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fxntxsix · 2 years

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I NOW HAVE MORE THAN 100 CHILDREN???????

OMGOMGOMGOMG so last night at some point I hit a 100 followers and jesus lord christ god that makes me so happy because like real talk - I started writing on here when I was going through a lot and the fact that there are so many of you out there who care about what I write or post god it gets me all sorts of emo.

Anywayyyyyyy

In celebration of this, let’s do something fun (ngl I fully stole this from @emmymaehereeeeee but also I added a few to rep my Indian side a teeny bit)

Drabble prompts

Characters:

- Austin Butler

- Elvis Presley

- Austin!Elvis

- Sebastian Kydd

- Wil Ohmsford

- Tex Watson

Only one number per ask please:

1. “You can’t solve your problems by hiding in bed all day.” "try me"

2. “Can I hold your hand?”

3. "Why am I friends with you again?"

4. "Stop staring at him/her and just ask him/her out already"

5. “Oh my God! You’re in love with him/her!”

6. “I promise I will never let anything bad happen to you.”

7. “All I want is for you to look at me the way you look at them.”

8. "You’re not scared of the dark are you?”

9. "Are you really scared of a little thunder?"

10. "What the hell are you doing in my bed?" "I thought I heard a noise"

11. “That’s my ex. Makeout with me and make him/her jealous.”

12. “Spin the bottle is such a cliché. Let’s do it.”

13. “Can we just lie here for a moment”

14. "Honeymoon suite? Really? Are you trying to subtly hint me something?" "I'm not hitting on you It was the only room they had available" "you sure about that?"

15. “I don’t want to be your partner either, but we have to get this assignment done.”

16. “I’ve never hated you, you just make me feel things I don’t understand.”

17. “I really want to kiss you right now. I know I shouldn’t, and somehow that makes me want it more”

18. “I’ll give you fifty bucks if I can take you to Christmas dinner and tell my family we’re together. They always ask if I’m dating anyone and I can’t have that conversation again”

19. “You know my house has a door? You don’t always have to use the window”

20. “Why don’t you tell me why you really came here tonight?”

21. “can i copy your homework?" "We had homework?"

22. “i wasn't that drunk last night" "you yelled parkour as you tried jumping over a bus bench and then got into an argument with a tree that you thought boo'd you"

23. “We always share blankets on the couch, I’m sure sharing the bed for the night is fine too.”

24. “I keep telling them we’re not dating, but they keep telling me friends don’t normally make out when they’re drunk.”

25. “Sometimes you have to think of yourself as a priority.”

26. "You got something on your face, let me clean it off"

27. "Marry me"

28. "I'm pregnant"

29. "Kiss me"

30. "Let me walk you home"

31. "This is the third time I've cleaned you up in a month I'm starting to think you're getting into fights on purpose"

32. "Tell me something i don't know about you"

33. "Great now we're lost, I told you you should have asked for directions"

34. "Looks like we're gonna be stuck here for a awhile"

35. “I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I don’t notice.”

36. “Hey! I was gonna eat that!” "you snooze you lose"

37. "In my defense i was left unsupervised"

38. "You look beautiful" "damn right i do"

39. "I can't stop thinking about you”

40. "A pout's not gonna get you out of this"

41. "You fell asleep during the movie"

42. "Aside peasant! I came to see your cats/dogs, not you."

43. "Did you steal the women’s magazines from the dentist office again?" "What? They're not free?"

44. “I’m sorry, but I’m done waiting.”

45. “If I die, I’m going to haunt your ass.”

46. "Do I need to buy a child seat for you?" "I'm not that short!"

47. "You look good in my shirt"

48. “Who brought pot brownies to the bake sale?!”

49. "If anything on the menu has surprise in their names, do not order it."

50. "You know you don't live here right?"

51. "You want the truth? The truth is that I'm in love with you"

52. "You cheated!" "How did i cheat we're playing mariokart"

53. "Do you want pancakes or waffles?" "If you're the one making them then neither"

54. "Why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?"

55. "You really think you're not competitive? Last week you 'accidently' threw the monopoly board on the floor because you were losing"

56. "What's wrong why are you yelling?" "The last puzzle piece is missing!"

57. "it's freezing out here take my jacket"

58. "I sent you to the store to get milk not a dog"

59. "Everytime i look at you my heart skips a beat"

60. "When was the last time you slept?" "That depends, what day is it?"

61. “Wanna watch a Bollywood movie tonight?”

62. “Teach me a Hindi curse word” “Chutiya”

63. “I didn’t know you could dance that beautifully.”

64. “Mujhe tumse ishq hai.” “What does that mean?” “I can’t tell you”

65. “Is that henna?” “In India, we call it mehendi”

66. “Holi is a festival of colours. Would you like to join us?”

- Fantasia <3

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novemberhush · 1 year

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Thanks for the tag, @smowkie 😘

Three ships: Just off the top of my head - Chenford, Marvey and Barisi

First ever ship: It’s hard to remember because I’ve been shipping characters since before I even knew what shipping was! The first ones that spring to mind are Jim Dempsey/Harriet ‘Harry’ Makepeace from the ‘80s cop show, Dempsey & Makepeace. He’s a straight shootin’, down to Earth American cop who’s been shipped off to London after making himself unpopular when he exposed corruption in the NYPD and she’s the classy, no-nonsense British detective (with a title, no less! She’s a real Lady, lol) he’s partnered with. Sparks inevitably fly. (Fun fact! The actors got together in real life during the second season, split up, got back together again, got married, had a son together and are still married to this day! So I guess the chemistry was real!)

Besides them, I remember shipping Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe from the ‘80s tv adaptations of the Anne of Green Gables books, and Maddie Hayes and David Addison from Moonlighting.

Last song: Sit Here and Love Me by Caroline Spence

Last movie: How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Believe it or not, I’d never seen it before.)

Currently reading: Trying to finish The Girl Who Left by Jenny Blackhurst

Currently watching: I just binged all 3 seasons of Vienna Blood (which is only 9 episodes in total so it didn’t take me long) and finally finished season 1 of Superman and Lois (the episodes that featured the annoying emo kid heavily were hard going!). I’m watching season 4 of Coroner (the Canadian show, not the English one with a similar title) and the last season of Bull (which I’m not even sure why I’ve stuck with this long, but there’s only a couple of episodes left now so I might as well finish it). Season 2 of the CSI:Vegas reboot has just started here so I’m watching it and Murdoch Mysteries is back here at the end of the month so I’ll be watching that. The Rookie will be back here sometime in the spring too and I’m looking forward to that, given all the Chenford developments! Oh, and I’ve been dipping in and out of Without A Trace and Person of Interest reruns that have recently started here.

Currently craving: Um, nothing really. My uncle just made us sausage and fried egg sandwiches and I’m pretty full. Maybe a nice, cold Coke or a vanilla milkshake to wash it all down?

I tag @oneawkwardcookie @katries @peaceofficerdiaz @foreverthemomfriend @sal-si-puedes @sassenach-on-the-rocks @elysiumwaits @mandysimo13 @all-or-nothing-baby @whattarush and anyone else who wants to play. No pressure on anyone who doesn’t!❤️

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mycatshuman · 4 years

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The Emo Who Stole Christmas Masterlist

Coming Soon!

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randomlonelytorment · 4 years

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WHY THE FUCK DID NO ONE TELL ME!????

THE LEAD SINGER OF THE PRETTY RECKLESS IS CINDY FUCKING LOU WHO!???

#the grinch #the grinch who stole christmas #jim carrey #cindy lou who #the pretty reckless #taylor momsen #emo #punk #music #omfg

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artemisia-black · 3 years

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My top twenty Sirius moments

1. When he manages to seem bored in Azkaban and says he misses doing the crossword.

2. When he takes time out of his busy murder plot to buy Harry a new broom, via his finance manager/personal assistant Crookshanks.

3. His friendship with Crookshanks #squadgoals

4. When he thinks it’s a good idea to break into a dorm full of sleeping teenagers and try and stab a rat in the dark. Homeboy is verrry confident about his knife skills .

5. “There’s enough filth on my robes without you touching them Peter.” Ahh Sirius you sassy icon.

6. Also ‘If you made a better Rat then Human that’s nothing to boast about Peter.’ Le sass is strong.

7. Mr Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a Professor. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 perfection

8. When he sends post via tropical birds, for dramatic effect.

9. When he really leans into the criminal thing and breaks into someone’s house to use the fire ( I hope he stole some food).

10. When he basically figures out the entire GoF plot using scrounged newspapers. He’s an incredibly astute person and it’s tragic he never got to hunt Horcruxes (it would have taken him a few days).

11. The chapter Padfoot returns should be renamed ‘Wizarding world tea with Sirius Black.’ He legit had the receipts on everyone.

12. When he sends Harry a muddy pawprint as a good luck gift (be still my beating heart).

13. When Padfoot growls at Fudge while in the hospital wing. Despite being a wanted criminal who is front of the man that could have him arrested, no one insults Harry in front of Sirius.

14. When he gets bitten by something in Grimmauld place and spends a moment studying his hand in an interested way. Ahhhh he had such a sharp mind that clearly loved working things out.

15. Padfoot chasing pigeons on the way to King’s Cross.

16. God rest ye Merry Hippogriffs. I need a Sirius Black Christmas carol remix album in my life.

17. How he still looks hot while taking an exam. Trust me this is a special gift- I normally look like I haven’t slept in a week and have caffeine shakes.

18. ‘ Reading between the lines, I’d say she thinks you’re a bit conceited, mate.’ The books needed more sassy/sarcastic Sirius.

19. When he put santa hats on the elf heads, and singlehandly created the ultimate emo xmas decor.

20. His room being covered in motorcycle pictures. I’d like to think that muggle Sirius would definitely have a motorcycle themed tumblr.

#sirius black #marauders #noble and most ancient house of black #toujours pur #sirius orion black #he is so sassy #sirius + crookshanks= squad goals

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definitelyblond · 2 years

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Viv’s Top Holiday Movies

1. Edward Scissorhands - 1990

It’s a Christmas movie, shut up I love it.

2. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation - 1989

Literally one of the most iconic Christmas movies, hilarious and makes me laugh no matter how many times I watch it.

3. The Polar Express - 2004

This was my papa’s all time favourite Christmas movie and I remember my first solo in music class was a verse of “When Christmas Comes to Town.”

