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crimson-catalyst · 1 year ago

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wrote my july 2022 neph prompt, "meaningful belongings" featuring Darius and @synoicus' Kira!!!!! enjoy im very proud of this one!

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"Hey, I've been meaning to ask you," one of the designers for this season's show wanders up to Darius' station, "where did you get your jacket? Is it custom? I love it."

"I-" Darius fights back the initial panic that surged when they gestured at his shoulders, trying to steady his voice to respond properly…

His phone rang, startling Darius from his reverie of staring blankly at whatever was on TV. Grasping blindly for his phone, he fumbled with the screen, eventually successfully swiping the ‘answer’ badge.

"H-"

"DUDE," Darius tipped the phone away from his ear as Kira's enthusiasm blew out the mic on her own.

"there's this TOTALLY SICK BAND THROWDOWN tonight at that club up on thirty-second!!!! Cold Brewing Storm and Zap Attack'll be there!!!! You're coming right??? Wanna ride together with me?? Toby said 'no' like a WEENIE cos he 'wants to get sleep tonight' or whatever."

"I…" Darius hesitated in the opening Kira finally afforded him. He'd have loved to. Of course he would've. But…

"I can't. sorry," he mumbled, pathetically. It felt bad. He could feel Kira's confusion in the silence.

"...that's the third time this week, dude." her voice was markedly softer, concern plain as day across the line, "You've been real down all of a sudden. Did something happen?"

"No."

Kira’s response was simply a contemplative pause, but of course that didn’t last for long.

"I'm coming over."

"Kira no yo-"

The call ended with a click and Darius snarled at the air as he lowered the phone from ear range. He furiously texted her instead: kira, dont. go to the show itll be great. kira. kira!!!! kira im fine!

She didn't deign to so much as leave him a read receipt. S'pose he should've known better; when Kira's mind was made up, there was little chance of stopping her. He sighed angrily, tugging at the unfamiliar t-shirt tight around his neck. He'd just have to stomach chatting with her long enough til she was satisfied and went home. At least she was easy to distract.

Ears flat back, annoyed with himself for even thinking this way about Kira, of all nephs, he shook himself to his feet and surveyed his immediate surroundings. It was pretty clear he’d had little energy to do much other than lay around on the couch feeling sorry for himself. He'd have to clean up at least a bit or she'd never believe his claims.

There was a knock on the door just as Darius put the last dry dish back in the cabinet. Flinging the towel across the back of a chair and slapping the trash shut - he'd have to take it out another time - he scampered to the door before Kira took his dallying as her cue to make more noise than the neighbors would appreciate.

He opened it just a crack, peering into the hall. "Kira I'm-"

"I BROUGHT SOUP," she barged the rest of the way past the door, past Darius, and into his apartment. "ITS GETTING COLD COME GET SOME!"

"Kira!" he helplessly trailed after her, the door falling lamely shut in her wake. "I'm okay this isn't necessary!"

"Nonsense," she yelled from the kitchen, her big, tinfoil-covered pot clanging onto the stovetop. "Where are your spoons?"

"In there -" he pointed reflexively before he realized he was enabling her, "but for real; you're gonna miss out on the show! You LOVE Zap Attack!"

"And Zap Attack," Kira muttered as she rustled around in his drawer, "PALES in comparison to how much I love my HOMIES!" she declared, brandishing a ladle. "So THERE."

Darius rolled his eyes, "please, I'm fine."

"I may love you but, full offense, you look like you rolled out of bed and right back into it a few days in a row, bud."

He grimaced. She wasn't wrong.

"And you're wearing a shirt. There's no way you're fine," she jabbed him playfully with the ladle. "ya nudist."

"It's! Comfy," he lied.

“Sure.” Kira rolled her eyes in return, turning back to the stove and tearing the foil off her soup to give it a stir. The little flames of the gas stove flickered tauntingly underneath the pot’s copper base and Darius felt queasy.

“You don’t have to tell me exactly what’s going on, man, but I know you; you’re stronger than this. You can own up to it when you’re having a rough time.” She drew the ladle back out of the pot, tipping her glasses to her forehead so they wouldn’t steam up as she sampled the soup. “Oh, good, it’s still toasty.”

Darius could practically feel his frustration building. “I’m an adult, Kira, I can handle it myself.”

“oh-HOH!” Kira whirled around and pointed at him again with the now-wet ladle, much to Darius’ chagrin. “So you ADMIT you’re feeling it!”

“I-” his cheeks burned and he grit his teeth, desperately trying to keep his boiling emotions in and incriminating himself in the same silence.

“Darius,” her voice soft again, Kira stepped down from the stove and closer to him. “I can’t help you if you aren’t willing to let me.”

"I"m FINE," he snapped, growling deep in his throat, but his mane prickled and crawled and he knew his game was up as a burst of flame crackled through his t-shirt.

Kira's ears flattened and she recoiled at the sudden heat. Upon opening her eyes again Darius had completely deflated, head in his hands beneath sagging shoulders and tail limp on the ground as fire leaped from his fur.

"Clearly," she remarked, insatiable need for snark getting the better of her.

"What happened?" she added more gently, "you can talk to me about it."

"I can't," Darius groaned, finally lifting his head and fixing her with a baleful stare through lidded eyes.

She poked him with the ladle, making a wet stain on the rags of his shirt. "Sure you can, this is a no-judgement zone."

He dragged his paws down his face. "No, Kira, its under NDA I actually can't."

"You got cursed on air-"

"mrmgmh NO I JUST--" Darius flailed wildly before freezing mid-gesture, and took a deep breath.

"I-" he looked around, strained, picking his words carefully "I… misused my magic."

"It wasn't during shooting and I don't think anyone knows it was me but I. It'll…" he growled in ‘legal bullshit’ frustration, "...it'll affect the season."

"Darius…"

"I KNOW. I know," he moaned, "I fucked up! It's a miracle I haven't been fired and it's only a matter of time before they find out. It's constant, Kira; the smoke, I- I had to take the batteries out of the alarm. And it smells like campfire in here, I'll never get it out-" he paused for breath, his thoughts finally gushing out in a panicked stream, and Kira padded around to sit beside him on the tile floor.

"And I'm-" the word caught in his throat, "I'm cursed. It's not like it'll go away; everyone - everyone - will know forever that I did it. That I-” his voice petered out into a whine, and he looked up at the badly-stuccoed ceiling, willing the tears he felt welling in his eyes to drain away.

Kira sighed. She knew he hailed from a conservative Nephfeist hometown, but this doom-and-gloom was so uncharacteristic for her normally overconfident friend that it was throwing her a bit off her groove.

“I know it must feel like it but it’s not gonna be the end of the world, dude.” she poked her own nubby sea-devil horns. “Mine’s a little different, but speaking from experience, I promise it won’t change you. Sure some assholes are gonna look at you funny but that’s their problem; and it’s their problem with spinx, not you, and they don’t deserve your time if they’re gonna be like that.”

“Gods,” he grimaced, “I can’t even stomach the idea of the looks I’ll get.”

“...and so you haven’t left your apartment all week?”

Darius glowered at her.

“I’d call you a weenie too but like… I get it, man. It’s not something you can overpower in your brain in just a day.” She patted his fluffy chest in lieu of his still-flaming shoulders. “I know you’ve got it in you but maybe let’s start simple today.”

Kira got to her feet and walked over to the chair she had draped her jacket across, the dishtowel underneath slipping down to the seat as she lifted it off.

“There’s no way this’ll fit you,” she remarked as she brought it back to the much larger Darius, “but if being seen is the problem-”

Darius winced as she threw it over the scraps of his unquestionably ruined t-shirt, waiting for the flames to blister through the leather - but instead to his relief felt them finally die back to smoke underneath. Kira bumped his chin up with a claw and drew the collar tight in front of him, letting the far-too-small sleeves hang limp over his sides.

“There,” she declared, triumphant. “Maybe it’s only a bandaid for now, but bandaids are the first step to healing: No smoke. No weird looks. No guilt.”

“Definitely some guilt,” Darius almost managed a smirk.

“Okay, fine, some guilt, but private guilt,” Kira’s eyes glittered happily hearing the smile in his voice again. “Baby steps.”

“...thanks, Kira,” Darius finally acquiesced, “sorry I couldn’t- didn’t say anything. It’s… a lot.”

A huge, goofy grin broke across Kira's face. “It’s okay, dude. That’s what friends are for, to force you into letting em care about you.” She put her arm around his back comfortingly, tugging again on the jacket collar with her other paw. “I’ll bring you a real one tomorrow, okay? But first: SOUP.”

Darius shook his head quickly to clear it, masking it as a part of conversation.

“Sorry, it was a gift from a friend,” he shrugs with his paws. “I’m not sure where she got it.”

“Drat,” the centicorn designer smiles good-naturedly despite their disappointment. “I’d have loved to see more of the line. Patterning tailored shoulders on spinx is a feat but that jacket looks great on you.”

“Well, thanks,” he smiles back unbidden, tugging on the lapels, and adds with a snicker, “It'd better, this one means a lot to me.”

#prose #loreposting #Darius #Kira #Tales from Nephfei #nephfei #spinxyn #spinx #god idk what to tag this i havent posted anything written in years LOL #pic is from Unsplash!

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anyalovesu · 1 year ago

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tolerate it.

iii. i notice everything you do or don't do.

—“i noticed everything. every little detail. every little flaw. most days i wish i couldn’t. it would be easier to care less if i didn’t. maybe then i’d seem as careless as he was. like nothing in his life was important but himself.”

The house has been exactly as it has been when they called their bosses to announce that the house was built and done. Their team had worked on this house for an entire year, making sure every corner and every piece in the house worked in harmony along with the other parts and yes… that includes all of Ynes Hwang and Elijah Yang’s silly innuendos that were scattered around the house that were barely noticeable unless accidentally discovered.

The duo has always been known for their slightly eccentric designs and this house was no exception to that. Being given with a hundred percent creative freedom to design the inside of the house sent the both of them into a frenzy of this and that which led to the both of them scouring the country for amazing stained glass window makers and floral light fixtures. Santi and Simon could only laugh at their sisters at how passionate they were into putting the house together. Building the mystery house, as they call it, because none of them knew at the time the actual person who they were building the house for, really pulled out the best bits of the team. It wasn’t even listed for sale but real estate agents were pulling strings to be the one to sell it. Now it makes sense why the house was never sold no matter how hefty the price tag got.

Eli was pulled out of her trance with the sudden loud noise coming from outside the house. By looking at the open window, it was easy to see that the noise came from two pick-up trucks, both trunks filled to the brim with boxes, parked outside. One of them rolled their window down to reveal Tobi Park, the one sitting in the driver's seat, to ask if they were in the right place.

Cielo manages to dash out of the house to greet them, confirming that they were in fact in the right place. Bianca Park was first out of the car, coming up to greet Cielo and Eli, who had now come out against her will to greet the other tenant of the house—her supposed fiancé.

