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youngpettyqueen · 2 months

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alright as promised- Julian and Garak and Garashir thoughts on A Stitch in Time!

also, I am going to note before I even begin. yes, I ship Garashir, but im also going to focus on not viewing their dynamic entirely through a shipping lens. Garashir as a ship will be brought up, yes, but im making a concentrated effort to also discuss their relationship as presented because them as a duo compels me even without my shipping goggles on

without further ado, lets get into it-

I think the most important thing to take from how Julian and Garak are presented in A Stitch in Time is that Garak cares about Julian very, very deeply. whether you interpret that as romantic or not is up to you, but its at least made very clear that Garak cares about Julian. a lot. which, yes, we know from the show that Garak cares, but the depth of his care is truly revealed in this book

I think its safe to say that this book is the most open we see Garak be with Julian. and im not just saying in their scenes together- this entire book was written by Garak, for Julian to read. a chronicle of his history, entries made during their time on DS9, and letters written about what he's doing now on Cardassia, all written for Julian to read. this book is, quite literally, Garak showing everything he is to Julian. which is fucking incredible. we know Garak is a closed-off person and very defensive of himself, we see exactly WHY he's that way, and we're seeing that only because he's spelling it all out to give to Julian. this is an openness that Garak hasn't ever afforded himself in a relationship. and I think its for good reason that the first time he is this open and this honest, its with Julian

I was deeply compelled by Garak's point of view on his and Julian's relationship in the entries that took place during DS9. I love how distant they became from each other, and how strained things got. I never would've read it that way with just the show, and now I cant wait to do a rewatch with this new information in mind. Garak thinks Julian has ended their relationship, he thinks Julian doesnt want to learn any more from him, and he doesnt understand why. he's upset about it- he's mad! his feelings are hurt! but he cant let go. and that ties in with the sentimentality we see in Garak throughout the rest of the book. Garak could no more let go of his connection with Julian than he could his connection with Paladine when he was still on Cardassia. he still answers when Julian calls. he still calls Julian himself. even drifted apart, theyre still connected. they still care. and thats why they come back together before the end of the series- they still love each other. platonically, romantically, however you want to interpret it, you cannot deny that these two love each other

as for Julian's side of this rift. I dont think Julian sees their relationship as over, but I think he can tell something's off. Julian is very awkward in many of his scenes with Garak, and doesnt seem to know how to approach him, or even how to talk to him sometimes. whatever Julian believes is going on here, he knows something's wrong. so, in true Julian fashion, even though he doesnt know what to do or say, he reaches out. he keeps reaching out. he goes out of his way to get Garak's favourite food hand-made. he answers when Garak calls. he calls Garak. he tries to apologize. he tries, he tries, he tries. because he knows, whatever's going on, that he wants to be there for Garak. he wants to help. such is the nature of Julian Bashir- he always just wants to help

I love that his attempts to help are clumsy. the argument Julian and Garak have about Federation vs Cardassian politics is great! because we know Julian is trying to help, but Julian has a habit of being a bit condescending and even arrogant in assuming his way is the right way, and I love that Garak actually gets mad about it here. this argument really highlights just how different Julian and Garak are, but it also serves to point out just how strained Garak is with everything going on with the Dominion and Cardassia at this point. Garak is surprised at his own outburst, and I think part of it is because he's typically better at hiding his feelings, but I also think part of it is that he's this mad towards Julian. I dont think its a stretch to say that this might be reminding Garak of the events of Our Man Bashir. that episode comes up multiple times throughout the DS9 entries, and is an event that Garak associates with him and Julian drifting apart. its also the episode where we see Garak get mad at Julian about these same things- namely his arrogance, in assuming he can save everyone and that things will work out. while at first it surprised me that Garak saw these events as driving a wedge between him and Julian, in hindsight, I think it makes total sense

the idea of Julian pulling away from Garak after Our Man Bashir is what makes it make complete sense. Julian trying to apologize in the last entry for DS9 is what really makes it- he feels bad for hurting Garak. and he avoids talking about it, but he pointedly doesnt deny that he would've killed Garak if he had to, to save the others. of course the guilt of that's been eating him. of course he pulled away. because after Our Man Bashir, as we get into s5 and beyond, we see Julian start to go down a darker path. we see Julian kill. we see him lie, and manipulate, and do harm. we see him forced to compromise his morals, or compromise them by his own choice. so, yeah, it makes sense that he's pulling away from Garak

on the topic of episodes that get brought up- I love that Julian only pulls away further after the events of Doctor Bashir, I Presume? I'd wondered how that episode might've impacted his relationship with Garak, since we dont see it at all in the show besides Garak starting to make cracks at Julian about being augmented. I love that Julian being outed as being augmented played a part in him and Garak drifting apart. if theres one thing I wish would've been included in the DS9 entries, I wish we could've seen if Garak and Julian talked either during or right after the events of that episode. I think it'd be interesting, though, if they didnt. I think it'd be interesting if they never talked about it. I honestly think that could track with how they've drifted apart at this point. it'll be left up to me to wonder, I think, but its all very fascinating

I love that despite everything, Garak's respect and admiration for Julian is always clear- especially when it comes to traits like his kindness. its nice to see that, despite how Garak always gets on Julian's case about his naivety and optimism, he actually does love these so-called "soft things" about Julian. he loves his kindness. he loves his selflessness. he loves that desire Julian has to just help everybody around him. I think this kindness is what really helps pull their relationship back together, in more ways than one

for one thing, I think if Julian wasn't his kind and loving and open self, I dont think Garak would be able to be as open as he is with him. Garak is very much used to people having multiple agendas, and Julian is just not like that. Julian is open and honest to a fault, with his only big secret being that he was augmented, and once thats out in the open, he doesnt have anything left to hide. Julian and Garak's relationship might've started with Julian clumsily trying to be a spy, but it quickly became just... a friendship. Julian doesnt want anything from Garak besides a relationship. he just wants Garak. and its this honest, open approach to that that reminds Garak that this is Julian, who he can trust, and thats what lets them mend this thing between them

I also think its crucial that Garak's respect and admiration for Julian's kindness ultimately overpowers his desire to teach Julian his ways. Garak sees their relationship as over because he believes that Julian doesnt want to learn from him. the hurdle that Garak has to overcome here is that he needs to see that Julian can still learn from him, but not in the way he thinks. Garak has to learn that Julian doesnt need to learn how to be a hardened spy from him. he doesnt need to learn how to close himself off, or be more cynical- what he gets from Garak, what he learns from Garak, is how to be challenged. Garak challenges Julian constantly, forces him to think about things from different perspectives he otherwise wouldnt have considered. Julian gets caught up in believing his way is the right way, he cant always see the other side of things, and Garak is the one who will make him see it. thats why their relationship, even when its distanced, is never over- because Julian is still learning from Garak as he continues to challenge him, and Garak is still learning from Julian as he learns that sentimentality isnt a weakness after all

the last entry set in DS9 means the entire world to me. Garak immediately calling Julian after a nightmare. Julian going to him. the discussion they have. Garak realizing what he has to do. the apologies Julian tries to make, and how Garak won't let him. the way they come together again at last, and you know theyre going to be ok. Garak calling him Julian... you have to wonder if this is the first time Garak has actually called him by his name, because to my memory he doesnt do so at any point in the show. and of course its Julian who makes Garak see what he needs to do, and where he needs to be. just, that entire scene. its so important to me. you can feel the love, and it feels like a sigh of relief, because they've finally bridged this gap between them

to me, though, the most loving bit is the very end of the novel. Garak inviting Julian to come to his home, and see what he's done. Garak has just documented pretty much his entire life and sent it to Julian so that Julian will know every part of him, and he's ended it by inviting Julian to his home. holy shit. this is where the shipping goggles go on cause oh my god. Garak has just gone "here's my heart. here's my soul. here's my core. here's everything that's made me into me. here's what I was thinking when we weren't talking. here's how much I missed you. here's everything youve ever done for me. nothing would make me happier than you coming to see me. come see my home. come see what ive done. I love you. come to my home." this entire novel is such a massive display of vulnerability and trust, of an openness Garak has never allowed himself to express, and it end it by inviting Julian to come to his home? im going to fucking explode.

Garak wasn't this open with Palandine. he wasn't this open with Pythas. he wasn't this open with Tolan, with Mila, with Tain- there's been nobody he's been this open with. his relationship with Julian is so much different than any other relationship he's had, just for the fact that he can be truly, openly himself. and he knows he can be, because he knows Julian. this novel really highlights how well Garak knows Julian, and understands him- he knows Julian will accept him for who he is, because Julian always has. Julian would never be as harsh on Garak as Garak is on himself, Julian is the kind voice in his head, and its exactly BECAUSE he sees Garak for who he is: a man who's trying his best. nobody else has ever seen that in Garak- I dont think even Palandine saw it. I think she probably got the closest to seeing it, and I think Pythas too might've gotten close had they not been separated for so long, but nobody ever got close to Garak like Julian managed to

I think however you interpret the Julian and Garak dynamic, you can read this book and understand that these two love each other. deeply. whether that means platonically or romantically you can interpret yourself, but however you define it, the love is still undeniably there. do I think its romantic? hell yeah. they make me fucking insane and every interaction between them in this book made me scream out loud. but I think its a testament to how theyre written that the love is there no matter how you read it, and that their relationship is just incredibly solid all around. Andrew Robinson clearly put a lot of work and love and thought into how he portrayed these two, and it shows in every scene, every line where Garak even thinks about Julian

alright gonna wrap up because this is getting. so long. I love that this book wasn't about their relationship, but it also was. because this book is, of course, about Garak. but it was written by Garak, for Julian. and it ends perfectly, with Garak holding a hand out and going "you're always welcome, doctor." so, yeah, this is Garak's story, but it's also Garak's story for Julian, and that makes me, personally, feel a little insane

#star trek: ds9 #a stitch in time #elim garak #julian bashir #otp: I need to know that someone forgives me #be impressed I managed to keep myself coherent cause im vibrating as I type #the ending of the book does fuel my hc that Julian goes to Cardassia #stays for a bit and then goes back to DS9 #and then returns a few days later with all his stuff cause he sees the work that needs to be done #and the nature of Julian Bashir is that he's always going to help #no matter what #and he stays on Cardassia and he stays with Garak and they kiss about it <3 #god these two rot my brain #anyways there 2 huge posts about A Stitch in Time #what a fucking book #shoutout to Andrew Robinson #will be sending him the bill for my therapy

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luveline · 2 years

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jade baby hiiii! hope you’re not getting tired of reading my thoughts on your work cause i always have so much fun writing these heheh

okay first of all your writing!!!! you know (at least i hope you do) how much i absolutely love your writing but omg it’s SO GOOD in this one!! so easy flowing and so nice to read!! the first few paragraphs where eddie is talking about how every vampire representation on media is a lie was so fun to read 😭

All they have now is debt, each other, and the Great Munson mug collection.

