#this is like the second one Ive ever gotten so far the other one was a shiny arcanine in sheild

[scottiexmariee]

omg ive been highly enjoying ur fics and hcs!!! i think u wrote their characters very spot on 🥺 the jail one got me thinking... can i request the lads boys reacting to the reader getting in trouble after punching someone. bc someone talked shit about the boys and wanted to defend their honor or smth lmfao ty!!! 💕

omg anon lemme kiss u on the forehead 

I almost did a backflip when I read this, I was so happy to write it. This one took a bit longer to write so I do apologize, but I was reeeeally on a mission to deliver some good plot here

Some are a bit longer (coughSyluscough) but I really hope you enjoy <3

Defending Their Honor

Pairings: Xavier x Reader | Zayne x Reader | Rafayel x Reader | Sylus x Reader

Word Count: 3.9k (oops)

Warnings: Fluff. Angst. Lore references. Reader throwing hands. FEELINGS. Soft Sylus. -Scottie is allergic to happiness.

Masterlist

Note: I got possessed when I wrote Sylus' and probably should have made him his own fic. I am not sorry. It is longer than the others. I am bashing my head against the keyboard. Please forgive me.

☆ “While I’m honored, you didn’t have to do that on my behalf,”

☆ ^ Giggling and kicking his feet on the inside though

☆ He’d also return the favor with no hesitation if the situation was ever reversed

☆ ^ You will NOT diss his lady in his presence

☆ Y’all are def cuddling for the rest of the night as soon as you get home

Xavier really needed to learn to stop taking his eyes off of you when the two of you were out in public. 

The two of you had gone on a fun little outing to Linkon’s version of a pop-up carnival. There were games, food vendors, live music, and tons of people. He knew how badly you’d wanted to go, so of course you nearly jumped right into his arms when he showed up at your apartment after lunch and told you to get ready.

So far, it had been good. The two of you had played a couple games, won some prizes, even took chances with a few questionable rides. You had walked around, hand in hand, enjoying each other’s presence and making new memories together.

It had been seconds. Seconds. You were both, unsurprisingly, hungry after walking around for a few hours. Xavier, being the knight in shining armor that he is, had walked up to one of the nearby food vendors to grab a snack for the two of you, innocently leaving you near a blue park bench. When he finished, you had disappeared. 

He stared at the now empty park bench, snacks in hand, completely baffled. He did a quick scan of the area, only to see a bunch of people he didn’t know, and someone being escorted to the exit by two security officers.

But that person almost looked like they were wearing the same outfit as you.

Xavier squinted. Surely not, right?

He caught up quickly, nearly stumbling when his suspicions were confirmed. That was absolutely you being dragged to the front of the park.

He lagged behind quietly, saying nothing, but already accepting the fact that your fun carnival date was apparently over. 

You were given a verbal warning and kicked out of the park, being told not to come back for the remainder of this year’s visit. If you came back, it would be trespassing.

You were getting ready to text Xavier when you realized he was right in front of you, nibbling on some type of skewer he’d gotten from the vendor. “Sooo…” He began, eyeing you curiously.

“I may or may not have slapped someone,”

His eyes immediately widened, his mind running through every possible scenario. 

“What happened? Did someone touch you?” He reached out and grabbed your wrist, eyes scanning every inch of exposed skin for injuries. 

“No! No, it’s….nothing like that,” 

His eyebrows furrowed. “Then….?”

Suddenly, you were a bit embarrassed. It had been so stupid. How was he even going to react to this?

When Xavier had left you by the bench, a man that looked to be around your age approached and asked for your number.

“I know you just saw me with someone.”

“So?”

“Not interested,”

“Why? Because of that loser? You could do better.”

That was it. That was the reason you’d backhanded the disrespect right out of that man’s bloodline. 

Xavier was….so many things. Incredibly kind, thoughtful, and just so deliciously him. You adored him the same way he adored you, and had him on a pedestal that no one could even close to touching. You could do better? Not possible. There was not a soul in this galaxy that was better than Xavier. At least, not to you.

Hearing someone speak lowly of him when you truthfully couldn’t even articulate how incredible he was? Yeah, instant slap. 

You kept your explanation short. “Some guy called you a loser,” You said, rubbing your arm sheepishly. 

Xavier almost giggled. 

“So….you slapped him?” 

You pressed your lips into a thin line, the reality of how out-of-pocket the whole thing was finally setting in.

Surprisingly, Xavier laughed. It was soft, filled with fondness and mirth. He pulled you into a loving embrace, placing a soft kiss on the top of your forehead. He'd be lying to the both of you if he said he wouldn't do something similar.

“I’m honored,” He began, his voice muffled by your hair, “but you don’t have to slap people on my behalf,”

“I’ll always defend you, whether you’re in the room or not,” You responded, your tone firm and completely serious. 

Xavier stood there for a moment, arms wrapped around you still, feeling like the luckiest guy alive. The thought of you backhanding someone for calling him something as simple as a loser was almost hysterical, yet it filled him with a warmth he couldn’t explain. You were really something else. 

After a moment, he pulled back, interlacing his fingers with yours. “Let’s go. There’s plenty of time left for us to turn this night around,”

❅ okay listen I love Zayne

❅ but he's kinda emotionally constipated sometimes (at least on the OUTSIDE)

❅ the logical side of him wants to scold you and tell you that this wasn't necessary

❅ but the emotional side, the side that is harder for him to articulate, is lowkey flattered that you'd go that far to defend his name

Zayne slowly paced back and forth in the lobby of the city’s police station, the only sounds in the room being the tap of his shoes on the linoleum floor and the ticking of a clock on the wall. He glanced toward the clock. It had been 20 minutes since he’d come to retrieve you, and he was growing impatient. 

The two of you were in another city for an awards banquet. You’d come along simply to support Zayne, your absolute favorite person in existence (who just so happened to be an incredible Doctor that was receiving multiple awards for his work).

Imagine Zayne’s surprise when the banquet ended and he couldn’t find you anywhere. It was extremely out of character for you to disappear when it came to things like this, especially while you were in an unfamiliar place. This wasn’t Linkon. You wouldn’t have simply left without so much as a ‘congratulations’, not to mention that Zayne had been your ride here. 

By the third time your phone had gone to voicemail, Zayne was nervous. That was when he started asking around. He’d pulled up a photo of you, showing it to various employees and asking if anyone had happened to see you leave. 

It was a security guard that told him you’d been arrested.

He left immediately, having the directions already pulled up before he made it out to the car. 

Now, he paced, an amalgamation of concern, confusion, and stress. 

A buzzing sound emanated from somewhere down the hall, and Zayne’s head whipped toward the sound to see you being led out by an officer, still wearing the outfit that matched his tie color. 

The red knuckles weren’t easy to miss. 

While he did still open the car door for you, he chose a tactical silence for the duration of the car ride. There wouldn’t be a single word spoken until you were back in the hotel room. This was a calculated method by Zayne. He knew you’d be absolutely squirming by the time you guys made it back, and that was exactly what he wanted. 

The door to your shared room clicked shut behind Zayne, who’d entered behind you. He leaned against it, folding his arms over his chest. He raised an expectant eyebrow at you, his eye flitting between your flustered face and reddened knuckles on your dominant hand. 

It was hard to take him seriously when he looked that handsome in a tux.

“I…may have overreacted,” You finally said, your voice coming out timid. 

“Can you go anywhere without picking a fight?” He responded, his tone exasperated. 

You swallowed. 

“I can…”

Zayne took a steadying breath. He moved from the door and took a seat on the edge of the bed. “Tell me what happened,”

You had been out looking at all of the posters on the wall, reading the lists of different accomplishments and awards printed under each attendee, waiting for the banquet to end. Zayne had already received his awards, but was still backstage and not allowed to leave. Some of the audience, including you, had stepped out of the auditorium throughout the banquet. You had originally just wanted some air. The auditorium had been stuffy, and the fancy outfit you had on was not helping. 

While you were out admiring the different posters, you heard a woman making some pretty rude comments about the poster she and her friends were in front of. At first, you just scoffed. You couldn’t imagine being so bitter. Was it so hard to be supportive of others, even if they weren’t the one you came for?

And then, you realized which poster she was standing in front of. 

Zayne.

Imagine this: You happen to be involved with an incredibly smart, talented, and stunning man that just so happens to be a Chief Cardiac Surgeon at only 27 years old. The same man that has made evolutionary discoveries and progress in treating cardiac abnormalities. The same man that you absolutely adored, and wanted nothing but the absolute best for. All of this is great, right? Now imagine hearing someone say something completely horrible about him right in front of you.

At first, the confrontation had started off as just a scolding. You’d told the woman that it wasn’t right to say horrible things about the attendees. They all did such incredible things that they were receiving awards for, after all. This was not the place for such behavior. 

And then, she just….kept going. 

Before long, you’d quickly ended the conversation with an abrupt bitch-slap. Security had already been approaching when your hand connected with her face. You weren’t going to tell Zayne this, but you’d actually gotten tackled. 

You gave Zayne the shortened version of the story, leaving out all of the gushing. 

Initially, he was quiet again as he tried to process what you’d just told him. 

Lady. Talking bad. Zayne. Slap.

For a moment, he couldn’t understand why you’d even resort to that. But when he looked at you, looking at him with eyes full of love and respect, he softened a little. While he didn’t necessarily agree with your methods, who was he to dictate how a person should react to any scenario?

He patted the spot next to him, still trying to form an appropriate response. You sat willingly, leaning into his side. He looped an arm around your waist. 

You sat in silence for a few minutes longer before he finally spoke. 

“The logical part of me should scold you, (Y/N). That was a bit overboard,” 

You looked up at him. His words implied that the logical part of him wasn’t the one that was winning whatever internal battle he had going on. “And what does the other part of you think?”

He sighed, pressing his forehead against yours. “Truthfully?”

You nodded, nearly melting at the sudden affection. His lips showed the faintest hint of a smile. “Truthfully, I’m flattered,”

❀yk how Raf blushes and pouts when you do the Heartbeat interaction??

❀ yeahhhh

❀ but also.....feelings

When Rafayel learned you’d been thrown out of his newest exhibition, he was initially pretty offended. He didn’t even want to be there to begin with. You were the only reason he’d forced himself to come, though he’d never admit it out loud. He had an arsenal of complaints ready to fire off the second he met you outside, after he reasoned with security, of course. 

It was Thomas who had weaved through the crowd, placed an urgent hand on Rafayel’s shoulder, and leaned close to speak for only the artist’s ears: “Security just dragged (Y/N) out of here. She hit someone,” 

The confrontation had luckily gone mostly unnoticed. It happened quick, and security had whisked you out. You’d gone willingly, and the man you’d struck no longer felt like sticking around either. 

Somewhere during the short walk from the back of the building to the front doors, your reason for lashing out had gotten lost in translation. Rafayel was under the impression that you’d thrown hands because someone had dissed his art. 

That, however, was an unfortunate misunderstanding. 

It wasn’t his art that the man had described as ‘worthless.’ It was Rafayel. 

Rafayel had smooth-talked security into letting you come back inside, with the condition that you would not be a problem for the remainder of the night. 

Rafayel had been flattered, but definitely thought you’d overreacted. 

“Not everyone can say they have a bodyguard this protective over art,” He teased, casting an amused glance in your direction. “Think we can make it through the rest of today without another attack?” 

You’d rolled your eyes, still a bit peeved. Who the hell comes to an exhibit specifically to dog the artist, anyway? “That’s not even what happened,” You grumbled. 

“People critique art all the tiiime. That doesn’t mean they should get assaulted over it,” 

“It’s different,” 

“I’m just saying. I’ve never punched anyone at an art gallery. Maybe you’re taking the Bodyguard title too seriously,” 

“Rafayel. You were the art,” 

Rafayel came to an abrupt stop, the air seemingly vanishing from his lungs. He’d heard you. He’d definitely heard you. His brain, however, was doing backflips, struggling to process your last sentence. 

You were the art. 

The gears clicked into place, his cheeks burning hotter and hotter with each passing second. In all honesty, he was conflicted. He was torn between the all-encompassing warmth, the feeling of being appreciated and thought so highly of that you would deck someone in the face purely for speaking ill on his name. The other half of him felt almost bitter. 

You were that same silly girl with a bad memory. And yet, here you were, fighting someone off of instinct when they said something nasty about him. 

You could do that, yet there was so much you couldn’t remember.

He was in a war with his thoughts and emotions, and unbeknownst to you, you were once again the cause. 

He finally collected himself, masking the emotional roller coaster he’d just been on with a chuckle. He patted the top of your head, settling on a teasing comment rather than risking opening the floodgates. 

“You’re so weird, Miss Bodyguard,” 

Rafayel would end up finding you in every lifetime, over and over again, no matter the cost. He’d remember every promise, every touch, every stolen moment. Yet, in every single timeline, you always found a way to make his head spin and his heart do cartwheels in his chest. 

This would forever stick out as one of those moments.  

⟡ Soft Sylus.

⟡ Soft Sylus.

⟡ SOFT SYLUS.

Sylus had invited you to tag along on yet another negotiation. He’d claimed he just liked having you at his side, but he truthfully respected your input more than he’d admit out loud. He’d often bring you along under the guise of keeping him company, but would subtly pay attention to your body language and facial expressions. If you weren’t going to bite, neither was he. 

After the first negotiation you attended, you as Sylus’ +1 became a much more frequent occurrence. As long as he was in the room, your safety was guaranteed. Not to mention how a lot of potential deals went off a little smoother when you were in the room to ease the tension. 

Today, the two of you were headed to a hotel a few cities away to meet with a man named Michael. You didn’t have many details about the deal, but you had the basics. If there was anything you needed to know, Sylus would tell you. 

It had taken you exactly 6 seconds after entering the room to decide that you did not like Michael. There was just something about him that had already gotten on your nerves. The arrogance? The ‘up-to-no-good’ vibe he absolutely reeked of?  The way he looked at the two of you like you were nothing more than pests the moment you walked in? 

While it was just you and Sylus on your side of the bargain, Michael had 6 armed guards scattered through the room, which added to your irritation. Michael was clearly a man that thrived off intimidation, yet was too cowardly to have an even playing field. 

Sylus never lost his nonchalance. He strode in like he had nothing to lose, suave and unbothered. He kept a hand pressed lightly against the small of your back as he guided you to a seat, a silent reassurance that everything would be fine.

The meeting had began, but not without Sylus catching how your mood had soured considerably within the first 10 minutes. 

The more Michael talked, the shadier the whole ordeal seemed. He was boasting about some modified protocore that was the ‘best on the market,’ and trying to goad Sylus into purchasing it. 

Sylus wasn’t dumb by any means. But Sylus was also a man that would humor someone for his own entertainment. “Show it to me,” He said, his tone even.

One of the guards gestured for Sylus to follow, and he immediately turned to you, waiting for you to come as well. Instead, you shook your head. You didn’t want to risk being ambushed when you came back if both of you left. Sylus trusted your judgment, knowing that he would be gone for less than 5 minutes. With a quiet “Behave,” cast in your direction, he disappeared with the guard. 

The second the door shut behind him, Michael turned to one of his guards and said something you probably weren’t supposed to hear.  “I’m going to walk that bastard like a dog, just watch.” 

Oh? 

In hindsight, it would have been better to keep your mouth shut. All you had to do was give Sylus a signal when he returned, and he would call this off with no hesitation. Your opinion mattered, after all. He didn’t just bring you to these meetings to serve as eye candy. Knowing this, you should have just brushed Michael’s comment off. However, it had gotten under your skin in a way you couldn’t shake off. The words were leaving your mouth before you could stop them.

“I’d like to see you try,” 

Michael, and all 5 of his remaining guards, immediately looked at you as if locking onto a target. The tension in the room intensified considerably.

Michael scoffed, looking at you as if you were a bug he’d stepped on. You glanced toward the door Sylus had stepped out of moments before, half expecting him to be standing there with an amused smirk on his face. He wasn’t, though.

Michael was on his feet, taking slow steps toward the chair you were sitting in. Despite the shaking in your fingers, you stayed put. “You must think so highly of him,” He drawled, zeroing in on you. “I didn’t know a man like that could catch the attention of a pretty thing like you,”

You didn’t know why, but your anger was rising with each passing second. The implication of his words was clear, but you wanted to hear him say it. It was obvious that he thought of himself higher than Sylus, and clearly didn’t have many polite thoughts about him. You and Sylus weren’t necessarily a… ‘thing,’ per se. Not yet, anyway.  So why did this piss you off so badly?

“A man like what?” You challenged, staring up at Michael. In your lap, your hands, that had been neatly folded, were slowly clenching into fists.

Michael's mouth twisted into a wolfish, arrogant grin. “I’d say he takes up more space than he’s worth. Cocky, foolish, insufferable–”

Your fist had connected with his jaw before he could get another word out, sending him stumbling backwards, clutching his jaw as he tried to regain his footing. 

It would take you about a week to fully process how the next 15 seconds had gone.

At first, the silence was so intense that you could audibly hear the rapid beat of your own heart.

Then, guns were raised and pointed directly at you. 5 from the guards, all at separate angles, and one directly in front of you from Michael himself. 

Next, gunfire. A lot of gunfire. Multiple shots ringing out from 6 different directions. 

You weren’t exactly sure when Sylus had entered, but he apparently had the timing of a God. You’d been whisked out of harm's way, somehow completely uninjured. You realized later that he likely used his evol somewhere in the mix.

Once safely away from the hotel, Sylus turned to face you, lips set in a thin line but his expression otherwise neutral. He studied you for a long moment. 

“That went well,” He said, his tone lacking any amusement. “Should I not trust you enough to leave you unattended for two minutes?”

You folded your arms over your chest. You didn’t trust the sound of your voice yet. You knew you owed him an explanation, but the adrenaline was still too high and you were still too angry to speak.

Sylus checked you for any injuries and then, to your surprise, grabbed your chin, tilting your head up to look at him.  

“You need to be more careful who you pick fights with,” He warned. His tone was firm, but not unkind. He knew you were more than capable of handling yourself. It was one of the things he appreciated about you. However, the fight today had left a bitter taste in his mouth. This was the first time he hadn’t been in the room the entire time. It could have been a lot worse, and you weren’t bulletproof. This was the first time he’d left you alone for more than 30 seconds, and it had ended with you in a shootout. 

“Maybe he shouldn’t have been talking shit about you the second you walked away,” You retorted, your voice coming out bitter. “Right in front of me. It was just…disrespectful.”

