#my main toys as a kid were those little plastic animals

[lesbiansanemi]

Flight rising is basically the current equivalent of how I used to play with my toys. Like omg I get to sort my silly little dragons and put them in rows. ROWS !!!!!

[avatar-anna]

Shopping Spree

i keep seeing videos of parents taking their kids to target and letting them buy whatever they want as long as it fits in their little shopping cart, and i just had to do that for my favorite family!

Young dad!Harry x Young mom!Reader universe

“Okay, Maeve, you know the rules, you can get whatever you want, as long as it fits in the shopping cart.”

Maeve nodded, her little four year old hands gripping her shopping cart like she didn’t need the instructions and just wanted to get started. Still, she smiled at where Y/n was holding her phone up to film. Her nose crinkled as she moved from foot to foot. “Yes, Mama. I know.”

“Alright then. Go crazy, my love.”

Giggling, Maeve set off down the main aisle. “Makeup section first!”

“Makeup section? She—She’s four she doesn’t need—”

Y/n turned her phone camera toward her husband for a moment. “Anything she wants, remember?”

Harry was the one who suggested this little shopping spree. Ever since the world began to open up again, Y/n and Harry started letting the kids out of the house more. They were adjusting to the normal world again after being locked up, wearing masks to school, washing their hands, making new friends, dealing with the separation from their parents after being with them 24/7 for so long. Everyone except Maeve, who Harry and Y/n were told was having a hard time at school socially. She didn’t want to participate in class and cried throughout the day, sometimes wouldn’t let Julian play with the other children, and not making any effort to make friends. “It’s not uncommon. Lots of children are struggling to adjust, and she’s just used to a specific way of living,” her preschool teacher said when she asked for a meeting with Y/n and Harry. 

So to cheer Maeve up, Harry decided she needed a shopping spree. Y/n all but rolled her eyes at the suggestion, but he insisted that retail therapy worked wonders for him. She finally caved, but only until they agreed on finding other ways to help out as well. Harry just kissed his wife before putting his wallet in his bacl pocket. “Well duh. Now come on. Today’s gonna be great.”

So now they were trailing behind their four year old as she pushed her little red shopping cart. 

“Ooh. This looks pretty!” Maeve said, grabbing an eyeshadow palette with all sorts of sparkly pink and purple shades and dropping it into the cart.

Maeve continued on, working through the makeup section, the clothes, where she found some very cute sunglasses and a denim jacket, then the toy section. The three of them spent a lot of time in the toy aisles. Barbie dolls, a Rapunzel costume, plush candy hearts, and—

“Shopkins we have to get Shopkins,” she said, reaching on her tip toes for a collection of toys in bright pink plastic wrapping.

“You’re running out of space there, sweet pea,” Harry said, eyeing the cart. It was his idea to let his daughter roam free throughout the store, but he didn’t expect her to fill the cart so much. Or be so good at fitting everything just right.

“It’s fine,” Maeve said, then continued on to the next aisle.

Before long, Maeve was stuck with making decisions on what to keep in the cart and what to leave behind. Which Barbie to keep, where to fit that stuffed animal. For a moment, Maeve stood and stared at all the things she piled into her shopping cart, another box in her hands. Then, she turned to Harry.

“You can just hold this one,” she said, handing the box over to him.

Harry nearly took it from his daughter’s outstretched hand before Y/n stepped in. “Hang on there, Maeve. Those weren’t the rules,” she said, trying to hide her laughter.

Maeve pouted at her for a moment, and unsurprisingly, so did Harry. But then she shrugged and switched out one box so she could fit the other one in and carried on.

“Tyrant,” Harry muttered.

“Pushover,” Y/n muttered back, then kissed his cheek.

As they were heading back to the front of the store, Maeve stopped as she saw a pair of sparkly blue shoes hanging up on a rack that was well within her reach. She immediately grabbed a pair, and Y/n almost said she didn’t have any room for the shoes when Maeve simply hooked them onto something else in the cart. “There! All done!”

Harry had to hide his face in Y/n’s shoulder so he wouldn’t laugh loudly and bring attention to them. Y/n covered her mouth with her hand as she giggled quietly and continued to film. She had to hand it to her daughter, she was as crafty as Y/n was and as willing to do anything to buy what she wanted as Harry. A perfect mix of the two.

Maeve strolled up to the cash register, slipping some last minute candy into her cart before she began placing her things on the conveyor belt. She had a smile on her face the whole time, especially when the cashier marveled at all of the things she’d crammed into the little shopping cart. Harry had to admit that he hadn’t seen his daughter this excited or social in a long time. Maeve showed the older woman behind the counter all the things she found, pulled out the bills from the pockets of her little jean shorts that Harry gave to her a few aisles back, and put the change in the brand new purse she bought once the woman handed it over to her.

Y/n and Harry helped Maeve get her bags into her shopping cart, and all three of them waved goodbye to the cashier as they left the store. Maeve skipped the whole way, ecstatic about all the things she bought all by herself. When they got to the car, Harry lifted her up and into his arms and kissed her cheek.

“Have fun today, peach?”

Maeve nodded. “I got so much stuff!”

Harry helped her into her car seat while Y/n slid into the passenger seat. She turned back to look at Maeve, who was already asking Harry to open toys sealed in plastic. “You know, Maeve,” she said. “There’s some really cool stuff you could show to your classmates, don’t you think?”

“I guess,” she said, not sounding particularly excited or daunted by the task. “I think I’ll just show Collette and JuJu.”

“Why don’t you want to show your friends at school, peach?” Harry asked, smoothing her hair back.

“I don’t need friends. I have JuJu and Collette and Simone and Mommy and Daddy,” she said, kicking her feet in her car seat.

Harry glanced back at Y/n, who just motioned for him to continue. She got the ball rolling, now it was up to him to take it home. He looked back at Maeve and gave her a small smile. “I love that you love your brother and sisters, Maeve, but there’s some really nice boys and girls at your preschool that could be your friends too.”

“Everyone already has friends at school.” Maeve said, looking down at her hands.

“Well, who do you sit next to during circle time?” Y/n asked.

“JuJu.”

“Okay…so maybe you and Jules can sit next to another kid during circle time,” Harry said, kissing her forehead. “You are the coolest four year old I know, and your family is so lucky because we get to see that all the time, but I think all those kids in your preschool class should be lucky too.”

Maeve was quiet, her brow furrowed as she thought about what Harry said. Both Harry and Y/n watched with bated breath, not sure where to go from here if she said no. Y/n had brought up seeing a specialist, but Harry wasn’t sure that was necessary yet, thinking she just needed to come out of her shell. And maybe they would have to have Maeve start seeing a behavior specialist, Harry would do anything to make his baby happy and healthy, but he didn’t think they were there yet.

“I think that would be okay,” Maeve finally said. “But not Samuel. He picks his nose. Bleh.”

Harry chuckled and kissed her again. “Not Samuel, then. Someone else. Maybe someone who likes Rapunzel like you do.”

“Okay, Daddy.”

Y/n’s grin was wide as Harry slid into the driver’s seat. He buckled himself in, then lifted his hand up toward her. She high-fived him and held his hand as he pulled away from the parking lot and began the drive home. Squeezing his hand, she turned up the music on the radio with the other, then murmured to him so Maeve couldn’t hear, “Another excellent parenting moment.”

“We could write a book,” Harry mused.

“Mm. How to raise six—six—children,” Y/n said, correcting him when he tried to imply they might raise more than six children in the future. That would not be happening. “How to raise six children during the pandemic when you were already living in secret.”

Harry pouted, but Y/n let him. Then, he said, “Might have to work on the title. It’s a little clunky.”

“You’re a little clunky.”

“Oh. Very mature.”

“Mommy, can we make pizza tonight?”

Y/n looked back to where Maeve was holding one of her new stuffed animals. “Of course we can, peach. What are you going to do at school tomorrow?”

“Sit with JuJu and someone else during circle time.”

“And snack time?” Harry added.

“Don’t push it,” Maeve said.

“All right, all right,” Harry said. Then, quietly to his wife, he said, “If only she was that sharp at school.”

Y/n giggled. “Give it time. She’s our baby. She’ll be just fine.”

“Can we do that again tomorrow?”

At a red light, Harry and Y/n shared a look. They were both thinking the same thing, but only Harry said, “We’ve possibly created a monster.”

[physalian]

Toy Story 2 | Still a perfect execution of a fantasy story

One of the things people uesd to complain about is that the cars in "Cars" did not need to be cars. As in, the fantastical element was not necessary to tell the story (which I wholeheartedly disagree with but that's not the point of this post). You could have told Finding Nemo with the fish as humans and have Nemo caught by... a traveling circus, or something, but to many, Cars was the damning example.

While Toy Story was the antithesis of Cars in every way.

Have not and will not see the fourth one but the first two films are perfect fantasy, and you don't immediately think of them as "fantasy".

I just rewatched TS 2 so it's fresh in my mind, and this story could not exist if these characters were not toys. Everything from the little details like the Etch-a-Sketch speed-drawing the map from the commercial to the "high stakes" rescue and escape that's only "high stakes" beacuse they're toys and not people and that one intersection is a death trap.

But the big thing is the main plot of the story: Woody is in the role of a has-been who wants to reclaim his glory days (like Mr. Incredible) but unlike a human, Woody himself was not part of those glory days, he's just one of many toys sold with the Woody's Roundup TV show, theoretically endlessly replacable, as all toys are. Unless you gave your hero amnesia, in no other storyline would this work with a human character, because Woody is both an outsider and the hero making his homecoming.

At the center of this trilogy is what it means to be a toy: A child's plaything. How each character relates to that fact is central to their arcs. The first movie tackled the divide between Woody's "I exist to be Andy's favorite toy" and Buzz's "I ain't no toy, I'm a Real Boy".

The second movie takes it one step further: Is a "toy" something you play with and inevitably ruin through playtime and the messy love of a child, or is a "toy" something you keep perfectly preserved in its packaging? And the consequences of being a toy when your human outgrows you, in Jessie's story, and is a valid point by Stinky Pete.

TS 3 takes the "what happens when the kid grows up" to its natural conclusion, with Andy going off to college. While I think it got a little carried away in spectacle and the incinerator scene, the endless replacability of a toy is Lotso's whole schtick.

The nature of what a toy is is the whole point—a piece of wood or metal or plastic that is effectively immortal, but an immortal being forever in a place of willful servitude to children.

—

It seems rather obvious to give fantastical characters a fantastical story, but a lot of uninspired or forgettable fantasy takes a human plotline and just reskins it with fairies or animals and never takes full advantage of what the characters are.

When your fantastical elements and setting are just window dressing, like Avatar '09, a fancy backdrop for a bland story, why bother writing a fantasy story? Why waste all that worldbuilding and all that creativity? (I actually know the answer, Cameron got cold feet when his creative teams went all out to create something indeed alien, and kept nudging it back to something more friendly and recognizable until we got what we got).

Avatar '09 sure made a lot of money... and zero impact on our cultural memory. It's no one's favorite movie, no one's favorite retelling of Dances with Wolves. It's just pretty to look at.

You can write a retelling, a "modern take", a book of tropes and clichés, sure, but I'd encourage you to at least make one arc of your fantasy or sci-fi story only possible in your world, with your lore, with your characters. Otherwise, what's the point?

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Mechakoopa

Debut: Super Mario World

So a very polite anon has humbly requested we write a post about Mechakoopa! They are apparently this person's favorite, so today's their lucky day! See I don't like to brag but, I'd definitely consider myself as part of the top 100 most qualified people to talk about Mechakoopas in the world! And who am I to turn down such a request?

Now the 90s you see, were a turning point for good Mr. Bowser here. With a brand new clown-helicopter thing to pilot around you might think he's all set, but what kind of self-respecting villain would he be without filling his evil lair with a number of Evil Wind-up Toys based on himself? So he does exactly that- a whole fourteen years before Mario stole his idea, mind you!

Yes, you read that right! Despite their name, Mechakoopas are tiny mechanical versions of Big Bowser himself, not just any run of the mill Koopa, which explains their green heads and funky hair! You know how Koopa is actually Bowser's Japanese name? Yeah! They could've localized them as Mecha-Bowsers, but Mechakoopa just flows nicer doesn't it? And he is still technically a Koopa!

"Yo, somebody rang?"

No!! Not you, Mecha-Bowser from Super Mario Sunshine (2002)!! You'll get your turn eventually! Geez! Anyway. Where was I. Oh! Yes!

This is the obligatory part of the post where I'm like “Get a load of this funky guy”! Get a load of this funky guy! Instead of reinterpreting Bowser’s design very literally in toy form, the Mechakoopa is very much its own beast, with its funny beak and little funny legs. Our aforementioned anon mentioned the wind-up key, and oh, what a wind-up key it is! And of course the raisin d’eclair- the fantastic little googly eyes! Oh where would we be without those googly eyes?

Naturally though, Bowser doesn’t just use his toys to populate his spooky castle- he always has to keep a few on his person! So he chucks them at you in the game’s final boss fight, but he didn’t account for the fact that, in this game only, Mario can throw upwards! Oh no! His one weakness! Being pelted with plastic!

By the by, I’ve always thought the original Mechakoopa sprite from Super Mario World looked super funky! The hair almost looks like its on fire! And I like the goofy grin. 

The Super Mario World cartoon decided to interpret this sprite by turning him into a horrible little man. No, I don’t want this! He shouldn’t have arms!