Eli could not help but notice the sour look on Leon’s face that he did not even bother to hide at that moment. Bianca looked up the location of the house that morning when she and Tobi arrived at his brother’s condo unit to help him move. It impressed Leon at first but after the discovery of who had built the mystery of a masterpiece, he could not get himself to be interested in it anymore. In fact, he couldn’t care less anymore at Bianca’s rambles about all the art pieces that littered the walls of the home from the pictures on the internet.

“Eli,” Tobi greeted, walking up to Eli to give her a short hug. Bianca followed to do the same thing. Leon only looked at her and walked past with his suitcase.

Okay. You have to be nice.

“Nasa taas si Kuya, he’s just checking if working lahat ng lights and waterworks,” Eli chimes as she follows them inside. “There’s rooms sa taas, then the master’s bedroom is right up there rin.”

“Naka lipat ka na?” Leon asked, his tone sounding dry and uninterested.

“Not yet,” she replied curtly. “Sabi ni Kuya better daw kung pagusapan muna before–”

“I’ll have the master’s bedroom– Aray ko Kuya!” Tobi had slapped the back of his head for his response.

“Buti nga sa’yo,” Bianca chuckled at him before glancing back at Eli. She’s grown so much since the last time Eli saw her four years ago. Two more years and she’ll be in college as well. “So, Ate, what do the rooms look like?”

Bianca walked up to Eli and linked arms with her. She’s always been a nice girl. Always so polite and soft spoken. Unlike her two older brothers that had been boisterous ever since Eli could remember.

“You can have the master’s bedroom,” Eli smiled at him awkwardly. “If you really want it. I don’t mind.” It’ll be too big for her anyway. She’ll only feel even more lonely if she stays there. She thought that the size of one of the rooms upstairs would be more fitting for her.

It took a while before Eli decided she’s had enough awkward air and went back to talking. “There’s actually four rooms upstairs. One of them is a nursery, which is…” God fucking damn it. “We built this house with a young couple in mind that’s expecting– or at least trying for that matter.”

Tobi was holding his breath not to laugh, Eli could see it as she glanced at him instead of Leon with her lips pursed. “Either way, I never imagined na ako pala ang titira dito.”

“That’s okay,” Tobi chuckled through his nose, obviously trying to hold back his laughter at how awkward this situation has gone.

The tension was so thick in the air that you could cut through it with a knife if you tried to. While Bianca and Cielo seemed immersed in the design of the house, Leon did not seem to care about anything. Eli doubts he even remembers which room she claimed to be the one she’ll be taking as hers or which one was the door that led to the master’s bedroom. He did not seem interested in anything she said and while she expected that from him, it still hurt to see the person that used to listen to everything she had to say not give a shit anymore.

“So, ayon, there’s also a music room here in the basement. It has instruments na but I don’t know if you’re fond of the brands that we bought. It’s also insulated so, if you want to practice here, that’s completely fine. I’m not at home rin naman most of the time, so I don’t think magiging problem yon with me.” Eli smiled. It felt pathetic that she was still trying to get a reaction from Leon but he just stood there as stoic as he was when he got here.

Somehow that hurt. Leon used to be one of the biggest fans of her art; now he seemed to be so nonchalant about the things that Elijah had created. How can he be so nonchalant about the house that really set Eli and her partner apart from the rest of the interior designers in the country?

The most reaction that Eli got from Leon was him nodding when he saw the master’s bedroom. After that, all he did was stare at his phone pretending to be busy just so he can avoid making conversations with Eli. He didn’t even enter the supposed music room where he and his bandmates could literally have as much creative freedom they want, just like how it was for Eli and Ynes when they were given this project.

Santi had joined them mid-house tour, making it easy for him to notice the slight change in Eli’s mood after they finished the tour. “Ayon lang naman. I guess, you're welcome here any time. Magstart na akong magunpack ng mga gamit upstairs. You guys, do what you want to do.”

“What do you think of the house, kuya?” Bianca chimes, still obviously enamored by all the details that Eli had chosen to disclose to them during the tour. She could not help but keep her eyes at the ceiling and the colorful light fixtures by the window.

“I think it’s nice,” Tobi smiled, going up to Eli to give her a fist bump. “You did great, my sister-in-law!”

“Yeah, too early for that,” Eli manages to laugh, referring to the nickname, as she accepts the friendly advance. “Pero thank you–”

“It looked like you gave a child a coloring sheet tapos yun na ang sinunod nila ni Hwang.” Leon spoke so bluntly that even Tobi was too shocked to hit him again for saying something atrocious. “It’s childish, Bianca.”

“I like it,” Bianca defends herself. “I think you’re bitter lang kasi you never made anything like this.”

“I… Um… That’s okay–” Elijah could not seem to find the right words to say... Did he really just say that?

“That was the point, Leon,” Santi chuckled, cutting off his sister who is clearly in discomfort at how Leon reacted, trying to make the situation lighter than it is. “It’s supposed to be a place where you can rest and feel like a careless child again. I think kailangan mo rin ng konting kulay, Leon. You need more perspective.”

Eli just stood there dumbfounded with how everyone reacted with what he just said. Was it really childish? She looked around the receiving room to go through every little detail that she and Ynes have created. Is it really childish?

She watched as Leon nodded with dissatisfaction before walking out of the scene with as much suitcase as he could.

“He’s being an asshole, ate,” Bianca shrugged, rolling her eyes at her older brother. “Ang galing galing mo magdesign ng bahay. He’s just bitter na hindi n��ya kaya gumawa ng ganito.”

Her statement was then followed by a series of doors opening and closing, proving Eli’s thought just a while ago, that he does not remember which room was hers and his, was right.

“Wow,” Eli sighed, all of a sudden feeling uneasy that by tonight, she will be left alone with this nonchalant monster to live with for possibly the rest of her life.

It’s not that she felt unsafe. It was the fact that she did not feel as comfortable as she used to being with Leon anymore and she didn’t know what words to say to not tick him off and push him further away because God forbid she want to be ignored and invalidated even further than she is right now.

“By the way, kailangan n’yo na rin daw pagusapan ang mga preferences n’yo para sa kasal,” Tobi mentioned as he began picking up his brother’s boxes as well. “Mom will send your schedules para sa mga appointments n’yo para sa kasal.”

“Agad?”

Tobi only gave her a tight lipped smile as he nodded.

“Please be more patient with my kuya, okay?” Bianca smiled at her, such a beautiful kid to look at, asking for someone to be more understanding of her older brother. “He’s being hard lang right now. Pero he’ll warm up to you rin. You know him naman before.”

If Eli had a little more balls and said what she wanted to say the moment that it was there, she would’ve explained how hard everything is for her to do every little favor to do the work in rekindling what they had before. Leon was so much different than she knew. The Leon that was with them a while ago seemed so absorbed in his own world to care about what she was saying— what anyone was saying. All he cared about was what his phone contained and that annoyed her. She wanted to slap the phone out of his hands to actually get him to pay attention but they don’t have that kind of relationship anymore for her to do that.

And she tried. To pay less attention to what he did and did not do. But the thought kept looming in her head, she kept looking over his direction, in hopes that he would care even just a little bit like he used to… like suddenly the Leon she knew would appear out of nowhere and notice how much blood, sweat and tears she gave just to put together something she loved… like he always used to. But there was nothing. He looked like he didn’t want to be there.

Eli looked at Bianca, hopeful that she would understand why she’s not able to fulfill the request immediately especially after her feelings being hurt with what her brother had to say about the house.

She wanted to cry. The house that she used to be so proud of… The house that she worked so hard on making every little detail perfect to their vision… was childish? Did that mean that she was childish? Was she too immature for him?

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ characters ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ previous ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ next ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

#enha angst #sunghoon angst #angst #sunghoon #jake #jay #heeseung #ni-ki #sunoo #jungwon #forced marriage #forced proximity #filo!enha #enhypen angst

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vi-inylrecord · 1 year ago

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HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY TO TOBY MY FAV 💕 (at least, one of em)

i know, i know, i’m lazy… BUT i hadn’t been able to hear for like 5 days until now and every. single. time. i used any sort of light source my eyes would water 😭‼️‼️ but i’m good now n on amoxicillin

so, for his birthday, i feel like i should post (some of) my fav headcanons !!

also drew him so uh if you’re interested in that check it out !!!!!!

I - when driving with lyra right before the crash, she had the aux and was playing some sort of popular girly song. although he doesn’t remember what song or why he practically despises it, he knows the song has some sort of significance because he heard sally listening to it on some old boombox jeff found and he started violently ticking and got a severe ringing in his ears (starting off strong with some angst 💕)

II - i see some people that say his “father” ruined alcohol for him, but honestly… i could see his resentment for his father being stronger than his distaste for alcohol so he totally drinks on occasion. like, he has this very strong “fuck you dad, i’ll do whatever i want !! you can’t ruin that for me” attitude that RADIATES off him. also, considering the CIPA, he doesn’t get very bad hangovers (LUCKY BASTARD ??!??)

III - i also see a lot of people saying that his music taste would be alex g and car seat headrest, a bunch of male manipulator music, but… that man listens to midwest emo. like, his original design?!???1( THE SIDESWEPT FRINGE ?!??(?!1 yeah. he listens to ptv. (saliva, ptv, get scared, american football, shinedown, and probs even picked up some heavier music ((i.e. sludge/nu metal like acid bath and mushroomhead)) from jeff)

IV - knows when to keep his mouth shut, he just doesn’t feel like it most of the time or has some smartass retort he’s just GOTTA say (realest)

V - his canon ticks are cracking his neck, bending backwards, and like one other one i always forget… building off of that, i feel like he’d also erratically twist his head to the side as if someone slapped him across the face (wonder where he got THAT from…), clack his teeth in like a biting motion, whistle, imitate water droplets (YK WHAT I’M TALKING ABT), and he uh… randomly yells “FUCKFACE”. specifically because it was what he liked calling his dad 😭

VI - i imagine him as somewhere undefined on the ace spectrum, like 60% of the time he’ll be sex-repulsed and the other 40% he’s uh. fuckin’ odd to say the least. omniromantic with a male lean and is violently trans-masc (OMG ME TOO !!?!! not self projecting guyz i swearrrrrrrrrr🙁🙏‼️)

VII - he’s german, we all know that, but bro. PERSONALLYYYYY i think he’s german, some irish n italian, and native american !! give that guy some depth 🙁 also, his skin is like an olive-y tone and it’s pretty tan, just not as tan as it could be because he was homeschooled (meaning he probs spent most of his time inside), and the tree canopies of the forest provide quite the shade from the sun.

VIII - he knows how to cook/bake but his ticking kinda interferes with it so he doesn’t do it often, but when he does he makes little treats like mini bundt cakes or german chocolate muffins, and one time cooked pancakes n bacon for all the creeps he’s close with (he cut some livers in halves kinda like butterflying and made it into “livercakes” for ej… 😭

that’s all my brain could conjure up !! thank you for reading it all if you did and notes/rb are always appreciated, never expected !

have a nice day/night 💕🎀🐺

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agentnico · 2 years ago

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Tetris (2023) Review

Not going to lie, but using “The Final Countdown” as a song for your movie trailer immediately means the marketing team from Apple TV+ deserve a raise! That song slaps!!