4. Elf - 2003

My favourite Christmas movie! It’s hilarious, full of magic and leaves me with a huge smile on my face. every Christmas eve.

5. Home Alone - 1990

Love it, every kid wishes to have the house to themselves. The nail on the stairs scene will be continue being the grossest thing I’ve ever seen.

6. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas - 2000

I grew up to be the Grinch, so like it’s relatable.

7. The Nightmare Before Christmas - 1993

One of my favourite movies period. I was that weird dark emo child that drew demons in elementary school.

8. Rise of the Guardians - 2012

The concept is so beautiful and the characters are so unique and well thought out, they all have gorgeous voice actors.

9. It’s a Wonderful Life - 1946

It’s happy, it’s sad, and it makes you contemplate life, literally.

10. Disney’s: A Christmas Carol - 2009

Love the animation style added to this classic story of Scrooge and the Christmas Ghosts.

#christmas #the nightmare before christmas #a christmas carol #it's a wonderful life #elf #edward scissorhands #national lampoon's christmas vacation #rise of the guardians #the grinch who stole christmas #home alone #the polar express #holiday #movies #Viv's lists

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what-if-nct · 3 years

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Johnny looks like a who. Like from whoville. Its driving me insane cos im pretty sure im not supposed to find whos attractive?? But there was that one emo one from Horton so. Anyway ive had this thought before but something about the polar bear costume really made it slap me in the face so i came to share it with you.

ITS THE BEAR NOSE! It makes his whoness even stronger. Like listen Johnny is one of the most beautiful men ever the fact he looks like an extra on The Grinch Who Stole Christmas just adds to his beauty

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pl-panda · 4 years

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To Marry a Vigilante: Part 5

MASTERLIST || First || Previous || Next

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By the time the class landed in Gotham, Marinette and Chloé had enough. Their recorders, which were supposed to serve as damning evidence of blatant bullying, got ‘damaged’ when Lila accidentally splashed the two girls with a drink. Whatever it was, it was sticky, didn’t wash with water, and also ruined their hidden dictaphones.

Of course, the liar made it look like it was Marinette who tripped her. The class almost hounded her, but they kept their distance not wanting to also get their clothes dirtied. Of course, Lila was occupying the bathroom for the next fifteen minutes, so when she finally left the drink already dried, making it even harder to get rid of.

When the girls made their way out of the plane to meet with Sabine and their teacher, Lila pushed past them and came crying about how rude Marinette ruined her outfit, which was supposedly incredibly expensive. None of the intelligent people bothered to try and point out that it was cheap mass-produced junk. Alix was visibly conflicted, but also did not speak up in the end.

“Marinette. I expected better of…” The teacher started, but then she saw both girls were hit worse than Lila, who cleaned most of it in the bathroom.

“Sweetie…” Sabine started to rethink if a simple murder wouldn’t solve their problem.

“Don’t worry Maman. I can probably salvage it once we ret… get to Damian’s” Mari corrected herself. Luckily, it seemed like nobody caught her slip of tongue.

“Ugh! Not that creep.” Alya complained. “He gives me shivers.”

Mari glared at her former friend. She wanted to say something, but her teacher urged them to move. They were put into a small lounge. Marinette, of course, had to run them through a safety course, for reasons. She still did her best, as Gotham earned its reputation as the World’s Capital of Crime.

When they were finally cleared and the class left the airport, there was a bus waiting, ready to take them to the hotel. Marinette and Chloé were about to board when a limousine pulled next to them.

“Angel, Bourgeoise…” He greeted the girls. “Since you’ll be staying with us, my father decided to send a proper escort.”

The class stared in disbelief. The guy with a sword was loaded? It definitely looked like it from the car.

“I bet his gramps just works as a driver and borrowed his work car,” Lila whispered to Alya and suddenly everyone was repeating the lie. “Or maybe even stole it…”

A blade was suddenly pressed into Lila’s neck, a hair width away from drawing blood

“Tt. I will tolerate many things, but if you try to insult Alfred one more time, your end will be painful.” The class backed away in fear. Marinette immediately went to try and drag the boy away from a very pale Lila, but he wouldn’t budge. “Am. I. Clear?”

Lila was too paralyzed to answer, so he pressed the blade further. Now it was in contact with her skin and a moment of inattention could have fatal consequences. “Am. I. Clear?” He seethed.

“Yes…” She managed to whisper.

“Tt. Good.” He sheathed his blade just as two security guards came outside to check the commotion.

“Arrest him! He tried to murder Lila!” Alya immediately screamed.

“No. If I did, she would be dead. I only explained certain values.” Damian deadpanned.

The two guards looked between the class and visibly angry Damian Wayne and scratched their heads. They could report it, but they only had the word of some foreigners against the word of the son of the First Citizen of Gotham who was also the fifth richest man in the world. The cameras here stopped working, hence they came out to check what happened.

“Children. We should be going or we’ll miss lunch at the hotel,” their teacher urged. That was enough for the guards. If the chaperone did not press charges, they wouldn’t bother.

“But… But…”

“Lila. Be a bigger person here and apologize to Damian.” Sabine grinned.

“But he…”

“I don’t want to hear it!” The woman cut her off. “You must show our host some respect.”

“I didn’t…” The glare Sabine sent her and the murderous expression on Damian’s face made the words freeze in her throat. “Fine. I’m sorry Damien.”

“Tt.” Was the boy’s only response.

Marinette and Chloé were about to leave when Rose protested. “Why are they not going with us to the hotel!?”

“Because as one of the host families, I’m allowed to welcome the students I choose to my house for the stay.” Damian did not care enough to elaborate more. Instead, he just jumped into the back seat of the Limousine. The girls followed, with Chloé going as far as sticking her tongue at the class.

Once the doors closed and Alfred started the engine, Damian lowered the windshield and leaned outside. “By the way, it’s Damian. Damian W…” He didn’t get to finish because Marinette covered his mouth with her hand and dragged him inside. The windshield closed.

When the car entered the main road, the girl finally let him go.

“What was that about, Habibti?” He glared at her.

“You were about to reveal that you’re the Damian Wayne.” She accused him.

“Tt. It’s time that liar learns who she’s dealing with.”

“It would only blow up in our faces. She would make it worse for all of us, including your family.” Seeing that both her best friend and her husband (still hard to get used to) were looking at her with no small amount of curiosity, she elaborated. “Damian Wayne is supposedly her ‘ultimate price’ from this exchange. She will want to sink her claws into you with all her skill.”

“Tt. She can try.” He huffed. His hand instinctively went to his sword.

“You do know you are quite murderous for a Robin?” Chloé quipped.

“And you’re bratty for a lady.”

“Bird-brain.”

“That’s Drake. Spoiled princess.”

“Daddy can afford it so why not? Trained monkey.”

“Grayson. Try harder. Talentless heiress.”

“I’m helping Marinette start her own company. Emo McBroodyPants.”

“Where did you even get that one?”

“I read.” She huffed. “And looks like I won.”

“Tt. As if.”

Marinette just sat back and watched her best friend and lover bicker there and back. It was nice that they were warming up to one another…

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When Sabine finally arrived at the Manor, she was dead on her feet. Alfred was, of course, waiting for her at the entrance.

“Eventful day, Madame?”

“Don’t.” She cut him off.

“I assume it went worse than anticipated then?”

“Where is Tom?”

“Master Tom is in the kitchen. He decided to prepare some baked goods for the afternoon.”

Sabine stormed to the kitchen where she found her husband. He was clearly busy preparing the dough. After a quick greeting, she went to help him.

“That bad?”

“Worse.” She sighed. “I really don’t understand that woman. How… She cut me whenever I tried to rein those monsters in.”

“Oh… Hand me the pin.” He interrupted himself. Sabine gave him the item, which she already had in hand when he started speaking.

“I’m not sure if I can survive until school starts again. And even then there will be occasional afternoon trips. If it continues, I might just… I will get a jam. You did bring it?”

“I’ve put it on the counter,” Tom replied while still preparing the dough. “And don’t worry. I’m sure it’ll get better.”

“I hope so…”

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In the evening, Marinette, Chloé, and Sabine were introduced to the Batcave. It was indeed impressive, but Sabine was mostly interested in the training ring. She would lie if she didn’t want to test herself against the famous Batman. And she didn’t fancy committing crimes to do so. Well, for now. The class was making it more and more appealing.

“So you’re the girl that tamed Robin?” A redhead in a wheelchair rolled over to Marinette.

“Tt. Shut up, Gordon.” Damian managed to spend a beautiful afternoon without any teasing from his family. Sadly, nothing could last forever.

“Come on baby bird. After the show you gave us on Christmas Eve, you can’t expect us to just drop it.” Dick was there, smiling cockily.

“As much as I too want to tease that couple, I hoped for some sparring matches.” Sabine decided to save the teens. For now.

“Well, Madame, I’m happy to oblige.”

“Who’s with you?” She asked once Nightwing entered the ring.

“Um… I didn’t think you wanted a team match?” He replied, slightly confused.

“No, no. I just thought I would have some challenge.” She smiled brightly. She was dressed in a dark-pink judoka and wooden sandals.

“I… want.” Cass chimed in. She gracefully jumped into the ring before turning to Dick. “Alone.”

“Of course Sweetie. But I won’t go easy on you.”

“Did not… expected.”

The two women watched one another, neither moving from their spots. Both seemed relaxed but ready to react. Cass was first to start circling, with Sabine following. Neither could find any obvious flaws to exploit. Finally, Sabine lunged forward, only to jump to the side before getting in Cassandra’s range. The girl didn’t lose the bit and with a quick spin kicked her aunt, only to be deflected. Sabine tried to capitalize on the opening, but Cass followed her failed kick with another, launching herself in the air. Her target ducked low before trying to deliver an upper-cut punch toward the flying girl. It did connect, serving to push her back. She used the momentum to get some distance before landing on her hands and doing a double backward cartwheel and ending in a ready stance.

“Not bad, Cassandra. I’m impressed. That boy would probably already be crying on the floor.” Sabine smiled genuinely. There was no need for banter between them.

“Weakling.” The girl blew Dick a raspberry.

Two women watched each other for a moment. This time, it was Sabine who initiated the actual fight. She delivered three quick punches that Cass blocked, but it created a small opening. She tried to deliver a side-kick to the girl’s head, but her opponent had the same idea.

