#anyway so also we went to my grandma's house and I saw my dogs which breaks my heart every damn time

[emometalhead]

.

[blacksurvivalnostalgichanges]

black survival  characters’ preferred gifts

Adela:she doesn’t have a lot of traits that make it easy to figure it out beyond the obvious answer. so. i once saw this cool, glass chess board. she might find that sort of thing sick

Adriana: she’s too obcessed with fire. she would only be happy if you gave her anything that either burns well or can make fire. maybe a novelty lighter

Aiden:he would legitimately be happy to recieve socks

Alex: do i specifically need to give context on how i got this information. no, not really. i think he’d like the tetris themed shit this one company sells. they have tetris gummies, tetris portables, the works. he’d find that fun

Arda:i can’t shake off the image of him being all happy to get one of those kids’ toys but then it’s an archeology one. though i feel like he’d be happy to get stationery. get him a nice notebook

Aya: she would legitimately be happy to recieve socks. but even more than aiden. like, with him itd be casual “oh thanks”. she’d legitimately be happy to recieve a christmas gift that is just normal plain socks

Barbara:i think if you can get her anything mechanical she can tinker with she’d like it. my brain says clock

Bernice:canonly doesn’t want to get things because he doesn’t want to get attached. but also i love the image of him getting one of those christmas sweaters that went viral on tumblr with the silly little things and wearing it all day

Bianca: i think she’d like bratz. she doesn’t seem like a barbie girl, she seems like a bratz girl. i guess by extension myscene because it’s bratz but barbie. actually i’m getting flashbacks of this ugly ass huge doll my sister had. i looked it up, one meter tall, which is as tall as i was at the time. and my cousin said this creepypasta she heard to my sister of the doll coming alive and killing everyone. and i insisted on hearing it. and then my grandma had to watch me sleep or i wouldn’t sleep. she wasn’t there when i woke up. first betrayal scaramouche style. anyway if she liked nina she’d like that doll

Camilo:he’s canonly self-obsessed. either anything flattering like sexy outfits if you can get it in his size, or just. mirrors. narcissus ass man

Cathy:now i looked at danganronpa gift lists to get some ideas and. i feel like if you gave her a skull you would be strange. but she would not even blink and get so happy you gave her that and display it

Celine:bomb obsessed. give her bomb

Chiara:struggling. i feel like she’d refuse gifts because of her self loathing. she wouldn’t like most things because she has a pathological hatred for cute things. the first idea i’ve got is cool dagger

Chloe: giving her a doll would be hilarious. she’d want to kill you with her mind

Daniel:he seems too... not fond of material things. maybe art supplies. maybe new scissors

Echion:give him boxing gloves. wouldnt that be funny. anyway considering his likes and dislikes section basically says he acts like a dog, give him a whiskers sachet. there is a non-zero chance he’ll like it if you don’t let him know that’s animal food

Elena:man. she does not give much to work with. all we know is figure skater, russian, greasy food, no like heat. idk man give her cool ice cube trays

Eleven:she likes everything. but i think she’d be happy if you gave her cute things. like cute accessories, or things like stuffed animals, if we’re going more traditional. give her blahaj

Eva:we don’t actually learn much about what kind of gift she’d like but my head insists she’d like to get nice clothes

Emma:well when i was a kid my mom gave me a magic book that taught you simple magic tricks. shed get a kick out of one of those

Felix:he’s the sort to accept anything. but i think he’s struggling enough with money to be happy just getting money

Fiora:practical gift fan. you get her a stepstool and she’s like “sick”. you get her a toolbox and she’s like “oh thank god there’s a loose screw in my house”

Hart:similar deal to felix. accepts almost anything. except i think she might be too prideful (maybe not the right word) to plainly accept money

Hyejin:i think she’d love to get books. but also she’s the sort to cherish anything you give. also think she’d like cute stationery actually

Hyunwoo:too obsessed with becoming an adult to accept a max steel. so. i don’t think he’d like clothing, really don’t. but because of that line of thought i’m picturing him being like SICK, A RICE COOKER

Isol:if it’s not useful like a swiss knife he probably would straight up reject it even if he liked it

Jackie:knife, chainsaw, knife sharpener, if it’s not to kill shit she might not be that interested

Jan:he strikes me as the sort of guy to think the strangest things are great gifts. like. you get him shit like a first aid kit and he’s happy

Jenny:material girl, whether she’s actually an enjoyer of it or just wants to look it does not matter, she’d be the fucker who has a minimum price on secret santa. baiengiaca shoes only

Johann: he likes wine. so. we don’t have a lot else. bottle of wine

JP: i think hed be happy if you got him another poster of a buff guy wearing feminine clothing to add to his collection. otherwise i can’t imagine many things that count as gifts he’d be into

Laura: expensive things, probably. generally

Lenox:strikes me as the sort of person who isn’t into material gifts. she’d be happy to just hang out for the day. but also she canonly keeps around old shit and you can probably just buy her an upgrade of something and she’ll be happy

Leon:difficult to say actually. because if you gave him, like, a cute plushie, he’d tell you off. but also i’m convinced he’d keep that forever

Li Dailin:bottle of anything alcoholic. moving on

Luke:he might like another colorful shirt for his collection. or like. a new mop

Magnus:5 in 1 shampoo that smells like motor oil

Mai:i think she’d like to recieve accessories. like hairpins. belts. etc

Nadine:practical gifts only. it’s said she likes to use meat and leather to make things and i assume she’d like to get tools to handle those things. unless she tries them and decides it’s easier without

Nathapon:new camera, or more film. printer if you want to be slightly evil

Nicky:probably only wouldn’t do her whole “i need to complain first and realize i fucked up” thing if you gave her something deeply practical for her that she currently needed. like if her gloves were tearing and you just got her new ones

Rio:loves cats. just give her a cat thing. like a keychain or sticker or even hoodie if you want to go over the top

Rosalio:canonically will complain about your gift, brother. he might complain about money

Rozzi:extremely difficult to work with, i know it. good luck figuring it out. if you try to get her, like, a knife, she’ll try to break it in front of you and if it does break she’ll chide you, i know it

Shoichi:when the post idea first floated around the best suggestion was stuffed animals for azuko.  also that if it’s for him he’d really rather plain get money. you give him a shirt and you find a facebook marketplace ad, by him, selling it. though he does like tea, maybe giving him tea could be what makes him not sell it

Silvia:no clue. she doesn’t seem to put value into things. maybe clothes. shoes

Sissela:maybe art supplies

Sua: i feel like everyone gives her books. and she always has that book already. and she never says that she has it, she gets really happy instead. but then she has like five copies of the same book. handy for borrowing, maybe she donates some of them. but on average? confusing bookcase

Tia:definitely art supplies and stationery. at least partially because she can draw anything into life, good luck beating that

William:maybe new headphones. or stuff for gardening since he seems to be kinda into it

Xiukai:he might be too picky with his cooking supplies to get a good gift out of that. but maybe. we don’t know much about him

Yuki:i think he’d thank you politely for any gift but you’d know if he disliked it because he’s a “it’s nice that you thought to do this” kinda guy. anyway he’d like to get shiba themed stuff probably

Zahir:cannot get a read on his likes and dislikes either. zero idea. too unmaterialistic. i guess he had his gold jewelry. maybe that

[misseasybake]

My friend Liuda from Poland came home and we were hanging around on a swing in the backyard. While we were talking, we saw my dad's mom walk somewhere while talking to a stranger who was walking towards her. Surprisingly, she didn't pay any attention to us. A little later my mom and my friend's mom appeared to talk to us as well. A stranger talked about a certain mystery connected to a dance and a bird's feather. A little later a plumber or somebody like that came to state that he was done with something and started talking about that mystery, too. It all started in the morning but when the plumber came it was past noon or something. Then I remember a fragment where I found the book about the dance and a black bird's feather. The book contained things like dance elements, techniques, etc. It was big old and brown. Then the yard seemed to change. The yard I was talking about previously was the yard I grew up in. But now this one is somewhere resembling my friend's old yard. Except everything was super green and glowing (like leaves, flowers, and stuff). I decided to go home. For some reason, I thought my home was there. On my return home, I encountered a weird young girl and a small dog. First I saw the dog. It seemed friendly. The second time I saw it (I was peacefully sitting on the floor looking at something) it came up and bit me. I saw the dog coming. I didn't expect it to bite but somehow, I wasn't surprised and it didn't hurt. Plus it was easy to shake the dog off. It bit my shoulder but there was no scar. Also, I just remembered my friend with whom I hung out in the morning had a new phone with a weird purple phone case (it's not that weird, just not her style). Back to the weird girl. When I went to a certain home, I took an elevator up. When the doors were closing I saw that dog again. The elevator was not usual. I closed to the left side, had a round shape, and was rather small. When I arrived at the destination and the door opened I was happy that I didn't see anybody. But when I wanted to step out a girl spawned in. Her body was small and resembled a seraphim Boa from one piece anime. But just the body. Her hair and face looked a little different. She stepped back as if letting me pass and walked by my side without saying anything for a few steps. Then she ran forward and said that she knew something and could help. It was about the dance mystery. She said I could stay at her house and pointed to her left where the apartment was. Somehow I didn't find it strange. It was the apartment I called my home and was planning on going anyway but the girl said that it was her home. When we entered it, it was definitely not as I expected. The rooms weren't scattered like in a usual apartment or a house. They were cascading: you can enter the second room only after you enter the first. You can enter the last third room only after you pass all the other rooms, 1 and 2. The bathroom and kitchen were on the right and followed each other respectfully and without overlapping. Like in my grandma's house. Every room there was kinda cluttered. We went to the first room. It was the girl's mom's room. The mom later appeared. Introduced herself as Ira. She looked like my other friend's mom from the village. But she had the personality of my friend's mom who arrived from Poland. Anyway, she said something like… you guys go sleep in…'s (I didn't catch the girl's name, but I suppose it was Kristina bc that's what the girl's from the village name is) room bc every time somebody sleeps in this (mom's) room they get pregnant. I laughed it off but it seemed weird to me. Then I understood the meaning behind it probably, but I had forgotten it by now. Then we went to the second room which was most likely Kristina's. We hung out there for a while. Had a lot of food there too. It made the room messy, so we decided to clean the sheets since we were eating in bed. All the beds in that apartment were big. Anyway, we cleaned the sheets. The rest of the dream is kinda blurry since the last thing I remember is that we were on a balcony.

"

Hanging Out with Liuda:

Friendship: Spending time with your friend Liuda from Poland on a swing signifies a sense of comfort and familiarity in friendships.

Dad's Mom and Stranger: Seeing your grandmother walking with a stranger and not paying attention to you could symbolize feelings of being overlooked or disconnected from certain family members.

Mystery Introduction:

Mystery and Dance: The mention of a mystery connected to a dance and a bird’s feather adds an element of intrigue. It might symbolize uncovering hidden truths or exploring unknown aspects of life.

Plumber and Mystery: The plumber's involvement in the mystery suggests that everyday elements or people might hold keys to deeper understandings.

Book and Feather:

Discovery: Finding the book about the dance and a black bird’s feather symbolizes discovering knowledge or insights. The book's old and brown appearance suggests ancient or valuable wisdom.

Change in Yard: The transformation of the yard into a super green and glowing space might represent a shift in perception or a journey into a more vibrant, enriched state of being.

Encounter with Dog and Girl:

Friendly Yet Biting Dog: The dog’s initial friendliness followed by biting you, yet without pain or scar, might symbolize unexpected challenges that don't leave lasting harm.

Weird Girl: The strange girl and the unique elevator symbolize entering unknown or unusual territories in life. Her resemblance to a character from an anime hints at influences from media or fiction in your subconscious.

Apartment and Cascading Rooms:

Unusual Home Layout: The cascading rooms signify a journey or progression through different stages or experiences. The cluttered nature might represent complexities or obstacles to navigate.

Mother’s Room and Pregnancy Warning: The warning about the mother’s room causing pregnancy might symbolize caution or unintended consequences in certain situations.

Food and Mess: Eating and making a mess in Kristina’s room could signify indulgence and the resulting need to address the aftermath or consequences of actions.

Blurry Ending:

Cleaning and Balcony: Cleaning the sheets and ending up on the balcony might indicate a process of purification or clarity, followed by a broader perspective or outlook on life.

"

"

A book suggests there are rigid attitudes around you, and represents your need to seek a knowledge that you are not yet aware of.

To dream of a book indicates your search for knowledge, and the ability to realize this before it is too late.

To dream that you see an old book means that you are being given spiritual guidance.

A brown or red book can indicate superiority, union and celebration of something close to you. To see a large book in your dream means that you need to be nurtured by another.

To find a book in your dream shows the need to celebrate or to curb your temper.

"

[spideyspeaches]

Can’t escape (the way I love you) ↬a.r

A/N: This is a repost from my old account :) @th0ttie4tommy​ here you go :)

Warnings: cursing, use of wooden spoon, seX, canon typical voilence-ish)

MINORS DNI

WC: 3.1K

Summary: after running away from knockemstiff, Arvin finds his way to Cincinnati and finds a girl instead.

Pairing: Arvin Russell x Reader

Masterlist || Taglist

Sleep didn’t come easy to Arvin now that he was hitchhiking his way to Cincinnati. Flashes of his daddy on the prayer log with his neck cut off, Lenora’s limp body hanging, the preacher bleeding his guts out and even the photograph of the whore- the Sheriff’s little sister- all played in his mind like a broken record.

Sighing, he leaned back on the seat and watched the long haired driver honk on the ongoing vehicles, the noises sending shards of pain up his skull. He really wanted to sleep, and maybe smoke a cigarette, but he didn’t want to think about the possibilities of what would happen if he slept in a random stranger’s truck.

Just the thought of sleep reminded him of the old man and the whore’s faces, making him sit up straight.

“You okay there boy?” The long haired man raised an eyebrow, looking at him from the corner of his eye.

Arvin shook his head, wincing at the movement as his sore body struggled to not give in to the strong pull of sleep.

“I’m good. How far away are we from the city?” He asked, gritting his teeth as he saw the Sheriff’s car go past them.

“We have a long way to go. Why don’t you take a shut eye meanwhile?” The driver said.

“No thank you. I’ll stay awake. Sleep is for the week and all.” He mumbled, fixing his cap.

“Okay, if you say so” The driver responded, shrugging and continued driving.

Arvin looked out of the window, watched as the trees passed by, a lonely dog making a trek as it wiggled it’s tail. His heart gave a thump, chest aching as the dog reminded him of Jack. He really missed the mutt, he didn’t deserve the death it got.

Pulling his cap over his eyes, he squinted at the slight indication of dawn, the pull of sleep too strong to ignore now. His mouth went slack and neck bobbed with the wobbly rout, a huge yawn leaving him, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

***

“Hey kid! Wake up!” The man said, shaking out of his sleep. He woke up in a disoriented haze, head throbbing harshly against his skull, body heavy with exhaustion. Sitting up with a gasp, he saw that the man had stopped the truck, panic seizing his lungs. Was that it? Would the driver pull a gun on him just like those Henderson whores had?

Looking around, he noticed a small diner, stomach growling with hunger, as if in response to seeing the place.

“Whe- Where are we?” He said sharply, noticing the driver’s eyes trailing him. He shuddered at the man’s gaze.

“We’re at a rest stop. Figured you might be hungry.” He replied gruffly, getting off the side door, “You comin’ or not boy?”

“Yeah. Yeah I’ll be there.” He whispered. Maybe he could run away from here, hitchhike another ride to the city. His eyes landed on the board on the corner of the road. He was relieved to find that he was already in the city.

Before he knew it though, his feet were carrying him towards the diner, a cigarette making its way to his mouth as an invisible string pulled him towards the small place. He complied, too tired to make anything of the situation.

The bell rang as he opened the door, pushing himself inside before he could think. Taking an empty seat, he leaned on his hands as his heart stuttered to a stop.

Literally stopped.

It felt like he was in a parallel universe filled with coincidences, flashbacks of his old house back in Ohio, his daddy sitting on a ratty stool as he talked about his mama . Because in front of him was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He remembered his daddy telling him how he met his mother in a diner in a small town, just like the one Arvin was in right now.

Throwing away the butt in an ashtray, he tried to speak, but no words came out. He stuttered a small smile, looking at your bright eyes as you said something.

“What do I get for you honey?” You asked in a soft voice, oh your voice was such a melody.

“A coffee would be good.” He finally said, licking his lips and thumbing his wallet nervously. He hadn’t left with much money.

“You look like you need solid food and aspirin.” You smirked, pouring a hot cup of coffee in front of him. You slid a cheesecake, smiling at his surprised expression. “It’s on me.“

"Oh- I uhm. Thank you.” He nodded. He took a bite of the soft dessert, nearly moaning at its sweet taste. His taste buds were jumping from the onslaught of the sweet flavour, sighing as he sipped at the bitter coffee. It was the best food he’d had in a few days.

Turning around in his seat, he saw that the driver was nowhere in sight. Great. He had ditched him. Thankfully he still had his belongings with him.

Turning around again, he fidgeted with his fingers just as you appeared in the line of his sight.

“You’re not from here are you?” You ask, wiping your hands on your apron.

“No. How’d you know?” He raised an eyebrow, a smile appearing on his face.

“Well you look quite lost. Do you have a place to stay?” You leaned forward, the open collar showing just a little bit of your cleavage. He licked his lips, trying not to stare.

“I don’t actually. My ride ditched me.” He shrugged, “thanks for the cheesecake by the way."

"Oh it’s alright. The leftovers go to those bloated buffoons anyway. You looked starved, so I wondered why not?” You collected the cutlery from the other customers, shouting orders at the kitchen for the others. “You say your ride ditched you? My grandma owns a motel not far from here, I could get you a room to stay for s while."

"Oh no no no! That- you’ve already done so much for me and you don’t even know me!” He stumbled. He wasn’t used to this sort of kindness, considering the shit his life took in the past few months.

“It’s no trouble really! I’m just going there after this shift anyway, will probably stay in the penthouse for a while.” You said.

Before he could say anything to confirm or deny your offer, You were removing your apron, handing it to another girl as you hopped over the counter.

Fixing your dress and hair, you go to the back of the kitchen and yell something at the manager, walking out of the house, looking behind and silently asking him to follow.

Arvin tried to follow you, sighing in relief when he found you leaning against the wall in the back. But instead of calling out for you, he scrambled for a cigarette, groaning internally when he found only one left and lit it with a matchstick. Taking a drag, he breathed in the familiar burning in his throat, leaning against a pole.

He felt more than saw you eyeing him from the corner of his eye, heart speeding up like he was in highschool and had a crush on one of the girls or guys. He hadn’t stuck around much to date anyone, but the time he had making out with them was good enough for him.

“My name’s Y/N by the way.” You said, biting your lips as you looked at him.

“Russell Arv- I mean- Arvin Russell.” He stuttered, pulling out the joint from his mouth.

He took a deep breath, letting the silent roads and windy weather calm his racing heart down. He thought about leaving right there, not wanting to get someone who looked as innocent as you did, in a mess like his life was. Before he could walk away though, you were walking towards him, biting your lips.

“Uhh, so my grandma’s place?” You asked nervously.

“You barely know me and you’re letting me stay with you. For all you know, I could be a murderer.” He joked. You chuckled and made a face at him, dragging him to your Cadillac. He followed anyway.

(He almost laughed at how ironic he sounded, shaking his head internally.)

“Thanks for letting me stay Mrs. L/N” He smiled at your grandma as she shook his hands, enthusiastically shoving cookies down his throat and excited that you had brought a boy with you.

“She’s nice."

"She’s the best.”

He intended to stay for a day and hitch a ride, stay far far away from this place. He didn’t want to corrupt these people, he tried to reason. But he couldn’t let go, he just kept interacting.

(A little girl in the neighbourhood liked to play with his hat. He smiled at the small child, surprised to find the unadulterated happiness that radiated off the wee kiddo when he played with her. The people smiled a lot too.)

A day turned to two, two to a week and then nearly a month passed and no one asked him once why he lived with a girl and her grandma.

(Or why he flinched every time he saw a gun or an officer of law walk by).

He also managed to score a job at the diner, for washing the plates. He found that he didn’t mind helping people

You didn’t know how fast time could pass, and as it grew it’s sneaky tendrils, your heart grew a mind of its own as you spent days fantasizing your time with him, of you under him as he fucked you senseless.

Tracing his biceps, you leaned forward, mouth nearly touching his. He cupped your jaw, grabbing your waist and lifted you off the ground, slamming you against the concrete wall and kissed you.

Your mouth tasted like berries, which berries he didn’t know, maybe strawberries, fuck if he cared. Maybe it was your Chapstick.

“Arvin.” You moaned against his mouth, hands reaching for the collar of his shirt as he shoved you against the wall, holding your ass to keep your balance. His tongue swirled around your lips, hands sliding up your legs in a soothing motion.

You could taste the nicotine in his mouth, but you couldn’t be bothered. All you wanted was this beautiful stranger right now. A stranger who you felt like you’ve known your whole life.

“Shh sweetheart, don’t want anyone to hear us would we?” He whispered in your ear, holding his hands over your lips to shush you. You nodded, eyes half closed as you enjoyed the feeling of his rough denim rub against your thighs, the sheer friction of his movements causing heat to pool your gut.

“Arvin,” you moaned softly, running your hands through his hair, “Arvin, wait. I- I know a place."

He stopped for a second, Looking at you with a bewildered expression. "What kind of place?"

You gulped, getting off of him and walking around and outside the master bedroom, making sure no one was in the corridor. Following you, his eyes grew wide as he saw you open a door to a dungeon, switching on the flickering lights to reveal a small square area room.

The room was dimly lit and dusty. It was surrounded by racks but he could not see what was kept in them. In the centre though, was a single obsolete piece of wooden slab surrounded by long rods of metal attached to it. It must have been an old hospital bed- the kind the troops used. It sat flat against the floor. He looked at you again.

"My daddy used to bring things from the war, whips, guns, handcuffs. Everything. Everything.” Your low voice sent chills up his spine. With shaking hands, he scoured the cupboards, wiping off the dust from his fingers as he came across a pair of brass knuckles and handcuffs. Fingering them, he looked at you as you nodded.

“Do you- do you want me to use ‘em? On ya?” He said. He could feel his already hard dick throb painfully almost, the lust in your eyes making him feel things.

“Use them on me Arvin. I wanna feel you use the cold metal against me as you fucked me so hard I couldn’t walk tomorrow.” You suddenly push him against the cupboards, his back hitting with a thud as you traced his chest through his shirt, scrambling to remove off the offending clothing.

You scratched his chest lightly, fingers gliding against his pecs and abs as they clenched, moving in a sensual manner. He was impatient, you could practically smell his excitement in waves. The scent of his cologne was overwhelming in a way that made your insides tingle with your own arousal.

“Fuck- sweetheart.” He whimpered, his legs weak for you, waiting to feel your walls.

Kissing his neck and then chest and nipples, you dig your teeth around the skin, eliciting a moan deep from his throat. You were shaking with anticipation, hastily removing your frock and throwing it to somewhere. He held you for a second, admiring your body and giving you a gratifying look. His hands linger around your chest, unhooking your bra holding them as he kisses your chest while  bending down with trails of kisses down all the way to your tummy.

You pant as he reaches your navel, slender fingers sliding your panties off you as you sigh in relief, ecstatic that you were now fully naked in front of the boy of your desires.

He plunged his fingers inside your dripping core, your legs trembling as he licked off dripping cum from your folds.

“Already wet for me huh? Wait till I use these on you, how will you feel then babygirl? Want me to use them don’t you?” He urges, spreading your legs apart and moving you so that your butt hit the wooden plank. You whimper at the force, back arching as he dribbles your clit with his spit, licking it off you and then standing up. You immediately miss the contact, and thankfully it wasn’t for long before he came back.

He unbuttoned his pants so that he was too fully exposed now, his cock springing out made you crave for it even more now, but before you could do anything, he took your hand, cuffing it to the railing of the plank. You cursed at the tightness, adjusting your wrist so that they wouldn’t hurt. You whimpered when you felt a cold wooden spoon run along your chest. He held the dip of the spoon on top of them leaving indents, his other hand’s thumb kneading into your flesh.

“Is this okay princess? Don’t wanna hurt your pretty little hand. Just wanna hear you moan my name.” He whispered, voice cracking due to the octave it took when you gave a shrill cry of surprise, your other hand clutching at his hair, causing you to lose your balance and falling on your ass.

“I need you Arvin! I need you now please help me!” You cry out, your eyes devoid of tears but your voice showing your emotion. You were hungry, starved and his cock looked delicious. You just wanted him inside.

