#of course all the people i was with really only cared about the puffins

[ornithological]

enjoyed seeing the puffins i posted a couple days ago but the real highlight was a great skua putting on a show!!! it was chasing after gulls and soaring around. at one point it stooped like a peregrine into the puffin colony which was BADASS

but the best part. the skua came up from below the cliff and first flew at eye level only a few meters away, then it flew around behind me and hovered right over me and looked at me!!!

[cryptid-killjoy]

@orleans-jester

orleans-jester

“Runs in his veins,” Thomas said proudly. Maybe some other parents wouldn’t be thrilled aboutt their child having the swamp life in tthem, like itt was part of their evolution. But he was. He’d gotten tastes of it, back when Flotsam had taken him to the encampment and showed off his childhood, and his nature-loving soul adored it. It wasn’t all about open meadows and pretty forests and picturesque mountains. He liked ALL nature, the ugly, tthe dirty, the dangerous. The white rapids and the flaring volcanos. So he fell in love with the swamps too. He was getting more in the mood when he put on the march, and when Flotsam was growing more excited, clearly. He was stoked - though admittedly, it was more for watching Flotsam be in his element like this. He knew he was going to have a good time. This wasn’t a trudge along behind and only smile for the camera type of trip, he was going to go as full in as he could. They rarely had to threaten in their new home of New Zealand, except for with Thaddeus of course, but Thomas would have been threatening him anyway, just to keep him on his toes. They were really well liked there. There were respected there. When they walked into a business, there weren’t looks of exasperation or fear or ‘oh no, here we go again’ from the staff. They were greeted with smiles, with light conversation, with excitement because even though tipping wasn’t customary in NZ, Thomas did it anyway. This was more the way that Thomas was used to being treated, since he hadn’t had that reputation that the Laveaus had until he became one, so he felt like he was in his element. “Fucking right you are,” Thomas said, taking the opportunity to check out Flotsam once more. Floresecent lighting, fireplace lighting, natural sunlight, Thomas didn’t care, just as long as he could look at his husband. He looked good under all the different types of light. He even looked good in the dark, where Thomas groped like a blind man at the well-memorized contours of his body. “Your legs are shapely but I don’t know if they can handle the stairs the way they used to,” He said, playfully. He’d be impressed if they did. They were getting to used to their level house without any stairways. He was holding his own though, as they climbed up the steps, with the triplets in their arms, in their little carrying case on Thomas’s front and back, getting views from all sides. Really, it was like watching everything in every direction when Thomas focused on the open windows. He was fine with slowing down too, not saying anything, and taking Flotsam’s pace rather than hurrying up ahead. Even his legs were starting to burn. It was going to be a lot easier coming down than it was going up. He was there, focused in on Flotsam’s heartbeat, making sure it was still going strong, ready to take over and carry him if it came down to it.

He took that break too, holding onto the rock and looking about, wind lightly blowing on his face, through the gingery beard. He took a water out of his pack - thinking ahead given the exercise - and offered it to Flotsam. The monstaries were cool for a quick look. For a little bi of a thought experiment. Like imagine being secluded out here, it might as well be a deserted island if it wasn’t for the boats going back and forth. What would he bring to a desert island? Flotsam, maybe some good knives, though Flo was more than likely to have that covered himself. Maybe a couple of brews, why not make a date out of it. Now that was an idea. None of the annoyances of other people. Except the monks had the other monks and if Matthew Gregory Lewis was right - monks were assholes. “Lots of water, I imagine,” Thomas said. It wasn’t as if there were any shops or giant coins or other such attractions to keep an eye out for. “Maybe some puffins, over on Little Skallig.” He was fine with it though. He didn’t need anything big and grand to look at, not when nature was already all around them. “Dunno if we can from here, love, since we’re way on the south western side, but we can travel north, go there, stay a while. It’s not as if we’re in THAT big of a rush to get back home?”

Course he missed Scout. Chip and Dale. His grandkids. But this felt a little more important at the moment. He had missed outt on the Alaska trip since he hadn’t been talking to Flotsam at that time yet, it was shortly after that they came back into one another’s lives. But he heard all about it, saw the pictures and the videos, and felt an insane amount of envy. Being cuddled up with Flo, watching those lights? Yes please. So he was fully on board with driving seven hours up there to hopefully catch the lightshow.

Flotsam loved Thomas liked the swamps. Sometimes Valerie got so caught up in the fact they'd felt they had to leave and had left it she forgot she was allowed to love it as much as they did. Little moments like this fed their soul and continued to remind them they were also allowed to love who they were.

"Oh, I know you didn't just dis my gazelle legs." He laughed.

Jokes aside and unknown to Flotsam Thomas was ever focused on his heart during the climb as was probably more the real risk for Flotsam's health physically than his legs if there was one. Thomas would be able to notice though Flo was pretty good at not pushing himself. He'd pace himself when the time was right. He would hear strain, but Flo would always manage to slow himself down before he'd get into any danger zones. It'd be the sort of thing a normal human would never notice, not even Flotsam, not consciously doing it, but Thomas's ears able to hear it. Flo just knew when he felt like he needed to slow down. So he did. He'd never know anything was borderline detrimental if he'd have pushed. But, he never did. He was happy. He wasn't stressed.

Thomas kept him smiling. "Lots of water. Okay, Mr. Obvious."

He kept chuckling along when Thomas didn't seem to know about the northern lights.

"Yeah, no. I'm in no hurry I suppose. We could or I could just look it up first." Then he pulled his phone and realized there was limited to no cell service. His bars were flickering so he spoke in Star Wars mode. "Oh right. I forgot. My communicator is out of range here."

"Ah well, guess we just stay till night and find out, or simply ask someone." He sneered his nose a little as he said. He wasn't the sort of guy that refused to ask someone for directions if need be kind of old stereotype, but he didn't like to bring people into his fantasy world once he spaced himself away from the other boat riders enough to feel like he was having a private time with Thomas. He had damsel in distress face for about two seconds as he considered these options in his head. No. He hated the invasive feeling of "other people" in his life so much he finally said, "Guess we're staying all day then." Then he smiled, took a deep breath, and got his gangly legs moving again, not a care in the world, space un-invaded, happy as a rogue-jedi-clam.

When they did reach the monasteries Flo had to chuckle at their formations. He couldn't help himself because movies be damned he didn't prepare himself and each turn of the steps was surprise.

"I need all the pictures here. Chip and his fam is going to be so jealous we got to hang in the punk rock beehives and he didn't and I want all the proof for bragging rights. That is one pilot that didn't get to come to the stone temple." He smacked his knee at his own joke. "See what I did there. For real though. They look like beehives."

He took one of the pups as his mind started to gear up and held her high like he was standing on Pride Rock as he jumped on a small stone formation between two big stone beehives with the grand view of the water behind him.

Then he yelled out in sing song Lion King voice at first, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh Zabenya I'm standing between the two biggest punkest boobs. I thank thee boobie Gods for the harvest of my trappings. After Valerie got her bust she got the three best kiddos and a Mr. Laveau of the most sexy proportions. I will be grateful and thankful and totally 'rrrrrock' my boobs with pride in the Great Boobie God's honor that they have bestowed upon me such a hot rack."

Then he bent down to one knee, put the child on it, took a sec to balance, and pulled his white light saber, gave it a twirl to telescope it out, and posed like it was a movie moment of reverence and awe.

Picture perfect. His saber was made of a conductor too, so that he could jolt a little of his electric sparklers in the handle and it would light up and crackle something fierce in comparison to some of the toys people could purchase. It was a creation Scout and Dale helped with of course. So, the moment would catch a couple travelers' eyes from afar especially from being loud and yelling out words like boobie gods. So, even though people weren't closely nearby, a few were still watching from their own hilltops what the fucking and/or with big eyes.

Then after making sure Thomas got some pictures he turned around and said to the rock hives gods, "Oh, and by the way, I love what you did with Dolly Parton, but thanks for keeping mine a little more modest."

It was probably best people weren't too-too close because they would be thinking Flo was out of his mind. He probably was either way but carrying on hollering about having boobies while he was clearly a flat chested man would probably seem a little odd to people.

He ran up to Thomas after his burst of excitement and said, "Is it bad I kinda want to fuck in a giant stone tittie because I kinda really do?"

[randomfandomimagine]

Meeting Doc (Marty McFly x Reader)

Characters: Marty McFly, Emmet ‘Doc’ Brown

Fandom: Back to the Future

Tags: Meeting the family

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1,4k words

Requested by (Marty) anon: hey Trish!! would you be up for a Marty ficlet where he takes reader (his s/o) with him to meet Doc, and Doc's kind of apprehensive and protective of Marty at first but after awhile he warms up to reader and they all just end up goofing off together at the end? have a wonderful day :)

Link: AO3

A/N: Here it is! I hope you like it, lovely! It was fun to write and to explore this side of the characters!

Reblogs and comments are appreciated!! // Masterlist

Marty McFly x Gender Neutral Reader

Everyone in Hill Valley had heard about Doctor Brown. He was the strange scientist of the town. Some called him crazy and some called him dangerous. Being Marty McFly’s partner, though, you pictured a very different version of that same man.

In Marty’s eyes, Doc was a genius. He was a misunderstood person who was in love with science and very passionate about it, constantly trying out new inventions that would quench his curiosity and help the world.

Perhaps none of those versions were true, but merely the projections of the people that looked at him. Nonetheless, you were more inclined to believe Marty than everyone else. Of course, it helped that Marty was your boyfriend, but Doc didn’t seem dangerous. At the very least, he was a very interesting and unique person that you couldn’t wait to meet.

“Okay” Marty stopped before Doc’s residence, licking his lips and turning to you.

You didn’t know who was more nervous about this meeting, you or Marty. Although you weren’t sure if you would make a good first impression, it was clear that this was very important to Marty too. The both of you were the most important people in his life, and he couldn’t bear the thought of you two not getting along.

“Okay….” He repeated, taking a deep breath. “Are you ready, Y/N?”

“Yeah” You smiled at him and took his hand. “I’m excited to meet him”

“Now, before we come in…” Marty paused, lifting your hand and patting it. “You know Doc’s a little...”

“What?”

“Well… you may think he’s a bit… wacky”

“So I heard”

“Yeah, I know, but…” Marty kept playing with your hand, moving it around as he tried to push out any of his nervous energy. “It takes a bit to really get him, you know? But once you do, he’s the best”

“What are you trying to say?”  

“He’s just different from everyone else in Hill Valley”

“Marty” You patiently said, returning to your sweet smile. “I know what people say about Doc, and it doesn’t bother me”

“Really?” He finally smiled, sighing in relief once you eased his fear.

“Yeah, he might be different, but that just means he’s not boring” You paused, watching how his tense shoulders relaxed slightly. “I want to meet him, and not just because you want me to. I want to meet your friend, who also happens to seem like a very interesting person”

“You’re the best” Marty leaned in to kiss you in the cheek. “Let’s come in then”

You took a deep breath as he opened the door for you. Immediately, you were received with a very different environment than the one you were just in outside of the house. The entire room was dark and felt heavy with electricity. It also smelled slightly like chemicals.

A sudden fear reached you once you realized you knew nothing about science. What if you had nothing in common with Doc to get along with him? It would break Marty’s heart if you two just stood there awkwardly.

“Doc?” He called out, bringing you back to reality as he tugged at your hand, directing you with him through the messy house. “Doc, we’re here!”

After some rustling, footsteps were heard. A tall man with disheveled white hair appeared wearing a white lab coat, with wide eyes and goggles over his forehead.

“Great Scott!” The man muttered, quickly looking at his wristwatch. “Is it time already?”

“Yeah” Marty put his hands on your shoulders. “Y/N is here”

“Doctor Brown!” You smiled at him, offering your hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Marty has told me all about you”

The man stayed distant for a moment as he carefully watched you.

“Yeah, yeah…” He dryly said, absently shaking your hand. “You too”

“Y/N was really excited to meet you, Doc” Marty beamed, shaking you around a little as though passing over to you more of that excitement.

The man only nodded, lifting his chin up and looking down at you. His brown eyes were filled with distrust. Suddenly, that eagerness you felt died down. Instead, it was replaced by a cold disappointment.

Marty had talked so highly of Doc that you thought he was one of the best people in Hill Valley. However, now that you had met him in person, he behaved in a petty manner.

“Tell me, how long have you and Marty been together?” He then asked, to make matters worse. His tone was harsh and judgmental.

“Doc…” Marty complained, but you answered the question nonetheless.

“Almost a year”

“Do you get good grades?”

“Doc!”

The man shut his mouth, looking at his friend in startle. You clenched your jaw, standing up straight to show him you weren’t intimidated by his questioning.

“Is this an interview?” You demanded to know, forcing him to face you.

The two of you glared at each other, further challenging one another. You could feel Marty’s eyes moving from him to you. He stirred in the spot before finally piping up.

“Uh… y-you know what?” Marty nervously said, passing a hand through his hair. “Why don’t I show Y/N that thing you invented? You know, that gadget thingy”

“Very well” Doc replied without glancing at him, too busy staring at you.

“I’ll be right back!” Marty exclaimed as he ran off, trying to take as little time away from you as possible.

As soon as your boyfriend disappeared in the next room, you acquired a defensive stance to mask your outrage. No matter how smart ‘Doc’ was, you weren’t going to let him do that.

“Doctor Brown” You gravely began. “With all due respect, I don’t know what your problem with me is, and I honestly don’t care. I think we should put our differences aside for Marty’s sake”

He opened his mouth to reply, but you interrupted, foreseeing a complaint.

“If you don’t like me for, that’s alright” You continued, peering up at him to meet his tall stature. “But it’s very important to Marty that we get along, so I suggest you do it for him if you really care so much about him”

The scientist stared at you in awe. After a moment of surprise, he smiled at you.

“You are absolutely right”

“T-Thank you”

“I apologize, it was unfair of me to treat you like that” Doc bowed his head down as a sign of respect. “I was only looking out for Marty, but if you truly care so much about him, I must have been too quick to judge you”

“Of course I care about Marty!” You loudly said, lowering your tone when you realized he might return soon. “That is why I wanted to meet you on the first place, Doctor Brown!”

“As did I” He sighed, shaking his head to himself. “Forgive me, Y/N, I merely wanted to ensure you were good for Marty. He is an extraordinary young man and he deserves the very best”

“I agree” Now that the tension had dissipated, a more comfortable silence established. However, you crossed your arms, trying to appear nonchalant. “And well… am I good for him?”

“I’m here!” Marty arrived just then, interrupting the scientist before he could reply. However, the smile in his lips was answer enough.

“Ah, thank you, Marty” He said instead, taking a small oval shaped gadget from him.

“What were you talking about?” The young man looked from one to the other again.

“I was telling Y/N that… I was frustrated with a project… but that is no excuse, I still shouldn’t have taken it out on you, I’m sorry”

“Thank you. And it’s alright”

“Allow me to start again” Doc cleared his throat, offering you his hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Y/N. I’m Doctor Emmett Brown, but you can call me Emmett”

“It’s nice to meet you, Emmett” You replied with a smile, giving his hand a firm but gentle shake.

A pause followed. Watching Marty with the corner of your eye, you realized he was smiling wide and had the emotion reflected in his eyes. You smiled to yourself.

“Tell me, Y/N” Emmett then said, motioning in a friendly gesture. “Would you like to know how my invention works?”

“I would love to” You took Marty’s hand, following Doc as he went to turn all the lights on and demonstrate to you how his new invention worked.

Tag list: @call-me-harley-quinn​ / @fandomxreaders​ /  @fortheloveofbenyandtom​ / @caswinchester2000​ / @dancingwith-sunflowers​ / @welcome-here-in-my-world / @unstable-puffin-writing​​ // Send an ask if you want to be added to the tag list for this fandom!

[sinnamonrolle]

Headcanons: Endearments [Obey Me!]

❀  gender neutral  ❀

! slight spoilers for Belphegor and Solomon !

I was thinking about this for a while, and I really want to share it with everyone else too.

These are gender neutral terms of endearment! And no matter how big you might be, you'll always be their lovely little human being ;)

Here are my headcanons for the terms of endearment from all 12 characters, including my reasoning for them! I had fun thinking about them.