The Mechakoopa’s next appearance in a mainline Mario platformer was in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where they act... exactly the same as they do in Super Mario World! Cool! This basically established them as modern Mario enemies, but there isn’t much to say other than that!

Like all our posts about Common Mario Enemies, it would probably be boring if I just listed off their every appearance, so I will just bring up the ones that are worth mentioning. For example, Super Mario RPG! In this game, Bowser’s strongest special attack is Bowser Crush, which summons a giant Mechakoopa to stop on foes! According to the Player’s Guide, this Mechakoopa was a top secret weapon developed by Koopa researchers... to stomp flowers and scare butterflies! Wow! That is so so evil! These big guys would definitely live up to the name “Mecha-Bowser”! 

“Hey guys, are you talking about me?”

NO, we are NOT talking about you, Mecha Bowser (with no hyphen) from Mario Kart: Double Dash (2003)’s Bowser’s Castle course! Get the heck outta here! Gosh, some people just don’t know when they’re not wanted!

I am sure after all this you are wondering, they may be mechanical toys but can they do math? The answer is yes obviously! This is Mechakoopa from Mario Party Advance, and they’re a mathematician! They invented Mechakoopa’s Theorem, the very real mathematical theorem that we all used in school! Everyone give them a round of applause!

I’d like to bring up their appearances in the Mario & Luigi games, not because it’s particularly notable, but because of how much I like their sprite and idle animation! Look at the wind-up key spin around and the eyes go up and down! So cute! Oh, and also because in the Superstar Saga remake they replaced the Mecha-Chomp enemies (may god rest their souls)!

Super Mario Maker 2′s final update was an epic win and a #1 victory royale for Mechakoopa fans anywhere, since it not only added Mechakoopas to all four main game themes, but also two brand new variants: the Blasta Mechakoopa (in red) and the Zappa Mechakoopa (in blue)! 

As you might expect, they can Blast (missiles) and Zap (lasers) respectively! I’ve no idea why they added these random functionalities to Mechakoopas specifically, but they’re a lot of fun and some of the most unique projectiles in the game! Zappa? I barely know ‘a! 

Oh, and I almost forgot! They are in Super Smash Bros. as well! Bowser Jr.’s moveset is a treasure trove of little references to Mario gadgets, and even though Bowser no longer tosses these guys from his Clown Car, his son has taken up the job! Only in this game, Mechakoopas explode. Uh oh! They didn’t do that before! Still, I really like popping a Mechakoopa out of its Mechakoopa Compartment just to see it wander around the stage. It’s fun!

Now that’s all I have to say about good old Mechakoopas, but I’d like to give a special shoutout to this guy in particular- the Micro Mecha-Bowser, from Super Mario Galaxy! For a long time, I assumed they were just Mechakoopas with a different design... But this definitely looks like a beefed up version of the Mechakoopa, with their big goofy teeth, their pig nose and their funky cross-hair eyes! These dudes can breathe fire too, so they really are more like Bowser! And if there’s a Micro Mecha-Bowser, there’s gotta be a normal one!

“Whassup? I heard somebody call my name!”

Harumph! Nobody called you, Mecha-Bowser from Super Mario Galaxy (2007)’s Toy Time Ga- Er... hold on a second. You actually are exactly the person I was talking about after all! My mistake! Though I do wish you’d at least give us a heads up when you’re gonna show up, given you’re the size of a small planetoid!

Yeah, the Micro Mecha-Bowsers are named after this big robot from Toy Time Galaxy, Mecha-Bowser (not to be confused with Mecha-Bowser or Mecha Bowser)! Though I have to say, there isn’t much family resemblance! He’s so blue and un-turtle like! Still, this must’ve been my favorite mission in Galaxy as a kid- I’d replay it over and over again just because the idea of climbing on a giant planet-sized robot and dismantling it piece by piece was so cool! It was like Shadow of the Colossus before I knew what the heck that was!

Well that’s about the extent of the Mechakoopa family. Isn’t it fun? There’s a moral to be learned here, and it’s that, uh... little wind-up toys are very charming! Um, I suppose. Look, writing conclusions is hard! 

Mechakoopa

[mymarifae]

my little pony (fim) is fun to watch because it's so... dynamic and colorful. the characters are shoved through the usual unfortunate mold of big sparkly eyes and similar body sizes and shapes - because it's easier to turn them into a marketable line of cheap plastic toys if they all look the same 😒 hasbro. but anyway.

the artists learned how to work within and around these design limitations to allow for unique expressions and body language. i have rewatched this show more times than i could tell you, but i usually go in chronological order. today i jumped from season 2 to a random episode in season 9, and it really brought to light how much more comfortable the animators were getting, how much bolder they were in squashing and stretching their characters - how much more fun they were having. this was present from the show's beginnings, i think, but it really became sooo much more prominent in those later seasons. did those bold expressions look silly sometimes?

i mean.

yeah.

but they gave their characters more personality and made them lively and interesting to watch!! while still staying true to the original toy-based designs, more or less. i think the inclusion of more non-pony main characters in later seasons helped (learning to animate expressions on differently shaped faces gives new perspective on how to animate those same expressions on pony faces, leading the artists to try new things), and that's why season 1's animation looks boring compared to season 9's.

and that's also why i don't like equestria girls. it has none of the personality and flair that fim has. the characters are all stiff and awkward, with none of the bold expressions. like? goofy-looking expressions don't make your characters ugly, or make your art look bad, or... whatever. it helps them feel real. because 97% of real life facial expressions are real fucking goofy. and considering the characters are humans in equestria girls... i really do just expect a little more effort :/ a little more pizzazz. diversity.

and that's also also why the "new generation" means nothing to me (plus an additional billion grievances i have with the story and character writing). it's boring. no flavor. it's a stale rehash of the same old bullshit that fim got real close to shattering. kids deserve to receive thoughtful, well-crafted art and stories, too, like... not just glorified toy commercials (i'm not acknowledging the youtube mini-series or whatever it is btw. if i don't look at it, it can't hurt me.)

[the-evil-authoress]

GX Month Day 6: “Heartfelt Appeal”

You find two characters that click so well, look them up...and there’s no content! ‘Why?? Someone please make content!’ The pleas go unheard. You’ll just have to make it yourself. Show some love for your rare pairs today!

MORE FANTASYSHIPPING! 8D

Year 2’s Duel Monster Spirit Day! Friendly reminder that ‘Mana’ is the name Dark Magician Girl gave when she introduced herself to Syrus last year.

Colorful banners and streamers hang from the entrance hall once more, market tents set up in the main yard with flashy signs and flags announcing their wares or food or other activities. Syrus stares at it all with the same wonder as last year, and peers through the throng of students hopefully. His other friends have already gone off to find the activities they like best, be it duels or carnival games or the kissing booth, so Syrus is free to wander at his leisure and search.

It’s stupid, it’s silly, and Syrus still wonders if last year was a fever dream regardless of the way Christina keeps teasing him and the ghost of arms he sometimes feels around his shoulders. But still, he hopes and maybe this year he can confirm it for sure.

“Syrus!” a voice calls out that tickles his memory and Syrus swings to face-

“Mana!” Heat floods his cheeks. Dear Ra, did she get prettier or is he just hopelessly, stupidly crushing? “You...you just disappeared last time,” he squeaks out the first thing that comes to mind that isn’t a jumbled mess of pretty hug magic like, and wants to kick himself when Mana’s expression falls.

“I know, I’m sorry,” she says, looking so sad it physically hurts. “I didn’t want it to end that way. I lost track of the time and I wasted too much of it showing off.” Her voice turns a bit bitter before she shrugs it off and smiles again. “But not this time. This time you have my full attention.”

“No, no!” Syrus frantically waves his hands in front of him. “I didn’t mean- I what?”

Mana giggles and leans down. “Just for today, you have me all to yourself!” Winking, she taps his nose and Syrus wheezes as his heart makes a valiant attempt at pounding straight out of his chest. Leaning back, Mana clasps her hands behind her back. “So what do you want to do?”

“Ah, well, um, we, we could, we could check out the carnival games,” Syrus finally stammers out a full sentence. Gods he hasn’t been this bad about it since the beginning of the year!

Mana only giggles again as she takes his hand and heads off toward the game booths. “Don’t go hiding in a trashcan on me now.”

Syrus’ brain freezes for a full second. “YOU SAW THAT?”

“I see everything Chinatsu sees! Well, almost.”

Who the hell is Chinatsu?!

*

It takes a solid 30 minutes and two botched carnival games to finally work himself out of that last anxiety attack, but finally his heartrate feels normal and he doesn’t want to die of mortification. If he dies he won’t get to see Mana smile or hear her squeal over the stuffed Happy Lover she won from the last game. Her throwing arm is ridiculously good. She’s also amazingly child-like for...however old she’s supposed to be.

“Ooo! I wanna try that! I wanna try that!” she squeals, pointing animatedly at the food stall with an assortment of pastries. “The bean fishies! Chinatsu loves these! I always wanted to try one!”

Syrus orders them a taiyaki each and ends up going back for seconds when Manna practically melts where she stands. “It’s so rich and sweet~!”

The next half hour ends up devoted purely to letting Mana sample all the food at the festival and discover her favorites. They compare tastes and Syrus offers recommendations. Mana ends up leaning more towards milder flavors of the sweet and savory variety; too much flavor and she’ll gag on it even if she likes the taste. Syrus prefers saltier foods with just a tiny extra kick. Mana’s reaction to hot spices had been concerning but strangely fun.

“Hey, um, if it’s not rude to ask...” Syrus starts as they sit on a bench nibbling on dango. Mana tilts her head to show she’s listening and Syrus ploughs ahead before he can talk himself out of it. “Are you really the Dark Magician Girl?”

Manna chews slowly before swallowing. “What do you think, silly?”

He thinks she is, and he’d call it crazy if not for, well, everything else crazy about the last two years of his life. After literally sentient murder crazy light, he might be ready to believe anything. But then- “Why me?”

“Because you wanted to get to know me,” Manna says without missing a beat. “You didn’t just see a pretty face or a powerful mage; you wanted to know the real me beneath all of that.”

“Oh...” Syrus remembers that conversation. Christina asked him why he had a card crush on the Dark Magician Girl. Did she ask because...

“And because I want to get to know you too,” Mana continues and Syrus sputters as his poor heart makes itself known again. “I’ve gotten to watch you a lot but that’s not the same as interacting. I want you to show me who you are. And I want to show you who I am.”

“Me? But I’m...I’m not...” His eyes fall to the ground as he thinks of that embarrassing episode of hiding in a trash can, of his brother who he couldn’t even stand up to in the end, of the Society of Light that he did absolutely nothing to help stop and even got himself kidnapped by a digital woman and her duel monster lackeys.

“Syrus.” A hand on his cheek brings him back to face Mana’s deep green eyes. “You can do anything and be anyone you want to be. I mean, just look at you already.” She plucks at the yellow blazer and Syrus’ chest fills with pride at the reminder. That’s right. He did do that. All on his own. “You look so good in yellow!” Mana cheers and Syrus’ ducks his face away again. He doesn’t know how to handle all these compliments! “Believe in yourself, and when that’s hard to do, believe me when I say I believe you can do anything.”

Those words might mean more to him than any other praise or pep talk he’s gotten before, simply because they sound so genuine. He’ll hold those words close to his heart for the rest of his life, because someone as strong and powerful as the freaking Dark Magician Girl believes in him. Swallowing, he nods and clears his throat to find his voice. “So, um, what do you wanna know?”

Smiling, Mana stands and pulls him straight back to the carnival games. Oh, so they’re not talking more? Syrus has to admit to being disappointed.

“Favorite color?” Mana asks as they try to catch tiny goldfish and distracts Syrus from the extra shiny one he almost caught.

“Actually...it’s orange,” he amidst sheepishly. “But I look horrid in it.”

“Aw, I think you’d look cute in orange! Like a little pumpkin.”

“A pumpkin?!”

“Oh? I’m sorry, was that an insult?” Mana asks with such genuine concern and confusion that Syrus can’t even be mad.

Shaking his head, Sryus flips the question around on her. “What about you?”

Mana stares at the water in the plastic pool. “It used to be purple...but I think I like grey a little better now.” She looks up and smiles and Syrus can’t help but feel like he’s missed something significant in that response.

“Favorite animal?” Mana asks once they’ve moved on to a ring toss game.

“Dogs,” Syrus says immediately, then feels self conscious about it. “I mean, they’re loyal and fluffy and I’ve always wanted one, they look fun to play with-”

Mana laughs. “Dogs are man’s best friend, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Mine are birds.” Mana looks up to the sky. “Because they can fly. I always wanted that freedom.”

“But you can fly too, can’t you?”

“In spirit form. But I can’t go too far from my card. Like this I can only float a bit.” With a snap of her fingers, her feet lift a couple centimeters off the ground in demonstration.

“That’s so cool.” Syrus stares in awe as Mana sets her feet back on the ground.

“The silliest thing you’ve ever done?”

A deep breath as a laundry list of his most mortifying experiences assault him. Breath out. He digs deeper for an older memory less tarnished by years of ridicule and insecurity. “I wore a sand bucket on my head and called myself a king.”

Mana laughs, loud and sudden, and Syrus takes pride in his four year old self for managing to entertain two people. He doubts he’d share that memory with anyone else; it’s one of the few he has of Zane smiling.

“I used to hide in giant vases then jump out and scare the crap out of my best friend,” Mana says with a wide grin, and Syrus snorts because he can picture it clearly. “Master always scolded me, but his reactions were too fun.”