Sylus, who had assumed Michael had started it on his own, was stunned. For the first time in a long time, he didn’t have any quips or sarcastic comments to make. That was what had caused the fight? You, the same person that used to look at him with so much distrust and caution, had thrown yourself into a fight to defend his name while he wasn’t in the room. 

Sylus was silent for a moment, his eyes combing your face for any hint of deception. When your words finally sank in, he nearly melted on the spot. The adoration he’d already felt was intensified. The warmth he felt in his chest was almost too much, and he wasn’t sure whether he should scold you or kiss you. 

Instead, he gently tugged you against his chest, choosing to simply hold you for a moment. It felt like the only correct option. His chin rested against the top of your head, one arm looped around your back as the other cradled your head. He was absolutely flattered, and outrageously smitten.

Yeah, he had it bad. 

“Just when I think I have you figured out, you go and do something else that surprises me,” He murmured fondly, rubbing small circles into your back. You were an endless mystery to him. But as he stood there, holding you against him, he knew he’d happily spend the rest of his life trying to figure you out. 

Note: 1.4k words just for Sylus I am SO SORRY but I needed this man getting all soft with this prompt slkdhjsalkhd 

[silens-oro]

Well Enough Alone: Part VII

Not all fics have adult content, but this blog is 18+. Andrew "Pope" Cody x f!Reader (nicknamed Hawk) Prologue Cut the Loss (companion piece) Part I Part II Chicken Hawk (companion piece) Part III Part IV Trespassing (companion piece) Part V Part VI Slowly We Unfurl (companion piece) Hold on to the Thread (companion piece) But I'll Always Remember (pre-WEA companion piece)

Masterlist Pope Cody Playlist

General Synopsis: Pope and Hawk's night out gets hijacked by Smurf. Word Count: 4.8k Content Warning: violence, blood, injuries, typical animal kingdom warnings AN: My most heartfelt gratitude to everyone who gave this fic a shot and is still rolling on with me in my delusions about this man. I've enjoyed all of the comments and messages I've gotten so far! This is the most engagement I've ever received on anything I've ever written, so thank you!!!! please comment & reblog :)

“I’m sorry,” Pope breathes out as he glances over to Hawk in the passenger seat of his truck. 

“It’s fine, Pope. I’m sure if she’s calling you, then she really needs you.” Hawk tried to not show how much this bothered her. The boys had been effectively boycotting Smurf up until this point, running their own jobs and doing things their way -that’s what Pope told Hawk anyway. Regardless of who was running the jobs, it still twisted Hawk’s stomach something fierce whenever Pope mentioned they were running a job in passing. 

They were on their way to the Oceanside Sunset Market to have a relaxed early night out after Hawk had the wedding from hell that she delivered for earlier in the day. Pope had just put the truck in park when his phone rang. Hawk watched him contemplate answering it for a moment before he swiped his finger over the screen, and she knew in that moment that their night was effectively ruined.

It wasn’t missing the sunset market that bugged her, it was the fact that she and Pope had a quiet night out with just the two of them for the first time in a really long time and it was almost like Smurf could sniff that out. It wasn’t Pope’s fault, she had to tell herself. That loyalty, as hard as he tried to sever it, was still hanging on by a thread. 

“You can just drop me off at Smurf’s since we’re already heading that way and I’ll hang out there until you get back.” Hawk knew Pope wouldn’t cancel their night out if it wasn’t important. She knew that, but it still irked her. 

“You sure? It might be a while before we get back.” She nodded, smiling reassuringly at him. He reached a hand over and she placed hers in it. He brought the back of her hand to his lips, holding it there for a few seconds before bringing it down to rest on his thigh. “I can drop you off at home. It’s not a long trip back, Hawk.” She shook her head, squeezing his hand. 

“It wouldn’t be my first time sleeping at Smurf’s. I think I’ll live,” She said with a playful roll of her eyes. “I can hang with J if he’s there.” 

The sun had set over the horizon when Pope dropped Hawk off at the gate to the driveway of Smurf’s. She leaned over the middle console, pulling him to her by his shirt and gave him a kiss to let him know that she was mad -not at him, anyway. 

“Stay safe, please?” Pope nodded, giving her another peck before she let him go and he pressed the button in his truck to open the gate. She sent him another wave as she opened the front door and Pope didn’t leave until the gate was completely closed. 

“Haven’t heard from you in a while, kid. Everything alright? School going okay?” There was still a palpable tension between Hawk and J as they sat across from each other on the sofas in the den. They hashed everything out after the blow out they had, but there was a new distance placed between them that Hawk absolutely hated. 

“Been busy,” Hawk frowned. “Schools…fine.” J’s eyes shifted away from hers and he started picking at one of his fingers. Hawk immediately caught his tell that told her he was lying. “And you?” He changed the subject. 

“Things are good. I miss you,” She extended the olive branch and J’s mouth lifted in the corner. His shoulders dropped, the tension leaving them. 

“I miss you so much, Hawk.” J admitted, sadness flooding his eyes. “This place is a freakshow.” Hawk cackled. 

“Don’t gotta tell me. They treating you alright?” J shrugged. 

“Yeah,” He breathed out, his brows furrowing. “Pope’s been weirder than usual. He’s uh…he’s nicer to me, I guess. It’s more awkward than anything.”

���Is that a bad thing?” Pope’s making an effort for her sake. 

“I don’t know what it is, Hawk. I want to say that I get it, but I genuinely don’t. He’s a felon, at the barest minimum. He’s dangerous, to a degree I don’t think you get.”

“I know who Pope is, J.”

“So why are you doing this?” It felt like an accusation coming from J, and if Hawk was being honest, it didn’t feel good to be questioned by a seventeen year old. 

“Because I deserve to be happy, J.” It was the simplest way Hawk could put it. Pope got her in ways no one else ever had, and she got him. As much as she would like to deny that she overlooks the things he’s done and will do, she does overlook it. It was normalized in her sphere, though she was separated from it to a degree, but that didn’t matter. They were a crime family and she was associated with them.  

What could J say to that? That Hawk didn’t deserve to be happy if that happiness came in the form of his deranged uncle? He saw the men that came in and out of his mom’s life, violent men that were users and abusers, and while he didn’t think Hawk would stay with an abuser, her decision to jump into a relationship with Pope of all people made his head spin. 

“Hawk! Hey!” Nicky’s face held surprise as she walked into the den where Hawk and J were in the middle of their conversation.

“Hey, Nicky. What are you doing here?” Hawk blinked up at the teen girl who seemed to appear out of thin air. 

“Smurf’s letting me stay here for a while.” She explained with a shrug, not realizing she stepped in the middle of a serious conversation. 

“Oh?” Hawk glanced at J, who looked more interested in what was happening anywhere else in the room than the conversation that was happening in front of him. 

“Yeah, my dad has a thing going on in Guam and I didn’t want to go because who the hell goes to Guam, so Smurf’s letting me crash here until I can figure out what I’m doing. She’s been really cool about it, ya know? She said you lived here for a while when you were my age.” Nicky stepped further into the den, sitting on one of the arm chairs. 

“Did she?” Hawk’s brows went up to her hairline. “I’m sure only good things were said about it.” Sarcasm flooded Hawk’s voice and Nicky knew she shouldn’t have said anything. 

“Sorry,” She mumbled, but Hawk waved her off. 

“Didn’t you say you had some chem homework you needed to finish?” J questioned, trying to ungracefully get Nicky out of the room. Nicky blinked at him, looking between J and Hawk, before nodding dejectedly. 

“Give me a few minutes with J and then we can order a pizza and throw a movie on or something, alright?” Hawk softened J’s blow, shooting a glare at him. He at least had the wherewithal to look away sheepishly. This perked Nicky up and she nodded before giving the duo some space. Once Nicky was out of the room, and out of earshot, she leaned towards J.

“Alright, spill it. What the hell is going on between you two?” 

“We broke up.” J said, shrugging as he sat back on the sofa across from Hawk. 

“And she’s living here?” Hawk asked, confused. 

“She’s screwing Craig.” Hawk’s jaw dropped at J’s point-blank delivery, her wide eyes blinking at him as she processed what he said.

“She’s what?”

“Yup.” 

“Who knows about this?” J looked at Hawk like she had six heads.

“Everyone? It’s really fucking weird.”

“Weird? J, it’s illegal!” Hawk was baffled, her mind racing a million miles a minute as she tried to put Craig’s age together in her head. “He’s at least thirty!” It felt like deja vu having this same conversation twice with the same kid regarding an inappropriate relationship. 

“It was initially in retaliation for breaking up with her and the whole Alexa thing, and then it just…didn’t end.” Hawk ran her hands down her face. 

“Oh my god!” She shouted into her palms, the sound muffled. “Does Pope know?” Hawk leveled her eyes on J and he nodded, an uncomfortable expression blanketing his face. Hawk lowered her voice to an exasperated whisper so the girl on the other side of the house didn’t hear their conversation. “You’ve got to be kidding me! I’m the only one who didn’t know? And they just, what? Accept that it’s happening? That a thirty year old coke addict isn’t grooming a seventeen year old?!”

“Well, when you put it that way…” 

“This isn’t funny, J. This is so not funny.” Hawk pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“If you saw the way they interacted with each other, you’d think it was. It’s so fucking weird, Hawk.” He repeated, “It used to get to me, but now I think Craig knows it’s weird too because he looks like he wants to crawl out of his skin every time she comes into the room when we’re around.” 

“He’s not going to have skin to crawl out of the next time I see him.” 

The trio ordered some pizza and instead of throwing on a movie, Hawk gave the teens privacy to work out whatever was happening between them. 

Hawk felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket.

“I’m gonna head outside for a bit, alright? Can you put the pizza in the fridge, J?” He nodded and Hawk swiped the phone, putting it up to her phone as she stepped outside, sliding the door closed behind her. 

“Hey,” Hawk greeted Pope. 

“We’re on our way back. Everything alright?” Pope asked as Hawk walked around the pool absentmindedly. She sat on one of the pool loungers, kicking off her sandals so she could stretch her legs out comfortably on the chair. 

“Were you ever going to tell me that Craig is fucking a teenager?” Pope sighed on the other line. “Other than that, yeah everything’s fine here.”

“Didn’t know how to approach that one.” Pope mumbled.

“Yeah, the next time I see Craig, I’m taking a nine iron to his kneecaps -just so you know. That shit is so gross, Andy, I swear to god.” She heard him sigh again, and she knew he didn’t want to have this conversation with Smurf in the truck with him so she let it go for the time being. “Everything okay with Smurf?”

“Yeah. We’re about an hour and a half out.” Hawk looked through the windows to the kitchen and saw J getting very close with Nicky. Interesting, she thought with furrowed brows. Whatever was happening in this house was, unsurprisingly, fucked up and Hawk didn’t know if she even wanted to step her foot into the mess so she stayed outside on the lounger.

“Drive safe.” He grunted affirmatively and the call disconnected. Hawk leaned her head back, looking up at the darkening sky above her. The sky was clear and stars twinkled above, setting a serene atmosphere to relax in. She closed her eyes, letting herself sink further into the chair to get some sleep before Pope got back. 

It felt like Hawk had only just closed her eyes when she was gently woken up to something pressing into her cheek. She cracked an eye open, ready to threaten whoever decided to rudely awaken her, but she was met with a man she didn’t know pushing the barrel of a gun into her face. 

“Don’t scream.” The man said instructed. Hawk’s eye twitched as she nodded, staring down at the barrel. “Who else is here?” Hawks mind raced to J and Nicky. 

“No one.” Hawk whispered, shaking. His gun pressed further into her cheek in a silent threat and she winced, her breathing increased as she internally panicked. He tilted his head to the three other guys Hawk had just noticed, and motioned for them to sweep the house. He brought his mouth to her ear. “For your sake, you better not be lying.” The butt of his pistol whipped Hawk across her face, cracking the bridge of her nose and splitting her top lip, splattering blood across Smurf’s cushions. 

Hawk screamed out of shock and pain, flailing off the lounge chair, but the man grabbed Hawk by her arm roughly and threw her to the hard cement at the pool’s edge. 

He rolled her into her stomach with his knee on her back, her hands restrained tightly behind her as she kicked and screamed. Blood pooled on the concrete below her face as it streamed steadily from her nose. The man wrapped a cord around Hawk’s wrists just as J was physically kicked through his bedroom door that led to the backyard and onto the ground outside. They kept kicking and kicking and the man holding Hawk down chuckled. 

“You lied.” The man sneered down to her. “Now you’re gonna see what happens to people who lie to me. Bring him over here.”

“No!” Hawk begged through tears. All she got was a well landed punch to the side of her head to silence her. More blood pooled out of her mouth when she dropped her head. “Dont fucking touch him!” She threatened weakly. 

“Hawk!” J shouted when he saw the state she was in, struggling to get to her. He was just as bloody as Hawk was and it took two guys to subdue him enough to get him fully on the ground next to her. The man turned back to Hawk.

“Hawk. Chickenhawk if I remember right.” Hawk could only stare blankly at the man who recognized her, but she couldn’t place. “I don’t expect you to remember me,” the man admonished, his forehead resting against her temple. “But I remember you.” Hawk looked to J, her eyes pleading with him not to do anything stupid for her sake. “I’ll give you one more chance, J. Who else is in that house?” He knew who was inside. He had his guys casing the place all day. J looked at Hawk and she gave the tiniest of a shake of her head to not out Nicky. 

“It’s just us, Javi.” J groaned out. The name was there, somewhere in Hawk’s mind, but she couldn’t place his face to it. Clearly he knew her or of her, but Hawk’s head felt like a bell was ringing inside of it, obstructing her from trying to recall much of anything. 

“I’m not going to ask you if he’s telling the truth because we’ve already found out that you,” He tapped the end of his gun on Hawk’s broken nose, “are a proven liar.” She recoiled in pain as Javi looked around the yard, then up at the door J was pulled out of. 

“Go check the bedroom.” Javi ordered one of his guys while the other tied J’s wrists like they tied Hawk’s. J and Hawk were facing each other and J felt completely helpless as he watched Hawk’s tears mix with the blood that was still flowing out of her broken nose and mouth. He could feel the fear radiating off of her and J never hated his family more than he did in that second for whatever bullshit brought this monster to their doorstep -to Hawk. 

“Smurf isn’t here?” Javi asked J. 

“She went to —she went to meet you.” J ground out, eyes following the man that got closer and closer to the door. 

“She didn’t show.” Javi weighed J’s response before nodding and ordering his guys to pick both of them up. Hawk’s head was pounding behind her eyes and she didn’t know which way was up as her limp body was dragged across the patio. The next thing she knew, she was thrown into the shallow end of the pool with J held beside her. Javi squatted at the edge, gun held as a sign that he would use it if they didn’t play their cards right, as he took Hawk and J in. 

“Where does Smurf keep her money, J?” He sounded almost bored.

“I don’t know, man!” 

“He’s full of shit.” The man holding Hawk said and before she knew what was happening, she was pushed under the surface. A hand held her down by the back of her neck as she thrashed her legs and exhaled in a panic. Hawk felt the skin around her wrist rip and tear as she tried to free herself from her bindings. Her lungs screamed and burned as she tried to fight the impenetrable grip he had on her and just as black dots were starting to take over her vision, she was pulled up. 

“One more time, where’s Smurf’s money? Huh?” Hawk gasped for breath, coughing out pool water mixed with blood and saliva. She barely wheezed a real breath in before she was pushed back under again when J didn’t answer quick enough. Hawk’s panic increased when she saw J fighting for his life underwater next to her. Both of them were pulled up again, Hawk sobbing as she gasped for air in her waterlogged lungs. 

“Where is it?!” Javi shouted. 

“I told you! I don’t know!” J coughed out, water and blood spraying from his mouth. Hawk went down again. She could feel the fight leaving her with each second that passed as that hand held her under. She did little more than sputter when the hand pulled her back up. 

“Please,” She wheezed, mouthfuls of water heaved out as her body rejected it. Hawk was only afloat because of the assailant holding her up. If he let her go, she’d sink straight to the bottom. 

“Where is it?!” Javi yelled again, still not getting an answer from J. 

“She doesn’t have enough here!” J yelled out. He was pushed under again and again as Hawk’s watched on disoriented, flitting in and out of consciousness as she continued to choke up water. They pulled J up once more, holding his head up to look directly at Javi.

“You have one more chance to tell me where the fucking money is or the next time she goes under, she’s not coming back up.” Javi threatened, voice as cold as ice. 

“Behind the dryer!” J relented, head hanging when the hand released it. “Smurf keeps shoe boxes in her closet. That’s all that’s here that I know about!” He pleaded, praying they’d take the cash and leave before Hawk was killed or Nicky was found out. Javi finally stood, gun ready in his hand. 

“Get 'em out.” He ordered his men and they dragged a semi-conscious Hawk and mostly coherent J out of the pool and were dragged next to each other flat on the ground. “Check the dryer.” Javi ordered one, “Check her bedroom.” then rounded back on J while the fourth man watched over Hawk, who just groaned and tried to roll onto her side so she didn’t choke to death. He kicked her in the ribs and she felt something snap. Hawk stayed still out of instinctual self preservation, legs curling in as she wheezed and gasped for breath.

“Don’t,” J begged weakly. “Hawk doesn't know anything.” The man smacked J roughly on the chest and he groaned out in pain. “She doesn’t know anything.” He repeated weakly. 

“Aquaman, you better not be lying to me. You lying to me? Huh?” He punched J square in the face and J took it because it's all he could do. 

Screaming suddenly echoed through the house along with glass shattering and Hawk started to squirm once more before getting kicked in the ribs again as Nicky was dragged out of the kitchen slider by her hair. Hawk tried to scream, to cry, but the pain was too intense to do anything other than exhale in a silent, wheezing, horrific wail. 

“No one else here, huh? No one else here?!” Javi punched J over and over again, relentlessly taking his frustration out on the seventeen year old. 

“Stop!” Hawk tried to speak, the right side of her face immediately swelling after the man holding her down punched her directly on the mouth to silence her. Hawk felt her teeth slice the inside of her cheek as her vision wavered in and out and her ears started ringing. “Please, please…” Her voice slurred as the back of her head hit the concrete as she fought to stay awake. 

Hawk could hear J screaming in agony and Nicky crying behind a gag, but she couldn’t physically move on her own, much less open her eyes. Her entire body felt like it was weighed down by a slab of cement and she focused on trying not to choke on the blood that filled her mouth. 