“A little patience would be appreciated.” He growled against your chest, biting at the sensitive skin. You must have said that out loud.

“I don’t know how much longer I can hold it in me.” You whimper, scrunching your eyes as he nipped at your neck, rubbing the tip of his dick on your clit. His tip was bright red, hard and erect. You wrapped your legs around his shoulder, bringing him down at you. His fingers kept playing while his mouth worked.

“I’m so wet Arvin, only for you baby, look at me, so wet.” The wooden spoon made contact with your chest again, sliding down to your ass as he gently nudged your back. He didn’t hit you, no, that son of a bitch teased you with slow motions of its cold surface. You kissed him till your lips were plump and red with blood dripping off the thin skin, his mouth leaving his lingering taste in yours.

Finally, finally, he slid into you. You gave a shrill cry as his member entered you, your walls clenching around it as if you wanted it to stay in you forever. You arched your back, your waist hitting his pelvis, causing it to slap around him. You unconsciously dug your fingers in his back, gritting your teeth at the sudden sensory input.

“So tight baby. Clenching around me like a fucking ant-eater. You like this don’t you darlin’? Like it when I slide in."

"Yes baby.” You whispered. Sweat dripped off of the both of you, your slicked bodies slapping against each other, “Oh I’m about to cum! Arvin!"

"Cum on me baby, cum on my dick so I can shove in harder.” He clenched himself, mouth forming an O as he felt you orgasm around him, his dick sliding out of you. Pumping his balls, he clenched his jaw at the sight of you, panting under him with your legs spread apart. “You’re such a good girl. Always listening to what I say."

"Because you’re the best.” You flopped down on the board, your back hitting it. You jiggled your arm that was held in the handcuff, the movement bringing Arvin toppling down to you. He fell on your breasts, face smushed in as if he was sleeping on a pillow. You erupted in a fit of giggles as he licked you with kitten-like strips.

“Did you like that? Was that- was that okay?” He huffed, probably as tired as you were right now. His muscles relaxed under your touch, unclenching as you ran your hands on his back. You hissed when you saw that your hand had caused bloody indents on his skin.

“That was amazing sweetheart.” You paused, “I’m so glad we met that day."

"Me too. I didn’t believe in love for a very long time after momma died, and then my daddy died, and then Lenora-” he said, choking on his tears, “- my sister, Lenora, that fucking preacher. He killed her."

"Arvin, baby I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I can’t bring them back. But I can hold you. I can hold you forever if you want. I can love you."

You froze for a moment, realising what you had said. You had met only a month ago, and yet here you were, telling him that you loved him. Your heart did gallops when he didn’t answer for a while, and then you heard it. You heard him say those three words, a soft whisper in the night.

"I love you too."  

[goldenvicious]

Enter: Alvin and Einstein

After I told my mom goodbye and left my house, I started to head for Wedgehurst. At the head of Route 1, Hop was waiting for me. He went on about this being the beginning of his legend and having to train in the grass.

He told me that I should head to the unusual building with a Pokeball on it, the Pokemon Research Lab. I wanted to take the straight path forward, but a Wall of Wooloo blocked the way. I have to go the alternate route: through the tall grass.

(Character Break: I though for a while on How I'm gonna deal with encounters. This is my solution: do surprise encounters when possible. If there is no grass, like in caves, catch the closest Pokemon available. Some towns have fishing spots, so those'll be encounters too. I'll explain the Wild Area when I get there.)

As I walked through the Grass, a little Skwovet ran up to me. He was cute, so I decided to catch him and name him Alvin.

As I continued, I encountered a Wooloo in the same Route. I wanted to catch it too, but...Something was preventing me. I couldn't reach for my Pokeballs, even though I wanted to. Come to think of it, the same thing happened in Alola, but I didn't pay much attention to it at the time. I decided to defeat the Wooloo for some Exp, getting Goldeneye to level 8 and Alvin to level 4.

I pushed forward and Dodged the remaining Pokemon. I also picked up a Potion and 2 Paralysis Heals that were on the ground.

Once I entered Wedgehurst, the first thing I saw was Leon's Charizard. That must mean he's nearby. I spotted him in front of the Research Lab. Once we were face-to-face, he complimented me on making it, since he struggled during the start of his adventure (man's bad at directions).

Leon, his Charizard and I all headed inside the lab, where we were met by a little dog known as Yamper. Then we heard a voice from above call out to Leon. A cute looking girl was there, at the top of the stairwell. She came down to greet us, and Leon told me her name: Sonia. All he said about her was that he likes her cooking. Sonia buts in, telling us that she was Leon's rival when they were a part of the Gym Challenge.

She formally introduced herself to me, telling me that she was the professor's assistant. Leon requested that she sets me on the right path and heads out with Yamper.

Sonia spots my phone, which was a new Roto-Phone gifted to me by Kukui back in Alola before I flew here to Galar. It still has the same Rotom that was in my Roto-Dex. She explained how the Roto-Phone works(, but I already knew how it worked. Didn't want to spoil her fun though, so I let her explain anyways). She than asked me if I knew a lot about Pokemon. Since I'm, y'know, the first ever Champion of Alola and the one who saved it fron the Ultra Wormhole Crisis, I guess I knew a bit about Pokemon. Since she was impressed with my answer, she decided to add the Pokedex onto my Roto-Phone.

Apparently, the Pokedex App was developed by her grandma, the actual professor of the region: Professor Magnolia. Sonia asked me to tell her grandma that I received the Dex, since she lives in the house at the end of Route 2. I agreed left the Pokemon Research Lab.

When I left, I was stopped by a man I didn't know. He noticed that I just left the Lab, so he suspected I got the Pokedex App recently. He wanted to gift me something useful since I'm a "new trainer". (Guess he doesn't know that I'm a regional champ elsewhere. Oh well, I'll take the free stuff anyways :/.) He gifted me a potion, and explained how they worked. He also told me that i should talk to everyone so i can know as much as possible, then left. Not the weirdest experience I've ever had, but it's up there.

I decided to head to the nearby Pokemon Center since Goldeneye and Alvin are a little beat up, and met Hop on the way there. He asked if I got my Pokedex, than went on and on about meeting cool Pokemon and building a Strong team. He than went on to explain how the Pokemon Centers of Galar worked. We walked in, as he asked me if I've ever been in one. I've never been in one like this, so I said no. They were quite different from Alola's, so Hop's explanation was actually useful. The PC was different, it had its own Rotom inside it. There was a PokeMart here, just like Alola. What was really different was the guy on the left. He explained that he was the Move Relearner, Move Deleter, and Nickname Rater. One guy with all 3 jobs, wow. Back in Alola, those 3 were separate jobs, and the people with those jobs were scattered around the whole region. This is so much better! With that, I healed my pokemon and headed out. I decided to check out the nearby clothing shop. Since I left most of my clothing back in Alola, i decided to buy a Black Striped Top, a Navy Hoodie and Blue Denim Trousers. I also decided to take off my hat. Honestly? I think I look good. I also bought 6 Oran, Cheri, and Pecha Berries from a Berry Farmer outside the Boutique. (I actually bought 7 Pecha berries, but I ate one for myself. They're soooooo good! You should try one when you can.)

On my way to Route 2, Hop stopped me. Again. He asked if I want to try my hand at the Gym Challenge. I've never done any gym challenges before, only the Island Trials and that one fake Gym in Malie City back on Ula'ula Island. I still have that novelty Badge at home, I think...

But anyways, I was interested in trying an actual Gym Challenge this time. Apparently, it's an annual challenge where trainers compete for the right to challenge the champion. The trick is that we have to be endorsed in order to participate, which is the hard part. Since Leon won't endorse Hop since he doesn't think he's strong enough yet, he's gonna try to get the professor's endorsement. He wants me to join him, since I'm his rival now. We both headed out to Route 2.

Once we got there, Leon stopped us and offered us a lesson on How To Catch Pokemon (ft. Champion Leon). Leon noticed that I already caught one, since my mom gave me 5 Pokeballs before I left. Leon decided to give me 20 more pokeballs. He went on about how catching also increases Exp, battling increases more, etc. Than he just. Left. Hop than left as well to catch his own Pokemon. Well, it's my turn to catch another Pokemon.

I ran into the grass and found a little bug Pokemon named Blipbug. He had a cute face, so I chucked a ball at him immediately. He was caught in the 1st ball. The name Einstein popped into my head, so that's his name now.

I decided to put him as the 1st Pokemon in my Party since he was the newest member. I spotted a fox nearby and decided to encounter it. It's a fox Pokemon known as a Nickit. I wanted to catch it too, but the same thing as before was preventing me. What is this force? Why won't it let me catch more than 1 Pokemon per area?! I'm so confused! I decided I should KO the Nickit for Exp. On my way down, I was met with my 2nd ever opposing trainer. The moment we locked eyes, he challenged me to a fight. Just like Alola...

You are challenged by Youngster Jake!

The 1st Pokemon he sent out was Skwovet. I lead with Alvin. I was at a disadvantage since his Skwovet had a level advantage to me. Why am I at a disadvantage every battle, man?! I managed to land a Tail Whip, but suffered a Tackle in return. Fortunately, Alvin's new move, Bite, was able to Flinch the opponent, so we were only hit once the whole battle! We eventually bit our way to victory! Heck yes! We got 360 PokeDollers for winning. I picked up a few items that were lying around and headed forward. I was challenged by another trainer. Why are there 2?

You are challenged by Lass Lauren!

I once again led with Alvin, and she has a tiny turtle Pokemon named Chewtle. I used Tail Whip, but once again, was hit with tackle. Alvin ate his Oran Berry, and his ability, Cheek Pouch, healed him up to full! Now at a slight advantage, we Bit are way to Victory once more, only suffering a few weak Tackles! We got $504 for winning.

At the entrance of the gates was...another trainer. Oh. Wonderful. He says he couldn't neat Hop, so he'll beat me instead. Let's see if he can.

You are challenged by Youngster Benjamin!

He leads with a Blipbug, and Alvin hits the field once again. I know Blipbug's only move is Struggle Bug, so a Tail Whil and a few Bites will do the trick. His second Pokemon is a Nickit, so I swap out Alvin for Einstein. Nickit uses Quick Attack while Struggle Bug does mire than half HP. I outspeed and land the finishing blow, winning me the battle. We got $420 for winning.

Once I walk past him, I'm met with Hop standing near Leon, who's talking to the Professor about the Dynamax Phenomenon. Eventually, she spots Hop and I and introduces herself. She is Professor Magnolia, and she invited us into her house. She notices Hop's additional Pokemon and it seems she knows who I am. She guesses that I already have the Pokedex, and bets that I'll complete it in no time. I try to tell her about the fact that something is preventing me from catching more than 1 Pokemon, but...the words get stuck in my throat. I can't say what i want to say. I can't move. I can't change my expression. It feels like I'm not in control of my own body at the moment. Someone. Anyone. Please Help.

Leon explains that Magnolia has been doing research on the Dynamax Phenomenon for years now, and it takes a proper understanding of it to use it at its fullest. Hop asks Magnolia to convince Leon to endorse us for the Gym Challenge. First, Magnolia asks Leon why he won't endorse us. He explains that since we just started our journey here, he feels like we don't know enough yet. Dude, I'm the champ of Alola. C'mon. Magnolia argues back that Leon said that he wants everyone in Galar to become strong trainers. So they come to a compromise: if Hop and I have a brilliant enough battle, he'll endorse us. Hop agrees and heads outside.

I check over my team and think about how to lead. I decide to keep Alvin in front, and head out to battle Hop. But before that, I go behind the house and pick up an item: TM 57, Payback. Wait. How did I know it was back here? I...don't remember spotting it or anything. Maybe it was intuition? Yeah, let's go with that. Since it benefits slow Pokemon, I teach it to Alvin. Hop calls out for me to battle him, so I run towards him. He wants to get endorsed sooo badly, so he wants our battle to be great. Leon and Magnolia watch from the sidelines.

You are challenged by Pokémon Trainer Hop!

The 1st Pokemon he sends out is his Wooloo, and I send out Alvin. I know how Bulky Wooloo can be, so I set up with 2 tail whips, suffering 2 tackles in the process. Hop lands a Critical Hit Tackle, taking me down to Half HP. Alvin eats his Oran Berry and Heals to full, thanks to Cheek Pouch. Afterwards, we KO Wooloo in one hit with a Critical Hit Payback. Alvin and Goldeneye level up thanks to the Exp, Alvin to Level 8 and Goldeneye to Level 10.

Hop sends out Scorbunny, so I send out Goldeneye. I have the level AND type advantage, so 2 Water Guns is enough to take it out. We only got hit by a resisted Ember between the 2, so no real harm was dealt :/. Einstein made it to level 8, tho.

Hop was going to use Rookidee, so I kept Goldeneye in. 1 Water Gun and a Pound is all it took, only taking a Peck in damage. I'd say the highlight of the battle was the Critical Payback. We got $640 for winning.

Hop is upset at losing the fight, but Leon decided to endorse the both of us! We both received a Letter of Endorsement! Hop immediately cheered up at the fact that he was endorsed, and promised to win his way into fighting Leon. Hop and I will both train against one another in order to get stronger together.

Suddenly, Hop spots something in the sky. An unknown object falls down and lands nearby. Hop runs to it and immediately grabs it, noting that it's a Wishing Star. Since there's two of them, he gives me one. I don't know why, but holding this makes me feel. . . safe.

Hop says that with one of these, his pokemon can Dynamax. Leon approaches us and says that Wishing Stars fall down for those who have a true wish in their heart. Hop clutches his and repeats the phrase "I WILL be the greatest Trainer ever!" to himself 3 times. Magnolia says that the Wishing Stars are composed of a curious sort of rock with unknown powers. It's the most precious resource in Galar, but they're useless how they are now. Hop comments on how this and the encounter with the unusual pokemon in the woods really makes this adventure feel like it's gonna be legendary. Suddenly, Sonia appears. She came right in time for all the excitement. She offers to make us dinner, and we accept and stay the night.

The next day, we wake up in Magnolia's house. Magnolia asks Hop if what he said about encountering an unknown Pokemon in the woods is real, and asks for more details. He explains that there was a heavy fog, the weird wolf Pokemon appearing, and how we both tried to fight it off together to no avail, and that we both passed out. After writing down what Hop said, Magnolia gave us both our Dynamax Band. Reminds me of the Z-Power Ring. She explained that the Dynamax Bands can only Dynamax a Pokemon when near a Power Spot. Hop is as exited as always to start his Legend, and races me to the train station.

Just outside the house, Hop gave me the advice that sneaking around and being slow lets me avoid Pokemon, and Whistling will grab their attention. Than he runs off. I run through route 2 and head straight to the station.

When I arrived to the station, Hop noticed that I didn't catch a single pokemon. I couldn't tell him why. But he gave me the TM for Swift. He explained what a TM is, but I already knew what they were. We both headed in and were on our way to board the train to Motostoke, but my and Hop's mom stopped us. They both gifted us a set of Camping Gear and see us off. We boarded the train and set off.

Unfortunately, we aren't able to make it all the way since a bunch of Wooloo block the train, so we hop off at the Wild Area Station. Hop is happy since that means he can catch a lot of Pokemon and he immediately runs off.

This adventure gets crazier by the second.

[mmimagine-40]

High School Reunion

Chris Evans x Reader

I saw @stargazingfangirl18​ post an august writing challenge and was really inspired by the dialogue and scenario prompts. Here’s the first one I’ll be posting a few more soon.

Prompts:Pretending to date & “Oh god. did I say that out loud?”

Warnings: Not really, just talk of having a dark past but not getting into what it was.

F/n - Friends name     O/F - Other or another friends name

“Please Chris!!! I’ll do anything!”, Y/n begged as she took the remote from him turning the TV off so he’ll give his full attention to her. “Y/n you're a famous actress. Your old classmates are already going to be jealous of you. Why do you need me to pretend to be your date?”Chris sighs, finally turning to her. “Cause I really want to rub it into their faces that I’m more successful and have a hot date, That's none other than formal Captain America. Please.”. “SO you think I’m Hot.”, Chris chuckles at her. Y/n glares at him , “ You know what Fine! I’ll go ask Sebastian then!”. Chris' smile fell a little bit but he kept it up. Truth be told he didn’t want to go cause he knows his feeling for her would only get deeper. He’s liked her since they first meet on one of the sets for the Avengers. They grew close fast. And his feelings grew faster, but was too scared to act on it. He didn’t want to lose her, so he thought his safes bet was to just stay friends with her. Which turned to basically best friends, to where she barged into his house begging him to go with her to her high school reunion as her fake date. Chris grabbed her arm as she went to get up and leave. “Wait!..No. I’ll go.”, Chris agrees not wanting to think about Sebastian and her all close. Even though he knows Seb wouldn’t do anything. He knows about Chris's feelings and has tried to get him to just finally ask Y/n out. “Really?!”, Y/n jumps on to the couch next to him. Chris sighs, dropping her arm as he nods. Y/n lets out a squeal as she pulls him in for a hug. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!”. Chris couldn’t help but to close his eyes cherishing the way she feels in his arms. ‘What the fuck am I getting myself into.’, Chris thinks. As the hug lasts a bit longer as a wet nose nudges itself in between them. “My bad dodger. How dare we not pay attention to you.”, Y/n says pulling away from Chris to pet the fluff ball. Chris couldn’t help the laugh leave his lips watching as Dodger jumped up at Y/n licking her as she giggled and pet him. “It seems like he didn’t want our attention but your attention.”. Y/n lets out more giggles as dodger climbs up between them. “Can we take him with us,Please!”, Y/n says hugging dodger close both looking at him with puppy dog eyes. “No, Y/n. He would have to stay in a pet friendly hotel or airbnB. And i don’t want to leave him alone in an unfamiliar place.”, Chris says as he snatches the remote back from where she sat it and turns the TV back on. Y/n let out a whine , “Don’t worry dodger I’ll sneak you in my luggage.”. “I doubt you can fit him in.”, Chris shakes his head laughing at her. But it did melt his heart how close they were Y/n and Dodger both loved each other so much, it put a smile on Chris's face. Y/n gasp lightly hitting Chris , “are you calling him fat? Rude!”. Chris lets out a scoff shaking his head at her, “I can’t with you.”. “When is this reunion thing? When do we need to leave and how long are we staying?”. “It’s next Saturday , we will leave Friday after noon and get their late afternoon and we can chill. And I can show you round where I grew up. You can leave Sunday and head back home if you want but I’m going to stay an extra day or two to see my family and some old friends.”, y/n explains as she lays back and rests her feet on his lap. Chris just nods as he unties her shoes, “If you're going to put your feet on me could you at least take off your shoes first?”. Y/n just giggles as dodger cuddles up next to her, “Why? When I know you’ll take them off for me.”. He throws her shoes to the side, “I wonder why I’m friends sometimes.”. “I’ll stay with you. I’d feel bad about going with only for you to have to travel back alone.”, all he got back was a grumble that made him turn to her to see her eyes fluttering shut. Chris smiles as he watches her and dodger both fall asleep. He grabs a blanket and throws it over her and turns the TV down some. He tried watching whatever was on but he couldn’t help but let his eyes roam back over her . He cursed himself out, knowing that going with her might end with him broken even more not having her as his and only having to pretend to do all this stuff he really wants to do with her anyway. 

Saturday

Chris checks himself over once more in the mirror in their hotel room as Y/n gets ready in the bathroom. They got to her hometown yesterday at around 4 ish. They spent the day with Y/n showing Chris around and telling him stories of her growing up. Ending with dinner at this diner Y/n told him her grandma used to take her to every Sunday for dinner. That night his heart broke a little bit more when the lady you owned the shop came to talk to Y/n and asked her if he was her boyfriend. And laugh and say no that they were just friends. Chris tried to hide the heartbreak that flashed over his face. Not knowing not only the lady saw it but Y/n did too.  Chris sighs checking over his hair one last time before checking the time, “Come on Y/n we have to get going.”. “Okay , I’m almost done.”, Y/n says. She touches up her lipstick as she checks herself over once more. She sighs thinking over tonight. Somewhat regretting asking Chris to come. She asked him because he was the only person she trusted the most and knew would help her out. But as the got here hanging out and Mrs. Johnson asked about him, all those feelings she felt for coming rushing back. Feelings that she buried deep down. Scared that she would lose him, thinking he doesn’t feel the same. But the look on his face when she told Mrs. Johnson, they were just friends, gave her hope that he does. “Y/n?”Chris's voice cuts her out of her deep thoughts. Taking a final breath she headed out of the bathroom. “Okay, I’m ready.”, she says as she checks over her clutch making sure everything was in it. When she looked up she was met with Chris standing there , looking very handsome, mouth open as his eyes roamed up and down her. “Wow , You look absolutely beautiful.”. Y/n blushes looking down as she slips her heels on. “Thank you….Come on let's get this over with.”.  Chris laughed as he walked out of the room to the elevator, “If you didn’t want to go then why are we here? ….Aw were you just trying to spend time with me. Princess , if you wanted to have me to yourself all you had to do was ask.”. Chris pokes at her sides. Y/n lets out a small laugh , slapping his hand away. “You wish.”.  Chris laughs wrapping an arm around her waist pulling her closer to him. Y/n couldn’t help the light blush going over her cheeks as she melts into his hold. Chris bites his lip as he watches her melt into him. His heart starts beating faster with hope that maybe she does like him the way he does to her. The elevator dinging and the doors opening pulled him out of his thoughts as he guided her out to the front of the hotel. Outside waits an Audi R8. A valet guy walks over to them handing Chris the keys. Y/n stands there shocked as Chris opens the passenger's side door for her. “What? You said you wanted to make them all jealous, so I figured we should also ride in style.”. Y/n giggles walking over and getting in. Chris rushes over to the driver's side heading to the school. “It’s so pretty.” Y/n says running her hand over the inside, “Thank you Chris. For not only this but coming with me.”. “ It’s no problem, Can I ask why you make all your classmates jealous?”. Y/n looks down picking at her nails, “Well it’s not really wanting to make them jealous, I wanted to come and see some friends. But I didn’t want to go alone. I didn’t have the best high school experience. It was actually quite dark and I was bullied a lot. The few friends I did have, I only met them senior year. But other than that I went through the years with no friends and no one really talked to me. Even though it’s been years and I've come successful and all this, I’m still a bit scared to see all those people again. … Sorry I know it sounds stupid.”. Chris drives with one hand as he reaches over and grabs her hand. He slightly squeezes her hand comforting her. “It’s not. I understand and I’m here for you.”. Y/n smiles at him, squeezing his hand back.

