#it feels like i suddenly understand how to color when i do these.. i'm scheming ways to get digital art to click like this for me

[somnimagus]

colored some more things from my sketchbook! zelda edition this time

[id in alt!]

#loz #legend of zelda #food #specific games from left to right (more or less) are: #twilight princess #wind waker #skyward sword #ocarina of time #minish cap #it feels like i suddenly understand how to color when i do these.. i'm scheming ways to get digital art to click like this for me #but man i used to be obsessed with midna medli saria and vaati as a kid so drawing them again a decade later feels super weird #and adult me now has an additional love of telma ruto and for some reason fledge. i think his design is cute #i don't show my ocs on the internet so you're gonna have to take my word for this but #zelda actually completely sparked my love of character design! i'm still hugely inspired by the older games #plus the anthro designs from botw! i love teba very much #but fi specifically is probably my favorite character design from anything ever. she's perfect to me #fan art #my doodles #my art

[actual-changeling]

In the grand scheme of things, a month is not enough time to really get to know someone, especially if said person is clearly still going through a lot of shit and clinging to his brother like an octopus. They have been spending more and more afternoons with each other, always with Joel in the middle, and he likes to think they're on a good path to being friends.

Tommy might not know Ellie well, but he does know her, and it's easy to see that she is currently incredibly uncomfortable and Joel nowhere to be seen. The dining hall is loud during meal times on the best of days, but today it is outright chaotic, and Tommy remembers how overwhelming it had been during his first few months in Jackson. On top of that, Ellie is so small she can probably barely see through the crowd, just a piece of driftwood caught in the current and pulled along in whatever direction people are moving, and without Joel there to enforce her personal space, she is drowning.

His body is moving toward her before he even notices what he is doing, stopping himself once he does; there's a chance Ellie would be quite upset if he tried to swoop in and "save" her, well aware how much she dislikes being close to anyone who isn't Joel. But then Martin starts talking to her, good guy, usually very friendly, and all color drains from her face, and Tommy decides he'd rather have Ellie elbow him in the stomach than face his brother's wrath over not stepping in.

The crowd parts around him when he moves through it, the distance between him and Ellie closed within seconds, and he stops on her right, keeping himself in her field of vision so he doesn't startle her (he did that once on accident, never again). He nods at Martin, though his feelings are far from his priority right now.

"Hey Ellie, have you seen Joel somewhere?"

Trying to keep his tone light, he has one eye on the people surrounding them and one on her, still trying to figure out where the hell his brother disappeared to, he never leaves her alone if he can help it. He's not quite sure what he expects Ellie to do, but it's definitely not her hands snapping up to grab his arm so tightly it's almost painful, nails digging into his skin. She is shaking, trying so hard to be aware of the room around her that her eyes are almost fluttering, and it takes him a few beats to react.

"Gonna go 'n find my brother with this one, Martin."

It's not a question but he nods, giving his shoulder a quick squeeze before merging back into the crowd, and Tommy is incredibly thankful for that. The second he is gone, Ellie deflates, falling against his side, and Tommy brings up his other arm around her and gently places his palm on her back, relieved when she doesn't flinch. Asking if she is okay seems unnecessary, she clearly isn't, so he just tries his best to provide her with as much space as possible as he navigates them to an empty table in one of the quieter corners near the back exit, casually pushing people away when necessary.

Ellie sinks into a chair and doesn't let go of him, knuckles white, and he settles next to her, keeping an eye out for Joel while talking to her.

"Anything you need, sweetheart?"

The endearment slips out, force of habit, and her gaze is suddenly glued to his face, pupils blown so wide her eyes seem black.

"Don't leave."

"I won't, promise. Do you know where Joel went?"

She shakes her head, fingers around his wrist loosening a tiny bit.

"Alright, I'm sure he'll be back soon, someone probably just distracted him."

They both lean back, the relative silence between them oddly comforting, and Ellie nudges her chair across the floor until their armrests are pressed together, her breaths coming a bit slower and deeper now. The affection curling around his heart is familiar, warmth blooming in his chest, and it's easy to understand why Joel fell for her so quickly and completely it almost killed him. She relaxes while they wait, head tipping to rest against his biceps, eyes closed, and the open display of trust is so sweet it makes him ache. Despite not spending a lot of time together, she clearly thinks of him as someone safe, probably due to his relationship with Joel, and Tommy finds himself hoping that maybe they can build something on that foundation. Ellie is Joel's kid, which makes her family, and Tommy looks out for his people.

It takes Joel about fifteen minutes to finally return to them with a panicked look on his face, clearly out of breath, and he stops dead in his tracks when he sees Ellie half draped over him.

"I'm sorry, baby, someone was asking about some construction work I did yesterday, and-"

"It's okay," she interrupts, blinking up at him and stretching out one hand in a clear demand, "Tommy got me."

Joel stills, eyes flicking between the two of them, and he simply shrugs his unoccupied shoulder, it's not like it's his kid, after all. He takes Ellie's hand and falls into the chair next to her, leaning over to press a kiss to her hair, and Tommy doesn't even try to hide his smile. To everyone's surprise, Ellie stays right where she is, holding Joel's hand with a death grip but still using him as a pillow, and the look he shares with Joel is one of mutual confusion and resignation. She starts talking to him about some space book she's been reading, ignoring the last twenty minutes of her life, and they silently agree to wait out the masses before getting their own food, Ellie seemingly content to force both of them to listen to her ramble about an astronaut he has no idea about.

Yeah, she got them both wrapped around her finger, and Tommy finds he doesn't mind it one bit, hoping that maybe this is not only a second chance for Joel, but for him, too.

#alex writes tlou #the last of us #tlou #ellie and tommy #ellie and joel #ellie williams #joel miller #tommy miller #ficlet #fluff #hurt/comfort #look at me writing happy shit guys look at me go #consider this a little warm up #uncle tommy has me under control rn send help

[3-aem]

im so sorry you got hate :(

sending you free hugs if that’s okay! your art is the most fascinating I’ve seen, I’m serious. the strokes? the colours? i am deeply in love. you are amazing.

Thank you. This means a lot to hear rn.

EDIT 3. Since I felt peeved that someone was asking me to delete an old piece i actually did reach out to one of the artists (cannot currently figure out a way to contact the other). Permission was granted to keep it up.

I'm going to use this as an informal address of the issue if you do not mind. And i may delete it later.

Firstly i want it all to slide. I'm not a person who handles drama very well and I think I've already been made out to be some villain for some folks. I think there's already too much stink in the air but I'm here only to defend myself up to a line. This is long because I want to try and leave no stone unturned and cover all spots.

Skip to the bolded HERE for my direct address to that artist (skip my defense)

I do art for enjoyment. I enjoy when I learn. A crucial step for me has been learning from other artists. When I enjoy an artist or heavily reference their work I will call them out, credit them to the best of my ability. This is a track record you can observe. When I do not it's often because the reference is not exact, there reference was some generic pinterest pose/stock image esque/magazine esque photo, reverse image search and saucenao returned no hits (usually this means I am forced to link the pinterest instead).

I don't believe pose theft, pallette theft, concept theft is a thing, I think it's a form of gatekeeping and elitism but I will concede it can be a courtesy to call it out at will. Yet there are people who literally draw mannequin poses for share. If it inspires it inspires. I will not heavily debate this as I understand every artist feels differently about it but anyone in art understands implicitly the value of studying other art. Which is why I found that artist to be acting rather maliciously (*).

I know everything I've said thus far gets bungled when I start selling pieces and suddenly it appears I have a monetary incentive. Art does not pay my bills. The store is more so people who kept asking for those prints can get them. And I feel silly admitting this, but I only use the store promos on twitter to promo my piece (like on the timeline). It's a tactic I saw other artists using and i was like oh don't mind if i do too. It hurts my pride to admit. I do not make as much as anyone thinks I make and many Many prints do not sell. Inprnt takes half the earnings.

I personally upload almost every single piece so that I may purchase them or give them to friends. You will notice I do not have every single piece for public sale on store. There was an incident where a piece i did not intend to sell publicly was not rearchived and I failed to notice. I have a number of pieces up. The color schemes in a couple are very similar. Things get overlooked when you are not deliberately looking. Only two copies were sold during this time and if I had the option of knowing who bought it and how to issue a refund I would. I don't. I am sorry. This should not happen again.

HERE(*) I now want to address the way that artist framed their post and follow up discussions. First i take tremendous issue with the "big g*jo artist" lingo. My numbers do not dictate where i am as an artist and it is Absurdly infantile to think that bigger numbers means more mature, more seasoned, peak performance artist. I have worked years to get to where i am, and I am still working. I've complained about this. I've talked about this at length here on tumblr, how I get frustrated when I find myself stagnating skill wise, regressing. I don't understand how the thread could be so lost that this artist thinks I have made myself as an artist solely on a select few referenced pieces and that my goal is purely socmed growth.

Next, there's an impression that I blocked the artist on first contact. I did not. There was a full discussion where I brought up many similar arguments and when it reached the point where I no longer felt like any meaningful discussion could be had i made it clear I would be blocking but no hard feelings. It became clear at the end that the artist was truly just pressuring me to delete a couple Old pieces for what I assume was their own pleasure and to satisfy their righteous indignation. I did not and do not want to play that game.

Now the credit issue. There is a belief that I chose to issue credit on two pieces using a burner acct because i did not want that credit to be seen. As I mentioned these posts were old, specifically by 2 months. I post a lot. I have grown a lot in that time. There's a belief I don't feel shame for doing a poor credit job. I do. I feel tremendous guilt. I did not want those Pieces Themselves to be seen even if I refuse to delete (out of spite) If I had used my main art acct to reply there would be no doubt that those pieces would have be replaced onto the timeline and seen new traction, which would very much Not be the desired outcome. Was this the perfect solution, No. The perfect solution would be for me to have gotten the credit right the first time or update my standards for crediting to include the exceptions i listed at the start. The first part which I suspect is what is really being asked, is simply not possible though.

I apologize for those who may feel hurt re those two pieces. I mentioned this in my conversation with the artist that it was Not my intention to discredit, profit or hurt anyone. Obviously they left this out when they plainly said I blocked them and then liked a follow up comment that called me a coward.

This has been long. Thank you if you read all this. I will work to ensure nothing like this happens again.

#unfortunately bc i blocked or bc they blocked me back #i don't have receipts by tumblr wiped the message logs and I can't seem to get them back #also as a Very personal note #to bring this to my doorstep on christmas eve was fucking Foul of that artist #it put an immediate damper on my weekend #and the lack of consideration for the holidays when ppl are enjoying time with loved ones blows my mind. #so malicious #do not reblog

[satohqbanana]

News from the North

Summary: Ean gives Uthar the bad news from Shaenlir.

Note: I've no idea how to call this series. "Append"? "Expansion Pack"? "Characterization Patch"? Help. I might've used all my brain on trying to put more character for AV2 characters. (Either way, this is now part of my AV2 "AU".)

--

Despite how imposing its grey, stone walls seemed, Thais was very accommodating. Upon making their request, the armored men simply told Ean and Iya to go inside - a contrast to the strict and stuffy guards stationed in Shaenlir.

Even so, Ean rehearsed his request with Iya.

"You would then address him as, 'Your Highness'," Iya instructed. "Remember to be very polite. The royalty and the nobility are supposedly very sensitive about their titles."

"That's too many rules!" complained Rye, who walked behind them. "I'm sure the Prince of Thais would be more understanding. Time is of essence here and we can't waste that on worrying over how we say things!"

"Unfortunately, the rich are not lenient about such matters."

Rye disagreed again. Not wanting to further argue, Ean said, "Thank you for your concern, Rye, but I'd rather follow Iya's advice. She'd spent more time in a castle than either of us, so I trust her words."

"It's an emergency. Acting so formally makes the matter feel less urgent!"

The guard escorting them cleared her throat. The group quieted as they were led through a wide doorway and into a throne room not unlike the one in Shaenlir. In the middle of it marched a man in a regal purple cape, with a face and demeanor just like to the fancy stories of princes that Ean and Iya grew up on.

This man had to be Prince Uthar.

"Sire," said the guard as she knelt, "These travellers wish to speak with you."

Under Iya's directions, Ean's group bowed before the prince.

Contrary to Ean's expectations, the prince chuckled. "Must you be so formal? I feel as if I am meeting dignitaries!"

Ean's ears picked up on Rye's annoyed 'I told you so' and Iya's exasperated 'shut up', but those were not as important as the time the prince granted them.

"Your Highness, I, ahem, I beg your pardon. I come bearing grave news from Shaenlir."

The prince raised his hand. He commanded the guards in the room to leave at once. "What of this news?"

"The Queen of Shaenlir has, um, showed her true colors." Ean waited for any cues, but the prince did not show any change in his expression. "She has imprisoned your parents, the King and Queen of Thais, and her other guests in ice. She plans to take control of the kingdoms and take over the world. As proof, I, er, we present to you her adoptive daughter, Princess Iya… or, former Princess Iya, that is."

Iya made another curtsey. Uthar's brows furrowed as he eyed Iya.

"And I assume that the former princess was part of her schemes?" he clarified.

"Yes. Iya is my friend, and we come from the Vale. The Snow Queen sensed great potential in her and wanted her for her powers. I came to your world, to this realm to save her, but I was tasked by a crazy old woman to tell you about the Snow Queen's schemes."

"A 'crazy old woman', you say?"

"Yes. An old woman. She speaks in riddles. We met her in a decripit hut in the Northern Pass. She must be some form of sage, but I've no choice but to believe her."

"Does this old woman wear long green robes and tie her hair in a bun? And did she suddenly appear before you?"

"Yes, that's what she wore, and yes, she wore her hair akin to a-- Er, um, how do you know?"

The prince placed his fists over his hips and grinned. "It's a long story, but let's say my family has a long history with this woman."

He stepped away and chuckled. "Don't worry, my friend. Though your tale sounds tall, I believe you. We've had suspicions on the Snow Queen's activities for a long time, but we hadn't known when she would take action. Besides, she has rallied her forces along the main roads of the mainland. Trade has slowed, and so did the communication between kingdoms."

"You don't seem to be so worried, Sir… Sire."

"What happened to my parents, their acquaintances, and our allies is unfortunate, but it is a risk we had anticipated. Why don't you and your friends stay the night? You look quite weary."

Flustered, Ean shook his head and his hands. "Oh, no, we couldn't possibly--"

"Nonsense! Besides, I would like to hear more about the Snow Queen from her former daughter."

Ean turned around. Iya looked unsure, but she nodded nonetheless. Rye, on the other hand, look quite surprised.

"And what is your name, Good Sir?" asked Uthar.

"Ean, Sire."

"Ean." Uthar nodded and gave him a couple of reassuring pats on the shoulder. "Welcome to Thais."

Things went well better than expected.

--

Rye had warned Ean that the two of them would probably not share a table with the prince, but lo and behold, Uthar himself invited them to dinner. The servants behind him presented the two boys with clothes of such fine quality - even finer than the ones Ean had worn to sneak into the Snow Queen's castle.

Rye seemed ecstatic at first, but soon grew annoyed at the final layer of embroidered clothing he put over himself.

"This thing is made of my sisters' dreams!" he grumbled from the other side of the room. "Look at these gaudy colors!"

"I don't think it's too bad. Besides, it's just for one night."

"I'd rather be wearing armor. What even is the deal with the Prince and your girlfriend?" Ean would protest at the term, but Rye continued talking. "Why do we have to be included in their conversation?"

"Maybe he's just being polite."

"Too polite, too accommodating to us commoners. I think it's quite suspicious. He might want something from us."

"I don't think he'll be unreasonable."

"We'll see."

For someone who claimed he wanted to see the world, Rye seemed quite closed to the idea of sharing a meal with a person whose status was supposedly above his. Due to such a conflict, Ean figured Rye simply itched to be on the road again and was trying to vent his irritation somehow.

Someone knocked on their room, and Ean opened the door to a servant. He and Rye were led to a large hall with a large table, upon which were large covered plates.

"Took your guests long enough."

At the head of the table was Uthar, on his side were Iya and a man Ean did not recognize. This other man was taller, though thinner, than Uthar, but their faces were of a similar structure. Ean deduced them to be brothers and did a bow.

"We deeply apologize, Sire."

"Hmph."

"Pay no heed to my brother," said Uthar, "Come. Sit with your friend."

Ean took his seat next to Iya, and on his other side sat Rye. Uthar clapped and the servants uncovered platefuls of warm, aromatic food. Rye's annoyance faded as his stomach growled. First, he feigned disinterest, but his mouth watered anyway, so he resigned himself to his appetite's interest.

Ean, however, could not focus on the food.

As they started dining, Uthar introduced Ean's group to his brother, Nicolas. After which, Nicolas stared at Iya and began asking about her life in Shaenlir. She mentioned being locked up in the palace, but being pampered everywhere she went. A few more quips here and there, and soon all three of them were chuckling together.

Though he heard their voices, Ean understood nothing. Try as he might, he could not follow the conversation at all. Rye elbowed him and he lost his concentration.