“Toss her in.” Javi ordered, then Hawk was lifted and tossed unceremoniously into the deep end. The feeling of the water jolted her and she gasped, inhaling a mouthful of water as she sank to the bottom. She kicked, trying to right herself, but with her hands tied behind her back, she could only spin around. Her bare toes scraped against the bottom, trying to find grip so she could push herself towards the stairs in the shallow end. 

The water around her head was tinged red, blinding her vision. She could vaguely see the steps a deceivingly long distance from where she was, and her vision was starting to black out at the edges and her lungs tried to simultaneously expel the water and inhale. 

The irony of dying in the house she desperately tried to escape in her youth was not lost in Hawk. Her legs started to lose their energy and the pushes she tried to do off the bottom of the pool were becoming less and less stable with every step. Her lungs burned and screamed for a gulp of air from a surface that was so close and so far from her grasp. 

Just as the last bits of consciousness were letting go, she felt a push from behind, then nothing. 

Over on the other side of the yard, Hawk’s phone buzzed on the chair she had fallen asleep on earlier in the night. Pope’s name scrolled across it as it buzzed incessantly until it fell off the cushion and onto the bloody pavement below. 

J got Hawk to the stairs and got her head above water, but he couldn’t hear or see her breathing and her lips were losing color. He knew time was of the essence, but his hands were tied behind him and he couldn't get her out of the pool, much less do CPR. 

“J?” He heard Smurf’s voice from inside the house “Pope get out here!” J felt relief flood his body when he saw Smurf and Pope rush through the broken slider. 

“She’s not breathing!” He gasped out, still trying to push Hawk up with his shoulder. “Get her out!” J slipped, his face submerged for a moment before he got his footing again. Without a second thought, Pope stepped down into the water and grabbed Hawk, dragging her to lay on her side while he cut through her bindings. 

“How long has she been out, J?” Pope asked methodically. He needed a time frame to know how long Hawk had been without air.

“Couple of minutes.” J’s voice shook. “Where were you?” He asked Smurf, anger pushing through. Smurf tried to help J up onto the steps so he could painfully wiggle his way onto his stomach, gasping for breaths as he watched Pope start compressions and mouth to mouth. “Javi was looking for you and found her first.” The rage in J’s voice was unmistakable as Smurf untied him. He scrambled over to Hawk once he was able to, ignoring the pain that radiated through his entire body. 

“Come on,” Pope grunted, starting another set of compressions. Water started bubbling out of Hawks mouth, then it shot out of her as her lungs hacked out the intrusion. Pope rolled Hawk onto her side as she coughed mouthful after mouthful of water out of her body, gasping for air when it was finally expelled. Pope rubbed between her shoulder blades. “Get it out, come on.” He begged. Pope was shaken when he pulled Hawk’s lifeless body out of the pool, but he went immediately into survival mode. Now, that adrenaline was winding down, all of that fear built mountains inside of him. 

“Andy,” Hawk’s voice was so small, like she couldn’t believe she was seeing him. Pope’s hands instantly grasped her face, careful of the cuts and bruises that littered it. She coughed and sputtered, her body trying to regulate itself, but she couldn’t stop the onslaught of tears that kept pouring. Pope carefully pulled her face to his chest, her hands gripping his t-shirt

Smurf threw a towel to Pope as she passed by so she could wrap J up. 

Hawk’s arms shook as she tried to lift her weight on them, then they collapsed altogether, but Pope was there to catch her. 

“You’re alright,” His hand came up to her bruised and beaten face, cradling it as she sobbed in pain. “Stay down.” 

“Where’s J?” Her voice was strangled and rough, as she tried to find him. “Help him. Help him,” She choked out, hyperventilating. Pope kept a firm grasp on her to keep her still as she fought against him weakly. 

“I’m here,” J reassured her, his hand reaching for her to feel. This seemed to relax Hawk just the tiniest bit before her wide, wild eyes met Pope’s. 

“Where’s Nicky?” 

“You need a hospital.” Pope kept his voice low, trying not to upset Hawk any more than she already was. 

“And tell them what? I fell down the stairs?” Pope leveled her with a look that said he found zero humor in this, but Hawk wasn’t trying to be funny. What would she say happened to her when she got to the emergency room? She’d love to get a dose of dilaudid, but even she knew that the cops would be on her like flies on shit and she was a horrible liar at best. “The last thing I want right now is anyone else touching me other than you.”

Hawk was sitting naked on Craig’s bed, fresh out of the shower and wrapped in a clean towel, and it took everything in her to not think about what she could possibly be sitting on. Hawk had bigger things to worry about. 

The door to the bathroom that was shared with J’s room was closed and Hawk could hear the shower running. Pope kneeled down on the floor, checking every inch of her out, but J was just on the other side so they made sure to keep their voices down. 

Pope had seen the damage when he helped Hawk shower, but it still didn’t stop his sharp inhale when he saw the bruises growing even larger. Hawk’s abdomen and back were swollen and her skin was mottled with heavy bruising where there were very obviously fractured ribs. Pope was more than familiar with the injury and the longer he looked at it, the angrier he got -with himself and with Smurf. Mostly with Smurf.

“Looks like at least three are broken,” He said softly as he prodded around. Hawk hissed every time he touched one of the fractured ribs and his fingers immediately flinched away. Pope carefully picked Hawk’s hands up, twisting them in his palms as gently as he could so he could see the damage on her wrists. The cord bit through the skin when she struggled and the deep frown on Pope’s face only got deeper. 

It was the damage done to Hawk’s face that hit him the hardest. Whoever hit her didn’t hold back, not in the slightest. The right side of her face, at the highest part of her cheek, was swollen and bruised, and the bruise extended up to her eye socket. Pope took a butterfly bandage from the first aid kit he had laid out next to Hawk, and placed the strip over the area above her upper lip, bringing the split together. 

To her credit, Hawk tried to put a brave face on through Pope’s examination, but she felt herself fracturing like a sheet of glass every time she saw the way he looked at her -like she was damaged. She hadn’t seen what she looked like yet. The mirrors in the bathroom were covered in steam, and even then she was too incoherent to pay attention to her reflection. 

Pope moved on to her nose, the tips of his fingers touching the tender skin around the bridge of it ever so slightly. It was obviously fractured as well, but it wasn’t out of place, so that was one saving grace in Hawk’s corner. Hawk’s bottom lip started to wobble when their eyes met and Pope felt something inside of him shatter. 

“I want to go home.” Hawk’s broken voice sucked the air out of the room. She groaned in pain as she leaned forward to rest her forehead against his. “I want to go home, Pope.” 

please comment and reblog :)

[81folklore]

dress - VETTEL - part 2

pairings: sebastian vettel x famous!reader (fc: taylor swift)

summary: its known that seb has been married for a few years now despite the public never seeing is wife, its also known that yn is in a committed relationship and has been since she disappeared from public eye. maybe they are more connected than people realise

authors note: part two because i didnt realise how long it had gotten but im allergic to actually writing.. also i apologize for the first part literally just being build-up.. i honestly didnt know about the 30 pic limit so...

authors note 2: i used google translate for the german so i hope its correct, also i dont know if petnames like darling or sunshine are used in germany but i had to use them

authors note 3: i actually hate how this turned out :/ but it was very hard to actually get my thoughts onto the page so this will do! this is part 2 so go read part 1 first!!

part 1 part 3 masterlist

ynupdates

liked by user5, user77, olliebearman and 45,920 others

YN IN THE F1 PADDOCK TODAY, I REPEAT YN IN THE PADDOCK

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user77: sorry i dont follow f1, i thought the races were on sundays?

user5: dont be sorry! today is qualifying and tomorrow is the race!

user5: SHES THERE I CANT STAY CALM

user91: does anyone know who she was with in those photos of her by the track?

user5: sebastian vettel and mick schumacher!

user6: SHE WAS WATCHING QUALIFYING WITH SEB AND MICK?? SEB VETTEL?? AND MICK SCHUMACHER?? OH LORDDD

user12: i thought i would survive.. i lied

ynupdates

liked by user5, user20, user99 and 101,782 others

seems like yn is with redbull at todays race looking as gorgous as ever!

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user5: OH OH OH OH

user5: SHE IS STUNING HOLY

user20: her style recently has been AMAZING

user68: out of every team i think redbull would have been one of my last guesses

user6: THE WAY SHE IS WITH REDBULL AND SPENT QUALIFYING WITH REDBULLS GOLDEN BOY OH I FEEL SICK

user99: i love her so much

user42: at least her team will win

user591: IS SHE WEARING A WEDDING RING??

user618: i think so?? honestly i wouldnt be surprised shes very private and has been with her partner for almost 8 years so no wonder he popped the question

user90: i need her to be at every gp

ynupdates

liked by charles_leclerc, user55, user81 and 234,891 others

yn on stage performing dress during the post-race concert at suzuka! as far as we know it was a complete surprise, she came on to sing dress then left. this is her second time performing it to a live audience!

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user81: WHEN IS IT MY TURN TO HEAR DRESS LIVE

user5: charles and seb were both spotted watching her from the side of the stage!

user81: charles taking seb to see his favorite artist..what if i cried

user55: i cant believe i lost dress twice without even knowing i could lose it😭

user8: i hope she had so much fun, ive missed her doing stuff like this :’)

user12: apparently she was laughing and looking off stage at someone throughout, possibly her partner?

user1: SHE AWLAYS LOOKS SO GOOD

user13: so much content this weekend..im going to have major withdrawls

yourusername

liked by sebastianvettel, mickschumacher and 13,712,847 others

four years ago i was given the pleasure of marrying my best friend

i am unable to really put into words how much meeting you and getting to spend the rest of my life with you has changed my life seb, but i tell you i love you enough daily that i hope you understand

when we first met i had no idea how much you would impact me and the way i think, but you have helped me become the woman i am today and i am forever grateful for that

i often feel unworthy of the life you have given me, the life we have together. i wonder how i got to be the one you love and cherish and i know how lucky i am to be the one you spend your life with

you gave me your heart and i promise to look after it for as long as im here, i promise to keep it safe and i know you will look after mine

danke, dass du mich liebst, danke, dass du dich um mich kümmerst. (thank you for loving me, thank you for taking care of me) Ich verspreche, dich bis zu meinem letzten Atemzug zu lieben. (I promise to love you until my last breath) Ich werde nie aufhören, dich zu lieben, Mein Sonnenschein. (I will never stop loving you, my sunshine)

tagged: sebastianvettel

comments on this post have been limited

sebastianvettel: Danke, dass du dein Herz geöffnet hast und mich dich lieben lässt, mein Schatz (Thank you for opening your heart and letting me love you, my darling)

sebastianvettel

liked by yourusername, lewishamilton and 8,728,712 others

I won the most important race. It was the race into the heart of the love of my life, yn. I love you.

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yourusername: 🩵🩵🩵

user5: I CANT DO THIS STOP

user12: hes so sweet :(

user18: ive known about them for a total of 2 minutes but i love them already🫡

user6: dress was written about him…

user71: i feel ill wehn will i get posted like this

sebastianvettel

liked by charles_leclerc, yourusername, landonorris and 10,120,859 others

the sunshine of my life

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yourusername: i love you so much

lewishamilton: very happy for you mate!

user13: THEY LOVE EACHOTHER SO MUCH OH MY GOD😭😭

landonorris: 🥹🥹

user82: DRESS WAS WRITTEN BY HER FOR HIM AND HE WAS PROUD OF IT OH LORD

user5: literally my favorite people in the entire universe🫶

user19: still in shock that theyve been married for four years

[goomyloid]

why is it that you like noelle so much? i'm a noelle fan myself but i can't figure out why i like her so much. like if someone asked me to explain what makes noelle a complex or well-written character i would not be able to explain it to them. and i'm hoping hearing someone else's thoughts on her might give me some perspective to figure out why i gravitate towards her

Hello.

um i could make a whole video essay complete with background visuals on why i like noelle so much. but i dont have that kinda time so ill give the condensed version

she simultaneously fulfills several of my favorite tropes for [female] characters. she's the nice normal girl that probably has something deeply wrong with her on the inside, but she's become incredibly good at pretending everything's okay. she's also the childhood friend, someone who knows the protagonist on an intimate level that no one can quite replicate. she Also can very much fulfill another trope i like, which is Girl who looks like she's about to freak out and kill herself any second now. i cant wait to watch her become 100x more unstable in the coming chapters

all of those are just tropes/traits that i tend to like the most, so her personality/character alone is enough to make me like her

there's various details that make her really interesting in terms of the game itself. stuff like her being ever so slightly tied to gaster and the Weird disappearance of her sister, how her affinity for game glitches might mean something for the story, her entire extra pages of characterization from the spamton sweepstakes and what THOSE entries might mean for the story... i still think she will only be a character of secondary-importance in the main route but man i do think shes important to the story as a whole in ways that other characters arent.

shes lowkey kinda me. lol. i think a lot of people see themselves in noelle for various reasons. the general kind of Nice Normal i-need-to-get-along-with-everyone passiveness, on top of being the type of girl to present normally and then have a secret "weird side." that bit especially resonated a lot with me and surely with many other highly-masking autistic people i think -- feeling the need to 'convince' everyone you're normal, and then only being able to properly relax around people who really 'know' you. also, her whole thing about being scared by scary video games and movies and stuff only to immerse herself in them enough to eventually be comforted by them is like. So weirdly specific and also literally exactly how i was as a kid which is really funny. its stuff like that that makes her feel Real and relatable

the weird route. ill be so real i dont think id be half as interested in deltarune as a whole as i am now if it werent for the weird route LMAOOOOO. which i think is fair honestly. ofc im horribly interested to see where the main story goes, and i will definitely be invested in it. but the weird route carved a weird route shaped hole into my weird route shaped brain. its too peak. the alternate take on empowering noelle is so interesting, and dont even get me started on the strain it puts on kris's and noelle's relationship, their unique relationship they dont have with anyone else. i just think its exceptionally interesting how we've gotten to see noelle from so many different angles so far, and she's only been important for one chapter.

her design lowkey rocks? like call her little white dress boring or whatever but man does it open the door for so many cute and wonderful design interpretations. and also her palette shift into cooler colors but in Opposite Directions (brown fur becomes more reddish + yellow hair becomes more greenish) looks freaking awesome. i think ive seen an incredibly wide range of noelle designs more than literally any other character in the game

i dont want to spend too wildly long on this bc ive already taken multiple days to type this out so ill stop here lol. if i think of anything else i just HAVE to include ill reblog with it or something, but these are really the main points that come to mind first

[scary-grace]

(secret) santa, baby - part 6 of a shigaraki x f!reader fic

Shigaraki doesn't want to participate in the office's Secret Santa exchange, but when Toga promises to make it easy on him, he gives in. But making it easy for him makes it a lot harder for you -- you're the one who got his list. Office AU, no quirks. A fic in 12 parts. Divider by @ wcnderlnds

part i part ii part iii part iv part v part vi part vii

part vi (holiday parties)

Everybody’s been talking about the company holiday party scheduled for Christmas night for a month and a half, and you assumed everybody would settle for that one instead of throwing parties of their own. But based on the number of party invitations that have been dropped on your desk, your coworkers are as over-the-top about holiday parties as they are about everything else. It seems like there’s a party or two every night, work nights included. You’ve gotten at least five invitations, and in your efforts to make friends, you’ve been going to all of them.

So far you’ve done a cookie party, a gingerbread house party, a holiday-themed DIY spa night with your coworkers from the advertising department, karaoke with the PR team, a White Elephant party that scraped up almost everybody and took almost four hours to get through, and one party that was just an eggnog-fueled walk through Yaoyorozu’s ritzy neighborhood, which you have to admit has the prettiest Christmas light displays you’ve ever seen. You can hang in there with the best of them, but you’re getting sort of partied out.

The next invitation arrives while you’re at your desk the day after Yaoyorozu’s party, still trying to shake off the eggnog, and it’s delivered by the last person you’d have expected to care about that kind of thing. “Toga’s having a party,” Shigaraki says without preamble. He drops the invitation down on your desk, next to the pen you got from your Secret Santa. “You’re invited.”

He looks really unhappy about it. It makes you nervous. “Did she tell you to invite me?”

“Where do you think I got this?” Shigaraki gestures at it with one hand, and you notice that his skin looks less irritated than it did the last time you saw him. He must be using the hand cream, and the feeling of accomplishment that settles around you is almost enough to cut the nerves of this conversation. “Can you go to the party or not?”

You study the invitation. “A pajama party?”

“She just means not work clothes,” Shigaraki says. He scratches lightly at his neck. “We just eat and hang out and watch Christmas movies. Nothing weird.”

“Other than you watching Christmas movies,” you say. He glances at you, then looks away. “I thought you hated this stuff.”

“There are drinks, too. That helps.”

You’re kind of maxed out on Christmas drinks. You glance at the invitation. It’s for tomorrow, which isn’t a work night, and you don’t have anything planned. Toga’s been nice to you. If it’s Toga’s party and she’s inviting her friends, Spinner and Twice will be there, and they’ve been nice to you, too. You might not know Dabi or Magne or Compress very well, but you think you can probably avoid bothering them if you’re careful. There’s not a reason to say no – except the reason that’s standing in front of you, waiting with increasing irritation for you to reply. “Well?”

“Do you want me to go?” you ask, and Shigaraki stares at you. “If you’re only inviting me because Toga’s making you –”

“That’s not what I said,” Shigaraki says. He looks even more annoyed than he did a second ago, but there’s color coming up in his face. You wonder if that’s what you looked like when you were singing a Christmas song to ward off the carolers. “Can you go or not?”

“Um –” If you say yes, he’ll stop staring at you like that. And you still need to make friends. “Yes. Tell Toga I’m looking forward to it.”

Shigaraki nods once and stalks off, probably headed straight back to the basement. You study Toga’s invitation a little more carefully. There’s a list of movies on it that looks pretty good, and it says you’re not supposed to bring anything except yourself, your pajamas, and an ugly sweater if you have one. It sounds like a quieter party than the ones you’ve been going to, and it’s not a work night tomorrow, so there’s no reason for you to feel anxious about it. Is there?

“Hey!” Ashido’s peering over the wall of her cubicle into yours. “Did I hear that right? Shigaraki left the dungeon just to ask you out?”

Your face goes up in flames. “He didn’t ask me out. He was just dropping off an invitation to Toga’s party. She must have asked him –”

“That’s not what he said,” Hakagure says, leaning out of her cubicle across the way to stare at you. “You assumed Toga asked him to ask you, but he didn’t agree.”

