#mushy road trip

[glacial-art]

Mushy time!

Patience for @alanahsart-blog

Hoodie for @opprotunemoment

Propriety for meeee <3

Danny for @thatsmimi

Poppy for @timesnewfishcat

Mushy road trip is based off of the ttrpg Along the Road to Everywhere by @loamington and @beece

[shrooms11]

Exploring the World of Mushroom Chocolate: A Fusion of Flavors and Wellness

In the ever-evolving landscape of gourmet and wellness foods, mushroom chocolate has emerged as a fascinating and delightful trend. Combining the rich, velvety taste of chocolate with the unique benefits of medicinal mushrooms, this innovative treat offers a blend of indulgence and health benefits that’s captivating the culinary world. Let’s dive into the intriguing world of mushroom chocolate and discover why it’s gaining popularity.

A Brief History of Mushroom Chocolate

Mushrooms have been valued for their medicinal properties for thousands of years, particularly in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. Varieties like Reishi, Chaga, Lion’s Mane, and Cordyceps have been used to boost immunity, enhance cognitive function, and reduce stress. The idea of combining these powerful fungi with chocolate, however, is a more recent development.

Chocolate itself has a rich history, once considered a "food of the gods" by ancient civilizations such as the Mayans and Aztecs. Its appeal has only grown over the centuries, evolving from a bitter beverage to the sweet treat we know today. The fusion of mushrooms and chocolate marries the ancient wisdom of mushroom use with the modern love for chocolate, creating a product that is both delicious and potentially beneficial for health.

The Health Benefits of Mushroom Chocolate

One of the key reasons behind the rise of mushroom chocolate is its purported health benefits. Each type of mushroom used in these chocolates brings its own set of advantages:

Reishi: Known as the "mushroom of immortality," Reishi is believed to support the immune system, reduce stress, and promote relaxation. Incorporating Reishi into chocolate creates a soothing treat that can help you unwind.

Lion’s Mane: This mushroom is famous for its potential cognitive benefits. It may enhance memory, focus, and overall brain function, making Lion’s Mane-infused chocolate a popular choice for those seeking a mental boost.

Chaga: Packed with antioxidants, Chaga is often hailed for its ability to fight inflammation and support overall wellness. Chaga chocolate can be a tasty way to introduce more antioxidants into your diet.

Cordyceps: Known for its energy-boosting properties, Cordyceps is often used by athletes and those with active lifestyles. Cordyceps chocolate might be the perfect pick-me-up before a workout or during a midday slump.

While the benefits of medicinal mushrooms are still being studied, many enthusiasts swear by the positive effects of these fungi, particularly when combined with the comfort and indulgence of chocolate.

The Taste Experience

One might wonder how the earthy flavors of mushrooms pair with the sweet and sometimes bitter notes of chocolate. Surprisingly, the combination works exceptionally well. The subtle umami flavor of the mushrooms complements the richness of the chocolate, adding depth and complexity to the taste. Depending on the type of mushroom and chocolate used, the flavor profile can range from mildly earthy to richly decadent.

For those new to the concept, mushroom chocolate is typically crafted with dark chocolate, which tends to have a robust flavor that balances the earthiness of the mushrooms. However, variations with milk chocolate or even white chocolate are also available, catering to different taste preferences. Alice Mushroom

How to Enjoy Mushroom Chocolate

Mushroom chocolate can be enjoyed in many ways. Some prefer to savor it as a simple snack, letting the flavors melt in their mouth. Others incorporate it into their wellness routines, consuming it as a daily supplement or before activities requiring focus and energy.

It can also be a great addition to desserts. Imagine a mushroom chocolate fondue, a luxurious hot chocolate infused with medicinal mushrooms, or even mushroom chocolate brownies. The possibilities are endless, limited only by your culinary creativity.

Where to Find Mushroom Chocolate

As the trend grows, mushroom chocolate is becoming more widely available. Many health food stores and specialty chocolate shops now carry various mushroom chocolate products. Additionally, numerous online retailers offer a wide selection, often with detailed information about the specific mushrooms used and their potential benefits. Polkadot

For those interested in a more hands-on approach, making your own mushroom chocolate at home is an option. By purchasing high-quality mushroom powder and your favorite chocolate, you can experiment with creating your own custom blends tailored to your taste and wellness goals. Mr Mushies

The Future of Mushroom Chocolate

As awareness of both the benefits of medicinal mushrooms and the demand for functional foods increases, mushroom chocolate is poised to become a staple in the health-conscious consumer's diet. Its ability to combine pleasure with wellness makes it an exciting innovation in the world of gourmet foods.

In conclusion, mushroom chocolate is more than just a trend—it's a delightful fusion of ancient medicinal wisdom and modern culinary artistry. Whether you’re looking to boost your health, enjoy a new taste experience, or simply indulge in a unique treat, mushroom chocolate offers something for everyone. As it continues to grow in popularity, we can expect to see even more creative and delicious variations of this fascinating food. So, why not give it a try and discover the magic of mushroom chocolate for yourself?

[timeisacephalopod]

This winter (the season not the me) has been unseasonably and terrifyingly warm, like it's 10 degrees (Celsius sorry Americans) out today and I'm reminded of an article I read in the news a couple years ago about how Canada was baking at twice the rate as the rest of the world and go 👁️👄👁️. In my youth snow where I live would be probably a foot high in the lowest snow areas of snow drifts and up to my waist (in adult height) in the high parts, and every year I see less and less snow ☠️☠️☠️

On one hand despite my namesake I actually loathe the season winter, I'm extremely sensitive to the cold and getting brain freeze because the wind is blowing against the direction you're walking in sucks booty hole. But like NO snow is extremely bad. VERY bad. Do not like living out the consequences of climate change because uh. Canada just does not seem to have winters like it used to and hasn't in years. It's like watching all the corn crops stop growing like they used to because the summers are so much dryer and hotter with the exception of last summer, which was almost wet enough to kill the corn with that. But they survived and grew bushy like they used to and it was kind of terrifying to acknowledge I hadn't seen a crop that good in years.

[welcometomybraincomics]

Thinking about Cybertronian color theory and thinking about lighting and thinking about Frostbite (a human) walking into a Cybertronian building with those cool-toned lights and going "Why do I feel like I'm going to die?"

Inspired by this:

Bc cool toned lights inside a house make me think of all those horror scenes where characters are creeping about with the lights off, hiding from a murderer, or about to run into a ghost

[kittyscarfredux]

I love this episode

[hidtired]

sooo what i you do a Daryl x reader where the reader and Daryl had a relationship before the whole outbreak but when the world went to shit, they got separated and they didn't find each other again until Daryl and Aaron are out looking for people and they find the reader in some sort of abandoned building and it's just a sweet reunion. Btw I love your reading and I have no idea what you mean by GRAMMER MISTAKES- LIKE WHERE- but I love ur work <3

That makes my dyslexic ass very happy. I reread my stuff so much and always find mistakes so I try!

Miles Away

(Daryl Dixon x Reader) Masterlist

“Things are never lost to you; you are lost to them. If ever in need of something that has lost you, simply stop hiding from it.”

6.2k words

Description: A last minute trip leaves you separated from your fiancé when the world ends. Years of travel inevitably returns you to him. But years out in the world causes change.

Your POV

An unlikely relationship to have happened between two individuals, but happened all the same. It was a shock to the small town at the time. Even years later the announcement of your engagement causing some ruffled feathers. You the sweet town girl and a rugged Dixon. You were often discouraged from people about Daryl. You had dated the man for around 7 years now. Even so, the people around you told you it was a mistake to go through with a marriage. How could you not do it? He proposed, something you thought he would never do because his parents. He put it simply, “I already see you as my wife. Guess it was bout time I actually made you that rightfully.” So you told everyone to respectfully mind their business.

Then the world ended. You were thousands of miles in the air at the start. Daryl having dropped you off at the airport. You sulked with leaving, becoming mushy about going to New Hampshire to see your dementia ridden mother for the most likely last time. She was getting bad and some family had gathered and deciding to pull the plug. You still remember the last thing you said to him. Tears in your eyes as he held you outside TSA. “I’ll be back in a few days. Then I’m turning that title of fiancé into husband the next I see you.” You felt him chuckle into you, “Yes Ma’am you will.” Expressing I love you’s and the last kiss before you had to catch your flight. This isn’t the first time you had gone to check on your mom. Daryl insisted on coming but he had a hunting trip with his brother and you didn’t want to ruin that. So you had told him no. Why did you tell him no.

The first community you were apart of was the airport you landed at. It lasted a few months, food was plenty for the time and there were weapons from security. It was the people who ended up getting everyone killed. Few disagreements here and there caused a split, factions of sorts. One group kidnapped a pilot to try and fly a plane back to their loved ones. The plane they took hadn’t been run or properly check since everything fell. So it crashed into the fence destroying a good part of the airport with it. The crash attracted a horde and quickly over ran the place. You had a few survivors with you from the airport until you had either lost or seen them all killed.

You headed south, back to Daryl. Miles and miles of land keeping you from Georgia. It was 2 years going on 3 now. You would come across community’s, some still going some gone. Finding less than great people on the road. So that leads you to now. Two wannabe cowboys trying to lasso you like cattle. A scar carved into there for heads the only odd thing about them. They spit out concerning threats and comments, “You can have my seconds when I’m done Bill!” A rope had caught tight to your ankle leading you unable to run. You almost tripped but held your ground. Before this encounter you’d been having it tough for a few weeks. You had barely made any distance in the time you had traveled. The frustration and despair and shit luck wore you thin. You had a gun, only one in the chamber. Leaving one for you if you needed it. About the only ‘cure’ there is nowadays.

You thrashed around trying to fight off the men. You were already covered in grime. They were trying to capture you, not kill. That changed when the gun came out. This alone helpless woman became not so helpless. You fired your only shot at the bigger guy. The smaller one still had the rope and tugged making you miss killing the other. It hit him in the shoulder sending him crying in pain to the forest floor. It was moments like these that made you zone out. Violence wasn’t something you had in you. But now something learned, you had been out in the world too long. Taking a life becoming a norm. You used to care, then you remembered why they were all dead.

The steadiness you felt inside didn’t translate to the out. You scream and yell promises of death. You had managed to grab the rope from your ankle and used it to strangle the man who tied it to you. You broke a few ribs of his while he slowly chocked to death. You had your legs around him while you pulled back at his throat, you had heard and felt a few cracks. The man you had shot watching in horror has he struggled to decide, fight or flight? He choose froze, big scary man having his power taken from him and he becomes a coward. Your incessant screams and yells stopped when he stilled. You focus back to the injured. He rambled apologies to you at your approach. It fell on deaf ears, spotting a large rock near him. You didn’t kill him with speed. You broke his leg with the rock, slowly moving up his body. He was long dead when you were done swinging. Blood splattered and dripping down you.