Demon Brothers:

Lucifer

"Vesper", with variations such as "little Vesper" or "my little Vesper"

Lucifer means "Morning Star", and so after some digging online, there's actually a name for the "Evening Star'' as well, which is Vesper. Lucifer and Vesper both refer to the planet Venus, and so the reasoning behind why Lucifer would call you "Vesper'' is because he sees you as his other half, the other side of him. Together, you and him make up the brightest star in the sky.

I suppose it is more of a nickname than a term of endearment, but it's all the same. It's filled with love and adoration for you! No matter the time or place, he will always call you "Vesper" because it is also how he shows his pride in you, but he uses "darling" just as much. Leave it to him to call you his "darling Vesper."

Mammon

"Fortune", "little fortune", "my little fortune"

When you hear Mammon, of course you will think about money and physical possessions. The word "fortune" can be understood as related to the amount of owned assets, but also related to luck, chance, and destiny. So, to Mammon, you are his everything—his human, his wealth, his future. You are priceless in every way, and he’s so lucky, so fortunate to have you.

The endearment “little fortune” comes about accidentally. Mammon blurts it out one day, and he hurries to correct himself because “wait, wait, wait, I didn’t mean little fortune as in the amount because ya ain’t small at all. You’re really big—agh, that’s not what I mean! It sounds cute, okay! Little or big, it doesn’t matter. I won’t ever spend you.”

Leviathan

“Pearl”, “Henry”

I think we all know where “Henry” comes from, but what about “pearl”? Firstly, pearls are from the sea, which Leviathan is strongly related with. Leviathan himself has reptilian features—his snake-like tail, his birthmarks that resemble scales, his coral-like horns—in fact, Leviathan is known as a sea serpent. Pearls are treasures of the sea, and they are extremely beautiful as well. But there is also another connection you can make, this time with East Asian mythology. In East Asian mythology, dragons are often related to the sea, even residing in them. They are long, serpentine, wingless, but they still have two arms and two legs. They also are often depicted with a pearl, and this pearl is very, very important to the dragon. Seeing as Obey Me is a Japanese game, I think connecting Levi with an East Asian dragon isn’t too big of a stretch. Actually, there are many similarities, but there’s no need to dig into it today.

You know how Leviathan is. It will take Levi a long time before he begins using terms of endearment with you because of his insecurity. However, once he feels confident enough in using them, he’s super dramatic (and low-key romantic) with them. He’s watched enough anime and played enough games to know many terms, but is he able to use them? It’ll depend on how comfortable and confident he feels.

Satan

“Precious”, “beloved”, (and of course) “kitten”

Satan is extremely well read. This means that his arsenal is particularly wide. “Kitten” is a term that many of us may find familiar, and understandably so. We all know Satan’s love for cats. But I think Satan, as a being who is born from emotions, is more sensitive to them than others, and they make up an important part of him. Which is why, despite his large arsenal of endearments, he uses the “simpler” ones, but the ones that he does use, there’s a lot of emotions behind them. You are simply precious to him, and the most befitting endearment for it would be “precious”. There is nothing sweeter than a pure “beloved” filled only with love for you.

Asmodeus

“Treasure”, “jewel”, “my love”

If Asmo is the jewel of heaven, then you are the “treasure” of his life. You are as beautiful as a “jewel”, and you reflect the light like a “jewel” as well. The love they show you is reflected back twice as strong. For Asmo, his endearments for you don't come from the physical value behind them. In fact, Asmo himself doesn’t care for treasures or jewels, but out of them all, you are his “treasure”, his “jewel”, his “love”. He puts you equivalent (or maybe even higher) than himself, and he wants to show it to you not only through actions, but words as well.

Beelzebub

“Pudding” (and perhaps, other cute food endearments)

We all know how much Beel loves food, and we all know how much Beel loves his family, and so it’s almost obvious why Beel calls you “pudding.” As a human, you are squishy, squishier than demons, and you are also delicious looking. You smell good, you look good, and the comfort that food brings to Beel is equivalent if not greater than how you soothe and comfort him.

Although, while Beel loves calling you cute endearments, it makes him hungry, so he has to hold back on them. I guess that means more endearments when he’s full, but when he has to cope with his hunger and there’s no food around, Beel calls you by a wonderful amount of endearments. You do have to be careful though! He might decide to sample you. (In what ways? Who knows, heh.)

Belphegor

“My little sun”, “little sun”

He doesn’t call you his “little sun” because you are little, but because Beel is his bigger sun. Beel was in his life first, and then you came. But the order doesn’t really matter to Belphie because you are still a very important sun to him. In the twins’ bedroom, Beel has a sun motif on his side, and Belphie has a moon motif. Belphie is more comfortable with the darkness (literally and figuratively), so to him, you are his light that shines through and guides him to a better place. You are everything that he needs to survive.

Belphie’s trauma has affected him greatly, even if it doesn’t seem like it. So it takes a long time until he gets really attached to you, but when he does, he can’t live without you. Calling you his little sun is placing you in his heart, at the same level as Beel (Or perhaps even higher).

Other Demons:

Diavolo

“Little gold nugget”, “gold nugget”, “nugget”, “little nugget”

Contrary to how it may first sound, “little gold nugget” isn’t to diminish your value or your worth. To Diavolo, who probably has a low-key obsession with gold, “little gold nugget” is super adorable. He’s also never really been called an endearment before, nor has he ever called someone by one, so this is all new territory to him. Also, as a future king and a prince, everyone is important to him as his citizens. Diavolo is the king above all nuggets, but you in particular are his “little gold nugget.” He also wants you to call him by an endearment, a term only used for him, but that is something for you to decide on.

Barbatos

The closest thing to an endearment would be “Your Grace” for Barbatos. “Puffling”, if you can get him drunk enough (I’m somewhat joking here).

If you’re expecting something else, I’m afraid Barbatos is too polite, too cautious to simply throw around the usual terms of endearment. In fact, I think from the way Barbatos is, he turns a way of addressing nobility into an endearment for you only. However, if you do manage to worm an endearment out of him, he will jokingly call you a “puffling” after baby puffins. I think he finds them adorable, but it isn’t a serious endearment. Barbatos won’t be caught dead calling you a “puffling”—not because he doesn't want to—but because it’s not at all appropriate. He has an image to keep.

Angels:

Simeon

“Little sparrow”, “little droplet”, “little lamb”

“Little lamb” is a familiar term, and “little sparrow” is also something Simeon calls you. A sparrow represents many wonderful things, like joy, love, good fortune, luck, and so on, and Simeon considers you every one of those things and more. Like sparrows, droplets are also fragile—ephemeral in their lives. Droplets fall and disappear so easily. But droplets also signify uniqueness in that one droplet is separated from other collections of water. To Simeon, you stand out among others. You are wonderful, joyful, full of life, and so, so beautiful.

Luke

“Lamb” (perhaps “lambling”? I’m really unsure.)

He means it in a platonic way!! Like a guardian angel to a baby human, except that baby human is you.

We all see Luke as a child, but Luke, in this case, doesn’t see himself as one. He’s way, way older than you, and so while he is still immature among other angels, he’s lived way longer than you have. It might seem weird to have him call you an endearment, but you are a lamb in his eyes—pure, kind, gentle. You are someone who must be protected! And so while Luke doesn’t use endearments too much with you, he will use it when he’s feeling a little playful or dramatic. He prefers your own name because he loves how it sounds.

Human:

Solomon

“Little star”, “breadcrumbs” (as a joke)

Solomon has lived for who knows how long. As a human who has lived for that long, his mentality towards certain things might be a bit different from a regular human. Attachment is difficult for him due to his lifespan, and this is reflected in his attitude. Many people are fleeting in his life. The mundane becomes hard to appreciate after so long. Even memories erode after a lifetime. There is no particularly heavy sentiment behind “little star”, but he has begun to consider you as a part of his destiny, a star in the constellation of his life. And like a star, you appear so far away from him, so unapproachable due to how you are always surrounded by others. He can only appreciate you from afar, until you let him close.

“Breadcrumbs” is a lighthearted endearment that he once heard somewhere in the human world. When he calls you “breadcrumbs”, he doesn’t mean anything at all by it, only that it sounds absolutely ridiculous but also so adorable at the same time. It’s an amusing endearment he heard in his long, long life. “It’s the joy in the little things, and breadcrumbs are exactly that—little things,” Solomon will say, but no need to take him seriously. You will always be the star twinkling brightly in his life.

-------

Feel free to add what you think the characters would use as terms of endearment! I wanted something special for each character, so that's why this post was made lol

(If there are any errors, I will catch them sooner or later. Please, don't mind them.)

Masterlist!

[anastasiabeaverhousen87]

Halloween gone wrong- Part 2

A beeping sound, it was so annoying. You tried to ask for it to be turned off, but you couldn’t speak. You couldn’t move or couldn’t open your eyes. You could hear the beeping sound and voices. They probably gave you a paralyzing drug, you could feel the breathing tubes they had you in. But you felt so tired your body grew heavy and sleep took over again.

You hear the same beeping sound, this time more clearly and you can feel the stuff they gave to paralyze you was staring to wear off and you were trying to kick off the sheets, you hate having your feet covered. But when you open your eyes and tried to wiggle your feet, you could hear someone calling for a doctor or nurse and ratting you out that you were waking up. Someone gave you something again because after just a couple of minutes you could feel yourself fading out and you were so frustrated at not being able to uncover your feet.

It was Alex who administrated something into your IV. You could barely distinguish her voice, but the medication took over rapidly.

Alex: “we need to have her under sedation a little longer and keep the treatment and oxygen at 100%. Her saturation dropped to critical levels we need her on the ventilator for at least another 24 hours.”

Kara: “I know, but I just want to see her and talk to her. I hate seeing her like this. She was trying to move her feet. I forgot she hates having her feet covered. So, I´ll just moved the sheets now” – The blonde woman moves to uncover y/n feet and sits down next to her baby sister again, grabs her hand and rubs the back of it with her thumb.

Alex: “Oh! I did too. Maybe that’s why she was moving her feet so much. This kid and her damn hot feet. She is always feeling cold, but her feet are always outside the covers”- the red head woman walks to the other side of the bed and runs her fingers on your

The older Danvers looks down at y/n with soft smiles.

You can’t know how long it’s been, but you feel yourself waking up once again. This time you are meet with the sight of both your sisters. Kara’s baby blues filling with tears and Alex smiling fondly.

Kara: “hey sweet girl, welcome back”

Alex: “good morning baby girl, we missed you”

 You tried to speak but couldn’t. You felt the tubes

 Alex: “hold on baby, I’m going to take out the breathing tube. You’re going to take a deep breath and then cough while I remove the tube, okay?”, on three. One, two ...three. you take a deep breath.

 You cough and feel a burning sensation while the tube is being removed and then Alex places an oxygen mask on your face.

 Alex: “Easy, Easy. Slow breaths and don’t try to speak just yet”

 Kara: “here baby , eat some ice chips. It will help with the sore throat”- you sister hand feeds you a spoonful with ice chips that soothes your throat and you hum in appreciation.  

 Y/n: “thank you”- your voices sounding very raspy.

 You were about to ask how long you’ve been out, but Kara knows that’s what you are about to ask.

 Kara: “you’ve been out for 60 hours and this morning we moved you from the intensive care unit. You gave us quite the scare there little one”- Kara says choking a little on her words.

 Alex  : “We lost you for a little bit , I’ve never been so scared in my life. We are so thankful you’re here with us. But baby, we need to talk. We almost lost you for a very dumb accident. You didn’t have your inhaler or emergency meds”. - Alex gets emotional and also has trouble speaking without her voice breaking.

 Y/n: “I’m sorry” - you shed a few tears feeling awful for making your sisters suffer.

 Alex; “We know, and we are not mad. We are so happy you came back to us. We can wait until you’re better. Just focus on getting better. I’ll keep monitoring your levels and oxygenation and if its good enough we can take you home later today, Okay?”

 You nod and smile at your sister’s eyes growing heavy once again. You reach out with grabby hands trying to get Kara to snuggle with you, to which  the blonde woman complies immediately by climbing into the bed next to you and you pretty much crawl you way into her arms to feel her warmth. You were feeling cold and you knew Kara would keep you warm. You lay your head on her chest and she circles your waist and holds you near without disturbing the I.V in your arm.  Alex makes sure you are settled down okay and administrates something into your I.V, she then turns to you and caresses your face and temple and leans down to kiss your forehead.

Alex: “you can go to sleep baby”

Kara: “I got you munchkin, you close your eyes and sleep some more if you are tired. We are not going anywhere okay?” – you nod your head against your sister chest and just hum in agreement. Kara begins to hum a song to help you relax and fall asleep. You can hear heels clicking against the floor. Lena, you think.

You are almost asleep when you feel cool fingers and then warms lips placing a kiss to your forehead.

 Lena: “hi sweet girl, I missed you. Sleep now”

 You just smile at her and you close your eyes. 

You feel warm and content. You are resting on something soft and firm, the more aware you become you realized that you are laid with you face on Kara neck and she has her arms around you. You are cozy and snuggled into your blonde sister.

Kara “good morning munchkin, sleep alright?

y/n: “hmmm”-you nod in approval, but you only snuggle more into your sister side.

you hear a chuckle but is not from Kara, you open your eyes and you see sparkling green eyes looking at you from the chair next to the bed.

Lena: “hello sweet girl, nice to see those beautiful eyes once again. How are you feeling darling?” -the green-eyed woman traces her fingers down your temple

y/n: “good, tired though” you give a small yawn and then you smile at Lena.  “where’s lexie?”

Alex: “right here, and look who I found?” – your big sister enters the room followed by a smiling Nia carrying a huge teddy bear and then you’re  eyes go wide at the sight of someone you haven’t seen in a very long time. Maggie Sawyer, who is carrying a small white box and a baby monkey plushy in her hands.

Nia” Oh my gosh y/n we were so scared, I’m so glad you awake now”- the quirky woman stands next to you and Kara and gives you a hug after Kara helps you into a sitting position. Nia hands you a huge fluffy teddy bear.

y/n: “Hi Nia, thank you he is cute” You give her a hug and smile and then you turn to brunet detective. - “Maggie?”

Maggie: “Hello Baby Danvers. I was in town and heard what happened to my favorite Danvers and I had to come by and see you little bean. Here I brought your favorite cupcakes and a baby monkey. Its so adorable it reminded me of you”

You tear up at seeing the brunette detective; you love Maggie dearly; she is an amazing woman and the two of you were inseparable. After she and Alex broke up you felt very sad but you kept in touch with her. However, its been a very long time since you last saw each other and right now it felt like too much and your emotions where all over the place.

The short brunet noticing your tears leans into you to give a big hug and you cling to her. You really missed her.

y/n: “I missed you so much Maggie. It so good to see you. “

Maggie: “I missed you too kid. I’m so sorry it took me so long to visit. But I’m so glad you’re okay. You gave everyone quite the scare.” -the detective says softly to your ear. Then she kisses your cheek and dries your tears with her thumbs- “No more tears baby D”

y/n: “I can’t help it, I really missed you Maggs”- you sniffle a bit more and take the offered box and monkey

Alex: “wow! I remember the time when I was the favorite Danvers”

Maggie and Kara laugh at that- “yeah sorry Danvers, but you know baby D was always the favorite”

Kara: “yeah I would be offended too if it wasn’t for the fact that y/n is so adorable I can’t really argue with you Maggie. It so good to see you and for you to stop by” – the detective leans into Kara and gives her a hug.

Maggie: “Its good to see you too little Danvers. And of course, I was coming. I was visiting anyways just never expected under such circumstances.”  

 The group in the med room spend a little while catching up with you and making sure you were doing alright and on the mend. you felt happy at having such amazing people on your corner and wanted to hear everything they have been doing, but you began to tire out and they noticed. Your eyes were droopy and you barely awake.

Maggie and Nia said their goodbyes and promise you to visit once you were back at your home. Maggie did mention she was going to be in National City for a couple of weeks and you tow would definitely be doing some serious catching up.