He turns the pedal and your back wheel spins in time with his heart. You're awesome. When was the last time somebody who wasn't Wayne said anything like that?

Eddie doesn't know what he thinks. Wayne sets the record straight every now and then with a clap on the shoulder. You did what every parent wants their kid to do. You lived. I can't ask for more than that.

i love every bit where we can see how much wayne loves eddie!! the fact that we never got to see them interact on the show makes seeing it in fics so much more special 😭

the “don’t say her fucking name” line physically hurt. i really had to take a moment to breath.

He looks like a man who has been tired for a very long time. You make a mental note to bring him some lavender for his pillow on your next visit.

r caring for wayne as well 🥺💘

Making his bracelet had been a challenge, lots of knotting and double knotting, three restarts and one small under the breath tantrum. It's not anything special, black and white hearts seven strands wide, but he'd been very appreciative.

baby 🥺 the heart bracelets 🥺

“Sarah, I was born with butterfingers and you know that.”

okay me

"He said he's gonna throw himself off a bridge," Eddie informs. "Poor guy. I know the feeling."

okay me again (IM JOKING)

Funny how Steve's hair speaks as much as his expression, bobbing as he nods his head to emphasise each word

baby that was SO FUNNY i can picture his hair moving as he talks and i’m obsessed with the image in my head

It's all in the way you — he says this with love — perform the words. You speak like each word you're saying has equal importance, and it's calming.

You're willing to change your plans now that he's asked to go with you. It's a gesture as lovely as you are. Eddie doesn't think you'd ever think it of yourself; your kindness is so intrinsic you don't notice it, like the fine stitching of a leather bound book. Integral and widely unappreciated.

i love how eddie likes her so much that he not only appreciates things like the way she talks or her kindness but also sees it as something like deeply innate to her and likes it even more for that

WAYNE BEING SUSPICIOUS OF THEM I LOVE HIM 😭

For a time, he'd been a normal (debatable) person having a normal (horrifying) conversation with his dad. Not a vampire. Not somebody who ruins everything he touches.

you had no right to make me laugh with the “(debatable) (horrifying)” just to make me ugly sob with him calling wayne dad and saying THAT LAST LINE. that was actually insane.

"I know I can be a lot to deal with." “Who told you that?”

crying in a corner rn. thank u

They come apart, blood smeared in both your palms like two halves of a dripping heart.

listen. i know it’s blood and eddie was probably losing his mind. but that was such a beautiful imagery 😭

You realise as he says it how much his wanting you to go had mattered to you. Eddie's your friend, and you don't think that you're going to stay friends much longer.

i don’t really have anything to say about that. just wanted to highlight that bit

"Steve," Eddie says, jaw dropped down to his chest, "do you have a crush on me?"

the steddie nation keeps winning!!!

I can't believe I put you through that. I can't believe I put you through that. I'm so sorry.

NOOO HE FEELS SO GUILTY

And for a while, Eddie hadn't felt the same. The world he'd woken up to was hard. There had been lawyers and grief and guilt and becoming. He doesn't have the words to describe how it feels to become something new, something that needs to hurt people to live, something that will hurt people to live, whether Eddie wants to or not.

The loss of choice is suffocating.

He can live with the grief of what he is if it means other people don't have to live with grief of what he isn't.

it’s honestly painful to realise how guilty eddie feels about putting everyone around him through what happened even though it’s not his fault, and how he’s willing to go on and live in suffering for all his life (or all eternity? im not sure how long vampires live) just so he doesn’t have to make the people he loves go through that again. he’s always so selfless :(

"Tuned into the wrong station."

You pet the back of his head. "Yeah," you say softly, "I think I was."

i keep thinking there’s a deeper and secret meaning in this dialogue and i can’t articulate my thoughts around it but i’m so sure in my mind that way she says that she was in the wrong station just means she was seeing things in the wrong way until now? you can totally disregard what im saying though

You make the worst sound anyone has ever made as he moves back, like something has been ripped from you. A gutted gasp, near silent.

“the worst sound anyone had ever made” and it’s just a gasp from breaking the kiss. i’m actually going insane.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asks when he gets a look at you, your unreadable expression. He takes care to keep his head angled down so you can't see the lower half of his face.

"I don't think you could."

STOP

He's been in here enough times to know what it looks like, but for some reason you find yourself checking his face, worried about what it is he thinks of your things, all your mismatched trinkets, your stained glass lamps, your life as you let yourselves in.

“your mismatched trinkets, your stained glass lamps, your life as you let yourselves in”. being worried about how her life seems as she lets him go into. sick and twisted

His touch is like the tide. He wades in, away. His thumb strokes inward over something soft and then his whole hand moves back to your thigh.

‼️‼️

He's not confined to all his softest parts and he never will be. He's snarky and angry and loud. He plays guitar like a real rockstar and he doesn't take anyone's shit. He's a survivor. A glass of blood every now and then was never gonna stop him.

that first line???? INSANELY GOOD OH MY GOD

"Least it wasn't Snoopy."

of course there’s a snoopy reference. love u for it

jade my love that was soooo good!!! exploring eddie’s life as a vampire not only through his enhanced abilities but through all his loss and suffering and self doubting made the character so realistic (i know, he’s a vampire, but you get what i mean)!! baby you’re the best writer i know and it makes me so proud seeing you stepping out of your comfort zone and writing horror themed stories without losing your touch and your way with words and feelings!!! you’re insanely talented and i’m always thrilled that i get to read your work and to know you!! that is genuinely one of greatest joy of my life!! hope you’re being extra nice to yourself and getting enough rest and taking care!!! love u 💌 - lu

I don't ever get tired of what you think!!! Our red string of fate means you pick up on all my favourite things and it always makes me feel so special

Writing Wayne was super fun because we know literally nothing about him besides the fact that he's Eddie's guardian and he doesn't think for a moment that Eddie could do something awful, his unwillingness to give up the search in vol2 breaks my heart so it's really nice to write him with his Eddie all safe and sound

Eddie's pretty infatuated with r from the get go and not just because she's accepting of who he is and doesn't believe all the bad shit around him, he genuinely likes her and I wanted to make that distinction (like at the start when he was practically waiting for her to tell him to get gone but was trying to spend time with her anyways because he was intrigued and endeared)

Writing Eddie's voice in brackets was SO fun and so different for me, I love experimenting with third person to show the characters voice even if it isn't technically from their point of view, rest assured I made myself laugh with (debatable) and (horrifying)

Eddie feels so fucking guilty! That's basically what shaped him for me. I keep getting comments saying he was very different in this one and I kind of agree and disagree. He wasn't much like the fanon version of himself which idk if people hate that, but I think the basis of him was as true to Canon as I could get it! The basis being his innate goodness, the thing that DROVE him to feel so fucking guilty even though none of that shit was his fault, but when he goes off to be the hero in the show and "doesn't run away" that was his courage and his character showing through and so I really used that as the original thread and then built up his guilt, his humour around that. He's not as snarky as he was in the show because I felt like basically dying and going through the upside down made him very depressed and he really struggles to separate himself (though i can't take all the credit for that part because the original request wanted to see him struggle and wanted to see reader help him through it!!) From that. I love him and I needed him to have somebody like the reader character who just wants to take care of him and be his friend (and more)

Wayne being suspicious of them was so fun, I worried people might find it weird and then I was like I don't care if its weird these are real conversations people have, and Wayne in my mind is absolutely the kind of guy to be like Eddie, son, be a goddamn gentleman

That aprt about being tuned into the wring station was one thousand percent on purpose! Not so much a "Oh my god I didn't see what was right in front of me" moment, but just a you were here in Hawkins this whole time and we missed each other ! cos they're soulmates

And absolutely there's a Snoopy reference, that's my dude.

I am so lucky to have you as a friend and a reader, I fricking love hearing what you're thinking and I feel so spoiled at the end it's unbelievable, and you know I like talking about my writing probably more than I should so this is like a gently excuse /pleasure for me to ramble about the decisions I make. I think people have such different mindsets to one another that not everyone will agree with everything, but I'm lucky that we are always on the same page!

And yeah I was super psyched to dip (literally just dip) into the horror genre. Most of the time I felt like love bites was horror in the we cannot go back. my body has been changed without my asking and there's nothing i can do and im trapped kind of way rather than anything truly scary or gruesome, but I still loved doing it!

thank you my lu baby im genuinely soooooo lucky to know you and so grateful that you read my silly stories with so much love 😭♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

#jade's asks #ily

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moemoemammon · 3 years

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may i request hcs for a poly mc?

Poly!MC with the Demon Brothers!

(GN!MC as always✌️)

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Lucifer

He will never get over the fact that he's got to share you with his annoying ass brothers. But as the most patient(?) of the seven, he's learned to compromise

And by 'compromise' I mean literally making a schedule for how much time everyone gets with you, to avoid unnecessary fights. They all get you for an entire day, on a respective day of the week in chronological order. (Lucifer on Sunday, Mammon Monday, etc)

Though... we all know he abuses the system by making excuses like "MC, I need you in my office for a moment. I'd like to discuss your grades." and "Come with me for a moment, MC. I'd like you to explain something to me."

Basically he fools everyone by making it sound like you're in trouble, when he literally just wants to hang out with you some more. Maybe he can convince you that all you really need is him..? Jk he respects your decision even if it eats him alive because why his brothers of all people-

"As much as I don't understand your choice, I've lived with those six long enough to know how to deal with them. That being said... I also know how to keep them at bay. We'll have plenty of time to ourselves, hm?"