"What?"

"You should try the fish. It's a solid 10 out of 10."

"I'm trying to listen."

"You don't have to."

"Why not?"

"Did you see the way Prince Nicolas looked at us? He'd rather we not be here."

"I don't think that's true. I think he was just surprised--"

Rye kicked his foot under the table. Ean jumped a little, and when Uthar took notice, Rye apologized for the slight commotion, using his own clumsiness as an excuse.

"Your companions could use a little more finesse," said Nicolas.

"Now, now. Let's not get distracted." Uthar said. "Milady, we were speaking of the layout of the palace."

As Iya and the princes resumed their conversation, Ean turned to Rye and lowered his voice even more.

"What was that for?"

"Did you see what the other prince do? He was talking to us, but indirectly. We're not welcome here, Ean, so finish your food before his patience runs too thin!"

"But I… Iya…"

"She'll be fine!"

Ean glanced at his childhood friend once again, and the pang in his heart grew. Of course - though she remembered him and cared for him, this was not the Iya he knew from the Vale.

This was a new Iya. Though incomplete in soul, her newfound confidence as a songstress allowed her to stand her ground and speak more firmly. Her radiance filled the room, outshining even the nice dress she wore. Here she was, enjoying the time of her life, having an easy conversation with two figures of authority in this realm.

Ean forced food into his mouth. His thoughts swirled.

Though he came here to bring her back, he reconsidered: was it any good to go back, at all? Back in the Vale, Iya's mother and grandmother would rather dote on their youngest. When Iya once failed to show her potential for singing, her family began to show favor for her sister instead. Iya shrank, constantly made mistakes, and eventually lost hope in herself - all because of the people she lived and grew up with.

In the Vale, she'd been nothing but miserable since that one spring. But here, where she was merely a stranger, people were way warmer towards her. Even the citizens of Shaenlir, though her princesshood had been a falsehood, had nothing but praise for her.

Would Iya want to be here or there? He did not know, but he had no reason to stay in this realm. Furthermore, since he'd given Prince Uthar the news, the group should be on their way to find the nymphs.

"…an. Ean. EAN!"

The loud, deep voice rang in the hall. Ean snapped back to reality and looked around. Seeing everyone's eyes on him, he flushed in his seat.

"S-sorry, what can I help you with?"

Uthar chuckled, and the tension eased. "Ean, my good Sir, I was asking you how you find the food."

"…it's…" Should he be truthful, or should he lie a little? "It's not like what we eat at home."

"My, my, a little homesick, are you?"

Nicolas covered his mouth, but the motions on his shoulders betrayed his snickering.

"I'm afraid my brother has a little proposition that would further your homesickness," Uthar explained. "Iya here mentioned that you are looking for the nymphs. I wouldn't know where they are, but since you're on the road anyway, we'd like you to take a detour for us."

"…yes?"

"Since your group arrived here after escaping her forces, Nicolas presumes that you and you friends can sneak around the mainland and send a letter for us."

"A letter? For whom?"

"For Princess Ella IV of Candar. The way is up north, and while it is littered by pesky thieves and brigands, I'm sure they'll be willing to direct you to an alternate route once you exchange something of value with them… or if you beat them up hard enough."

Uthar winked slyly. Ean winced. Then again, those who communicated with violence supposedly accepted some form of violence as well.

"Excuse me, Your Highness…es," said Rye, who raised a hand, "But why would you have us do it, instead of your own men?"

"Oh, peasant, you know nothing of how we royalty work," Nicolas answered - an answer Rye frowned at.

"Nicolas." Uthar glared at the younger prince, though Nicolas only slowly averted his gaze and kept smirking. The older prince then clarified, "What he means is that, you can consider it a little test. You did come from the Snow Queen's palace, and while you did meet with that one certain crazy old woman, we have enough reason to be suspicious of you."

Ean was unsure if he agreed, but Iya had different thoughts. "I'm sorry we can't present concrete proof of our story. Ah! Maybe there is one, Uthar. I received a song sphere from the old woman. Would you like to examine it?"

"I don't know if we could count that as proof, but I would never turn down a chance to examine a mage's weapon."

Uthar's brother agreed.

Ean turned to Rye, who slumped against the table, grumbling, "I will never understand why my sisters ever dreamed of getting married to princes."

The elf shook his head.

"Well?"

Ean turned again to Uthar.

"What do you say? Will you run this little errand for us?"

It's just a letter. It's nothing big. They might probably find what they're looking for on the way there.

"…sure. We could do that."

#anne's av2 au? #anne's av2 au #annelaurant writing #av2 #aveyond

[eyesophile]

archeyeved: " i had to ! i had to do it , martin ! " voice lifted if only for a brief moment , anger rose it colored cheeks and flooded the archivist with warmth . " i've felt helpless ever since this all started ! they tortured me , kidnapped me , kept me in the dark i didn't … i didn't know what was happening they strung me along . " jon felt breath hitch as eyes glittered , staring at his partner . " she deserved it . " the severity of those last few words were spat from sharp tongue . and it was because he was so unsure , did he do the right thing ? what was the right thing anymore . at this point , he was trying to convince himself . a flinch as if physically struck . and there it was , really . martin was of course correct and it brought back the insecurity felt by his choice . martin was not protected , they could have gone another way and because of this fork in the road his partner was hurt . physically , emotionally . and he had every right to be . none of the excuses justified what was done . and when martin asked him to stop , he did . he grew quiet for the time being . they needed to move , the air was still thick with smoke . every breath was becoming uncomfortable but first he wanted to see the wound . after a few hesitant moments , martin held out his forearm . with a sigh , sounding exasperated he chided he other with a curt martin . and managed to reach out grasping his hand , gently moving it further up exposing the skin there . and the scarring that had clearly healed over years previous . a quick intake of breath as gaze shifts upward to look martin in the eye . " martin i… what is this ? " a bit breathless , chest tightened because now , even without the knowing . even though the information tickled along the back of his neck whispering effortlessly into his ear use me use me use me jon knew . recalling the reaction given to going through fire of course ! of course it was terrifying but martin had a fantastical reaction didn't he ? and wasn't his mother .. the information was there , the rest of it but he didn't look despite the desperation to do so. he just ..he knew . " oh god martin i'm so sorry . " the apology was strangled . " i didn't know , i never .. i didn't put it together - you told me not to use the beholding and i didn't . i won't . i just .. i should have known . "

it's strange, how something like the archivist losing his temper could actually serve to make martin feel less emotional himself. but jon is always so unflappable that it's almost a comfort to see him react at all, and for a moment ...martin's hurt and frustration and fear ebb to give way for at least some understanding. jude perry hadn't used him; not really. not for anything more than a moment of cruel amusement. she hadn't known about elias' grand scheme - she'd been the same as any of them, really: just another cog in his apocalypse machine. ...but she'd hurt jon when he'd felt his most powerless, when he'd been pleading for answers from entities that would have been just as happy to see him dead as anything else. of course he'd wanted to hurt her back, now that he finally had the power to do so.

...but if he needed to hurt martin in order to do it ...then was it really worth it to him?

what is this? the archivist asked in something that sounded like only the shadow of an actual breath, and martin immediately snatched his arm back as though it had been burned for a second or evidently third time. a tic settled into the blonde's jaw as it clenched, his other arm coming up to unconsciously cradle its scarred partner. he watched from behind a defensive expression as the other's all-seeing eyes worked, as his overflowing mind seemed to puzzle out the connections, and then -- I didn't know. and suddenly his defensiveness flares into something hotter and uglier.

" -- you shouldn't have had to!! " he bites back, perhaps somewhat unfairly. despite that, his words fly like artillery fire. " -- I shouldn't need to have some-some unshared trauma for you to listen to me when I tell you that I'm scared, jon! when I tell you that I hate something, or-or that I don't want to do something, that should be enough! if it's not something that we absolutely have to do, then that should be enough. "

his voice sounds strangled in his own throat, and martin can feel the hot threat of tears burning behind his eyes, so he casts them down and away from the archivist in a vie for some semblance of control. he's curled in on himself, feeling ...for the first time in nearly a year, like that self-same pathetic child groveling for the love of someone who was supposed to give it innately, to be able to care for him without conscious effort. and hating it more than he could possibly put into words. he attempted to swallow the lump quickly swelling up to fill his throat, but his voice sounded even more damnably weak when he tried again.

" ...it's not like I don't get why you felt like you needed it, jon. but if you had to choose between revenging yourself on her and sparing me ...all th-that. ...then was her death really worth it? ...or was it just that ...I-I'm worth so much less?" the last word was choked, like the noose of his emotions had finally slipped taut around his throat, and any further attempts at speech would only result in the garroting of his composure altogether.

#[ I read “immediately” and understood “a week from now” lmao ] #archeyeved

[29pageshomestuckeveryday]

Homestuck, page 2,343

Kanaya: Answer CA.

Author commentary:

Get ready for this awful child. The obnoxious, romantically tragic, genocidal fuckboy of the group. It should be a familiar online archetype to most by now. Earlier I referred to Nepeta as being somewhat a writeup of the enthusiastic fandom type, which could be summarily branded as the "Tumblr fangirl." And in that sense, she reads as a less focused rough draft of Calliope, who brought more clarity to that role later. So thinking in those terms, you could also view Eridan as a writeup of the "4chan nastyboy," and therefore an unfocused draft of Caliborn, who similarly distilled that role. I think there's a lot to say about Eridan, particularly as a raw precursor to that villainous presence in the story later. I'll wait until he's on-screen before diving into that, though. Just setting up here! You've been warned.

The fact that Eridan's being so loose with strange romantic terms is how you know we're getting awfully close to the troll romance info dump. It's like a Geiger counter that's starting to beep like crazy. Eridan has something in common with Karkat in that he appears well versed in the subject of romance. Later we see that, even though they don't like each other much, they sort of act like "bros" when it comes to this subject. However, Karkat treats the subject more academically, with a sort of hobbyist's enthusiasm, and seems to carry a certain respect for the knowledge. Whereas Eridan clearly tries to exploit his knowledge of romance to his advantage, behaves manipulatively, sort of in the vein of a pickup artist (and a very unsuccessful one at that). We detect signs of this here. His entire scheme with the doomsday device appears to have more to do with roping Vriska into a blackrom relationship than it does with his interest in wiping out land dwellers (still a valid motivation, but secondary to his sad romantic pursuits). He also uses his romantic insights to manipulate people in other ways, even if he's not trying to court them. Like pinning Kanaya down as a natural auspistice and using it to get her to set him up with Vriska. Maybe even "mediate" between them, since that's what she apparently likes to do with Vriska anyway. In fact, the more you unpack what he's doing here, if you understand the ashen quadrant, the more it actually seems like he is hitting on Kanaya, with kind of a backdoor approach. He's proposing a menage-a-clubs, with him and Vriska. He literally never stops working all possible angles to fill his quadrants.

The only reason I made him say "powwwwoww" is because I wanted to type four w's in a row. This should be obvious to everyone. It's worth pausing here to behold how completely ridiculous Eridan's entire verbal existence is, when you take into account his silly double w/v quirk, which conveys an absurd "accent" of some sort, his run-on cadence, unyieldingly indignant tone, and colorful vocabulary that feels like a baffling mashup of pirate speak, soccer hooliganism, and the fuckboy joker always sliding into your DMs. His eclectic vocabulary and obsession with romance means that we suddenly get this whole rush of quadrant vernacular we hadn't heard before. Which is pretty intriguing on a worldbuilding basis, to start picking up how many average trolls probably allude to each other's romantic habits in casual conversation. Things like being "ruddy" for someone, or waxing this way or that. There's a whole manner of speaking about this stuff that can only be picked up through enough exposure to contextual banter.

Okay, "savvvvy" was just another excuse to type four v's in a row. Calling myself out here at every turn. "Being a kid and growing up. It's hard and nobody understands" is another Homestuck tagline. I'm just going to keep making note of these when I see them. They will always do one of the following: 1) reference dying too much 2) address the difficulties of growing up 3) involve the fact that nobody ever really knows what the hell is going on 4) insinuate in some way that I am a buffoon, a liar, a sadist, or a megalomaniacal genius, or 5) all of the above. In fact, this entire note can be a tagline too.

#gif #pesterlog

[rileys-battlecats]

I was rewatching your Mudlore PMVs and I noticed a pattern in regards to colour. So I wanted to ask about it.

In the Johnny animatic, everything is monochromatic. Mudpaw is being mistreated by his mentor while the other apprentices find his stash of mutilated birds, which he uses to cope with his anger.

The Garden has the same monochrome colour scheme, once again focusing on Mudpaw dealing with Wrentail’s abuse and ultimately killing him.

But in Able, there’s colour. You’ve mentioned before that Able was more of just a fun thing than something to further build the lore, but I thought it was interesting how there was suddenly colour. And although it takes place in a dream, for a bit in that dream, Mudpaw has the upper hand. He dreams of killing Wrentail, of showing him what it’s like to be attacked in a place you’re supposed to feel safe. So, I’m probably looking too much into this again, but so far in the PMVs there has only ever been colour when Mudpaw feels in control.

This colour never appears in the garden though. Everything is the the same as it’s always been when he attacks his abuser, when he acts out what he’s been dreaming of for so long. It doesn’t go like he hoped, and in the end he doesn’t feel better. There are no colours of victory to accompany Wrentail’s death. In fact, it’s darker than it’s ever been. (I know it’s nighttime but still)

And in the omen PMV, even when his clanmates are paying attention to him, when Wrentail is gone, and when he has had a little time to process, it still remains the same. He doesn’t feel better for doing what he did.

He says it himself in the anger issues sneak peak, “everything should be perfect right? I should be happy now.”

(To be clear I’m not trying to say the monochrome colour scheme is bad in any way, not at all. It’s really pretty and I adore the way you shade with it, and how easy it is to tell who everyone is despite it. It’s super awesome :D)

This is an absolutely lovely interpretation of the videos!! It may not be exactly what I was planning as I was making them, but I love the idea!!

It's so cool to hear people's interpretation of the videos and their meaning; art is one of my favorite things because people can have completely different ideas about what a piece can mean, and then you can exchange ideas and see a little piece of someone else's worldview and how their brain works and makes connections. Not to say your idea here is off-base or anything, to the contrary, it just demonstrates how good of an understanding of the story you have!! I never even considered this aspect of color vs lack of color in the videos, but it really fits!!

I think I love the process of visual storytelling because of how open it is to interpretation; it's just!! super neat to hear people's thoughts!! I'm sorry I completely devolved into Why I Love Art but your ask made me think of this aspect of my favorite thing and I wanted to write about it :') thank you for sharing your thoughts!!

#ask #mudlore #the truth is that I just Really Love Monochrome #fun fact: the snooty art term is actually 'achromatic' #because 'monochrome' refers to 'one color' #so you can have a monochrome red art work #or a monochrome blue #but when there is zero color #it's achromatic :) #I only learned that a few years ago and it blew my mind lol #rye.txt

[the-nagakenny-archives]

I'm shy but I tried writing something hope you like it

One last sip of coffee and two stomps to properly secure his boots, and the Gravity Falls Weirdness Expert was out the door.

  It was on a particularly sunny, clear day that found Stanford once again out in the field for a little catch up on his studies. The past week had been uneventful within the confines of his basement, as if the world was allowing him time to compile the numerous foot notes and sketches of his latest findings into a fairly cohesive summary within the first few pages of his second journal. Nights and afternoons were spent humming over words that didn't quite flow, and cross referencing facts he had uncovered with rumors that fell deaf upon all ears but his. Lovely as the quiet had been, seven days was more than enough time to stay cooped up in a research shack when there was plenty more to discover.

  Stanford cupped a hand around his ear and listened. A woodpecker pecked away at its hole in a birch, determined for an early breakfast. Not too far from there, a squirrel skittered along branches, hoping for an acorn meal of its own. A gnome tutted at a rainbow puddle, helping its reflection pick at its latest zit.

  All sounded normal, the scientist regarded with a deep sigh of disappointment. It was uncommon to not have something completely new to marvel over. Were it not for the gnome, one wouldn't know that they were in Gravity Falls at all. It was all so peaceful and Oregonian. Perhaps the world was still holding its breath over more important things to come. Perhaps it didn't quite realize that Stanford was more than ready to jump back into the weird and the wild.

  Four more minutes of strolling and listening, Stanford was just beginning to consider going into town to replenish his supplies when he finally spotted an unusual subject he'd been craving.

  A long, long, long snake tail hung from below the branches of a bright red leafed tree. The tip, maroon and tan in color, swung slowly and rhythmically back and forth, like the tick and tock of a pendulum on a grandfather clock. Stanford's wide eyes traveled up the tail to see the colors recede to darker browns in circled patterns as the mass grew thicker the higher his gaze climbed. Whatever was up there, the leaves could only do so much to completely cover it. It had to be massive.

