubted his capabilities as a leader.

In a deep buried part of her, though she'd never admit it, his words stung. His doubts of her capabilites hurt. She had a level of respect for him that obviously he didn't have for her. She'd thought that despite all the tension between them, she could at least count on the fact that he'd respect her position as a Lieutenant. Clearly she'd been wrong.

"Oh, so you doubt my capabilities as an officer is that it?" She snapped defensively, "and for your information, you missed the part where I very calmly told him to take back what he said. You're making a whole lot of assumptions based on the tiny part of the conversation you saw, but I can't say I'm surprised. You've obviously never respected my place in Easy and now the truth of your thoughts has finally come out."

Dick shook his head and ran his tongue over his teeth, his jaw tensing slightly. "That's not what I meant and you know it, stop putting words in my mouth. You're quite possibly the most impossible person I've ever met." He placed his hands on his hips and looked out over the sea once more. "I never said I didn't respect your position as a Lieutenant, I just meant you should have reprimanded Guarnere more calmly."

His patronising was just making her more mad. He really had the nerve to stand there and act like he was better than her when he couldn't possibly understand the situation. "You implied I didn't behave like a proper officer, so please do tell me what you actually meant when you said that because I'd just love to know."

"I didn't mean it like that, so I'm sorry if that's how it came across to you," he huffed, trying to keep his emotions in check, "Just don't talk to your subordinates like that anymore, alright? We've got more than enough to worry about without fights between the officers and the enlisted." He turned to leave without waiting for her to respond any further.

She watched him walk away from her, her simmering temper roiling. Why that sanctimonious prat. She'd just love to see what he would have done if he were in her shoes.

"You know what Winters," she shouted at his retreating back, unable to stop herself from getting in the last word, "I'd like to see you spend a day in my shoes and keep your goddamn cool." Now that she'd started she couldn't stop, all of her frustrated feelings pouring out of her now she'd opened the floodgates a crack.

"I'd like to see you stand there while Guarnere mocks you and says you're just an angry woman on the rag and not get mad. So don't you stand there and patronise me about propriety. Because you know what, if you could actually manage to keep your cool in that situation I'd reckon you were a goddamn saint."

She stormed past his frozen form and marched out the door without a backwards glance, slamming it harshly behind her. Now then, let him stew on that for awhile. She pointedly ignored the twinge of hurt she felt at his words, furiously tampering it down and smothering it with her anger as she marched back to her cabin.

Taglist: @tvserie-s-world @geniedocroe @generousdreamlanddestiny @sunsetmando @cagzzz107 @howunexpectedlyso @alejodi0nysus @sunflowerchuck @now-im-a-belieber

If you'd like to be added to my taglist then just let me know 💕

[sunnysideoflondon]

#i still don't know what the demoni theory is (apparently the songs tell one big story?)

oh man. i have been screaming about this since forever. AHEM

i dont know if anyone else has this theory because i haven't seen anyone bring it up really but i have a theory that demoni is one big storyline about a bad break up and kind of overcoming it. it starts off with katrina where she takes advantage of him once again (it's kind of implied they've been with each other before?) so i guess in his anger he retaliates by cheating on her in ne bi smel or doing something else that would betray her, but he realises he didn't actually want to do that and has lost her forever this time (probably because it's always katrina doing the breaching of trust and not him?) so he's like maybe someone else will want me if he like fixes his physical appearance or makes himself “better” in plastika, probably to fill the void katrina has left and make him feel better about himself. but he's just too caught up with katrina. it doesn't work. the void can't be filled. now we segway into demoni! it doesn't matter what efforts he takes to have more physical value because it amounts to nothing in the end. HE amounts to nothing in the end. he's nothing without katrina. now padam. he knows he shouldn't have gone back to her. he should've just listened to what everyone else said and not gone back this time and now he's made it even more worse for himself and now he's just. well. falling. despite this he knows nothing could've stopped him from going back. it's the reason why he's been going back to her each and every single time no matter what wrong she did or what trust she betrayed. vse kar vem! she's the only one that understands. the only one who can make him feel at peace. she's the only one who makes him feel… Right. but this yearning isn't making anything better and reality comes crashing back down again [edit: ona starts here]. no matter how much he yearns for her he's not getting back what they had. not this time. when is he going to stop getting caught up with her? he seems to come to terms with what everything is in tokio because he recognises they're not gonna get back together again. he definitely would not mind, but he says it's better if they just remain a memory. they'll just never meet up again and that's all there is to it. right? yet in ngvot they meet up again. so there's some fantasy or denial elements in tokio where it's like if he just convinces himself he doesn't want to go back and that he's moved on, maybe he'll genuinely feel it. so they try to talk and he realises katrina didn't really care about any of this, she's virtually unchanged. but he's less burdened with getting back with her possibly because them meeting up and her not giving a shit about him put things back into perspective. why would he want to get back with her? and then there's novi val which i take to mean that this is a new chapter of his life, a new start, a new wave- without her.

SO YEAH (and also i think umazane misli COULD be a prequel to demoni but im not so sure about that yet so if someone else wants to come up with something...)

Maria Papoila is back with "which color I associate with which song" Demoni edition

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk

[watchmegetobsessed]

VALERIE - Part IV. (Harry Styles)

hello loves!! thank you so much for the feedbacks on the previous part, i love to see your thoughts at reactions so please keep them coming for the upcoming parts as well! i was informed that the posts weren’t showing up under the hashtags bc i had an extrernal link to the spotify playlist, so that won’t be available in the next parts, but you’ll always be able to find it in the masterpost if you’d like to give it a listen! those were the songs i listened to while writing the story! now, i dont want to keep you up any longer, here is part 4, one of my personal favs, and im excitedly waiting for your feedbacks on the post! have a wonderful reading!

word count: 4.5k

SERIES MASTERPOST

masterlist

Valerie is curiously watching her dad work on the portable bed they’ve brought over for the night, her little hands clutching onto Rosa’s shirt as she is telling you all about the list she has made for you. It’s not a long one, but you try to focus on every word she says, making sure you won’t mess anything up.

“I put an X behind the important ones,” she explains pointing at the paper and you nod, eyes roaming down on the few X’s on the list. “The other ones are just suggestions, things I thought you should know.

“Got it,” you nod again, biting into your bottom lip. Bath time, feeding, sleep time, everything is covered in the list and you’re happy she even mentioned the smallest details. Some things might be natural for her as she’s been doing it for months, but it’s your first time completely alone with a baby. You surely don’t want to mess this up, especially because you want her to trust you and let you look after Valerie more often. They deserve a break now and then.

Steven finishes the bed and backs out a few stuffed animals along with two blankets into it, making it look cozy and familiar for Val.

