#but rainbow didn’t want to be a dad so he’s a big brother | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

chimchiri · 1 year

Note

gimme your spitfire hcs babey…….😏

Lmao YOU already know basically all my hc, there's not much I can write you don't already know. But it's nice having them on my blog. So sure why not!

Attention and Power Spitfire loves being the center of attention, a trait she and Rainbow have in common. Unlike Rainbow she doesn’t shout to get it and she lets her aura speak for itself instead. And usually it works - she has an enormous presence once she enters a room. She loves being looked at in awe and she loves the feeling of power. She’s not one to abuse it though – she cares about fairness and equality, especially later in her years. But she does like the feeling of having power, both in everday life and especially in the bedroom.

Empathy/Drive to Win If Spitfire wants something, she gets it. She will turn everything upside down if she has to and has an insane drive to get to her goal. This mostly appears in wanting to win and wanting to be the best. It may appear in other daily situations though. When she's in her drive, she tends to be egocentric and forget about how she affects others. Her tunnel vision may hurt others in the end, something she's usually not aware of until later. She doesn't want to hurt anyone and if she sees she did, she will usually apologize immediately and see the error of her ways. But it's definitely one of her worse traits.

Motorcycles/Machines She is BIG into motorcycles. Not much more to say. She has a fascination with machinery and owns two or three bikes. That’s it. That’s the headcanon. I’m just a sucker for women on bikes.

Outfits Spitfire usually wears black and little to no color. It goes well with her love for Motorcycles, usually wearing leather or black jeans and boots. And of course always her signature Aviator sunglasses. Her wardrobe is largely giving off a cool vibe.

However, she does love to shock people and be given attention, as mentioned the upper segments. When she took over the Wonderbolts as the youngest captain thus far and being a woman, she received a fair share of rude comments. Mostly about her energetic demeanor and rough behaviour not making her look feminine enough and her being called ‘basically a man’. This didn’t sit well with her. Out of spite and out for revenge to anyone saying that about her, she decided to go all in for her first annual Wonderbolt hosted event. Her gala dress was as revealing as could be, showing off her back and hugging her body tighter than anyone expected. No one expected high heels from her either. She went all in with her feminine side and it paid off – no one dared to call manly after that. Sometimes she still likes to show off like that, since it gives her everyone’s attention. It's a rare occasion seeing Spitfire like that.

Family She’s the youngest of four siblings, having three older brothers. Her dad, a big burly softie, was always hoping for a small girl he could pamper and spoil with many, pink gifts. Unfortunately for him, he receive three little boys. And while he absolutely loves the, he still wanted a daughter. So when the fourth baby turned out a girl, he was crying form joy! Not for long though. Spitfire turned out to be the tomest of boys there could be. She’s rougher, louder and more brutal than her brothers and showed little to no interest in pink or girly things. Still her dad lovingly called her his princess and he spent time with her in her interests. Which included cooking and using the grill. Spits makes a mean barbecue. Once Rainbow enters the frame and he gets to know her, he's all over her, especially because she's more colorful than Spitfire.

Nicknames This is freebie for you since the first nickname initially came from you! I don’t have a hc for Spits’ WB nickname. But I do like the name Spitty, which is given to her by Fleetfoot - the only one who dares to use it. Spits tolerates it for her but she gets seriously pissed if anyone else calls her that. When Rainbow joins the WB and is influenced by Fleets, she uses that nickname as well. Spitfire begrudgingly allows it if she’s got feelings for Rainbow at that point already.

Another nickname of hers is ‘princess’, given to her by her dad. She actually likes this one a lot. Only from him though. She loves it mostly because she loves to humiliate anyone who dares laugh at this nickname and assume she’s a weak girl. She’ll obliterate you in whatever competition or simply intimidate you if you dare laugh at the nickname and make fun of her.

Childhood / Soarin Spits was a problem child. She’s always had an insane drive to win, something she and Rainbow share. Unlike Rainbow she also had some aggression problems. She never shied away from getting physical, which got her scolded quite some times. It also resulted in her having very few friends as most were scared of her.

In many AUs I love having Soarin as her best childhood friend. I see Soarin as a very soft spoken, almost timid boy growing up. Maybe it was unconventional circumstances but they got along really well after they met. They understood each other even though they were completely different in character. Both always had each other's back. Their friendship stuck until they became adults and both joined the Wonderbolts. Spitfire was the stronger flyer, so she joined one or two years earlier and pretty quickly had a steep career ahead of her. It was never a problem between the two of them though, which surprised most people as well as themselves.

Some NSFW: In some AUs I also see them being platonic soulmates with benefits – for lack of better word. They love each other and would kill for the other. But they are not in love. When younger, they kiss and touch each other, just lay and enjoy each other’s company. And not long after they start sexual activity. They never have ‘regular’ sex since Spits won’t let anyone penetrate her, but they do fuck in lots of other ways and get each other off. They both enjoy it, test a lot of things and always make damn sure the other has a fun time. Both can feel they aren't meant to be in a serious romantic relationship, so they know this won't last forever – they’re not a couple. But that doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy it. And they'll still always love each other like soulmates.

Dogs A short one but I LOVE to hc Spitfire adoring dogs. She probably can’t keep them since her job as Wonderbolt captain involves too much of her time. But she just adores dogs and hates that she can’t have one. I imagine she grew up with two of them and misses them dearly. In any AU where she isn’t a WB captain I’d probably see her having two or three dogs.

Rarity An unlikely friend from any AU that crosses with Rarijack. Spits may usually be masculine/cool in he behaviour but she isn’t ashamed of being feminine. She cares a lot about her appearance (puts a lot of time into getting her hair right and owns a lot of hair products), she loves the spa and getting pampered and she enjoys sugary, colorful drinks – all things that she’s got in common with Rarity. The don’t get along at first but after Rainbow and AJ are gone, they bond over their common likes and hit it off so well, they even end up meeting up alone sometimes. Hilariously, AJ and Rainbow both worry that they might fall for each other and get dumped by them. Rarity and Spits aren’t each other’s type at all though, which they both know and clearly state. But they’re surprisingly open with each other and enjoy the possibility to talk about their relationship to someone not from their usual circle and giving another point of view.

Aaand that's it! I love Spits. Spitty. Spitfire. What a woman!

#I LOVE THEM!!#ahhhhhhhh #spitfire #mlp spitfire #mlp #headcanons #ask chim

28 notes · View notes

sailoryooons · 2 years

Text

Hali's Fic Recs

Hi frens - I felt like making a list of some of the amazing works that I have read the past few weeks. While I do reblog and review everything I read on my fic rec blog, I wanted to put this on main because I obviously have more followers here and I just really wanted to give some other creators love on main. All of these works are incredibly worth every second reading. There are definitely going to be a few repeat authors, as I binged some m. lists oops.

I do not have the same amount of rec's for every member - this is quite frankly not on purpose at all, I just tend to mass consume what my mutuals write and that sometimes gives me limited reading options so I apologize!

Favorites have been marked with *

alternative names for this rec list: @gimmethatagustd and @jjkeverlast m. list oops

Cool'n by @sugakookitty

→ smut, sugar daddy

→ You’re just out doing some hot girl shit with your friends, but your boyfriend does not approve.

Vegas, Baby by @chimivx

→ Fluff, dad Yoongi

→ Dating Yoongi as an Idol used to be easy, and effortless, like pouring you two a glass of wine after one of his shows... However, after the birth of your surprise baby girl, those effortless days have gotten a little harder, you being unable to travel with your daughter. After one lucky doctor's appointment though, things seem to shape up.

Peaches in Bed by @borathae

→ smut, a little fluff, established relationship

→ You have a talent for making Yoongi want the craziest of things. Such as eat sour candy or take a strap up his butt

Unexpected Lovers by @jjkeverlast *

→ smut, angst, fake dating

→ what happens when you meet min yoongi at the club, or well accidentally use him as your pawn to not get hit on. not knowing your cousins friend overhears and suddenly your whole family knows.

Moving Day by @here2bbtstrash

→ smut, established relationship

→ you manage to entice your boyfriend into taking a break from unloading boxes to unload something else instead.

Gravity by @kimvvantae

→ smut, angst, exes

→ 5 months after the breakup, you’re still gravitating around each other, no matter how hard you try not to. the only way to finally free yourselves from this pull is to let your orbits collide one last time.

Road Tripping Over You by @joheunsaram

→ smut, angst, exes to lovers

→ You didn’t always hate Hoseok. In fact, if someone asked you six months ago you would’ve even said you loved your brother’s best friend - being in a relationship for over a year has that effect. But the rainbows and sunshine of your relationship were over, and now you had to spend six hours with the man who you wished you never had to see again.

Arte Factum by @lolabangtan

→ smut, yandere behaviors - please read the warnings on this one before reading

→ After your ex-husband is found dead in his house, you're burdened with the well-being of his latest invention, a good-looking, polite android who seems to have a peculiar interest in you.

Meet Me at the Finish Line by @parkdatjimin

→ smut, angst, enemies to lovers

→ The two of you have been at odds since the old days, back when you raced homemade cars on concrete sidewalks for lollypops. But those days are nothing compared to the big league, where you're challenged by tragedy, injury, and unresolved feelings.

Marry Me (Again & Again) by @gimmethatagustd

→ friends to lovers, fluff

→ How many times does your best friend need to propose to you before you actually believe him when he says he’s in love with you?

Nectar by @gimmethatagustd *

→ vampire, roommates to lovers, smut

→ Humans have this annoying habit of being drawn to danger, and you’re having a hard time stopping yourself from sinking your teeth into your new roommate. You’re not sure what’s more tantalizing: his impossibly good looks or his seemingly innocent way of flirting with the darkest part of you.

Freaky Deaky by @jjkeverlast

→ smut, pwp

→ you've been having casual sex with jimin for a while now, but one night you decide to spice things up.