Her master? Dark Magician then? Syrus wonders what kind of person would get to hang out with both of them. Probably another powerful spellcaster. “What is he like? Your master? Or...is he here today too?”

“Mahad? No, his situation is different from mine so it’s harder for him to cross the border,” Mana says, scanning the festival for their next game. “He’s pretty strict, and doesn’t know how to take a joke. But he’s kind and selfless.” Her voice grows soft and wistful, then she shakes herself and scratches her cheek. “Honestly, we’re kinda opposites, but that’s what makes it fun.”

She points to a shooting game booth before eagerly charging toward it; Syrus shows her how to use the toy gun and manages to beat her at this game. He still lets her pick out the prize, giggling when she picks out a lucky cat keychain.

“Dream career?” The key chain sways as it dangles from her finger.

Syrus fidgets. “It may seem kinda obvious, but I wanna be a pro duelist. A really famous one,” he mumbles, eyes turning to the ground.

“I bet you’ll be more famous that Yugi!” Mana cheers and Syrus quickly waves his hand in front of him.

“No! No, I doubt that!”

“Do you wanna have kids?” she asks while they fish for balloons with little hooks on strings.

Syrus chokes and drops his string straight into the water. “I mean, uh, maybe?? I guess I’d like- like to settle down and- and have a family- eventually...”

Mana smiles, but it looks a bit sad. “Yeah. I definitely want that too.”

“Best childhood memory?” Nimble fingers rifle through the Senbonbiki strings before giving one a tug.

Syrus answers without hesitation. “Zane teaching me how to duel.”

The string is a dud without a prize attached; Mana turns from pouting to look at Syrus with curious eyes. “Oh?”

“Yeah... we...” Syrus looks away, tries to keep the melancholy out of his voice. “We had a good relationship back then.”

Mana hums, reaching out to take his hand and wander back through the festival. “I think...mine is meeting Atem for the first time.”

Atem. That’s Christina’s ace card. Syrus shouldn’t be surprised he’s a duel spirit too. “Are all monster cards duel spirits?”

“Not every card has a spirit attached, but I have noticed almost every design mirrors a creature or person that actually exists.”

“Weird.” Honestly, Syrus never thought about it before, but it’s really weird that a game on Earth could accurately depict creatures from another dimension. Sure, Pegasus based the original cards off carvings he found in Egypt, but those were 3000 years old! Some of the new archetypes look distinctly futuristic, and Jaden designed the Neo Spacians so explain that! Just thinking about it gives Syrus a headache.

“Have you ever lost a fight?” he ventures to ask as they nibble on chocolate bananas.

“Lots of times,” Mana laughs at herself. “Especially during training. And no matter how good you are there’s always someone stronger, so tactical retreat is necessary!”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Syrus nods. The sky’s getting darker. Will Mana still be here for the fireworks? “What’s it like being a spirit?”

She doesn’t answer immediately. “It’s...lonely sometimes,” she admits, voice soft, almost forlorn. “Not many people can see us. We entertain ourselves by watching the world and taking bets on what kind of trouble Jaden will get into next.” Mana shrugs and smiles, an obvious attempt to make light of the situation, but Syrus can see straight through it.

“Oh,” he says, wishing he could put his emotions into words that wouldn’t hollow.

Mana glances out at the darkening sky, voice soft as she asks, “One thing you really wanna do before you die?”

“Huh?” The question startles Syrus as much as the oddly wistful tone. “I guess...” He hesitates. One thing? The thing he wants to do most? That he’d regret never doing? “I wanna be happy. With someone I mean!” he quickly amends and the word babble spills out from there. “I wanna get married and buy a house and share my life with someone. I know it probably doesn’t sounds that ambitious but-”

“No, that’s a great ambition.”

Syrus can’t really name the emotion on Mana’s face. Nodding, he looks down at his feet and fiddles with his hands. “Maybe...if we get to know each other better...you could be that person?” He squeezes his eyes shut, not daring to look up.

An intake of breath. “Syrus...”

The boom rattles through his bones and Syrus screams, flinging himself towards the nearest source of comfort and shelter, straight into Mana’s arms. Oh. Oh, the fireworks! Prying his eyes open reveals bursts of color lighting up the sky as another boom shakes the air. He laughs awkwardly and rights himself, murmuring an apology.

“I don’t have much time left,” Mana says, colored light illuminating her mournful expression, and the dread seizes Syrus by the throat.

“Ki-kiss me properly this time!” Oh gods his voice cracked and got really screechy, but he said it! His hands fist against his legs, trembling as her heart goes off on another marathon, and what if she rejects him? What if he read this all wrong? What if-

“Okay.”

Her kiss lingers on his lips long after the fireworks fade and she disappears back to being a spirit. He can still feel her hand against his own, and this time he knows it’s real.

[awkwardplant]

Sci-fi/Misc Short Story: Diorama

Weary travellers entered a building to escape from the zombies that had been chasing them. Night-time drew closer and only a little bit of sunlight filtered through the large dusty windows at either side of the room. Despite the dust, everything here looked pristine, unsurprising as it didn't seem the materials here were much use to survivalists.

"Is that an easel?" Johnny the Veterinarian wandered over to the contraption, lifting away a greyed cloth covering it, revealing a canvas with a few marks of brown oil pastels.

A younger member of the team who refered to himself as the Tailor (everyone else called him Ed, or the Cosplay Guy, or That Teenager) dove into some drawers and boxes. "Please tell me there's a non electrical sewing machine, or fabrics, ooh I'll even take sequins at this point! Anything I don't have to make from scratch."

"Don't think this type of place will have those kinda things, Ed. Looks like a kindergarten's arts and crafts room." said Johnny. "Might have glitter though."

Paul the Farmer rolled his eyes at his group. "No point lookin round 'ere, let's settle down, find somethin soft, and kip for the night." He shrugged off his backpack which carried the all the bare essentials it could hold, and popped his spine with a groan. "Food chain these days is all outta whack I tell ye."

At the entrance, Melissa the Engineer boarded up the door with some convenient planks of wood, nails, and a hammer she carried everywhere. "Oughta keep them out. Phew. Bit cold in here isn't it?"

Melissa's daughter, Isla the six year old, stood in the middle of the art studio, eyes filled with wonder at all the creations. Clay sculptures of graceful torsos, pencil drawings of still lifes that looked more or less exactly like the sketches, completed oil paintings of landscapes hung on the wall next to colorful, abstract ones.

Isla spied a light still on behind a door to another room left slightly ajar. "I see a light, do you think someone lives here?"

All the adults tensed and raised their weapons, eyes peering in the direction Isla curiously tiptoed towards. Paul hissed at her to slow down, firmly grabbing her shoulder and pulling her back behind him as he stared ahead. The air was silent aside from the floorboard's weak groans that sounded like a sigh of relief at the return of humans gracing its surface.

Johnny tapped lightly on the door which opened without any creaks or spooky noises, and revealed a warm orange glow of a desk lamp. The desk was cluttered with tiny objects you would expect to see at much bigger sizes such as doors and furniture. Several drawers of multiple sizes surrounded and sat on the desk filled to the brim with paints, glue, craft knives and other materials. A single mug rested on a green cutting board with some stale coffee inside.

Isla squeaked in delight as she darted across the room. "Mommy! There's dollhouses here!"

Melissa strode towards her daughter, blinking in surprise when seeing there was in fact what appeared to be multiple dollhouses meticulously displayed in glass cases on many shelves.

"Some strange looking dollhouses," Ed said. "Why would a kid want to play with a dollhouse that looks like a swamp?" He tilted his head, narrowing his eyes at the minature shack on stilts that sat atop fake greenery and resin water.

Paul chuckled. "And this ane's even got tiny critters from my farm! Now tell me that isnae just the spittin image of my wee goat." He tapped the glass of a mini farm with toy animals placed in the field.

"I think, uh..." Johnny clicked his fingers, brow furrowing. "I swear I remember... Ah well, I don't know the proper name of them but I've seen train sets that have these kind of things, do you know what I mean?"

"Yeah!" Melissa chirped. "This is how they used to make movie sets isn't it? Because back then they didn't have CGI to make places they couldn't afford to go to when filming."

"And humanity has reverted back to that time period." sighed Ed, who greatly missed his Friday night Star Wars rewatches with his friends. "Maybe even further back than that. Losing the internet was like losing the Library of Alexandria."

All of them wandered around the shelves to look at all the miniature sets. Mountains formed purely by plastic foam, a landscape of a picnic inside an open altoid tin, a greenhouse cluttered with plants no bigger than a pinkie finger. Some miniatures sat on the floor, the ones that were massive compared to the other sets yet still very tiny versions of medieval castles and gothic architecture.

Melissa stopped in front of a small library room that had holes in the ceiling with trees growing beneath them, books and furniture meticulously littered everywhere. Flashbacks to her days studying in her hometown's library filled her mind.

"This is what they thought the apocalypse would look like." she said, with tears welling up in her eyes. "They thought- they- they made art of stuff like this because they imagined it would look beautiful. How could they romanticise such disaster?"

Johnny walked up next to her, crouching down to see inside the library. "Hauntingly beautiful, maybe. I do remember certain types of people were fascinated with the idea of nature reclaiming the lands that humans built on."

"And that idea was dumb," said Paul. "Because now the deer are overpopulated and they destroyed the forests, and who knows what other animals are causing chaos without conservationists."

"There are pros and cons to everything that happens." Johnny replied. "But yes, it doesn't help that the handful of humans that are left don't know how to handle this... resurgence of nature."

Isla looked around, peering back through the door to the main room of the art studio. "This library dollhouse looks just like real life doesn't it? It's like we're little dolls too."

Melissa smiled sadly, stroking her daughter's hair. "It does put things in perspective." She hoped things would settle down enough for her to be able to teach Isla things she had learned in school at her age.

"The Earth is the size of a pinprick compared to the sun and we're all just ants in the grand scheme of things." Ed said, and one could guess he was trying to imagine how small he was compared to the Starkiller base.

Paul snorted. "But bigger than regular old ants and smart enough to put together nicknacks that make ladies cry." He nudged Melissa teasingly.

Eventually, the group finally realized that the lamp was connected to a solar powered generator with a back up of energy reserved and they attempted to recharge their walkie talkies. After a few near-electrocutions, they finally connected to a radio station broadcasting a rather laid back distress signal.

"This is DJ Smooth calling out to anyone, God, just anyone out there, from the abandoned military base in Alconbury. Been out here for uh, 3 months now, there's not been any zombie sightings for a while and I have been sooo bored. Come find me and we can hang out, maybe fight over my remaining supplies so I can remember how to feel something that isn't dissociation. Stay tuned after this music break for the co-ordinates to my location, and my heart. See ya soon cuties. Over."

Later that night everyone created some makeshift beds out of the cloths that had covered some artworks and easels, which Ed would repurpose at some point during their travels to make some new socks. They all lay on their backs in the dark, close to each other to conserve warmth. If there were any zombies outside they didn't hear them, only the rush of wind and rain pattering on the windows.

"Mommy," Isla whispered. "I liked the song that the man on the radio played."

"Yeah sweetie, I liked it too. It was... something from the 90's? I think? Probably not age appropriate but you didn't understand it so it's fine, I guess. Something funny to look back on one day."

Isla rolled over onto her stomach to look at her mom. "When we go back to Paul's farm I want to play the guitar we found."

"We can't go... Tell you what Isla, we'll go see the music man from the radio, and he'll help us cure the zombies, and then we can get everyone an instrument and all make music together."

"Yes! That's a good idea!"

"And we can do plays in theatres and make movies again." Ed added shyly.

"Movies that don't involve zombies and will make us forget this shitshow ever happened." Johnny sighed, unable to close his eyes and dreading the nightmares.

Paul growled and hushed the others, but then he said "Doesnae matter if zombies are out for us and we've got no artsy stuff, we can still sing."

They all sang Country Roads quietly (Isla could only sing the chorus yet sang with such sincerity), with gentle echoes of their melody bouncing off the walls of the art studio until they fell asleep.

The next day they left to find the military base and made up new songs along the way, with renewed and desperate hope that they might find a cure for the zombies someday soon.

The end.

[lu-undy]

Chapter 36 - SBT

Here it is!

"Oh, hey M!" 

Eddy was delighted to see his friend. 

"Hey Eddy." 

"What's up? Been a while since I saw you!"

"Yeah, I was just passin' by. Thought I could stop and say hi." 

"O'course! By the way, great job on those 'gators for Johnson."

"Yeah, well, it had to be done, eh." Mundy took a seat on his usual stool.

"So you're done now?" Eddy asked. 

"With Johnson's alligators, yeah." 

"What are you gonna do? Gonna get back in the desert and…?" 

"I've uh… I've got some work that needs finishing properly." Mundy answered. 

"What animals this time?" 

"It's… It's not-" Mundy started to answer when a group of young boys entered the shop. 

"M! We got a message for you!"

"Oh, yeah, what is it?" 

"Here, there's this box." One of the kids handed him a similar box to that which contained the suit Richard had made for him.

"Okay…" Mundy took it and Eddy raised an eyebrow. It was so odd seeing the scruffy Mundy with a glossy white box with a red ribbon…

"L sends us. He said to go and meet him at Maurice's street tonight at 7pm sharp with what's in the box and your dartflute."

"My what?" Mundy asked, confused.

"He said with your dartflute, he insisted on it." The kid repeated. 

"Oh, I see." Mundy rolled his eyes and smiled. "I get it, ok. Thanks, kids."

