#this is a lot of people to have in an elevator XD

[pandagobrr]

19. They get stuck in an elevator. How does everyone react?

Florian would be the one to press the help button,

Shadow climbs up and out the little door at the top, forgetting about everyone else.

Kai is trying to help people, but rarely anyone needs his help.

Wraith follows suit after Shadow.

Bluenix probably calls Ollie to pass the time until help got there.

Handler Blue is trying desperately to keep up with Shadow, but is failing miserably.

Handler Ellie is standing off to the side, burying her head in her hands.

Typhoon is probably trying to pull Wraith back into the elevator to annoy her and get back for the hair dye prank.

[ @eod-agent-13-12 @silverdragon889 @blueorchid-95]

[imagionary]

Happy 20 years of not speaking to each other

[starmahgalaxies]

I'm just giggling because this is Mimi's and Lilimon's episode and it opens on a cactus delivery truck representing Togemon. It has to be intentional because that is so random otherwise.

Tokyo is a clean city (the largest and also probably one of the cleanest I've been to personally), but it is still a giant metropolis. So yeah, makes sense.

It's such a cute picture for Mimi. Poor Palmon though, lol.

That! Is Adorable! ❤️

It's fiine. You have been under a lot of stress, plus it is one summer cram test. You'll be fine!

Yamato trying so hard to get the TV to work is so funny to me. IDK why. Gabumon's neutral expression just adds to it.

It couldn't have been too awful of a divorce if you keep a picture of the whole family in your wallet.

(Give photos to the kids if you don't want any of them and they do. I have pictures from my parents' wedding. It's a little weird to maybe but I like them. Plus kids have a right to embarrassing baby photos so they do not spread. To anyone really, but if parents are divorced you have to get them from two people)

Creepy.

Workaholic.

After getting mugged, immediately goes to wake up his kid: Up!

I would be terrified if an elevator suddenly opened and there is an impenetrable wall of ghosts.

That would be very, very messy though. I have to agree with the vampire, it isn't worth it at this point.

I am curious of where they got the Bakemon disguises on such short notice. They are relatively simple, so it won't be too hard to make. Since Bakemon are shown to be solid, why do I feel the more logical answer though is stripping a couple cloaks from their knocked out bodies?

I'm happy Sora remembered how to deal with the Bakemon herself.

It's okay, brave people make a fool of themselves all the time ☀️

Mimi, with her partner Digimon flailing around above her, talking about her parents: Urh, you guys are so embarrassing! XD

I think for the Perfect evolutions, Lilimon's has to be my favorite. Garudamon is a close second though.

Never! (Lilimon might, quite actually, be my favorite Perfect level Digimon. Yes, I love the angel evos, but plant fairy is so pretty!)

So cute!

...

😡

[lurafita]

I saw your post about liking the less liked character in a popular ship, and I was just wondering about the characters you tagged in it? Because I feel that a lot of posts and fics heavily focus on Magnus, and that Alec comes way short, even though he is arguably the better and more intersting character in the ship.

We have had very different experiences in fandom, it appears. Right now, if I go to AO3 and search for stories with the tag "Alec-centric", I get 444 results. Repeating that search with Magnus-centric, that number shrinks to 133.

So from this alone, it is clear that Alec has far more stories dedicated to him than Magnus does.

Then there are the fics that will still focus on one character more than the other, but not have that specific tag. A lot of writers for slash fics, in my experience as a long time reader of fanfiction, like to focus their story on the "bottom" character. So if I do a search for "Bottom Alec" (587 results), "Sub Alec" (334 results), or "Omega Alec" (293 results); and then compare this to "Bottom Magnus" (531 results), "Sub Magnus" (129 results), or "Omega Magnus" (187 results); once again, Alec's character has more fics dedicated to that than Magnus.

Then there are further indicators as to who the VIP of a story is, which might not be obvious. Popular tags we all like to read about. Like "character is good with children", or "character is a cinnamon roll", or "character whump" (because sometimes we like to see our blorbos suffer for the pay out of others being worried for them and taking care of them and showering them in love and affection afterwards). Other indicators are if one character is tagged with more platonic relationships than the other, meaning any "character & character" tags you might come across. Or which character is shipped with people other than the main partner. (i.e. aside from with Magnus, you will probably see Alec shipped more with more different characters - for example Jace; than you will see Magnus being shipped with someone other than Alec) Now I'm not gonna search and crossreference all the possibilities for those tags as well, but I have definitely seen more in that regard for Alec, than I have for Magnus.

So I cannot agree with your statement that Magnus has more fics that focus on him in comparison to Alec. Where who is the more interesting/better character is concerned, that is something for each individual to decide, and cannot be just generally stated as if it were a law or obligation.

I like Magnus Bane. I like him a lot. I find him interesting and deep and engaging. I think he is incredibly handsome, and kind, and smart. He is definitely my favorite character when it comes to the Shadowhunter series.

Obviously not everyone in the fandom feels that same way. (I mean, yeah, it's very obvious that not everyone in the fandom feels that same way)

And as I said in the post, I'm happy for the people who like the fandom darling (in this case Alec) best. And I wish them all a happy and enjoyable time in the fandom that so celebrates their favorite character. But simultaneously, I will pour my energy into elevating my own favorite character. Knowing that posts and fics (I may or may not write) focusing on him may not garner the same attention and interest that the ones focusing on Alec do. Knowing that there will be scant few people that will appreciate the posts or fics that might not even mention Alec at all. (that's mostly me thinking about all those crossover pairings I would like to do with Magnus, that would have him crossing over into another universe/fandom; which I know will have a very small pool of interested people.)

So, long story short, people like who they like. And sometimes that can be a point of frustration. And sometimes it helps to just shout into a void (or in this case, make a tumblr post) about it.

This got way longer than I intended. XD

I hope you have a very nice day, and remember to drink enough water. Hydration is important.

[heymeowmao]

2024.12.31 - https://weibo.com/l/wblive/p/show/1022:2321325117745477059208

(Streaming from the Jiangsu Satellite TV New Year’s Eve Concert backstage!)

- was planning on doing a "day in the life" sort of stream, so he's making good on that promise now; he'll bring the stream up on stage with him- so people can watch him on the stage, from the stage, for free.

C: Are we watching you change into your performance outfit? LYN: I'm already changed. This is my performance outfit. A little fuzzy collar.