Mammon

The only brother that can see through Lucifer's ruse, but he can't say anything about it because... come on, it's Lucifer we're talking about.

But that's not stopping him from arguing about that dumb schedule! Why's he got to wait until MONDAY, which is a SCHOOL DAY, just to hang out with you?? Why does he have to go second when he was your FIRST???

Keeps trying to convince you to skip classes with him so you can sneak away and spend the day together. Nobody's got to know, okay?

The whole once-a-week thing teaches Mammon the importance of time management, so he's making the most of the time he's got when you're all his. He's taking you on all sorts of dates and there's no way he'll take no for an answer, got it??

"Oi! What did I tell ya about makin' those goo goo eyes at Levi, huh?! Only look at ME like that, understand? Just you wait, I'll take ya on a date so great, you'll only be able to think about THE Great Mammon! ....Huh? Y-yeah, I want ya to hold my hand."

Levi

Tuesday has officially become his favorite day, for reasons that have nothing to do with the upcoming Ruri-chan themed maid cafe event going on soon-

Tuesday's actually used to be his raid days, when he’d get online with his rpg buddies and do dungeon runs until dawn. But now? He's sacrificed all of that just so he can take the time to enjoy being with you

He may not know much about traditional dating, but don't underestimate the power of an otaku with centuries of dating sim knowledge under his belt-! He'll show you so much moe, your head will pop!!

Just be patient with him, okay? He's seriously trying to be romantic here, even if the thought of holding your hand is enough to make his palms sweaty. But he's not passing up an entire day filled with MC-! Not even his inferiority complex will get in his way!

"Eheheh... I've spent all night coming up with the perfect plan of action! First! We're going to have a TSL marathon of all your favorite episodes! Second! We'll speedrun that game you wanted to play, because I bought it! Third! We'll make a TSL-themed dinner to enjoy in my room! Then, we- ..Huh? What do you mean there won't be enough time? S-seriously?!"

Satan

Wednesday... well, that's right in the middle of the week, so it gives him plenty of time to carefully plan what he wants to do with you when it's his turn to have you. (He also does everything in his power to ruin Lucifer's dates oop-)

We all know Satan's gonna write a whole ass dating journal filled with all sorts of romantic ideas he wants to try out on you.

It's a literal date planner, and he's got things meticulously scheduled just to ensure he makes the most out of your day. You'll have to tell him that you prefer to go with the flow, or he might get a little overzealous-

But having a chance to settle down and realize that it's alright to relax once in a while is a relief. He can't help but feel annoyed when he sees you with the others, and it makes him want to cram even more of himself into your thoughts, so a breather is definitely needed.

"You know, I've been reading more books of the romance genre lately, and it's been giving me ideas for how to spend my time with you. I know you said I shouldn't take live advice from a novel, but... when I read the stories, I can't help but picture the two of us. Shall we read some of them together?"

Asmo

Thursday?? Why couldn't he have a weekend??? Everyone knows there's nothing fun happening on a Thursday night... That being said, Asmo has to get creative!

He's no stranger to improvised romance, so this boy pulls out all the stops and always delivers?? Somehow???? He can plan the perfect date in under thirty minutes-

And the time away from you makes him realize that he actually has to consider the depth of those dates. He finds he's not satisfied with cheap, devilgrammable dates anymore. He wants substance!

So he's taken to staying home with you, carefully and quietly getting to know you, and sharing himself with you. He loves it best when the date leaves him craving more and thinking of nothing but your smile. He hopes you can say the same, too.

"...Aaand that's how you do a cross stitch! Levi taught me that one, and it's saved my life a dozen times! It was a great idea that we should make matching wallets, huh? I'm just FULL of ideas like that! Go ahead and praise me all you want~!❤️"

Beel

Madame Screams does a discount on their sweets every other Friday, when they rotate their stock. He couldn't be happier! Though, he’d be fine with any day of the week tbh-

That doesn't mean he doesn't value his time with you, though. It being close to the weekend means he gets to stay up late with you, the two of you sneaking into the kitchen at night to smuggle away a mountain of snacks

Or he'll take you out into the mountains for a picnic, hoping the view of the surrounding scenery and your face will curb his appetite.

He couldn't be happier to have you for an entire day. A whole day, where hunger is just an afterthought and all he cares about is making you laugh... It makes him happy. He's starting to love Fridays even more now.

"Are you sure you're not tired? We've been hiking for a while....Here, hop on my back. I don't mind it. It's nice when I get to be close to you like this....Hm? My face is red? I think it's the heat.. maybe."

Belphie

Saturday, huh? Perfect. He preps for the weekend by sleeping as much as possible on Friday, so he can stay up all Saturday with you.

And when night falls? That's when his plan really comes into play. He spends the entire day doing the things you want to do, making sure you're thoroughly worn out so when it's time for bed, he has no problem coaxing you into bed with him.

And he's exhausted at that point so once he wraps his arms around you and falls asleep, there's no escape. The longer you're stuck there, the less time he spends glaring at Lucifer for stealing you on Monday.

But really.. the highlight of it all is the big, goofy grin on your face when he watches you indulge in the things you love. Even if it might not be his cup of tea, he's just happy that you're happy. And if he can keep you away from Lucifer, it's a win win.

"If you keep smiling like that, it'll make it even harder to give you away tomorrow. But you know.. we could just run away for a day or two. We could go camping somewhere, and stare up at the stars all night long. It'll be our secret."

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blu-joons · 3 years

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DATING PENTAGON A⇴Z HEADCANON ⇴ Yang Hongseok

A ⇴ AFFECTION

Being so tall, Hongseok was always able to make you feel safe and protected in his hold. He towered over you whenever he hugged you, making sure that you were as tight against him as possible so he could look down at you.

B ⇴ BEFORE DATING

The two of you met abroad when you were both travelling and exploring. You ended up spending the day together at a sightseeing event, exploring a part of the city before exchanging numbers, sharing your stories and where you came from, vowing to adventure in each other’s homes one day when you could.

C ⇴ CONFESSION

When the time came for you to visit Hongseok in Korea, he knew that he had to confess to you and tell you how he felt. He’d waited for the moment to see you in person again for so long, and the fact you’d chosen to head to Korea just to see him meant a great deal to him. The night you landed, he took you out to dinner, excited to show you his home, telling you how he felt, so that you could enjoy the rest of your trip as a couple.

D ⇴ DATES

The two of you would often go on late night drives together for your dates, basking in the quiet streets and the beautiful landscapes that the night sky showed off. Hongseok would always make sure he had plenty of food in the back of the car for the two of you to enjoy, often driving up to the mountains so that the two of you could overlook the city. The escape was something that you both enjoyed, and the adventure that came with it was the icing on top of the cake, with plenty of memories made.

E ⇴ EXPERIENCE

He’d noticed his name pop up in rumoured articles before, and so Hongseok was incredibly careful with you. He knew the attention a foreign girlfriend would get him, and the last thing he wanted was for you to get caught in the crossfire of it all. He was always incredibly conscious of being seen out with you, and whilst he never denied knowing you and being close to you, Hongseok was always careful with his words, knowing the wrong thing could land him, and you, in plenty of hot water with several people.

F ⇴ FIGHTING

The two of you never tended to argue, learning to be pretty understanding of each other. When you were apart, calls were too busy spent with telling stories and checking in on each other that you had no time to argue with one another, and when you were together, you were too focused on making the most of the time that you had together to even let the smallest of disagreements bubble up into something that it didn’t need to be. Time with each other was far too precious to ever argue, learning to talk things through was one of the biggest skills you had in your relationship which definitely worked to your advantage.

G ⇴ GETTING TO KNOW HIS FAMILY

As soon as he came home from his travels, Hongseok couldn’t wait to tell his family about the girl he’d met exploring, and so as soon as they heard you were making the trip to Korea to see him, they were desperate to be a stop on your tour of Korea and meet the person that they’d heard so much about.

H ⇴ HOME

Once you finally settled and decided to call Korea home for at least a little while, Hongseok moved you straight in with him. There was no way that he was going to let you go anywhere else, he was the one that was going to take care of you, and that started by making sure you had a roof over your head.

I ⇴ “I LOVE YOU”

Hongseok was the first of the two of you to say those three special words on a call one evening. It had been a while since your time zones matched, and Hongseok was desperate to talk to you. Although he wanted to say it in person initially, he couldn’t wait any longer to tell you how he felt about you.

J ⇴ JEALOUSY

He would always go a little bit quieter whenever he was feeling jealous, Hongseok was incredibly protective of you, especially knowing that you were living in a foreign country, and so he was always very observant of any situation that you found yourselves in. Whilst he appreciated that many people were interested in finding out about where you came from, he couldn’t help but get jealous when someone got a little too invested, drifting out of conversation until you pulled him straight back in again.

K ⇴ KIDS

Before either of you could think about starting a family, you truly had to sit down and discuss where you’d end up calling home. Whilst you loved being in Korea, a small part of you always thought about whether it was where you saw yourself forever, but with Hongseok’s career, you doubted that you’d ever be able to make anywhere else in the world work, especially if kids were something you were going to have.

L ⇴ LAUGHTER

Hongseok always managed to make you laugh, that was by far one of the highlights of being in his company, but best, or perhaps worst of all, the dad jokes that he had always had you doubled over in stitches. For the most part, they were terrible, but it was the cheesiness in them that somehow had you laughing most of the time. Whilst he knew he wasn’t the funniest member in the group, Hongseok knew exactly the kind of humour that you liked, and always knew exactly what he needed to do to get you laughing if you’d had a bad day or if you were feeling a little homesick, he’d always cheer you up.

M ⇴ MISSING

The two of you had very quickly gotten used to missing one another with the long distance you found between you both. It was a feeling that never got easier for either of you, but it was definitely something that you learnt to live with. Although when Hongseok went on tour, and you were in Korea, it felt strange to begin with, it oddly made things easier for you knowing that at least you were at his home, and that you wouldn’t have to wait so long to see him because of that. You both always celebrated little milestones, like you always had done, to get you through time that was spent apart.

N ⇴ NICKNAMES

He loved to give you nicknames that were in your language that he’d learnt, very few other people would understand them at home, making them personal, and private, which Hongseok absolutely adored.