"What's that all about? And who's that L guy?" Eddy asked as Mundy headed for the door. 

"See ya Eddy!" 

-- Suite 504, Grand Palace --

"Meow?" 

"Mon bébé…?"

[My baby…?]

"Meow!" 

Lucien heard the tics of Perle's claws on the floor. He only had to follow the noise before he found her trying to climb the piano's seat. 

"Je te tiens!" 

[Gotcha!]

He went to her and scooped her off the floor, tickling her belly. She squealed and squirmed in his hand, making him chuckle. How come he was the only one she accepted in her life…? He had no clue.

"Aïe!"

[Ouch!]

Lucien looked at his finger. Perle had scratched it a bit too deep and blood was prickling. 

"Je dois te couper les griffes." 

[I need to cut your claws.]

He dropped her on the sofa and went to get her special clippers. When he came back, he sat on the sofa and put her on his lap, on her back. She raised her paws to him but when he started cutting her claws, she realised she wasn't in for a treat…

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… Plus tu te plains, plus ça va durer. À ta place, je resterais le plus tranquille possible."

[Tsk, tsk, tsk… The more you complain, the longer it will last. If I were you, I would stay absolutely still.]

Of course, she was dissatisfied with it all, may it last a bit or a long time. She continued squirming in his hand and on his lap. Lucien resorted to singing to soothe her. 

"Frère Jacques, frère Jacques,

Où es-tu? Que fais-tu? 

Sonne les matines, sonne les matines,

Ding, ding, dong"

She stilled in his hand and her eyes were on him. He gave her a sweet smile as he went on with the nursery rhyme, trying to bring peace to her. She only squirmed occasionally until he finally got to all the claws. 

"Voilà, c'est fini. Tu vois? Ce n'est ni long, ni douloureux."

[Here we go, it is done. See? It is neither long nor painful.]

He rewarded her with a hug and a few kisses in her fur before dropping her on his shoulder and going to the piano. He rehearsed on his own to kill some time.

But then his mind came back to that man. He had lied to him, an awful lot. But it was better that way and very practical, as it turned out. As long as M didn't know that L and Lulu are the same, Lucien could ask him what he thought about himself under Lulu's disguise and M would be none the wiser. It was perfect. 

There was also something thrilling about it. It reminded Lucien of his younger days, when going undercover with a fake identity was both a professional obligation but also something that he immensely enjoyed. Toying with people, having power over something. Those were times where he did not feel like the victim of powers greater than himself. Non, he felt like he was the master of his own decisions and he wasn't counting his days. 

Now, things were different. Lucien knew he walked to his death. As soon as he and M would kill Duchemin, his life would be forfeit. 

He sighed and raised his eyes to little Perle. 

He couldn't leave her behind. Who would take care of her? No one. Not only did Lucien not have friends anymore, but Perle herself wouldn't accept anyone's touch but his. So it became clear, Duchemin had to die, but Lucien had to survive. 

Not only for Perle. 

Lucien frowned on the piano. There was one man that he wanted to see again. Mon Dieu… A few months ago he was gladly walking to his death and now, because of the eyes of a baby and those of a man he knew would surely die with him, he was reconsidering everything around him. Non. As soon as they're done, they needed to part ways, fly apart, as far away as they could from each other and cut ties, all the ties. 

They will have to leave, Lucien will have to stop seeing that tall silhouette, those earnest eyes, that shy smile. He will have to live his life without that harsh voice, which spoke in low growls, in stuttered words and ideas, as if its owner had been parachuted on a planet of which he didn't know the customs; as if English wasn't his first language, or he hadn't spoken to another fellow human ever before. 

Lucien sighed before raising his eyes to the clock. Time to get ready.

He got off the piano and went to his room to get in his costume. It was made of dark blue, golden and white, and it did look indeed like an eighteenth century attire. He put on a white shirt with a scarf that puffed up below his chin. Then came the trousers in light beige with a few threads of gold that reflected the light beautifully. But those were one pair of those "short" trousers that stopped right below his knees. He then slipped on the long socks - white tights really - that stuck to his calves closely. Finally, he added the light, dark blue vest and waistcoat and the black shoes that indeed looked like they were made a few centuries before. 

Lucien looked at himself in the mirror. He took the last piece of his disguise and went to the bathroom. He combed his hair and looked at the mask in his hand. It wasn't a balaclava, non. It was made of plastic and was to be tied behind his head with a satin ribbon. The white face of the mask was elegantly painted: thin black eyebrows, black lips and golden sunbeams at the edge of it, a reference to Louis the fourteenth and his nickname, the Sun King. 

He put the mask on and tied it behind his head.

"Meow?" 

He smiled. 

"Tu restes sage? Papa doit aller travailler."

[You stay quiet? Daddy has to go to work.]

Perle mewled and meowed, complaining about it. Lucien took her in his hands and got her close to his face. He pushed the mask up to stay on top of his head and kissed Perle a few times. 

"C'est mieux?"

[Feel any better?]

She purred and brushed her head on his mouth to ask for more. He put her on his shoulder and went to grab his accessories. He couldn't go with a gun as he no doubt would be searched. He didn't need one anyway, so he took his cigarette case and his lighter.

Finally, he went by the main door and put Perle down before turning to the coat hanger and putting on a long black coat.

"Bien, mon bébé, Papa va travailler et va sûrement rentrer tard. Tu as de quoi boire et manger."

[Listen, my baby, Daddy will go to work and will surely come back late. You have enough to eat and drink.]

"Meow…" She walked in circles between his feet, brushing herself on his shoes and ankles. 

Lucien opened the door. 

"Ne m'attends pas pour aller te coucher et ne veilles pas trop tard, d'accord?"

[Don't wait for me to go to sleep and don't stay up too late, alright?]

"Meow."

Lucien crouched down and put his hands down in front of her. Perle jumped in his palms and he kissed her one last time. He scratched her head and put her back on the floor.

"À plus tard." 

[See you later.]

Perle sat on the other side of the door. 

"Meow." 

He closed the door and waited for an instant. No meow. He smiled. 

Lucien called the elevator and as it opened, he found Bastien inside. 

"Oh, hey L."

Bastien pressed the button to get down to the ground floor.

"Ah, Bastien, this is a good surprise. I need you to get my car out, please." 

"Sure. That's a mask you have on your head?"

"It is business."

"Ah, fair enough." 

The doors rolled open and Bastien headed for the garage. 

-- Maurice's street -- 

"Alright, seven sharp, here I am, you snob…" Mundy had parked his van at the usual spot in Maurice's street. He got out of it and leaned against it. "Hm." 

He decided to wait with a cigarette. He lit one and puffed on it while watching the kids play. The sun was setting now and the air was still, only disturbed by the occasional breeze. Beggars passing by stared at the tall man dressed like an aristocrat from a couple of centuries before. 

Mundy's ears pricked up. He heard an engine. But it wasn't the motorcycle he expected, neither was it the sound of an ordinary car engine.

"Bloody hell…" 

The Panthera came along the street as if it was hovering above the asphalt itself. The dark blue sheen of it shone shyly under the lamp posts until it parked next to the van. 

The window on the passenger's seat rolled down.

"I see you are on time." The French accent behind the mask said, not leaving the driver's seat or cutting off the engine. 

"And you're late, Spook." Mundy peeked his head through the window. "Five minutes." He tapped his watch. "Did you need to adjust yer bloody mascara?" 

Lucien rolled up his eyes with a smile.

"Get inside before I change my mind." 

Mundy obeyed and the Frenchman drove off. 

"Do you have your mask with you?" Lucien asked. 

"Yeah, here." 

"Good." 

"Bloody hell, you must be one hell of a filthy rich bloke…" Mundy looked at the wooden and leather interior of the car. "Is this yours?" 

"Do I look like I steal things?" Lucien asked. 

"When you have yer balala-mask on, you do look like a thief." 

They both chuckled and Lucien looked at his friend. 

"But you're right, Spook, the seats here are much more comfy than those in my van. I've never seen a car like this, what's it called?" 

"First, like your van, this car is a she. Second, unlike your van, she is a unique model."

"Yeah, well, quite unique." 

"I mean it, Bushman. She is the only car of that model." 

"Shut your mouth?!"

Lucien chuckled. 

"Again and as always, feel free to think that I am not telling the truth. And as to her name, she is called the Panthera." 

"Nice name. Posh, but it doesn't surprise me."

Lucien raised an eyebrow to Mundy and they exchanged what he meant as a conniving smile. Mundy smiled back, thinking he was graced with a flash of the Frenchman's pearly white teeth behind the white mask, through the hole for the mouth. 

Lucien's eyes lingered on the Aussie while the Panthera raced through the desert, the last colours of the sky disappearing in the horizon.

"What?" Mundy asked, blushing slightly under L's gaze. 

"You would make a stunning king's advisor, were we living in the eighteenth century. The costume suits you." Lucien said. Mundy was wearing a similar outfit to his, only it was dark red. But it had the same slight sheen on the trousers and the waistcoat was beautifully lined with velvet.

"It's horrible to wear. It sticks to my legs like slugs, the trousers are short and I don't get why I need golden bits on the waistcoat thing…"

"If that is any comfort, I spared you to be my Pompadour." Lucien said with a smirk. 

"Your pump a what now?!" 

"Pompadour, Lucien repeated. Louis the fifteenth had a lady who would entertain him, if you know what I mean. She was a countess and her name was Madame de Pompadour. Had you been a woman, I would have told Richard to go for Louis the fifteenth and her."

"Well thank God I'm not a sheila, eh…" Mundy answered. "Uh, speakin' of, how's yours?"

"Perle?" Lucien asked. 

"Yeah, unless you changed." 

Lucien chuckled. 

"She is alright. I left her home alone and she didn't complain for the first time since we've known each other."

"Oh… She doesn't like it when you go away?" 

"Non, she doesn't." 

"Victoria told me that she doesn't like people either." Mundy said and Lucien hid his surprise. So Victoria had talked to each of them about the other, hm…?

"It is true. Perle is very… possessive of me. I would have said protective but she can hardly even protect herself."

"Ah, I see…" Mundy answered and there might have been a hint of sadness in his voice. "So, uh, what's the plan for tonight?" 

"Mere observation. We collect any and all intelligence we can on Duchemin's security. How many men? What guns? What type of defense? How are they organised?" 

"Hm, I see. So we just take a look-see, right?" 

"Oui." 

"Then why ask me to bring my blowgun. Also, it's called a blowgun, not a dartflute…" 

Lucien looked at his friend. 

"Well, I couldn't remember the name of it in English but you understood me anyway, non?" 

"I did, even though you made absolutely no sense." Mundy teased.

"If you prefer, I could speak French." Lucien answered. 

"Actually…" 

The Frenchman looked at his passenger and raised an eyebrow. 

"Been listenin' to a lot of French songs lately." Mundy admitted. "So uh, maybe I'd understand bits." 

"Oh, in this case…" Lucien smiled. "Je te parlerai en Français." 

[I will speak to you in French.]

"Wow, wow, wow, you gotta speak way slower, mate!"

"Ah, oui, pardon." Lucien cleared his throat and repeated comically slowly. "Jeee teee parleraiii Fraaaançaaais."

"Oi! No need to stretch it too much!"

"Make up your mind, Bushman!" 

They both chuckled. 

Lucien's eyes went back on the road. 

"I think we are getting closer. Now, we will have to pretend that we are uh… romantically involved with one another." 

"Do we have to?" Mundy asked.

"The idea of people seeing me getting less than a kilometre away from a man who uses jars as a bathroom disgusts me as much as you hate me, believe me."

"So why do we do this?”

"Because Duchemin is convinced that we are together."

"Together together?" Mundy asked. 

"Oui, together together." Lucien answered. 

"Bloody hell…" 

"I know. So try and have some manners for tonight, and act as if you liked me."

"Well…" 

"Come on, take this as a privilege." Lucien said. 

"A privilege?" 

"There are quite a few people who would give a lot to be in your shoes tonight." Lucien proudly explained. 

"Yeah well, idiots exist."

"Bushman! Those are people of great taste!"

"Ah, and how d'you know that? Just cause they like a posh snob doesn't mean they have great taste, eh." 

"Non, it is true. But they do not like a posh snob. They admire me." Lucien said.

"Ah yeah, the poshest of all the bloody snobs on Earth…" Mundy teased. 

"Bushman!"

"Well ok, I'll try and not show that I can't stand ya." 

"Likewise for me, although it won't be hard. I spent my life playing that game." 

Mundy raised an eyebrow and was about to ask what Lucien meant but they soon arrived where they should be. 

"Bloody hell, how many people can fit in this house…?" 

"It is a palace."

"Yeah, more like a village. And look at the number of cars parked there, Gosh…" 

They queued in the car until they arrived at the gate where an impressively built security guard asked for their invitation. 

"Here is it." Lucien gave his. "And this is my plus one." 

The guard raised his eyes over to Mundy, through Lucien's window, and the Aussie smiled and waved.

"G'day, mate, heh."

"Fine, you can get in. Your slot for the car is B15." 

"Noted." Lucien answered. "Many thanks." 

And he drove in, following the queue of cars. The parking lot might have been one for a supermarket. The Frenchman parked the car and both exited it. They took a moment to take in the view. 

They were in the middle of the desert and this entire place looked like it had been unearthed from somewhere else altogether. The palace was made of white stones, projectors of multiple colours shone on it. The lights split the night sky in beams of colours. 

"Bushman?" 