A frustrated and adrenaline filled scream released out of you. All your noise attracted the infected near you. You ran still with a rope tied to you. You found a small home that was overgrown and slid into it. The knife you didn’t realized you pulled out while running tremble in your hand. You slide down the old wall in the building. The regret to your brutality flowing over you. Killing was normal for survival now, but what you did was cruel. You took your time and did it in brutal ways.

You were twirling the ring on your finger as a nervous habit. Often times doing it for a sense of safety from the man who had given it to you. You thought about him most days. Either when you do something he himself had taught you. That time spent with him in the woods had you picking up little things from him in time. It is why you’re alive for as long as you were. But come closer to night time when you just want to roll into his arms and let the world cease to exist. To just talk to him and hear his voice. But you were no longer the person he knew, and that broke your heart more. The blood covering you, the mans and yours was a very big indication of that fact.

The dead must have saw you run off and tried to follow. The sound of a leaf crunching told you only one must have stumbled correctly in your direction. The quiet movement and lack of undead moans told you all you needed to know.

‘They must have had friends.’

Daryl POV

He was devastated knowing you were far from his reach. Blame for not going with you. It was your mother dying how could he have just let you tell him it was fine? That, “We will go to the funeral when that comes.” He was bitter and angry in the beginning. Then it was hope when he got to the prison with people he now considered family. Maybe one day he would find you again. Then the prison fell and reality seemed to hit him.

Acceptance came when he finally confessed to Rick of your existence. It was when they sat against that car after the night with the claimers. He broke when he told him he was his brother. A mention of Beth stirring the thought of you with it. He looked away from Rick taking a shaky breath, “I lost her like how… how I lost m’ wife.” Rick’s eyes widened taking in the information. Tears build in Daryl’s eyes before he steels himself, “Completely out of my control and yet… somehow was.” Rick understands the feeling, it turns out Daryl knew just that to. When he lost Lori, it was Daryl that helped hold things together. That sudden understanding knocked into him. Rick cautiously asked, “Are they both dead…?” Daryl looked out to the forest. He slowly shook his head, “Just gone.”

When Beth died it also felt like you died with her. The hope he always had that you were out there seemingly dying inside him. He knew the kind of person you were. He would kill squirrels and you would feed them. He knew you were far too nice for your own good. You had spent hours in the rain trying to lure a kitten from under the neighbors shed. Catching a cold so bad it stuck with you for a week. You were his fragile thing in the world he promised to protect. To not just keep you alive but keep your innocence. Whether you were dead or not you would have had killed something in you to live in today’s world. To not be able to protect you from anything felt like he failed you.

He still held a hope you went down peacefully. It had to be meaningful because your life had to be for something. He tried to do the same by giving his life for others. Most recently that person being Aaron. In truth he was ok with dying knowing there was a slim chance of seeing you once again. Things that reminded him that maybe it was better for you to have not suffered. With the horde and assholes he tried to help and others assholes destroying Alexandria’s walls. So now that leading them, him and Aaron tracking the few Wolves who fled. They knew Rick said not to go recruiting people. The distance yells and screams caught there interest. They still need to try despite Rick being jumpy and “taking no chances”. If they could only just make sure whoever was well then that was enough.

When they got closer to a woman’s scream, which sounded in between scared and angry, the dead also seemed to take interest into the noise. The yelling had stopped near when the shot went off, so finding exactly where this person was in the woods became harder. The sight they found was not what they expected. Aaron had held a hand to his mouth, “What the-“ The sight was gruesome, two body’s laid in the dirt. One unrecognizable due to being beaten to a pulp. The other had a walker chewing on its leg. The neck of the man purple. Daryl looked on at the sight with a scowl and went to put the near walker down. He took notice of the W carved into the dead mans head, “Well shit.” Aaron perked up as he watched Daryl crouch down to the man who was choked. Daryl turning gesturing with his head to the body, “These the assholes who fled.” Aaron walked and peeked to see a W carved into there forehead. These two were the last known of the group and they had seemed to died gruesomely, but not by the dead. Aaron turned to Daryl as a realization hit him, “Where the girl who was screaming?”

A unwelcome chill and uneasiness drifted in the air. A thick cloud of a sad thought, “M’ guess they must have attacked her and she shot big fella over there. Then ran from the walkers.” Daryl nibbled at his lip, his eyes roamed the surrounding, maybe a clue confirming the theory. Some blood caught his attention, then he noticed further that in a direction something was dragged through the forest floor. He pointed in the direction making Aaron turn. Aaron looked to have some kind of resolve, “Let’s make sure she is ok.” Daryl nodded while walking forward to track, “If there comes back with us I’ll try and talk Rick into letting them stay. Hell best we can offer is at least some meds, she did use a favor with those dick bags.” Aaron eyebrows scrunched, “Maybe that would help their case. I don’t like not being about to recruit people anymore.”

The trail Daryl followed lead him to a very overgrown building. It was clear the place may have been abandoned even before the fall. Daryl walked quietly, he gestured he would go around back and that Aaron should go in the front. Aaron crouched and made his way closer to the building while Daryl went to the back. The slow creak of the wooden door making it obvious he was there, Aaron had no stealth in him. So he knows if someone was in this place they knew he was here, he might as well make himself known. He gulped seeing a hand print of blood on the wall closed to the door, “I don’t want to hurt you. Just heard you screaming and saw the bodies of those men. Your not hurt are you?” His weight making the wood underneath him bend with every step. The place was silent, but he knew that someone was here if the blood trail wasn’t any indication.

It was sudden, almost like a flow of wind whipping behind him. A cold knife pressed to his neck. You had drifted out of the dark from somewhere stunning him in shock. He nervously brought his hands up in surrender, “Woah! There’s no need for that.” He tried to stay calm but an obvious tremor to his voice giving away his nerves. The quick movement and tone had alerted the archer to his danger though. Daryl saw a grimy and bloody figure stand to Aaron’s side. Daryl lifted and clicked his crossbow of safety and pointed to the potential threat.

It was clear by the way the person froze they knew they were now out numbered. It was also evident that this person was trembling. They were in a fight mode from just being attacked and he didn’t blame them for being on edge. By the looks of it they had been out in the world for to long, something he was familiar with. This person seemed to be thinking of anyway to run and Daryl decided he should speak stopping those thoughts from getting to how you got away from the other guys.

“Put the knife down, we just were wantin to see if yeah are ok.”

The slow turn of the persons head seemed almost confused. But the soon flicker of eye contact between them revealed all. His grip on his crossbow slowly slipping. His heart pumped in his ears. You. Maybe he was dreaming? You? The building feeling dropped in him. Some way somehow he was staring at you, the women he would burn the world for. He watched as the knife was moved from Aaron and saw it fall to the floor. The sound of you crashing back to the wall behind you giving him a clear view of you. You were covered in dirt and blood. Hair was much shorter then the last he saw you. It was choppy like you did it with a dull blade. It was also tinted darker from being unwashed. Holes throughout your clothes and the collar loose. He slowly stepped closer ignoring Aaron. Then he saw it, a flicker of a sparkle coming from your finger.

The ring he gave you…

Your POV

The clumsy man sloppily creeped up into the house. A voice calmly spoke as they realized they were less than quiet entering, “I don’t want to hurt you. Just heard you screaming and saw the bodies of those men. Your not hurt are you?” The hatred still buzzed in you from your near death experience. This man claimed to ‘not want to hurt you’ but never said they weren’t going to hurt you. The man walked with heavy feet. You were in a dark room hugging the wall near the door. If he was truthful about just overhearing everything you didn’t want to kill him. It was hard to remember that not everyone was out to get you. Even so you quickly rushed to pull your knife to his neck.

The man seemed schooled while raising his hands in surrender. A good move that eased his threat level to you. You took notice of his clean appearance, something that seemed a little strange at first. He looked to you with ought moving his head. Eyes glancing down to you, “Woah! There’s no need for that.” It was clear to you this guy was not involved with the others you just killed. Before you could ask anything a click from across the hall stunned you into a sense of danger overflowing from you again. You didn’t move your sight from the man in front of you. It was clear some kind of weapon was pointed at you. You hadn’t heard the other person at all? Maybe the first guy was so loud you didn’t even think he had another person with him. Should you run? Maybe kill the guy at your knife point and use him as a shield for the other-

“Put the knife down, we just were wantin to see if yeah are ok.”

It was as if a ghost whispered in your ear. The unexpected voice from the dark pulling at your heart and memories. Maybe you were losing it, becoming crazy? All this time out in the world had gotten to you. Your eyes while scared to drift to the darkness and see nothing quickly glanced over to confirm if you lost it. Blue eyes is what you saw. His baby blue eyes that you used to joke would be the color of your children’s. Daryl, crossbow slowly lowering revealing more of himself. The knife slipped from your hand. The man near you back away after it fell. You didn’t even notice while crashing backwards. Eyes still locked with a seeming allusion of your lover. A overwhelming mess of feeling all at once made you numb. You were in Virginia… still miles from Georgia.

He stepped closer, hair longer and clothes seemed worn but still clean. You struggled to suck air in to your lungs, starting to hyper ventilate. You slid down the wall still looking at him. He crouched down to your level eyes glassy and a look of pain in his eyes.

“Darlin’…”

Both POV

Your lips wobbled as tears flood your vision. A sudden rush of air finally hitting your lungs. He almost reached out to touch you but froze halfway not wanting to scare you. The first sound of a cry released from you. You sent yourself flying up at him, encircling him into your arms. He caught you but stumbled back landing on his ass. He felt your body shake with your cry’s. A tightness stuck in his throat as he held you. A moment neither thought would have again.

"Uh, Daryl what just happened?"

Daryl looked over your shoulder and up to a very confused Aaron. A long sigh released from him, "M' Wife." He leaned his head down onto yours. You pulling back to look to him. Tears still in your eyes blurring your vision slightly. Not enough to not take notice of how he changed, for as long as you've known him he's never looked more mature. You sniffle, "I thought I'd never see you again." The clear strain to the admission broke his heart. He knew though, despite that you had been trying to get back, you wouldn't be in front of him now if you hadn't. He wiped at your tears still not fully processing. He noticed Aaron move and sigh, "I'll give you a moment, keep in mind we have to get back before dark." He walked out the door and it creaked and slowly swung closed. It had seemed you had only just noticed and remembered he was there. But you had also remembered that the world was still shit. You looked to Daryl and you notice he was looking at you already.