C: Why is one eyebrow longer than the other? LYN: 去你的!! Stop adding to my pre-performance nerves. I know I might look calm and relaxed but I'm actually so nervous I don't know what to do with myself. Every year, the most nerve wracking performance is for New Year. For other performances and livestreams throughout the year I'm not as nervous, but the New Year ones especially nerve wracking.

LYN: Let's get ready to go, friends.

LYN: It's a challenge for me today, because there isn't a large prompter like there usually is for lyrics. I have to memorize most of the lyrics. I almost always sing the wrong lyrics during my performances. It's a big challenge today as well.

LYN: If you want to see any other artists, I can go into their ready room and interview them for you. Who do you want to see? :) C: Xue Zhiqian. LYN: He's on stage right now. If you turn on your tv, you'll be able to see him. C: Zeng Shunxi. LYN: Ok. I'll go look for him. Last year we were in the same ready room. LYN: I'm backstage right now, waiting for the elevator. C: Wang Junkai. LYN: He's on stage right now!

LYN: The studio photos haven't been posted yet; my studio will post them later. Don't yell at them. XD It's the new year and not easy for anyone. Blame me, because in order to look thinner on camera I woke up this morning and took a hot bath. Sweating to relieve swelling from water retention. I took up some time, so the photos will be released a little later.

! Qi-ge and Duanduan get off the elevator-

RXQ: Happy New Year! Give Xiao Ning lots of love!!

---

LYN: ! I look like a ghost! - shows where all the artists' microphones are kept - sings/hums along w/ XZQ's performance

---

It's go time!!

- @18:07, LYN flies out of shot to execute an epic phone/stream save - aww the dancer running to set the position for the next performance 🥺 - ok, guess the stream's over, LOL!

[b1asho]

clip and 2 questions:

https://youtube.com/shorts/iLCwFGcjBmM?si=C0caXelKlTFhQpoy

How did humanity unlearn this lesson? Was the ship the humans crashed full of civilians and low ranking soldiers? or did they assume aliens worked differently from themselves?

also maybe i missed something but is EVERYONE stuck on that world and if that is the case is the greater universe doing things? (no need to elaborate, clearly no one on the you made would know too much about it)

Oh boy!! History time!! 👇

The humans weren't all on one ship, they were assembled in an 'exodus' fleet that was fleeing some kind of catastrophe in the solar system that rendered earth as well as any lunar, martian, etc colonies uninhabitable!! It was assembled from craft and structures of various purposes (from military and scientific to residential, recreational, and agricultural ) from a wide variety of countries, all moving as close as they could together at once (with the largest flagship being an american built-in-space superstructure one with some...interesting technology aboard....) People of all types/jobs/etc were part of the exodus, which took several months. They knew there was a viable planet in the direction they were going, but had no idea that that planet was already under terraforming reconstruction by the Old Seru Empire (who had arrived a few decades prior to start getting it ready to be a new source of materials and space for their waning empire by making its atmosphere a bit better and adding a better soil layer and more water) (they were mostly engineers and military, but there were also a lot of working civilians and others who were living up there in preparation for going down to live there)

Until they started getting hints that there was someone already there (via some radio waves and weird objects in the planet's orbit, which also corresponded to imperials also getting an idea that someone was coming), humanity at this point still had had no concrete contact with or evidence of aliens!! (Or, i should clarify, *organic* and *physical* aliens...)

How exactly this happened is a mystery (ie spoilers XD), but the mass of human ships ended up hitting the Empire's main orbital stations, sattelites, and their space elevator, and just kept coming until everyone was sent to the ground. The most common theory was that it was the rings of the planet that maybe hit the flagship somehow, but that doesn't explain the uh lights that some witnesses have accounted. Anyway, after they made landfall the rest is history..

So basically this is a relatively small population stuck where no one can find them, and who knows whos even lookig for them in the first place. No one really knows what's going on in the solar system, humans have tried reaching out but it's radio silent. The Crash also wrecked the Empire's wormhole thing, so they're cut off WAY further away than humans are. Presumably, the old empire has really started falling apart by now and has probably made several attempts to sling another wormhole in this area despite the risk...but thats just speculation because it seems they haven't managed to do it yet. There's probably all kinds of fun stuff going on around this little shipwreck planet (post apocalyptic earth?? Revolution across the original Empire? Who knows!!)

Everyone that's down there has largely sidelined space efforts in favor of making life on the ground better, because there's pretty much nothing around them for so far around that it's not really worth trying (let's focus on The War and/or getting running water to more of the country first)

Oh, and I think the general ideas explained in the clip are the reason why we've already seen a few warring periods in the planet's few hundred years of history, it's a whole mess of alliances and rivalries btwn the sophonts from all origins, idk the specifics yet tho

[self-indulgent-paw-patrol]

Ask game for Chase?

The pupper ever!! Also two other people asked for Chase while I was already working on it XD I'm sorry it's taking me literally days to get them all done, I'm having trouble to think properly on what to say for some stuff in these

My first impression - I'm not tanking this. His car is blue and white, he's a cop and HIS NAME IS CHASE. HMMMM WHERE HAVE I SEEN THIS BEFORE, OH I WONDER--

My impression now - He's precious. No, really. A+ for effort in everything he does but he should learn to relax a little more, just a liiiiiiiittle more

Favorite thing about that character - He's always willing to try new things out of his comfort zone and he always gives it his best, plus his loyalty levels are off the charts

Least favorite thing - He's too much of a people pleaser Istg-- Chase, sweetheart, you're supposed to be a figure of authority XD And this will sound like a dumb thing to dislike but I dislike the fact he's a German Shepherd. I think it's too obvious a breed for police dogs and he doesn't LOOK like one at all for me. When I first saw him without his gear, I was like "Wait is he a Belgian Malinois??? Omg please yes that would be cool to not have a German Shepherd as a Police Dog for ONCE" but yeah my dreams were crushed quickly on my first Google Search on him

Favorite line/scene - It's not specifically the line, but mostly the scene: Have you EVER seen Chase refuse a job or go against Ryder???

I know he ended up changing his mind after that talk with Ryder, but IN THIS MOMENT, he stood his ground and said NO. It's even in his body language: His ears are slightly back, his expression is serious like "don't even try arguing with me on this", his tail isn't relaxed, his paw stomping on the floor to make his point. Notice his frown even deepens as the elevator door closes just before it goes down. This is SO IMPORTANT to me you have no idea, especially considering how much of a people pleaser Chase is and how he holds Ryder as the most important person in his life. We know Chase would do anything for Ryder. But at this exact moment? He was decided to NOT do something for Ryder. This is such a powerful, yet overlooked and underrated scene, as well as character development. It encapsulates perfectly how there's so much more to Chase than any of us knew so far.