O ⇴ OBSESSION

Hongseok was obsessed with your voice, for a while it was the only contact that he had with you, and so he always made sure to treasure it, no matter whether he was near or far.

P ⇴ PDA

He would always make sure to take care of you more than anything else whenever the two of you were out in public. Hongseok was well known for how soft he was when it came to being with you, and the gentle touch in which he always made sure to hold you with when you were out and about definitely showed that.

Q ⇴ QUESTIONS

Hongseok loved learning about your home, and your language especially, and so he’d often ask you questions about new snippets of information that he’d learnt, or a question that he wanted an answer to.

R ⇴ RANDOM FACTS

The two of you were always taking photographs wherever you were in the world. Hongseok particularly loved to take selcas at all the different places you visited, making up album after album with photos from the numerous countries the two of you went to. They were the perfect things to look back on and remember the many adventures you’d had and the numerous memories that had been made too.

S ⇴ SEX

Intimacy with Hongseok always focused around one thing, love. He always made the mood one filled with a lot of love and passion, taking care of you, especially if he’d gone a long time without seeing you. Your hands would almost always be resting against his abs, his body never failed to make you speechless, you couldn’t help but get lost staring at it most of the time, leaving Hongseok feeling very shy too.

T ⇴ TEXTS

For a long time, texts were your best way of communicating, and so even after you moved across to Korea, you’d always find yourselves texting each other, sometimes forgetting that you could actually see each other in person.

U ⇴ UNIVERSE

You were everything to Hongseok, there had been difficult times for you both, but neither of you ever wanted to give up on the other, knowing a time would come when you could be with each other properly.

V ⇴ VACATION

The first time Hongseok had the chance to go on holiday, he invited you with all of his other members so that you could really get to know them all. The others had heard plenty of stories about you, they were just as keen as Hongseok to meet you and find out as much as they possibly could about you.

W ⇴ WHINING

He was always understanding that not all of your time could be spent with him, and so Hongseok was someone who would very rarely whine at you.

X ⇴ XXXXX

You’d often feel Hongseok kissing you, forgetting sometimes that you were sticking around and that he didn’t have to let you go. A small part of him would always worry that a kiss would be your goodbye kiss, just like it had been for so many months before you visited Korea. Sometimes he had to pinch himself that he was even able to kiss you properly and not having to blow a kiss into the camera of his phone.

Y ⇴ YOU

You were the most important thing to him, Hongseok had worked so hard for you.

Z ⇴ ZZZ

He’d always hold on tightly to you at night, having to remind himself that you really were there with him. Just like when he kissed you, Hongseok would always worry that time with you was far too good to actually be true.

---

Masterlist

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terrific-togekiss · 3 years

Text

What if there was a Walt Disney Fighting Game? [Video Game Concept]

Note: I am well aware, that Disney would probably never say yes in a million years to this idea. Taking their beloved, child friendly characters and having them fight?!

OH THE HORROR?!

I am also aware there have been concepts for this in the past.

Final Fantasy Dissidia was supposed to be a Kingdom Hearts fighting game, but Nomura felt uncomfortable portraying Disney characters in such a violent atmosphere.

And there are sketches of what a Walt Disney fighting game could've been, inspired by Super Smash Bros, before it was canceled. It would've focused on more violent characters such as Gaston, Beast, Ursula, Captain Hook, Captain Silver and the Horned King. But the idea was dropped.

Here's the link.

This entire post is just building and putting together what a Disney fighting game would look like to me, if one came out in today's world. It's all merely speculation and ideas that's been in the back of my head for awhile.

(Special thanks to @mayflower-gal for helping me set this up. 😁)

Anyways, let's get started!

Part 1: The Plot

For the plot, I believe it would have to be something simple, since this an idea for a first game. It's the start of a potentially huge franchise, so I wanna keep it not only simple, but an aspect that helps kick off the potential series. And pull in many fans, old and new of Disney.

Let's take into account one thing: what's a recurring theme across various Disney movies (and overall media)?

Is it the lovable, comic relief sidekick that makes audiences laugh? Is it the songs that kids find themselves singing, long after the tale is done and the curtain has closed? Is it perhaps, the clever celebrity choices for important side characters?

No, It's the one defining aspect that draws in audiences, both new and old, bringing you to fall in love with the characters as the story is told:

Wishes.

Pinocchio wishes to be a real boy. Beast and all his servants wish to be human again. Tiana wishes to have her own restaurant. Ariel wishes to see the world beyond the sea.

Everyone wishes for something more in their life and have dreams that they wish come true.

What if all those wishes were counted? Collected?

Watched over. Much like a parent to their children. Or a teacher to their students.

Found engaging. Found entertaining. Found comforting. Found peaceful. Found introspective.

Looked at with childlike wonder and glee when accomplished.

But frowned on when those wish for selfish desires. And an even deeper disappointment at those very same inhuman desires, coming true.

Good and bad exists inside every person, it's just a matter of what one chooses to act on and stand by at the end of the day.

What someone wishes for is reflective of that.

Now imagine that same being coming to life and wrecking havoc across the Disney universe. Judging for themself, if any of these colorful, imaginative characters, truly deserve their...

Happily,

Ever

After.

Yep, the main plot of the story mode is all the various Disney characters literally fighting for wishes and dreams to come true...

against the LITERAL embodiment of wishing upon a star.

Each playable character having their own unique ending.

Some endings being repeats of your favorite Disney movies, with some minor changes to acknowledge the game's plot. While others are original due to the wide cast of characters that are available, besides your favorite Disney Heroes.

For example, you beat the story mode as say, Pinocchio, he wishes to be a real boy.

I know it sounds very redundant since a majority of these things already happen in the Disney movies, but I feel as though relieving them would be fun. In addition to some original ones that didn't happen with either the villains or less major characters.

It's only the hypothetical first game and I wanted start with something simple, that fans could easily get into. More complex plots, with more character interactions should be saved for any possible sequels.

Part 2: The Gameplay

The game would be your typical 2D fighting game. You have,

Combos exclusive to every character that requires practice.

Playstyles that make each character feel unique.

Special moves for each character to get the upper hand and the main focus in besting your opponent in 1 VS 1 matches.

Of course, there's dialogue before fights in the character intros. With so many to pick from, it had to be put in somewhere.

It resembles 2D fighting games that you've all no doubt heard of, such as Marvel VS Capcom or Street Fighter.

But what would a Disney fighting game have to offer on the table, in order to survive the overall video game market?

It would have to be something unique and a feature that not only gives it originality, but a chance to stand out with so much creativity and innovation. Practically begging fans for more.

Which is why I present to you: Disney Songs.

Or as this game prompt will call them: Musical Finales.

The highlight of many Disney movies and overall media, the music is what leaves a lasting impression on many audiences. Which is not surprising, since Disney is mostly a musical. At least in terms of most of their films.

With so many iconic songs from throughout the company's history, of course I'll be squeezing them somehow!

Each character has a music meter, that can only be filled up with how the player times and follows the beat of the character they play as. Follow the rhythm and beat of a character, and it will fill up quicker. Get cut off by the opponent and it doesn't fill up.

That beat being the music of the stage each player fights on, by attacking to the music and the same time. Think of it like the Sound Battles mechanic in Mother 3.

Every character has four different kinds of attacks: Neutral, Musical, Wonderful and Special.

Neutral Attacks are normal attacks that are mostly used to set up combos.

Musical Attacks are attacks that deal more impact, when timed with the music of the stage.

Wonderful Attacks can be seen as character oriented attacks, that embody the personality and charm of the character you play as. And can be used to entertain the audience. We'll get into that later.

Special Attacks are unique finisher moves that require a separate meter to be filled up, as with most fighting games.

Now what happens when the music meter is full? A Disney Song starts playing of course!

Say you filled up Cinderella's music meter for example, then "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" starts playing, granting some unique abilities for Cinderella.

Each song would grant different outcomes and bonuses for the various characters. They're not Special Attacks, as that's already a separate mechanic already.

For example, "Part of Your World" starts playing if you're playing as Ariel, filling up the stage with water and slowing down the opponent, giving Ariel a chance to either take advantage of that, bump items into them or create big waves of water.

But what happens if BOTH characters trigger the music meter at the same time?!

Well, that's where this gimmick becomes a fight for which song keeps on playing!

Both songs would start playing, both at the same time and volume. Except, both characters have to compete to see which is stronger.

This is done by the two characters fighting, before triggering a rhythm game between the two. Once one is the victor, the other song fades, while the other stays playing. Doubling the duration of that character's Musical Finale.

Another mechanic is the Entertainment Meter. Every level you fight on has one, that determines which fighter the audience likes more. Via Wonderful attacks, you can charm the audience into supporting you more. This activates things like getting healing items or stat boosts in power and speed. Some of your favorite Disney sidekicks even provide aid from the audience!

It's almost like watching a Disney movie live and being able to interact with the story!

Or the battle system in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.

I feel as though this is the best way of keeping the game interesting, giving it an identity of its own and still embodying that magic people will grow to love. It can also lead to some entertaining interactions in the background or foreground of a stage, as the music meter also brings in characters that would not be playable, but support playable characters nonetheless. Like Flounder and Sebastian.

Of course, either feature could be turned off if you're not a fan of that sort of thing, but that's a given.

Part 3: The Stages

With many Disney movies pick from, it's no wonder there's plenty of choices to pick from. Since this is the first game, I chose to focus more on the movies. Here's my take.