"Shit. Are you hurt? I saw those assholes bodies-" He seemed to realized it to. The world was different, therefore so were you. He might still have lost you. "-you killed those pricks?" His innocent little thing? He looked to the blood that covered you. Then he remembered the way those bodies looked. You looked away from his eyes seemingly ashamed, "Yes." It was a slightly cold reply. Squeezed fists, nails digging into your palm. "They cornered me so I killed them." It wasn't even a second when Daryl replied with a grumble in his voice, "Good." Your eyes spring to look at his face in surprise. You saw the unwavering truth in that moment. Yes you had changed, so had he.

You smile while tears stream down your face. He was truly here. You grab his face in your hands and look deep into his eyes. He was mesmerized by the change. The love in your eyes remain the same he last saw them, in the end you were still his. He should have clocked that the moment he still say the ring on your finger. You let in a breath before speaking, “The only reason I’m still alive is because of you.” He wasn’t expecting that. He seemed to bite his tongue and look down for a second. Guilty. You forgot how soft hearted this man was, you’re glad that somehow is still with him. You never thought that maybe he would blame himself for the separation. You lift his head to look back to you, “All the times I would watch you hunt, track, and prepare kills kept me fed. All the times I should have given up or accepted death I told myself I would crawl my way to you if I had to.”

Then is when the crashing feeling dropped on him. The love he held for you that felt like a void suddenly was right in front of him. You slowly leaned into him giving a slow kiss. His hand slipped behind your head pulling you into a deeper kiss. Something both would fantasize about now becoming a reality. You wince causing Daryl to pull back. He pulled you back and took a look at you. You huffed a sigh sitting back to the forgotten rope around your foot. Daryl’s eyes round at the rope around your swollen ankle, he grabbed your leg mumbling curses. You sighed, “Shit, forgot about that.” You flinch while he carefully unwraps it. You didn’t feel the pain until now. It didn’t feel broken but the guy must have sprained it the time he pulled on it before you shot his friend. Maybe the crunching you heard while strangling the guy with the rope was your foot. Daryl grunted and had that worried pout he did, “We gotta get yeah back to get that looked at.” He stood first helping you stand. You stumbled giving him a questioning look, “Back where?” He helped you out the door, the man you didn’t recognize turning to your exit of the shack. Daryl started to explain, “We have a community, it’s a little drive away.”

You cringe at the word community. You have seen your fair share of them, either run by crazy’s with a weird motive or something natural would happen destroying the place. “Don’t have the greatest relationship with those but, if you say so.” You look to the man Daryl was with, he seemed bamboozled. He walked closer to you and helping you walk. Daryl seemed perturbed, “I got her, I’ll get her to your car.” You watched somewhat comically as the man sassed and brush’s off his statement. You expected Daryl to hurl harsh words at him because he typically hated when anyone challenged him. But by this man’s tone, “You got shot few days ago. Not the greatest idea to carry her with your shoulder.” he was friends with him. Daryl scoffed but your eyes widened and looked to Daryl in shock. Daryl’s annoyed face at Aaron changed when he saw the worried one on yours, “Geez Aaron it was a graze! You’ll scare her talkin’ like that. Y/n don’t listen to him…”

They both were helping you through the woods seemingly to a road. Aaron chuckled as he took a glance to you, “Well to be fair never knew there was a Mrs. Dixon. Be good for her to finally keep you from being reckless.” Daryl scoffed rolling his eyes, the grip on you tightened from him, “Only ever mentioned it to one person, he’ll give me hell for her when we get back.” Daryl also can’t imagine all the rest of his family finding out you even existed. He looked down seeing you slightly amused at how he was acting. He knows he has changed, for the better he thinks. He was finally confident in saying you were right about his true nature all that time ago. He was just a big softie that denied it and put on a sour façade. He looked to Aaron then back to you, “You’ll be in the car with Aaron. Your to injured for my bike.”

You looked to this Aaron guy giving him an unsure look. He smiled to you shyly, “Best we don’t freak out the rest of are people. Those assholes you killed gave us hell and damaged are community.” That surprised you, looking as a road appeared through the trees, you hopped along, “You were out here for them?” You reached the car and Aaron left your side to open the passenger door. Daryl turning to explain, “They carved W in their head calling themselves wolves. Bunch of crazy’s.” He sighed looking past you, “Those two were the last of em. We didn’t want them doing anything else to anyone.” He rubbed your arm before helping you walk to car, “We were a little late for that I guess.” He helped you sit down noticing it was getting a little too dark for his liking. He moved down looking at Aaron in the drivers seat, “We gotta go before we worry people, I’ll lead the way.”

You sat there staring at Daryl as his headlight lit the road. Everything felt like it was moving really fast. The news of those people you killed were worse than you thought gave some justification for your brutality. Who were you kidding you had lost control. Aaron broke the silence in the humming car, “So, Y/n is it?” You glance over to Aaron just giving a hum in reply. He takes your awkward silence just as well as he takes Daryl. He heard you shuffle in your seat before asking, “How long have you known Daryl?” Aaron clocked the really meaning to the question, ‘how trustworthy are you’. Aaron chuckled, “A few months now.” Not long enough in your opinion. Yet Daryl seems so friendly with him? In such a short time? You decide to just ask another thing bothering you.

“What did he mean by he’ll get hell about me?”

Aaron sighed as he looked on to Daryl driving ahead, “Are leader will be a little pissed with bring you back. He is not big on newcomers right now after the recent incident, but you’re Daryl’s wife so not really new know are you.” This leader sounds to have the right idea about people. You fiddle with the ring on your hand, “So me staying is going to take some convincing?” Aaron smiled and nodded while he drove, “Well if anyone could convince him it would be his brother.” His brother is the leader of this place? That can’t be good. Merle was anything but a leader. This community is probably small and on its lasts legs, he did say it was just attacked and very damaged… guess you’ll be back out on the road sooner then you thought.

You looked out the window for the remainder of your ride. Aaron only speaking again when closer to the destination, “So we’re almost there. You should just stay in the car until we can give a heads up of your arrival?” You tilt your head in confusion, “I’m going in the community? Thought you said your leader wasn’t a people person right now?” You had thought you would have to stay behind considering so. Having to wait for some kind of approval. Aaron laughed a little, “Daryl has a fair amount of say. His family trusts him enough to make a call.” You sat there confused again, ‘Family?’ Just his brother? But he said it like there is a fair bit of people in this, ‘Family’. Your contemplating was interrupted when Aaron rolled to a stop. You looked around into the dark not realizing when Aaron turned off the headlights.

Then while Aaron filcked the lights on and off in a pattern you caught glimpses of a huge wall. You sat up in your seat leaning forward as you watched it slide open. Daryl rolled in first then Aaron slowly drove in. The first thing you notice was houses with a few lights on. Electricity? This place was huge… But your eyes were pealed back to Daryl. A group of people seemingly gathering around him seeming worried. Aaron unlocked the door and before getting out mumbled a quick, “Stay here.”

Daryl POV

There orders were to be back way before dark. So when they hadn’t come back it sent everyone in a panic. Not to mention they were already struggling with replacing broken parts of the wall and moving bodies. Rick had become a singled minded man again with Carl almost dying. So he wasn’t surprised when he came marching up to him unhappy about his tardiness, “Where the hell have you both been! We damn near sent people after you.” Daryl brought his hands to his hips, “Assholes are dead, but there is something else-“

“Stay here.”

Rick turned to see Aaron getting out of the car but he also noticed a figure in the passenger seat nodding. Anger flared in him, “I said no more recruiting! Damnit Daryl- put them in the cell!” Daryl was not about to be yelled at. Specially for something as important as this. “Hold the hell up-“ Rick shook his head in annoyance cutting Daryl off, “This is not negotiable!” Before Daryl could blurt out anything a running figure came screaming for Rick. It was Denise, “It’s Carl he is awake and freaking out!” Daryl felt his stomach drop. Rick hesitated in place before pointing to Glenn, “Go put them in the cell!” Then he ran off back to his son. Daryl turned to Glenn, “Nah man! You don’t get it!” Glenn looked to the people next to him before sighing and walking to the car. “Hey! Wait!” Abraham stepped in front of him blocking his path.

He huffed knowing he would have tackled Abraham if he wasn’t trying to be calm about this. “Get the hell out my way.” Then he heard your voice call out, “Uh… Daryl?” Very clear of your anxiety and how you might lash out if you feel in danger. Daryl needed to just had to suck it up, “ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! FINE!” He stepped to the side looking to Glenn, “Your throwing me in with her. Let’s go…” Glenn paused giving him a wide eye expression. Glenn looked back and forth conflicted but sighed and lead you to the cell Morgan just made. Glenn question Daryl on the walk, “Why are you doing this Daryl?” Daryl was walking slightly ahead with you right behind him. You answered for him, “I’m his wife.” A choked cough released from Glenn, “Woah!” Glenn paused looking to him the to you. “What the hell dude! Never said you were married!” Daryl saw they were getting closer to the building and ignored Glenn’s surprise. Glenn sighed, “Well damn now I don’t wanna lock you up.” Glenn walked past you both going down a small incline. He unlocked a door and rubbed at his next, “But Rick said. I’m sure once everything with Carl calms down he will let you out.” Glenn turned to you, “Sorry about this, newcomers is a sensitive thing at the moment.”

Much to Daryl’s dismay you half heartedly chuckled while walking into the room, “To be fair best I be in a cage. I did just brutally murder two men.” Glenn mouth was agape, “uh- what? She’s joking right?” Daryl just shrugged and followed you into the cell. Daryl even closed the door and stuck his arms through the bars before answering. While it was still a new thing to hear you be so… brutal… maybe just badass, he trusted you. “Don’t tell Rick why I’m in here with her. Want to rub it in his face for pissing me off and not listening to me.” Glenn chuckled and shrugged moving to lock the cell door, “If you say so.” You while just being a bystander to this conversation spoke up, “I thought Aaron said your brother was the leader, not this Rick guy?” Glenn started to laugh, “What you thought people would follow a dumbass like Merle?” Daryl squinted his eyes at Glenn… but he wasn’t wrong. Glenn smiled to him, “No offense.” Daryl just rolled his eyes putting his attention to you, “Rick is like a brother to me.”

Your face told him you were bewildered by that statement. Granted he knows back then Merle always through around ‘blood is the only thing we got’ when you both started dating. Maybe you thought he saw it that way to. Glenn was about to go out the door, “Aw, Daryl cares for us!” Before the door closed Daryl shouted back, “Get your head out of your ass ‘walker bait’!” A nickname sure to piss him off. You only looked to me pleased with the reaction. Awe struck in your eyes drew him closer to you. Alone at last, and it seemed you both had some catch up to do.