“But most importantly,” Rosa starts and you look her in the eyes. “Call us anytime if you need help or want us to take her home, and I mean it.”

“Not gonna happen,” you shake your head, earning a sigh from your sister.

“Y/N, I’m serious. We are thankful for the help, but it’s not your duty, alright? Just call us anytime, really.”

Nodding your head you flash a smile at her, knowing well nothing on Earth is gonna make you call them tonight. Okay, maybe there are some cases when you would call, but those are quite unlikely to happen.

She hands Valerie over who curiously eyes you before grabbing a handful of your shirt and making herself busy with the fabric.

“It’s gonna be fine. Have a great night, you deserve it,” you smile at them. Steven straightens up and curls an arm around Rosa’s waist as they watch Val in awe, clearly a little worried they are gonna spend an entire night without her, but you can tell they also can’t wait for some alone time.

“Alright, we should get going,” Rosa sighs and stepping closer she kisses Valerie’s head and then your cheek as well. “Have fun with your aunty! We’ll be back for you in the morning, Sweetie.”

She runs her hand over her little head and Valerie smiles at her happily, completely oblivious to what’s really happening. The joys of being just a baby!

Steven says goodbye to her as well and you all head to the door. 

“So, we’ll be here around eight, she is usually up by six. Do you want us to pick her up sooner?” Rosa asks standing at the front door.

“Sooner? I was about to tell you to sleep a little longer, you don’t have to come so early.”

“But we don’t want to take away your whole day, you need to rest too,” Steven explains, worry all over his face.

“Stop worrying about me, I’ll be fine. Just enjoy your night off! Come on, I’m throwing you guys out, time for the sleepover to start,” you tell them, shushing them out the door. 

It takes some time to finally get them to leave, but they eventually do. Then it’s just the two of you, alone for the first time.

“Ready for your first sleepover, Val?” you ask her, standing in the hallway of your apartment. She just stares back at you, saliva drooling from her mouth but even that looks cute on her. “Alright, let’s do this.”

You braced yourself for the worst. Thought about all the possibilities how the evening would go, but you hoped they wouldn't become reality. Unfortunately, baby Valerie had different plans for the two of you.

The first hour goes by fine. You feed her, have a little play time, reading her favorite book to her, but slowly, you notice her losing interest in anything and everything. Soon enough, you see her face distort into a grimace and a few moments later she starts crying and it’s straight downhill from there. 

Nothing can get her to stop. No food, no toy, absolutely nothing. You clown around, trying everything that pops into your mind that would calm her down, but it doesn’t seem like she is about to stop anytime soon. 

You start to panic. Rosa told you how fussy she is because of her teeth coming, but you didn’t think it would be this bad. When she’s been crying for an entire hour straight, for a split second, you think about calling Rosa. 

“No, not gonna do that,” you say, while Val is still screaming in your arms. “Valerie, what do you want? Tell me and I’ll give it to you, I promise! Just please stop crying!” you whine desperately, but, no surprise, no answer comes from the screaming babe in your arms, just more tears, puffy eyes and red cheeks from all the crying she’s been doing.

Trying to rock her into calmness you are moving around in the apartment when you hear your phone ringing. You instantly think it’s gonna be Rosa, wanting to check in on you, but how are you gonna answer the call when Valeries is screaming from the top of her lungs? She’ll come to pick her up straight away, no doubt about that.

Rushing into the kitchen you are relieved to see that it’s just Harry calling you.

“It’s not the best of times, Styles,” you sigh as you answer the call and put him on the speaker, leaving the phone on the countertop, so you have both your hands free for Valerie.

“Hey, I was just-- what the fuck is happening?” he asks hearing the deadly cries of Val through the line. “Is that Valerie?”

“It is! I’m looking after her so Rosa and Steven can celebrate their anniversary, but she just wouldn’t stop crying! I don’t know what to do!” 

You’re absolutely desperate. It’s so bad you can feel your throat closing up, nearing the edge of your patience, tears threatening to roll down your cheeks, but you tell yourself only one of you can cry at a time and Val has taken that spot quite some time ago, not even giving you a moment to let loose.

“Text me your address, I’m leaving now,” he orders and you snap your head towards the phone.

“What? No, Harry--”

“Just text me the damn address, Y/N!” he barks and the line cuts off right away. 

Your desperation pairs with shock now, not knowing what to think about this short, but quite eventful conversation you just had with him. It takes you a few moments to collect your thoughts, but you end up sending him your address. 

Nothing changes in the twenty minutes while you are waiting to hear anything from Harry following your text to him. Valerie keeps crying with three seconds of pauses when she takes a few deep breaths only to start screaming once again. Aside from the headache she is causing you, it’s becoming pretty impressive how long she’s been doing it. You probably would have fainted by now, but it seems like Valerie is running on an endless battery.

“You are really making it hard for me to be a cool aunt, Val,” you mumble, the baby still in your arms as the tears keep rolling down her face. Your light grey shirt is now soaking wet, both from her tears and your sweat from the anxiety she is giving you, mixed with some other things you choose to ignore where they came from.

The doorbell makes you jump, but Valerie doesn’t even bat an eye at the sound, she just keeps going.

“You need to teach me how to have this much energy,” you mumble under your breath as you walk over to the door. 

Opening it you find yourself staring up at Harry who is wearing a brown coat, dark jeans and a black hoodie. If you had to guess what he was doing on this weekend evening you would have said he was out with friends somewhere, picking up girls, but he surely doesn’t look like he was anywhere else than his home, the clothes are hanging messily on his frame, like he just threw them on in a rush.

His green eyes look straight at you at first before moving over to the crying child in your arms. You fully expect him to say something along the lines of “this is the kind of effect you have on others” comment, but it seems like he notices the fear and despair in your eyes and he keeps his mouth shut.

“I honestly have no idea what to do,” you choke out and the tears start flowing from your eyes as well, making Harry have to deal with now two crying human beings.

“Oh my, please don’t cry, I can’t take two crying women at once,” Harry begs as he steps inside and shuts the door behind him. Turning to face you he reaches for Valerie, you hand her over to him, hoping she would magically stop the crying, but she clearly couldn’t care less.

“Why, can you take one?” you ask with a bitter chuckle as you wipe your cheeks.

“Not really,” he admits, making you smile. “So what have you tried?” he asks as he starts swaying and rocking Valerie in hopes of getting her to stop, but not even Harry’s charm stands a chance with her right now. Deep down you’re happy you weren’t the reason she got so fussy and upset, would have been pretty awkward if she stopped the moment Harry took her into his arms. 