Plot: Henk Rogers discovers Tetris in 1988, and then risks everything by travelling to the Soviet Union, where he joins forces with inventor Alexey Pajitnov to bring the game to the masses.

You hear a movie titled Tetris is coming out and one has to wonder if we have another Emoji Movie on our hands, where we’ll get little tetra shaped characters goofing about in some animated mathematics world trying to force an unfunny joke upon our poor heads. Then we get a random celebrity cameo like Orlando Bloom voicing an L-tetromino and making a joke that his character’s full name is Legolas. Actually, wouldn’t mind seeing that last part, just saying. Regardless, Tetris isn’t actually some ridiculous animated affair based on a pop culture phenomenon, but instead is the backstory for how the game was brought to the world masses. So no talking tetrominos, but instead we have ourselves a legal drama.

Look, before you all shut your eyes away upon the news of another legal drama, this movie is actually surprisingly engaging and the story of the battle for the licence of worldwide distribution of this little game is filled with twists and turns, as well as an element of spy espionage, due to the original game owners being Soviet Russia. That’s right, there’s an element of the Cold War in these proceedings, with Henk Rogers and others trying to persuade the Russians to sell them the rights, however as known the Russians don’t trust anyone. Speaking of the Russians, the communist backdrop is handled really well, with this idea that when in Moscow you’re always being watched, as well as digging into the corruption of the Soviet regime. Even Gorbachev shows up at one point, thought that element I imagine didn’t happen in real life and was more so added to up the ante of this film.

Speaking of upping the ante, even though many scenes revolve around characters sitting in rooms discussing legal stuff, the movie also involves car chases. That’s right, the writers definitely added a bit of a fictitious element to this story to make it more exciting for the casual viewer. I enjoyed that. It made this movie stand out more from others of its genre, and of the said car chase as well as other sequences, there are visual moments where the screen turns into this very early shonky computer graphic pixelated look, which I found to be quite the clever little gimmick. This backed up with an 80s techno soundtrack as well as various renditions on the classic Tetris theme made for an overall exciting watch.

Taron Egerton as always is super likeable and charming as Henk Rogers, in some ways channelling a young Gary Oldman, although maybe its just the Jim Gordon stache. The character of Rogers himself is the typical underdog one loves to root for. He’s the reckless entrepreneur who bets his entire house and life on this one game that he believes has the power to become something massive. He’s described by one of the other characters as “stupid but honest”, as Egerton leans into that heavily. His friendship bond he builds with the Tetris game creator Alexey Pajitnov (played by Russian actor Nikita Efremov in a very endearing way) is also really delightful, and a scene where the two of them go to a Soviet nightclub is a highlight. Roger Allam and Igor Grabuzov relish their villainous roles, and Toby Jones pops in doing some kind of European accent, though hard to pinpoint exactly which one.

Overall I really enjoyed Tetris, and was surprised at how the creative team managed to make this story as engaging as it is. Also naturally there is an element of nostalgia, as like many back in the day as a kid I used to enjoy rinsing Tetris. I even had a little handheld console that was designed specifically for Tetris. It wasn’t the branded stuff like the GameBoy (though I had that too for Zelda and such); it was literally this little Tetris console my dad got me in Russia, and that was the beginning of my screen addiction, which later turned into my smartphone....dark times. Regardless, a solid watch and currently my favourite film so far this year, though that’s not a difficult feat seeing as thus far this year’s movie releases have been really average. I look forward to the inevitable Rock, Paper, Scissors movie!

Overall score: 7/10

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just-ornstein · 3 years ago

Note

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves (chars you’re neutral on are fair game, as are chars you dislike)

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves (chars you’re neutral on are fair game, as are chars you dislike):

Hmmmm, tough one. I no longer really actively dislike characters? I'm mostly neutral if anything haha. Toriel: If I had to go with a few that I feel meh about one would be Toriel, for one. One nice thing I can say about her is that I find her very interesting on a pscychological level. She very clearly loves her kids a ton, but at the end of the day sometimes love isn't enough and this becomes apparent with how her parenting techniques pack out in both games. I know the fandom and so far even Toby tends to represent her as this very loving mother to the point they often kinda brush over her parenting techniques and I would really love for Deltarune to delve into this for a bit and make her realise the error of her way. Because man is she a complicated character when it comes down to this and it has so much potential to be even more interesting than it already is, not many tend to explore the kind of stuff going on in her life and I think that at the end of the day her heart is definitely in the right place.

Mettaton: I know he's an absolute fan favourite and nowadays I can definitely get why! He's one of the few trans characters we've got in media, that's also well written and generally just a pleasure to see on screen, he's extremely entertaining, his design is fun and solid, his dialogue great, etc. Despite everything I always really enjoyed his gameshows, they were just so utterly ridiculous and his theme songs really slap. I remember really enjoying his battle back in the day.

Garnet Til Alexandros (Final Fantasy 9): Gosh, I know many people absolutely love her but she's actually one of the few characters who, to this day, I still cannot enjoy. Which is quite odd, cause her story is one that would usually resonate with me! To say something nice about her, I love her determination and how she manages to remain positive even when everything is working against her (her entire life practically having be a lie, her adoptive mother dying, seeing Zidane go through what he goes through, etc). I also find it nice how the game represents her "rebirth", the cutting of the hair, the use of a new name that fits her more. And honestly... Now that I think about it her entire story could be taken as a trans allegory as well, which is always something I love.

Those are some of the few that come to the top of my mind! But like I said before, I do not really dislike characters anymore nowadays. Moreso that I feel a bit meh towards some. xD

#lizzy speaks #asks #ask memes #ask games #beepperson

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bioodorange · 4 years ago

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||The Pastas At The Beach||

this was originally like an entirely different post but ehhh this ways better!

disclaimer Im setting this like, at a beach with a boardwalk and such next too it? Public beach, small time vacationing!

and that they conviently like..pass as human

I hope you guys enjoy!! remember too check out my announcement board!

taglist: @frozensriracha @creepy-bi-day @capricornartistsstuff @krayolacolor

Jeff the Killer

Jeff doesn't really do much at the beach

The salt water irritates his skin and he burns easily, doesn't want too deal with it

Spends most of his time asleep

Hogs all the damn towels by sprawling out all over all of them

Gets sand over everything that they brought with them

Forgets how wind works and it gets everywhere

When its time for some of em too go get food, he always fucking goes

Wants too walk around and do something, and maybe not get blamed for all the fucking sand when everyone sits back down

He wears one of those like protective long sleeved shirts? and red swim trunks that are just somewhat obnoxiously bright

While getting the food he has a brilliant idea

Befriends the fucking seagulls

Lures them back too their umbrellas and just vibes with his bird army

atleast he's not alone anymore?

Ben Drowned

first off I know like he doesn't go swimming

but imagine if he did

his fucking goggles get filled up with blood

gets weird ass tan lines from the blood on his face like, when he's not swimming

has too wear the goggles when he puts on sunscreen-

ok ok thats it

fucker wears like mountain dew swim trunks

and those arm floatie things despite not going anywhere near the water

He tries too sit around Jeff but that gets boring fast-

Just walks the fuck off without telling anyone, on a journey for adventure

Will spend literal hours sitting underneath the boardwalk until someone finds him

After that they get him like one of thise beach toy kit things

Sally's nice enough too fill the bucket with water too, so they can make sand castles and stuff

She walks along the shore line with him, gets pretty shells too

Also if Ben were too go in the water

He's a fucking shark magnet with all that blood-

But don't tell him that, he won't come back too the beach

Ticci Toby

Toby is very excited too go to the beach

He didn't get out much as a kid

Siked as hell too get in the water

Drops his stuff off as soon as possible and runs right into the water

And thats when he realizes he can't fucking swim

Awkwardly flaps his arms around until a wave moves him along too back where he can stand

Everyones kinda confused when he comes back like "?? You were so excited, what happened?"

"I can't swim :(("

Cody volunteers to teach him right away, like the great brother he is

The thing is Cody is a horrible fucking teacher

Another few minutes of Toby getting owned by some waves and Cody just screaming stuff like

"Use your arms Toby- no not like that how I showed you- no I'm not going too help how are you supposed to learn-"

That's when Kate drags him back too shore and Doby and Brian teach him instead

In a bit he learns and ends up having a lot of fun

I feel like Toby would really like boogie boarding?

A lot easier then surfing but still a good time

Also they have too tie a red scarf around his arm so they don't loose his ass in a crowd, or in the water

Third Base

so far, Doby's the only one on this list who actually came prepared

I feel like he'd use one of those face lotions that has SPF 30 in it already?

Smart enough so he doesn't have too smear sun screen around his face, can just use the spray stuff and get going

Also has shoes and sunglasses too go with each like swimsuit/outfit he brings

Mans is put together

Really likes collecting shells and stuff

Walks with Sally, shows her how too find them

Wakes up kinda early as it is? So its easy for him too go too the beach early and find the shells before the tide pulls them back out

It's one of his favorite times, actually

The suns just rising, a few shops are opening, only a handful of people are on the beach

Does it everyday as his "alone time" before everyone else wakes up

Spends most of his time with everyone kinda relaxing?

I can see him really liking those beach volleyball games

Or just playing frizbee in the shallow water!

Really, really enjoys making sand castles

Builds a moat and everything so it stays up when the waves start coming closer

X-Virus

Cody, another kid who never got much beach expierence

But acts like he did

Buys one of those waterproof, phone lanyard things

Forgets too fucking close it properly

Doesn't have the first idea of what seagulls are like

"Oh come on buys its fine-" gets fucking owned for his cheesestick

Lowkey scared of them after that

Refuses too eat on the beach after that

Sits with ben under the board walk and curls around his chips

Spends most of his time in the water

Wants too see how far he can go before the lifegaurd calls him back

Finds it funny as shit too just slowly go deeper while grinning at them

Until a wave slaps him in the back of the head

And then he gets scared of the deepwater too

After he looses Swimming Coach privellages gets really fucking salty and sulks on the beach

Kate takes pity on him and walks around the boardwalk with him

But he also didn't know you have too reapply sunscreen after you go swimming

Gets really really bad sunburn

Jeff, Ben and Toby take turns slapping it whenever he gets too cocky

Masky

This is gonna be a Dad Tim one, fight me

Really has no idea what the fuck is going on, but still manages too keep everyone together?

Tells the same story, atleast twice a day, about the killer wave that almost took his shorts off

Gets in fights with seagulls whenever they get realitively close too the group

Also buys one of those crappy beach wagon things too put their stuff in

Buys a mug and cheesy beer koozie

Doesn't enjoy the beach that much but gets excited too go?

Ends up sitting down for most of the time unless he gets dragged on walks

Might just kinda walk until the water is at his knees and just kinda stand there, and nod a little

Giving mother nature his approval

He takes Sally out and holds onto her stomach, lifts her up over the waves whenever they come

Asks her what she can see, before he drops her back down

Tries it with Ben, gets kicked in the gut-

Favorite time is when it's dark and they go

Not for a long time, just a few minutes too walk along the shore before it gets dark

Hoodie

Designated photographer

Is supposed too be taking photos but mostly gets footage of the stupid shit that happens

Like Jeff not being able too figure out the dishwasher or Clockwork wrestling with her dresser where only half the drawers worked

Just kinda sits back and watches things go up in flames

He's the designated like playlist guy too? On the drive over, whenever he got bored just

"Hey what song should I play?"