It was a lot of talking. Sitting against a wall with your hands intertwined. He told you about Merle’s death. How he came to be so friendly with all these people. You started crying and leaned into him. At first he thought you were sad but you were smiling proudly at him. You share your own story’s. Mentioning friends you’ve lost, mostly them all dying, how a few were just gone with you having no clue to how. “Told you I’d make you my husband the next time I saw you…” He felt his throat tightened, he grieved you to the point of acceptance. So having you here and now felt like another type of grieving. To what could have been. But before he could get into it farther an angry Rick stormed down into the cellar. Hand on hip with a baby Judith slumped over his shoulder. A stature of a man trying to show leadership, “What the hell are you doing here Daryl.” Rick’s eyes only glancing over to you for a second. Daryl sat there for a second prolonging the silence. While he couldn’t exactly blame Rick for having to run off before they could talk he should have known damn well he had say. So he glared daggers to Rick.

Rick moved from foot to foot shaking his head again, “Look we can’t go bring anyone in after the shit that happened-“ Daryl stood up waving his hands, “You think I’m stupid? Like I would go and bring someone back if it didn’t mean something?” Daryl stood straight closing in closer to the bars, “Now please go ahead and tell my WIFE! That she isn’t welcome here.” Ricks mouth gapped open, air releasing from his lungs, “T-that’s her!” Rick’s hand moved to his chest while turning to look at you. Daryl also turned around just seeing you nonchalantly resting on the floor.

“You two really do argue like brothers.”

Your eyes not staring at Rick but the baby girl he carried. Daryl’s heart filled with you pushing aside the anger of the situation, because this was supposed to be a happy moment. Daryl turned back to Rick seeming to have calmed down, “Now… you gonna let us out?” Rick started to laugh, Judith perking up to her father’s laughter. “Goddamn dude, I’m happy for ya.” Rick moved for the key in his pocket. Daryl reached out a hand to help you up, a visible limp still present. While walking here you tried to appear un injured, most likely trying not to look like easy pray. You truly were out there for a long time, his group knows what that could do to your mind.

The creaky bared door swings open leaving the little girl to finally met eyes with her uncle. Daryl sighed when he gained the little girls attention. Judith happily giggled while reaching for him. Though he found really hold her if he wanted to help you walk. That’s what drew his attention back to your face. He wasn’t expecting you to be looking at Judith like she was a puppy. Then you sniffled, “She’s so cute.” Rick looked to you while juggling his daughter. The know that sometimes things like Judith keep you going in hard times. But in your hard time you had nothing. So seeing something in this broken world like Judith was definitely pulling something inside you. Daryl though could help but smugly smile up to Rick with a, ‘Just look at m’ girl~.’ Showing off the one he loved at the start to the family he now has.

But damn if it didn’t feel good.

Feedback welcome and requests open! Maybe spin off if this does well and people want more.

[wrathofrats]

Mushy May Day 22

long drives- rulti- swiss rain talk while cirrus sleeps in the back seat. Things are changing around the abbey, and rain looks to stop the ache in his bones.

As usual thank you to icon @forlorn-crows for the prompts this month

The street lights illuminated cirrus’s sleeping form in the back seat. Laid across the cushions with her hands under her head as a makeshift pillow, her knees scrunched up to fit in the confined space.

“Remind me to call dibs first next time” rain grumbled in the passenger seat, his own legs bunched up against him in an attempt to get comfortable after the long car ride.

Swiss tapped his hands on the steering wheel rhythmically, long miles of highway and nothing else in front of them. “Then who would keep me company up here?”

“Cirrus, duh.”

“Cirrus needs her sleep otherwise she gets irritable, I think you should let her have it” Swiss took a quick glance behind him to look at her. Her hair covered her face as she snored softly.

“I need my sleep, otherwise I get irritable” rain grumbled, throwing his head back against the head rest.

“I know tadpole” Swiss giggled.

The radio hummed softly in the background. A static station that played mostly old rock music, nothing Swiss or rain cared much about but it was better than silence.

They sat in a comfortable state of not talking for a couple minutes. Rain shifted in his seat a couple times to try and quell the dull ache in his hips while Swiss continued to keep his eyes on the road, side glancing rain and cirrus every once in a while just to be sure they were alright.

“I’m surprised she’s been asleep this whole time, usually she tends to get carsick” rain spoke after a while.

“She’s been stressed, I’m glad she’s finally been able to knock out for a bit” Swiss gave his own yawn, raising an arm above his head in an attempt to stretch in the small space.

“Has she not been sleeping again?”

“Na, she’s been in my bed most nights. Usually she has cumulus to calm her down but even with me it wasn’t much. I could tell she was still awake most of the night”

It was typical of cirrus to be a bad sleeper, but the stress of everything recently didn’t help. it was most of the reason she would slink into Swiss’s hotel room on the trip because she was sure he would be up at whatever ungodly hour she had decided to give up on sleeping alone. Even if he was asleep, she knew he would understand more than anyone.

“You’ve been stressed too, I can tell” rain moved to turn the radio down. The static was almost too much, both knowing that the changes around the abbey had been getting to them.

“I’m fine tadpole, things will blow over”

The passing lights created patterns on rains lap as he stared down in thought. Dancing shapes and reflections to distract his eyes as his brain continued to mull over the situation. Aether and Sunny would be gone, moved to where the older ghouls all stayed.

Sure they were still there in the abbey, but there was always a worry that they would move on and have fun with the older ghouls instead, or that the rest of their pack would embrace the new ghouls so much that aether Sunny would be left forgotten as he knows the other have been. Rain doesn’t remember the last time he saw River and lake.

“But will they be the same?”

Swiss sighed, chewing on his lip. There wasn’t a good answer.

“No, but nothing ever really stays the same does it?”

“No it doesn’t.” Rain sighed. A heavy feeling settled in his chest at the thought. Realistically nothing could ever stay exactly the same always, but the fear of the unknown was always present.

“You can’t stop time waterlily. Things will always work out, they always have. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it”

“It’s a bit too late for that”

“I know, but good things happen with change too. Just embrace it and we can deal with whatever problems arise together ok?”

Rain smiled, leaning back into his seat. The promise of together lessening the pressure in his chest. He turned to look back at cirrus, who had rolled over to face the back of the backseats.

“Ok”

[wonjivrs]

couple things with cravity

parings: cravity x gn! reader

genre: all things fluffy <3

warnings: none

note: hi ! this is our very first headcannon for cravity. the process of writing this was fun for both of us so we hope u guys enjoy it too ! for everyone reading so far feedbacks and reblogs are appreciated :D

☆ serim

kisses during couple situps. working out together. carrying his s/o bridal style. small gifts without any occasion. random “i love you” texts. doing groceries or just lazing around the house together. spontaneous road trips. candle lights and dinner tables.

“i thought you’d like this.”

☆ allen

sharing things. bad pick up lines. comforting kisses. laying his head on the his s/o’s shoulder. flowers in returned books. giving each other nicknames. slow dancing with soft smiles. bringing you your favourite hot drink in bed. reading books on the couch, hands intertwined.

“how about something warm? it’ll help you sleep.”

☆ jungmo

kisses on the back of hands. falling asleep together on the sofa when watching a movie. finds comfort in your scent. being observant to your likes and dislikes. feeding you as you work. gently wiping your tears. always giving the utmost attention to you if in a crowd.

“you were talking about that table there being a little bare, so i got you some flowers to put in it’s space.”

☆ woobin

smiling at the mere thought of his s/o or their texts. feeding you his cooking and hoping you'll like it. ruffling the other’s hair. softly stroking your skin. barbecue parties in the garden. using absurd terms of endearment. dancing in the kitchen whilst making dinner. doing things for you just because ??

"so, how much longer do you plan on using me as your personal space heater?"

☆ wonjin

smiling in-between kisses. having the other’s head on your lap. stroking your fingers while holding hands. constant reassurance. can only fall asleep cuddled next to his s/o. hugs that last a little longer than they should. peppering soft kisses all over your face. choosing the perfect watermelon together for the first time.

“i know you’ll do perfect, okay ?”

☆ minhee

hugging the other from behind and nuzzling into their neck. napping together. pressing soft kisses onto his s/o’s shoulder. leaning against the doorframe with the sweetest smile on his face just watching his lover get ready to go out. pressing foreheads against each other.

“we’ll be less cold if we cuddle yk?”

☆ hyeongjun

sliding hands under the other’s clothes. watching your favourite show. kisses all over the face. stargazing on a winter night. adorable big eyes that widens a little when he listens to your rant keenly. cuddling together and falling asleep in each other's embrace.

“you make me feel all soft and mushy inside.”

☆ taeyoung

feather-light kisses on your knuckles. quick glances that turn into a longing, admirable gaze. fingers brushing other’s cheek. bunking lectures together. playing among us and being the imposter with their s/o and defending each other during discussions.

“your hands are so big/tiny! i love it”

☆ seongmin

washing his s/o’s hair for them. making flower crowns. subconsciously linking little fingers. silly banter. adopting a kitten together. kissing your forehead when he notices you’ve fallen asleep. sharing sweaters. bingeing an entire season of a trashy reality show in one sitting together.

“shh stop fussing. i’m just braiding your hair”

©wonjivrs 2023 | Do not copy, repost or claim any of our works. 🍓🍋

[canmom]

Animation Night 188: Gisaburo Sugii and his cat films

Let me introduce you to a fellow.

Gisaburō Sugii, born 1940, is one of the oldest school animators still working in the industry. His early filmography is something like a history of anime, or at least MushiPro: he started on Hakujaden [AN149] (where he did inbetweens), but he was one of the leaders of the Toei exodus over the rubbish working conditions and union busting (Sugii's close friend Rintarō was among the first to follow him), especially when Tezuka appeared on the animation scene with a place to land.

So from the earliest days of Astro Boy/Tetsuwan Atom, Sugii was a core Tezuka guy. (Thanks as ever to Matteo Watzky for presenting such detailed histories in English!) He helped clean up Tezuka's rough animations in an early form of the layout system, moving to his own satellite studio, worked on all sorts of projects. In fact, we saw a number of them when we watched Tezuka's short fims on Animation Night 83. For example, Sugii animated the moth in Tales of a Street Corner.

Before too long, Astro Boy was wrapping up, and the time came for Sugii to direct his own series: this was Goku no Daibōken and in the words of Matteo Watzky, it represented "a complete and unconditional rejection of everything Mushi - or rather Tezuka - had done so far" - gags over story, extremely limited animation. Adapting Tezuka's manga version of Journey to the West, the project had some rather grand ambitions:

It was rather in the writing and direction. Sugii was extremely ambitious: not only did he want to do a complete break with what Mushi had done before, he wanted to broaden the general “animation culture” in Japan [14]. He therefore focused entirely on the gags, trying to make them all as absurd as possible and breaking all sense of narrative continuity. This was the reason he had chosen Boku no Songoku in the first place: the road trip structure made it possible to completely change the setting each episode and make things different each time [15]. He refused to compromise on anything and was an extremely harsh director: he himself admitted how many conflicts he had with scriptwriters and storyboarders, whose work he kept rejecting until it had lost any semblance of sense or continuity [16].