Favorite interaction that character has with another - Mighty Movie Skase moment #2 (I think? I counted at least 4 big moments) when Chase goes to check on Skye when she was sulking on the back of the Aircraft Carrier. Her problems there are totally out of his league, he literally cannot relate to anything she's currently going or went through in the past- still he tries to show support the only way he can at the moment, by being there for her, by listening to her. He's a keeper, Skye, go for it XD

A character that I wish that character would interact with more - Marshall and Zuma. They used to play a lot before, but now...? I'm still at the 8th season and I'm seriously missing those fun and slice of life moments

Another character from another fandom that reminds me of that character - Leonardo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, specifically 2012 series

A headcanon about that character - I think Chase was one of those kind of puppies who just didn't know when to fucking STOP. 24/7 playful baby. Also a natural explorer, always sniffing everything, licking everything, maybe biting, touching, scratching, growling, barking at anything new for a while. Ever curious, always being the puppy to go ahead of the others, "exploring the waters to open the way and make sure it's safe for the others to come after him". On a second note, I've seen one too many people returning adopted puppies for this reason here where I live, because "they're a handful and I wasn't expecting this" 🤦🏽‍♀️

A song that reminds of that character - "Nothing Can Stop Me Now"

An unpopular opinion about that character - Idk why all the hate, even if you're ACAB, it's not like Chase even does a cop job at all XD Have you seen him arresting someone outside from movie verse? If anything, you'd WANT your cops to be like him LMAO

Favorite picture - Y'know how in the first movie Chase was in absolute awe when he saw his new car for the very first time? YEAH, like, he KNOWS Ryder designs and gets them crazy cool stuff, and it doesn't stop him from getting UTTERLY AMAZED every time. Tbh I had the same reaction as them all when I saw that sick af Mustang-looking police cruiser like HOLY SHIT YOU GET THE COOLEST TOYS-- AND YOU GET TO CATAPULT THEM DOWN THE HOT WHEELS RAMP AT TOP SPEED TOO??? Win for life.

[novelmonger]

1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15-20, and 22 for the Movie Lover's Asks, please?

A movie you consider a gift to humanity?

Okay, okay, I'll just go ahead and say the expected thing: Lord of the Rings. That trilogy did so much for us in the areas of adaptation, revitalizing the fantasy genre, and just movie-making in general. They were the first (I think?) to make a fully CG, photorealistic character stand alongside real people and be 100% believable. They invented techniques and programs that are still used to this day. They did things a lot of people probably thought could never be done, and did them so well that it's like a challenge to the rest of the world to make something even half as good. We owe them a debt of gratitude.

3. A movie that could have benefited from a different director?

I've always thought that the only director who really understood Harry Potter was David Yates. Thankfully, he was in charge for half the series, but if he'd been at the helm for the first four movies as well, I think they'd be a lot better.

5. One of your favourite lead acting performances?

*deer in the headlights* There are so manyyyy.... Okay, just to pick one: Max Records in I Am Not a Serial Killer. He plays John Cleaver, the main character (who is a sociopath but not a serial killer), and he does such a phenomenal job of it. There's such a subtlety in all of his acting choices, where you can often see both him trying to act normal but also, if you're paying attention, you can see his thoughts teetering on the edge of the depths that he both wants to plunge into and doesn't at the same time. And he was still a teenager when they filmed it!

7. One of your favourite secondary acting performances?

Luis from the first two Ant-Man movies XD He's my favorite part of both movies, especially the scenes where he's telling his convoluted story of how he got some information or something. I was really disappointed when he wasn't in Quantumania.

9. One of your favourite ensemble cast performances?

The whole cast of the Dungeons and Dragons movie was a real hoot. They all played off each other really well, and each of them did a really good job with their individual characters too. Which is really appropriate for a D&D movie!

11. A favourite soundtrack and how it elevates the movie?

The Signs soundtrack did not need to go as hard as it did. It's just a horror movie, right? It could have mostly consisted of just creepy music, violins scraping frenetically during the jumpscares or whatever. But no, M. Night Shyamalan got James Newton Howard to do the soundtrack. And so he started with just a three-note motif, and bent that into so many different shapes. With just three notes, he was able to convey anxiety, terror, heroism, determination, dread, hope, peace...everything the characters feel is conveyed so masterfully. Another thing that's so great about how the soundtrack is used is actually in the parts where the music doesn't play. If you ask me, the most effective part of the horror of this movie is in the sounds (which is what always scares me the most anyway). And there are lots of moments where the music cuts out entirely, and sometimes there's not even that much to look at, so you find yourself leaning in closer, straining to catch the slightest sounds. The restraint of the soundtrack is just as impressive as when the violins are galloping away on that three-note motif. And even if you aren't familiar with the movie...you gotta admit that the last track is just really beautiful.

12. A movie with superior costumes/make up?

After LotR, Star Wars is probably the one I think of first when I think of good costumes. A lot of the costumes are relatively simple, just Jedi robes and straightforward uniforms, but every bit of the costumes tells the story it needs to - from the choices of color, to the real-world associations with samurai for the Jedi or Nazis for the Empire. And of course everything Padme wears and every intricate way she does her hair is just eye-popping. Oh, and let's not forget that a large part of the costumes is all the makeup and prosthetics and full-body suits they had to put on people to make such a diverse range of alien species too.

15. A movie with superior animation?

I gotta put in a good word for The Wild Robot. Every frame of that movie looks like a painting. The colors are so vibrant and pretty!

16. One of your favourite musicals?

I'm not a huge fan of musicals in general, but Mary Poppins has always been one of my favorites. Almost all of the songs are memorable and very singable, even by someone like me. Just a couple weeks ago, my sister and I burst into a chorus of "Sister Suffragette" XD

17. One of your favourite singing performances in a musical?

Since I watched it semi-recently (okay...it was actually like six months ago ^^'), The Sound of Music came to mind immediately. I really like the scene where Captain Von Trapp comes inside, sees his children singing, and then joins in himself. The harmonies are beautiful, everyone's performances are so soft and sweet, and it's such an emotional high point in the story too. It became even more touching when I learned that Christopher Plummer was a bit aloof on set before that point, so when he comes in all smiling and softly singing, so obviously full of love and joy, some of the children started crying for real because they'd thought he was as mean and stern as his character :')

18. A story you want to see as an animated movie?

I had a stray thought out of nowhere recently that it would be really cool to see Half-Magic by Edward Eager turned into an animated movie, with a similar style to the illustrations in the book. I'm imagining the animation being stylized kind of like in the "Rhapsody in Blue" sequence from Fantasia 2000, just something that gives off a very 1920's(?) feel.