“And we know Toga usually hand-delivers her invitations,” Ashido continues, “because Uraraka got one. Right, Uraraka?”

“I went last year, too,” Uraraka says. “It’s different, but it’s okay. They’re all a lot different when they’re not at work.”

Uraraka’s going, too. Knowing that eases your mind a little bit. And knowing that they’re different than they are at work is a positive. You think. Given that ‘what Shigaraki’s like at work’ is a category broad enough to include just about every behavior somebody can exhibit without getting fired, you’ve really got no idea what he could possibly be like in his off hours. In twenty-four hours and change, you’re going to find out.

You try not to think about what Ashido and Hagakure said, but it lurks at the edges of your thoughts overnight and into the next day, and by the time you’re knocking on the door to Toga’s apartment, you can’t ignore it any longer. He didn’t say Toga told him to ask you. He also didn’t say he didn’t want you to go. In your observations of Shigaraki, you’ve never seen him be shy about saying what he doesn’t like.  If he didn’t want you to go, you’d have known about it. Which means he does want you to be here. Why does he want to see you outside of work? Is he really –

“You came!” The door opens in your face, startling you out of your thoughts, and Toga pulls you inside before you can get your bearings entirely. “Tomura-kun said he needed an invitation for you, but we didn’t think he’d actually go through with it. I’m so glad you’re here!”

“He went through with it? Damn.” Dabi appears around the corner. If you’d been trying to predict his outfit for a pajama party, you wouldn’t have picked an actual pajama set, which is what he’s wearing. “I hope you like lame-ass Christmas horror movies, because that’s what we’re watching first.”

“There are Christmas horror movies?”

“Oh yeah! Lots of them!” Twice also has a pajama set. His comes with a hat on it. “We have to watch at least one every year so Shigaraki won’t get up and leave when we try to watch Home Alone or Elf.”

“And this year we had to have two horror movies,” Magne adds. She’s in the kitchen, mixing drinks. “It’s the only way we can get him to sit through Love Actually.”

“How do you pick the movies?” you ask. Magne hands you a drink, then shoos you towards the living room, which is a sea of couches and beanbag chairs. “Does everybody pick?”

“We always do Nightmare Before Christmas, since we can all agree on that one,” Spinner says. He’s already sitting down, and his idea of pajamas looks a lot more like yours – sweatpants, sweater, both sort of old. “Then we put all the others on a corkboard and play darts to pick.”

He points over to one wall, and sure enough, you can see a corkboard covered in darts and tiny pieces of paper. “Anybody who’s invited can suggest one.”

“One of mine made it this year,” Uraraka says brightly. “Die Hard.”

“You could have added one, too, if somebody hadn’t waited so long to invite you –”

“Give it a rest,” Shigaraki says, and you jump. You almost didn’t notice him, settled in like he is at one corner of the couch with the hood of his sweatshirt pulled up over his hair. “Take one of my picks. So you won’t have to watch a bunch of things you hate.”

“Oh, that’s okay –”

“No,” Shigaraki says. He sits up and his hood falls down. “Pick something.”

“Pick something,” Twice agrees, edging past you to plop down on the couch next to Shigaraki. “Save us from the gremlins. I can’t watch the microwave scene again.”

“No, we should keep the gremlins. I don’t want to watch that Krampus thing,” Toga complains. “It looks so gross and weird –”

“We only have one movie that’s off-limits,” Spinner says. “It’s –”

“The Grinch,” you say, and Spinner gives you a surprised look. “Let me think for a second.”

“Sit down while you’re thinking about it,” Magne advises, reaching over the back of the couch to shove Twice towards the middle and free up the space next to Shigaraki. Is that where you’re supposed to sit? “Go on.”

You sit down, careful not to spill your drink, and think through the list of Christmas movies you know. You don’t want to pick something they’ll hate – or something Shigaraki will hate, given that he’s the one who invited you – and the only thing you have to go on is that they all like Nightmare Before Christmas. Hasn’t Tim Burton done another Christmas movie? You take a sip of your drink, which is thankfully not eggnog, to jog your memory. “What about Edward Scissorhands?”

“Never seen that one,” Dabi muses. “Spinner. Get rid of the gremlins and add it to the lineup.”

You haven’t seen it in forever. Hopefully it’s not bad, and hopefully everybody drinks enough by then that they don’t care whether it’s good or not. As Spinner screws around with the TV and everyone else starts looking for spots to sit, you turn your attention to Shigaraki. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Letting me pick one,” you say.

Shigaraki shrugs. The two of you are sitting close enough that his shoulder brushes against yours. “It’s not a big deal. I knew you wouldn’t pick the Grinch.”

“I know a Grinch-free zone when I’m in one,” you say, and Shigaraki’s scarred mouth pulls up slightly at one corner. You can’t imagine him smiling like that at work, and you don’t know how you feel about it. “Thanks for inviting me to this, too.”

“Toga didn’t make me,” Shigaraki says. “It was my idea. Just so you know.”

He was holding your gaze at first. When he says that, he looks away, and you don’t try to make him look back. You face front and wait for Toga to start the movie, and when Magne sits down on the couch, you scoot just a little closer to Shigaraki to make room. It reminds you of high school in some sense you can’t put your finger on, some way you’re not ready to look at too closely. But there are five movies in the queue for Toga’s holiday party. You’ve got a long time tonight to figure it out.

<- part v part vii ->

[fivestaralien]

headphones and other accessories

-> jeongin x gn!reader

warnings"+: talks of being mentally overstimulated, mentally slipping in public a little, jeongin is always paying attention and best boyfieee word count: 821 a.n.// probably my fav one ive written so far. I wish I had someone to help me like this when I feel too much in public so this is definitely self indulgent. lmk if I miss anything and if anyone can relate to this im sorry you have to deal with this:( it sucks but my messages are always open! please stay safe everyone!

//

 The pounding in your head was getting worse by the second. It didn’t help that everyone around you was in their own conversions which amplified the loud sounds. Now don't get it twisted, you love being around your friends, but right now the overstimulation was becoming suffocating and you were beginning to panic. 

 Everything is beginning to blend together as your eyes start to glaze over and all you want to do is go home. Normally you would’ve tugged Jeongins sleeve, letting him know your social battery was dead, but it had been so long since everyone could go out like this so you didn’t want to ruin that. It had only been an hour and he looked so happy, laughing along to jokes and animatedly talking about something that happened on tour. 

 Jeongin could tell though. He knows you too well not to. 

 He first noticed when you kept checking your phone and messing with the fidget ring he had gotten you for your one year anniversary. Then you started talking less and staring off into the space around you. The final thing that sent him into protective boyfriend mode was when you started sniffing. You only did that when you were holding back tears, trying not to disturb others as you were silently suffering these overwhelming feelings. 

 Without alarming the guys he reaches his hand over to rest on your thigh, gently kneading it to let you know that he’s here. Jeongin continues his conversation like nothing's wrong which you appreciate. He knows how much you hate when the guys coddle you when they notice you struggling in public. 

 Both your hands fly to his wrist in search of your favorite accessory that he never takes off. The fidget bracelet that matches your ring. The metal spheres glide back and forth against the skin of Jeongins wrist, making his heart grow warm. Knowing he is helping ease your mind, in turn eases his own, even if it’s just for a little. 

 “Do we need to leave?” He whispers in your ear, leaning far enough in front of you so you wouldn’t look at anyone except him. 

 Jeongin always does this so you wouldn't base your feeling on how you thought they were feeling but on how you were. In his own words, after the first time you accidentally let yourself slip, “Tell me what you need as if it’s just us two. Only your feelings matter right now, okay?” 

 That had only been a few months after you officially started dating and you knew after that, that you were falling hard and fast for him. No one has ever been so gentle and patient with you as Jeongin has and still to this day he only gets better. You thank the universe everyday for dropping him into your life. You look at him then back down to his bracelet you were still fidgeting with. 

 “I can handle another half hour.” You tell him. 

 He has no reason to second guess you since he made you promise to never lie for the sake of hurting other people’s feelings. Jeongin looks your face over before nodding and then leans back in his seat. Your brain panics when his hand retracts from your thigh, but when you see him only grabbing something from his bag, it calms you a little. 

 To your complete surprise, a pair of wireless headphones are placed on your lap, brand new. 

 “I already connected them to your phone.” 

 You look up at him with furrowed brows and a frown but he was already back to talking with Hyunjin. The bracelet finds its way back between your fingers the second he drapes his arm across your lap, hand resting on the outside of your thigh. You try not to cry as you stare down at the black headphones but it wasn’t really working that well. 

 Quickly you grab your phone, going into the settings app then clicking the bluetooth section. Your eyes sting even more as you see the name you're sure Jeongin set as he connected them. ‘my universe<3’

 You press the power button on the headphones and watch the screen as it connects to your phone, then put them on your head. The difference in sound between when you didn’t have them on, to having them on is astounding. The world became a lot more tolerable now that the mix between the cafe music and your friends loud voices were deafened. 

 You don’t bother putting any music on, the random conversations around you are entertaining enough now that you are calming down a little. Once again your hands go to the bracelet but you made sure to squeeze his hand as a thank you before fully letting yourself space out. 

 Jeongin squeezes back, pressing a kiss to the crown of your head and can’t help but internally coo at how adorable the headphones looked on you.

// my skz masterlist , all masterlists

[zarnzarn]

About the Reverse Odyssey AU (love it btw), do you think any of the Ithacans start praying to Hephastus? Just in case they can't get Odysseus back to human form, at least they can ask the God of inventing how to build a new palace that's half underwater.

oh god I have to continue that.... i have 3000 wips that ive gotten inspo for all at once are descending on me guys plus I am actively getting a master's degree bear w me for a few days

also OMG fuck yes!!! Ithaka is much more involved in this than in canon since a. they r not down 600 people who are immensely loyal to odysseus b. their king made a direct sacrifice FOR THEM literally no one else would have done this no other king would ever let himself be cursed to save his kingdom c. it's been 10 years and they all find it unjust because they'd all seen him weep as he left and know he and Penelope missed each other like crazy.

(plus he was very young when he took the throne! imagine a 13 year old telling u what to do and then being right. the people of Ithaka must have been very fond of him and most would have seen him as son-adjacent)

so one person has this idea one day, and they take it to the architects, who take it to the blacksmiths, who take it to the ruler of Ithaka. She pursues her lips as she looks at it, teeth grinding at the assumption that they would succeed but not overcome the curse, but allows them to do it.

So they start.

It is harder than their initial ideas demanded. First there is the matter of structures that do not stay down long enough to stick together, then there is the matter of how to secure them. Their dreams of beautiful underwater sculptures fall through as they struggle to conjure up even a basic shelter, even in the summer calm of the waters.

So, desperate and frustrated, they pray to Hephastus.

Ithaka is famous for its dedication to the goddess Athena, most of its temples under the king's ten-year rule being lovingly dedicated to the wisdom goddess. A separate group of smaller temples honors the other gods in the main town; but the main palace and most houses are painted blue and owl feathers and trinkets and sculptures are sold in the main market- the most beautiful of artistry is reserved for Pallas Athene alone.

But the blacksmiths and architects work together to build a small shrine worthy of the inventor god; with hidden catches and rotating idols and the best of their tools and ideas burnt at the fire kept burning at the base of it.

And after a few weeks- Hephaestus blesses them.

(He cannot make up for what he tried to do to Athena in his drunkenness and on Posiedon's inescapable goading. He was young and stupid and hurt and proud and drugged- he thinks she knows this, and has long since let it pass enough to stand beside him without a second thought; but will never be able to get over his shame- so the least he can do is this.)

But Ithaka's artists wake up with the same idea in mind and rush to the shrine in the early hours of the morning to give their thanks. Then they start building- floating large stones down at the far end to mark the range, until they have raised the wall enough to drain out the waters for them to work inside. They work fast, laying down the walls within days, until it joins to where the courtyard of the main palace creeps down the side of the cliff. From the palace itself, a tunnel is dug in the main room, wrapping around the mountain through the softer rock deposits, then travelling down to the sea.

They have the blueprints Odysseus himself had commissioned for his palace, and try to add in the carvings and structures accordingly. They dare not risk more than the smallest of owls carved into the stone entrance, wary of Posiedon's wrath at his rival. They work hard, encouraged by the people, helped by the Trojan heroes themselves- and strangely, their hands never feel tired and the ideas never stop coming.

The first test comes at the start of the monsoons.

The storms roll in angry and strong, battering against the island of Ithaka as furiously as always. When it is done, the architects are dismayed to find their hard-made palace flooded and destroyed, stone displaced or missing, with one collapse of the outside barrier causing three more within.

Dejected, they burn their tools at the temple forge once more, and then go to bed.

That next morning, the youngest of them wakes up with the thought- what if we used metal to hold them together?

The royal family gives them funding once more, and they commission for marble pillars to be sent from the mainland in exchange for their raw materials; these they sink to the bottom and drain the water once more. These pillars are erected and melted into the shifting sand with hot liquid metal, until they fuse into the rock. The roofed ceiling is replaced with live kelp and seaweed, attached to the top of the pillars and bound together. The walls are rebuilt quicker- with more labour coming in when they look closer to success than before, men with guilty eyes and stubborn determination ready to do the back-breaking, risky work.

The whole island holds its breath this time, as the monsoon rolls in and the ships return. The storms roll in and-

The wall has fallen completely, leaving the surroundings unsuitable for them to put it back up, letting the water back in.

But the building stands.

The celebration lasts all day and night, with all the workers being given a place of honor at the palace table itself for dinner. Even the royal family themselves are happy, for all the disappointment of another year of failure, and are grateful in a way that satisfies them more than the money ever could.

Yet there is still the second test- the tunnel to connect to the palace.

The main digging is complete; but as they reach the end they realize they do not know how they will open it to the sea without losing men to the outburst of the sea pouring back in. The Queen twists her lips when they go to her with the problem, thinking.

"This is such a bad idea," One of the men whispers.

"Shh," Eurylochus says, striking another spear into the final barrier. Two men come forward with hammers and push it in further, and they wait until the call comes in from the surface far above from the diver outside that the spear has gone through. "Don't tempt fate."

"You are such a nice, sane man, Eurylochus," One of the men moans despairingly, and he smiles, small. "Why are our royals all mad?"

He laughs, remembering a similar conversation from many years ago. He slips the rope around the loop at the end of the spear, and feels the nostalgia twist into sorrow once more, missing his captain, his general, his brother, his king, his friend. If only he had never kept that cursed bag. If only he had the courage to step forward first, not frozen in fear and shouldered the cost instead like a soldier should for their king, for Odysseus. Had not made mistake after mistake further, ordering Odysseus out of their reach in his panic to get him to the water, not being prepared with a net to catch him both times they'd seen him after.

He kept one on his belt now, at all times.

But until the skies and seas cleared, there was nothing to do except make sure Ody had a home to return to; that he could reach.

"Let's go," Eurylochus exhales, and they all grab the ropes attached to the dozens of spears and make their way back up the winding tunnel as slowly as they can, careful not to step on even one rope or pull too hard, and risk spelling doom for them all. Hearts pounding as they walk in the eerily silent tunnel, the dark taunting them, urging them to run. But they hold their nerve and come out at the pool created inside the main court.

Eurylochus climbs out last from the pool, and smiles up at Ctimene. She looks beautiful in the Ithakan jewels once more, holding herself with more grace and confidence than much richer princesses ever had, anklets tinkling.

She nods and then turns to the rest. "PULL!"

As one, the ropes spring up tight, straining until the spears come loose and men go falling to the floor with shouts. For a second nothing happens.

Then they hear the roaring.

He knows it's water, Eurylochus knows it has to be water- but it still sounds like a hoard of monsters, the shouting of a battlefield, the cyclops when he stole the lives of their friends in his fury. He can't help grabbing his wife and pulling her back, shouting for a retreat as the water rushes through the tunnel and bursts out in a terrible din into the pool, filling it to the top and then overspilling off the sides immediately.

For a heart-stopping moment, Eurylochus watches the water catch onto the feet of the people around, rising and rising, and he remembers Poseidon's cruel smile as he crippled and cursed Eurylochus' brother and thinks it's going to drown us all-

And then the tide recedes, and the water crawls back with it.

The plan worked. The palace of Ithaka now creeps down into the sea, enticing their wayward king to find his way back home, swim back to them and be happy, even if they never solved his curse.

All they have to do now is wait.

[artsarasp]

Hi! not sure if youve ever gotten a question like this, or really where to start looking, but svsss was the first danmei(?) ive read and i really enjoyed it, and was wondering if you'd be able to recommend other books of the..genre? i guess?

Ah! Hello!!! I don't think I'm the best person to ask this, svsss is my first danmei too and I haven't really fully finished any others since I have the bad habit of forgetting to continue reading ahah!

The only other danmei I've read fully is "Disabled Tyrant Beloved Pet Fish" (aka the fishfucker book) I'm waiting for the next volume to come out! This one is so cute and funny, I highly recommend it! the main character Li Yu is a silly lil guy and I would die for him <3 It's a very light court drama and it's not explicit like svsss, so expect fade to black stuff.

The other danmei I'm supposed to continue reading is "The Husky And His White Cat Shizun", I've read the first volume and started on the second one. I'm really enjoying it so far but my friend has made me aware that it gets very very angsty! It's honestly beautifully written so I really need to get back to it-

For the rest, I have downloaded on my kindle waiting for me:

"A Thousand Autumns" (I've read some very interesting posts about the main couple's dynamic and I'm really curious about them)

"Grandmaster of demonic cultivation" (My friends keep gifting me Wei Wuxian stuff thinking he's Luo Binghe, that's reason enough to read it)

"Heaven's Official Blessing" (I remember watching the series years ago and thinking it was fine but I have 0 memory of it and I have friends who really want to see my reaction to the book)

Sorry if I'm not much help!!!

[pushovermediacritic]

The Land Before Time Liveblog 4

The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through The Mists

Last Time: The Gang must have done something to piss off Dino-God, because the Great Valley (which is supposed to be a paradise) had 6 natural disasters, all in a row: earthquake, meteor shower, drought, famine, wildfire, and a flood. This cavalcade of natural disasters taught everyone an important lesson about bullying.

This Time: You know, I've actually never seen this one. My memories of 1 were pretty clear. 2 and 3 were fuzzy, but I had seen them before. I'm completely unfamiliar with 4. I'm curious to see what happens.

The Universal Logo is still not Pangaea.