And watches chaos ensue

His vacation is watching everyone else have a bad time

Makes up for it though, saves them a shit ton of money by making dinner every night.

I feel like he genuinely enjoys late nights on the beach, like Tim

Gets some beautiful photos of the water, and people taking walks that he's pretty damn proud of

Maybe once or twice he'll join Doby for a walk too get pictures of the rising sun

Likes getting small things from the gift shops

Shark teeth, maybe a cheesy snowglobe

Something silly but nice too remember the trip by

Eyeless Jack

first things first, ya know those double-lens glasses? Like you flip up the sunglass part and theres normal lenses underneath? Someone gave him those

But their are crappy eyes painted on the normal lenses

He's very confused but its just ridiculous enough for him too like

The beach isn't his favorite place, I HC him as nocturnal and most things are open during the day

He takes too the rides and crappy carnival games that are open late at night

He can't see everything super well but makes up fun things for himself

Enjoys going on rollercoasters that he has no idea what the hell the drops look like

Fucking hates bumper cars

Can't tell where everyone's coming from or when

More nerve racking then fun

Whenever they go to the beach beach he just kind of chills

Akwardly curls up on a towel because he's big as shit

Where ever they stay he walks around, uses his echo location shit too find out all its quirks

"This walls more hallow then that one- those support beams in the lobby are doing a very shitty job of keep things together"

Loves sitting out on the balcony and just smelling the salt air, listening too people laughing and the ocean waves

Just the small details a lot of people miss

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anistarrose · 4 years ago

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Summary: Winters running the Mystery Shack are difficult, but two unexpected guests improve Stan’s day.

Characters: Stan Pines, Mabel Pines, Dipper Pines, Ford Pines

Relationships: Mabel Pines & Stan Pines, Dipper Pines & Stan Pines, Dipper Pines & Mabel Pines & Stan Pines

Happy Holidays, @halogalopaghost! I'm your Secret Santa, here to mash together a couple different prompts through the power of time travel (and Mabel)!

***

It doesn’t take Stan many years to learn that winter’s no good for the rural Oregon tourist business.

Granted, he can hardly blame the tourists — he has to drive on Gravity Falls roads himself, much to his disgust. Between the paved, plowed streets that always turn slick with ice where you least expect them, and the winding gravel roads that you might as well ignore when road and wilderness alike are under identical four-inch blankets of snow, he knows no gallery of fake haunted paintings or taxidermied coyote’s ass is worth the trip in these conditions.

He’s on his third winter in town, now — not counting the first, worst one he arrived at the tail end of — and if there’s a right way to run a business this time of year, he hasn’t found it yet. He always scrapes together just enough to pay his bills, thanks the occasional local who wanders over to purchase a seasonally appropriate if overpriced snow globe — but he’s lucky if he breaks even in December, and knows January through March are a lost cause before they begin. He’ll make it back within the next year, sometimes even before summer ends, but it stings to know he’s about to fail at his one goal for the next three to four months straight, and there’s nothing he can do to change it.

It might sting less if he had another way to spend these winters — if he had a good reason to formally close the Shack for a few months, like an experienced business owner making a grounded and responsible decision. But he can’t even search for Ford’s journals in this weather — he’s learned from his mistakes, his countless brushes with frostbite, throughout those cold, desperate months in the wake of the portal shutting down.

He’s useless right now, and worse, this season’s shaping up to be the bleakest yet. His usually-scammable neighbors have already lined their shelves with winter knicknacks from Mystery Shack visits past, and the bulk of Stan’s meager sales have come from shivering out-of-towners who’ve never tried to take a Pacific Northwest road trip in December before, and probably won’t be keen to try again.

What seasonal merchandise hasn’t he sold yet? Bumper stickers for miscellaneous holidays, maybe — but neither timely bumper stickers nor the usual selection of tchotchkes will convince people to visit the Shack in the first place, under these road conditions. He can’t even walk around selling merch door to door, for the same reason he can’t look for the other journals — he’d freeze to death, presuming he could make it through the snowdrifts to somewhere worth visiting in the first place. Even with snow chains on the Stanmobile’s tires and a bucket of salt in her trunk, grocery runs alone are perilous enough.

Damn it, Ford, he thinks, why couldn’t you have gone missing in Florida?

He could always do what he does best and lie, maybe — send out word that there’s free hot chocolate or something with every purchase at the Mystery Shack, and hope that people hand over their hard-earned cash before they pick up on the false advertising. He might draw in some local customers that way, and even if he loses their trust for the next few months, they always seem to forget about his cons eventually — as if he never scammed them, and they’ve never so much as heard the words caveat emptor.

He’s just about to dial the local paper’s number on the phone, hoping to flatter Toby into letting him run another ad for free, when he hears a telltale knock at the gift shop door. The bell atop that door doesn’t ring, which means that despite the hostile winds and snow they braved to get here, his visitors are still out loitering on the porch — or so Stan thinks for a moment, before it dawns on him that he doesn’t even remember unlocking the door this morning. He’d just been that pessimistic about even seeing a customer.

“Hello?” someone calls — a fairly young voice, probably approaching the tail end of puberty. “Are you there, uh…Mr. Mystery?”

“On my way!” Stan shouts, throwing on his fez and bolting for the door. His neighbors in Gravity Falls might forget and forgive a lot, but he doesn’t want to risk the wrath of a parent whose teenage kid froze to death on the local grifter’s doorstep, so he unlocks and flings open the door as fast as he can. “Welcome, travelers! Prepare to be baffled and bemused by our mind-boggling boreal mysteries, here at this last refuge at the edge of the Arctic we like to call the Cryptid Cabin!”

His visitor — no, his two visitors — both blink slowly, proving to at least be baffled, if nothing else. Both are bundled up in what Stan assumes to be several sheep worth of wool garments, lovingly knitted into sweaters, hats, and scarves.

“But you call this place the Mystery Shack,” the girl speaks up, and the boy nods.

“Yeah, and we’re nowhere near the Arctic! This is Oregon, not Alaska!”

Stan groans — the only customers he might see all week, and of course they’re teenagers. “Look, punks, business is slow these days! I’ve had a lot of time to think about a seasonal rebranding, and not a lot of chances to workshop it, alright?”

The teens’ expressions instantly soften, and the girl exclaims: “Well, you can workshop it with us!” She grabs the other kid — her brother? — by the hand, and pulls him into the gift shop.

Maybe Stan’s judged them too quickly — he’s still not thrilled to have strangers pitying him, of course, but he’ll take it over strangers mocking him any day of the week.

“Dang, you’re right,” the boy comments once inside, and face-to-face with shelves of untouched merchandise. “It really is empty in here in the winter.”

With little light coming in from the windows, and a flickering bulb overhead that will soon need replacing, the often-bustling room is now dim and eerie — aside from the junk food wrappers on the floor, which Stan hastily kicks under his desk.

“Look at all the lonely snowglobes in need of homes!” the girl pipes up, swiping a glass-encased antelabbit off the shelf and giving it a hearty shake. “Good thing I’m here to adopt this lucky little guy — how much is he?”

Stan takes a second to run the numbers — the maximum amount of money a teen would have on hand, versus what Stan needs to charge to make a profit — and replies: “Twenty-nine ninety-nine and nothing more. We don’t do sales tax here, ‘less you’re a cop.”

“Bet there’s a lot of other taxes you don’t do, either,” the boy snorts, rummaging through a shelf of hats until he unearths one with the old Murder Hut logo on it. “Aha! Now here’s a collector’s item!”

“Oh, did you come here before the rebrand and forget to grab a souvenir?” Stan asks. He doesn’t remember these two, but it’s been a couple years since he painted over the last Murder Hut sign — and they do seem pretty familiar with the building, not to mention Stan’s whole… business model.

“Oh, uh, that’s a funny story, actually! Real funny!” the boy stammers with a whole lot more trepidation than the topic should’ve warranted, and looks to his sister for help.

Sure enough, she steps in. “We lived here for a while — in Gravity Falls, I mean! Not here in the Shack, obviously — wouldn’t that be ridiculous, if we lived in your house for months without you knowing? Could you imagine —”

“That is to say, we still visit sometimes!” the boy supplies. His eyes are a whole lot more fixated on the snowglobes than with anything in Stan’s general direction. “You probably don’t remember us — we weren’t in town for very long, or anything…”

Stan sighs. They’re lying, obviously — but hey, there’s no cops in the Mystery Shack, and he doesn’t have a dog in whatever fight compelled the duo to spew this bullshit. He’ll keep an eye on the cash register, of course, but these kids are tolerable company when they’re not being suspicious as hell — so if they want to invent a bad cover story for a low-stakes tourist trap visit, more power to them.

“Well, the hat’s vintage, so that’ll be double price. Twenty bucks,” he announces matter-of-factly, and the boy groans — but there’s a smile behind it, like he’d expected this and now he’s just playing along. If there’s one thing Stan’s willing to believe, it’s that these kids have been to the Mystery Shack before.

“You’re a highway robber, old man, and I’m the coward who’s gonna let you get away with it,” the boy declares, and Stan can’t help but laugh. The kid reaches under several layers of sweaters to pull out a wallet, with a blue pine tree embroidered on, and miscellaneous charms of fantasy characters hanging off a chain on the side. Stan doesn’t recognize any of them, but they still tug at his heartstrings, because he can tell they’re the exact kind of nerdy references Ford would love.

He does take note of the pine tree design, though — it’s generic enough that slapping it on some shirts and hats wouldn’t quite be plagiarism, and in Stan’s eyes, those are always the best souvenir designs.

The kids put their money forward, hovering awkwardly as Stan rings up their items — the girl busies herself attacking a loose string on her brother’s scarf, nimble fingers tying it back in its approximate place, while the boy twiddles his thumbs and stares at the snowy, gray scene out the window. At the moment, only light flurries fill the air, but tomorrow night promises a blizzard… and Stan, grump with a soft side that he is, can’t help but hope that if these kids are really on vacation, then they aren’t planning to drive anywhere tonight.

With it being winter, and him running the business that he does, he doesn’t have much charity to give — but, if he’s going to play along with his customers’ little lie, then he should probably at least bring up the topic.

“You’re not hittin’ the road any time soon, are you?” He makes eye contact only with the green illustrated presidents in his hands, so not to come across as overly invested. “Weather forecast says tonight’s gonna be a doozy.”

“Aww, you’re worried about us?” the girl coos, because apparently both parties here are damn good at picking up on each other’s lies. “That’s so sweet — but you don’t have to be! Our great uncle’s waiting for us in town, and he’ll… well, let’s just say he’s planning to bring us back home before the blizzard hits.”

“He’s, uh — he lived here back in the seventies, so he knows what he’s doing,” the boy adds. “On the roads, that is. Mostly.”

“Well, you two take care,” Stan tells them, hastily adding on: “So you can come back when the weather isn’t terrible and buy more keychains, that is.”