It took only a couple more minutes to get to the school. Y/n looked up at the building that hasn’t changed one bit. A place that brought a lot of plain that she just wants to forget. Right now is not the time. Now is to show those people what she has become and how she made it in life. It sounds a bit rude but after everything she’s been through she feels like she deserves to drag a bit. About her career , her house, her life, her man. She shakes her head reminding herself that Chris isn’t hers he’s just here to be a good friend. “You okay?''Chris asks, grabbing her chin and making her look at him. Y/n nods, “Yeah let's do this. I gave a feeling we will only have an hour or 2 before the Paparazzi come to get pictures.”. Chris smiles at her getting out and rushing over to her side and opening the door for her. Y/n could already feel the stairs of people watching her step out of the Audi. She couldn’t hold back the smirk on her face as Chris wraps his arm around her waist as they make their way to the gym where the reunion is being held. All around were old classmates who made fun of her with their jaws open as they watched her walk into the gym. Some didn’t think she would show being a big star now and no one expected to see her walk in on the arm of Chris Evans. As they walk in Y/n spots one of her friends , the other sadly couldn’t make it. She squeals as she grabs Chris' hand dragging him other to them. “F/n!”, she basically screamed, rushing over to her hugging her. “Y/n!”, she yelled back hugging her. “I thought you weren’t coming?”. “Yeah sorry I had to keep it quiet with the paparazzi and everything.”, Y/n explains. “Although we might be here for a bit before having to leave. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone already announced us being here.”. “Us?”, F/n ask. “Oh sorry” , Y/n pulls away from her, “F/n this is Ch-”. “Chris Evans! Shit Y/n you really did make it!”, F/n jokes lightly punching her. Her and Chris laugh as he stands behind her and rests an arm around her. “I’m sorry , It’s just my son who is a huge fan of Captain america.. I’m f/n by the way.”,  she says sticking her hand out to him. Chris smiles, shaking her hand ,”It’s okay , I totally understand. We are here for a bit. We should grab lunch or something, I’d love to meet the little guy.”. F/n laughs shaking her head. “Oh no I couldn’t ask you guys to step into your schedule.”. Y/n reaches out grabbing her hand, “F/n it's okay its why we are staying a bit. I want to overdose Chris to you and O/F and my family of course. Pulse would take Jack's mind off of everything for a bit.”. F/n pulled Y/n in for another hug thanking her. They pull away and she wipes her face, “Wow he must be a keeper if you want to introduce him to O/F.”. They both laugh. Chris wraps both arms around Y/n ,” Should I be scared?”. “Probably , O/f is the crazier protective one out of us.”, F/n explains. “Oh great.”, Chris joked, sending both women into a laugh fit. After they clams down and started talking a bit , “I’m going to go get a drink you want one?”, he turned to Y/n who nodded and said please. He turned to f/n who thanked him but said she was good. They watched as he walked over the drink stand. “Wow, Y/n! That man is so in love with you!”, F/n whistles. Y/n laughs shaking her head. Her heart a bit wishing it was true. But Chris was just doing that stuff to make it believable. “I mean the way he looks at you. Even when you're not looking , would make anyone believe in soulmate or true love.”, she says. Y/n bits her lip looking down , “I don’t know if that’s how he feels but that’s how he makes me feel.”. F/n turns to her smirking , “ Does this mean Jacks getting a little cousin soon.”. Y/n gasp swatting at her. F/n’s smile falls as she looks ahead to where Chris went. “Oh no Jessie is going up to him.”. Y/n’s face fell as she looked over to see Jessie , one of the people who made her life a living hell, talking to Chris. Jealous stringed at her. She trusted Chris. He wouldn’t do anything like that to hurt her. What tug at her was the thought that kept screaming at her that he wasn’t really hers. A small smile makes its way on her face as she watches Chris deny her and walk back off to them. He hands her drink. With his free hand he wraps it around her pulling her into and kissing her cheek. Y/n tried holding  back her laugh as she watched Jessie's face fall in shock. But F/n didn’t hold it back. “Oh that was great.”. Causing Y/n to finally break. The cooled down as F/n got a call exposing herself. Y/n rested her head on Chris shoulder looking up at him. “Thank you for that. It was great to see her face like that.”, she giggles. Chris just smiled, shaking his head, “Oh the things I do for you. I wonder sometimes why I do.”. “Cause you love me.”, y/n flutters her eyes at him giggling. “More than you’ll ever know”,Chris says quietly while taking a drink. But Y/n style couches it. Her face falls as her heart starts beating every faster , “What?”. Chris looks down at her shocked, “Oh god, did I say that out loud?”. Y/n nods pulling away to fully turn to look at him. “Do you mean it?”. Chris sighs cursing himself out. He knew he would have to tell her at some point but not right now. “Yes, I’m sorry Y/n. I don’t want to ruin what we have, But I’m in love with you so much I feel like I’m going crazy. I understand if you don’t feel the same and if y-”. Y/n cut him off pulling him down to kiss her. He wraps his arms around her pulling her as close as he can kissing her back. They pull away but not far. Y/n keeps her hands on his face as they rest their forehead on each other. “I love you too, Chris.”. Chris smiles as he pulls her in kissing her again. This one is getting more heated. He pulled away grabbing her hand. “Come on lets get out of here.”.  “Wait I need to say bye to F/n!”, she squeals as he pulls her to the doors. “Just text her, she’ll understand plus we’ll see her later.”. He pulls her closer to him as they rush out the doors past the props showing up to the car. Rushing to the hotel. 

Y/n smiled at herself in the mirror taking in her appearance in the white gown. Thinking about that night their two idiot self's finally told each other how they feel. Now here she stands in a beautiful white dress about to marry the man of her dreams in front of all her friends and family. Smiling, she grabs the final things in her shoes. f/n and O/f both made her wait to put them on last but she didn’t know why and didn’t argue. She opens the box and pulls out the simple but beautiful shoes. Her eyebrows scrunch in confusion as she sees something on the bottoms. Turning them around she chokes on tears as she sees the writing on them. “From friend to best friend to my love and now I will get to call you the best thing I can. My wife.”.

@stargazingfangirl18 @navybrat817  I hope you guys enjoy this!-MM 

[singledarkshade]

Reunited Family

Summary: It's been a year since Amy, Rory and Jonas became a family. The Doctor appears suddenly with news that will change everything for them forever. Sequel to Foster Parents, Settling In And New Grandpa, Big Sister, Meeting The Doctor and Surprise Family. Author’s Note: This is the final main story in the series, I have had a good bit of this written for a long time. Although I may add a few mini fics set during the series at some point.

Enjoy.

 Walking out the clothes shop, Amy frowned confused to find the Doctor standing waiting for her.

“What’s wrong?” she demanded.

The Doctor smiled, “Hello to you too, Pond.”

Shaking her head, Amy hugged him tightly. It was almost a year since they’d seen him, after they’d had to tell him there was no more travelling now that they had Jonas.

“Don’t get me wrong, Doctor,” Amy said, “I am so happy to see you but showing up like this, something’s going on.”

He nodded, “Come inside and I’ll explain.”

Entering the TARDIS, Amy smiled happy to be back inside the ship which hummed slightly hello. Placing her bags down just to one side, Amy headed to the console where the Doctor was waiting for her looking serious.

“Okay, Raggedy Man,” she stated, “What’s going on?”

The Doctor rested his hands on her shoulders, “I found Rip Hunter.”

Astonishment filled her and all Amy could say was, “What?”

“I found Rip Hunter,” the Doctor repeated, “Jonas’ father. I…” he trailed off, “I wanted to talk to you first.”

Amy nodded understanding, she loved Jonas, but Rory had created a deep bond with the little boy, and she knew losing him would be heart breaking, even if it was giving him back to his own father.

But Amy also knew that Jonas deserved to have his father back.

“Okay,” she said softly, “Then we go get him now.”

The Doctor frowned in confusion, “You’re not going to tell Rory first.”

“No,” Amy shook her head, “I don’t want him to have time to think about it. This will be easier on him.”

Nodding the Doctor hit the lever and the TARDIS entered the time stream.

Rip sat exhausted.

Using the Time Core against Mallus had pulled him into what was basically a prison just attached to the time stream. His courier was completely dead and there was nothing he could do to fix it. He would see the Waverider pass him every so often but had no way to contact Gideon. There was also no way to measure how long he’d been here. He wasn’t hungry or thirsty even after he struggled to escape. All he felt was exhaustion. Rip feared that soon he would just slip into unconsciousness and die here alone.

It felt like he was back before he’d been found by the Time Masters. The unwanted child who was nothing but dirt on people’s shoes.

A strange noise began to fill the small bubble he was in, a wheezing noise that sounded like nothing he’d ever heard before growing louder by the second. He had no weapons and there was nothing within the prison but that didn’t mean Rip would go down without a fight. Ready to protect himself, Rip watched in bemusement when a blue police box appeared before him.

The door opened and Rip jumped, staring at the man who looked out. Floppy brown hair, tweed jacket and a bow tie, the man let out a cry of excitement.

“Amy,” he called behind him, “You are not going to believe this.”

Stepping out the door, the man stepped to one side and a red headed woman appeared staring at him.

“This is bizarre,” the woman breathed, before giving him a smile, “Rip Hunter, I presume.”

Confused Rip nodded, “Yes.”

“I’m Amy Williams,” she introduced herself, “And this is the Doctor.”

Rip looked at her, his eyes drawn over her shoulder where he could see a room that should not exist within the tiny box.

“Time Lord,” Rip breathed in realisation.

Amy indicated the strange man she’d introduced as the Doctor with her thumb, “That’s him.”

“I have to admit,” Rip returned his attention to Amy, “I am a little confused why you’re here, not that I don’t appreciate what I hope is a rescue.”

Amy smiled, “How about we get out of here and I’ll explain.”

Rip let out a sigh, “That is a wonderful idea.”

 The small kitchen was not what Rip was expecting after seeing the control room. It reminded him of the kitchen in his mother’s house, warm and comforting. The Doctor was sitting quietly while Amy made them tea.

“We stopped allowing him to make the tea after he decided to try flavours,” Amy explained as she handed Rip a mug.

“Some weren’t bad,” the Doctor protested, taking his mug from her.

“Rory was sick after trying one,” Amy reminded him, taking a seat at the table with them.

The Doctor grumbled but said nothing else, drinking his tea.

“Who is Rory?” Rip asked.

Amy smiled, “My husband. And that’s a good way to ease into what I have to tell you.”

Rip frowned confused but stayed silent waiting.

“This is my husband, Rory,” Amy pulled up a photograph on her phone and turned it to show him,

Rip stared at his doppelganger, “Okay.”

“You’re distantly related,” the Doctor spoke up, “Space time multiplicity.”

“Anyway,” Amy continued, “Rory is a nurse and just over a year ago, Rory was at work in the hospital, and he found a little boy who thought Rory was his father.”

Rip’s mouth went dry, and he tried not to feel any hope waiting for Amy to continue.

“Jonas is safe,” she pulled up another photograph and passed her phone to Rip, “He’s healthy and will be so happy to see you.”

Staring at the photograph of his long-lost son, Rip’s eyes filled with tears his hand covering his mouth.

“It’s okay,” Amy reached out and gently squeezed his arm, “We believed you were dead and, although Jonas took it hard, he’s coping. He will be so happy to have you back.”

Rip managed to swallow the lump in his throat and whispered, “I have no way to thank you.”

Amy smiled, “You don’t have to. We got to have the most amazing little boy as part of our lives.”

The Doctor stood suddenly, “And we should head back to the house. Allow you to see your son.”

                                 *********************************************

 Rory checked the time to see how long before Amy would be home from her Saturday afternoon shopping trip.

“Jonas,” he called, “Do you want to help me make a cake for your grandma’s visit tomorrow?”

The little boy nodded, he enjoyed baking with Rory. It was something he used to do with his dad and Rory wanted the little boy to continue to associate it with good memories. Rory’s own grandmother had taught him how to bake and Amy, who had a major sweet tooth, always asked him to make her the chocolate cake his gran taught him. Plus, during his time guarding the Pandorica, he’d studied with the best chefs picking up what he could.

They pulled together all the ingredients and soon Jonas was mixing the chocolate batter, with not too much covering him. After pouring it into the cake tin, Rory slid it into the oven and smiled at the little boy.

“I think we did great work,” Rory told him.

Jonas nodded, “Amy will be happy.”

Rory chuckled and quickly cleaned Jonas up so he could go back to his toys. The sound of the TARDIS arriving stunned him and he automatically pulled Jonas close protectively. The blue box landed in the back garden and Rory frowned confused when Amy walked out of it. With Jonas holding onto him, they walked to meet her.

“This is the best way to do this,” Amy murmured when she kissed him hello before crouching down to Jonas. The little boy gave her a hug and Amy kissed the top of his head, “Jonas, I have a big surprise for you.”

She rested her hand on his shoulder and faced him towards the TARDIS. The door opened and Rory stared in amazement.

 Rip bounced nervously as Amy left the ship to speak first with her husband, his eyes on the monitor showing his baby boy standing there whole and healthy. Slightly taller than when Rip had last seen him, but still his little boy.

“Jonas,” Amy’s voice came, “I have a big surprise for you.”

On his cue, Rip froze until the Doctor placed a hand on his back to propel him forward. The moment he stepped into the garden, Jonas’ joyful voice filled the air.

“Daddy!!!!!”

A second later Rip had his son in his arms, holding onto him tightly as tears streamed along his face.

“I thought you were gone,” Jonas whispered, “I missed you, Daddy.”

Rip grimaced, “I am sorry, little man, I am so sorry, and I will never leave you again. I promise.”

Jonas cuddled into his shoulder, and Rip gently rubbed his back. Looking up he saw Amy standing with her husband, his doppelganger, who was wiping his eyes.

“Hey,” Rip murmured, pulling back from his son, “Why don’t you introduce me to your new friends?”

Jonas grinned, squirming to be put down he grabbed Rip’s hand, “This is Amy and Rory. Rory found me in the hospital and is related to us.”

Offering his free hand to the other man, Rip said, “It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“You too,” Rory smiled as he shook Rip’s hand.

“Jonas,” Amy spoke up, “Why don’t you show your dad your room?”

His son grinned and began to pull him towards the house. Rip gave the couple and their friend a quick nod as he was dragged away. The house was nice and tidy, it was clearly a family home. As Jonas led him upstairs, Rip looked at each picture hanging on the way up. One of Amy and Rory on their wedding day, the rest were of Jonas.

When they entered the room, Rip smiled as Jonas bounced about showing all the completed robotic kits, the books and other things around the room that were his.

“And this,” Jonas picked up a toy dog, “I called her Gideon.”

Rip smiled, “She’d like that you thought of her.”

“She did,” Jonas nodded, “She’ll be really happy you’re here.”

“What?”

Jonas grinned, “I let her know Amy and Rory were looking after me. She sent them a communicator.”

Relief filled Rip that he could easily let Gideon know he was alive and with his son once more. Looking at his little boy, Rip sighed, “I am so sorry, Jonas that I wasn’t there when you needed me, but I promise from now on, I will always be here.”

Jonas threw his arms around Rip who smiled at being able to hold his baby boy once more.

A knock on the door made Rip look up to see Amy standing there.

“Jonas,” she smiled, “Why don’t you help Rory make dinner, let your dad have a shower and freshen up?”

When Jonas looked over at him, Rip nodded and pressed a kiss to his son’s forehead, “I won’t be long.”

Jonas hesitated for a moment before he bounced away. Rip took a shaky breath looking round when Amy sat on the bed beside him.

“You look a bit overwhelmed,” she said softly.

Rip felt tears prick his eyes, “I never thought I’d ever see him again. I thought he was dead. I held his body and died inside. But he’s here…”

Amy rubbed his back comfortingly as he trailed off, “Have a shower, I’ve left you some clothes out. You and Rory appear to be the same size,” she smiled, “Once you’re dressed come downstairs and have dinner.”

“I…”

“We can sort everything else out later,” Amy continued, “For now, just be with your son.”

                                 *********************************************

 Jonas sat at the table looking at the door nervously, waiting for his dad to appear once more. Rory frowned at how worried the little boy looked but was pulled away when he heard what the man at his side was saying.

“We’re not having fish fingers and custard for dinner,” Rory turned to the Doctor, “I’ve made proper food.”

“Well, that’s boring,” the Doctor dropped into the seat beside Jonas with a pout.

Jonas laughed, telling him, “Rory makes nice food.”

“I know,” the Doctor said, “But not my favourite.”

Amy appeared at the door and Jonas looked round her.

“Your dad will be down once he’s had his shower,” Amy soothed, gently squeezing his shoulder.

“Okay,” Jonas said before whispering, “He will, won’t he?”

Rory moved to his side, “Of course he will,” he assured, “Jonas, your dad is so happy to be back with you.”

“He has missed you so much,” Amy added, “He’s just having a shower and changing clothes before dinner.”

Jonas smiled as they hugged him tightly.

 Rip closed his eyes as he let the water batter down on him, he had no idea how long he’d been trapped in the time prison and was relieved to be free finally. Seeing Jonas, alive and thriving was the most incredible thing. Rip knew he could never repay the couple who had taken Jonas in for all they had done for his baby boy.

After a few minutes he washed himself and his hair, drying before putting on the jeans and t-shirt Amy had left out for him. Taking a quick breath, he headed down the stairs hearing the chatter and laughter coming from the dining room.

He nervously opened the door, unable to stop his smile as Jonas came running over to him.

“Hey,” Rip hugged the little boy, “I’m here.”

Jonas beamed up at him, “Rory made dinner. He is the one who can cook, Amy doesn’t cook much. But she does make good toast.”

Rip laughed, as did the others in the room at the little boy’s announcement.

“At least I make good toast,” Amy elbowed her husband who was smirking at her.

“Grab a seat,” Rory told them, “Dinner is ready.”

Dinner was nice. As promised Rory could cook and while they ate Jonas told Rip all about his school. Rory and Amy every so often reminded the little boy of things to tell Rip and a strange jealousy settled in Rip’s chest. He did his best to ignore it, it wasn’t their fault he hadn’t been there for his son and forced himself to focus on his little boy, not his idiocy.

“Daddy,” Jonas bounced suddenly, “Grandma is coming tomorrow, she’ll be happy to see you.”

“Grandma?” Rip asked, he tried to remember from the load of information he’d been given if that was Rory or Amy’s mother.

Jonas nodded, “Grandma Mary comes to visit.”

“Your mother,” Rory clarified, picking up on Rip’s confusion.

“Mother?” Rip breathed, before noting, “Why do I feel there is a story behind that?”

Amy chuckled, “Because you’re right but we’ll tell that one later.”

Finishing eating, Rory and Amy cleared the plates while the Doctor chatted with Jonas. Rip watching how comfortable his son was in this place with these people. It had always saddened them that he and Miranda couldn’t give Jonas an extended family.

“Where’s Daddy going to sleep?” Jonas suddenly asked.

Rip winced, he hadn’t thought about that himself but before he could say anything Amy replied.

“Well, he can sleep on the couch if he wants,” Amy smiled at him, “Or if he doesn’t mind sharing then your bed should be big enough for both of you tonight.”

“With me,” Jonas said instantly before Rip could say a word. At his son’s hopeful look, Rip nodded. He was more than happy to have his son close to him all night long.

“Don’t worry,” Rory said as he placed a bowl with ice cream down, “It was the spare room before it was Jonas’ room. We never changed the bed so it should be comfortable for a few nights.”

                                 *********************************************

 Amy and Rory watched the TARDIS disappear. The Doctor had hugged them both before bouncing away as though they saw each other every day.

“I’m sorry I didn’t warn you,” Amy said as Rory wrapped his arm around her, “But when the Doctor told me he’d found Rip, I knew we had to rescue him then and there.”

Rory sighed, “I’m glad you did. I’m just worried where Rip is going to take Jonas to live now.”

“Me too,” Amy leaned against him as they reached the living room and sat together, “But I think that might not be a snap decision. He seems a little shell-shocked.”

Rory nodded, “Considering everything, that’s to be expected. I think we just have to do our best to help him and not borrow trouble.”

Amy kissed him, “Tea?”

“Good idea.”

 Jonas had changed into his pyjamas and bounced into his room now he’d brushed his teeth. Rip smiled as he watched his son, Amy and Rory had stepped back so Rip could put his son to bed. When he made it home being included in Jonas’ bedtime routine was one thing he looked forward to. Picking the book up from the bedside table that Rory was reading with Jonas, Rip smiled to see that it was Treasure Island, one of his favourite books. He’d read it during his first few months in the Refuge and had hoped to share it with his son. Miranda knew this and never read it with Jonas in the hopes one day Rip would be able to.

“You like living here, don’t you?” Rip said as Jonas climbed onto the bed beside him.

Jonas nodded.

Rip smiled, “That’s good.”

“Are you going to call Gideon and tell her you’re here?” Jonas asked.

“Not tonight,” Rip told him, “I’ll let her know tomorrow.”

Jonas chewed his lip and Rip began to worry, “What’s wrong?”

Wide eyes looked up at him, “Where are we going to live now, Daddy?”

Rip gently stroked his son’s hair and kissed his forehead, “I’m not sure yet but don’t worry about it. Because wherever we live you will always be able to see your new family. I promise.”

Jonas nodded.

“Okay,” Rip smiled, “Let’s see where you and Rory are up to.”

 Rip watched Jonas sleep, the little boy snuggling into his pillow as he hugged his toy dog close. It was the most amazing thing to see his son alive, safe and happy. The couple who had taken his son in were wonderful, and Rip knew he couldn’t just pull Jonas away from them. He was settled here, and it wouldn’t be fair on Jonas to make him move again.

Finally he shook himself and, after pressing a kiss to his son’s hair, left the room. He could hear Amy and Rory talking in the living room, Rip needed to talk to them tonight.

“May I join you?” Rip said, opening the door seeing them on couch drinking tea.

“Sure,” Amy smiled, “Do you want some tea?”

Rip shook his head, even he had his limit, “No, thank you.”

“I take it Jonas is finally asleep,” Rory noted with an amused smile, “How many chapters did you read?”

“Three,” Rip replied, “He was fighting sleep for a good part of it, so the last two will probably need repeated.”

The couple chuckled.

“I want to thank you both again,” Rip said, taking a seat across from them “There is nothing I can do that can repay you for how you not only took Jonas in, but you have cared for him like he is your own.”

Rory caught Amy’s hand before saying softly, “We lost a child. It was a good fit.”

“I have one more thing to ask of you,” Rip continued, “And that is your assistance in finding a place for us to live as close to here as possible.”

They stared at him, and Amy breathed, “Seriously?”

“I can’t take Jonas away from you,” Rip told them, “His life has already been uprooted and he loves you both so much. I won’t let him lose the new family he found here with you. Unfortunately for you it means putting up with me as well now.”

They chuckled all jumping when the door burst open, and Jonas ran in fear covering his face.

“Daddy,” he cried running to Rip, who pulled him up onto his lap, “I thought you were gone again.”

Rip hugged him, “I’m just talking with Amy and Rory.” Jonas buried his face against his shoulder and Rip rubbed the little boy’s back turning to the couple, “I think I will retire for the night with Jonas.”

Managing to stand with Jonas in his arms, Rip nodded to Amy and Rory who said goodnight before he carried his son who was clinging to him upstairs.

                                 *********************************************

 Rip woke feeling rested properly for the first time in a long time. He could feel Jonas attached to him and opening his eyes smiled to see the sweet face of his son. Rip never thought he would feel peace like this ever again. Only Miranda was missing.

Sliding out of bed, Rip could hear someone moving outside the room then heading downstairs.

“Daddy?” Jonas sleepy voice made him turn to see his son looking up at him blearily.

“It’s okay,” Rip soothed, “I’m just going to be downstairs.”

Jonas slid out of the bed with his toy dog in his hand, Rip watched him wander out of the room but rather than go downstairs he headed into the other bedroom. Rip watched Jonas climb in beside Amy, who smiled hugging him before they both closed their eyes.

Shaking his head in slight bemusement, Rip dressed quickly and walked downstairs finding Rory in the kitchen.

“Morning,” his ‘twin’ smiled, “Kettle is boiled, help yourself to whatever you want. Is Jonas still asleep?”

“He climbed in beside Amy,” Rip said as he made himself a mug of tea.

Rory nodded, “That’s normal for the weekend. I’m usually up first even when I’m not working. They both like to sleep in.”

Rip smiled softly as he took a seat at the table across from the other man, “So did Miranda,” he quickly moved on to ask, “I’ve been wondering, how did you contact my mother?”

“We didn’t,” Rory grimaced slightly, “Some of your friends appeared one day demanding we let Jonas go with them because you would want him to live with people you knew.”

“You refused.”

Rory nodded, “I had no idea who they were and told them I would only let a relative Jonas knew take him. So, they brought your mother,” he grimaced, “Your friends are not very subtle.”

“Subtlety has never been one of their qualities,” Rip nodded before asking, “What happened?”

“Mary dismissed them and came in for a chat,” Rory smiled in memory, “And she decided it was best that Jonas stay here with us, but she would be visiting. Which she has and we always look forward to seeing her. My dad gets along well with her, and they plan their next adventure with Jonas after each day out.”

Rip smiled, “I haven’t seen her in a long time,” before noting, “My life is not very linear.”

“Time travel really does mess with your sense of normality,” Rory agreed, “The fact Jonas understood that meant we didn’t have to hide anything from him about our lives.”

Rip frowned confused, “Like?”

“You remember I said we lost our daughter?” Rory asked softly.

Rip nodded.

“Well, it turns out we grew up with her,” Rory continued, “And she is now older than we are.”

“Long story?”

“Very.”

Rip chuckled before he sighed, “I need to contact Gideon, Jonas said you have a communicator.”

“Yes, that was a shock,” Rory chuckled before explaining, “He built the original one from bits of his robotic kits and using some of the crystals we got at the science centre. I nearly had a heart attack finding him talking to this strange woman. Thankfully, after she explained who she was, Gideon sent us a proper one. She has been an amazing help, letting us know things you and Miranda would do with Jonas so we kept things consistent, and she helped us choose his school.”

Rip smiled, “Gideon has always been special. She kept me in one piece for many years and she loved Jonas from the moment he was born. Even though she insists as an AI that isn’t possible.”

“The communicator is on the top shelf of the bookshelf in the living room,” Rory told him.

 Rip found the communicator and placing it on the coffee table he took a seat. Taking a deep breath, Rip hit the button and waited.

Gideon’s human form appeared before him, and she stalled from whatever she was going to say.