“Literally everything,” you huff, shoulders falling forward. “I went over the list Rosa gave me, tried everything, but she wouldn’t stop. She’s teething, but this is… It seems like there might be something else maybe?” you tell him worried that something serious might be behind her behavior. You really don’t want to call and bother Rosa, but you are nearing the point where you’ll give up and ask for help.

“Maybe she needs to be changed?” Harry suggests holding her up, giving her butt a sniff, but you roll your eyes at him.

“You don’t think that was one of the first things I did? She is as clean as she could be. Maybe I should just call Rosa,” you sigh in defeat reaching for your phone but Harry snaps at you.

“No! Don’t, we can figure this out. Steven has been so excited to have a night off, we can’t ruin this for them. Come on, we have to have the slightest parenting skills and solve this without them.”

Nodding you agree with him, but you’ve completely run out of ideas.

“So what do you suggest?”

You can see the gears turning in Harry’s head as he is trying to come up with a plan, but it’s not like either of you have any experience with babies. The idea of calling Rosa is starting to burn in the back of your head, fear of failing this challenge taking over your thoughts.

Then Harry looks at you with a look that screams that he has an idea. You’re just about to ask what came into his mind when all of a sudden he starts to sing.

“Well, sometimes I go out by myself and I look across the water, and I think of all the things what you’re doing and in my head I paint a picture…”

You instantly recognize Amy Whinehouse’s iconic song, the one that’s also behind Valerie’s name, you know that for sure. Rosa was obsessed with the song growing up, she would sing it on the way to school, in the shower or while making dinner. You weren’t surprised she chose this name for her first daughter.

What surprises you that Harry sings like a literal angel. He hits the notes perfectly, nailing the lines like not many can and you listen to him with parted lips, eyebrows raised. This was the last thing you expected from him, but then again, it’s not the first time Harry has surprised you through the years of knowing him.

Valerie stops for a moment, her hiccups shaking through her body as her tear-filled eyes look up to Harry, and you both think this is gonna be the moment when she finally calms down, but he doesn’t even reach the chorus before she starts crying again, a defeated sigh erupting from him.

“Maybe she wants it instrumental,” you suggest and Harry gives you one of those ‘are you fucking kidding me?’ looks as you leave to run down the hallway, right into your bedroom.

“How am I supposed to make it instru-- what the hell, Y/N?!” He gives you a weirded out look when you return with a guitar in your hands. “Since when do you play the guitar?” 

“Since like… eighth grade,” you tell him as you sit on the couch and holding the guitar on your lap you try to find the right accords. “I told you, you know nothing about me.”

Harry nods with a surprised but amazed look on his face as your fingers strum against the chords. It takes a few minutes but you figure it out and glancing up you give a questioning look to Harry.

“From the start?” you ask and he nods his head, continuously bouncing up and down to try to calm Val down.

You start playing the song and soon enough Harry joins you with the singing, the two of you perfectly nailing it even without any practice.

“Stop makin’ a fool out of me, why don’t you come on over, Valerie?”

Maybe it’s the guitar, maybe it’s the singing or maybe the fact that the song has her name in it, but by the time you reach the halfway point in the song Valerie’s crying slowly starts to fade. You instantly share a look with Harry, but don’t stop, fearing that she might start again if the music stops. 

Her tear soaked cheeks smooth out as she is not screaming anymore and you can actually see her irises finally, her long lashes are sticking together from the salty tears and you know it’s gonna take some time for her to regain her normal state, but at least the crying has stopped. 

“‘Cause since I’ve come on home, well, my body’s been a mess. And I’ve missed your ginger hair and the way you like to dress…”

You tear your eyes off Valerie for a second, letting yourself wander over Harry’s features as he sings. He slightly furrows his eyebrows focusing on the lines, so his forehead has a few creases on it. His lips form the words so clearly and elegantly, you wonder how often he sings. Is it something he only does when he is on his own or he likes to perform as well? 

The only time when you heard him sing was at the bar when the two of you slayed the karaoke machine with that Avril Lavigne song. You were smashed by then, you remember that he had a nice voice but it was the last thing you paid attention to. Besides, he was kind of equally drunk as you, it was all for just fun, but now is a completely different situation. 

It’s no surprise Valerie finds his voice soothing, you’d probably stop whatever you were doing if you heard him sing. There are people with a good voice and then there are the ones that not just have a good voice but also that small something, that extra magic in them that makes you melt as their voice caress your ears. Harry is definitely the second case, for a moment you forget where you are or why he is there singing. It’s just his voice and the gentle strumming of your fingers on the chords. 

At the end of the song he starts repeating Valerie as the song slowly fades into nothing and you both stare at the little girl in his arms, clearly afraid she might start crying again. Unfortunately, your reservations become valid when you see the corners of her mouth curls down and you and Harry share a shocked look immediately.

“What else can you play?” he urges as Val whimpers in his arms, letting you know she does not appreciate that the singing has stopped. 

“Shit, shit! Um, something from ABBA?” you propose and Harry nods quickly, not even asking which song you know, so you take it as a sign that he probably knows all of them.

The first song that comes to your mind is Andante, Andante and you don’t hesitate to start playing again, just in time. Valerie was just about to start crying again, but as soon as the melody hit her little ears she calmed down and listened to it with tired looking eyes.

“Take it easy with me, please. Touch me gently like a summer evening breeze…” Harry sings the words and you can’t hold a smile back as he, once again, hits the notes just perfectly without missing a beat.

You’re convinced there’s not one person on Earth who has never heard a single Abba song, most of the population knows them by heart, but somehow you couldn’t really imagine Harry to be a person who knows the lyrics to the songs as well. But he does and sings it without messing it up even just once. It’s hard to imagine a younger version of Harry singing ABBA songs when they come on the radio, but the more you think about it the more the picture paints itself in your mind.

Valerie lays her head to Harry’s chest, stuffing her thumb into her mouth as she listens to the performance. She is probably enjoying the vibrance of his voice shaking through his chest and maybe this is what brings her the peace she’s been looking for all this time. Your heart skips a beat at the sight of them.

Harry glances at you, eyes so soft you melt under his gaze. However nerve wrecking it was to have Valerie scream for hours, she is still the cutest little thing ever as she rests her head on his chest, her long blinks giving it away she has definitely lost most of her energy. 

You don’t dare to stop the singing and playing. When you near the end of a song you quickly think of something else and whisper it over to Harry, who then gives his feedback on it with either a nod or a shake of his head. Most of the time he knows the songs you suggest so the show continues without a stop. 

Half an hour passes by when you see her eyes slowly closing. You still don’t stop though, only when Harry tries to listen to her breathing and he realizes that it was completely slowed down. She is out.