“Oh, we will.” The boy grins, sharing a conspiratorial glance with his sister. “Maybe don’t count on it being next year — or the year after that, even — but you can count on it.”

“Well, uh…” Stan stops himself, resisting the impulse to divulge things he really shouldn’t. “You just shouldn’t count on me running this place forever. Be sure to get your novelty cryptid pins while they’re hot, y’know.”

He’s never really wondered what he’ll do with the Shack when he gets Ford back — and yes, he has to believe that statement deserves a when, not an if — but he figures the Shack’s fate will depend more on Ford’s own whims. If reality lands somewhere between the nightmares of Ford wanting him gone and the fantasies of finally sailing around the world, if Ford doesn’t hate him but still wants to spend more time with Important Science Experiments than with his brother, then Stan could see himself returning to a mediocre life in his moderately successful tourist trap… but with the search for the journals still coming up empty, Stan can only try not to think about the future, and accept that he’ll just cross — or burn — that bridge when he comes to it.

“Okay, Mr. Mystery,” the girl suddenly declares with a tone that frankly reminds Stan of his mother, “you look like you could use a pick-me-up!”

“What?” It’s starting to freak Stan out how well she can read him, and there’s no telling whether it’s just a sharp intuition, or something significantly more Gravity Falls-y. “If I look tired, kid, it’s because it’s December in Oregon, I haven’t seen the sun in a week, and I am tired. Only pick-me-up I need is for you to get out of my hair, and let me go back into hibernation like nature intended.”

“Okay, but counterpoint: you hear us out,” the boy insists. “We’ve got a little something up our sleeve to really light up your winter —” He winks at his sister. “Don’t we?”

“You bet we do!” She pulls a bag of marshmallows out of not her sleeve, but her backpack, and grins. “Prepare to be amazed and astounded by the natural wonders of this town, and also the miracle that is processed sugar and gelatin!”

“Are you imitating my sales pitches?” Stan asks, dumbfounded. “And do you carry those on you at all times?”

“In winter in Gravity Falls, I do!” the girl replies, already heading for the exit with her brother. “C’mon! If this doesn’t put a smile on your face, nothing will!”

“We all know you’ve got time to spare, Stan,” the boy adds, cracking open the door. “Get a move on!”

“Spare time doesn’t mean I’ve got spare limbs to lose to frostbite,” Stan grumbles, but follows them anyway. There’s something captivating about these little punks — not so much this mysterious phenomenon they’re trying to sell him on, as if they could really out-charlatan Mr. Mystery himself, but rather the way they’re not put off by his frigid facade. They see right through him, showering him in alternating kindness and acerbic wit.

Stan can’t help but wonder if their uncle’s kind of like him — tired, bitter, and pretending to be indifferent, but secretly soft on the inside, like a marshmallow that’s burnt on the surface but melted within. It would explain why they’re so good at calling him on his shit — but then again, Stan and this mystery guy can’t be too alike, because if Stan had a niece and nephew like these two, he’s sure he’d be living his life a whole lot differently.

He exits the Shack, and all his questions are immediately replaced with new ones when he sees the teens just hurling marshmallows towards the edge of the woods. The wind’s in their favor, so some of those sugary little fuckers fly far.

“Okay, so I’ve already got a couple concerns,” Stan tells them, shivering. “First off, what the hell?”

“It might take a couple minutes before one shows up,” the girl admits, as if it’s a totally reasonable stand-alone explanation for whatever the hell’s going on here. With about a third of the marshmallows now blending into the snow on Stan’s lawn, she and her brother stop with the throwing, though they still hold onto the bag. “Our grunkle theorized that they move slower in winter, to save energy — oh wait, never mind! Here comes one now!”

“Sorry, what? And where?” Stan squints out into the woods, terrified to lay his eyes upon a woodland monster these kids just lured to his doorstep — but all he sees, at first, are a few wisps of smoke dispersing in the wind above the trees. He’s not even convinced it’s smoke, really, because these aren’t the right conditions for a fire — but to his surprise, he glimpses an orange light within the woods, glowing steadily brighter until the trees and bushes around it are all casting faint shadows.

When it steps into the clearing, Stan realizes he has seen something like it before, albeit only from the overcautious distance he tries to keep from all anomalies. It’s an otherwise normal campfire perched on wooden, spiderlike legs, and it melts a path in the snow as it trots forwards, then lowers itself to the ground to absorb the first of a dozen marshmallows.

It lets out a satisfied little sound — a low, steady crackle that sounds almost like a purr — then scampers up to the next morsel of food to repeat the process.

“It’s called a Scampfire!” the girl explains, beaming. “There’s a bunch of them out in the woods, and they’ll always wander over if you leave out enough campfire food — especially sugary stuff! Isn’t that cute?”

“Our great uncle figured out this amazing trick when he used to live here, and he passed it down to us!” the boy adds, practically bouncing up and down in place. “If you leave them a trail of food, they’ll follow you around until you run out — which means they can clear your driveway, warm your hands, even save your car if you drive into a snowbank! Or help you make s’mores, of course.”

“Our grunkle says he even skipped paying his heating bill a couple winters,” the girl adds with a grin, “but I dunno if we can recommend that in good conscience.”

As the scampfire draws a closer, continuing to purr as it consumes more of the sugary trail, the boy slaps a handful of marshmallows into Stan’s palm. “Give it a try!”

Stan’s not thrilled about bringing a fire onto the wooden porch attached to his wooden house, even as cute as said fire is, so instead he tosses his ammunition at something much more disposable — the golf cart, since if this one croaks, he can always just steal another from the insufferable rich family up on the hill. His aim isn’t great — he blames his cold fingers — but exactly one marshmallow lands right in the cart’s driver seat.

The scampfire breaks course from its path towards the Shack, clearing a path through the snow before it crawls into the cart, absorbing the final morsel and curling up atop crossed legs. Nothing explodes, and in fact, a few of the icicles on the awning start to melt, dripping water into the patch of bare muddy ground surrounding the cart.

“Huh,” Stan mutters. Dozens of harebrained schemes flash before his eyes — if he could find a slingshot, or even better, some kind of cannon to mount on the cart’s front hood, then he’s sure that with practice, he could entice some scampfires to clear a path through any snowdrift…

But no matter his exact solution, it’s a way to get into town consistently. He can finally go door-to-door selling knickknacks, instead of sitting in the gift shop every day and hoping some poor soul would get bored enough to brave the roads and visit. He can actually work out a way to line his pockets even in the winter, instead of constantly waking up from nightmares about getting foreclosed on —

“See? They get food, and we don’t freeze — classic mutualistic symbiotic relationship!” the boy declares, and his sister gently socks him in the arm.

“Nerd!”

“Hey, you knew that too! We’re in the same biology class!”

It’s familiar, but the kind of familiarity that Stan doesn’t treasure anymore. It’s more like the kind that he hides in the basement or in boarded-up rooms whenever he can, and grins and bears with a heavy heart when he can’t, like every time he looks in the mirror or hears someone call him Stanford. He comes so close to asking these teens if they’re twins, because he figures the answer can’t be worse than wondering — but the question dies in his throat, and he tells himself it’s for the best.

“Is your uncle who invented this trick the same one who’s waiting in town for you?” he asks instead.

“Yep!” replies the girl. “He probably won’t get worried about us for like, ten or fifteen more minutes, though — I’m sure he’s got his nose buried deep in a book right now.”

“Do me a favor and let him know he’s a lifesaver,” Stan says. “Also tell him I’m glad he moved out, because he sounds a little too smart to fall for the fake monster wares that I peddle.”

The kids exchange a look that Stan can’t even hope to comprehend, though he’s damn sure it’s worth a thousand words to the two of them. Twins or not, he’s getting an “inseparable” kind of vibe from these two, that’s for sure.

“I’m not sure he’d like the Shack at first,” the brother muses, “but I’ve got a hunch it would grow on him.”

“He does like cryptids — sometimes even fake ones!” the sister chimes in. “Oh, shoot — we still need to grab a souvenir for him! I knew we were forgetting something!”

“Huh.” Stan throws a few more marshmallows in the direction of the woods, and the scampfire stumbles off the cart before trotting along on its merry way back to the forest. “I can get you something, no problem — I don’t call this place a gift shop for nothing, y’know. But for the love of Paul Bunyan, let’s talk about it inside.”

He’s not great at mental math, but he doesn’t have to be to know he owes a lot to these teens and the mysterious uncle he might never meet. Hell, even forgetting the business perspective — he can actually look for the journals in winter without risking frostbite, if he gets one of his fiery neighbors to tag along. Even if he finds nothing, even if he only winds up with more failures to contend with, he’d rather rule out locations than be useless to Ford for months at a time.

None of this weird family that he might never see again, these three benevolent strangers that he can only put two faces to, could possibly know how much they’ve just changed for him — and he can’t tell them, as much as his oversized heart promises he can trust these snarky kids who remind him so much of himself. But he does owe them, so when he reenters the gift shop, he goes straight for a seldom-opened and never-advertised box of knickknacks that he has no intention of charging them for. It’s got the dimensions of only about two side-by-side shoeboxes, so he lifts it onto the counter with hardly a grunt, and opens it up.

“Got lots of goodies in here — mostly stuff that I made or, ahem, acquired in bulk, so they never quite sold out by the time everyone and their mother in town had already bought their own. Take a gander.”

He knows that gander will reveal some Murder Hut-branded shirts with the words written on in marker, plastic six-sided dice with a different cryptids pictured on each side, cheap whistles purported to attract Bigfoot, cheap flashlights once advertised for attracting Mothman, exactly three cool rocks that Stan found in the woods… and the pièce de résistance, a little wooden Mystery Shack-shaped music box, which chirps out a pleasant tune when Stan flips up the roof. That last one’s a rare knickknack that Stan really put effort into personally crafting, back at the height of last winter’s monotony, through cannibalizing parts of premade music boxes and sticking them into brand-new shapes — but he couldn’t sell them for enough to be worth the cost of making more, and could never sell this last one at all.

“Oh, wow!” the girl gasps, clearly delighted. “How can I even choose between —”

“No, take it all. It’s on the house — but don’t you dare tell anyone about this, you hear me? I’ll know if you blab, ‘cause people will start asking me if they can get free crap, too, and I don’t wanna hear a word of that nonsense.”

“Free stuff at the Mystery Shack?” The boy narrows his eyes. “Are you feeling okay, old man?”

“Kid, stuff only goes in the Free Bullshit Box when I can’t sell it anyway.” Stan crosses his arms with a huff, even though he’s technically telling the truth. “The only catch is take it before I change my mind.”

A sudden spark of recognition in the brother’s eyes morphs into a grin on his face, and he nods. “Oh, we will. Don’t worry.”

“I think our grunkle will love this! Especially the dice,” the sister adds. “Hey, maybe we could give all this to him piece by piece for Hanukkah! There’s enough here for a new surprise every night!”

