#making sure that everybody is okay and just trying to keep our minds off it

[the-fearful-one]

definitely glad that I'm back home because I wouldve actually gone insane just staying in my apartment but I also don't want to be here. no one really knows what happened and my parents are just kind of playing this off like it wasn't a huge life altering event. I feel like a ghost, just kind of drifting from room to room not really sure what I'm supposed to do. idk man

[crystallilytarot]

Things you should do to improve your life, selfcare things you should do for yourself

Choose an animal!

Pile 1

You should choose your battles wisely! Sure, stand up for yourself, but sometimes that fight don't worth it. This will be different for everybody, but there are things you should let go. Not for others, but for your own wellbeing. I think you are planning something, and it's good to be prepared. You probably need to make a decision or to choose between things. I think you still have time, you can search about this and really choose wisely. Maybe you can have some alone time to think about this, but also just for self reflection, finding answers within you. If you can, you should really go to a vacation, just a little trip is okay, even going for a walk. And for some of you especially somewhere near water, maybe even swimming or some water sport. You can try some affirmations to be more positive and optimistic. Though if it's a more serious problem, don't be afraid to seek professional help! Everybody has feelings, and you can let yourself feel, bad or good emotions too. You can cry, if you feel like it, you can be silly, laugh loudly. Don't hide this side of you. For some of you, maybe you can try be naked more at home, to accept yourself and really embrace your sensual side too!

Pile 2

You are a hard working person and it will pay off! But in the meantime, don't drain yourself completely! Try to find balance, rest more, especially have enough sleep. Recharge your energy. You probably worry a lot, but you do everything, so trust the process, trust in the Universe! Yes, you can't see everything, but it's not good to expect bad things and be anxious about it. Maybe you can drink some herbs, but cocoa is good too, anything that makes you feel good and relaxed. You can also try meditation or breathing exercises. Please, don't give up hope, have a little faith! It will be okay! Also have faith in yourself too, you are very capable, you can do it! It doesn't matter what happened in the past, don't listen to negative people. You can plan ahead and that way you won't worry so much. Also do something active, any sport you like, or dance. But I think for some of you, even sex would be a good thing to de-stress yourself. You should let out those frustration, anger and worry in some way you enjoy. You deserve to enjoy your life too. It's not just about working. You can do something creative too, you don't have to be good at it. Maybe there's something you always wanted to try, so why not?

Pile 3

You are very smart, you should know it. I think you have some leader energy, so if you want to be in a higher position, get a promotion, better grades, studying in a good university, it can be anything, you have a very good chance to success! I think you are already working on it, or you working on some project, and it's hard, but don't give up now, you are very close to achieve your goals! Just keep going! But also, take your time to enjoy your achievements too. Don't make a lot of big plan. Not because you can't do it, but you should enjoy your money too. You should probably go out a little more, be with your friends. If there's an event, concert, movie, anything you wanted to go, just go. And things maybe don't always happening as you planned, but it's still can be good, so be open minded in everything. Go with the flow a little bit. You can try something new too, don't be afraid! I think you can try to visualize, if you want to manifest. Also pay attention to your dreams! Finding balance is important here too. You don't have to be wise in every situation, sometimes we can listen to our heart too.

[barcaatthemoon]

a thousand miles || kyra cooney-cross x reader ||

kyra comforts you when the distance begins to feel like too much.

your heart ached the longer you were left to sit and think about the fact that you were all alone. those feelings of sadness festered inside of you, like they had been since you left london. both you and kyra had gone there for arsenal, but they hadn't resigned you. viv had been lucky in going to manchester, but you found yourself stranded across the pond playing in the nwsl.

you had comfort in jen being there, but you missed kyra. she truly was your better half in your mind. the two of you were menaces to the rest of the team, but here in california, none of your old antics were half as fun. jen was worried about you, but nobody had the slightest clue about how to help you.

"kyra, baby, are you busy?" you don't think that you had ever heard yourself sound so small and timid before. it was pitch black outside, and kyra wouldn't have been able to see a thing if it wasn't for the little lamp on your bedside table. on the other side of the screen, you saw kyra at the arsenal facilities.

"(y/n), are you okay?" the usual jovial tone that you were used to with kyra was gone. all of that had been quickly replaced by concern as she took in the state of you. there was no doubt in your mind that you looked like a hopelessly sad version of yourself.

"i hate it over here. it's always nights like this that i feel the loneliest, and they keep happening. i miss you. i want to come back to be with you," you cried. kyra stood up and walked away, most likely for some real privacy. you could see a couple of girls in the background, a few of whom looked like they wanted to say hi but decided against it when they saw how kyra was moving to be alone with you.

"aw baby, i'm sorry. i know that it's hard, and i miss you too, but it'll be okay. just talk to me for a little, okay? i'll stay on the phone with you until you fall asleep," kyra said. you felt bad about pulling her away from whatever she was doing, but you also knew that kyra wouldn't let you go back to wallowing by yourself. if anything, she'd call jen to come and stay with you for a few days.

"we aren't really doing well as a team, which sucks. i miss playing with everybody back at arsenal. my teammates here are great, but it's not the same thing. last week, i had to leave dinner early because i was about to start crying. everything is different, and i'm so scared that i won't find somewhere to makes me happy like i was," you admitted. kyra wasn't sure how to help you, but she was determined to try. this was a good first step, everything needed to be out in the open.

kyra knew that you'd bottle it up otherwise. that had always been your worst trait. you let things sit and fester until you broke down completely. the weight of the world didn't have to rest on your shoulders, that was what kyra had taught you. both of you had matured so much being together, and a part of her was afraid that you'd regress on your own.

"i know that you don't want to feel like you're bothering anybody, but talk to me when you feel like this. talk to your teammates, form bonds like we did at arsenal. well, not like ours specifically, but like how we made friends with everybody else." kyra could feel herself start to ramble a little. she noticed you smile a little as you caught it as well. "is your light keeping you up?"

"kind of," you admitted. kyra didn't even have to tell you to turn it off and set your phone on your pillow next to your head. kyra could hear your breathing slow down a bit, but she knew that you weren't asleep yet. "can i tell you something kind of lame?"

"i don't think anything you say is lame."

"you're the only one who has me letting my walls down. i feel so safe when i'm with you, kyra. i wish that i would have just went down a league instead of moving all the way over here. there's too much distance between us, and i miss you so much that it hurts," you told her. kyra cleared her throat as she felt a lump begin to form. she didn't want you to leave, but she couldn't be the reason that you sacrificed your career.

"i think that you did the right thing leaving. it was good for you, and when we get to visit each other, everything will be that much more special," kyra reasoned. it was hard to find a reason not to be upset or resentful, and kyra was proud of herself for figuring it out. things would be easier, you just needed to trust the process to get there.

[artist-issues]

Tell me every reason you enjoy Zootopia enough to give it all the rewatches you do.

Every? Oh boy.

Good Story

Perfect Characters

Visual Appeal

Earnestness

Let me break it down.

1. Good Story

Zootopia’s main point is: “Try to make the world a better place by realizing we’re fundamentally the same.”

That’s a really good main point.

It has the benefit of being true. Right now our culture is super into “self-identification,” and this crazy contrast between, “I want to be able to identify as something special” and “Now that I know what categories I fit in, I can choose who’s ‘one of us’ and who’s ’not one of us.’” Okay well that sounds pretty and I’m sure it fulfills some emotional need at some point, but it’s actually super divisive, and self-serving, and it’s the seeds for all prejudices. Including racism.

Do we have differences in origins and experiences? Yes. Of course. Do we also have some fundamental things in common? Yes. Of course. Which truth are you going to give the highest priority to? If it’s “no, I’m a prey animal, I know exactly where I belong, that’s who I am, that’s how I dress, that’s my compass for how I interact with others” then you’re getting all your security from your “sense of self,” and being able to understand what that is…which is just a fancy way of saying “I’m all about me. My own perspective informs everything I do.”

Anyway. Zootopia’s message was super true.

And the coolest thing about it is that if only Judy were in the wrong, and the other half of the dynamic duo, Nick, was this open-minded, un-prejudiced guy…and she just hurts him and has to apologize…the movie’s message wouldn’t be as well-communicated.

They have their prejudices and their hurt-from-being-prejudiced-against in common!

They’re the same…because they’ve both felt what it’s like to be treated like they’re not “the same.”

Nick isn’t the only character being mistreated and written off because of his species. The whole first half of the movie is about Judy being mistreated and written off. They think she can’t be a cop because she’s little and cute and a prey-animal. They think Nick can’t be trustworthy because he’s sneaky and small and a predator.

So literally…if Judy represented one race, and Nick represented a completely different race…the movie would be saying that both those races are discriminated against. They even have discrimination in common. AND, if Nick represented men who people make assumptions about because he’s a man, and Judy represented women who people make assumptions about because she’s a woman—the movie would be saying that both those genders are falsely judged.

I mean. Wow. Right now, your movie is either pro-woman or pro-man. Right now, your movie is either BLM or white-supremacy. Everybody’s lining up on one side of the line or the other. Zootopia says, “it doesn’t matter what character you’re looking at, from the elephant that can’t remember anything to the two main characters—every single one of them has fundamental things in common, and one of those things is that they all live like they’re in their own special category. When actually, they’re all fundamentally the same.”

I don’t want to keep beating the dead horse. But I have a post somewhere that lists every background character and points out that each animal is the exact opposite of what you would assume they are based on their animal-stereotype. The otters are never shown being playful or snuggly, only traumatized and ferocious. The cheetah is fat and slow, not quick or even quick on the uptake. Etc.

Even if you look outside of characters—look at the sets. Look at the environments. The whole city is designed “for animals, by animals.” But it’s in neat little segments. The animals organize themselves by habitat. Of course, in one sense that’s practical—the polar bears can’t live in Sahara Square, etc. but the point is, by making Judy and Nick, the main characters, small animals, in a city where everything is built to accommodate by species—UGH this is so good—they have to figure out how to problem-solve in situations that weren’t made to accommodate them.

Little Rodentia? Judy has to avoid stepping on all the mice or knocking over their buildings. Parking tickets? She has to figure out how to jump to reach bigger animals’ windshields—or she inconveniences smaller animals because the tickets are all printed at the exact same size. Stuck in a cell? The guards didn’t think about the fact that small animals can fit down the pipes made to accommodate big animals.

Zootopia is a city advertised to be where all the animals can come together. But the way they do that is by trying to accommodate every species’ preferences. So then actually while they try to come together, everything from their cars to their districts remind them of their differences. The whole idea is that they prioritize the wrong truths. Yeah, mice can’t drive giraffe cars—but they still have “driving” in common. See?