Steamboat (Mickey Mouse cartoons)

Duckberg (Ducktales)

Spoonerville (A Goofy Movie)

Dwarven Forest (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves)

Wonderland (Alice in Wonderland)

Monstro (Pinocchio)

The Prince's Ball (Cinderella)

Neverland (Peter Pan)

Forbidden Mountains (Sleeping Beauty)

The Coliseum (Hercules)

Andy's Room (Toy Story)

Elsa's Ice Castle (Frozen)

San Fransokyo Institute of Technology (Big Hero 6)

Atlantica (The Little Mermaid)

House of Mouse (House of Mouse)

The West Wing (Beauty and the Beast)

Cave of Wonders (Aladdin)

Pride Rock (The Lion King)

Ant Island (A Bug's Life)

Tamatoa's Trove (Moana)

Hawaii (Lilo and Stitch)

Headquarters (Inside Out)

Mor'du's Ruins (Brave)

Big Ben (The Great Mouse Detective)

Notre Dame (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

Merlin's Cottage (Sword in the Stone)

Emperor's Palace (Mulan)

The Great Before (Soul)

Todayland (Meet The Robinsons)

Paradise Falls (Up)

Zootopia (Zootopia)

Monsters Inc (Monsters Inc)

Nomanisan Island (The Incredibles)

The Bayou (The Princess and the Frog)

Atlantis (Atlantis: The Lost Empire)

Halloweentown (The Nightmare Before Christmas)

Oakey Oaks (Chicken Little)

Spirit Mountain (Brother Bear)

Sherwood Forest (Robin Hood)

Treasure Planet (Treasure Planet)

Horned King's Castle (The Black Cauldron)

The Secret Lab (The Emperor's New Groove)

Bald Mountain (Fantasia)

The Grid (Tron)

World's End (Pirates of the Caribbean)

Radiator Springs (Cars)

Grandmother Willow's Forest (Pocahontas)

East High School (High School Musical)

The Axiom (WALL-E)

Regent's Park (101 Dalmatians)

New Mushroom Town High School (Onward)

Happily Ever After Castle (Walt Disney Opening)

Part 4: The Roster

The bread and butter of many fighting games, the roster is no doubt one I had a bit of trouble putting together. With so many characters from over the years, it's no surprise. But since this is the outline of a possible first game, here's my interpretation.

Also, the cast is big to avoid being too barren or dull.

And because I had a lot of fun putting it all together.

Mickey Mouse (Mickey Mouse): The all around character of the game, he mostly fights by a series of cartoonish tricks, magic tricks and his paintbrush from Epic Mickey. His Special Attack would have him break the fourth wall like and rewind the fight like an old film projector in reverse. Except he heals, while the opponent receives twice the damage. His Musical Finale "Sorcerer's Apprentice" has him use Yensid's Sorcerer hat to its fullest and give his overall moveset more flashes to distract the opponent and slow them down.

Donald Duck (Donald Duck): Everyone's favorite, greedy mallard and the world's angriest duck. Donald would fight mainly with toon force, his fists, his bad luck and his anger. The more damage he takes, the angrier he gets. His Special Attack would have him don the Duck Avenger persona from his PK days and use a series of superhero gadgets to finish the opponent. His Musical Finale "The Three Caballeros" trades his anger for Jose Carioca and Panchito Pistoles showing up, making him happy. As they hurt the opponent, each time they hit Donald, to keep him happy.

Goofy (Goofy): Everyone's favorite Disney dad, Goofy joins the fight as not the brightest but with the biggest heart. He has toon force to aid him in some unconventional ways. His Special Attack would have him become Super Goof from his older days. His Musical Finale "Eye To Eye" would restore health everytime he dodges an attack, with a dancing flair to it.

Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves): The first Disney Princess, Snow White makes her debut and she's not alone. The Seven Dwarves direct most of her attacks, such as tossing rocks, mining tools as weapons and even just grabbing the opponent and tossing them. Snow White herself can sing and command woodland animals to tie up opponents or just fight to defend her. Her Special Attack would have the Dwarves try to roll a boulder, only for lightning to strike on the opponent and the boulder as extra damage. Her Musical Finale "Whistle While You Work" will call on a huge number of forest animals, as they tidy up the stage and Snow White, slowly replenishing her health and slowing down the opponent.

Pinocchio (Pinocchio): Don't lie in his presence, as that nose is not only for show. Pinocchio fights mostly by using his nose as a staff, the Blue Fairy bringing other toys to life to aid him and Jiminy Cricket distracting the opponent with music. Pinocchio's Special Attack would have him wish upon a star and turn himself into a real boy, as the opponent is turned into a puppet and loses damage as a result. Pinocchio's Musical Finale "I've Got No Strings" would cover the stage in thin lines used for puppets: if the opponent touches one, their frozen briefly. If a projectile attack hits, the same happens.

Cinderella (Cinderella): The bell of the ball and someone whom never gives up on kindness, Cinderella will use the dance moves she showed off at the ball for her moveset, having a dancing and musical feel to how she plays and flashy dances to win against the the opponent. With her Fairy Godmother using her magic to help her, such as flashes of light. Her Special Attack would have the clock strike midnight and she leaves behind her glass slipper: once the opponent touches it they get weighed down by a giant magic dress. Cinderella's Musical Finale "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" would have the Fairy Godmother cast a series of spells over the stage, as a new carriage pops up every time Cinderella pulls off a combo. The carriages run over the opponent and can even carry Cinderella to safety.

Peter Pan (Peter Pan): Leader of the Lost Boys and Captain Hook's second biggest pain in the butt, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell are here. Peter Pan has a pocket knife with him and Tinker Bell's pixie dust for aerial attacks. His Special Attack would have him toss a bunch of gold on the opponent, as the rest of the Lost Boys tackles them and beats them up for the treasures. His Musical Finale "You Can Fly" would create a trail of pixie dust behind him, that randomly causes the opponent to either jump too high or too low.

Captain Hook (Peter Pan): Keep all 'ticks' and 'tocks' away from this pirate! Captain Hook has a wide array of hooks to switch between, a flintlock pistol and his sword to win the battle. His Special Attack would have him run away from the Tick-Tock the Crocodile, as said crocodile attacks the opponent instead of Hook. His Musical Finale "A Pirate's Life/Elegant Captain Hook" would call his ship the Jolly Rodger onto the stage, as the pirates on the ship occasionally throw knives at the opponent and shoot at them, everytime Hook is caught in a combo and can't escape.

Aurora (Sleeping Beauty): Aurora, sleeping beauty herself, is doing anything but sleep and her guardians are making sure of that! Her attacks has the Good Fairies use their magic in numerous ways, such as moving objects, animating objects and even petrification. Her Special Attack has Prince Philip show up with the Sword of Truth and the Shield of Virtue, to deal heavy damage on the opponent. Her Musical Finale "Once Upon A Dream" boosts her stats everytime she's hit.

Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty): The Mistress of all Evil, Maleficent uses a wide array of magic powers from cursed, throny vines, to her iconic green fires, she's one tough fighter from a distance. Her Special Attack would have her turn into a dragon and breath fire down on the opponent. Her Musical Finale "Once Upon A Dream" would have her make the opponent more drowsy, each time they hit her, until falling asleep, unless they keep moving.

Robin Hood (Robin Hood): The sly fox of England and one talented theif, this fox focuses on disguises, archery, swordsmanship and woodsmanship to make his way. His Special Attack would have authorities show up to arrest him, as they rain down arrows on the opponent in the process. His Musical Finale "Running Through The Forest" would allow him to dodge all attacks, without needing to hit the controls or input buttons.

Basil of Baker Street (The Great Mouse Detective): World's greatest detective! At least in the mouse world that is. Basil would investigate the stage of the fight, much like a crime scene and even pick up clues that double as weapons, such as a propeller or a mouse trap. His Special Attack would have him investigate a crime scene that hurt the opponent, before pushing them aside as 'worthless' evidence. His Musical Finale "Let Me Be Good To You" would have him require no further evidence and counter each hit with a deduction on his opponent's crime and even stop them from performing combos. Doing damage in the process.

Professor Ratigan (The Great Mouse Detective): Never call him a rat. Ever. This crime boss of the miniature crime world be no stranger to fist fights and gleefully take a swing at your demise, whether it's his fists, cane or traps. If not him, then his minions are more than happy to drown some orphans! His Special Attack would have him call his pet cat, Felicia to devour the opponent. His Musical Finale "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind" would give him more durability to hits, more destruction to the stage and traps cover more range on the stage.

Ariel (The Little Mermaid): Princess of the Sea, everyone's favorite mermaid is ready to explore beyond the sea. Armed with her father's trident, some amazing swimming skills and various sea animals at her command, she's more than ready. Her Special Attack would have her conjure a giant wave, that also covers the opponent in sea creatures. Her Musical Finale "Part Of Your World" fills the stage with water and can have Ariel bump floating objects into the opponent.

Ursula (The Little Mermaid): The last sea witch you would want to cross paths with, Ursula has eels to do her biding, poisonous ink clouds and even thunderclouds. Her Special Attack would have her turn giant via King Triton's trident and use the added power to attack the opponent. Her Musical Finale "Poor Unfortunate Souls" has her disguise herself as the opponent and slowly regain health from all souls being eaten by her. As a bonus, if she's infront of a mirror that's on the stage, her reflection will be her true form.

Belle (Beauty and the Beast): My, quite an odd girl, reading books and getting on the field of battle?! Belle's entire moveset would revolve around books; not magic books, just books on the rest of the cast and fairytales overall. She would be able to switch between each of these books and use what she's learned from them. For Example, 'Romeo and Juliet' gives Belle immunity to stat changes and rose themed weapons that hurt the opponent, like throwing weapons. 'Aladdin' gives her a magic ring that can conjure up magic smoke, furniture on the foe and teleport her. 'Jack and the Beanstalk' plants vines that can raise her up or entangle the foe. There's more books at her disposal, but that's just the general idea. Her Special Attack has her father ride in on his invention, chopping up an entire forest until the opponent is covered and crushed by chopped up logs. Her Musical Finale "Tale As Old As Time" gives her the power to 'skip' a fairytale, turning each of her attacks into the endings from the books. For example, 'Aladdin' would trap the opponent in an oil lamp, leaving room for her to attack.

Beast (Beauty and the Beast): The poor and cruel prince, turned into a monster as evil as the one in his heart. Beast has his boost in strength from his beastly form and claws to defeat the opponent. The curse not only affected him: his servants are by his side. Lumiere can incinerate the opponent or plant fires on the ground, Cogsworth can distract them with timed clock sounds, Mrs. Potts can spill tea to slip up the opponent, Chip will knock over bookshelves and Wardrobe can block attacks. His Special Attack would turn the opponent into a piece of furniture, leaving them open for attacks: each opponent having a different transformation. His Musical Finale "Be Our Guest" would have every attack with one of his servants, also heal Beast in addition to hurting the opponent.