We open on a slightly shorter narrator spiel this time, still introducing the concept of dinosaurs to the audience in movie 4 of a franchise about dinosaurs. The plot-relevant part happens near the end of the speech:

Narrator: "But the realm of the dinosaur was changing. The weather, the plants, and the animals were beginning to transform." *a gigantic rainstorm starts up* "Still, despite the changes happening in the outside world, life in the Great Valley remained the same."

This tracking shot is probably the best aerial view we've ever gotten of the Great Valley. And it's basically the generic fantasy isekai circular walled city with a river running through it.

I will NEVER be able to unsee that now.

Also "remained the same"? I guess we've recovered from the giant wildfire that left everyone with a limited amount of green food to eat, then? That was quick.

The movie begins proper with our regular reminder that Dinosaurs are Built Different.

Cera charges and headbutts this tree and bounces off it, but she also knocks down ALL of the leaves! Every single one! That's good progress, considering she tried headbutting a similar tree in the first movie and didn't knock any down, Littlefoot had to humor her by throwing down some leaves. Also probably not very good for the tree.

Ducky and Petrie join her to eat, but Spike is already in the leaf pile, chowing down. Meanwhile, Littlefoot chases a dragonfly through a small hole in the Great Wall to a ledge, and on the other side he sees a herd of Longnecks walking toward the Great Valley.

Interesting visual callback to the first movie, with the Longneck shadows being similar to Littlefoot's shadow he mistook for his mom. Also, Littlefoot is more pink in this movie, like in the first one. In 2 and 3 he was more brown.

Also, what is this, the third hole in the Great Wall so far? First was the one they entered from in the first movie, second was the one in the third movie they used to find the water, now this one. They made a fourth one in the second movie, but they filled that one in, so I don't count it. Still, the Great Wall isn't nearly as airtight as it's hyped up to be. And the adult herbivores can come and go as they please by just walking up and down some stone ramps, as we saw last movie.

The rest of The Gang join Littlefoot and discuss the herd briefly. Littlefoot goes to tell his grandparents, who are washing their heads in a waterfall. They already know about the herd of Longnecks, and Grandma starts licking Littlefoot to make him clean and presentable for them. They are a migrating herd, and Littlefoot's "cousins".

As they start to leave, however, Grandpa feels faint and leans against a wall.

He recovers quickly and says that he's fine. Littlefoot brushes it off but Grandma stays concerned until he insists he's okay.

I'm sure this is relevant to something in this movie, but I'm honestly surprised this hasn't happened sooner. In the last two movies, Grandpa did a lot of running around and fighting. Hell, he did the MOST Sharptooth fighting in both movies! He fell down a cliff! Supposedly, he's an old man, but this is the first time we've seen age affecting either him or Grandma.

The other Longnecks arrive in the Valley and their leader, a female elder just called "Old One", questions Littlefoot's grandparents about the climate and land. They're confused but answer that everything's fine here. Old One comments that could change soon, and Cera makes fun of her. Old One says that things are changing everywhere. For some reason, this really sets off the crowd of dinosaurs that have gathered, they all gasp and whisper in hushed tones about "changes".

Littlefoot's Grandma: "Old One, are you saying changes will happen here, too?"

Old One: "I don't know. All I do know is that once, our land was just like yours." *flashback* "Then, water fell from the sky for weeks on-end. Our land grew wet and soggy. Strange creatures began to make their home on what was once dry land. Other creatures moved into the trees that were our source of food. The once green land we had migrated across for years had become... the Land of Mists."

The "strange creature" in question:

That is a Deinosuchus. A giant relative of modern alligators, averaging 30 feet in length. The "other creatures" mentioned to be in the trees are just shown as some eyes, kept in mystery.

Elder: "We had no choice but to leave."

Littlefoot's Grandma: "Does this mean that you and your herd will be staying with us, Old One?"

Old One: "We stay in no place very long. You and the other Great Valley Longnecks may join us when we leave. After all, there is safety in numbers."

Littlefoot is concerned about migrating, but Grandpa says they won't. The Gang are relieved to hear Littlefoot won't be leaving because they would miss him. Cera is too cool to admit it, though, so she makes them chase her to find out. While chasing, Littlefoot loses track of Cera and then gets messed with by a new giggling girl.

After some shenanigans, they meet properly. This is Ali. Elsewhere, Petrie and Ducky have cornered Cera in a bush with two sticks and then Spike exposes her by eating the bush. She admits that she'd miss Littlefoot.

Ducky: "Hey, look! There are two Littlefoots!... Feets?"

The Gang realize that Ali is a girl, not another Littlefoot. Not sure how they can tell by appearance alone, she looks exactly the same, just slightly darker pink. They even have the same eyelashes, which is usually cartoon shorthand for "girl".

The Gang all introduce themselves. Ducky's line is interesting, this is the first acknowledgement in the series that Spike not talking has gone past the point of being justified by his age, and thus now needs to be justified some other way:

Ducky: "And I am Ducky. And this is my brother Spike."

Spike: "Heeh."

Ducky: "He cannot talk like us, oh no." *Spike nods* "But he still says hello!"

So, first confirmation in-series that Spike is mute, not just too young to talk. He definitely understands language, he reacts to the things people say. But he just can't talk. I remember Spike being one of my first exposures to mentally disabled representation in media. While I'm not mute myself, I am Autistic and I have interacted with non-verbal people in various special needs programs. I always liked Spike's portrayal, and I still like it today.

But Ali is not that enthusiastic to meet them. In fact, she's scared. Petrie jokes about being scary and puffs himself up. This is also a behavior we've seen from him in previous films, he asked Chomper to teach him how to be scary and tried to puff himself up against the bullies. Petrie's got a bit of a complex regarding his height. But then Cera joins in acting scary and Ali is so frightened she hides under Littlefoot.

Littlefoot scolds Cera, then tries to reassure Ali that his friends are actually nice. She whispers to him that they're not Longnecks like we are, then excuses herself and runs away.

Interesting! After Cera's father's character development last movie, I was worried we'd toppled the load-bearing pillar of the racism theme, and that would just stop being a theme altogether from now on in this franchise. But nope, here's Ali (and presumably the other Longnecks in the migrating herd who taught her this) to keep it going, at least for this movie.

Cera: "Humph! She's not scared! She's stuck-up! Who needs her?! Come on!"

I think that's a little bit of a misread, but it's not entirely wrong. The rest of The Gang decides to leave, but Littlefoot hesitates. Turns out, Ali didn't actually leave. She whispers to him, hiding behind a nearby tree. He asks her if she changed her mind, but she looks down, sullen. Ali then decides to lighten the mood by making a bunch of silly faces.

I don't know if these faces are all that great, but they make Littlefoot ROFL, so I guess they worked. The Gang hears Littlefoot laughing and looks back to see them.

Cera: "If Littlefoot would rather play with her, than he's not our friend!"

Petrie and Ducky: "What?!"

Wow, that's a big switch-up for little miss "Littlefoot will always be my friend" from last movie. Despite their objections, The Gang leaves.

Later, Littlefoot and Ali are playing in a pond and Littlefoot realizes that he left his other friends behind. He looks for them, but it's getting late and it's time to go to bed anyway. The two return to the Longneck herd to find Littlefoot's grandpa collapsed on the ground.

As an aside, I think this scene is the first time in the franchise the characters have spoken the word "dinosaur".

Old One has seen this before. He's got a fever, and the only prescription is More Cow Bell eating the Golden Petals of the Night Flower. The only place to find it is in The Land of Mists.

Grandma's ready to go, but none of the Longneck herd are willing to accompany her and leave. Ali wants to help out, but her mother takes her away. Then, Grandpa wakes up and makes Littlefoot promise that if something happens to him, he and Grandma will leave with the migrating herd. Grandma tells Littlefoot to go to bed and she sings song 1 of the movie, Grandma's Lullaby.

And, uh, if you don't want to watch the entire proceeding scene, skip to 3:20 in the video.

This song is great. Like, it gets a little repetitive at points, but that's one of my only critiques. It really breaks down what the Circle of Life means as a metaphor, the visuals showing parents and children of all different types of life are really poignant (I especially love the spiderlings ballooning away), the melody is good, the flow is interesting at points, and the thematic imagery of the lyrics is really evocative.

And I REALLY love how it ends with Grandma weeping. It shows that she's not just singing this song to reassure Littlefoot, but also herself. This is one of my favorite songs in the franchise so far.

That said... I do have another critique. Not just of the song, but of this scene as a whole. And that's that there's no acknowledgement whatsoever that Littlefoot's mom died in the first movie, this is the second time he's going through something like this. None of the sequels have even mentioned her so far, but not mentioning her here feels ESPECIALLY egregious.

Anyway, back to the movie, Littlefoot can't sleep. And he decides to sneak off to find the Night Flower. Littlefoot wakes up Ali and asks her to tell him the way to The Land of Mists. She doesn't want to tell him because it's too dangerous to go alone. Littlefoot is planning to go with The Gang, but he wasn't planning to bring her since she doesn't like them. Ali will go with him, but on the condition that he doesn't bring The Gang because "they'll slow us down". Littlefoot hesitates, but Ali takes the decision out of his hands by insisting that she knows the way, not them, and they have to leave right now. The two run off.

Next day, Petrie and Ducky are exhausted from looking for Littlefoot.

Cera: "Oh, he's probably just hiding from us so he can play with that dumb ol' Ali. Oh, LiTtLeFoOt, i'M aFrAiD! YoUr FrIeNdS aRe SOOO sCaRy! KeEp ThEm AwAy, kEeP tHeM aWaAaAaY!"

The other kids crack up laughing. But when they hear Littlefoot's grandma calling out for him, they realize the situation is serious. But Grandma knows her grandkid, she's afraid he went to go find the Night Flower.

Meanwhile with the Longneck kids, they're trudging through a desert and Ali reveals that she only sorta knows where they're going because her herd moves around so much she forgets where she's been. But Littlefoot doesn't really have a choice, so they keep moving on. The two eventually reach a waterfall with a double rainbow.

THIS is a memorable landmark, for sure! Ali remembers the way now, it's through that cave next to the waterfall. But there's deep water in the cave that Ali's mom carried her over before, so Littlefoot suggests they explore the cave for another way. The two Longnecks don't know they're being watched by the Deinosuchus we saw earlier and...

A BIRD?! A BIRD. THAT'S A BIRD! UH, HEY MOVIE, I know you're from 1996, but birds evolved from dinosaurs, they didn't really co-exist at the same time!

What does Wikipedia have to say about this?... Oh. Well, then. Egg on my face. Apparently, that's an Ichthyornis and they actually did exist in the time of the dinosaurs, approximately 30 million years before the meteor hit. The exact time period isn't that significant, most of The Gang's species didn't coexist at the same time anyway.

Ichthyornis looked like this:

That's REALLY close to what's depicted in the movie. Okay then.

Once again, I'm pleasantly surprised by the prehistorical accuracy these 90s direct-to-VHS kids movies have. I really just assumed they half-assed these sequels more than they actually did.

I guess this is what they meant by "changes". The meteor theory wasn't widely accepted in the 90s, so the prevailing theory for the extinction of the dinosaurs was just that the weather got real fucky for no reason and they couldn't keep up, and I guess that's what this movie is hinting at. That's simultaneously really dark and really funny, since we've got 10 more sequels to go, we can't have the apocalypse just yet.

The two Longnecks reach a cliff in a wide open part of the cave.

Littlefoot: "Iii... think we'd better go back!"

Echo: "Go back, go back, go back, go back..."

Ali: "What was that?"

Littlefoot: "I don't know, but I think he wants us to go. WHO ARE YOU?"

Echo: "Who are you, who are you, who are you..."

Littlefoot: *gulp* "I'M LITTLEFOOT!"

Echo: "I'm Littlefoot, I'm Littlefoot, I'm Littlefoot..."

Ali: "You can't be down there if you're up here, can you?"

Littlefoot: "I don't think so."

This is a funny scene, kids getting confused by echoes. Especially the Ali line at the end, that was like a modern-day surrealist internet punchline.

All this yelling triggers an Earthshake and tons of stalactites fall! The kids run for their lives but a wall of rocks comes down between them and Littlefoot is trapped in the cave. Ali decides to run for help.

Back at the Great Valley, Grandma explains the situation to The Gang. Cera still thinks he might be playing with "what's her name", but Grandma retorts that Ali's missing too, they're probably both out searching for the Night Flower. Ducky offers to go find them, and Grandma orders them to promise her they won't go. All four of them "promise" while crossing fingers behind their backs (well, Petrie and Ducky cross their fingers, Cera and Spike just cross one back leg over the other).

After The Gang leave, Cera starts ranting.

Cera: "The more I think about it, the madder I get! Littlefoot should've asked us to go with him, but nooooo, he wanted to go alone with his new friend!"

Petrie: "Yes, his new friend!"

Ducky: "Maybe Littlefoot thought we would not want to go? Maybe."

Cera: "HAH! Well, maybe I changed my mind! Maybe I don't wanna go after Littlefoot after all!"

Ducky: *gasp* "Cera!"

Cera: "Ooh, besides, who even knows where that dumb ol' Land of Mists is anyway? I'm sure the grown-ups aren't gonna tell us!"

Cera's clearly having a hard time grappling with the feeling of jealousy, she's flip-flopping on what she even wants. Petrie's just been mindlessly parroting what Cera says about Ali, he's turning into Nod. And Ducky, as the oldest and the big sister of the group, always tries to keep the peace, but that only inspires Cera to rant harder.

Then Ali arrives through some tall grass, yelling their names. Cera demands to know where Littlefoot is, but that scares Ali and she can't explain clearly, so she just rambles something about a cave-in and tells them to come with her. The others are ready to go, but Cera thinks she made the story up, putting them at an impasse. Ducky asks Spike what he thinks, and he gives Ali this great intense glare of skepticism.

After a few seconds of mental deliberation, he decides to go with her and that's good enough for Ducky and Petrie. Not for Cera, though. She just yells "OOOOOO" a few times and turns her back to pout.

Back with Littlefoot, after failing to clear the rocks and call for help, he decides to find another exit. In a room with skylights, he's stalked from behind and taken by surprise by this old turtle guy named Archie, who immediately loses all intimidation factor.

Archie is an Archelon, from the same minds that brought you Hyp, Mutt, and Nod. The sequels may not half-ass the research, but they do half-ass the names. He was actually trying to scare Littlefoot to keep him on his toes, since the cave is dangerous. Weird.

Ali leads Ducky, Petrie, and Spike to the waterfall, which has been downgraded from two ranbows to one. On the other side of the wall, Littlefoot gets Archie to help moving the rocks.

And now we're finally, properly, introduced to our villains for the movie, who've been lurking in the background for so long. Dil is a female Deinosuchus, and Ichy is a male Ichthyornis. They immediately jump into singing song 2 of this movie, Who Needs You.

Okay, this song kinda rules? It's styled like a classic Broadway argument song (reminiscent of Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better), and it's really fast-paced. The lyrics are really fun, creative, and surprisingly edgy at points. The flow is immaculate, and some of the back-and-forth burns are actually sick. And the character animation, especially on Dil, is great. And yes, that is Tress McNeille playing Dil, AKA Dot Warner, Babs Bunny, and the modern Daisy Duck. Apparently she was in the last two movies, too (as Ducky's mom), but I didn't even notice. This is her in her element.

This is definitely the best villain song so far, it's way better than Eggs and When You're Big (and Standing Tough if we count that). It's structurally similar to Eggs, but the two villains are actually bouncing off each other in a genuinely entertaining way. So far, this movie is 2 for 2 on great songs.

I also like how these two demonstrate a real phenomenon in nature. They're clearly referencing the (apparently fake?!?!?!) reports of crocodiles with teeth-cleaning plover birds, but their actual relationship is closer to that of wolves and ravens, where the bird leads the large predator to prey, the large predator takes it down, and then shares the carcass with the bird. That doesn't quite make sense, crocodiles are ambush predators, not pursuit predators, but whatever.

I wish these two were in the movie more. I wish we had seen them interact before now, at the halfway point of the film. This song is fantastic in isolation, but I don't know how well it works as an introduction. I think it would have been better if we had a little more set-up before they do a big break-up song. Maybe the writers didn't have confidence in these two as interesting villains since they're not dinosaurs.

After the song, Ichy spots Littlefoot and Archie pushing rocks, and he calls Dil back over. Littlefoot and Archie actually manage to push a large boulder, but it's barely a scratch on the giant cave-in wall.

Littlefoot then hears his friends on the other side, trying to dig him out from their end. Spike dislodges a keystone rock and triggers a small rockslide, which Littlefoot hears on the other side. He's worried for his friends, but then Ichy flies in, leading Dil to them. Littlefoot and Archie run past her, and Littlefoot hides in a crevice while Archie tucks into his shell in a nearby pool. Dil walks right past them, and Ichy redirects her to Littlefoot's hiding spot, but her mouth is too small to fit, so she starts tail-whipping the surrounding wall.

Dil's tail whips actually crack the wall and make stalactites fall. On the other side of the cave-in, the other kids can feel the earth shaking from her tail whips and hear her roaring. The kids are worried for Littlefoot, but then Cera shows up and explodes a rock with a headbutt. The Gang works together to really clear the rocks, and Ali wants to help, but Cera just tells her to stay out of her way.

Dil manages to break the wall with her tail and reach Littlefoot, but before she can bite down, Archie steps in her way. She slaps him down and then tail whips. But before her tail hits, Littlefoot hops on Archie, and Dil's tail whip launches Archie in his shell like a hockey puck. They chase after, but on the other side, Cera rears back and charges for one mighty headbutt and HOLY SHIT!

CERA, WHAT THE HELL!!! Exploding one rock is one thing, but exploding an entire WALL of rocks is INSANE! I can't believe the power-scaling has only gotten CRAZIER in this franchise, Cera is legit strong enough to fight some Marvel Superheroes at this point! And remember, she's like 2 feet long and Dil is 30 feet long.

One of the bigger rocks from this blast falls on Dil's head, knocking both her and Ichy out cold! Those are big rocks! Seriously, someone add this to Cera's vs battle wiki page, this is a crazy feat.

Littlefoot climbs up the wall to the hole Cera made and reunites with The Gang. He thanks Ali for going to get them, and there's a neat moment, completely free of dialogue, where it looks like she's starting to warm up to them, but then she looks down, Cera looks mad, and Littlefoot sighs in disappointment.

Archie: "Hello! We gotta get moving before that Big-Mouth Belly-Dragger and her Sharp-Beaked Friend wake up!"