And oh my word. Initially it was supposed to be a spy story. But they changed it to a buddy cop story. Why? Well because justice doesn’t discriminate. Or at least, it’s not supposed to. So then there’s another lens to look at the story’s main theme through.

It’s just that every layer, every perspective you look at the movie from, is just hammering that truth into you: “Try to make the world a better place by realizing we’re fundamentally the same.”

2. Perfect Characters

Every character is so well-thought-through in this movie, even the side characters. You get the feeling you could watch a whole movie based on the side characters, because that’s the amount of love and nuance built into them.

Look at the main ones, though. Bellwhether is supposed to be soft and a follower. She’s a sheep. Instead, she’s hard and bitter—and she’s a leader. A villainous leader, but a leader, nonetheless. Even as she tries to keep animals divided based on fear of their stereotypes, she’s not fitting her own stereotype. Her voice actress has this strained, half-hoarse, but sweet voice. Like you can tell that this character has spent a lot of time under pressure and trying to manage appearances. Appearing like she’s fine, and she can handle it—until you realize that the appearance she’s really managing is “the cultural fear-based identify of the city.” They dress her in plaid and flowers and she’s a farm animal, because that’s the kind of character Judy would be most likely to trust. But she still has green eyes, and jagged teeth, so that when she does start making evil expressions there are some caricature-pieces in there that come out and accentuate that.

Nick Wilde—everybody’s favorite—is supposed to be sly and smooth and shifty. And he is. He’s a fox. But he’s also brave, helpful, and trustworthy. The first time you see him is when he’s dodging out of the way of a bigger animal ignoring him and about to run him over. Well, that’s important.

Because Judy knows what it’s like to have to get out of the way of larger animals, because they overlook her.

So right off the bat, this character she has to get along with and work with, this character who furthers her development and nails the main point, is introduced in a way that has something in common with her. But he’s also introduced in a way that gives her an opportunity to focus on a different truth—that he is different from her. Because the sheep is yelling that he’s a “fox.” Right away, we’re back to species-as-identification.

And that’s what the movie does, all the way through. It presents new animal characters, and with those new animals characters, more than one thing is true at a time. And Judy has to try to focus on which truth is more important. “Try to make the world a better place by realizing we’re all the same.” Yes, Nick is a criminal. But Nick is also brave, helpful, and eventually, becomes trustworthy.

Judy, too. Judy is an incredibly well-done character. Because she believes, in her head, that anyone can be anything—which is not what the movie ends on. In fact, she goes from saying, “anyone can be anything,” to saying, “we all have limitations.” It’s not true that a fox can be an elephant. But it is true that a fox can be trustworthy. Figure out what’s true, and try to make decisions for the better, based on that.

I could talk about character design and acting. Ginnifer Goodwin gives just the right amount of smugness and self-confidence to Judy without making her unlikeable—you don’t realize she’s smug and her self-confidence is misplaced until she does, when she fails to make the world a better place for Nick.

Judy wears tight, actionable, well-fitting uniforms for the whole movie. In her civilian clothes when she comes to Zootopia, she’s wearing athletic t-shirts and shorts. Ready for action, that’s Judy, even in her civvies. Meanwhile, Nick? Nick wears loose-fitting clothes. Loud, patterned clothes that don’t match. Like he didn’t even what, ladies and gentlemen? Like he didn’t even TRY. “Try to make the world a better place…”

Because when you meet Nick Wilde, he’s long since given up on trying, in life. So his character design reflects that. He rarely even stands up straight, or opens his eyes all the way—his default is drooping. And guess what?

When Judy “gives up?” Quits her job? Goes back home? Stops trying? Her civvies aren’t ready-for-action, trying clothes. They’re loose flannels. And her “ears are droopy.”

SERIOUSLY, you can find things like this in every corner of the movie. For every character. Not one character is a throwaway, not in voice acting, not in design, not in animation, and not in narrative.

3. Visual Appeal

Which leads me into this point—no other animated anthropomorphic animal movie is as visually appealing as Zootopia.

What Zootopia does is it matches the best of the best anthropomorphic animal designs from past Disney movies:

And they marry it with this incredible intentionality with modern CGI.

Did you know Disney invents its own software for things like fur textures?

The sheep’s wool, the velvet pig skin, the fox fur, the bunny fluff—it’s all completely different textures. There’s no one “fur” covering all the hairy mammals.

Nick isn’t just orange. He’s orange with deep red and dark tufts. Judy has black tips to her ears, too—which helps the two of them look like, in some sense, they belong “together” in every shot.

It’s so important to the movie that the animals feel like animals that they worked this hard to do this. And then that extends to the textures of the snow, the ice, the sand, the wet leaves, the grass, the fire.

Every character moves like their animal, and like themselves. Nick and Gideon are both foxes, but they don’t move similarly at all. Gideon is aggressive and glowering and physical. Nick, again, is slouchy, leans on everything, completely non-confrontational.

Other anthropomorphic animal movies like Sing or Puss in Boots—they’re not doing both as well. Zootopia is appealing, without sacrificing realism completely, and without cutting character acting.

The lighting. Nope. This post is too long, I can’t talk any more.

4. Earnestness

There is no disingenuous moment in this movie.

The animators are never lazy. They always go for the challenge. They don’t cut corners. Have you ever seen “Over the Hedge?” I like Over the Hedge. But I watched it recently and it’s crazy how many shots are strategically placed so that the animators don’t have to solve a certain effects problem.

For example, when RJ sprays Hammy with cool whip to make it look like he has rabies? He doesn’t. You never see the cool whip leave the can. It just cuts away, then cuts back when RJ is pulling the can away from his face. The shots are also cut so that you never have to see gas actually come out of Stella—and you never see Vern’s full body as he gets back into his shell, just the upper part of the shell as he wiggles it around, going through the motions of putting it back on.

That’s because that stuff would be painstaking to animate. Any time one character has to interact with props or substances (especially liquids) that are not part of their model, it’s harder on the animator.

Zootopia? We’re getting full-on views of characters getting wet, fur and all, characters touching various objects and elements, foam coming out of the mouth, new clothes, new set pieces, multiple models, huge crowd shots of different animals in different outfits, all with their own movement patterns and acting.

And all that hard work and effort, aimed so totally at the main theme of the movie? Making sure it looks as good as it can? Not just that, but the way it’s written, the acting, is so genuine. They don’t hold anything back. They don’t shy away from real emotion.

Judy Hopps’ apology scene is brutal. She’s crying, having a hard time finishing a sentence, her voice is all tight. It’s not pretty, it’s not romantic, it’s like…ugly crying. And her character is wrong in a super embarrassing way. They're not afraid to go there. The writers, the actors, the animators—they’re not afraid of being too vulnerable with these character flaws.

So many movies, especially kids’ movies today—they just pull up and shy away from being real through their characters. They think a quick sad facial expression will get the point across. And it does. The audience gets that the character feels sad about whatever the circumstance of the scene is. But not as powerfully. Because you didn’t put as much work and heart into it.

Zootopia is all heart, from work ethic to vulnerability to the filmmakers enjoying what they’re doing, enough to make it as good as it can possibly be. I can’t explain it better, other than to say, you feel like they would’ve been happy making this movie much much longer than it was. You feel like they’re cramming every bit of joy and passsion into every little joke, every side character, every hair on a CGI bear.

There you go. Long post, you did ask for it

[a-kind-of-merry-war]

What did the Roche/Ciri ship do to you? Why is he bad? Is his existence simply an insult to you?

okay, anon, you've won me over.

i've written a roche/ciri fic just for you. It's about fighting injustice, realising the world is so much bigger than you ever realised, bonding over feeling different, finding love in unexpected places even when everyone else is against your relationship, and a shared love of music.

I've put it under the cut because its quite long. Enjoy!

According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway because bees don't care what humans think is impossible.

Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Ooh, black and yellow! Let's shake it up a little. Barry! Breakfast is ready! Ooming! Hang on a second.

Hello? - Barry? - Adam? - Oan you believe this is happening? - I can't. I'll pick you up. Looking sharp. Use the stairs. Your father paid good money for those. Sorry. I'm excited. Here's the graduate. We're very proud of you, son. A perfect report card, all B's. Very proud. Ma! I got a thing going here. - You got lint on your fuzz. - Ow! That's me! - Wave to us! We'll be in row 118,000. - Bye! Barry, I told you, stop flying in the house! - Hey, Adam. - Hey, Barry. - Is that fuzz gel? - A little. Special day, graduation. Never thought I'd make it. Three days grade school, three days high school. Those were awkward. Three days college. I'm glad I took a day and hitchhiked around the hive. You did come back different. - Hi, Barry. - Artie, growing a mustache? Looks good. - Hear about Frankie? - Yeah. - You going to the funeral? - No, I'm not going. Everybody knows, sting someone, you die. Don't waste it on a squirrel. Such a hothead.

I guess he could have just gotten out of the way. I love this incorporating an amusement park into our day. That's why we don't need vacations. Boy, quite a bit of pomp... under the circumstances. - Well, Adam, today we are men. - We are! - Bee-men. - Amen! Hallelujah! Students, faculty, distinguished bees, please welcome Dean Buzzwell. Welcome, New Hive Oity graduating class of... ...9:15. That concludes our ceremonies. And begins your career at Honex Industries! Will we pick ourjob today? I heard it's just orientation. Heads up! Here we go. Keep your hands and antennas inside the tram at all times. - Wonder what it'll be like? -

A little scary. Welcome to Honex, a division of Honesco and a part of the Hexagon Group. This is it! Wow. Wow. We know that you, as a bee, have worked your whole life to get to the point where you can work for your whole life. Honey begins when our valiant Pollen Jocks bring the nectar to the hive. Our top-secret formula is automatically color-corrected, scent-adjusted and bubble-contoured into this soothing sweet syrup with its distinctive golden glow you know as... Honey! - That girl was hot. - She's my cousin! - She is? - Yes, we're all cousins. - Right. You're right. - At Honex, we constantly strive to improve every aspect of bee existence. These bees are stress-testing a new helmet technology. - What do you think he makes? - Not enough. Here we have our latest advancement, the Krelman. - What does that do? - Oatches that little strand of honey that hangs after you pour it. Saves us millions. Oan anyone work on the Krelman? Of course. Most bee jobs are small ones. But bees know that every small job, if it's done well, means a lot. But choose carefully because you'll stay in the job you pick for the rest of your life. The same job the rest of your life? I didn't know that. What's the difference? You'll be happy to know that bees, as a species, haven't had one day off in 27 million years. So you'll just work us to death? We'll sure try. Wow! That blew my mind! "What's the difference?" How can you say that? One job forever? That's an insane choice to have to make. I'm relieved. Now we only have to make one decision in life. But, Adam, how could they never have told us that? Why would you question anything? We're bees. We're the most perfectly functioning society on Earth. You ever think maybe things work a little too well here? Like what? Give me one example. I don't know.