19. A story you want to see as a live action movie?

I've always thought The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi would make a really good movie. Yes, it would be hard to do it in live-action, since most of it takes place on a ship and you'd have to have a real one in the water (at least, it would certainly look a lot better than doing the whole thing on greenscreen). And you'd have to find just the right girl to play Charlotte. But it's such an exciting story, I think it would make for a riveting movie.

20. A movie you want a sequel to?

A QUIET PLACE 3 WHEN >:( It just really feels like we need more of a conclusion to wrap up the story of this family we've followed and agonized over for two movies.

22. A sequel that was better than the original?

I'm of the unpopular opinion that Aladdin and the King of Thieves is juuuuust slightly better than the original Aladdin. That's probably got a lot to do with my penchant for father-son stories, as well as...well, even though a lot of the movie revolves around Aladdin and Jasmine's wedding, I like the romance even better because it's already established (and is no longer founded upon lies). Not to mention that, while I love the Genie no matter what, I think his jokes are a bit funnier in King of Thieves. My siblings and I still quote a lot of them to this day (such as "Do not attempt to move, or we will be shooting ourselves.").

Movie Lover's Ask Game

[alderlock]

Espresso Yourself Full CC

I love hot drinks while reading my favorite novels, so why not make it into a cozy business? Where all introverts bundle up together to create a fantasy in their minds and put it into story books. This lot is my inner introvert design came into fruition xD.

The floor plan is pretty much simple, I don't really like to burden employees with heavy cleaning haha.

Cafe Interiors is filled with Jacky93sims goodness (Donuts and pastries), most of them are self-service so, it's pretty much fun:

Library Interiors is pretty simple, discussions table and bunch of Parsimonious bookcases. I want to recommend this mod to create functional library. But you cant study life skills from AL so I am not recommend it.

I also love reading in a park, and eating street food and webnovel is a match made in heaven. So this is just a small part of that indulgence.

This computer room is where you can write articles or papers or just chat in the community.

Finally, a room where you can watch documentaries, novel inspired channel and many more, accompanied with Jack93sims popcorn maker.

Bonus room is upstairs using elevator, however it mostly for witches in training. You can stay here as long as you can until your witch level reach maximum.

I have tested the lot so for it's fun to play, people eating popcorn while watching Tv and many more. I originally want to make it residential business to make the computer room functional but, the bills goes through the roof. Haha, So yeah if you want you cant change it using cheats.

Download

Credits to:

@jacky93sims, @tvickiesims, @lordcrumps, @kayleigh-83, @shastakiss, @veranka-downloads, @deedee-sims, @cityof2morrow, @lucilla-sims, @neosimi, @hugelunatic

Michelle, Chrissy6930, blake-boy, sims2.simcredible

Hope You guys like it, if you encounter problems please let me know ^^

[lovely-love-angel]

Ruin is one of Cassie's worst days. She got a chip implanted in her brain, got lured, tricked, got lied to and got betrayed. She almost died multiple times and objects constantly fell or crashed at her or near her.

The vents she was in broke down.

When she walked the stairs up, something fell past her.

When she climbs the ladders something falls past her.

The go kart drives straight at her.

When running away from chica a huge piece of rock or something falls behind her, almost crushing her (or chica) in the process.

The elevator she is in drops.

And the animatronics tried killing her even though she didn't even do anything to them.

The huge cupcake pushed her.

Monty pushed her into dirty water in the sewerage.

And Roxy scared the shit out of her when grabbing her arm and by simply mistaking her as Gregory.

That girl had a lot of bad luck that day.

Why is every Fnaf character doomed?

Well, that's the point and that's why we all get to cook with the characters, right?

I swear, if I were her, I'd be angry too. Though revenge? Hm... Maybe. Though, I'm not sure if I would. Especially if I did all of this for my best friend.

I do find the idea intriguing and I can see her seeking revenge (or at least an explanation, which is what I would be seeking), and even though most people hope for that - I personally don't. I'm a sucker for happy endings - which fnaf usually never has. So, I prefer the happiest ending that I can get. So, even though she'd most likely end up becoming “the next vanny”, I prefer thinking that everything's “just a misunderstanding” and will get resolved. At least until it's proven and shown otherwise :)

I don't really mind the path that the story and plot is going (mostly because I'm not as “hardcore” as other fans), so I respect that others are frustrated and complain. Don't worry. I'll support those fans nonetheless. They have a good point and theorize and think deeper about things than I do and I definitely admire and respect that! Not sure if I should tag anyone though - in case they'd be uncomfortable? I'm just using my creativity and create my own “happy endings”, while enjoying the drama and mysteries that happen in the actual games and franchise.

Why did this become so long? I only wanted to talk about how unlucky Cassie is- my bad- sorry y'all. Hope you didn't mind reading all this Xd

[somer-writes]

I have crawled out of my mole whole to humbly ask you

but what type of southern accent do you think Twilight has? 🤔

hello thank you for coming out of your mole hole, have a treat :3

uuuuh well so im like Midwest Supreme so my interp for his accent comes from like podunk midwest backwater nowhere XD we're talking towns built around grain elevators where theres more cows than people and you can get snowed in for days if you dont live on a snow route

but usually the Default Southern accent i write for OCs is either like Appalachia or gater rasslin loosianna XD

depends on if i want cowboy or chewing tobacco yknow

i think twi just bc of the goats and pumpkins is probably somewhere in the wyoming or northern colorado range of That Peach in Levis cowboy. like modern twi wears a duck coat and chews on toothpicks and has a stetson hat. or when hes doing ranch work hes wearing coveralls but has the sleeves tied around his waist and a carhartt shirt underneath. and you know his carhartts are just destroyed and patched over and over in the ass. he gives fresh goat milk to the farm cats and the dogs follow him *everywhere*. hes riding draft horses recreationally. epona might be a perchie

imo a lot of people write a Tennessee twi but mostly like knoxville. maybe arkansas? not quite In the Swamp south for a lot of them but more like Mountain South. but not mountain enough to be the kind that sets bear traps for cops yknow. just mountain enough to have anarchist leanings.