“Holy shit,” you breathe out quietly, your fingers feeling numb from the playing. You haven’t had a guitar in your hands for this long in a while, probably for years. Harry shares your relief, his throat has completely dried out and he is happy to finally breathe evenly, not just sneak a few breaths in between lines. 

“And now what?” he mouths as he is still gently swaying around with the sleeping Valerie in his arms. You put the guitar aside and check if she is for real asleep. Her long lashes are spread out on her puffy cheeks, gently snoozing into Harry’s chest as if she weren’t screaming for dear life just an hour ago. 

“Let’s put her down,” you whisper and nod at him to follow you. 

Reaching your bedroom you only switch your bedside lamp on so the light doesn’t wake her up. Pushing the stuffed animals to the side you grab the blankets and let Harry do the critical job. Leaning down he oh so slowly starts to pull her away from his chest, careful not to move too suddenly, it all feels like in those action movies when they are trying to get through the lasers without triggering the alarm. One bad move and the screaming threatens to start again and that’s the last thing you want, after all you’ve done to calm her down. 

You don’t even realize it but as you watch her little head reach the mattress you hold your breath, almost wincing upon seeing Harry’s hands slide out from under her sleeping frame. As if you wait for something to go wrong, both of you freeze for a moment, expecting her to start moving around and wake up, but she stays still. 

Eyes snapping up to Harry, you exchange a look and then you both head to the door, careful not to make any noise that can possibly shake Valerie up from her dreams.

“This was more tiring than running a marathon,” he huffs, throwing himself to the couch and you do the same next to him. 

“Have you ever run a marathon?”

“No,” he confidently answers and you look over at him with a puzzled look. “But I can imagine how tiring it is.”

You let out a chuckle, letting your eyes close for just a little bit. You haven’t even had the chance to realize how much this whole struggle with Val sucked the energy out of you, but now that you’re half lying on the couch it hits you all at once.

“I should get going,” you hear Harry mumble, clearly just as tired as you are, but he doesn’t move. 

“Mhm,” you hum, feeling yourself drift to sleep.

Neither of you moves and it doesn’t take a whole five minutes for the both of you to completely doze off.

The next time you wake up you feel an arm curled around your waist and someone is definitely pressed up against you while your back is against the back of the couch. It takes you a couple of moments and some blinking to realize it’s Harry you are all snuggled up to and the reason why you woke up is because Valerie is crying again. 

“Shit,” you mumble to yourself, mind still groggy from the sleep as you push yourself up on the couch. Just moments later Harry’s eyes flush open and you’re not sure it’s because of the crying or because you moved next to him. His arm slides off you as he looks around a little confused about his surroundings.

You don’t have the chance to think about how the two of you ended up cuddling on the couch, though it lingers in the back of your mind. Basically crawling over Harry you rush into your bedroom where Valerie is lying in her bed crying. It’s a different kind of cry, not like the one you were stuck with for hours before and you know she must be hungry.

“Ah, come on, little girl. It’s alright,” you coo at her scooping her into your arms. She immediately cuddles to your chest hiccupping against it, her little hands fisting your shirt. You leave to go to the kitchen and feed her, but just as you’re about to step out of the room you bump into Harry.

You bounce back from his chest, but his hand immediately reaches for you and grabs your arm, holding you in case you might fall back.

“Sorry,” you breathe out, thoughts still foggy a little. “She’s… hungry,” you explain, but he is standing so close to you, you can feel his body’s warmth and it instantly ignites the memory of being pressed against his side on the couch just moments ago and you can’t stop yourself from inhaling a shaky breath. 

“Let me help,” he croaks out and the two of you walk into the kitchen. Putting on her bib you hand her over to Harry who sits with her on his lap on a stoop as you get the baby food, warm it a little before joining the two of them and you slowly start feeding her.

“What time is it?” you ask realizing you have no idea how long you two have been asleep on the couch.

“It’s three am,” Harry answers before smiling down at Val. “Good job, Val!” he hums watching her take the spoon into her mouth.

You finish up feeding her, then give a try at burping her even though Rosa said it’s not necessary anymore. She just hums to herself so you head back to the bedroom, her eyes already threatening to close. By the time you put her back to the bed she is out again, so no private show is needed this time.

Walking out of the room you see Harry putting on his shoes and coat. For a split second you feel disappointed that he is leaving, but then your rational side puts you to your place. Of course he is leaving! Val is fine now, there’s no other reason for him to stay, right?

“Harry,” you softly say and he looks at you. “Can you please not tell Rosa and Steven that I needed help with Val?” you quietly ask, though there’s no doubt your eyes are practically begging him.

“No way I’ll ever admit to Steven that I sang ABBA to his child, so don’t worry about it,” he chuckles making you smile as well. 

“Thank you. And for helping me as well. I was really close to giving it up,” you admit folding your arms on your chest as Harry stands at the front door, hand on the door knob as he is looking back at you.

“No problem. Now you owe me one,” he smirks and you can’t hold yourself back from rolling your eyes.

“Sure,” you say with an airy chuckle. “Good night, Harry.”

“Good night, Y/N,” he smiles at you sweetly before opening the door and walking out. 

You take his place at the door and watch him walk down the eerily quiet hallway. He turns back to you one last time waving in your way and you nod back smiling before he disappears around the corner.

Closing the door you lean your back against it, taking a deep breath. Your eyes wander over to the couch where you and Harry were sleeping not so long ago. The feeling of his arm around you is still burned into your mind and you breathe in shakily as a memory snaps into your head of the exact same thing, only years earlier.

You lied almost exactly like that in his hotel room that night. His strong arms wrapped around you as you had your head laid on his chest, listening to his heartbeat that was slightly faster than the normal. Though you were still quite drunk, this feeling imprinted into your memories, because you felt so safe with him. Like nothing could ever hurt you if he was there with you.

Unfortunately, that feeling faded into nothing when you woke up in the morning quite fast. But this time, instead of disappointment and disgust, the only thing you still feel is the emptiness at the lack of his touch. 

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[meiishu]

just finished the newest episode and my thoughts on hsmtmts episode 5 under the cut

- elton john caswell 

- im glad that instead of making ej cause deliberate drama, it turned into the entire group trying to fake drama only for real drama to surface. i was really worried for a hot minute there they were gonna make ej do something dramatic for cloudt or whatever

- ricky feelings reveal i saw it coming but also i like how it was unwittingly recorded. thats going to come back to bite ricky in the ass later 

- LET CARLOS SAY BITCH SLAP

- carlos’ reaction to finding out maddox and jet were together absolutely sent me. also maddox going along with his crazy story instead of explaining they were actually siblings cracked me up. especially when she had her ”dramatic outburst”

- LOVED RICKYS REACTION TO JET AND MADDOX SIBLING REVEAL LMAO 

- still gunning for eventual jet/ricky even though with every episode i feel my chances of it slipping farther and farther away 

- LOVING the backstory we got on jet and maddox. so it seems like they’ve been siblings since they were kids and used to be super close! i think that maddox might be older since her younger self looked bigger than jet? but i could be wrong. also jet’s musical ballad was sweet. im glad maddox overheard it. i wonder why he got in the way of maddox and madison? was he being protective or felt threatened by someone else being close to his sister? also jet was EXPELLED? BACKSTORY TIME PLS??? why did jet get expelled? i hope that he will open up to ricky at some point next episode.