“Captain?” she whispered.

“Hello, Gideon,” Rip smiled, “I have missed you.”

She studied him for a moment, “You are safe once more and you are calling me from…”

Rip nodded when she trailed off, “I’m with Jonas.”

“Mr and Mrs Williams have been wonderful to him,” Gideon assured, “I did my best to assist them.”

“I know,” Rip whispered, “They told me.”

“I will come for you, Captain,” Gideon said, “If you order me to.”

Rip shook his head, “I won’t order you to do anything, Gideon, I would only ask, and that is something I can’t ask of you.”

“Rip?”

“I would love to come back to you, but Jonas needs me,” Rip whispered, “And I need to be with him.”

“He always loved being on the Waverider,” Gideon reminded him.

Rip smiled sadly, “He does and so do I, but I can’t take him away from here. He has school and friends,” he shrugged, “I can’t take him from Mr and Mrs Williams. He loves them and I won’t tear him from another home.”

Gideon nodded softly, “You are doing the right thing, Rip and I am very proud of you.”

“Once I find a house, I’ll ensure it is accessible to you,” Rip promised.

“I look forward to that, Rip,” Gideon told him.

Hearing noise above him Rip sighed, “I have to go, Jonas is up, and my mother is visiting today.”

“I have missed you, Captain Hunter,” Gideon said softly.

“I missed you too,” Rip smiled.

                                 *********************************************

 Mary smiled to herself as she walked up to the blue door looking forward to spending the day with her grandson and the couple who had taken him in. She had come to know Amy and Rory quite well in the months since they met, putting them in the same category as her son and daughter-in-law.

“Hello, Mary,” Amy smiled in greeting when she opened the door before Mary could even knock.

Mary hugged the redhead, “It’s wonderful to see you, dear.”

“Grandma!!!!!!” Jonas came speeding towards her catching her in a hug, “We have a surprise for you.”

Surprised Mary laughed, “You do?”

Jonas nodded and grabbed her hand, “Come on.”

Glancing at Amy who shrugged, Mary allowed her grandson to pull her through the house to the living room. Entering the room, she stalled to see the man standing there.

“Michael?” she breathed, glancing to one side where Rory was watching just to check.

“Hello Mother,” he smiled slightly.

Walking to him, Mary opened her arms and he hugged her tightly, “Oh my boy, you’re safe.”

“I’m sorry,” Michael whispered.

Letting him go, Mary took his face in her hands, “You’ve only ever done what you thought was right, my dear one. I’m just happy to have you back safely.”

“Are we still going to the zoo?” Jonas asked, “I want to show Daddy the lion we adopted and the penguin that dances.”

Amy laughed, “I think if your dad and grandma agree then we will.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Michael crouched down to hug his son.

Mary smiled at the sight before clapping her hands together, “If we’re heading to the zoo, we should get going.”

“Come on, Jonas,” Rory said, “Let’s get everything together to go.”

Amy and Rory left the room with Jonas, Mary took her son’s hand who smiled at her.

“Thank you for letting him stay here,” Rip breathed, “I know Sara wanted you to agree to him being moved.

“The moment I met Amy and Rory,” Mary replied, “I knew Jonas belonged here with them if he couldn’t be with you. They have been wonderful to him.”

Her son nodded, “Now I have to find a place to live close to them, so he doesn’t lose another family.”

Mary squeezed his arm, proud of him for accepting the couple as part of Jonas’ life.

“Well,” she said, “I suggest you leave that to one side for just now and we enjoy our day at the zoo.”

Michael nodded.

When Amy, Rory and Jonas arrived back ready to leave, Michael took his son’s hand while talking with the couple about how they would explain the relationship if they met anyone they knew.

Watching her son with his own and the couple who had taken Jonas in, Mary smiled knowing that Michael had a new family, whether he liked it or not.

[purplesurveys]

1277

Who are you most nervous about introducing potential significant others to?  Ooooh moving forward, probably Angela hahahaha I have no idea how I’d break it to her if ever I do start seeing somebody again. She’s well aware of all the shit that I let slide so she might get intense with the scrutineering.

What is the most exciting thing about your life right now?  Just the fact that I feel on top of the world these days. My days of being depressed and picking at my insecurities seem to be far behind me and the change has looked to be apparent coming from friends who’ve told me I seem happier, louder these days.

What was the most important non-academic thing you learned in high school?  To not be scared to fight harder for the things you believe in or what make up your identity, coming from having to hide a same-sex relationship during that period. That feeling of being constricted and having to hide to stay on some conservative seniors’ good graces really pissed me off so high school was really crucial in letting me discover just how much I’d be willing to fight and test the waters to be able to live as me.

Have you ever had a job that deeply affected your personal life? How so and do you still work there?  Hmm no, not really. If anything my job is one of the things that helped make me a lot livelier and happier.

Do you have a “one who got away”?  It felt that way at the start when my view was still skewed, but it didn’t take long until I realized she was not a loss at all.

If you were in a superhero movie, would you be the hero or the villain? Hero.

If you found a mouse in your house, would you be frightened?  Mice or rats are the literal worst fucking thing I could see in my house. I definitely see myself making a big deal out of it lmao, especially rats.

Have you ever tried to perform magic tricks?  Nobody ever taught me, so no.

Can you do more with a yo-yo than just "go up and down"? Nah, which kinda makes me feel ashamed because considering it was a Filipino who invented the modern yo-yo, I feel like it should be my responsibility to know a few tricks LOL.

What is one form of technology that you wouldn't be able to live without?  Instant messenger.

Did you get an allowance, growing up? Why or why not?  Starting high school. Before that I was living in our family’s duplex, so my grandma could make packed meals for all of us – not to mention the fact that my parents were also still on their way to establishing themselves at their respective workplaces so we weren’t all that well-off yet. 

When we moved into our own place, we started with my mom making our meals but eventually it just proved to be time-consuming and a lot of work considering she also had a job to go to. With that and the fact that both my parents at that point already got a couple of promotions, we switched to allowance.

Would you rather go to a water park or an amusement park? Why?  Amusement parks though I would only probably head to the safer rides and food stalls with all the deep-fried offerings haha. I cannot handle more intense rides. On the other hand, water parks have always sounded nasty to me.

What is one instrument you wouldn't mind learning how to play?  Piano.

What's the longest amount of time you've had to wait in line for something?  The stupid LTO, because you can never count on government agencies to be efficient. Technically my whole time in there took a couple of stages, but all in all I spent eight hours there.

What is something that you would like to learn more about?  Korean. I just graduated from my Basic Korean 1 class but I already have plans to enroll in the following course, since I seemed to do well and I want to keep the momentum going.

What is something that one of your family member collects?  Mom has a large collection of chef-themed figurines and other sorts of trinkets like a chef timer, shot glasses, etc - but mostly the figurines - that she has displayed in a glass case. I should keep that in mind for when I start Christmas shopping, actually...she hasn’t updated that collection in a long time. Thanks for the idea!

Have you ever moved to a new school before? If so, how did it feel?  No, not in the middle of the same period since I went to the same school from kinder to high school for 14 years. I only “moved” when I started college. Like I’ve said in previous surveys, it felt freeing to finally not under be the hands of an environment ran by...well, Catholics. It was a culture shock to see rallies everywhere, to find out I could wear short shorts or even go to school naked if I wanted to, and to see boys in my class (I went to an all-girls), but it was all the good kind of shock.

Have you ever legitimately forgotten to do homework?  Always, because I never wrote them down.

Do you enjoy autumn leaves or spring flowers more? Why?  I experience neither season.

Depending on where you live, why might a day of school get canceled? Typhoon.

If you could meet any fictional character from a book, who would it be? Melanie Hamilton from Gone with the World.

What are some common places that people tour when they come to your city?  I rarely see foreigners here since my area isn’t particularly known for tourism; most go to the island provinces like Cebu, Aklan, Palawan, etc. If I had to recommend spots here, I’d tell them to go for Pinto and maybe the rooftop bars that offer a view of Manila’s skyline. 

What's one food that you did not enjoy as a child, but do as an adult?  Chicken curry, which I used to dread.

Would you rather have a mermaid tail, a fairy's wings or a unicorn's horn? I guess the wings just because I feel like it’s the only practical one.

What is an animal that you'd like to have as a pet but it's not allowed?  I don’t think that way about animals I can’t keep as pets anyway.

What are some things that you do to make the world a better place?  I always clean up at restaurants (my mom doesn’t understand why I do it because “the servers are here for a reason, Robyn”) but I always see the relief on their faces when they see I’ve stacked up the plates and cups so I don’t see a reason to stop doing it. I keep the door open for people who happen to enter/exit a building the same time as me, share dog adoption posts, don’t make a fuss about or towards a shop staff who messes up...things like that. I hope it’s able to help, even if just in a small way.

Has the last person you had sex with ever had sex with someone besides you?  I don’t know. I wouldn’t be surprised if she has already.

What’s your favorite store at your mall?  We have several malls within the vicinity but I like frequenting NCAT.

Have you ever done a workout DVD?  No but my mom is fond of those.

Who usually takes out the trash in your family?  Either of my parents.

What song are you currently obsessed with?  My Universe is soooooo good. It’s Coldplay’s classic sound but they somehow managed to perfectly blend in BTS’ style as well, so I love how it turned out.

When you go fishing, do you make someone else get the fish off the hook?  I've never gone fishing.

Do you take any prescription meds?  Nope.

What happens if you don’t take them?  Who was the last person you dreamt about?  My dad.

Do you prefer your tea sweetened or unsweetened?  Sweetened, though I don’t usually actively look for iced tea. I’d have it if it was served, but I don’t typically order it for myself.

How often do you honk your horn?  As long as I am annoyed, which gives my mom a mini heart attack every time because she insists I just let people have their way to avoid getting into fights. Sometimes when she’s driving and someone’s being stupid on the road I lurch forward to do the honking for her and it pisses her off soooooooooo much but it also gets the job done so *shrug*

Do you have any children? If so, names and ages? I don’t.

Have your parents ever witnessed you doing something inappropriate? What?  TMI but I almost got caught doing the m-word once but my reflexes were at lightning speed that day so when my door opened I was able to fix myself up and appear as though nothing was happening lol. My mom also saw a hickey on me once but I was able to veer the conversation away when she started inquiring.

Did you get babysat a lot as a kid?  No, I did the babysitting.

If you were the principal of a school, what would you do differently? Actually deal with teachers who mistreat or make issues towards their students. I had several teachers I know didn’t like me but I could never do anything about it because there was no way in hell the school was going to take my side.

Are you doing anything fun tomorrow?  Continued from yesterday. If I took this question yesterday to refer to today I would’ve answered yes because we actually have a really fun PR stunt scheduled for execution today, wherein we get to sponsor someone’s whole wedding from food to flowers to the host and fillm crew :D :D But tomorrow is just Monday so the real answer to this is no.

What is something you'd like to receive as a housewarming gift?  I dunno the usual housewarming gifts, but I would appreciate anything practical, or anything that you’ll need at the least expected times, like batteries or even like Sticky Tack.

How old were you when you first experienced the effects of puberty?  Oooh I was an early bird – I was 9 when I could first tell my first period was on its way; it came a month after I turned 10.

What is your least favorite holiday, and why?  I don’t dislike any holiday because they all mean a day off work lol.

What were some outdoor games you played as a child?  We usually played piko (hopscotch), our local version of freeze tag that we dubbed “Ice ice water” for whatever reason, and a garter game that we call 10-20. Dodgeball was a favorite during recess and lunch, too.

Did you accompany your parents on "Take Your Child to Work" Day? That’s not observed here, but my mom did use to take me and my siblings to her first workplace. Are cemeteries peaceful to you, or do they freak you out?  They’re actually more interesting to me than anything else. I like learning about the different lives of many different people, even if I only technically know them by their birthday and date of death. Sometimes the inscriptions would be more detailed and tell more about their life, sometimes I’d come across babies who only lived a few days...and it’s just interesting to have those glimpses into life.

Which ancient civilization would you be interested in learning more about?  Filipino, because Western colonization destroyed proof of most of it. 

Do you have better long-term memory or short-term memory?  Long.

What was the last situation that made you cry? Describe.  I cried this morning. Nothing bad or heavy, I just found myself thinking again about my mental state last year.

Which forest animal would you be most afraid to encounter?  Anything that wouldn’t hesitate to tear my limbs apart.

Do you believe in anything supernatural? (ie: spirits, etc)  No.

Has anyone close to you ever gone to war?  No. The closest link I have to the military, other than my dead great-grandfather, is Angela’s uncle who’s like a general or like a colonel or something, idk titles.

Have you ever experienced altitude sickness?  Yeah, occasionally. Pressure in the ear is a bigger nuisance to me, though.

Is there anything, any event, you wish you could remember more clearly?  The last time I saw my grandfather. My only clear memory of him that day was stepping out of the house to leave (my mom and I were visiting) and him sending me off with the message to always be kind and good. If I had known I would never see him again, I never would’ve left.

Have you ever rubbed anyone’s feet?  Hmm no, not that I can recall.

If you had to get advice from someone of the opposite sex, who would you go to?  I’d go to Hans for certain advice, but not for every single situation. He’s the only person that comes to mind.

What was the last new food/drink that you tried?  So last Wednesday I finally got to try this Instagram-based doughnut shop that I’ve been eyeing since August and it turned out to be even MUCH BETTER THAN EXPECTEDDDDDD. Like yeah their photos were always mouthwatering but I didn’t expect it to taste as good as it looks, since most pretty food I’ve encountered usually end up just tasting meh. Anywho, I got two orders of their sampler box and they served me their specialty bacon doughnut, signature brown butter, and a bunch of their chocolate and peanut butter variants and I loved every single fucking thing.

Have you had a good day today or was yesterday better?  Oh it’s hard to tell, it’s only 9:05 AM. Both days might be uneventful, though.

Have you ever played Sudoku?  I don’t actually get how to play it hahaha. I feel like I’m too stupid for sudoku.

Do you ever take surveys for money?  I tried it last year when applying for jobs was still a bitch for me, but the thing is most of those surveys look for employed participants so there was rarely ever a survey that fit me anyway.

Do you like Barbie or Bratz better?  Bratz.

Do you prefer purple or green grapes?  I don’t like grapes.

Who was the last person that made you laugh?  Idk, probs one of the boys since I was watching videos of them earlier today.

Where does your best friend live?  A nearby city.

Who did you last confide in?  Angela.

Does your car have an alarm?  Sure.

Where was your mom born?  Somewhere in Metro Manila.

What can always make you feel better no matter what?  My dogs.

What is something you’ll never eat again? Why?  I don’t think there is anything. I feel like I’m always bound to retry things and that I would be open to doing so, even fruits. One thing I’m firm about never drinking again, though, is coconut water. Get that SHIT away from me.

What is currently happening that is scaring you?  I’m not feeling scared these days.

Have you ever found a stranger’s note somewhere? If so, what did it say?  Probably. But nothing sticks out.

[leupagus]

My Stationery Box, or: The Douche Chest, or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Being A Terrible Parody Of Myself

So I really love to write letters, and have since i was a kid — when i cleaned out my grandparents’ house I found a few I’d written in grade school, and my parents’ files are chocablock full of the weird collage type things I sent to them in college. 

I’ve also been a huge insufferable fucking snob about stationery since way too young (yes I did have a fountain pen phase, no it did not go well) and have been collecting fancy paper and cute cards and assorted weird writing paraphernalia forever. Up until recently, things were just kind of haphazardly stuffed in various drawers and shelves and I could never actually find any said fancy shit when I wanted it; but a couple of months ago I discovered an adorable little chest of my late mom’s that had previously housed, I think, her knitting and has mostly just been collecting dust since. And voila: The Douche Chest was born:

(Pictured with my elderly laptop and coffee with my coffee warmer, which I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE everyone to buy one day when we’re not under worldwide quarantine, seriously it will change your life.)

Keep Reading for some top tier stationerdery

First off, the stuff that helps me write! I still use my family address book, which was purchased sometime in the early 80s and has the name and address of everyone my parents ever cared enough about to want their name and address, which is actually not that many people. I keep it updated and have added a few people, but mostly rely on my phone’s address book. Mostly I like it because it’s got a lot of my mom’s handwriting.

My planner, which has a whole correspondence section where I keep a record of who I write to regularly, when I write to them, and what kind of stationery they usually get (because there are different types and you don’t want to give a correspondence an inconsistent letter-reading experience! Yes I know, I can’t believe I’m like this either) indicated by the m, s, x, l, b notations. That will be relevant later. Also yes the planner is where I scribble down both story ideas and my gratitude journal. This is what I’m saying in re: yikes.

At my own house, I have a whole huge box of letters I’ve gotten over the years, mostly organized by sender and date. Since I’m at my aunt’s house for quarantine, my correspondence is all being kept in my dad’s old... I dunno what to call it, basically it’s a trapper-keeper type thing that I literally never saw him go to work without. (A running theme of this tour is that a whole lot of this stuff is inherited from/given to me by my parents and grandparents.) Inside is also various labels that have come in handy when addressing packages etc, as well as our local neighborhood directory.

Next up is my pen bag, which is — I mean, it has my pens. I prefer writing with a black .5 tip rollerball type pen, and by “prefer” I mean “I cannot abide writing letters with anything else and will go to Staples and buy a new box rather than use a ballpoint pen except obv not right now, which makes the bag real important for keeping track of all my special pens.” Also pictured: my grandpa’s ancient letter opener that I’m pretty sure he stabbed multiple people with, and my blue Le Pen which I use to annotate my letters when I’m reading them through before sending. I KNOW.

This is my assorted letter-writing stuff storage box (no we’re not even at the cards yet this is TERRIBLE); please note that I sort of jerryrigged this box together myself, which will be another running theme of this tour. Glue, roller whiteout thingies, washi tape (which I don’t really use but people keep sending me?) post-its and my address stamp because no matter what I do, the fuckin’ Audubon Society refuses to send me a single donation request with cute stickers showing my address even though they’ve sent my deceased dad like three THIS YEAR. Anyway. Also please note the incredibly awesome initial stamp thing — I came up with the rough design in college and use it in place of my name a lot, but I went to leoniebunch and they transformed it into this super professional and lovely design that I want to use for the rest of my life. Not pictured: the fucking wax seal I also had made with that design, because yes, I’m like this.

WE’RE STILL NOT DONE WITH THE PARAPHERNALIA: here’s the other misc. stuff that I use on the regular. Cup with sponge because we’re not really licking envelopes these days: tons of weird stickers that I’ve collected, YET MORE PENS, including rainbow ones because one of these days I’m going to write to one of my friends with alternating rainbow colors and they’ll have to murder me. Also pictured: the letter opener which I forgot to put back in the pen bag, as well as my dog’s nail clippers and brush because that’s a handy place to keep them. Also also pictured: my dog, who does not help in any way with letter writing.

OKAY FINALLY ONTO THE STATIONERY, Jesus just writing this all out is making me both proud and ashamed.

I’m sure you noticed in the first pic how everything is meticulously, not to say monomaniacally, labeled. Some stuff might require a little bit of explanation; some stuff is pretty wysiwyg though. For example, BEAR CARDS, which:

(These are sent exclusively to my nephews, who go absolutely apeshit over them every time. Come to think of it, I have a LOT of cards/letter stock/etc that is just for one person or one set of people, which maybe I should talk to my therapist about.)

PUN CARDS are likewise exactly what you think they are; they’re the most recent addition to my hoard, having found them at Powells when I went to Portland in February. They are extremely My Kind Of Thing.

Then you’ve got things like BIRTHDAY CARDS, THANKS, POSTCARDS which like — guess what:

(Please note that of these birthday cards, all but two were actually inherited from my grandmother who passed away in 1986. See if you can guess which two are my purchases.) (Also I’m running out of thank-you cards but to be fair I am rarely grateful so this should last me another few years at least.) (Also shit, I didn’t take a picture of the postcards I don’t think? Whatever, they’re postcards that I’ve either inherited from my parents or collected over the years. There’s also a very odd collection of wolf-themed cards that SOMEONE in my family collected, and that I have been using exclusively for allighater because she’s the only one who could ever appreciate them enough.)

Then there’s the BLANK CARDS and BLANK AND WRITTEN CARDS WITH/WITHOUT ENVELOPES, because sometimes I just need to know what I’m getting into before opening the boxes. I’d say a good 50% of these were inherited from my folks, with the cutsier ones being my own purchases. The cards that these boxes originally contained are looooooooong since used up but they’re nice boxes and that meme about adulthood being an endless debate over whether or not you should keep a box because it’s a really good box is accurate as all hell. 

(There are a lot of cards in here that I bought when I was like, in college — those square ones, for example, were purchased at Faces in Northampton when I was in college and I’m probably never going to actually send them which is kind of ridiculous but see: this entire post.)

And finally, the actual letter-letter stationery! Which I also have an embarrassing amount of! First up is what’s labelled MADOC TREE CARD/LETTER because I honestly had no idea how else to describe it; it was inherited from my grandma who everyone called MaDoc (on account of her being both a ma and a doctor, go figure) and it’s really lovely. I doubt it’s the original intention, but I like to unfold the paper and use both sides of it, because I always have a lot to say. These are used only for family members on MaDoc’s side, and of those, only the ones I really like, which accounts for there still being a lot left.

Then there’s the X-LARGE paper, which isn’t actually that large — it’s just normal computer-sized — but in context is the biggest stuff I’ve got. All of this paper is from my mom, who loved using cute themed paper, and I use this stuff mostly for the friends of hers I keep in touch with (which is actually kind of a lot).

Then there’s the letterhead I use for — okay, so like, we know by now that I’m deeply weird, but this is probably just DEEPLY WEIRD, but whatever, you came this far. So I found a metric shitton of 6 3/4 envelopes in amongst my parents’ office supplies — I have literally zero idea why they had about 5 100-count boxes of these envelopes but I’m one of those people who can never, ever throw shit out, so! I gathered together all the letterhead that they’d also collected over the years from the various universities and hospitals they worked at, cut said letterhead down so that it a) didn’t have University of Tacoma or whatever still on it and b) perfectly fit a 6 3/4 envelope if folded three times. The resulting shape is a little... odd, I’ll admit, but it pleases me greatly and that’s the important thing. In fact this has been my go-to correspondence choice for a couple of months now.

(Also pictured: the cover for this hinky-ass box I made out of a Beekman 1802 box from when we went to their store for their Rose Apothecary popup shop. Zero regrets. Not pictured: the really cute pad of paper I also use for these envelopes that’s a more normal size and shape because where’s the fun in showing you normal stuff?)

And finally, my pride and joy, my Crane Stationery, some of which I have had since I was in high school and my mom bought me a box of it for my birthday (I told you, running theme). It comes in small, medium, and big; yes, I absolutely have rules as to who gets what size of these, too. The medium box kind of fell apart a few years ago so I cobbled a new one together; Crane stationery is notable for not being as exciting as that cover might imply. I’m also kind of pleased that I still have the airmail stationery that I got in college that apparently isn’t sold anymore, which I find baffling because what the fuck is the point of international correspondence if you don’t have to use special stationery? Anyway:

(In re: the lined sheets — I actually have them for every size, because I loathe lined paper but also loathe writing crooked, hence these guides that I put under each sheet as I write. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

So that’s the complete guided tour! If you aspire to have a collection as viscerally unnerving as mine, feel free to send any questions my way. You’re welcome/I’m sorry.

[sweeethinny]

You’re The Right One - Chapter 1

There are people we would walk through the fire for, people we never imagined we could meet, and for James S. Potter, that person is Mira Hazel. The temperamental madwoman who was in the compartment next to him in Hogwarts' first year, and who has been by his side ever since. In the fifth year, however, Mira begins to gain another angle through James' eyes, however much he doesn't want it. You shouldn't look at your best friend that way, let alone want to kiss her every time they're close. He definitely shouldn't be jealous of her. She is just your friend, best friend, and James should put his head in place and forget about all this crazy stuff to avoid problems ... But he never went after problems, anyway, they always find a way to find him.

AO3

first of all, I would like to thank @theroomofreq​ who is beta of this fic, thank you very much for helping me to put this story in the world <3  this is a story that is almost finished in the original version, so my days of creative block will not hinder her progress

that’s it, thank u if you’re read till here, i hope you like my characters and my vision of the next gen <3

Walking excitedly among all the people, carrying his owl and bags in the cart, and rushing his parents every moment they were less than two steps behind him. James grinned from ear to ear on a lively September morning, the one where he would mark his first school year at Hogwarts.