New Tricks by @geniuslab

→ Fluff, smut

→ When your newly adopted puppy turns out to be a lot more work than you expected, a cute dog trainer comes to the rescue. You soon become friends, but you begin to realize friendship might not be all you want.

Saudade by @kimvvantae *

→ angst, smut, vampire, soulmates

→ no one is born to be alone and no one can be complete in oneself - that’s why, in this world, every person has a pair, someone that complements their soul in every aspect. you, however, are an exception to the rule, for the mark on your wrist indicates that your pair has passed away way before you were born.

True Love by @jjkeverlast *

→ exes to lovers, eventual smut, angst

→ in which you’re face to face with your ex again after 5 years, because both of your friends start dating each other.

Complete Faith by @daechwitatamic

→ slow burn, angst, dash of spice

→ It’s Taehyung himself who admits that it’s usually around the one-month mark that he starts to lose interest in his relationships. So even though you’re so drawn to him you can barely stand it, even though he’s attentive and funny, even though you’re helplessly crazy about him… when you start dating, you feel like you’ve got an expiration date from day one. But will it be Taehyung’s issues that get in the way, or your own?

Only Here to Sin by @gimmethatagustd

→ smut, angst, enemies to... sort of lovers?

→ When your genius of a boyfriend returns to Harvard for his sophomore year of college, you never would have expected to have his worst enemy keeping you entertained in his absence.

Love talk by @sourkoo

→ smut, fluff, pwp

→ Jungkook is a pussy eating enthusiast

Paint Me Naked by @gimmethatagustd *

→ smut, fluff, pinch of angst

→ After the mysteriously hot guy in your university class starts taking an interest in you, should you really trust that he’s not like all the other college fuckboys? Especially when his best friend is the guy who broke your heart?

Effortless by @jjkeverlast

→ smut, a bit pwp

→ jungkook knows how to please you so effortlessly

New Girl by @jjkeverlast

→ roommates to lovers, smut

→ after finding out your boyfriend of 6 years cheated on you, you find yourself moving in with three guys in a loft. what could possibly go wrong? – inspired by the FOX series New Girl.

140 notes · View notes

pepperycar · 15 days

Text

Takes place after the fight in Brooklyn.

“Heart of gold?” Chapter 1: Home again

Mario and Luigi stumbled through the front door to their family’s apartment, it had been a long day, the reporters questioning Toad, DK and Peach, Mayor Pauline asking the bros about this “new world” and what other wonders it held, even giving them the key to the city as thanks for saving her city, even Spike apologised for doubting the brothers and the way that he acted towards them, but now they were finally back home, together again at last. Their family knew they’d need some alone time together after all they’d been through and thankfully Toad was in the kitchen telling the story of their adventure, so the bros didn’t need to find a distraction for them, Mario’s dad let DK rest on the couch, their niece Madelyn climbing on with him, finding him fascinating and bombarding him with questions like ‘how’d you learn to talk?!’ ‘Are there zoo’s in your world?’ ‘If your Dads a king does that mean your a prince?!’ ‘Did you really beat up Uncle Mario?’ DK was worried this would last all night but fortunately Madelyn seemed to tire herself out and soon fell asleep in DK’s arms, him drifting off soon after, Peach was in their parents bedroom talking with their Mom about how grateful she was for Mario and Luigi’s help and said she’d be happy to help with any repairs necessary, and Mario and Luigi were finally back together again, as they should be. Mario’s Mother was making sure all the heroes, especially Luigi who had gone three days without food or water, had full belly’s and were made comfortable, Luigi seemed almost zoned out at the table, he devoured his first plate of food in seconds like a starving dog but his later plates, he ate slower and slower, when he first sipped the cool, ice cold water, his face though tired, light up brightly as he continued to chug down, glass after glass, Mario having to pat his back if he chocked on it, telling him to take it easy and take his time, it was then Mario saw just how mentally drained his brother was, his eyes seemed to loose the brightness in them as they started to glaze over and get teary. When Toad got to the part of the story with the DK fight, Mario embarrassingly went to get Luigi another glass of water, Luigi meanwhile having tears form in his eyes as Toad described the beating Mario was given. Walking back from the kitchen sink, Mario took a quick glance at DK and Madelyn, she was led out like a star fish on his chest, both snoring loudly with some dribble down her cheek, Mario smiled at the sight before feeling someone flick his hat over his eyes, he didn’t need to look to know it was Luigi. He put the glass on the coffee table, readjusted his hat and let it a disappointed sigh “Lu what-“ He was cut of by Luigi grabbing his hands and carefully checking them over for injuries “Luigi.. I’m fine, the Super star healed us both completely!” He reassured.. that was a lie. But he didn’t want Luigi to worry “Mario you got punched in the stomach flying through the air by a huge gorilla and had your arm yanked out of its socket by Bowser..” Luigi sighed, Mario winced at the phantom pains he felt but ignored them “I’m fine.” He reassured placing a hand on Luigi’s shoulder, before Mario realised, he was trapped in a fierce hug “but Rainbow Road.. y-you could have died..” Luigi wept, Mario felt like his heart and lungs were being squeezed and he tried to not panic in front of Luigi, he simply patted his hand on his shoulder and gave a weak smile “there-there Lu.. I’m alright.” He said in a Motherly tone “come on drink up!” Mario smiled, handing him the glass “DK wasn’t as harsh as Toad said he was-“ “yes he is!” Toad called back from the kitchen, their Uncles laughing “heh- he’s a real softy deep down..” Mario then felt a couch pillow wack him on the back of his head, he looked back to see DK supposedly sleeping but with a big telling smirk on his face, Mario rolled his eyes “you are..” he said under his breath as he followed Luigi back in the kitchen. -To be continued.

2 notes · View notes

atths--twice · 1 year

Text

Chapter Fourteen

Feeling better than he has in a while, Fox is set to relax for the weekend. But, will other plans surface? 😊

Saturday morning, Fox woke up with a smile. He felt light, like a burden had been lifted off of his chest.

Since Samantha had been visiting, he had felt the weight there. As though he had been deceitful to Dana for not sharing his past when she had been so forthcoming with her own. He knew that he should not feel that way, but that did not stop it from happening.

Rising and feeling energized, he made some coffee and toast. Sitting down at his desk, he opened his laptop and began to write, words and ideas begging to be captured in a document.

Not until his stomach growled, did he realize he had been at it for hours. He had been lost in a story, a new idea erasing the book he had been working on entirely. He felt it in his soul that this was the story he needed to write, the characters practically shouting their hellos to him and to each other.

He laughed as he stood up and stretched. Walking into the kitchen, he took out the containers of leftovers, smiling as he thought of Dana being the one who had put them there. Feeling his pockets, he realized his phone was in his room. Cutting a piece of lasagna and placing it into the microwave to reheat, he went to his room to retrieve his phone.

Three messages were waiting when he pressed the home button and he smiled seeing that two of them were from Dana. Unlocking his phone, he opened the message app and read them.

Thank you again for last night. We’ve been talking about it all morning. Ivy had so much fun. She asked me to ask you to please say hello to Oink for her. 😊

Oh also, she left her bracelets there. Could you please bring them to the diner on Monday? She says she doesn’t need them until then because she got another present this morning and will get one tomorrow. Today was rainbow ribbons and tomorrow will be a paint by number set. Shhh…

He grinned as he went to read the other message from Samantha.

Hey, big brother. How was the lasagna? Didn’t eat it alone, did you? I sure hope not. 😉 Anyway, here are the Christmas lists for the boys you had asked for the other day. I swear, I need to just make one list as they want nearly the exact same things, but… They are really into Legos and the book series on the lists. Or anything else that strikes your fancy. 😊

Sammy Bammy, he typed back. Lasagna was superb, as usual. No, I did not eat it alone, I’m sure you’ll be happy to know. Dana and Ivy came over to join me. We talked after Ivy fell asleep on the couch, about Mom and Dad. It felt cleansing to talk about it with her. She’s… well…

He stared at his words, debating whether to keep the last two. Pressing send before he could dwell too long, he let out a breath. It was not as though Samantha did not already know, but it felt different seeing it in a message.

She’s a fan of yours, he continued, writing another message. Loves your product, has for years. So, I’m gonna need another box, because mine seems to have disappeared from the apartment.

He smiled as he pressed send again and almost immediately saw she was typing back, the three dots bouncing as she wrote her response. Whatever he had been expecting, it was not what came through.

A massive amount of smiley faces with heart eyes and ones with hearts around them, along with red and pink hearts filled the reply bubble, growing large before slamming and settling as a regular message. He laughed loudly as he hit replay, watching the message shake and then settle.

The dots again appeared and he waited.

Fox, that makes me so happy to hear. Or read. 😊 I really liked her, as I said, and I can see she’s been good for you. ❤️

I’ll send a box to you asap. I’ll add some new things I hadn’t included for you, specifically for Dana and Ivy. I’m so glad she likes them. Please tell her thank you. And for more than just liking the product. ❤️💕

He grinned as he sent a quick thank you back to her and assurance that he would look at the Christmas lists. She sent back two hearts and said goodbye.

The microwave beeped, reminding him that his lasagna was waiting. Walking back to the kitchen, he checked it and added another minute to the time.

Looking at the sink, he grinned and reached for Oink and then Ivy’s bracelets that had been left behind. Placing them gently around Oinks neck, he snapped a quick picture and opened his messages again.

Hey there, he typed in reply to Dana’s message. Oink says hello and to tell you she will keep the bracelets safe until Monday. She loves the way they look on her and while she knows that Ivy must miss them, she is happy to borrow them for a couple of days. Have a good weekend.

He added the picture of Oink and pressed send, smiling at the sight of the pig sponge wearing so many colorful bracelets. Laughing, he set the phone on the counter and took out the lasagna from the microwave that was sounding a reminder once again.

Sitting down at his desk to eat and continue writing, his phone beeped as he stood up to get a glass of water.

