#your honor my streamer is a silly guy

[cheddertm]

i love that Cellbit and Felps rescue rn is all on a totem who is using his batman voice, constantly getting stuck on cobwebs, and just rn fell through a hole and cant get out

[n0t-le4fy]

Rollo and Sebs silly little marriage

Credits: me, Seb for the prompt.

Genre: Twisted Wonderland.

Relationship(s): Rollo and Seb, Leafy and Epel, Azalea and Riddle, Basil and Felix, brief Grass and Ruggie.

By: LEAFY AYAKI THE BESTEST FIC WRITER IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD‼️‼️

For: Sebby Webby 

“You look so beautiful! Handsome? Pretty? I dunno..” Leafy, one of Seb's close friends, is helping him with wedding preparations. 

Currently, Seb is with Leafy, trying on various suits. His current suit consists of a white undershirt, a dark gray jacket, and an “I ❤️ Rollo” tie. Seb is stressing about it. 

Despite being in a relationship with Rollo for a while, Seb still thinks about impressing his soon-to-be husband. 

“You're too twinky for me to compliment you.. but you look good!” His appointed Flower Girl says, fixing his “I ❤️ Rollo” tie. “I wonder when Azalea’ll get here.. didn’t you say they were one of your Maids of Honors?..”

“If they don’t get here soon. I will commit mass genocide.” The amazingly-fashionable groom snaps back at Leafy. 

“WHAT’S UP YOU GUYS??!?!?!?!?” A well-known person bursts through the door with a party hat, streamers, and a sash that reads “Oh my cod! I'm getting married!” Their bright grin slowly fades as they see Seb on the verge of tears, about to lash out at Leafy for poking him. Leafy is also on the verge of tears. 

“Shut your flippity floppity dog garnit mouth before I make you shut it.” Seb, bipolar and death-glaring at Azalea, was making one of his usual threats. “I will shut you up using 37 aborted fetuses.”

“You wouldn’t talk to Rollo like that, would you? Naughty naughty..” 

“Your left kidney will make amazing biscuits.”

___ 

The day of the wedding came. Everyone was dressed up nicely, who wouldn’t be for such a special occasion? Azalea and her plus-one were sitting in the front row. Can you guess who their plus one is? Housewarden Riddle Rosehearts!!! 🙀How original. 

Like Azalea, some of Seb's other friends were there. Including Romeo, Cajit, Basil, Eric, Jasper, and Seb Doppelgänger. 

Why Grass is not there is unknown, they could be off stealing doughnuts or haggling at street vendors with Ruggie. 

Is Leafy there? Of course, they are. Why would she miss her friend's wedding? (and a potential chance to see her multiple husbands.) Who was she with, you may ask? Idia? No. He’s too busy grinding on a new goofy game, and even if he wasn’t he would have an anxiety attack before arriving at the wedding destination. So, who else would she have been able to go with? None other than the silly country boy, Epel Felmier!

“Sebby Webby!! You look amazing!!” Leafy says, leaving behind the feminine-looking boy that is her plus-one date. 

Seb was having a mini meltdown, he never thought the day would come that he would get married to the one and only Rollo Flamme. He felt so many feelings all at once- excitement, overstimulation (not that way, naughty boy.), joy, stress, anxiety, and maybe even a bit of anger. Bipolar disorder doesn’t go away at weddings, you know. 

“glfhvmcbhfsahrjrwkdhlhf- ARARARARARRA.” This is Seb's way of letting his emotions out, his twinky ahh mascara streaming down his face as he becomes more and more overwhelmed. “THIS CORSET IS MAKING IT HARD TO BREATHE. I'M DYING.” 

“You’re the one who chose to wear that goofy outfit. You goofy boy.” Leafy grabs hold of Seb's hand and leads him to a different room. 

“Let go of me this instant! Your hands are as cold as the pizza at school!” 

Leafy does not let him go. Leafy, instead, grips onto Seb's hand tighter. They enter the room, Leafy leads the way. She sits him down on a bench and wraps her arms around him, warmly embracing him. 

“Are you.. a giddy German boy?” 

__

“That’s crazy.” Basil, dressed up in a traditional wedding dress suit, stands hand-in-hand with his plus one, Felix. “Why aren’t you wearing the suit Azalea picked out for you?” 

Seb doesn’t answer, he’s too busy having a panic attack. Leafy answers for him. 

“He said it looked too professional. “Rollo won’t want to take me to bed!” was what he said when I asked him about it this morning, which is why I picked out-” 

“-We picked out a cute ‘lil outfit for Sebastian here!” A familiar voice comes from behind, happy and jolly. (I need to stop saying familiar so much. that’s kinda crazy.) 

“What the fart..” 

Standing in the doorway of the room filled with spectrum-induced queers lies the infamous Grass. For some reason, Ruggie isn’t there. Maybe they’re stealing gold from Professee Crewel or something.. who knows? 

“Yes, Seb asked me to get a new outfit for him, but he was too into his depression era to come with me.. so I asked Grass!!” Leafy explains while Seb sits, still halfway embraced by his friend, wide-eyed. “It’s beautiful, right?” 

“..sure..” Basil responds while scratching his cheek and awkwardly glancing around the mostly empty room. 

__

Rollo’s stance at the altar is rather worryful. Having a touch-starved and traumatized past would make you that way- the poor boy has anxiety. His eyes dart across the room, he begins to sweat. What if his soon-to-be-wed husband had abandoned him at the altar? What if they had run off with Sebek, Floyd, or Baul? What if they were eating all of the croissants at the croissant-exclusive food table in the other room? 

“Where is he.. where is he..?!” The poor, panicky student council president is going insane with thoughts of paranoia as his groom is in the other room, also losing his head. “Have I been... ditched?..” 

Much like Rollo, the other wedding attendees were wondering where the second groom was. It’s not very often that a groom is this late to their wedding. Seb was breaking down in the other room while the two queers, Basil and Felix, look away to avoid him becoming more uncomfortable than he already is. 

__

Seb, with fixed makeup and a wide but terrified smile, walks slowly up to the altar. The flower girl, Leafy, gently sprinkles brown and maroon chocolate-cosmos flower petals over the walkway as Seb’s dear friend, Sebek Zigvolt, walks him up to the altar. 

To Sebek, this is an amazing opportunity to both impress Malleus and bond with Seb. 

The fresh aroma of newly picked cosmos fills the air as more and more petals are spread by Leafy, the various shades were mesmerizing most- if not all guests. 

The scent fades into some fragrance one can not quite place exactly... it’s not a bad scent at all, though. 

Sebek, flashy light-green hair and lime-green eyes, has Seb’s arm hooked around his own as if they were going to see the wonderful Wizard of Oz.

__

Rollo patiently awaits at the top pedestal, (description on his clothes). His specially and carefully picked priest, Robert, remains as well, standing with a perfectly straight posture. Robert was a random man in a bible study group Rollo was also in.  When I say carefully picked, I mean carefully picked. 

Rollo gathered a group of about fifty Nobel Bell College student council members and multiple priests from various places around the world. 

He wanted this special occasion to be special-er than special. 

He wanted his wedding to be so special even Leona couldn’t snooze during it. 

He wanted his special day to be so fantastic, so remarkable, so wondrous, so staggering, so magnificent, so astonishing, so extraordinary, so marvelous, so astounding, so breathtaking, so splendid, so impressive, so fabulous, so stunning, so stupendous, so formidable, so unbelievable, so stupefying, so outstanding, so mind-blowing, that Vil would be jealous of its beauty. 

He wanted it to be so special, so glorious, that even Idia would force himself to show up. 

He wanted it to be perfect, as you can clearly see. 

__

The terror-struck but flusteredly-excited groom walks up to the altar as he and Sebek part ways, Sebek sits next to Malleus and Seb carefully steps up. 

Rollo lovingly gazes into his ‘husband’’s eyes, forest-green irises sparkling with admiration as his lips tug into a soft smile. You could’ve never guessed that this man, this man, was the one on top of the bell tower. His cheeks, pale rose colored, slowly warm up into a bright cherry red. 

“Do you, Rollo Flamme, take Sebastian here as your lawfully wedded husband?” Robert The Priest asks. 

“I do..” The poor, worried boy answers in a soft tone, the gentle smile never leaves his lips. 

“..and, do you, Sebastian Hartz, take this man, Rollo Flamme, as, also, your lawfully wedded husband?” 

Seb thinks for a moment, Rollo presumes it’s for rethinking their marriage, but it’s really because Seb is panicking so much he forgot how to speak. 

“I do.” 

“Alright, I now pronounce you.. husband and husband!!” The old man named Robert yells pridefully, despite being as homophobic as my parents. 

The two stare into each other's eyes, neither of them willing to be the dominant alpha male and start the kiss. Soft, powder blue eyes staring into deep, forest green eyes, both pupils show signs of nervousness.

Rollo takes a deep breath, and yes, he does lead the wedding kiss. He slowly leans close to Seb, his baby-blue hair flowing slightly as their lips meet. Seb gains courage and does his part into kissing his husband, leaning in as well. 

They eventually part, both smiling wider with each second that passes. 

“I love you.” 

__

After the wedding, everyone besides the two newlywed husbands were eating the diverse menu of food Rollo catered. All of Seb’s friends, Azalea, Leafy, Basil, Felix, Grass, Romeo, Adonis, Zoy, (ect.) were sitting at different tables. Azalea and Leafy were on a mini-double date with Riddle and Epel while Romeo and Jade were gobbling up some home-made rice pudding. 

Rollo made the rice pudding the day before in preparation, he wanted the day to be perfectly perfect. He pulled a few strings and had Kalim convince Jamil to do most of the cooking, but in the end had to order a few dishes from totally legal Fleur City websites. 

“Mmmm nom nom.” Romeo says as he ate his bowl of rice pudding, Jade stared admiringly at him as if he were one of Jade’s terrarium mushroom fungi friends. 

Riddle sits down professionally, his posture straightens as he catches himself lacking in the presence of his lovely Azalea. 