''Let's go!’’ He pulled his father by the hand, who had stopped to show Lily, the youngest of the family, the huge dog that was walking illustriously beside the owner.

Both Harry and Ginny walked slowly to enjoy what would be the last time they would see their eldest son until Christmas, when they would force him to return to spend the festivities at home. For the father, it was a joy to see that little kid who barely reached his chest, saying what a great Quidditch player he would be and that Gryffindor would be, certainly, his house.

'' What if it happens to be Hufflepuff? Albus asked, a little frightened by his brother's enthusiasm that morning

'' It won't happen '' He rolled his eyes when none of the parents looked at him '' I'm too brave '' And the two laughed among themselves, thinking that the son was a copy, much more genius should be said, of the mother and the uncles Fred and George. And Harry was not ashamed to admit, that he saw himself much more in Albus, frightened by that determination, than by the flames of excitement that prowled James eyes. At least not at that age.

'' Come on, you and me first '' James barely waited for his father to hold the stroller bar, safely crossed the 9 3/4 barrier, reaching the spot where his eyes twinkled, and his whole body shook from nervousness and anxiety. Soon the mother with Albus and Teddy appeared, as always, the calm face of the woman making the boy brake and answer the silent request of '' wait! ''

'' How do you feel? '' Wizards were everywhere now, there were owls hooting, cats purring on their owners' legs, and frogs in the clothes of some, showing only their big eyes.

'' Anxious '' He spoke the truth for the first time, still smiling, but now a little more slowly. '' Do you think I'll be able to fly? '' This time he addressed his mother, speaking quietly so that only she could hear, watching Albus and Lily listening to his father's story about his first day there, while Teddy made some joke about how old he was. Ginny smiled kindly, warming the boy's heart, arranged the hair that fell in his eyes and rubbed his young face

'' Of course James, but if you have difficulties, which I doubt, we can train at Christmas '' He nodded, more hopeful this time. If her mother, a famous Quidditch player, had told him he could do it, then it would become true. Right?

'' Let's go just before the train leaves '' This time it was Harry who stirred, pushing the way while James saw the faces that would soon become known to him. Whether they are friends, colleagues, or enemies. (Even though his father made him swear that he would not start  unnecessary fights)

Smoke spread in the air, a lot of students - young and old - boarded the train and packed their bags in the cabins, then returned to hug their parents, be  scolded, or just talk. Heads floated in the window, students laughing excitedly with the anxiety of finally leaving, and James couldn't help feeling different.

'' I'm going to miss you, brat '' Teddy ruffled his brother's at heart hair '' First year is an important year .. write me if you need anything '' James nodded, slightly nervous as he watched the man change his hair for go dark like his, smiling a little too watery for his opinion

'' Me too. And ok, I will '' James hugged him, and then turned to his parents, almost feeling like he was about to scream in excitement and fear.

'' Be careful '' The father looked at his son, a little laughing and a little serious, raising his eyebrows '' I'm watching you ''

'' Ok '' He nodded excitedly '' And I know you will ''

"Take care, okay?" It was Albus' embrace, two years younger, tight and full of anticipation that made James smile without grace, his cheeks warm with that affection. As annoying as he could be, he would miss having someone smaller than himself to win the blame.

'' Yes, I’ll miss you too '' And then everyone got together for the squeeze, almost breaking his ribs, and making him blush with embarrassment '' No ... I can’t ... breathe ''

The little sister gave his cheek a wet kiss - which James automatically wanted to wipe but did not do when he saw his father's gaze - his mother had passed on some instructions about the houses and how he should be calm regardless of the choice.

'' The house that Hat draws will be the right one for you, and we will be happy regardless of the result. Write to us as soon as you can, preferably today '' He nodded laughing, thinking of the red and gold lion.

'' Now, listen '' The father had crouched down, keeping close eye contact, his green eyes almost bursting into orbit '' I don't want you to be around getting in trouble, understood? '' For the fiftieth time he nodded '' Don't worry if you are alone, people always arrive in the compartment , you can meet great friends inside '' Once again he moved his head

'' Stop being so melodramatic, man. '' Teddy laughed, winking at James, who seemed to have read the mind of the boy who was thinking about the whole castle to explore.

'' I'm going to send you news '' he assured, entering in the train

'' Every day. '' James frowned, eliciting laughter from his parents '' Answer us always, and if you need to ... ''

'' I know, Dad, I know ... Professor Longbottom can help me. '' The train started to leave, they exchanged a few more words, he waved at them as they got smaller, and then that was it.

James was finally on his way to the Witch School.

Anxious, he ran to the  single empty compartment  he found and began to contemplate the path they were taking. It seemed that magic was already taking place there, it was like the sensation of climbing up  a gigantic peak, analyzing the view from the top , the fall that he would soon make. It was scary, but impressively, it also seemed to cause a huge euphoria that would make him jump.

"Can I come in or is it full already?" The female voice woke him from his daydream. He had heard many love stories that began in train compartments , his godfather for example, swore he was one of those who unknowingly knew the love of his life. Grandpa, whose name he honored, met Grandma in one of those too. But if James knew anything, it was the  girl, a few inches shorter than him, with long blond hair braided, wearing a funny black cap and school robes, would not be his love.

She wasn't ugly, but she looked ... clumsy. Her eyes were large pits of the darkest pitch, the pupil barely visible, her  cheeks pink and large, eyebrows as clear as lashes (little more colored than the fair skin), and her  teeth a little apart, in addition to a pink lip fatty. Her legs looked  long compared to her  body, even under her robes, and her arms were thin, as if she had started to stretch-but only on some limbs.

'' Uh ... no. '' But you couldn't deny friends, of course. "You can sit down."

'' So ... '' She packed her bags '' It was full up front '' Justified herself by picking up a 'Quidditch History' book and sitting in front of him '' And I thought .... Hey, I think I know you from somewhere '' James blushed, even though he straightened up and tried to look more secure than he really was. Being recognized was never fun. '' You are Ginny Potter's son, I saw you on the Prophet's cover! My God, your mother is awesome '' She spoke in a way that her eyes almost popped, such excitement, gesturing and bulging her eyes.

'' I know '' James bragged, even if uncomfortable '' She's the best '' He spoke as if it were the most normal thing in the world. His mother had retired as a chaser  after Lily was born, however, he had gone to a few games and could remember it  being amazing. In addition, every time they played in the vegetable garden, the father had to sweat so that they would not lose by more than 100 points - even if someone on his team caught the snitch.

'' I want to be like her , you know .. '' The girl straightened up on the bench, pulling her legs up, leaning her back against the cold window, the book resting on her knees '' I want to play like that. '' James thought she was funny, but he didn't comment, a little scared by how intimidating she looked. '' My parents hate flying, but I like it. I mean, I’ve only  flown a few times, but it's soooo fun. '' He wanted to laugh, staring at her curiously. Her hair resembled Aunt Fleur's hair, long and light, but it was much less styled than the hair of the older woman  '' I really like to imagine myself playing. ''

''To imagine? Have you never played? '' The nameless girl denied, making a face

'' My parents are not the biggest Quidditch fans, so to go to a game, it was like Mass '' "Mass?" He frowned.

The blonde looked at him, this time curious, '' Yes, it's a muggle thing, you know, about religion, some are too long ... so the saying... '' James nodded

"Are you Muggle-born?" She shook her head, fiddling with the worn book unpretentiously, and then shrugged.

'' My parents are wizards, but my grandparents are muggles and I spent  a lot of time with my maternal grandmother, so '' she shrugged '' That's why I never played, I had no one, but I know how to play volleyball and maybe it will help me. And Tennis '' the girl shrugged again '' Anyway, your mom is a big inspiration to me, I wish I could have seen her play. ''

'' So ... you didn't say your name '' And again she moved, sitting forward and holding out her hand to him, which was full of different rings. James wondered if that girl could be weirder than Dominique. Or Aunt Luna.

'' Sorry, I was so excited ... I'm Mira Hazel. '' He smiled kindly

'' James '' Even though he didn't need to, he was happy to say '' What house do you think will be in? '' She straightened up again on the bench, without opening the book this time, looking at him with full attention.

'' I hope Ravenclaw. What about you? '' Mira Hazel said, as James grimaced.

'' Gryffindor, obviously. Why do you want that one? It's so full of ... idiots '' The girl raised her clear eyebrows, her body moving into an attack position as if she might pounce on him, much like a cat. James was concerned that she was carrying a cat beside her, but there was no sign.

'' My parents are from there .. You know. Gryffindor is not the only good house at school, if it were, it wouldn't make sense to have others, would it? '' James swallowed the words, arranging his back on the bench and thinking what he would say Next. Of course, his father had warned about this, but how could he not want to go to the house that housed his whole family?

Before he could give a bullshit answer that would make coal eyes explode, the cabin door was opened again, this time a boy with black hair and frightened eyes appeared, his cheeks flushed and what appeared to be a frog in his front pocket. "Sorry, wrong cabin."

When the door closed again, silence radiated over them, James too affected to admit that maybe, for a few seconds, she was right. Only the pages broke the silence,, as she leafed through the book almost aggressively,.Mira seemed to have read it many times judging by  the yellowish color that marked the edges, in addition to the lower spine looking punished with use. He thought of asking what Quidditch position she wanted - for he had imagined that if they both wanted to be keppers, they would fall off their brooms before the snitch was even released - but he kept the words to himself.

The food cart was not long in arriving, much to his delight, and the two bought what looked like food for five more, still without speaking a word, which was driving him crazy.

"Aha! I finally found you. '' The female voice broke through the air. Mira smiled at the chocolate frog, taking the card in her hands

'' Who did you find? '' James smiled when he saw Merlin smiling on his own card.

'' Hermione Weasley '' And as if it were pure gold, she carefully tucked it inside the Quidditch book.  '' My mother met her ... they made Runes together '' Mira nodded, seeming to talk to herself more than to him '' A very smart witch ... I should want to be like her too, don't you think? ''

'' Are you always this weird? '' He joked, happy that she had talked to him again. Her silence was claustrophobic, which was very strange, since Albus used to give him a cold shoulder whenever they fought, and it was never this bad. 

'' Ah ... no, I’m just nervous. '' It seemed like a lie, but he didn't say anything 

'' But tell me, what is it like? Having these people in your family '' Mira asked. 

James grimaced when he swallowed a Bertie Botts every flavor bean,  '' Ear wax, ew, I don't know how I was wrong. I thought it might be popcorn ''

''Normal '' He moved his shoulders, precisely choosing a bean, loving the taste of strawberry when he threw one in his mouth '' They are normal people most of the time '' 

'' It can't be normal '' She rolled her eyes '' There must be something extraordinary about being the son of Harry and Ginny Potter '' 

James tried to shake the thought from  his mind, remembering all the years living in his family and all the stories that he had heard (even if in half).

Sometimes it was quite difficult, people used to be so intrusive  at partie, s it was almost impossible for them not to be stopped by some journalist wanting to know the latest gossip that involved their name.

James thought it all sucked. It was very tiring.

He had thought that now as he was going to Hogwarts he could finally be James. Simply, James, and no longer,live in the shadow of his parents great deeds. Even if no one asked him to follow in their footsteps, stressing the irrecoverable losses they had made along the arduous path, he felt as if nothing he did was really interesting.

Going to Gryffindor, being a good keeper and a good student, was not just to ensure that his track record was brilliant, but to guarantee a place in the genius tree. He hadn't fought like his mother and father, but he had done something good while he was at school, proving his worth. Proving to be brave and fearless.

'' Except I can get a lot of cards from chocolate frogs more easily '' He smiled at the girl who laughed in denial, her cheeks turning pink again, and her eyes no longer seemed to carry the fury she had earlier presented.

She wasn't all bad, after all.

[...]

‘’James Potter .. what an honor!’’ Hagrid, a half-giant who always showed up at his house telling stories about strange and dangerous animals, smiled at him, hitting him on the back with a force that made him walk two steps forward.

‘’Hi Hagrid.’’ He returned the smile, looking  excitedly behind him and seeing the boats positioned.

After the rookies were summoned and put on boats, crossed the river below the night sky with few stars, Mira was beside him, her eyes looking like a part of the sky, shining with the magnificent view of Hogwarts. The castle looked bigger and more splendid than any photograph, description, or drawing he had ever seen and heard. It was real, grand, and now it was his new home.

As they left the boats and were led into the castle, the children's voices seemed to triple- the excitement of standing in that hall, waiting to be called up for the sorting. A tall, strong, well-groomed professor, showing a scar that cut his eyebrow and a little bit of his left eyelid, appeared. ,He explained the houses, the hat and introduced himself, Frank Johaan, Defense Against the Dark Art teacher . When they entered the Great Hall, which his father had spoken so much of, James thought he might fall over right there, looking at the tables, the teachers, the decoration above him, the walls laden with flags of the houses, the ghosts walking around. .. It was almost like daydreaming. No photograph  lived up to what James was seeing

And just as his father had informed him, when the time came, the Sorting Hat on a stool, looking old and worn, began to sing.

When Headmaster McGonagall gave a slight smile after welcoming the students - and James thought he saw her smile bigger when she saw him - Professor Johaan stood erect beside the stool, a scroll in his left hand and the right on top of the hat

‘’When I call your name, come here and sit down.’’

The names began, applause whenever the house was shouted at by the patched hat.With each person, the boy felt more apprehensive, looking around anxiously and seeing Mira from a short distance, looking confident, hardly even blinking during the wait.

‘’Potter, James Sirius’’ He could have sworn he saw the Headmistress getting ready in the chair to watch, making him feel even more nervous; And with weak legs, but without showing it, he started the long walk to the stool, everyone's eyes following him, and the teachers looking at him with curiosity. He took a deep breath before sitting on the stool and left his mind free, listening even to his heartbeat.

‘’Ah a Potter ... I know them so well. A brave heart ... ‘’ Said the hat, and he thought it was magnificent ‘’I can't help but notice, too big even for a giant's body’’. Without thinking, he looked sideways at Hagrid, who was smiling anxiously while sitting in one of the chairs set for the teachers. ‘’But would that only help you? .. A vast intelligence, certainly, but I cannot deny the truth ... Gryffindor!’’

The Gryffindor table rose to a fuss, eagerly applauding and welcoming him, with huge smiles and nods when he sat down, everyone congratulating him and talking about how amazing it was that they had a Potter there.

‘’Hazel, Mira’’ She walked confidently, not even blushing.  Her braided hair trailing behind her and her black eyes looking like two black holes in her pale face. She sat on the stool, waiting for the call, the sorting hat was put on, and stayed there for some time.

James’ godmother had told him about this, about students sometimes sitting up to five minutes waiting, they were students who confused the hat, they had many attributes that stood out and could easily fit in more than one house, as had happened with her.

The blonde was waiting in the same way as when she sat down, calm and seeming to assess with the hat, after what seemed like three or more minutes - he hadn't been there so long, and if he had, he would have died of anxiety - the hat screamed;

-Gryffindor!

His  house table began to clap again, the blonde descending cheerfully and full of smiles, greeting those at the end and sitting next to James, her eyebrows half-arched and in an almost balmy way, showing in her eyes

‘’It looks like we'll be colleagues, Potter.’’ Mira said as she raised her chin and exuding confidence , drawing a laugh from James. 

‘’So it seems.’’ And for some reason, he was happy with that.

[popculturebuffet]

Scooby Doo (2002) Review: The Most Punchable Fred Jones of All Time

It’s one last hurrah for Halloween as I take a look at the often derided 2002 Scooby Doo Movie! See what happens when you combine future superstar director James Gunn with .. the guy who thought directing the Smurf’s movie and Big’s Mama’s House were good ideas. Oh and with a splash of the guy who wrote the loveable family film Cheaper by the Dozen and the utterly loathed Percy Jackson film. It’s as messy as you’d expect with that.. but is it BAD? good, so bad it’s good, just sorta okay? Come with me as I try to find out under the cut with a full review. 

I’ve always loved Scooby Doo. I grew up with the guy, watching reruns of the non-scrappy classic series from Where Are You to the Scooby Doo Movies, the three Superstar 10 movies (Boo Brothers, Ghoul School and Reluctant Werewolf), or the at the time brand new What’s New Scooby Doo. And later in life i’d absolutely adore Mystery Incorporated.. minus the whole Shaggy, Scooby Velma love triangle, but i’ll likely cover that at some point or sooner, you can comission reviews from me for 5 bucks each, 5 dollars off group orders if you really want to make me suffer through that that bad. But getting off self promotion point is I loved and still love the franchise. While I”ve yet to see “Scooby Doo and Guess Who”, though given there’s Weird Al, Kristan Schaal and Urkel episodes you can be sure i’m going to eventually, and Scoob was VERY ehhh even if Dick Dastardly was awesome. But despite my history with the great dane much like with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, despite my rich history with the franchise I haven’t dove in yet and with a friend who could use a nice halloween suprise and loves scooby doo, I figured now was the time to take a look at it.  And since i’d been wanting to take a look at it again anyway, and decided going big wasn’t a bad way to start, i’m taking a look at the 2002 Scooby Doo movie. I saw this flim first run in a drive in, and saw the sequel the same way and loved it as a kid, and fondly remember checking out the Sountrack Preview page back before youtube existed to make checking out soundtracks easier. It was a simplier time. And even rewatching it later with my nieces, I found myself liking it.  And the thing was almost every time this film comes up it’s with a turned up nose. The CGI, the confused audience, the deciding to cast Freddy Prinze Junior.. all terrible decisions that overshadow the film, when it’s not that bad. It’s not GREAT, but it’s not TERRIBLE either. So what is it then? Well i’ll tells ya. Let’s start with

PRODUCTION: Wait James Gunn Wrote This?

At the turn of the millneium Scooby Doo was back on top. After waning popularity during the Scrappy era, the advent of the warner affilated Cartoon Network meant a whole new generation of kids (raises hand) got to experince Scooby Doo for the first time. This new audeince lead to Scooby Doo on Zombie Island, the first of the franchises 80 or so DTV movies that will continue on long after the earth dies, and brought back the franchise after it’s long slumber. Scooby Doo went from dead to as popular as he was in his hey day again. Naturally Warner wanted to cash in and thus this movie was born.  Originally the film was supposed to be a more adult project, a send up of the franchise with more sex jokes and what not than made the final cut according to writer James Gunn. Yes, the same James Gunn who wrote and directed the Guardians of the Galaxy movie and whose currently saving the suicide squad. It was one of Gunn’s earlier films but just from when he’s talked about it, you can tell he genuinely cared about the project.  Along for the ride with our future Guardian was his co-writer, Craig Titely,  who i’m convinced only came in to do punch ups as the guy has only written three other movies. One of them was being one of MANY writers on Cheaper by the Dozen and thus likely not doing much of note with that, and the other.. is being the only writer on Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief’s movie adaptation.. aka the movie the fanbase and general audiences rejected in droves yet SOMEHOW got a sequel. Which is somehow still worse than his other film, one that asks “was the moon landing a hoax?” Spoilers, it wasn’t. Point is this isn’t a resume that screams co creator and more screams “Guy brought in to kid freindly this up”. More on that in a minute.  The director is another less than reassuring face: Raja Gosnell, whose credits BEFORE this film were Home Alone 3, Never Been Kissed and Big Momma’s house.. so already he dosen’t have the best track record but somehow got worse because AFTER this film and it’s sequel he directed both live action Smurfs Movies and the universally hated Show Dogs, aka the film  that thought dog rape was funny. The fact this film isn’t out and out terrible is a miracle. 

Even more so because naturally, as Studios tend to do they interfered: The film was supposed to be more adult, cracking jokes about common things fans of the series growing up thought like Velma is Gay or Shaggy’s a stoner, and having both be fully true. But wanting to appeal to kids, Warner gradually lightned it, hence Craig, and Raja clearly having no shame gladly took it instead of you know.. standing his ground.  So Velma has a love intrest thrown in and her kiss with Daphne is gone, while Shaggy’s toke smoking was lowered to subtext.. because either of those things is bad apparently? I dunno the 2000′s were fucked. 

Point is THAT’S why these films are so tonally confused and why I don’t hold it agains the film now I know: It wasn’t James Gunn or even, as dumb as he is, Raja Gosnell’s fault that the film had some tones clashing when the studio was demanding it, instead of you know, thinking this through at all and realizing more kids cared about Scooby Doo than they would’ve josie and the pussy cats instead of bringing it up DURING production, when most of the adult stuff was in there. It’s also why the sequel has no real adult stuff, though it’s STILL damn good, but i’ll get to that some other day. 

The film was also shot at an actual theme park in australia. Neat. 

So yeah the film’s humor kind of ping pongs between knowing adult winks and kids stuff. We get Scooby dressing like a grandma in the same film shaggy enhales his demon possed love intrests breath like weed. The jokes themselves on average are pretty good: Some of my faviorites include the grandma scene, everything rowan atkinson does, Velma getting drunk off her ass, and the instructional video bit which is easily my favorite bit of the episode and one of my faviorite scooby doo jokes period:

This is even FUNNIER to me on rewatch, as we now know this is an instructional video for demons.. and that Scrappy clearly had enough problems with his demon horde to have to pay for this thing. It tis glorious.  However there also are also a few that HAVE NOT aged well, are very creepy at best and disgusting sexual assault at worst with Daphne getting her ass grabbed by the Luna Ghost at the start being treated as a joke and Fred oggling Daphne’s body when he’s in it being treated as a ha ha and not...

So yeah the humor’s USUALLY good, but the slipups are noticable and do bring things down a bit when they come by. So the humor is decent if mixed and the production’s a nightmare, how’s the plot? The Plot: Scoob, We’re Getting the Band Back Together!

I won’t be as through as usual because this is a 90 minute movie, I’m running behind as is and it’s 20 years old, 

We start with your standard mystery inc case with the Luna Goose, aka Old Man Incel who resented Pamela Anderson for not boning him. But Fred hogging the glory during the resulting News Cast leads the gang to start fighting over lingering tensions: Velma is tired of Fred hogging all the credit when she does most of the legwork solving things, Daphne is tired of being kidnapped and being mistreated by Velma and Freddy who laugh at the idea of her doing more, and Fred..

We’ll get to him later. Shaggy is the only one wanting to stick together, but no one’s having it and the group breaks apart and Matthew LIllard REALLY sells Shaggy’s heartbreak over his friends all abandoning him well. 

Two years later though, with Shaggy and Scooby naturally getting stoned and eating large quantities of food on the beach, have made peace with retirement, and have apparently had to duck tons of people coming to them to solve mysteries since they aren’t about that. The latest in that line is a man representing Emile Mondovarius, the owner of Spooky Island, a vast island resort and theme park. Naturally since it has spooky in the name the boys want nothing but Mondovarius does what honestly every previous guy coming to them should’ve done: offers them an all you can eat buffet.  Since they’ve done more traumatizing for Dog Treats, they agree and it soon turns out the entire gang was invited, though none of them but Shaggy and Scooby are happy to see each other. I will say one of my complaints about the film is it never tackles the emotions behind the breakup: while the teams slowly repairs there are never any outright apologizes or scenes of them recociling or scenes of Shaggy chewing them out for abandoning him due to their spat. It just skips over the emotional bits to either wave a joke for the kiddies around or scream 

Really the jokes aren’t bad, the film just has trouble with actual emotion or depth that could’ve been there and tries for it once in a while, but dosen’t really do anything with it. The gang splitting up’s a good concept, and at this point on Scooby Doo on Zombie Island had really used it, and that was one where they were clearly still close friends and were still in touch they just quit mystery solving for a while till Zombie Island happened. Mystery Incorpreated would finally give this story justice later: Instead of over a petty ego squabble, the gang broke up over underlying tensions: The revelations about Fred’s dad caused him to go try and find himself, Velma alienated herself by hiding things from them, and Shaggy was shipped off to Military School and Scooby doggy prison camp... thankfully the last two didn’t last and Scooby rescued Shaggy with a tank but the tension DIDN’T go away: While the gang mostly reunited, Velma took time to forgive them and also tried bringing in the friend/girlfriend she’d made in the meantime only for her friends to isolate her and throw her out while Daphne took her time to return due to being hurt by fred. It’s complex and good stuff versus here where it’s just “WE’RE APART BECAUSE WE HATES EACH OTHER. And now we’re NOT”. It’s just a waste of a good concept and i’ m glad the franchise got around to doing it right. 

But my gripes aside our heroes head to the resort and meet Mondevarious, who admits outright to having tricked then and with confronted with the gang being broken up, makes it clear he knews.  “That’s the thing about broken things.. you can put them back together.”