Once everyone was gone, Alex did a final checkup assisting of Doctor Hamilton to make sure you were good to go.

Dr. Hamilton: “everything looks good. I´ll get your prescription filled. You need follow the instructions I’m giving Alex and I’m also recommending one week of bed rest.” – you were about to argue you felt alright and you had work to do.  “And no arguing or I will make it two weeks” – the doctor added in serious tone.

Alex: “Don’t worry I will make sure she follows the instruction to a T, and you young lady are not going anywhere. I already spoke with your boss and she made the proper arrangements during your medical absence.  

Kara: “Yeah don’t worry munchkin, you just relax and let us pamper you for a few days okay? we are entitled”

Y/N: “Fine, but I’m getting all the junk food I want, of that I am entitled” – you huff and slump back into your sister front crossing your arms and pouting like a petulant child.

Kara: “of course you are cutie. You look like a chipmunk” – the blonde woman presses her hands on your cheeks laughing at your pouting lips and cheeks puffin like a tiny chipmunk.

Alex: “Alright kiddo, let me get your meds and Kara can you please help her into the clothes on the duffle bag. I’ll be back in a moment”- your big sister leans down and kisses your forehead.

Dr. Hamilton: “Very well, get well y/n. See you soon, but for lunch and no medical assistance”- the doctor says kindly and smiles down at you.

Y/N: “Thank you Doctor Hamilton”

The women leave the room, while Kara helps you into some sweatpants and lose shirt.

Kara: “all done, now lets jus wait for Alex and Lena is already downstairs”

y/n: “come on guys, you don’t need to stop all your activities just to take me back home. I know Lena is a very busy woman and she must be needed back in L-Corp and you also need to be in CatCo. I’ll be okay, just drop me off and I will lay on the couch for the rest of the day”

Lena: “Well sweetheart, first of all the place is called L-Corp for a reason, me being the owner and being the boss so I can do as I please. I am a very organized person and I can multitask very well, so you don’t need to worry about my work schedule. I wanted to be here with you guys because you are my family, and family comes first. Secondly, I’m here to take you back home and make sure you don’t trick your sister into getting you full of junk food, we both know she has no spine when it comes to tell you no”

You smirk at the looks Kara and Lena are giving each other.  

Kara: “Hey I resent that! I’m not a push over”- the blonde woman pouts at her girlfriend.

Lena: “Never said you were, you just don’t like saying no to your baby sister and the both of you would end up eating pizza and pot sticker for breakfast lunch and dinner without supervision”

Alex: “That’s so true. Finally, I have someone on my corner when it comes to their bad alimentary habits” -the red -haired woman mentions while walking back into the room carrying a bag with the prescriptions and inhalers.

Lena: “I know, they eat like toddlers. Come one you two pouty faces lets go back to the apartment. I will order from the Italian place you love and get some comfort food I won’t be a total bitch. I will relent in some pasta and pizza, but you will eat some veggies and I will even get desert”

You perk up at the mention of your favorite restaurant and desert as a bonus “I love you Lena, and you are so not a b-word. Don’t say that”

Kara: “Totally babe, you are nothing of the sorts”

 The group of four women made their back to the apartment Kara and Y/N shared, the youngest Danvers passed out on her sister’s arms during the car ride. Once inside the apartment Kara lay down y/n on the couch with a soft blanket while the two women went back to the kitchen area to order the food and Alex went through the doctor’s indications and meds, while Lena and Kara paid rapid attention.

After some time, you woke up to a light feather like touch on your cheek and arm, Alex was trying to rouse you from your slumber.

Alex: “wake up peanut, food is here you need to take your meds, come on sleepy head” – your sister softly continues to wake you up completely. You just look up to her with a goofy smile.

y/n: “mornin lexie”. Your voice sounding like a mewl from a kitty cat and you stretch in the touch.

Alex just chuckles at you and leans down to grab your arms so you can sit on the couch. But you grab on her neck and shoulders to bring her down with you and once Alex is on the couch you take the opportunity to climb into her lap and continue your nap.

Alex: “come on silly koala, you need food and meds. Wake up.” – the red-haired woman just rubs at your back making soothing patterns with her hand.

y/n: “No wanna. I’m so comfy right now”

Alex: “But its your favorite. Fettuccini Alfredo and triple cheese pizza. Lena even ordered the mini pies you like so much.”

You look up suspiciously at her:” and….?”

Lena: “And grilled veggies, come on time to eat” – the CEO responds from the dinner table.

 Dinner was a quick affair; you stuffed your face on mini pies after getting the approval from eating your grilled veggies. The veggies were also delicious you just liked to give Alex hell about the consumption on healthy food. You and Kara always tended to annoy her by making faces at vegetables she cooked.

After a while all of you ended up in the living room watching a movie. You were slumped on top of Alex while Lena was pretty much like you on top of Kara. You seem more alert, which prompt Alex to pause the movie for a little bit and turn to look at you.

Alex: “We will continue with the movie shortly, I just wanted to talk too you now that you are more comfortable and alert. Don’t look at me like that. I need to know what happened so we can be prepared next time”

y/n: “I know…” you sigh and sit up a bit straighter so you could look at the women in the living room and began telling them how the events unfolded. Every detail, from using Kara’s costume, the angry dude and forgetting your medication in your rush to get to the party.

Alex: “Ok sweet girl. Thanks for letting us know. The drunk guy is the brother of one the involved parties during a bank robbery Supergirl was able to stop last year. The family suffered the consequences. He actually approached Jon after you were rushed to get medical attention. He explained he was stupid and drunk and furious at the wrong person. Took it out on you because you were wearing Supergirl’s costume and all the anger he had bottled up came up. and well even though I don’t condemn what he did, he didn’t expect you were going to panic and get an asthma attack. He felt sorry and he wanted to turn himself in. That’s a different story, but the issue here is that this could have been avoided if you had your emergency meds and inhaler. You had nothing and were on a place you were unfamiliar, without any of us. You are an adult and you can party and hang out with anyone you want, but as a responsible adult you should know by now that you live with a medical condition and it’s your responsibility to always carry your meds with you or to calls us if you forget or even tell your friend so they can be prepare. You scared the living shit out of them and us y/n too”

y/n: “I’m so sorry Alex. I know I was rushing and totally forgot I left them in my other bag. I know it’s not an excuse, but I did forget”

Kara: “You really need to be more careful baby. At least text or call to let us know. You know we can bring you a spare one. Jeez I can be there in seconds If you would just let me know”

Alex: “I’m not trying to be the bad cop here baby girl. But what happened cannot happened again, especially if it can be avoided. You stopped breathing and took several efforts to bring you back, you died on me for a few moments and sweetie that´s one of the worst things I even been through. We love you so much sweetheart and we almost lost you for a very stupid mistake” – at this point Alex was very emotional and choking on some words. You were not any better or any of the ladies in the living room for that matter. It was very traumatic for them, the thought of losing someone they love dearly like that.

Alex: “You also should know by now that after this scare I’m implementing some new rules and I’ll be on you checking on you. You owe me as much after that; I get to be the overbearing sister helicopter mom you and Kara call me behind my back and on my face. I don’t care, that’s my way of coping I’m just giving you a fair warning”.

Kara: “Preach it sister, I will be annoying you too. we love you so very much munchkin we just want you healthy and okay”

y/n: “I know, and I love you for it so very much. I do. I get it. I was scared too, that was one of the worst experiences of my life. It sucked so bad. And trust me, I don’t think I’ll be forgetting this anytime soon. Besides knowing how Lena is, she is probably  already working on some sort of device to make sure you can all reach me or I can reach out and pin point my location 24/7”- you laugh a little at that last sentence but then you look into Lena direction who is trying to avoid eye contact with you looking very much suspicious.

y/n: “Oh My God you totally are aren’t you Lee?” – you laugh out loud

Lena: “Can you blame me? You did scare me sweet girl. And well, its no so much as creating a device its basically upgrading your current one, instead of just reaching out or calling for Supergirl, it can also contact Alex, me or Jon. And yes, it’s true; it will also provide live GPS system. Although I’m not sorry, no one bit”.

y/n: “I know. And I’m so thankful to have you, all of you in my life and on my corner. I feel so safe with you guys. I do promise be more careful or at least call whenever I forget bringing any of my meds along with me. pinky promise”

You feel arms engulf you from one side, Alex is bringing you into a strong and warm embrace while Kara leans down and kisses your temple and hugs the two of you. Making you practically be sandwiched in between your big sisters. Lena giving you all a huge smile, happy to be near all of you and knowing all of you are content and okay.

Y/n: “Come on Lee, you’re missing out on the love, bring it” – The dark-haired woman leans down next to Kara and also joins into the sisterly group hug.

You do have a lot of people on your corner, and it’s a great feeling knowing you have the most amazing sisters and friends with you, you are so very thankful for getting another chance at life and continue to walk  this earth with them along the ride.

NOTE: I’m back, hopefully you’ll enjoy the second and last part of Halloween gone wrong. I’m still working on my other stories but for now here’s a little something to get by. thanks for all your comments or question in regard my stories or certain request you have, not saying I will make them immediately but I will try my very best. I do appreciate your words and likes to my post, I truly do. 

xoxo Anastasia  

[caxsthetic]

Nice Serve • Haikyuu x Reader • Series

Chapter 1 — Something that you wanted to have was a great bond between teammates, that someday would grow to be one big family.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. NICE SERVE MASTERLIST .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Moving to a new school in the middle of the ongoing terms was weird. That was what you thought before you decided to walk away from your old school. A sound of volleyball spiked could be heard when you were near the gymnasium.

Before you opened the door, you made a silent wish that everything would turn out alright. The second you walked inside, luck decided to test you—a ball bounced hard to your direction. Something that somehow seems so familiar,

Wham!

You let out a sigh after you stopped the ball with your right hand. It was silence for a second before storms of questions and worried glance threw toward you. But one of the voice immediately perked your attention,

"BOKE! HINATA, BOKE!"

There in the background, your ex-teammates—that now you could be called as your new teammates—ran to catch someone with orange hair colour. It was such a pitiful sight actually, to see such a giant towering over him.

"Everyone give her some space!" Ukai Keishin, the coach, shouted to your direction so the boys would stop bombarding you with questions. You gave them a low bow and a smile, making some of them blushed.

You walked to stand beside Ukai and Kiyoko, the chief manager from the boy's volleyball team. The tablet in your hand clenched tightly to your left side while you fixed your posture and showed your professional profile.

"Gather around for a minute! I want to introduce someone!" A tall guy with blonde hair stood right in front of you. What you noticed from him was how he tried to intimidate the hell out of you. Knowing that, you gave him a dead stare.

Don't mess around with me, you lamppost. It was like your eyes could emit the unspoken words as he darted your eyes to the wall all of a sudden—you smiled. At least your gaze still worked.

"Oi! Kageyama, Hinata! Stop running around and make a line here!" Watching him brought you to some nostalgic feelings. He punched Hinata's arm until they stood on the line. His dark blue eyes widened a little when he spotted you.

"Alright, should I introduce you or will you introduce yourself?" Ukai turned to look at you, and you stepped one foot ahead. The coach understood your intention. Before you speak, you set out to take a look at the member one by one.

"My name is (L/n) (F/n) I am going to be Shimizu Kiyoko's partner from now on." You bowed to all of them, "I hope we could get along." You straightened your pose and smiled at them.

"OF COURSE WE CAN GET A-" "Another goddess!!!" "S-sorry they are kinda-"

You blinked, didn't know what you should do now after the encounter. The coach told them to introduce themselves, and you actually had written down their names and position. But knowing they saw you as a member warmed your heart.

The third years introduced themselves shyly while the second year seems to be enthusiastic when they tell you their names. You could only chuckle at their antics. Now, your eyes darted to the first year.

You smiled differently when Kageyama introduced himself in front of you. After that, Ukai told them to be back to their practice. Everyone came back to the court except your middle school friend.

He walked towards you and just stood there, leaving one man's gap between the two of you. At this point, you tried hard to keep your professional composure.

But hell, you couldn't resist the urge to do it.

"TOBIO-CHAAANNN!!!" You squealed and jumped to his figure. Both of your hands were hooked to his neck, and he didn't expect you to do it in mere seconds after he walked up to you.

Careful so the tablet in your left hand wouldn't get intact, both of you fell to the ground since he didn't prepare for your outburst. Some things weren't changed even after months of never seeing each other.

"(Y/n), not cool." He said it with a stern look, but he put his hand on your waist nevertheless.

"E-eh?! Does Kageyama acquainted with the new goddess?!" Nishinoya shouted, and you immediately stood up, followed by Kageyama.

"Well, I went to the same middle school as him, so..."

"WHAT?!" "Whoa, Kitagawa Daiichi, huh?" "So you must know the Grand King too?"

You could feel Kageyama twitch his eyes flickered his gaze towards you, trying to see your reaction. Your hands immediately patted his back, didn't care for the sweat that covered his clothes.

"Of course, I know Tooru." You smiled mysteriously at the memories that lingered on your mind for a second, "I've become their manager for three years after all."

"Wait—" Sugawara, the setter of Karasuno Volleyball Club walked up to you, "Then, you are the famous Goddess of Support, right?" You blushed at the nickname and nodded.

"So that's why you seem familiar." The captain turned to look at his grey-haired friend, "Sugawara is a fan of yours."

"R-really?"

"Daichi you couldn't just say it out of the blue like that!"

"Please go back to the practice everyone!" You bowed and set back to your professional profile, "I need to take a closer look for your everyday habits since I wanted to know what's best for all of you."

"Yoshhh!"

You walked around and asked them one by one about what they eat every day and what time they usually felt tired. Kageyama stats were mostly the same. His addiction for milk was still uncanny.

After you collected the data from everyone, Shimizu asked you what you were going to do with all of the answers from the players.

"Oh, I need to know what food could boost their stamina since it was different for everyone." You closed your tablet and turned your head to look at the court.

Each of the players had their own personalities and uniqueness. The passion in their eyes burns every time they serve, spike, block, and everything related to their game.

You smiled at this since it will be a long journey ahead. Moving to Karasuno was the best choice you could ever make. They completed each other and worked not just as a team, but also a family.

»»————-　♔　————-««

It was late right now, and everyone practised hard after losing from Aoba Johsai in the Inter High tournament. You were happy to know that the third years will participate in the next Spring Tournament.

You grabbed your backpack after you cleaned up the gymnasium with Shimizu. The first day of becoming Karasuno manager went smoothly. Not even once they asked what were you doing moving to a new school in the middle of terms, and you were glad for that—you were not ready to tell them.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

Your phone that you kept in your pocket vibrates, you decided to peek into it for a second. Only to see your old teammates messaged you, and he was one of the people you couldn't bear the most to say goodbye to.

Are you happy there? It was from him.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*     ༶• ┈┈ ⛧ ┈ ♛ ♛ ┈ ⛧ ┈┈ •༶     *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Tagged Fanfiction:

@muffins-puffins @nanashinanashi @vlovers-world @kashika @blacckdiamondposts @muffngw @baby-boy-taichi @for-ests @giyuwu-san @mochi-poof @miyatsunami @iwaixiumi​ @hihiq​ @the-fandom-ness​ @quirksandbreaths​ @rintarhoe​ @verbluehte​ @simp4tsukkii​ @ladyalicevii​ @evermorehaikyuu​ @clowninfortodoroki​ @koutaroulovebot​ @daiseukis​ @fitriiaw​ @mistypoison​ @aquariarose​ @gyubit17​ @aristatrois​ @akaritheyeetus​ @akaaaashit​ @pocket-puddingg

[hargrieve]

summary:

“Zuko,” he grumbled, face smushed into the dorm carpet where he’d fallen face forward. “Can’t give a guy a warning when you open the door?”

“Sorry.” Zuko didn’t sound particularly sorry. “Uh. Aren’t you gonna get up from the floor?”

Sokka + Zuko as college roommates, pre-relationship. Drabble.

(fic under the cut!)

Sokka yawned as he fished in his pockets for the dorm room key. Hmm, not in his jeans pocket, or in the pocket of his Ba Sing Se University hoodie. Must have been in his backpack? The motion of swinging his backpack off his shoulder made him sway where he stood. He thumped a hand on the door to catch himself—

—and pitched forward into the room when the door abruptly opened from the inside.