The first, most obvious thought that came to his head was Python, but he quickly dismissed it. Pythons were not native to Oregon, certainly not one of this length at the very least. Except, this was Gravity Falls, where the only acceptable thing was to accept the unacceptable. Even so, a Python, even one as gigantic as this, seemed too...ordinary for the town's infamy. He'd made it this far by thinking outside the box, so what else could possible have a snake tail of this capacity?

It hit him, and he had to choke back a gasp of delight. "A naga! An actual naga!" The whispered excitement seemed especially piercing in the quiet of the early morning, but he was too elated to care. This was exactly what he had been waiting for to break what had started as a monotonous walk in the woods. Patting at his breast pocket for a pen and paper, he wracked his brain for what little he knew about these creatures. From what he remembered, the bottom half was always a snake, while the top half-

  "Well, hello."

  Stanford yelped and juggled his pen for two seconds before he composed himself enough to acknowledge that he was not alone. Clutching his pen holding hand to his chest to steady his heartbeat, he replied hesitantly, "Hello?"

  A deep, throaty chuckle seemed to echo all across the canopy of trees, a pleasant sound, but not very becoming of his nerves. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. You just looked so excited, I got a little curious."

  It wasn't hard to put two and two together. "I...should've realized that nagas were intelligent enough to understand human speech." Stanford cleared his throat, the thrill at the thought of another research subject spurring him on. "After all, if I'm getting my facts straight, your top halves are-"

Even if he had hypothesized it, he was not at all prepared for the sight that awaiting him. Slowing winding down from the thick branches was the top half of the naga; human in shape, and far more handsome than he could've imagined. Barrel chested with long chestnut hair, soulful brown eyes twinkling with mischief, and a long nose that only seemed to complete his features all the better. The naga's mouth curled into a playful smirk at Stanford's beguiled expression.

  "Impressed? Understandable. Not every day you run into someone like me, am I right?" He twisted his upper half upside down so that his long hair hung down in a wave of brown, barely tickling the grass beneath him.

  Stanford regained just enough sense to formulate a response. "Why, er, no, certainly not...hardly ever!" His excitement renewed, he clicked his pen and resumed reaching for some paper. "You must tell me everything about you!" His grin was all teeth.

  "Well, first thing's first, how about an introduction?" The naga said with no small amount of amusement. "My name's Kenneth. Call me Kenny."

  "Ah, yes, of course." Stanford shook his head and held out a six fingered hand. "Stanford Pines. Resident Researcher of Gravity Falls Phenomena. Pleasure to meet you, Kenny." Much to his delight, the Naga extended the red tip of his tail to shake with. "So fascinating! Your girth alone would take a whole page to describe! But more about that later; I must know all about your culture!" He set his pen to paper, waiting with baited breath and still beaming.

  Kenny returned the smile gleefully. "Well, I'm partial to smooth jazz, but I can't say no to samba. Oh, and don't get me started on-" The naga's rambles were cut short by Stanford's throat clearing.

  "Um, as stimulating as that is, I was hoping to do my research on your species as a whole."

  Kenny quirked an eyebrow. "Gonna need to clear me up on that."

  Stanford nodded patiently. "Well, it could be things like, what your diet consists of. Is English the most common language among your kind? Wouldn't a jungle be more befitting for a body such as yours? What natural abilities do you harbor, if any? How did-"

  "Ep, ep, ep!" Kenny, to Stanford's slight indignation, placed a finger to his lips, interrupting his little question vomit. "I think it'd be better to answer one at a ti-" The naga's eyes seemed to glint for a moment. "What was that last question?"

  Stanford pushed the finger off his lips to answer, "Um, what natural abilities do you harbor?"

  The glint returned, and the scientist knew that he'd seen a look like that many times before. Usually it was on his brother as he was hatching one of his harebrained schemes, one that would more than likely leave the two of them grounded, in body casts, or both.

  Suddenly wary, Stanford stuttered, "Um, actually, perhaps you could tell me about your diet-"

  "No, no, no! This is a question I know I can answer!" Kenny's voice took on a musical lilt, the sound of it somehow easing just a little of Stanford's reluctance. Besides, hadn't he wanted to study more creatures?  This was a rare opportunity, and the naga had offered. Stanford could always put out any potential fire with the extinguisher he'd hidden in one of the nearby trap doors.

  "Well, alright, what are your abilities?"

  Kenny's smirk returned in full force, and Stanford suppressed the urge to cringe. He was doing this for science, he reminded himself. For science.

  "Well, you see, Stanford...can I call you Ford?"

  "Oh, uh, yes."

  "Well, Ford, us nagas all have one very special ability in common." Kenny chuckled, the force of it rippling all across his coils winding around the branches. Stanford watched, mesmerized at the browns and tans that ebbed and flowed like an ocean of coils.

  "Ah, ah, ah. Eyes over here." Kenny's tail tip gently turned Ford's eyes back to his, amusement coloring his tone.

  Ford blinked himself out of his stupor. "Yes. Sorry. You were saying?"

  "Weeell, nagas have a very useful, very fun ability we just love to use." Kenny sang.

  Ford instinctively leaned closer, now more curious than nervous. "And that is?"

  "This."

  A ring of yellow gently emerged and flowed outward from the center of Kenny's eyes. Then came orange. Then green. Then blue. Back to yellow. Orange. Green. Blue. Yellow.

  Ford gasped softly at the display. "Enchanting." He breathed. "How on earth are you doing...that with...with your...y-your eyes...?" Odd. It was getting a little hard to speak the longer he observed them. His brain would form thoughts, but the patterns would compel them to swirl away into a silvery mist. Some thoughts would reach his mouth, but his tongue was becoming heavy and useless, like he'd downed a whole bottle of red mulled wine.

  Kenny smiled softly, nodding with satisfaction at the colors emerging in his volunteer's eyes. "Magic. Although I've been told by a friend that it's slightly more complicated than that. But what matters is, it feels nice, right?"

  "Y-Yes...it does..." Stanford sighed his agreement, the hand holding his pen going slack at his side. It really was the most wonderful feeling, like any care or worry that had ever crossed his mind just didn't matter anymore. The weight of expectations and responsibilities lifted off his shoulders, and in their place was an intense feeling of relaxation and peace, welcoming him to their cozy little world of lovely colors and rippling coils.

  Ford giggled curiously. "Wazzz...wh-what's...happening?" He should have been writing this down and asking more pressing questions, but his brain may as well have been cotton by this point. Everything felt soft and warm and good.

  Kenny giggled back. "Jussst a taste of my abilities, like you wanted." He tilted his head. Ford's own head followed, glued to his eyes. "You're looking a little sleepy. How bout' a little nap?"

  "Nnn...nap...?" Ford blinked sluggishly, the word sparking a flash of recognition to reignite his sleep addled brain."H-Hold on...jus' a..." It took a painful amount of effort and willpower, so much that his eyes watered, but Ford managed to tear his eyes away from the hypnotic spectacle, taking a moment to rub the drowsy out of them.

  "I...what just..?" He was dazed and dizzy. But he knew just enough to figure that he had to keep his eyes covered.

  Kenny blinked away his hypnosis, startled by the rare show of resistance from a subject. There were few who could resist when they were that far under, but Ford just made the very short list. Even so, he wasn't completely out of the park yet, if his sleepy ramblings were any indication.

  "Aww, hey, what's wrong?" Kenny kept his voice gentle, but couldn't suppress some amusement either. "I thought you wanted to know all about the abilities of the nagas?" He tilted his head, feigning hurt.

  "Of...of course I do, but..." Ford turned away from where he heard the voice, having enough sense to cover his eyes with his arms, but not enough to remember how close he was to Kenny's tree. "I...I need to be-OOF!" He smacked right into it, the shock enough to snap him out of the spell completely.

  He shook the swirls and cobwebs from his head, gritting his teeth and focusing on the pain. "You..." He turned back to where he thought Kenny was, eyes shut tight and pointing accusingly. "You tried to hypnotize me!"

  "Wrong way." The voice to his left snorted playfully.

  Red in the face more from embarrassment than anger, Ford turned in the proper direction. "What do you intend to do, use me as some sort of thrall?! Easy slave labor?!"

  Kenny clapped. "Ha! Much more original than any accusations of eating people! But no." Ford heard a rustling of leaves to his right, and he flinched backwards, into a mass of coils that propped around his shoulders like a friendly arm. "You asked me what nagas could do. I was just showing you the works."

  Stanford stubbornly remained angry. "You could've just told me! Or I could've watched you do it on a gnome, or...I don't recall giving you consent to hypnotize me!"

  Kenny held up his hands in a placating gesture(that Stanford could not see). "Easy there, Ford! You're saying you didn't like it?"

  Ford sputtered indignantly. "I...that's besides the point! I'm doing this for science, not for a...a nap! Can you imagine how many hours of precious research time I'll lose if I sleep?!"

  To his surprise, Kenny's voice took on the slightest bit of concern. "Um, when was the last time you slept?"

  Once again caught off guard, Ford had to gather his thoughts and take a deep breath to answer calmly. "I can handle not sleeping for a few days. What I can't handle is how the world moves on with or without me. Every second of every minute of every hour, something is happening. Creatures to catalogue, reports to write, disputes to diverge! I'm going to change the world with this project! I'll sleep when I'm dead!" Ford had forgotten what calm was by the end of his tirade.

  Still with that aggravating concern he'd often heard from his mother, brother, and Fiddleford, Kenny tutted and gave Ford's shoulders a little squeeze with his coils.

  "That's no way to go, buddy. Everyone needs sleep. Even life changers like you."

  "We're getting off subject." Ford gritted his teeth, trying to breathe evenly. "You showed your ability. Thank you. I'll write all about it in my next volume. Now leave me alone." Eyes still shut, Ford ducked under the coils and felt around for the paper he had dropped during his little spell. Kenny's tail curled around his right wrist, as though dejected by the lack of attention. The six fingered scientist yanked his hand away, cursing quietly when he dropped the pen it'd been holding. "I mean it, Kenny. I've had enough." He snapped.

  "Oh, but you really haven't."

  Maybe it was the cockiness with which the naga said it, but Ford couldn't withhold his curiosity. "What do you mean?"

  "I mean, that I'd only just begun, and you'd only barely felt the full effects of a naga's powers. You resisted, and that just sent everything off kilter. Imagine how much info you could write about if you only knew what it's really like to be hypnotized by a real naga?" Kenny studied his own hands smugly, feigning nonchalance and hoping the anticipation didn't show on his face. He needed a new cuddle buddy after all.

  Wait. Ford's eyes were still closed. What did Kenny have to worry about?

  Ford crossed his arms, tapping a finger against his jacket. Kenny was just using promises of scientific discovery as a lure for another hapless victim, that's all this was.

  Regardless, he did have to know something. "Why do you even want to hypnotize me, anyway? It can't just be because you think I need sleep." Ford huffed.

  Kenny shrugged(Ford could STILL not see it). "I just wanted a cuddle. The fact that you need sleep is serendipitous."

  Stanford had lost count of how many times this naga had had him completely flustered. "That's...that's why you...huh?"

  "Of course! It's what I do. And no, it's not really a naga thing. It's just a Kenny thing." The naga laughed.

  Ford found himself letting his guard down a little at the confession. "That's...really all there is to it?"

  "Mm-hm!" Kenny nodded confidently. "Besides, is losing a few hours to the best sleep you'll ever have really that bad? Think of the discoveries you're missing out on!"

  "W-Well, no, but...cuddle with you? I mean, that's just...uh..." Darn it, he was thinking of the discoveries! What could he be missing by resisting such power? Was sleep all that would happen? Could he dream under the effects of naga hypnosis? How long could a human like himself last before he gave in?

  The questions were leaking through the dam of resistance in his brain. It wasn't long before they'd break free. Not only that, but...it's not like anyone would know about this. There was no one around this area but him and Kenny. Losing a bit of dignity for a few hours couldn't be too bad, could it?

  Slowly, Ford allowed his crossed arms to leave his side. He knelt to the ground, feeling around for a good place to sit.

  "I'll take that as a 'Go ahead'?" Kenny couldn't hide his excitement.

  Hands patting a particularly soft mound of earth, Ford grunted and set himself into an upright sitting position, legs splayed. "Don't try anything stupid." He warned, determined to have as much control over this bizarre circumstance as he could.

  "No problem at all." Kenny giggled. "Now, how 'bout you open your eyes, first."

  Reluctantly, Ford slowly pried his eyes open, squinting against the light of mid-morning. Blinded, it took five seconds for his eyes to adjust the many colors of the day.

  But then, he realized, it wasn't the day he was looking at. It was a now familiar sight of oranges and yellows and...he could barely keep track. They were going at a steady rate, but when he thought he could pick out one color, that one would fade into another, and another, and another...

  Ford squinted, still stubbornly wanting to remain in control. Who said he couldn't monitor the scientific intonations in his head, after all? That way he could do research on the naga's hypnosis without losing any time to useless pastimes like sleeping.

  The colors are reaching a familiar pattern. They ebb and flow like tides of the ocean. One disappears, only to appear just when you've forgotten it existed. Incredible. Dazzling. So very...focus! I hear something. A voice...a song...birds? No. Smoother. Kenny? Is it a lullaby? Trying to make it more challenging? Do your worst. I'm not...sleepy...at...all...Beautiful...So pretty...FOCUS!

  Kenny watched, patiently awaiting Ford's lapse into sleep. One second his swirling eyes would droop, the next they would spring back up as he caught himself growing drowsy. Even when Kenny began to hum a gentle, lulling tune, Ford was putting up a good fight. But if the bags under his eyes told him anything, it was that he really needed a siesta.

  Right. Time for a little coiling.

  Noises of the forest are...fading...easier to focus on Kenny's voice...all that matters...wait. No. I was...I can't...sleep now...not yet...Focus on...ability...

  Getting harder...to fight...melatonin trigger perhaps...so sleepy...yes, must be...mela...the stuff that...makes you...sleep...eyes make it...easy...to sleep...using...colors...lovely colors...

  ...?

  Feeling...heavy...around...waist...

  Indeed, a coil was just starting to inch its way around Ford's abdomen, squeezing in especially tense areas and loosening any aches and pains he had been feeling just seconds before. Around and around the tail went, carefully pinning his arms to his sides, just enough to restrain, not enough to alarm or hurt. The tip continued on upward, reaching over his chest, feeling his slow, steady heartbeat. When the tail reached his shoulders, Kenny used his impressive strength to gently tilt Ford backwards, lying him on the ground, and making sure his hypnotic eyes were always in view.

  ...Warm...Blanket...? No...coils...? So...sleepy...Why was...I...fighting...?

  Kenny grinned over the helpless state Ford was in. His mouth hung open, his lids were periodically shutting and opening out of sync over his still swirling eyes, and his upper body was all wrapped up in his coziest coils. Still, even after all that effort, Ford looked like he need just one more little push. A nudge in the right direction.

  Kenny slowly, slowly, slowly pulled him into the air, so that he hung suspended over the ground, legs dangling with the direction he swayed in. Another loop of coils around his body, and Stanford was covered neck to toe in the warm embrace of a naga hug.

  ...Being..held...so...wonderful...

  Eyes lidded so low he could barely see Kenny's, Ford moaned softly at the sensations of his predicament. He couldn't remember why he had bothered fighting. Actually, he couldn't remember anything outside of his euphoric drowsiness and coil cocoon. Even then, Kenny noticed that his eyes hadn't closed just yet. Continuing his hummed lullaby, Kenny gave the coiled mass a little push, giving it a rocking effect.

  ...back...forth...back...forth...sleepy...so...sleepy...

  I'm...

  Falling...

  Falling...

  F...a...l...l...i...n...g...

  Gentle snores emerged from the cocoon, and Kenny sighed with satisfaction. "That wasn't so bad, was it now?" The tip of his tail closed Ford's mouth, where the snores turned into deep breathing. The coils gradually shifted from horizontal to vertical, so that his cheek was comfortably rested against his scaly bonds.

  Kenny ran a hand through Ford's brown hair, smiling with his usual mischief. "You wouldn't mind sharing your results when you wake up, would you?"

---submitted by b120583

OOC: I love this! :'3 Always nice to see a character like Ford in a situation like this <3

#submission #ask-nagakenny #story #gravity falls #hypnosis #coils

[maxirueee]

AU Alberu's POV as the experimented Beru

Alberu: Cale?

Cale: ...nggh..yes?

Cale rubs his eyes as he tried to open them slowly only to see his lover looking right at him with a nervous expression.

Alberu: I suddenly had a bad dream.

Cale: It's literally 3am in the morning.

Alberu: mm..yea- well *fidgeting*

Cale: Spit it out. What was your bad dream about Beru?

Alberu: DON'T CALL ME THAT ANYMORE- PLEASE just please I'm begging you...

Cale was in deep shock that his lover raised his voice at him just because of what? He called him by his nickname?

Cale: Didn't you tell me multiple times that I should stop calling you 'hyung' when we finally got together?

Alberu: I-its not that.. I just-

Cale: Tell me what's wrong Beru.

Alberu: THAT'S the PROBLEM.

Cale: Which is??