“Whoa, there is! Man, the look on his face the first time we bring out a Bigfoot whistle is gonna be great —” The boys eyes dart to the watch on his wrist, and he coughs into his hand. “But we should probably get a move on, huh? Don’t want to get caught in, y’know, the blizzard tonight.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Stan returns the lid and hands the box over. “You, uh, need a ride back to town? ‘Cause being a man of mystery and all, I know this neat trick to clear a whole road with just a bag full of marshmallows —”

The kids both start cackling, so hard that the box almost escapes the girl’s hands, and Stan laughs with them — not because he thought his joke was that funny, but because the kids’ laughter is absolutely priceless. The isolation’s definitely getting to his head and his heart, but he’ll take whatever reprieve he can get.

“I think we’ll manage on our own,” the boy finally wheezes out, “but thanks for the offer, Mr. Mystery. Thanks for everything, really.”

“See you later!” his sister adds as they leave. “Don’t let the feral gnomes bite!”

“You take care, too,” Stan replies, not nearly as loud — but he figures that the kids can read his lips. They can read so much about him, and know so much about the town, that he’s honestly a hair’s breadth away from assuming they’re two more anomalies from the woods themselves, just in more recognizable shapes than most…

Though if Stan’s honestly considering that theory, then more of Ford must’ve rubbed off on him than he likes to think about — which is to say, it’s a good a reason as any to stop thinking about it. What or whoever they were, the duo were actually pretty tolerable for teenagers, and Stan’s pretty sure they didn’t put a curse or whatever magic mumbo jumbo on him — because if they could manage that, they could definitely tell some less conspicuous lies, right?

He kinda likes the idea of one goddamn supernatural force in this town that’s actually benevolent, actually watching his back when his mood’s at its bleakest, and coming to his rescue with — no, he’s dropping that train of thought. No baseless hoping, just letting himself down easy before he gets up.

It does occur to him, several minutes after the gift shop door swings closed, that Hanukkah has already come and gone this year. Which probably just means the kids are prepared to hide that box for another twelve months… but maybe, when Stan finds the other journals, he’ll double-check for entries on helpful teenage cryptids who can’t lie. Just to be sure.

***

Mabel, Dipper, and Ford barrel into the living room so suddenly that Stan almost drops his mug of hot chocolate. They’re all covered in a ridiculous amount of snow, considering how briefly they were just outside, and Ford looks awfully delighted for someone whose glasses are someone whose glasses have just turned opaque with fog.

“Grunkle Stan!” Mabel shouts. The cardboard box in her arms has seen better days, but she’s cradling it like an infant. “You’ll never guess when we just were!”

Dipper points a gloved finger in the air. “You mean, when we just — oh wait, did you already —”

“Yeah, I beat you to it this time!” Mabel pumps her fist. “Anyways, Grunkle Stan — you’ll never guess who we just visited!”

#gravity falls #stanley pines #mabel pines #dipper pines #stanford pines #gravity falls secret santa 2020 #rosalia writes fic

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akrona · 4 years ago

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thoughts on deltarune chapter 2 (spoiler-free)

great things:

the writing is excellent as always. laughed out loud at many points, had Feelings at many points. but it's a toby fox game so that's par for the course.

ch1 and undertale had a problem where the overworld puzzles are just repetitive obstacles slapped on to make it feel more like a game and less like a walking sim. ch2's puzzles are more integrated into the setting, and more varied to keep it interesting.

fun battles. the s/r-action makes for more strategizing and the mercy/hp meters were a great addition. spare requirements are fun to figure out. great new bullet patterns, doing a lot of creative stuff. battles were more challenging. i am reasonably good at bullet hell but i actually lost a couple times (only time in ch1 that happened to me was against jevil).

game's a lot longer! love to have Content, babey

liking the plot so far, and the pace at which it is progressing. obviously there's a lot of unanswered questions, but that's good considering it's not close to finished. it can be very hard to get the pacing right for a work released in sections; you need to consider how it will come across both for people playing as they're released and waiting years for the next installment, as well as for later players who will experience it all at once. this is extra hard when the fandom is prone to analyzing and speculating on every little detail. how much do you reveal? what cliffhangers would be really awkward if you got the answer five minutes later? (i suspect it helped being involved in homestuck which had to thread this needle constantly)

the art is consistently good. temmie's stuff has always been solid but in the previous games it was obvious which bits got attention, and the rest was pretty lackluster. this one has so much stuff to look at, and it's all part of a cohesive whole. i absolutely loved the whole overworld and the enemy designs.

relatedly, there's a lot more sprite animation on the overworld which is nice. makes everyone seem like solid characters instead of just static walk cycles sliding around the map.

soundtrack is full of bangers but, again, it's a toby fox game so that's not surprising. i was head-bobbing for like half the game

that ending???? that particular reveal had not even occurred to me but it makes a lot of sense. i said 'oh dang' out loud

thank you for the disaster lesbians toby (does that count as a spoiler? i don't think so, it was obvious in ch1 that was going to be expanded on)

criticisms (these are all very minor):

the recruit mechanic is barely explained and i don't really get it. i have no idea what switching characters in the cafe is supposed to do. i assume this will be expanded on in later chapters, but some indication of the actual benefit of recruiting would have been nice.

i found the controls in the punchout sections hard to use. like, i couldn't tell when i was dodging, what counted as a hit, etc. maybe i'm just bad at punchout though

not enough lancer. give me the round boy. (i was hoping he'd function like the undertale cell phone, and he sort of does, but he has much less to say, and he barely interacts with susie)

there are a couple sections of auto-dialogue that i wish would slow down. i mean the one where [character] is monologuing at you in the middle of a difficult timed puzzle is obviously supposed to be annoying, but there's way too much expository dialogue in there for something you can't fully focus on. and there's no reason for the other one (the long hallway) not to wait for confirmation to continue, and i missed a few lines.

could have used a few more save points imo. in particular i would have liked to have one right before the bumper cars, as a warning that a big battle was coming. (i wasn't healed up so i lost first try and it would have been nice to respawn right in front of it)

i've had problems in all three games with navigation. despite the fact that "just go to the right to progress" remains generally true, backtracking can be hard because it's hard to remember where things are.

this is a problem with delatrune as a whole: i wish the keymapping options were at the very beginning, and globally applied. i find wasd much more comfortable but you have to get through the first chunk of the game before it even gives you the option to change it

conclusion:

it good.

it's literally free so you have absolutely no excuse to not play it. even if you haven't played undertale you can still understand it just fine.

toby put a warning not to play if you haven't gone through undertale, due to spoilers, but honestly given the weird AU relationship between the two i don't think that's a huge issue. there is admittedly one big spoiler in ch1 (without giving it away: your dad) and that might hurt the emotional impact of a late-game reveal, but if you've seen much fanart you probably already know about him. otherwise it's mostly like "oh hey it's that guy, i know them!"

i am going to replay it right now brb

#deltarune #this playthru i am going to choose VIOLENCE #i behaved myself and didnt do any FIGHTing in my first playthrough but this time... >;)

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caffeineaddicted-noonie · 3 years ago

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Hiii! Im looking to do a creepypasta matchup (id prefer if you did not match me with ben nor jeff tho)

My names Powder and I use it/its pronouns, im a pisces, i am the entrepreneur (ESTP) mbti type and i am 5’10!

Im kinda mean sometimes 🧍🏻‍♀️ um and i like bugs. I really like bugs actually. I have a weird habit of slapping stuff, like a wall or chair or soemthing but usually my leg or arms 💀 my friends describe me as very blunt. I come off rude a lot on accident. And I like the outdoors a lot, i snowboard too. I usually wear very plain clothes like jeans with a graphic design shirt, and a zip up jacket. I also wear hats and beanies a lot. I really like sharks, reading about flowers, watching constellations and watching documentaries! My favorite docus are murder mystery ones, but i also like historical ones sometimes. I have adhd & paranoia and my favorite bug is a stag beetle :}

Hope this is okay! Tysm ^^

Hello fellow Anon! I am sorry this took like...a week? I think. I've been...in a not so good condition to write recently. But not to worry! Your match up is all good!!

I MATCH YOU UP WITH

TICCI TOBY / TOBIAS ERIN 'TOBY' ROGERS

when it begins log 1 - as friends🌹

+ It was an "immediate" click so to say. + You two would get along well if you're not sensitive to his tics or his uncontrollable personality. + But overall, personality set aside, you two would get along well! + How did you two meet?

So, in the dark alley, a figure walks a hatchet in hand. He mentally curses as he acknowledges how bloodstained his clothes were. He steps on a small puddle which causes it to splash onto the bottom hem of his pants, he ignores it. His eyes squinted. "D-damnn, why is that l-l-lampost so bright.." he cursed, "Thought it w-was the sun," he chuckled. "I know right! I wonder why they just let it be that bright!" His eyes met yours as he turns to look in your direction. Not knowing who he is, you extend your hand out, "Hi! I'm Powder," he looks at your hand, hiding his hatchet, "Nice axe by the way!" you smile, complimenting what he was trying to hide. His mask hides the small smile he had on his face and he shakes your hand, "Toby.." You look at him, your eyes moving up and down. As if second nature, you let go of his hand and open your jacket. You offer it to him, "Your shirt has a lot of paint on it," you say, not knowing it was blood that stained him. "Uh- y-yeah, I was having a-a paintball f-f-fight.." he said between his tics. He replaced his jacket with the one you offered him.

+ And thenn, yo two schedules a day to give it back to you. And this is where friendship starts~ + Ya'll hang out a lot after + Outdoors?? That's his vibe!! + You two would hang out in the woods a lot! Not just the woods tho, probably the deepest parts where caves and bigger animals could be seen. Or where the earth ends as a river ends to be a waterfall. + The beach is also a good place! Tho, be warned, he always chases crabs. + He completely understands your "Accidently Rude" thing. Because he has borderline disorder, he has trouble with controlling his own emotions. So he relates and won't be bothered at all. + If he gets harshly sarcastic, he will apologise after. He'll tell you he doesn't mean it as he is very unpredictable.

You wish it to never end log 2 - as lover 💖

+ He confesses first...in the woods...you two were on a tree...he hangs upside down, while you tell him all your problems and he just goes, "Hey,,,at l-least you h-have an awesome g-guy crushing on y-you" he says, his thumb pointing towards him, a smile and blushy cheeks under his mask + After this, you have a cool guy watching over you <3 + He'll tell you about himself for A-Z + His past, disorders, etc + He'll tell you to NOT worry because he'll make sure it won't impact you in any way. + He cares about you a lot. You're the only family he has. His only safe place. His only one. + And he'll show you his racoons! + He'll try to tone down his sarcasticness just for you. But I bet you'' understand if he blows suddenly. Just stay quiet. Once it is all done, comfort him bc he's trying /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~ + Picnic dates are a WEEKLY thing beb + He'll let you wear his jackets and sweaters, whether you need it or not, you can wear it >u< + Your ADHD is not a problem to him, I swear. He'll comfort you about it. Tells you that it's not a problem at all. + Would cuddle you!! Physical touch is his love language!! + When you're watching television, talking about sharks, reading about flowers or you two are watching the stars together, trying to spot the various constellations that decorate the night sky, he's there to wrap his arms around you and warm you with his presence. + You two are the type of couple to just, vibe with each other. Meant to be puzzle pieces. He completed yours and you completed his!!