Ducky, Petrie, and Ali: "Who's he?"

Littlefoot: "I'll explain later. Now, come on!"

In another room, Littlefoot explains what happened to The Gang. Cera takes full credit for the save, and says that he should have asked his real friends to help him find the Night Flower. Archie asks what's up, and Littlefoot explains the situation with his grandpa. Archie leads them through a shortcut to the Land of Mist. He tells them to stick together from now on (Cera just says "humph" at Ali in response), and says goodbye.

The kids exit the cave, and we get our first look at the Land of Mist Valley of Mists.

Not sure why they changed the name, but it looks cool. The kids descend and Ali warns them not to get lost. Cera takes point until a salamander walks across her feet and she runs in a panic, immediately getting lost.

The mist clears only for the kids to have to take cover from a huge pack of Stuthiomimuses (same exact design as Ozzy and Strut), then they get caught in the middle of two Pachycephalosauruses dueling (we saw those in the first movie). Then it starts raining and the kids (minus Cera) take shelter under a tree. A tree full of MICE! One falls out and lands on Spike, and the kids scream and avoid it as it runs for cover in a flowerbed.

Spike recognizes what went over the other kid's heads, that mouse was just as scared as they were. He goes over to it and makes friends with it.

It hugs Ducky and she names it "Tickles", because of its ticklish fur. Littlefoot asks Tickles if it's seen Cera, and it climbs a tree to show Petrie which direction she is.

Cera is curled up on a ledge over a river. They call out to her and she looks up to see Petrie, but then the ledge collapses and she falls in the rushing river. Ducky throws her a vine and the kids try to pull her out, but then Dil and Ichy show up (thanking them for showing them the shortcut) and Ichy bites the vine to break it.

The Gang throws a hail of small rocks down at Dil and Ichy while Ali decides that she's gonna be the hero this time! She's gonna save Cera! Littlefoot warns her the riverbank wall is too steep, but she's got thi-

Ali immediately trips, tumbles down the wall, and gets knocked out. Ichy then diverts Dil to target her.

Ali does manage to wake up just in time to dodge a swoop from Ichy straight into that tree behind her. She then jumps on Dil's back and despite Dil bucking and swerving to get her off, Cera manages to grab onto Ali's tail and then both of them jump off Dil's back when she collides with that same tree. Dil and Ichy start arguing while Cera thanks Ali and reassures The Gang that they're friends now.

As the kids walk, Ali explains that she never knew anyone besides other Longnecks, but now she understands that diversity is important. She then sings song 3: It Takes All Sorts.

It's pretty decent. Better than just okay, but not as good as the other two songs here. It's definitely the most overt anti-racism, pro-diversity song so far in this series. It's a good message, but a good message cannot carry a song on its own. The wordplay of the verses is kinda clever at points, but aside from that, it's really repetitive.

And unlike Grandma's Lullaby, the animation doesn't demonstrate the message at all. It would be more effective if they were constantly running into small obstacles during the song that require The Gang's unique and diverse talents to deal with. Like a rock for Cera to break, splitting paths for Petrie to fly over and tell them which way to go, a water section for Ducky, etc.

Back with Dil and Ichy, Dil bites Ichy out of the tree he embedded himself in, scaring the hell out of him. The animators must have died laughing at this frame, because they hold on it for like 5 seconds.

It is pretty good.

Hours later, they're still searching for the kids and they're tired. Ichy decides to get some shut-eye while Dil keeps searching, despite her poor eyesight. Without him to play look-out, Dil sleepily runs into tree after tree.

The Gang are also still walking, looking for the Night Flowers. Ali admits that she's never actually seen them before, so she's not exactly sure what to look for. The Gang decide they're tired and go to sleep in a field of buds. Wait, buds?

The clouds expose the moon and the buds open!

Who would have guessed the Night Flowers would bloom at night? Thankfully, Spike wakes up, and his reaction when he realizes what he's looking at is GREAT.

Spike wakes up Ducky and then she wakes up everyone else. The Gang celebrate that they found the flowers they were looking for and can save Littlefoot's Grandpa. They carry a bouquet of Night Flowers on Spike's back, Tickles and Ducky holding them steady.

But then Ichy jumps out and calls Dil over. The kids scream and run, hiding behind a boulder. But Ichy deduces that's where they're hiding and he flies over and grabs Petrie! Dil wants to eat, but Ichy pulls Petrie out of the way and points out he's barely enough meat for him.

The two start arguing over Petrie, since they're both hungry, and when Ichy's about to bite down on Petrie, Tickles runs over and puts Dil's tail in his mouth. Dil is pissed at Ichy, and Petrie runs back to The Gang, who sneak off. Cera chuckles at the two hunters and Ichy uses that to convince Dil to go after them instead. The Gang cross a log over a river, but one Night Flower falls off Spike's back. Ducky goes back to get it, but then Ichy catches up and grabs her. Petrie flies up to pull her out of Ichy's grasp, but they both lose their grip and she falls all the way down into the river.

The impact knocks Ducky out, and Dil surfaces beneath her. She tosses Ducky up to catch her in her mouth, and everyone is yelling Ducky's name to wake her up.

Wait, everyone?

Yes, everyone.

Spike screams Ducky's name!

So, I guess Spike isn't completely mute. This tracks with him being able to make nondescript noises previously, and he clearly struggles quite a bit with just forming the word. That's what makes it for me, the rawness of it. It sounds strained, almost painful for him to do. His voice is extremely raspy, it's not a pretty or smooth yell. If it was, if he yelled her name with no issue and had a cool voice doing it, this scene would be frankly terrible. But I think the rawness sells it pretty well.

But that scream is enough for Ducky to wake up mid-air, she grabs a tree and avoids getting eaten by Dil. Dil takes a few more swipes at the tree, and Littlefoot and Cera start climbing down to save her. Ichy decides to gloat and Spike slams him with a tail-strike that launches him downward into Dil's mouth. He demands she let him out and they start arguing again and decide to split up, for good. Dil tail-whips Ichy on his way out and sends him flying over the horizon. She then makes her way forward and runs into a gigantic plesiosaur.

Which chases her off. I don't think there were any plesiosaurs that big, but I've been wrong before.

Petrie flies Ducky up and the kids reunite. They make their way back to the cave and say goodbye to Tickles. We don't see them pass Archie on the way back, so I have to assume Dil ate him when they discovered the shortcut. I'm kidding! But it is odd they don't acknowledge him.

The kids return to the Great Valley and feed the Night Flowers to grandpa, and he gets better pretty quick. He reassures Littlefoot that they can stay in the Great Valley, and Littlefoot delivers the good news to his friends, who all realize that their own parents are probably worried sick, and each return home.

Later, the migrating herd are leaving, and Ali says goodbye to The Gang, and that they'll meet again someday (though according to the wiki, Ali doesn't come back until the tv show between movies 13 and 14, and even then, just for one episode). Cera and Petrie are all bashful, and though Ducky encourages Spike to say goodbye himself, he just eats some grass.

Then the movie plays a flashback reel of all the times Littlefoot and Ali interacted and like. I get it movie. You want me to ship them. Even though the text of their relationship never went past friendship, you really want me to see romantic subtext. The narrator reassures us The Gang will meet Ali again one day, but obviously they didn't have a real plan for that, since they relegated it to the tv show.

You know, for a movie titled "Journey Through the Mists", I was expecting a lot more of it to take place IN the Land of Mists. I think we spend more time in the cave than in the Land of Mists.

I think this movie was trying to recapture the magic of the first movie. Littlefoot being more pink, more focus on Longnecks, an adventure in the Mysterious Beyond, Littlefoot's family member on death's door, Cera being more standoffish, and the whole movie flashback at the end was also something the first movie did. Not sure if they succeeded.

I was expecting this movie to be worse, since Wikipedia said it got mostly middling reviews. But I was pleasantly surprised. The songs especially are the strongest line-up of songs we've had so far, Grandma's Lullaby is great, Who Needs You is fantastic, and It Takes All Sorts is still above-average.

The story is really cliche, though, I rolled my eyes when I realized it was doing the "family member comes down with sudden illness and we need to go on an adventure to find the cure" plot. I was wondering if the movie would say that Grandpa got the disease FROM the migrating Longnecks, since that would make sense. But it never implies any such thing and Grandpa is already feeling the effects before they even get there, so it seems to just be a coincidence. And Littlefoot's mom not even being MENTIONED is a huge oversight.

Also, this movie was definitely trying to imply a love triangle between Littlefoot, Cera, and Ali without actually doing one. Partially because Cera instantly makes it weird and gross, but also because this is a kid's movie and they don't want to imply romance (even though the first movie ended with the narrator straight-up telling us that the kids will have kids of their own in the future).

Overall, Ali is fine. The writers clearly wanted me to like her more than I do (even Chomper didn't get a flashback montage), but I only like her okay. For the amount of screentime and focus dedicated to Ali, she should at least be better than Hyp. My favorite thing about her (which might have been unintentional) is that she kinda sucks. But in an endearing way, a "Tumblr Girlfailure" way. She's a prankster, silly, mildly racist out of ignorance, a coward, manipulative, forgetful, lies by omission constantly, clumsy, and panics under pressure. But she does learn and grow over the course of the story. I do really love that quiet moment where she can't quite push past her fears.

I liked Dil and Ichy much more than Ali, though I got the impression the writers had a lot less faith in them than they did in her. They don't even get any screentime in the first half. And the climax is a little weak. I liked Ichy grabbing Petrie and Ducky, but Littlefoot, Cera, and Ali basically just stand around. Petrie and Spike do almost all of the work. Also, the plesiosaur comes out of nowhere, that needed some kind of set-up.

Pros: The dialogue is still stilted, but it's a bit more witty than in 3. Same goes for the character animation, there were some good faces here. The song line-up is really strong this time. Dil and Ichy are easily the best villains the franchise has had so far. Ali continuing the racism theme is appreciated. Spike's big moment at the end was risky, but I think it worked.

Cons: The story is cliche and the first half really drags (a recurring problem I've had with the sequels, but it's worse here). The writers dedicated a lot of screentime to Ali, but she's only decent to me. Dil and Ichy don't get enough screentime, and their climax is underwhelming.

Score: I'm gonna give Journey Through The Mists a 7/10. It has higher highs and lower lows than The Time of the Great Giving, and I think that evens out to the same score. As a reminder, 7/10 just means "Good". 8 means Great and 6 means Above-Average.

The Land Before Time: 8/10 (hypothetical uncut version: 9/10)

The Great Valley Adventure: 8/10

The Time of the Great Giving: 7/10

Journey Through The Mists: 7/10

[speakofthedebbie]

by popular demand (re: one person) some radioapple fic recs!! (i hope thats what you meant lol most of the fics i read are just radioapple)

Bedtime Rituals to Try out Before the Next Angelic War by @miribalis

just yes. thousand times yes. so basically my boy luci has some sleep troubles and that somehow leads to a qpr with al look its been a while ok just read it

Managerial Liberties by the same fella

these two tags explain it pretty well

something that sticks out to me about this is that charlie is actually (reasonably) cold to adam and like. im actually surprised with how little ive seen that. i mean i dont think id be exactly buddy-buddy with my besties killer either. only 3 chaps as of writing but already looking to be a radioapple classic

im not sure if its meant to be read as such but it kinda feels like a squeal to bedtime rituals in a way (edit: not meant to be read as such, just the same vibe)

devils don't fly (don't expect me not to fall) by @corgiss

also just yes. basically a really not cool joke evolves into a blossoming romance because why wouldnt it. (man if i had a nickel for every radioapple fic that had a masquerade that was sabotaged by the vees- *gets shot bc i cant mention osas yet*)

i’ll hold you close (i’ll stay the course) by the same fella

the entire time i was just going "yas king! put that egotistical flatscreen in his place!!". basically luci reminds the overlords who he is and vox shows he can be more of a threat than he lets on.

ykw fuck it just the entire series (i didnt mention i would give anything to not give a shit (but i do) and my perfect rock bottom (my beautiful trauma) because the first one sounded a lil too angsty and ive gotten enough of that from other sources [pointedly glares at Quietly, It Slips Through Your Fingers, Love {also coming up later!}] and the second is (mostly) smut and ive been trying to step back from that because "ive seen worse" isnt a valid excuse for that torture actually)

Of Saints and Sinners by the forever amazing @morningstarwrites!! (if you see this i have a serious question: is this your first time ever writing a fic? because how do you get so much right the first time- [not even beginners luck could explain this level of skill])

i could sing its praises until my death bed but ill hold off so i can explain whats happening. basically after burning down a meeting room several times, luci and al make a deal ("not a deal!", luci laments to the void): they will attempt to be civil and maybe even friendly, and by the end luci will owe al a favour. whats the favour? read it yourself dammit! seriously, 10/10, i am foaming at the mouth till friday (depending on how this goes, that might be tomorrow or today)

Quietly, It Slips Through Your Fingers, Love by Starlit_Rainfall (no tumblr in sight, so AO3) (i. urgfgh. what happened. i was just smiling over the fluff while crossing to go to school. where did it go. where did it gooooo)

if thats anything to go by, the last few chapters have been rough. the fluff feels so far away that i cant even explain what happens. luci was waxing poetic about swimming in maple syrup for al, i remember that much. also emily is there (fallen) tho we havent seen her in a sec. if you read it, warning for the gut punch of angst that starts chap 32 "She/Her" (though the chapter before that, "Should Alastor Know By Now?" ends pretty rough too)

Freely We Serve by @romanaxe

i dont remember how i managed to stumble upon this but im having a great time. basically alastor is a new sinner fresh in hell (but time doesnt matter and the whole cast is still here) and thinks "what better way to gain power than be the personal assistant of the heartbroken king of hell!" features a 6(?) year old charlie and a morally dubious lilith (also i loved eepy al X3)

A Family Forged in Hellfire by Green_Ghostwriter (once again, no Tumblr, so AO3)

this ones a bit newer (10 chaps), is so far mostly exposition and the slowburn pot hasnt even been put on the stove, but as just a hazbin fic in general i see the potential. basically its a 1920s au where heaven decides little charlie doesnt deserve to be raised in hell and is sent to earth with a "foster" family where her actions in life will determine witch realm she will return to after death. her "parents", al and minzy, are given false memories so they can claim the girl as their own and gee i wasnt kidding when i said it was a lot of exposition. erm honestly explaining anymore would tech be spoiling so go read it!

The Red Thread That Binds Us by @scun-gilli

{{future me prefacing this by saying i have no idea where i was going with yesterdays thought process, all you need to know from it was im on chapter 27. also scungilli your comment is making me very worried 😟 well theres no mcd tag so im sure itll fine, right? RIGHT, SCUNGILLI??}}

basically its a king x kings guard au where al and luci grow up together and only grow closer after a. certain life event for al (its fine guys trust :)) [she said, like a liar]) then al is sent of for royal guard training school (ik its not called that i forgor 😭) but dw he comes back. just watch out for graphic depictions of injuries (i think thats this fic) angst and a sneaky eve bc radioapple fics are allergic to happiness (or maybe im not looking hard enough lol) (also im really tempted to make the friendship bracelets they had 👀)

somewhere down the line by kj_crwm (AO3 link)

this one starts off as human!alastor/lucifer but by the middle(?) its just regular radioapple. basically al is encountered by luci while finishing off a job who agrees to keep quiet. luci just keeps on showing up, reveals hes the devil to which al us just like "lol ok" and eventually they get in a relationship (ooh lala 👀) but they break up after saying some hurtful things to each other (oh nono 👀) with luci promising al they will never cross paths again. if you watched the show then well. you know that doesnt happen 😂 most human!al radioapple have al summon him (no hate to them) so this was an interesting change of pace

cannot stress it enough but this is a WORKING list i WILL be coming back to it bc these are purely the fics i could think if off the top of my head. IN FACT, if any of you have radioapple fics you love, SEND THEM THE FUCK IN! i am one person whos only been in this fandom for 4 months, and reading fics/shipping radioapple even less, theres bound to be some ones i missed that you think are Worthy™️! and if theyre nsfw then at the very least it shouldnt be the main focus

EDIT: so sorry anyone who reblogged this before had to see the disgusting unedited version. literally just found out that tumblr doesnt apply edits to reblogs. what the fuck

[wonder-worker]

I want to ask, what was the relationship with Edward IV and Elizabeth Wydeville like? And their relationship with their children?

Hello! I don’t think we can ever know what a 500+ year old historical marriage was truly like. We certainly don't know much about them as people - we know a bit about Edward's general personality but not what he truly felt about the people and events around him (not helped by the loss of his chamber records), and Elizabeth is an enigma beyond negative or idealized propaganda. They were also married for almost 20 years, and it's possible that their relationship could have evolved over time.

That being said, based on our current evidence, they seem to have had a successful and loving marriage.

From Edward's perspective, there’s the fact that he made such an extraordinary love marriage in the first place, despite all its disadvantages to himself and England as a whole. Sources are unanimously clear that he was "fervently enamored" by Elizabeth and had "long loved her" (etc, etc), which were meant to be viewed negatively as contemporaries were critical of the marriage and of Elizabeth as queen. The idea that Edward was motivated by lust is popular in modern histories but lacks actual evidence - on the contrary, most contemporaries (including Philippe de Commynes of all people) believed that he "fell in love" with her. Likewise, while popular histories claim that his decision to marry Elizabeth was impulsive and hasty, most contemporary sources seemed to believe they had an established relationship of some kind before they married. We also know that Edward repeatedly chose to remain with Elizabeth despite his nobles actively trying to annul their marriage, first in 1464 and then in 1469-70 (once again dispelling the idea that he was motivated solely by physical desire - if he simply wanted to have sex with her, he would have already gotten the chance to do so by the time he revealed their marriage to everyone). Moreover, they "failed" to have a son throughout his first reign, yet it doesn't seem to have affected their relationship in any way, given how the birth of their third daughter in a row was said to have "rejoiced the king exceedingly".

In contrast to historical fiction, which generally has Edward declare that he trusts no one more than his brother Richard (and occasionally his mother Cecily), Edward was very clear during his life that Elizabeth was the one “in whom we most singularly place our trust”. It’s clear from the Merchant Adventurers’ case that she had the most personal influence with him, and even the pro-Yorkist Croyland Chronicle believed that Edward could be "too greatly influenced" by her at times. He gave her significant grants till the end of his life, and it's clear that he had a very high regard for her capabilities, as he appointed her to royal councils in her own right for both their sons during his second reign. This was very unusual in late medieval England - no other 15th century queen (as far as I know, no 14th century queen, either) was given the kind of formal governing positions that Edward gave Elizabeth. On a more personal level, it's clear that he was personally close to Elizabeth's family, from her parents to her siblings to her sons from her first marriage. It's also clear that they remained physically and seemingly emotionally intimate across their marriage given their numerous children. Their last child was born just three years before Edward's death, when Elizabeth was in her forties, long after they had an heir and spare.