Alberu: That nickname, in my dream I was suddenly trapped in a flat boxed screen, I couldn't move but all I could do was smile. Smiling while looking towards the horizon which seemed endless. White. Blank.

ALberu: After a few minutes I suddenly heard voices. At first, there were a lot of compliments about how radiant I loo-

Cale: Are you even sure that's a bad dream?

Alberu: Yeah it is a bad dream!

Cale: Aren't you just totally flaunting how good-looking you are? You're srsly waking me up in the middle of the night because of this? I'm going back to slee-

Alberu: I SWEAR THAT'S NOT IT!

Cale looks back at Alberu who had a look of desperation. Cale couldn't distinguish if what he's seen rolling down the face of his beloved was sweat or tears. Maybe both. Well, he might as well comfort his lover since that was his job. Alberu: I heard giggles, squeals, people were shrieking with how I finally appeared. They kept saying that I looked so dazzling, how I sparkled. They were even speaking the same annoying lines that you tell me every time with your glib tongue.

Cale: Whatever do you mean oh shining sun of the Roan Empi-

Alberu: My point exactly *glaring at Cale*

Cale: Alright go on.

Alberu: It went on for days, I couldn't tell how long I was trapped in that frame-like screen window, all of a sudden I reverted back to my dark elf form.

Cale continues to stare at him, already feeling bored as he watched Alberu continue ranting his struggle of a mere dream. Although he found it amusing as he heard him say the next lines.

Alberu: But it didn't stop there, my hair color suddenly changed to a blood-red color just like yours Cale. I was the spitting image of you. And the voices agreed on how we really are sworn brothers if we just switched hair colors.

Cale: Hoh...

'There must be something more to this if it actually made the emperor of the Roan Kingdom have buckets of sweat rolling down his pretty face.'

Alberu: It was until I heard somebody say, 'How about a Pink Haired Beru?'

Cale: Huh?

Alberu: My hair color immediately changed to pink, then sky blue, then green, then orange, then red again. I didn't know when it'd stop but I couldn't even budge. Even when I wanted to so bad.

Alberu looked dead straight in Cale's eyes, with both his hands firmly holding his partner's shoulders, but ironically he was shaking. Alberu Crossman was shaking in fear. For what reason? Is this another one of the Sun God's pranks to his lover? Perhaps it was the God of Death again? He continues to ponder at the annoying thought that maybe divine beings were messing around his precious people again but stopped as Alberu continued speaking his worries.

Alberu: I thought it was okay since it was just a hair color change..then a woman's voice asked with great anticipation, "HOW ABOUT A BALD AND A MOHAWKBERU?"

Alberu: I continued to smile, even when my luscious golden blonde hair was instantly gone and I was suddenly bald. BALD! I saw numerous hearts floating in front of me and I could hear the mockery and laughter of beings I could not even see. Yet I continued to smile.

Cale was speechless.

Alberu: For some reason, I could read the words floating in front of me. "EVERYBODY GIVE IT UP FOR THE ROAN KINGDOM'S FAVORITE SHINING SUN- BALDBERU" is what it said. More hearts appeared at a scary rate and I couldn't even shout or move. I was terrified.

Alberu glared at the person in front of him like a mad man. Cale just shut up and listened to whatever he said, Alberu really looked mental.

Alberu: The woman from a while ago spoke again, I swear her voice was scary beyond belief. She added "Okay everybody hold up- Now imagine DELINQUENT HAIRCUT AlBERU"

Alberu: My hair suddenly grew back twice as much and it was styled into this weird looking hairdo...

Cale continued to have his stoic face which made Alberu feel relieved. Little does he know Cale was on the verge of laughing his ass off-

ALberu: I suddenly heard "JOSUBERU I CAN'T WITH THIS FANDOM- YA'LL REALLY DID IT U PUNKS" again from that mortifying woman since earlier, apparently it was done by a group of people claiming to be my fans?! BUT THE MONSTROSITY THEY'VE- no that wasn't even half of it

Cale: 'There's actually more?! PFFFFFT' I see, continue then. The prince saw his darling sweetheart Cale shaking as if he was sympathizing with what he was going through. At that very moment, he felt touched by his lover's empathy towards himself.

Alberu: The horrors didn't end just there as I was still waiting for the whole nightmare to be over, they were begging for a 'Voldeberu' which I don't even understand, at that point, I SUDDENLY LOST MY NOSE!!

I WAS BALD AGAIN AND MY NOSE DISAPPEARED YET I WAS STILL SMILING. I HAVE NEVER FELT SO MUCH FEAR IN MY LIFE.

Alberu: Somebody then proposed a 'Clowberu' AND MY FACE SUDDENLY BECAME A CLOWN WEARING MAKEUP. The hardships I had to take while staying still like a fucking mannequin. BUT IT STILL DIDNT STOP THERE.

Cale almost broke into laughter as he wanted to continue listening to his lover's amusing dream! If he laughs now Alberu might as well punch him in the face.

Alberu: I wanted to cry, I pleaded with the Sun God in my head that I want this to stop but I didn't get what I wanted. Instead, a chatbox suddenly appeared, I almost pissed my pants reading at the schemes of those so-called 'fans' had for me.

Cale: Oho.. what did you s-see then? 'Pfft'

Alberu: "LET'S MAKE HIS SKIN GREEN WITH ONLY ONE EYE, MIKE WAZOWSKIEBERU" "We need a butt, BUTTBERU" "I still didn't get my mohawhkberu!" "TWIN TAILESBERU" "AFROBERU!" "MONKBERU!" "SANGWOOBERU" "COWBERU" "UCHIHABERU" "I SAY NUNBERU! NUNBERU SUPREMACY RISE!!!!!!"

I DON'T EVEN WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT MIKE WAZOWSKI BERU! BUT THEY WANT MY HEAD TO BE A COW?! HOW COULD THEY TO THE EMPEROR OF THE RO-

Cale couldn't handle it anymore he bursts out laughing, almost in tears.

Cale: BUHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAH!!! If only I was there to see it all! I ca- I CANT! MIKE WAZOW- WAZOWSKI HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAH AND AFRO?! HAHAHAHAHAHA

Alberu: How could you be laughing at my pain?!

Cale: Oh dear emperor of mine, isn't it fine that you have such 'entertaining fans' of yours?

Alberu: Entertaining can't even describe those lots... They all praised me for how I was the rising sun of the Roan Kingdom as they humiliated my every being. To the point where they even planned on turning me into 'LIGHTBULBERU'. A FUCKING LIGHTBULB BECAUSE THEY WANT ME TO SHINE LITERALLY. A WALKING FLASHLIGHT KING. ME. ALBERU CROSSMAN.

Cale: PFFT HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Alberu: Haaaahh... You don't understand because you were never in my position. Those fans were a bunch of lunatics I say, LUNATICS!

What Alberu doesn't know is that we, the fandom won't just stop there...

Alberu felt shivers down his spine as he recalled the very vivid and realistic experience he had inside his dream.

Cale: I am so telling this to Tasha, my esteemed and very much adored Beru <3

Alberu: JUST CALL ME HYUNG PLEASE!!

The trauma seemed to have sunken deep into his mind that every time Cale calls him by that nickname, he subconsciously touches his hair and nose in order to reassure himself that it's still there.

I'm tagging these superb beings for making the thread LEGENDARY: @cale-alberu @chunnicalesimp @thescarletguard @trashduchesshenituse-reblogs @farmercale @just-a-sleepy-person @annerisk @pile-of-sticks @trash-duchess-henituse @icyteaa

#tcf #trash of the count's family #tcf crack #incorrect tcf quotes #alberu crossman #cale henituse #CALEBERU #First Fanfic but it's crack #CRACK CRACK CRACKITY CRACK #Tasha mentioned #Sun God #God of Death #Lunatic Fandom #this is why I love this fandom

[hueningshaped]

★ in the rain | j.ww

▰ genre: angst + fluff in the end (happy ending)

▰ word count: 1902

▰ synopsis: you find wonwoo in the rain after not seeing him for a while, hoping to finally tell him that you got engaged, but he painstakingly tells you that he's in love with you + female! reader i think + pam and jim! dynamic

▰ notes: im not super happy with the ending at all but uhhhh here u go. if anyone wants me to drop the angst / no happy ending lmk hehe + ALSO!! you are very much more than welcome to drop requests and asks in my ask thing :3

There he stood in the rain. After you had ran up to him, he remained in his position, in his posture, in his steps. When he looked at you, there was something behind his eyes. The night consumed the usual soft color of his expression. Now, he was just painted in lead and you almost wanted to cough on it, as if there was smoke billowing up your respiratory system.

"Wonwoo?" You called out, your smile dropping and that of your grip on the umbrella but you remembered what was important.

His face still hadn't changed. You wished that he would've at least worn his dark gray rain coat so that at least would've made his image more comical and that it could provide comedic relief. His eyebrows weren't even as dropped as they typically were; there was something about the fine lines of muscle on his face that were taut and tense, like they were holding something back.

"What's-what's wrong?" The rain continued falling, not even in a characteristic way that it had upon the moods of the showers. "What did I do? What did I do? You-you just stopped answering my texts, m-m-my-my calls. I just wanted to say hello and see if you were —"

"Why didn't you tell me you had set your wedding day, Y/N?"

Then, the muscles stretched a little bit, revealing the most raw source of heartbreak you had never thought could exist. Those strokes of black that comprised his eyebrows furrowed together in a worry, painstakingly quivering just a few degrees, and worst of all, his eyes began to mirror the dynamic of the night.

He bit back a hiccupy sob while trying to smile. A wave of heat blanketed you from head to toe in a frenzy, the warmth barely missing your eyes to gather tears.

"I-I..." why did his heart break? Why was he so upset? Was it because you simply hadn't told him? You had just announced it, barely coming to the decision just a day before. Your best friend, Wonwoo, was breaking at the seams, but for what?

"What happened?" You reached out, now gripping his wrist that remained at his rib. He just felt like ice, heavy and growing colder in terms of proximity.

Wonwoo laughed halfheartedly, sniffling, as you desperately looked up at him, searching, searching, searching his eyes for something. He hesitantly drew his other hand to cup your face, so lightly you would've mistaken the touch for your hair.

"You seriously don't know?" He pressed his thumb into the apple of your cheek, rubbing one of your free streaking tears into your supple flesh.

You shook your head vigorously. Could you have possibly set your wedding date on a day that was completely inconvenient for him? Could you have overlooked one of your friendship anniversaries? Surely, he couldn't have been this upset simply because he wasn't the first to be told. You've known him for years and that was unlikely.

He just kept smiling as the rain seemed to seep through in between the mesh of both of your umbrellas, and if you moved your chin just a a few inches, it looked as if Wonwoo's face was raining, too: breaking away with the storm. You just wanted it to stop. This had to end. But why had it started? He just started ignoring you out of the blue, the most uncharacteristic moves he's ever pulled. This wasn't him. What was it? (But you knew...)

"God, Y/N," he tipped his head back, trying to steady what seemed like shallow breaths, but in reality, he just didn't want to look at the gleaming metal that was now wrapped around your lovely, nimble finger.

"Wonwoo!" You cried out, a crash of thunder resonating just a few miles off. He looked back down. The rain filled in the silence between you two but it proved to be as brief as much as you hadn't wanted it to be.

He smiled through the pain.

"You're such an idiot, God," he muttered and for a second, you thought that things would be back to normal. "I..."

"Yes-yes? What?" Your face ached from worry, the evaporation flitting all around you like something out of anime. "Tell me please, so I can just make things better. I'll let you read to me that sappy book I hate! I-I-I'll do any —"

"I'm in love with you, Y/N," his eyes sparkled in the darkest way possible and whatever you had possibly opened your mouth to say no longer had meaning. You blinked. All you could do was blink dumbly. "I-I don't-I'm just-I...I'm sorry. I know that I should've told you sooner. I just needed you to hear it. It's bad timing, I know. I know."

Your mouth simply went agape as a rush of a thousand emotions infiltrated you.

"What? Why?" You muttered out of instinct because of the confusion. He laughed again, a bitter one this time, and blinked a few tears from his sparkling eyes.

Of course, realizing everything, realizing the grand scheme of all that had occurred since you had even graduated with Wonwoo, ever since you had even first met him, it all hit you with a pang of something.

Sure, you had been engaged to Yeongsu, your sweetheart from undergraduate school, who didn't always treat you sweet, but you and him just had a foundation. He and you had been together for many years, despite his inability to understand you sometimes and so what that he didn't pursue you; you thought love was like that. Wasn't it supposed to be?

Before you knew, your vision grew blurry and warmth streamed down your cheeks in thin ribbons. Wonwoo's face pained at the sight as soon as you blinked through.

"I don't know what to do or say, W-Wonwoo. What do you expect me to say?" You choked. The street had quieted down so now you had no choice but to hear yourself and him, breaking down.

His lips pursed, tightening slowly into a frown.

"I know, I know. It's selfish of me, but I just wanted you to know, okay? Okay?" His voice broke with the final word and as did the gate that had been keeping his own years at bay. You nodded grimly in return because a part of you seemed to crumble with his composure.

"What, is this your goodbye or something?" You coughed between your intakes of breath. He looked up into the ceiling of his umbrella before meeting your eyes once again.

"I'm...going back to Changwon...on the fourteenth of June. I don't know how long I'm staying either." He breathed. Your wedding would be set on the exact same day, only you would be on the opposite side of the country.

The rain came back and as did your misery.

He loved you. He loves you. He loved you. He loves you.

Your one and only confidant, your best friend, your comforter, your protecter, your shoulder to cry on, your reason to laugh and smile, your dork, Wonwoo. He was going to leave. Worse, you were going to leave him just the same. Was this goodbye to your friendship?

"Well, I..." you managed out of a broken cry. "I can't ask you to stay because that's selfish of me but we're-we're past that now," Wonwoo sniffled and leaned closer to you, which he typically did to listen to whatever you had to say, considering his great height. "And I know our friendship is more important than anything."

"Please don't do that. I don't want that. I want to be more than that." He pleaded in that constantly calm voice of his.

"Wonwoo," you mirrored his own desperation, reaching to tug his sleeve tightly into your fists. He used his other hand to rub the loose tears into your cheeks, moving over your nose as his bottom lip trembled. "Wonwoo..."

And he paused his motions, meeting your eyes again. Everything suddenly terrified you because you had no clue what would be the last thing you two would do in this moment. God knew even if you would see each other again. Your futures were locked, weren't they? You felt powerless but you had the key. Nonetheless, the guilt had you beginning to tremble.

Your guesses about what would fill in this now empty gap between the two of you was fulfilled when Wonwoo just dove in. His lips collided with yours and you just buckled into yourself, his arms embracing you in the right moment to catch you. It was like getting a power up from a game. The warmth that you felt was unrelenting. It was everything... you had dreamt of. The kiss continued, shifted, proceeded, evolved, but eventually, it came to a halt as you felt a few stray tear drops hit your skin that weren't yours.

When you pulled away, Wonwoo smiled painfully, hesitantly meeting your eyes. You still were in shock.

He held your hand now loosely. Wonwoo was ready to let go, his fingers inching away by degrees, and you could feel your heart dropping by the second. He was ready to let go of you and of it all, but you weren't...

"I-I love you, too," you cried, wanting to unravel into sobs as his eyes widened in that adorable way that they always did when in shock. He tightened his grasp around you. "Wonwon, I'm the one who's been selfish. I'm the one who's done you wrong. I'm the one who is in the wrong, I'm the one..."

He moved in again, his lips just above yours for another kiss, which scared you, but instead, he took gentle swipes across your face. You had missed out on all this just because of your own stupidity.

"It's okay, it's okay. Don't say that," he muttered, his voice above the pitter patter of the rain shower. "Don't..."

He left his sentence unfinished, now resting his forehead against yours with his hands brushing your stray tears away.

"I love you, Wonwoo," you pleaded. "But, what can I do?"

The answer was obvious to you, but you offered an alternative.

"Can...can we run away together?" You muttered. Wonwoo cupped your cheek, snorting but still mustering a sweet, sad smile.

"I wouldn't want to do that to you, Y/N. I-I should've just kept this to myself. You're supposed to get married and finally have that dream wedding and that level of domestic bliss that you've wanted. I can't take it away."

You lifted yourself on the balls of your feet to rub your forehead against his, pulling him down with you to make it work.

"But, Wonwoo, you can give that all to me," he pulled away gently to look down at you. "I want to be with you forever."

"Forever?" His voice tripped in pitch.

"Forever." With that, you grinned again before he wanted to pull in for another kiss.

If yours and his future only took a few steps, why not take them? Why stay quiet and unhappy? You shouldn't settle. You should've never settled.

"Wait," he pulled back from your reddening lips. "Can I take you out on a date first?"

"Of course," you smiled against his. "Tomorrow." You chuckled, lightly punching him, but nodding nonetheless.

"Tomorrow, for sure."