Gaston (Beauty and the Beast): Nooo oooone's slick as Gaston! Quick as Gaston! No one's neck is as incredibly thick as Gaston! He's especially good at combo breaking! Boy what a guy that Gaston! Gaston has his inconic blunderbass and his fists, along with a bow and quiver and a hunting knife to deal with an opponent, almost as if they were an animal he's hunting. His Special Attack would have an angry mob charge at the opponent and beat them up. His Musical Finale "Gaston" gives him a strength boost, everytime he pulls off a combo successfully.

Aladdin (Aladdin): Everyone's favorite street rat and theif, he's not alone on the field of battle as Abu and Genie are here to help him. Abu can cling to the opponent and hit them repeatedly, Magic Carpet can be used for aerial attacks, Aladdin has a sword that he 'borrowed' from a guard and Genie can shape-shift in a variety of ways to best the opponent. Aladdin's Special Attack would have Genie distract the opponent, as Aladdin steals something off them and uses it to beat them. Aladdin's Music Finale "Friend Like Me" would have Genie grant a wish, each time Aladdin gets a combo, such as a stat boosts and healing.

Jasmine (Aladdin): The sultan's own daughter that would rather be anything than a prize to be given away. She has learned self defense skills, her father's guards and her pet tiger Rajah in her moveset. Her Special Attack would have the guards arrest the opponent and toss them into prison, as they struggle to escape and take damage. Her Musical Finale "A Whole New World" has one the Seven Wonders of the world occasionally pop up in the background to hurt the opponent, as the fight goes on.

Jafar (Aladdin): The Sultan's Royal vizer of Agrabah and one whom believes he should rule Agrabah. Jafar has his magic staff to hypnotize and cast spells onto his foe. Occasionally tapping into the phenenomal, Cosmic power of his Genie form to do some real damage. And Iago is here as well... mostly to complain. His Special Attack would have him become an all powerful Genie and Iago wishing for ways to 'hurt' (not kill) the opponent. His Musical Finale "You're Only Second Rate" would boost all of his stats and attacks, except he can't KO the opponent until the Musical Finale is done.

Simba (The Lion King): King of the Pride Rock and son of Mufasa, the Lion King himself is more than prepared with his claws and iconic roar. His roar can even control the weather to strike lightning and cause windstorms. His Special Attack would have him call on the spirit of his father, Mufasa, as the two of them roar at the opponent. His Musical Finale "Circle Of Life" will have him remember, how we are all connected and draw on the life-force of nature, slowly healing him and giving his roars more range.

Scar (The Lion King): Mufasa's little brother and King after his timely demise, Scar has his claws and his hyenas to make short work of his foe as if their nothing more than a light snack. His Special Attack would toss the opponent of a cliff, into a Wildebeest stampede just like in the movie. As a bonus, he would say 'long live the king's son' if Simba is the opponent. His Musical Finale "Be Prepared" has him do damage without needing to attack the opponent and just walking into the opponent.

Pocahontas (Pocahontas): Daughter of Chief Powhatan, this Disney Princess has the skills necessary in order to survive and win. Her Special Attack would have her people come in to fight alongside her and best the opponent. Her Musical Finale "Colors Of The Wind" gives her attacks more launching power and each dodge she does generates winds that hurt the foe.

Governor John Ratcliffe (Pocahontas): The main villain of Pocahontas, this greedy scoundrel will do anything to claim what he believes is rightfully his. He has a sword and uses his position of power to call his men into the fray. His Special Attack would have his men charge like in the movie at the opponent. His Musical Finale "Mine, Mine, Mine" prevents the opponent from interrupting his attacks and tripping over any gold sticking out of the ground.

Quasimodo (The Hunchback Of Notre Dame): The hunchback of notre Dame himself and quite the sweetheart, he just wishes to see the outside world. His job as the ringer of the bells comes in handy to stun them, swing bells at them, his talented acrobatic skills and surprising strength. His Special Attack would have him reenact the Festival of Fools and have the opponent be caught up in all the chaos. His Musical Finale "Out There" turns all of his bell attacks, into soothing sounds, that heals him.

Esmeralda (The Hunchback Of Notre Dame): An outcasts, like many other outcasts of Notre Dame, she's picked up on a multitude of tricks to evade capture. Such as illusionary tricks to trick opponents and various circus acts from the Festival of Fools. Her Special Attack has Phoebus teleport out of a field of smoke and beat the opponent. Her Musical Finale "God Help The Outcasts" plants multiple pillars of light over the stage, that burn the opponent and heal Esmeralda.

Judge Claude Frollo (The Hunchback Of Notre Dame): Someone whom believes only he can purge the world of evil and that all he does is for the greater good. Frollo, due to his old age mostly uses his sword, his horse and his 'fears' to end the opponent. Those 'fears' being cloaked figures that defend Frollo and burn the sins of his opponent. His Special Attack burns the stage, with the opponent caught up in the flames being tied to a stake. His Musical Finale "Hellfire" burns the opponent every time they hit and touch Frollo.

Arthur (Sword in the Stone): The rightful king of England, proven by pulling the sword in the stone, Arthur is ready to be king. Merlin's apprentice is armed with the sword of legend: Excalibur and his mentor Merlin is there to provide some magic aid by turning Arthur into various animals and predict the opponents attacks with foresight. Arthur's Special Attack has Merlin turn into a germ to infect the opponent. Arthur's Musical Finale "Higitus Figitus" grants Arthur increased weight, almost as if he's the sword in the stone and making him harder to launch and knock away.

Hercules (Hercules): The son of the Greek God Zeus, Hercules goes to prove himself as a true hero and this brawl may be his greatest trial yet. With his power as a Greek God, granting him immeasurable strength, agility and endurance. And his pet Pegasus shows up for aerial attacks. His Special Attack has his father Zeus come in and hurl his thunderbolt at the opponent. His Musical Finale "Zero To Hero" increases his durability each time he pulls off a combo, making him immune to attacks at times.

Hades (Hercules): Greek God of the underworld and lord of the dead, Hades will claim victory. In addition to mastery of fire and smoke, Hades can shift between generally calm and collected, to angered and enraged, which affects the range and power of his attacks. Pain and Panic also shapeshift to provide some help. His Special Attack has the Titans show up and attack the opponent. His Musical Finale "My Town" floods the stage withdead souls that slowly deplete the health of the opponent.

Mr. Incredible (The Incredibles): One of the greatest superheroes whom ever lived, in spite of an unneeded early retirement from the government. Robert "Bob" Parr, known to the public as Mr. Incredible, has his moveset revolve around his superstrength and invulnerability, also being able to use the environment to his advantage like uprooting trees. His Special Attack calls in the rest of The Incredibles; Dash, Violet, Elastigirl and Jack-Jack to help take down the opponent as a family. His Musical Finale "The Incredibles" has his attacks all release shock waves that occasionally make debris hit the opponent, like it's the intensity of a comic book.

Syndrome (The Incredibles): You better catch him while be monologues as he does not play around! The wannabe superhero uses zero point energy to toss the opponent and send objects flying their way. His Special Attack calls in the Omnidroid to make short work of the opponent. His Musical Finale "Kronos Unveiled" forces the opponent to not stand still for too long or repeat the same attacks, or else the Omnidroid will fire lasers at them almost as if their being analyzed.

Mulan (Mulan): From lying to save her father's life, to saving all of China to joining other famous Disney heroes on the field of battle, Mulan has been through a lot. She has a sword, fireworks, a staff and a fan to best her foes. Mushu tags along, spitting fireballs at the opponent and tricking them into attacking smoke illusions that resemble Mulan. Her Special Attack has fireworks hit a snowy mountain, crushing the opponent under an avalanche. Her Musical Finale "Reflections" has Mulan disguise herself and blend in a crowd that slowly came onto the battlefield. The opponent attacking a random person will have them retaliate and hurt them.

Jack Skellington (The Nightmare Before Christmas): The pumpkin king and the patron of Halloween, his title comes with a wide array of pumpkin bombs, a flexible and detachable skeleton body. His Special Attack would have him trap the opponent in a series of giant pumpkin bombs, before his pet dog Zero lights them up. His Musical Finale "This Is Halloween" plants a series of tricks and treats all over the stage: treats for Jack that heals him and tricks that leave the opponent in a scared state. They take more damage while scared.

Oogie Boogie (The Nightmare Before Christmas): A literal burlap sack of nothing but bugs, Oogie Boogie has those very same bugs come out and harm the opponent. From spiders that tangle them up, to tarantulas that poison them to flies that hoist them up, he's as gross as sounds. His Special Attack would have him inhale the opponent and let his bugs do the work. His Musical Finale "Oogie Boogie's Song" increases his luck of landing higher damage, by also hitting a dice on the stage.

Tarzan (Tarzan): A man raised by apes, Tarzan has the strength to even keep up with apes and survive in the forest. In addition to his amazing strength, Tarzan can also swing from vines, use his impressive smell and hearing to counter attacks and a spear. His Special Attack has him command an army of apes to beat up the opponent. His Musical Finale "Son Of Man" puts fruits on the trees he swings from that he can heal himself with: since the opponent is not Tarzan the same fruits either poison them or make them dizzy.

Yzma and Kronk (The Emperor's New Groove): The former advisor of Emperor Kuzco and her most loyal henchman. Kronk does the fighting with his astounding strength and Yzma will be in the background, occasionally throwing potions on the opponent. Kronk will pull the lever, that will do a variety of things such as drop a bust of Yzma, a giant rock, a vase, etc. Their Special Attack has Yzma yell 'PULL THE LEVER KRONK!' sending the opponent and Yzma down a trap door to below the stage. Leaving it up to interpretation what happens, as Yzma casually walks back to the stage with a crocodile biting her leg. Their Musical Finale "Snuff Out The Light" replaces Yzma's potions with singing that prevents the health bar from going any lower.

Milo J. Thatch (Atlantis: The Lost Empire): An orphan that grew up to be quite the cartographer to even finding the lost city of Atlantis. Since he's not much of a fighter, the friends he made on the trip will do the fighting for him. Vinny plants explosions, Mole digs holes and attacks from the ground, Sweet heals Milo and boosts his durability, Audrey sends vehicles at the opponent and Cookie leaves food for people to trip over. He's even picked up on some Atlantean magic from Kida. His Special Attack has him pilot an Atlantean cruiser, shooting lasers at the opponent. His Musical Finale "Where The Dream Takes You" reverse the opponents controls, every time Milo lands a hit, almost as if their lost without a map.