Their legs clashed by the shins. Sabine landed her leg firmly on the ground, but Cass once more lunged in the air, trying to use the momentum. She did two more kicks that her aunt blocked before she tried to put the older woman in a grip. Sabine, seeing the attempt, jumped back and tried to grab Cassandra’s hand, but instead, the girl spun around, delivering a powerful kick to Sabine’s side.

The woman felt the kick, but she used the opportunity to timely grab her opponent’s foot and twist it. Cass, to avoid an injury, also had to spin in the air. She managed to attempt a kick before falling on her stomach. Her kick did force Sabine to let go of the foot to avoid having her head hurt. The girl quickly jumped on her feet, just in time to block an open-palm strike, which was followed with a kick. She did not get to respond, because Sabine made a low-sweep. Cass jumped in the air, only to find herself pushed away by another open-palm strike that, this time, connected with her chest, pushing the air out of her lungs.

The woman followed Cass in the air, so she did not get a chance to stand up before getting pinned and rotated on her stomach. The grip that Sabine used effectively made it almost impossible to get out of before her aunt delivered a mock game-ending strike to her head.

When Sabine stood up and helped her niece, both were panting heavily. It did not affect the accuracy with which the older of them made a back-kick, right below Jason’s belt.

“Next time you try to sneak on either of us I will hit harder.” Sabine didn’t even bother to turn around and watch how the man curled on the floor, crying. “Good fight.” She focused her gaze on Cass, who blushed slightly.

“I lost.”

“Well, depends on the criteria. You got the first hit, which is often decisive. And an achievement.” The woman cheered her with a broad smile on her face. Cassandra couldn’t help but also smile. “We could both use some more practice. I definitely would’ve taken you when I caught your foot and if you capitalized on the initial advantage you could’ve ended the fight.”

“It is an honor… training… with you.”

“Thank you, my dear. I also enjoyed it.” Sabine then turned to the gobsmacked group. The fight must have looked more impressive than she thought.

“Did you just… defeat Cass in less than five minutes…?” Tim asked, unable to form a smooth sentence.

“Well, Sandra always said that I was the better one in unarmed combat. She does rock with swords though. And you should’ve seen her in that club in Tokyo. She’s definitely the dancer of the family, or rather was. I enjoy Cass’s ballet more.”

The great moment was interrupted by Batman speaking to everyone over the comms.

“Suit up. We’ve got a hostage situation at Gotham Plaza.”

“For the love of Kwami… Please tell me it’s not my class.” Marinette groaned.

“Tt. Of course it’s them.” Damian pulled his phone, showing her a live feed from the news helicopter. On the rooftop, there was a clearly visible group of teenagers, surrounded by goons with guns aimed at them. Near the edge stood a guy in a two-color suit. Half white and half black, with a red and black tie to complete the mad image. Half of his face was badly damaged and purple.

“If Batman doesn’t show here to save his precious sidekick soon, we shall see if the little birdie can actually fly.”

Everyone who met Lila groaned.

“I assume we can’t just let him deal with her?” Marinette asked hopefully.

“Sadly, Angel, it would be bad for our image.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“The two of you are sitting this out.” Batman walked into the cave, already in his suit. “We can’t risk any of them recognizing you two and it’s too early for Ladybug and Chat to appear. It would be too easy to associate their appearance with you two coming to Gotham.”

Seeing Damian’s irritated face, Marinette decided to intervene before she had a fight on her hands “Let’s do a movie night. I’m sure you have a theatre room somewhere in here.”

Immediately, the boy brightened. “No Bourgeoise?”

“I think Chloé has other plans for the evening.” She nodded toward where the blonde was talking excitedly with Cass, trying to convince her to train her.

“Good.” Damian offered his hand and the two left the cave.

“Damn! I didn’t get the chance to tease him about the proposal.” Jason looked really dejected.

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Masterlist // Next

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #miraculous lb #maribat #maribat au #marinette dupain cheng #maridami #Damian Wayne #Damian al Ghul #damienette #arranged marriage AU #batman #BatFam #miraculous dc #mlb #mlb x dc

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volodam · 2 years

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update on the dnd campaign:

[for context our campaign is set in a critical role au]

the party arrived in whitestone for the winterscrest celebrations. our dm was expecting a chill session full of festivities. spoiler alert: they were wrong.

ping is temporarily possessed by the christmas spirit and is no longer emo. we get a group portrait. all is good.

then we remember percy (yes thAt percy) is fucky wucky bUT NO NEED TO PANIC! WE SAW KEYLETH AT THE SUN TREE. cue ping dragging aster (tiefling sorcerer) at top speed to the tree, grabbing keyleth too and dashing over to percy and basically saying

"shooty man doesn't want to shoot me anymore. can you fix him?" (him wanting to shoot ping is something we're not gonna get into)

cue keyleth being extra mega confused. aster drags her off to the side and COMPREHENSIBLY EXPLAINS THE SITUATION!!! (thanks aster love u <3)

boom greater restoration all is well. except its not coz now percy is freaking the fuck out. keyleth yoinks him away. we are not allowed with them. we are sad :(

AND THEN WE JUST RETURN TO CHRISTMAS LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED, FIND OUR TABAXI GREMLIN WHO HAS BEEN ON A DATE WITH AN NPC WE STOLE FROM THE EMPIRE THIS WHOLE TIME AND FUCK SEVERELY AT ARCHERY!

best thing is. coz we went on that fuckin tangent. our christmas special is gonna be another session long now :))))

#dnd #dnd dungeons and dragons #dungeons and dragons #critical role

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poormeowmeowcollector · 3 years

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The perfect Christmas Tree

Relationship: Loki/short!reader

Summary: You want to make the Christmas season something more livid within the tower, but you can't find a good tree. Until Loki offers his help.

Notes: part of the 'Tis The Season Challenge of @the-emo-asgardian and a twisted form of 10. Finding the perfect Christmas tree. But, in my defense, it didn't say who is the perfect Christmas tree ans it's 3am.

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You always loved Christmas. It is the time of the year when your family is a little less annoying and you are a bit more tolerant of listening to "All I Want For Christmas Is You” (as long as it's the My Chemical Romance version) and the food is just a huge plus.

The Avengers don't have the best memories around Christmas—maybe with the exception of Sam, Steve and Bucky—and you can't blame them. Hell, Thor, Loki and Wanda aren't even Christians, but Thor enjoys the food and Loki just goes around saying that this is a celebration stolen from pagans and then capitalism stole it from Christians. And he does celebrate Yule but you caught him at 4am raiding the cookies Wanda had baked for Hanukkah.

And, since Christmas is the happiest season for winter, you decided to make the perfect Christmas celebration the tower has ever seen. And you are so close to it. There are cookies and movies and songs and decorations and Wanda and Thor helped you include Hanukkah and Yule to the party—since Loki, the actual witch, is too busy with seasonal depression to help—but something is missing.

And that something is the damned tree.

You tried to find the best tree but it was pointless. Both Thor and Loki are extremely sensitive to earthly plants, so an actual tree is out of the list, and all the fake ones look too fake. And you want something special for the tree, but you don't know what.

So, you are now just sitting in the living room, staring at the empty corner with the decorations from the three religions beside you and trying to think of what to do.

"Still thinking about that tree, huh?" Loki's voice interrupts the silence. You hide a flinch and turn to face him with a smile. He smiles back, walking closer and leaving the hot cup of chocolate on the table.

"That obvious…" You sigh. He has seen better days, that's sure. The dark circles from the attack have returned, making his pale green eyes glow, his hair looks like a mess and he's in some dark green Æsir pyjamas. But he's still pretty.

Or your crush is still going strong.

"Why don't you just give up. This thing won't work and you know it," He asks and you frown, staring at him as you search for an answer.

He turns away to take a sip of his chocolate, and your eyes are still on him. On his hair. They look like they used to during the attack, like a sinister Christmas tree.

He sees you smiling like you just lost your mind as your brain clicks everything together.

"Stand up," You demand, and he gives you the raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"Please, stand up, I have an idea!" You repeat. He still doesn't get it but obeys.

"Great. Now go to that corner," You instruct as you smile. Loki gives you a look but does what you say. And you grab the green garland and tangle his body with it, careful not to tie his hands.

"What are you doing?" He asks, way too clearly than needed. He always does that when he's angry.

"You'll be the Christmas tree!" You smile. And he glares at you, not believing what you say.

"Forget it," He snaps and tries to walk away but you put a hand on his chest.

"Please, it'll be fun. For me, please…" You beg, deploying the puppy eyes. For the last months on the team, Loki had suggested a lot of crazy things and you will not make him take your turn to madness. He sighs and closes his eyes.

"I will regret it but… fine," He hums, walking back to his place as you pass the red garland around him.

"You will look so pretty!" You exhale, grinning like a sunbeam.

"I haven't slept for a week, haven't showered in three days and I'm running lower on will to live than your laptop on battery. How will I be pretty?" He disagrees, and you suppress a frown. You always hate it when he doesn't feel good, he doesn't deserve it.

"Don't you trust me?" You ask, blinking at him. He sighs, again.

"I do, dear…" He tries to make a small smile, but he looks like he doesn't remember how.

"Then, trust me when I say that you will look perfect," You respond, making his smile widen.

He stands still as you tangle him with the lights. You are too focused on not risking him getting electrocuted to speak and he stays silent as well. But when you are done with this, he says one word "cocoa,". You nod and grab the cup from the table, standing in your tiptoes as you place it on his lips and let him sip—he can't move his hands without ruining something.

"Thank you, dear," He smiles and allows you to place the cup back before you can start placing the balls and decorations you made with Thor and Wanda, or tangle the little ropes with the garlands and lights in order to sit there.

And then, you hang two pieces in his ears, glad to find out that they sit perfectly and that Loki doesn't give you the murder glare.

"But why are you so eager to make this thing?" He asks, watching as you try to tangle a homemade star of David on his shoulder.

"Because this is a season when we can just have something together and be less miserable," You respond without a second thought. Loki makes a low sound from the back of his throat.

"Why have you decided to hate it so much?" You ask, staring at him.

"It doesn't feel right," He mutters, almost ashamed of his answer. You tilt your head, asking for elaboration. "It's all about family and being with people you love and all those things and… I haven't lived it… It's like it's mocking me, you know," He looks away, the shame getting stronger. It was about Asgard, like always…

You cup his hand, he was inhumanly cold as always, searching for his eyes. "That's why I'm making this thing. You're not the only one with bad or no memories about this season, and you deserve some happy memories…" You speak softly, hoping you don't make things worse.