Goku no Daibōken's story touches on another major figure of anime history: Osamu Dezaki (AN95) appears here as an episode director, though you'd likely not recognise his work - he closely followed his mentor Sugii's wacky style. Unfortunately, the show did not really do much to broaden anything, and was pretty roundly rejected by audiences, and even Tezuka himself publicly said it was too avant-garde and needed to change and the show ended up a sore memory for everyone involved.

But Sugii did not quit, and continued to work with the increasingly ailing Mushi Pro up through Belladonna of Sadness (AN69). This last-ditch effort was not enough to save the troubled studio (a story told elsewhere, check Watzky's articles for a very detailed version) and MushiPro went under. So, coming into the 70s, Sugii left the anime industry to go travelling.

But not forever.

Now, let me introduce you to a book.

Night on the Galactic Railroad (銀河鉄道の夜, Ginga Tetsudō no Yoru) - written in 1927, and published posthumously in 1934 - is a classic Japanese fantasy novel by Kenji Miyazawa in which two boys go on a strange journey across the galaxy. It soon becomes apparent that the train that the boys ride on is kind of a psychopomp train. It has that fascinating blend of early science and odd religious overtones you often get in novels from the early 20th Century, with such themes as the difference between Buddhist and Christian ideas of heaven, as well as all sorts of odd adventures.

It does not star anthropomorphic cats. But then again, it doesn't say anywhere that its characters aren't anthropomorphic cats, right? If you're Gisaburō Sugii, that's enough!

In the early 80s, Sugii returned to Group TAC, a studio largely consisting of former MushiPro staff, full of memories of travel. He started out directing adaptations of the baseball manga Nine, but soon he ended up directing an cataptation of Night on the Galactic Railroad, which came out in 1985.

Jokes aside, the book is deliberately ambiguous about what its characters look like, so Sugii came up with the cat thing as a way to preserve Miyazawa's intent. His approach to direction heavily emphasises the landscape, embedding the characters in dark spaces that reflect their feelings and build the generally omnious mood as they journey into death. And it works! The result is a film widely regarded as a classic by those who've seen it.

One notable feature is the film's fascination with the constructed language Esperanto, among the earliest aspiring universal languages. The film features all kinds of Esperanto text and an esperanto subtitle track, and even has an alternative Esperanto title, Nokto de la Galaksia Fervojo. This was a fascination of Miyazawa's, though I don't believe it features in the novel particularly prominently, but Sugii evidently wanted that to be part of the tribute...

In the wake of that, Sugii... went back to directing sports anime, this time the series Touch about Tennis, as well as a number of other projects including a Street Fighter film in 1994. He didn't abandon literary subjects though, adapting the Genji Monogatari, a foundational work of Japanese lit, in 1987 - though I can find little more about this adaptation. He even directed a Lupin III film! But none of those films are about cats, so we're gonna skip right over them.

In 2012, Sugii - now 72! - returned to books and cats with The Life of Budori Gusuko, adapting another novel by Miyazawa - this time at MushiPro successor Tezuka Productions. The animation is certainly more elaborate...

The film follows abandoned child Budori Gusuko in a world frozen by strange storms. Left to fend for himself, Budori's problems mulitply as his sister his kidnapped, leading him on a journey into dreams as he tries to get to the bottom of all of it.

The story is notable for anticipating the idea of the greenhouse effect, albeit in a way that rings rather odd in the context of present climate change. It generally doesn't seem to be viewed quite as favourably as Galactic Railroad but it's too good a thematic pairing not to do, so tonight the plan is to watch both films! Elaborate old weird anime, we're so back. And not a boob in sight, so twitch should chill out.

All being well, Animation Night 188 will be starting at 22:00 UK time, which is about two hours from this post - we're back on twitch.tv/canmom, thankfully they didn't ban me for long. Hope to see you there!

[glacial-art]

Propriety! My funny little mushy guy ^^

They are soooo blossom blighted

(Mushy road trip based off of ttrpg Along the Road to Everywhere by @loamington and @beece )

[azrielgreen]

The Way It Shouldn't Be - Final Part

They're playing a song Eddie would hate and everyone's paired up and pretending like they got ANY of Tommy's liquor, dancing wildly and laughing loud but not loud enough to drown out the song Eddie would hate.

Steve's on the fringes, watching.

Has his own alcohol, got a never ending supply from his Dad's office. He thinks of the massive blowout party he and Tommy and the boys always planned for. Post Prom Insanity: partying for two maybe three days and then taking a roadtrip together, see other places, go on adventures.

Tommy's engaged to Carol, who's pregnant and no one's meant to know but of course everyone does. He's gonna work for his Dad, the thing he always said he never wanted to do. Everyone else, Steve wouldn't piss on them if they were on fire so yeah, no party.

No road trip.

No Eddie.

But Steve's there; hired the tux and everything, so why fuckin' not?

He drinks and imagines fucking Eddie somewhere on campus, the music playing while they kiss. He imagines a lot of shit that's not ever gonna happen because good things don't last.

They're not made to last.

It's not the way things are.

Whatever.

Stupid Enola Gay comes on and Steve tries not get all caught up in the melody, the way the minor keys fuck him up.

Eddie's not coming.

He knows because he swung by Eddie's trailer earlier, met Wayne.

The older man was kind, but really clear when he said Eddie was staying with friends for a few days.

Steve is sulking.

Kind of spoiling for a fight.

First dick he sees harassing a girl is gonna eat it, simple as that.

God, he feels like a chaperone.

Like he's a thousand years old.

Cannot wait to get home, cry and jerk off before he falls asleep. Wonderful plans. Stellar.

'Fuck you,' he mutters, takes another slug. Enola Gay always moves him.

He gives up when the song ends, what's the literal point of staying when the best song is already gone.

He's sulky, moody and still heartbroken.

Still in love.

It's not how it should be.

He knows that.

But it's how it fucking is.

He's leaving, he decides.

He feels ruthlessly good about it when someone grabs his hand and yanks him with knowing roughness.

'Dumping out, Harrington?'

He whirls, blinks.

Is a little drunk but like... not enough for this.

'Eddie?'

He looks...

Oh my god he's kind of dressed up.

For Eddie, he's dressed up, meaning he looks way more Devil Worshipper than usual. Hair all roughed up and wavy, eyeliner, all black, laced untied and that godforsaken Dio cut off he adores.

He's got a silver earring in; a dangly rose. It's undoubtedly something a girl would wear, all sparkly.

'Oh my god,' Steve mutters, dazed.

Then he shakes himself and smacks Eddie around the face.

'OK, ow.'

'You fucker! You don't call me for weeks and now you just rock up here, looking stupidly hot--'

'Aww thanks, babe.'

'--like no time has passed and nothing happened!'

Eddie sighs, glances around.

'People are staring.'

'I don't care!'

'You're drunk!'

'Well, you're an idiot!'

'Well, I love you.'

'Well, I love YOU-wait, no. What?'

Eddie rolls his eyes, pulls Steve close.

'I want us too.' Then he lets out a shaky sigh, strokes Steve's face. 'Christ, everyone is literally staring but i--'

Steve kisses him.

The world jumps the tracks.

The song skips.

Nothing will ever be the same.

It's the best fucking kiss of his life.

'I wanna fuck you.'

'Right here?' Eddie's kissing him back, its delightful, fucking gorgeius. 'Man, you really are a kinky fucker, but I've actually for a surprise for you?'

'You're not gonna sing to me, right?'

'Have a little faith in me, Harrington.'

'Does it get us the fuck out of here?'

Eddie grins, grabs his hand again.

*

'So, what do you think?'

Steve can't think. His brain is all mushy.

'Um.'

'You don't like it.'

'Eddie,' he says with soft astonishment. 'You didn't have to do this.'

The van is big, spacious. Steve's been in it before when it was not spacious, at all. Eddie has cleared the back completely but more than that, he's got supplies inside. Bedrolls, pillows, knives (of course) as well as cases of bottled water, canned good, tools, a compass and a map.

'I heard good things about Chicago.'

'From who?'

'A lady trying to sell me tickets to Chicago, but look.' Eddie sighs, wraps his arms around Steve's middle from behind. 'I just wanna try. I wanna be with you and not be scared to lose out. I can't run, don't wanna do that.' He kisses his neck. 'I'm in if you are.'

'We could go anywhere?'

'Anywhere.'

'What if you hate me after a week?'

'That's why god invented hatefucking.'

'What if we get lost?'

Eddie's lips are warm against his skin. 'Sounds fun.'

'What if--?'

'Gonna save you some time, Harrington, there's a million reasons not to do something, OK? We don't have to, but I saw the maps on your wall. I know you want to blast outta this town and so do I. I love you, Steve. I'm being brave. You wanna be brave too?'

Steve leans his head back, looks up at the stars. He can hear the music from inside, muffled but still undeniable. Eddie's all around him, they're swaying a little.

He closes his eyes, smiles.

'Dance with me first?'

~ the end.

💕💕💕

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x04 - Scorching Heat! Birdramon! / Biyomon Gets Firepower

Previously on Digimon Adventure: The kids spent their first night on File Island, accidentally assaulted a sea dragon, and then slept in dirt. Also, Yamato loves his brother very much.

Now it's Sora's turn for a spotlight episode.

As the kids make their way through the woods, they hear a loud rumbling sound like a train coming from the sky. Looking up, there's a mysterious flying disc.

Yamato gets the best look at it, identifying it as some kind of gear. Sora suggests flying saucer, while Mimi splits the difference offers gear-shaped meteorite. Jou doesn't know what it was; He just gets a bad vibe from it.

In the dub, Matt suggests some kind of aircraft. Sora's the one who pegs it as a gear, while Izzy takes it as clear visible evidence for his alien theory. Joe agrees with Izzy and riffs on the show's art, declaring "They hit us with an antigravity way to make us all crooked; Or maybe that sign's just crooked?"

The conversation is interrupted when Takeru trips on a vine and hurts his ankle. Wilderness travel sucks.

Taichi and Yamato both rush to Takeru's side, but Taichi gets there first. One detail I really love in this scene is that Takeru visibly turns his head to talk directly to Yamato when he cries that his fall hurt.

Takeru tries to be tough, saying he can take it and it doesn't really hurt that much. Sora assures him that it's okay to be honest about his pain, and gives Takeru confidence to withdraw that retraction. It does hurt. Patamon, way too late on the uptake, suddenly screams "ARE YOU OKAY, TAKERU!?" and Tentomon calls him out for being slow.