Kida Nedakh (Atlantis: The Lost Empire): Princess of Atlantis and the current Queen, Kids is armed with a spear and a connection to the Heart of Atlantis, granting her forcefields and runes that dish out the ancient city's might. Her Special Attack summons a giant tsunami with the opponent being hit as Atlantis sinks. Her Musical Finale "Kida Returns" has the stage covered in runes, as the guardians of Atlantis will hit the opponent if they step on a rune.

Stitch (Lilo and Stitch): Experiment 626, also known as Stitch is an alien that befriended the kind-hearted Lilo Pelaki. Stitch is indestructible, has four plasma blasters, can roll up into a ball and lift up to 3000 times his own weight. His Special Attack calls in his cousins to each hit the opponent once, before Stitch himself smacks them with a car. His Musical Finale "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" doubles the strength of any attacks timed with the music.

Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean): Captain Jack Sparrow comes to the battle with his signature sword, musket and flintlock pistol. His Special Attack has the Black Pearl ram the opponent and shoot cannonballs at the opponent. His Musical Finale "He's A Pirate" makes him impossible to KO, he can still take damage though.

Sulley and Mike Wazowski (Monsters Inc): The dynamic duo and best friends, Sully and Mike fight with the former scaring the opponent and the latter being pulled from the background, used as a ball to hit opponents. The more combos they land, the more scare is generated as energy: this energy being used to power machines to attack the opponent. Their Special Attack has the stage be overloaded with scare energy, to the point of canisters bouncing all over the stage and hitting the opponent, much like in Monsters University. Their Musical Finale "If I Didn't Have You" makes the opponent laugh each time they hit Sulley, generating energy and leaving them open to attack.

Jim Hawkins (Treasure Planet): Jim Hawkins, someone with the 'makings of greatness' according to Captain Silver has a chance to prove that here. With his solar surfer to pull off some amazing tricks, a knife and a blaster, he can hold his own just fine. His Special Attack would simply be Treasure Planet blowing up, with the opponent caught in the explosion, as he flies away on a ship. His Musical Finale "I'm Still Here" gives him the markings of greatness, in the form of stat boosts everytime he pulls off a trick on his solar surfer.

Captain John Silver (Treasure Planet): The fearsome pirate cyborg and only real father figure to Jim Hawkins, Captain Silver is ready to use those pirate skills from over the years to claim his treasure. As a cyborg, he has a wide selection of tools and weapons, such as lasers, a cybernetic eye, guns, a sword, a cleaver, a battering ram, the list goes on. His Special Attack has the opponent fly into space, while he leaves on a pirate ship. His Musical Finale "I'm Still Here" fills the stage with comets that can freeze the opponent if they come into contact with them and increases the strength of Silver's lasers if they pass through.

Merida (Brave): The Scottish princess and daughter of Queen Elinor and King Fergus, enters the battle with her archery skills and swordsmanship to win the fight. Her Special Attack has her ride in on her horse Angus, delivering a series of arrows to finish off the opponent. Her Musical Finale "Touch The Sky" makes all her arrows hit the opponent, without fail.

Kenai and Koda (Brother Bear): The bear brothers, one born a bear and the other cursed to turn into a bear. Kenai and Koda fight as a team of bears from claws to wilderness skills they picked up. Even the Great Spirits watch over and protect them, by influencing nature to protect the brothers. Their Special Attack has the spirits of Sitka and Koda's mother come in to protect them and deal with the enemy. Their Musical Finale "On My Way" increases the range of their block, with the Great Spirits protecting them.

Tiana and Naveen (The Princess and the Frog): A hardworker that believes the only way you can make it in the world, is through hardwork. Even if that meant kissing a frog. Tiana has a wide assortment of cooking utensils to win. With Naveen distracting them with singing and dancing. They can switch to being frogs, where they use their tongues to tangle up the opponent and hop off lily pads. Their Special Attack has Mama Odie turn the opponent into a series of animals, before sending them away with her Voodoo magic. Their Musical Finale "Almost There" gives Tiana a golden glow that greatly increases the range of their attacks and distracts the opponent with golden glows.

Dr. Facilier (The Princess and the Frog): The Shadow Man himself and one whom turned Naveen into a frog, Dr. Facilier fights with his cane, Voodoo magic, shadows and spell casting. His Special Attack has him pull the opponent into a deal, as their dragged down by the Voodoo Spirits. His Musical Finale "Friends On The Other Side" let's him take a gaze into the opponent's future, turning all of his attacks into counters, if they hit the same time as the opponent's attacks.

Rapunzel (Tangled): The lost princess of the Kingdom of Corona, blessed with magic hair and has quite the efficient frying pan. Her hair can not only heal herself a bit, but can be swung from, tie up the opponent and makes for a surprising whip. Her Special Attack has Flynn and Maximus ride in, with Rapunzel hitching a ride, as the three take down the opponent. Her Musical Finale "I See The Light" fills up the stage with lanterns, that can blind the opponent if they touch any.

Hiro and Baymax (Big Hero 6): The child genius and the helper robot turned fighter have become quite the crime fighting duo, that honor Tadashi's wish of wanting to help people. Baymax does the fighting, with Hiro on his back, such as martial arts, rocket fist, an energy blade and sonic blaster. Their Special Attack calls in the rest of the Big Hero 6, as they teamup and take down the opponent. Their Musical Finale "Immortals" assuming they get the rights to the song has Baymax dodge every attack that comes, without needing to move the controller and slowly heal up.

Judy Hopps (Zootopia): A young bunny from Bunnyburrow that came to Zootopia to pursue her dreams of being cop and help people. Her bunny physiology grants her enhanced hearing, quick agility, high jumping and she has trained herself to take down foes much bigger than her. Her Special Attack has her do her job as a cop and arrest the opponent, with the entire police force joining in to help. Her Musical Finale "Try Everything" plants tourist attractions all over the stage, that can hurt the opponent and heal Judy.

Elsa (Frozen): The Queen of Arendelle and the Ice Queen herself, forced to conceal don't feel, don't let them know. But she'll be doing anything but that here! Elsa has ice powers to freeze the opponent, create pillars of ice, ice slides, ice skates etc. Her Special Attack calls in Marshmallow to deal with the opponent. Her Musical Finale "Let It Go" allows her ice powers to come to life and aid her in battle.

Moana (Moana): Moana of Motuni, whom has sailed the sea to return the Heart of Te Fiti with Maui. She has a harpoon and an oar, along with the ocean helping her and watching over her. Her Special Attack returns the Heart of Te Fiti to Te Fiti, whom fully heals Moana, temporarily boosting her attack. Moana's Musical Finale "How Far I'll Go" covers the stage in water that has boats to hit the opponent and granting Moana faster speed.

Maui (Moana): The Maori Demigod of the wind and sea, with quite the number of feats from over the years. With his magic fish hook, he can shapeshift into a number of animals, his most common being a hawk. His Special Attack being lassoing the sun into the opponent. His Musical Finale "You're Welcome" makes all damage to Maui, take longer to leave an impact.

And that's that. A LOT longer than I thought it would be. Now your probably thinking, what about all the other Disney media? It's an idea for the first game, so other characters (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Scrooge McDuck, Goliath, Kim Possible, etc.) would appear in a potential sequel.

Or DLC, since every game these days has it.

Thanks so much for reading all this and taking the time to do! I would love to hear some thoughts and feedback! I had a blast making all this and would like to see if you're interested in hearing more video game ideas.

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sugarcomatosed · 3 years

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i love your stories so much!! and was wondering if you can give some writing tips perhaps? 🥺👉🏻👈🏻

Breaking this up into sections for you + putting it under a cut cause I went overboard. 😅

General Writing Tips

These work for both academic and creative writing.

Make an outline.

It doesn't have to be a formal one, but having at least a general idea of the scenes you want to include is helpful. If I know my fic is going to be a longer one (like Don't Hesitate was and my current WIP is), I break down the larger story beats i want to hit on a piece of paper or my iPad.

It's good to know what you're planning to do, in a any piece I usually have a single specific scene I want to do and depending on what it is, I might either just do the scene I want to or turn into something longer.

Draft, draft, draft.

I cannot stress the importance of going through and reviewing your work. This is a big part of any sort of writing.

Your first idea isn't always your best idea. As you work on a piece you might find your original idea is holding you back, focus shifts! Don't be afraid to let your work change as you go. It's not always easy to let go of your original idea but if you find it's not working, you have to let it change. Sections will need to be rewritten, things have to be readjusted to fit with later sections. Reread for clarity while you're drafting and look to see if this makes sense to you, or reads well to you. If you can't follow it and you wrote it, chances are your reader can't either. Did you use the same phrase again and again? Find and search it on your doc to double check.

Sometimes you have to cut things you really like because they just don't contribute to the fic anymore. Save those bits and use them somewhere else!In a lot of my longer pieces I will write a paragraph, realize that's not where it should go and cut/paste it into another part of the doc because the pacing/scene doesn't make sense where I had it originally, but it works somewhere else.

If you're stuck, skip around, come back and then stitch the bits you have written together.

Don't Focus on a Word Count

This might be controversial, but I'm of the opinion just because something is longer does not make it better. Some works are short, and that's okay! I very rarely try to aim for a specific count of words unless it's for a prompt exchange or a personal challenge. I write till I feel the piece is done. Some stories require more words, some require less.

Don't Hesitate is a great example of this again, because all I wanted to do was a bittersweet first kiss fic, but jumping write into the kiss wouldn't get the full effect I wanted. Meanwhile, with Old Habits all I wanted to do was write dumb comedic kisses, we didn't need a 2k preamble.

Get Someone You Trust to Edit

My go to editor for the past six years or so is one of my good friends. She has edited everything from college papers to my fics for me before I post them to read for clarity, find any funky phrases or misspelled words I missed, and I do the same for her when she asks! A fresh set of eyes makes a world of a difference. Find someone to trade fics with or ask a friend! They might have good suggestions you never thought of, or be able to tell what you were going for when you don't even know yourself.