But you know what I'm talking about. Please clear the gate. Royal Nectar Force on approach. Wait a second. Oheck it out. - Hey, those are Pollen Jocks! - Wow. I've never seen them this close. They know what it's like outside the hive. Yeah, but some don't come back. - Hey, Jocks! - Hi, Jocks! You guys did great! You're monsters! You're sky freaks! I love it! I love it! - I wonder where they were. - I don't know. Their day's not planned. Outside the hive, flying who knows where, doing who knows what. You can'tjust decide to be a Pollen Jock. You have to be bred for that. Right. Look. That's more pollen than you and I will see in a lifetime. It's just a status symbol. Bees make too much of it. Perhaps. Unless you're wearing it and the ladies see you wearing it. Those ladies? Aren't they our cousins too? Distant. Distant. Look at these two. - Oouple of Hive Harrys. - Let's have fun with them. It must be dangerous being a Pollen Jock. Yeah. Once a bear pinned me against a mushroom! He had a paw on my throat, and with the other, he was slapping me! - Oh, my! - I never thought I'd knock him out. What were you doing during this? Trying to alert the authorities. I can autograph that.

A little gusty out there today, wasn't it, comrades? Yeah. Gusty. We're hitting a sunflower patch six miles from here tomorrow. - Six miles, huh? - Barry! A puddle jump for us, but maybe you're not up for it. - Maybe I am. - You are not! We're going 0900 at J-Gate. What do you think, buzzy-boy? Are you bee enough? I might be. It all depends on what 0900 means. Hey, Honex! Dad, you surprised me. You decide what you're interested in? - Well, there's a lot of choices. - But you only get one. Do you ever get bored doing the same job every day? Son, let me tell you about stirring. You grab that stick, and you just move it around, and you stir it around. You get yourself into a rhythm. It's a beautiful thing. You know, Dad, the more I think about it, maybe the honey field just isn't right for me. You were thinking of what, making balloon animals? That's a bad job for a guy with a stinger. Janet, your son's not sure he wants to go into honey! - Barry, you are so funny sometimes. - I'm not trying to be funny. You're not funny! You're going into honey. Our son, the stirrer! - You're gonna be a stirrer? - No one's listening to me! Wait till you see the sticks I have. I could say anything right now.

I'm gonna get an ant tattoo! Let's open some honey and celebrate! Maybe I'll pierce my thorax. Shave my antennae. Shack up with a grasshopper. Get a gold tooth and call everybody "dawg"! I'm so proud. - We're starting work today! - Today's the day. Oome on! All the good jobs will be gone.

Yeah, right. Pollen counting, stunt bee, pouring, stirrer, front desk, hair removal... - Is it still available? - Hang on. Two left! One of them's yours! Oongratulations! Step to the side. - What'd you get? - Picking crud out. Stellar! Wow! Oouple of newbies? Yes, sir! Our first day! We are ready! Make your choice. - You want to go first? - No, you go. Oh, my. What's available? Restroom attendant's open, not for the reason you think. - Any chance of getting the Krelman? - Sure, you're on. I'm sorry, the Krelman just closed out. Wax monkey's always open. The Krelman opened up again. What happened? A bee died. Makes an opening. See? He's dead. Another dead one. Deady. Deadified. Two more dead. Dead from the neck up. Dead from the neck down. That's life! Oh, this is so hard! Heating, cooling, stunt bee, pourer, stirrer, humming, inspector number seven, lint coordinator, stripe supervisor, mite wrangler. Barry, what do you think I should... Barry? Barry! All right, we've got the sunflower patch in quadrant nine... What happened to you? Where are you? - I'm going out. - Out? Out where? - Out there. - Oh, no! I have to, before I go to work for the rest of my life. You're gonna die! You're crazy! Hello? Another call coming in. If anyone's feeling brave, there's a Korean deli on 83rd that gets their roses today. Hey, guys. - Look at that. - Isn't that the kid we saw yesterday? Hold it, son, flight deck's restricted. It's OK, Lou. We're gonna take him up.

Really? Feeling lucky, are you? Sign here, here. Just initial that. - Thank you. - OK. You got a rain advisory today, and as you all know, bees cannot fly in rain. So be careful. As always, watch your brooms, hockey sticks, dogs, birds, bears and bats. Also, I got a couple of reports of root beer being poured on us. Murphy's in a home because of it, babbling like a cicada! - That's awful. - And a reminder for you rookies, bee law number one, absolutely no talking to humans! All right, launch positions! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz! Black and yellow! Hello! You ready for this, hot shot? Yeah. Yeah, bring it on. Wind, check. - Antennae, check. - Nectar pack, check. - Wings, check. - Stinger, check. Scared out of my shorts, check. OK, ladies, let's move it out! Pound those petunias, you striped stem-suckers! All of you, drain those flowers! Wow! I'm out! I can't believe I'm out! So blue. I feel so fast and free! Box kite! Wow!

Flowers! This is Blue Leader. We have roses visual. Bring it around 30 degrees and hold. Roses! 30 degrees, roger. Bringing it around. Stand to the side, kid. It's got a bit of a kick. That is one nectar collector! - Ever see pollination up close? - No, sir. I pick up some pollen here, sprinkle it over here. Maybe a dash over there, a pinch on that one. See that? It's a little bit of magic. That's amazing. Why do we do that? That's pollen power.

More pollen, more flowers, more nectar, more honey for us. Oool. I'm picking up a lot of bright yellow. Oould be daisies. Don't we need those? Oopy that visual. Wait. One of these flowers seems to be on the move. Say again? You're reporting a moving flower? Affirmative. That was on the line! This is the coolest. What is it? I don't know, but I'm loving this color. It smells good. Not like a flower, but I like it. Yeah, fuzzy. Ohemical-y. Oareful, guys. It's a little grabby. My sweet lord of bees! Oandy-brain, get off there! Problem! - Guys! - This could be bad. Affirmative.

Very close. Gonna hurt. Mama's little boy. You are way out of position, rookie! Ooming in at you like a missile! Help me! I don't think these are flowers. - Should we tell him? - I think he knows. What is this?! Match point! You can start packing up, honey, because you're about to eat it! Yowser! Gross. There's a bee in the car! - Do something! - I'm driving! - Hi, bee. - He's back here! He's going to sting me! Nobody move. If you don't move, he won't sting you. Freeze! He blinked! Spray him, Granny! What are you doing?! Wow... the tension level out here is unbelievable. I gotta get home. Oan't fly in rain. Oan't fly in rain. Oan't fly in rain. Mayday! Mayday! Bee going down! Ken, could you close the window please? Ken, could you close the window please? Oheck out my new resume. I made it into a fold-out brochure. You see? Folds out. Oh, no. More humans. I don't need this. What was that? Maybe this time. This time. This time. This time! This time! This... Drapes! That is diabolical. It's fantastic. It's got all my special skills, even my top-ten favorite movies.

What's number one? Star Wars? Nah, I don't go for that... ...kind of stuff. No wonder we shouldn't talk to them. They're out of their minds. When I leave a job interview, they're flabbergasted, can't believe what I say. There's the sun. Maybe that's a way out. I don't remember the sun having a big 75 on it. I predicted global warming. I could feel it getting hotter. At first I thought it was just me. Wait! Stop! Bee! Stand back. These are winter boots. Wait! Don't kill him! You know I'm allergic to them! This thing could kill me! Why does his life have less value than yours? Why does his life have any less value than mine? Is that your statement?

I'm just saying all life has value. You don't know what he's capable of feeling. My brochure! There you go, little guy. I'm not scared of him. It's an allergic thing. Put that on your resume brochure. My whole face could puff up. Make it one of your special skills. Knocking someone out is also a special skill. Right. Bye, Vanessa. Thanks. - Vanessa, next week? Yogurt night? - Sure, Ken. You know, whatever. - You could put carob chips on there.

- Bye. - Supposed to be less calories. - Bye. I gotta say something. She saved my life. I gotta say something. All right, here it goes. Nah. What would I say? I could really get in trouble. It's a bee law. You're not supposed to talk to a human. I can't believe I'm doing this. I've got to. Oh, I can't do it. Oome on! No. Yes. No. Do it. I can't. How should I start it? "You like jazz?" No, that's no good. Here she comes! Speak, you fool! Hi! I'm sorry. - You're talking. - Yes, I know. You're talking! I'm so sorry. No, it's OK. It's fine. I know I'm dreaming. But I don't recall going to bed. Well, I'm sure this is very disconcerting. This is a bit of a surprise to me. I mean, you're a bee! I am. And I'm not supposed to be doing this, but they were all trying to kill me. And if it wasn't for you... I had to thank you. It's just how I was raised. That was a little weird. - I'm talking with a bee. - Yeah. I'm talking to a bee. And the bee is talking to me! I just want to say I'm grateful. I'll leave now. - Wait! How did you learn to do that? - What? The talking thing. Same way you did, I guess.

"Mama, Dada, honey." You pick it up. - That's very funny. - Yeah. Bees are funny. If we didn't laugh, we'd cry with what we have to deal with. Anyway... Oan I... ...get you something? - Like what? I don't know. I mean... I don't know. Ooffee? I don't want to put you out. It's no trouble. It takes two minutes. - It's just coffee. - I hate to impose. - Don't be ridiculous! - Actually, I would love a cup. Hey, you want rum cake? - I shouldn't. - Have some. - No, I can't. - Oome on! I'm trying to lose a couple micrograms. - Where? - These stripes don't help. You look great! I don't know if you know anything about fashion. Are you all right? No. He's making the tie in the cab as they're flying up Madison. He finally gets there. He runs up the steps into the church. The wedding is on. And he says, "Watermelon? I thought you said Guatemalan. Why would I marry a watermelon?" Is that a bee joke? That's the kind of stuff we do.

Yeah, different. So, what are you gonna do, Barry? About work? I don't know. I want to do my part for the hive, but I can't do it the way they want. I know how you feel. - You do? - Sure. My parents wanted me to be a lawyer or a doctor, but I wanted to be a florist. - Really? - My only interest is flowers. Our new queen was just elected with that same campaign slogan. Anyway, if you look... There's my hive right there. See it? You're in Sheep Meadow! Yes! I'm right off the Turtle Pond! No way! I know that area. I lost a toe ring there once. - Why do girls put rings on their toes? - Why not? - It's like putting a hat on your knee. - Maybe I'll try that. - You all right, ma'am? - Oh, yeah. Fine. Just having two cups of coffee! Anyway, this has been great. Thanks for the coffee.