“I loooooove you Riddle.” Azalea says before devouring their pupusa. Riddle reminds her of the Queen of Hearts’ 269th rule not to eat quickly at a wedding or something, Azalea ignores it and chomps down on another pupusa.

“Yum yum yum yum,” Leafy mumbles out with her mouth full of cake, red velvet crumbs all over her. Epel had taken the initiative to wipe up any mess his date makes, so nobody else would have to. 

“Leafy! Slow down, would’ya? Yer getting food all ov’r ya clothes!” Epel scolds Leafy as he, like Riddle, was giving ignored orders. 

“Where’s Seb?..” Azalea asks as they finish their 3rd pupusa. 

“I dunno.. dead I guess..” Was Leafy’s reply. 

Instantaneously, Seb bursts through the door, carrying his newlywed husband in old-fashioned bridal style. 

“HEYYY YOU GUYS!!! ROLLO LET ME CARRY HIM!!” Seb exclaims as he runs over to the groups of tables huddled near each other. “ISN’T THIS GREAT?!!?!?” 

“Oh my cod!! It’s amazing!!” Azalea smiles brightly as she places down a slightly eaten pupusa. 

Rollo blushes, either because of the embarrassment Seb is putting him through or how close he is to his husband. The christian man is canonically touch starved, remember? 

“Let me down! You’re supposed to be the one being carried! You’re the woman!” Rollo forgets he is married to a twinky trans man and brings out his 1950’s relationship sights. 

Rollo and Seb take turns carrying each other while the zest fest behind them watches. 

“Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!” Seb giggles as Rollo spins him around. “Poipiooioipipipopopopipo, I honestly expected you to be a skinny twink like me, but your stronger for eel.” 

Rollo is less athletic than a poor orphan German boy, so he can’t hold Seb for long. He collapses and takes his husband with him. They fall onto the ground on top of each other. Like how y/n fell over onto the bad boy alpha. Out of instinct Rollo  wrapped around Seb like a koala. 

After that.. incident, Seb helps himself to Rollos home-made rice pudding, gobbling it down faster than Seb getting doxxed after saying he’s trans to a 40 year old woman Facebook group. 

“Mmmmmm.. I love rice pudding.”

🙀🙀THE END🐙 

[retrievablememories]

make a wish | lucas

title: make a wish pairing: lucas x reader genre: fluff, a little angst request: hiii! can i please request something for wayv lucas where you dont answer his calls or texts for a day because you and the other wayv members were setting up a surprise bday party for him. thank you! word count: 1.7k warnings: hmm none that i can think of... a/n: not sure if i like how this came out, let’s pretend i didn’t post it if it flops 🤡 i felt like this was maybe a little more ~angsty~ than it needed to be altho i wasn’t sure how else to maneuver the surprise bday thing without them blowing the cover lmao...also yea it’s not his bday anymore but life is busy lol

To: Y/N Helloo~~? Y/N, are you ever gonna answer me back?

Seriously, did I do something wrong…

If you’re mad at least tell me why.

Lucas knows you’re not in any kind of danger or distress because he’s seen you be active on your social media accounts, but he can’t understand why you haven’t answered a single one of his calls or texts. Especially since tomorrow is his birthday.

Lucas feels frustrated at not being able to get through to you, and none of the other members seem to know what’s going on even when he asks. They’re close enough to you to have your number and talk to you regularly, but they all claim they haven’t heard anything from you either.

Ten looks up from his phone, seeing Lucas standing in the middle of the room looking bewildered as he stares down at his own phone like it’ll give him an answer. “Maybe Y/N wants a break from you right now,” he suggests, which makes Lucas sweat a bit despite himself. Ten wouldn’t know that. Right? Unless you’d told him something to suggest that.

“Stop trying to destroy happy homes, hyung,” Xiaojun says. “I’m sure it’s not that. Maybe she just needs alone time. Everyone does sometimes.”

“I guess,” Lucas mumbles. But he also knows that you’d usually tell him in advance if that were that case—not just ignore him completely. He thinks about going over to your place to find out what’s going on, but if what Xiaojun said is true, it’d probably be better not to disturb you or make you upset. “Are you sure she hasn’t contacted any of you? You look like you’ve been texting someone all day.”

Lucas tries to lean over Ten and look at his phone screen, but Ten is faster and leaps off the couch and away from him. “Don’t invade my privacy! Stop before you see something you don’t wanna see.”

Xiaojun laughs from where he sits on the ground playing with Bella. “Yeah, remember last time? No one needs a recap of that.” Ten rolls his eyes at that.

Lucas throws himself over the couch where Ten just was, sighing deeply. “Sure, sure. I’ll just suffer here then, lost in the dark without a clue what’s going on...”

Xiaojun brings Bella up to the couch so she can peer up at Lucas with her huge dark eyes, resting her forepaws on his arm. The corner of Lucas’s mouth turns up in a smile and he reaches out to pet her soft furry head. Xiaojun grins when the other man does, and he presses his face into her fur.

“I promise tomorrow will be better. It’s your birthday, after all...just watch.”

Despite Xiaojun’s reassurance, Lucas feels even more uncertain when he wakes up the day of his birthday, especially when he has no idea what the day has in store.

The other WayV members had all left the dorm early in the morning with the reasoning that they had individual schedules or needed to run urgent errands. Though they gave him their birthday wishes and said they’d come back as soon as possible so they could all celebrate, Lucas was more than a little disappointed about being left alone on his birthday. At least he had the pets to keep him company...and the manager and dorm auntie. Although they were nice to have around, they weren’t exactly who he was expecting to spend the day with.

He spends a while throwing toys around for the cats and Bella to play fetch with as he lies on his stomach on the floor, his phone a few feet away from him in case someone decides to call. Maybe someone like you.

Lucas tries a few more times to get in touch with you and still can’t get through, which makes him even more stressed than he was yesterday. Maybe the situation is something more serious than he initially thought? But still, you retweeted a couple things on Twitter just that morning, so it can’t be anything dire or life-threatening.

Lucas tries not to let his feelings bleed into bitterness, though he thinks you’ve picked a fine time to suddenly want to be isolated from everyone else.

A couple hours pass, but the time seems to go even slower than humanly possible. When even the pets become tired of the games and decide to wander off or take a nap, Lucas finally decides to just get dressed and go find something to do on his own for today; he doesn’t know what just yet, but there must be something to do. Just as he’s leaving the dorm, something happens that he previously thought was impossible; he gets a text from you.

From: Y/N Yukhei!! Can you come over?

To: Y/N ?? After ignoring me for a day and a half?

From: Y/N Please. It’s important.

I promise I will make it up to you, but you have to come over right noww 🥺

To: Y/N 😪 Fine, I’ll come over

Lucas makes it over to your place not too long after he finishes texting you. He’s not sure what to expect or what you’ll have to say to him once you see each other—or what he’ll say to you. His interest is piqued even more when he gets a text from you as he’s making his way up the stairs to your apartment.

From: Y/N Just come on in, the door’s unlocked. I’m a lil busy so I can’t get it myself!!

“Busy with what?” Lucas says to himself out loud. Now more curious than he was before, he continues up the stairs until he’s at your door. When he pushes it open, he’s taken aback by the sight of you and the other WayV members standing in front of the entryway.

You’re standing in the middle of them all, holding a cake with lit candles on it and smiling widely at your shocked boyfriend. “Surprise!” you and the other men exclaim all at once. “Happy birthday, Yukhei!!”

Lucas freezes in the doorway with a growing smile on his face, looking at all of you—and your surroundings—incredulously. Your apartment has been done up rather extensively with birthday banners, balloons, streamers, and every other kind of decoration you’d expect to see at a birthday celebration. 

You all sing happy birthday to him then, and he watches you and his friends with his eyes sparkling with delight and a bashful smile on his face.

“Wait...is this why you wouldn’t answer me back?” A laugh slips out of him as he covers his mouth, and he feels a bit silly, like maybe he should’ve seen something like this coming. Obviously, you’d never freeze him out on a day like this without a really good reason for it. “Y/N, you did all this for me?”

“Of course! I mean, the guys helped with decorating and setting everything else up ‘cause it was hard to do all that and bake a cake—but you know what I mean.”

Lucas leaves the entryway and steps forward now, still grinning widely. “Wah, you guys told me you didn’t know anything!”

“It wouldn’t be a surprise anymore if we told you.” Hendery laughs.

“Sorry we kept you in the dark for so long, hyung,” Yangyang chimes in, “but as you can see, we did a really good job putting everything together. So it paid off!”

“Now, blow out your candles,” you tell Lucas, bringing the cake forward.

Lucas shakes his head in happy disbelief as he looks down at your creation and chuckles to himself. “You must’ve really worked hard on this...I know baking isn’t your favorite thing to do.”

You laugh sheepishly. “Yeah, well, it took a few failed attempts to get this result, that’s for sure.”

Lucas thinks to himself for a moment, then closes his eyes and blows out the candles. Everyone claps and cheers after he does, and his answering grin is possibly the sweetest thing you’ve seen all day.

Sicheng grins mischievously and suddenly breaks up the moment by saying, “Now, can we eat?”

The rest of the day is spent with you all talking about any and everything, playing games, and watching movies, which eventually ends up with everyone falling asleep in various spots of your living room. You and Lucas got the honor of taking the couch, with Kun squeezed in beside Lucas and currently knocked out, head leaning against the back of the couch.

You and Lucas are the only ones still awake, although it probably won’t be long before you’re off to dreamland too. You can feel yourself getting sleepier, though you try your best to stay conscious. Lucas glances down at you where your body rests in his arms, and he grins to himself, placing his lips on the top of your head for a gentle kiss.

“I want us to stay like this forever, you know. Just the two of us,” he whispers close to your ear.

“Me too…” you murmur, already half-asleep against his chest despite your best efforts.

“It’s what I wished for.”

You perk up a little at that and swat at his arm where it’s wrapped around you. “Noo, don’t tell me or it won’t come true!”

Lucas giggles, and his laughter makes your body shake.

“You don’t have to worry about that when it’s already fated.”