And so he did. He needs the Gang’s help as he’s worried about the island and something going wrong there: The teens are leaving polite, well behaved. and clearly not themselves as one reacts to an old friend by neck lifting him and tossing him aside. Something’s deeply wrong here and the gang’s intrest is piqued enough to stay though everyone but Shaggy is determined to solve it themselves out of ego. Mondvarius is played by Rowan Atkinson and while I watched the bean movie as a kid this is where I fell in love with the guy, with later watches of Blackadder confirming that in my college years. Rowan just brings a fun dorky energy to the character and a nice earnestness too but when he later takes a turn for the bad, he does that well too. Atkinson is HIGHLY underated in my opinon and easily the MVP of this film’s supporting cast.   So the investigation begins, and we get our supsects: The first we met on the plane, Mary Jane, a kind blonde played by Isla Fisher who got the job becasue Gosnel, in a rare good decision, saw how talented she was and while still picking Sara Michele Gellar for Daphne, made sure she had  a part. She’s a nice sweet girl who Shaggy falls for and Scooby’s annoyed by it.. though unlike earlier the film beats mystery inc easily here as it’s a more understandable conflict and dosen’t act like Dog Issues is a thing people says. Again i’ll get to that clusterfuck of an arc some day. The other two are N’Goo Tuna, a shady worker at the park who spouts off the legends of the island. In a nice twist, he’s NOT the vilian, as is obvious but is his right hand man. He also has his own right hand and muscle in Zarkos a cool looking Luchador and N’Goo’s muscle. Also N’Goo may be one of the worst names in Scooby Doo History, and that includes Dabba Doo. But the legend claims the island was once owned by demons who want revenge since the resort took the island from him. 

The other is probably my faviorite non Rowan Atkinson character, Voodoo Maestro, played by Miguel Nunez. He’s basically just a guy who lives on the fringes of the island and also hates the resort and tries using voodoo curses. He’s honestly a delight from his attempt to sacrifice a chicken (An already dead one at that), to his general hammy and annoyed at dealing with these teenagers demeanor. NAturally he has nothing to do with this but he’s still a fun addition and I wish he was in more scnenes than the two he gets.  But with what they’ve gathered the gang all end up at a spooky castle attraction, with Scooby and Shaggy of course being bribed by daphne while Velma and Fred show up indpeendntly and end  up finding the weird training video from earlier but all get caught when the traps are activiated> There’s also a farting contest which.. eh not funny to me but i’ve seen so much worse i’m not even remotely upset. But then the traps trigger though during the chaos Fred and Velma are forced to work together and finally start doing so, and Daphne finds a clue: A mysterious pyramid known as the damon righus and finally gets some, if not nearly enough, credit.  So the gang is back together.. even if it’s a tenative peace, the high from solving this and relay to their boss the suspects, including him, though Fred assures Mondovarius it’s just because he’s spooky and rowan’s character’s delight over that is fucking glorious.  So the gang enjoys some down time at the local bar, with Fred and Daphne doing their own look ins, Scooby and Shaggy eating and encountring mary again and Velma getting hit on by a dude while looking over the ritus, revealing it’s some sort of soul sucking aparatus, and going into their history... which is really just an excuse to bring Scrappy in who in this universe, is a horny egotistical little shit whose abandoned as a result. ANd before anyone boos he’s not a puppy here, he’s got.. dog dwarfisim.. which while .. how does that even work... means he’s a grown ass man and deserved this. We also get drunk velma and Linda Caredenlli is a delight

The night gets interupted by terrible cgi monsters, the aformentioned emon who soul suck most of the college kids present and also get fred and velma who both find out these are very much real. We also get the best song on the soundtrack, man with a hex. It slaps. But it makes good chase music as with Mondvarious, Fred and Velma captured, the rest of the gang and mary escape.  The next morning we get a surreal as hell scene as everyone’s partying, Fred’s talking in slang and Velma with clevage, thank you, is chatting up.. Sugar Ray? For those younger of you they were a band at the time. They were a big thing. Not half bad but faded away. They looked as 2000′s as hell though. WHy Smash Mouth gets all the memes and not them is beyond me. Look at lead singer Mark McGrath!It’s like the early 2000′s gained sentience and took a human form. But the gang is quickly forced to run from sugar ray, though they get Daphne in a deleted scene. Why it was deleted I dunno. Point is Shaggy, Scooby and Mary are all alone.. oh and Mary’s possessed. Shaggy and Scooby argue over it because Shaggy just thinks Scooby is jealous and while he is .. why would he lie about this? He’s as cowardly as you are. But Scooby falls through the floor, and Shaggy is now going solo but luckily finds his friends souls, and eveyrone elses in a massive cool looking vat and frees them all.  Velma, when the demon leaves her and confronts her, finds out sunlight kills the demons and saves Daphne from hers... only to find Fred in her body. Daphne is naturally horrified and we do get a great bodyswapping scene.

Our heroes reconvince on the beach where htey find the Maestro who explains what’s going on to a point, with the gang’s clues filling in the blanks: The ritus, which they stole back earlier, is used for a ritual that will allow the Demons to rule over the earth for “a thousand years of darkness” but it requires a pure soul to work. Cue our big bad talking Scooby into being their willing sacrifice since Scooby dooes not understand what a sacrifice is.  Shaggy naturally rallies the group to go save him after their understandably worried since they usually dealt with weirdos in costumes and not the apocalypse.. well okay Velma and Fred aren’t, Daphne dealt with this kind of thing once a week back in Sunnydale. So they set up a plan to destroy all the demons at once by unleashing the soul bath, setting them all loose and then using a spooky disco ball from one of the attractions rigged up over the ritual area to shine the light in. It’s classic scooby doo. 

Things naturally go wrong as while Shaggy goes to rescue scooby and makes up with him, he’s caught, so are fred and velma and they have to scramble, while Daphne looses a fight with the luchador up top while trying to let the light in to finish the trap. Meanwhile Shaggy saves Scooby’s soul just as Mondovarious sucks it out by shoving the guy.. revealing him to be a robot! DUN DUN DUN. And inside is Scrappy.. which you all probably knew already but try to act suprise who wanted to conquer the world as revenge for the gang abandoning him and because again, in this universe he’s kind of an asshole. He absorbs the souls gathered so far and merges with the damon ritus, because we’re operating on video game rules now apparently, so final boss time.  But we get a great climax as Scrappy chases scooby, Daphne goes buffy on Zarkos ass , and as a result he shatters the glass and lets the light in releasing the disco ball the kill the demons.. man I love that I get to type things like that. Scooby removes the ritus and defeats his nephew and the day is saved. Velma hooks up with random guy, Daphne and Fred get together, I die inside a little and Shaggy and Mary Jane bond. At the press Fred does his good deed for the movie by letting Velma explain things and get the spotlight and the group have firmly reunited. THE END. Overall it’s a solid plot, that works well, comes together in the end and was well put together, it’s more the filling that causes it to tilt back and forth a bit, but overlal outside of the issue I mentioned it’s a good scooby doo plot. While some have pointed out it is similar to zombie island, a case reuniting the gang, the person who brought them there wanting to sacrifice them, or just scooby here, monsters being real, it works because everything else is so different. But since there’s more to break down and it’s easier to give it it’s own section let’s look at...

THE CHARACTERS: NOT HALF BAD, FRED CAN GO FUCK HIMSELF. 

So we’re down to character.. and since there’s a blonde, preeening, selfish, arrogant, sleazy, sexist, obnoxious, loud mouthed, useless elephant in the room, let’s start with Fred. And to quote it’s always sunny....

Yeah so that fury of a thousand crashing waves (Cracks Knuckles): Fred is the worst part of this movie, the worst version of the character across the entire franchise that i’ve seen with the sincre doubt that there is ANY version worse than this. Everything I said above is true and THEN some. He is one of the most unlikable characters i’ve seen in a film that wasn’t INTENDED to be. There’s just NOTHING to like about him. Nothing. He treats his “Friends” like garbage, all four of them: He basically ignores shaggy and scooby at best and treats them as if they were nothing. For Velma he’s your classic power abusing douche who pushes her to the side and often steals the credit for things she did. He’s still a good mystery solver, but he acts like he does all the work to the press and takes all the credit when Velma works as hard as he does if not harder. And worst of all is Daphne, who he basically either treats like some moron who gets kidnapped due to incompetence and not because creepy old dudes want to feel her up, which given the intro is VERY likely the reason she’s the resident victim of the group, and not like a person, or like a pair of boobs and legs he wants to bang or feel up creepily while he’s in her body. For fuck’s sake his reaction to finding out he’s in her body is a creepy and smug “I can see myself naaaakeddd” If that dosen’t make you want to smack him get off my blog. And they get together in the end! 

Who who wanted that. I genuinely want the presumibly original ending where Daphne and Velma hook up and Fred falls off a pier and is never seen again. The acting does not help. While the other four gang members are expertly cast Fred was given to Freddy Prinze Junior, who made a career out of playing arrogant dicks who are somehow the main character so I can’t fault the casting but I can fault that he can’t delver any line without that smug air of trying to be cool douche and it’s at it’s worst with Fred since Fred’s already written as the biggest creepiest douche in the world and Freddy somehow makes it WORSE. He also has zero chemstiry with Daphne, which would be weird given he and Sarah Michelle Gellar had dated for 2 years at this point and as of this writing have been together for 20 overall and have two wonderful kids together... but given how badly written Fred is here, I can’t blame either of them. And i’m sure FPJ is a swell guy, loves his kids loves his wife seems like a really plesant guy, nothing against him as a person, but at least at this point in his career he wasn’t very good. And I am actually planning on trying to seek out one of his later works in his career to see if he’s gotten better in recent years, and willing to give him the benifit of a doubt that he probably has. I just don’t like him here, and while the script does most of the work he only makes it worse.And works before this (Pup Named Scooby Doo) and after this (Mystery Incorperated) would prove you can give fred a personality that’s not dick tip, so fuck this character, fuck the writing.. and I hope Freddy is having a happy halloween with his loving wife and children, seriously I meant it I have nothing against him as a person. A terrible actor can still be a WONDERFUL guy. 

Now that’s thankfully put to bed, let’s pivot over to Shaggy, whose easily the best of the cast. Matthew Lillard looks the part pefectly, has the right combination of heart and goofus and has some great comedic timing. Granted Scream had already proven the guy’s got genuine talent, but still he’s great here and is currently playing Shaggy in most films and productions, except Scoob which.. was far from it’s only mistake but easily the biggest. There’s not much else to say: the guy IS Shaggy and is the only person whose taken up the roll to equal Kasey Casem in it. As for how he’s written.. he’s basically the same and apart from one line of him wanting to leave everyone to their deaths, which feels like it was added later, he’s written really well and is easily the most likeable of the group. 

Scooby is alright. Not the best version but funny and charming enough when he needs to be and while I hated the CGI at one point.. it’s honestly not that bad. It’s not GREAT, but time has actually been very good to it both in how it’s held up and in the fact we’ve gotten SO MUCH WORSE with so much better techlogies. I mean.. Cats exists.. Marmaduke Exists.. the Bill Murray Garfield exists. This was offputting at the time but now it’s just okay. But character wise he’s good and again not much diffrent. 

Velma is the second best casting of the movie. Played by Linda Cardenelli, who i’ve harbored a crush on for a good few decades now and admire mostly for her talent and charm, Linda kills the roll and easily slips into it as easily as Matt did, and while not picking it up full time like he did, still did it a few times afterword and played hot dog water in mystery incorperated, so she did finally get to play a Lesbian Velma it just took a while. And while Velma being gay is kind of sterotyping, it would’ve been nice to have been kept in instead of edited out for bullshit reasons. But overal her character is decent: While she ALSO bullies and belittles daphne like fred, unlike fred it comes less from just being a douche and more from insecurity. As her scene at the bar makes clear she feels undervalued like the other, like the nerd who the cool kids LET hang out with them instead of part of the team. While it dosen’t make her treatment of Daphne OKAY, it makes Velma understandable. We also get Velma Clevage which.. okay not sure if the world needed that but whatever. Point is it’s throughly likeable portryal that I wish got some character growth.  Finally out of the main 5 there’s Daphne, whose alright. Not as good as the other two, as it feels they lean a bit too heavily on her having taken self defense and wanting ot be tougher, but Sarah Michelle Gellar gives her a ton of charm and likeablity that her husband’s character sadly lacks. There’s just a fun, adorable energy to daph that ends up coupling with her buffy style badassery at the end and Sarah plays both beautifully. The script didn’t give her a ton to work with, though that’s the same for all four of htem, but Sarah really made the character work and made her somewhat memorable despite not being as good as Linda or Matthew. Basically not the best, but still a comfortable third ahead of scooby doo and jackass jones. 

As for the rest of the cast, Rowan Attkinson i’ve covered and is utterly fantastic as is the Voodoo Maestro, and both should get hteir own hbo max spinoff together. The minons.. stupid name and luchadoor are decent enough, nothign special but they have presence and do the job of goon well. And Mary Jane is alright.. the joke is WAY too on the nose to be funny and she’s mostly just there to be sweet, but she’s harmless. Not good but not bad.  So finally we have our big bad, Scrappy. And i’m.. mixed about this. On one hand, Scott Innes, who it turns out is also from Missouri good on you dude!, does a terrific job and I couldn’t tell it wasn’t don messick as Scrappy and he plays him as evil great. On the other.. it’s just kinda goofy. Out of all the tips of hte hat to scooby stuff this feels the most over the top. Scrappy was hated, including by james gunn.. so he’s the bad guy. It’s just a bit on the nose, and the twist is pretty easily teligraphed since Scrappy suspciously is mentioned in one scene so him showing up at all is pretty easy to see coming. It’s not terible but it’s not great. His demon minons also just suck.. the designs are wonky and their cgi, unlike scooby and scrappy’s, is just REALLY bad and dated, and even as a kid I never liked them. 

FINAL THOUGHTS:  Scooby Doo is a decent but messy movie. The clashing tones, dated humor and godawful version of fred drag it down at times, and it’s very clear this had a lot of hands in the pot. But.. I still enjoy it. It’s not the best scooby ever, tha’ts mystery incorpeated, but it has great atmosphere, some good ideas, an utterly spectacular with one exception cast, and some really funny jokes. I genuinely feel the film is overhated when it’s a unique, weird and wonderful slice of Scooby. For better or worse there’s no other Scooby doo property quite like it, and that’s what makes it so fun. And it has enough good performances and jokes to smooth out the edges. It’s not the best, it’s a mess.. but sometimes a mess is fun and I like this flim for being a fun mess I can enjoy with my nieces and talk about to all of you. And sometimes that’s all you need.  Thank you for reading this. If you like this you can comission your own review: 5 bucks for a tv episode, 15 for a movie, 10 for an hour long special, and 5 dollars off when you order more than one episode of a show at a time. Just send me a direct message or ask on here and we’ll get started. Until then you can check out my backlog of reviews, check this space every monday for ducktales reviews, and VOTE DAMMIT VOTE. Until we meet again it’s been a pleasure. Play us out Atomic Fireballs, it’s been a wonderful halloween. 

[creek-cryptid-deluxe]

Some of you guys may remember awhile back (but not THAT long ago) that I was kind of losing my shit because The Spawn was neglecting her dog duties that she agreed to do with my dad when Indie was brought into our household. Yeah? No? Eh, either way I have an update on that. 

Just a small recap for anyone who doesn’t remember or is new here (I’m still pretending that people actually read this like... for realsies): Way back in August I said no to The Spawn bringing home a dog 5 seperate times because I knew how it would end up. Then she went to my dad, who is soft, and my dad told me that he said yes, but under certain terms and conditions. (TERMS: The Spawn was to handle all expenses related to said dog, would handle all care, training, and exercise needs and at no point was responsibility for the creature to be put on me at all because I had already unwillingly taken on responsibility for Bailey via him bringing her home and I don’t need more.) I laughed and said “Yeah... sure.”

end of Sept we noticed something was wrong with pup’s left front leg. After numerous vet visits and lots of funds, Indie was put on one room, no jumping, no running restrictions from early Oct until the first week of December because her shitbag previous owner had broken that leg in 2 places and while it had almost entirely healed, it had clearly not been treated because one break was at her elbow growth plate, causing her elbow to grow out sideways. So there was an orthopedic operation to remove the already present buildup that causes arthritis, then shave down some bone and pin her elbow back together. 

Since December, The Spawn has been HARDCORE slacking off on her duties to exercise the pup, who as a rat terrier/chaos demon mix has an abundance of energy that if not properly channeled and expelled, leads to significant criminal activity. The Spawn was taking her for a 30 min walk MAYBE 3 times a week and not doing any other play. Meanwhile, my broken down ass was trying to make up for it by walking her or doing HOURS of laser hunting and fetch. Dad tried to help by walking her with Bailey every night, but about 4 weeks ago that ended with him getting a broken rib because the girls saw a cat before he did and he didn’t have time to brace himself. He has been publicly banned from walking the little one. 

RECAP DONE.

So me supplementing has been really wearing on me. The entire reason I don’t personally have any pets (despite very much wanting a bunny or a couple rat friends) is that I don’t have the energy to be responsible for their care. So for the last few months, every 2 weeks or so, I break down to dad, ranting and crying about how I can’t keep doing this and that he allowed this to happen, so it’s his problem and he needs to fix it like... NOW because if it continues, I’m going to get involved and I will not be nice. As in every day that she doesn’t exercise the dog properly, she will lose her tv for a day. No entertainment for her dog means no entertainment for her. He kept saying “no no no I’ll do it.” then not fucking doing it. 

2 days ago, I broke. No ranting. No anger. Just broken sobs. It’s just too much. He promised AGAIN to talk to her. Well yesterday there was an incident that was the last straw for him I guess. 

While he was at work, The Spawn went to walk Indie. When she does walk Indie, once for 30 mins, she’s been implementing training to get her to be better behaved on the walks because Indie suffers from barrier aggression. When on the leash, behind the fence that surrounds our yard, or behind the windows inside the house, if she sees another dog walk by she loses it. Hell when getting them ready for walks, once she is on leash, she will lose her shit on Bailey. SO The Spawn has been filling her hoodie pouch with treats and before they even leave, they go to the door, The Spawn says “Sit. Wait...Wait...” with the intent of Indie sitting until the door is open. Eventually there will be a command involved that gives Indie the all clear to get up and head out. 

So they go through that yesterday around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. They depart for their walk around the neighborhood and within a few minutes I hear Indie’s “I’m losing my shit” bark/snarl combo and The Spawn yelling commands at her. A minute or two later, The Spawn storms in with Indie in tow and says “Well since she decided she can’t behave, we aren’t walking today.” And I looked at her skeptically from across the room because dogs don’t work like that AND exercise is not a privilege for dogs, it’s a necessity. So not walking her because she misbehaved would be on par with me not allowing The Spawn dinner because she misbehaved. Then, seeing my face, The Spawn says “She needs to learn that there are consequences for her actions.”

Y’ALL. I involuntarily laughed, so I had to turn away from her and pretend I was coughing. Let’s talk about why I find this hilarious. This statement came from a 16 yr old child who a few weeks ago was asked to watch the dogs for a couple hours while I went to grandma’s to help her with something. I had been reminding her DAILY for a week that this was happening. As I expected, she tried to weasel out of it. I told her that it wasn’t up for discussion, she was doing it, and that I had phrased it as a question as a courtesy. She began to argue. I told her 3 times over the span of an hour that if she didn’t stop arguing that there would be consequences. She chose to continue, so she found herself grounded from her tv and car for the day. (At the end of that hour and after 3 warnings, all via text and verifiable, I finally just told her to bring me her keys. She chose, instead, to come downstairs, empty handed, and CONTINUE to argue, so she lost the tv too.) She threw a massive tantrum which ended with her screaming and crying to my dad about how abusive and mean I am. *insert eyeroll from both of us*  All over, what? The consequences of her own actions. 

So you see why this was funny. Anyway, I let her go upstairs and text dad that we needed to talk when he arrived and to text me so I could meet him out in the garage. 

I met him out there and relayed the events to him. He also involuntarily laughed about the dog needing to learn that her actions have consequences. Then he said “Ok, I’m talking to her tonight.” 

Now, my dad has a signature move for when he has to have tough or unpleasant conversations. He says “Let’s go get ice cream.” I think it’s meant to soften the blow while also catching the person off guard and being in public for less chance of a scene. 

Anyway, they talked. The overall gist was “we made a deal. the deal is not being upheld. Bailey is a much lower energy dog but still requires 2 seperate 4 mile walks a day, and your high energy PUPPY is getting 1/4 of that at best on most days and your mom and I have been picking up the slack as best we can but that has resulted in a broken rib for me and your mom is really at the end of her rope and has been unable to actually rest for a full couple days like she needs to recover from all the random shit she does for you like covering kettle corn and berries in chocolate.”

The Spawn tried to make excuses. “I’m in school full time AND working.” My dad responded with: “First of all, you aren’t in school full time because you do 2 hrs a day in person and then another hour online AT MOST 5 days a week, then work 4-6 hrs at night 4 days a week. Second of all, I work 13 hrs a day 5 days a week and yet I still find a way to make sure my dog’s needs are met via a 4-6 mile walk before work and another in the evening after dark, unless your mom is up to pokemon in the park, which Bailey comes with us for and gets significantly more walks. So that excuse is b.s.”

She mentioned that she tried that day but she misbehaved. dad told her that no matter how she is behaving, walks are not negotiable. Then he used my dinner analogy. She finally gave up trying to make excuses to be lazy and told him that on days she doesn’t have both work and school she will do 2 hrs worth of walks. (I mentioned to dad that this leaves 3 days a week where she is implying she doesn’t have to do anything. he said he will address that but not that night.)

To her credit, The Spawn has done 2 hour long walks today. She even came up with a plan. The first half of each is structured walk/training time and the second half will be at the dog park across the street so that she has unstructured running time where she can get up to full speed. Keeps her from getting frustrated and bored on the walk and allows her to get full speed runs in without killing The Spawn’s knees. 

We shall see how this holds up long term. Fingers crossed and all that. 

[a-very-fond-farewell]

Wen Yuan and the Prisoner of Koi Tower

*

the only HP!au I will consider for mdzs is the one where WWX acts as Sirius and LWJ as Remus.

also Cloud Recesses already acts as a magical school of sorts so I would not go as far as plant the entire cast in England, but a modern Chinese setting would be a very nice touch and will allow many writers to play around with both pieces of media imo.

my take would be:

*

- WWX has escaped a secret and hidden magical prison 13 years after protecting the remaining Wens from facing justice after the entire Sect had been accused of being a threat to the laws protecting the cultivation world.

- while some of the Wens (Wen RuoHan and his sons) had actively tried to oppose the allicance by messing with commoners and revealing themselves to the non-cultivation world, other Wens were completely innocent and yet they were still persecuted after the war (Sunshot Campaign) that had exterminated the rest of their Sect.

- WWX sacrificed himself by pretending to be completely unable to control his demonic cultivation and causing the explosion of resentful energy that destroyed the Burial Mounds (the Wen Remains’ hideout), turning the lush forest in a wasteland. the magical barrier dividing the premise and the non-cultivation world was compromised and WWX was accused of having sided with the Wen-dogs to jeopardize the anonymity of the cultivation world.

- by attracting all the attention on himself and destroying their hideout, WWX convinced everyone he accidentally killed the Wen Remains to allow them to escape. with the barrier growing weaker, the Wens slipped into the shadows of the non-cultivation world and pretended to be commoners for the time being.

*

- Wen Yuan (i assume he would not have a courtesy name if he were to live outside of the modern!cultivation-world, before enrolling in school) has lived 13 years in modern!Yiling with Wen Ning and he’s now 16 under a different name (idk what name, but they certainly don’t plan to be sought out by announcing the world they are called Wen). they live pretending to be commoners and can only rarely see Wen Qing, who was able to work at the “magical school” as a physician only bc the headmaster Lan QiRen is more interested in her talent than her last name.

- Wen Ning and Wen Qing decided not to reveal their little cousin about the happenings of 13 years ago. when they tried to step into the common world the first time after the explosion, A-Yuan had slipped from their grasp and they didn’t know where he had disappeared to (imagine the mishaps of the Floo Network and such or when someone disappararates). A-Yuan, “splinched” and feverish with no memories of his past, was found by LWJ who brought him back to the Wen siblings and helped their entire clan to disappear from the radar.

- upon discovering A-Yuan had, in fact, a golden core at 10/11 years old (although I would also like to see him enrolling in school at 8 or 9 tbh), LWJ offers to pay for his education but asks the Wen siblings not to reveal his identity as a benefactor. so A-Yuan only knows someone in the Lan Sect saw potential in him and... offered him a scholarship? I guess?