An audio message from Dana made him smile as he pressed play and Ivy’s voice came through the speakers.

“Oink looks so beautiful with the bracelets. Now she’s a rainbow pig. I think she likes them. She’s smiling. See, Mommy? She’s happy.”

“Yes, love, she is happy. Tell Fox and Oink thank you.”

“Oh yeah. Thank you, Fox and Oink. Mommy will bring them to me on Monday and you can wear them until then.”

She snorted loudly and Dana laughed before the message cut off. Fox laughed heartily, shaking his head and listening to it again before walking back to his desk as he double tapped their message and added a heart to it.

Sitting down, he became lost in the story he was writing, chuckling sporadically at the memory of Ivy’s loud snort and Dana’s surprised laughter.

____________

Sunday, after staying up late lost in his writing, Fox slept in later than usual. Upon waking up, he decided to do something he had not done in awhile and go for a run.

There were many people out already seizing the day to get things done. Shopping for Christmas gifts, meeting up for a mid-morning breakfast, talking and laughing as he ran past.

He stopped for a breather near the water, pacing back and forth as he stood with his hands on his hips looking down at it. A man on a decorated bike rode by him, Christmas music playing from a speaker in a basket. He smiled at Fox as he continued on, the Santa hat with elf ears he wore, causing Fox to chuckle.

Heading back home, he stopped and bought a coffee and a piece of crumbly coffee cake. Walking the last couple of blocks as he ate, and drank, he was lost in thought over the the character’s in his book, their conversations nearly as real as the ones going on around him.

“Fox!”

He raised his head and looked around, finding Dana and Ivy outside his building. Ivy waved excitedly and Dana smiled, as she held onto the handle of a teal blue collapsible wagon.

“Hey,” he said, walking over to them with a grin, throwing out the bag from his coffee cake. “Did I miss something? Did you call me?” He took his phone from his pocket and saw that he had not missed any calls. He looked back at Dana and she shook her head.

“No!” Ivy shouted with a smile. “We’re surprising you! Was it a good surprise?” She hopped up and down and he laughed with a nod.

“It was a great surprise,” he said, glancing down inside the wagon and frowning when he saw its contents. “What’s all this?”

“Well,” Dana said, clearing her throat and appearing slightly nervous. “Ivy and I were talking last night as we sat on the couch looking at our Christmas lights and we both realized something, or rather Ivy did.”

“Oh? What’s that?” he asked, looking at Ivy and then down into the wagon again.

“You don’t have any Christmas stuff in your house, Fox,” Ivy said and he turned his head toward her. “We have lots at our house, but you don’t have anything. Not any Santas or even one snowman.” She shook her head slowly, her face serious and he raised his eyebrows as he bit back a smile.

“Oh, I see.”

“You don’t even have a Christmas tree.”

“You’re right, I don’t.”

“I told Ivy,” Dana said, letting out a breath. “I said that maybe you haven't had a chance yet. Or maybe, because you only moved here recently, you haven’t unpacked yours yet.” She stared at him and smiled softly. “Or maybe… you don’t want to put things out?”

He drew in a deep breath and understood what she was not saying. The concern she had for his feelings surrounding the holidays, the worry in her eyes, made him want to hug her.

Instead, he smiled and nodded, looking back at the wagon full of many large paper bags, a couple of decorative boxes, and a box containing an artificial tree.

“I actually don’t have any Christmas decorations. My sister is the one to have the decorations up at her house. I usually visit her on Christmas and so that’s all I really need. But you know, my place could do with some things. Hmm…” He touched a bag and peered inside, seeing snowmen and a smiling angel. He smiled and looked at Ivy. “These are from your house?”

“Yes. I choosed some that we had set out in our apartment and some from the box we keep in the storage room,” she said, looking in one of the bags. “There’s a penguin that's my very favorite. I thought that Oink might like to meet her.”

He laughed, his eyes flicking to Dana. She was smiling as she looked at Ivy, her eyes shining.

“Well, I’m sure Oink will be delighted to have a new friend. Thank you for thinking of me, Ivy. That was very considerate.”

“Does that word mean that I did something nice?” she asked, looking up at him and tilting her head to the side.

“Yes,” he said, his smile growing. “That’s exactly what it means.” She smiled and clapped as he touched the puffball on top of her pink polka dotted beanie. “Let’s take this wagon full of stuff inside and get to decorating.”

“Yay!” Ivy shouted and threw her arms in the air.

He laughed and looked at Dana again, finding her eyes on him this time, a questioning expression on her face. He nodded and she let out a deep breath as she smiled slightly.

Using his key fob, he opened the door, letting them walk inside first, Ivy chatting excitedly about the rest of the items they had brought over. Falling in step beside Dana, he placed a hand on her lower back and bent his head close to hers.

“Thank you,” he whispered, saying nothing further, knowing she would understand.

“You’re welcome,” she whispered back. He nodded and moved his hand to hold the elevator door open and allow Dana to enter with the wagon.

_____________

“I think it should go here,” Ivy said, climbing up on a stool and setting a ceramic Christmas tree on the counter. “I think that’s nice.”

“Yeah, I like it,” Fox agreed and she grinned at him.

Everything, save for the artificial tree, had been taken out of the wagon and unboxed and unbagged. They had been set on the dining room table and Fox had told Ivy to put the items anywhere she wanted. She had looked at him in disbelief and he had nodded with a smile.

“You get to pick. Wherever you want to put them out,” he had assured her.

She had walked around the table and the apartment, taking her time to make the decisions. Rearranging things at times, she had begun to place items, her eyes finding his and seeking approval. He had nodded encouragingly and she had grinned, nodding as she looked at the decoration.

“Do you want this one by your bed?” Ivy now asked, picking up a smiling ceramic snowman that was holding a red bird on his stick finger. “He’s so happy.”

“Ivy, no,” Dana said, starting to take the tree from the box. “Not the bedroom. It’s fine to have decorations there at our house, but we’ve discussed the bedrooms of other adults.” She looked at Ivy and she nodded seriously.

“I know, Mommy. That’s why I was asking.” Ivy nodded again and Fox smiled, wanting to smooth things over.

“Hey, how about the bathroom instead? Maybe the shelf? Or ohhh, how about in the shower? No one would ever expect to see that when they got in to take a shower. That might make them laugh.”

“Oh! That’s a great idea!” Ivy said, turning to run to the bathroom and they heard her opening the shower door and giggling.

“I told her she shouldn’t go into the bedrooms of adults,” Dana explained softly and he nodded. “For many different reasons.”

“As you should,” Fox agreed, coming to help her with the tree.

“My parents, though they always allowed us into their room, didn’t like us letting friends inside. I want her to have that same respect and not go into rooms she shouldn’t.”

“Completely understandable,” Fox said, nodding his head. “My parents had an open/shut door policy. If it was open, everything was kosher, but if it was shut, you had to knock and be allowed entry. And absolutely no friends were allowed inside at any time.”

“I had friends who let me into their parents' room without any concern, but it always made me feel anxious, like I was doing something wrong. As if I would get caught and be in trouble.” She smiled at him and he smiled back.

“I understand how you feel. I think it’s good that she knows. For all the reasons.” He looked at her and she nodded in understanding.

“The snowman looks good in the shower,” Ivy said, bouncing back into the room with a giggle.

“Fantastic,” Fox said, clapping his hands together. “Now, Miss Ivy… we have the tree out and ready to be assembled, but where do you think we should put it?”

“Right by the window,” she said quickly, running over to stand by the window, as though she had already been thinking about it. “That way when people look at it from other buildings, they will see it shining brightly.” She tipped her back and smiled, her arms outstretched.

“Well, then that’s settled,” he said, bringing over the pieces of the tree and setting them down.

“Wait a second,” he said, snapping his fingers. “What have I been thinking? We need some Christmas music!” He smiled at Ivy and turned on the television, setting it to a Christmas music station and clapping his hands together. “Okay, let’s put this tree together. You keep setting out the decorations, Miss Ivy. Surprise us with your choices.”

“Okay!” she said excitedly and he laughed.

“The tree can be a little tricky,” Dana said, coming to stand beside him. “It’s kind of temperamental sometimes. I pinched myself with it once and had a blood blister for a few days.”

“And you’ve decided to loan it to me? How very kind of you,” he teased, picking up the stand, putting it together, and adding the bottom piece.

“Stubborn things and I go well together. I find the challenge satisfying,” she said, handing him the next piece with a smile and he chuckled.

“I’ll be careful with the remaining pieces. Thanks for the warning.” She laughed and he looked at her with a smile. “Thank you for all of this, Dana. I wasn’t planning on doing anything. Not because of anything other than I just…” He shrugged and let out a breath. “It’s just me here and… well…” He shrugged again and she nodded in understanding.

“I know. I doubt I’d have it all out if it was just me. Well, maybe just a few things, as it’s my favorite holiday, but also…” She shrugged and smiled again. “It’s fun with kids around. Allows you to have a large collection of snowmen without people questioning or judging you.”

He laughed as he nodded and added the next piece of the tree. The top was handed to him and he smiled at her as he caught sight of Ivy waving a finger back and forth between two Santas. Landing on one, she grinned, picked it up, and walked into the kitchen. He smiled again and shook his head as he carefully added the last piece to the tree.

Finished with it, he went to plug it in and found the cord would not reach the outlet without moving the tree or requiring the use of an extension cord.

“Hmm,” he said, moving the tree and plugging it in, but not liking the placement of it. “I don’t think I have an extension cord. I’ll have to get one later.”

“Or it could stay there,” Dana said as they looked at it, and he shook his head.

“Nah, it needs to be in the window. I like it there too. I’ll get one la…” He broke off as he looked out onto the balcony and then to the dining room table. “There aren’t any lights in the stuff you brought, right?”

“No. Why?”