Elizabeth’s own perspective is less clear, which is to be expected – women generally weren't afforded much interiority in medieval sources. I also think we should keep in mind they did have a significant power imbalance in the beginning: Edward was the king, while Elizabeth was an English gentlewoman whose birth family and husband's family had been on the losing side of the war (although the Woodvilles had been rehabilitated soon after Edward took the throne in 1461 and were on good terms with him by 1464). Whether this affected her view of him is unclear. Sources were also very contradictory on how Elizabeth responded to Edward's interest in her, although the one common factor in all accounts that she was very receptive to the idea of marrying him. The most negative view put forth was that Elizabeth used witchcraft to compel him to marry her; the most idealized view put forth presented her as a paragon of virtue who valued her chastity more than her life. The more balanced sources, however, suggest that they had a mutual interest in each other: Caspar Weinreich believed that Edward "dined with her frequently", the author of the Hearne's Fragment claimed that they had been "resorting at diverse times", Thomas More believed that their relationship before their marriage involved "many a meeting [and] much wooing", the Great Chronicle claimed that Elizabeth and her mother kept the wedding secret from her father, etc. It's possible that she had pragmatic as well as emotional motivations, but I suppose we'll never know. What we do know that Edward and Elizabeth favored the man who conducted their marriage, which suggests that she had positive and sentimental associations with the ceremony (it's one of the rare occasions where we have an inkling of a late medieval queen's opinion on her own wedding). I spoke of Edward's closeness to her family, but it works in reverse as well: the Woodvilles were very close and worked together, so it's reasonable to believe that their loyalty and affection for Edward was rooted in Elizabeth's own closeness to him. We know that Richard sent her "soothing" letters after Edward's death, which may have been about her son's coronation but perhaps suggests she was also known to be personally grieving for her husband. Moreover, Elizabeth also wanted to be buried with Edward in 1492. It's true that the choice of burials generally involves complex motivations, but I believe Elizabeth's decision should be viewed as a primarily personal one (ie: based on their personal relationship) given how she eschewed royal rites and a public ceremony, instead choosing to be buried privately surrounded only by family.

Edward IV was also said to have had several affairs during their marriage. It's possible that this was sensationalized or exaggerated in sources, but it at the very least had a grain of truth and did reflect some of his actions. This behaviour was not traditionally expected for English kings, but as several former rulers had public affairs (Henry I, Henry II, Edward III), and several others had reigns that were infamous for sexual scandal, it wasn't especially unusual, either. It's difficult to form conclusions about Edward's womanizing in particular because while we are told he had affairs, there's no evidence that links him to any specific woman during his marriage as of yet (Yes, this includes Elizabeth "Jane" Shore: even if they did have an affair at some point, which is plausible to me, Thomas More's description of it was demonstrably exaggerated, inspired by the description of Sallust's Sempronia rather than Shore herself, and contradicted by More's own claim that Edward stopped having affairs later in life). The contemporary who gives us the most detailed explanation about this topic is Mancini, who arrived in London in around 1483 and got his information from courtiers and/or local Londoners. According to him, Edward was known to have had primarily physical affairs which were very short-term in nature. Mancini never mentioned any specific mistress and certainly never claimed that there were any so-called "exceptions". However, he did emphasize Edward's sensational marriage to Elizabeth Woodville and her prominent influence with him at court. A similar pattern can be observed in the accounts of Croyland, Vergil and the Hearne's Fragment as well. Based on what we currently know, I personally think Mancini's account is the most likely reflection of what happened. Maybe that's exactly why most sources did reference Edward's affairs yet did so briefly and remained vague/specific in details - they knew that they did not truly "matter" in the bigger picture the way that the affairs of Edward III, John of Gaunt Charles VII, Francis II of Brittany (etc) did. Whatever the case, we don't really know how Elizabeth or Edward himself viewed his affairs, and if those views changed overtime. Ultimately, though, all speculation aside, there is really no reason to believe it affected their own marriage or relationship in any significant way given what I mentioned earlier, particularly the fact that they remained intimate with each other across their marriage. We also know that Elizabeth seems to have been very attached to Edward's illegitimate daughter Grace and remained so long after he died, given that Grace was one of her final companions at the time of her own death in 1492. This raises the possibility that they may have spoken about his affairs and come to some sort of an arrangement/understanding at some point during their marriage, although this is of course simply speculation. It's also entirely possible that Edward stopped having affairs in the later part of his second reign, as per the claims of two independent post-contemporary sources (eg: "in his youth greatly given to fleshy wantonness...in his latter days it lessened and well left").

There's also public perception to consider, which is unfortunately limited by the fact that we don't have many direct contemporary accounts for Edward's reign as we do for, say, Henry VII and Henry VIII. From what we do know, it does seem that they were widely believed to be affectionate. Their personal reunion in 1471 was certainly played up in Yorkist propaganda, with Edward presented in an "unusually human guise" for a king. Accounts like those of Louis de Gruuthuse's visit to England likewise present them in a fairly domestic light. It's also clear that post-contemporaries believed that Edward loved Elizabeth a lot.

As for their children, everything we know suggests that they were a genuinely close family unit who cared about each other. We know Edward celebrated Elizabeth of York's birth as though she was a male heir, they danced together in 1472, and despite wanting a son, the birth of his third daughter Cecily "rejoiced the king exceedingly". His stepson, Thomas Gray, was known to have had influence with him and was regularly beside him for important events (eg: Richard Duke of York's reburial). Elizabeth Woodville was also seemingly close to her children - there's an account of her singing with Richard of Shrewsbury and one of her daughters in 1482, and she named both Elizabeth of York and Dorset supervisors of her will. It's pretty clear from instructions that both Edward and Elizabeth cared for the upbringing and emotional wellbeing of their son, Edward V, and spent a lot of time with him despite the fact that he was meant to reside in his own separate household.

It's clear that their children had regard for them as well - Elizabeth of York followed several of her mother's precedents when queen and rewarded her father's servants long after his death in his memory; Dorset repeatedly obeyed his mother in 1483-85 and prioritized Edward over his own biological father in his deathbed will; Edward V had complete faith in his mother and trusted her to rule for him (according to Mancini, "as for the government of the kingdom, [Edward V] had complete confidence in the peers of realm and the queen"), etc.

It's also worth pointing out that Edward and Elizabeth had three different branches of children: the ten ones they had together, Elizabeth's sons from her first marriage, and Edward's illegitimate children. Not only were both of them close to their children from all different branches (Edward was close to his stepsons and Elizabeth was close to Grace), all the siblings from the different branches were also seemingly close to each other. All of this suggests that they were a genuinely supportive family.

[steveharrington]

alright it’s the next day and i’m sober now so here’s what i liked and disliked about the gg finale

well i liked very little. BUT as a chair hater im kind of obsessed with the fact that they got married specifically so blair wouldn’t have to testify against chuck—i think that’s genuinely so fitting that their wedding was rushed and their marriage was spurred on essentially as part of a scheme (suggested by jack fuckin bass of all people) because like yeah. of course they got married to achieve a goal, specifically for chuck. that’s the only thing that makes sense, considering they’ve spent the last 5 years constantly coming up with reasons why they can’t actually be together. i truly believe they would never have gotten married and would have kept delaying it forevermore if doing so hadn’t benefited chuck directly. it’s never just about love or romance with chuck and blair even to the last second

also did like dan’s narration for the reveal! the reveal is stupid we all know this but if it HAS to be dan i enjoyed the way they explained it and that the narration switches from kristen bell (i did scream a bit seeing her on screen) to penn badgley like that was fun. and i liked the emphasis on moments from s1 where dan was fucked over by being on the outside like losing the dartmouth usher position to nate with the matching narration where he talks about how you can only be part of the UES if you have a birthright “a birthright i didn’t have and my greatest achievements would never earn me” like yes baby. you could never win in this system. so fuck it he had to get creative as you ALL KNOW i stand by dan humphrey.

it’s kind of a logistical mess but him confirming that jenny knew he was gg the entire time is kind of cute like i love my humphrey siblings. it makes no sense! but i love the thought of them doing this together

ummm what else did i like …. hmmm …… i guess i liked that rufus and lily had one explicitly Nice Moment for a brief second just to establish that there’s no more animosity ……. or whatever

okay that’s it now for everything i hated. this was by far The Most rushed episode of television i’ve ever seen. i feel like they wrote this episode in ten minutes. the way chuck being a fuckin fugitive takes up the entire first half of the episode and then gets explained away by them saying “it actually all worked out!” oh okay well how convenient? same thing with the fallout of dan being gg…..a literal five minute conversation about the biggest reveal of the show that affected all of them personally and serena says “well i was upset…but then i realized im fine with it” OH OKAY? great. perfect.

the way they felt compelled to pair everyone up at the last second. for AGES i’ve known that lily ends up with william and ive wondered how on earth they’re going to explain that…oh and the answer is that they dont! shes just suddenly with him! same with GEORGINA AND JACK? please someone save me from this fucking hellscape i’m trapped in. dan humphrey voice what happened to phillip? the only person to end up alone is nate which is really funny because i think nate is like the most capable of having a genuine romantic relationship at this point in the show……but whatever. he’s going to be Mayor of New York City. sure. ok

let me talk about blair for a second. let me please talk about blair for a second. blair ends this show….wrapped up in a storyline about chuck. having her dream wedding compromised for chuck. telling him “oh it’s fine i already got my dream wedding!” when we know that the louis wedding ended horribly and it was like traumatizing for blair and she wanted more. once the wedding is out of the way the only other bit of blair plot we get is her being the only one like truly mad at dan for being gg and AGAIN being told by chuck “it’s fine don’t even be mad” and being told by dan “the whole time i had more power than you” then the conversation just kind of ends.

blair waldorf is not a character who would end her series being told how to think or feel by the men around her, nor should the show try to convince us that dan was ultimately this powerful puppet master who was above her this entire time, taking her agency, then throwing that into her face with a little smirk. it’s a grossly misogynistic concept. it also unravels five prior seasons of genuinely good writing where we built up the most important dynamic of the show TO ME: blair and dan

for the first five seasons of the show, they are each the best representations of their respective worlds. blair is The upper east side queen—she is old money, she schemes and manipulates to get what she wants, she has access to every luxury or amenity she could ever want. dan is (by the narrative’s reality, explicitly stated many times) cut off from the UES world because he is not wealthy and he does not have an esteemed family name. he works hard in school only to lose opportunities to classmates ranked below him with better family names, he can’t afford to take serena out for a fancy dinner, he tries to consistently do the right thing and finds manipulating people to be wrong.

watching dan and blair interact from their first ever meeting in 1.02 is like. captivating. watching them judge each other and try to understand each other and the genuine fondness that they have for each other when they do get to that place of understanding, even as early as 1x04, is very special. both characters are learning and developing and having their worldviews change when they interact. their relationship is formed on a foundation of genuine respect and affection they have for each other—wealth or lack of it has nothing to do with dan and blair falling in love. they fall in love because they match each other intellectually, they’re passionate about the same movies and books and art, they emotionally support each other, and the fact that they’re from these different worlds doesn’t deter them, because they understand each others worlds better by being together.

and if the writers don’t want them together romantically at the end, sure. fine whatever. but to end dan and blair’s carefully built, slowly developed, amazing arc of development with blair telling serena “don’t be with dan, he’s not one of us” just undoes all of it. yanks blair back five years right back into season one episode two when they first met. and the sole reason is so she can end up with chuck—they have to justify why she would abruptly leave this supportive genuine relationship, so they have to make dan and blair not understand each other again. suddenly. after their understanding of each other was the best thing to come from this show.

and when we break blair and dan up for the sake of chair, that leaves dan single. so by gg writer logic, dan has to be with someone, so let’s have him get back together with serena despite the SEASONS worth of again very well written demonstrations of why they do not work together romantically. but oh…if dan and serena are together, of course their parents can’t be together. so let’s break up rufus and lily after SEASONS of one of the best, most romantic and passionate slow burns i’ve ever seen so lily can end up with the guy who like almost killed her.

the hatred i have for chair is so deep because i genuinely think the insistence on making them endgame had a domino effect that ruined every other relationship in this show. it’s crazy. like ive never seen anything like it on tv before—torpedoing ALL of the well written and developed relationships that the writers and actors worked so hard on. at the literal last second. for chuck bass.

fml!

[babiebom]

When You Fall (iv)

A/N: I always get this far into a fic and it gets harder to write someone please save me.

Tw:panic attack/breakdown, cursing, reader does not want to socialize.

Wc:2.6k

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The Saloon was not as deserted as you'd hope it be, people were sitting at tables, cliqued up and conversing. It was louder than you thought it would be, laughter filling the air. Yet, you couldn't adjust to the vibes, the laughter ringing in your ears as if it were a reminder of what could have been. It was almost too warm and stuffy, and like the biggest nuisance ever, you couldn't get your feet to move away from the door. 

The man was now staring at you expectantly, so you weakly brought up a hand to wave at him. The people in the Saloon had started to stare now, which made you more nervous than you cared to admit. So you hurry towards the bar, ordering the cheapest thing you could eat. 

The man behind the bar, Gus, had taken your order with a smile, yet didn't make any moves to try and talk to you. With a breath of relief, you silently watched as he prepared your salad, it was obvious he was making it with as many extra ingredients that he could afford to give you without charge. You wanted to cry because of the kind gesture, but that wasn't uncommon these days, you had been crying often without any reason. 

A woman with bright blue hair had been eyeing you the entire time, but like Gus she made no room to speak to you. She just cleaned cups and refilled drinks, smiling whenever the two of you would make eye contact. It feels like forever until your salad is ready, and the second it is you flee to the farthest, emptiest booth you could see. It was embarrassing, not being ready to socialize again, but you knew that this town had known your grandfather, maybe even knew him a hell of a lot better than you did and you did not want to hear their well wishes and pity because you lost him. In all honesty in the back of your mind you didn't even know if you deserved their sympathy,  you had made no effort to see him especially in his last years. You didn't want to see him in bad health and that cost you the chance of ever seeing him again, he died alone in a nursing home where the people there only cared about him because they were getting paid.

You sniffle, trying to avoid having any tears fall into your salad. You shouldn't even be crying here anyways, your bad mood was probably dampening the vibe everyone had going on. Before you even get the chance to wipe away your tears, your booth shakes as someone falls into the seat opposite of you.

Your eyes land on familiar ginger hair and a darker skinned man you had never seen before. Confused, you stay silent allowing Robin to speak first. You hadn't wanted company, but you figured that you would've gotten it either way, small towns seem to be nosy like that. You were just glad it was Robin instead of a person you didn't know. 

"Hey farmer!" Robin spoke with a smile, her eyes searched yours for a second before her eyes dropped to your meal. Yeah, you thought bitterly, it's sad I know.

"Haven't seen you around recently."

You nod, trying to blink away leftover tears. "Yeah, just been focused on learning the ropes I guess."

"I figured." She smiles warmly and for a split second you feel bad. You had talked to the woman once, yet she was making it seem like she genuinely cared about you.

"Sorry…"

Before the conversation could even start tonight stale, Robin sucks in a breath, adjusting herself in her seat to wrap her hands around the arm of the man next to her. "Anyways. Have you met any other townspeople yet?"

"No. Not really. Other than the people at the clinic." You shrug, wanting to not be in this conversation anymore.

"Well, this is my husband Demetrius! So now you know one more person!" 

You nod and smile at her, giving the man a nice to meet you before letting your eyes wander. Some people were still trickling in, and you felt the urge to escape from your situation. Your eyes land on a man drinking alone in a corner, not even sitting in a stool. He was just standing, taking long sips every so often, he looked sad, maybe even more depressed than you are. His eyes flicker over to you, causing you to choke on your food before turning your head. 

Well that was embarrassing. 

Robin was still talking about something, and you caught something about her being able to build you a chicken coop or something. Your ears caught onto that and due to your love of animals, a chicken coop would mean chickens, and that would mean most of your time would be taken by taking care of tiny little creatures and not thinking about all the bad things that have happened. 

"How much would that cost?" 

You can see Robin's eyes light up immediately. You don't know how often people need things built or fixed, but you assume it's not often enough seeing how excited she looks. "Well, let me just say that you would also need to provide me the materials to build it, or you can buy those materials from me but the cost will obviously be more."

You nod as if her words were a given, of course you would need to provide everything. She waits a second before continuing as if expecting you to back out. "Okay, so building the coop itself would cost 4,000 gold and you would have to provide 300 logs of wood and 100 stones. If you want to buy the stone and wood from me it would bump the price up to 9,000 gold. I sell wood for 10 gold a log and each stone is 20 gold."

You suck in a breath through your teeth, it was going to drain a lot of your savings, but it would be worth it for your mental health, right? Nodding mostly to yourself, you speak before you can talk yourself out of it, at least if you make plans you can't back out of them. "So I can just bring you the money whenever I have the materials and you'll build me a chicken coop?"

"Yup."

"Cool." 

She claps her hands together and stands along with her husband, "well, it's time for us to go home, but I don't really want to leave you alone…"

"It's fine, Robin, honestly."

"No, no. You shouldn't be alone right now." She looks around for a second and you can almost see an idea pop into her head. "You should come meet my son and his friends! I think you all are around the same age!"

Before you can protest seriously, she gives you an expectant look that has you standing without thinking. At least you were done with your salad. Her husband, Demetrius clears his throat after not speaking the entire time. "I can take your plate back up to the bar." 

Doing that as a means to escape hadn't even crossed your mind, but it was obvious he was using it that way. You wondered why he wanted to escape talking to their son, did they not get along or something? He didn't even try to hide the fact that he didn't want any part of it. 

Coughing once into your fist, you follow Robin into a room farther into the saloon. The room is almost deserted except for three people standing around a dusty pool table. You avoided looking at them instead taking in the room. 

There were a couple of arcade games and couches that looked super worn. You weren't sure how often people were in here, especially with the only people being the three you already see. Swallowing at the lack of things to stare at you let your eyes flicker onto the people who were now looking at you in confusion. "Seb! I brought you a new friend!"