I hope you like it! Thank you for sending in!! Have a great day and take care!!

#noonie's writings!#noonie's writings #noonie's matchups🖤#ticci toby

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creaturefreature · 4 years ago

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so I finished playing chapter 2 of deltarune the other day, but i wanted to wait a couple days to post my thoughts so i’d have a little more time to think about it. so here they are, spoilers below the cut

-aight first of all is it just me or was ralsei acting incredibly suspicious throughout the whole chapter? i don’t know he just seemed wayyy more calm about everything. i hope i’m just reading to much into things because i am not ready to be betrayed by the fluffy boy

-the mechanic of ‘recruiting’ darkners to the town was such a cool idea. i’m looking forward to seeing more characters joining and just chilling there in future chapters

-it’s nice that we got confirmation that the king does care about lancer to a certain extent even though he’s still a horrible guy

-i’m so glad seam returned in this chapter to stay in the castle town even if they only got a small role. that said i’m a little disappointed we didn’t get to see Jevil again but I was kind of expecting that would be the case anyway

-the cyber aesthetic is cool and all but i definitely prefer the chess/playing cards feel the first chapter had going for it instead. i’ll miss the alice in wonderland-esque vibes it had

-i absolutely love the queen and think she’s a really entertaining antagonist. she had so much funny dialogue and an awesome battle theme to boot. her design kinda reminds me of a mix between spade king and a xenomorph

-i found the puzzles to be a little more difficult than the last chapter especially the traffic jam puzzles cause it was hard to get the timing right (especially because i’m not used to using the keyboard controls)

-the music!!! absolutely!!! slaps!!! i’d even go as far as to say it was better than chapter 1’s soundtrack. if i had to choose a favourite it would probably be either ‘attack of the killer queen’ or ‘big shot’

-berdly was cool and i ended up liking him a lot more than i probably should have. he had a surprisingly sympathetic backstory and i found it funny how he’s just basically an incel gamer version of falco. i wonder if more of kris’s classmates with join us in the dark world in future chapters

-speaking of which did anyone else notice how the doors in the queen’s mansion had the names of kris’s classmates and asriel on them? how the heck does she know about them?

-rouxls finally got his own battle! nice to see lesser dad get more screentime in this chapter and nice to see the thrash machine return also. i find it neat how the game remembers your choices from chapter 1 and makes them relevant in chap 2

-i love how when the queen gets recruited to castle town the first thing she does is immediately adopt lancer. looks like he’s got 3 parental figures now

-the ending scene where susie meets toriel and they bake a pie and she invites her to stay the night is so wholesome. an interesting note is how susie seems reluctant to call her parents. maybe she doesn’t have a great relationship with them? it would explain a lot

-the cliffhanger at the end was insane, arguably even crazier than chapter one’s cliffhanger. i doubt kris is the Knight, but the fact that they’re able to create dark fountains means they definitely have some sort of connection to them

-overall i really really enjoyed it! i can’t tell if i preferred it over chapter one but either way i’m looking forward to what the future chapters hold. i just hope Toby Fox doesn’t rush himself and takes all the time he needs - he’s given us so much and the guy deserves a break

#ace’s post #deltarune #deltarune spoilers #deltarune chapter 2 spoilers

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wonder-kid-pugh · 5 years ago

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Walk Through Fire - (Christen Press x reader)

"How is it that your more nervous now, than you running into a burning building" Dylan asks while I pace my room trying to calm myself down.

"Because I'm waiting for myself to wake up and realise this is a dream and I'm supposed to be at the station" I groan as I feel my palms get sweaty. He sighs before he stands up and stops me from pacing, "First of all take a deep breath".

I nod as I take a deep breath calming me down the tiniest bit. "Now listen. This is not a dream. Today you are going to go out there and marry the woman of your dreams and then you'll get your happily ever after" Dylan reassures.

"Well that is until she realises how much a pain in the ass you are".

I shove him backwards as he laughs, "But seriously Y/n your going to be fine. Once you see her you'll be fine". I take another shaky breath as I give myself one last once over in the mirror and fix my tie. I'm in a daze trying to understand what's happening.

Today I'm marrying the love of my life.

Christen Annemarie Press

The most perfect human being I have ever met has somehow agreed to marry me

I'm pulled out of my thoughts when there's a knock at the door. I turn to see Mal pop her head in the door and smiles at me, "Ready to go Y/n?" I smile at the young forward, "Let's go Mal".

We make our way down to the beach where the ceremony will take place. "Does this mean your finally going to adopt me?" Mal jokes as we come up to the set up. I laugh as I wrap an arm around her, "Of course sweetie". I had gotten pretty close with the team due to dating Christen and also because I was friends with Kelley in college.

It was pretty much inevitable at this point

I say a quick hello to the guests before taking my place at the alter. I start to play with the bangle on my wrist as I anxiously wait for this to begin. "Relax she's coming" Dylan whispers in my ear. Before I could reply the music started playing and everyone stood up. My eyes looked up and I let out a small gasp.

My eyes locked with her's. She was being lead down the aisle by her father but she was the only one I was focused on. Her white dress that hugged her body in all the right places which made her look like a heavens send. Before I knew it Cody was handing her over to me, "Take care of her". Not taking my eyes off her I nod, "Always". He smiles and kisses his daughters cheek before walking back to his seat.

Not once do my eyes leave her. "You look absolutely stunning" I whisper under my breath so she is the only one to hear me. "So do you" She whispered back. The whole ceremony I was completely entrapped by her. I was only brought out of it by Dylan slapping me in the back of the head which earns laughs from everyone. I look to see Christen giggle at me before the priest smiles at me, "Your vows?"

"Right" I blush as I pull out my prewritten vows out if my pocket and clear my throat, "Christen Annemarie Press. The love of my life. My soulmate. My always and forever. I stand here in front of all our friends and family to declare my undying everlasting love for you. When we first met I was in absolute awe the minute I layed eyes on you. And then the regret the next day when I didn't have the courage to talk to you. But as faith would have it we would met again when my best friend decided to drag me along to one of her soccer games and then introduce me to her teammates".

"Your welcome by the way" Kelley calls out from her seat which makes everyone laugh. "Thanks squirrel" I laugh as she just gives me a thumbs up before I continue, "I knew I was a goner the first time I saw you smile. I knew I was screwed from that point on and without even knowing it you had me wrapped around your finger. And I knew I would do anything for you. Willingly or not because of that pout of yours". Everyone laughs again while I see Christen roll her eyes but can't hide the smile on her face. Once everyone settles down again I start to read once more, "When we first got together I made you a promise to always be there for you no matter what. Then when I became a firefighter I made you another promise to always find my way back to you. Today I'm here to made you another promise".

I forget my notes and instead look straight into her eyes as I finish off my vows, "I promise to love you everyday for as long as I breath. I promise to be your biggest supporter on and off the field where ever you are in the world. I'll be your shoulder when you are sad, your doctor when you are sick, your shield when you need defending and will be right by your side in the face of adversity. I will walk through fire every day just to see you smile".

I gently wipe away the tears that slowly fall down her face as I can hear sniffles throughout the crowd. I kiss her forehead as my thumb traces her cheek. "Christen your vows" the priest says. She nods as she grabs her own vows and clearing her throat, "I don't know how I'm supposed to follow that but I'll try". I chuckle along with everyone before she continues.

"I remember Kelley harping on about meeting her best friend and I'm not going to lie but I was nervous because I don't think I could handle another Kelley in my life". I let out a laugh as I see Kelley huff in her seat. "But I was pleasantly surprised when instead of another wild child I met you. One of the sweetest most thoughtful people I've ever met. Your were this adorable shy dork who could barely form a sentence around me at the beginning but eventually found your words".

I pout which earns a giggle but she still reads on, "With you I always feel loved and cared for. With you I never feel uncomfortable or out of place. With you I feel like I could take on the world as long as I'm by your side. Which after today is where I will always be. The day I watched you on the news saying you were trapped in that house. I lost it. It made me realise how much I rely on you everyday. And how I don't want to imagine life without you. So today marks the beginning of the rest of our lives. And there's no one I rather spend it with that you".

I quickly wipe my eyes before any can fall as I take her hands in mine. The priest speaks for a bit before we exchange rings. I went with a simple band while hers is a small bit more designed. It was small classy and beautiful

Just like her

"With the power vested in me by the state of California. I now pronounce you wife and wife you may kiss the bride". "Finally" I mutter as I cup her face and kiss my wife. I smile as I hear everyone cheer as we walk down the aisle.

The rest of the night is a blur as there was laughing drinking and embarrassing speeches from both Dylan and Kelley which had me hiding my red face in Christens neck. We danced the night away until it was eventually time to leave the party. When we came up to our room I bridal carried her across the threshold as I peppered her face in kisses. I gently layed her in the bed as I out her lips to mine. I pull away and smirk as I see her breathing heavily.

"Now to put that dress where it belongs" I whisper as I nip at her neck. "Where?" Christen sighs as I get to her pulse point.

"On the floor"

..........

"Cmon bud time to go" I say as I pick up my bag to bring to the match. "I'm ready!" He shouts as he runs into the room wearing his Press jersey. "Great let's go then" I say as I grab my keys.

"Wait! Wait I forgot something!" He shouts as he runs back into his room. He returns a minute later with his snapback which Tobin gave him, "Okay let's go". I chuckle as I follow him out of the house.

We soon arrive at the stadium and I carry him as we walk through security. "Aunt Toby!" The 5 year old shouts as he sees my wife and her best friend walking through the tunnel. I put him down and he's already halfway down the hall running into Tobin's arms who lifts him up, "Chase!" I laugh as I walk up to them and kiss Christens cheek, "Hey love". "Hey" she smiles as she takes our son from Tobin, "hey bubs". "Hey mommy" our son smiles showing his toothy grin just like his mother.

Today is Christens last game as she's retiring after this. She decided to hang up her boots so she could focus on Re Inc and our family. Instead of being an on call firefighter I'm now in charge of training the new recruits which makes Chris very happy that my life won't be in constant danger.

"Okay bud we got to go let Mommy get ready for the match" I say as I see kick off is getting closer. Our son pouts but nods as he looks at Christen. "Bye mommy" he says while her puts his hands on her cheeks and give her a kiss. "Bye bubs" she smiles before handing him to me and giving me a kiss, "I'll see you in a bit".

Before I know it the teams are lined up as they honour Christen. Christens family are welcomed onto the field as she's handed flowers and a jersey with her number of caps on the back. Christen holds Chase as we all stand for a picture. I think back over the years and smile at all the happy memories as I look at my wife. She catches me looking at her, "What is it?"

I just shake my head and I kiss her, "I love you so much". "I love you too".

Hey guys!!! I know it's been a while since I've updated on here. I've decided to kinda have this book on the side now and will update on this when I get more inspiration which means I won't take as many requests anymore. And with everything that's going on in the world right now I'm focusing on trying to keep up with my school work any anything else.

