#i had a good time with this one

[winkle-pickers]

“Do you remember how we met?”

I’ve always loved that Yuugi and Anzu’s origin story is that he gave her a handheld game to try and she promptly got pissed and broke it, and then little Yuugi just laughed it off and brought her an easier one the next day. It’s so them 😭 I love these two so much!!

p.s. PLEASE click to fullsize it tunglr did me so dirty on this one  ಠ_ಠ

[thisisartbylexie]

Reylo + Fireflies for @skywailer

[halfaleagueonward]

It’s gonna be fall soon, and I’m thinking about the light I’ll see each evening as I sit at the bus stop

[riocakes]

steppin outta my comfort zone a bit

[chunsoftie]

HI! If you're still doing those prompts (The non-nsfw ones, sorry for bothering you if you aren't), do you think you could do #1 for jalph?

You’re not bothering me at all, dear! Sorry this took so long, I had finals and other junk. But I hope you enjoy this!

right-to-the-good-part prompts

#1. I have you shoved against the wall and now I can’t stop looking at your mouth.

It goes without saying that you learn your true measure for patience onceyou know Jack Merridew.

Ralph knew this firsthand, from the second he met that shiver ofannoyance he could feel his blood boil underneath his skin and his face breakout. It was hard enough trying to govern everyone on the island – he didn’tneed to keep the taller boy in line, too. Yet, here he was, stuck finishing theshelters and waiting for Jack to stop hunting to help him, again. 

He gritted his teeth as the shelter he was working on feelto the sand, pieces of wood and leaves scattering. Simon blinked at the failureand tried to give a small smile to ease the tension, but Ralph was through. Hescanned the shoreline and huffed.

“He told me he was going to help, but he’s off again with his hunters.”

“Maybe he’ll come after and help fix it?” Simon tried to help and Ralphappreciated it, but the chief shook his head and lookedhopelessly out into the ocean. It had only been what he assumed to be weekssince their descent into the island, but even with the lingering fire on the mountain,there were no ships or planes in sight.

How are we going to get home?

“Simon, go ahead and get yourself a break. I can take it from here.”Ralph watched as Simon gave an eager nod before he made his way into theforest. 

Ralph didn’t know why the other boy always hid there but he wasn’tgoing to question it. He instead tried to create another foundation for theshelter, placing those pieces of wood on top of one another and trying to avoidthe breeze. Glancing towards the sky he could see grey clouds on the horizon,and he knew he’d have to be faster. The boys would need a place to sleep with astorm over their heads.

He could hear a rallying off in the distance and Ralph knew that it wasJack and the others. The dominant battle cries gave it away, and as ifon cue, Ralph found the leader of the hunters jump out from the bushes. Hisface was covered in red and white clay, bony features flashing from beneath thepaint. Jack started to make his way towards Ralph, ushering the other huntersto run off and play.

“We were close in catching a pig, Ralph!” Jack exclaimed, yelling fromalmost halfway across the shore. Ralph barely glanced up as he tried tying astick with a creeper. Jack found an annoyance with this and flung himself onthe sand, inches away.

“Maurice and Roger were close on its sides – of course, I was near thefront. We were cornering it into the shadows, but then one of the other bigguns’  threw their spear too soon and made it dash past the trees ahead of us. If itwasn’t for him we would have had it!”

Ralph again was silent as he focused on the shelter. The sides wereuneven and it bothered him, so he attempted to move to the side to fix it. Jacknarrowed his eyes and leaned in past the shelter.

“Why are you so bent on getting this bloody thing together? I tell youthat we almost had meat, and you-“

“Jack, I’m trying to concentrate.” Ralph replied, a voice so sharp itthrew Jack off guard. 

Ralph moved one of the sticks to an opening of anotherbranch and tried to align it, while Jack fumed silently. Ralph could feel theburning impatience Jack was giving off, but it didn’t faze him. His ownfrustration towards Jack’s apathy was enough to keep him from talking to him.

Jack felt as if his own bitterness was enough to warrant an action so hestood up from the sand, like a king ready to strike a command. Ralph looked upas Jack approached him, his mouth thin.

“If you weren’t so batty over the shelters, you could learn to have funlike the rest of us!”

“I told you I was concentrating, and keep your voice down! There’s noreason for your yelling.” Ralph reasoned, his own will being tested.

Stay calm, stay calm.

“Then don’t just sit there and…” Jack was hardly getting better, his eyesin a mad dash of fury. The red paint matched with his hair, like a little demonthat managed to escape Hell long enough to have its kicks. 

Ralph threw the longleaf in his hand and stood up, chest to chest with Jack. He cursed those extrainches the hunter had on him, but he stood his ground.

“I am actually getting something productive done! I have been trying towork on the shelters, by myself, for days! You and the others run off and catchnothing and then play in the ocean all day and just leave me with this!” Ralphgestured towards the broken shelters. 

Jack bit his lower lip in annoyance butsaid nothing.

“If you actually stayed and helped me it would make things a lotmore easier, and then there’s the fire too…”

“Sucks to the fire.” Jack muttered and Ralph scoffed.