- also carlos and ricky’s friendship is everything to me

- i feel bad for EJ i know that he shouldve talked to gina about the letter but hes been going through so much. EJ is getting so much shit the season, like forced to be a director, forced to be the frontman on this project with CORBIN BLEU in charge, his father trying to send him to that school. all he wanted was to spend a fun summer with his friends and with gina. really, really hoping EJ and gina get a chance to TALK. 

- also speaking of i wonder who EJ was speaking to on the phone??? my gut wants to say ms jenn. i hope he calls her and she comes and takes over as director and gives my poor boy a break lmao. its unlikely, but i can dream cant i? i doubt it’s nini. i think it’s either his father, or ms jenn. it could be corbin i guess, but i doubt corbin would have even answered the phone, lmao. i think whoever he’s on the phone with is going to help him in regards to the letter drama, so i lean towards it being his father

- maddox saying ashlyn had romantic tension with val just had me shook i didnt expect her to say that. also jet’s comment too was interesting -- “can you stop telling people how they feel for once” or something to that effect? i wonder what the history is there. to be hoenst to me, it doesn’t seem as much like ashlyn is going through a crisis, but with how muck maddox is insisting that ashlyn must like val, im getting the feeling that maddox may be projecting and she might be the one with a crush on ashlyn here... interesting. also the pan to carlos and EJ’s faces after maddox’s comment definitely makes me thinks carlos and or EJ are going to have a convo with her about that which i’m excited for

- also my thoughts on gina and ricky lowkey sofia and joshua have really good romantic chemistry together their entire dance number was so good. reminded me of why i shipped them in season 2 for sure. i dont dislike them together, i do think theyd be a good pair, it’s just so messy for them right now with all this drama. 

- i am sick of the love triangle cliche though, i would love to see ricky have some development that doesn’t relate to romance (a friendship with jet, him and carlos bonding more, ect ect). like the original high school musical wasn’t love triangle either, but this show has def turned into more love triangle just with it being gina instead of nini caught in the middle. i dont dislike portwell or rina though, just interested to see where the story takes them!

- also lowkey bummed that it seems like any comments about a “possible queer storyline” for ricky which was kind of blowing up around the primer of this season is kinda moot. i get they cant spoil anything but it feels like they got my hopes up for the potential. there’s still more season to go, and who’s to say ricky might have a bisexual reveal that doesn’t end in ricky/jet or even ricky/anyone at all? i can still hope. 

- RICKY SLAPPING EJ MOMENT WAS ICONIC 

- love kourtney this episode, too. i wonder if her worry about gina telling carlos about her anxiety will cause tension/a fight between kourtney and gina?? i hope not, i love kourtney and gina and dont want things to be tense there. but it may also make their roles as anna and elsa have a double meaning too (anna helping elsa come out of her shell, gina helping kourtney deal with her anxiety?)

- i did like that ricky went to talk to jet and jet said “i’m not you”. i think that ricky has been thinking about jet as a “ricky 1.0″ ever since they moment when he said “aw he’s like a little ricky”, so i think that moment made ricky realize that jet isn’t actually as similar to season 1 him as he thought.

[ignatiusteto]

actually i like the name fonte???  simple and it means a lotta things that could totally be symbolic. anyway thought of some lines and utilities this is specifically for my val radiant oc anyway some lore and quotes and abilities under the cut im not gonna bother my mostly star trek followers with this (unless.................)

Loading on Icebox:      “I definitely wouldn’t come here for a vacation... It’s got sun, but it’s missing everything else.”

Loading on Ascent:      [clearly dejected] “Not quite as I remember it, but...”      “I barely even recognize you. Anima mia, what did they do to you?”

ok anyway some uhhh abilities whatever i just now thought of some and they seem to fit initiator the most (haha i say as i main initiators (Not You, KAY/O))

ROLE: Initiator

submerge/douse - target a specific radius and submerge enemies in water, leaving them struggling with visuals and sounds and slowing them for a very brief period of time.

surf - send forward a wave of water that blinds enemies and knocks them back a bit.

drown/submerge - despite the possible name, apply an armor of water to yourself or a teammate. take less damage from bullets as the water slows them. adds more bulk to your character model and makes sound (aka, it’s not very stealthy if you are in enemy territory).

NOW FOR SOME LORE.

probably ex-military (navy lol wowww), hails from venice, italy (well. yknow what happened there). after the whole first light thing she kind of just went into hiding and laid low for a while bc she wasnt sure of her new found abilities and didnt want to be like assassinated while living her life or be taken into custody by the government, and then ig the protocol found her and she was visiting and she was just really put off by it because that was her Home and almost chickened out (understandably, chickened out isnt the right phrasing but look) until she kinda got hit in the face with the reality of everything and was told “either you join us, or you wait until the inevitable day someone finds out you’re a radiant and your life is taken from you, not that it already hasn’t been with the way you’ve been living.” and she reluctantly joined as fonte i dont know how important or canon codenames are bc they seem more like file data stuff but uhhhhh thinkin venezia or swimmer or something idk. maybe buoy idk!! anyway.

k that’s all i have one of those would prolly be suited to be an ult but idk <3

[noonmutter]

Introductions

Daily Writing Challenge 2021 Day 12: Ball/Gravestone

"It's gonna be a quiet meetin'. They're not...th' most talkative people, these days."

"No, I know, love, of course. I absolutely still want to do this. You're so brave for this and I'm so proud of you."

Leon couldn't hold in a chuckle at that. Valarin's open, whole-hearted support of him for what was, admittedly, a trip that Leon had made dozens of times by now was all but impossible to ignore. The reassurance wasn’t necessary, but he wasn’t about to ruin Val’s fun. He simply set a hand on his wee love's shoulder to momentarily silence him, and bent to kiss his forehead.

"Thank you, love. It's okay. I'm not gonna collapse, it's just...a li'l tense, sometimes. Bringin' somebody new..." He let himself trail off as he inspected the kit they'd brought with them. Valarin had brought the supplies for their lunch, and he'd brought a bag of gardening tools, along with a couple bouquets of marigolds at Val's insistence. Asking about the marigolds had opened up the floodgates, not that he minded; listening to Valarin get himself going about something he was passionate about was one of Leon’s favorite things.