During this troubling time we should all come together in this time of need. So help each other out, remain calm, do not panic, distract yourself by doing something positive, do something which you have been putting off for ages now and just do it. Be kind to each other and stay safe

#christen press x reader #christen press imagines #christen press imagine #christen press #uswnt woso #uswnt fic #uswnt imagines #uswnt imagine #uswntsoccer #uswnt #uswnt x reader #kelley o hara #mallory pugh #mal pugh

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sanderssidesfanfiction · 4 years ago

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If There’s a Place I Could Be - Chapter Nine

If There’s a Place I Could Be Tag

August 4th, 1986 Remy was as happy as a clam while he worked on sandcastles with Toby at the beach. His parents had decided to take a day trip, and Remy had spent the entire time he got the chance to build sand castles, which were getting more and more intricate. Vanessa was playing in the water, and Mom was reading while Dad dozed in a beach chair. “This is fun!” Remy exclaimed to Toby. “Do you think we can do this again sometime?”

Toby shrugged. “I don’t know. That kinda depends on whether or not Mom and Dad would go for it.”

“What about when we’re older, and Mom and Dad don’t have control over us? Can we go then? Just us?” Remy begged.

A dark look passed over Toby’s face, but as soon as it was there, it was gone. “Mom and Dad will always have control over us to some extent, Remy. The sooner you learn that, the better.”

November 23rd, 2000

Remy’s breath could only come in gasps as he frantically dialed the number he had accidentally memorized recently from calling it so many times. He waited as the phone rang, and rang, and... “Hello?”

If Remy could breathe, he would have sobbed in relief. As it was, the words were getting caught in his throat. “E-Emile...” Remy stammered out. “I...I thi-think I need help...”

“Remy?” Emile’s voice was so filled with concern, Remy cried harder. “Remy, can you explain what happened? What’s wrong?”

“Th-th-they know, Emile. They...they know. I-I...I slipped up, and they know, and what if they kick me out, Emile, I have no way of getting back to college if they kick me out, I don’t even have a car—”

“Okay, Remy, breathe for me, can you do that?” Emile asked. “In for four seconds. Hold for seven seconds. Out for eight seconds. I can do it with you, okay? In, two, three, four...”

Remy did his best to even out his breathing with the instructions that Emile gave him. When he felt less like he was about to get sick, he whimpered out a, “Thank you...”

“It’s not a problem, Rem. Can you tell me what happened?” Emile asked, his voice calm and not betraying a single thought that might be running through his mind.

“Va-Va-Vanessa...Vanessa was talking about how she was working after college, and how her Biology degree was getting her places. A-and Toby...Toby was talking about how he was enjoying learning about graphic design. Nate and Magenta were both talking about their senior years of college, they’re twins, so they wound up graduating the same year...But my grandmother and grandfather noticed I was being quiet, and they asked me why, and didn’t I enjoy college. Except...except I could never lie well enough to fool them, Emile, and I said I did, but they didn’t believe me.

“And when my grandfather called me on it, my mom and dad started sending me dirty looks, like they wanted me to behave, except I was trying to behave, Emile, you have to believe me! I was trying to be good, for once in my miserable life! And I admitted that college wasn’t super fun, and studying business wasn’t super interesting, and that’s when my mom cut in saying she knew that I should have been an accountant, because then I would feel ‘fulfilled’ for going to college. And I said that wasn’t it, and she asked me how I could be so sure, and I lost my temper, like an idiot, and said that the workload and the pressure and the environment was going to drive me to suicide if I wasn’t careful. And that...that...that was not the right answer, Emile.”

“What did she do?” Emile asked, and Remy swore he could hear some anger in his best friend’s voice.

“She...she said that I should be more careful, then. Maybe change my major,” Remy spat, voice bitter. “And I asked her if she wanted me dead over me happy. And that stunned the whole table into silence. Toby tried to descelate the whole situation, and Vanessa tried to distract Mom, but it didn’t work, Emile, it didn’t work. Mom stared at me like I had slapped her. Grandmother and grandfather were furious. At me, of course, because I’m the problem in this situation. I lost my temper, I was disrespectful, and I needed to watch my mouth.

“And as if that weren’t enough, then Nate asked me what I planned to do if college was gonna kill me. He asked if I had a backup plan. And Mom repeated the question in a mocking voice. And I snapped that I had a job, I was paying my way through college so I could pay for an apartment and utilities and food with a little help, and that I had found help, so I wasn’t going back to college after the end of the semester.” Remy laughed hollowly. “The one time that I actually had a solid plan for my life that they could be proud of me for, was apparently the one time they didn’t want me to be put together. They wanted me to back down and continue going to college, Emile. They wanted to drive me to suicide! How was I supposed to respond?! Don’t I...don’t I have a right to be angry over that?!”

“You absolutely do,” Emile said. “You have the right to be angry over a lot more than that. You shouldn’t have to ‘watch your mouth’ as you called it. You’re an adult; you have a right to your opinions, to your life choices, to your everything. The fact that they’re trying to dictate your life is cruel and domineering. I don’t approve.”

Remy wasn’t aware how desperate he was to hear those words until they had actually came through the cell phone’s speaker. He choked on a sob. “So they...they said that I was going to go to my room, and I wasn’t allowed out until I saw that college was ‘the right thing’ for me, or until the end of Thanksgiving break, at which point they’d drive me back to college anyway. They’re trying to kill me, Emile. My parents are trying to kill me.”

There was a knock on Remy’s door and Remy gasped, bolting upright in bed. “Who’s there?!” he hollered.

“Rem, it’s Toby, can I come in?” Toby asked.

“I’m...I’m kinda in the middle of something!” Remy said.

“Remy, what’s going on?” Emile asked.

“Toby’s at the door,” Remy mumbled.

“Rem, I know you’re on the phone, or else you’re ranting to yourself about what happened, and I know you. You never rant about things that have already happened. I want to talk to you, and to your support system, if you’re willing,” Toby said.

“Are you okay talking to Toby and me, Emile? If I put you on speaker and let him in the room?” Remy asked.

“Yeah, of course, I’d love to meet your brother,” Emile said.

“You can come in!” Remy called through the wood.

Toby walked in and shut the door quietly, walking over to Remy as he put the phone on speaker. “For what it’s worth, Rem? I don’t agree with Mom and Dad in the slightest,” he said, sitting down on the bed next to Remy and giving him a one-armed hug. “Who’s your friend on the phone? The guy you’re going to move in with?”

“Yeah, hi, my name’s Emile,” Emile said. “I take it you’re Toby? Remy’s spoken highly of you before.”

Toby laughed, a sweet sound that reminded Remy of the taste of coffee in the fall, as it worked to warm you to the core. Both those things seemed to have the same effect. “I’m flattered,” Toby said. “I wish I could say the same, but Rem here hasn’t spoken much about college at all. Although considering what he said at dinner, I’m hardly surprised.”

“If I said anything about Emile they’d assume he’s my boyfriend,” Remy muttered.

“Is he?” Toby asked.

“No,” Remy said. “Like, he’s cute, and he knows I’m gay, but he’s not my boyfriend. And Mom and Dad would flip if they found out I was gay for real, and it wasn’t just a phase when I kissed James on the playground when we were five.”

“Okay,” Toby said, nodding. “You seemed pretty panicked on the way up here. Was I misreading the situation or did Emile help you calm down?”

“Emile helped me,” Remy said, feeling like he was five years old and hiding from his parents after they were fighting, with Toby helping him stay calm, a rock in a pitching ocean he was stuck alone in.

“Thanks, then, Emile,” Toby said.

“Hey, I’m just happy Remy called me. It’s always a relief when he decides he can ask for help with something that’s clearly bugging him,” Emile said.

Remy objected with a weak, “Hey,” but Toby just laughed and agreed. “Sorry, baby bro, but you do kinda bottle yourself up and never ask for help, under any circumstances.”

“Not every circumstance,” Remy sulked.

“Maybe not every circumstance, but most of them, I’ve found,” Toby said matter-of-factly. “Not that I blame you. Mom and Dad the way they are, you had to learn to rely on yourself a lot faster than you should have.”

Remy grumbled nonsense and buried his head in his knees, still holding his phone up so both he and Toby could hear it.

“Rem? Do you want to explain what Toby meant by that? Or is that a conversation for another day?”

“Let’s table that one for now,” Remy said. “It’s...a very long story.”

“All right,” Emile said, but he sounded reluctant. “Toby, how likely are your parents to uphold that Remy needs to stay in his room if he decides that he will drop out of college?”

“Oh, they’ll uphold it,” Toby growled. “I tried to talk them out of it, but no dice. I at least got him bathroom privileges.”

Remy groaned.

“Well, then I suggest we come up with a plan of attack,” Emile said. “Rem, how well can you lie to your parents?”

“Well enough, usually,” Remy said. “Why?”

“Tell them you plan on going back to college, at least until the end of freshman year. That’ll get you a free ride back to town. Then, once you’re here, we move all our stuff into the apartment we’re renting, you drop out, and you never have to speak to your parents again,” Emile said. “Obviously, you can talk to them later down the line, but no one will force you to. Toby, I hope you won’t force him to?”

“Nah,” Toby said. “Rem’s been through too much crap. Vanessa and I too, but Rem got neglected as well as manipulated because our parents seemed to forget he existed. I won’t make him talk to them. Ever.”

“Good,” Emile said, and Remy got the sense that Toby had just passed some silent test.

“I have a question,” Remy said, resting his head on his knees but not burying it again. “What happens if they don’t believe me? I don’t want to be stuck without food for the rest of the long weekend.”

“I’ll smuggle food up to you if you need, but I don’t think you’ll need it,” Toby said. “Even if you can’t convince our grandparents you changed your mind, you can convince our parents once our grandparents leave. Tomorrow morning you can come out and give the spiel, and you’ll be good to go for the rest of the weekend.”

“Promise you won’t tell them about this conversation?” Remy asked.

“Remy, the only way I would tell them about one of our private conversations is if you were about to hurt yourself. Even then, I might not, because they might not react well. I’d just get you somewhere safe myself. Believe me, I won’t tell our parents,” Toby said.

Remy smiled. “You’re the real MVP, Toby.”

Toby just laughed in response. “Do you want me to write to you again?”

“Sure, when I get the new address I can call you, or write you, or do something to let you know, sound good?” Remy asked.

“Sounds like a good plan, yeah,” Toby agreed.

Emile cleared his throat over the line and Remy jumped. “Sorry, Emile, I forgot you were there for a sec.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Emile said. “Do you need me still, or should I go?”

“I think I’ll be okay the rest of the night, Emile. Thank you for metaphorically talking me down off that ledge,” Remy said.

“It’s my pleasure, Remy. So long as I know I can help, I want to,” Emile said.

Remy huffed a laugh and said, “You’re too nice.”

Emile retorted with his usual response. “You’re too cynical. Talk soon?”

“Yeah, talk soon,” Remy agreed, hanging up. He turned to Toby. “Thanks, by the way. You’ve been a better big brother than I could have ever asked for.”

Toby just offered Remy a grin. “Well, duh. I’m pretty great, after all.”

Remy laughed and shoved Toby’s shoulder. “Shut up!”

#if there's a place i could be #sanders sides fanfiction #remile #emile picani #ts sleep

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