“Right, sucks to the fire when it’s the only thing keeping us alive! If it wasn’t for the fire youwouldn’t be living long enough to catch a pig!”

“And like the shelters are really going to help when the breeze knocksthem over and there’s no point of sleeping in them anyways!” Jack yelled backand Ralph curled his hand in a fist.

Calm, calm, bloody hell, stay calm.

“You act like you know so much better than the rest of us when you putyour energy into nothing and point your finger!” Jack was started to get closerto Ralph, eyes glaring down as Ralph found he had to back up. The chief found himselfbacking up into a tree near the entrance of the forest, with Jack looming overhim.

“You’re just so clever! I betyou couldn’t even catch a pig if a spear was in both of your hands.”

“Now you’re being ridiculous, and watch it, you’re getting too close…”Ralph started to raise his hands over his chest but Jack was already too close. 

He looked down at Ralph and drew a line with his mouth that was a mix of angerand pity. Ralph looked up hesitantly, finding such strong anger in those blueeyes that was mixed with something else, but he couldn’t understand it if hislife depended on it.

“Why are you just…why are you just so…” Jack started to mutter under hisbreath, neither of them breaking contact.

 Ralph was shaking now, so close tothe vision of red, white, and a spectacle of freckles that his breath washitched in his throat. He could feel his mouth grow dry. Jack’s face was soclose, eyes lowering their gaze from Ralph’s gaze to a pair of chapped lips.Ralph licked them in embarrassment, unsure why he grew timid, or why havingJack so close to him was making him feel smaller. He should be pushing himaway, why wasn’t he pushing him away?

“Jack, I…” Ralph started to collect himself before both of them feltsomething small hit their skin. Jack took a finger and pressed his against hisface, looking at the wet drop of water on his finger. They glanced up, seeingthe huge storm cloud above them make their away. Jack blinked as more rain hitagainst his face.

“Bloody…” Jack gritted his teeth, in awareness his mask was ruined. Ralphmade a small laugh as Jack wiped the rain from his cheeks.

“You honestly look better without that rubbish on your face.” Ralph saidand Jack rolled his eyes. The two of them grinned in a synced friendlinessagain as Jack picked up a couple of branches near the unfinished shelter.

“Come on, let’s get this done so we don’t get soaked.”

[bunny-wan-kenobi]

Just saw Guardians of the Galaxy while in vacation in Colorado (woot woot!). I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s ragtag, oddball charm won me over and I laughed so much more than I thought I would. Each of the characters was so distinct, nuanced, and endearingly eccentric, it was hard not to love them, especially the delightful Groot—and yes I’m waiting for them to design little dancing Groots for my dashboard.

They must have had so much fun composing the soundtrack for this movie—I know I had fun with each new revelation. That intro though was PERFECT.

The plot was a bit convoluted at times, but it was all so entertaining that it honestly didn’t matter. It was great seeing a gritty, lived-in universe like Star Wars and Firefly, and it was rollicking good fun with some genuinely heartwarming moments woven in.

[maple-writes]

Dissidia March 2021: Week 2

Thanks again @onmywaytobe for working with me again, I had a lot of fun!

written for @dissidia-writeblr

a little rough but I had a really good time here!

###

Sichoris didn’t waste much time before turning back to Warren and Leo, that same smile on his lips. “You were summoned to this world from your worlds.” What. “But it’s only temporary.” Oh good. “Normally, people who are summoned here are returned in a few weeks.”

A few weeks? They took a nervous sip of their coffee, trying to digest what Sichoris just said. They swallowed and stole a glance at Leo. Suddenly his dream theory didn’t seem all that unlikely.

Sichoris continued, tone dropping serious. “This world is facing a crisis. The magic in this world has gone out of control and is randomly changing people into beings of light or darkness who prey on humans. Some people want to find a way to change the beings back, but Ritania has faced the bitter truth that once changed, no one can change back.” He paused, three footsteps soft on the grass underfoot. “So, we are trying to find a solution to the problem that caused all this. Someone performed the summoning spell, and the leader I work for wants to see if the people who have been summoned have anything that can help us fight the beings.” Again, he smiled. “You’ll be meeting him soon.”

Warren wrenched their face, trying to take in everything that he’d just said. Was this some kind of fairy tale? Sichoris didn’t seem like he could have been lying. He seemed to be speaking earnestly enough. How could he have made all that up anyway? If it were true, something about the way he mentioned fighting the beings though, it made them uneasy. They’d never been all that tough.

Sichoris led them into the city itself, past soldiers stationed at either side of the road. They looked up at the strangers as the little group passed, but none said anything. The paved streets stood bare of foot traffic, mostly empty sidewalks and the occasional patrolling soldier walking up and down.

“Ritania is actually at war at the moment,” Sichoris said, glancing back at them. “So that’s why there are so many soldiers around.”

“War huh?” Warren took a sip of their coffee, more to do something than to actually drink any of it. That explained the soldiers, but if there really was a war going on why was Sichoris so friendly towards them? Two strangers appearing in so close to a main city in the middle of a war… Lucky they hadn’t been captured, or worse.

Leo scowled. “Magic, war… What is this, Harry Potter?”