*

- he enrolls under the name Lan SiZhui and tries to find out more as he grows and learns. his suspicions fall on LXC at first, because he’s very kind and pleasant to talk to and he frequently visits the school even though he’s not a teacher. then he suspects LQR or one of the elders to be his benefactor. but when he enters the third year and he’s finally allowed to study with the Qin Language Master (either that or an Array Master or even Spellwork Master, you choose) LWJ... A-Yuan knows.

- so A-Yuan spends roughly two years trying to crack LWJ’s exterior... but it’s actually easy bc LWJ is very fond of him. yet, the elusive teacher doesn’t even try to talk about WWX with him. nobody does. Wen Qing looks after A-Yuan while he’s at school, but they have to pretend they don’t know each other: all the school staff knows she’s a Wen but none of the students have a suspect; if their families were to discover this fact, they would take the children away from the school in retaliation against LQR for having betrayed the alliance by protecting a Wen.

- A-Yuan spends a lot of time with her anyway, sharing meals and gossip in the medical wing late at night. he also tries to injure himself at times during night hunts so that he can meet with her and be scolded by her. it is a delicate balance and a dangerous game they’re playing, but only LWJ knows about it. not even LQR is aware that A-Yuan is a Wen: he trusted his nephew when LWJ told him he found a promising child to bring to the cultivation world and he trusted him.

- Lan JingYi was also “found” in a similar way and he adopted the Lan name and lives with LXC during the summer bc he doesn’t have a family. OuYang ZiZhen is one of the few representing his Sect while Jin Ling leads the way for his Sect and its many members. Jin Ling tries to be a rival to A-Yuan so bad (just bc A-Yuan seems perfect, not bc he’s a Wen. only Lan JingYi knows about that) but they end up being friends.

*

- Jiang FengMian leads Yunmeng as a Sect Leader while Madam Yu teaches how to wield spiritual weapons. JC was born without a golden core, but WWX sacrificed it for him with a forbidden spell and developed demonic cultivation to balance the absence of his core. LQR saw potential in him and offered him an opportunity to form another golden core... but his attempts failed miserably and WWX graduated following the demonic path before studying to become a teacher himself to explore other cultivation methods.

- Jin GuangShan’s alive and kicking [*cough*sons from staircases*cough*] at the top of Lanling and three of his bastards kids are teachers: JGY, MXY, and Qin Su.

- Nie MingJue rules over Qinghe and sent Nie ZongHui as a teacher and protector of the students from their Sects. Nie HuaiSang visits sometimes to discuss Sect matters with him

- LQR’s older brother is the head of Gusu and only LWJ is a teacher, taking his mother’s place (I envision his mother as an outcasts of sorts, similarly to Trelawney, but less............you know. we still love a cryptid woman in this house tho. basically she was kept away bc she knew too much and went mad with the knowledge she held and vowed to never speak again or something + also I like the idea of LWJ teaching in a secluded place. not necessarily a tower, but I remember Lupin’s office to be quite fetching nonetheless and the Jinghi can still keep all of its minimalist furniture and still be cooler than anything else ever existing in-universe).

*

- when WWX escapes from prison, the first thing he wants is to find the Wens. the teachers think he’s after Wen Qing and they make sure to destroy every corpse surrounding the school so that WWX cannot summon them. night-hunting is put on hold for the entire year (which would be a parallel with quidditch championship being shut down... also sports being put on hold bc of an emergency sounds oddly familiar...)

- JC still has his brother’s dizi, protected under spells in one of his mother’s cabinets at the school... but Jin Ling is a silly boy and wants to prove to his friends that he knows that his grandma Madam Yu is hiding something important in her office. so during a late exploration night after curfew, the juniors find the cabinet, take the dizi to inspect it and flee the corridors. Madam Yu finds them first, but LWJ defends them and feign ignorance when the woman demands to be the one punishing them. LWJ then asks Jin Ling to give him the dizi and the boy begrudgingly does as the teacher says.

*

- people start disappearing soon after. one by one, people from MoLing and Baling from the school staff vanish into thin air, then it’s the Jin and Jiang’s turn. By the time LXC disappears as well, LWJ gets worried but he trusts his brother.

- Jin GuangShan’s however, after his younger son’s disappearance, point his finger against the Nie Sect and its dangerous method of cultivation: why nobody of the Nie Sect had disappeared? the culprit must be one of theirs! and if MXY cannot be found, then the Jin Sect will demand reparations from Nie MingJue himself... with his life.

- when the dizi disappears from LWJ’s office, JGY suggests the Yiling Patriarch has finally made his way inside the school and that maybe he’s after the disappearance of so many cultivators and students. then, when the dizi is found among Wen Qing’s possessions, LQR expels her from the school to save himself (?) and his Sect from being accused of shielding someone hiding the Yiling Patriarch... but she is able to snatch the dizi and flee, promising A-Yuan to be back for him when nobody is watching.

*

- ...nobody aside from Jin Ling, who sees Wen Qing embracing “A-Yuan” one last time. the heir of LanLing demands an explanation from his best friend, asking him why that woman had called him with a different name and why was he talking with such familiarity to a Wen dog even though he knew what the Wens had done to his family. how JZX, his father, had died because of a Wen and how his mother had died because of WWX. on top of that, if Wen Qing was really helping WWX, then it was still a Wen’s fault if his uncle MXY was now missing!

- feeling betrayed, Jin Ling disappears on his own volition and Jin GuangShan accuses the Yiling Patriarch of having abducted even his grandson now. the rest of the juniors look for Jin Ling and they travel into the night until they find a lead: JC, apparently, has found a way to lure WWX out by calling the sword-spirit Suibian through his lend-me-down version of a golden core. feeling someone “pulling” him in, WWX was certainly bound to come back and meet with the heir of YunmengJiang , right? (is this the equivalent of the Patronus thingie? maybe not?)

- the juniors figure out that Jin Ling would follow his uncle JC and so they follow the man as well. they end up where everything started, in the Burial Mounds. but Jin Ling has arrived there even before his own uncle. the juniors see WWX holding an unconscious Jin Ling in his arms when JC arrives wielding Sandu. they duel and in the cave there are a lot of ancient corpses WWX can order around with his dizi. JC is close to have the upper hand... when LWJ enters the cave and knocks JC to one of the walls in WWX’s defense.

- [just like in the movie, I would like the narration to be hinting at LWJ having helped WWX all along. even if there were to be POV from LWJ’s part up until this moment, I would still not let it show he’s still in love with WWX. (eg: is he were to look at an old photo with WWX, maybe LWJ’s POV would show him tossing the picture aside and A-Yuan would accidentally see the scene and the POV would switch... so the kid would assume LWJ had beef with WWX instead)]

*

- A-Yuan, who up until then has never had any reason to think of WWX as anything but a menace to the cultivation world, feels winded. why does his mentor, his father figure, his benefactor... side with a criminal? and why does WWX have the dizi? did Qing-Jie really give it to him? but wasn’t she framed? the dizi must have been planted in her closet when they found it... right?

- LWJ tries to explain that WWX was not behind the disappearances. and that Wen Qing had not taken the dizi from LWJ’s office: Nie ZongHui had. After so many people disappeared, after Jin GuangShan’s accusations against the Nie Sect, Nie ZongHui panicked and wanted to protect his Sect. and since he knew LWJ was hiding something... since he knew how LWJ and WWX were close during their youth... he snooped around until he found the dizi and planted it on the only person every teacher was suspicious of: Wen Qing.

- Wen Qing, after being framed, seeks out WWX and helps him hide in the Burial Mounds, taking down the barriers the cultivation world has set around the area. she then sent a message to LWJ telling him that JC was being lured as well by WWX into the cave to talk... but that Jin Ling had attacked first.

- tired and still incredulous about being finally, finally free, WWX himself explains the truth about the Wen Remains and what he had done to save them. LWJ holds him tight as the other explains that he cannot use resentful energy as he used to and that -when he had tried to protect himself from Jin Ling’s attacks using the dizi- his first attempt had knocked down the kid. JC had found him at the worst possible moment, really.

- but then... who was behind the disappearances? then appears Su She. who had followed the juniors pretending to be invested in their well-being.

*

- the first cultivators to disappear were from MoLing after all, but not because they were abducted... but because they were the one abducting people to begin with. leaving out cultivators from the Nie Sect had been done only to satisfy Jin GuangShan’s request to find Nie MingJue at fault: the man’s only sin being that he would have never voted in favor of Jin GuangShan for the position of Chief Cultivator (something like the Minister of Magic, I suppose??) wishing to get more power for his Sect, Su She accepted to give an opening for Jin GuangShan’s plan... after being ordered as much by JGY.

- JGY... who had been very quick to “suggest” WWX was behind the disappearances after finding out the dizi Madam Yu and LWJ were hiding had disappeared.

- LWJ duels with Su She, but eventually has to take a step back after the other uses a transportation talisman and disappears himself. if they let him go he will tell everyone that WWX is back, that LWJ is with him and they they both took JC and the juniors as hostages. a siege will be called upon them and they need to flee ASAP.

*

- WWX takes them to Wen Ning’s and A-Yuan is really confused. if it’s true that WWX helped the Wen Remains, then it’s probably right to assume that WWX and Wen Ning were friends... but why did that never occur to him? why neither Wen Qing nor her brother told him anything??

- Wen Ning cries of happiness upon seeing WWX and they embrace for a long time. Wen Qing is there and has put barriers around their apartment in Yiling to protect them from being found. there are spirits (invisible to the commoners) lurking around and flying in the sky, prodding at every window and door. A-Yuan looks out for danger close to the widows, trying to find a solution... and also as a way to stay away from his family for a bit as he tries to figure the truth out all on his own.

- however, he cannot help himself from listening in on what is being told, not with Lan JingYi asking a million questions per minute to an exhausted Yiling Patriarch. Jin Ling and JC are still unconscious on the sofa and A-Yuan holds his friend’s hand by the window for comfort -more for himself than for the other boy- when he learns that Wen Ning defended WWX by accidentally killing Jin Ling’s father JZX 13 years back. and then how, in one last attempt to save her own step-brother, even Jiang YanLi had died in the explosion that should have destroyed Burial Mounds completely.

- WWX had seen her only at the very last minute, dragging her body over to the mostly ruined cave before he could lose his senses to prevent her to turn into a vengeful corpse. to preserve her body until other Sects could arrive. he had truly no idea his sister wanted to talk to him and he accepted to go to prison for it.

- (JC had been the one to find his sister’s corpse and WWX’s unconscious body in the cave 13 years ago. he cried and took both of them back. after his sister and brother-in-law’s funeral, soon after WWX’s incarceration, JC revealed his mother he had found the dizi. she decided to hide it in the school, where nobody could have found it, all to prevent the rise of another demonic cultivator. WWX’s sword was believed to have been destroyed in the explosion... only JC can feel its existence through his lend-me-down golden core. but he doesn’t reveal this to anyone.)

- WWX reveals he should have been brought to the “magical prison” (maybe on Phoenix Mountain?) but he was instead trapped within the dungeons of Koi Tower, the ancient residence belonging to Jin Ling’s family. Jin Ling had spent most of his life there... unaware that his uncle WWX was there.

- WWX also tells them that someone helped him run away, a man younger than him that used to keep him company in the shadows, listening to his stories. someone who brought Suibian back to him... even if he would not be able to wield it without a golden core (he tried in school under LQR’s tutelage a la “Legilimens lessons” you feel me?).

- WWX has met with this person for a long time, even if he cannot be sure how many years exactly. maybe five or less. still, he would like to find this person and repay him in kindness, even if he doesn’t know what his name is. when asked to describe him, WWX tells them his eyes had been shut close all along with talismans and that he would be able to recognize the man only by voice alone.

- Jin Ling is awake by the time the story ends and squeezes A-Yuan’s hand back. they both discovered horrible things about their families and they can barely share a glance between them before they start silently crying. LWJ notices and steps in to try to comfort them... but Jin Ling asks him why he helped WWX instead. demanding to know if he helped him 13 years ago in destroying his family as well.

*

- LWJ only looks back at WWX and smiles as he shakes his head. then the two of them reveal they had lived together for a while in secret before the fallout. they even got married without anyone but Wen Ning and Wen Qing knowing, just right after the war (Sunshot Campaign)... before WWX’s control over the resentful energy grew unstable and he had to flee to prevent LWJ to be caught in the aftermath of his actions.

- WWX pretended he didn’t love LWJ anymore and asked to be left alone. heartbroken but still mindful of the other’s boundaries, LWJ thought he didn’t have any right to control WWX and let him go. in the following year or two, WWX found a home with the Wen Remains and defended them until the end.

- LWJ had tried to defend them from the hatred festering the cultivation world from within... but treaded maybe too carefully in the attempt not to disrespect his father and the elders of his family.

- when the Burial Mounds exploded, LWJ disappeared to help the Wens find new homes instead of lending his hand in containing the magical power from spilling over into the non-cultivation world. this was seen as an insult from his family’s standpoint and he was forced into seclusion for years. so while WWX was trapped in a jail covered in suppression talismans, LWJ had been forced into a prison of his own, in a freezing cave where he had to focus all of his attention on developing his cultivation in order to survive such temperatures.

- this led both of them to develop a trauma they don���t know if they will ever be able to overcome, unless they learn to live with its consequences one step at a time. during seclusion, LWJ figured that WWX had lied to him, but that he had been too in love and to young to see the truth at the time. so after he left seclusion he looked once more for A-Yuan, who WWX had loved like a son, and was willing to adopt him... but the child already had a family and it would have been cruel to separate him from them.

- that was why he offered to pay for his studies and never wanted to be found out... but A-Yuan was too smart not to find out and so LWJ allowed himself to hope for a future when he could tell the boy the truth. he wouldn’t dare to hope for WWX to ever leave prison, but he could still dream to see him again.

- at the end of the touching story, JC punches LWJ square on the jaw. he was still weak and couldn’t handle the dizziness, but he had listened to everything and now is furious with LWJ. he demands to know why he didn’t tell anyone WWX and him were married; why he thought possible that such a lovelorn idiot like JC’s brother could ever not be in love with LWJ after obsessing over him for the entirety of their academic career. JC and the entire Yunmeng would have helped them! JC would have even convinced Madam Yu to wield Zidian to protect them and the Wens if necessary! why did they have to do everything by themselves?!

- WWX finally sits close to his brother and lets him punch his chest and arms as much as he wants, until the younger man collapses back on the sofa, exhausted. A-Yuan observes all of this and yet he cannot understand: he doesn’t remember WWX at all, nor to have ever lived in Burial Mounds. he will not trust WWX until he finds out the truth by himself.

- Wen Qing, ever so practical, reminds them they have the entire cultivation world breathing on their necks and that no amount of family drama will save them from execution if they keep hiding doing nothing. that’s when LWJ receives a spiritual butterfly (this is the Patronus thingie! I guess??) from his brother LXC: the butterflies goes under the radar and slips inside the barriers set by Wen Qing easily; it says that “Nie MingJue is innocent and that JGY is helping them”.

- none of them could see how that’s possible, since it was JGY the one ordering Su She to kidnap all of those people just to give Jin GuangShan an opportunity to mess with the Nie Sect. yet, LWJ trusts his brother and decides to send another spiritual butterfly in response, asking where they should meet with LXC.

*  

- while they wait, they eat and try to get along. the Wen siblings distract the kids while WWX and LWJ talk by themselves for a while. they need some alone time and they move to the guest bedroom to figure things out (i doubt they would go for the papapa after all that distance, longing, exhaustion and touch-starvation... especially because last time they saw each other WWX told LWJ he didn’t love him anymore. but... you know.... they did miss each other a lot, and WWX desperately needs a shower, so.......................... yeah.)

- Wen Qing coax the juniors close with food and tells them all sorts of stories about the infamous Yiling Patriarch and how he didn’t even know how to properly cook for the Wen Remains. she tells them how interested he was in the non-cultivation world (Arthur vibes anyone??) and how he was the one teaching the Wens how to use all sorts of common objects, like cars and toasters, washing machines and ovens. Wen Ning sadly suggests that maybe WWX had already imagined how they would need such knowledge for when they were going to leave the cultivation world for good. everyone becomes somber afterwards.

- Jin Ling is still wary of Wen Ning, but he accepts his food and doesn’t try anything funny. Lan JingYi asks Wen Qing to teach him how to make a television work and he eventually blasts the volume up until he wakes JC and receives a knock on the head for the trouble. OuYang ZiZhen starts flipping through the romance novels Wen Ning collects and gets hooked on at least three of them at the same time bc none of them are related to the cultivation world. A-Yuan spends time with Wen Ning and they promise to talk about everything that happened as soon as this nightmare will be over.

*

- the following morning: the kids are sprawled on the floor, JC somewhat surrounded by them and cushioning their heads with his limbs; Lan JingYi slips and calls him “dad” for some reason; Jin Ling boinks his head with a fist and tells him he already has A-Yuan as a cousin and he doesn’t need another one; A-Yuan sobs a little when a sleepy JC tells the kids he has enough love for everyone; OuYang ZiZhen declares he wants to be a cousin too; Wen Qing slips the equivalent of Veritaserum down JC’s open mouth as he snores and they ask him all sorts of questions just to mess with him.

- all is well and the wangxian lovebirds come out of their room: all combed out and clean, WWX looks almost a respectable member of society, but dressed in non-cultivation clothes he still looks too skin for comfort. Suibian held close, LWJ’s hand in his, WWX properly introduces himself and asks for forgiveness.

- still under the effects of the potion, JC reveals that he’s just glad he’s still alive and as annoying as ever. WWX cries of happiness and LWJ has never looked more serene and moved since A-Yuan got to know him properly.

- right then, a spiritual butterfly (a shouting one! like the Howlers this time around!) passes through the window of the apartment and only says: “they’re coming. hold onto Suibian, all of you”. the group has barely enough time to huddle around the sword when the windows of the flat explode and spirits swarms their way inside!

- the sword activates (like a Portkey!) and they get sucked in through a passage until they reach a dungeon in Qinghe Nie. WWX realizes the engravings in the metal had been slightly changed to accommodate a transportation spell that would be invisible to the eye. LWJ takes his sword and point it at their host... but he only finds his fellow teacher MXY. for a moment he had thought the butterfly had come from JGY, because that had been the man’s voice screaming at them to take Suibian... but he couldn’t be sure. spiritual butterflies only speak to the one they are directed to, so nobody heard when the message had been opened aside from him.

- but... what did MXY have to do with all of this? the younger teacher doesn’t speak, simply gesturing them to follow along. then they reach the throne chamber through a secret corridor and there they find... NHS. who finally explains to them what is happening.

* (flashback)

- NMJ and JGY had planned to stop Jin GuangShan’s plan to take over the non-cultivation world. initially they thought they could postpone the inevitable by letting NMJ voting against the Jin Sect Leader in the election for Chief Cultivator... but then the pig ordered JGY to find dirt on NMJ and to orchestrate something to trigger a new war between Sects.

- JGY asks Su She (who he knows he’s a spy under Jin GuangShan’s wing) to start taking people away from the school and help him “frame” the Nie cultivators. JGY has full permission from NMJ to do so and LXC is informed as well. LXC pretends to be “kidnapped” and protects the teachers, students, and members of the staff that had been taken away in the meantime.

- JGY needs to take one specific person out of the school (out of sight from his father’s spies): his brother MXY, who had learned how to use transportation talismans long ago. MXY gives JGY some low-level talismans for Su She and his cronies from MoLing, just to make his older brother appear more trustworthy to the spie. but he’s otherwise preoccupied with perfecting a spell to lead an activated Suibian (aka, the Portkey) all the way in Qinghe.

- JGY needs MXY to finish the “receiving end” of the spell and the array that would have welcomed the Yiling Patriarch back. and to achieve that JGY has to sneak MXY out without people from the Jin Sect suspecting him.

- Qin Su conveniently “suggests” to Su She to take MXY away for good measure: she got news from her brothers of their plan to dethrone their father and she’s on board. so her suggestion was taken seriously by Su She and he himself sneaks MXY out of the school despite the (uuuuuuuuh) lockdown (??? too soon? too soon)

- Jin GuangShan now has what he wanted: an opportunity to seek NMJ out... but Nie ZongHui panics and steals WWX’s dizi, planting it in Wen Qing’s belongings. JGY knows his father will still try to ignore the WWX situation in order to pick on NMJ no matter what... but if the cultivation world hears about how the Jin Sect didn’t care if the Yiling Patriarch was behind the disappearances... JGY knows a siege will come for his father all right, but it will come for him and his siblings too.

- so JGY suggests WWX is the one behind the kidnappings, reminding his father -this way- how the entire Sect will be under scrutiny if he refuses to acknowledge the disappearance of the dizi. JGY doesn’t want for the name of Jin to be followed by hatred and disgust just like it happened with the Wens.

- his father luckily catches up on the tension in the room and for the time being accepts to look for WWX like the others instead of trying to come for NMJ’s head (ahahah)

- while MXY works on the array to activate Suibian from afar, LXC is confident LWJ will find WWX all on his own and convince him to help them. but in case LWJ will fail in convincing him... well, activating Suibian they will still be able to summon WWX whether he likes it or not. but LXC doesn’t have time to send the butterfly that LWJ has already left the school (after receiving Wen Qing’s message). so the little butterfly looks for LWJ for the entire night before he finds him... and a bunch of children (including JC).

- which is unexpected, but LXC trusts his brother. he informs JGY and the two of them entrust to MXY the task to send another butterfly to LWJ, activate Suibian, and welcome the group in Qinghe. all while LXC, JGY and NMJ meet in Gusu to plan a siege against Jin GuangShan.

* (end of flashback)

- NHS finally reveals how he had been the one suggesting MXY to give Suibian back to WWX after transforming it into a (raw and unpolished) transportation talisman before freeing him from Koi Tower (roughly at the beginning of the school year). MXY would have needed more time to finish the work on Suibian, but rumors had it WWX was soon to be executed bc now useless to Jin GuangShan after 13 years.

- tense under the scrutiny, MXY remains silent as WWX slowly falls at his feet and thanks him for keeping him company all of those years. MXY still refuses to speak when WWX marvels at the wonderful job he had done with Suibian as he kneels in front of him and tries to take one of the younger man’s gloved hands in his.

- “Finally, Yiling Patriarch,” utters MXY as he graciously accepts WWX’s offer and takes his hand. but WWX tenses, trying to take his hand back, still kneeling in front of MXY, who is smiling down at him.

- “You’re not him,” is all WWX is able to say before Xue Yang reveals his real identity (the changing-faces thingie is apparently called “face-changing technique” and works here in place of the Polyjuice potion). XY activates Suibian (still in WWX’s hand) once more and disappears with WWX.

*

- now that he has the whole story (and the Yiling Patriarch all for himself to play with!), XY can go back to Jin GuangShan and be given his two fierce corpses back (SL & XXC), who had been held captive for experiments in Koi Tower.

- XY took MXY’s place upon discovering JGY’s younger brother had secretly let the Yiling Patriarch run away with an unfinished transportation talisman. Jin GuangShan’s ordering him to keep the traitor MXY under control and to find WWX. retracing the spell-work backwards only from MXY’s notes would have taken ages so XY hid MXY behind a mirror in a secret chamber, torturing him to force him to tell him how to find WWX. but MXY refused over and over again.

- XY transformed his features into MXY’s ones, but his missing pinky would have jeopardized his mission, so he wore stuffed gloves on both hands, shrugging it off as a stylistic choice. his acting so spot on, not even Qin Su or JGY noticed anything missing, not even NHS, MXY’s best friend, or Jin Ling.

- but JGY never told him the whole story. and now that he knew the truth about Jin GuangShan’s intention to conquer the non-cultivation world... now XY has leverage to get what he wants and flee with his (partners?? lovers?? guinea pigs??) fierce corpses.

- working on a double array to activate Suibian (whatever that means) took almost an entire school year, but in the end he got to drag WWX all the way back to Koi Tower... where the siege will soon take place.

*

- WWX gets nails in his skull (which I assume could work in place of an Imperius Curse, even if he’s not a fierce corpse) in order to defend Koi Tower from the siege by organizing the corpses against 3Zun’s army of cultivators.

- LWJ looks for his brother as the others and NHS look for more help. they still don’t know WWX is in Koi Tower or for who XY I start working, but NHS knows Jin GuangShan will not wait for the siege to take him down so he suggest they move to LanLing.

- the juniors are exhausted and yet they fly to Koi Tower in the attempt to warn LXC of what had just occurred, when they hear the dizi Chenqing summoning the dead. the battle begins, but doesn’t culminate until 3Zun show up and destroy most of WWX’s corpses.