[phantomofthepairofdice]

The Rosscars 2020

Wow. It’s that time of year again, only this time it’s different because it’s on a blog that no one will read! (hold for applause) Welcome to the first annual online publication for the Rosscars (hold for applause while the reader acknowledges how positively droll it is that I combined my name with “Oscars”). Who can forget such indelible Rosscar memories like when Steven Soderbergh surprised us all and won Best Director for Out of Sight or Bill Irwin’s beautiful speech upon winning Best Supporting Actor for Rachel Getting Married?! The Rosscars mean something different to everyone, but we all know that they mean quality choices made by a committee of one schmuck. This year’s Rosscars are bizarre because in an effort to be more like the Academy guidelines, film’s nominated have been released between January 1, 2020 and February 28, 2021. As usual, theatrical windows be damned, streamers are welcome. Of course, I have my gripes. I like categorizing movies by release year – specifically, when they become available to the plain old public like yours truly – not at festivals, limited runs in NYC and LA. Well, the Oscars are still weeks away and I feel like everybody wants to forget about last year and move onto this one that we’re already three months into - So here are my awards for the films, performers, and craftspeople that stood out in a pretty exceptional year for movies even though distribution was stranger than ever. 

**A few caveats and guidelines to Rosscar newcomers (which I imagine is just a formality since we all know the Rosscars so well)**

The rules and categories are a little different around here. First, not every category is honored directly. That’s for a few reasons, chiefly that I don’t feel qualified to reward the technical categories properly – I suppose I should say that I feel less qualified to do so than the “above the line” categories. In keeping with the Academy standard, there are five nominees in each category, except for Best Picture, Best Non-Fiction/Documentary Feature, and Best Ensemble Cast which allow up to ten. Every category, save those three, will have the possibility of honorable mentions, because I want to highlight some things that just barely missed the cut. The narrowing down of a lot of these categories was awfully tough.

Nominees are listed alphabetically, and the winners are in bold and italics.

Also, it’s important to keep in mind that I couldn’t see everything (this isn’t a job and it’s still $20 to rent The Father, y’all) and that these are just the opinions of one (self-described) “bozo on the internet.” If you’re a reader and have different picks, feel free to share!

Special Commendations for some things that I want to recognize: • Ludwig Goransson for his Tenet score which is an absolute banger • The costumes of Emma. (Alexandra Byrne), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Ann Roth), and Small Axe (Jaqueline Durran, Sinéad Kidao, and Lisa Duncan) all struck me as exceptional • Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross with their scores for both Soul and Mank. Crazy that Pixar is working with the guy who made “Closer” • The cinematography of Da 5 Bloods (Newton Thomas Sigel), First Cow (Christopher Blauvelt), Beanpole (Kseniya Sereda), and A White, White Day (Maria von Hausswolff)

The Rosscars red carpet was, as usual, a bizarre affair. People filed into the theater and it seemed like the only encounters were awkward ones. Vin Diesel showed up in character as Bloodshot, Aaron Sorkin started getting really verbose about what a lovely night it was, and it became clear that most of the celebrities in attendance didn’t read their invitations closely enough to realize that this was not, in fact, the Academy Awards.

Everyone’s seated, and the show is under way. After a medley about the nominees this year by Common and Seth McFarlane that was more corny but clever than it was funny, the first official category is here, and the presenter is none other than... Ross!

Best Supporting Actor:

1. Chadwick Boseman for Da 5 Bloods

2. Matthew Macfadyen for The Assistant

3. Jesse Plemmons for Judas and the Black Messiah

4. Paul Raci for Sound of Metal

5. Glynn Turman for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Honorable Mentions:

• Lucas Hedges for Let Them All Talk

• Orion Lee for First Cow

• Bill Murray for On the Rocks

Best Supporting Actress:

1. Vanessa Bayer for Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar

2. Candice Bergen for Let Them All Talk

3. Gina Rodriguez for Kajillionaire

4. Amanda Seyfried for Mank

5. Yuon Yuh-jung for Minari

Honorable Mentions:

• Jane Adams for She Dies Tomorrow

• Charin Alvarez for Saint Frances

• Talia Ryder for Never Rarely Sometimes Always

• Debra Winger for Kajillionaire

Everyone loves a montage. The audience gets comfortable in their seats as the video screens start to show a montage of some of the most famous moments from Hollywood’s most magical movies. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers waltz, gliding across a dance floor like two hovering angels. There’s a clip of Leo declaring himself king of the world in Titanic, the flying bicycles in ET, Bogart stares longingly into Bacall’s eyes, and then there’s some scene where Tom Cruise rides a motorcycle from 2010′s Knight and Day. The audience all seems confused how that last one got in there. The John Williams music swells as little Kevin McAllister screams when puts on aftershave. We see clips of Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver, Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia embrace Harrison Ford’s Han Solo, Bruce Lee smoothly declares that boards don’t hit back and... wait... was that a clip from Michel Gondry’s Green Hornet with Seth Rogen? And that’s a clip from What Happens in Vegas... Bad Teacher... Vanilla Sky... Shrek 2... Any Given Sunday... Everyone is flummoxed. The last clip fades out and a sole editing credit appears: Cameron Diaz. The lights come up and there’s some applause, but mostly confused murmurs. 

The ceremony has had a bit of a misstep, but nothing it can’t recover from, especially as the next category is announced over the PA, and it looks like the presenter is... Ross!

Best Ensemble Cast:

1. Bacurau

2. Da 5 Bloods 

3. Kajillionaire

4. Let Them All Talk

5. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

6. Minari

7. Nomadland

8. Pieces of a Woman

9. Small Axe

Best Original Screenplay:

1. Danny Bilson and Paul Dameo & Spike Lee and Kevin Wilmott for Da 5 Bloods

2. Lee Isaac Chung for Minari

3. Brandon Cronenberg for Possessor

4. Sean Durkin for The Nest

5. Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles for Bacurau

Honorable Mentions – a very difficult task to weed this down to five.

• Shaka King and Will Berson for Judas and the Black Messiah, from a story by Kenny and Keith Lucas

• Steve McQueen, Alastair Siddons, and Courttia Newland for Small Axe

• Kelly O'Sullivan for Saint Frances

• Thomas Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm for Another Round

Best Actor:

1. Ben Affleck for The Way Back

2. Chadwick Boseman for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

3. Delroy Lindo for Da 5 Bloods

4. John Magaro for First Cow

5. Mads Mikkelsen for Another Round

Honorable Mentions:

• Riz Ahmed for Sound of Metal

• John Boyega for Small Axe

• Daniel Kaluuya for Judas and the Black Messiah

• Hugh Jackman for Bad Education

• Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson for A White, White Day

We have a break in the action and it looks like Darius Rucker has showed up to perform what he would have nominated for Best Original Song. The crowd is absolutely furious as he starts playing a song that apparently was in Trial of the Chicago Seven. An ocean of sonorous boos and curses overtakes the the once docile crowd. The Rock just ripped his chair from out of the ground. Jane Lynch somehow smuggled in a civil war era flintlock pistol that she’s now pointing at the stage! Suddenly, the crowd unifies around what started as a confident chant of one lone audience member - John C Reilly. It’s growing... Ja Ja Ding Dong, Ja Ja Ding Dong, Ja Ja Ding Dong - it’s like the macabre circus performers from Tod Browning’s Freaks, but instead of chanting “Gooble Gobble” they’re clearly pining for Darius to change his tune to the silly and delightful jam from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. Darius, scared for his life, leaves the stage, but here come Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams to deliver the goods. Busy Philips and Michelle Williams burst into tears. Tom Hanks nods in approval. A segment saved by brave artists placating a toxic group of fans... we’ve just witnessed a live version of the Snyder Cut, folks.

Jack Nicholson seems completely unfazed, giving a thumbs up to the camera and blowing a kiss to the next presenter. Coming to the stage is... Ross... again...

Best Actress:

1. Jessie Buckley for i’m thinking of ending things

2. Carrie Coon for The Nest

3. Han Ye-ri for Minari

4. Sidney Flanagan for Never Rarely Sometimes Always

5. Vasilisa Perelygina for Beanpole

Honorable Mentions – these cuts were especially painful

• Haley Bennet for Swallow

• Morfydd Clark for Saint Maud

• Frances McDormand for Nomadland

• Christin Milioti for Palm Springs

• Geraldine Viswanathan for Bad Education

Best Adapted Screenplay:

1. Charlie Kaufman for i'm thinking of ending things from Iain Reed's novel

2. Sarah Gubbins for Shirley from Susan Scarf Merrell's novel

3. Kelly Reichardt and John Raymond for First Cow

4. Simon Rich for American Pickle from his short story "Sell Out"

5. Mike Makowsky for Bad Education from Robert Kolker's "The Bad Superintendent"

Best Non-Fiction/Documentary Feature:

1. Boys State

2. Collective

3. David Byrne’s American Utopia

4. Dick Johnson is Dead

5. Feels Good Man

6. In & Of Itself

7. The Painter and the Thief

8. Time

Jimmy Fallon has come out on stage to do a bit about the pandemic and watching movies at home. People are just absolutely not having it. He tries not to laugh at his own jokes while doing what I guess is technically a pretty good impression of Dr. Fauci interviewing James Corden as Martin Scorsese (the less said of this impression, the better) on what is or isn’t cinema. The bit doesn’t track and Fallon is absolutely tanking. The producers cut away from the stage to spare the viewers at home from this monstrosity. We see crowd shots of Millie Bobby Brown shaking her head in dismay, Colin Firth is simultaneously grimacing and trying to stave off laughter, Cynthia Erivo is texting, and director Tom Hooper is taking notes for his next film. Corden yells, “Carpool Karaoke! Remember?!” Ron Howard has fainted. This thing is almost completely off the rails.

Coming back to the stage is the next presenter, a clearly embarrassed... Ross! He’s in a total flop sweat, but stumbles his way through a joke about how Fallon should try co-hosting the Oscars with James Franco sometime. There are scant chuckles throughout a crowd that mostly just wants to see who won and go home.