The dub cuts this whole discussion of Takeru's pain. When Tai picks him up, he chastizes him because "That could have been a snake!" T.K. apologizes for being clumsy, then asks Biyomon if the island has snakes on it. She assures him it doesn't; There's just giant killer bugs and stuff, no snakes. Patamon then boldly proclaims that he'll fight those Digimon to protect T.K.

From here, we get into Sora and Piyomon's conflict for this arc. As the group discusses where we even go from here, Piyomon begins nuzzling Sora and declares that she'll be perfectly happy as long as she's with Sora.

Sora does not take this well. "Even if you're 100% happy, it'll be troublesome for me. I can't be held responsible." Piyomon doesn't understand what she means by that and eagerly asks her to explain, because she wants to know everything about Sora. Sora tries to wave off her questions; That was not an invitation for further conversation.

As the kids start walking again, Tentomon explains to Koushiro that Piyomon are highly social Digimon. Behind them, Piyomon takes Sora's hand while they walk and sings, "Sora~ Sora~ Sora~!" While Piyomon physically clings to her, Sora wonders to herself whether she's going to be able to get along with a "mushy Digimon" like Piyomon.

The dub cuts all of this. As the kids discuss where to go, Tai suggests looking for signs of intelligent life. Biyomon takes offense to that, asking Sora if Tai just insulted the Digimon. Sora assures her that Tai didn't mean it like that, then spends the rest of her dialogue explaining how important it is that they stick together and work as a team to find their way out of here.

As the kids start walking, Matt imitates a tour guide and introduces everyone to "The Forest of Irrelevant Road Signs". Sora rolls her eyes and complains internally, "We're lost and these guys are making jokes!"

Good news is, the kids finally find their way out of the Forest of Irrelevant Road Signs. Bad news is, the Desert of Inexplicable Telephone Poles seems much worse. I vote we stay here.

A quick cut shows us the gear crashing into a nearby mountain shaped like a layered sponge cake, because File Island is weird. In the dub, the kids see and comment on "the flying saucer again", with Matt proclaiming that it's "heading for a close encounter!" But this shot is for the audience's benefit, not theirs.

Walking through the desert, Koushiro compares it to the African savannah he saw on TV. This prompts discussion of whether they'll run into lions or giraffes, but the Digimon assure them there are no such animals here. Only Digimon.

Yamato asks Koushiro if the African savannah has phone poles in it. My heart goes out to him for that question. Like, you can hear the hopefulness behind the question, like maybe they've finally pegged where they are. But no. There are no inexplicable telephone poles in the African savannah.

Jou, however, takes the phone poles as a sign of hope. We flash back on the pay phones and the trolley. If there's so much stuff here then there must be people. Behind him, Tentomon whispers to Koushiro, once again reasserting that there are no people. Only Digimon.

In the dub, they head into the desert to purposefully follow the phone poles, then use the rest of their dialogue to complain about the heat. T.K. whines that he can feel the heat coming up through his socks, so Matt suggests putting his shoes back on. Mimi then complains that the desert air is bad for her complexion, providing the others another opportunity to yell at her.

Dub Sora points out that the phone poles aren't connected to anything. Izzy takes that as a chance to theorize that they're some kind of alien devices.

For the flashbacks on the pay phones and trolley, Dub Mimi abruptly asks, "Hey, remember those phone booths and the street car?" but she's not going anywhere with this. "I was just wondering if anyone else remembered!" This provokes Joe into suddenly proclaiming that everyone is doomed and the heat is baking their brains. Behind him, Tentomon whispers to Izzy that they need to find shade for Joe.

Amid all this, Mimi has an idea to help them navigate the desert. Remember that compass from the survival kit she stole from her dad? Mimi remembers.

The dub plays this for a joke. "You won't believe what happened to my favorite watch. The sun melted the numbers right off!" The way she delivers this suggests Mimi herself might be cracking a joke, but the way the dub treats her in general leaves it kind of ambiguous.

They also seem to think this is a different compass, as Tai cracks a joke about Mimi having "a lot of compasses for someone who hates hiking". No, Tai. She has the one. From the survival kit she stole from her dad.

Holding the compass out flat, it begins to spin wildly and can't find a direction. So. That sucks. Koushiro assesses the sand they're walking on and realizes it's actually powdered iron, which is throwing off the compass. So much for that.

Next steps: We should probably find water before we all dehydrate. Seems like that would probably have been a good thing to think about before beginning a death march through the desert, but these are children.

Here, the Japanese crew start suffering from the heat, joining the dub crew. Gomamon proclaims that he needs ice or, at least, water. In the dub, Izzy lands a good joke by explaining that he's taken a soil sample, measured the barometric pressure, and analyzed the relative humidity to come to the conclusion: "It's really, really hot."

Mimi takes off her hat and gives it to Palmon to protect her from the harsh sun. Dub Palmon gets in a crack about "If this goes on too long, I'm going to look like a wilted salad."

Mimi's kind gesture surprises Sora, who starts to say something but then stops herself. Piyomon then starts in, calling out Sora's name like a child trying to get her mom's attention until Sora finally snaps at her. Sora yells at Piyomon to quit clinging to her, because she's tired and thirsty and can't take it anymore.

Feeling guilty for hurting Piyomon's feelings, Sora takes it back and agrees to let Piyomon keep walking with her. Piyomon forgives her instantly, hugging her legs and proclaiming, "Sora, I love you!"

Once again I want to take a moment and comment on the art, as the decision to center Mimi and Palmon with their clear, visible gesture of care for one another on full display in this shot is perfect.

Though I also want to note that, while Sora's behavior towards Piyomon is hurtful and that's what drives the plot of the episode, it should be taken with the perspective that they just met yesterday. Piyomon is being pretty clingy. There's nuance here.

Again, the dub cuts Sora and Piyomon's emotional conflict out of the scene entirely. They use the screentime to make jokes. Matt cracks, "Now you know why they call them SWEAT socks!" while Mimi gets in a stellar crack, pointing out that this "beach" would be a lot more popular if it had a couple more things like an ocean. XD

When Biyomon stops walking in visible distress, it's because she's tired and needs to rest. Sora suggests pretending that it's raining, which gives Biyomon so much encouragement that she runs up and hugs Sora. She loves the rain so much.

Breaking out his telescope, Taichi finds the most wonderful sight in the distance. That's not just an oasis, it's a full-blown village. This is the brightest moment since the kids arrived on File Island! Let's get over there!

Jou triumphantly declares victory; He knew there'd be people here! Mimi's thirsty, Takeru's hungry, everyone's excited for an end to the desert.

Dub Tai and Joe are both more interested in the water than the village, but Izzy's interested in the village; He's the only one that suggests there may be people. Mimi wants shade, while T.K. is "hungry enough to eat broccoli!"

Meanwhile, the gear finds its way to its target. Slamming into this man made of fire, it grotesquely digs into his flesh and buries itself in his body.

The village... isn't exactly what they anticipated. The kids quickly realize that they will not find shelter here. The huts are like two feet tall and populated by dozens of Pyocomon.

This revelation naturally leaves Jou distraught; No people, once again. Mimi thinks it's cute, though; It reminds her of a faerie tale. Dub Joe's upset because they won't fit into the huts, while Mimi wants to take a Pyocomon home with her to put with the rest of her plushies. This gives them yet another chance to shit-talk her, with Matt wondering aloud if Mimi even hears the same things the rest of them do while Izzy accuses her of being an alien spy.

The dub is so mean to Mimi.

In fact, Piyomon used to be one of those Pyocomon, and takes the opportunity to catch up. While Sora listens in and seems genuinely touched by how much Piyomon cares about her. We watch her frown turn to a smile as Piyomon brags that she evolved because of Sora and she's learning new words from Sora.

But then Piyomon says she evolved to "protect Sora" and that offends her. Sora grumpily mutters to herself that Piyomon's too lovey-dovey to protect anyone. But then she flashes back on Greymon and Garurumon's evolution, realizing that something similar might happen to Piyomon if she's put in danger. That brings the smile back to her face.

The dub keeps most of this, but Sora isn't as mean about the "protect Sora" remark. She sounds more curious about what that means, then thinks about Greymon and Garurumon and she gets it. Grinning, she proclaims, "We're lucky kids!"

The Pyocomon offer to prepare a feast in the kids' honor. Koushiro briefly considers what the food will be, but his thoughts are interrupted when Takeru finds the water!

Tentomon explains that this isn't just any spring; This water comes from Miharashi Mountain, that odd layered mountain that the gear flew off to. Dub T.K. observes that it's a volcano, but the Yokomon assure him that "the heat boils away all the germs".

At this point, we see the gear finish burrowing into the fire man from before. Then the attack begins.

The kids try the lake that the derelict boat was sitting in, but it's completely dried up. They move to a well in the village, but fire pours out of that as well.

They quickly assess that this must be related to that gear they saw flying to Miharashi, seeing as it's the water source for everything here. The Pyocomon offer context that Meramon lives on Miharashi and he's supposed to protect it. How could something have happened?

Like Seadramon, the dub makes Meramon out to be more vicious than the original. Here, the Yokomon speak of Meramon with terror, saying they don't dare visit the mountain because of how dangerous he is. "He burns up everything he touches!"

Taichi scouts the mountain with his telescope and finds no answers, only a bigger question: Why is Meramon descending the mountain and coming right for us?

Meramon irrationally screams that he's on fire and burning up, while the narrator officially introduces him. He's an Adult-stage Data-type Digimon. This is where the dub got "He burns up everything he touches", but the narrator clarifies "in battle".

In the dub, Palmon handles his introduction but all she offers is that it's weird for his own flames to be causing him pain like this. Accurate, but also self-evident.

Also, while he's clearly out of his mind and screaming about burning up and being in pain in both versions, Dub Meramon starts throwing out violent taunts like "You're gonna need more than sunscreen to stop me!" that imply more deliberation in attacking the village.

Both versions do start laughing maniacally as they approach the village, however, so the dub isn't wrong with their take. The gear-infected Meramon isn't coming this way by chance.

Evacuating the village, the kids usher the Pyocomon to take cover inside the wrecked ship. But while they're helping these Pyocomon, Sora's struck with a horrifying realization: Piyomon's still up there, at the top of the cliff that the lakeshore's become, guiding the Pyocomon. She won't leave until the rest of her village are safe.

The intensity of Piyomon's peril sends Sora racing for the cliffside to come get her, but she's too late. While the Pyocomon all make it out, Meramon catches Piyomon on the cliff's edge and takes a swipe at her, sending her tumbling down the cliff. Sora catches her at the bottom, and the two share a moment as Sora expresses how worried she was for her friend.