“Hmm… I think I may need to make a list. Now that I have all this up,” he said, waving a hand around. “I feel like I need to add more. Lights on the balcony, maybe some framing the window in here…” He raised his eyebrows and she laughed.

“I fear we’ve created a monster.”

“Do you want to come with me to find some more decorations?” he asked, feeling suddenly nervous. She smiled slowly and nodded her head.

“I think we can do that,” she said softly and he let out a deep breath as he nodded.

__________________

Two hours later, they came back. Laughing as they took off shoes and coats, they once again unloaded the wagon and set things onto the table.

Boxes of colorful lights were brought onto the balcony and set onto the coffee table. Fox took them out and he and Ivy carefully wrapped them through the slats and around the top of the railings. When he plugged them in, she sighed happily and nodded her head.

They placed them around the window in and outside of the apartment, using little nails to hold the strands in place. He only hit his thumb once, but it was hard enough to bring tears to his eyes as he bit back the litany of curse words that wanted to escape. Dana rubbed his back, her lips pursed tightly together and mirth in her eyes, but she did not laugh.

When everything was done and all the trash was thrown away, they sat on the couch while the winter sun went down. The room was full of the glow of Christmas lights as they ate bowls of the unicorn cotton candy ice cream. It was as sweet as he remembered, but he ate it all the same, smiling as he looked around the apartment.

“It looks really great in here,” he said. “Thank you both for awakening the Christmas spirit in me.”

“You’re welcome,” Ivy said, smacking her lips and wiping her mouth on the napkin beside her.

“How does it feel in here, Ivy?” he asked, smiling down at her.

She looked at the multicolored lights on the windows, the white ones on the artificial tree, and the yellowish lights coming from the small rotating village that sat on his desk. Her gaze traveled to the many figurines they could see, and finally landed on the Santa throw pillow on the couch. His cheeks were pink and he was grinning with a twinkle in his eyes.

She let out a deep breath and laid her head against Fox’s arm, her ice cream forgotten for the moment.

“It feels… revder… rev… reverent,” she said softly and he grinned as he exhaled a breath through his nose.

“It does indeed,” he agreed, just as softly, his eyes on his bowl of ice cream before he looked around again, enjoying the quiet of the moment.

All too soon, reality came calling, however. Dana and Ivy had to get home as Ivy had school in the morning.

Bundling up, they all headed out, Ivy riding in the wagon as Fox pulled it. They played a game along the way, finding Christmas items that started with letters of the alphabet, laughing when they argued over who got them first.

He fumbled with folding the wagon in the lobby of their building and Dana had to take over, teasing him over the ease of it. She took it down to the basement to put it away while he walked Ivy upstairs.

Ivy hopped from one foot to the other as they waited at the front door, talking about school the next day.

“Mondays are fun days. We get to bring things to share and we have extra reading time after lunch.”

“That sounds fun,” he said and she stopped hopping to look up at him.

“That’s why it’s Monday Fun Day.”

“Oh,” he chuckled. “I see.”

“Yeah,” she said, resuming her hopping.

Dana arrived and he said goodnight to them, not wanting to keep them from their nightly tasks. Ivy hugged him tightly and then smiled as she ran inside, calling out her goodbyes.

“Thank you again,” he said to Dana as she watched Ivy. Turning back to him, she smiled with a nod.

“You’re welcome, again.”

“You two have a nice rest of your night. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He smiled and she stepped forward to hug him, letting out a breath as he held her close.

“Tomorrow,” she echoed, her voice muffled by his coat. He smiled and nodded, stepping back and letting her go.

“Goodnight,” he said softly and she sighed as she nodded back.

“Goodnight.”

“Mommy, can I take a bubble bath?” Ivy called and he laughed quietly as Dana sighed.

“Bye.”

“Goodbye,” she said, stepping into the apartment and smiling as she reached for the door. “Yes, you can have a bath.” She waved and he nodded, waiting for the door to close before he headed down the stairs.

His steps were heavy as he walked home, following the same path they had taken. He saw the Christmas items from their alphabet game and he sighed, feeling overwhelmingly alone and lonely.

The warmly lit apartment was cozy and welcoming, but too quiet with just him moving about. He spent some time looking again at the decorations Dana and Ivy had brought over, smiling at the places Ivy had chosen to display them.

In the kitchen, he found the penguin that Ivy had told him she liked best sitting beside Oink. It was an adorable penguin with pink cheeks, wearing a Santa hat, and holding a small lantern in its flippers. Half of Ivy’s rainbow bracelets were now around the penguin’s neck, the other half still around Oink’s neck.

He smiled at the sight of them, before sighing deeply and shaking his head, the silence in his apartment now enveloping him and seeming far too loud.

#the x files #xf fanfic #msr #developing friendship #feeling lighter #sharing the past #happy together #spending time together #christmas lights #christmas tree #sharing the holiday magic #fun and happiness

23 notes · View notes

motownfiction · 7 months

Text

vantage

From Sam’s vantage, everything looks wrong.

Maybe it’s not wrong. It’s just this really strange clear hue with the strangest tints of yellow throughout. His life is a pineapple gummy bear, and he doesn’t like pineapple gummy bears. He’s coming up with stupid metaphors to distract himself now. He knows that. But when he gets on that train of thought, he can’t stop it. He doesn’t want to.

Hopping off the silly train means dealing with what’s going on.

He wishes he could just get OK with it. With being different. With being the one who stands out. With being himself. He wishes he could just get OK with it, and when he’s all by himself, he is. But then, when he gets in front of people, he realizes that there must be something he’s missing. He’s doing his youth incorrectly by not getting old enough fast enough.

Last night, he was the best man at his little brother’s wedding. Sure, Charlie’s a little young to be married, but that means Sam is at the age where people ask if he’s thinking about getting married. If Charlie can do it, he can do it. Some distant great aunt said that to him last night over white cake and buttercream frosting. Sam’s not even sure of this aunt’s name or why she was invited, but apparently, she knows everything there is to know about him. She even asked what happened to that beautiful blonde girl he was dating, Stephanie someone, someone Stephanie. Sam didn’t have a response to that.

Sam still doesn’t have a response to that.

When Charlie asked him to serve as his best man, he didn’t give it a second thought. They’re brothers, and that’s what you do. When he got to the church that afternoon, he wasn’t thinking about it at all. He just wanted to get the show on the road so he could listen to music and eat dinner. But when he looked out at the crowd – Lucy and Will, Sadie and Daniel, Mom and Dad, everyone all coupled up and looking so, so happy – he wonders what he must have done to miss it. He wonders why he gave up his shot, if Stephanie someone, someone Stephanie would even want to see him today.

He does not wonder if he would want to see her. He already knows the answer.

All night long, he pictured himself through everyone else’s eyes. When he tried to dance to “She Drives Me Crazy,” he thought about what people must be thinking, how they must perceive him.

That Sam, they probably said to themselves. He’s a slacker. He could have graduated from college this year if he only tried.

He’s twenty-two years old. By the time I was twenty-two, I had two kids and a third on the way. What’s the matter with him?

I heard he was a little … you know … he knows all the words to ‘Over the Rainbow.’”

Maybe they’re not saying any of it. Maybe they’re not thinking of him at all. Somehow, Sam knows that’s not true. People notice him all the time. One of the many disadvantageous advantages of being a big and loud personality. A friend of distinction.

He doesn’t think he can do much today. He thinks he might be too afraid of his own youth. He lies down and sings to the ceiling.

No, sir! Not I! Not me! So there!

(part of @nosebleedclub september challenge -- day xix!)

#drabble #writeblr #ch: sam doyle #year: 1989

3 notes · View notes

hesjustlines · 8 months

Text

The Pit

A short story about the things we don't acknowledge that swallow us up

I have a pit. It’s in the garden. I suppose it’s actually a family pit since it’s a family garden, but really it’s mine. No one else goes out to the garden so no one else knows about the pit. Sometimes I wonder if they can see it at all. It’s not hidden. It’s right in the middle of the planter box. There isn’t anything in there, obviously, but it had ginger and mint when we moved into this house and it took ages to dig it all out and get it to stop coming back. The pit is sort of like that. It started off as a hole. Holes are normal for gardens, I just thought a rabbit dug it. I was a little annoyed because I was half-heartedly growing lettuce. It ended up not mattering because a rabbit hadn’t dug the hole and nothing grew anyway. I knew a rabbit hadn’t dug the hole when I saw it two days later and it was bigger. Actually, bigger isn’t the right word. Well, it is, but the important word is deeper. The hole was deeper. It had been about the size of a quarter when I first saw it and it was the size of a plate when I went back. It was deep, though. Too deep. It looked like it never ended, even though the planter box really isn’t that big.

I told my mom about the pit. She told me to wash the dishes. I told my dad about the pit. He grumbled about moles (even though moles make mounds, not pits). I told my little brother about the pit and he said he wanted to see it. When I showed it to him he said, “yeah,” which doesn’t mean anything at all, and then he went back inside. I told my aunt about the pit. I said, “there is a pit in the garden,” and she said, “I’m sure there is,” and usually that wouldn’t mean anything either but she said it like it did so maybe it did.

I have a pit. It’s still growing, it’s up to the size of those rainbow parachutes they used to use for gym classes. I used to think it grew by eating things, like maybe if a rabbit fell in it would feed the pit and it would be bigger the next day, so I tested it. Not with a rabbit, that would’ve been really awful. I used some dinner I didn’t feel like eating. My mom asked me a whole bunch of questions about why I wasn’t eating so I was glad to go to the garden. I threw the entire plate into the pit. I never heard it land. When I checked the next day, the pit was definitely bigger. It seemed a little too big because all I gave it was some chicken and rice. In my science class we learned about sample sizes; if you’re testing something you have to have a big enough sample size to get accurate data. Basically, one plate of food wasn’t enough. I saved my sandwich from lunch every day that week and fed it to the pit when I got home. It did not get bigger.