Best Director:

1. Christopher Nolan for Tenet

2. Spike Lee for Da 5 Bloods

3. Steve McQueen for Small Axe

4. Kelly Reichardt for First Cow

5. Chloé Zhao for Nomadland

Honorable Mentions:

• Kitty Green for The Assistant

• Eliza Hittman for Never Rarely Sometimes Always

• Charlie Kaufman for i'm thinking of ending things

• Thomas Vinterberg for Another Round

Best Picture

1. Bacurau

2. Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar

3. Da 5 Bloods

4. First Cow

5. i'm thinking of ending things

6. Judas and the Black Messiah

7. Never Rarely Sometimes Always

8. Nomadland

9. Small Axe

10. Tenet

Accepting the award for best picture is none other than Eve, the cow actor who played the titular First Cow! The audience is enamored with how graceful she looks in her cow gown, and her speech, though indecipherable, is likely simple, observational, and deeply profound for those who speak cow.

Wow, what a ceremony! Hearts were broken, property was damaged, dreams were fulfilled... blood was shed? Damn it, Meryl Streep came in and mugged Charlie Kaufman before absconding with the trophy. Oddly, she’s a previous winner, so the attack isn’t out of need for hardware. People are reading through articles about production on Adaptation for potential motives. Streep made time for a photo opportunity, but remains at large.

I could go on ad infinitum about all of these nominees and winners themselves and why they did or didn’t make the cut, but that’d be better served in a different piece. For now, my thoughts on most of these can be found on the Best of 2020 write-up and over on my Letterboxd. And, as always, these awards can be revoked and redistributed at will, so don’t get too cozy with that statue, Danny Bilson!

On behalf of the RAOGL (Rosscars Association of One Guy at a Laptop), thanks for reading, and stay tuned as we’re establishing a tip line for anyone has seen Ms. Streep or her stolen valor Rosscar. We’ll see you next year. Keep watching movies, and keep arbitrarily quantifying them in terms of subjective quality!

[avatarmerida]

Date with Destiny

[cinnbar-bun]

Cupid’s Arrow

This is my entry for @fire-emblem-drabbles and @imaginesforfe ‘s Valentine’s Exchange. This little gift is for @senchou-scribble! 

I hope you don’t mind, I chose Alfonse for this!

“(Y/n), are these suitable decorations for you?” A maid dangled a slew of heart streamers and pink ribbon, and you inspected each one. You were a bit giddy, however, and insisted that she use all of them. They were perfect for today.

“(Y/n)! Can’t believe you decorated all of this! Alfonse is gonna love it!” She squealed and clapped energetically. “Happy Valentine’s Day by the way. I’m sure he’ll be here soon and celebrate with you.” 

You sighed and looked out the window, gazing at how the sun had just risen to the top. 

“I’m hopeful he will-he never lets me down.” You smiled, remembering that this was Alfonse of all people, he’d never stop until you were happy. You stretched your limbs a bit and turned back to Sharena. 

“Well, you wanna go make some of the desserts before he gets here?” 

“Absolutely!” She nodded before dragging you to the kitchen. 

“Your highness, is this to your liking? I listened to all of your requirements and even added a little something to it.” The old man handed Alfonse a small black box and smiled widely at the prince’s astonished face. “I take it you’re impressed?” 

“I-impressed hardly begins to describe it. I knew your craftsmanship was legendary, but this? It’s absolutely wonderful. I cannot thank you enough.” Alfonse closed the lid to the box and cradled it gently in his arms. 

“It is an absolute honor to be able to help the royal family.” The man chuckled. 

“Oh, and what was it about a ‘little something’ you added to it?” 

“Check inside again, my lord.” 

“A-alright...” Alfonse opened the box once more and examined the precious ring. There wasn’t really anything he noticed that seemed different than what he asked for- the large white diamond, the gold band of the ring, as well as a small green, red, blue, and grey diamonds encrusted onto the band. What was this something? 

“Inside, my lord.” The man heartily laughed at how confused Alfonse was. 

Inside? But inside what? He inched it closer to his face before his eye caught a darker spot inside the band of the ring. 

I summon my strength from you. 

Alfonse gasped at the words engraved in the band and looked at the jeweler in shock. 

“I thought a little surprise for the Great Summoner should be in order. I wish you two the best in your future, I’m very confident you’ll make Askr even better together.” The man smiled. 

“Gods...thank you sir, just know that as thanks, anything you need, the royal family will happily help you with.” Alfonse thanked him as he handed him a sack of gold coins. 

“I do not think I can ask much. Just keep doing what you are doing. My old age is catching up to me, but it’d be a gift just to see that the kingdom is still as glorious as I remember. Promise me that no matter what happens, you’ll do the best for Askr.” The man pleaded gently. 

“I promise that, on my life. My people are my pride and joy.” Alfonse nodded, heartfelt in his response. 

“Then my favor is done. You’ll do great things my lord.” 

“I can only hope so.” 

“So cake?” 

“Check!” 

“Uh, what about the cookies?” 

“Check!”

“Sharena! Stop eating the cookies!” You frowned slightly as you found another two cookies missing from the plate.

“It’s not me, I swear! It was Feh!” The princess held her hands up and stared at the white owl. 

Feh shook her head, as if trying to disprove what Sharena said, but the crumbs on her feathers said otherwise. 

“Feh! You silly little goose!” You gently picked her up and dusted the crumbs off before hugging her. 

“But Feh’s an owl, not a goose?” 

“Oh, I know, but ‘silly goose’ is a saying from my world!” 

“You have silly geese running around? Are they very funny?” Her eyes lit up as she asked you more questions about the so called ‘silly geese’. 

“My lieges!” A breathless servant quickly cut you off from your conversation as he panted heavily. “The prince has returned!” 

“Alfonse?” You both smiled widely and ran past the guard, making a mad dash to the front of the palace. 

“Alfonse!” Both of your loud screams alerted Alfonse, who jolted upright as he was talking to a maid. 

“Al! You’re back!” You jumped him and wrapped your arms around him, practically choking him in your embrace. “How was the important business meeting? Successful, I presume?” 

“A-ah, yes, it was successful as always, my dear. You and Sharena look quite busy.” He murmured the last part as he stared at all the decorations. 

“Yep, a little Valentine’s Day treat for you!” You poked his cheek and he chuckled slightly. “I was worried you wouldn’t make it today, I really wanted to celebrate with you!” 

“You know I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” He added, stroking your cheek lightly. 

“I love you, Al.” You smiled, pressing your lips softly to his cheek. 

“I’m quite exhausted right now, so I think I’ll take my leave and rest for a bit. Would you care to join me?” 

“Heck yeah, the bed was way too cold without you.” You grabbed his hands and laced them with yours, dragging him to your shared bedroom. 

“The prince is sleeping, correct?” A maid asked Sharena. She nodded quickly and the maid hurriedly walked to inform the others. 

“Plan ‘Summon a Proposal’ is finally in full gear!” She giggled quietly to herself at the end. 

“Sharena! Stop slacking! Time’s a wasting!” Anna yelled at the top of her lungs, balancing a box of decorations in her hands on top of a ladder. 

“C-Coming!” The blonde princess said as she ran by to collect more things. 

“Heya~ Wake-y, wake-y sleepyheads!” 

“Huh? Sharena? What are you doing here?” You mumbled as you rubbed your tired eyes awake. You noticed Alfonse was not in bed, which made you confused as to where he could be. 

“Came to wake you up! It’s the Day of Devotion, so you gotta look your best!” 

“Lucky for you, we picked out an outfit for you!” Anna strolled into your room with a sparkly white outfit in her hands. “Better hurry up sweetheart, your prince is waiting.” She chuckled before hanging it up on a door. 

“Thanks guys.” You smiled and quickly prepared. You smoothed your hair out and fixed it, pinning a hair clip with a large white feather on it. As you checked yourself in the mirror, you remembered the gift you prepared for Alfonse. You walked over to your dresser, where under a few piles of clothes, was a small box. You felt relief wash over you that he didn’t find it, and you felt your heartbeat quicken as you stepped out of your room. 

The servants were bustling around the Order, yelling out directions to each other as they ran around with gifts, dishes, and food. A few heroes stopped by and gave you a gift, thanking you for your hard work as their summoner. 

“Oh, and uh, did you happen to see Alfonse anywhere?” You asked Niles. 

“Oh~ the porcelain prince, huh? Try the gardens- I was just in the dining hall and he was not there.” The archer smirked and patted your shoulders as you skipped away to see Alfonse. 

Following Niles’ instructions, you stumbled down to the steps of the garden and shouted for your boyfriend. 

“Alfonse?” You called out once more before you stopped and gasped loudly. You nearly dropped your gift at the sight that laid in front of you. 

The little gazebo in the garden was cleaned and had white, blue, and baby pink flowers hanging from it. A few lanterns were strung on the beams of the gazebo, attracting some pretty fireflies and butterflies, and the swung lightly with the breeze. A table with two chairs was set out, and sitting on one of them was none other than Alfonse himself. 

He chuckled slightly at your reaction before standing up and walking to you. 

“I take it you like it?” He asked as he extended his hand to you. He was no longer in his royal uniform, but instead, a fancy white tux with a blue flower and white feather pinned to it. He looked absolutely stunning. 

“Oh my god...” you murmured as he led you to the table. He pulled out your chair for you and pushed it in slightly as you sat down. “Alfonse... this is amazing!”

“I’m very glad you like it. I spent a while planning on it.” He added. 

“When did you plan this? You were gone for a couple days for that meeting.” 

“I had a bit of help.” He laughed, and you knew he meant Sharena and Anna.

“Oh! Before I forget,” You gently slid your gift box over to him and nervously smiled. “I got you something-I just don’t think it’d compare to this though...” 

“(Y/n), your love is an even greater gift than anything I can could ever give you.” Alfonse encouraged you as he unwrapped his gift. He gasped as he pulled out the gift, a large orb that Anna said could record memories and take pictures.

“Ah...it’s probably stupid but I just thought we could make some memories together...” You trailed off, but Alfonse placed his hand on top of yours. 

“It’s perfect. Since we have discussed making memories, do you mind if we create one right now?” He asked. 