“Sokka?” said his roommate, sounding kind of put-out by the presence of the Water Tribe boy on the floor in the doorway. Sokka was willing to bet that Zuko was relieved not to have him around in their dorm room all weekend while he was at the engineering hackathon.

“Zuko,” he grumbled, face smushed into the dorm carpet where he’d fallen face forward. “Can’t give a guy a warning when you open the door?”

“Sorry.” Zuko didn’t sound particularly sorry. “Uh. Aren’t you gonna get up from the floor?”

Under ordinary circumstances, Sokka would have found it pretty gross to lie right here in the entryway. But at this moment, he was only looking for the sweet relief of sleep. And a meal. Spirits, he was hungry; he hadn’t eaten since the hackathon organizers provided lunch yesterday.

“Need help. So tired.” He finally rolled over, and in his doing so, a noisy gurgle escaped from his stomach. “And hungry.”

“Oh. How was the hackathon?” Zuko reached out a hand and pulled a grateful Sokka to his feet.

“It was good, my team won second place.” Sokka dropped his backpack and dove into his bottom bunk. Ah, home sweet bed. “I’ve only slept four hours though. And I haven’t even eaten since yesterday!”

Zuko frowned, staring down at Sokka from his perch on top of his desk. “That doesn’t sound healthy. You should eat.”

Sokka plugged his phone in. It was currently 9:30 pm on Sunday night. “You sound like my sister. Besides, you’re one to talk. Can we order a pizza? I bet you haven’t eaten either.”

“Have too! I ate this morning.”

Oh, please. “Well, that doesn’t sound healthy,” Sokka mocked. Zuko crossed his arms, irritated; he was such an easy target. “Let’s get dinner.”

“I’m healthy!" Zuko snapped. "I’ve just had a really busy day.”

Sokka yawned again. “Yeah yeah yeah, okay. You down for pizza?” He pulled out his ponytail and let his hair fall down around his face. Zuko was sitting motionlessly, his gaze frozen on Sokka. “Hello? Earth to Zuko?”

His roommate straightened up so fast that he overbalanced and slid off his own desk. “Right! Yes. I am! Down for pizza.”

Most days, Sokka couldn’t figure out if Zuko was socially awkward in general or especially jumpy around him. He’d get to the bottom of it someday. “Well, I have UberEats on my phone. Let’s get to it, chop chop. I’m starving and I wanna take a nap before the pizza gets here.”

Zuko scowled — so predictable that Sokka would have rolled his eyes, if he weren’t fighting to keep them open. “Don’t you know it’s better to call the restaurant directly? So that they don’t have to take a pay cut.”

This was a surprise. “I didn’t know that you of all people cared so much about small businesses.”

“I don’t!” Zuko snapped reflexively. His face went through a funny little contortion as he realized what he had said. “I mean— Of course I care about small businesses. I just think things should be fair. For the restaurant people.”

“I get it, you’re a fair guy. Good points being made here,” Sokka agreed placatingly, and snuggled deeper into his bed. “But you’re calling them. No take-backs!”

Zuko huffed. “Only because you’re indisposed.”

“That’s right!” Sokka beamed. “Wake me up when you get them on the phone so I can order my side. You never get it right.” He let his eyes drift closed, half-asleep as he listened to Zuko dial the pizza restaurant and place an order for a large triple meat supreme with garlic crest — Sokka’s favorite. He stretched a hand out from between the blankets, ready to take the phone so he could order the side. Instead, Zuko looked at him for a long moment and said into the phone, “Plus an order of baked puffin-seal pasta, triple cheese, extra garlic, hold the vegetables. And a liter of Mountain Dew.”

Well, what do you know. “You remembered!” Sokka exclaimed. He slid deeper into his bed as another wave of exhaustion crashed over him. Mmm. So tired. So hungry. “I guess you’re not the worst roommate ever.”

Zuko shushed him, pointing at the phone, but before Sokka closed his eyes, he thought he saw him smile. Eh, must have been a trick of the light. Sokka was probably dreaming already.

[thetempestcup]

45 Day Challenge: 10/45

I’m getting into the sneaking habit of posting these a day late. But, hey, still not dead. Still not dead.

(Also, the age switch is a bullsh*t call and that’s all energy I’m going to waste on that.)

Update: apparently I never actually hit the post button on this...yeah. I just. I.

...yeah.

“I don’t know you,” Sokka says.

There. It’s out, he’s said it. The horrible, butt-naked truth. The Katara he knows is barely tall enough to hug his waist with a smile full of milk teeth and the plump cheeks of a crab-puffin. He's tended to the memory of those cheeks for over seven years; it feels painfully disloyal to discard it for the sake of this – living phenomenon. Real thing or not, the Katara in front of him is stranger as green cats and toasted icicles.

Sokka barely has enough family left to fit on a leaf; the miracle of raising that number can't be overestimated. He should be happy. He wants to be happy. Why does 'happy' feel like such bitter work?

“You put on your snow boots like a five-year old. You’re fussy. You’re so, so fussy. Your mouth barely touches your chopsticks when you eat, and you eat like you’re debating every bite. It’s ridiculous, who do you think is trying to poison you? You go around hiding a giant knife –”

“Dagger.”

“– up your sleeve. You don’t know how to trim a lamp wick. You sound like you're imitating a lawyer when you're nervous. You leave too much food on your plate. If you make one more list I'm going to eat it. You've got eerily soft hands."

I’m the worst, he thinks. The absolute, unadulterated, no holds barred, put-him-head-first-into-a-bucket-of-mad-lobsters worst. However, if that's what Sokka's going to be, he might as well be it completely. "And I wish you'd stop looking guilty about being here. With us."

A silence drops anchor between them.

“Well,” Katara says twenty years, or half a minute, later. “I don’t know you very well either. You're not at all what I'm used to and I'm usually quite good at getting used to people. You'd sleep until high noon if someone didn't kick you awake. You're always finding an excuse to tell me what to do. You treat me like I'm five – and not a very bright five. You pick your ears. All. The. Time. You’ve mispronounced ‘allegory’ four times since I explained what it meant. You act like Bending is a magic trick. You still sound barely half convinced that Aang is the Avatar. You're loud. Why are you always loud?"

"Mostly you don't trust me," she adds in a simple, catastrophic tone. "I get that, it's fine, but you should try to if only for Aang's sake."

There are a lot of complicated things wrong with that statement, but Sokka can't move past the biggest and most ridiculous one. "I don't – Katara, what are you talking about? Of course, I trust you. You're my sister."

"What's that got to do with the price of cabbage?" Katara shrugs. "Really, it's fine. You don't have to trust me, you just have to trust that I'm on your side. I'm going to do my best for Aang."

"No. No way. You don't get to say dumb stuff like that and expect me to nod along," Sokka says. "Katara, listen; you are my sister. We're family. You being here? It's the best thing that's ever happened. I don't care if we dig out fifty Avatars tomorrow, okay? You would still be the best thing, person, event, whatever. Nothing can change that."

She looks almost unmoored at the words, which is wrong, horribly and inexplicably wrong.

"And even if you left tomorrow, I'd keep on thinking that," Sokka says. "You don't need to be on my side, Katara; you just need to be okay."

[nodesiretogrowup]

LET’S GET READY TO RE-CAAAAAAAAP

“I have numerous science-based questions” I mean, same. It also sets up that Huey is gonna be out of his element this episode

SCROOGE HAS NO TIME FOR SCIENCE

“I AM THAT CHAMPION.” A bit full of yourself there. I couldn’t hear this line without saying “I’M. THAT. HERO.” Oh VeggieTales, you’ll always be with me

THEY ALL LOOK SO ADORABLE!!

I like that Louie does a finger gun when Scrooge gets to him

Like I said earlier, I DO NOT care Scrooge already putting pressure on these kids

Poor Dewey seems like he’s the unfavorite, which is probably how Donald felt as well

Huey makes a good point and I do NOT like how dismissive Scrooge is of the twins

That being said...they totally killed someone in battle

SOMEDAY WE’LL FIND IT, THE RAINBOW CONNECTION!

Why didn’t Launchpad crash? I know he can land w/o crashing but it’s usually when he lands in water. THIS FEELS IMPORTANT SOMEHOW though it probably isn’t

“THEY FOUND A WAY TO MAKE RAINBOWS BETTER!” God, I love Webby

“This is the best day.” WEBBY, YOU ARE REACHING CRITICAL LEVELS OF ADORABLE

Birds with beards look odd

“Yeah, sure. Of course.” Poor Huey, magic and mythology aren’t his strong point

I love that it says Odin’s Closet over the shirts. It’s the little details

“Guess Louie knows what Louie’s doing today.” And then he disappears into the shirts. I can appreciate someone who knows what they’re about

I want ALL the shirts from this episode!

“WHOA, IT’S WRESTLING!” He looks so dang happy, it’s ADORABLE

“THIS IS AWESOME!” Chanting is fun

“So these guys just copied professional wrestling?” Huey, you’re form of logic is not welcome here

Does that mean Scrooge told someone about his battles and inspired them to create pro wrestling? I’m gonna go with that

“And they will love me for it!” Dewey, sweetie, that’s only how it works half the time

I loved all the man-snake stuff. Made me giggle

Man snake be THICC. HOT DAMN

I love the little pig ref. HE’S SO CUTE

Jormungandr knows how to pump up a crowd

So, like, is everyone in the audience technically DEAD?! That makes this episode slightly darker. I dig it

 I wonder if Jormungandr sees Earth’s destruction as a good thing for Earth. Like if he genuinely thinks they’d be better off in Valhalla. Or if he’s just a bastard who wants to watch the world burn

Scrooge is a bit too into playing the heel

The way Scrooge moves and the faces he makes as the Millionaire Miser remind me of Glomgold

“I watch a lot of wrestling while I fly.” “Wait, while?” This exchange always cracks me up

“Uncle Scrooge is the greatest hero of all time.” “Huh, I guess not everyone thinks so.” I feel like this is foreshadowing later events

RIP Announcer Puffin

“DIBS ON ANNOUNCING!” A dude just got KO’d bro! Have a bit of respect

And the return of the dynamic sports announcer duo. Glad Huey got his badge

I NEED MORE WRESTLING ANNOUNCER LP

Strongbeard is DOPE

“How did you know that?” “Just calling it like I see it. WRESTLING!” The real reason Launchpad knows is because he’s actually Thor but doesn’t remember. I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL

FEAR THE BEARD

“What matters is I’m doing the right thing.” I don’t know, you really seem to enjoy being a heel

This whole match is great

Dewey, there ARE NO RULES IN WRESTLING. Plus you aren’t the ref, so you can’t make that call

I have very inappropriate jokes go through my head when only one arm absorbs the beard energy

“I am so confused.” CONSTANT MOOD

DID SCROOGE NARUTO RUN AT STRONGBEARD?!

I like that Scrooge dives onto him the same way he dives into his bin

LP is so excited he pushes Huey out of the way for NO REASON

HOLY FUCK THAT DUDE THREW A CHAIR AT A CHILD!

All the bone cracking in this episode made me uncomfortable, as in my bones hurt during it

“He is such a good guy.” I’d say he’s a fair guy, not necessarily a good guy

“Which two of you will fight for me?” Webby has been waiting for this moment her WHOLE LIFE

Louie, always taking time to make that money

Who gave him a shirt cannon?!

I love that the dude comes up wearing the shirt

Dewey just slaps Scrooge in the face

Champ POPular! Too cute! I love his hair and outfit. Though I don’t think Champ POPular’s “too popular to hate.” If anything he might annoy people due to his popularity

I thought he was gonna pull out yo-yos as his “finishing touch” and I was sad when it was lollipops even though that makes more sense. BRING BACK THE YO-YOS!

“Do all the fighting and make sure he doesn’t die.” That is a valid concern

WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU! I’D KNOW IT ANYWHERE

Huey taking notes is adorable

“Just in time for the tag-team round.” “Wait, they’re playing tag now?! MAN!” I love how Danny says MAN

How does Huey not know what a tag-team is? It’s a pretty common term

I love Launchpad’s reading face

Dewey has red, blue, and green lollipops. Cute

“HE’S THROWING LOLLIPOPS BECAUSE HE THINKS WE’RE SUCKERS!” That took me off guard and I laughed so hard

“I’ve known you my whole life, I kinda knew how this would play out.” Louie is genre savvy. Perhaps too savvy. He’s gonna figure out he’s in a tv show

“More like Champ POP..ulation zero because he has no friends...in Friendtown.” I fail to see how that was any worse than LP’s “more like Champ UN-POPular.”

“WE HATE YOU NOW!” Tough crowd

Huey’s face after that. I just want to pinch his lil cheeks

WEBBY DON’T NEED NO WRESTLER NAME

It TOTALLY went over my head that they censored Hela with Hecka (at least they used her better than the MCU did. WE COULD HAVE HAD SO MUCH BETTER)

I would let her pin me to the mat and crush my skull in

“Oh, COME ON, THIS is what you like?! A creepy goth and her pet dog!” SHUT UP, DEWEY, THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT! I’m surprised Webby didn’t slap him for the “creepy goth” comment seeing as Lena is goth and misunderstood

“HECKA YEAH! HECKA YEAH!” SHE’S SO COOL AND SEXY AND SHE HAS A DOG

Poor Huey, he’s doing his best. Hope he takes a shower later because he got pretty sweaty

HECKA COULD STEP ON ME AND I’D SAY THANK YOU

Why did Huey have all those corn puns?

“YOU’RE THE WORST! YOU’RE THE WORST!” It’s just not Huey’s day

“You don’t have to try to make it sound great, it already is.” Did this remind anyone else of Dewey’s “don’t overthink it” advice to Launchpad from Double-O Duck? He’s doing his best to help Huey

I WANT HECKA TO DESTROY ME

“EMBRACE THE BOOZE BOOS.”

Poor Dewey

WEBBY IS A BEAST! SHE WAS BORN FOR THIS!

“EMBRACE YOUR INNER HEEL!” Cuz being a heel is fun!

DUDE, WEBBY TOOK DOWN THE GODDESS OF DEATH WITH NOTHING BUT HER LEGS AND THIGHS! WE STAN!

I like that Fenny has knee pads on

“AW, YOU’RE SO DANGEROUS AND CUTE! I JUST WANT TO PET YOUR LITTLE BELLY!” WEBBY IS ME

“A classic ‘who’s a good boy?’ gambit!” AND I’D FALL FOR IT TOO! SUCH A GOOD BOI

“Wait, am I the Launchpad here?” Bitch, you WISH

“YOU CAN’T GIVE CANDY TO A DOG!” This is why you don’t have a pet, Dewey

“WHOA, back from THE DEAD for the QUEEN of the DEAD!”

Kind of a dick move, Louie

AIR GUITAR!

Jormungandr looks like a Masters of the Universe knock-off toy

WHO’S A GOOD BOI? YOU ARE!

“With a toxic personality” I think you’re projecting a bit, Jormungandr 

How does Huey not know what a battle royale is? That is a very common term! Hell, there is a well known book and movie with that title!

“I’m just a humble, noble snake man of the people.” Why does the term snake man make me laugh so much?  

WOY REFERENCE FTW

Dewey needs a hug! And some therapy would probably be a good idea

Scrooge’s speech started on a good note then went downhill FAST

“And lastly, I’ll use the dust of your bones as sweetener in my tea.” DAMN

“TOO FAR!” I DON’T THINK IT’S FAR ENOUGH! TELL HIM HOW YOU WILL BATHE IN HIS BLOOD

FUCK YEAH BEAKLEY!

SHE GAVE HIM THE CHAIR! I think this CONFIRMS Beakley as a wrestling fan

“I know we’re supposed to take over for Scrooge one day, but do you ever wonder if maybe we’re not cut out for it?” YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TO WONDER THOSE THINGS AT ALL! 

Louie’s like WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS SHIT!