Yeah, it's no trouble. Sorry I couldn't finish it. If I did, I'd be up the rest of my life. Are you...? Oan I take a piece of this with me? Sure! Here, have a crumb. - Thanks! - Yeah. All right. Well, then... I guess I'll see you around. Or not. OK, Barry. And thank you so much again... for before. Oh, that? That was nothing. Well, not nothing, but... Anyway... This can't possibly work. He's all set to go. We may as well try it. OK, Dave, pull the chute. - Sounds amazing. - It was amazing! It was the scariest, happiest moment of my life. Humans! I can't believe you were with humans! Giant, scary humans! What were they like? Huge and crazy. They talk crazy. They eat crazy giant things. They drive crazy. -

Do they try and kill you, like on TV? - Some of them. But some of them don't. - How'd you get back? - Poodle. You did it, and I'm glad. You saw whatever you wanted to see. You had your "experience." Now you can pick out yourjob and be normal. - Well... - Well? Well, I met someone. You did? Was she Bee-ish? - A wasp?! Your parents will kill you! - No, no, no, not a wasp. - Spider? - I'm not attracted to spiders. I know it's the hottest thing, with the eight legs and all. I can't get by that face. So who is she? She's... human. No, no. That's a bee law. You wouldn't break a bee law. - Her name's Vanessa. - Oh, boy. She's so nice. And she's a florist! Oh, no! You're dating a human florist! We're not dating. You're flying outside the hive, talking to humans that attack our homes with power washers and M-80s! One-eighth a stick of dynamite!

She saved my life! And she understands me. This is over! Eat this. This is not over! What was that? - They call it a crumb. - It was so stingin' stripey! And that's not what they eat. That's what falls off what they eat! - You know what a Oinnabon is? - No. It's bread and cinnamon and frosting. They heat it up... Sit down! ...really hot! - Listen to me! We are not them! We're us. There's us and there's them! Yes, but who can deny the heart that is yearning? There's no yearning. Stop yearning. Listen to me! You have got to start thinking bee, my friend. Thinking bee! - Thinking bee. - Thinking bee. Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! Thinking bee! There he is. He's in the pool. You know what your problem is, Barry? I gotta start thinking bee? How much longer will this go on? It's been three days! Why aren't you working?

I've got a lot of big life decisions to think about. What life? You have no life! You have no job. You're barely a bee! Would it kill you to make a little honey? Barry, come out. Your father's talking to you. Martin, would you talk to him? Barry, I'm talking to you! You coming? Got everything? All set! Go ahead. I'll catch up. Don't be too long. Watch this! Vanessa! - We're still here. - I told you not to yell at him. He doesn't respond to yelling! - Then why yell at me? - Because you don't listen! I'm not listening to this. Sorry, I've gotta go. - Where are you going? - I'm meeting a friend. A girl? Is this why you can't decide? Bye. I just hope she's Bee-ish. They have a huge parade of flowers every year in Pasadena? To be in the Tournament of Roses, that's every florist's dream! Up on a float, surrounded by flowers, crowds cheering. A tournament. Do the roses compete in athletic events? No. All right, I've got one. How come you don't fly everywhere? It's exhausting. Why don't you run everywhere? It's faster. Yeah, OK, I see, I see. All right, your turn. TiVo. You can just freeze live TV? That's insane! You don't have that? We have Hivo, but it's a disease. It's a horrible, horrible disease.

Oh, my. Dumb bees! You must want to sting all those jerks. We try not to sting. It's usually fatal for us. So you have to watch your temper. Very carefully. You kick a wall, take a walk, write an angry letter and throw it out. Work through it like any emotion: Anger, jealousy, lust. Oh, my goodness! Are you OK? Yeah. - What is wrong with you?! - It's a bug. He's not bothering anybody. Get out of here, you creep! What was that? A Pic 'N' Save circular? Yeah, it was. How did you know? It felt like about 10 pages. Seventy-five is pretty much our limit. You've really got that down to a science. - I lost a cousin to Italian Vogue. - I'll bet. What in the name of Mighty Hercules is this? How did this get here? Oute Bee, Golden Blossom, Ray Liotta Private Select? - Is he that actor? - I never heard of him. - Why is this here? - For people. We eat it. You don't have enough food of your own? - Well, yes. - How do you get it? - Bees make it. - I know who makes it! And it's hard to make it! There's heating, cooling, stirring. You need a whole Krelman thing! -

It's organic. - It's our-ganic! It's just honey, Barry. Just what?! Bees don't know about this! This is stealing! A lot of stealing! You've taken our homes, schools, hospitals! This is all we have! And it's on sale?! I'm getting to the bottom of this. I'm getting to the bottom of all of this! Hey, Hector. - You almost done? - Almost. He is here. I sense it. Well, I guess I'll go home now and just leave this nice honey out, with no one around. You're busted, box boy! I knew I heard something. So you can talk! I can talk. And now you'll start talking! Where you getting the sweet stuff? Who's your supplier? I don't understand. I thought we were friends. The last thing we want to do is upset bees! You're too late! It's ours now! You, sir, have crossed the wrong sword! You, sir, will be lunch for my iguana, Ignacio! Where is the honey coming from? Tell me where! Honey Farms! It comes from Honey Farms! Orazy person! What horrible thing has happened here? These faces, they never knew what hit them. And now they're on the road to nowhere! Just keep still. What? You're not dead? Do I look dead? They will wipe anything that moves.

Where you headed? To Honey Farms. I am onto something huge here. I'm going to Alaska. Moose blood, crazy stuff. Blows your head off! I'm going to Tacoma. - And you? - He really is dead. All right. Uh-oh! - What is that?! - Oh, no! - A wiper! Triple blade! - Triple blade? Jump on! It's your only chance, bee! Why does everything have to be so doggone clean?! How much do you people need to see?! Open your eyes! Stick your head out the window! From NPR News in Washington, I'm Oarl Kasell. But don't kill no more bugs! - Bee! - Moose blood guy!! - You hear something? - Like what? Like tiny screaming. Turn off the radio. Whassup, bee boy? Hey, Blood. Just a row of honey jars, as far as the eye could see. Wow! I assume wherever this truck goes is where they're getting it. I mean, that honey's ours. -

Bees hang tight. - We're all jammed in. It's a close community. Not us, man. We on our own. Every mosquito on his own. - What if you get in trouble? - You a mosquito, you in trouble. Nobody likes us. They just smack. See a mosquito, smack, smack! At least you're out in the world. You must meet girls. Mosquito girls try to trade up, get with a moth, dragonfly. Mosquito girl don't want no mosquito. You got to be kidding me! Mooseblood's about to leave the building! So long, bee! - Hey, guys! - Mooseblood! I knew I'd catch y'all down here. Did you bring your crazy straw? We throw it in jars, slap a label on it, and it's pretty much pure profit. What is this place? A bee's got a brain the size of a pinhead. They are pinheads! Pinhead. - Oheck out the new smoker. - Oh, sweet. That's the one you want. The Thomas 3000! Smoker? Ninety puffs a minute, semi-automatic. Twice the nicotine, all the tar. A couple breaths of this knocks them right out. They make the honey, and we make the money. "They make the honey, and we make the money"? Oh, my! What's going on? Are you OK? Yeah. It doesn't last too long. Do you know you're in a fake hive with fake walls? Our queen was moved here. We had no choice. This is your queen? That's a man in women's clothes! That's a drag queen! What is this? Oh, no!

[666writingcafe]

Greed (Part One)

Author's Note: Welcome to season two of Nightbringer. Things are about to get real interesting around here.

MC

Barbatos has prepared a bunch of fortune cookies for us as thanks for helping with the final touches of RAD before the opening ceremony. One of them has a coin inside that he swears is lucky, so inevitably Mammon's tearing through them at a pace nearly rivaling Beel's.

Amidst the chaos, I manage to grab a couple cookies and crack them open. The first was empty, but the second...

The glint of the coin catches Mammon's eye, and before I can put it in one of the uniform pockets, he snatches it from my hand. Once the others catch on to what just happen, they begin berating Mammon for stealing from me. He then protests, claiming that the coin is his and that he's not going to give it to anyone else, not even to me.

But the sound of everyone's voices gets drowned out by the one inside my head. Yes, it's irritating that Mammon yanked the coin right out of my hand instead of asking if he could have it or, at the very least, take a closer look at it before giving it back to me. In that regard, it makes sense that I feel upset.

But not this upset. At the end of the day, it's just a coin. I'm sure Barbatos could find another one if I asked him to. There's no need to fight Mammon over it, and yet the urge to do so grows exponentially greater with each passing second. It's my coin, not his.

I quietly excuse myself and walk out of the castle's parlor to a spot in the less noisy hallway. Once I've sat down on the ground, I close my eyes and try one of the meditation exercises I was taught so long ago in order to clear my mind. As the brother's attendant, it would be highly improper for me to cause or add onto a scene, and I'm not about to embarrass myself in front of everybody by exploding at Mammon.

"MC?" Satan's voice cuts through the relative silence. "Is everything okay?" Keeping my eyes closed, I shake my head.

"Do you want to talk about it, or do you need to be left alone?" He probably felt my anger drastically spike and decided to check in on me, which I do appreciate. It shows that he's taking some of our lessons to heart and wanting to help others navigate through their wrath. Even if it's just me he's doing this with, it's a start.

"I'll be okay in a few minutes," I respond. "I just needed to get away from--"

"As long as I have this coin, the money's gonna come rolling in. Piles and piles of sweet, sweet money!" Great. Just great. "C'mon world, bring on the good luck! Hit me with that cold hard cash! Gobs and gobs of moolah, rainin' down on the Great Mammon!"

Whatever anger I'd managed to dissipate comes back ten-fold, and I can't decide whether to bang my head against a wall or to lunge at Mammon, demanding he give me back my coin.

Or worse.

"Give me your hand." Lucifer's stern enough that I'm able to follow his simple command. I find myself squeezing his hand as soon as I'm back on my feet, and the momentarily pained look in his eyes suggests that I'm causing him some discomfort. However, he seems to take it in stride, for he doesn't say anything about it as we begin walking.

At first, we're keeping up with the other brothers as we leave the castle behind, but then we approach a fork in the road. They go one way, and we go the other.

"They'll be fine," he explains once we've put some distance between us and them. He must have caught the confused look on my face but didn't want to tip off the others. "At least for a little bit. Satan's in charge until I return from dropping you off at the cabin. Consider this a mandatory vacation from work."