Mundy snapped out of his daydream and looked in front of him. The King of France was waiting. 

"Yeah, sorry Spook."

He followed Lucien to the entrance. 

"Wait, before we get too close, M."

The Aussie turned his head. 

"Yeah?"

"We have to drop the Bushman and Spook. It wouldn't make sense that we call each other that way."

"What should I call you then?" Mundy asked. 

"Whatever you want, as long as it goes with the act." 

"Alright."

"And put on your mask."

"Ah, yeah." Mundy put his own mask on his face and tried to tie it behind his head. "The ribbon… it doesn't want to stay in place, keeps slidin' off."

"Let me help." Lucien went behind Mundy and tied the mask for him. "Do you have a pair of gloves too?"

"Yeah, white ones, they were in my pocket."

"Put them on, please. We don't want to leave fingerprints."

"Ah, yeah, right."

They arrived at the entrance where another bouncer asked for their invitation. After inspection of it, he let them into the hall. Lucien and Mundy entered a room that looked so vast, Mundy could hardly see the walls at the end of it. But more strikingly, it was full of people and the lights were dim. Music was floating in the air and the Aussie saw an orchestra on a stage at the far left of them. 

The guests were all wearing costumes too, such that it was hardly possible to know who was who in any other way than going and talking to them directly.

"Gosh, that's a lot of people…" Mundy said, feeling overwhelmed by it. 

"Hey." 

The Aussie lowered his eyes to the Frenchman. 

"Take a deep breath." 

Ah, yes. Mundy did as he was told. 

"Stay close to me and everything will be fine, d'accord?"

[Alright?]

Mundy nodded. A waiter came to pass by and Lucien took two glasses off of his tray. He smelt them.

"Here. This is water. It will help." 

Mundy drank a bit. 

"I did not know you could not stand crowded areas." Lucien said. 

"I don't care about it."

"What is it then?"

Mundy looked left and right. 

"One of these bastards… He killed my parents."

"Oui. And he killed my soon-to-be wife, the only woman I ever-..." Lucien exhaled. "He killed her and my young son, a little angel who did nothing wrong on this Earth, my flesh and my blood." He clenched his teeth. "You have no idea what it feels like." 

Mundy opened round eyes. He could feel the blood in Lucien boiling. 

"I would gladly have died instead of them. I would have traded my life for theirs. What did they do all their lives to deserve this? She had lived honestly, a hard-working and loving woman. She even… She even gave me a gift no other person in the world could have. She made me a father. Each time our son would look up at me, I would feel like a man; a proper, whole and complete man. And she…" Lucien put his index on Mundy's chest and tapped it repeatedly. "She. Gave. That. To. Me." 

The Frenchman was furious and it was something Mundy was genuinely frightened of. The look in his ice furious eyes seized him powerfully. 

"She made me a man and that son of a whore took it away from me, stole it from me, killed it from me."

Lucien paused to catch his breath. 

"I understand your uneasiness, M, but it is part of the price we have to pay." He splayed his white gloved hand flat on Mundy's dark red waistcoat. Like a reflex, he started dusting it off and adjusting its collar. 

"The price we have to pay for what?" 

"Me, for not going with Marie and Jérémy to protect them; you, for being away from your parents while they needed you equally." 

Lucien raised his eyes to Mundy. Their masks hid their emotions but the words they used didn't. The Frenchman's hand laid flat on the Aussie's chest. Mundy put his hand on top. 

"Let's both take a deep breath, and then go." He said with his husky voice.

Lucien nodded and they both inflated their chests with fresh air that cleaned their insides, before exhaling their troubles away. 

"Well, a moment has passed; back to work." Lucien said and Mundy nodded. "Will you be alright?" 

"Yeah, thanks for… for everythin'." 

Lucien nodded and removed his hand. 

"Let us walk around and see what the security looks like." 

"I'm with you." 

Both men walked in the vast room, slithering through dresses and robes, suits and togas. Their eyes darted and scanned, security agents here and CCTV cameras there. 

"Security people don't all look the same." Mundy said. 

"Which means he has hired different private companies. Hm. This man knows he is a moving target."

"Yeah, loads of cameras too."

"And I would bet that some of his guests are none other than security agents in disguise." Lucien added. 

"How are we gonna get to him then…?"

"I do not know yet. But we will, trust me."

A voice slashed through their conversation. 

"Ah! If it isn't Sun king of singing, Lulu!"

Lucien raised his eyes to Mundy before turning to the man addressing him.

[eiirisworkshop]

Soul

2020, Dir. Pete Docter, Kemp Powers

Overall Quality ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5

Entertainment Value ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5

Story ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5

Visuals and Craft ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5

Soul is a beautiful movie, both in terms of visual artistry and in what it shows and says about people, about passion and fear, about life.  Pete Docter—who is also the mind behind Inside Out, Up, and WALL-E—clearly has a feel for the depth and nuance of human emotion, and it is my understanding that we have Kemp Powers largely to thank for taking Docter's initial story of a soul reluctant to experience life and turning it into the celebration of Black American community that the finished film is.

The story is one of learning to appreciate life, to live for the sake of the little things that bring you happiness whatever they may be, to not tie yourself up too much in the idea of having to have a particular goal that you must constantly strive for and achieve otherwise you're a failure.  The film tells its characters—and through them, us, the audience—not to be so hard on yourself, and also to be gentle with and mindful of each other because we all have struggles and we all impact each other.  It's very astute in its assessment of human behavior and the message is one that I think we all could use to take to heart.  That's one thing that Docter's films all seem to have in common: they teach, directly without being heavy handed, lessons about life that are just as important for adults in the audience to learn as for the kids.

This message is taught through interpersonal relationships (with only the slightest passing mention of romance!) that center the importance of community.  School, the way a good teacher can impact kids, the cultural importance of the barber shop and of matriarchs in the Black community are all given particular emphasis.  There's a groundedness to the world of the film—highlighted, not detracted from, by the fantastical elements—that's artful, and often subtle. The subway is grimy, but the music being played by a busker in the station touches the heart.  The neighborhood with its driveways full of taxicabs is, by that wordless detail, shown to be working class, and it is precious and it's home.

There is a sequence that does deserve the warnings floating around about it, because it very accurately portrays the experience of a sensory overload and may be triggering for some viewers, especially because it comes on abruptly, but it's brief and only happens once. A later sequence deserves a similar warning for portraying the experience of a rejection-sensitive dysphoria or similar anxiety spiral.

The visuals of the film are stunning.  The etherial texturing of everything in The Great Before is reminiscent of the soft effervescence of Joy in Inside Out and feels appropriate to the setting.  The real world, living world sequences are where the animation really shines, though, particularly in lighting and the rendering of Black bodies—two things which are ultimately closely tied together.  

One of the trickiest things CG animation tackles when attempting photorealistic texturing (which the vast majority of CG films do, even when the designs are stylized) is recreating the way light interacts with human skin.  The difficulty in getting CG skin to not look wrong and deeply unsettling is, for the record, exactly why the first Pixar feature film is about toys.  Plastic is relatively easy to render.  If anything, “looking like plastic” is the default mode of CG animation.

Anyway.  Skin is made up of layers of varying translucence, so light passes into it some before bouncing back.  That process behaves differently on lighter vs darker skin because dark skin isn't just darker, it's more opaque—more, but not entirely.  Now, in the early days of photorealistic CG we were actually better at dark skin than light—in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (a groundbreaking foray into CG filmmaking from 2001), the character who looks distinctly the least plastic is Ryan, the one Black man among the cast.  But as time has gone on, an enormous amount of time, money, and effort has been poured into attempting to perfect CG renderings of light skin, while dark skin has been neglected, so we've gotten white characters (and a few lightskinned characters of color) who look more and more human while the few Black CG characters out there have lagged behind in plastic land.

For Soul, the time, money, and effort has been put in to close that gap.  We get Black characters in sunlight, under stagelights, in dim oblique lamplight, under harsh yet innadaquate subway fluorescents, and they look human.  Their skin looks like Black skin—there are a couple moments in particular that really capture the kind of soft, refractive glow you get from dark skin in bright light, which I have never seen animated before.

The lighting team for this movie deserve all the accolades they can get.  In addition to the above, Soul features the distinct look of extremely high-gloss black piano finish under various lighting conditions, brass instruments of varying levels of polished under various lighting conditions, city streets at all times of day, a sequined dress under stagelights, sunlight filtering through the semi-translucent leaves of a maple tree in seed—all of which look exactly right—and a square of sunlight through a window that just looks warm.

The character designs are stylized in a way that reminds me of the work of caricature artists you often find in city parks—each individual's physical characteristics are emphasized such that they made even more distinctly them, which is pretty much the exact opposite of the genericized, stereotyped, frankly racist character design that's still all too common.

I have seen some not-entirely-undeserved critique comparing Soul to The Princess and the Frog for having the Black main character spend a significant portion of the film in the body of an animal.  I feel like there's an important difference between the two, though, in that the protagonists of Princess and the Frog are transformed into animals so that for the bulk of the movie there are not Black bodies on screen and the story is divorced from those characters' existence as people of color, whereas Soul is a body swap situation where the experience of the characters existing in a Black body, living life, and interacting with the community around them is key.

There's pages more that I could write, analyzing and gushing about this film, the way it treats jazz music and the historical importance of that art form in Black culture and wider American culture, the impeccable rendering of various hair textures, the humor, the validation and value it gives to people who are often treated as lesser (public school teachers, children, sign-spinners), but for brevity let me just say:

This is an excellent movie.  It's worth watching.  It's good that it was made, and I think it may represent an important turning point in the film industry.  Time will tell what its legacy ends up being, but for now, it's a really enjoyable film.

[donaldresslerfanfic]

Back at it.

Rating: M

Warnings: Strong Language, Sexual Content.

Word Count: 3353

Donald Ressler X OC Maggie Waters.

Chapter: Eighty.

Chapter Index

Story on Wattpad

Ressler. 

I never in a million years would have dared to admit that going out with friends was better than to stay at home with a woman. Most days I still preferred it, but it only took me taking my time to be a bit alone to find out that I could enjoy myself without Mags with me, that there was somehow fun without her.

After she came back it became a thing, I would go out with my friends once a week and she went out with hers once a week. I mean, she already went out with hers once a week before, and I'd read and had been told that it was good for her, so of course I encouraged her to leave the house for a night and just worry about herself, I think that times alone like those were the thing that was keeping us all sane, because she was my thermometer, if she was fine everything was fine.

It was my night to go out after an office day with the guys at the taskforce, and before I could take off my jacket and sit down at the table with a beer, I caught a glimpse of director Cooper near the entrance, I frowned and wondered what he was doing there.

I saw him scan the room until he found me, our gazes crossed and it was my signal to know that he was there looking for me.

"I'll be right back" I said, shrugging my jacket back on and walking towards him. I followed him to one of the tables on the less concurred part of the bar.

"Agent Ressler" he saluted politely. I gave him a nod back and leaned on the table "I hope you don't mind I got in contact with your wife to find out where you were, you were hard to reach today"

I ducked my hand into my inner pocket to look for my phone.

"We were in a "no distractions" type situation today" I excused as I put my phone back on ring mode and saw that I had, in fact, 5 missed calls from him and one from Mags.

"I can imagine, I'm aware of your most recent work with your current taskforce" he motioned with his head back at the table "you've kept busy"

"Yeah, thankfully" I nodded.

"I got into contact with our informant" he continued. "He's not very fond of the idea but Main Justice is pushing for us to return, keep the agreement going"

I scoffed and shook my head.

"He can't force Liz to come back"

"I agree, everything is still developing but... I just wanted to make sure that, if we start operating again, that you'll be there"

"Of course" I said with a nod "my first priority has always been the taskforce, and my superior knows this" I said motioning with my head at the table with my teammates. "And Liz, if she ever needed me, I'm here for her"

"We all are" he said with a little sad smile, he extended his hand and I shook it "I'll be in touch" I nodded and watched him turn around and leave the bar. I stood there at the table for a bit, thinking. I was definitely going to need that drink now.

I don't know why but everything that happened to Liz always left me feeling bad, I couldn't help but to feel bad for her, and now knowing that she was going to be somewhat forced to get back on the cases after loosing her husband and not being able to take care of her daughter because of the sequels. I think that what really got me was what got me every time, knowing that I would never get answers.

I returned home late, Mags and Alma were already in bed, so I just undressed in the closet to not make noise and quietly snuck into bed with Mags, she was passed out, with covers up to her head, I could only see her eyes peaking out of them.

I sighed and laid in bed, I wasn't going to wake her up to talk to her, but I knew that this wasn't going to let me sleep. I was up for maybe an hour, looking at the ceiling, just me and my thoughts, when I felt a hand on my arm, and that made me jump on the bed. Alma was looking at me, and I didn't know firstly: how she's gotten out of the crib, and secondly: how she'd entered the bedroom without me noticing.

"You scared me" she gave me a little smile, then a laugh, I quickly shushed her and climbed out of bed, taking her on my arms.

"Why are you out of your crib?" I asked as I closed the door to our room, she placed her little finger in front of her lips and shushed me.

"Mommy ipi" she said.

"I know that mommy's sleeping, that doesn't answer my question" I said with a smile, it was amazing how well she deflected from any scolding these days. "Why are you out of bed, did you climb down?"

"No" she said dodging my gaze and looking at my collar, she began to fiddle with my shirt.

"No? Then why are you here?" She looked up at me and gave me a guilty smile, I chuckled and walked to her bedroom.