[kazuza-art]

Hii, I just wanted to tell you that I really loovee your work 😍, 'finders keepers' somehow managed to make me root for riddledore even though I'm a die hard grindeldore shipper😅

I adore how you characterise everyone and (sorry if you already got this ask before) wanted to ask how you see Percival und Kendra Dumbledores dynamic, not only as parents but also as lovers

(sorry if there are any mistakes,I'm not a native speaker)

Hey ❤️☺️

I'm always so happy to share with Finders readers! It's my baby but it's so niche i'm not sure half the time anyone is actually reading it ahaha

My view of the Dumbledore's is a bit grim tbh.

I HC Kendra seduced pure blood heir Percival hoping to elevate herself in magical society (i see her extremely ambitious and a bit cold and ruthless like her eldest son ahah)

Percival I see him like a hothead man with a bit of a rebelious streek. He fall hard for her and marry her on a whim.

Thing didnt turned out good for them and Percival's family shun him away and they find themselves poor and having to work hard to raise their kids. Kendra was probably preg with Albus before they even married ahaha

Percival, like most rich people didnt adjust well to poverty and became a bit bitter and drank a lot to forget about it. Kendra was bitter too I guess but she pushed all her ambition on Albus so she dealed with it better.

Still I think they did love each other at the end but in a cold a bit distant way. I mean they are children of Victorian era xD

That's why Albus believe hard in love even if it's tough and cruel love. 🤔

[16woodsequ]

I love the titles of you WIP... I feel there is a certain... common name (all my FF16, or almost all, are about the same person as well XD).

I am curious about this one : The Captain and the Soldier. To be honest I am curious about a lot of them but this title striked me the most.

(From this post)

Oh thank you!! Well, all my wips are pretty much about Steve Rogers in one way or another!

I don't know if you have watched any of the marvel films or know much about the character, but The Captain and the Soldier is set in the movie Captain America : The Winter Soldier.

The 'Soldier' part of the title references a friend of Steve's who has been turned into a fighting machine for an evil group, Hydra. In the movie Steve manages to expose Hydra's evil plot and break through his friend Bucky's brainwashing.

But the idea of this fic that Steve actually gets captured by Hydra during an early fight in an elevator. So instead of being able to stop Hydra Steve also gets turned into a brainwashed fighting machine (the Captain) for Hydra, and because he isn't there to fight them, Hydra's evil plot succeeds and they take over the United States.

Most of the fic will focus on Steve and his friend slowly being able to regain their humanity and join back up with the people still resisting Hydra—who think Steve is dead.

I've already written a recovery fic for Steve's friend before, and I'm very excited about writing the same type of recovery for Steve. The idea promises a lot of angst, but also comfort as they finally get treated right by the resistance (the Avengers) after escaping Hydra.

[true-blue-sonic]

Silver and Espio in the Colors elevator? What have may they have talked in the way to Eggman's park? 👀👀

The idea I had for that is that lots of Sonic's pals are in the amusement park... and then the whole thing blows up. Considering the fact they're all clearly still alive, they must have gotten out somehow, haha! So I liked the idea that Sonic hijacked Eggman's intercom system and told them all to skedaddle, just in case things went awry (since he could not have known that a Giant Black Hole™️ would be forming anytime soon). Thusly, everyone makes their way to the elevator... and that means there's like.... twelve? people crammed in there? Including Big, Omega, and Vector? That's gonna be crowded as heck XD

So how I envisioned it is that Silver and Blaze go there, and then Silver comes across Espio again, and that is the first time after Rivals 2 so they have a lot to catch up on :> I haven't written an intro or worked much towards an ending yet, but this is what I have so far! ^-^

☆☆☆☆☆

“Blaze… We’ll be okay, right?” the rabbit’s little voice rises up, muffled a tad from how snugly she’s cuddled into Blaze’s purple clothes.

Silver’s new friend nods. “Of course. I have no idea what Sonic is planning, but rest assured he’ll only initiate it when we are all safely back on the surface.”

That seems enough to soothe the rabbit, a smile forming on her face and Blaze’s tail curling past her shoulders ever so loosely. Silver himself is less convinced: he wouldn’t describe Sonic as the hallmark of rationality and in-depth thinking, after all. Though, it’s nice enough of the speedster to have provided a warning over the intercom so everyone could bail from the park in time.

…Except apparently there’d been quite a bit more people in the amusement park than Silver had initially thought.

Sure, he hadn’t missed how Sonic’s message had mentioned multiple people. But where the only ones inside the elevator had been a rabbit who’d all but squealed when Blaze entered and two Chao who are now stubbornly entangled right in Silver’s chest fur, more and more had drippled in until eventually Silver found himself questioning just how many friends Sonic has. As it stands, his vision had promptly gotten blocked by a positively ginormous darker purple cat that the hedgehog found himself half-smushed into, with Blaze’s ponytail, Rouge’s giant bat ears, the towering form of some red robot and the back of a crocodile efficiently filling whatever bit of space left he could look at. Oh well. It’s not the most comfortable of places, but at least Silver can get off his feet and float slightly. “I’m fine,” Blaze smiles at his raised eyebrow, her heels pressed a bit more firmly into the elevator floor.

“You sure you don’t want to trade?” Gesturing to the window the giant purple cat is serenely staring out of Silver shoots Blaze a smile. He himself needs to twist his neck all sideways to get a glimpse of the slowly-enlarging planet beyond it, but every second he does is worth it. “The view’s really nice. If you step in right, you don’t even need to crane your head so much.”

“I’m… good, really. Cream?”

“I’d love to see it!” the little rabbit chirps, which turns to a full gasp as Silver lifts her with his psychokinesis. “Oh, wow!!”

“Silver possesses an amazing power,” Blaze begins to speak up, Silver opening his mouth as well to tell her friend its name-

Before a cry of “I want to see too!!” gets hollered out somewhere from behind Rouge’s ears, the towering robot, and the back of the crocodile.

“Charmy! Zip it, there’s no space!!”

“For you! I’m tiny!”