“Be LP” My new mantra

Aw, Louie sees Dewey as a hero. Like how LP saw Drake as a hero. I think @drakepad is onto something, this scene and the fight scene seem WAAAAY too much like Drake’s intro to be just a coincidence

I keep saying this, but Louie should consider a career in motivational speaking. He knows what people need to hear

“Let’s do this!” “I don’t know.” “Let’s Dewey this?” “I’m in.”

“I’LL SHED YOUR SKIN FOR YOU!” If he hadn’t of had an old man back moment that would have been a BRUTAL CUT

OMG WAS LAUNCHPAD WEARING THAT THE WHOLE TIME? You see his clothes fly off when he jumps in the ring

“Whoa. In a COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED TWIST, the announcer was Captain Crash THIS WHOLE TIME!” LP does underground wrestling matches in his spare time, TELL ME I’M WRONG

“YOUR CATCHPHRASES ARE FORCED!” I agree, Dewey could have done WAY BETTER

I like Louie just GLARING at the dude who insulted Dewey’s catchphrase

LP looks so proud of Huey

“I don’t care at all, why should I?” Methinks the snake man doth protest too much

I like how Jormungandr’s pupils are thinner during the climax. It shows off his true nature

Dewey should have been the one to do a spin attack, ya know, cuz he’s Sonic? I’ll go now

“The Pop never Stops.” That was better

WHERE ARE ALL THESE CHAIRS COMING FROM?!

I LEGIT thought Strongbeard was gonna throw Dewey his axe and I was like Dewey wouldn’t be able to lift that

SUPER SAIYAN DEWEY! Also was that a TIGER SNARL?

I like the ice pack on Launchpad’s head. Just because he can take a lot of damage doesn’t mean that LP is immune to pain

I like that the crowd CHANGED THEIR BANNERS! Nice

LOUIE AND WEBBY LOOKED SO CUTE!

LP tearing up

“A true people’s hero” I feel like that phrase will come back in relation to other characters (cough DW cough)

Scrooge is such a little shit, it’s kind of adorable

THAT END SHOT! THAT SONG!

This was a SUPER FUN EPISODE! I couldn’t really tell where they were going and I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT! I wish we had gotten Huey in some wrestling gear but maybe next time. I like the message that doing the right thing isn’t always popular but I kind of feel like Dewey getting the crowd on his side muddled the message somewhat. Poor Dewey needs therapy or something so he doesn’t feel like he needs CONSTANT approval. Again, he’s 11 YEARS OLD and shouldn’t be put into such a serious position. LP was VIP this episode. I’m bummed we’re on hiatus again, but WHAT an episode to end on!

[anunvalidcritic]

The Boys: SN1.4

(DISCLAIMER: MY OPINION IS MY OWN AND CAN BE DEEMED INVALID TO THOSE WHO DON’T CARE FOR IT.)

My dudes here is the fourth episode for ya...

                               THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES

I’m assuming that the episode could be the climax since there are only 8 episodes in this installment... I’ll stfu... moving on...

I’m sorry but the lovemaking scene isn’t needed... there I fucking said it!

This female lowkey looks like an older version of Joey King

Butt ass naked eatin’ hot pockets while watching an old video of the female he was in bed with... this must be BECCA.

I’m surprised the DEPUTY DIRECTOR/SUSAN hasn’t gotten used to these surprise yet. 

SUSAN’s bossy but I like it!!

POPCLAW = SNITCH 

“You know I’d rather be rubbin’ them toes.” - M.M. (SMOOTHIES)

“If you and Monique so something pure then why are you lying to her about where you are?” - FRENCHIE

Damn, they really just walked down there like it was nothing... nobody even tried to stop them...

What the hell... is that J-POP?!?!

FRENCHIE >> I spy with my little eye a female.

oHHH SHIT that BITch IS FAST!!!!!!!!

DAAMMMNNN THAT DUDE KILLED HIMSELF JUST SO HE WOULDN’T GET FUCKED UP!!!

Is THE DEEP really in therapy??

-___-

.... I hope he doesn’t get jiggy with the animals....

Back to the boys

M.M. has finally found the Compound V

looks like FRENCHIE has sort of train ticket

While HUGHIE has a whole date with STARLIGHT.

“As a rule, I kinda don’t go out after gorey murders.” - HUGHIE

QUEEN MAEVE huffin’ and puffin’ like she already knows what this motherfucker HOMELANDER is going to do. 

CHERIE baby girl FRENCHIE is cheating on you, my dude. 

Homeboy pullin’ out the bodies looks like DAVE CHAPPELLE. 

A-TRAIN know she’s lyin’... bruh... don’t tell him...

THE FEMALE JUST FUCKED THAT BITCH UP!!!!!!

STARLIGHT was really holdin’ back for this dude... that’s so sweet...

Damn that bowling ball kinda startled me too

Of course, the people hijacking the plane are Arabic...

So they got all 3 of the hijackers. 

Well, I’ll be damnd there’s another one. 

HOMELANDER is still that fake ass bitch

Dang, he really needs to watch where he’s aiming his fucking eyes.

HOMELANDER AIN’T SHIT HE COULD’VE SAVED EVERYONE ON THAT FUCKING PLANE!!!!!!!!!! CAPTAIN AMERICA WOULD NEVER!!!

how many languages does M.M. know??

FRENCHIE puttin’ all this shit together. 

There goes that J-POP music video again. 

FRENCHIE + THE FEMALE = OTP

Remember HUGHIE you’re doing this for ROBIN.

HUGHIE = WHITE URKEL

damn so that’s what happened to MALLORY

SPICE GIRLS

SPORTY SPICE > pretty much not doing anything

POSH SPICE > “Making clothes for anorexics. Not much of a growth market.” - BUTCHER

BABY SPICE > “Fuck all. Not even page six of the daily mail.” - BUTCHER

SCARY SPICE > “Up to her eyeballs in lawsuits and sex tapes.” - BUTCHER

GINGER SPICE > “Has 3 albums: Passion, Schizophonic, and Scream If You Wanna Go Faster.... They’ll all make your ears bleed.” - BUTCHER

“When they’re apart their absolute fucking rubbish. But you put them together they’re the goddamn fucking spice girls.” - BUTCHER

Maybe that’s the concert BECCA was talking about when she was in bed with him. 

THE DEEP has lost his fucking mind he stole a dolphin ladies and gentlemen...

I think he fucks the animals...

OH MY GOD PLEASE DON’T LET THE DOLPHIN DIE..... NOOOOOO

A-TRAIN SNATCHED HER ASS UP REAL QUICK!!!!!!!

MY GOD HE IS REALLY MESSING THIS GIRL UP!

FRENCHIE + THE FEMALE = <3

THE FEMALE is non-equivalent to a spice girl

you know I’m getting really tired of this facade that HOMELANDER is showing towards these people. 

______

Episode 5 is done I just have to upload it. 

[orleans-jester]

“Runs in his veins,” Thomas said proudly. Maybe some other parents wouldn’t be thrilled aboutt their child having the swamp life in tthem, like itt was part of their evolution. But he was. He’d gotten tastes of it, back when Flotsam had taken him to the encampment and showed off his childhood, and his nature-loving soul adored it. It wasn’t all about open meadows and pretty forests and picturesque mountains. He liked ALL nature, the ugly, tthe dirty, the dangerous. The white rapids and the flaring volcanos. So he fell in love with the swamps too.

He was getting more in the mood when he put on the march, and when Flotsam was growing more excited, clearly. He was stoked - though admittedly, it was more for watching Flotsam be in his element like this. He knew he was going to have a good time. This wasn’t a trudge along behind and only smile for the camera type of trip, he was going to go as full in as he could.

They rarely had to threaten in their new home of New Zealand, except for with Thaddeus of course, but Thomas would have been threatening him anyway, just to keep him on his toes. They were really well liked there. There were respected there. When they walked into a business, there weren’t looks of exasperation or fear or ‘oh no, here we go again’ from the staff. They were greeted with smiles, with light conversation, with excitement because even though tipping wasn’t customary in NZ, Thomas did it anyway. This was more the way that Thomas was used to being treated, since he hadn’t had that reputation that the Laveaus had until he became one, so he felt like he was in his element.

“Fucking right you are,” Thomas said, taking the opportunity to check out Flotsam once more. Floresecent lighting, fireplace lighting, natural sunlight, Thomas didn’t care, just as long as he could look at his husband. He looked good under all the different types of light. He even looked good in the dark, where Thomas groped like a blind man at the well-memorized contours of his body.

“Your legs are shapely but I don’t know if they can handle the stairs the way they used to,” He said, playfully. He’d be impressed if they did. They were getting to used to their level house without any stairways.

He was holding his own though, as they climbed up the steps, with the triplets in their arms, in their little carrying case on Thomas’s front and back, getting views from all sides. Really, it was like watching everything in every direction when Thomas focused on the open windows. He was fine with slowing down too, not saying anything, and taking Flotsam’s pace rather than hurrying up ahead. Even his legs were starting to burn. It was going to be a lot easier coming down than it was going up. He was there, focused in on Flotsam’s heartbeat, making sure it was still going strong, ready to take over and carry him if it came down to it.

He took that break too, holding onto the rock and looking about, wind lightly blowing on his face, through the gingery beard. He took a water out of his pack - thinking ahead given the exercise - and offered it to Flotsam.

The monstaries were cool for a quick look. For a little bi of a thought experiment. Like imagine being secluded out here, it might as well be a deserted island if it wasn’t for the boats going back and forth. What would he bring to a desert island? Flotsam, maybe some good knives, though Flo was more than likely to have that covered himself. Maybe a couple of brews, why not make a date out of it. Now that was an idea. None of the annoyances of other people. Except the monks had the other monks and if Matthew Gregory Lewis was right - monks were assholes.

“Lots of water, I imagine,” Thomas said. It wasn’t as if there were any shops or giant coins or other such attractions to keep an eye out for. “Maybe some puffins, over on Little Skallig.” He was fine with it though. He didn’t need anything big and grand to look at, not when nature was already all around them. “Dunno if we can from here, love, since we’re way on the south western side, but we can travel north, go there, stay a while. It’s not as if we’re in THAT big of a rush to get back home?”

Course he missed Scout. Chip and Dale. His grandkids. But this felt a little more important at the moment. He had missed outt on the Alaska trip since he hadn’t been talking to Flotsam at that time yet, it was shortly after that they came back into one another’s lives. But he heard all about it, saw the pictures and the videos, and felt an insane amount of envy. Being cuddled up with Flo, watching those lights? Yes please. So he was fully on board with driving seven hours up there to hopefully catch the lightshow.

@orleans-jester orleans-jester Of course the inside would be totally ripped out and completely redone in the Laveau style. They’d never keep it like this. Just tear out the insides and the ‘skin’, break it down to the bare bones and then build it back up again. Even the process sounded so goddamn Laveau with all the macabre details. It felt really good just being able to relax with Flotsam again. Reminded Thomas of the old times when they would just plop on the couch together, watch some Top Gear, laugh at how stupid the men could be and have a couple of brews and some popcorn. The current view was much better than the television, no matter how HD they made the screens these days. Thomas had a pretty good read on Flotsam, or so he liked to think. He knew that mind was going, the gears turning, could swear sometimes he could see and smell the smoke that was being caused from everything moving too fast like a treadmill. That scene in Modern Times where Charlie Chaplin is working in the factory and gets sucked up into the machine, that’s how he pictured Flotsam’s brain sometimes. He might not always know exactly what was turning those gears, but he could see when they were turning. He knew about the nightmares. He still read over that journal, treating Valerie and Flotsam’s dreams as if they were his own. They had such a vivid imagination that they wrote them so beautifully and Thomas could picture it in his head like it was a movie. He’d sometimes get caught up in thinking about them, as if they really had been his. So he’d been extra affectionate at night lately, lots of kissing and cuddling and arm and back stroking until he fell into the darkness of his own sleep. To reassure him that no matter what happened, they were going to be safe because they had the stupid, foolish, cliche, cringeworthy power of love on their side and they were all still living because of it. All five of em here in this cabin. He’d wait for Flotsam to open up about this one. About why those gears were gearing to go. Trying to force Flotsam to talk was rougher than trying to get blood out of a stone, and he wasn’t going to go ruining their vacation over it. Besides - he looked happy right now. Well and truly excited for this experience that Thomas was planning. So he’d relax with his brew and their food and the ocean and the pups and watch his husband do a very dorky kung-fu lightsaber battle against the air, and love him all the more for it. - So the next morning came, as mornings often do, though the night had seemed particularly long for two reasons. Number one, Thomas was excited for the next day. That always made it seem like time was slowing down. Time goes faster when you’re having a good time, but goes slower when anticipating one. And the second reason was he was being more cautious about Flotsam’s nightmares. Trying to be more on the edge of sleep rather than falling down it in case he was needed for comfort, for calming down. But the morning came, and it seemed as if there was no dream to worry about. That felt like a very good omen for the day ahead. They had the morning routine down perfectly. The triplets were at the age where they could hold their own bottles, but obviously they were still watched, supervised, cuddled while they did so. Then there was the diaper feeding and getting them into their little outfits for the day. The squirmies were really kicking up though. Little legs kicking when they felt the fabric, like they wanted to be free. “That’s the swamps in em,” Thomas would say when Stark made it difficult to put his little pants on. Just for Flotsam, Thomas would dress in light clothing, doing his best to emulate a sort of Ewan McGregor vibe, grooming his gingery beard in the same style.

Course Clopin didn’t approve of Piper being used for anything, not by the government especially, and not to do stupid little favors. But this? This didn’t count as a stupid little favor. When he’d hear about it later, he’d order a JarJar Binks costume, just so that he could be huffy and say ‘How wuude’ that they didn’t invite him. Also, as long as Piper was happy to do it, there was no problem-o. Thomas didn’t ask for anything, because he didn’t really have anything. Star Wars wasn’t his jam, and he was always much more amused watching Flotsam and the twins and Scout get into their lightsaber battles than joining in. Still, he’d have fun trying to be like Obi-Wan for the day.

Kids packed - because honestly that felt like it took longer than any diaper bag - and they were ready to go down to the docks where they would take a boat up to the island. And a B-E-A-UTIFUL day, as Thomas would do in the Bruce Almighty voice, doin a very dad thing of standing outside of the cottage door once they were all out, do a stretch, hands on his hips, and look up at the sky. Looking blue and clear -a rare one for these parts of the world. But just all the more fucking perfect. Another good omen. Nothing bad was going to happen today. Then he picked up the two car seats that were on either side and carried them to the car, smelling the air. Even that, somehow, was green. It just had that earthy smell around it that reminded him of their own Lothlorien. It was a comfort to know that no matter which continent they were on, there was always going to be a place with that smell. He chuckled over at Flotsam and fastened the babes into the backseat. “It’s the deep breath before the plunge,” He quoted Lord of the Rings, of course, as he got into the drivers seat. He didn’t have the wealth of Star Wars quotes that Flotsam had, so he decided to be a little shit and use one from his own franchise. Though he was trying to get in the Star Wars Spirit. As soon as he started up the car, he loaded up the Imperial March on his phone so it played through the speakers as they drove away from the cottage.

Down to the docks, which were busy today, given how nice a day it was. People wanting to go out on boar tours, or just to have a nice day of it, going out on fishing. They weren’t taking a big boat out there, it was just a small ferry, fifteen people. And their little family took up five spaces on their own, though with the stroller, it gave them quite a bit of sitting room. Normally babies or small children weren’t allowed but Thomas handed over a bit of extra cash for them to look the other way about some very well behaved babies that they’d be carrying.

“I did a bit of light reading last night,” Thomas said, once they were situated on the ferry, under the open air, heading towards the strange shaped islands. “It’s 670 steps up to the old monastaries, near where they filmed. So if it comes down to it, I’ll carry you on my shoulders and you can hold the triplets,” He said to Flotsam with a teasing grin.

Flotsam would already sit around the cottage rental by the ocean imagining it different even though it wasn't theirs just because it was so not him, his mind always in artist mode and seeing the potential in angles, space, shapes, and areas with his own ideas. He couldn't help himself. His brain was always creating.