He turns back to you, his eyes glowing with tears he tries to hold and a slight smile on his lips. He mouths a thank you, not having the voice to speak it up. And you reply with a smile, squeezing his hand before you release it, a small whine echoing.

"I just have to place the star and you're ready," You announce, digging into the bag for the golden star. You laugh as you take it out and stand on your tiptoes to reach Loki's head.

"Do you want me to duck?" He asks, seeing your struggle. To be fair, you are not exactly gifted with inches and he is the third tallest avenger, after Thor and Steve.

"No, I'm fine. I just gotta…" You sigh between your teeth, trying to reach him.

A green light appears beneath you and lifts you up several inches, reversing the high deference. "Thank you, sweetie," You smile. He tries to hide a blush.

Damn, he looks so cute from up here!

You place the star and balance it on his head, secretly thanking him for his good posture. You lower yourself to have eye contact. "Now you look like a pretty Christmas tree," You smile and kiss the tip of his nose.

His magical platform vanishes, and two glowing hands that tickle when they touch you bring you closer to him. At first, he just brushes his forehead to yours. But then, you pull him to a kiss.

He tastes so nice, like snow and mint and chocolate. And you can smell the aftershave in his face, feel the small grin before he kisses back, the magic hands holding you softer, closer.

"Alright, what's going on?" Tony asks, or yells, from the door. The magic hands vanish and you stare at him.

"I'm kissing our Christmas tree," You blink, as if this isn't the weirdest thing you ever said.

"I love it too…" You hum, bringing him close to a hug.

"Ok, you're high. Loki, let's suppose you are the one with a decent state of mind. Why are you covered in Christmas decoration?" Tony sighs. You can see Loki grinning, his cheeks flushed.

"Oh, I'm the Christmas tree," He answers, again, as if this isn't on his top ten of weirdest things he ever said. Tony groans.

"Why did I wake up today?" He asks himself, rubbing his eye bridge.

"And, can you call the others? We're about to light him up, people should watch." You ask, smiling at Tony. He sighs and nods, speaking to JARVIS as he settles on the sofa.

"Cocoa, my love?" Loki asks. You nod and grab the cup, bringing it to his lips and letting him take a long sip. When he's over, you place it back and steal a small kiss, tasting the chocolate again.

"You really know how to make a hot cocoa," You smile at him. He bites his lip and tries to hide his blushing.

And then, people start arriving. And they all stare at Loki like he's naked. Some ask what is happening and you inform them with a smile. When everyone is settled down, you plug in the lights and walk back to admire your work.

Loki grins and raises his hands like he's asking for a hug, watching as people start smiling at the sheer ridiculousness of the view. And he doesn't give a care.

Sam takes his phone out and snaps a shot, grinning. Everyone but Steve, Bucky and Thor mimic him, snickering echoing.

"You won't post something, right?" He asks, hiding his worry. Loki has been trying to fix his public image since he became an Avenger, and this is certainly not what he means by this.

"I promise nothing," Sam smiles.

Loki tries to walk to where Sam is, but the sound of plugs getting pulled and decorations breaking stops him.

"Don't post. It's private. We'll pick up the mess," You snap. Sam nods and leaves, everyone following his steps until you are alone with Loki again.

"Come on, lets get those things off you," You mutter and untie the decorations before you get the garlands and lights off him. As you put them back to the bag, he kneels down and makes all the pieces of broken balls and hammers disappear.

"You know…" Loki trails off, now sitting on the clean ground. You already know what he's about to say.

"This was ridiculous and embarrassing, I know. I'm sorry," You don't get the courage to stare at him. But he does let his hand cup yours, bringing you down to him.