“Uh, yeah...what were you thinking?” You tilted your head, confused at what he was planning. 

“Okay, then close your eyes.” 

“What? But what for?” 

“Just do it.” He chuckled at your confusion before you sighed and did as asked. 

“Okay...eyes closed.” 

“Good, now keep them closed until I say so.” He said as you heard the shuffling of the chairs and steps towards you. 

“What are you...” 

“Open them.” He cooed, and as you opened them, he stood on one knee in front of you, a small box with a shiny ring in the middle of it. You covered your mouth in shock and looked at him, to the ring, then back to him. 

“(Y/n)...I was so hesitant before to make friends. I was scared of losing another person I cared about because I got to close. I thought I’d be stronger if I just closed everyone off, but after meeting you...gods I was a fool. You’ve not only made me more open, but you’ve made me stronger than I ever could’ve been on my own. You are my other half, and you make me whole again. I want to be someone you can count on later on. I want to be with you, every step of the way, I want you to be by my side. Would you make me the happiest man and accept?” He asked, a large smile on his face. 

“Yes! Yes! Alfonse, you idiot! Of course I’d accept!” You wept into his shoulders as you threw yourself on him, wrapping your arms around his neck. 

“Let’s commemorate this moment then.” He said, grabbing the camera orb you had bought him earlier out. He pressed it slightly as it glowed, turning it on. 

“May I have your hand?” He asked, and you placed yours flat on his palm. He slid the ring on your finger and hummed at how it was a perfect fit. 

Feeling rather adventurous, you pulled him close and kissed him passionately, hoping that this was not some wild fantasy, but your own reality. 

“I love you...I love you so much.” You whispered, and he snuggled his head into the crook of your neck. 

“Not as much as I love you...” Was all he could say as you two stayed in your embrace. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day.” You both said in unison. 

“Yes! He did it! He actually did it! He didn’t chicken out!” Sharena cheered from a balcony peering over the gazebo. 

“Hush, Sharena, you’ll get their attention! Oh I can’t wait till the wedding, all the invitations, people will be dying to see the prince getting married!” Anna said, licking her lips at the thought of making a profit. 

“Anna, don’t you think that’s a bit...” Sharena trailed off before sighing and shaking her head. “Whatever, we’ll deal with it another time. I gotta tell mom the good news!” She said as she leaped up and ran out to write a letter to her mother. 

Anna still looked at you two, chuckling at how good her plan was. 

“Yep, what a happy Day of Devotion...”

[calyxaomphalos]

The Ghosts of Windy Ridge

Turn #51, four components

location #4 - Great Hall - 5 neighbor #5 - Hank - 5 item #20 - player's choice event #6 - find an item!!! #10 - item that someone else needs

Turn #52 is here as well. It's a short summary of the previous three turns.

13 April 2022, Wednesday Evening

So I had a total brain fart and thought it was Thursday already. I didn't figure it out until I got to the Great Hall and didn't see anyone else around except for Hank, who was puttering around doing this and that getting ready for the gathering. At least now I knew what tomorrow night's thing is going to be about. The town is honoring Memaw Parker with an awards ceremony.

"Everyone calls her 'Memaw'," Hank explained. "She's almost 100 years old and still sharp as a tack. Ol' Memaw can take one look at ya and will then give you a special brew of tea which suddenly clears up the fog in your mind, or eases the ache of that one painful knee, or all manner of cures."

The name 'Parker' stuck out in my mind. One of the men killed in the mine accident was a Parker, born in the late 1950s. He was likely Memaw's son.

"I found Mo's headstone out at the Red Pine Cemetery," I began gently. "Poured out a little rum for him. Had a nice walk around. Didn't get rattled by any strangers with shotguns this time."

Hank looked up from what he was doing and asked, "Shotguns?"

I confessed to Hank about my first visit to the cemetery, late Sunday night.

"Yeah, that'd be Stan McCallen. He's a straight shooter in more ways than one. Don't never ask him anything if you don't want to hear the straight up truth about it," Hank explained.

"Good to know, and I'm glad I trusted my instinct and told him exactly who I am and why I'm here. The name Maurice Forrester didn't seem to mean anything to him, though."

"Hey, can you help me find the hall decorations? I'm supposed to be tacking up some ribbon or something for tomorrow night, along with general tidying up," Hank asked.

"Sure thing. I can even stay and help a while," I agreed. "Where haven't you looked yet, and what exactly am I looking for?"

"There's a couple different storage areas on either side of the kitchen. I've already been through the linen closets and crafting supplies. We're looking for a translucent plastic bin, the colored streamers should be pretty obvious through the sides of the bin."

"Rock on," I said and bustled off to the back and through the kitchen. Hank was right behind me.

"You take the left side, I'll take the right," Hank said.

"Sure thing."

Through a door was a small hallway like space with two sets of double accordion doors. It's like you can't put anything in the space, because you need the room to open these doors. "Silly design," I thought. My experience with these kinds of doors hasn't been very positive, so I was pleasantly surprised when I pulled the handle on the right-hand pair and they smoothly slid out and together, the upper rail gliding easily and holding the doors in the correct relative positions.

Hank said it'd be easy to spot, and he wasn't kidding. The riotous colors were apparent even through the milky white plastic. "GOT IT!" I called out, hefting the bin down from its shelf. We spent the next half hour hanging up a few ribbons, not talking about much.

13 April 2022, Wednesday Night

Back at the cabin, I took a few minutes to note what I've done today. I had an awesome breakfast with Tina at Timmy's Diner and learned a lot about the Academy. Then I went out to Red Pine Cemetery and eventually found Mo's headstone. I found the headstones of Hank's brother who died in the mine tragedy, and of Memaw's son, also taken by that event. I learned who Memaw Parker is, and that she'll be honored with an award ceremony tomorrow evening for the community's weekly gathering. And Hank was able to tell me about the guy with the shotgun from Sunday night at the cemetery, Stan McCallen. I helped Hank decorate for tomorrow.

[spideyxchelle]

PLEASE please please do a part 2 for that jealous peter fic!!

i have SO many headcanon requests to get through, fam, looool. but y’all were really about this jealous!Peter Parker headcanon (like you all attacked my inbox) so here it is. don’t worry if you sent me a headcanon, i will get to it…scout’s honor. [part 1]

prom is indisputably terrible 

after the incident™ Peter and MJ don’t speak

he doesn’t know what to say to her now that she knows he’s a jealous asshole and he suspects she doesn’t want anything to do with him anymore because, well, he’s a jealous asshole

Ned doesn’t have it in him to be pissed off but he’s the Ned version of pissed, which is basically like profound disappointment. truthfully? it’s almost worse. 

MJ and Mark stop sitting with them at lunch all together. Mark tries, honestly he does, to talk to Peter about everything that went down between the three of them but Peter is a little shit and doesn’t want to hear it.

so there goes THAT friendship. 

its not that Peter is purposefully self-sabotaging himself and all of his relationships but MJ gets. under. his. skin. 

like, she is everywhere, okay? he has hundreds of pictures of her on his phone and tons of Polaroids of them on his wall and her favorite teas in his cupboard at home and a smattering of her clothes in his closet from when she would crash on his couch from one of his missions.

but because his jealousy is so ridiculous and stupid it feels like one day she’s on team Spider-man and the next day she’s not…Ned doesn’t say anything but he knows that he misses whenever he’s pulling guy-in-the-chair patrols. 

and for all of these reasons and more he nearly doesn’t go to his senior prom…but May is having none of his crap. she’s already been on his case about MJ’s absence as of late. she tells him she’s not going to stand for him missing another hallmark of high school. Spider-man can take a night off, she insists. 

so he puts on uncle ben’s old suit (it still smells like him if he inhales real deep) and takes the car (the crappy one Mr. Stark bought him and by crappy its a 2012 Audi r8 and its kind of his baby) and picks up Gwen

yes, Gwen. see, after MJ forcibly tears herself out of his life, Peter falls easily into step with Gwen. she’s smart and funny and sweet and reminds him of Liz. she’s always looking at him like she sees something inherently good in him. and its a nice…..especially when, lately, he feels like such an a-hole because of everything that happened. 

he doesn’t protest when Gwen tries to hold his hand in the bleachers in gym class or when she asks him to dinner or when she kisses him after their third date. it’s a warm and comfortable feeling between them. 

but she’s not MJ. MJ makes Peter feel like he’s awake. she’s real and tangible and human and perfectly imperfect. she makes him feel like his genuine self. and in a world of superheroes having her made everything….i dunno…better. 

he doesn’t have MJ, tho. that’s Mark’s girlfriend. not his. 

so Gwen is great. or that is what he has to tell himself every time she leans in for a kiss. 

when they get to the gym covered in tacky streamers and a cover band of epic-ally terrible portions, Peter waits for MJ to say something ridiculous and hilarious and boom. it hits him, like it does sometimes, that MJ isn’t there to say anything. because he screwed it up. 

he frowns. Gwen notices and sweetly asks if he wants to dance. and he does, because its a high school dance and that is how that’s supposed to go. he’s going to go through all the motions because Gwen deserves to have fond memories of her senior prom. he’s not going to hurt Gwen the way he hurt Liz. 

after a few dances, he goes to grab some punch of MJ…NO…Gwen. he’s here with Gwen. and crosses to the table for some refreshments. and it would be just his freakin’ luck that Mark is there, too.

he tries to stand tall but he’s not exactly a giant like Mark is. its fine. his ego isn’t wounded. it is. 

the two of them do that awkward dance where they’re polite but its not exactly friendly. “nice night” “oh yea, real nice” “traffic wasn’t bad” “no surprisingly light” “yep.”

but Peter spends nearly every moment of his life thinking about MJ. every moment. and so he can’t help himself. “how’s MJ?”

Mark works his jaw like Peter annoyed him by just asking and Peter has a petulant thought - good. 

Mark lamely gestures to the dance floor where MJ is and Peter is 95% sure Mark says something but he doesn’t hear him. because MJ is there. and she’s beautiful. 

no, that word doesn’t feel right. she’s way more than beautiful. she’s the human equivalent of a supernova. she’s that radiant. with her hair dreaded in a suit because…of course she is. 