#wonwoo angst #wonwoo x reader #wonwoo fluff #seventeen x reader #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #jeon wonwoo

[alexhogh7137]

The Battle Between Love and Fire-

Ivar the Boneless × Reader

Chapter Twenty-Three Pt. Two: True Colors

Chapter Twenty-Three Pt. One

Word Count 3.1k

Warnings: heavy angst, fluff here and there

Hvitserk wraps his arm around your shoulder before Ivar decides to speak up of the matter at hand. Hvitserk knows that you are not going to take this conversation well so he wants to comfort you as best as he can. He and Ivar know that it is for your own wellbeing and your child's, they somehow have to convince you that as well. 

Ivar "I went to the Healer, Y/n."

"What..what did he say? Is the baby okay?!" You immediately began to panic and think of the worst possible outcome first. 

Ivar "No no no, she is fine sweetheart." You relax back down into Hvitserk's arm and fixate on your breathing to calm yourself down. "But you will not be if you keep not resting."

"What are you saying Ivar?" Ivar looks at his brother, who is trying to stay calm himself without breaking down into tears. 

Ivar "The Healer told me that you need to take it easy Y/n. The more you do, the more harm that it will cause to your body." 

Hvitserk "That is why you are struggling to walk..to do anything really. You need to focus on healing for not only your sake but also for our daughters." You take a deep breath and take in the information that is given to you. You understand their concern and as of right now, you are just as concerned as they are. 

"So you're telling me that I cannot fight? Do I have that correct?"

Ivar "As your husband and your king, yes. You cannot fight sweetheart. I can't lose you...I won't be the cause of your demise. If I allowed you to go out onto that battlefield, your body will certainly give out on you and you will die Y/n."

"But I would be on my dragon.."

Hvitserk "That will not help you. Your heart rate would be too strong for your body, you could have a heart attack Y/n. Your body cannot handle the stress of a battle, let alone a battle to seize your father." You sigh and look down at the little bump on your lower belly. Your daughter needs you, your husband needs you. 

"Okay." Ivar looks at you from looking down at the ground. "Okay, I won't fight."

Ivar "Y-ou aren't?"

"No. You two made me too scared to fight. And I understand what you are saying, Ivar. I mean I stood up so quick that I fainted.."

Hvitserk "All the more reason to rest and heal." 

"I will..I will try. I am a queen, it is hard for me not to rule."

Ivar smirks, "You are a wonderful queen my love. But the people understand that you need your rest."

"What all do they know?"

Ivar "That King Harald took you captive and held you in Wessex. And that you were tortured and raped. I did not go into detail, but they needed to know." You slowly shake your head. 

Hvitserk "But that does not define you, Y/n. You are a strong woman and queen. And you are going to be an incredible mother." You smile and nod in agreement. You don't really know what more to say. You feel defeated and so weak that you feel misplaced. You feel helpless.

Ivar "Honey?"

You let your emotions out and you burst into tears, "You will not win," Hvitserk holds you tighter and looks up at Ivar, "you won't...not without my dragon's. You'll die out there." You start to hyperventilate. 

Ivar "Hey sh shh..we are not going to die. And we are going to win."

"How?! Your army is down to few soldiers…"

Ivar "We have an Uncle, Y/n. He is a king of many many empires," Hvitserk looks at Ivar and smirks, "his name is Rollo. And we have sent a letter of utmost urgency to France. We are simply waiting to hear back from him. His army is greater and stronger than Harald's army. His soldiers are all Vikings."

Hvitserk "He will certainly fight with us. If we have him and his soldier's, we will have the odds in our favor." You try to wrap your head around this new sudden information.

"Why did you not tell me this at the round table?"

Ivar "Because we sent them out the night before, we have yet to hear from Rollo. We didn't want to give false hope."

Hvitserk "But he has fought with us before so why not now? We have not betrayed him, so we will surely hear from him soon."

"If he does not arrive, what then?"

Ivar "Then we postpone the fight until you are healed enough to fight." Hvitserk is stunned by his brother's words. He has never turned down a fight. Then again, your father has not come to start a war, we are bringing it to him. 

"You would do that for me?"

Ivar "Of course I would. I love you and you deserve justice." You force a smile. 

Hvitserk "Brother can I talk to you in privacy for a moment?" 

"Hvitserk?"

Hvitserk "We'll just be a minute, kitten. Finish your meal and we will be back in soon." Ivar and Hvitserk get off of the bed and walk out of the room.

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

Hvitserk is not stupid nor is he naive. He knows his brother's schemes and when he is being devious.

Hvitserk "You'll postpone?"

Ivar "That is right."

Hvitserk "You have never done that before, Ivar. I am not stupid. What is your real reason why you would postpone?"

Ivar clenches his jaw and sighs, "Y/n is right Hvitserk. We would not win without her dragons." Hvitserk chuckles, "We wouldn't. If Rollo does not tend to us, we will have no choice but to call the attack off until she is healed."

Hvitserk "So let me get this straight. You would be willing to wait so that you could use your wife and her dragon's to win a battle?"

Ivar "Of course I would-"

Hvitserk "SHE COULD DIE IVAR!"

Ivar "That is not certain. She has not died yet has she?! She is strong, she is a warrior. She belongs on the battlefield. She would be fighting right now if she was strong enough."

Hvitserk takes a step back, "She is with child Ivar. How could you say that, hmm? What if she did fight today or tomorrow, and she died. How would that make you feel?"

Ivar "Devastated. I love my wife! But I would not stop her from fighting if her state was different."

Hvitserk "You know you keep telling yourself that you are different, that you are a different king and a different husband...but deep down you are still the same man that you were when you were married to Freydis."

Ivar chuckles, "Now that is not completely true. Freydis died because she betrayed me, Hvitserk. She chose yours and Bjorn's side over mine. She sealed her fate when she did that. Y/n is not Freydis, she truly loves me. She would never betray me, do you know why?!" Hvitserk does not respond, "Because she knows my past. She knows what I am capable of. Now do not tell me that I don't love her because I do. She means a lot to me and I would feel lost without her. That is why she is not fighting."

Hvitserk "Why do I get the feeling that the real reason why you aren't allowing her to fight is because if she perished in battle, the people of Kattegat would grow suspicious of yet another wife of king Ivar's perishes so suddenly?" Ivar stays silent, that is when Hvitserk knew that he was right. 

Hvitserk chuckles, "Look Ivar...if anything ever happens to Y/n..and I have any suspicion that it was because of you, I will not hesitate to kill you, are we clear?"

Ivar "I would never-"

Hvitserk "Are we clear?!"

Ivar snickers, "Yes of course, dear brother." When Hvitserk walks away and opens up the door, you are standing in the doorway with tears in your eyes. Hvitserk is stunned and does not know what to do while Ivar starts to walk over to you.

…

"So all of that was a lie, was it? That you loved me and that I deserved justice...that is why you would wait? You did not mean that."

Ivar "Of course I did."

"Ivar do not lie straight to my face. I am your wife, your queen. I deserve your honesty."

Ivar "Your dragon's would help tremendously during battle, yes. But I care more about your safety and your health right now."

"Do you love me?"

Ivar "More than anything!"

"More than victory?" Ivar does not say anything, "Answer me."

Ivar "Of course I do." 

"I...I need air. Where is Torvi?"

Hvitserk "Y/n-"

"Ubbe?!" You start to walk and shout for Ubbe until he comes running to you.

Ubbe "What is it?!"

"Where is Torvi?"

Ubbe "In our chambers feeding Ragnar, what is the matter?"

"Jus-tell her I need her when she is done, will you?" You don't let him finish before walking away. Hvitserk watches you take a fur cloak and throw it over your body and head for the cold wintery air. 

Ubbe "What has happened?"

Hvitserk "Its Ivar. He showed his true colors and Y/n is-"

Ubbe "Oh gods..what has he done?"

Hvitserk "He told me that he wouldn't fight because without her dragons, we would not succeed and Y/n overheard." 

Ubbe scuffs, "It appears that Ivar is turning to his old ways."

Hvitserk "I am not sure if he is completely, but he is definitely not in the right mind right now."

Ubbe "Is there anything else that I need to know?"

Hvitserk "Just help me keep her safe, will you?"

Ubbe "Always."

Hvitserk "We do not want her to end up like Freydis do we?"

Ubbe "That is not going to happen."

Hvitserk "No it is not. Go get Torvi. I'll go find Y/n."

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

He finds you huddled up in the snow in the middle of all three of your dragon's. They surrounded you, making you feel safe and loved. Hvitserk walks up and Ryuu begins to growl.

Hvitserk "Hey hey...easy boy...I'm not the enemy here."

"Ryuu...stand down." Ryuu lies back down and rests his head on his paws. Neith makes room for Hvitserk to enter. When he sees you, your face is red and your eyes are glassy from the tears that you have been shedding. He grabs you and puts you in his lap. 

Hvitserk "Hey.." you don't respond, "I know that you are sad right now and you have every reason to be, but do not let Ivar stunt your healing."

"Does he love me Hvitserk? You know him better than anyone."

Hvitserk "Yes he does. When it comes to power and victory, he turns into a more ruthless person. He cares for you and he loves you very much. He makes that very clear. But he also wants to win this battle. He wants to win this victory for you, to get you justice. But he will do what it takes to win that victory, no matter what the cost."

"I don't know what to say anymore."

Hvitserk "You don't have to say anything, sweetheart." He continues to hold you and lets you ride out your emotions and helps you calm down. A few minutes go by and Torvi comes to join you and Hvitserk.

Torvi "Oh you poor thing.."

Hvitserk "Do not pity her, just comfort her."

Torvi "Tell me what happened." You along with Hvitserk explain to her the events that happened and she was not at all surprised by Ivar's actions. She knew that it was only a matter of time before Ivar slipped up. 

"I know that he loves me, but I fear that he does not care about me or this child."

Torvi "Well luckily for you, his is not the father, Hvitserk is." You look up at him and he has a big smile on his face. You melt into his embrace and feel the warmth fill your heart once more. "And Ivar does care for you Y/n. He does, I can see it and everyone else can see it. But like Hvitserk said, when it comes to battle, he will use whoever and whatever he needs to succeed. In this case, he would use you and your dragon's."

"I understand why he wants to use my dragon's, they are used as weapons...but he told me that I am not able to fight."

Torvi "You aren't."

"But he said that he would wait until I was able...what if I refused? Then what would he do? Demand me to fight?"

Torvi inhales deeply, "Maybe, or he might take your dragon's without you. But that is not going to happen. You and your dragon's are staying in Kattegat and you are going to rest and heal...and grow that beautiful human in your core." You smile and feel much better. You don't know what you would do if you did not have the love of Hvitserk and Torvi. They both mean the world to you. 

"Can we go inside now? It is starting to snow.." Hvitserk looks up and smiles.

Hvitserk "You are making it snow! The air was still while you were somber and now you are happy..and it is snowing." Torvi looks at you and smiles.

Torvi "Perhaps your dragon's aren't the only one's that are powerful." You giggle and Hvitserk and Torvi walk you back inside.

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

Hours go by and nightfall hits Kattegat. You have not seen Ivar since this afternoon but you just keep to yourself. You know that when Ivar is ready to show himself, he will. But until then, you spend your time with Hvitserk, Ubbe, Torvi and their children. You hold little Ragnar in your arms and Hvitserk smiles down at the sight. All he can envision is you holding yours and his daughter. He can see a beautiful little girl with his blonde hair and your eyes, but she shares a mixture of yours and his smile. You gleam up at him and you see him staring with almost heart eyes. 

"What?"

Hvitserk snaps out of his own trance, "Just happy. That is all."

"Is that so?"

Hvitserk "Yes. You are going to be an amazing mother, Y/n."

"And you an amazing father."

Ubbe "That news is still probably the best news I have ever gotten besides Torvi telling me that she was with my own child." He says chuckling.

Hvitserk "Thank you, brother. You have not told our people have you?"

Ubbe "No I would never. But I want you both to know that I am happy for you two."

"Thank you Ubbe..for everything." Ubbe raises his horn for a cheers. Hvitserk and Torvi raise theirs and they clink. You sit there and take in this little moment. You know that once this seige happens, things will not be this happy...this calm. Ubbe looks behind you and clears his throat. 

"What is it?" Ubbe only raises his eyebrow to try and get you to turn around. Once you do, you see your husband standing behind you. 

"Torvi, take Ragnar please." She takes him from your arms but sits back down. Neither of them leave your side. 

"What is it Ivar?"

Ivar "I..I've come to apologize. I realize that I was wrong in saying that I would use your dragon's for battle..I am sorry." You slowly nod. "And I never want you to think that I don't love you, that I don't need you. I do love you and I need you more than you could know. My mind is in a chaos with itself..trying to figure out how to win this battle for you and your mother. You deserve this justice for everything that you have endured. And I apologize for trying to accomplish such in the way I suggested. If Rollo does not come to our aid, we will simply wait until you are better. Even when you are better and you do not wish to fight, you and your dragon's will not fight. Okay?"

You slowly nod, "Okay."

Ivar "You don't have to forgive me..I know that I was wrong but I just had to tell you that I am sorry. I love you Y/n."

"...I love you too." Ivar leans down and kisses your head.

Ivar "If you choose to sleep with Hvitserk again tonight..I will accept that. Goodnight princess." He walks aways and you turn back to the table. Ubbe and Torvi are staring and Hvitserk has his head down, staring at his plate of chicken bones.

"Can I have your opinion please.."

Ubbe clears his throat, "I feel like he was sincere. As sincere as he can possibly be."

Torvi "What are you going to do?" You just place your head into your palm and think to yourself.

….

Hvitserk walks you to bed and opens the door but you holt. He stops and looks back at you and realizes that you have made up your mind. He smiles and leans down to kiss your cheek. When he does, he pulls back but you pull him back down for a real kiss. He grabs your jawline with his left hand and your hips with his right hand. He kisses you until you pull away.

"I love you."

Hvitserk "And I love you. You know where to find me, sweetheart. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." You walk shortly down the hall to Ivar's chambers and open the door. He is already fast asleep so you tiptoe to your side of the bed, undress and get into bed. You pull the fur over you and his body. Once you are completely in, you snuggle up to his side. When he feels your presence, he awakes. He looks down at you in his arms and tears fill his eyes. He did not expect you to be in his bed, especially not after what he did today but yet you are here. He feels as if he does not deserve your love but yet you give it to him. He places his hand over yours and intertwines them. He uses the arm that you are using to wrap around your waist. 

Ivar whispers, "I love you." You simply kiss his chest as a I love you back. He will take that answer with a smile on his face. He could have lost you today, you could have left him but you didn't. He feels terrible but he knows that he did the right thing and apologized. And now you are in his bed and in his arms and for that, he is grateful. He leans his head down and kisses your hair, as he inhales the flowery scent, he falls back asleep.

@hvitserkmarcosource @a-mess-of-fandoms @ivarsgoddess @youbloodymadgenius @heavenly1927 @saldelys @motherofkattegat @conaionaru @readsalot73 @ivarzeitgeist @herestherealproblem

#the battle between love and fire #ivar the god #ivar lothbrok #ivar the boneless #hvitserk lothbrok #hvitserk #ubbe lothbrok #torvi vikings #vikings #alex hogh andersen #marco ilsø #marco ilsoe #jordan patrick smith

[heresathreebee]

Garrote part 2

[Starz Power Diego Jimenez X Jazmine Mann (Black!OC)]

Word Count: 1591 words

Warning(s): Rated teen (until like chapter 6?). Language, more mentions of human trafficking. Previous Masterlist Next

AN: I got excited and I couldn’t wait to post this tomorrow. The OC finally appears here. (Diego looks like he’s trying to incite a three way and/or sexy shenanigans in this photo)

@1zashreena1 @nicke0115 @mental-bycatch

Diego didn't like Agent Healy. He didn't like anything about this scenario or the way the man just knew about the baby or where to find them. Alicia and Diego were some of the biggest criminals in North America and nobody was supposed to know they were even on this side of the border. There was no doubt in Diego’s mind that Alicia blamed him for it. But regardless of fault, Healy did know, and for that, the man had Alicia's confidence (if even by a frayed thread) and his instructions were easy to follow. 

Healy hadn't given him a name nor a description, so Diego, with nothing but an address and a time, walked into a convenience store at 6 in the afternoon. She'll know you, was Healy's only explanation. Diego deeply regretted this already. 

The bell on the door rang twice and as his eyes swept across the floor, it was mostly empty. The employee behind the counter barely looked up at him. There was an old drunk woman leaning over the beers and a younger woman in deep contemplation over which trail mix she wanted. 

Feeling out of his element, he wandered through the snack section, glancing over to the young woman again. She was kind of cute. Straight hair pulled into a high ponytail and glasses perched at the end of her nose. He was going to say something (he didn't know what) when she looked up angrily and tossed the bags in her hands back onto the rack. 

"When are you going to get vegan options in this store," she yelled at the employee. 

The employee's exhausted eyes lifted from inspecting her fingernails and she pointed lazily, "next to the beer. It's only drinks, sorry." 