“It’s a bit of a tight fit, isn’t it,” Silver remarks, the mass of people sighing and shoving around at the hollering of the two strangers. Poor Cream gets jostled a bit as well as Silver gets an elbow right in the back, though she can grasp the arm of the purple cat who pulls her into his chest all snugly, a pink hedgehog yells something for everyone to quiet down, Blaze merely grimaces with approximately the most unhappy expression Silver has seen her make in the handful of hours he’s known her, the high-pitched voice of this ‘Charmy’ gets cut off by-

“Don’t move, Vector. I’ll get him,” a deep voice rises up from the chatters of the others.

Silver freezes.

“Espio?”

“Friend of yours?” Blaze remarks as Silver flounders in the thick purple for of the giant cat. If he twists and lifts himself and stretches out his neck, he can almost…!

…Duck right in himself as a bee comes racing past, as much as that is possible in the handful of square meters that make this cramped elevator. “Watch out!” Silver snaps, the child yelling also as his rush gets promptly stopped by a firm psychic hold. “There’s other people here, too!”

Owlishly he gets blinked at, the bee frozen-

Before a “Silver?” rises up from behind Blaze, and the hedgehog whirls around.

“Espio!”

Forgetting about the child – for now – Silver tries his best to stare past Blaze and Knuckles and Rouge and the pink hedgehog; and there’s very much a splotch of purple he can make out beyond them, who raises himself on his tiptoes to look over the pink hedgehog’s head.

“You’re precisely the last person I’d have expected to come across here,” Espio remarks, and a smile has formed on Silver’s face before he even realises.

“I didn’t even see you,” he grins back at the other. Not that he could: between giant purple cats and slightly-less-giant-but-still-very-imposing robots that for some reason are just standing here in this elevator, Silver’s view remains adequately blocked. “How’d you get here?”

“A mission called for our attention,” Espio tells him. With some shuffles, grunts, mutters and complaints he manages to come closer, also half-smushed into the giant cat who merely blinks at them before returning his attention to Cream. Opening his mouth to ask what Silver leans aside a bit to give Espio space-

Before freezing as the other’s hand moves up to his face.

“You look well,” the chameleon muses, the gentlest of fingers that brush past Silver’s cheek moving his head side-to-side. A razor-sharp golden gaze studies the hedgehog’s every feature, until eventually a content nod follows as Silver swallows. Why’d that make his tongue so heavy?

“Uh- Yes. So do you.”

“I was a bit concerned after your departure at the end of our adventure. It’s great to see you in high spirits. What brings you here?”

…And Silver doesn’t actually know. A sense of that he had to go to the past, perhaps; a yearning he couldn’t shake until he’d grabbed his Emerald and came right over… “I’m not sure. I just had to be here,” he answers, studying Espio in turn. His friend also seems well: a nod follows, accompanied by something fond crossing the chameleon’s face.

“Not every journey needs to have a clear goal in mind.”

“Did you fulfil yours, at least?”

“Well, we were sent to find Eggman and figure out what his plot is… But, considering Sonic is tackling it right now, I figure it doesn’t matter so much anymore.”

[babycharmander]

Thoughts on Wicked, Grilled Cheese toasties and Coffee with Cake

Oh boy, that first one's probably not what you're hoping for. XD;;

So first... thoughts on Wicked. To start with... I do like some of the songs. Defying Gravity, Popular, and Loathing are all good. Other songs are... ehh. But like, as for the story, I was already like... Not Really Into It from the concept alone, given it's an Oz story that's based primarily on the MGM musical rather than the books. (I'm a firm believer that if you want to do a take on Oz media, you need to base it on the books, not on the MGM musical, which is enormously watered down and, in terms of being an adaptation, extremely bad.) But my family wanted to see the musical (in an actual theater, not the movie), so several years ago I went to see it.

The musical had... its ups and downs. The choreography was good when it... actually existed. (For some reason a ton of the songs just have no choreography so you're just sitting there staring at these characters who are just... standing and singing, and maybe walking around if you're lucky.) The few times they use stuff like puppetry (like the fake wizard head and the dragon) are pretty cool! I remember after the first act thinking "oh okay, this isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be!" But then the second act happened and... oh gosh what a mess. This really is one of the worst ways to do a "classic story but from the villain's perspective!!!" Rather than actually making Elphaba a compelling character, they just made her look good by making everyone else around her worse people, and glossed over the actually awful stuff she did. Trying to kill a child? Taking over an entire country? Let's just ignore those parts because they make her look bad!!!! ugh.

It sucks. It's a bad story.

I have not watched the movie because I already saw the musical it was based on and hated it. I feel no desire to amend this.

I have also not read the book, as I've had multiple people tell me it ALSO sucks, and I've heard enough snippets that I wish I could permamently scrub from my head forever to know that it's not a book I would ever want to read ever. (I feel bad for any kid who winds up checking that book out at the library. It's nooooot for kids.)

But yeah. tl;dr I am Not A Fan of Wicked aside from a handful of the songs.

As for my thoughts on grilled cheese, I love it!! Sometime within the last year or so I found a recipe for a really nice grilled cheese sandwich--it's on my blog somewhere in my "#food" tag--and I've made it several times since. Grilled cheese freakin' rocks and I love it, especially now that I've learned how to elevate it, haha. Definitely recommend the recipe I reblogged a while ago.

Thoughts on coffee with cake... You know, I've never eaten coffee with cake! I've eaten other pastries with it-- concha, donuts, muffins, etc--but never cake. I HAVE had sour cream cookies with it though, and given those taste a lot like cake batter, I'd say coffee with cake is probably pretty good! I should try it sometime.

Thank you for sending  your ask!

[kumeko]

A/N: For the Fraction of Light zine! I wrote this shortly after the Chalk Prince event, so yay for now-ancient lore references! I was originally going to have this be about Xiao and Albedo discussing Karma and Death and instead it became about legacies XD Albedo would grapple with this a lot, but since he’s so private…he wouldn’t really share these fears with anyone.

…

…

…

…

Albedo was certain of one thing as he followed Aether through meandering country roads and rocky mountain paths: Liyue had changed little in the past few centuries. There was still this idyllic atmosphere in the small tea shops that dotted the landscape, this sensation that time had frozen here. For all of the changes he had heard of in the busy capital, the countryside was still a peaceful place that went at its own pace.

Which was why if it weren’t for Aether’s exhausted descriptions of strange earth dragons, Albedo would never have returned. He had already gone through the country with his master, already finished recording the strange shields the hilichurls here carried, the odd ways they had adapted to the Geo Archon’s influence.