None of the three looked remotely mixed, and it confused you for a moment before you realized that that was probably the reason Demetrius didn't want to introduce you to their son, because it was her son and not his. Maybe it was an assumption and one of the guys could be his son, you just highly doubted it from how he acted.

All three people were insanely attractive, and all three were looking at you and Robin as if you had come in and said you had shit in their bed as a surprise for them when they got home. Sucking in your lips, you offer an awkward wave letting your hand flop back down to your side. The guy standing closest to the pool table, with the stick in his hand and dark hair that fell over his eyes moved forward slightly, embarrassment written all over his face. You felt bad for him, but not more than you felt for yourself at that moment. "Mom!" 

He looked offended at the notion that his mother believed he needed help making friends, or maybe it was because his mother brought someone like you. Blinking back tears at the thought you silently watched them interact, the two were now in a whispered argument so you had no choice but to stare at the other two who were staring back at you, mouths agape. 

Could you leave now? They obviously didn't want you here. And while you were grateful to Robin for trying to make sure you were okay, you also despised her for embarrassing you at that moment. She stepped away from 'Seb' with a smile, the guy just glowered at her before returning to his spot. Between his friends and the pool table. "Have fun!" Robin retreated rather quickly leaving you to stutter over your words, your thoughts not fully formed in your panic. 

"Wha-huh?" You turned and watched her leave, your feet stuck in place. You could feel your entire body begin to tremble, as if it were the first day of school and your mom was leaving you in unknown hands for the day. With your mouth parted you tried to suck in as much air as you could, the reality crashing down onto your head with such ferocity that you almost topple over. 

"So, you know how to play?"

"Huh?" You turn to look at the three who were all now staring at you with less horror and more confusion and interest. 

"Pool, do you know how to play pool?" The purple haired woman is the only one to speak to you. And despite knowing how to play you shake your head, glancing towards the table in terror. You absolutely did not want to play right now. Especially when you know you would cause your team to lose due to nerves. "That's fine, you can come sit with me on the couch then. It's usually them two playing anyways." 

You just nod and shuffle your feet towards the couch she had plopped herself on. The boys were getting the game ready, not really ignoring you, but not interacting with you either.

After a while of not speaking, the purple haired woman turns to face you on the couch. "Y'know I heard someone was moving onto that old farm. It's a shame, really. I always enjoyed exploring those overgrown fields by myself…I'm Abigail, by the way."

Your mind fills with guilt over taking over the farm at her words. Did others enjoy doing the same thing? Was it a sanctuary? A place to hide for people who didn't want to be found in whatever moment they found themselves in? "Sorry." You whisper out, letting your eyes fall onto your hands which were playing with a stray string of fabric that had come loose from your pants.

"No, it's fine. Someone should take care of the land, I guess. Your grandpa let me wander around sometimes after he let it grow wild."

"You can still wander around. It'll take me a lot of time to clear out everything, it's a giant farm after all." You try to offer her a smile. You weren't even sure if you would clear out all of it anyways. It took too much energy and how much land did you need to farm anyways? It was just going to be you, enough plants to sell and make money and eat, and a couple of chickens. 

"Really?"

You nod and Abigail smiles at you, as if you had given her a gift or told her you could grant her three wishes. Man, she probably did love exploring. The conversation almost dies out, but the blonde guy whines and throws his pool stick onto the table, pouting as he comes over and sits in the middle of you and Abigail. She pats his shoulder comfortingly as he leans against her. "I can't believe he beat me again!" 

"Sam…he beats you every time." Abigail says, frowning at him.

"No! Okay maybe he does but it's not because I'm bad."

"Yeah, okay." She laughs while shoving him off of her. Scrunching his nose, he turns and looks at you, the way he gives you the up and down makes you even more anxious, yet somehow you can't feel any actual malice behind his actions. 

"Hey! I'm Sam. Good to meet you!" He smiles so brightly at you that you think that he must be the sun itself. No one could be this bright. His blonde hair was spiked up messily, and on any other guy you probably would've thought that it looked dumb, but somehow it suited him. Like he was just made to be in a band of some kind. You give him your own name and he immediately drifts off into his own world. 

"Hmm…if I give the cue ball a bit of a top spin maybe I could…" His words trail away as he speaks to himself. A minute later he sighs unhappily and stands, grabbing the pool stick again. Abigail laughs in amusement as Sam challenges 'Seb' to another round. 

You watch for a minute before you leave, the group doesn't really notice you leaving, so you quickly make your way home before anyone has the chance to talk to you again. 

When you get halfway home you can feel your bottled up emotions begin to leak, wanting to come out and spill all over the dirt under your shoes from holding it in for too long. Your body resumes the shaking it was doing earlier, your brain deciding that you were far enough away that this was a safe spot to break down. You swallow harshly and pick up your pace, cutting your walk time in almost half as you borderline sprint home. 

Slamming the door behind you, you allow yourself to slide down it, unable to breathe for a multitude of reasons. Sucking in a breath, you let it out of your lungs loudly, almost screaming. You openly sob, not even dragging yourself to your bed, you just lie on the floor, your body hot as you scream out your cries and emotions, hands clawing at your skin and hair. 

Your throat burned as you continued to cry, your eyes shut so tightly that your head began to hurt. You wanted to break stuff, but you had nothing to break other than yourself, so you slam your fists against the ground as you let your body continue its descent onto the ground. Now lying down on your side you sob into the floorboards, letting the spit and tears and snot create a puddle under your face for you to clean the next day after it dries. 

You can feel your energy rapidly depleting as you continue to cry, still unable to breathe properly. Your vision starts to spot eventually but you can't find it within yourself to care. Allowing the darkness to take over you pass out in front of the door.

[forrest-of-sins]

Rereading again, and I want to tell you I love how naturally you insert foreshadowing. You are one of the absolute best writers I've seen do it, and I'm including from published authors in that count. I also wanted to wonder aloud (on here instead of ao3 because its easier to navigate on mobile, I'm sorry) if this one specific paragraph was implying something...

Sometimes you swore that when you would wake up after dreaming about him, your body would be aching in places that were previously fine before you had curled up to sleep. You chalked it up to the overexertion of your magic. Yeah! That had to be it. You’d gotten used to the burn in your arms from your magic, but sometimes it hurt that extra little bit more on days where you shone your brightest.

To me, this screams somnophilia or something similar, but i would wonder of which exact flavor if it really is. I'm really excited to see if, in the future, we get a call back to it or its even further fleshed out.

Also, I know a million people have said it already, but the way you write shadow milk cookie is the best I've ever seen anybody do it. I can hear his voice in my head perfectly every time I read his dialogue! It's so much more engaging being able to do that, and with how perfectly you describe his body language? AUGH! I'm gonna be rereading this until the day I die, I swear. And I'm not even somebody who usually rereads things a million times In a row! Your skill at writing really shows, especially as somebody who struggles with imagination and visualization. It's so engaging in ways I want to DISSECT.

zvdnfnfk this is really high praise aaaa!!! ;//u//; firstly, thank you so much, oh my goshhh!!! i'm really happy to hear that the descriptions and other details ive included have helped you visualise this story well! :D Smilk has been the first like...actual game character ever that I've written for cause I usually do gross oc stuff dhdjdk, so I'm really really happy that he reads well and that his dialogue sounds appropriate! he's a lot of fun to write hehe, his way with words is so like, whimsical and flowing, and its a lot of fun capturing that aspect of him!! it's also very very fun when the whimsy slips away and his fangs are truly bared! I love how much of a freak he is >:3

as for the second part of this....I maaay or may not be foreshadowing what you're thinkin about- you'll have to see the next part (when its out dhdjdk) to find out if you're right or not! ;3c it could merely be Firefly being correct in their assumptions, that they're pushing themself far too much and hurting themself in that way in order to get that approval and sense of belonging that they crave from Smilk...or, something much more sinister could be crawling out of the shadows when they've passed out from exhaustion...but who knows!! :3

[wintervalewritersecond]

tears to shed iv - simon 'ghost' riley

masterlist // masterlist call of duty

requested: no, but requests are OPEN! request: x

A/N: last part! hope this makes up for the sad ending last part &lt;3

part 1 // part 2 // part 3 // part 4

wordcount: warnings: ooc simon (like, very ooc), corpse bride au, she/her reader, happy ending

An arranged marriage to unite two worlds. But no one would have expected that it would bring together the living and the dead.

Your parents were much happier to hear that they were up in the social ladder now than that they were to hear that you had come back. Lord and Lady MacTavish also could not care less - as long as they got money, they would be set.

It is not like life with Johnny was bad. Not at all, actually. You had fun with him, and he was someone you feel comfortable with. He is so trustworthy, funny, and nice. It truly could have been so much worse.

The years pass, new people coming to the town, other people leaving. Babies are being born and elderly people are passing away. You aren't scared of death anymore - you have lived in it, you have loved in it.

Marriage to Johnny is like marrying a best friend. Both you and Johnny found out quite early on that you did love each other, yet more like friends or family instead of lovers. Not that you thought the other was ugly, mean, or uninteresting. It was just platonic, but to be quite honest, you did not mind.

You could be on the street, or worse, married to a horrible person. Lucky for you, you are 'stuck' with Johnny. Every single day felt refreshing, always going on trips or eating a delicious dinner. Your mother and father barely came to visit, saying they were much too busy with their new way of life. Lord and Lady MacTavish were also not seen very often, always far away, enjoying the money they now had.

Years seem to fly by.

The older you get, the faster time goes.

Your body is becoming weaker, the people around you have left, and the house feels much too big for only two people. It is winter now, and sickness is going around, a sickness that had also gotten the better of Johnny.

You sat by his side, his body covered with endless blankets, coughs coming from him ever so often.

"You are burning up," you mumble, your hand on his forehead.

He does not respond, only looking at the ceiling before finally turning his head to you. This is the most movement he has gone through this entire week. Johnny stays quiet for a moment, blinking slowly before licking his lips.

"Is the afterlife scary?"

"No," you softly say, taking hold of his hand, "It is fun, free, careless. You will have your own place, and you can have endless drinks at the bar. It is colourful and bright."

He hums, his hand softly squeezing yours as he looks past you.

"I think I would like to go there."

Your breath hitches in your throat, tears burning in your eyes as you look at him, bringing your other hand to his cheek.

"You do?"

Nothing but a hum yet again, his eyes looking past you.

"Y/N?"

"Yes?"

"Will you find me there?"

You nod, pressing a kiss to his hand.

"I will."

"Can you promise me something?"

Your heart feels heavy.

"Anything."

"After you find me... Also find Simon. That one man from years ago," he whispers, coughing, "If it... If it truly is as you said, then please, find him. Live the life you couldn't live now."

"Johnny," a tear falls down your cheek, "You are acting as if my life with you was not good."

"Oh, lass, we had a wonderful life. But the afterlife you describe... It is your second chance. Take it, please."

One last promise you make to him. Through sickness, through health, till death do you part.

"I promise you, Johnny. I love you so."

"And I love you."

After one last breath, one last blink, he leaves you. Leaves you behind as you did that one night, though you know he will not come back. More tears fall down your cheeks as you press a soft kiss to his forehead. Another friend lost.

You then spent months alone. No visitors, no Johnny, no parents.

It was weird.

The world seems so grey, so bleak, so colourless. There is nothing for you here. You eat just to eat, you read just to read. Everything seems meaningless. Another night where you go to sleep in a cold bed.

But this time, when you wake up, you feel different.

Your bones don't hurt, your limbs don't feel heavy, your hair doesn't feel brittle. Instead, you feel lively, weightless, free.

"A new arrival!"

Is the time finally here?

You open your eyes, the lights very bright, and you nearly can not believe what you see. It's the bar, the people, the music, the drinks.

"Wait..."

You quickly turn around, coming eye to eye with Johnny.

"Lass?"

You nod slowly, a smile forming on your face as you fling your arms around him.

"Oh, Johnny!" You pull away from him for a second, your hands on his cheeks, "I can't believe it! Oh, you look so young."

He does not nearly look the same as when you last saw him. His skin isn't wrinkly, his eyes are bright, and he has the same silly haircut.

"Says you," he grins, holding out his cup to you, "You look as mighty as ever."

You look at his cup and back at him. You are actually here. But, if you are... Is Simon here as well? Johnny still has a smile on his face, taking a swig from his beer. He knows what, or rather who, you are looking for.

"Go on," he nods his head to the exit, "We will have eternity to celebrate that you're here. Go, we can talk later."

You press a kiss to his cheek, nodding as you lift up the bottom of your skirt, walking up the stairs that lead to the outside of the bar. You are met with a mirror, right next to the door. You look so much younger, almost as if no time had passed. Dressed in a nightgown, your hair done up, looking youthful as ever. The age when you first got here, gone back in time, just like Johnny.

The roads, the coffins, the lights - all are exactly as you remember them being. You have dreamt of taking this exact walk dozens of times, clenching onto the dogtags that you had yet to take off. Now, you actually walk there, the tags tight in your hand. A left here, straight, and then...

You are so absorbed by your own thoughts that you do not register the person in front of you. You yelp, nearly falling over, but catching yourself by holding onto a crate.

"Oh, sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going!"

"Y/N?"

You look up, you know that voice...

"Price?"

"I can't believe it!" He laughs, pulling you to him to give you a big hug, "You are here! Oh my god, wait until Simon hears about this. You are going to give him a heart attack!"

"Where is he?"

"At home," he backs off, nodding his head into the direction of the house, "Hasn't been out too much. Kept his mask back on, been in a real mood for a while. You know, he never got over you."

He still thinks of you?

"Neither have I," you whisper, looking up at the man.

"Oh, I know," he only shrugs, "Johnny and I have become well acquainted over these months. Sadly haven't been able to really talk to Simon too much, but I think that might change."

The two of you continue your way, only a few doors away from the love of your afterlife. What if he doesn't want to see you? What if you are not like how he expected? Maybe he does not wish for a life with you.

"Don't worry your little head, Y/N," Price whispers, stopping at the door, "I will leave you be. Come by the bar later?"

You nod, sending him a smile as he leaves you alone at the door. What now? Do you knock? You feel nervous, yet you don't feel the pounding of your heart or the sweat in your hands. You are excited, though you can't feel the butterflies in your stomach.

A soft knock on the door.

Was it not hard enough? What if he isn't home? What if he didn't hear? What if he acts like he doesn't hear so he doesn't have to answer-

"Price, I told ya, I don't want to go to the-" the door gets ripped open, revealing the masked man you have thought about each and every day, "pub."

"We don't have to if you don't wish to, Simon."

"Wh... Is that you?"

He grips your cheeks tightly, scared that if he lets go, you will disappear. His eyes scan your face, the rest of his face hidden behind the skull mask he wore when you met him. You nod as much as you can, but the tight grip barely allows for you to move. Within a second, you are in his arms, his arms around you and his head on top of yours. Even if you wanted to, you could never get out of this embrace.

"I can't believe it. You are here."

"I am here," you confirm.

"I have waited each and every day. Price told me your husband came here before you did."

You nod.

"He did. But he made me promise him something."

What did he promise? Should Simon be scared? Are you only here to say hello, only to never see him again?

"He wants me to have a second chance. To life my... afterlife, the way it was intended. With you."

He slowly lets go, looking down at you with big eyes. His tags still around your neck and you looking like an angel. Is this real? Someone, pinch him, though it will not work.

"With me?"

"Johnny and I were friends. Best friends, even," you whisper, holding onto Simon his hands, "He told me to find you, Simon. And, if you will have me, I would want to spend this eternity with you."

That is all that he has ever wanted to hear.

So, he gets down on one knee.

"Death made us part, but now brought us together," he kisses your knuckles, "May I ask you to be my wife, for now until forever?"

One hell of a way to ask you to marry him.

[windupaidoneus]

📋 4, 🏡 5

sylvestre/diluc

YESSSS I CAN FINALLY ANSWER THE SYLVESTRE/DILUC ASK IVE BEEN WAITING DAYS FOR THIS (the only person making me wait was Me) i never talk much about them but they are so important to me. okay

📋

4 - What are some points of contention between the two of you? Are they as simple as habits you find annoying, or are they more substantial such as ideological differences?

OH BOY!!! OH BOY!!!!! well diluc isn't exactly on board with whatever weird magiscience sylvestre gets up to & is also not thrilled about his affiliation with like... two groups he's not fond of (hoarders, fatui). there will definitely be a point in the story where diluc actively has to stop sylvestre from going too far, which somehow is not the point where he technically sort of gives signora a second chance at life (she has no delusion or vision anymore then though. & yes she's mad as hell about it)

sylvestre thinks diluc's got a stick up his ass & should liven up a little, finds his unwillingness to go Too Much against what's expected of him to be something that holds him back. (notices similarities between them & cidnero) ahh let's not unpack that right now. they do stick by each other despite that though, & despite all the bickering they impose on each other. sylvestre presents himself as relatively carefree & often taunts diluc, who just is not receptive to it much. which of course pisses sylvestre off. diluc is really good at tormenting sylvestre on purpose & the opposite is not true at all LMAO

🏡

5 - How do you both like to relax after a long day? Are either of you still bogged down with at-home errands or responsibilities that you have to be pulled away from, just to enjoy some downtime together?

UGH diluc is so bad with this. despite sylvestre objectively having the overall busier life (due to his like. what. quadruple agent thing going on? he IS ultimately most loyal to diluc at this point though sorry arle. thankfully though it's not like diluc has ever conflicted w arle anyway so surely this shouldn't become an issue). kind of always got some paperwork to worry about... it's gotten to a point where sylvestre has started actually doing some of the paperwork for him & no one is happy about it but sylvestre needs ATTENTION he is STARVING!! regardless of what diluc has to do though sylvestre lacks the willpower to do much in terms of hanging out when he's home. he'll just cozy up to him & bask in his warmth #catguy while diluc's reading up on some lame shit or other. when it comes to diluc's night outings whatever time they spend when he gets home from that (odds are sylvestre was out as well. they do their thing. sometimes together but more often not) is spent In The Bathroom & then In Bed. sylvestre kinda forces him to decompress by taking baths. it's happened sylvestre fell asleep in the bath tho so diluc had to take care of getting him out lmao

on occasion they'll play a board game which sylvestre invariably loses bc he's not good at these & keeps trying to cheat the rules because he thinks they're too boring & stupid (he does not understand them). not a common occurence bc sylvestre is a sore loser but it happens. whoever wins has to make dinner though so at least he gets a yummy consolation meal