- WWX himself is fighting against the nails in his skull and his demonic cultivation is deeply unstable, so much his corpses crumble down easily enough. still, there are so many: Koi Tower must have harvested them against the laws of the cultivation-world (XY being one of the mad scientists/magicians behind the project under Jin a GuangShan’s guidance... all in order to terrorize the commoners and eventually rule over the non-cultivation world)

- eventually, LWJ is able to face WWX and take him down, forcing him to come to his senses after taking the nails out. Jin GuangShan is captured and will face trial. Madam Jin takes over the Sect and makes JGY her General.

*

- during the battle, A-Yuan gets hit in the head and the other juniors try to use a spare transportation talisman (disapparate) to get him back to Wen Qing... but they don’t know where she is fighting and so they go back to Cloud Recesses.

- A-Yuan gets (Splinched) injuried even more and the pain reminds him of his past, of WWX and the rest of his family in the lush mountain of Burial Mounds.

- the school is empty, but Jin Ling finds a way back to his uncle JGY’s office where he knows there are medicinal herbs and talismans they can use. inside, they only find XY who’s looking for something by the desk in a hurry. XY tries to kill them (with an hex??) with a curse... but Madam Yu saves them by capturing him first with Zidian.

- Jin Ling embraces his grandma and explains what happened and where JC and WWX are, but he also insists on the need to save A-Yuan. once that is settled, Jin Ling forces XY to tell him where his younger uncle is -fearing he may be dead- by pointing his father’s sword at him.

- after getting what he wants, Jin Ling runs to MXY’s office and finds the bronze mirror... but he cannot step inside of it. he wishes and wishes and wishes, but nothing happens! he slides on the floor and cries his heart out.

*

- WWX and LWJ arrive with JC and Wen Qing at the school. Madam Yu is cold towards WWX and accuses him of destroying their family and of disrespecting the debt he owed them. WWX listens carefully and then embraces her anyway. it doesn’t last long, but he doesn’t care.

- LWJ steps inside JGY’s office and asks XY to tell him where MXY is. the other offers to tell him only if LWJ helps him find something in JGY’s room: a key to the (magical, I guess) cell where SL and XXC have been trapped.

- LWJ tells him they already freed them and that they are waiting for him downstairs. restless and eager to meet them, XY tells him nobody aside from someone with MXY’s face can open the mirror door in MXY’s office.

- tired of all that nonsense, LWJ drags XY over to the office, Zidian still cracking and squeezing him in place like a snake, and forces him to perform his imitation magic once more.

- WWX runs behind them and they find Jin Ling sobbing on the floor. WWX smashes XY’s now transformed face into the mirror and they barge inside. MXY is there, some fingers missing, a lost ear, too skinny for comfort, traumatized beyond recognition. but he immediately recognizes WWX and weakly allows the older man to embrace him and hold him tight.

- A-Yuan sees all of this, after Wen Qing got to work her magic on him and starts to cry. he too once had been too skinny and weak, he too had been saved by WWX and then once more by LWJ.

- he remembers everything now. LWJ hugs him tight as they made their way to WWX and MXY. A-Yuan holds WWX tight as MXY marvels at him.

- “Is this... is this A-Yuan? Wen Yuan?” MXY asks, smiling even in his weakened state, “Your dad told me so much about you... so it was you all along, Lan SiZhui?”

- and even if MXY had never been anything but one of his many weird teachers, now that A-Yuan finally sees him after one entire year, knowing he kept WWX company in Koi Tower for so many years... A-Yuan cannot do anything but feel a great deal of affection for him too. so he hugs MXY as well and he laughs as WWX and LWJ hold him tight.

*

[what a ride. what a fucking ride. I want 150k words for this but I cannot do it. any volunteers? anyway you can interpret the WWX/MXY thingie as strictly platonic, but you are talking to a wangxianyu shipper so........yeah. no but really, I just wanted these poor characters to be happy. also, even if this is a “HP: POA” inspired au, I’ve always loved the mindfuck that was discovering the truth about Mad-Eye Moody in “HP: GOF” so..... sue me.]

[XY will face a trial don’t you worry]

[ignore all the plot holes, Su She would be proud of me for them]

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #307

“you lie so much, you believe yourself”

How long has it been since you kissed someone? Like, two years or so. What level are you on Farmville? Never played it. What are you looking forward to in the next year? I hope Covid just withers away, dammit. I truly, truly hope this vaccine is effective. And that people start wearing their GODDAMN masks. Do you use a lot of emoticons? Not really nowadays. Would you ever climb a mountain? No. Even if my legs were capable of handling that, I'd be too afraid of an avalanche. Colons or equal signs for your smiley face’s eyes? Colons. When was the last time you swam in a lake? A looooong time ago. If you could have anything right now, what would you want? It'd be great to chill at Sara's house honestly, I miss that. What’s your relationship status? Single and I think finally starting to truly accept I need to be right now. I wouldn't want to date myself in my current position, so I shouldn't expect anyone else to. When was the last time someone asked you your age? On my birthday when I mentioned in group therapy that I was trying to make it an especially good day about myself. When was the last time you danced? Very, very poorly with Sara years ago lmao. Has anyone ever tried to physically fight you? Someone snatched my arm and yanked me down to look her in the eyes in HS because she was a jealous bitch back then telling lies, but idk if her intention was to actually try to start a physical fight. Are you avoiding someone? No. What’s your favorite primary color? Red. What do you have pierced? Just my ears and bottom lip now. :/ I want morrrreeee. I'm forever tilted that so many of my piercings closed when I was hospitalized. What is your favorite dog breed? I find pugs to be very cute, but I do not support their breeding whatsoever so would never buy one. Besides them, I have a definite bias towards beagles. In your honest opinion, what is the scariest sea creature you know? Fucking Christ, giant squids. Terrifying. Do you believe there is just one love for everyone, or…? No. There are way, way, WAY too many people on this planet for that. What natural disaster scares you the most? Tornados. What outrageous career could you see yourself wanting to do? Define an "outrageous" career... but I can't visualize myself doing anything very unordinary. In what way would you want to help change the world? I truly hope I can make some considerable amount of contributions to natural conservation and animal education. When driving down the road looking for an address do you turn the radio low? I don't drive, but I know I would, considering I can't concentrate on driving if the radio is on anyway. What do you think of when you look at the stars? How little I and my problems really are. It gives me perspective. If you could say ONE THING to the president, what would it be? Well, Biden just got into office, so I can't really say yet. We'll see what he does. What Disney princess are you most like? Personality wise, I mean. Uh. I'unno. Maybe Snow White because animals? haha Do you believe in astrology? Not in the slightest. Do you look into people’s eyes when you talk to them? I try to, anyway, but I tend to find it very uncomfortable, and I never know if I'm offering too little or too much. So I have trouble maintaining it, especially with people I don't know. You can have one of the following two things: trust or love. Pick one. Trust. What do you think is the most important thing in this life is? Hm, that's a deep one. Perhaps the understanding that you are just as important as the next person and that we should work as one to make this one life that we know of worthwhile. Make the world better than when you entered it. What is your favorite shade of blue? Pastel blue. I just like pastels in general. When's the last time you bought something just because? I don't buy things "just because." If I actually have money to spend, I use it with motivation behind it. What Ozzy lyric describes you best? WHOA NOW HUNNY you are asking the WRONG person because I can just about name his entire discography so there are waaaay too many song lyrics to dig through and pick one for myself. Probably something from "Dreamer," after a short moment's consideration. When was the last time you went for a walk without a specific destination in mind? Not since Sara and I walked down the path near her house. We didn't plan on when we would turn around to go back. Do you daydream? Only all the time. What was your last daydream about? Ha, thanks to that other question, visiting Sara again. It'd be nice, but yeah, financial limitations and corona. Ever won the lottery? Bitch I wish. What was the most important decision you made that screwed up your life the most? Ugh... I'd say putting all my self-worth, happiness, and source of peace into one person was pretty big but also fucking stupid. What is love really about? Don't ask a romantic this and expect a non-essay, haha. But to keep it as short as possible, it's about mutual care, the desire to grow together, trust, openness, the peace to be vulnerable with the other... It's about a lot. It's such a deep, beautiful feeling. What's the most you ever made in a year? lol Do you have an online diary? Only through surveys, really. What's the biggest pot you've won in poker? I haven't played poker since I was a kiddo, so idr. What Metallica lyric most describes your life? Who wrote this and knows my favorite bands????? Like damn. There's a good handful of the sadder songs I relate to; I did some brief digging through ones I know I relate to, and perhaps the one I feel closest is within "The Unforgiven II": "The door is locked now, but it's open if you're true. If you can understand the me, then I can understand the you." Aaaand now I'm gonna go binge Metallica 'cuz it's been too long, thanks. How many concerts have you been to? Just one. :/ Which one was your favorite? I've only seen Alice Cooper, and it was great. What's the most illegal thing you've done? Pirated stuff, oops. Ever get busted by the cops? What for? No. How many pairs of rollerblades do/did you own? I doubt I have any anymore. Ever wear out a CD? What was it? Ahaha... There is some scratching on my mom's copy of Ozzmosis thanks to me playing it so much on my old CD player. Ever have a tornado in your town? Well my city is pretty damn big, so yes, in some spots. I don't think my immediate proximity has ever seen one, though. If you HAD to pick ONE song to listen to for the rest of your life, and that would be the only song you ever heard, what would it be? I would absolutely need something motivating if that was the case, so most likely "Life Won't Wait" by Ozzy Osbourne. That song touches me so deeply and gives me the courage to do what I can to tackle life and try not to waste it. I know, I'm doing a great job at that. Ever heard of Shinedown? Hell yeah; I was actually listening to them in the car earlier. What does your lawn furniture consist of? We have nothing out there. Ever live off of canned soup and ramen noodles for weeks at a time? Er, no. But when I got my tongue pierced, I had to survive off of popsicles and... I somehow forgot the main thing I ate???? How?????? But anyway it was something that didn't involve much or any chewing, either. I actually lost a little bit of weight in that week or so because eating solids was impossible, and I didn't enjoy "eating" liquids either. That piercing (snake eyes, btw) was soooo so cute tho. I really wish it hadn't started to damage my teeth, or else I'd still have it. What musical group/artist do you love, but hide from other people? I used to be kinda embarrassed by artists like Melanie Martinez when you compare her music to my adoration of metal, but at my age now, I don't give a damn. I like what I like and won't hide it. What is the first meal you remember eating? ... Does anyone actually remember this??? What's in your keepsake box/scrapbook? Good God, a lot. I haven't looked in it in a very, very long time though. It brings a usually painful nostalgia. What did you score on your SATs? I don't even remember if I took them. I THINK I took the ACT instead? I don't even know the difference. When was the last time you saw a rainbow? Hm. Been a while. It's not like I'm out of the house a lot, especially nowadays with quarantine. What colors is your lava lamp? I wish I had a lava lamp, they're rad and really relaxing. What's the strangest thing you've ever hung on the wall? Nothing, really. Can you name every place you've ever had sex? I mean I can but I'm not going to. What's the most important thing you ever lost and never found again? My favorite childhood cat Charcoal. He was an outdoor and intact male, so it was very normal for him to eventually vanish to rove. Please keep your cats indoors. What forms of birth control have you used? The pill and, uh, having "barriers." How many webpages have you created, and can you still find them all? I made Wetpaint sites for my two RP mobs back in the day, but the site has since been completely revised, so no, they don't exist anymore. I checked outta curiosity I think last year. How many people are in your family portrait? We don't even have a proper family portrait. Ever punched a wall? No. When's the last time you really lost your temper? In some argument with Mom I don't remember. Ever thought you (or a girlfriend) were pregnant, but it was a false alarm? I had massive anxiety over it once, but it was irrational and even I knew that. Not that anxiety cares. If 97 is yes, were you glad or sad? I was very glad when my period came lmao. What was the last conversation you had with someone before they died? When I saw my grandma for the last time, I just let her know that I loved her and that she was so, so strong, and she was. No one could believe how long she warded death off when she finally stopped chemo. What do your drinking glasses look like? We have some more unique cups and mugs, but the majority of them are just plain, slightly angular glasses, some short, some tall. How many bottles/containers are in your medicine cabinet? Oh wow, a lot. We're covered for most potential problems. How many funerals have you been to? Uhhh I think one. Maybe even none, just wakes. What was the last bug you killed and what did you use? An ant, I think? I just used my fingers. How many computers in your household? There are three laptops, but no desktop computers. Ever help to solve a crime? There was one occasion years ago when our neighbor's window was busted overnight and cops came to us to ask for any evidence we might have had, but we didn't have any. Idk what came of it. Ever get pulled over by the cops and get away without a ticket? I've never been pulled over. What was your first legal alcoholic drink? I think it was a margarita, but possibly a daquiri. Ever get published by one of those poetry groups? I fucking wish. I've tried, but to no avail. What's the furthest distance you've moved? Not very far at all. Just to the neighboring town. How many friends from high school/college do you still talk to? Only a few now and then. Girt is the only one I have real conversations with, though. What's the most expensive things your parents ever bought you? Probably the laptop I have right now, but idk. I've never asked how much things they've bought me cost, it seems rude somehow. What's the most expensive thing you've bought? The upcoming revamp of my tattoo. Deposit was $100, and then it's probably going to be another $300-400. I can't afford it all myself; as my birthday gift, Mom is helping me pay for it, but I've got most of it covered thanks to Christmas and birthday money. How many times did you intentionally start to commit suicide? Start to do it? Well, I was trying to run for sharp objects to do it twice, but on each occasion, someone held me back 'cuz they knew I was about to do something rash, so I didn't get very far, thankfully. The only time I fully went through with an attempt was my OD. Ever spent the night in the "loony bin?" How fucking disrespectful to call it that, but whatever. If you put all the instances together, I've been in psych hospitals for around a couple months, maybe more. What is your favorite cover song? Disturbed's cover of "Sound of Silence" is absolutely unbeatable. I'd just about call it a cold hard fact. What's your inspiration? Other's success stories, music, art in general, etc. What's the longest relationship you've been in? Over 3 1/2 years. Did you ever drop out of school? I dropped out of college three times, yikes. Three times is enough; even if I think I want to, I'm never going back. That is just way too much money to keep throwing down the drain, and there's clearly a pattern. Ever raise a child that wasn't your own for more than 3 months? I've never raised a kid period. Strangest medical procedure ever performed on you? Look up what a pilonidal cyst is and know I had one surgically removed. Pretty strange and uncomf. Song that has changed your attitude recently? None, really. What's something that you say a lot to be mean? ... Why would I try to be mean??? Who told you they loved you last? Me mum. Ever had a pet frog? Not technically, no, but as kids, my sister, neighbor, and I saved hundreds, maybe thousands of tadpole eggs from a ditch that was inevitably going to dry out. We transferred them all to a kiddie pool and let them grow naturally, hopping out and into the world whenever they were ready. I wouldn't call them "pets." Your worst enemy? IT'S NO SURPRIIIISE TO MEEEE I AAAAMMM MY OWN WORST ENEMYYYYY Do you believe in karma? No, but I wish it was a thing. What was the last hurtful thing you said to someone? I'm not sure. I certainly try to avoid doing so. Do you love someone enough you'd die for them? There's multiple people. The last song you listened to? I wasn't joking when I said I was gonna go on a Metallica spree, haha. "Of Wolf and Man" is on rn. Your most favorite memory as a kid? Too many, man. If you had the choice to work or not, would you work? Yes. I need something to do that benefits others in one way or another. Ever TRULY wanted to kill someone? I can't say for sure, if I'm being totally transparent. When I found out about Jason's gf after me, I can say with certainty I wanted her dead beyond dead, but I don't know if I wanted to kill her, per se. Just to clarify, no, I don't wish any negativity upon her now. I was certifiably insane before and certainly don't think I am anymore, so... Marvel or DC? I don't care. Do you watch anime subbed or dubbed? Both. I prefer dubbed, BUT only if the voice acting isn't insufferable. I like dubbed just because for me, it's very distracting to have to keep looking down at subtitles. How often do you exercise? I don't... I'm still waiting for Mom to move into her actual room versus the living room couch so I can do WiiFit with some privacy. I'm too uncomfortable to exercise in front of anyone. What is your favorite book series? Warriors will forever have a very special place in my heart. What is your favorite OTP? I will probably ship Rhett and Link for my entire life. Their friendship is truly incredible and so so SOOOOOOO cute. Who is your favorite Harry Potter character? I've never seen the series, actually.

[missbecky]

Ugh, that pink moon, amirite?

Jokes, the moon was beautiful! But the name of the game last night was healing, and ooh wee, did I find the mother load of unresolved trauma. So settle in, this is revelations of childhood trauma. (Serious CW and TW please don’t continue if child abuse or animal abuse triggers you just know that’s the point of this and It sucks)

Because I was focusing on healing last night and the cards were basically like, “your avoiding something.” And I’m like, “oh, of course, the sperm donor that bailed as soon as I was pregnant. Of course, that’s it.”

Nope.

*CW child abuse *

So I’ve already gotten it in my head that I’m healing tonight, tonight is about healing. Side note, I’m trying to pavlov myself to remember my dreams better. So I turn on my pavlov music, and then ask aloud to no one in particular, but it would turn out I was speaking directly to my subconscious. Anyway, I ask, “Can I see what I’m avoiding?” That question went directly to whatever recesses of my mind that are in charge of dreaming.

I don’t remember most of it already. It was like about trans folks, needing to find tea, but the main part was these portals that my dog and my daughter kept going through and I had to go and get them. It was a frustrating endeavor. So that’s when I realize, it wasn’t the baby daddy healing I’m avoiding, it was the OG toxic man in my life, my dad. And kind of my mom too. Basically my whole childhood I never healed from. So none of my relationships were ever going to work out this entire time.

Last cw/tw!! If you can’t read about abuse, please don’t continue!!

But Becky, that legit makes no sense. Yes, I know, I’m getting there. So we have this dog, she’s actually a really good dog, but I cannot get close to this dog. For so many reasons, the one I tell everyone is because our house is too small and we straight up can’t afford a dog (which is the truth, but not the whole truth). There’s also the fact that I can’t get close to any pet because of what my dad did to animals when I was a kid. We never had a pet too long, my dad always got rid of them. For example there was a stray cat that lived around our house. It was basically a pet, and I held it too hard or something and it clawed me, and it’s one of those memories that I don’t know if I actually remember it, or I’ve just been told the story so many times, idk. My dad’s reaction was to kill it. Which I didn’t know, one of my neighbors told me they saw it dead in the street and they were pretty sure it got hit by a car. It was my mom who told me the truth. I wish she had just let me believe it was run over.

But that’s only the tip of the iceberg of my unresolved beef. My dad was highly abusive. Now, in all fairness, I couldn’t tell you just how abusive because I blocked out 95% of my childhood. Nearly everything prior to the age 12. But my dad used to beat me and my brother who is a year younger than me. Mainly my brother though. But I still had to witness it. And no one, not even my mom, helped us. That’s not true, my grandma was the only one who ever stood up to my dad. And then he beat us with a belt right in front of her just to spite her. She never tried again for fear of what he would do, I’m sure.

So my memory issues have long bothered me, since I realized it was a thing. I didn’t realize I was missing memories until I was in my 20s when my cousin told me a story about me that i didn’t even have the foggiest recollection of, it just wasn’t there. Then I began hearing more and more of these stories when I realized I repressed most of my childhood. This has ALWAYS bothered me. I assumed the worst for the cause of my repression.

But tonight, after realizing my dad was my unresolved trauma (the cards weren’t lying when they said I needed to heal something I was avoiding. I straight up don’t even allow myself to think about it), then I began imagining little me having to be witness my brother getting beat. I don’t remember much, mind you, but I know it happened, and I honestly cannot imagine a kid having to go through that. My poor brother got the worst of it, and he’s cursed with crystal clear memory. I don’t know what’s worse, no memory of a childhood, or vivid memories including all the abuse. That’s when I realized it was the abuse that I blocked out because no one ever helped me process it. No one ever taught me how to manage or cope with the trauma. I can only assume my mom never tried as I repressed the memories instead of trying to cope. And I’m realizing, I have a lot to heal from my mom too. And at least I can heal from my dad with him all the way in Ohio, my mom is just down the hall and we’re already having issues. This certainly isn’t going to help anything.

So yeah, the moral of the story is that I woke up bawling today. Awesome.

[avo-gsy]

11/27/20

From Yesterday, I was feeling a disappointed because my little fatass brother said unforgivable shit to me. He didn't do anything, but his words did.

Right after my oldest brother that fucking Demanding Lying Ass Poser threatens me and my life to be perfect. Like having a family because we will become extinct. And also being brainwash by them because they hate my mom's side of the family. I didn't want to leave my mom's side of the family nor hate them by my asshole dad's side of the family's false accuse.

At first, me and that FatAss were calm.

I asked for help without dad's help for changing my brakes from my car. Then he prolong shit I already understand. When he said, "I only knew basic stuff."

I asked him wtf is Basic. He didn't fucking explain it.

He prolong nonsense shit to me.

I want a solid "YES or A NO!"

He prolonging other shits.

I'm like wtf is wrong this fool.

He finally said No.

Then I asked him if I can come by at his house,, but it's my grandma's house.

Anyway, he saying prolonging shit AGAIN! He's still talking about I still need "DAD'S HELP" right from the start I said "WITHOUT DAD'S HELP."

I can change my own brakes because he got the tools at his place.

I stopped him from saying other shits that was so stupid.

He gave me a "NO."

I thank him and cuss him because he is a total bitch.

I thought I was more of a bitch.

And he's just a total stupid bitch.

He called me a nusiance.

I asked him "HOWWW???"

I don't remember being a nusiance to everyone.

If I was nusiance, I would probably end my life and never existed to become a mature adult.

He texted from the next day, but it was hidden deleted message.

I want to know why he delete that message.

I knew too damn well that fatass and that dictator bastard(oldest brother) were onto me.

If my good for nothing father was onto this or rarely my uncle were into this situation.

They're messing the wrong chick here.

That fatass was done talking to me.

I wasn't done. Hell No. I was not done with him.

I said that is true about his true fatass self.

He said to me, " You don't regret your last words before I die."

I'm JusT HEEEELLLLLLL NOOOOO!!!!

NUH HUH! HE DID NOT THREATEN ME ABOUT DEATH. HIS DEATH. HE'S TAKING CARE OF GRANDPA AND GRANDMA! He DARE TALKS TO ME ABOUT DEATH!!!!

I don't regret, but they are not my last words.

He told me I will never know.

I turned the tables on him and said, "You'll never KNOW! You'll never know whenever I will be coming before you die. You'll never know what I will say or do. Goodbye, I will block your ass and your phone number."

So I did.

Then the other day, I was with my mom to drive at his place because she wants to give them gifts.

I saw him. I said that is true about him before he dies without any regrets.

And yet Yesterday, I still did say it. He told me I'm acting a not so grown up. I said, " I'm acting a CHILD???"

He corrected me that I am not a grown up. Not a child.

He's hella stupid. It's the same shit.

My grandma from my father's side misses me a lot because we hung a lot. Well, before that incident with that demanding lying ass poser. Then I went home with my mom.

So, That's what happen to me.

I wanted to check out my happiness.

I wonder if I'm in the wrong.

Well~ What you Look at That...

I have the Devil in reverse in my Present.

Yes, I have accomplished my mission from work.

They offered me no more of Extra Time Work.

I am still sad about that.

They change my work time 10 hours into 12 hours.

I'll be busy this month.

So, I did talked with my fatass little brother.

I don't want to know what his issue, but I already knew too much of him and his issues. He did not provide me evidence after he called me out for his own goods. I gave him evidence which I cussed him out that is true. Only I know his true dark past. I cannot say it here.

That Fatass is already in Hell for seeing what's wrong or what's right. He's not dead....Not yet.

Privacy between family.

The only issues I said it here on Social Media was that they disappoint me in their stupid manners and trying to brainwash me from hating my mom's side of the family. My dad hates my independent hard working aunt for being a top dog. I don't like him what he sees because he himself thinks men should take a lead than women. How dare he see that way when I want to deny everything he views??!!! I didn't want to believe it, but it's true. I cannot decieve my own true self that I was his pawn who agrees on everything he says. He cheated on my mom since 2005. HOW DARE HE AND HIS SIDE THINK THAT WAY!!!???!!!! HOW FUCKING DARE THEY!!!!????!!!!

I'll keep that in mind. I be sure to keep that in MIND.