Peter knows he must look a certain way because Mark says Peter’s name meanly, like he’s been trying to get his attention for longer than the last five seconds.

“what?” “dude,” mark crosses his arms, “that’s my girlfriend. knock it off.” 

peter rolls his eyes because who does this guy think he is?? this MARK. Mark is a dumb name. anyway. “i didn’t do anything.”

“you’re looking at her like you wanna.”

“you’re delusional,” peter tries to dodge this conversation. 

“MJ told me.” and Peter’s heart stops. because she wouldn’t tell Mark he’s Spider-man. even if they weren’t friends anymore she wouldn’t throw his identity under the bus. she never would. she couldn’t. Mark keeps talking, “I know that you’re jealous. said she spoke to you at your aunt’s over the weekend”. 

and peter is so freaking relieved because she didn’t throw him under the bus. and he feels so stupid for the little hopeful flutter his heart does because she still cares, she’s still taking CARE of him. even though they’re not talking. 

screw this. Peter turns to Mark dead-on. Mark is taller than Peter but he’s not some frightened kid. he’s Spider-man. ��yeah, I’m jealous,” he admits with no shame. “you’re with the most amazing girl possibly on the planet. you’re the guy who gets that….that….” he fumbles to find the right word, “masterpiece of a person. so, screw you Mark. of course I’m jealous.”

“Peter?” Gwen’s bright, little voice interrupts and Peter’s frown deepens. because shit. how much of that did she hear? 

he closes his eyes and turns around to face her. “Gwen-” he tries to explain but she’s having none of it. Gwen is spectacular in her own way. and she isn’t going to take any of his excuses. for a moment he can almost imagine another universe where she’s enough for him. but in this world she can’t be….not when MJ exists. 

she gently tells him that she’s had a really good time the last few weeks but she deserves to be a masterpiece in somebody’s eyes. and if she isn’t that to peter then….she’s going to go and dance with her friends. she even gives him a kiss on the cheek that feels like a goodbye. 

and he feels awful. 

in the midst of all of this MJ wanders over and Peter feels so silly that he can, like, sense her presence. and he doesn’t think that has anything to do with his superhero…ness. oh no, she’s just MJ and he’d know her anywhere. 

when he faces MJ her face is unreadable. Mark throws a casual arm around her and she shrugs it off. “don’t do that,” she chastises him, “don’t stake your claim. it’s pathetic.” Mark shrinks. and Peter nearly does the tango from sheer excitement. 

“MJ-” Peter attempts.

“don’t.” and his heart clutches. because this is how their last conversation, no, their last fight went. and she’s stunning and powerful and he would battle a crocodile for her. he’s pretty sure he read that in Hamlet and it always sounded like a stupid metaphor to him. but now he gets it. 

“I’m not,” she takes a deep breath, “I’m not ready to deal with this, Parker. “

and she leaves. and he hates that she keeps doing that. 

he abandons the dance all together after that and sits on the roof of the high school. he spends over an hour loathing himself. he’s gotten so good at it. he analyzes all of his silly, stupid mistakes from the last month or so and wishes he could go back to a time before Mark got here. back when he could have told MJ how he felt and then this night would have been so different. 

AND THEN HE FEELS EVEN WORSE because of course he’d be the guy that it took her dating another guy for him to come to his senses. its so dumb. he’s so dumb.

later, MJ finds him on the roof and sweeps her dreads over one shoulder and sits beside him. they both hang their feet over the side of the building. he doesn’t speak. doesn’t do anything, really. if she wants to talk to him she will. he’s in self-pity mode. 

eventually she does speak, “you’ve been a real shit, Peter.” “I know” “and I really enjoy hanging out with mark” “I know” “and he was your friend too” “I know, okay?” “and your suit is a little big in the shoulders”

he has to crack a smile at that because, GOD, its just so Michelle he can’t stand it. “MJ…” he turns to look at her, “I should have asked sooner.”

“you’ve never actually asked,” she corrects him

he runs a hand through his messy, wind-torn hair, “doesn’t matter now”

“it always matters, Peter,” her voice is quiet. he watches every twitch and emotion on her face. he could watch her for hours. and he briefly wonders if this is how Uncle Ben used to feel when he looked at Aunt May. 

“why?” he whispers.

“well, for one,” she rolls her eyes, “I deserve to know things. I’m Michelle Jones. and secondly….it would have made a difference. it can still make a difference.” 

“you have a boyfriend” 

“I did” 

………

“did???” “did”

“what,” his voice cracks, “what happened??” he tries not to sound eager but this is the best thing that’s happened to him in months. like, he almost can’t breathe. he might faint. no, wait, he’s good. but still, this is overwhelming. 

“Mark broke up with me. Said I was only dating him because I couldn’t date you. Something about how he deserves to be someone’s masterpiece and at best he was impressionist painting and not even a good one”

“he didn’t say that,” Peter says on autopilot because his brain cannot function. “he didn’t,” she smiles just slightly, “i took creative liberties.”

“was he right?” Peter gambles just by asking. but he waited too long the last time and he’s not going to go two for two on being the stupidest man alive. 

“yea.”

HIS HEART SOARS!!!!

“but-”

his heart drops.

“-I’m so mad at you, Peter. so mad. you were such a dick to me.”

he tries to touch her hand, to hold it, to offer her some comfort but she pulls it away like he burns her. and he wonders when he broke her trust so much that even this kind of casual intimacy is a burden for her. 

“I need some time” she stands “maybe a few weeks worth of it”

“and then?” Peter knows he must look like he’s putting expectation on this moment and that’s because he is. because he wants so much with her. he wants everything. this feels like the real deal. she feels like she could be it. the period at the end of his life’s story. 

“I dunno,” she sighs, “I just don’t know”

but he doesn’t push her. he doesn’t even try and speak. because he can wait and he can hope. and he can even try and rebuild all of the trust he broke. and he can do better. no, he will do better. because she deserves it.

ALL OF THAT doesn’t make it any easier to watch her walk back down to the school gym. 

but the little bit of hope that she leaves behind with him is enough. 

for now. 

[cheddertm]

sometimes i wish Foolish did his shift dance on the QSMP bc he could literally be talking to someone or doing smth and then out of nowhere he just starts dancing and no one knows why he does this besides Bad and Quackity

also because during serious lore time you have people seriously invested and thinking about what’s going on/what to do and behind them is a Totem constantly changing size with silly happy music

[rosetintedswift]

A few months ago my very best friend got engaged to the love of her life. It was all so beautiful: The proposal, the ring, the guy, the girl, the dress, the details…. absolutely amazing. Even more so was when I learned I was to be the Maid of Honor and she entrusted the Bachelorette to me.

Talk about pressure.

So for months on end I searched Pinterest and asked people and watched every bride movie you could think of (Bride Wars, Bridesmaids, 27 Dresses, etc). I made tons of lists of everything I needed, and always had the event at the back of my mind. I had never really planned an event before, let alone every bride’s dream party, so I had to be sure it was perfect.

In light of it’s success, I decided to make a post to give anyone who’s planning a Bachelorette some ideas.

Games

What’s a Bachelorette party without those cheesy games? Here are some of my favorites that were played!

He Said… She Said…

Pull your bride aside and ask her questions such as:

Who kissed who first?

Who said “I love you,” first?

Who cooked the first meal?

Have the party guests guess who did what and whoever gets the most correct, get’s a prize!

Cold Feet

Get each guest a bowl of ice, cold, water and fill them with some plastic rings. Each person has to grab as many rings as they can with their toes in a minute. Whoever gets the most rings wins!

How Well Do You Know Your Groom?

Ask the groom 20 questions from when did the bride and groom first meet to what kind of underwear he likes to wear. It’s a great game to challenge the bride and make her blush a little! Plenty of laughs around for everyone.

Label Your Bridesmaids

Ask the bride herself to label the bridesmaids (such as: Drama queen, hot mess, bad influence, sarcastic, etc.). Cut out a paper that has the label and ask each bridesmaid to pick out the label she feels best suits her personality. After everyone chooses one, reveal which person is who and have the bride explain why she chose that label for them. It’s a great icebreaker and gives everyone a great laugh.

Panty Dropper

This one is my favorite. Have each bridesmaid buy a pair of underwear (can be anything from granny panties to scandalous) and have them drop them in a bag on their way in. Give the bag to the bride and she has to guess who gave her what piece of underwear. This is one I highly suggest for others to get creative with! One girl at my party cut up some old jeans to look like underwear and gave them to the bride!

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Scavenger Hunt

Split the girls into two teams and head to the mall or a place like Target or Walmart. Give the teams each a piece of paper with a bunch of things to do on them with the point value next to it. Set a timer for forty-five minutes and go out and try to finish as many items on the checklist as possible. Some ideas for the list are:

Kiss a bald man’s head, Order a drink with an accent, ask an employee if you are in Walmart or Target (the employee we got was super salty about that question), spell out the bride’s name with clothing, propose to someone, walk around the store eating baby food, dress in a crazy outfit, the possibilities are endless.

Have everyone document what they do with their phones and have a fun time sharing all the videos and photos. Winning team gets a prize!

Porn or Polish?

The bride’s grandma walked in right as we were about to play this game so make sure no adults are around in case! We had to search the internet for porn movie names and different makeup names but in the end it made for a fun game.

Basically give everyone two different sticks: One for porn, one for polish. Then name the crazy name and ask them to guess if it’s a porn movie or makeup. If you want to mix things up, put your dirty mind to work and come up with some on your own for a trick question!

If you need help thinking of makeup names just check out NARS products. They have lots of options.

Decorations

Dollar Store

Literally just go to the dollar store. It may be cheap but they have some pretty good decorations. I got some pink streamers, a table cloth, prizes for games, balloons, fake pink rose petals, plates, and a plastic crown.

Walgreens

I printed out some photos of Abbey and all her friends and family and hung them from the ceiling around her chair. We got to all reminisce about the good ol’ times when we were younger, and share laughs about it too.