"It was fun. You know, I love it when you let me be goofy and have fun… Not a lot of people did in the past," He smiles, brushing his cold fingers against your hand.

~~~

"You get used to it, actually," Loki hums, staring at the tree.

Well, the "tree" is a hologram of Loki yesterday, his hands raised and a self proud smile on his face.

You hum, shifting to get more comfortable in his shoulder. He smiles and turns to you.

"Well, you make a good tree," You shrug. He traces his fingers on your cheek, giving you another sweet kiss.

#marvel fanfiction #marvel fanfic #loki/reader #loki marvel #loki fanfiction #loki fanfic #marvel crack #marvel fluff #fluff and crack #christmas special #christmas fanfiction #sinister Christmas tree #y'all are in blame for this #what is happening?

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widowsofchaos · 4 years

Note

From the dialogue prompts, I need 13 with Bucky. Please. I need it.

❝ Yearning

prompt 13: “Look, I know you’re a hardass, but can you play with my hair? It would really help.”

Request a prompt!

Do Not Repost My Works!

An outsider, and a lone wolf - what an odd pair some might say. Or rather it couldn’t be more fitting. Closed-off, coherent mutters, tiny smiles, stonic glares, but radiate a glimmer of warmth from their fractured hearts; only reserved for close friends.

No one understands these two self-labeled – half-jokingly misanthropists, better than each other.

Modern day Bonnie and Clyde, Tony slurred once at a late Christmas party, an emo and a goth - a tease from Sam.

Snuffs out hovering regrets and scars with whispered declarations under the moon and stars, and bandaging ghost pains with massages and lush kisses.

Ying and Yang, milky white morphed beautifully with smooth blackness, dance around each other in perfect harmony — in which of sparring and making love.

Don’t even have to speak a word – it’s the eyes, and the other soulmate is aware of the other’s thoughts.

Speak in black satirize jabs that often bleeds into a concerning spectrum - that more often than not, pushes Steve and Tony to schedule therapy appointments. Just to make sure you two are okay.

Ushered pet names, such as sweetheart, doll, baby, darling, Buckeroo, fuck-face, and dumb-baby, hanging off of him like a whiny baby koala, and Bucky latching onto you as a needy over-sized teddy bear, with you on his lap.

Clint jabbed that you looked like an ape playing on a tree, and lingering chaste forehead kisses that sends sweetened shivers down your spine.

Before you and Bucky met each other, it was set in your minds that happiness wasn’t meant to be.

The moment you were inducted by the high regards of Fury, to become the newest member of the Avengers, a short fuzzy curled domed beauty, who is a master of martial arts, mental and physical stealth, hand-to-hand combat, weaponry, intelligence, and bilingualism.

Effortlessly within less than week, you gained the Widow’s respect — an honor so hard to gain.

You truly stole Bucky’s breath away at first sight. Masked underneath the century’s best impassive gaze, what once was a shriveled coal of despair, was then resurrected into a beating heart pulsing with hope.

You and Bucky weren’t always the clingy knuckleheads.

Distance, fear, and self-loathing running so deep into a tumultuous inky swamp. Days turn into weeks, and soon blur into months of pining.

It drove the rest of the team absolutely mad of the egg-shell tap dancing and revolted out by the moon eyes.

Coined as “hard-headed dipshits” by Clint and Sam, honest to God, stubborn mules refusing to be honest with your feelings.

One minute, Bucky and yourself are making jokes, mindlessly sadating touch-starved skin with fingers linking and fumbling. Spending day and night glued to the hip, at training, movie-nights, or you soothing his night terrors away under your gentle touch.

One instance, Bucky’s head in your lap, your fingers itched to toy with his hair, he prayed you would too.

To then awkwardly avoiding eye-contact, because if you don’t get too close, you won’t get hurt. Too little, too late. You were wrapped around each other’s pinkies the moment you met.

When Steve approached Bucky about making a move on you, Bucky’s cheeks dusted pink, stumblingly over his words, “N-no, we’re j-ust f-friends, Steve. Why ruin t-that?”

“You can’t ruin what’s meant to be. You deserve to be happy, Buck.”

With a curt nod, and ears burning red with embarrassment, Bucky dusted off Steve’s words.

Why would she fall for an one armed killer? She deserves better.

Wanda’s and Natasha’s nagging for you to admit your crush for Bucky was going no-where, it was as if they were conversing with a brick wall. Internally you shake in anguish, you want to hold him.

The nights of caressing, and cooing his fragile spartan body in your arms are turning more affectionate.

Your heart swells, but what would a perfect sculpted Adonis crafted by Greek gods want with an scarred woman? Eczema patches, and battle scars litter your body, each cicatrax tells a hard tale.

Bile retches at your throat whenever you bathe — so what makes it any different if Bucky sees your scars? He needs a perfect woman, not a broken one. He doesn’t need anymore more burdens.

This is a door not worth the risk of opening, a friendship is all it is.

It wasn’t till a mission gone hay-wire that ripped the hinges right off of said door. Infiltrating an HYDRA facility, a HYDRA agent sneaking up behind Bucky, a thud of the butt of a rifle on his cranium, and a bullet a few centimeters away from his skull.

Panicking rising in your chest, with no mercy, rittled this agent with multiple bullets. Each puncture splattering blood, you could’ve kept ripping this life-less body apart, but you ran out of bullets — sniffles and the airy click of your gun.

Bucky halted you, wrapping his arms around your waist, shushing you. “It’s okay, doll. It’s okay.” A peck on your pulse point, you whimpered.

The flight back was coated in silence, but Bucky’s fingertips sneakily connect into yours. Instinctively, you gripped his flesh palm.

Dominating steps back into the compound, a quickly trip to MedBay for Bucky for the swollen lump on his head, sobs in a cold shower, both of you and Bucky, you could have lost him.

He’s not immortal, that fucker, that beautiful blue-eyed fucker. Super soldier serum goo does not stop bullets!

Shoulders stiff, stomping with a purpose towards Bucky’s apartment, right next to yours. Your clenched fists hovers over the steel door, even in your stir-madness, you didn’t have the heart to disturpt him.

Gently, you knocked. Tapping your foot, it’s his reaction to it all. Calm as a clam.

Fucking fuck you, Buck, you almost died. And it was my fault, I didn’t watch your six. You could’ve died because of me —

You’re not angry at him, you’re pissed at yourself.

The door opens, a refreshed showered Bucky stands before you, hair wet and slick. A wiery smile curls on his face, his arm stretched out, scooping you into his chest.

His flesh is warm, and you melt like butter. Without missing a step, pulling you in his room, as you held onto him, rubbing your nose into his biceps, you mutter “Elaborate.”

“Huh, doll?”

“Elaborate, why are you so fucking calm?!”

A Cheshire grin creeps on his face, “Doll, I’m fine.” You care, your homicidal outburst earlier today proved to him that your affections run deeper.

“No!” You snatch yourself out of his grip, although you withstand a whimper from the instant coldness.

“You could’ve died!” he shushed you, “Let’s just lay down, okay?” A few curses on his name mumble under your breath, a huff of amusement escapes his nose.

Leading you onto his bed, a natural scene, just two friends cuddling, right? Bucky pulls you into his chest once more, nose to nose. Blue meets brown, a shift is in the air.

“It’s my fault, you could be in a box, right now!” Your eyes burn from an impending sheen of tears, “And you should’ve been looking more and –” your fingers find solace in his wet tresses, his eyes roll in the back of his head. Soothing the bump on his head, fuck it was sore, most certainly bruised.

Fuck that feels good.

“Next time, be careful! You’re older, and should be more aware. What that saying go? The older you get, the wiser you are. Fucking noodle-head! You know what? I’ll talk to Steve and make sure you never go on a mission again!” by now your nimble fingers leave his scalp, as you spat demands.

In second nature, of you being tough, and authoritative, but your voice wavers. Too emotional.

No, don’t stop!

“Look, I know you’re a hardass, but can you play with my hair? It would really help.” Bucky interrupted your ranting, pleaing and staring at you with doe-eyes, a sniffle.

Your bottom lip quiver, calming down from your paranoid rage, you slowly weave your palms in his hair, massaging his stress away. A low purr errupts in his chest, his eyes hooded and hazy. Extra tender attention on his bruised lump of swelled flesh.

This is it, serenity.

“God, I got so scared.” Your lips hairs-away from his, you whisper, “I can’t lose you.”

“And you never will, doll. I’m all yours.”

Throughout the night, Bucky’s and yours limbs were entangled within each other. Even in your sleep, your fingers fidget in his locks, an love-drunk implicit that stirs the beginning of two soulmates.

#buckybarnesplumwhore wrote this #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x black!reader #bucky barnes fluff

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sinceileftyoublog · 3 years

Text

Riot Fest 2021: 9/16-9/19, Douglass Park

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Much like Pitchfork Music Festival earlier this month, this past weekend’s Riot Fest felt relatively normal. Arriving at Douglas Park every day, you were greeted by the usual deluge of attendees in Misfits t-shirts and dyed hair, the sound of faint screams and breakneck guitars and drums emanating from nearby stages. The abnormal aspects of the fest, at least as compared to previous incarnations, we’re already used to by now from 2021 shows: To get in, you had to show proof of vaccination and/or a negative test no older than 48 hours, which means that unvaxxed 4-day attendees had to get multiple tests. Props to the always awesome staff at Riot Fest for actually checking the cards against the names on government-issued IDs.

For a festival that dealt with a plethora of last-minute changes due to bands dropping out because of COVID-19 caution (Nine Inch Nails, Pixies, Dinosaur Jr.) or other reasons (Faith No More/Mr. Bungle because of concerns around Mike Patton’s well-being), there were very few bumps in the road. Whether Riot Fest had bands like Slipknot, Anthrax, or Rise Against in their back pocket as replacements or not, it very much felt like who we saw Thursday-Sunday was always supposed to be the lineup, even when laying your eyes on countless “Death to the Pixies” shirts. Sure, one of the fest’s main gimmicks--peeling back the label on Goose Island’s Riot Fest Sucks Pale Ale to reveal the schedule--was out of date with inaccurate set times and bands, and it still would have been so had Faith No More and Mr. Bungle stayed, since Fucked Up had to drop out last minute due to border issues. But the festival, as always, rolled with the punches.

The sets themselves offered the circle pit and crowdsurfing-inducing punk and metal you’re used to, with a few genre outliers. For so many bands of all styles, Riot Fest represented their first live show in years, and a few acts knew the exact number of days since their last show. For every single set, the catharsis in the crowd and on stage was palpable, not exactly anger, or elation, but pure release.

Here were our favorite sets of the festival, in chronological order.

WDRL

Last October, WDRL (which, amazingly, stands for We Don’t Ride Llamas) announced themselves with a Tweet: “y’all been looking for an alt black band,, well here you go”. A band of Gen Z siblings, Chase (lead guitar), Max (lead vocals), Blake (drums), and Kit Mitchell (bass guitar), WDRL is aware, much like Meet Me @ The Altar (who, despite my hyping, I couldn’t make it in time to see) that they’re one of too few bands of POCs in the Riot Fest-adjacent scene. Their set, one of the very first of the weekend during Thursday’s pre-party, showed them leading by example, the type of band to inspire potentially discouraged Black and brown folks to start punk bands. Max is a terrific vocalist, able to scream over post-punk, scat over funk, and coo over slow, soulful R&B swayers with the same ease. The rest of the band was equally versatile, able to pivot on a dime from scuzzy rock to hip hop to twinkling dream pop. Bonus points for covering Splendora’s “You’re Standing On My Neck”, aka the Daria theme song.

Joyce Manor

Joyce Manor’s self-titled debut is classic. The best part of it as an album play-through at a festival? It’s so short that you can hear it and you’ll still have half a set for other favorites. So while the bouncy “Orange Julius”", “Ashtray Petting Zoo”, and ultimate singalong “Constant Headache” were set highlights, the Torrance, CA band was able to burn through lots from Never Hungover Again, Cody, Million Dollars to Kill Me, and their rarities collection Songs From Northern Torrance. Apart from not playing anything from Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired (seriously, am I the only one who loves that record?), Joyce Manor were stellar, from the undeniable hooks of “Heart Tattoo” to the churning power chords of “Catalina Fight Song”. After playing “Christmas Card”, Johnson and company gave one final nod to the original fest cancellation, My Chemical Romance, who were slated to headline 2020, then 2021, and now 2022. If you ever wondered what it would sound like hearing a concise punk band like Joyce Manor take on the bombast of “Helena”, you found out. Hey, it was actually pretty good!