"The marigolds are traditionally very important! You see, the land of the living can be confusing and difficult to navigate for spirits. We try to help them by providing strong sensory things to guide them. The marigolds have a strong smell, but I think their color is quite strong too! And the candles are a little lighthouse..."

The flowers had been a bit of a trick to avoid crushing once they'd left the road that would've led them across the border into Stranglethorn, but they'd managed. He still wasn't sure if mum and dad would actually like the marigolds, but he understood the importance of it being this specific kind of flower, now. It was both like and unlike the little ceremonies the Gilnean was familiar with.

"This is such a lovely area, too. I’m honestly so excited to see where your parents rest. I’ve not really seen many human gravesites. I’m interested to see how similar they are. I’d like to learn about Gilnean customs regarding it. I know that the Day of the Dead is more widespread now, so I’m sure your parents will enjoy the offerings all the same. And--Hey, are you doing okay? You’ve been a little quiet."

Leon paused, then gave a short shake of his head. "Just tryna make sure we don't get lost, hey?" It was a lame excuse for letting his mind wander, but Val let it pass, since they were tromping through an awful lot of dense foliage. Valarin was aware there was a moonwell not all that far from where they wandered, and though there was a ceasefire, it was still Alliance territory and he was still visibly not a night elf. The tension wasn't really there like it'd been during their trip to Aerie Peak, though; they were alone and nowhere near a proper settlement.

He almost asked another question before Leon stopped, pointed at a small cluster of bright purple blooms hugging the forest floor, and said, "We're 'ere." It was hard not to get excited all over again, but he wanted to be respectful of Leon's feelings, so he kept himself from squeaking and simply gave Leon his best 'I'm here for you' smile. Leon answered it with another kiss on his forehead. Val liked those kisses, even if they were usually Leon filling in a silence when he couldn't figure out what to say.

He watched Leon pull a ton of vines and push a ton of branches aside like a very sturdy set of curtains, and after a moment, rushed to assist. Together, they opened up a relatively worn footpath to a small clearing. Val couldn't help but gasp softly at the sight; it seemed like every square inch of the ground was covered in lilacs! Little purple flowers were everywhere, and the scent was almost overwhelming. Butterflies fluttered from blossom to blossom in every direction, and small clouds of them seemed to erupt every time he or Leon took a step. He found himself tiptoeing to try and avoid crushing anything almost immediately.

"Oh, Light, it's absolutely beautiful, Leon. You did this?" The thought was enough to bring tears to his eyes, but he tried not to let it, at least not yet. He knew he'd do plenty of crying before the day was out and he'd really rather not start again so soon. It was a little embarrassing, even if Leon said it wasn't. Just focus on not snagging your pants on anything, Valarin…

"Well, I mean, th' flowers did it on their own, mostly... flowers do tha'..." Leon looked sheepish as he deflected praise, "All I did was plant a couple an' leave 'em be. Lilacs 're 'ardy, easy thin's. Part o' why mum liked 'em so much." The Gilnean made his way carefully but quickly through the dense growth, well used to the path he took and not worrying overmuch about whether he was stomping flowers or butterflies; the flowers were going to be cut back anyway, and the butterflies were quicker than he was. Reaching the apparent edge of the clearing, Leon bent to set his hand on a particularly tall lilac bush, then abruptly tore away a few branches to reveal the carved wooden grave marker underneath it.

It was not a professional job, this marker, but it had definitely been a work of diligence and a high degree of effort. It was sanded down to a nearly glasslike smoothness, and it would probably shine like it once it was cleaned up. The uneven top edge of it suggested it had originally been a chunk of driftwood, but it’d been stained so dark that it was hard to be sure. Valarin was privately glad he’d gotten better at reading Common lettering; hand-carved stuff like this was a little tricky. “Bettany Marie Ambroce” caught a bit of light and practically glowed. 

“Right. ‘Ere we are, then.”

“Oh, Leon,” Valarin said, “This is so lovely. This is your mother?” He knelt down beside the wood and brushed his fingertips over the lettering. “Hello, Missus Ambroce. I’m happy to meet you.”

“Yeah.” Leon didn’t really know how else to answer, but felt like that was woefully insufficient. “This’s mum.” Okay that was almost less helpful. He brushed his fingers along the lettering in much the same way Valarin had, mulling over a few things before he settled on a simple, “...You r’member Val’rin, right? I’ve talked about ‘im b’fore…” He risked a glance at his little love, offering a weak smile. “Only th’ good stuff, though. Promise.”

“It better have been!” Val flashed a playful grin and tossed his hair. “I am a perfect angel, after all.”

Chuckling, Leon set down the bag of tools and took out a pair of hedge trimmers, offering them to Valarin. “I’ll take care o’ th’ bigger messes, you clear out th’ stuff all over th’ ground, okay?”

“Wait, are we doing this entire clearing?”

“Course. Otherwise th’ lilacs’ll grow way too far an’ get completely outta control. It’s already bad enough cuz I waited longer’n I should’ve, I norm’ly come by ev’ry month or so.”

Valarin looked out across the small expanse of purple with a tiny bit less wonderment than he had the first time. This was a bit more work than he’d realized, but, he had to admit to himself, Leon had warned him. And he was bound and determined to help, regardless, so! Nothing for it but to roll up his sleeves and get to work. Leon had to restrain himself from grinning at the look of almost militant determination that Val got before he started clipping away.

“Cheer up, at least y’ don’t ‘ave t’ make it look pretty, too, hey?” He waggled his own pair of much smaller clippers, and gestured toward the high-piled bushes covering the pair of markers. “I’ll prune these down an’ then we’ll both tackle th’ rest of ‘em. It only takes about an hour if there’s two of us.”

“Isn’t this a bit much?”

“‘Ow d’you mean?”

“Well I’m going to end up killing most of these by cutting them back all…all willy-nilly, aren’t I?”

“Sure, but tha’s kinna th’ point. They can’t all keep growin’ or they’ll overtake more’n th’ forest kin afford, see? S’why I come back an’ clean it up at all. Can’t just plant whatever, wherever, or it throws th’ ‘ole balance outta whack. I’d be a worse druid than I already am if I just planted a bush an’ left it.”

“You are not a bad druid!”

Laughing, Leon pruned away, and Valarin attacked the rest of the lilacs with gusto.

Once they were roughly halfway through the clearing as a whole, Leon mercifully called for a break. Valarin was not at all accustomed to Leon in work mode, at least not like this; he knew the man could get lost in his leatherwork for hours, but that wasn’t quite so physically demanding as this. It was impressive, if a bit exhausting to keep up with.