Grocery Store

Went to the local Fred Meyer (it may be called something different wherever you are) and found 50% gorgeous pink roses, and a fruit tartlet for cheap. Both were beautiful and loved by all the guests.

Food

Since my best friend’s wedding was three days after the bachelorette, we decided light and fun foods would be the best:

Fruit snacks

Pita chips and hummus

Tortilla chips and guacamole

Peach rings (from the game)

Pink lemonade

A fruit tartlet

Red Robin (For Dinner)

*TIP: Never let the bride pay for anything*

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Shirts

What’s a bachelorette without matching shirts? Online they can get pretty pricey being around ten dollars to twenty for a shirt that says ‘bridesmaid’ and ‘bride’ on it. Therefore, I made the shirts. With a fifty percent coupon to Michael’s I  went to a few different stores and used the coupon to purchase hot pink, V-neck shirts. Then, I got glitter fabric paint and used a template that I found online and painted them! Just be sure to put cardboard in-between the shirts.

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Music

This is a must need for every party. I listed below some of the must haves for a bachelorette party.

Green Light by Lorde

Good To Be Alive by Andy Grammer

Love Song by Sara Baareilles

Death of a Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco

Picture to Burn by Taylor Swift

Cheers by Rihanna

Wonderland by Taylor Swift

All My Friends by The Summer Set

Just The Girl by The Click Five

I Wanna Get Better by Bleachers

Dreaming by Smallpools

Shake It Off by Taylor Swift

Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift

Clouds by One Direction

New Romantics by Taylor Swift

Weak by AJR

Shut Up and Drive by Rihanna

Someone New by Hozier

Closer by The Chainsmokers

Perfect Places by Lorde

Woman by Harry Styles

Believer by Imagine Dragons

Can’t Help by Parachute

Bom Bidi Bom by Nick Jonas

Back To You by Louis Tomlinson

Single Ladies by Beyonce

Crazy In Love by Beyonce

Chapel Of Love by The Dixie Cups

There’s probably many more jams but those are the basic songs for a good time.

The Car

Don’t forget to paint funny phrases on the car! We had “Honk for the bride” and some other silly things that just made it overall more exciting and fun.

Money

Now, it can get expensive planning a bachelorette. That’s why I calculated costs and asked each bridesmaid to chip in fifteen dollars at least. You’ll probably have to put in a little more of your own money but when it comes to it, anything for the bride.

Planning a Bachelorette can be tricky and confusing sometimes. But no matter how it turns out, the bride is sure to love it because you planned it and you all got to spend time with each other.

How to Throw the Perfect Bachelorette Party A few months ago my very best friend got engaged to the love of her life. It was all so beautiful: The proposal, the ring, the guy, the girl, the dress, the details....

[sindrafalcone]

The Mom Ch. 3

Fandom: BIGBANG/ Choi Seung Hyun

Synopsis: Baek-il (100 day celebration)

Warnings: Fluff... with just a hint of foreshadowing.

Author’s Note: Just a heads up, if you’re reading this without having read the first three parts... you are going to be SO confused when the drama starts. I’m just sayin’... Also, this is a short chapter. I’m not apologizing for it, just letting you know in advance. :)

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. This story contains fictional representations of real people. None of the events are true. This is from an American standpoint, so some of the situations may not happen the same way they might in Korea. I make no money from the writing of this fictional work.

Masterlist

“It's crazy...” your husband whined into the phone. “Everywhere we go, every fan meeting, all they want to do is ask about the twins!”

“Awwww... are you jealous, yeobo?” you chided him.

“No!” he replied quickly. “Well... maybe a little bit.”

You laughed out loud at that & it made Seung Min let out a little startled noise from where he was laying in your lap. For some odd reason, the boy had woken up early from his afternoon nap. His sister was still sound asleep in the crib.

“Oh, I'm sorry baby...” you cooed at your son. “Did mommy surprise you laughing at daddy? I just can't help it. He's so silly sometimes.”

You tickled his tummy and he let out a delighted gurgling sound. From the phone pressed up to your ear, you heard Seung Hyun sigh.

“I miss that sound.”

“I bet you don't miss the screaming in the middle of the night.” you said.

“No.” he admitted with a chuckle. “I definitely don't miss that. Hey... hold the phone up to his ear for me? I want to try something.”

You did as he asked and a moment later you could hear Seung Hyun start talking to his son. Seung Min's head instantly turned toward the phone at the sound of his father's voice. He wiggled around in your lap and even batted one tiny fist at the screen. Then he did something that he had never done before... he smiled.

“Oh my god!” you squealed, bringing the phone back up to your ear.

“What? What happened?” Seung Hyun asked, thoroughly confused.

“He smiled.” you giggled, barely able to control your happiness. “You made Seung Min smile!”

“That's no fair! I can't see it!”

“Hang on. Talk to him again and I'll snap you a quick picture.” you soothed.

You held the phone back down to the baby's ear so that he could hear his daddy's voice again. After a few more squirms, he smiled again & you quickly pulled to phone away so that you could snap the photo. With a few quick taps, you'd sent it to Seung Hyun.

“There. Did you get it?” you asked anxiously.

There was a pause on the other end of the line and made you wonder if the call had been dropped, but then you heard a gasp.

“Oh, wow... he looks so cute!” Seung Hyun gushed.

“Just like his daddy.” you said, leaning forward to rub noses with the baby.

Suddenly there was a cry from upstairs that made you sigh, the time that you got to spend talking to Seung Hyun never seemed like enough.

“I take it she's awake then?” your husband laughed.

“Sure sounds like it.” you said, already standing up and adjusting Seung Min in your arms & heading for the stairs.

“I've got to go anyway.” Seung Hyun said. “Thanks for the picture, yeobo. Give my girl a kiss for me. I love you.”

“Love you too.” you replied, just as you cleared the last step.

You strode into the nursery and placed Seung Min down in the crib before picking up his sister. The second she was in your arms, she quieted down.

“Drama queen...” you huffed under your breath, leaning forward to give her a peck on her chubby little cheek. “There... that's from your daddy. Now let's get you changed so you can eat.”

And so, the month passed by excruciatingly slowly... with daily phone calls and occasional Facetime. You were slowly learning how to juggle both babies all on your own and their budding personalities were just starting to emerge.

To you, it seemed like the twins perfectly embodied the dual personalities of their father. Sung Ja was loud and attention seeking, where Seung Min was more quiet and introverted. It both amused and annoyed you to no end & even your in-laws were quick to pick up on the similarities.

It wasn't until two days before the twins baek-il that your husband finally made it home. You had just drifted off to sleep when you felt the bed dip next to you. Groggily you mumbled until Seung Hyun wrapped his arms around you, pulling your back into his embrace.

“Shhhhh, gongju-nim. Go back to sleep.” he soothed, pressing a kiss to your shoulder.

The next morning, you awoke to the sound of your husbands deep, rumbly voice coming from across the hallway. You knew that he was talking to the twins & so you cuddled down into the covers, intent on spending a few precious moments to yourself before having to feed them.

Soon enough though, he came into the bedroom balancing one baby on each arm.

“Which one first?” he asked you with a smile.

“Seung Min, I think...” you said, sitting up and adjusting yourself. “He's a bit faster, if only just.”

Your husband handed the boy off to you before sitting down on the bed, cradling his daughter in his arms. Once your son was properly latched and feeding you turned your eyes to Seung Hyun.

“Hey there, handsome. Long time, no see.” you playfully teased.

He leaned forward, giving you a quick peck of a kiss. “Yeah... sorry about that.”

“You do realize that the baek-il is tomorrow, right?”

“I know.” he said, at least having the sense to sound somewhat sheepish. “It's just... Yang added an extra three fan meetings into the schedule at the last minute. There wasn't much I could do about it.”

“You're here now... that's all that matters.” you said, patting his arm in a comforting gesture.

“Is there anything that still needs to be done?” he asked. “Anything I can help you with?”

Your heart melted. There he was, offering to help you with the party when you knew he must have been exhausted from his schedule and the long plane ride home. Sure, he'd gotten a little sleep last night, but that was nowhere near enough for him to recover fully & you knew it.

“Actually, I let your mother handle most of it.”

“Wha... really?” he said, shocked.

You just shrugged. “Well... she sort of got shorted with the wedding planning. I figured, why not?”

“You're a genius, _________-ah.” he chuckled, then he kissed Sung Ja on the tip of her nose. “You hear that? Your mommy is a genius.”

The next day had both of you questioning whether or not Seung Hyun's assessment of your intelligence was right or not.

The banquet room that your mother in law had rented out for the ceremony was completely decorated in shades of blue and pink, with splashes of white thrown in. Everything from the flowers to the streamers and even tablecloths matched.

By the time you and Seung Hyun arrived with the guests of honor, there were already well over one hundred people in attendance. Security was tight & and an invitation was required, of course. But, still... all of this seemed like overkill to you for just a 100 day celebration.

Once you actually managed to make it inside and to the main table, you were very pleasantly surprised to see your brothers standing there, waiting for you. You passed Sung Ja off to Jiyong who was incredibly eager to hold the little girl. Taking your time, you gave each of the guys a long hug, having a short conversation with them before moving on to the next.

You just ignored the glares from the other ladies in the room. Yes, you knew that as a married woman you shouldn't be so friendly with other men. But these were your brothers... the women just didn't understand your bond with them & likely they never would.

The actual ceremony was blissfully short & after a quick photo session, the actual meal began. After that, there had been introductions for the twins to Seung Hyuns huge extended family on top of a wide range of friends and business associates.

The babies were surprisingly okay with everything until about three hours into the party when they began to get tired.

“Here...” Jiyong held a screaming Sung Ja out at arms length. “She needs... something.”

You laughed as you took her from him. “She probably needs a nap, or a change, or she's hungry.”

“Or all three.” Seung Hyun agreed, as he held a fussing Seung Min. “We should head home.”

“Don't forget that you all have to be over by noon tomorrow to do those interviews for the magazine.” you reminded them.

“Yes, noona.” Seungri intoned. “We remember.”

For good measure, you smacked the back of his head as you walked away from the table.