The way Thomas saw his mind wasn't entirely wrong. It was always chugging away full steam ahead on a track that never ends in one way or another. Having Thomas know his every dream was strangest form of intimacy considering they were sort of thing a person usually didn't have to tell another soul if they want to. Considering the Laveau eyes it was one of the few places beside their own thoughts a person had true privacy. So, sharing them all freely made him feel completely ripped or bore open for the other whether it was silly dreams or not because those personal ones like that came, and he was always truthful. It was also strange to get affection for it as an adult as if they needed consoling over their nightmares. They were annoyances harbored in the soul, just a dream he usually bottled up like everything else. That's how Flotsam had always treated them. He wasn't scared of them or too worked up. That was more of what was often behind the quiet brood. He figured somehow psychologically even involuntarily it was one more way he punished himself otherwise his mind would let it all go. Therefore, he must deserve it. It would stop when he paid his debt. However, once he started getting that extra affection he liked it. Thomas always knew just to do even if Flotsam didn't know he needed it.

Flotsam was truly excited from the moment something Star Wars was mentioned. It might not have been Middle Earth, but it was pretty damn cool. It was one more reason why he liked the mando staffs, they reminded more of wizard staffs. Flo was all about kung fu fighting with a Gandalf staff in his hands. High-yah. He was pretty sure someone would say he desecrated the tool by putting a parasol on one end, but he's a rebel like that. Not that it was easily seen wrapped in black leather to appear like a long handled hand grip section to keep it closed in place while down.

Thomas was looking hot as fuck as in his Obi-like attire. Flotsam was totally weak for it, beard and all. Even if Star Wars wasn't his favorite jam Flo sure hoped he was still going to have fun. Flotsam kinda wanted him stoked him too or why bother? Brain spiral. He wanted to do something they'd both enjoy and thought they were. Kind of why Flo was so stoked.

"What's that saying? Can take a kid out the swamp, but can't take the swamp out of the kid? Something like that." Flo laughed. "Atta boy." He kept praising Stark like it was a good thing.

Flo would smirk back as Thomas quoted back, always quoting. Flo would hardly give him demerits for Gandalf quoting. Flo has a habit of mix and matching his fan bases. One of Flo's favorite things to do is make up his own lines while watching the movies. For example: whenever the guy from Kim Convienience shows up as a fighter pilot Flo will shout out something in that guy's accent from the other show, "This star destroya is only-a for da gay." - Which is a mix of a line from a funny episode where his character was upset about pride day and was trying to give discounts only to gay people in his store. Everything was 'only for da gay.' Flo consistently mocks everything about Star Wars all while watching it in comparison to how he watches Lotr in complete reverence every single time.

Flotsam grew a sinister Grinch smile when he heard that Vader March hit his ears. "Oh yeah." He flipped the hood of his cloak up feeling the vibe.

Flo was getting used to money being handed under tables to get what they wanted instead of threats. Oh how life had changed. What a world. It had gotten to a point of it hardly being a thought anymore. What was a thought was seeing they were going to get on a boat again. Just that alone kept Flo happy. "I'm starting to feel like I have my own personal matelot, Mr. Laveau... and it's sexy." Though Flo had to laugh a little. "I sort of feel like I'm on The SS Minnow right now and we're about to get lost at sea like on Gilligan's Island. If we do get stranded with this group of people, for the record, we're the sexy ones.... and l'm like Ginger, only the rock star instead movie star and everyone's disappointed because I'm taken."

Then Thomas started teasing him about how many steps had to be climbed. "Oh, you think I can't make it huh? Challenge accepted."

He kept trying to seem all Jedi serious as he trekked, but somehow he kept slipping more into one liner goofball side of Star Wars and kept grinning and laughing instead. He was focused on the physicality of it but he was no Scout. Lanky and strong sure, but age and illness had deteriorated the guy just a wee bit. He was winded sooner than he might have been in his glory days. It was going to be a refuses to give up on it walk. He'd have to slow down and take his time, really pace himself.

Honestly, it was only when he slowed down he got to take it all in. He looked out and sat on the steps a moment to really take the place in.

The monasteries weren't really the biggest part of the hype to Flo. It was more about the scenes when Luke Skywalker was in hiding with so much turmoil in his heart. That was relatable. Running away. Isolating in a beautiful land that meant something meaningful to him to keep peace in the universe elsewhere. Flotsam liked this place the more he thought about it. It was Skywalker's sanctuary very much like his own little Lothlorien in New Zealand. The very thought made him breathe the air in deeper. He felt a kindred way with it's nature in these thoughts connecting with it through the storytelling. It started to put a very peaceful look on his face.

"What do you think we'll see when we get to the top?" He asked honestly unsure considering he hadn't looked through any tourist information. "Can you see the northern lights from here too? I read you can see them at a place called Malin Head here which I had on my list. It had old country scenery like this around it. I just thought it'd be cool to see the lights together, but even cooler from the Jedi Temple." And yes, of course he would continue to call them Jedi temples even if they were monasteries of a different sort.

[queenraikichi94]

A song to heal a tired soul 3 (Raikichi x Piers)

Rated: Teen and mature

Warnings: Bad language, I guess?

Note: Raikichi is around 25 years old

This one will have different points of view, starting with Raikichi first

-------------------Part 3----------------------

“I hope you will not feel bad in the Gym” uncle Kabu said “My Gym Trainers are excited of meeting you”

“Don’t worry uncle, I’ll be fine” I said

Today, my uncle asked me to go with him to his Gym in order to see how the Gyms worked in Galar, and of course, I said yes. I brought with me some of the Fire type Pokemon I had since my uncle was the Fire type leader. Of course, Glaceon was with me. She didn’t want to stay home and I was happy of ahving her around me. I felt the gazes of some people that stared at my clothes, but I didn’t care. My clothes set was formed by a black and blue croc top, black and blue pants with one long leg, leaving the other bare, and black and blue shoes. Of course, the jacket had the same colors, and the glove that my uncle gave me as well. 

Once we arrived, we went to greet the trainers that were there, and of course, I ended surrounded by them, asking me to give them autographs. At first, I started to feel a bit overwhelmed, but they were so excited to see me on a battle that I couldn’t help but smile. Glaceon, of course, put the limits to avoid them to invade my personal space.

“Alright, on your marks” uncle Kabu ordered “We’ll show Raikichi how Gyms work here and maybe you could have the chance of battling againts her”

The trainers looked at me and with a sigh, I nodded and I smile “Yeah,l I suppouse I can offer an exhibiton match”

“Then, let’s start!” 

My uncle showed me how Gyms worked, and this one was interesting; capturing Pokemon but also compiting with the other trainers. Once the challengers got the enough points, they could go and challenge my uncle. The place were the Pokemon catching took place was full of different Fire type pokemon that looked pretty interested in my Glaceon, who hissed to them when they approached her too much. Then, my uncle took me to the part of the stadium where the challengers fought him, and I found myself with my mouth open.

“Whoa...This is...”

“So...What do you think?”

“I really like how Gyms work here” I said “And you said that most of the challengers give up with you cause they can’t defeat you?”

“Yeah, and I’m proud of it” my uncle said “That means that I really offer a good challenge”

We kept talking until Glaceon heard something that made her ran to the place where the other Pokemon of the Gym were hiding. My uncle and me followed her, curious and worried about what was happening. We spotted Glaceon sniffing one of the grass patches, and then, she stepped back, letting a Pokemon to exit from its hidden place.

“I see that your Glaceon has found Raboot” my uncle said with a sad sigh

“Raboot?” I said and then, I checked the information on the Rotom Phone “I see...It’s Scorbunny first evolution, right?”

“Yes” he said

“And what is a Raboot doing here?”

“He belonged to a trainer that released him and broke the pokeball” Chaka said “His trainer did that cause they were very upset with the poor Pokemon when he evolved from Scorbunny to Raboot”

“By the love of all the living things...Poor buddy...” I said as I approached the Raboot

“Be careful, Raikichi” Darren said “Maybe Raboot didn’t attack another Pokemon, but he attacks the people who try to approach him

“Let me do this. I know how to handle it” I said, kneeling down and offering my hand to the Raboot to allow him to smell it “C’mon buddy, I’m not going to hurt you...” I moved a bit more. 

That was a mistake, cause the Raboot, seeing me as a threat, attacked me with a Flamethrower. I shielded myself with my arms. Bad luck that I didn’t have my jacket with me. I didn’t care now about the wound; the Raboot was really scared and he attacked me cause he was scared. “Hey...don’t worry buddy...” I said as I finally reached him and I gave him soft pets on his head. The Raboot got paralized of my touch before looking at me, and when he realized what happened, he ran away, hidden in the tall grass. 

“Raikichi!” my uncle said as he approached me, kneeling next to me “Let me see that wound...”

“It’s not serious, uncle”

“We should get ride of that Raboot, he’s a danger...” Elle said with sadness

“He isn’t a danger by free will” I said “He’s really scared of humans; and I’m sure that is caused by the trauma he got when his former trainer left him”

“In what are you thinking, Raikichi?” uncle Kabu said as he treated the burn of my right arm

“First of all, I’ll make some food specially for a Fire type Pokemon like Raboot, and then, I’ll try to gain his trust. I’m not going to battle him; that would be worst”

“That’s a good idea, but not for today” he said as he finished putting the bandages around the burn. “Do you want to go home and rest?”

“Uncle, I was in worst situations than this” I said and then, I shook my head when I saw my uncle’s face expression “Sorry for saying that in that tone, but it’s the truth” I said as I got up “Poor Raboot, he’s really scared of humans...Is going to be difficult, but I’ll be success with him”

After that, we made sure that any other Pokemon got hurted when the Raboot attacked, and then, I offered an exhibition match to one of the trainers. Elle’s Salandit didn’t have a chance againts my Delphox. After the match, my uncle and me decided to go shopping. I was searching some specific berries in order to make tasty Poffins. After buying the berries, we went back home and I started to make the Poffins, determinated to help that Raboot.

----

The next day I woke up early and I ran to knock my uncle’s door, chuckling when I heard him groaning “C’mon, uncle! Time to wake up” I said and then, he opened the door, wearing a sleeping coat with flame pattern “Raikichi, do you know what time is it?”

“Yes, I know, and that’s why I woke you up” I said “If I want to get that Raboot, I need to do some preparations, and we need to be in the Gym as soon as possible”

He groaned again as he rubbed his eyes, going to the kitchen. Together, we had breakfast, and after getting ready, we went to the Gym. My uncle was still groaning and complaining cause I woke him up too early, but when he saw my determination, he smiled a bit. We arrived at the Gym and after gatherin the trainers, I quickly gave the orders. I told them to leave the patch of tall grass where Raboot was hiding free for other Pokemon. Once they finished, I put a plate with the Puffins and I sat down, my legs crossed, and waited. Glaceon sat down as well, twiching her ears when she heard something. Up, in the Gym terraces, my uncle and the Gym trainers were watching worried but curious.

Near an hour later, Raboot appeared and slowly walked to the plate until he spotted me and stopped. I smiled him gently, without doing any moves; Glaceon would do that part. She stood up and after picking a Puffin, she put it on his little paws before returning to her spot. Raboot smelled the Poffin and he quickly ate it before looking at me. “Don’t worry, these are for you” I said, smiling 

Raboot then kept eating the Puffins, enjoying them. Once he was satisfied, he approached me slowly and smelled my hand again before rubbing his head against him. “See? I’m not going to hurt you, buddy...I know it’s difficult for you to trust humans again, but I can help you with that” I showed him a Pokeball. Raboot looked at me again before looking to the Pokeball and then, he touched the Pokeball, getting inside it.

One.

Two.

Three.

And the Pokeball stopped moving. I smiled and I took the Pokeball before letting Raboot exite and then, I smiled again when Raboot went to play with Glaceon. Then I heard claps and cheerings; my uncle and the trainers were very happy about the Raboot having a second chance to have a happy life. I smiled and I stroked the Pokemon, happy for helping this little one to gain trust in humans again.

-----

Near a month passed since I arrived to Galar. My relationship with the Gym Leaders got stronger, specially with Piers. Raihan was still teasing me with my height, and only when Glaceon threated him with freeze him, he stopped. 

That day I was helping my uncle with the Gym until I decided to go home in order to get more Pokemon- I went with Glaceon and with Charizard that day. I was in the middle of my way back home when I got ambush by a lot of journalist. Glaceon glared at them, trying to make them back off, but they insisted and then, they invaded my personal space, some of them grabbing my jacket or my arm in order to avoid me to go. Charizard got out of her pokeball and after taking me and Glaceon and put us on her back, she flew again. I was in shock, scared...I buried my face on Charizard’s neck, crying, until something hit us, making us fell. Charizard was wounded, but she quickly grabbed me as everything turned black.

----KABU’S POV----

“Are you sure she was going to come back?” the chairman asked “I have more important things to do, Kabu”

“I’m sure she will come, Chairman” I said, keeping myself calm. 

“Kabu!” Elle called me as she approached us running “We have bad news!”

“What’s it, Elle?”

“Is Raikichi, sir” she said “She’s missing”

My niece, missing?! “What?! Are you serious?! What happened?!”

“She was ambushed by the press, and they forced her to left the place” Chaka added “We saw them persecuting her until they lost her...And we think she was going to the Wild Area”

Damn. I knew Raikichi was brave and she could handle things by herself, but she didn’t know anything about the Wild Area, and now, who knows what dangers she could have been confronting right know. “Chairman Rose, I think we should postpone the meeting for another day. First I need to find my niece”

He nodded and then, I called the other Gym Leader to ask them for help before taking a Flying Taxi and going to the meeting point.

----RAIKICHI’S POV----

I groaned as I opened my eyes. I tried to recognize where we were, but everything looked like it was trembling. I sat down with effort, feeling a high pain on my left leg. I swallowed when I saw multiple wounds on my leg, bleeding. With a sigh, I removed my jacket and I wrapped it around the leg to stop the bleeding before checking on Charizard. She was wounded as well, but she managed to save me, and then, I realized something.

“Glaceon? Where are you, girl?”

But I heard a roar that put Charizard in alert: it was a really, REALLY, big Haxorus. Uncle Kabu told me about Dynamax Pokemon, but I didn’t expect being attacked by one. The Haxorus was approaching us; it wasn’t paying attention to us, but if we didn’t move...Charizard took me and with a big effort, she took me to a hidden place, in order to wait for someone’s help.

----

The night arrived, and I started shivering. Charizard tried her best to keep me warm, but she was getting weaker, and her wounds were getting worst. I stroked her head, closing my eyes as I stroke her. Then, I heard a voice outside the small cave. I tried to get up, but my wounded leg didn’t allow me, so I ended fall on the ground.

“Raikichi?”

“Piers?” I asked as he helped me to sit down “What are you doing here?”

“Your uncle called me and the other Gym leaders when you went missing, and Obstagoon has a good smelling sense, That’s how I could find you”

“Thank you...I got my leg wounded” I said shivering again and then, he removed his jacket and gave it to me “What about you?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll need it more than me” he said and after I put the jacket on me, he helped me to get on my feet “Hold on me”

I nodded and after returning my Charizard back to her pokeball, we went to the neares station of Flying Taxi, avoiding the wild Pokemon, and the Dynamax Haxorus that attacked me.

“I’m sorry of what happened to you” Piers said “Press and fans can be really annoying”

“They grabbed my jacket and my arm when they saw that I was trying to escape”

“Really?”

“Yeah...I think I’ll have a bruise on my arm” I said, trying to keep myself awake

“I’m sure your uncle will make them pay” he said “And if they dare to do it again, I’ll make sure they will know what happens with people like them”

“You have to deal with them, haven’t you?” I asked as he helped me enter in the taxi 

“Yeah, with many” Piers answered entering and closing the door after telling the Corviknight’s owner the place were we want to go “Do the wounds hurt?”

“A bit, but don’t worry” I said with a yawn “I’m worried about Glaceon...She wasn’t with me when I woke up”

“I’m sure the others had found her” he said with a smile, making me smile as well

After some minutes flying, the Corviknight landed and Piers helped me to exit. Then, I heard my uncle calling me and running to me, hugging me tightly “Uncle, I need...breath...”