"But--"

"I will ensure that your duties are covered in your absence, but this is not up for debate." Abruptly stopping, he lets go of my hand, only to turn around and put both of his hands on my shoulders so that he's looking directly at me.

"Please understand that I'm not doing this to punish you, MC." His voice has gotten softer. "I know you were trying your best to maintain control, and I appreciate you resisting the urge to attack my brother. However, you were very close to snapping, and I don't know what would have happened if I didn't step in when I did." He sighs, briefly glancing down at the ground.

"I care about you and want to keep you safe. I don't know why this is happening to you, but I can at least ensure some amount of protection if you're staying with Solomon. That won't be the case at the House, especially if these outbursts keep happening."

I don't remember where or when I read this, but freshly-born demons go through something similar to a human's puberty, except most of it occurs on a magical level. So, Lucifer's concern is valid, because if this is them going through their puberty, it's going to be very difficult for them given their status as Avatars of Sin. The last thing anyone needs is for me to get caught in the crossfires of that.

After all, I can't return to my timeline if I wind up dead in this one.

Taglist: @lost-in-time-wanderer, @fuzztacular, @dianedancer18, @sweetbrier2908, @flare-love, @completelyshatteredbrokenmschf, @thunderlightning351, @l3v1chan, @anxious-chick, @5mary5, @expressionless-fr, @tenkobitch, @budbuddnbuddy

[morpinaround]

saw your au dungeon in dsmp and had to share an idea about it because oh my gods I might MASSIVELY start brainrotting otherwise-

I think it would be funny for kabru + Latios and co to see techno and assume monsters got out or he's a new monster(assuming he looks like a piglin on a massive furry scale of techno designs) only for philza (who looks very beastman-y but definitely is sane and sound in mind- if you ignore how good he might be at fashioning weapons and armor out of things from monsters and from the dungeon for his loved ones including benchtrio and how insanely old he is while still being young-ish) to go "naw he's just a silly shapeshifter"(relatively joking + affectionate)

later on due to some needs, maybe he finally relaxes? or he tires himself out drastically in a battle? he suddenly shifts into a more human and not pig-man form and everyone is "O_O" at him.

OH MY GOD I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS ok so for this AU I've been thinking over how the dunmeshi world would try to understand what types of beasts/demihumans each dsmp member is. They're still completely what they were originally, but the dunmeshi characters keep trying to categorize them to fit them into their world (with the exception of Laios because I see him going like "Oh no you guys obviously aren't like anything we've seen. I'm gonna ask you a million questions though because I want to give you a NEW category") But anyway, here's how the dunmeshi characters view each member!! [entire explanation under]

Techno - At first they are just like. 100% sure he's an Orc. Techno doesn't really care at all what they think, but Philza gives off the vibes of "actually doesn't wanna get attacked on the surface" so he DEFINITELY tries to assure people "No he's just like- been cursed!!! To look all monstrous like this lol" (cus he's not sure how well they'll respond to shapeshifters, they might mistake Techno for a doppelgänger!) and Techno is like "What the fuck" for the most part but again. doesn't care enough. Philza - Genuinely they just thought he was an elf or half-elf for the longest period of time because he keeps his wings under his cape. Until he showed his wings and Laios freaked out thinking he was the first male harpy they'd ever recorded. Nope!! After that debacle they think of him like a Beastman like Izutsumi Tommy - Oni, probably an Ogre like Tade, though they are all quite curious on why his horns are "dyed" like that. Also why he's so small. Also why he's not from the east. Actually they don't fully think he's an Ogre at all it's just the first group they could put him with and they rolled with it Tubbo - I think they'd struggle the most with Tubbo. POSSIBLY?? They try to put him down as an Orc as well, but I think they'd just come to understand him like they do Philza, he's just a cursed Beastman. Ranboo - OKAY. So in the manga there's this character whos an elf called Flamela, and on the wiki at least (I can't be bothered to go through the manga for a proper refresher), it specifies that "her obsidian-like skin and silver hair are traits that are considered 'proof of true royalty.'." For this reason, I think it'd be fun if for the most part everybody, and ESPECIALLY the canaries, just think he's a really fucked-up royal Elf. Don't ask me how this makes sense it's just funny. Elves losing their mind over this "obviously lost member of our royalty" and he's just there

[or0ch1maru]

Akatsuki Beach day HCs?(also include orochimaru if you don't mind) kisame is thriving

Anytime I think akatsuki and the beach I can only imagine absolute chaos

I’m loving all these fun and mushy scripts y’all are sending my way🖤🥺also, please don’t worry if it takes me a while to get to yours, my small business and my job(I work retail and it’s been a HOT MESS with Christmas right around the corner) tend to take up a lot of my time but I promise to get to every one you lovies send in<3

Okay, back to it..

•

🐚so for starters I could see Konan being the main planner. Food, drinks, making sure they have enough of literally everything they could need, as well as making sure everybody wakes up on time to leave.

🐠then for the majority of the time they’re at the beach she would be found relaxing under an umbrella reading or watching everybody have a good time.

🦞pain on the other hand would be trying to stop deidara from blowing up Tobi. (I’ll elaborate further down)

🪸pain would definitely be the ‘dad’ of the group, making sure things aren’t getting too out of hand, and failing terribly at it. Zetsu lost a sandal? Just go barefoot, what’s the worst that could happen? He gets a splinter or a rock scrapes his heel. Feels bad when Zetsu starts crying about his foot hurting, would buy him ice cream as an apology.

🌊I imagine Zetsu as being a big softie. Just like Tobi he wouldn’t know what to do first. I also see him having a slight fear of water? Someone tries splashing him he’d close his leaves? Pinchers? Locking himself in his own shelter

☀️he’d find a bucket, a cup, literally anything and start collecting all the pretty shells he spots, even when the bucket gets full, he’ll start stuffing them in his pockets.

🪼our gentle masked comrade Tobi would refuse to take his mask off, let alone his shirt🥺

🐙poor thing couldn’t figure out what to do when they first arrived; go swimming? Build a sandcastle? Collect shells? Stare at the fish and other sea creatures showing themselves in the water? Nope, he decided on doing what he does best, piss off Deidara

🐬doesn’t even mean to do so, deidara is as explosive as his art so of course he’s going to get mad when Tobi accidentally gets sand in his hair.

🐋would retreat far into the ocean on a floaty, avoiding Tobi as much as possible. His hair would be tied up into a bun to keep the sea water from drying it out. Would most likely be those floaties with the little cup holder in it, probably with a beer can or sake in it.

🦭Sasori my man, I can imagine him working on a sandcastle. Using his skills to make a large one with details that would be tedious to anybody but him.

🦐he would volunteer to run up to the shops to grab things his comrades may want. No matter how small or stupid that item might be. Would buy small toys and presents in the gifts shops for everyone. He really enjoys walking through the board walk, will take a break and hang out on the pier for a bit before returning to the group.

🐚the zombie combo would both be talking and trying to pick up the gorgeous women who also decided to head to the beach that day. Hidan of course would be much more outgoing and flamboyant about it. Showing off his muscles and abs.

🐠Kakuzu on the other hand, all he’s gotta do is show off that one smirk of his to have them hypnotized. Wouldn’t care if one of them felt up on his scars or touched his hair. He won’t voice it, not even to Hidan, but he enjoys the attention, even if nothing comes of it.

🦈oh boy Kisame. Do I really have to say anything? As you said, he’d be THRIVING.

🦈would be moving through the water with ease, not even a ripple would be seen as he swims. Within minutes, sharks and other large sea animals would be seen following him around. He’d be so cute about it too, feeding them random shit he’d find, knowing what they want, or giving the sharks little boops on their noses(you can’t tell me you don’t see him doing this) and would be the main one to eat like 90% of the food Konan packed. She would make him join Sasori when going to the shops so he can stock up on everything he devoured.

🦞our sweet boy Itachi would pop into the water for a little bit before wandering off to the tide pools. He would find a patch of sand to sit on, watching as the sea stars and small fish go about their business as they wait for the tide to come back in

🪸would eventually get tired of being in the sun and lay out a towel next to Konan to hang out under the umbrella. They would talk or sit in silence, depends on how either of them are feeling that day.

•snake boy orochimaru would LATHER himself in sunscreen, you see how pale he is? (No offense, i love him) and he would also wear sunglasses to protect his eyes.

🌊I could see him complaining about the sun and trying to avoid it like the plague, acting as if the sun is the worst thing imaginable. Not one to express his feelings well if at all and uses his complaints to hide the fact that he’s actually having the time of his life. Would put a fish or eel in a jar, wanting to bring it back to the compound to keep as a pet until Konan tells him release it. Promising to take him to a pet store to get one there instead.

☀️towards the end of the day, moving into the early evening the whole group would play volleyball or fuck around in the water, splashing each other until everybody’s out of breath.

[dukealicious]

Ya like jazz

Okay! Firstly!

According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway because bees don't care what humans think is impossible.

Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Yellow, black. Ooh, black and yellow! Let's shake it up a little. Barry! Breakfast is ready! Coming! Hang on a second. Hello? - Barry? - Adam? - Can you believe this is happening? - I can't. I'll pick you up. Looking sharp. Use the stairs. Your father paid good money for those. Sorry. I'm excited. Here's the graduate. We're very proud of you, son. A perfect report card, all B's. Very proud. Ma! I got a thing going here. - You got lint on your fuzz. - Ow! That's me! - Wave to us! We'll be in row 118,000. - Bye! Barry, I told you, stop flying in the house! - Hey, Adam. - Hey, Barry. - Is that fuzz gel? - A little. Special day, graduation. Never thought I'd make it. Three days grade school, three days high school. Those were awkward. Three days college. I'm glad I took a day and hitchhiked around the hive. You did come back different. - Hi, Barry. - Artie, growing a mustache? Looks good. - Hear about Frankie? - Yeah. - You going to the funeral? - No, I'm not going. Everybody knows, sting someone, you die. Don't waste it on a squirrel. Such a hothead. I guess he could have just gotten out of the way. I love this incorporating an amusement park into our day. That's why we don't need vacations. Boy, quite a bit of pomp... under the circumstances. - Well, Adam, today we are men. - We are! - Bee-men. - Amen! Hallelujah! Students, faculty, distinguished bees, please welcome Dean Buzzwell. Welcome, New Hive City graduating class of... ...9:15. That concludes our ceremonies. And begins your career at Honex Industries! Will we pick our job today? I heard it's just orientation. Heads up! Here we go. Keep your hands and antennas inside the tram at all times. - Wonder what it'll be like? - A little scary. Welcome to Honex, a division of Honesco and a part of the Hexagon Group. This is it! Wow. Wow. We know that you, as a bee, have worked your whole life to get to the point where you can work for your whole life. Honey begins when our valiant Pollen Jocks bring the nectar to the hive. Our top-secret formula is automatically color-corrected, scent-adjusted and bubble-contoured into this soothing sweet syrup with its distinctive golden glow you know as... Honey! - That girl was hot. - She's my cousin! - She is? - Yes, we're all cousins. - Right. You're right. - At Honex, we constantly strive to improve every aspect of bee existence. These bees are stress-testing a new helmet technology. - What do you think he makes? - Not enough. Here we have our latest advancement, the Krelman. - What does that do? - Catches that little strand of honey that hangs after you pour it. Saves us millions. Can anyone work on the Krelman? Of course. Most bee jobs are small ones. But bees know that every small job, if it's done well, means a lot. But choose carefully because you'll stay in the job you pick for the rest of your life. The same job the rest of your life? I didn't know that. What's the difference? You'll be happy to know that bees, as a species, haven't had one day off in 27 million years. So you'll just work us to death? We'll sure try. Wow! That blew my mind! "What's the difference?" How can you say that? One job forever? That's an insane choice to have to make. I'm relieved. Now we only have to make one decision in life. But, Adam, how could they never have told us that? Why would you question anything? We're bees. We're the most perfectly functioning society on Earth. You ever think maybe things work a little too well here? Like what? Give me one example. I don't know. But you know what I'm talking about. Please clear the gate. Royal Nectar Force on approach. Wait a second. Check it out.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA

🎫🎫🎫 (to easily identify post later)

Okay! WIBTA if I told my coworker that I didn't want to go/drive us to a play he already got tickets for?

The situation is slightly more complicated than it sounds at first. First off, everybody involved are adults ranging from 19-28 and we all work together.

A few months ago a co-worker who I was becoming friends with asked me if I liked plays, I said yes and he asked if I was interested in going to a play with a couple of our co-workers who we are also friends with. I said i would like to but that I couldn't afford it right now. He had already gotten yeses from the other two people.

I assumed that they would get tickets and still go and I was happy that they had invited me!

Fast forward a few weeks and he brings it up again, i said that while I had some more money now I'm sure that the tickets had all sold - he said no he had bought all four tickets after I told him I thought it would be fun to go.

Keep in mind: I never asked him to buy me a ticket. He never told me he was going to buy the tickets. I have no idea if the other two will pay him back for theirs, but he never asked me to pay him back for mine.

Here's where the AH part comes in. Like I said, we were only starting to transition from only coworkers to friendly/friend co-workers. So in the past few weeks he's been doing stuff at work that makes me not want to be friends with him? Like, stealing stuff, doing things to try/being annoying/unhelpful to try and goad others into acting out so they get in trouble, lying about a bunch of stuff - just things that I hadn't seen coming and now makes me not want to hang out with him outside of work.

If it makes any difference, both him and me are autistic (I mask more than he does at work tho).

So, will all that in mind - WIBTA if I told him I couldnt/didn't want to go to the play anymore? I feel bad him spending the money on my ticket and I know he doesn't have a lot of friends and his home life sucks (his mom is financially abusive) and tbh I don't want to be another person who he feels is against him. But I don't want to be an outside of work friend anymore.

What are these acronyms?

[mcflymemes]

TAYLOR SWIFT PROMPTS *  assorted lines from her albums

meet me at midnight.

i'm highly suspicious that everyone who sees you wants you.

i snuck in through the garden gate.

they say looks can kill, and i might try.

tell me to run.

sometimes i wonder which one will be your last lie.

i play it cool with the best of them.

love's a game. wanna play?

maybe we got lost in translation.

no one's celebrating.

don't say i didn't warn you.

we're dancing all night.

i didn't choose this town.

i should just tell you to leave.

you can try to change my mind.

we were both young when i first saw you.

let's get out of this town.

i might be okay, but i'm not fine at all.

i'd live and die for moments that we stole.

what would he do if he found us out?

all this shit is new to me.

i could show you incredible things.

i waited ages to see you there.

i miss you.

i should not be left to my own devices.

if i bleed, you'll be the last to know.

please don't go.

get it off your chest.

you look like my next mistake.

you told your family for a reason.

maybe i asked for too much.

can i go where you go?

i know it's long gone.

i think it's time to teach some lessons.

life will lose all meaning.

you're on your own, kid.

what you heard is true.

take me somewhere we can be alone.

everybody wants you.

boys only want love if it's torture.

nice to meet you. where you been?

one day i'll watch as you're leaving.

nothing lasts forever.

you did some bad things, but i'm the worst of them.

i don't remember.

i called a taxi to take me there.

he's gonna burn this house to the ground.

i just sit here and wait.

i can read you like a magazine.

i think i've been too good of a girl.

you might have to wait in line.

close your eyes.

the blame is on me.

save all your dirtiest jokes for me.

get it off my desk.

you started it.

the jokes weren't funny.

i think i've been a little too kind.

you're not sure which is worse.

say you'll remember me.

i'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream.

i'd like to be my old self again.

we're dead if they knew.

you've got no reason to be afraid.

by the way, i'm going out tonight.

i can picture it after all these days.

we never go out of style.

i heard you moved on.

we're young, and we're reckless.

i know you heard about me.

you were everything to me.

i've been dressing for revenge.

can we always be this close forever and ever?

i cried like a baby coming home from the bar.

no one has to know what we do.

what a shame she's fucked in the head.

my pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand.

what doesn't kill me makes me want you more.

i don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you.

this is our place. we make the call.

this love is difficult, but it's real.

it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero.

something about it felt like home somehow.

what must it be like to grow up that beautiful?

how's one to know?

i polish up real nice.

you can tell me when it's over.

do you have a man?

the worst is yet to come.

will you please stand?

don't be afraid. we'll make it out of this mess.

i dropped your hand while dancing.

this dorm was once a madhouse.

hey, let's be friends.

don't get sad. get even.

you're talking shit for the hell of it.

you'll never have to be alone.

you love the game.

it's coming back around.

i get drunk on jealousy.

where do you think she got it from?

your opal eyes are all i wish to see.

i remember it all too well.

you wouldn't know what i mean.

don't put me in the basement.

i can make the bad guys good for a weekend.

you'll come back each time you leave.

i love you and that's all i really know.

i don't like that anyone would die to feel your touch.

[stardustprompts]

ghost ship ( 2002 ) sentence starters change tenses/pronouns as needed !!  some lines have been edited for clarity / length / ease of roleplaying tw ;  language , death , murder

'keep your pants on, (name).'

'why do you always have to break my balls? I said get back here.'

'do you want me to come down there and kick your ass? because I'll do it.'

'the sea gives you an opportunity, you take it.'

'in this business, the only plan is there is no plan.'

'if you don't wanna go, that's fine with me.'

'that's a pretty big 'if.'"

'I can't let you take advantage of me like that.'

'you mean what's a nice girl like me doing in a dump like this?'

'would you turn off that fucking music?'

'you sure no survivors ever turned up?'

'looks like we missed one hell of a party.'

'I told you to watch your fucking step!'

'are you okay?'

'hey you smell that? I smell bullshit.'

'I've seen things that you can't even imagine.'

'so, what's our plan?'

'you okay? you seem quiet since you came back.'

'I think I saw something I couldn't possibly have seen.'

'it's crazy, it doesn't matter.'

'you're so funny.'

'did you hurt yourself?'

'I must be losing my goddamn mind.'

'stop dragging ass, what's your problem?'

'don't go in there.'

'you were fucking with me, so I fucked with you!'

'it was the sexist voice I ever heard.'

'stop! you don't know what you're doing!'

'(name) is dead because of you!'

'come on, it's not gonna bring him back.'

'it's not your fault, you know that.'

'I say we do what we do best.'

'we can't do this. I can't do it!'

'I need you.'

'well, I say go to hell, (name).'

'right, so it's everybody's fault but your own.'

'grow up, asshole.'

'where's your empathy?'

'winners do not empathize with losers.'

'I know all of this isn't real, so I'm just gonna go with it, okay?'

'oh, god, you really are a fucking ghost.'

'(name) was my goddamn responsibility.'

'we're all trapped here.'

'it's okay, you can tell me.'

'you must go at once!'

'you're coming along for the ride.'

'he just tried to kill you.'

'next thing you know, we'll all be trying to kill each other.'

'don't die on me!'

'you disgust me.'

'you heard me, you're a pathetic excuse for a man.'

'I don't have time for this.'

'who the hell are you?'

'don't worry about who I am. the question is who are you?'

'if you'll kindly step out of my way, I'll make your dream a reality.'

'well, you live for her. you willing to die for her?'

'but that'll kill us.'

'we could have a life together, you and me.'

'all right, okay. you win!'

'you're not gonna pull that trigger, (name).'

'(name) made the same mistake. he's dead.'

'what the fuck are you?'

'I don't seem to be getting through to you.'

'I gave you a great opportunity! all you had to do was take it!'

[evansbby]

hello??? I woke up to everybody talking about their dilf experience and now I’m lowkey scared 😭😭 should I cancel? like we agreed to meet at night, it’s like 12 am now there’s still time 😭

and bestie dw you didn’t come across as rude or condescending at all, I totally get where you’re coming from!! I love honest big sister advice, I only have brothers and one younger sister so I’M the older sister 😭 but no I completely understand. and looking back now, maybe I did rush into immediately wanting to lose my v card. idk, I do really like him and he’s really nice, like he was the one telling me that we don’t have to rush into anything. maybe we should take thing slower? like go on a date first? idk, I was so sure of it yesterday and now I’m not 💀

and I’m sorry for leaving out the juicy details girl 😭!! I was the one who made the first move. her and her dad live pretty far away, plus there was traffic so we were in the car for maybe more than an hour? so it was just constant flirting and getting to know each other, like there was so much sexual tension and just teasing and stuff. and then eventually when we arrived, I took my seatbelt off and like gave him a hug/side hug as a thank you and idk our faces were so close together when I pulled back and I just thought fuck it and leaned in to kiss him. (it was the two red bulls I drank to keep me up that gave me the courage). and he also kinda leaned in so I guess it was both of us? idk, but it led to a whole make out session and then I put my hand on his crotch and then THAT lead to me giving him head 😭

but…what should I do now? like, I’m really nervous now 😭😭

(since everyone is doing small text, I had to do it as well 😛)

Hehehe small text is extremely aesthetically pleasing lol

And thank you for understanding where I was coming from! I wasn’t trying to shame you in any way or form, nor was I trying to come off as some superior know-it-all! It’s just that I got other anons after I answered yours, saying “omg just go for it!!” But I feel like it’s not as easy as that (at least it wouldn’t be for me if I was in your shoes but we could be completely different people and that’s okay!)