I have a pit. I’m getting a little scared. The pit outgrew the planter box and now it’s just sitting in the yard. I don’t think it ends. I don’t know why it got so big because I haven’t been checking on it as often. I was going to check three days ago but then someone called me and I was too upset to do much of anything after they hung up. So now the pit is huge. I sort of want it to stop growing. I sort of don’t.

I have a pit. If I stand at the edge of it, it feels like nothing. I don’t mean that it doesn’t feel any different than the space around it, I mean it really feels like nothing. I stand by the pit a lot. Sometimes I think if I fell in it wouldn’t even be a bad thing because it would just be nothing. Then I think about how boring that would get and I go back inside even though I don’t really like it there and want to leave most of the time.

I used to have a pit. I’m not sure what happened to it. I just woke up and thought I would peek at it just from my window. I’ve never seen anything fall into it so I thought maybe I’d try and catch something. It was really dark, though, when I pulled back my curtains. Usually I can see the pit even when it’s dark because it’s just so big. Come to think of it, I can’t really see much of anything. It’s a lot darker than usual even though it doesn’t really seem dark. Weird.

#original content #writblr #original writing #short story #childhood trauma

2 notes · View notes

lordfreg · 1 year

Text

Love You, Brother

note: I HATE MYSELF AHHHHH but i thought of it and eVERYONE HAS TO SUFFER WITH MEEE :D!!!

@hypocriticaltypwriter

TW// major character death, blood, family issues, burnout, and bulling !!

------------------------

It wasn’t fair.

Nothing is fair.

Niccolo couldn’t speak for the first few years of his life. Being nonverbal was hard for a little guy like him, he couldn’t say anything at all. He chirped to hid brothers and sister, but only they knew what he was saying, and even then it was hard.

Niccolo was sitting at a small table of the play space in the Resistance’s secret base. Some other Resistance kids walked up and started to grab at the crayons that Niccolo had specifically placed out in rainbow order.

Niccolo looked around confused at the actions of the other children, he stared to whine at them, struggling to explain why this was making him upset.

The other kids stopped and looked at Niccolo who could only grunt at them. Their expressions become more upset and they just started to laugh. Niccolo didn’t understand, what was so funny? Did he do something?

“Haha! This kid can’t even speak!” One of them said, “Speak kid! What? Are you mute or something?”

Niccolo didn’t understand.

Why where they doing this? What did he do to them?

Then, a voice from behind called, “Hey! You leave my brother alone!”

It was Zuccone!

“You guys put those crayons back, he had them in order for a reason!” Zuccone said demandingly.

“What was the reason? Maybe if Mute over here would speak…” One of them said, while the other started to chuckle.

Niccolo felt like crying, and he pretty sure he was. He saw the tear drops hit the floor.

“You shut up!” Zuccone shouted, “You don’t speak to him that way! He’s way smarter then all of you combined!”

“What’s going on over here?” Karai asked, peering in at the fight.

“They’re making fun of Niccolo!” Zuccone said swiftly, making sure they didn’t get a word in first.

“Really?” Karai said unamused, “You three can go in time out.” She said, grabbing them by the arms and dragging them to the corner, making them drop the crayons, Niccolo and Zuccone making sure to pick them up immediately.

Niccolo chirped a ‘thank you’ to Zuccone as they both orginized the crayons, back into rainbow order.

“You’re welcome, Niccolo!” Zuccone smiled back, “Now, where were we?”

Niccolo chirped fearfully.

“Ah, I’m sure they learned their lesson Niccy.” Zuccone said, handing him the color red, “And, I’ll always be here to protect you, okay?”

“Chrip!” Niccolo smiled widely, letting Zuccone watch him as he drew.

That was almost 5 and a half years ago, and now Niccolo could speak. He spoke, not often, but enough.

“What would you like to eat, dear?” Tamsin asked, grabbing a small plate.

“Not hungry! Too busy!” Niccolo said, quickly scurrying past the counter with his arms full of art supplies.

“You’re just like your uncle,” Tam sighed, “No way mister, you have to eat breakfast before you spend all day drawing again.”

Nic stopped dead in his tracked and looked up at his mother, trying to find the correct words, “But... I want to finish it before Dad leaves again...”

Tam smiled a bit, “After breakfast, kiddo.”

Niccolo pouted a bit, setting down his things and walked to the family table with the rest of his brothers, before sitting down and being served pancakes.

They tasted like dirt, but hey! They were food. At least the syrup made them taste like sugar.

“What are you working on, Niccy?” David asked, mouthful of pancake.

“Surprise,” Niccolo said simply, finishing his first pancake in a few bites.

“Whatever it is, i’m sure it looks great!” Zuccone smiled, giving Niccolo a thumbs-up.

“Uh-huh!” Nic nodded eagerly, “Looks great!” He repeated.

After breakfast, Niccolo ran to the play room, wagging his small tail and grabbing his supplies. He ran to the room where a big canvas sat on an easel that was way too tall for Niccolo to reach, already having a rough sketch of something.

Zuccone stuck his head in, peering at his twin, using an empty box to reach is project. Niccolo was vigorously erasing the sketch marks and tracing over them with his thick marker.

Zuccone watched him carefully, having a soft smile at the way that Niccolo’s hand glided over the canvas. Never shaking, even once. Niccolo was so focused and serious about what he was doing. He was seriously just like Uncle Mikey.

Zuccone hadn’t even noticed himself drawing closer to the canvas. Gazing closer at it, Zuccone could see the splotches of red, orange, purple and blue. He could see the green bodies of his uncles, father and siblings.

He was doing a family portrait.

“Wow, that’s really good!” Zuccone said, making Niccolo jump a bit.

“Ah! You scared me!” Niccolo smiled, “Thank you, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, you’re welcome!” Zuccone joked, “I think Dad’s really gonna love it.”

“You do?” Niccolo asked, his eyebrow hitched slightly, “What if he hates it?”

“Why would he hate it, Nic?” Zuccone asked, leaning to face his poor brother who was getting swamped with self-doubt.

“Because,” Nic frowned, “The portions are off and Uncle Raph’s head looks off.”

“It’s hardly noticeable, if it wasn’t, I would’ve told you.”

“You’re right,” Nic smiled again, “Looks good!”

Zuccone laughed, “Looks good! Looks good!”

Niccolo kept drawing, letting Zuccone watch him.

The painting as finished months ago, and hung in Niccolo’s room. Once Nic showed everyone, they were all so thankful.

Uncle Leo even started to cry a little bit.

Everyone was so thankful. It made Niccolo feel a type of pride. So, Niccolo made more drawings, he explored different mediums, he even roped David into it! And David was quite good at it too.

Niccolo woke up to the sounds of the blaring alarms and flashing lights.

SECURITY BREACH! CODE RED!

This was bad, really bad! The Krang had found their base!

Niccolo grabbed his sais and jacket, preparing for trouble. He ran out with the rest of his siblings, as they watched CJ and Raphael push back a Kraang bush out of the base.

“We could really use your help..!” CJ said inpatiently.

“Right!” Karai said, waking the Krang out of the doorway, making it scrabble up the stairs.

Niccolo looked around nervously. Where was David? Or Jeremiah? Or Zuccone?

“Karai!” Niccolo called, “Where’s Zuccone?”

CJ pointed up the stairs, where Karai was running up and Niccolo followed her, finding himself in the middle of a battle field.

Everything was happening at once; Leo was slicing, Donnie was protecting Tam until they both fight off the Krang so they could attack, Raph had rushed out behind Niccolo with a rush of wind, smashing down a tendril of a Krang before it could hit CJ.

Zuccone and David were struggling with a Krang, who was trying to bite them. Niccolo took his naginata and sliced the thing in half, making a small signal with his hand.

“Yeah, we’re good.” David said disgruntled, “Aren’t we, Zee?”

“Yeah… Mom! Dad!” Zuccone quickly changed his priorities.

“Don’t worry, son!” Donnie called back, with Tam clinging to him, “We got this!” Donatello legitimately threw Tam and a Krang, Tam cutting it down the middle.

Zuccone and David laughed, Niccolo cringing at the affectionate kissing that pressured after the attack.

Just then, a Krang jumped out, it’s spikes facing toward Niccolo.

SHINK.

….

Niccolo’s breath was the only thing he heard. He stared in horror as he found himself on the ground and covered in blood that wasn’t his. Tears welled in his eyes, and his heart beat was deafening.

Zuccone was standing over him. His side fully impaled with the spike.

It didn’t feel real. Niccolo’s tears blurred his vision slightly, making it hard for him to focus on what was happening.

Zuccone fell on top of Niccolo, making reality snap back to focus as Niccolo rolled his brother over, applying pressure to the wound.

Donnie and Tam rushed over, Leo and Raph joint them in protecting the kids. Another attack had been lunched, but Niccolo could care less. The only thing he cared about was his brother, bleeding out in front of him.

“Zee..? Zee! Zuccone!!” Niccolo panted, “Answer me!! Are you okay?? Please!!”

Zuccone looked slightly, giving his twin a heavy-lidded side eye, letting out a few breaths. Luckily, Zuccone’s half plastron protected him. Mostly.

Zuccone attempted to sit up, wincing in pain, his breath hitching. The slightly lifted shirt reveled a chipped plastron and a rapidly bleeding side.

“Niccy….” Zuccone said, bringing his hand to reach his twins. “It-It doesn’t look like i’ll bounce back this time… If I die…”

“You won’t die, please.” Niccolo begged.

“If I die…” Zuccone said more sternly, “Promise you’l, take care of yourself, okay? You’re worth every…ugh…every word of praise and admiration.”

Zuccone pulled Niccolo close to him, placing their foreheads together. The ultimate sign of affection.

“Love you, brother.”

He went limp, his head falling back in Niccolo’s arms. The world deafen again. Karai and Tam rushing over, with the rest of them following after them. Niccolo couldn’t hear was they were saying. He didn’t care what they were saying.