"Don't climb down from the crib, you're going to hurt yourself, okay?" I said looking at her.

"Okay daddy" she said, I lifted her over the rim of the crib and set her down, but she began to complain and buckled her legs to not touch the bed, letting out a sob.

"Okay okay" I said hurriedly, because I didn't want Mags to wake up, I pulled her up to my chest again and grabbed one of her blankets, I sat in the loveseat next to the bed and bundled her up on my chest. "You're going to sleep now, right?"

"Not sipi" she mumbled, swatting her messy blond hair from her face, I smiled and pushed her hair back, she gave a tired look.

"You look very sleepy to me" I began to pat on her back, that always did the trick. It took her a few minutes, and meanwhile I scanned the room, seeing that she had a big enough stuffed animal that she could very well land on when jumped out of the crib, it was big enough that Maggie didn't even put it on the crib, but to it's side.

I was still wondering how I didn't hear her, she must've tumbled down onto the floor, and how it didn't hurt her or cried about the fall, but kids were like rubber these days.

I looked down at her and found her sleeping already, I smiled down at her and stood up, ready to begin the tedious task of placing her in the bed and being able to leave her without waking her up. I couldn't help but remember a funny photo Maggie had shown me, where it showed how a sleeping kid looked, like a normal baby, but it felt as if you were trying to not set off a bomb.

I was very weirded out when I found out the sun was already peaking out from the horizon. I snuck back into bed, I sighed and closed my eyes, knowing that tomorrow I wasn't going to be on full energy levels, and on top of it, Mags had friends coming over for lunch.

I saw Maggie peak from under the blanket and look at the baby monitor she had in her nightstand. I closed my eyes, because I didn't want her to know that I was awake, and felt her move to my side and place her head on my shoulder, I smiled and placed my cheek on her head.

It was hard for me to fall asleep with the sun hitting on my face, but it was harder to wake up when Mags came to wake me up, I felt her quietly placing her hand on my forehead.

"Don" she called for me "everyone's coming in an hour"

"Okay" I said with a little voice, she rubbed on my cheek and leaned in to give me a kiss on the forehead.

I head her hush something, and when I opened my eyes I saw her walk out of the room, Alma was waiting next to the door with one of her stuffed animals, looking worriedly at me. She looked up at Maggie, and she motioned at her to leave the room as she closed the door behind me. I staid in bed for a half an hour, then jumped to a quick shower and exited feeling not so fresh.

I walked to the kitchen and saw Mags getting busy with the salads. I walked to her and searched for a cup to have a quick coffee.

"How are you?" She asked, not taking her eyes from the potatoes she was cutting "I didn't hear you when you arrived last night"

"Yeah, you were passed out. But Alma wasn't" she chuckled "I was with her for surprisingly an hour" I finished pouring the coffee and sat down in the kitchen island with a sigh.

"Mmm" she said, she knew my sighs "what happened?"

"Cooper said they're pushing for the taskforce to pick back up with the cases, and he said he'll talk to Reddington about it" I finished and gave a sip to my cup.

"I thought that would make you at least excited"

I shook my head, even though she wasn't really paying attention to me.

"I've got nothing for Liz"

"You don't owe her anything"

At first, I was angry at her answer, so I just stood up and took my coffee back to the living room, looking for Alma. When I found her and sat at one of the couches, I finished my coffee as I thought. Maggie was right, I didn't owe Liz anything, because I hadn't done anything to her, none of what had happened had been my fault, not even Reddington's fault. For the little I had heard, Tom had done something he shouldn't have, messed with people he shouldn't have.

I watched Alma very concentrated, trying to fit a square figure in a circled shape of a toy box, she tried for a while until she gave up and went to the actual square, the shape fitting immediately and disappearing into the box. She looked in, checking that the piece had gone in, then took another one.

"Alma are you finished?" Maggie called out from the kitchen. Alma looked down at found her plastic cup and took it, drinking and finishing the juice. She looked to the side and found me, staring at her. She gave me a smile over her cup, and when she finished she handed it to me. I took it as I stood up and took my empty cup to the sink.

"And finish your cereal" I said pointing at the bowl of cereal in the other side of her mat. I heard her acknowledge me and I headed to the kitchen, where Mags was cleaning her hands and finishing with the salads.

"I didn't mean it that way" she said as she moved to the side and let me clean both cups.

"I know I just-" I shook my head "I have a headache" I felt her hand on my shoulder, and I set the cups to dry on the side. "Could use a hug" she let out a quiet chuckle, then rounded my neck with her arms, I turned a bit to hug her by the waist. I sighed and held her tight.

"I know this makes you upset, and all you can do is be there for her"

I turned my head to her cheek and kissed it, pulling back.

Mags and I spent the day with her friends, just joking around, but I couldn't get my head around this Liz thing.

I definitely couldn't get my head out of if after I got the call to come back, but the Liz situation and how bad I felt was quickly overshadowed by the fact that Red had assigned us The Informant, AKA Prescott.

Mags was at work when I found out, I had to go see her, she was the only one who knew about the fixer situation. She was in a meeting, but I told Brenda that it was important and to get her out of there. I never came to Mag's work and I never interrupted her, so I guess she could tell I was serious.

I was pacing on her office when she walked in.

"What's wrong?" She said closing the door.

"Prescott" I said, her eyes hardened a bit "Reddington's case was about him, I got a call from him while I was tailing someone. I arrested the guy, Prescott called in to talk to me. He has pictures Mags"

Maggie wasn't looking at me, she was processing what I was telling her, she was leaned on her desk with her arms crossed.

"Fucking bastard" she muttered. "What did he say?"

"He told me that I don't have anything on him, which is true, but he had everything on me, he'll still be in touch"

"Well, his funeral" she said rounding the desk, I smiled, because that's exactly what I had told him.

"I've got to go back, what are you going to do?" I asked when I saw her open the desk drawer.

She closed it, then walked to me again.

"Would you mind if I took her of it?" She asked in a whisper.

"I would" I said instantly.

"But would you really mind?" She pushed. I took a deep breath, and I took every inch of my will to shake my head no, because I really, really didn't want her involved in this. She nodded, then leaned in to kiss my cheek. "I have to go back to this meeting but please keep me posted"

She walked around me and exited the office, I stood there for a full minute, kicking myself because I knew for a fact that Maggie was going to go to Reddington.

I recalled something he said to me, that he was going to be there for me if I was ever in trouble, and I told him I wouldn't take his help, I refused to take help from him.

Maggie.

"Need I say anything?" I asked sitting in my office chair and swinging it around.

"About what?" Raymond replied.

"About Prescott, how did you find out about him?"

"I started looking into it as soon as you came up to me and asked about Ressler and his worries" I frowned and did the math.

"That was two years ago"

"More pressing matter came"

"Well, Donald's being threatened, and we both know what he's going to do"

"I have a pretty good guess"

"I think you don't have a pretty good guess of what I'm going to do to Prescott, when the taskforce has him, could you please let me know?"

"I put the FBI in the Prescott's tail because he also has information I want hidden, so I guess our interest are aligned" I smiled.

"What a happy coincidence"

"Donald said he would never ask for my help"

"He's not asking, and neither am I"

He let out a lengthy chuckle.

"It's always a delight to talk to you Maggie"

"Take care Raymond" I saluted, then hung up.

I asked myself when had Raymond offered his help to Don, and if Donald knew that Raymond knew about the fixer. I took the flip phone and took our the battery and the chip, storing them away in my drawer.

I knew that Don wouldn't want to cover his illegal things with not illegal things, but I hoped he could appreciate the semantics of me asking Raymond for help instead of him asking.

I heard Don arrive a the house late, I'd already put Alma to sleep. I was waiting for him to show up at the bedroom for a while. When he didn't make it, I searched for him. I found him in the car, sitting in the driver's seat, drinking something.

I fastened my robe and walked to the car, he saw me, then pushed a button inside to open the doors.

"It's cold, you should go to bed"

I climbed into the car and closed the door.

"I'm glad you're here" I said, he gave me a little chuckle, pouring more whiskey into his glass.

"Instead of jail?"

"Of course" he took a swig out of his drink, then leaned on the door, holding his head on his hand.

"I feel awful. I hate having Reddington involved in my affairs, I hate having you involved in them. I hate feeling like I got away with murder"

I twisted my lips, feeling bad for Don myself.

"I gave Cooper a signed confession, he said he didn't care about what I did, he's just interested in what I can do for the taskforce."

"But they don't have anything on you?"

"No, Prescott's files didn't include mine. I don't know if Reddington took it, or it's the one you have"

"If it's the one I have, then I don't have it anymore" he gave me a confused look. "I burned it" I explained.

He took another sip of his drink, almost finishing it.

"I know you feel bad, but the people who care about you, don't care about what you did, we can look past this mistake and I know that you're good Donald."

"I'm a crooked cop"

"You're not" he shook his head dismissing me, giving one last gulp to his glass, then filling it again.

I sighed a little angry, because he was beyond stubborn about his whole principles thing. I opened the door of the car and closed it behind me, heading out of garage. He needed time alone to let everything sink in.

The next day, I was fixing Alma's breakfast when he walked in with her on arms, holding his cup of coffee on the other hand. I took her and placed her on the high chair, giving her cereals in a bowl and juice in a plastic cup, I followed with another bowl of sliced bananas.

When I was about to grab my cup of tea, I felt Don's hand on my lower back, I lifted my eyes to his as I took a sip.

"How are you today?" I asked.

"I'm sure I'll feel better when I completely forget about this" I nodded, he placed his arms around my waist and I leaned in to his chest. "It was not the right thing to do, but all the decisions I made, I made them because I wouldn't want to be anywhere but here, with my girls"

I smiled and got on my toes to kiss him on the cheek.

"I love you" I said with another kiss on his cheek.

"Wub you" Alma said fitting more pieces of cereal on her mouth. Everytime she heard me say something to Don she would chime in.

Don smiled and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"I better get to work" he finished his coffee and patted his pockets to make sure he had everything on him. "Stop growing on me" he said pointing at Alma, she chuckled complicity, then Don left for work.

I felt the same way about Alma, she was well over her year and a half, and she was growing at giant steps, she came up with things I didn't even know she could think of. I also got ready for work as soon as Carol arrived, then headed to the office. When I got to my desk there was a Manila envelope waiting for me, I opened it and found Donald's file from the fixer, along with a note that said that everything was taken care of.

[do-your-socks-have-holes-in-them]

On the Other Side / Ch15: Movie Night

Last / Masterpost / Next

Summary: For the past thirteen years, a secretive organization has been raising two groups of superpowered children. Half of them, since their very first memories, have been told they’ll grow up to be brave and strong superheroes; the rest were taught a much harsher view of the world, and groomed to become villains. Neither group knows of the other’s existence. But when a certain trio of heroes-to-be meets two future villains who really just want to be left alone, they all realize how much they haven’t been told.

Warnings: non-graphic violence, bullying, child abuse, sympathetic/good Deceit (Devon) is a main character

A/N: And I said, "I'll start updating regularly again." You know, like a liar. (but actually tho im doing a big bang so it's unlikely i'll be able to even try to update anything else regularly until the end of summer :/)

Read on AO3

Late Saturday morning, Thomas regarded the trunk of his car skeptically. “I really don’t think we needed to buy so many tiny flashlights and screwdrivers.”

“Uhm, I really think we did. Who’s the more experienced thief here, Thomas?” Remy’s unsubtle hand gestures made it clear what the answer was supposed to be.

“Just because you stole gum from a convenience store when you were thirteen—”

“I’m now a master criminal, yes, exactly. I’m glad you understand. The tiny flashlights are super important, trust me.”

Thomas sighed, amused. “If you say so. You gonna help me carry these bags?”

“Nope.”

“Remy—”

“I don’t have time, hon, I gotta go talk to Emile about all this, remember?” He neatly dodged Thomas’s attempt to foist a grocery bag on him. “I know you’re gonna miss me, but I’ll see you later, babe, don’t worry.”

Thomas scoffed and swatted his arm, which backfired a bit in that it nearly made him drop one of his bags. “I’ll live.” His words may have been dismissive, but he was smiling. That smile was still on his face as he made his way into the building and through the hallways to his own room. Most of the snacks were left there to be distributed later. He took the rest, along with the less innocuous items hidden at the bottom of the bags, and went down the hall to Logan, Roman, and Patton’s room.

“Good morning,” he called, after knocking in a pattern they’d agreed on the previous night so they would know it was him. He set the bags down and pressed a hand over his mouth in an effort not to “aww” out loud when he saw the kids.

They were all piled together in the blanket fort, and it looked like they’d been there the whole night. Patton was still asleep, tangled in a blanket, while Logan used him to prop up the book he was explaining to Devon- who, of course, tried to act like he already knew it, but his eyes were wide with interest. Meanwhile, Virgil was still curled up under Patton’s arm, where he’d become trapped at some point in the night, and Roman was telling him some grand story, complete with illustrations and various bits acted out. The smaller boy looked enthralled, if a little wary of all the wild gesturing. Roman paused mid-emphasis when Thomas walked in, just short of smacking Logan in the face, and Devon reached out and slowly pushed his arm back down.

Thomas smiled. “Hey guys, I brought you some stuff.”

“Ooh! What is it? Did you get good snacks?” Roman scrambled out of the fort and almost tripped on Patton, who had started to wake up. He turned over, holding Virgil to his chest like a teddy bear. The latter made a face and squirmed away, causing Patton to finally open his eyes.

“Oh. Sorry,” he laughed. Virgil waved him off with a shrug.