They both sat down with a satisfied sigh, and Leon stretched his legs in the much more visible grass by the cleaned-up gravestones. Once properly polished, the lettering on both gleamed like it had been painted with gold:

Bettany Marie Ambroce Beloved wife and mother I’ll take it from here

Graeme Iain Ambroce Beloved husband and father I’ve got this

“Dad would’ve liked you, y’know.”

“You think so?” 

“Yeah. Anybody ‘o kin keep up with an Ambroce’s bullshit is worth keepin’ an eye on, somethin’ like that.” Leon chuckled with a subdued smile, thinking back on various times when he’d heard that. Naturally, Graeme had been talking about his own wife, but still. It had merit. “‘Especially th’ wee ones.’ Mum was about yer ‘eight, I think.”

Valarin’s ears went back just a little. “I’m not that wee.” After a moment, though, he let himself chuckle, too. “Although I suppose it’s still a compliment. You said he was a mountain, anyway.”

That made Leon laugh, and he threw his arms out wide. “Oh yeah, an absolute fuckin’ behemoth, was dad. ‘E wrestled with steer at th’ yearly fairs, sometimes, an’...”

As much as Leon enjoyed listening to Valarin give impromptu dissertations, Valarin loved listening to Leon tell stories of his family and his home. Knowing that he’d never get to see either of them the way his boyfriend did, he clung to every word to try his best to imagine it, and let the farmboy ramble as long as he was willing to. He only dared to interrupt long enough to break out their picnic, which thankfully didn’t stop the flood at all.

Once they’d eaten and Leon had run out of tales to tell--some of which Valarin was sure had to be at least exaggerated, if not totally made up, but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out which ones--they’d gotten back to work. It was almost agony to start over again, since they’d had enough time for their hands to start hurting. That only seemed to spur them to get done quicker so that they were able to put the tools away after what felt like no time at all.

While Leon was raking the detritus into a corner of the clearing, Valarin set to work by the markers.

First, Valarin set up a small collapsible bed tray in front of the markers themselves, and covered it with a white cloth. He set out a few candles and arranged the marigolds all around what would become their ofrenda. Upon the tray he left portions of the favored foods they had brought; raspberry tarts, beef pasties, fried taters, all sorts of things. Though they had no pictures of the deceased--Leon couldn’t bring himself to risk losing the only image he had of his entire family--it was the thought that counted for this.

Obviously, Leon wanted to help, but he also didn’t want to do things wrong (despite Valarin’s many and constant reminders that there was no wrong way to arrange an ofrenda), so he hung back until it was almost finished. At Valarin’s urging, Leon took up a long match, and they each lit a candle at the same time, one for each parent. Finally, a small bundle of marigold petals was pressed into Leon’s hands, and he awkwardly scattered them in a rough line from the ofrenda to the graves themselves. Valarin had already made one out of the clearing itself, and with Leon’s contribution, there was a complete path.

When he returned to Val’s side, Val immediately curled both arms around his waist and tugged him down till they were both seated in the grass before the ofrenda. There, Val could finally get the cuddles he so cherished. Leon smiled softly and dragged the insistent thing into his lap, the better to hug him close and rest his chin on top of Val’s head. 

“So… what ‘appens now?”

“Now, you tell me more stories about them, and cuddle me, and I’ll tell you stories about mine, and cuddle you.”

“All night?”

“All night.”

“I think I kin do tha’.”

Though they couldn’t leave everything behind, the next morning, a pair of marigold-and-lilac wreaths hung from the wooden gravestones.

( @daily-writing-challenge​ @valarin-sunstorm​ )

[retiredgremlin]

alright well brace urself cause i ain’t touch active fandoms with a 20 ft pole but imma try this thing where i share an idea because im probably never gonna get around to properly using it for anything

👏 SO. This is my idea regarding an alternative path of events following “Double Cross My Heart” aka Gregor episode. Gonna do my best not to wax on too much here.

This episode centered on a new student at Casper High, allegedly from Hungary, while simultaneously the GIW were investigating the town for the ghost boy. Neat. So Gregor shows up and takes an interest in Sam. Amongst everything going on in the episode, Danny feels as though he’s losing his friends and is worried that Gregor is dangerous. Teenage ennui and jealousy and all that jazz. In a genius maneuver, he decides to spy on Sam going on a date with Gregor and they come to verbal blows over it.

So here’s the change up. What Danny did, while not right and certainly influenced by bias, was also out of concern for Sam’s well being. This is an exact mirror of  Sam dragging Tucker to spy on Danny for... more than a couple nights in “Flirting With Disaster” where Sam did the same thing. The conversation with Sam the day after her evening with Gregor, what if the blowout was a lot bigger than it was. There’s ammo there to be used, for sure, and Sam has been shown as someone who can be well meaning but hypocritical in her methods and tending towards a my-way-or-the-highway stance. In the argument, things start escalating and both lose their tempers and start saying things the might not ought to. Sam points out the invasion of privacy and Danny points out Sam has done the same thing to him, multiple time. It all boils down to Sam deciding that until Danny apologizes, they’re through. Danny puts his foot down and decides he won’t be apologizing for shit, not unless Sam feels like apologizing first. Effectively, it’s a big whole mess and they both say things they regret, but things that put their pride on the line.

So Sam goes off with Gregor after, Tucker still offers to be Danny’s man on the inside, and Danny gets left alone. The rest of the episode pans out, except when Gregor is revealed to sorta be a phony, Sam doesn’t straight kick him to the curb. She’s still feeling petty and frustrated and instead of calling it a no go straight up, she chews his as out for ragging on Tucker. But she decides to give him a chance. He did, after all, lie just to impress her. Gregor revealed to be Elliot is willing to give it a go as not Gregor and Tucker is here trying to vibe. But that means thing don’t come back around and fix themselves at the end of the day. Sam decides to give Elliot a shot and Tucker sticks with it. The novelty will wear off, but by that point, they’re in a little too deep.

Its been a few weeks and Elliot has strong potential for popularity, so Tucker and Sam are on the rise. Meanwhile, Danny... well, knowing him, he already forgave the spying on him and Val but it was the hypocrisy of it that pissed him off. But after it was revealed that Elliot was just some kid and his best friends had chosen to stay away, he just sort of. Lets it be.

And so the rift builds, and by the time maybe Sam breaks up with Elliot, Sam and Tucker have....made some friends with the more popular circles. Sam is still Sam and disdains all things shallow, but....she’s. A teenager. She can be a bit shallow herself, and on this occasion, her pride is in the way and so she doubles down and drags Tucker with her. That is to say, Tucker is enjoying the not being targeted for bullying and the rise on the social ladder and tags along with Sam on the trip up.