“I was very worried, kiddo” he said, tears on his eyes before looking to Piers “Thank you so much, Piers”

“Don’t worry, I told ya I would help and that’s what I did”

I was going to say something when the roars of my Glaceon called my attention. Raihan was grabbing her, trying to heal her wounds, but she managed to get free after biting his hand. Then, she saw me and quickly ran to meet me “Hello girl, I see you’re fine” I said stroking her before letting her to rub her head on Pier’s leg “She’s saying ‘thank you’”

“Thank me?”

I nodded and smiled, making him blush a bit. After thanking the others for they effort, uncle Kabu helped me to get inside the Flying Taxi. Piers offered to help, so both of them entered too and we went back to Mototoske, with Glaceon curled on my legs.

---

We arrived at home, Piers and my uncle Kabu holding me in order to avoid me to fall. Piers helped me to sit down in the couch while my uncle went to find the first aid kit. With a hiss, I removed my jacket, sighing when I saw it with blood stains.

“Now I know what is facing a Dynamax Pokemon” I said 

“You were to confront one?” he asked, worried

“No, we were flying when a Dynamax Haxorus attacked us”

“I should have worn you better about them” uncle Kabu said kneeling down in order to treat my wounds

After treating my wounds and putting bandages on it, I took off Piers’ jacket and I gave it to him. Our fingers touched and both of us blushed a bit. “T-thanks...” I murmured as I laid down on the coach 

“Your welcome...I should go back to Spikemouth. I’m sure Marnie will be terrible worried” Piers said putting his jacket on again 

“I’ll message you once I start to feel better” I said, yawning again

“Don’t worry, ‘kay? Now rest” he said and after saying goodbye to me and to my uncle, he left the house.

Dinner arrived, and despite not having too much hunger, my uncle told me to eat all the food. Glaceon ate her food and once she was done, Ninetales licked her face before cuddling next to her. I smiled and as we watched TV after dinner, I closed my eyes and I ended falling asleep.

[clairen45]

What do you think of the porgs and their meaning for IX? I saw the cover of star wars insider 2019 special edition with Rey on it and a Porg at the corner. At first I thought this whole Porg stuff is all just for fun but then I read Leia - princess of Alderran and there is a passage (19, I believe) where Holdo speaks about breeding and to resolve a problem between parents and child . . . What do you think could this all mean?

Dear anon, this answer was a long time coming. Thank you so much for bringing up Porgs again, because, you got it all right! Porgs matter! They matter so much, not just like your Ewok novelty. People thinking they were just an excuse to sell cheap toys are utterly confused and missed the whole point.

The reason why Porgs were created in TLJ, after all, probably stems from a very practical reason. Skellig Michael Island, in Ireland, where the scenes for Ahch-To were shot both for the end of TFA and for TLJ, is a famous puffin sanctuary. It is also a place with a heavy spiritual past, which also, besides its gorgeous scenery, might have been why they chose it. But they still had to make do with the massive population of puffins. At the end of TFA we are vaguely aware of birds coming and going. But the little time spent on Ahch-To on TFA meant that we didn’t get enough scenes there to really pay attention on what these birds were. No CGI. No particular intent there. For TLJ they knew they were going to spend more time on the island. Get more shots. And so more probable that the birds would get more obtrusive within the action. So, what to do? This is what Jake Lunt Davies, the creature concept designer of the Porgs had to say:

Rian [Johnson – the director] had gone to shoot this sequence on Skellig Michael, which is the real island location that stands in for Ahch-To, and that island is covered in puffins. It’s a wildlife preserve and everywhere you look there are hundreds of birds dotted around the landscape.

From what I gathered, Rian, in a positive spin on this, was looking at how can he work with this. You can’t remove them. You physically can’t get rid of them. And digitally removing them is an issue and a lot of work, so let’s just roll with it, play with it. And so I think he thought, “Well, that’s great, let’s have our own indigenous species.”… The puffins were sort of a big influence on everything, really.

RJ put a spin on theme… He knew he was going to make them part of the whole thing. I personally don’t think this was a machiavellian scam to jam down obniouxly cute creatures down out throats. I don’t. I think that right off the bat RJ decided that he was going to use the porgs as a specific vehicle for a very important message… breeding… the power of love and love creating new life… mating and babies…. And lo, how he hammered that point throughout the movie: in Luke’s first lesson to Rey about the nature of the Force, with mama porg protecting her eggs. And with the porgs nesting on the MF.

Now, I did a specific giant meta about birds and mating throughout SW: Bird is the Word- Avian Metaphor and Mating in Star Wars. This is an excerpt from my meta that might sum up what the “bird experience” means to me:

TLJ was meant as Sex Ed class for Rey and Kylo. I should not have to develop the many many sexual symbols on Ahch-To, the caves, wetness, and the glorious nakedness of Kylo, or the smut hut. Remember, I am talking about birds. And what do the birds mean? Birds represent life, mating, nesting. And of course they are much more appealing symbols of reproduction than bunnies, let’s say, because birds are ascensional symbols. They do represent the pressures of biology and reproduction, but their graceful flight gives spiritual value to the deed. Birds are the link between the earth and the sky, the body and the soul, mortals and immortals, humans and gods. Think about Leda and the Swan, or Aphrodite’s dove, and all these cutesy birdies that usually flutter around our favorite Disney princesses, especially when they sing about love or falling in love. Think about Bambi and the spectacle of love-crazed birds. Twitterpatted alright!

Go check out the meta really because it is astounding how much the bird motif is “pregnant” (lol) in the movies and in the ST in particular. The EU brought even more substance with that cute parallel between this Forces of Destiny episode on porgs (Porgs problems) and the Lion King… Further read on this one in this post: More on Porgs …

That:being said, once the tale was told, of course Disney and LF jumped on the bandwagon of selling porgs as the cute novelty toy! Of course they would. It is only fair. But I don’t think for one minute that they were imagined and designed that way. PORGS ARE MEANINGFUL!!!!!

Now, dear anon, you bring up something from Leia Princess of Alderaan which is indeed super important. It does come from chapter 19, p.243 for the hardcover edition. Leia is then falling for her first love, Kier. And as the princess struggles between her feelings and her moral duty, and wonders whether she is entitled to happiness in such dire times,  this is what Amilyn Holdo tells her:

If the young of the species don’t have motivations to leave the care of their parents, they’ll never lead an independent existence, which means they’ll never reproduce. The species would soon die out. Ergo, the last stage of life before adulthood always involve conflict between parents and offspring.

There are many key points for the ST there. “Motivations” is a word that should ring a bell… What are Kylo’s motivations, for one? But also remember that scene in TFA when Rey is trying to fix the “motivator” on the MF, a scene that comes right afterward Kylo’s asking about “What girl?”

And remember how the scene is cut in a way that the characters almost seem to reach out to each other, like a first try at teh Force bond device we get so beautifully done in TLJ.

You also have the paramount importance of leaving the parents to gain independence. That is Rey at the beginning of TFA. She is unable to let go of her parents. She is thus maintained in perpetual childhood and childishness, which are emphasized at the beginning of the movie by the concept for her hair (same style as the one she had as a child), the toys in her At-AT, theme music, and facial expressions when on her own (eating or playing with the helmet).

And then tyou have conflict with the parents. And that’s obviously Kylo.

So, yep, this is all about breeding and need to reproduce. BTW, on Kylo’s Spotify playlist, THIS: Breed by Nirvana. Coincidence? Of course not.

Further in Claudia Gray’s book, on p.245, to be more specific, Holdo adds:

Happiness is our moral imperative. (…)

Great evil can only be fought by the strong. People need spiritual fuel as much as they need food, water, and air. Happiness, love, joy, hope -these are the emotions that give us the strength to do what we need to do.

Interesting cluster of words. Holdo is all about vital force, the reproductive and restorative spark. Just like her famous quote in TLJ: “We are the spark, that’ll light the fire, that will restore the Republic.“  Restorative, reproductive, constructive. Just like Rose’s quote about saving what you love. Which is, very significantly, twisted and misinterpreted by Poe (and rage-fueled fanboys): “We are the spark, that will light the fire that’ll burn the First Order down”, which is destructive.

Also, it is in this book that we find a quote that was -revealingly- removed from TLJ : “the most dangerous substance known to exist (IS…) a pair of pretty dark eyes”. This Jane Austen quote was uttered in TLJ by none other than Luke Skywalker yours truly to Rey after her hand scene with Kylo:

“You opened yourself to Dark Side for a pair of pretty eyes!“

So, in the end what? You can guess where this is all going. Your intuition was correct. Of course it means that there will be a resolution of conflict between Kylo and his parents (even symbolically, because, yes, I know that Han is dead!!!). And of course there will be babies or the suggestion of babies (pregnant belly?) or some lovemaking (or suggestion of love making) at some point or as the endgame. There is no other way to read or interpret all the ST material and the EU canon material. After all this book you very kindly brought to attention yet again is aptly headed “JOURNEY TO STAR WARS THE LAST JEDI”. It is a companion book. It is meant that way. It has to reflect what the main themes are from the movie….

Hope that covered your question. Thanks again for reaching out!

[pinkykitten]

The Shoulder Touch

Peaky Blinders

Isaiah Jesus x female! reader

Warning: none 

Specifics: romance, comedy, fluff, one-shot, race neutral reader, based on a movie, gifs

People: isaiah jesus, tommy shelby, arthur shelby, michael shelby, john shelby, finn shelby, bar woman (oc)

Words: 2,399

Summary: isaiah jesus meeting you for the first time since you moved to small heath, he does the hey from spider man into the spider verse.

Authors Note: hey...so this is not an au its just like based, gave me inspiration for this fic. this is my first peaky fic so im sorry if i get some things wrong or somethings just sound stupid ur girl far from perfect. isaiah is actually one of my fav characters and miles i love him with all my heart and soul. if u havent watched spider man into the spider verse pls do urself a favor and do that rn. if you want to be tagged or request anything peaky blinders pls do loves. also this was not requested. 

(not my gif! do not own!) 

You were from London. Your whole life was rooted there, family, friends, every thing you’ve ever known. When you became of age to make decisions for yourself you moved to Small Heath. Every one you knew thought of you as crazy, insane to make a move to number one some where you didn’t quite know and number two  (hEhheEHEehEHe im immature) some where unfortunately was more poor than you were accustomed to. You wanted to move there to find your independence. You wanted to find a simple job and live a simple life with just you yourself. All your life you were shielded away from almost everything, just once you wanted to see what the world had to offer. 

But who knew it would be this hard!

“I did not realize it was going to be this bad looking.” You complained to well a goat. You were currently making your way on a boat to Birmingham. Seated with yes some passengers and also some animals you could see the shore nearby. “Well its now or never thats what I always say. Thank you for keeping me company friend.” You stood up and patted your skirt. Anticipation easing within you as you glance at the unknown. 

You got off the boat and set to your new life. Yes there were some characteristics different from London but you learned to look past them. You peered down at the letter your boss had sent you. You were to start work the next day. You were a journalist, writing was your passion and seeing as this area was not so big as London than maybe you could gain popularity here. 

“Its a good dream to have y/n,” you said to yourself as you headed to your apartment. 

The whole day was about putting your little items you had and sticking them into your small apartment. Then since you needed food to you know live you set on going to the market not far from your living space. The day was set then with buying new outfits for your job. You did want to look spiffy! (girl thats me i wanna be spiffy naw no sticky cuz im thicccc like skippy) 

Towards the end of the day you already had your dinner and decided since it was your first night here to have some fun. You made you way to a pub nearby called The Garrison. As you made your way inside you saw the majority of the people in there were...bad. You were not used to seeing these types of people. Deciding to just try to enjoy your time here you make you way to the bar. 

You scanned around as you sat on a stool. Every one was mingling and you were the only odd ball. You crossed your legs all primp and proper and awaited service. A unknown woman came beside you to order her drink, “whiskey.” You admired how she looked, you could tell she knew her stuff. She seemed from around here. Her dress showed cleavage and as you peered down at your dress you thought that for this setting you needed to be a bit more out there. You examined her outfit and then yours and compared to hers yours looked like a little girls dress. You tried not to make it so obvious that you were copying her. You opened up a few buttons and awaited for her to leave to order. Your accent seemed even different from every one else’s. “Yes can I please have a whiskey as well.” You were clueless! You had never drank in your life so this was new, you just imitated what the other woman did. As you got your drink you took one tiny sip and almost spit it all out. The taste was very strong, you tried not to choke so as not to make a show. As you just endured the time there you could feel eyes behind your back. 

You secretly wanted to see so you tried to look back quickly but you were too quick about it, you didn’t even get a glimpse. You could see from the corner of your eye them still staring. “What in god’s name?” You cursed under your breath as you stumbled off the stool, not knowing it was that high from the ground. Proudly got your drink and strutted to the group of men looking at you. 

“Is something the matter men? I have seen you all staring at me for the past hour now, care to explain?” You sassed to the group of (delicious sexy men called the peaking puffin blinders DUHHHH) men that wore nice suits. There were a couple of them, some of them wearing the flat caps. There was a man with a neat hairstyle and a mustache, another man with his cap crooked eyeing you up and down like you were the prey. Another man with the lightest blue eyes you had ever seen, a young one with broccoli looking hairstyle (im srry finn’s hair looks so stupid!), another young one that was handsome, and another young one but he looked the most different from every one. He was dark skinned, he caught your eye. All the men looked at you sexually but all you could see was the young dark man staring into your eyes. You took a gulp feeling the bashfulness creep up on you.

“Sorry you just seem you’re not from around here,” spoke the man with ice like eyes. 

“Well, you are right about that. I am not. I’m from London...actually.” You tried to sound ferocious but that just made them like you more. 

“Really, London? We just were looking at you because well love you look so alone and a beautiful girl should never be alone. Names John.” He stood up and gave you a hand shake. They all introduced themselves except the one man you actually wanted to get to know. 

“My name is y/n. Hey you, you didn’t say your name. Whats your name?” You smiled at him. You could tell that he was getting nervous and a bit bashful as well. He gulped and Michael had to nudge him to get him out of his trance with you. “Right well um, my names Isaiah.”

“Oooh Isaiah, what a beautiful name.” Isaiah thought his name sounded way more beautiful when you said it. 

They all could feel the tension and the atmosphere of you two. Arthur coughed in order to break the awkwardness. 

“May I sit?” You found the courage to ask as you stood there holding your drink. John and Arthur were about to go against you but Tommy and Isaiah both in unison stood up for you and said yes. “Why thank you.”

“So y/n, what do you do?” The raspy voice of Tommy came out. 

“I’m a journalist. I love writing about the news and really I do enjoy just writing. It is my passion.” You took a sip of your drink and almost made a face of disgust. (omg i think i made that face now lol i just put in a jolly rancher but the apple one) “Wow this is strong indeed. How can you all drink that?” You cough into your hand and Arthur and John pat your back to steady yourself. 

“You’re drinking the wrong thing love,” Tommy says as he hands you a glass of what their drinking. 

“Right.” You brace yourself and take a huge gulp of the drink. You start coughing again and you can see that Isaiah is worried about you. 

“Too strong for ya,” John laughs with the others. 

“Nope, its truly delicious.” You hide yourself under the table for a second and try not to barf, “that was truly disgusting.” You whisper only to yourself. 

Isaiah appears, his head under the table, “you good love?”

“Am I good, well that drink was surely not but I think I can manage. Thanks.” As you lift your head up you’re greeted with his face close to yours. “Oh hello there, Isaiah.”

Michael then went under, “um what are you all doing down here? Are we having a party?” You chuckled and got back up from under the table. 

After having time to talk to the men and having a good chat you stand up and stretch, “well I think this is where I should part, it was lovely meeting you men and thank you for the drink.” You put money on the table but Isaiah puts his hand out to stop you, “no need. It was on us.”

You grinned at Isaiah and made you way to the exit but as you walked outside you heard the pounding of foot steps behind you. “Wait y/n!”

You turn around to bump into Isaiah, “whoops, yes?”

Isaiah was out of breath but he stood up straight and looked around shyly. “I was wondering, would you like to meet me here tomorrow? Just me and you, no one else?” 

“Just you and me?” You pretended to give it some thought, “of course.” 