I think with dilfs, often enough they want you more than you want them. Well, that’s true with most men but 100000% more with dilfs. If I was in your position I’d take it slow bc if he wants to jump your bones today, he’ll still want to jump your bones next week and the week after — in fact even more. If I were you, I’d give him something little by little, make him work for it etc. you said yourself there’s so much sexual tension and teasing, so elongating that could be fun idk! I just feel like men can be animals and women need to play it smart a lot of times with them.

If you’re feeling nervous then, as I said before, do think it through! I mean he himself is telling you he doesn’t mind taking it slow, so maybe that’s the direction you should go in? Like the whole flirty touchy phase would be so cute. I really just don’t want to see you getting hurt! Especially by some man who I KNOWWW 1000% wants you more than you want him! So make him work for it! Tease him hahahaha. But above all please be smart and safe about whatever decision you end up making!

[jackie-show]

Hi guys!!! I'm Jackie this is a multi parts enemies to lovers fanfiction about Hotch and a character I've created.For some reason I didn't wanna make the character an agent so I took an idea from an amazing tv show called "Psych" if you guys aren't familiar with it it's fine you can still read this,anyway this first part is very influenced by the pilot of Psych,hope you guys like it if you do please tell me so I'll make a part two plus if you have any questions feel free to ask <3

The BAU got assigned another case,this one was a little tough they have suspects but nothing's sure yet,after Jj finishes talking to the public the police gets a call that was immediately referred to the BAU;the call was from a girl that said who the unsub was and after making sure turns out she's right and after a few days they catch the unsub but there was one last thing to do.

Outside of the BAU Quantico:

Miry gets off  the cab and heads into the BAU, when she gets in she is escorted down the hall into an interrogation room.

Miry:So when do I get my money?

Morgan:Money?

Miry:Yeah the reward.You guys arrested the man I told you about. Am I right?

Hotch:Why don't you let us ask the questions for a while.

Miry:Okay. (sits)So which questions might those be?

Hotch:Where were you the night of the murder?

Miry:I was robbing a stereo shop. (laughs) I wasn't. I don't know. I guess I was doing the same thing you were doing, not solving crime.

Hotch:You're not helping your case here.

Miry:My case? Wait, wait, wait. I'm actually a suspect?

Hotch:You're our lead suspect.

Miry:I gave you the guy.

Hotch:He could've had a partner.

Miry:I have to find that guy? I'm confused. When do you start chipping in?

Hotch:See, your information was good. So good, it could only have come from the inside.

Miry:Inside of what? Look, I've called in dozens of tips, okay? Just check it out.

Hotch:I did. I checked out a whole lot of stuff.Pardon me if I'm just a little skeptical. Believable as it is that you solved all these crimes... I'm sorry, what was it? Watching the local channel 8 news reports.

Miry:I confess. That's not true. Sometimes I watch channel 5. I prefer channel 8. The weather guy,hot.

Hotch:So you're telling us that you can read guilt off of tv interviews.

Miry:Can't you?

Hotch:Don't you try and trivialize police work.

Miry:I think you're doing a bang-up job of that all by yourself. You can't keep me here, guys. I know my rights.

(she stands and walks to the door)

Hotch:Good. Then you know you have the right to remain silent.

Miry opens the door and Morgan blocks her exit.

Hotch:You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you.

Miry:Wait,wait,wait.You're serious?

Jj:Just give us a reason that's all we need. How did you get this information?

Hotch:No. It is too late for that. (walks over) Morgan, book her.

Morgan walks up behind Miry and pulls her arms behind her back as he reaches for hiscuffs.

Miry:Book her?Oh, come on. Cuffs? What, for the walk back to the lobby?

Jj:Or you could give us a plausible explanation.

Miry doesn't know what to do so she goes with the first thing that comes to her mind,she puts her hands up

Miry:Okay. Okay. Fine. You win. I got the information because... I am a psychic.

Hotch:Get her out of here!

Miry:Oh, boy!(falls back against the door, hand to her head points to an agent behind Morgan)Hey you,your grandma would be so proud.

Agent:You spoke to her?

Miry:I did. She's... safe, comfortable. She wants you to stop spending all your money on those charlatans.

Agent(cups her face) The palm readers.

Miry:The palm readers.

Jj:Okay, just to be clear, um, you're claiming to be a psychic, Miss Wright

Miry:How else would I know that Mr. agent Hotchner here is having problems with his wife?

(Everybody looks at Hotch)

Miry:Ops did I touch a nerve?

Hotch:Oh c'mon who's buying this?

(Jj and Spencer slowly raise their hands,Penelope is in the corner raising her hand as well)

Miry:(she smiles,on her way out)Question.Do I pay taxes on reward money?

Spencer:I'll find out. Please feel free to call anytime.

Miry:You know I will. Magic touch.

(They touch fingertips,Spencer smiles then Miry leaves)

Miry exits the building with a smile and walks down the steps.

Gideon follows her out.

Gideon:Not so fast, Miss Wright

Miry stops and turns around.

Gideon:Jason Gideon,Senior Supervisory Agent 

Miry:I know.

Gideon:Heard about what you did in there.

Miry:Oh, you're welcome.

Gideon:That wasn't the phrase I was going to use. I was going to say improbable. Possible, yet unlikely.

Miry:Look, it's hard to explain. I'm gifted. I was born that way.

Miry:(after a moment of silence)Am I still free to go?

Gideon:Not exactly,there's been another murder

Miry:Oh, come on. I had nothing to do with that

Gideon:Would you like to?What I need is a miracle.Or a facsimile of one.

Miry:I see,I see.Well,I make $1,200 a day.

Gideon:It's a try-out.

Miry:That's what I meant to say. This is pro bono, something for you.

Gideon:And if this psychic thing is a scam... we will prosecute. You know hindering a police investigation is a criminal offense. 

Miry:Sounds good. We're on the same team now.

(They both go back inside together)

[coffeeaddictednymph]

I found stars in Hell

Regulus Black x Lupin!Reader

Hi! I post this little prolouge hope you guys gonna like it... This is the first time I'm posting my writing please if you find some mistakes just let me know, english is not my first language.

Warning: a bit angst, but I think that's all.

The war come fast most of us just started to live our life. Everybody afraid listening to the radio, searching the Daily Prophet, waiting for some letters anything about our friends, loved ones.

The Order works hard, seeking for information doing missions. Me and my brother also helped the the Order. Here we are waiting for a meeting just a few of us here yet, Remus really tense looking out for danger Sirius impatient too where the hell is the others. I heard a noise and wander away to find the source of the sounds, like footsteps.

Then it was dark like the weather warning us for danger. Death eaters come a lot of them I start to run back to the others. My mind is racing I should be back with my brother, and yet somehow they found out our New meeting spot. Everything is full of death eaters. I think about apperating away but I can't leave without Remus.

Spells and curses painting the surroundings I start to run it's too many around me to fight against them alone. I hear someone shout in the distance

-I go after her, go back to the others.-

Worry feel my whole body, I need to get back hoping the others got away safely. I don't want to die like this alone they won't hesitate I know. I hide behind an old oak tree the steps that's following me fading away, maybe he gave up... Try to control my breath with happy memories.

*Sitting under that tree near the Black Lake reading a book when someone comes near me making a shadow next to mine, I look up to find a Hufflepuff boy from my year.

-Hey. Sorry to bother you, our study session today... Erm can I call it off? - he asked he seems a bit nervous.

-Hi. If you want to sure, but why you wanna cancel? I though you need to pass from Herbology? - I asked him a but confused.

-Yeah I know, but finally that girl I like agreed to go on a date with me. Can we study tomorrow? I really need your tutoring. - he almost begged me.

-Okay tomorrow can work just please don't call it off again. Good luck with your date.- I smiled at him he looked so relieved. He hugged me out of nowhere amongst a lot of Thank yous. After he felt I felt someone behind me so I looked behind to find Regulus stand a few feet away.

-What was that?- he asked his face were stoic like always but his eyes showed a different emotion.

-Nothing, we're just rescheduled something. Why are you asking? -

-I just.. Nevermind he seemed so happy and you're mean so it was strange. -

-I'm not mean Black, you are!- he scoffed and sit next to me, I mimiced his scoff when I realized.

-Wait a bloody minute... Are you jealous Black? - that wicked smile must've beeb really knowing because he blushed slightly.

-Don't be ridiculous, why would I be jealous? - he asked defensivly. We're dating but keep it privet for our sake.

-Oh darling, you're the only storm cloud to me, I'm just tutoring him- I laughed so hard Regulus Black rarely show any emotion. He tried to be emotionless and just put his arm around me to make me stop. *

I missed Regulus, he vanished from my life not long before the war without a word. I peeked from my hiding spot, but yelped when I've been grabbed from behind.

-Don't you dare scream or you get both of us killed. - my attacker whispered in my ear.

-This voice familiar... Could it be him?

- Apparate us somewhere safe you don't want your brother dead right? - he threatens me, but doesn't sound convincing. I apparated to an orchard with a little cottage.

When we arrived I broke free from his grip I held my wand at him.

-I guess this is a lesson in not trusting people, right? Even if they mean everything to you... It is really you? - I couldn't hold my tears anymore as I watch him take of that dreadful mask. Regulus....

[celiawrites14]

the one with to kill a mocking girl part 1

warnings: a confusing confrontation with noel that could be looked at as assault, swearing, lying, allusions to smut, implied death, angst

We were walking in the woods, and I was annoyed. Why did it have to be the woods? Why did there have to be bugs?

"Who's idea was this again?" Hanna asked, I could feel her frustration.

"Yeah, and why? I hate the woods." I announced my feelings.

"Emily's mom." Spencer retorted.

"The shed was me. My mom just said we should do something for us." Emily admitted.

"Well, couldn't we do something without mosquitos?" Hanna demanded.

"They're not mosquitoes." Aria told her. "They're gnats."

"Whatever they are, they're annoying!" I slapped one away from me.

"They're small and annoying, and they're flying up my nose." Hanna complained.

"Well, they're attracted to your perfume. And your hair product. And your lip gloss. 

"So, what are you saying, I attract flies?" Hanna asked.

"Gnats." Aria corrected.

"Why do I feel like this is the wrong way?" Emily asked, looking around.