Raph pulled Niccolo away from Zuccone’s body, Niccolo hissing, biting and yelling at Raph, probably something he would regret but he couldn’t even hear himself right now.

Donnie tried desperately to resuscitate Zuccone, saying something, tears starting to stream down his face. Tam held Karai as they both cried into each other. Leo grew angry and ripped a Krang in half with his bare hands, kicking away its corpse and yelling.

David stood visibly shocked, unable to speak or move.

Raph restrained Niccolo as he tried to get back to Zuccone’s body.

Suddenly, like an EMP, everything came back into focus.

“It’s no use…” Donnie said, helplessly, “He’s-….” Donnie couldn’t even finish his sentence before a hiccup of sobs erupted.

Niccolo couldn’t comprehend it. He couldn’t even imagine it in his worst nightmares. How did this even happen? It was too fast, too traumatic, to remember.

They carried Zuccone’s body off of the battle field, Donatello carrying him with Tam and Karai accompanying them. Leo and Raph helped the rest of the kids calm down from the attack.

Lots of tears, blankets and water bottles were handed out. News was spread and everyone was trying to calm down.

Niccolo felt out of focus. Like he, himself, was blurry. Everything felt numb on his skin and in his head. He couldn’t remember what happened. He didn’t understand what he was doing. He was simply going through the motions.

Then, the reality set it. It felt like a broken rib, on every rib. It crushed his heart and spiked tears in his eyes. His face scrunched up and the furious look in his eyes returned.

Niccolo started to cry, Karai trying to calm him down to no avail. He became more and more angry. He ripped himself away from Karai’s grasp and ran into his room; slamming the door behind him.

Niccolo sobbed, and needed to break something. He looked around his room, his eyes gazed across everything.

He ran over to his easel, throwing it on the ground. He swept his glass jars onto the floor. He cat-swiped everything on to the floor. Books, toys, action figures, small gifts and paintbrushes.

He tore through the bookshelves, he threw things over, he ripped apart his room. He cried, and for the first time in his life, he screamed out of pure pain.

He continued tearing things apart until he finally landed on the painting.

The family portrait.

He could still here the echos of Zuccone’s voice.

“Looks good,”

Niccolo crumpled onto the floor, sobbing into his hands, in a nest of a destroyed room. He sat in the puddle of despair, eventually falling asleep and having no dreams.

———

They had a proper funeral for him. Mikey, being the one to speak first, and say “May the spirits of our Ancestors lead him to the safety of the Spirit World.”

Niccolo was next to speak. He coked on his words, he held back tears, he even had to drink water a few times. But, one he was finished, he didn’t wait around to watch the casket be put into the ground.

———

The days that followed where…hard on everyone. Mikey spending more time with Niccolo, if that meant anything at all.

Niccolo had shut himself off, he consumed himself with his work and ate rarely.

“He stopped talking too,” Karai said to thin air, letting the smoke around her absorb her problems. Meditation had helped in the past, but for some reason, this felt different. There was something more then just smoke in the air.

“He hasn’t said a word since… Since we lost him. I think they both died that day. It was hard on everyone, but it’s so much worse on Niccolo. It’s like… he doesn’t care anymore. About himself, anyway.” Karai spoke, trailing off.

“Karai…”. A ghostly voice whispered to her.

“Who-Who’s there?!” She exclaimed, getting off of the meditation spot and striking a fighting pose.

“It’s me, Karai.” The ghost whispered again, sounding familiar, yet it was too ghastly to understand.

“Show yourself!” She demanded.

The smoke from the candles started to form a ball, morphing into a shape. A human shape.

“It’s me, Karai,” the smoke said once more, “It’s Zuccone.”

5 notes · View notes

joyandthephantoms · 2 years

Text

if love’s elastic, then were we born to test its reach?

2k, T, Flynn & Luke

Warnings: discussions of homophobia, swearing

Summary: Flynn and Luke sit in a car and talk about their moms.

ao3 link

It's not an official rule, it's not on purpose, and honestly, it's not very convenient, but Flynn is the only person capable of calling the weekly Julie and the Phantoms band meetings to order. The others try, sometimes, but no one else's efforts to curb the giggles and social time and say, "hey, okay, we have work to do" ever seem to have much effect.

Today, Flynn kicks it off by bursting through the door, announcing, “I’m going to kill my mother,” and then plunking herself down on the couch next to Julie and reaching for the calendar on the table.

“You good?” Reggie asks. There’s a tiny hint of a smirk on her face, but it’s overshadowed by concern, like she can’t quite tell if Flynn’s going for laughter or sympathy and she’s trying to cover all her bases.

"I'm fine," Flynn says. "Can we get started?"

They do, but Flynn is completely off her game, and she's sure everyone can tell. They drop off sentences halfway through the point they were trying to make; they don't process a single word of Bobby's budget review; Julie has to wave them back from zoning out two separate times. She just can't get her brain to stick to anything with her blood boiling like this.

Luke is the one who breaks the tension, after Flynn forgets half of her own carefully crafted, years-old color coding system. “Okay, Flynn and I are taking a break,” he declares.

She eyes him skeptically, but Luke just says, “Come on, let’s go,” and pulls her up off the couch. “We’re gonna go for a quick drive,” he tells everyone else. “Don’t release any albums without us.”

“No promises!” Julie and Reggie chorus. Alex just gives them a thumbs-up, and Bobby tosses his keys over to Luke, who catches them and blows a kiss at him before he pushes Flynn out the door.

“We’re in the middle of a meeting,” Flynn says as she slides into the passenger’s seat.

“You’re in the middle of something more important,” Luke answers easily. “What’s up with your mom?”

“It’s not even like, a big thing,” Flynn says. “I just got stuck on something stupid she said.”

“You don’t get mad over nothing, though.”

“Ugh, I know. Like, I’m right, it’s just so annoying that I have to be the one affected by it. I just wanna know that she’s wrong and move on with my day, you know?”

“Yeah,” Luke says, and when Flynn lets the sound of the engine and the movement of the car fill the silence instead of her voice, he prompts, “So what was it that she said?”

“She’s mad that I think she’s homophobic? Which I didn’t even say to her face, she just assumes I’m saying it behind her back, which I am, but if she didn’t want me doing that she could have tried not being homophobic, right?”

“Definitely. Dude, didn’t she try to take your library card for reading too much queer stuff?”

“Yep!” Flynn confirms. “And for like, a year after I came out to her she made a point to let me know how uncomfortable every single rainbow accessory made her, and one of my dad’s brothers is gay too and she still doesn’t want us spending the night at his place and we never talk about that, and it’s just . . . okay, obviously I’m mad about those things, but it’s whatever, I just can’t stand that she gets to do all that and then turn around and tell me that the problem is me calling homophobia what it is.”

“Jesus.”

“Like, why the fuck does she get to make it my fault?”

"She doesn't," Luke says emphatically. He rolls to a stop at a light and turns to face her. "That's total bullshit and she has no right to make you feel bad for being right, you don't ever deserve that. Flynn, you're like, the coolest, most caring person I know, she's insane if she thinks you calling out her shit makes that less true."

The sheer earnestness is almost enough to make Flynn cry, and they should give him a real response, but . . . "The light's green."

"Shit, yeah," Luke says, eyes back on the road. "We're having a moment, okay?" he hollers at the cars honking behind them. "Assholes."

Flynn shakes their head. "It's like they don't know we're the main characters."

Luke grins, and they're quiet for a minute (or, Flynn is quiet; Luke is still muttering curses as he drives—less like he's mad and more like it's simply a requirement to keep the car moving). He pulls into a McDonald's parking lot and kills the engine, and Flynn says, "It is a little bit my fault, though."

Luke tenses, and before he can go on another trademarked validation rant, she adds, "I didn't do anything wrong. It's just . . . I can tell she's trying, right? Like, she has tried to have real conversations with me about queer stuff, and I don't think she can blame me for not being excited about that after she kept telling me how much she was 'really struggling with the whole rainbow thing,' but I also still get that it hurts when I brush her off. And it's not just with this; like, I know she's trying to be emotionally available in general, and I'm not engaging with that, and there's no way to not feel a little bit shitty about that."

"Yeah," Luke says. "Yeah, I definitely get that." He twists a ring around on his finger, slides it off and then right back on. “It's like . . . I'm glad I'm talking to my mom again, you know? I love her, and she knows I love her, and I can go and talk to her instead of hiding in the bushes, and I get to include her in the parts of my life I want her in, and, like, I actually feel like our relationship is good , and that's—I mean, I don't know if I ever thought we were gonna have that, especially after I left."

"Right," Flynn says. It's practically illegal for a friend to let Luke Patterson talk about his mom without offering some kind of physical comfort, but he won't want to keep his hands still long enough to hold hers, and hugging or leaning up against him are tricky in the car, so she settles for resting a hand on his knee.

He catches their eye for half a second before continuing, "But I think she thinks it's gonna keep getting better? Like, she's happy that we're talking again because she thinks it means we're on a path to getting closer, and I don't know if I can do that. I don't . . . I don't think I want to do that. Which I guess means I'm gonna be disappointing her for the whole rest of our lives." Luke ducks his head and pushes a hand back through his hair, a little self-conscious. "Was that . . . did I get it right, is that what you're feeling? Or did I go on the wrong kind of tangent?"

"No, you pretty much nailed it." Flynn sighs. “I love my mom, and I know I came into this with ‘I’m gonna kill her,’ but I really do think things are mostly good, and there are a lot of things she does right, it’s just that every time we try to actually talk, it ends up like this. So then I feel like we have too many fundamental differences for things to ever be better, and she feels like I’m not trying, and we never get anywhere, and it sucks .”

“Yeah,” Luke says.