“Good, goofball. I'll see you all then.”

The following day, you were entirely grateful that the guys were all there. It made things a lot more comfortable for you when the photographers, lighting crew, reporter and heaven knew just how many crew members invaded the villa.

You had agreed to all this because Seung Hyun had convinced you that this was the best way. The plan was that the two of you would give one exclusive interview to a single magazine. That way, you weren't constantly being hounded by the press. His theory was that once the “scoop” was gone, the media attention surrounding the twins introduction would die down a little.

It also helped that the magazine in question had ties to Eleven9. Technically, you still worked there. Dong Wook had flatly refused to let you go and instead had placed you on what he called 'extended maternity leave'. Just how extended that leave was going to be had yet to be determined.

It took a long four hours of photo shoots, interviews and touring the villa before they finally left.

“Man, I thought they'd never leave.” Seungri whined as he helped you tuck the twins into bed.

“I know what you mean...” you sighed. “Between yesterday and today, I'm exhausted. Both mentally and physically.”

He slung an arm over your shoulder, the two of you quietly leaving the nursery behind, the soft sounds of the lullaby album playing in the background.

“Why don't we get some takeout and just hang out for a while?” he offered. “The six of us... just like old times.”

You laughed. “It's not been that long! But yeah... I like the sound of that.”

“Great!” he smiled so big that it lit up his eyes. “Let's see if we can make Jiyong-hyung pay for it!”

A few weeks later...

The woman's eyes scanned the covers of the magazines randomly. She wasn't really looking for anything in particular, just something to distract her from how miserable her life had become. She glanced lazily through each section... sports, gardening and DIY, fashion, cooking, crafts, cars and mechanics.

It wasn't until she hit the music and entertainment section that something caught her eye that had her eyes widening and her head doing a double take. She reached out to pick up the magazine with trembling fingers, although she couldn't decide if it was rage or envy she felt. Carefully, she read the title:

Meet the crown Prince and Princess of Kpop!

For a while she just stared incredulously at the smiling picture of you and Seung Hyun holding the twins on the cover before opening the magazine to see which page the article was on.

When she located the table of contents, she read the quick blurb about the article:

An in depth & personal interview with the first King of Kpop to have children. Features a look inside the twins lavish lifestyle, intimate at home photos, a nursery tour and interviews with the other Bigbang “Uncles”. Plus the romantic tale of how The Nanny managed to win over the elusive rapper. Read all the details, starting on page 62!

“Well... I'll be damned.” she huffed, snapping the magazine shut.

She tucked it carefully under one arm and started walking over to the little cafe within the book shop. The woman knew that this bit of information required further study... the magazine was just the beginning.

[thebluekingdomstory]

Adara’s story part thirty six

I headed for the castle gates after saying goodnight to Aegean. I wanted nothing more than to get home and have some alone time after a long day.

“Adara, wait up” a voice called from behind me. I sighed as I stopped in my tracks.

“What?” I asked as Luna caught up to me.

“I’ve finished early today, I thought we could walk together”

“And why would we do that? You didn’t even live in the Pinewood pack” I asked in confusion. What was this all about?

“At least let me accompany you to the city limits” she insisted, not meeting me eyes.

“Is this because of what I said about being asked to kill Aegean? I thought I made myself clear that that is the last thing I want to do. If I wanted him dead, I wouldn’t have taken an arrow for him” I snapped.

“Adara, you misunderstand. I can see your loyalty as clear as day now. But I don’t doubt that there will be other attempts on the Prince’s life and your association with him puts you at risk as well” Luna explained quickly. My anger melted at her words. Luna was worried... about me?

“Oh” was all I could say, embarrassment flooding through me.

“So will you please allow me to walk you, at least part of the way?”

“Fine, if you think it’s necessary” I nodded.

“Thank you”

The town was dark and quiet as we headed out. I led Luna down my usual route, avoiding the bakery as always. I couldn’t think of anything to say to Luna, so I didn’t. She didn’t have the same problem.

“Do you have any plans for the rest of your night?” She asked me.

“Not really” after a moment I added, “what about you?”

“I’ll probably just turn in early. Would you like me to let Sable know your feeling better? She’s been missing training with you” she added.

“She has?”

“Of course” Luna nodded. “I know I wasn’t… supportive at first. But the skills you teach her can only help her on her journey to becoming a knight. Or whatever else she may want”

“That’s… good” I mumbled not sure what to say. I was strange having a conversation with Luna instead of a heated argument. It was almost pleasant. As we came to the kingdom gates, Luna nodded to the guards and continued on into the forest with me. I considered telling her I could go on from here alone, but I didn’t bother. I shifted forms to see better in the growing darkness. She followed suit and transformed into a massive white lion, pale as the rising moon. She really was a sight to behold, I couldn’t help but stare. I forced my eyes away as she calmly met my gaze. We padded silently through the woods, side by side. A gentle breeze stirred the trees around us. My ears pricked as an owl hooted quietly above us. We shifted forms as we arrived at the Pinewood pack and Luna walked me to my doorstep.

“I’ll see you tomorrow I guess” I said as I opened my door. Luna’s reply was interrupted by a chorus of voices from inside my house.

“Happy Birthday Adara!!!”

___

I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised that I had forgotten it was my birthday today. With everything else going on it was hardly important. At least it wasn’t to me, Hari on the other hand… I sat on my couch, with Laila on my lap, taking in the vibrant decorations in my kitchen and living room. Blue and silver streamers adorned my shelves and cupboards, a modest pile of gifts on a counter, smiling faces around me, music playing from my mother’s record player. At least Hari hadn’t invited the whole pack. Hari, Kato, Chi and Noriko sat around me chatting amicably. Kato had even invited Luna in before I could stop him. She sat beside me; I had never seen her look nervous before. I guess she wasn’t a fan of parties either.

“Luna, do you want to hold Laila for a bit?” I asked her before I could change my mind. Maybe having something to do would help her relax a bit.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Here” I said, handing Laila to her. Luna took her carefully into her arms.

“Hi Laila” she said quietly. Laila smiled up at her and patted her cheek.

“So, Luna, what’s it like working with Adara?”  Hari asked from my other side, putting his arm around my shoulders.

“Good, yeah it’s been good” Luna replied a bit distractedly. I followed her eyes to Hari’s arm around me.

“I’ve always found her a bit of a challenge personally” Hari whispered over me teasingly.

“Oh, I’m the difficult one?” I glared at him.

“And so easy to rile up, as I’m sure you’ve noticed” Hari laughed.

“I think that’s mostly your fault Hari” Chi pointed out.

“I don’t know what you’re implying, I’m perfectly pleasant to be around!”

“Right” Kato and I said at the same time.

“I think I’m going to need to be less than sober to take all this heat” Hari joked, standing up.

“Ugh, at least let me put Laila to bed first” I sighed. I took her from Luna and walked her over to my old bedroom. Kato followed me out.

“I did try to stop him from making such a fuss about your birthday, but you know how he is” Kato said, clearly talking about Hari.

“All too well. It’s alright, it’s not too terrible” I said as I tucked Laila into her little bed. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you Kato. I wanted to apologize for my reaction to the whole alpha thing. It was just a bit of a shock”

“It’s okay. You should know though, I’m not going to change you as my as my placeholder”

“I figured. I guess I’ll just have to keep you alive, at least until you choose a proper heir. Then all bets are off” I teased.

“I appreciate that” Kato smiled.

After making sure Laila was okay alone and saying goodnight to her, Kato and I headed back to the party. Hari had gotten everyone drinks, including ones waiting for us. I sat back down in my spot and listened to the current conversation. It sounded like Hari was asking everyone about past relationships, because of course he was.

“Rosa was… breathtaking. Beautiful, smart, kind. She was part of the reason why I left the mountains. It was just too hard to be there without her” Noriko was saying.

“That’s rough Noriko” Hari said, before turning to Luna. “What about you Luna? A beautiful woman like you must have plenty of suitors”

“I don’t really have time for such things”

“Oh come on, everyone needs that special someone” Hari pressed.

“Well what about you then?” Luna countered.

“Oh Luna, I’m honored by your interest in me but I’m afraid you’re not my type” 

“That is absolutely not what I meant” Luna tensed.

“It’s best just to ignore him” I whispered to her. I took a small sip of my drink. I usually would have refused but hey, it was my birthday.

“Hey you know, Adara is single” Hari mentioned. I coughed, choking on my drink.  

“Hari!” I managed to wheeze out.

“Sorry I couldn’t help myself” Hari laughed.

“She is?” Luna exclaimed quietly.

“She might as well not be, everyone always thinks her and Hari are together” Chi commented. I didn’t miss the way Kato stared at the ground and his grip tightened on his glass.

“I am right here” I stated, my face heating up in embarrassment.

“Gifts, we should do gifts” Kato said, changing the subject. While I was glad for a change of topic, the spotlight would still be on me. This is exactly why I dislike birthdays, I sighed to myself.

“You guys really didn’t have to get me anything…” I started only to be interrupted by Hari.

“Don’t be silly, it’s your birthday”

For the next while everyone took turns passing me their gifts and I tried my best to react well to opening each one. Kato had gotten me some adorable clothes for Laila, Chi a new coffee mug covered in abstract blue forms, Noriko some warm wooly socks, and finally Hari gave me a new record for my music player. I let everyone stay for a little while longer after that but kicked them out shortly after midnight. I told them it was no longer my birthday and that I was tired. After saying goodbye to everyone I went to Laila’s room and curled up next to her small warm body, not bothering to change out of my clothes. As much as I didn’t really want it, I was grateful that Hari had put together a night just for me. I wasn’t sure why, but that had probably been my best birthday since my parents had died.

[cheddertm]

THE SILLIEST MAN ON THE SERVER (foosh) FORGOT TO SHOW THE KEYCARD TO THE OTHERS IURFJNKDSM like that man went from cringefailing the rescue to makin dicks in the sky and then back to cringe failing

[cheddertm]

Foolish just add gay sex to the rule book to your dictatorship. What are they gonna say no??? It’s a dictatorship they can’t do that