The kids gathered around, and Thomas started to show them what he and Remy had bought. “Of course I got good snacks, who do you think I am? Most of them are staying in my room for now, though, because I know you guys.”

There was a chorus of “aww.”

“Other than that, I got some clean clothes for you two, so you won’t need to keep wearing the same outfits all the time or borrow from the other kids. But I had to guess at your sizes, so if something doesn’t fit, tell me, okay?”

Devon and Virgil nodded shyly and took the clothes, hiding them under blankets in the fort for now. They would try them on once Thomas was gone; changing with him right there would be embarrassing, even if he couldn’t see them behind the blankets that hung down.

“Now… everybody come close, this part is secret. Remember the plan we talked about?” They all nodded. “I know not all of you were sure if you wanted to help, and I’m not trying to push you into it or anything, but I got you all some stuff for it- if anyone decides they don’t want to come, that just means there’s extras for those who do participate.”

“I’m coming!” Roman reminded him, in his version of a whisper.

Thomas laughed. “You made that clear, don’t worry. So, uh, we’ve just got a few little things that might be useful- most of it Remy insisted on, so don’t ask me what the putty is for.”

“Ooh, you were with Remy?” Patton grinned, clearly believing he was being subtle.

“We were just doing boring work things, so shush- and quit doing that thing with your eyebrows at me, Logan.” Thomas blushed, wishing he knew how to stop letting children embarrass him. The shopping trip may have been a boring work thing, but it was very hard to convince himself Remy hadn’t been lowkey flirting with him the entire time nonetheless. “Take the stuff already and leave me alone.”

“How about this,” Roman offered, “we’ll stop if and only if you let us have a movie night! I mean, we really need to- did you know they haven’t seen any Disney movies?!”

Thomas hummed, pretending to think hard about it. “That sounds like a deal I can agree to. I’ll bring my laptop in here for you later, how about that? I know you’d rather use the big TV screen," he said over disappointed protests, "but I really don’t want to risk having Devon and Virgil leave the room when it’s not necessary, alright?”

“I guess,” Roman huffed. “But that means you have to give us more snacks for it!”

“Whatever you say.”

Movie night, naturally, had to wait until it was at least evening- you couldn’t very well have one in the morning. Roman and Patton spent nearly all the preceding time planning it and gushing about how amazing it was going to be, to the point where the other three almost wished they weren’t having it, if only to get some peace and quiet. By the time Thomas came back after dinner to let them borrow his computer, the blankets in the fort had been rearranged countless times, and the kids had a list of everything else they wanted in order to make it absolutely perfect. Thomas went along with some of their requests, if not the ones like ‘a bunch of plastic balls so we can turn the room into a ball pit,’ and they managed to get everything arranged without anyone yelling at each other.

The movie they’d all decided on for tonight was Sleeping Beauty- they should start with a classic, right? Logan was in charge of holding the popcorn, because he was the only one who could be trusted not to spill it or eat it all himself. During the opening credits, Roman bounced in place impatiently, while Patton carefully arranged his stuffed animals so he could hold them all and none would feel left out, ignoring Logan’s reminder that they were inanimate objects and had no feelings to hurt. When he was finally satisfied and looked up, he caught Virgil staring at him, looking conflicted. As soon as their eyes met the smaller boy  looked away, blushing and wrapping the too-long sleeves of his jacket around himself. He and Devon had changed into their new clothes by now, but he’d refused to give up that hoodie any longer than was needed to wash it, and even that had been a struggle.

“Hey, Virgil?”

He looked up again, defensive.

“Do you wanna hold one of my toys?”

Virgil shook his head roughly, retreating into his hood. He didn’t need toys, he wasn’t a baby.

“Are you sure? This one’s all the way on the outside, I’m afraid it’s gonna get lonely… would you mind just holding onto it for me?” He held out a black stuffed cat, clearly well-loved by the fact it was missing an eye. Virgil hesitated, but finally took it, setting it down on his lap just so Patton wouldn’t be disappointed. Maybe it wasn’t too bad to hold it for him, as long as he wasn’t actually hugging it or anything.

“Oh- look, look, it’s starting!”

They both turned back to the screen at Roman’s exclamation. The credits had ended, and the fairy-tale book was opening.

“In a far-away land, long ago…”

Roman watched Devon and Virgil, waiting for them to see how great the movie was. Unfortunately, they didn’t seem too impressed. “Don’t you like it?”

Virgil shrugged.

“It’s kinda boring,” Devon admitted. “Like, oh, there’s a king and a queen and a princess and they’re rich and perfect and everyone loves them- who cares?”

“That’s because this is the exposition,” Logan pointed out. “We need to know who they are before we can get to the real beginning of the story, in which a—”

Roman swatted his arm. “Don’t spoil it!”

The movie continued up to the celebration of the baby Aurora’s birth.

“Those gifts suck,” Devon decided. “Why couldn’t they give the princess something cool? They could’ve given her magic powers and instead they just made her really pretty and good at singing.” Virgil nodded in agreement, making a face. They were both startled out of their snark when Maleficent appeared.

“She’s an evil fairy,” Roman stage-whispered.

Logan added on, “It was a great insult for the king and queen to invite everyone in the kingdom and not her, especially when she’s so powerful.”

It was hard to tell if the intended audience for these explanations was actually listening. They were staring at the screen, wide-eyed, as Maleficent turned around and cursed the princess. Roman took this as a good sign that they weren’t bored anymore.

“It’s just so impractical,” complained Logan, watching the pile of spinning wheels burn. “I mean, has the king even considered what this will do to the price of cloth in his kingdom? Everything will have to be imported!"

“Shut up, it’s a fairy tale,” Roman whined.

Devon looked almost impressed. “You know, he has a point.”

“Oh, just watch the movie.”

The three fairies, at least, were not a point of contention. It was generally accepted that, being fairies, they shouldn’t be expected to make sense- although, really, hiding Aurora away from civilization to keep her safe wasn’t such a bad idea.

“Maleficent doesn’t know anything about love, or kindness…”

When said Maleficent came back, it was hard not to notice the younger boys’ nerves. Logan saw Devon go very still and quiet next to him, no longer making fun even though Maleficent’s weird little minions were objectively ridiculous, and Patton could feel Virgil jump with every angry lightning strike, holding the stuffed cat tightly to his chest.

“It’s okay,” Patton told them in a whisper, “she doesn’t win.”

Roman was beginning to despair. “Don’t spoil it, Pat.”

Logan rolled his eyes. “It’s hardly a massive plot twist, Roman. In movies like this, the good guys always win.”

Thankfully, the tension was dispersed by a transition to a much lighter scene. Even Virgil relaxed and giggled at the fairies’ attempt to create a birthday party. Some of the humor was lost on them, however- they didn’t have the faintest idea how to sew or bake, either. What was a “tsp?” The other kids seemed to know. Maybe it should have been obvious what exactly Flora and Fauna were doing wrong.

The scene with Aurora-slash-Briar Rose and Prince Philip… didn’t go over quite so well.

“Oh, oh, he’s back, look! With a horse! Bet you think he’s cool now, right?”

The prince promptly fell off said horse into a stream, and Virgil snickered, raising an eyebrow at Roman. That was about as clear a wordless answer as he could ask for.

And now, the princess was dancing around singing about love?

“Gross,” muttered Devon and Logan in unison.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Logan continued as the two finally danced together. “I suppose I can understand her falling in love so quickly, given that he’s not only a handsome prince, but also the first person she’s ever met besides her guardians.”

“So you admit he’s handsome!”

“But what reason does Philip have for suddenly loving her so much, he’d rather marry her than become king? He’s only known her for a few minutes, and most of that was just listening to her sing without even seeing her.”

“The fairies did give her a magically good voice,” Devon mused. “Maybe she enchanted him to fall in love with her without realizing it.”

Roman reached over and gave them both a light shove. “It’s romantic, quit ruining it!”

“I think it’s cute…”

”Thank you, Patton!”

If Devon was oddly quiet after that, it was because he was grossed out by the sappy love stuff, and then worried about Maleficent’s bird finding the fairies- definitely not anything to do with the song about dreaming of having a friend hitting just slightly close to home. At least the kings were funny.

“Okay, maybe he’s a little cool,” Devon finally mumbled, watching Philip tell his father he was going to marry the random girl he’d just met. That was still a dumb decision, but anyone who could argue with a king and not be at all scared was at least slightly impressive.

Nobody really liked the part where Aurora was all distraught about not being able to meet Philip, so after a bit of sad silence, Roman took the opportunity to check in. “Do you guys like it so far?” he asked, clearly needing the answer to be yes.

Virgil nodded hesitantly, and Devon shrugged: “It’s… not bad. But I still think there should be less stuff about love, and—”

He gasped and cut himself off when Maleficent appeared in the fireplace. Virgil pressed up against him, eyes almost as wide as the hypnotized princess.

“Should’ve known she could just make another spinning wheel…” He tried to sound cool and unimpressed, and not scared. “Stupid king. She’s magic.”

Virgil whispered something in his ear.

“Oh, yeah- it doesn’t even matter, anyway, right? They can just get the prince to come back and kiss her, ‘cause they’re already in love.” His face scrunched up at the thought of kissing, but it was a solution.

However, as everyone else already knew, it wasn’t that easy.

Virgil sat up so quickly when Philip was attacked and captured by Maleficent’s minions that he would have fallen over, had Patton not been there to catch him.

“But did you see how many of ‘em he fought off before they got him?!” Roman punched the blankets around him to demonstrate, making sound effects.

If Roman was still happy, that probably meant Philip would be fine, right? Not that Virgil cared what happened to some stupid prince in a movie. Maleficent could kill him, for all Virgil cared. …But she wouldn’t, right? No, that wouldn’t happen, Patton and Logan had said she didn’t win in the end.

That reasoning didn’t stop both him and Devon from remaining tense for… pretty much the entire rest of the movie. Even if Philip was okay, they really didn’t like seeing him in Maleficent’s dungeon. At least in the Room they didn’t get chained up- Virgil shuddered at the thought.

“See!” Roman exclaimed triumphantly, when the fairies finally arrived to help him get out. “I told you he was cool!”

“I guess,” said Devon, sounding a whole lot more impressed than he wanted to let on. “Fairies are still doing most of the work, though.”

Then came the most exciting part of all: the final battle between Philip and Maleficent. From the moment she landed in front of the castle and turned herself into a dragon until the end of the movie, there were no snarky comments to be heard, and hardly even any disgusted faces made when Aurora was awakened by true love’s kiss.

“See? You didn’t need to be so worried, good prevailed in the end!” It wasn’t until Roman turned to face the two younger boys, and saw them still pale and anxious despite the movie being over, that he realized worrying about the ending may not have been the full issue. “Um… Guys? Is something wrong?”

Virgil and Devon had a brief, tense whispered conversation before Devon spoke up- very quietly, almost like he didn’t want to be heard.

“Are we evil?”

In the moment of stunned silence that followed, Virgil climbed over him, conspicuously placing himself between his friend and Roman. He didn’t seem to realize he was still clutching Patton’s stuffed cat.

“Wh- no! Of course not!” Roman jumped to his feet to emphasize how serious he was, and they both flinched a little. “Why would you think that?!”

Devon waited for Virgil’s cautious nod before saying anything else. “It’s just- Maleficent… she was evil, and she looked like us, kind of, and- and she could shapeshift like me.” He touched the scales on his face and remembered the dragon. “So- it seemed like… the movie was saying those things are evil. I dunno, it’s dumb,” he trailed off, shrinking behind Virgil. “I- I mean, we already knew we’re villains…”

“No, you’re not,” Roman said firmly. He pushed the laptop aside and sat down in front of them, so they couldn’t avoid looking at him. “You’re not anything like her! You’re not evil, you’re nice and you care about people and- and if anything, you’re more like Aurora.”

They both looked up, if only so he could see their skeptical faces. How did that make any sense? She was a princess.

“No, really,” he insisted. “Because you didn’t even do anything wrong, but the teachers and everyone are trying to hurt you because they’re the evil ones, but now you’re gonna get a happy ending! Because I’m the Prince, and I’ll fight them for you.” He stood again and struck a pose to demonstrate.

Devon gave him a soft, genuine smile, then smirked as a thought occurred to him. “Just don’t try to kiss us.”

“Ew, no!”

Everyone laughed. As Roman sat back down, he almost didn’t feel the tug on his shirt. He looked over to see Virgil looking not-quite-at him, chewing on his lip nervously. Once he saw he had Roman’s attention, he took a deep breath, squeezed his eyes shut and went for it.

“T-thanks. For saying that.”

In an ironic turn of events, Roman was speechless. Virgil’s voice, now that he heard it, was lower than he would have expected from such a tiny kid, and somewhat rough- maybe because he hardly ever talked. And now he was peeking up through his bangs, waiting for Roman’s reaction, looking like he kinda wanted to run away. Oh, shoot, Roman needed to say something back and not make it awkward, didn’t he?

He pushed through his shock to answer, “Of course. It was all true, after all.” Then he nudged Virgil’s hood back slightly in order to mess up his hair, because he couldn’t let things get too mushy. Virgil hissed and smacked his hand away, and the natural order of things was restored.

“But really though, what did you think of the movie?”

Virgil curled up in the blankets. His heart was still beating too fast just from saying four words- if he talked any more, he was afraid he might die from it. But he gave Roman a shy thumbs-up, and from the grin he got in response, that seemed to be good enough.