But, up at the top of the cliff, Meramon prepares to attack. As he forms a fireball in his hand for his Burning Fist attack, Piyomon flies back up to defend Sora.

Piyomon's signature move is Magical Fire, a green spiral flame that proves absolutely ineffectual against the ever-burning and Adult-stage Meramon. The dub calls it Spiral Twister. Meramon shrugs off the attack and blasts Piyomon out of the sky with his Burning Fist.

The others offer cover fire with such moves as Baby Flame and Petit Fire, all of which Meramon absorbs and grows larger. It takes the kids a moment to realize that fire isn't going to work out here.

The dub here offers a reminder that Meramon's a victim in all this. Dub Meramon exclaims, "Why do I suffer so!?" which Tai overhears and wonders the same; He wants to help Meramon but they don't know what's afflicting him.

As the now-colossal Meramon descends into the lakebed to assault the ship and kids, Piyomon picks herself off the ground. Seeing Sora in Meramon's path, she finds her second wind and refuses to give up.

Piyomon SHINKAAAAAA!!!

The dub takes the focus of that moment off of Sora. Biyomon exclaims, "We're all in trouble; Meramon cannot be allowed to win!" and then digivolves because "My friends need my help now!"

Birdramon's name at this point is fairly self-explanatory. She's a Bird Dragon Digimon.

Returning Meramon to the lakeshore, Birdramon tanks multiple Burning Fists before returning fire with her own signature move: Meteor Wing.

This does not get a dub name; At least, not in this episode. Whoever did the script for this episode seems to have not liked the whole attack-calling thing, as both Meramon's Burning Fists and Birdramon's Meteor Wing go completely unnamed. Meramon's attack calls are replaced with exertion grunts, while Birdramon's is replaced by high-pitched bird cries. Later episodes will have Birdramon call Meteor Wing by name, however.

Somehow, despite Meramon absorbing fire moves and growing stronger, hitting him with six massive fireballs does the trick.

Meramon doubles over in pain, returns to normal size, and ejects the gear from his back. The gear flies up into the air, then explodes in a puff of smoke. The kids all see the black gear, but they don't really understand what they're seeing. Still, Yamato wonders aloud if the gear was the problem here.

As usual, the dub kids are quicker on the uptake. Izzy and Tai both agree in much more confident terms that the gear drove Meramon mad. Matt relates; "If you had a big black gear stuck inside of you, you'd act a little crazy too."

Sora and Piyomon reunited, and Sora's overwhelmed with gratitude for Piyomon's protection. When Piyomon declares, "I love you, Sora!' again, it's met with an appreciative smile.

This moment's gushier in the dub, because Sora never had any reservations about their relationship to begin with. She spends her lines gushing that Biyomon's always there for her and that she's super proud of her.

Offscreen, the lake fills back up with water. The Pyocomon return to their village and unpack what happened with Meramon. He's as confused as they are. Still, they have no hard feelings over it and ask him to continue protecting Miharashi as he always has.

Despite the dub making the Yokomon terrified of Meramon and portraying him as a violent, territorial menace, this scene is played straight. "You're needed to protect Mount Miharashi!" they say of a 'mon they previously said burns up everything.

In any case, Meramon returns to his mountain and the water is restored. There's just one thing left to do: Let's get to that feast!

All the grain and birdseed you can eat!

The kids quickly agree that this is not people food. But also that they're starving and desperate, so dig in, everybody!

To varying degrees of acceptance. Mimi, in particular, cries out that she wants to go home, giving everyone a chuckle.

Ironically, the dub makes Mimi the most gracious. "Be polite and just eat it; A gracious guest never insults his host's cooking!" she says from offscreen, criticizing the others for their reluctance. Joe, meanwhile, refuses to eat, saying he's probably allergic anyway.

We close on Sora contemplating Piyomon, acknowledging that she really did evolve to protect her, just like she said she would. Dub Sora, again, had nothing to learn in this episode so she closes with the observation, "For being so little, she sure has a huge heart."

Assessment: The dub butchered this one. The previous episode seemed to be going a different direction with Matt, seeming to make him more abrasive to T.K. so he has room to grow. This one does the opposite; They erased Sora's entire character arc. Which is. Y'know. The plot of this episode. So.

Sora having trouble with Piyomon's displays of affection is our first glimpse at a deeper turmoil that will become important in later episodes, so I'm not happy about having that removed.

I do, however, like the mid-fight reminder of Meramon's affliction. And the dub also landed some solid jokes too; I particularly liked Matt sarcastically calling their surroundings the "Forest of Irrelevant Road Signs", conveying that he's starting to get irritated by the bizarre and inexplicable geography of File Island. So it does have a couple things going for it in this one.

[lilypadlys]

Mushy May Day Twenty-two - Long Drives

Notes: Ghoul roadtrip headcanons. I’m imaging a van with four rows of seating for seating placements. Prompt list by @forlorn-crows. See prompt list here

Word Count: 445

Read on AO3 or below the cut

Cirrus: Drives or calls shotgun. Generally a pretty chill driver but if other drivers are rude she will be rude back. If Mountain or Aether is driving she’ll help navigate. Favorite road snack is pretzels.

Cumulus: Calls shotgun when Cirrus is driving and helps navigate. When in the back she sits second row with Sunshine and Rain. Will play music when the other girls fall asleep. Favorite road snack is potato chips.

Sunshine: Fights with Aurora over music privileges. Generally loses until Aurora falls asleep. Sits second row with Rain and Cumulus. Favorite road snack is dried fruit and the m&ms from Mountain’s trail mix. Shares with Aether and Mountain.

Aurora: Fights with Sunshine over music privileges. Generally wins but always falls asleep if the drive is longer than an hour. Sits very back row. Favorite road snack is yogurt covered pretzels.

Dewdrop: Chill until Swiss starts something. Then they’ll bicker until Mountain, Aether, or (Satan forbid) Cirrus steps in. Ends up listening to his own music for most of the trip. Favorite road snack is spicy peanuts. Aurora learned they were spicy the hard way.

Rain: Has his license in passenger princess (he can actually drive, just doesn’t prefer to). Sits with Sunshine. Most chill of everyone. Just puts earbuds in and zones out of the chaos happening around him. Favorite road snack is shrimp chips when he can find them. Often has to bring them from home.

Mountain: Actually responsible and follows driving laws. Does not road rage. Wants to drive the entire thing but Aether and Cumulus make him take breaks. As a passenger he generally ends up in the third row between Dew and Swiss in an attempt to make them behave. Favorite road snacks are trail mix and sunflower seeds.

Aether: Also a responsible driver. Also does not road rage. When Mountain drives he sits with Swiss and Dew, otherwise ends up in the back with Aurora and Phantom. Favorite road snack is dried banana slices.

Swiss: Not allowed to drive. Has his license in annoying Dew. At rest stops he’s in charge of getting snacks for everyone. Favorite road snack is various types of jerky. He’ll go out of his way to find the strange ones and try and get everyone else to try them.

Phantom: Has to pee every forty-five minutes. Cirrus has yelled at him about it before. Swiss calls his needy bladder a skill issue. Otherwise a pretty chill passenger. Enjoys staring out the window, playing road bingo, or napping. Sits in the very back row. Favorite road snack is stealing everyone else’s snacks because he got overwhelmed by the options and couldn’t pick anything.

[beyond-the-rabbit-hole]

could we see a scene with loathsome’s evan driving. i cannot imagine how bad he has to be at driving for it to be traumatizing

Road Trip with Loathesome Evan

Features: Loathesome Evan, Reader (Unspecified gender) Warnings: Mild gore

“Did you see that?! That guy totally cut me off!” “Evan-”

Hitting the gas immediately, he swerved around the driver that had apparently cut him off, leaning out the window to cuss them out. He’s… Kinda driving like an asshole to be honest, but at least he’s-

Oh. He’s missing a good chunk of his head.

See, he’s not exactly the most careful with his own body thanks to having so many Habits in there, leaning back in as his skull slowly reformed. Unfortunately, the second his mouth was back, he was mouthing off again.

“Can’t believe this shit! He’s tailgating me now!” “Evan-”

“I’m gonna kick his ass, I swear to god I’m gonna kick his ass-” “Evan!” “What!?” “You’re missing half your head!”

“Oh, that.” He turned with a light smile, a mushy eye looking over at you. “It’s totally fine, don’t even worry about it! Do you want me to go kick that guy’s ass? I’ll do it, if you want.”

“You’ll do it even if I tell you not to.”

[minti-tales]

The Persistence of Memory

Minti and a Moogle travel to Coerthas, in search of a missing friend. Sprout safe.

Written and inspired by the Pictomancer quests from FFXIV. Slight spoilers up to level 83 Picto, "Perspectives in Pursuit."

Some dialogue from Garlond Tools used and/or adapted to fit the piece.

Thank you for your understanding.

---

Minti Chocolate had traveled this road before, in a time not too long ago.

On that day, the trip was a muddy, rainy mess in the North Shroud, ending with a equally mushy and cold snow in the Highlands at the First Dicasterial Observatorium. Riptide, the viera's trusty chocobo, had had a field day hopping from mud pool to mud pool, making sure that his rider and their armor were just as dirty as he was. Why had she gone up there? To make amends with Ser Bale, and to continue the dragoon training she'd had so many years ago. And, she supposed, it was to show the Frost Queen, one of her Choir, that she was a woman of her word. That despite the many wrongs she'd done over her long lifetime, she was a good person. She wanted to make amends.

As Minti walked through the Observatorium on bamboo zori, accompanied by a moogle she'd met only a few days ago, she wondered if there were still things she needed to ask forgiveness for. Maybe there were, for the snow and cold clung to her dōgi and hakama, eagerly waiting to feast on the exposed skin underneath.

Their name was Kupopo. The moogle, not Minti, she knew her chosen name well enough. Kupopo was looking for Beruru, a young lalafell and pictomancer who'd gone missing recently. "Well, she's missing in the sense that I don't know where she is," Kupopo had explained while the two were in Gridania, "but I don't fear for her safety." For a time, the two had traveled with an older scholar, Janquetilaque, someone who was like a grandfather to Beruru. Much like me and Mamam, Minti thought at the time.

While Minti understood that the lalafell was a good friend, and that the two had separated after "a terrible argument," it felt like there were important things being kept from her. The viera was well versed in keeping secrets, after all. Still, no point in trying to pry what didn't wish to be pried. Maybe after the tour of the realm, she'd get to the truth of things. For now, there was the role of a virtuous pictomancer to play.

---

Much as Minti may have wished to get back to the comforting climes of the Lavender Beds, or maybe under a shady tree in the Goblet, Kupopo seemed to want her to stay. First with the quest for the hartebeest's horn, and now with cups of piping hot chocolate in one of Camp Dragonhead's common quarters. Did he think her as another lonely adventurer, maybe? Was this the first time he was well and truly alone?