The young woman looked nervously at the swaying drunk woman standing guard of the path, then caught Diego's staring and disappeared as quickly as possible. The sour gummy worms Diego had in his hand returned swiftly to the shelf in a calmer imitation of the fit the other customer had thrown not seconds before. He grabbed a case of beer and twizzlers before heading for the counter. He felt foolish– he didn't know what to do or who he was meeting or even what the next step would be. The employee looked over him seeming to sense his disgruntlement. 

"Just this?," she asked. He nodded, watching her try to scan the items, fail, sigh in annoyance, and then manually enter their item codes to the register. He took a second to admire the radius of her curls. The black hair turned a caramel color at the ends and he imagined her hair tie holding on for dear life to contain the thick mass. Should it snap, the poof would be magnificent. 

"OK, $7.23." 

"That's it?" He gave her his card and ID but looking over his items, he decided to take it back. He was overpaying for this garbage. He noticed her stiffen as she spotted the name on his card. 

"You're Diego Jimenez?" 

He raised an eyebrow. "Yes…?" 

He didn't like the way her shoulders slumped suddenly. Women didn't react like that– scratch that– no one reacted that way to him. Fear or arousal, but never… resignation? She looked like she was mourning something. Finishing the sale, she gave him back his cards and grasped his wrist to keep him from leaving. This shocked him– nobody was stupid enough to lay hands on a guy like him. 

"I'm Jazmine." As if he couldn't read the name on her tag, but then she continued, "I'm your new girlfriend." 

"What?" 

"Just"- the bell of the door chimed behind him– "play along," she whispered. 

"Bella!" An overly joyful white man walked over to the counter with a bright, familiar smile. "Mi primadonna. So lovely to see you again." 

Jazmine chuckled in that 'I get paid to do this' sort of way. "Well, you know I'm always working!" 

"Of course, of course," he replied, fishing for his wallet. He wore a suit– not expensive enough to be tailored but it wasn't overly unfitting– and his hair was beginning to thin at the top. Jazmine reappeared from the store's office with a bag of prepared items in it seemingly just for this guy. Upon noticing her, he gasped in surprise and pouted his lip like a young girl reacting to getting a present from her first boyfriend. "You hold the key to heart, and every time I see your face it makes my day just a little brighter." 

Jazmine bowed her head to hide behind her bangs (were they bangs? They were textured and fell over her forehead short of her eyes). "No need to thank me, I always enjoy your visits." 

If Diego wasn't so confused, he might have noticed her lying through her teeth. At the present, he was distracted when this cheery, overly doting man looked down to find Jazmine's hand touching the wrist of this stranger. Something dark flashed in his eyes. 

"Who's this?" 

Jazmine hopped over the counter, planting herself directly in Diego's personal space, and caressed his arm. "This is my boyfriend Diego. Diego, say hi." Diego looked between him and her. "This is Jeremy. Jeremy Haagen– the guy I've been telling you about." 

"Oh," Diego managed. Go with it. "Hi. Nice to finally meet you." 

Jeremy Haagen's jaw ticked but he reclaimed his smile, albeit with a chip on the shoulder. He spoke to Jazmine, not Diego. "It's nice to know I am on your mind even when I'm not around. I think I'll be going– I've got an early day tomorrow. Goodnight, Miss. Mann. And, uh, it was nice to meet you as well, Di-e-go." 

He disappeared quickly into the rapidly growing cover of night. Jazmine was practically giddy. She lay backward across the counter top like a happy cat and stretched so a sliver of her belly showed. "I've never had him leave so quickly. I should have thought of this months ago!" 

Diego hummed resisting the urge to reach out and touch her. To satisfy his lust or his annoyance, he couldn't say which. He watched her roll back into a sitting position and meet his eyes, now a little sheepish. 

"I guess I've probably got some explaining to do… I can't do it right here, right now, it's probably best if we wait til we're somewhere less public..." 

~

His phone showed it was 9:45 pm in bold font, indicating it had been hours since the strange incident. Jazmine Mann was indeed the woman he was supposed to work with– a specimen he never expected to tangle with. The good news was that she knew a little of Healy's scheme– and the better news was that she wasn't overly fond of the man either. 

The terrible, terrible, awful news was that her shift didn't end for fifteen more minutes, and her replacement was always late to their shift. Jazmine watched over the store, stocked shelves that looked virtually OCD with how untouched and organized they were, and finally she escorted the drunken Chinese woman out the back door and across the street, then returned and immediately went back to cleaning. Diego was beyond bored. His soul had left his body and was back at his penthouse suite getting sucked off by that vegan yoga instructor from earlier. He was nearly asleep when his head hit the window and woke him up with a growl. 

"Can we fucking go?," he snapped. "Fuck your job. Nobody's been in here for hours." 

Jazmine sighed, unperturbed by his lack of etiquette. Her hand drummed on her thigh until she shrugged. "OK. I have to lock up first, then we can go over to my place and talk about things." 

Diego grunted and pushed off of the counter opting for a smoke to calm him. He made it a point not to watch her work because watching her was like watching molasses on a hot summer sundae. It didn't mean he didn't notice whenever her shadow passed by, or when the lights behind him finally went out. He was lighting a second cigarette when at last, she locked the front door. She had traded the dull red work vest for a jean jacket, allowing the music band logo of her shirt to show proudly. They walked seven goddamn blocks through city streets to get to her apartment and even with his gun tucked into his pants he had never felt more unsafe. 

"So what did Healy tell you?" She secured every lock on her door and sat down without offering anything to drink. So she didn't get many visitors-- alright then, he wouldn't put out his third cigarette. 

Diego cleared her coffee table none too gently and sat facing her. "A whole lot of bullshit. Said he's trying to dismantle and trafficking ring and that you were going to need some help getting the job set up." 

Jazmine bobbed her head. "OK. Healy let me be in charge of the details, but since the set up was already in affect, he's just taking advantage of an opportunity." She said the word opportunity while making air quote gestures with her hands. "That guy you met– he's the target. He's been coming into my store for the better part of a season and making unsutble passes at me almost every day. Healy says he runs most of the human trafficking around these parts– specifically the underage scene... and he left it at that so as not to compromise the integrity of my 'character.'

"I guess you and I are going to be a team." Jazmine leaned so she had his full attention. "I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend while I draw him out so Healy can snag him. Understand?" 

"Not really." 

"Good, we're on the same page then," she joked with a note of sincerity.

#Diego Jimenez x OC #Starz Power #Diego Jimenez #three bees writing #🐝🐝🐝✒ #Garrote

[cutiebeams]

Hello TWEWY fandom, it's meta time.

TWEWY is filled to the brim with symbolism and hidden meanings, as we all know. Even the partners and their colors when they sync with Neku; I realized, have some depth, and I'm going to articulate my thoughts on it. This is going to be long, so get cozy. 

Shiki

Let's start with the first partner we get. Her theme's red, and Neku's is blue. Before we even delve into this analysis, let's unpack the general symbolism of the colors themselves, because that is important as well.

Red: passion, love, anger, energy, courage

Blue: trust, loyalty, wisdom, intelligence, stability

These two colors are essentially on the opposing sides of the color wheel as well; the only shade darker than blue is purple (which is Neku's theme of his attire but that's not important rn stay with me fellas)

Red & blue are portrayed as opposites in a plethora of media and this is no exception: Shiki is the extroversion to Neku's introversion, the pathos to his logos, bubbly and chipper vs his stoic and reserved demeanor. Neku is outwardly hateful (towards other people and his circumstances), and Shiki is inwardly hateful (she hates herself to the point she doesn't think there's anything special about her)

As expected, they clash vehemently at first. Neku is extremely irritated by Shiki's energy and she is frustrated with how aloof and mean he can be. But as they get to know each other, they become like yin and yang; and Shiki's kinder qualities begin to rub off on Neku which he exhibits in the following weeks. Red is often symbolic of love; and Shiki shows a lot of it: she's very friendly and amiable, sympathizing with total strangers and getting along with almost everyone; but she's pretty feisty too- she gets visibly upset when Neku ignores her and makes himself difficult and she's not afraid to call him out (and she DOES, quite a few times). However, she is still overall kind to him, even when he's prickly; trying her best to be patient with him and her gentleness eventually wins him over.. eventually. 

When confronted with an issue, Shiki seems to lean towards the emotional aspects of the matter, such as when Ai and Mina were at odds, she hesitated to bring the truth to light because she didn't want to jeopardize their friendship and emotional wellbeing; in contrast to Neku who wanted the truth to be brought to light as soon as possible because he felt that lying was wrong and it needed to be addressed sooner, rather than later, or things would just get worse. Or when 777 couldn't find his tech, Shiki listened to him vent out of sympathy while Neku agreed to help because of the logical results it'd bring- 

Shiki is also very outwardly emotional: she's very chirpy but she also isn't afraid to openly express her sorrow, anger, or fear, and sometimes she gets overcome by her emotions. But for the most part, she exhibits high emotional intelligence and understanding of other's feelings; and she's essentially the group's moral support: she's one of the most verbal about being sure that they'll make it back and that they all need to work together. Shiki is also extremely passionate; about other people, about the things she creates, it spills into virtually every aspect of her life.

The sad thing though, is that Shiki seems to love everybody but herself, and we see tiny glimpses of this in her small moments of passiveness (such as telling Neku he doesn't have to shout when he snaps at her) On the flip side, Neku's blunt honesty gives Shiki the inner strength to not only face her self-hatred; but overcome it. And that brings me to Shiki's other color: green. You can see it in her stickers + it's her nickname in Another Day. 

Green: nature, rebirth, growth, harmony, healing

I believe that this choice is two-fold: green also symbolizes envy and jealousy and this is something that Shiki's character battles with. She wants to be like Eri- beautiful, smart, charismatic; to the point she even tells Neku that she emulated Eri's personality at first because she was so excited to be in her body. But she then realized that she wasn't Eri, and would never be; nor did she ever want to be. What Shiki truly wanted was to love herself: and that's what her character arc encapsulates; a journey of self-acceptance and self-love. 

When we finally get to see real game Shiki, she's wearing green because she's a new person, hence the themes of rebirth and harmony: she's confident and happy in who she is; and so the green changes from the negative connotations of jealousy and envy to the positives of steadiness and self-harmony. There's also healing, for both her and Neku: she helped him to open up emotionally and become gentler, and he helped her accept herself. We don't get to see her face because it doesn't really matter: as Neku himself said, "You'll always be Shiki." It's her character that is important, not her appearance. Green is also red's complementary color, and we see that rather than doing a complete 180 in personality, Shiki just gets a little milder. She's not quite as bubbly, but a lot of her passion is still there, it's just gentler. 

In short, Shiki is Neku's opposite. They're like night and day: completely different, but inseparable. 

Let's talk about Neku a while now, shall we? His color choice seems contradictory given his personality when we meet him: he is extremely distrusting, volatile and aloof. The thing is though, Neku's arc is also about growth and while he does not exhibit any of the traits of his color scheme at first; during the entirety of the game, he regains himself. Neku's character is about relearning how to trust people and not being afraid to be open and accept different points of view and values- and that diversity is good and healthy! During his first week with Shiki, we get very small glimpses of how emotional Neku actually is, particularly through inner monologue. 

When Rhyme is erased, he's distraught (his thoughts tell us he feels awful) but he masks it with blunt logic ("Because we couldn't. That's how it was meant to be"), perhaps to avoid showing vulnerability, even declaring teaming up is a dumb idea- because people get hurt and there are situations where there's nothing you can do about it. Neku's rant when Shiki declares that Beat and Rhyme were their friends takes us right into his psyche:

"Who needs friends?! They just laugh and talk like idiots and pretend to agree with you- so you end up caring about them….exposing yourself...getting HURT..Screw it! We're better off without them! You want other people getting in your way? Dragging you down? I don't!"

And suddenly, Neku's prickliness makes sense- he views attachment as painful and vulnerability as a risk, and so he vehemently avoids them. He's mean because he's hurting and he's sad: and how fitting, as one of the negative connotations for blue is sorrow and grief. Remember how I said Neku didn't exhibit any traits of blue? Well, that was specifically for the positive ones. 

Negative symbolism of blue: coldness, aloofness, lack of emotion, unfriendliness, sorrow

And that's Neku to a tee: at first, anyway. While his behavior is not justifiable, it is understandable.

When Shiki snaps at him and tells him that he's inhuman Neku doesn't show any outward response during the actual conflict, but the next day when she apologizes his sprite changes to the "sad turtle" and we get to see his thoughts again:

That I was no better than a Reaper…

Rhyme…

……………

Well...right now…

Neku proceeds to tell Shiki that they need to focus on the mission, and she agrees. While he isn't being especially friendly with her, it's leaps and bounds from his initial open hostility: he's more willing to work with Shiki towards a common goal and one could argue this is when his paradigm shift begins- her comment rattled him a lot, and Neku makes baby steps to change. The daily mission (which involves helping two friends address a misunderstanding) gives us more development for him, too. At this point, he still doesn't think conflicting views and values are a good thing and that relationships only hold him back; and he voices to Shiki that he doesn't see the point of friendships built on falsehoods (which is an excellent point and one that she actually agrees with) and we get to see one of Neku's good qualities: he values truth and honesty a lot. 

She asks him if he truly thinks that people are better off without friends, and when he doesn't answer; Shiki talks about how meeting Eri made her want to be her best self (which is how ALL healthy relationships should be, whether platonic or romantic). She mourns Rhyme again, venting that it isn't fair she'll never know what dreams are like and this time, Neku doesn't deflect. He sympathizes, and for the first time since entering the game, allows himself to be emotionally vulnerable: 

"I know. I…. I'm sad too. We'll just have to live a little extra. For her sake."

From this point onward, Neku begins to grow positively, slowly but surely. He's not friends with Shiki yet, but he feels safe enough in her company to not only express sorrow but caring enough to encourage her to keep pressing forward; for Rhyme's sake. The next day Shiki is quiet and sad due to being confronted on her self-hatred, and Neku doesn't know how to deal with her lack of cheeriness. But instead of being annoyed with her like before, he's visibly concerned and wondering what's wrong; and he tries to engage with her as much as possible: asking for her viewpoint on the daily mission and what they should do, etc. When he learns the truth about Shiki's identity, Neku just listens patiently and afterwards, his monologue is much more positive and understanding:

All this time..she's been as confused as me.

He now realizes that she's just as scared and upset as he is and he empathizes with that, going even further to say that "I like you the way you are" when Shiki expresses fear in being brought back due to her underlying jealousy: he appreciates her, every aspect of her; not because she's perfect, but just for who she is. Later on when Shiki hesitates to scan Eri and runs away Neku gives her the push to do so: as said earlier, he values the truth, and he knows that Shiki needs to face it if she's going to improve as a person- and we see him beginning to exhibit his wisdom. He's not really gentle, but his honesty is needed. When Shiki begins comparing herself to Eri and self-deprecating, he intervenes, in his own way: 

"Oh, would you cut the crap? Who ARE you? You're you. You're not Eri. You'll never be Eri. You'll only ever be you."

Neku reiterates what Shiki told him earlier, about never wanting to be Eri, but he goes a step further. She only went as far as to say she wanted to love herself, but that she never could; while Neku asserts to her that being herself is absolute and unchangeable. Shiki mildly protests this though, saying that Eri is "so much better". To her, while she does value her identity the most, Eri's identity makes her feel inferior. She wants to be her own self, but Eri, in her eyes, is perfect, something that she cannot achieve. And that is why Neku's reply is so important.

"Forget her! You need to live your own life. If she can do it, so can you. All that matters is that you try. You're lucky you're jealous. It gives you something to shoot for. So..shoot."

Up to this point, Shiki has measured the worth of her identity based upon comparison to others, and Neku understands that and tells her upfront  that she needs to stop trying to be somebody that she isn't and be confident in her own self, and just do her best- and that'll be enough. He also encourages her to use her jealousy in a productive way, to find her niche; her drive. This gives Shiki the courage to go back and listen to what Eri has to say, and in doing this she hears her friend praise her positive traits, ones that Shiki herself most likely never even realized: her empathy and love for people, her eye for detail, her skill in creating things, her passion and motivation-

 ALL things, that according to Eri, "I don't have." And Shiki finally understands that Eri saw her as her equal and that who she is, is valued. Of course, a few positive reinforcements is not enough to do a 180 from most likely years of self-hatred, and so she asks Neku again if she's okay the way she is; and his reply shows yet more growth:

"Hey, Shibuya's got room for all types."

This is a STARK contrast to his dialogue when we first meet him- "All the world needs is me," "You have your values, and I have mine," etc. Neku valued his identity, but he took it to the extreme in that he ONLY valued his identity, values, and morals. After meeting Shiki though, his viewpoint changes a bit and at this point Neku now appreciates diversity- he's still not at the point that he feels he can understand other people, but he at least doesn't see conflict of morals as a bad thing anymore. And in turn, this gives Shiki the inner strength to want to go back to the RG and start afresh. He gives her one last push to go back when she hesitates since she was the only one granted a second chance, with the promise to see her again; and in just a week, Shiki goes from being the biggest pain in Neku's side to his biggest motivation for surviving the second game and one of his best friends.