[fanfic-inator795]

RotTMNT/Baron Jitsu fanfiction: Dating… With Children - BONUS CHAPTER

((Just consider this a bonus chapter that could pretty much take place at any day during the story, since it's more drabble-like than the other chapters.

As much as I LOVE writing cute Baron Jitsu stuff, the other main part of this story is Draxum also bonding with the boys and learning to become a worthy stepdad. (or, second dad? Since Lou was never married before? Whatever) And I really didn't want that part of the story to sorta fall by the wayside in favor of romance so, here's a whole chapter focusing on Draxum and the boys. Enjoy! ^v^))

Draxum had never really had much experience with kids in his adult life. No brothers or sisters meant no nieces or nephews, cousins or other distant relatives weren’t really much of an option either, and the lab he worked at wasn’t exactly the type to get field trips.

Still, dating a man with four young boys allowed him to learn quickly and pick up on little things. One of the things he had noticed right away was that once a child thought of you as a good person - or at the very least, considered them someone they trusted enough and didn’t mind being around - they wanted that person to know every single detail about them.

Whether that be their favorite food (pizza, though each of them had vastly different favorite side dishes, snacks, desserts and juice. Draxum honestly wasn’t sure how Lou could keep it all straight), their favorite colors (that one was as obvious as, well, as the colored shirts they were wearing) or, the most ‘important’ of all, their favorite toys…

“-And this is The Annihilation, an’ this is Liberty Bill - he’s part of the Liberty League.”

“Naturally,” Draxum said dryly, adjusting his position slightly on the boy’s floor so that his legs didn’t fall asleep.

“Yeah, they’re okay. My brothers really like them though. But my favorite is-” Raph grinned, holding up an action figure in an orange leotard with a white cape and bear ears on his mask. “GHOST BEARRRR!”

“Ghost Bear, hm?” The scientist could hardly keep himself from rolling his eyes. How on Earth did these wrestlers come up with such ridiculous names and costume themes? Then again, they probably had to do something to help keep the audience’s attention, along with all the manufactured drama between the so-called ‘athletes’. It was no wonder so many children were fans of it.

“-and he’s always won every fight, and he’s super strong and just SO COOL!” Raph continued as he shook the figure around, “An’ sometimes, when I’m playing wrestling with him, I have him tag team up with other bears!”

The boy in red raised back over to his closet and began to pull out not more action figures, but instead plushies. First a small black bear Beanie Baby - “This is Capt’n Snuggles-” then a much bigger, much more plush bear with a small lab coat- “and this is Dr. Huggenstein, you’d probably like him ‘cause he’s a doctor like you-” and finally, a slightly smaller and very well-loved brown bear plushie covered in stitches and patches- “And THIS is Cheech! He was my first teddy!”

Raph’s smile softened a bit as he hugged the toy. He and Cheech had been friends for a long time… Since before he met Lou, since before he met his brothers! And as far as Raph was concerned, they were going to be friends forever.

“...It- er, He definitely seems special then,” Draxum commented.

Raph nodded. “Yeah, he’s great…” He then scowled slightly. “Some of the older kids back at my old home didn’t think so though. They said havin’ teddy bears makes you a baby, but I didn’t believe them…” Even when their words hurt. “Teddies are cool, and so are real bears.”

“Indeed,” the scientist agreed, “After all, they’re resourceful, resilient, protective of their young-”

“Yeah!” Raph smiled, hugging Cheech again, “And strong too! Really strong, like me! But they’re not jerks or anything, they’re just bein’ bears! That’s why I like them!”

Draxum smiled a bit, watching as Raph began to make Cheech wrestle Liberty Bill. “A good choice for a favorite animal, then...”

….

“I can’t believe you’ve never heard of Jupiter Jim!” Leo shook his head. What, did grown ups just miss out on ALL the fun stuff in life? “My brothers and I have seen all his movies!”

“Oh? All of them?”

“...Weeeell, maybe not all of them-” Sixty movies was a lot, even for a young fan, and some of them hadn’t been re-released on dvd yet- “But we’ve still seen a lot of them, and that’s more than you!”

“Hmph, fine, fine, I’ll give one of them a watch sometime,” Draxum half-promised. He enjoyed the sci-fi genre well enough but, much like the Lou Jitsu movies, Jupiter Jim always just seemed too cheesy for him. At least with the Lou Jitsu movies, he could still count on well done and realistic fight choreography as well as a performance by who he considered was a much more charming lead. ...Not that he had any biases or anything.

“You gotta watch ‘em,” Leo insisted as he dragged out yet another plastic vehicle, this one being a moon buggy (or at least, the Sci-fi Hollywood version of one) with a miniature version of the titular character himself in the driver’s seat. “Especially the ones where he’s gotta make an escape in his buggy, they’re SO cool! And he explores planets, and fights the bad aliens and monsters while saving the good ones!”

With a hop and a determined smirk, Leo activated his light-up space sword. Draxum made sure to take a couple steps back as the boy began swinging it around, but thankfully Leo had practiced enough (and seen the movies enough) that he knew the moves well enough. “Jim’s just the best!” Leo continued, “He’s cool, he’s good at sword fighting, and he can always think of a plan to win and get away and save the day! And he gets to do this all while in space! On the moon! In SPACE!”

Draxum smirked. “I take it you like space?”

“Don’t you?”

“Point taken.”

“It just makes everything cooler and awesomer,” Leo shrugged, “And I’m gonna try to go to the Moon sometime too. You know, in the future. But until then, I’m just gonna keep watching Jim go there.” Suddenly, the boy went quiet, glancing around for any eavesdroppers before bringing his voice to a loud whisper. “And don’t tell Dad but… Sometimes I think Jupiter Jim is even better than the Lou Jitsu in the movies!”

Draxum nearly snorted at that, managing to just barely hold back his chuckles as he promised, “I won’t say a word…”

…

“Leon might’ve said that Jupiter Jim was the best, but he’s wrong ‘cause he just can’t see who the REAL best character in those movies is!” With a bit of a dramatic flair, Donnie spun around to reveal the doll he had taken off his bookshelf. “Ta-daaaa~!”

Draxum raised his eyebrow, trying to figure out what exactly he was looking at. The doll had spiky bright-green hair, pink skin, eyes that as far as he concerned were much too big for it, and a blue and purple outfit with an atom symbol on it’s belt. The doll also had a giant plastic hammer in it’s hand. “Oh. Well, it’s-”

“Her name is Atomic Lass!” Donnie stated, smiling as he went into the explanation, “She’s a friend of Jupiter Jim’s! She comes from this town on a far away planet called Uraniumville, where she fights crime using her metal hammer and these really neat radiation beams that come from her hands!”

“Ah, I see,” Draxum nodded. That sounded about right, totally in-line with the style of those movies. “Is that why you like her then? Because she’s powerful?”

“Well, yeah,” Donnie replied, looking at the doll, “But she’s also super cool, and super pretty, and tough and, of course, smart.” He smiled at that. “Really, REALLY smart. That was how she got her powers, ‘cause she was also a scientist on her home planet before she became a crime fighter!”

Draxum nodded again, completely understanding now. When most heroes only seemed to rely on muscles and power boost, he could understand rooting for one who also had a brain. Donnie then sighed, fiddling with the doll’s hair a bit. “I know radiation makes humans sick, but I still wish I could just get some uranium and be a hero too instead of just dying from it. And it’ll take me forever to be strong enough to use a giant metal hammer!”

“...” A bit concerning but nonetheless all part of the childhood fantasy, Draxum assumed. “Why don’t you just focus on the things you can do now that make you feel smart and strong, and then figure out the ‘hero’ parts later?” he suggested.

Donnie thought it over. “...I’m trying to get Pop to let me do another science experiment at home, but now I wanna do something else, like… Like making my own robot! They’ve got books on how to make ‘em, you know! I just gotta find the right library… There’s robots you can buy at the toy store too but, I really wanna make my own - and I KNOW I could!”

With how smart and talented the young boy in purple seemed to be, Draxum had no problem believing that Donnie very well could make his own simple robot. Making a mental note to look up robotic projects for children later on, Draxum just smiled back at him. “Sounds like the perfect project to me.”

Donnie was full-on grinning now, eyes determined and mind already whirling with ideas. “Yeah! First robots, and THEN figuring out a way to get superpowers!”

“Well, I’d still maybe put that idea away for now…”

…

If Mikey wasn’t holding a crayon or marker or paintbrush, then he was usually holding one of his brother’s toys. One of their many action figures, or one of Raph’s plushies or Leo’s toy cars or Donnie’s puzzle toys. All of these toys were happily borrowed, and as long as they were taken care of and eventually put back, the other Jitsu boys didn’t mind whatsoever.

Of course Mikey had his own toys - including a play kitchen where he could ‘practice’ until he was tall enough to safely reach the stove - but more often than not his brothers’ toys were just more interesting to him. ...Still, what he did have that was all his own and that he played with happily was all the more unique, as well as all the more fitting for the young artist.

“Here!” Mikey proudly beamed, shoving the large shoe box into Draxum’s hands, “Look!”

“Wow…” Slowly, Draxum picked up each item one by one. Dolls made out of clothespins and spoons covered in paint, string and googly eyes. Birds and nimals made with paper and sticks and glue (loooots of glue, much to the doctor’s slight annoyance). Creatures that Draxum had no idea what they could be, created with puff balls and chunks of styrofoam and pipe cleaners, but still obviously made with lots of love.

And finally, folded carefully at the bottom of the box, a crane made out of a single sheet of bright orange paper. “Origami, right?” Draxum asked.

“Uh huh,” Mikey nodded, gently taking it from him, “But I didn’t make this one, Papa did! He made it for me the first night we came here to live with him, when I was too excited to fall asleep.” He pulled at the tail a bit, making the crane’s wings flap. “He said that paper cranes caused good luck, and that some people try to make a thousand so they can get a wish! But I don’t need a wish, so I just make ‘em whenever I feel like it.”

“That’s fair,” Draxum smiled, “I’m not sure if you could fit a thousand cranes in this house, even if you wanted to.”

“Heh, yeah, it’d be wayyyy too crowded!” Mikey giggled. He looked at Draxum, and then back at his crane. “...Stay right there!” Mikey told him as he ran over to his small desk, pulling out a sheet of paper. Not having much of a choice, Draxum leaned back slightly on the child’s bed and watched him work.

Mikey was surprisingly meticulous for his age, his tongue poking out in concentration as he carefully did each fold, though not once stopping or making a mistake. It was as if this sort of craft just came naturally to him, or perhaps he’d just done it enough times to know the steps by heart. Either way, it was pretty impressive, Draxum had to admit. Once the actual crane was done, it was onto adding markings and designs with markers and crayon along with the finishing touch of a bit of glitter before finally being given to Draxum.

“Here!” Mikey said, holding the teal crane up as far as he could, “Now you can have a good luck crane too, and it’ll make sure you’ll find a neat science thing at your work, or that you have good dates with my papa!”

Draxum chuckled, taking the crane. “I don’t think I need good luck to have a good time with your father, but thank you very much, Mikey.”

The boy beamed, and quickly climbed back up onto the bed to give Draxum a hug. “You’re welcome!”

The colorful crane never did find its way to Draxum’s lab, whether that was on purpose or on accident. But, it did however find a nice home on his nightstand, silently greeting him each night at bedtime and each morning when he woke up.

So, good luck or no, at least there was the small smile that it always seemed to put on his face whenever he noticed it - which only made sense, considering the place (and the family) it came from...

((It's been several episodes since Raph's mentioned his teddy bear collection in 'Mascot Melee', just SHOW US THE TEDDIES ALREADY! His collection sounded so cute, and I absolutely loved the names he had for them, lol. Also Leo being a huge space/scifi nerd in any incarnation is just amusing to me, heh. But yeah, hope you guys liked this! Next time, more Baron Jitsu with a bit of drama thrown in! See you then!))

[ash-imagines]

📖 I love hearing abt this kind of stuff because I have a ton of story concepts too lol

Ohhh alright so

Pretty much since around middle school I’ve been wanting to create an RPG game in the style of like Yume Nikki or Dreaming Mary, ‘cause I love those games.

I wanted the main character to be a kid with purple hair (when I first conceived of them I was flip-flopping between calling them Iolite, Iokaste and Ione but I’m still not sure what I’ll end up naming them), and the whole game would be really pastel with kind of a kidcore/babycore aesthetic goin’ on. All of the other characters are toys of some kind, like there’s a plush elephant named Emmerson and he lives in one of those plastic playhouses kind of like this one with his boyfriend (a plush mouse). I also thought it might be fun if there were areas with more specific themes goin’ on, like a big city with hot pink skyscrapers where fashion dolls live versus a little village of stuffed animals where the hills are made of quilts. 

Obviously it’s not all pleasant, since I drew my inspiration from Yume Nikki and Dreaming Mary. I was mostly intending for the story to be about the protagonist struggling to leave behind their childhood and transition into adulthood, but I’m not quite sure how I’d represent that within the setting I have in my head. Unlike my inspirations, I kind of don’t want there to be any moments where we see the protagonist’s reality. I want the whole story to take place inside this cute childhood wonderland and I only want their struggle to represented through like symbolism and stuff. Maybe there needs to be a companion character that kind of serves as an avatar for the protagonist? Like you could assume that things which happen to your partner on this journey are sometimes representative of things that are happening to the protagonist IRL? idk.

The overall message I have in mind for the game would basically be that becoming an adult doesn’t mean never having fun ever again, but there might be a bad ending too.