"It's important to us, as pictomancers, to capture the essence of the places we go to," Kupopo was saying, their tiny paws barely able to wrap around the brim of the mug they were drinking from. "We can't just stay in one place, see. We need to be inspired!" They loudly slurped up cocoa. "Mmm. Excellent recipe, this. Someone ought to write it down."

Minti, meanwhile, was having a hard time drinking hers. "Someone ought," she echoed wistfully. It wasn't the cold keeping her from enjoying the drink; no, there were a great deal of things at work in her mind.

Kupopo continued. "So, you've been to Ishgard before, right?"

"Aye." Minti nodded slightly, trudging through the blinding snow of her mindscape.

"Surely you must have something that'd inspire you. Perhaps some strong emotions, or, or, sensations." Kupopo gestured widely with his mug, splashing coca on the wooden table between them. "Pray forgive! ...How about the first time you came to Ishgard. Can you remember that?"

The viera leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Imaging things had never come easy for her; one could say "Imagine an apple" and instantly see a bright, red, juicy apple sitting on a table in their mind. For her, that same apple was a flicker, a flash of red and juice and table and then, nothing. Maybe that's why she liked writing much more than drawing, when she was younger. For a young girl like her, it was easier to write out what she was experiencing in her mind, than it was to picture it.

"The warmth I found amidst the bitter cold, from a woman who was incredibly dear to me, when I needed help the most." Minti didn't feel comfortable enough sharing everything with Kupopo, not yet. Maybe, further along the journey to find their lost friend, she'd say everything. She'd pour her heart out to them, talk about Lady Sabbatine, the House, Haurchefaunt, everything...everything that made her, her. Important time spent, time that lit the fires in heart heart and made her not run anymore. Time that turned her from a girl not ready to face the world into a woman grown. An adventurer. Minti Chocolate, not Marget Djt-Gilda, daughter of Skeld and Anja.

Not now. Soon but not now.

Kupopo sipped their chocolate in silence. For a moment, the only sound to be heard was that of their wings fluttering, loudly keeping the fluffy creature afloat.

"An difficult journey indeed, from what you've shared of your life." They gently put their mug down on the table, and floated over to where Minti was sitting. "But, you were shown kindness, were you not? From the moment you stepped foot within those walls. Someone cared for you."

"You could say that."

Kupopo dabbed away some cocoa that was dripping down Minti's chin. "And, you're driven to show that kindness to others, right? That's important to you?"

"I suppose so."

The moogle nodded, shaking their fur out and splashing cocoa against the stone walls that surrounded them and their pictomancer protege. "...that's good to know. It inspires me, you know? Gives me hope.

But I should get to poking my adorable nose around the camp, see if I can't get some leads on where Beruru might have gone. Take care of yourself, alright?

Keep training. Don't give up just yet. Inspiration might be right around the corner."

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

Scarborough Ahoy! (1994 Short Film)- Day 4 Watching Con's Filmography

Live posting. All I know is this is sad(don't know why), short, and that Con is good (and queer) in it. Watching it in 480p, so we'll see.

YELL AT ME BELOW! I NEED YALLS OPINIONS ON THIS!

Warnings for: Suicidal Ideation, full body nudity.

Also, the movies description describes Con as the 'Gay Guy' and 'Barmaid'. So 'Con' and 'Barmaid' is what I'm calling them. I'll specify Con the Actor.

Casually kicking a one-night stand out; GET IT GIRL. Didn't expect that level of nudity, but here we are.

CONNNN! He's slightly older in this one compared to Dancing, and I already don't feel wigged out.

Con's semi-startled look at 'used to get laid all the time'. Me too, babe, me too.

As a person who hates booze, the bar scene made me physically nauseous.

Con, being a bro, and making sure she was alright. Love that for him. She needs a friend.

HAHAHA Hell yeah, stick up for yourself Con, he's queer, and the guy getting you a coffee.

God, gender fucking envy. And coat envy, that thing looks warm as shit. I missed when my hair was that length(Con's). Shame I need to be more feminine presenting where I live.

DAMN. I wish I was that confident in my driving. She backed up with SPEED.

HELL YEAH, TRIP TO FIND MEN BABY! God, I know England isn't affordable to anyone, especially foreigners, but god its nice to be able to drive that in a day and actually go somewhere

Con, stop wearing my dream wardrobe. I want that fucking sweater.

OH MY GOD. This is real ally behavior, compete to see who gets more guys

Synchronize watches! The confidence into immediate, oh shit, how the fuck do i do this on both their faces is great.

Santa, fuck off.

(Con making out with a guy)Now. How the fuck haven't I seen gifs of this. tumblr, I'm surprised you weren't hornier.

SHE CHOSE SANTA. Mam, have some self-respect. I hope he is at least a gentle lover? Laughing as he goes down on you probably isn't great.

AWWW. The way they watched out for each other after getting laid. Happily just walking down the road. Oh my god, help her up. BRO, GET THE FUCK UP OFF THE ROAD.

He straight up said 'boyfriend'. Damn, love short indie films.

24? Fuck him babe, old my ass

Okay, I thought Con was going to say his guy died, not cheated. I'm trained too well in modern......OHH SHIT, whelp (he killed himself)

Babes, please learn to love yourselves.

BANGIN SOUNDTRACK

I Love that they coordinate outfits, either accidentally or not. They are the crew. Hell yeah, the ass-grabbing! Get sailor ass.

Now, mushy peas seems like hell. Actual worse thing on earth

'What's brought this on, catholic guilt?' Mood

'Feels great, sometimes not so great'

'What about love, then.' Awww babe

What game are they playing with all those colors, looks fun as shit. CON LOOKS SO HAPPY. LET THIS MAN PLAY HAPPY PEOPLE. He just fucking giggled, god damn it.

This seems like a nice road trip to mentally reset life for a bit.

Guys, if they're being passively suicidal, then at least they've got each other. See, they pushed and they still wanted to live. Cute shit.

Sexuality being fluid! Great to see this, especially for the 90s.

Love the respecting of boundaries; they both really needed to talk before moving forward. Great shit. It's probably her feeling guilty for 'tempting a gay' but... That feels depressing, so fluidity I will choose.

"Well, you can fix it; you did a course in auto mechanics, didn't you." Hahahaha

GAY EARING ON THE DRIVER. I love that Con's getting as much action as he is.

Nice of her to give them space, ally behavior

CONS HAIR

EXCUSE ME MAM, LET HIM FUCK. RUDE. Stand up for yourself CON! They're just friends. If she wanted more, she needs to communicate that. He's pulling his own and trying to reach out to find a middle ground cause he knows she's angry. I love that he comforts her even though he has every right to escalate this into a fight.

Awww, she saved him the head puzzle piece. Love that he smacked it down. His fucking grin.

THE LITTLE SHUFFLE DANCE. Also, this fucker is stealing my wardrobe again.

OH MY GOD WALTZING. I LOVE IT. Bitch, this is the most romantic thing I've ever seen. THE CINDERELLA SONG! AWWWWWWW. I love them. Bro has to understand how many mixed signals he's sending out here.

Going to the dockyard doesn't end happily in these sorts of films.

He's having thoughts and needs to fuck them out. Fair, she's gorgeous.

SHIT CALLED IT

RUN! GO HELP HIM

At least she realized pretty early that he was out too late.

(Con is revealed beaten up and bloody)SHITTTTTTT Well, that's a head wound. Scuffed hands. Okay, good, I thought he fucking died.

GIVE THE MAN A HUG

AWWW HE SAID HE LOVES HER

DON'T FUCKING LEAVE YOU JACKASS. I've read dozens of fanfic like this. DOZENS

NOOOOOOOOOOO. WHY STOP THIS NOW! I NEED A FULL MOVIE GOD DAMN IT.

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

Con's Characters Sexuality Discussion: There are two options here. He's 'gay' as described in the film's synopsis or more fluid in a modern sense. Again, he's willing to fuck her, and clearly cares for her. Who knows if he was 'pushing his limits' and this is why she turned him down. The I love you could be romantic/sexual love, or the love of a friend. Both readings are perfectly valid by the text. The short film ends here to not answer the question and keep it ambiguous.

I'm flipping between this movie being about their friendship and finding someone to be comfortable with, or two people used to having one night stands falling in love. You know what. Both are right! (As a queer who says I love you to my straight friends. Calls them beautiful and does all of the shit Con does here, yeah, the waters are murky, who said you alone need to filter it to solve the art)

I can see a happy ending where they grow to be close friends for the rest of their lives, or just making it a probably short-lived relationship. They're both young and impulsive and need to work on themselves a bit before getting serious, but I hope they can keep this little corner of the world safe.

Cinematography(7/10): Fun! About what to expect from a short film. Nonintrusive editing.

Actors besides Con (8/10): I LOVED THE BARMAID. God, she's so fucking sweet and just needs someone in her corner. She's fun, cocky, and bullheaded in a way that fit's with Con's character. I loved their friendship. I love that she's worried about that and doesn't want to push boundaries. I wish this was a longer movie, I want to see them learning to love themselves and having each other there. Everyone else was unmemorable.

CON! The Actor 10/10: He seems more comfortable in this role than in Dancing. It makes him a more likeable character. Likely due to the size of the project, and experience. He seems like he's found his groove here, and I wish we got to see more of it. Seeing him actually flirt was a joy. Again, personally, I think the 'I love you' could be from a gay 'bff' perspective or he genuinely loves her. I love that they just feel safe with each other which is clearly what they need. Love con's look, dialogue, and everything about how he held himself. He seemed like he really opened up to her verses how Con's character acted at the beginning of the movie. That can be really hard to pull off

Story 9/10: Really fucking fun. Sweet, they both felt stuck in a rut and finally made a friend that understood them. The dialogue/writing is so fucking inspiring as I try to write fun dialogue.

REWATCHABILITY: I would say that compared to the downers I watched yesterday, this overtakes Vengeance. It helps that it's so short.

9/10. I hate giving perfect 10s when I haven't seen everything, but god is this so close. I can totally see myself giving this a retroactive 10. Writing this overview I felt like I was balancing on a tight rope trying to 'figure out' the right ending. But that's kind of the point. The relationship they build is a comfort in a shitty world, and it's fucking beautiful.

I know people said it was sad, but I found it really hopeful? They're still living their shitty lives, but they're not alone anymore.

NEXT! Still plan on Cucumber, 3 steps to heaven for weird Con, and whatever I feel in the moment. Rewatching Blood brothers today with the Brother, so wish me luck.

(I linked some people who commented last post, thanks for the comments as always!)

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