Joshua

Another week, another partner.

What's interesting about Joshua is that he is also blue, just a lighter shade. While Shiki is Neku's opposite, Joshua is more akin to his shadow- a mirror, of sorts.

Light Blue: peace, serenity, ethereal, spiritual, infinity

Josh and Neku are extremely similar, but their personalities still converge at enough points that they're starkly different: their tempers especially are a separating point as Neku is much snappier than Joshua (especially if provoked), and despite Josh being represented by a lighter color, in a lot of ways, he symbolizes his partner's negative traits in even more extreme ways in a subversion to expectations; a "darker" version of him, in a sense. 

When they first meet, these two also clash, but for entirely different reasons. Joshua's attitude, as well as his dodginess, pisses Neku off immensely. While his first week with Shiki is about relearning how to build trust, his second week is a test of said trust by giving him a partner very similar to his former self: distant, aloof, uncaring. It gets especially tricky when Neku scans Joshua and sees himself dead, and he begins to distance himself again; deciding that there is no way that he can trust him- and not only that, but that it'd be ridiculous to do so. Neku senses something is off: he doesn't know what it is, but it unsettles him enough that he is steadfast in his decision to keep Josh at arm's length.

...Until he and Josh visit Mr. Hanekoma, and upon learning that his teammate and Mr. H are acquainted, Neku decides that perhaps Joshua isn't as bad as he initially thought: but he's still pretty hesitant; and understandably so. Mr. H gives him some backstory of his partner, and his motives start to come to light - turns out, Joshua has been able to see the game while living, and that alienated him from other people since Hanekoma was the only one he could confide in. Just like with Neku, this doesn't justify his behavior, but it does make it understandable: Josh pushes away people by playfully antagonizing them and making himself difficult, and Neku pushes them away through hostility. 

When he and Josh visit Udagawa, they connect on both not doing well in groups and Joshua comments that they're more alike than he thought, which leads into a conversation about people not being able to understand each other as long as they have their own worlds and Neku begins to backslide a little:

"Right? They're them, and I'm me. Talking to them gets me nothing."

He goes on to say he respects CAT and their philosophy about doing your own thing and how he needs to just enjoy his life and forget about others, and Josh agrees. While Shiki is Neku's friend, she is the exception, not the norm, and Neku still doesn't trust most people. However, when Josh expresses not needing other people's values, Neku's reply is interesting. He agrees outwardly, but it's hesitant, as if he's unsure of himself. 

"Yeah..."

His inner thoughts show us that once again, he is changing.

But...I don't feel that way anymore. Since coming to the UG, reading people's minds- Shibuya's full of people with just as many viewpoints. Mr. H said the world ends with me. To expand my world, I have to learn to look farther- not write off other people's values as inferior. 

….Maybe I had it backwards. Maybe I need to open up to really enjoy- 

Josh calls him and snaps him out of his thoughts so we don't know what he was going to think next, but Neku has definitely experienced a massive paradigm shift in his way of thinking: he's inwardly questioning himself and acknowledging his wrongs and showing willingness to trust again and is showing a lot more empathy to other people. However, this resolve begins to crack when more holes in his memory get filled. Neku is angry and confused, but most of all, he's hurt and we see it in his reaction when Josh asks if he's okay; because he distances himself again. This situation causes him grow distant once more and he also gets more openly prickly since his trust is shaky. Josh relating to him that he feels he belongs in the UG doesn't help matters, either.

However, a later conversation has him moving forwards again. While acknowledging that people are not meant to see eye to eye, he thinks to himself that perhaps it is better that way. People don't think alike, but they can at least try to understand each other; and he then gets the resolve to actually counter Joshua's argument of solely reading people's thoughts and not talking to them.

"But why? Where's the enjoyment in that? I'd rather broaden my world my own way."

And again, we get a small paradigm shift of Neku feeling comfortable enough to express the positive changes that he has slowly been experiencing: blue symbolizes stability, and by this point in the story he is obtaining more and more of it: in his values, in his emotional expression, in how he deals with people, etc. He gets thrown for an immense loop learning that Joshua is alive though, and Neku finally snaps when his teammate brushes it off claiming they're "just like any other pair"-

He's utterly disgusted by Joshua treating the Game as an adrenaline rush- even when Neku first got into the Reaper's Game, he never enjoyed it, even if he initially was only looking out for himself at first; and the idea of getting excitement from toying with death is foreign to him. It only gets worse when Neku accuses Josh that HE killed him, and simply is taunted in return. From that point onward, he becomes openly hostile and snappy again, throwing the idea of trusting his teammate to the wind and tells him upfront that he's only going to tolerate him to survive; leaning back on his negative qualities (because growth is a process and there will be moments of wavering and backwards steps, and that's normal!)

Later on he also shows open distress when a Reaper is attacked and they are unable to save him; declaring they "left him to die." Even though it wasn't any fault of their own, Neku self-blames just like Shiki did in the first week- thinking that he could've done something, maybe if he had gotten there sooner, or defeated the Noise faster. While not 100%, Neku is comfortable enough to openly express sorrow, and Joshua underhandedly sympathizes and takes the blame off him ("We did what we had to do Neku.") He also protects Sota from Noise later down the line even though his partner is already erased and he's going to die anyway and again expresses sadness ("If only we'd gotten here earlier") and even indignation after the older man dies, screaming in anger about all the people who have been erased ("These are people, not toys!!"). When Josh questions him about the interest in others, he then explains that he's gotten to know folks better and that "it's different now".

"They're not just strangers. I can't shut them out like that." 

This is really important because in this, Neku is essentially declaring he cannot go back to who he used to be; nor does he WANT to. He refuses to, and he is making a conscious effort to be open to other people even if he doesn't understand them. Neku goes on to assert that one needs to reach out to others as well in counter to Josh asserting that he won't ever be able to understand others and this time, Joshua responds positively. Through Neku's steadfastness and refusal to waver on his viewpoints once he truly feels solid in them, and his courage to express them and not back down; he influences Joshua into thinking that perhaps people truly do need each other and can understand each other, even if it isn't easy to do so. In showing sympathy towards his enemies, he also proves again and again that people can change too, for the better; and his wisdom begins to shine once more. (And it is this change that ultimately leads Joshua to decide to save Shibuya) Unfortunately, Neku is thrown for yet another loop upon getting more of his memory back and thinking that Sho killed him, and Josh sacrificing himself is absolutely world-rocking.

He blames himself again, angry at himself for not opening up; and it is with this mindset that he is thrown into the Reaper's Game for the final time. His trust is in shambles, and the third week is Neku's personal test to see if he is willing to reach out despite being recently wounded by his partner.

Speaking of, Joshua doesn't really have an arc compared to the rest of the cast: rather, he serves as the catalyst to their growth instead. His character is interesting because from beginning to end, he expresses essentially none of the positive attributes of the color he is represented by; he only appears to at first glance. While Josh does change his mind about destroying UG Shibuya and is convinced that people can change for the better, whether he himself changes for the better is up for debate. Orange is the second color associated with him (it's the shade of his cell phone and his stickers), but just like with light blue, he expresses none of its positive traits.

Orange: enthusiasm, happiness, creativity, determination, encouragement

Negative symbolism of orange includes insensitivity, pessimism, and being unsociable, all aspects of Joshua's character. He doesn't think that people can change; and that it is impossible to understand them (he even goes as far to express "I'd rather just get rid of them" in a dark contrast to Neku, who is content to merely ignore people). Josh doesn't like groups of people either, and he exhibits insensitivity many times throughout the second week, merely behaving charismatic in order to interact with others. He doesn't really grow outwardly, but that's not the point of his character; he's Neku's test to see if he's truly changed or not.

Joshua is Neku's shadow, he's in the same vein. Rather than night and day, they are as dusk and midnight.

Beat

Beat is interesting because his color was actually switched for Final Remix: in the original DS version Beat is green, and in the Switch version he is yellow. I'm going to dive into both because I feel they're equally important. I already covered green for Shiki, but green has yet another meaning which describes Beat to a tee- safety. While Shiki is the moral support and mediator, he is the protector: he's extremely sacrificing for his sister and the people he cares about to the point of putting himself in physical danger to keep them safe (such as jumping in front of a car to save Rhyme, or jumping in front of Neku to protect him from a brainwashed Shiki). That much stays constant throughout the game. Healing also applies to him, as he helps Neku to open up and feel safe being emotional again by not being ashamed of being emotional himself: Beat openly cries over Rhyme and Neku mourns with him, and they help each other heal by learning to rely on one another. Not just as partners, but as friends.

Yellow: joy, warmth, positivity, friendship

From the get go, Beat is a huge bundle of energy and he's extremely kind; although he gets rather volatile if he feels slighted. But like with Shiki, he's overall a very sweet person and openly emotional: he gets angry in a heartbeat, laughs heartily when he's happy, and cries freely when he's sad- and his tears are never portrayed in a negative manner either; they're just a normal reaction to a sad situation and this normalization of sorrow leads to Neku getting comfortable again in being vulnerable- one could argue he's the most emotional in Week 3. Yellow is the complementary color to purple, which is also the main shade of Neku's design. Rather than an opposite like Shiki, or a shadow like Joshua, Beat is Neku's foil. He's a lot kinder and he's got a big heart but he is also extremely impulsive and acts w/o thinking. In contrast, Neku thinks things through logically, but he's a little lacking emotionally; and so they balance each other out. He's also highly attune to when Neku starts withdrawing into himself and gently snaps him out of it constantly; showing once again his sensitivity to emotion. (He consistently asks Neku if he's okay when he gets lost in thought; which Neku does a lot, especially if he's upset. Beat keeps him grounded.)

Beat's arc is finding value in himself again + doing his best; not for other people, but for himself and finding his drive. When mourning Rhyme, he vents that "she thought I was worth dying for" and that she had much more to live for, and he doesn't understand why she'd sacrifice for him. (And he blames himself for her death, as well) While Beat is protective out of the kindness of his heart, it also comes from a lack of self-worth: he places other people above himself, to a fault. Neku sympathizes with his grief but then goes a step farther to encourage him to not be regretful. In another contrast to Shiki, rather than another's identity making him feel inferior to the point of emulating them and overshooting, Beat jumps to the other side of the ditch and loses his passion altogether. 

Rhyme refused to give up on him, but eventually Beat began to resent her pity and he began to push her away as well. After they both died and came to the Game though, Rhyme's declaration that she had nothing to live for startled him into realizing that she meant a lot more to him than he thought and more than anything else; he wanted to be there for her as she was for him. After beating himself up, Neku comforts Beat in his own way, telling him that he needs to focus on the now and not let his sorrow overcome him, in essence; but also to go the distance just for himself, not for anyone else.

And Beat gets his fire all over again, eventually declaring that Neku isn't his partner anymore- he's a friend, and one that he cares about a lot.

Through his partners, Neku finds himself, they all strengthen different aspects of him. He learns to trust, to be open, to find value in friendship again and him taking off his headphones is the ultimate metaphor of him letting the world back in.

Shiki, his opposite.

Joshua, his shadow.

Beat, his foil. 

They all shaped his world, and showed Neku just how wonderful it really is.

And that is beautiful.

#twewy #neku sakuraba #shiki misaki #joshua kiryu #beat #daisukenojo bito #the world ends with you #meta #I have a lot of feelings for this game. It's a masterpiece.

[elusive---ivory]

Circus Act - 2

Woop woop, part 2. I've been extremely exhausted but here we are.

Part 1

Part 2

Ps: Shout out to my girl, @gloomyladyy for drawing Sandy for me. She looks stunning 💕💕

Soon, it was Monday. Arthur had spent most of the weekend, hanging out with his mother, and writing subtle notes in his journal.

As Arthur got to work, he was greeted with those kind eyes he met last Thursday.

Sandy was setting up her locker, which just so happened to be right next to Arthur's.

"Hey Art, how are you?" Sandy greeted Arthur with a smile. She seemed to have lots of makeup on, and judging by her right eyelid, it was to hide something.

Arthur smiled back, opening his locker. "Good morning, Sandy."

"Morning, Artie. Ms. Cheekbones." Randall walked into the room, making an annoying appearance.

Sandy ignored Randall, pushing past him before walking into a changing room of some sort.

Randall scoffed. "What's her deal?"

Arthur shrugged.

Randall walked over to Arthur, opening up his locker.

"I heard about the other day. Kids are fucking savages." Randall commented.

Arthur sighed, fidgeting with his shoes. "They were just kids. Just leave it be."

"That kind of thinking, they'll just walk all over ya." Randall handed Arthur a brown paper bag.

"What is it?" Arthur asked, opening the bag.

Inside the bag was a gun and about 19 bullets.

Arthur scoffed, thinking it was some sort of prank. When he looked up at Randall, he could see that he was serious.

"Randall, I'm not supposed to have a gun." Arthur hushed, gritting his teeth.

"Relax, Art. You can pay me back. You're my boy. Besides chicks love guns." Randall walked away, pointing at the changing room.

Arthur hid the gun in his bag, and went back to lacing his enormous clown shoes, and promptly placing the shoes directly on his feet. Afterward, Arthur sat at the vanity, painting his face, putting on the mask of his clown persona, Carnival.

Sandy walked out of the changing room, decked in clown gear. Her dress seemed to consist of a red, white, and black color scheme, topped with a silly little hat on her black hair. The makeup she had on seemed to go with her own scheme.

Arthur's jaw laid slightly adjacent as he locked eyes on Sandy's outfit. He was barely finished with his makeup, and she was already dressed.

Sandy walked over to the vanity. "I love your makeup, Arthur. The shades of blue really contrasts with the red."

Arthur blinked for a second. "Thank you. I like your makeup, too."

Those emerald eyes hit her again. Despite feeling anxious from being around all sorts if guys, Sandy felt some comfort around Arthur. He was charming and during. Almost like Dennis, when she first met him. She smile faded.

Sandy cleared her throat. "Anyway, Hoyt wanted to tell you that you should come with me to that old folks home. He says that you could show me the ropes."

Arthur nodded. "Yeah. I could do that."

The old folks home was just down a few blocks from the studio.

"Good afternoon, elders. We have some exciting company today. Meet Ms. Cello, and Carnival." The director of the home introduced Sandy and Arthur, as they got into place.

Sandy got into center. She walked over to what looked to be a very old looking gramophone, and placed a record. The record played Somewhere Over The Rainbow from the Wizard of Oz. The old people in the lounge room seemed to smile as Sandy began to dance around them. She did magic tricks, and pulled a handkerchief out of her tiny hat.

Arthur stood in the back, amazed. Sandy was fantastic, wowing the crowd with her tricks. Arthur couldn't compete with that. When it was his turn, Arthur froze up.

He felt a repressed laugh crawled up in the back of his throat. Suddenly, the laughter erupted from Arthur.

The elderly didn't seem amused. Some of the elders were confused or concerned about the man laughing in front of them.

Sandy was also concerned. She had never heard this kind of laughter come from Arthur before. Sandy grabbed Arthur to the side.

Arthur was hunched over, trying to repress his laughter with his hand.

"Arthur? Are you ok?" Sandy asked, placing a hand on his head.

Arthur looked away from her. He was already embarrassed enough.

"Arthur, it's ok. What's wrong?" Sandy tried comforting Arthur, but the home director had kicked them out.

Afterwards, Arthur's laughter subsided and seemed to be more calm. The walk back to Haha's was quiet.

"I have a condition." Arthur broke the silence after a while.

Sandy looked over at him. "Oh, what kind of condition?"

"It's called the pseudobulbar affect. I was diagnosed with it when I was young." Arthur sighed, looking at the ground.

"That's some heavy stuff, Arthur." Sandy walked back over to Arthur.

"You probably don't want to be around me anymore." Arthur's thick eyebrows furrowed. He looked up at Sandy like a hurt puppy.

"Are you joking? Of course, I want to be around you. You're the only guy I can actually talk to." Sandy smiled.

Arthur's face lit up. He seemed surprised at her answer. Arthur was so used to rejection, and Sandy didn't seem to mind him at all. It was such a relief to meet someone kind and considerate.

"Hey, how about, after work, I treat you to a drink or something?" Sandy asked.

Arthur nodded. "Yeah, that would be great."

His usual coworkers never invited him to anything. He was always casted out of their social group. Even with people like Randall and Gary, he felt invisible. It wasn't until Sandy came that someone actually saw him.

Sandy smiled, grabbing onto his arm. "Well, then come on, silly."

An old joint called Martha's was a place where Sandy's cousin, Deliah, worked. Sandy would go every Monday to get discounted drinks from her cousin.

"Sandy!" Dee exclaimed, giving her a tight hug. "Ooh, and who's this?"

Sandy laughed at Dee's suggestive comment. It was nice seeing her out of rehab. Dee had a long history with ketamine. Sandy was proud to see her every Monday working to better herself.

"This is Arthur. My coworker. Arthur, this is my cousin, Dee." Sandy said.

Arthur hesitantly shook Dee's hand.