Warren frowned. “Who’s that?” the name didn’t ring a bell, not even close.

But Leo didn’t seem inclined to answer, shaking his head and muttering to himself, “Carter would love this.”

“Who?” Should… Should they know these people? They weren’t living under a rock or something were they?

He sighed. “She’s… A friend.” Leo’s voice tightened. “She loves good stories.”

Ah, that made sense. Still, something didn’t feel right in Leo’s voice, but they couldn’t put their finger on it so Warren just half smiled. “I guess whenever we wake up you’ll have a new one for her then. Might not make much sense though.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Leo mumbled. “She likes them when they’re exciting, that’s all that counts.”

His shoulders fell and he looked away under Warren’s glance. Outside the city he’d been quiet but this felt different. Solemn. He stared at his feet instead of the scanning he’d been doing before, sighing deeply.

They leaned in closer to Leo, keeping their voice soft. “Is something wrong?”

Leo hesitated, but eventually gave another sigh more dramatic than the last. “I’m in love with her and I can’t say anything, just show her as best I can and hope she gets the message. And it’s killing me.” He smiled but something looked off but before Warren could say anything about it he changed the subject. “What about you. All shiny like that you’ve gotta have someone back home.”

Shiny? Oh, was it their hair again. Maybe Leo really did come from somewhere in the middle of nowhere. But they couldn’t help but smile, face softening at the thought of Volt. “I do. We’ve known each other since we were kids.” They paused as they passed a couple more soldiers, glancing at them a moment with a little nervous laugh. This seemed a place she’d be more at home than them. “She’d probably be able to figure out what’s going on here a lot better than me.”

“Childhood sweethearts, huh?” Leo stifled a wince. “What’s she like?”

“Oh, she’s lovely.” They kept smiling as they tried to narrow down their thoughts. “She’s clever and tough and talented… We don’t get to see each other as much as we used to before—” Before she went against orders and stole Richard away from his captors, and again when she double-crossed Umbra Ursi and kept that boy she was supposed to deliver. As friendly as Leo seemed so far, it was still probably too early to know for sure if he could be trusted with the truth of what happened. “Well, she got herself into some trouble and has been laying low for a while but we still talk as often as we can.” They sighed, smile faltering. It’d been a while though. “It’s unfortunate, but we make do. She does visit sometimes though.”

“She sounds wonderful.” Leo’s moody look cracked just enough for Warren to notice. “I’m sorry that you don’t get to see her anymore. There’s nothing worse than being separated from the ones you love.”

It wasn’t easy. How long now had it been since Volt came and visited? In each of their calls she looked more tired than the last. Something was going on. The boy too, Skyler, he seemed jumpier than before with eyes shifting at every off-screen sound. Almost like when he was younger, when Volt brought him to visit for the first time not long after she took him in. Even Richard who they didn’t talk to very much, something seemed off whenever they saw him in the background. No matter what they said to try and comfort there was nothing they could do to make it better.

“Thanks.” Warren sighed and returned Leo’s look, trying to focus on something else. “And I hope for you things work out with Carter.”

Leo stayed quiet, nodding along. If he wanted to say something he didn’t get the chance before Sichoris led them into a big, official looking building. Warren leaned back at the entrance, scanning all the way up from the ground to the top. Looked like lots of office space, some kind of lobby, and who knew what else inside. Sichoris brought them inside and despite having no idea where they were Warren couldn’t help but relax just a little bit in the quiet halls, walking past door after door. Sichoris knocked on one of them, pausing a moment before opening it up and ushering the two of them inside.

Two steps into the room and Warren skittered to a stop. Standing behind a big heavy-looking desk was a man with wings. One covered in black feathers and one in white. Sichoris didn’t seem phased, standing casually in the door frame like this was nothing out of the ordinary but when Warren gave a sidelong glance to Leo he seemed just as lost as they were. Their eyes met for just a second and Warren raised his eyebrows.

The winged man gave a slight bow. “My name is Tidis, and I am a humble servant of Ritania. You two must have been summoned here, correct? I can help you. If you will just come with me and answer a few questions, I can heal any ailments you have and let you return to your normal lives.” Tidis held out a hand. “Will you come with me?”

Warren tapped again at the side of their mug. Something... Something didn’t feel right. Their breath shallowed. Hadn't Sichoris said they would go home on their own in a few weeks? What did Tidis mean by let them go back to their normal lives. What kind of questions did he want to ask? All the soldiers walking around outside, and two strangers showing up out of the blue, it had to look suspicious right? Warren bit at the inside of their lip. But then again, if they wanted to capture them why go through all this? Why bother with the formalities? He��d offered to help heal ailments, and maybe if this place really did have magic it made sense. But at the same time… Warren frowned. Did they have anything that really needed healing? Maybe ten years ago they’d be able to come up with a few things but now? They didn’t know. Did stiffness after sitting too long count as an ailment?

Leo stuck his hand forward, shaking with Tidis and agreeing to the terms. Warren watched, then passed his cup to his other hand to shake with the right. If Leo thought it was safe enough maybe they were just being paranoid. Yeah that must have been it.