Patti Smith

Behold: a full Patti Smith set! After being shafted by the weather last time around, a sunglasses-laden Smith decided not to fuck around, leading with the inspiring “People Have The Power”, her voice as powerful as I’ve ever heard it. Maybe it was the influence of Riot Fest, but she dropped as many f-bombs as Corey Taylor did during Slipknot’s Sunday night headlining set. After reluctantly signing an adoring crowd member’s copy of Horses, she quipped, “I feel bad for you have to cart that fucking thing around.” It wasn’t just the filthy banter: This was Smith at her most enraptured and incendiary, belting during “Because The Night” and spitting during a “Land/Gloria” medley, reciting stream-of-consciousness hallucinogenic lyrics about the power of escape in the greatest display of stamina the festival had to offer.

Circa Survive

“It feels good to dance,” declared Circa Survive lead singer Anthony Green. The heart and soul of the Philadelphia rock band, who cover ground from prog rock to post-hardcore and emo, Green was in full form during the band’s early Friday set, his falsetto carrying the rolling “The Difference Between Medicine and Poising Is in the Dose” and the chugging “Rites of Investiture”. While the band, too, can throw down, they’re equally interesting when softer and more melodic, Brendan Ekstrom‘s twinkling guitars lifting “Child of the Desert” and “Suitcase”. Ending with the one-two punch of debut Juturna’s introspective “Act Appalled” and Blue Sky Noise’s skyward “Get Out”, Green announced the band would have a new record coming soon, one you hope will cover the sonic and thematic ground of even just those two tracks.

Thrice

Thrice played their first show since February 2020 the same day they’d release their 11th studio album, Horizons/East (Epitaph). To a crowd of fans that came to hear their favorite songs, though, the Irvine, California band knew better than to play a lot of the new record, instead favoring tracks like The Artist in the Ambulance’s spritely title cut and Vheissu standout “The Earth Will Shake”. Yeah, they led with a Horizons/East song making its live debut, the dreamy, almost Deftones-esque “Scavengers”, and later in the set they’d reveal the impassioned “Summer Set Fire to the Rain”. But the set more prominently served to emphasize lead vocalist Dustin Kensrue’s gruff delivery, on “All the World Is Mad” and “in Exile”, the rhythm section’s propulsive playing buoying his fervency. And how about Teppei Teranishi’s finger tapping on “Black Honey”?!? Thrice often favor the slow build-up, but they offered plenty of individually awesome moments.

Smashing Pumpkins

William Patrick Corgan entered the stage to dramatic strings, dressed in a robe, with white face paint except for red hearts under his eyes. He looked like a ghost. That’s pretty much where the semi-serious theatricality ended. The Smashing Pumpkins’ first Chicago festival headlining set in recent memory was the rawest they’ve sounded in a while, counting when they played an original lineup-only set at the United Center a few years back. It was also the most fun I’ve ever seen Corgan have on stage. Though they certainly selected and debuted from their latest electropop turn Cyr, Corgan, guitarist James Iha, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, guitarist Jeff Schroeder, and company more notably dug deep into the vault, playing Gish’s “Crush” for the first time since 2008, Adore’s “Shame” for the first time since 2010, and Siamese Dream barnburner “Quiet” for the first time since 1994 (!). Best, every leftfield disco jam like set opener “The Colour Of Love”, “Cyr”, and “Ramona” was quickly followed by something heavy and/or recognizable, Chamberlin’s limber drum solos elevating even latter-day material like “Solara”. At one point, Corgan, a self-described “arty fuck,” admitted that years ago he would have opted for more experimental material, but he knew the crowd wanted to hear classics, the band then delving into a gorgeous acoustic version of “Tonight, Tonight”. And while Kate Bush coverer Meg Myers came out to sing Lost Highway soundtrack industrial ditty “Eye”, it was none other than legendary local shredder Michael Angelo Batio who stole the show, joining for the set closer, a pummeling version of Zeitgeist highlight “United States”. Leaning into the cheese looks good on you, Billy.

The Bronx

Credit to L.A. punk rock band The Bronx, playing early on a decidedly cooler Saturday early afternoon, for making me put in my earplugs outside of the photo pit. Dedicating “Shitty Future” to Fucked Up (who, as we mentioned, had to drop out), the entire band channeled Damian Abraham’s energy on piercing versions of “Heart Attack American” as well as “Superbloom” and “Curb Feelers” from their latest album Bronx VI (Cooking Vinyl). Joby J. Ford and Ken Horne’s guitars stood out, providing choppy rhythms on “Knifeman” and swirling solos on “Six Days A Week”.

Big Freedia

The New Orleans bounce artist has Big Diva Energy, for the most part. After her DJ pumped up the crowd to contemporary Southern rap staple “Ayy Ladies” by Travis Porter, Big Freedia walked out and showed that “BDE”, firing through singles like “Platinum” and “N.O. Bounce” as her on-stage dancers’ moves ranged from delicate to earth-shaking. At this point, Freedia can pretty much do whatever she wants, effortlessly segueing between a cover of Drake’s “Nice For What” to “Strut”, her single with electropop DJ Elohim, to a cover of Beyone’s “Formation”. Of course, the set highlight was when she had volunteers from the crowd come up and shake and twerk--two at a time to keep it COVID-safe--all while egging them on to go harder. Towards the end of the set, after performing the milquetoast “Goin’ Looney” from the even-worse-than-expected Space Jam: A New Legacy soundtrack, she pulled out the beloved “Gin in my System”. “I got that gin in my system,” she sang, the crowd singing back, “Somebody gonna be my victim,” a refrain that compositionally not only leaves plenty of room for the thundering bass but is thematically a statement of total power--over sexism, racism, the patriarchy--even in the face of control-altering substances.

Les Savy Fav

During Les Savy Fav’s set, lead singer Tim Harrington at various points--*big breath*--went into the crowd, deepthroated an audience member’s mohawk spike, found a discarded manikin head with a wig on it, revealed the words “deep” and “dish” painted on his thighs and a drawing of a Red Hot on his back, rode a crowd member like a horse, made a headband out of pink tape, donned ski goggles, surfed on top of a door carried by the crowd, squeezed his belly while the camera was on it to make it look like his belly button was singing, and referred to himself as a “slippery eel.” Indeed, the legend of Les Savy Fav’s live show starts and ends with Harrington’s ridiculous antics, as he’s all but out of breath when actually singing dance-punk classics like “Hold On To Your Genre”, “The Sweat Descends”, and “Rome (Written Upside Down)”. We haven’t heard much in terms of new music from Les Savy Fav in over 10 years--their most recent album was 2010′s Root For Ruin--but I could see them and the extremely Aughts genre in general become staples of Riot Fest as albums like Inches, The Rapture’s Echoes, and !!!’s Louden Up Now reach the 20-year mark. Dynamic vocalists, tight bands, and killer grooves: What’s not to love?

State Champs

This set likely wins the award for “most immediate crowd surfers,” which I guess is to be expected when you begin your set with a classic track 1--album 1 combination. “Elevated” is the State Champs number that will cause passers-by to stop and watch a couple songs, the type of song that can pretty much only open or close a set. And because they opened with it, the crowd immediately ramped up the energy. It’s been three years since the last State Champs full-length, Living Proof, so they were in prime position to play some new songs. As such, they performed their bubblegummy “Outta My Head” and “Just Sound” and faithfully covered Fall Out Boy’s “Chicago Is So Two Years Ago” (releasing a studio version earlier this week). But the tracks from The Finer Things and Around the World and Back were, as usual, the highlights, like “All You Are Is History”, “Remedy”, “Slow Burn”, and set closer “Secrets”. At the end of the day, it didn’t entirely matter: The crowd knew every word of every song.

Bayside

Putting State Champs and Bayside back-to-back on the same stage made an easy decision for the many pop-punk bands at Riot Fest. Bayside’s been at it for twice as long, so the breadth of their setlist across their discography is more variable. Moreover, they’ve thrice revisited their discography with acoustic albums of old songs, so even their staples are subject to change. They provided solid versions of Killing Time standouts “Already Gone” and “Sick, Sick, Sick”, Cult’s “Pigsty”, and older songs like their self-titled’s “Montauk” and Sirens and Condolences’ “Masterpiece”. For “Don’t Call Me Peanut”, though, they brought out--*gasp*--an acoustic guitar! It was a rare moment not just for one of the most popular pop punk sets but the festival in general, a breather before Vacancy shout-along “Mary”.

Rancid

“Rancid has always been anti-fascist and anti-racist,” said Tim Armstrong before the band played “Hooligans”. It was nice to hear an explicit declaration of solidarity from the street punks, reminding the crowd what really matters and why we come together to scream and mosh. The band expectedly favored ...And Out Come The Wolves, playing almost half of it, and they perfectly balanced their harder edges with more celebratory ska songs like “Where I’m Going” from their most recent album Trouble Maker (Hellcat/Epitaph). My two favorite moments? The breezy, keyboard-laden “Fall Back Down” from their supremely underrated 2001 album Indestructable, and when they asked the crowd whether they wanted the set to end with “Time Bomb” or “Ruby Soho”. “We have 4 minutes left, and it’s disrespectful to play over your set time,” said Armstrong. It’s easy to see why Rancid continues to make an impression--instrumental and moral--on touring bands new and old.

Run the Jewels

The brilliant hip hop duo are masters of balancing social consciousness with the desire to fuck shit up for fun. Live, the former tends to come in between-song banter, the latter with their actual charismatic, tit-for-tat performances of the songs. However, Run the Jewels also are probably the clearest live performers in hip hop today, Killer Mike and El-P’s words, hypersexual and woke alike, ringing in the ears of audience members who don’t even know the songs. (Looking around, I could see people smiling and laughing at every dick joke, nodding at each righteous proclamation.) Some of the best songs on their most recent album RTJ4 (Jewel Runners/BMG) are perfect for these multitudes. Hearing both RTJ MCs and the backing track of Pharrell Williams and Zack de la Rocha chanting “Look at all these slave masters posin’ on yo’ dollar” on “JU$T” as the rowdy crowd bounced up and down was the ultimate festival moment. For those who had never seen RTJ, it was clear from the get-go, as Killer Mike and EL-P traded bars on “yankee and the brave (ep. 4)” that they’re a unique hip hop act. For the rest of us, it was clear that Run the Jewels keep getting better.

The Gories

It felt a little weird that legendary Detroit trio The Gories were given the first set of the final day--I’d have thought they’d have more draw than that. No matter what, they provided one of the more satisfying and stylistically varied sets of the festival, showcasing their trademark balance of garage punk and blues. Mick Collins and Dan Kroha’s guitar and vocal harmonies were the perfect jangly balance to Peggy O’Neill’s meat and potatoes drumming on “Sister Ann” and “Charm Bag”, while folks less familiar with The Gories were treated to their fantastic covers of Suicide’s “Ghost Rider” and The Keggs’ “To Find Out”. Smells like time for the first Gories album in 20 years!

FACS

I thought it would be ill-fitting to watch a band like FACS in the hot sun, early in the day. Their monochrome brand of post-punk seems better suited for a dimly lit club. But the hypnotic nature of Brian Case’s swirling guitar and Alianna Kalaba’s slinky bass was oddly perfect in a sweltering, faint-inducing heat. Just when you thought you might fade, squalls of feedback and Noah Leger’s odd time signatures picked you back up. Songs from their new album Present Tense (Trouble In Mind) such as “Strawberry Cough” and “XOUT” were emblematic of this push-pull. And everything from the band’s red, white, and black color palate to their lack of stage banter suggested a cool minimalism that was rare at a festival that tends to book more outwardly emotional bands.

Alex G