Albedo paused at that thought. The Geo Archon’s influence.

Unlike Mondstadt, where the Anemo Archon barely touched the people and monsters living there, Liyue was filled with Rex Lapis’s fingerprints. Perhaps that was the reason for the earth dragons? A new adaptation, or an older—

“Let’s take a break!” Aether grabbed his hand firmly, jolting Albedo out of his thoughts. With bright eyes and a brighter smile, he gestured at the sky-high building in front of them. “It’s a really nice inn. The owner’s cool. The place is only semi-haunted.”

“Should you really be bringing that up?” Paimon shivered, looking around fearfully. “What if you wake up that little girl again?”

“It should be fine. I think.” Aether pursed his lips, staring thoughtfully at the building before shaking his head. “Yeah, we’ll be fine. We’re just eating, right?”

“The snacks here are great!” Paimon chirped, pumping her fists and shaking her hips as she danced excitedly. It was fascinating how quickly she jumped from emotion to emotion. “Paimon wants everything.”

Aether sighed affectionately, giving her a look. “You’re always so greedy.”

“How rude!” she scowled, glaring ineffectively. Maybe it was her size. “Paimon is not greedy.”

Aether laughed. In the afternoon light, his long hair glinted like ripe wheat, like gold, like fire. In all honesty, Albedo might have come here even if there weren’t any dragons. These days, he found it harder and harder to say no to Aether.

These days, the sight in front of him was often more than enough to capture his interest.

It was an odd feeling. He’d have to investigate it later.

“Anyways, let’s go in.” Aether didn’t let go of Albedo’s hand as he pulled him toward the inn.

Albedo hadn’t seen a building that tall before—it could rival a mountain on its own. Architecture had never been a discipline of his—too stuffy, too static—but he might have been interested if it had been more about the towering structure before him. The top seemed to brush Celestia and the gods’ domain.

As though sensing his interest, Aether led him farther in instead of stopping by the many tables on the large wooden patio around the inn. The elevator ride up gave him an obstructed view of their surroundings—a marshland full of hilichurls, distant dust from dragons rolling through the dried earth, and even farther, the tell-tale smoke of a ruin guard’s missile. There were ruins here, older than himself, perhaps older than his master.

Would the truth of the world be buried there? Hidden in a secret crevice, untouched by man, was it just waiting for him to dig it out?

If he searched, would he finally find the answer he was looking for?

Aether tugged him forward again. Ever since he’d met the traveller, Aether always moved forward, as though staying still would kill him. Maybe it would. Albedo had never tested that theory.

“Why are we at the top?” Paimon complained as they stepped onto the sunny terrace. There was no one up here but them. She crossed her arms and stomped her foot on the air. “Paimon’s hungry!”

“You’re always hungry,” Aether replied dryly, turning away from the railing. “Just a little longer, okay?” He turned back to Albedo. “So, what do you think?”

“We have a lot of ground to cover,” Albedo mused as he eyed the terrain spread out before him like one of Klee’s quilts. If Mondstadt was a line of rolling hills and fields, then Liyue was the country of deep valleys and even taller mountains. “The hilichurl settlements here have advanced in unexpected ways. You said we can enter the adepti’s lands?”

“Somehow I knew you’d think that.” Aether chuckled wryly. “We can go after lunch.”

There was a soft whoosh, the displacement of air, and Albedo’s hand was on his hilt just as a blade pressed against his neck. Aether jumped back. There was a strange grace to the way he slid into a stance, to the way he reached for his sword. His hair coiled around him like a whip.

“Woah! What’s going on!” Paimon shouted.

Albedo slowly looked over his shoulder, following the blade down to the polearm’s other end to find a short, green-haired boy scrutinizing him. Despite the blade at his neck, the boy didn’t feel entirely hostile. If anything, he felt more perplexed than anything. The stranger’s brow furrowed. “You…”

“Xiao!” Aether sighed with relief. Smiling once more, he reached for the polearm and gently pushed it away, not fearing an attack in the least. “It’s okay! He’s with me!”

“Why’d you have to scare Paimon like that?” Paimon hovered next to Xiao, pouting. She wagged a finger at him, indignant. “We’re in a hotel! It’s supposed to be safe!”

Xiao didn’t spare her a glance. “Anyplace can be a battleground.”

“I don’t think Verr would agree to that.” Aether scratched his cheek before shaking his head. “Yeah, she wouldn’t like it. Still, I’m glad you’re here!”

Xiao glanced at Aether. After a few seconds, he huffed and retracted his weapon, though he kept a wary eye on Albedo. “It’s not the same. Why are you here?”

“Sucrose wanted Albedo to take a vacation and I accepted the commission.” Aether patted Albedo on the shoulder, bouncing on his heels in excitement. “This is Albedo! Albedo, this is Xiao.”

That greeting explained nothing. Albedo studied Xiao. There was something off about him, in the same way that Aether was a little off compared to a regular human. Despite their youthful looks, both of their eyes couldn’t hide their age, couldn’t hide the years they’d witnessed.

He should know—he saw the same eyes in the mirror. “What are you?”

Xiao’s frown returned. “What are you?”

“Ugh, why are you both like this?” Paimon hung her head, her arms dangling at her sides. “Paimon thinks they shouldn’t have met.”

“Don’t be like that, it’s fine.” Unfazed by the tension, Aether quickly stood next to Xiao. “He’s Xiao, an adeptus!” He stepped next to Albedo. “And this is Albedo, a researcher.”

“More like a mad scientist,” Paimon added snidely, snickering at her own joke.

“Mad?” Xiao repeated suspiciously.

“Not like that!” Aether laughed, breaking the tension as usual with his warm presence. He wrapped an arm around Xiao and the other one around Albedo, pulling them close. Their shoulders bumped awkwardly. Albedo leaned away before their heads knocked together. “I never thought you guys would meet! This is great!”

Xiao coloured slightly and he looked away. “Sure.”

Interesting. Albedo had seen a similar reaction in himself around Aether. A single incident was an anomaly, two a coincidence, and three a pattern. Maybe he should investigate this matter, now that he had a potential sample size. Was Aether causing this reaction, or was it pure coincidence? Perhaps a third, unknown element that connected them all?

Paimon sighed. Her stomach rumbled and she tugged on Aether’s braid. “Let’s eat!”