My thought is that this isn’t a forever stop being friends thing, but that it lasts a lot longer than it should. Long enough for images to change, for alignments to shift, for them each to form some new bonds until they all start intersecting again. The real meat of the idea is the soul searching and self development done outside of each other and then the reconnection after and the self indulgence of being able to make other people stand there and go what the fuck are these 3 what the fuuuuck because they are chaotic and entertaining and baffling to outsiders when they’re in their groove.

Danny developments

Reconnects with Val who notices his sudden lack of friends and feels a bit more confident in approaching without Sam and Tucker to chase her off. They connect and start to build a solid school friendship that extends to sometimes hanging out, when Val feels like she can fit it in, even if she’s still a bit flighty

Danny doesn’t have Tucker or Sam for backup when Danielle and the other clones show up, so it’s a bit more hectic and stressful for him, trying to puzzle through this. He and Danielle manage to pull a fast one on Vlad and get out without the rescue team, but it takes some travel time to get back home afterwards, but Danielle still manages to help him get out of too much parental trouble

I feel like letting a “12″ yr old clone of urself fly off while unstable is silly, so let’s say Jazz walks in while they’re talking and nearly loses her fuckin mind on them both. Jazz knows about Danielle now and insists that they have a way to keep contact and the collectively agree to look into ways to help her

Consequently, Danielle is eventually taken to Frostbite by Danny and with the help of the Far Frozen and some pilfered Fenton Tech and Danny’s cooperation, they get this girl stabilized well before the original destabilized episode

Danny gets a bit more closed off and starts having to pick up how to cover his own ass. It’s....rough to begin with and he gains some clarity on just how much he relied on Sam and Tucker and what a load it must have been on them

He starts avoiding them as much as he can in school. Seeing his old friends hurts and it’s hard, but he decides to accept their decision to move on with as much grace as he can. That said, Danny also keeps an ear to the ground and doesn’t ever quite stop worrying and is pleased and disheartened by them growing up without him in equal measure.

Alternatively, without his friends to spend time with, he starts looking for other ways to spend his time, keep his mind off things, because he’s definitely put out to have lost them. Danny explores the Ghost Zone more and manages to strike up a few more truces, especially with some of his usual rogue gallery, like say Ember and Johnny and Kitty. They notice the sudden lack of human entourage and ask questions. One thing leads to the next and now Danny is making some ghost....”friends”

Jazz isn’t 100% sure what went down to break Danny and his friends apart, and he’s not particularly willing to air the argument or the realizations he’s had afterwards. He and Jazz do bond a bit more though and Jazz takes it on herself to help tutor Danny in any classes he falls behind on.

ghost puberty. that is all.

Sam & Tucker

Even after Sam breaks up with Elliot, they’ve already boosted themselves on the social ladder and it’s probably gotten out that Sam is rich, which helps maintain them.

During the stint wher eSam was still dating Elliot, he joined the football team. This created an in, and despite misgivings and through the power of spite (Sam) and allure of improved school life (Tucker), they make someconnections with the football team. Eventually, they reach the social “B-Tier”

Sam being Sam and having the kind of personality she does, maybe doubles down a little too hard and has turned it into a goal to become A-list, just to rub it in Danny’s face. So she starts gunning for Paulina and Star’s spots and pulls out the stops to play socialite hardball, in as much as she can without vomiting.

Sam eventually starts to realize through some slips and stresses and drama, that these kids are shallow, sure, but they’re people with their own traumas and problems too. They just handle it shitty. Same comes armed with tough love to both validate ur issues and tell u to stop taking them out on other people, u binch

Tucker is finally able to peddle the nickname TF and have it stick. Without the stigma of low highschool social status, he’s able to go on some dates and that’s a whole fun awkward process of learning what works, what doesn’t, etc etc

Tucker is actually pretty amiable, if a bit goofy and annoying, but he likes fun. He should be able to make firends right? Tuck gets to do some of his own soul searching when he’s now getting grouped as Sam’s tag along rather than Danny’s. Being friends with Danny for so long, he was used to being a package deal, but he also sort of resented it, feeling like he was always in someone else’s shadow. It was....sort of refreshing to escape Danny’s image (and he felt guilty about it), but then to alost immediately realize he was turning into that same thing for Sam? Tucker makes an effort to really strike out on his own and get to know others. He makes peace with himself and grows for it.

Sam is very very adamant about not crawling back to Danny. Until he apologizes, she’s not interested. tucker tries to convince her at times, but Sam is pretty good at arguing and has the passion to back it up. She digs up dirt and old wounds to reinforce the reasons to not go back (never really ghost related, but more person related. Character flaws, inconsiderate moments, lack of appreciation, etc etc) to keep Tuck on her side.

Tucker is... pretty indifferent about it, really. He feels like the reasons they split from Danny were shallow at best, but Sam won’t hear any of it and Tucker has things good now.... it’s not like Danny isn’t able to handle himself, right. They’d step in if he really needs it, he know Sam would fold if it was dire....

The truth is, they miss their friend and kinda miss the excitement, for all the stress it was. Neither are really sure how to fix what the situation has turned into. Sam hides behind her ability to hold a grudge and Tucker makes excuses and distracts himself from it. t’s easy to distract themselves these days.

Ultimately, they do end up befriending the A-listers, as weird as it is. And they do have a positive influence on the group, if over time and through a lot of posturing and drama.

So, yanno. The thought is that the Gregor episode occurs in late sophomore or early junior year, for context on timeline in this version of events. The trio are hitting puberty, but haven’t quite reached the apex of it yet. When they intersect again in senior year, they’ve changed and matured. This is also self indulgent Danny hitting his growth spurt while the friends are disconnected and when they finally are faced with each other again, he’s tall and broad and his voice dropped and Sam and Tuck are both a little bit “oh” about it. This entertains me, make it so. But also Danny grappling with the fact that Dan was a version of him, like it or not, and biologically, he;’s gonna be similar -fingerguns and kickflips away-

These changes are also meant to be juxtapositioned against the precise brand of friendship these kids shared and while things change, things stay the same too. There’s a cadence to their interactions that’s easy to fall into, a vein of trust that runs deep. And a wealth of old inside jokes and shenanigans and pavlovian trained responses in each other when someone barks “DISTRACTION PLAN 43″ the others react without pause

Thank u all for listening, maybe i’ll type up more to share later, iunno. i might jsut be yelling into the void her but that’s never stopped me before

i’ve had this idea for literally 10 years, fyi. this is what i do. think up au situations then sit on them forever and lament that i’ve done nothing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

i also get deep into character analysis and tried to not get too,,, hung up on that here. just wanted to pose the situation, throw the offering out there, see what bites i get back