On one hand, Alex G’s unique combination of twangy alt country and earnest indie rock makes him an outlier at Riot Fest, or at the very least a mostly Pitchfork/occasional Riot Fest type of booking. On the other hand, like a lot of bands at the festival, he has a rabid fanbase, one that knows his back catalog hits, like “Kute”, “Kicker”, and “Bug”, as much as if not more than hyped Rocket and House of Sugar singles, like “Bobby” and “Gretel”. Backed by a band that knows when to be loose and when to tighten up--and the instrumental chops to do so--Alex G was better than he was a Pitchfork three years ago. He still sings through his teeth, making it especially hard to hear him on louder tunes such as “Brick”. But when the honesty of his vocals combines with the dreamy guitars of “Southern Sky” and circular melodies of “Near”, it’s pure bliss.

HEALTH

The formula for the LA industrial noise band has pretty much always been Jake Duzsik’s soft vocals contrasting John Famiglietti’s screeching bass and pedals and BJ Miller’s mammoth drums. Both in 2018 and Sunday at Riot Fest, the heat affected Famiglietti’s pedals, which were nonetheless obscured by tarp. Or so HEALTH claimed: You wouldn’t know the difference given how much their sound envelops your whole body during one of their live sets. Since their previous appearance at the festival, the prolific band has released two new records on Loma Vista, Vol. 4: Slaves of Fear and collaboration record Disco4: Part 1. Songs from those records occupied half of their excellent set, including battering opener “GOD BOTHERER”, “BODY/PRISON”, and “THE MESSAGE”. It was so wonderfully loud it drowned out K.Flay’s sound check drummer, thank the lord.

Thursday

Last time Thursday played Riot Fest, Geoff Rickly was battling heroin addiction, something he talked about during the band’s triumphant late afternoon set on Sunday. He mentioned the kindness of the late, great Riley Gale of Power Trip in extending a helping hand when he was down and extended his love to anybody in the crowd or even the world at large going through something similar. To say that this set was life-affirming would be an understatement; after 636 days of no shows, Rickly was at his most passionate. He introduced “Signals Over The Air” as a song the band “wrote about men beating up on women in the pit,” that a record exec at the time told them that it wouldn’t age well because he thought--no kidding--sexism would eventually end. Rickly’s voice, suffering from sound issues last time around, simply soared during Full Collapse’s “Cross Out The Eyes”, No Devolucion’s “Fast to the End”, and two inspired covers: Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” and Texas Is The Reason’s “If It's Here When We Get Back It's Ours”. The latter the band played because TITR guitarist Norman Brannon’s actually on tour with them, though Rickly emphasized the influence the NYC post-hardcore greats had on Thursday when they first started. Never forgetting where they’ve come from, with self-deprecating humor and radical empathy, Thursday are once again a force.

Devo

Much like the B-52′s in 2019, Devo was the set this year of a 70′s/80′s absurd punk band with some radio hits that everybody knows but with a swath of die-hard fans, too. It’s safe to say both groups were satisfied. You walked around the fest all day wondering whether the folks wearing Devo hats were actual fans or doing it for the novelty. By the time the band actually took the stage after a career-spanning video of their many phases, it didn’t really matter, because it was clear the band still had it, Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale’s vocals booming throughout a massive crowd. They ripped through “Peek-a-Boo”, “Going Under”, “That’s Good”, “Girl U Want”, and “Whip It”, which caused the fans waiting for Slipknot (and presumably some Devo heads) to form a circle pit. And that was all before the first costume change. Mark passed out hats to the crowd, fully embracing converts who might have only known “Whip It”. The feverish chants of “Uncontrollable Urge” and synth freakouts of “Jocko Homo” whipped everyone into a frenzy. And the band performed the “Freedom Of Choice” theme song for the first time since the early 80′s! I had seen Devo before, opening for Arcade Fire and Dan Deacon at the United Center, but the atmosphere at Riot Fest was more appropriately ludicrous.

Flaming Lips

“The Flaming Lips are the most COVID-safe band in the world,” went the ongoing joke, as throughout the pandemic they’d give audience members bubbles for their bubbles to be able to play shows. The normally goofy and interactive band scaled back for Riot Fest. Before launching into their traditional opener “Race For The Prize”, Wayne Coyne explained that while the band is normally proud of where they come from--Oklahoma City--they’re saddened by the local government’s ignorant pandemic response and wouldn’t risk launching balloons or walking into the crowd because they might be virus spreaders coming from such an under-vaccinated area. To his and the band’s credit, they wore masks during the performance, even when singing; Coyne removed his only when outside of his bubble that had to be deflated and inflated many times and that sometimes muffled his singing voice even more than a mask. Ever the innovative band, they still put on a stellar show. Coyne autotuned his voice on “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1″, making it another instrument filling the song’s glorious pop melodies. Less heavy on props, the band favored a glitchy, psychedelic setlist that alternated between beauty (”Flowers Of Neptune 6″, “Feeling Yourself Disintegrate”, “All We Have Is Now”) and two-drummed cacophony (“Silver Trembling Hands”, “The W.A.N.D.”). They’ll give a proper Lips show soon enough, but in the meantime, it was nice to see them not run through the motions.

Slipknot

Apart from maybe moments of Slayer, I’ve never witnessed a headliner at Riot Fest as heavy as Slipknot was. Even the minor ethereal elements present on their most recent and very good album We Are Not Your Kind, like the chorus of voices during “Unsainted”, were all but abandoned live in favor of straight up brutality. Sure, there were moments of theatricality--Corey Taylor’s menacing laugh on “Disasterpiece” and pyrotechnics in sequence with the instrumentation on “Before I Forget” and “All Out Life”--but for the most part, Slipknot was the ultimate exorcism. Taylor’s new mask, with unnaturally circular eyes, seemed like it came from a particularly uncomfortable skit from I Think You Should Leave. They bashed a baseball bat to a barrel during the pre-encore performance of “Duality”. And the songs played from tape, like the gasping-for-breath “(515)”, were designed to contrast Slipknot’s alien appearance with qualities that were uncannily human. For a band whose performances and instrumental dexterity are otherworldly--who else can pull off tempo changes over a hissing, Aphex Twin-like shuffling electronic beat on “Eyeless”--the pure seething emotion on songs like “Psychosocial” and “Wait and Bleed” shone through. Like Smashing Pumpkins, and like so many other successful Riot Fest headliners, Slipknot abandoned drama for pure, unadulterated dirt.

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iridescentides · 3 years

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i watched your cover of santa stole my girlfriend and it was amazing!!!!!! 😍 how long have you been singing? what are some of your other favorite christmas songs? - 🎅🎁🎄

HI FRIEND thank you!!! ive been singing for like forever basically. i was a conceited child who would sing for attention unprompted and while i have definitely grown out of that i still genuinely just love it like. i sing a lot when im alone and i only learned instruments for the sole purpose of accompanying myself while singing. i do it to calm myself down or to feel better or just for fun. its just a hobby, i havent taken any lessons or done anything organized with it past like,, elementary school choir. the youtube channel is very new and my motivation behind it was mostly just to preserve things. im playing music/making arrangements all the time so i wanted a place to put it all where i could look back later and see if ive improved.

santa stole my girlfriend is def number one for me, but theres tons of songs from my emo christmas playlist that i love. christmas with you by artist vs poet has always been deeply special to me. all i can give you by jason lancaster is another one ive loved for a few years now. and the song that mayday parade released last year, im with you, is also a really pretty one; and they just put out the acoustic version yesterday!

#@ everyone: DM me for the link to my youtube channel please!#i dont want it publicly connected to my tumblr #but if you wanna subscribe and support me i would love you forever #answered asks #anons #gcwca secret santa #Anonymous

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mycatshuman · 4 years

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The Emo Who Stole Christmas

Chapter 1 : Story time!

Word Count: 3,068

Pairings: Pre-established Prinxiety, pre-established Logicality, pre-established Demus

Warnings: Commercialization of Christmas, falling down the mountain, Grinch used as an insult? Small car crash with no harm, brief mention of playing with matches, mentions of messing with mail? Almost getting crushed by a stamp, child being wrapped in wrapping paper, that might be it I'm not sure and I know these sound weird but I'm just being careful.

Remus and Deceit don't come in until the next chapter.

Thank you so so much to @icequeenoriginal !!! You are basically the co-creator to this fic and it really would not be as good as it is without you. And I also have to thank you for coming up with such and ingenious title!!💜💜

Masterlist | Next | More Chapters

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Snowflakes fall through the dark sky. A sparkling flake flies close and then we zoom inside the snowflake, watching sparkling crystals fly by as we start on our journey.

Storytime! Inside a snowflake, like the one on your sleeve, there happened a story you must see to believe. The clouds break away and we see snow-covered mountains and evergreen trees dotted across the landscape.

And in that snowflake, way up in the mountains, in the high range of Pontoos, lay the small town of Whoville: the home of the Who's. Ask any Who, And they'll say: "There is no place like Whoville around Christmas Day!"

Every window was flocked, and every lamppost was dressed and the Whoville band marched in their Christmasy best! Or holiday best if they celebrated a different holiday. Who's run through the town as the snow falls around them, their arms full with bags and gifts and decorations.

Arbor Day was fine, and Easter was pleasant and every Saint Fizzin's day, they ate a Fizz pheasant. But every Who knew, from their twelve toes to their snout, they loved Christmas (or other winter holidays like Kwanzaa and Hanukkah) the most, without a single Who doubt.

------

A man with dark skin hurriedly says "Farfingle's welcomes you! Thank you! Happy Holidays! Thank you for shopping at Farfingle's!" The man is looking a little pale as he tries to keep up with the sales as people shove money at him to pay for gifts. No one stopping to take their receipts, causing the man to become exhausted and fighting to keep his smile on his face.

Patton walked around as he stared at his long gift list. "We got a snoozlephone for your brothers Stu and Drew, a muncle for your uncle, fant for your aunt, and a fandpa for your cousin Critic. That means we just need….." Patton paused and looked around, realizing he couldn't find his child. "Emile?" He called out. "Emile? Honey?" He turned to find a set of legs sticking out from under a square of presents. He crouched and pulled a wrapped gift from the middle and his child's face peered out at him. Their face was pinched slightly and they seemed uncertain about something. "Doesn't this seem like a bit much?" They asked as they glanced at the presents.

Patton chuckled heartily. "Oh no! This is what Christmas is all about!" Emile scrunched their nose as they looked at their father. "Can't you feel it?"

Emile shook their head and sighed as they left the store getting ready to head to the post office, where Patton worked. In the background, the sound of the store clerk’s increasingly exhausted voice sounded. "Wait! Don't forget your change!!!!!"

Outside, the loud bell tolled and everyone froze. The Counter shouted, "Another Minute Closer to the Holidays!"

"And now, for the next ten minutes only, 99% off!!" A store owner shouts out into the busy streets and everyone rushed forward to try and get as much as they could from the store.

-------

Yes, every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot. But the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did not.

-----

Four Who teenagers climbed up the mountain quickly laughing and giggling, on their way to cause mischief. Or so they thought. "Come on! All the good mistletoes at the top! Missy! I'll race you!" Emile's brother Pranks shouted.

"The last one to the top is a stinky old Grinch!!" Missy shouted as he raced past his brother.

"Where are we?" One of the teens said as she climbed up alongside her sister. "I think we should go back before something bad happens."

"What? Are you scared of the Grinch?"

The other sister huffed and grabbed her sister's arm and marched up to the door and hesitated. "Go on! Touch the door!" Pranks cried out. The sister gulped and reached forward only for the door to swing open and a huge ugly purple face with piercing fangs stared at them with malevolent eyes. A thundering growl sounded from the pit of the beasts' throat. The teens screamed and turned around only to tumble down the mountain head over heels.