Arthur looked around at all the people in the bar. Everyone in the bar made him incredibly nervous. He clinged onto Sandy's arm as they walked over towards a booth.

"So, how long have you been working for Hoyt?" Sandy asked, sitting next to Arthur on the velvet booth.

Arthur thought for a second. "A few months. My social worker recommended me the job."

"That's good. You know, my boyfriend tried to convince me not to get the job. He said 'think about how it'd look on him.'" Sandy sneered.

Arthur raised his eyebrow. "Boyfriend? You've never mentioned him before."

"There's a reason for that. He's a dick." Sandy rolled her eyes thinking about Dennis.

Arthur looked down at his drink, barely even taking a sip.

Sandy opened up a pack of cigarettes, and placed one to her lips.

Arthur studied the cigarette pressed against her lips. How she inhaled the smoke, and then letting it out in the air. Sandy seemed peaceful and content. Arthur noticed in the strobe lights of the bar that Sandy had a nasty bruise on her face. From her cheek, all the way up to her eyelid.

Sandy felt Arthur staring at her.

"What happened to your face?" Arthur asked.

Sandy gulped. "I ran into a door." She lied.

Arthur glared. He didn't like liars. Just before Arthur said anything else. Dee walked up to the booth with Dennis.

"Sandy, I'm so sorry. I tried to stop him. I told him that you weren't here." Dee apologized, profusely.

"It's fine, Dee." Sandy distinguished her cigarette, throwing it on the ground. "I have to go, Arthur. I'll see you at work tomorrow."

Arthur could tell that she didn't want to leave. Dennis walked up to the booth, grabbing Sandy's arm.

"Go wait in the car, kitten." Dennis growled.

Sandy nodded, turning her head away from Arthur.

"Listen here, buddy. If I ever see you hanging around my girlfriend, again. I'll fucking kill you." Dennis grabbed Arthur by the shirt and threw him on the table. "Understand?"

Arthur nodded. As Dennis walked off, Arthur had the urge to grab the gun from out of his bag.

'She deserves better.' Arthur thought. 'Who does he think he is?'

Taglist: @gloomyladyy @memory-mortis @jokerflecker @joker-flecked-me @princessgeekface

(If you'd like to be tagged, message me/send an ask!! I'm always happy to add people)

The Woman In Velvet Series

#joker arthur fleck #joker movie #joker film #joker x reader #joker 2019 #arthur fleck #arthur fleck x reader #arthur fleck x oc #oc: sandra dolere

[fly-pow-bye]

DuckTales 2017 - “Raiders of the Doomsday Vault!”

Story by: Francisco Angones, Madison Bateman, Colleen Evanson, Christian Magalhaes, Bob Snow

Written by: Madison Bateman

Storyboard by: Stephanie Gonzaga, Vaughn Tada, Brandon Warren

Directed by: Matthew Humphreys

Della's first big adventure!

They didn't want to wait a single episode, we're already starting off with Della on the wheels of the Sunchaser, er, Cloud Slayer going into an adventure. Della gets to join in with Scrooge, Dewey...and that's it. Dewey does imply that Huey and Louie have decided against going on this adventure. No mention is made of Launchpad at all outside of his chosen name for the plane.

They're going to the Ludwig Von Drake Doomsday Vault, which contains every seed known and unknown to man. Scrooge wants to get a contract to get his security company a stake in renovating that vault and keeping it secure. As he leaves the perfectly landed plane, though the process was a little rocky, he finds that he's not the only one.

This is another episode with Flintheart Glomgold, in his continuing quest to win his bet. Even if I wasn't a big fan of the last episode he had a major part in, he is almost always the highlight of any episode he appears in. I wouldn't consider this episode an exception; I wouldn't say it's him at his best, but he's not at his worst, either. Don't expect a lot of Zan Owlson, as I'll explain later, but he gets a different "straight man".

This is our cold open, a little more literal one than usual, and I wanted to say something about the opening here: it's the same one as the one that started this season. Donald is still on the moon and Della is here, but Donald is still running along in that incomplete V formation and Della is nowhere in sight. I do understand that re-animating the intro would probably take a lot of time that may not be worth it depending on when they're going to conclude that plot, but it does lessen the weight of Della being here.

But enough about the opening, let's get to a meeting! One of the key points in his speech is the Fabled Money Tree of Aurum Oros, with branches of gold and leaves that perfectly resemble dollar bills. He wants to lock up this seed in particular, so no soul can even look at it until the end of the world. See, just taking the seed would be a Glomgold move, as proven immediately by Glomgold suddenly waking up when he hears about this.

It's apparently also a Della and Dewey move, too, as when they hear this, they immediately venture off to go get it before Scrooge locks it up. They even jinx themselves by saying their plan at the same time, right down to them saying "jinx, double jinx" after they say it. Scrooge leaves...only to find the plane missing, and he knows immediately who could be responsible for that. It's not Glomgold, he's still in the building trying to get that contract with a speech that consists of "give it to me and I'll use that money tree to become richer than Scrooge." It doesn't work too well, even if he was apparently the only other one who had an interest in this vault.

We suddenly cut to Della and Dewey listening, singing, and dancing along to "Stand Out" by Powerline, as made famous by A Goofy Movie. The real focus of the plot is Dewey trying to get Mom to see him as this great adventurer, which shouldn't be too hard as they're practically the same wavelength here.

Della: Nailed it!

See, she's even saying his catchphrase! She loves him so much, she'll let him pilot the Cloud Slayer! Sure, he's about 6 years too young to drive a car, but as long as he closes his eyes and feels the sky, he'll get it right! At first, it seems like a glurge moment as this appears to be working...

...for the first few seconds anyway, before the obvious conclusion happens. While Dewey apologizes for this, Della tells him that he shouldn't, because this was a great first try! It's quite clear that Della is nothing like her brother Donald or her uncle Scrooge, as they would probably never encourage his kid to take the "fun route" over the safe route. Della does that pretty much immediately when she reaches that fork in the road.

Back where the plane used to be, Scrooge is talking to Mrs. Beakley about what just happened. Suddenly, he finds his hand hand-cuffed by Glomgold, who intends to drag him along to help get into that Doomsday Vault for that precious money tree seed. He also wanted to steal his plane. Why couldn't he just use his own? Because his usual scheming antics caused Zan Owlson to take that plane back home. I mean, I wouldn't blame her for finally giving up and just attempting to leave him, but leaving him to die in the cold seems a bit much. Hidden sinister depths, perhaps?

This hand-cuff plot does lead to a B-plot with some funny moments. Again, not as funny as Glomgold at his best, but still good in its own right. Scrooge tells him he's on thin ice, and Glomgold assumes he was talking figuratively. Scrooge at least knows how to use the word "literally" correctly.

After going through the "fun way", they end up at the Doomsday Vault, as they get the first of many, many greetings from Ludwig Von Drake in prerecorded form. They never outright confirm if he's dead or alive; it wouldn't be too out there if he was still alive, but it also wouldn't be too out there if this is actually his ghost. I mean, if Duckworth can do it, so can he.

One thing against the ghost theory is that this video congratulates these survivors from getting away from various monsters, including those mythical hairless apes. Thankfully, these survivors have made it to this vault that is protected from every possible disaster he could think of.

Della: Yeah, everything except climate change.

(Della and Dewey hi-five)

Even if she isn't wrong, one can tell that hi-five was a laugh track substitute, just like the fist-bumps in the other show. One joke I definitely can say was worth some sort of hi-five is the joke involving his first obstacle for any would-be werewolves: a color-coded keypad. I knew what song was going to come up, and I'm so glad it did. Since these buttons are frozen solid, Della helps Dewey into a vent that leads to the other side, and Dewey can't help but start singing a song while he crawls through it.

Dewey: Gotta earn the love I want so Dew-sperately!

Della: What was that?

Dewey: Nothing, Mom!

Yeah, that's pretty much the whole A-plot. After a few seconds. After a few seconds on the other side, Della tells him that there may be a panel outside. Yeah, attack while itʼs tailʼs up, Cloud!

It'll fire by crushing your mom! I find it interesting how this series is not afraid to say that Della is going to get killed by this. Wow, Ludwig even had a failsafe if someone accidentally activated the second longest death trap and needed to de-activate it!

We get the cliched “which wire should I pull” scene, With the threatening and yet fitting for him countdown of Ludwig Von Drake giving it a needed twist. Della praises him again for saving her in a way that made it really dramatic. Dewey goes along with it, but the way he looks shows that's he's only doing this because heʼs desperate. She wonders what other monsters could lie beyond this door.

Well, they don't really get to that, because they're already at the seed room. Another Von Drake video appears, where he explains that even mythological seeds are here. Hopefully, he left out that one that eats people and takes their form. This is pretty high-tech stuff: it has a computer that can search and highlight which of these containers contains a certain seed, and it even has an easy-to-use crane!

Still needs a bit of maintenance, though, as the crane starts to spark and smoke, eventually crashing into one of the vats full of Van Drake's patent pending super growth formula.

Della Duck: Aw, phooey.

It's not that I dislike Della as a character, far from it, but I have to ask: does she have a catchphrase that is actually her own? Yeah, there's "nothing can stop Della Duck", but she learned not to use it. As Della ponders what she could possibly do next, Dewey is walking on the crane, attempting to jump right to the money tree seeds. It's here that Della finally gets a bit of reserve about letting her child go through this reckless endangerment, and asks Dewey if this is too crazy.

She still cheers him on, because it's better than being an overprotective mother for the sake of being an overprotective mother, but it's clear by her tone of voice that she wishes Dewey would just let her save him from this. How would she do this?

We never find out, as Dewey does manage to get to the money tree seeds. However, he ends up dropping them right into the ground, which had a bunch of super growth formula poured into it. It's easy to guess what would happen next.

We occasionally cut back to the cuff-buddy plot, where Scrooge and Glomgold are glad to know that they're reaching the same destination, one far more than the other. They end up suffering through the aftermath of Della and Dewey going through this Vault and essentially breaking everything. Granted, most of this suffering is caused by Flintheart Glomgold finding ways to unintentionally cause fires.

Despite said fires, Scrooge's main focus of his anger is at Della's actions. Scrooge says it’s been over a decade, and she still acts like a child who doesn't think things through. This anger allows him to lift a steel door just by himself! No comment is made of that; it can just be assumed that he lifted it because he's Scrooge McDuck.

Back to the quest for the money tree, we see that growth formula still works just as well as Von Drake hoped, as the room is now filled with an ever growing tree made of gold and dollar bills. Della is still trying to cheer Dewey on and telling him to do even more crazy things, but this is where Dewey finally breaks.

Dewey: No, I can't do it!

This is the big emotional moment of the episode, which seems to be a requirement for every episode.

They basically repeat the same scene from the last episode, but this time with Dewey. It doesn't have as much weight when it's the Mama's boy.

Scrooge and Glomgold make it into this room, and Glomgold is already picking at the money tree.

After a series of events causes the crane to land right between the two handcuffs, freeing Scrooge from the B-plot, Scrooge finally confronts Della on her childish quest. His main question: did she even think about how she was going to get out of this?

It turns out, she did think of it. They all slide down the tree to a bottom floor with an emergency exit. She did explain that she knew about the hidden exit because an offscreen Ludwig video had a map of the entire place. She pays attention to everything, she says.

In the end, Della uses the gold and the goldwelding skills she learned on the moon to fix up the vault, Dewey learns that he doesn't have to prove anything to his Mom, and Flintheart Glomgold learns absolutely nothing. As it should be.

How does it stack up?

This is the first episode in a while where I didn't really get any major reaction out of it. Sure, it's supposed to be this filler episode, but it's also supposed to be Della's first real adventure beyond escaping the moon or meeting her kids for the first time. In the end, it just feels like a lesser version of the last episode.

This is not to say I felt this episode was bad in any way. It has its funny moments, especially with Glomgold and Ludwig Von Drake, but, compared to most of the show, it's merely adequate.

Next, they finally bring up that one shadow in the room from the Season 1 finale.

← Nothing Can Stop Della Duck! 🦆 Friendship Hates Magic! →

#fpb dt 2017 #ducktales 2017 #ducktales #fpb reviews #disney

[creek-cryptid-deluxe]

Alright Humans and Humanoids, it's time for another rant. Today's topic: a suddenly judgmental 'friend'

Ok, so, there is a woman who I've been friends with for about 5 yrs who we will call... L. She was around when my health started the initial Big Spiral that caused me to have to go on disability. She took me to the e.r. & to procedures. She was helpful & supportive. She helped me come to terms with needing mobility devices & encouraged me to go into pain management, knowing full well that I was at the point where I had tried everything short of the dreaded opioid medication. She knew I was scared of the judgement that can come with it. This last year or so though she has become less supportive, more self centered. Example: she had a baby a year ago. When she went back to work, it was one day a week & really only needed 2 hrs of childcare that day before her husband (who is amazingly sweet & still super supportive) got off work. So I volunteered. 2 hrs once a week was doable. Then she started her practicum hours for school. Suddenly she needed 5 hrs for 2 days and the 2 hrs the other day. She knew that me feeling as useless as I do, I would say yes, even though it was far too much. After 2 months, her husband made her find daycare because when he picked up the kiddo every day, he could see how badly it was killing me. After that, she stopped talking to me unless she needed someone to bitch about her life to. Fine. We all go through periods like that. It will get better, I thought (stupidly). Since then, I've only seen her when her husband invites me over for game night. Ok. Fine.

Which brings us to today. I went over for the baby's first birthday. I pretty much just hang with her husband & his friend because they are chill and because there were WAY WAY more people there than I was lead to believe there would be, so there's a ton of noise. I'm chatting with those guys about something I discovered regarding my medication (which I've been on, at the same dose, for nearly 2 yrs) that makes it work better in emergency situations (like if the pain is super overwhelming, can't move kind of bad). I purposely was not going to tell her, but she walked outside at just the wrong time. She immediately becomes super condescending & judgmental in tone, lecturing me about opioid addiction & basically treating me like a junkie. Here are some relevant facts about this little talk:

#1. I have been on this dose for nearly 2 yrs. I never take more than I'm prescribed, often less, actually, so that I am able to address emergency situations.

#2. In emergency situations, this is my last resort. I take OTC meds, use heat or ice, stretch, ect FIRST.

#3. My pain tolerance is NUTS. If I'm not tearing up when I move/put weight on that body part, it's fine and I just need heat/ice and rest.

#4. This woman is an ex heroin addict who up until she learned she was pregnant was doing molly on the regular and getting falling down drunk a minimum of twice a week.

#5. Remember me mentioning her practicum hours? Yeah, she is getting her masters and licensing to become an addiction counselor.

#6. She know goddamn well that even being prescribed these meds was a last resort for me, so anything other than my scaled down maintenance dose is absolutely a last resort.

SO WHAT THE FUCK. She made me feel small, ashamed, and absolutely like shit about doing what I need to fucking do to survive. Yes, I am in constant excruciating pain, but the emergency pain we are talking about? That shit makes me want to kill myself just so it will stop.

My dad (whom I live with) sees how bad it gets. I can see it physically hurt him to be helpless to do anything about it. In those moments, he looks so small and old. I told him what I was doing and his response was "Are you still able to measure the dose accurately?" When I confirmed that I can, he said "Does it work?" Again, confirmed. "DUDE THAT'S AWESOME! That's like a total game changer for you!" (Now you know where I get part of my speech patterns from since I type the way I speak.) Like, if my dad (and my other 4 friends, who basically reacted the same way) are just overjoyed I found a way to manage the pain better, then she should be, too.

But she isn't. I don't know that I can maintain that friendship anymore. She is literally NEVER happy for me or encouraging about anything. Example: I finally found a decor scheme that I want to pursue for my spaces. (I'll post about that next because I'm PUMPED AS HELL.) I sent her pictures I'm using for inspiration with a lot of words conveying my extreme excitement and she responded with "I dunno. That's really eclectic & a lot of colors. It looks, like, cluttered and nothing matches. Don't do too much of it. I'm sure you'll change your mind soon." I was like:

but instead of 'meep' I definitely said bitch. I can't imagine being that consistently negative about EVERYTHING that isn't what you like/want/believe. That must take so much energy. I really don't need that kind of person in my realm right now. I've got dragons to befriend or vanquish (those dragons will be my friends or they will be cut down) and stuff to paint.

Really sad thing is today she was lamenting that she only has 3 'real friends' left since having the baby. I don't understand how she can lack that much self awareness. I'll still be nice when she reaches out, because I'm friends with her husband, but I'm not pouring more energy into that relationship. It isn't worth it & is incredibly one sided. Just because I put a lot of time into it doesn't mean I should continue to do so. Not at such a steep price.

*DISCLAIMER FOR ANYONE CONCERNED:

just so we are clear on this, I'm not doing anything dumb like shooting up my meds. Just fyi. I'm not entirely comfortable (after today's experience) with disclosing what I'm doing. To be frank, I don't tell many people what I'm even on in the first place. It's nobody's biz. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#ehlers danlos syndrome #chronic illness #chronic pain #people suck sometimes #maybe they are defective