Flynn pulls his hand over to her lap and fidgets with his bracelets as they speak. “I get why she’s hurt, and I get that some of the choices I’ve made have been hard for her, but I don’t know what to do, because like . . . I don’t know, it’s easy to be in favor of the idea of having hard conversations with the people you love, but then all the actual conversations we have are this bullshit” —Flynn waves their free hand meaninglessly; Luke seems to get the idea anyway— “so either I talk to her, and we both get upset about it, or I don’t, and she’s still upset, and there aren’t any better options when just existing as ourselves around each other hurts, so I just . . . exist a little less around her. And that hurts too.”

“Fuck,” Luke breathes. “Dude, come here.” They’ve given up on respecting the limitations the car puts on cuddling, then. Flynn isn't complaining. She clambers over to sit in Luke's lap, back against his window, side wedged against the steering wheel.

“I don’t think she gets that she pushed me away in the first place," she tells Luke. "She either doesn’t know what she did, or she doesn’t think my reaction is fair, and either way, neither of us think we’ve done anything wrong, so all she’s ever gonna see is how I keep rejecting her. That’s always what her story’s gonna be.”

“I know,” Luke says. “It sucks, and she’s wrong, and you deserve better than that, okay?”

“Okay,” Flynn echoes, noncommittal. They usually don’t have any trouble knowing their worth and knowing how they deserve to be treated, but mom stuff has a way of getting to them, of dragging every insecurity up with claws. Luke gets that better than anyone, though.

“I’m serious, she’s so lucky to have you. You know that, right? God, I never tried this hard to understand my mom’s side of things back when I lived with her.”

“Eh, mine doesn’t scream at me,” Flynn shrugs. “I think it balances out.”

“That’s fair,” Luke says. He sort of half lifts her up for a second so he can shift his legs, then adds, “They’re about even as far as having no way to win with them, though.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, like, all of our fights about music were like that; she’d get mad that I was doing too much band stuff and then she’d get mad that I didn’t want to tell her anything, and I think I always thought that if the band got far enough, she’d see it was all worth it? But every time we got closer to that it just freaked her out more.”

This isn’t new information to Flynn, she had the gist of that conflict already, but it’s nice to hear it again in a context that lets them know that Luke gets what they’re dealing with, and anyway, sometimes listening is less about learning anything new and more about just letting your friend say what they need to say.

“And I just spent a lot of time swinging back and forth between trying to hide everything from my parents and trying to throw it all in their faces,” Luke says, “because if they were going to be like that anyway, like, what was the point? Why not blow everything up? Maybe it would at least make them see how much it mattered to me, you know?”

“Yeah,” Flynn says, because that’s really the only thing to say. Like, yeah. Yeah . Exactly. Fuck.

"I dunno," Luke says, "we're better about the music thing than we used to be; I think she knows she can't push it too hard, but now she keeps getting on me to bring Bobby over for dinner like I don't know how that's gonna go."

Flynn raises their eyebrows. "Yikes."

"I know," Luke groans. "But I don't really have better options here, either, because if they don't see me, like, bring him to family stuff and go on real dates and gush about him all the time, both of my parents are gonna think that it's not serious, or that I'm wrong about my feelings, or that I'm not doing this relationship the right way, but then if they do see any of that, they're just gonna be weird and tense and judgey and I hate it."

"It's so stupid," Flynn says.

"So stupid," Luke agrees. "You ever think about how many problems we just wouldn't have if our parents knew how to chill out?"

"Alllll the time," Flynn sighs. "But hey, gotta give them props for keeping all those therapists in business."

Luke snorts, and Flynn decides they're officially out of serious mode now, so she says, "Okay, I love you, but I am not loving this steering wheel right now, I'm gonna—" She pushes off of Luke and does a little half-tumble, half-crawl back over to the passenger seat. "There."

Luke reaches for the keys, but he pauses, checks, "Did you get everything you needed? I didn't mean to take over or anything."

Flynn grins. "I was asking for it, we all know you win at mommy issues."

Luke sticks his tongue out at her. "Shut up."

"Seriously, you're good," Flynn assures him. They don't know how to say everything they mean to—that Luke putting words to his feelings was a gift to them, saved them the time and frustration of having to sort through everything on their own. That he's really good at this, at handing people pieces of his heart that reflect things in themselves that were hard to nail down. He can get avoidant about his feelings, and Flynn can't blame him, but when he makes the space to stumble through them honestly, he always hits something real.

Flynn tells him, "I feel better," and gives his hand a squeeze, and hopes that says enough.

#julie and the phantoms #my writing #jatp fic #flynn taylor

16 notes · View notes

topguncortez · 1 year

Text

g reviews:

June First by Jennifer Hartmann

page count: 464

genre: slow burn, forbidden love, murder/suicide, smut, adopted sibling relationship, death, grief, attempted assault, childhood friends to lovers, emotional trauma.

Want to know what happens to a man who barely claws his way out of a tragedy, only to fall right into the arms of the one girl in the world he can never have? Another tragedy, that's what. When I was six years old, my father made a choice that altered the course of my entire life. Because of what he did, the only girl I ever loved became the only girl I couldn’t have. In a lot of ways, I did have her… I had her first steps, her first words, her first smile. I had her milestones, her heartbreaks, her dreams. I had her heart so woven in with mine, I didn’t know where she ended, and I began. Only, as the years pressed on, lines became blurred—and the blurrier the line, the easier it is to cross. They say tragedy comes in threes. For me, that was true. The first one changed me, the second one broke me, and the third one healed me. But at the center of all that tragedy… there is a love story. And at the center of that love story, There is June.

This book had me in tears.

I knew through booktok that Jennifer Hartmann's books are tearjerkers, that's her speciality. And I don't cry very easily, so I was up for a challenge.

But my god, I was not expecting the heartbreak and angst and grief that this poor kid goes through in his life.

The book starts out with two little boys, Brant and Theo. Brant is the six year old little boy who lives with his mom, Caroline, and dad, next door to Theo Bailey. It's a normal end of May Day, and Theo is telling Brant that his mom is about to go have a baby. Brant is excited for Theo because there is nothing more than Brant wants than to be a big brother. To be a protector. That night Brant tells his mother the exciting news about Mrs. Bailey's new baby and how he wished he could be a big brother. Brant's mom tells him that maybe, when they get away, they can get that dog that he's been talking about. Caroline tells Brant as she tucks him in that tomorrow is June first, and June always felt like a fresh start. Brant goes to bed that night dreaming of bluebirds and rainbows.

However that dream is quickly turned into a nightmare.

In an instant Brant's life is turned upside down by the death of his mother at the hands of his father, and his father who was too much of a coward to deal with the consequences. six year old Brant finds them both right next to each other in the living room.

Since that night, Brant was taken in by the Baileys, suddenly becoming a brother to Theo, and to baby June, who was born on that tragic night. Brant immediately feels like he has to protect June from all the bad in the world. All the monsters that lurk in the dark. Anything and everything that might hurt her. He repeats back, to a two month old June one night, the last words his mother ever said to him: "I will always protect you"

The Bailey siblings and Brant grow up right along side each other in this beautiful coming of age story. It goes through the heartbreak of losing someone in an instant, the grief of trying to move on, and how you can't control who you love, but you can control who hurts you.

This book was so beautiful, I could hardly put it down. It is packed full of all the emotions. It had me gasping, hurting, confused, crying, laughing, (shaking my head a little bit). It's one of those books that once you pick it up, you don't want to put it down. These two go through so much in their lives that you just hope and pray for the best to come for them.

My biggest caution is that this book is not for the faint of heart. For all intents and purposes, these two are siblings. There's a legal document that says that Brant and June are adopted siblings, and that line gets blurred. I think that Jennifer handled that topic very well, because it does happen. It's not uncommon for it happen. It taboo and a bit dirty and weird, but it happens. You can sense the carefulness, and the maturity in the theme of the book when Brant and June do start their relationship. Jennifer goes about it all very carefully and handles it in a way that you don't feel like "oh my god that's disgusting". There's a thin line to walk when writing a topic such as this, and I believe that it was done rather well.

G's rating: 9/10

also, here is me when I finished the book so you don't think I'm lying. I was in tears.

#g reads books #g reviews #book recs #book review

2 notes · View notes

chickensarentcheap · 2 years

Text

Esme stuff :)

@youflickedtooharddamnit, @tragiclyhip, @secretaryunpaid

Millie (who recently came out to her dad and I as bisexual, wanted to go pride in Melbourne. So that’s what the entire family did. Even daddy wore a rainbow shirt! Still can’t get the tiara on him, though. Not for lack of trying on Addie’s part, mind you lol

Afterwards, we hit up a street fair and daddy, Brookie, Millie, and the boys killed it on the midway. As if we didn’t have way too many stuffed animals at home before this!

We love you so much, Amelia. We are so, so proud of you. You are beautiful and kind and creative and brilliant. You are going to achieve amazing things.

Oh fuck no!!!!!

Don’t make friends with it!

Let’s burn the house down and start over!

God he’s beautiful.

And yes, people intimidated by him, he DOES crack a smile.

You’re just not important enough to get to see it :)

We make little beach bum babies around these parts :)

Date night in Phuket. Damn he fine.

I might let him get me drunk and take advantage of me later ;)

I was in my office minding my own business and doing bookwork, and my husband snuck in and dropped this...whatever this is...down in front of me.

Apparently his name is Potato. Why our children insist on food names for our pets, I will never know.

Welcome to the family, Potato. I guess.

#souglyheiscute #theanimalnotthehusband #justtoclarify

One thing about being a girl mum? Especially to a girly girl? All the cute dresses I can buy!

My husband reconnected with an old friend from his early years in the military. Said friend sent me this pick! Taken on a leave. Oh my gawddddd. I would have crushed big time even then.

He was 24 at the time.

I was 18.

It could have worked!

I mean, the him being married thing would have been a problem.