Isaiah gave you a lovesick grin but then shook it off and pretended to be this tough guy, “alright, see you then.” 

You walked out of plain sight and Michael came out, “look at you, you really like her a lot don’t you?”

Finn stepped out to greet Isaiah, “look at him. He’s already in love.” They both made fun of him and Isaiah shook his head, “you bastar*s.”

Isaiah’s P.O.V.

The date was tomorrow and Isaiah felt clueless about what to do with you. He was nervous. 

“I don’t know there’s just something about this girl Michael. She’s different and I really like her.” Isaiah explained to him while him and Michael and Finn sat in the Shelby Parlour. 

“I’ve never seen you this nervous for anything,” Finn raised his brow. 

“Look I know you’re shy, I sometimes get like that with me girls but you need to only know one thing in this life,” Michael instructed him, placing his hand on Isaiah’s shoulder. 

“I’m all ears.”

Michael chuckled, “do you know about the shoulder touch?”

“What? I mean of course I do, but um explain it to me again. I must of forgotten.”

“Right. When you see y/n tomorrow you waltz to her and with a dashing smile you put your hand on her shoulder and give her a sexual face saying, hey.” Michael did that to Isaiah and it took everything of Isaiah to not laugh at his friends face.

“Are you sure about this?”

“My friend its biology. Every girl, including y/n you do that to will fall at your feet.”

“So like this, I just go to y/n and say...hey.”

Michael shook his head, “no its like this...hey.” His voice became deeper. 

“Heyyy,” Isaiah’s turned his voice deeper imitating Michael. 

“No, hey,” Michael did it again, smooth. 

“He-ey,” Isaiah’s voice cracked as he tried to be as charming as Michael. 

(not my gif! do not own!)

“You’re ridiculous mate,” they all have a good laugh about it. “But you can do this, even though you’re a little rusty in some areas we believe in you.”

Finn gave Isaiah a freckled smile and nodded.

“Then I’m ready.”

End of Isaiah P.O.V.

As you entered the pub your eyes searched for the handsome face of Isaiah. You subconsciously pull your dress down and swash away any imaginary lint. Biting your lips in nervousness you spot Isaiah. Feeling all giddy you motion to him with a skip to your step, your giggle like music to his ears. You wave to him with a, “hello there.”

Isaiah sees you and with a shy grin he hands you some flowers, “these are for you.”

As you grab the bouquet your hand lightly touches Isaiah’s hand. He coughs awkwardly and you gasp in awe at the beauty he has given you, “my word Isaiah these are extremely beautiful.”

“Yeah, I got them because they remind me of you.”

You knit your brows and give a oblivious look, “oh, in what way?”

Isaiah gulped, “they are beautiful just like you.”

You laughed at his cheesy pick up lines, “Isaiah you flatter me too much, but I should say the same about you.” You come in contact with him and get as close as possible. “You handsome man.” With a leap of faith (YASSSS SPIDEY REFERENCE FOR DAYS LOSERS ITS ALL JUST A LEAP OF FAITH PEEPS) you placed your delicate hands on his chest, the fabric of his suit and his body making your cold hands warm. 

Isaiah was having a nervous break down. He was trying to find what to do next with you. “The shoulder touch!!!” He thought as he pushed you back. 

“Umm?” Was all you could mutter when he awkwardly, but you can tell he was trying to be smooth, placed his hand on your shoulder, “hey.” His voice deepened.

You sucked in your lips and tried to understand his motive, “um...hi?”

The breath that Isaiah was holding finally came out and he look defeated, “I’m sorry love. I’m trying to be this tough man but truly I’m not when I’m with you I get nervous and shy like a little school boy. Look what you did to me y/n.”

You made an evil grin and pushed Isaiah on the booth. Cautiously, you sat on his lap, the end of your dress pooling around his thighs. “So I make you nervous?”

Isaiah looked like he was well lets just say bust a nut. His heart was hammering so hard and fast, with a quick nod you got your answer.

You crossed your arms, “you’re so cute! You make me nervous and shy as well Isaiah Jesus (take the wheel) that makes me feel that you actually care.”

Isaiah sat up straighter, holding your waist against him so you wouldn’t fall. He placed your hand on his chest, “you feel that gorgeous? That’s what you make a man that ain’t scared of nothing do.”

“Funny our hearts match, its like they’re dancing.” You gave a quick peck on Isaiah’s cheek and sat beside him, holding his hand. 

Isaiah felt now more at ease with you, rubbing his calloused hand against yours, “you’re something else y/n.”

You laugh, “you too lad!” You placed your hand on his shoulder, “I just wanted to say though...hey,” you deepened your voice.

Tag list: @harrington-lover, @angelgl16, @perfectlybeautifulsuit, @hyehoney, @haven-prelude (wont let me tag), @leasly, @totally-alexa21, @creamy-pasta-boi, @multireese, @fanfictionrecommendations-com, @prentisskelley, @malereaderforkpop (wont let me tag), @guardian-of-cookies, @justafangirl-97, @teenageshitposts (wont let me tag), @andreaoreas, @dippergravity (wont let me tag), @some-booty, @fromfoolishpeopletodeadpeople, @collectiveyou, @wtfisalltherandoms, @fangirl-4-life415

wanna be tagged in my crap? comment!

[livelovelaug-h]

Let me go

Request from anonymous: Hi! I was wondering if you could do a Dean x reader based off the song Let me go by Christian Kane? Every time I here it, it reminds me of him.

A/n: this fits perfectly for Dean. let me know what you think! Hope you like it! Enjoy!

Warnings- none ? Song!fic

~~~~~~~~

"Hey I'm Dean” a cute handsome guy said sitting down in your restaurant.

“Hello. I'm y/n.”

“Pretty name for a beautiful girl.”

“Wow really that's the best you got ?” He looked confused, you just smiled.

“You get that alot?”

“Enough yea, but it's sweet”

“I have more.” he said with his nice deep mesmerizing voice.

“Oh yeah let me hear em.”

“Let me see the back of your shirt i wanna see the tag.”

“Ummm okay.” You turn a little.

“Yup just like I thought made in heaven.” you gave a big smile.

“That was nice.”

“Thank you. Got any pies?”

He never thought you would being here with him in the bunker.

You two were curled up in bed your head was resting on his chest. He was watching you peacefully sleep, watching the fall and rise of your chest. He loved how your skin felt.

Later that morning Sam told him that he found another case so he had to go pack. First joining you in the shower. He loved when your hair was wet; how different it looked. He thought it was funny how you would get mad when he would kiss you when you said you had "morning breath."

"it's fine come here baby."

Hearing the word baby literally made your heart melt and you almost couldn't breath each time.

~

Dean was so sweet He made you a big breakfast, he knew how much you loved your pancakes. But as he thought some things have to come to end.

“Okay so, you stay here me and Sammy are off to Louisiana. I'll call you when we get there and if we need help on research.”

“Okay sounds good.” He looked at you while you looked at the book in your hand. You were so cool with staying behind it surprised him. You should be out doing more though. “When I get back I'm going take you out.” He kissed your lips quickly.

“Really? I can't wait.”

“Me either. Love you see you soon.”

“Love you too be safe! See ya soon.” Dean was a little distracted the whole case.

“What're you thinking about Dean, you seem off. “

“It's nothing.” He mumbles. “Okay so I'll go to the victims house you go to the station.”

“Okay.. do you wanna talk about it ?”

“I'm fine I promise.”

“Whatever.”

~

After they finished the case Dean did indeed take you out but he seemed far away like he wasn't all there but you didn't push anything yet. You guys went for a car ride, Dean pulled over to the side of a small river.

He got out a beer from the cooler and you guys watched the sun go down from behind the Impala. When the sun went down you kissed his cheek and then you went over to his neck.

They were sitting on his tailgate

And she was lovin' on his rough neck

And she was talking 'bout running away

And he was puffin' on a cigarette

Just thinkin' (huh) How am I gonna say goodbye?

"You know, I've been thinking aren't you sad you can't see your nephew anymore?" You stopped kissing his neck.

"kinda but it's like my and my sister get along that well anyways." He nods.

"well what about working at the restaurant you miss that?"

"I mean it was nice but it got old fast. I like helping you and your brother."

"yeah me too. Do you.... Do you ever think about going back?"

"what do you mean? then I would lose you. I don't think about that. I never traveled the world this much, it's amazing."

"yeah but you don't even get out that much."

"I do why don't we plan a small trip this week? How's Texas it's your favorite ?" He pushed off the car and shook his head.

"your not getting the point y/n. This isn't gonna work out. You can't just be tied up in a bunker most of the time..." you were surprised at what he was saying, of course it hurt too.

"i think it's a good time now to just let me go, move in with your life. You don't need me. I'm like ninety Percent crap. This life is terrible, I shouldnt have dragged you into this."

"you didn't drag me i wanted to come Because I feel in love. Your not crap Dean, you know your a good man."

"maybe but this life will rip us apart. I know you act like you don't care and maybe you don't most times but i see how scared you are when I leave."

"of course because it's almost like your going in the war each time but I still stay and love you".

You don't need me baby

Stop holding on the way you are

Don't you know I'm no good for you

And it'll only break your heart

If you don't

Let me go

"you shouldn't you need to let me go y/n." He wasnt looking in your eyes, for the simple reason of not wanting to show that he is weak. You went over to him-

"nice try Dean, You see I don't think you're all that tough, I think you're scared of love and I'm not going anywhere no matter what you say. I won't take up much space. I know you've lost so many people but that's why we're being careful. I dont mind it. Your worth it Dean." You leaned up and kissed him. When you pulled back he was still crying.

"what do you say babe?"

let me go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The end.

Here's the song !

[firstpuffin]

Using language choices to point towards a certain image.

-Note (08th of February)= So I received the feedback for the assessment I wrote this about and I appear to have the First and Second - orders incorrect. The First-order would appear to be a connection between the feature in question and a group; the Second-order is this connection plus assumptions or ideology. I don’t know if I got that wrong in this article which suggests that I still don’t understand it properly.

I wanted my readers to go into this piece being aware that the content is... maybe incorrect.

I’m gonna cheat with this upload, sorry.

  First of all, to get you interested, Indexing is a means of how we construct our self-image and interpret other people’s personas via how they dress, act or speak. It is quite closely connected to stereotyping. Naturally I will be primarily focusing on how people speak, accents and dialects, as that is what I am studying, but you can’t talk about Indexing without focusing on a few areas.

So how am I cheating?

  I’ve got an assessment coming up on something called Indexing and I was hesitant to spend time on a personal, non-professional and non-academic blog when I had this to do. The assessment should really be my priority, especially as I have another assessment that I really don’t want to do, and I have a eulogy to write. So I’m kinda busy and was seriously considering not uploading, but then I realised that I could combine my goals.

  So I’m gonna write this article on Indexing and hope I don’t plagiarise myself. Two birds, one stone (or scone) and all that.

 So where do I start with this? I think an example would help me learn so I’ll do that.

  There is a particular variable common in British English called the “glottal-stop” and that is basically when we don’t say the T sound in words like butter. It becomes something like “buh-er”. It’s often considered to be lazy because it is not “propa’ English” and because we aren’t moving our mouths enough to make the T sound. Try it. Say butter, or better or, ironically, glottal and don’t let your teeth meet. After the initial consonant, keep your mouth open.

  Congratulations, you are speaking British English.

  So what does this variant of the T sound actually say about the speaker? Well practically speaking, it is less likely to occur during careful or formal speech so it is likely that if you hear the glottal-stop then the speaker is being informal. There is no semantic, or dictionary, meaning in a glottal-stop so the meaning is pragmatic (practical). That is “First-order Indexing”.

  Second-order Indexing involves the listener’s interpretation. As I said, this variant is common in British English so you may assume that the speaker is English and that they are lazy for speaking like that, even if they are neither. This is where Indexing crosses over into stereotyping.

  And then there is the “higher-order”, a name which disagrees with me because it doesn’t follow the established order. Shouldn’t it be Third-order? Whatever.

  Higher-order Indexing is also known as “wine talk” which will also work as an example. This higher-order refers to the conscious effort of using technical words and jargon to portray an image. For example, by using the terminology usually reserved for wine tasters a speaker will attempt to be seen as the well-bred, educated sort of person who knows about wine.

  Let me try again; a lot of people across the world know about the BBC accent which is considered the posh, “proper” way of speaking. It was common in the past where BBC presenters would use this accent and you wouldn’t hear a glottal-stop anywhere. By using this BBC accent, the presenters were putting over an image of a proper and well-educated Englishman (or woman, I don’t believe we have a unisex term). Chances are they would go home and speak a more common accent, stopping glottals (unofficial terminology, don’t mimic this) and dropping H’s.

  In case that wasn’t clear, people will choose words and accents to put across a particular image, like playing at being medieval knights and saying “thee”, “thou” and “art”. And we do the same outside of language all of the time: a man shaves his head to be practical; we see a man with a shaven head and you may think he’s a thug; if your friend wants to look like a thug then he may shave his hair.

  This is a simplistic explanation, but I want to imagine this man is wearing a suit. Suddenly he’s not a thug but maybe a professional, too busy to deal with hair. Give him a studded leather jacket and he’s suddenly dangerous again.

  Now imagine a woman with a shaven head and what do you think? It may be outdated but she is likely neither threatening nor professional. You may even think that she’s fighting cancer or something similar.

  We do this all the time with language and often don’t even know it.

  Now this isn’t to say that a glottal-stop equals a British speaker, other languages appear to use them too, but should a glottal-stop appear in the English language, with examples of h-dropping (not saying H like “ ’ouse” instead of “house”) and longer vowel sounds then you might safely assume they are speaking with a Cockney accent rather than speaking Arabic (which apparently has glottal-stops). The skinhead with studs in his jacket, or the bald man in a suit. It’s everything together that works to index a specific image rather than the one thing on its own.

  I feel that I should point out that the interpretations of these things are not necessarily correct. A bald man in studded leather is no more likely to be violent than a bald man in a suit; dropping the H in words isn’t necessarily lazy or a sign of poor-education; the point is that it is how people interpret these signs.

 All of this Indexing is a part of semiotics, which is basically the study of signs and symbols in communication. Words are symbols as are clothes and accessories. I don’t always do so, but I like to dress smart: dress shirts, ties and blazers. I don’t always wear these, in part because dressing formally in informal situations is a fantastic way of creating space between people and heaven knows I have a hard-enough time communicating.

  I also have a Pokémon wallet because I value the series from my childhood. I am fully aware that big and rare words actually make you look dumb, with stupid people using big words to try and look smart (higher-order Indexing, remember?) but I also love words so I’m torn between my passion and not looking like a pretentious prick.

-I went through my cringy “intellectual fedora” phase roughly a decade ago and learned from it-

   This is all indexing, which is all semiotics. Fascinating. I tell you, I’ve had three modules this semester, and I’ve only enjoyed this one.

 The thing about university is that you can’t just talk out of your rear-end or copy what your lecturer has told you, you need real academic sources, not cool puffin themed blogs, and you need to have read enough of them that when you cite them you can be sure that they say what you say they say. Unfortunately, a lot of academics seem to write for some perverse masturbatory reason rather than to actually explain their ideas and reading their essays can be hell.

  I have to take out all of the extra words just to remember how many of the sentences began.

  Still, the higher-order Indexicality that I spoke of came from Michael Silverstein’s 2003 paper, although I can’t find out where the first two orders came from. Was it Silverstein? Was it William Labov who writes just as confusingly as Silverstein? If I am to go by how Moore and Podesva (2009) explain it then it is all Silverstein, but not only does Labov have his own, similar three-step method but someone called Blommaert has come up with something they call Order of Indexicality and I don’t think they are the same. Why so confusing?

  Still, that ramble has four papers that I could cite and there’s more considering the same authors revisit their own theories later.

 So at this point I’ve finished writing my assessment and don’t have a whole lot else to add. Indexing is fascinating and I’m still a long way from understanding it all. I keep finding myself wishing that I had chose a purely English Language course rather then a Joint Honours, so then I would have more time to focus on what I’m learning.

              Ah well. I have nothing left to say. Maybe not very professional to end like this but hey, I’m not a professional.