Aether looked up. “But—”

His stomach grumbled too and Paimon rested her hands on her hips triumphantly. “See? You’re hungry too.”

“It was a long journey,” Aether agreed reluctantly, pulling away. He sighed before brightening. “We can eat lunch together, all four of us! I’ll get you two something. Almond Tofu and,” he turned to Albedo, “a Sunshine Sprat?”

Albedo nodded, a shiver running down his spine now that Aether’s warm presence had left.

“Great! Let’s go!” Paimon started to float to the stairs. “You think they’ll burn the place down while we’re gone?”

Aether laughed as he followed. “Probably not.”

“Probably?” Paimon shouted.

Albedo watched as his companions disappeared down a flight of steps. Interruptions gone, he returned his gaze to Xiao. “What did you mean earlier?”

Xiao raised his brow but didn’t reply. He spoke even less than Diluc. There was something about him that was similar to Venti, but not quite. Was it immortality? Power? Albedo had seen multiple kinds of immortality, none of them the same. Aether smelled of the stars, Venti the wind, and this man of darkness.

Albedo wanted his paints. It was easier to think when he made quick strokes with a brush, his mind unravelling a gorgon’s knot of problems onto a blank canvas. “It’s not the same,” he repeated, his twitching fingers gripping his pants instead. “Did you mean the fact that I’m not human?”

“No.” Xiao scanned him head to toe and shook his head. His grip tightened on his polearm. He frowned. “Your presence…it’s similar to a demon’s.”

“A demon’s?” Faintly, Albedo remembered hearing about them during his last trip here. A tale of evil gods and the five guardians that vanquished them. It had sounded like a fairy tale, but then again, most of the stories in this world were grounded in some truth.

Xiao didn’t clarify. “It’s not the same.” His frown grew deeper, suspicion leaking into his voice. “Aether smelled like that once—was that you?”

It was easy to guess what Xiao was referring to. Albedo didn’t think another could feel the darkness in the sword, the murky hate that resonated in his bones.  Aether had been unaffected, but would another immortal have been unable to resist the siren call?

Maybe Sucrose had been right. Maybe it was high time he searched somewhere other than those foreboding mountains.

“Similar, but not the same,” Albedo answered, echoing Xiao.

Judging by his scowl, that wasn’t the expression the adeptus wanted. He raised his weapon slightly, steel in his voice. “Did you do something to him?”

“If I had, would you be able to stop it?” Albedo asked instead. Durin had taken a dragon and a country down with him, had razed the earth and left behind a scar that hadn’t yet faded. For all of Aether’s strength, for all of his sister’s powers, it would take more to stop Albedo if he did the same.

It would take much more, and Albedo didn’t want to ask, didn’t want to force it out of Aether. Every experiment required a control, every test a backup. And if Aether was his first specimen, maybe Xiao or the other adepti could be his second.

In all probability, it would take an immortal to stop an immortal.

“Is that a yes?” Xiao growled. A light breeze blew, his clothes fluttering to invisible hands. His grip on his polearm tightened.

“Not quite. It was a sword I gave him.” Albedo watched, fascinated, as the wind rose higher before dying out entirely. “Would you be able to destroy it?”

Despite calming down, Xiao didn’t lower his weapon. “Maybe.”

That wasn’t a conclusive answer. He pressed harder. “Maybe?”

“That presence…Your presence, it is similar to a demon’s.” His eyes grew colder. “And even to the very last remnant, I will destroy a demon.”

“Remnant…” In all honesty, that word fit him and that sword better than a demon. A remnant. The lingering will of his mentor. Durin’s bones had jutted out of the earth, his blood dotted the mountain, his hate filled the soil. Was that what his master had wanted? Destruction? Rage?

He wished he could say no. He wished he could say yes. Instead, he was left with this uncertainty that gnawed at him deeper than any chill.

Albedo lowered his gaze to his hands. “It would be best if nothing was left at all.”

If, like the chalk after it rains, he just washed away entirely.

Xiao snorted. “There’s always something left.”

He jerked his head up, not expecting that response. “Something?”

“Karma. Good or bad, that always remains.” Xiao turned to the staircase. “A god’s hatred. Regret. The memories they didn’t want erased. Something always remains, lingering until time finally cleanses it.”

Something remaining, something stuck behind—Albedo gripped his shirt. It was a truth he couldn’t reject. The sword was all that was left of Durin’s desires. Albedo was all that remained of his master’s wishes. Old Mondstadt survived, despite the destruction it had faced.

Something, big or small, always remained. And if that was the case, what would stay behind after he disappeared? If Albedo was his master’s lingering will, then what was his lingering will?

His art? His research?

Aether’s golden head popped up as he climbed the stairs, his expression apologetic. His arms carefully balanced three plates, his steps steady to avoid a disastrous crash. “Sorry for the wait!”

Xiao shot Albedo one last suspicious look before turning back to Aether. His polearm disappeared as he carefully picked up the plate of Almond Tofu. “That took a while.” His expression was soft despite his reprimand.

Aether laughed sheepishly, scuffing his shoe on the ground. “Sorry, Paimon kept asking for more.”

“Hey! Paimon’s hungwy!” Paimon mumbled between a mouthful of kebab.

“Yes, yes.” Aether turned to Albedo and held out a plate. The fish on it looked perfectly cooked. He smiled brightly. “I saved yours from her.”

Transfixed, Albedo stared at Aether’s smile. It was funny how something that simple could dissipate his fears. How a single look could calm him. It was hard to fear an unknown future when he knew Aether was by his side.

“Albedo?” Aether cocked his head.

Albedo smiled back. Aether’s smile always had a way of drawing out his own. There was something hopeful in Aether’s expression that Albedo responded to, despite himself. He stepped forward to take the plate. “Thanks.”

There was reason to hope. Perhaps his master had intended for Albedo to do, to be good. Maybe he wouldn’t rampage like Durin. And maybe, Albedo would find that truth of the world, and that would set him free.

Yet, even if it didn’t, even if the worst came to pass, there were options. Aether was strong. Xiao was confident. One way or another, Albedo’s destruction would stop by their hands. He would disappear, with barely a trace.

And that trace—if he had to leave something behind, if something had to linger like a faint line of chalk after the storm, then let it be this. Not a cursed sword. Not his many paintings and theories and research notes. Not even the truth of the world.

No, let it just be this smile that only Aether could draw out.

This single, hopeful smile.