Our newly renovated and decorated living room in our ‘mum and dad only’ place in Tasmania :) Look at the ceiling. That was the hubs’ idea :) and hard work :)

I’ve been ignoring texts and calls from my brother for DAYS. Guess what just happened...

This won’t end well.

We finally got to the France! Staying for a few days at a beautiful home in Provence (owned by a client of Tae’s and graciously lent to us) before we head to Paris! I finally get my kiss under the Eiffel Tower :)

Don’t let that cute, innocent smile fool you. He’s deliciously evil ;) In the best possible ways ;)

My sleepy surfer :)

We’re away for client business and we got a text from Millie saying she was asked out the grade eight prom. She’s in grade seven. AND she got asked by two people. A boy and a girl. She’s not sure who she likes better and wants OUR opinions. I was squealing with excitement, but Dad isn’t sure how to handle the news that his baby girl is has been asked out on a date.

Family trip!! Enjoying some time in the Outback. Going to camp for a few days and then head to The Kimberley for a week :)

Our little peanut :)

Can you tell he just woke up?

And only a bit of sand was eaten that day ;)

There’s always that one. Wait for it...

Holy crap who is the giant dude? ;)

First morning at Disney! Nanny Stel and the other kids are still asleep, daddy is in the gym (we’re on our way to see him) and this is already hyper AF and ready to go!

Ohhhhh....what are these?

Holy shit, I look fabulous

#Tyler and Esme series #Esme Rake #Rake kids

17 notes · View notes

adventures-written · 1 year

Text

;; Ok, so now that I’m awake again and slightly coherent, here’s my thoughts on episode 10:

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some of it I expected because, being on tumblr, ya just see spoilers. So I knew some stuff that would happen. LIKE THE FRICKEN SNEEZE! That was great.

I have to do another rewatch cause I might have missed some stuff, but like...Zazie’s little “But they were mine :(” as Conrad takes their things was adorable. Pouty pile of bugs, poor thing.

And Vash’s scars! Heck, they make me so sad because all he wants is to protect people. It doesn’t matter what happens to him. Scar him up in his entirety and he’ll still keep fighting. The guy that shot him? Vash does not hold a single grudge, he understands. That scene broke my heart...

And let’s talk about one of the elephant’s in the room...Roberto.

So, I had a feeling for a while something bad was gunna happen to him. His whole character was about protecting Meryl. Sure, he claimed it was for his own health, like on the Steamer where he found a life boat and wanted to get the hell off because they were gunna presumably die. But when Meryl gives her big speech, he doesn’t leave. Why? Because she doesn’t leave. He’s got this dad mode on him where he has a need to protect. Journalistic integrity? Nah, he’s there to protect the newbie.

When that demon child started to attack, I had an immediate gutteral feeling that this would be it. The way he protected Meryl, the way he put himself in front of her every chance he had, it just screamed this was going to be his end.

As much as I want every character to live, I understand why Roberto dies. It’s for Meryl, it’s for her character and motivation. Not everything is sunshine and rainbows. As Roberto says in episode one “It’s a dog eat dog world out there” and this just shows Meryl not everything works out and even those she’s closest to get hurt or die.

I cried like a baby.

As an aside, I do like Ele’s and Nico’s dynamic. It was kinda cute the way they argued, almost like siblings.

Now, I’m sure everyone knew this was a trap for Vash. if you know anything about the manga or the OG Anime, you know July got destroyed, so clearly, if they’re going to July, only bad things can come. That was unsurprising when they realized they wanted to trap Vash.

But Vash knows. At least, somewhat. He knows, and he is well aware that Nico is working for them. He’s not an idiot. Vash might act naïve and dumb, but he really does pick up on a lot of things. And he knows Nico is doing it to protect something. He’s got other people in mind and this is not self-motivated. So Nico being with him, basically bringing him to his brother, is not a surprise either.

Can we talk about that contract? I saw a screenshot but I’m going to have to get a better look to see what it said at the bottom. As much as I wanna hope Nico feels accomplished, like he did the right thing, we all know that he probably feels he didn’t. That he could have done more, better, etc. I dunno, I gotta sit and stew on those thoughts in particular for a while.

Let’s talk about the drama llama that is Knives. That man...of course he’s playing their song, of course he’s sitting at a piano. But I do want to say...I’m kinda glad the way he’s shown is not far off from how I’ve been trying to play him? I am still terrified of episode 11 and 12 shattering how I’ve been portraying Knives, but this was a good insight and relief to my fears...

His fricken piano room though, the motif on the floor. And those statues. Knives can’t let it go. He has to put up reminders as to why he’s doing what he is. He has to remind himself of the suffering the human’s have caused for so many of the plants. And his little jab at Vash about the crash... (hah I called it). A reminder to Vash that he helped him, even unknowingly. And that the human’s would forever hate Vash for it. Which we know isn’t true, but in Knives mind it is because he’s a wanted man. Vash is getting the blame for everything Knives is doing, he’s the face and he’s the one people hate. So Knives can’t understand why Vash continues to defend the people who seem to, in his eyes, despise Vash for everything that he is.

And of course the dramatic bitch uses the piano to open the floor under Vash. I now understand why everyone was saying Vash soup. As a side note, I love Vash’s little wire from his arm. That’s great.

But of course, Knives is dramatic, and he cuts the wire. A wish to reset his brother and make him perfect, like he is.

And now I’m terrified for 11 and even more so for 12.

So I just get to sit here and try to piece together these fragments I have while I wait again. This is gunna be another long week...

#ooc;; time for tea #mun;; the confused potato #musings #trigun stampede #episode 10 #spoilers if you haven't seen it

6 notes · View notes

thetombedspirit · 2 years

Text

Monster High Movie: I Liked It

I honestly thought that it was a decent film. It had a good plot premise, I like what they did with most of the characters and the songs were killer.

But, before I get into things that I like, I’m gonna get into things I didn’t like.

1. Lagoona’s personality and character design

I did not like what they did with Lagoona in this reboot. I always loved how supportive and wise she was, giving good advice to her friends when they needed it. And she looked so cool in the previous rendition. And now she’s a ditzy, rainbow colored piranha whose best friends with Toralei?! Just... why did they have to do my girl like this? Her name is Lagoona Blue! WHY IS SHE PINK?!? She and Clawdeen have always been my favorites.

2. Ghoulia’s personality and ability of speech

I know it shouldn’t bother me as much, but I don’t like how they did Ghoulia. Not only did they make her talk now, but now she’s not the smartest ghoul in school, in favor of making Frankie the smart one. Instead, they made her a little kooky. Like, that’s not at all a bad thing, but I just wish she was kooky and smart. Maybe like Alex (Queen) from Nine Realms. Like, I would imagine her signing something and Cleo just being like “... good Ra, Ghoulia...”

3. No Jackson and Holt

Like, it sorta boggles me that they brought in Jekyll and Hyde, but they didn’t make the narrative about Jackson and Holt. Like, I feel like if done correctly, it could have been such a heartwarming side story on how despite the hardships, they realized they can’t be one without the other.

4. Witch Draculaura???

While, I don’t mind and actually like the idea of witchcraft being strictly a human practice, I don’t see why Draculaura had to do magic. Like, if you wanted to give her a conflict with her dad, I know how. Wanna know how? Draculaura’s vegetarianism. Like, in this universe, Dracula is a pretty big deal now (in the regular installment, he was apparently just a dude) but now he’s like a big name in the Monster World, to the point where’s he’s one of the school’s donors. So imagine the shame Dracula and Draculaura would feel if people knew that she didn’t want to eat humans. I just feel like that would be more then enough.

And I know, vegetarian vampire, what a cliché. But you know the other word for cliché? Classic.

Anyway, now that the stuff I didn’t like is out of the way, let’s dive into the things I did like.

1. The Plot Premise

As previously mentioned, Clawdeen is my favorite character next to Lagoona, so I was quite happy with her taking center stage as main monster, especially with the route they were going for this reboot, with Clawdeen being ‘half’ monster (even though werewolves are technically already half human) but that just brings up my next point. If monsters like werewolves have always been excluded from Monster High, and Clawdeen was brought in for like a probationary period to prove that half-monsters belong, could be an awesome narrative. But I digress.

2. Frankie being smart

This may not need any say, but I genuinely like the direction they went with Frankie being so smart with all different brain parts. Cause if you watched the original movie for Frankenstein’s Monster, then you would know that a large factor into why he went haywire was because he had a ‘criminal’ brain. So Frankie being super smart, creative and having a problem solver aptitude would be awesome. And you can even go deeper into this narrative, like how Frankie was designed to be better then Stein’s last creation and that could put a lot of pressure on them to be the better student and better child then her ‘big brother’ who could fit the narrative of ‘collage dropout’. Just a thought.

3. Deuce Gorgon

I really like what they did with Deuce. Like, it’s not that G1 Deuce was a bad character, I just feel like if this guy was gonna be the only dude to be a part of the theme song, then he needed to be more then the boyfriend for one of the girls. The depth that they give Deuce in the movie was pretty well done for a movie of it’s quality. Making him have a bit of a rep as a dangerous bad boy trying to be better is a good direction that puts Deuce in the spotlight.

And side note, I don’t hate the Deuce x Clawdeen ship in this movie. Like I said before, I didn’t mind the Deuce x Cleo relationship, but I genuinely like the direction in this reboot with them being exes, because it gives both Deuce and Cleo a chance to develop. And last I checked, Monster High isn’t a love story. It’s a story about being excepted for who you are, ‘freaky flaws and all’. Not to mention that regardless of the relationships in previous installments, doesn’t change the fact that this version of Clawdeen and Deuce have good chemistry.

Those are the key features for me. If a ship has good chemistry, is written well and works in the context of the story then it’s fine with me.

Full disclosure, the movie isn't as bad as I feared. I just feel like that if more thought and effort was put into it, it could have been so much better.

#monster high #monster high movie 2022 #movie review #offical rating: 7/10 good #could have been great

2 notes · View notes