"Remy!! Look at them run!! Scared them so bad they fell right off our mountain!!" A deep voice laughed as he picked up an apple. "It serves them right. Those Yuletide-loving sickly-sweet, not-sucking cheer mongers! I don't like them. I really don't." The voice paused as they stopped and a flush spread across their pale face. "Well, most of them." The voice moved out the door and stood looking down at the town of Whoville. "Remy! Sass master! Get my cloak!" The figure grimaced as he looked down at the town. "I've been too tolerant of these delinquents and their "innocent, victimless pranks." The figure's frown deepened as he glared at the town. If looks could kill. "So, they want to get to know me? Do they really? Want to spend a little quality time with the-" the future's nose scrunched in disgust. "Grinch!" He spat out the name as if it had hurt him. And maybe it had. He huffed and then turned to his cat Remy who sat next to his midnight colored cloak. A wicked grin spread across his face. "I guess I could use a little...social interaction."

---------

A dark clothed figure walked through the town, A small dark grey cat trotting along beside them. Well, maybe walking wasn't so accurate. The figure seemed to glide and float across the ground as if it was an otherworldly spector. However, none of the Who's seemed to notice this different looking figure. "Happy Holidays!" A person called cheerfully as they walked past the figure. Virgil grimaced. "Yeah, yeah, you bet. Ho, ho, ho, and all that stuff or whatever." If any Who had stopped to peer closer at the hooded figure they might find a weird creepy mask and a lanky body covered in dark purple fur. It was a suit Virgil used to frighten the Whos more. It also to stay warm in the biting cold weather.

A horn blared as a car crashed into a pole and Virgil gasped overdramatically. "Oh no!" He exclaimed and looked down at Remy. "Someone must have vandalized that vehicle. Don't you see, Remy? This city is a dangerous place!" He snickered after he confirmed his little trick hadn't hurt anyone.

The Grinch hated the holidays. The whole Holiday season. Or maybe he didn't. Maybe it just hurt to remember what the Who's had done to him. But please do not ask why. No one quite knows the reason. Aside from one other.

Virgil stopped two children and handed then a play saw, perfectly harmless but looked very real. "Here's a present for you two! Now be sure to run real fast with it! Double time!"

Some believe it's because his head wasn't screwed on just right. Or that his shoes were too tight. But they think the most likely reason of all is, maybe his heart is two sizes too small.

As Virgil was walking a man stopped him from moving any further. "Hey, there stranger! Won't let you go until you buy a chapeau!" Virgil lifted his mask and hissed. The salesperson who had stopped him fainted out of sheer terror. Virgil held back a snort and he and Remy were on their way.

-------

Patton carried presents alongside his child, Emile as they made their way to the post office. "Oh boy! Nothing beats Christmas! Right kiddo?"

Emile frowned. "I don't-I guess."

Patton frowned and turned to look at his child. "You guessed?" He asked, concern lacing through his words.

Emile shrugged as they looked down. "I mean, I look around and see you and Pa getting all kabbabled and doesn't it seem...superfluous?"

Patton opened his mouth to say something when a loud screaming reached his ears and he froze, turning towards the source of the noise as everyone around them did the same.

"DAD!!!!" Missy and Pranks raced into the town square as the Mayor came out of his office along with his assistant to see what the commotion was about.

"What happened to you?!?!" Patton asked panicked. The two boys were covered in frost and snow as they tried to stutter out a response. "It was the Grinch!"

Virgil looked up. "What do you want?" He froze, "I mean.." He pitched his voice higher. "'Grinch? Oh, no!'"

"Did you say Grinch?" The mayor, Anton Who said as he stalked over to the family.

Patton froze.“H-Hello Anton, M-Mayor Sir.” Patton said as he moved his children behind him.

Anton sighed "Patton, I don't think I need to remind all of you that this Christmas marks the one-thousandth Whobilation."

"Whoville's most important celebration!!"

"As you know," the Mayor began as he pulled out a very large and thick book. "The Book of Who says very clearly, 'Every size of Who we can measure knows that Whobilation is a time we must treasure!'" He closed the book, perhaps a bit too quickly. "Now, Patton. Please tell me that your children have not been up on Mount Crumpit provoking one and only creature within a billion bilometers of here who hates the holidays!"

Missy and Pranks began speaking quickly, "But it was the Grinch-"

Patton stopped them by covering their mouths, terrified of what the consequences may be for them and their family if they kept talking. "No, Mayor. They didn't see no Grinch. They were probably just up on the mountain playing with matches or defacing public property or something…"

The Mayor let out a sigh of relief as he placed his gloved hand on his chest. "Oh! That is such a relief." He turned his extravagant cape dragging behind him. "All right! You heard the man! There is no Grinch Problem here! Happy Holidays!" The mayor called cheerfully.

Virgil frowned and raised his mask and stuck a straw between his lips and spit a ball of paper at the Mayor. The mayor frowned and whipped the ball off his face, disgusted. Virgil chuckled as he pulled his mask down and went off again.

-----

Roman May let out a sigh as he realized he still had four hours until it was dark enough to leave town. So he just rolled his new purchase home, slowly, hoping to kill more time. He paused at the post office however and let out a faint chuckle as he noticed the end of a cape and a cat's tail slipping through the crack in the door as it fell close. He sighed dreamily. "That's my love," he muttered fondly to himself and walked away with a lot more pep in his step than before.

-----

Emile frowned as they watched their dad walk down a long hallway with envelopes and presents as he stuffed them in small cubes lining one wall that leads into the room on the other side. "Dad, I just- I don't understand something."

"Hhm?" Patton asked as he continued working but made sure to give his child the attention they deserved.

"Why so everyone so against talking about the Grinch?"

Patton huffed quietly, a little admirable of his child's fascination. "You kids and the Grinch…” he said softly. "You see, Emile, the Grinch is a Who, who always…." He paused. "Well...he's actually not a Who. He's more a..."

"A what?"

Patton nodded. "Yeah, he's more a what who doesn't like Christmas or any other holiday." Emile's face pulled down into a frown as they listened to their dad. "Just take a look at his mailbox. Not a single card, in or out. Not ever!"

Emile looked at the empty mailbox that had seemingly been empty for so long that cobwebs filled the dead space. "But why?" They asked as they turned to look at their dad, unsure why someone wouldn't have at least been kind enough to try and include him.

Patton opened his mouth to answer his child only to be cut off by people crowding around the front counter. "Patton! I got the wrong mail!!!" Someone cried out frantically and Patton gave Emile an apologetic smile and walked to the counter. "I'm coming!" He called out. "We can sort this all out!"

-----

Virgil grinned wickedly as he stood in the mailroom and looking at the mailboxes from the other side. "Oh, this will take them years to sort out!" He began to grab envelopes and switch them around. "This is his and now it’s yours. This is hers and now it’s his!" He giggled gleefully and turned around. Picking up a stack of bright yellow envelopes he spun around. "And for the rest of you!" He flung envelopes into random mailboxes with great force as he chuckled madly to himself. "Jury duty! Jury duty! Jury duty! Blackmail! Pink slip! Chain letter! Eviction notice! Jury duty!" Remy watched unamused as Virgil tried to wreak havoc. He rolled his eyes, as well as a cat could. Virgil may seem threatening but in all actuality, he was just a hurt soul trying to hurt those who hurt him but was too nice to do so. At least he had Remy to keep him in check.

-----

Patton walked over to Emile and held out a small stack of envelopes. "Hey, Emile, would you mind helping me take this to the mailroom?" Emile nodded and took the envelopes from their father. Patton smiled and ruffled their hair. "Thank you. Now be careful of the sorting machine, alright?"

Emile nodded with a small smile and turned around and opened the door to the mailroom and glanced over as they watched the conveyor belt drop presents down a hole to have Fragile stamped on the side. They set the mail down and turned to leave only to hear a loud splat. They turned around and frowned as they noticed an ugly, overly happy mask sitting on the floor. They bent over and picked up the mask and inspected it.

Virgil and Remy stared down below at the small Who child that had entered the mailroom. They were squished into the corner of the ceiling, trying to stay perched where they were until the child left. Then Remy sneezed. "Gesundheit," Virgil muttered. Emile gasped and whirled around, their gaze going to the ceiling. "Whoops."

Emile stuttered as they stared at the purple fur of the Grinch and the dark grey cat and screamed. The Grinch screamed back. Emile screamed again, and as the Grinch let out another scream they slowly composed themselves. "You're the...the...You're the..."

Virgil jumped down and leaned forward into Emile's face. "The Grinch!" He snarled. Emile screamed and fell back into a pile slowly falling through the hole in the floor leading to the conveyor belt for the sorting machine. Virgil blinked as he tried to calm his racing heart. "Well...I guess that worked out..." He quickly turned towards the door, terrified of getting caught. "Remy, let's go. Our work here is done."

"Help!! Help me! Please! Somebody!" Emile screamed as their head fell closer to the conveyor belt. Remy stopped just short of the door and gave Virgil a look that said, 'I know you're gonna feel guilty about this. Go help them, gurl.'

Virgil huffed at being called out despite not actually hearing what Remy said, he was pretty good at telling what his cat was thinking. "All the bleeding hearts of the world unite! Ugh!" Virgil turned around and grabbed a hold of Emile's ankle before pulling the child out and quickly turning them upright. "There!" Virgil exclaimed. Although he turned his voice down at noticing the slightly shocked face of the child. He huffed and yanked the mask from them. "Give me that! Don't you know you're not supposed to take things that don't belong to you?! What are you, some kind of wild animal?!?!?"

Emile blinked, desperately trying to process what exactly had just happened. They quickly found their voice as they vaguely heard the Grinch say something about leaving to their cat. "Thank you for saving me!"

Virgil froze and slowly turned around to face the child again. "Saving you?" He asked slowly, carefully. "Is that what you think I was doing?" Emile nodded. Virgil huffed. He couldn't have this getting out, who knows how many teens would come up to bother him then! He grimaced. "Wrong-o!" He glanced to the side and noticed a roll of wrapping paper on a wrapping paper holder. He glanced back at the child. They can't know where I'm going. I have to make sure to stall them. "I simply noticed you weren't properly packaged, dear child."

Emile stepped back only for the Grinch to began rapidly wrapping them up in the shiny red wrapping paper. "Hold still!" The Grinch exclaimed. Then he turned to his cat. "Remy! Pick out a bow!" Then the Grinch paused. "May I use your finger for a moment?" After a few more moments, Emile felt the Grinch's presence move away. They heard a snap and an "ow" at what, Emile assumed, was the Grinch putting his mask back on.

Emile stood silent for a few moments after the Grinch left before they began shouting. "Hello! Hello!"

Patton frowned as he looked for his child. A small "hello" drew him towards the mailroom and he opened the door. "Emile?"

"Dad! Daddy!" Emile called out as they sensed their father moving closer.

"What ...?" Patton was speechless as he noticed a figure wrapped in wrapping paper around the size of his child. "Emile? Is that really you?" He asked again and began removing the wrapping paper.

Once Emile's head and torso were uncovered, they grinned excitedly at Patton. "Dad! It was astounding! Th-"

"You have been practicing your Christmas wrapping!" Patton exclaimed, eyes twinkling. "Oh, Emile! I am so so proud of you!! That's the holiday spirit!!"

"O-oh…" Emile train of thought halted as they took in their father. His black-framed glasses and the grey cardigan pulled tight over his postal uniform. The smile that was wide on his face, beaming with pride. Emile subconsciously rubbed at the grey material of their school uniform.

Kind little Emile didn't know what to do. In their head, a conflict or two humbled around their brain. 'If The Grinch was so bad, then why did he save me?" They thought. "Maybe he wasn't as bad as they say." Maybe. Just maybe.

❄🎅🎄❄🎅🎄❄🎅🎄❄🎅🎄❄🎅🎄❄

Everything Taglist: @spxced-oxt @superwholocked-for-life @mirror2thespirit @aroundofapplesauce @lyditist @little-euro-girl @unicornofdarknessstuff @maryann-draws

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