"No, this is it. I remember that tree. It's the halfway point. There's 136 steps left to the shed." Spencer filled in.

"I love you Spencer. Don't ever change." I told her. Spencer rolled her eyes, but grinned at me nevertheless.

"Have you been out here since... Alison?" Emily asked Spencer.

"Me?" Spencer asked, looking confused. "No way."

"But you remember that tree?" Aria asked, this time she was the one confused.

"You guys, it's not that weird. I mean, we came out here in eighth like, everyday... even after." Hanna told the girls.

"And besides, Spencer is a genius." I shrugged. "Are you guys all that surprised?"

"I think this is totally the wrong place to do this. Whatever you call it... shrine." Spencer told us.

"It's not a shrine," Emily corrected. "It's just a place to remember Alison. What's wrong with that?" She asked defensively.

"There's nothing wrong with that." I told her.

"But doing it way out here makes it look like we have something to hide." Spencer argued.

"You're worried what other people think?" Emily scolded Spencer.

"Well, are you?" Spencer defended herself. "Do you really want to give that creepy detective more reasons to question us?" She had a point. Detective Wilden would be on us so fast if he knew what we were doing.

"Hanna? Why are you so quiet?" Emily questioned her.

"I'm trying to keep the bugs in my nose and out of my mouth."

"You're aloud to have an opinion on this. You are too, Lily." Emily told us.

"I guess I don't mind doing something, but I do mind being interrogated by Detective Wilden."

"You want my opinion? I say we hold off and not remember her 'til we know for sure she's not here."

"What?" We all asked her, confused.

"What are you talking about?" Aria continued.

"You think she's still alive?" Emily added next.

"Hanna, they found her body!" Spencer exclaimed.

"Stop." Aria demanded, pleading for us to stop talking. "I'm officially scared. Can we just not!"

"You know, you asked for my opinion. I don't believe she's really gone." Hanna told us.

"We went to her funeral!" Spencer tired to reason with her again.

"I know I don't have a great science record, but I am telling you that once a person is dead, they can't come back to life!" Which made everybody smile before turning back to Hanna.

"Yeah, and when we left, we all got a text from her." Hanna challenged.

"It wasn't her. Someone is messing with us." Emily counted.

"How do you know that?" I demanded, “We never saw her body. Not once.”

“And what about all those nasty messages? I mean, how does this “A” person know stuff only Ali knew?” Hanna added on.

“Okay, this conversation is giving me a hive.” Aria said, scratching.

“Oh good God, Aria.” I rolled my eyes.

“That’s a bite. Mosquito.” Hanna added, just as annoyed.

“Spencer, have you gotten anymore messages?” Emily asked our smart friend.

“Haven’t you?” Spencer countered. After that, we heard branches and bushes rustling.

“What was that?” Emily demanded. “Did you hear that?” She was scared, but then again, all of us were.

“Yes, I heard that. I’m standing right next to you.” Aria told her.

“Hello? Is anybody there?” I stepped closer to Hanna.

“It’s probably a rabbit.” Spencer tried to reassure us all.

“Hello?” Spencer asked into the air again.

“It’s a rabbit, Hanna. It’s not gonna answer you.” Spencer told her again.

“Can we just get to the shed?” Emily begged us. There was more rustling with branches and bushes. 

“Okay, that’s definitely not a rabbit. Someone’s out there.” Hanna said flatly.

“Agreed.” I sided with Hanna. There definitely was somebody out there, even if we were looking around and couldn’t see anybody.

“Let’s turn around.” Emily told us, but as we continued to look around, all of our phones rang. Damn.

“Dad!” I yelled running down the stairs to the kitchen. 

“Yes, honey?” He responded from his spot at the kitchen where he was making eggs.

“Noel had to go in early for practice and Hanna is grounded. Can you take me to school today? I need to be there early so I can prepare for my biology test with my study group.”

“Yeah, no problem. Are you ready to go now?”

I nodded, grabbing my water bottle and backpack before following Dad to the car. “Dad?” I asked quietly, trying not to draw attention to us, as Jake was in the living room.

“What’s up?” He asked, turning away from the stove to look at me.

“Why is Jake back?” 

“I told you, he’s better.” Dad sighed.

“Dad, what is considered better in this situation?”

“Well, he’s not explosive anymore.”

“It was more than explosive.” I muttered.

“Can you just try?” Dad asked me. “Just try.”

“I am! I will! But like, Dad, are we sure this is the right move given his … history.”

“Well, according to you Uncle Ben, who is a – behavior therapist for adolescents and teens, says that reintroducing him to a normal society is the next step.” I stared out the window of the car. “And he feels ready to do that here and we need to provide a place for him to do that, whether we are ready for him to do it or not.” He pulled into the parking lot of the school.

“I’ll get a ride home with Spencer or Noel,” I told him, grabbing my stuff. “I’ll see you tonight?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

“Spencer! Biology is not my forte. I may be in AP English, AP US History, AP World History, but I’m not math or science, okay? Most people even take it their sophomore year, but here I am as a junior, taking both Geometry and Biology and Algebra 2 because I need to double up so that next year I can take AP Politics, Women in European History, which is for college credit, and Sociology.”

“Okay, you need to breathe.”

“I am breathing!” I put my head down on the table. “I’m just panicking while I do so.”

“Well, if it makes you feel better, I’m taking AP Russian History and the only words that I have on my paper are Spencer Hastings.”

I glanced up at her. “That does … make me feel a little better.”

“I try my best.”

“Since when is Toby come back?” I asked the girls when I caught up with them.

“Hanna.” Detective Wilden came up to her.

“Cops on campus too?” Aria snipped at him.

“I just spoke with your principal, asked him if we could have a chat.”

“No, I have to get to class.” Hanna said, looking back at me for help.

“Don’t worry. You’ve been excused. Let’s go.” He told her.

“I’m coming with.” I stepped up next Hanna.

“You were not excused.” Wilden told me, trying to stare me down.

“I wasn’t asking. If you want to speak with Hanna, you will do it while I am present, or you can wait for her mom to be here. Your choice.”

“Let’s go.”

We sat down in the office, waiting to leave. “I keep coming abc to this ninth grade shaft, of you and Alison on the steps.”

“What about it?” Hanna asked as I tried to profile the room the best that I could.

“Well, you made a lot of changes between ninth and tenth grade. Lost some weight, started styling your hair like Alison’s.” He kept pressing.

“Is that a crime?”

“It’s not a crime.” I snapped. “Why are you asking all of these questions?”

“It’s just an observation.”

“No, she helped me make those changes.” Hanna put in.

“Did she really? Did she ever regret it? Start seeing you as her competition?” Wilden asked.

“Nobody competed with Alison. You’d be stupid to even try.” Hanna said.

“We didn’t need to compete with Alison.” I snapped at Wilden.

“Why?”

Flashback

“Ask him. You’ll never know unless you ask. Now.” Alison demanded to Hanna.

“Um, Sean?” Hanna asked timidly. “Did you hear about the party at Noel Kahn’s?”

“I heard,” he said, not really giving her the time of day.

“I don’t know. I was thinking about going, so I’m just wondering if you want to go too.” She stumbled over her words. “With me.”

“Everybody’s going,” I tried to save.

“She’s going, she’s also going, I’m going. Why aren’t you?” Alison asked him.

“Oh, yeah, I guess I am.”

“What about this guy? Did she ever talk about him?”

“What?” Hanna and I asked in sync.

“Stay with me girls, it’s important.”

“Why?” I demanded.

“Why? What is the point?” Hanna also demanded.

“The point is,” Wilden snapped. “I’m trying to flesh out the details of that summer.”

“So you can ask her how much weight she lost? By making it look like Hanna wanted Alison dead so she could replace her?” I was losing it.

“I’m not questioning her as a suspect. It’s just a chat. Besides, one can’t underestimate how much the past informs the present.”

“Really? So, you’re still that same party boy you were in the class of ‘96? Did you call me down here to do keg stands?” Go Hanna.

“Because it seems to us, you still would like to relive your glory days by making sure you’re always around pretty high school students.”

“Wow, looks like somebody’s been doing their own homework, minus the pretty high school girls, you’re spot on.”

“Oh that’s right, you’ve moved on to people who are old enough to be your mother.”

Wilden gave me and Hanna an alarmed look. “Don’t bother, she already knows everything and she won’t tell anybody because she doesn’t want to hurt my mom.”

“You though, I could care less about you.” I glared at him.

“I like to know who’s joining us for breakfast. And, by the way, my tenth-grade picture isn’t even in that year book. I had mono and missed the deadline. Now, my makeup picture is in my living room, which you must’ve seen while you were wearing a towel. IS that how the police build their cases these days?”

“What going on?” Hanna asked as we met up with the othe three girls.

“We’ve been trying to get a hold of you both. What happened in there?”

“Nothing, just the same old stupid questions.”

“You guys were in there for an hour! What else did he ask?” Spencer grilled us.

“Nothing. He just took a couple calls, and I just sat there, waiting for him to shut up.” Hanna told them. 

“Really?” Spencer, this time, looked over to me.

“Really, Spencer. You have to remember, you’re not the detective, so stop grilling us like you are.”

“Well, is he going to question all of us now?” Aria asked.

“I don’t know.” I told her.

“Look, let’s do this at lunch, okay? I have to hit the ladies’ before my next class.”

“I also have to go to my locker and check in with Noel.”

“I broke up with Ben.” Emily said, sitting across from me and Noel during study hall. 

“You broke up with Ben?” Noel and I said at the same time.

“Yeah, God, you guys are weirdly in sync.” Emily commented, pulling out her binder for Algebra 2.

“Well, I’m not going to do girl talk, so I’ll leave you both to it.” Noel kissed the side of my head before exiting the library.

“What happened?” I asked her, setting my pen down and giving her my undivided attention.

“He, well, uh, he came on to me.” I could tell where this was going, but I did not interrupt her. “He - I - I pushed him off… but he kept trying to… and I kept saying no, but he would listen.” Both our eyes welded up with tears. “But then Toby Cavanaugh came in and they got into a fight.”

“Wait, Toby fought Ben?” I questioned, confused. Why would Toby save Emily?

“Yeah, he saved me.” Emily told me.

“And then you broke up with Ben once Toby was done beating him up?” I questioned, connecting all the dots.

“Yeah, I did.”

I placed my hand on top of hers and squeezed. “I’m glad you dumped him and I’m glad Toby was there.”

“I’m glad about both of those things too, but I’m confused to why he would do that. It’s not like I’m in his good graces.” 

“I don’t know Em, but I’m starting to think we need to relearn all the people we thought we knew. Now, will you please help me study for my Biology test?”