I also rely on my friends a lot to brainstorm and talk my ideas out before I start because it helps me think and figure out what I need. It's super common for me to text someone and say "im gonna spitball at you, that okay?" and then spend twenty minutes chatting through my ideas.

Have Reference Material

For my 13sar fics, I regularly go back and review/screenshot videos of the dialogue to make sure I am staying consistent with story events, character nuance and small details. You don't have to go crazy, but it is really helpful to have your source material to go back to and check yourself against. In non creative writing I always had a pile of papers highlighted with my own notes on the margins.

Take Breaks/Pace Yourself

Know your own limits, and if you are working and working on something and it's not coming out leave it alone and come back to it. I'm really bad at this personally because when I get an idea in my head I want to see it through but sometimes you gotta step back! It's not healthy to keep working on things and overwork yourself. Stretch, get up go for a walk.

Write What You Want to Write

Don't focus on what people want to read. Focus on what you like. Find a topic, a scene, anything that you are passionate about and the rest will follow. The only time I write fic for other people is when I am writing for a friend. Even prompt requests I only take open ended ones, if I am not interested in writing it it's not gonna happen. I know it's super hard and I get really anxious sometimes about letting people down now, or worrying people won't like something but then I step back and remind myself this is a hobby and I'm doing it for fun.

Play to Your Strengths

You shouldn't try to write like me, you should try to write like yourself. Find what skills you have and use them to your advantage!

I can't give you a step by step list to write like me, because nobody in the world has my background! We're all unique. Everything I've listed so far I know because I'm not a beginner anymore! I'm in my twenties and have come from a strong academic writing background.

I took on an intensive course load in high school, and then went onto college for a sociology degree. I very rarely had test based finals and at the end of each semester would have five 10-15 page papers to submit. Straight up some of my skills come from having read and studied the works of anthropologist Clifford Geertz. I am not saying you should read anthropology/sociology texts. Unless you like that sort of thing lol

I also have 6+ years of theater experience (acting & directing), I use this all the time for my writing. When I think about a scene, I think about how I would work through it as an actor, how the character would move, and how would things read to an audience. The GOTE ("Goal, Obstacle, Tactics, and Expectation") method of acting by Robert Cohen is really useful hear if you want a more technical breakdown of what I mean by that.

This leads to a lot of what we called "business" in acting, doing small tiny things while you talk or move around on stage to give the sense you're a real human. I don't have to think or try on these sort of things because they're in my skill set already!

Things I do Personally

As in, these are not transferable skills this is just the stuff I do while working on projects.

Find a Vibe™️

I come into any fic with usually a goal I want to hit, a line of dialogue or something I want to capture. Just like, the general idea of a feeling a song even if the lyrics don't match up. Make a mood-board, a playlist, just find something you wanna do. It's less about the actual words on the page and what you're aiming to do.

Look to things that inspire you

Don't Hesitate got written because I wanted to write a fic that captured the same vibe as a scene in Macross Frontier, where two characters have a bittersweet kiss before the final battle and that scene still has me fucked up six years after watching it.

My current WIP is doing the same thing but with the song All I've Ever Known from Hadestown. Two characters working through loneliness, the sudden feeling of falling in love and the frustration that feeling can bring on sometime.

I don't plagiarize them word for word, but these are scenes that inspire me! I also patchwork quilt ideas together. Using Don't Hesitate again, I also ended up pulling from a bunch of shoujo anime, Toradora, Sailor Moon, Yona of the Dawn, Princess Tutu...specific scenes I enjoy to blend and create something new.

Goof Off While You Write

I name my documents stupid things, I write dumb placeholder dialogue or vague sentiments like "insert better word here", I make memes when I'm struggling and roast myself and my predictable tastes.

I spent twenty minutes texting a friend Juro's name with different letters spelt out and then the "fuck your chickenstrips" vine saying it was Juro during destruction. Just have fun with it!

Listen to J-POP On Loop for Hours at a Time

i am not kidding I do this all the time. Perfume, AKB48, anime idol osts, Sailor Moon's OPs/ED, vocaloid songs. I like technopop and Japanese is good because it usually doesn't distract my brain since I only know random phrases, but still know what the meaning og the song is.

I love music, it helps me vibe out.

Thank you so much for enjoying my work ;o;

I hope this is useful to you in some way! I'm so sorry it's so long winded but I am overly thorough and love to teach people ;w;

#sugar speaks #sugar writes #okay to reblog

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viiixn · 3 years

Text

[ Equinox ]

There are four major equinox’s that deeply affect azuka, when they come around. And I’m sure everyone, somewhere along the line have heard the words “Beltane” or “Yule”. Samhain may even be a familiar one. What you may not know, is that during these times the veil between our world and the “Supernatural” thins. This can mean a great many of things, like a broken mirror, each piece can be assigned to a religion, creature, legend, lore or spirit. Its fairly fluid.

Ever noticed how on Halloween, ghosts and spirits and creepy dark nasties get more frequent? Or how spring seems to inspire magic and fantasy, new life? All of these ‘seasons’ and their respective category sub-listed elements, have a reoccurring themes that birthed superstitions, and beliefs that spanned the world in ripples of interpretations during an era when communication was next to remote.

But its important to remember, with azuka, that these aren’t just festivals, they also have a very deep and connected reason as to why they were even celebrated now, in the ways that they are. I like to think that even though these holidays were rewritten and slapped with makeup and stage names, they STILL fulfill their purpose, especially at the root... but before I digress, let me explain how and why this is relevant to my character:

First up is Imbolc, then Ostara and Beltane. These hold a steadfast undercurrent with the rest, that never changes from the passing of one equinox to the next, save for Ostara. She was genetically spliced with an assortment of choice dna structures and animals components, stitched together with the Song of Making ( i.e. see my monstercanons ) but this does not exempt her from the pull, nor the instinctual drive of Ostara. Spring. Primal lust and new life. I’m super skimming this, if you want more or better details read up on the pagan wheel. But anyway, tithes are paid to Ostara to keep the veil from falling into destitute and fragility; just like any other festival. The tithe here would be gifts; planted seeds, new life, creation of life, celebration of life and the care of it.

As Mabon approaches, the tithe to be paid would be Harvest. Offering of food or labored toils, abstinence as a sacrifice, or gluttonous indulgence. There are many, so many, ways to apply these to different things. But the root theme of them, remain the same. And during these times, the things about azuka that are fae, fae-touched or fae influenced will rise CLOSER to the surface, than any other time. the “nature” things about her, that are otherwise “animal” will also react, just not on such an intimate scale.

( I.E. MEANING ) : these attributes highlighted here, will be amplified and then subsequently applied to the following equinoxes appropriately and respectfully. think of it like supernatural PMS.

#monstercanon #( ' Living Weapon ' | 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚓𝚎𝚌�� 00-2A )

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cozywritings · 4 years

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Stitches 11: I’ll Be Good

It’s Shawn’s 22nd birthday, so here's a new update on our lovebirds.

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“He asked you to what!” Emily screamed, causing everyone in the ice cream parlor to look at you two. You decided to tell her about your exciting new housing plans for next year, so you could offer that she request your current dorm room, that way she had a room to herself. She was like you in the sense of preferred privacy.

You blushed as you repeated your previous statement. “He asked me to live with him. And I said, yes.” Your cheeks turning an even brighter pink at the confession. “I already told mom and dad, and they’re not too sure about it. However, I think it’s because they haven’t met Shawn yet, but we’d be splitting costs. I pay for food and the utilities and he’s got rent. Plus, we get to sleep in a queen sized bed every night and have our own kitchen and laundry room, and oh god I can’t wait honestly.”

She just looked at you, your eyes bright and cheeks flushed, a glow to your skin that wasn’t coming from the neon lights in the shop or the new highlighter you’d purchased a few days ago. “I’m so happy for you, I know this will be good for you. Both of you, and I can’t wait to see what you do with your place.”

You smiled at her, taking a bite of your edible cookie dough and dancing to the music. “Mom and dad are coming in from Austin in a few days to see the place and meet Shawn, and I’m so nervous Em. What should I do?” She pursed her lips as she thought, her hazel eyes trained on the jukebox.

“I think you should take them to lunch at Mel's in town and then down to the place to see it. Then you have 3 days to shop and they can see how Shawn is with you, that’ll be a good meeting.” You nodded, making a mental note to tell Shawn about it the plan. “Plus, if Shawn really wants to impress them, they can see what he’s like under stress, so having them there while you start to move stuff in would be ideal.” She had a very good point.

The rest of the afternoon you continued on talking about the new semester and how Emily was going to ask to move into your dorm room in a few weeks because she didn’t need to go home for the summer, considering her family lived in L.A which was only half an hour from campus. You were grateful for her help on how to have a great first meeting.

-----

You tapped your foot nervously on the sidewalk, Shawn standing next to you as you waited for your parents to meet you outside the airport. “Baby relax” He stated, rubbing your shoulders and pressing a kiss to your head “Everything’s gonna go fine, and besides, I’m the one who should be nervous and I’m as calm as ever. Take a breather honey.” He smiled, watching as you took a deep breath and relaxed.

Letting out a sigh, you leaned back against his chest, smiling as he wrapped his arms around your shoulders. “I just want them to love you as much as I do.” He squeezed you tightly before leaning down to kiss you.

“I do too love, but stressing about it isn’t going to help. Besides, I’m pretty sure that’s your mom right there, staring at us.” You looked over to where he was pointing at the doors, and in fact, your mom was standing there. She was smiling at the two of you while your dad crossed his arms in an attempt to look intimidating.

You broke out into a smile. “Mom! Dad!” You shouted, breaking out of Shawn’s hold to run towards your parents, arms outstretched for the hugs they were waiting for.

“We’ve missed you sweetheart” your dad said, rubbing your back as you pulled away. You smiled at them before remembering that Shawn was still waiting for you to return, but you hadn’t seen your parents in almost a year aside from facetime calls.

“I missed you guys too, it's so weird not seeing you guys all the time.” As you spoke, you walked them to your boyfriend, who was waiting patiently for you to have your time with your parents. “Mom, Dad, this is Shawn. My boyfriend and uh, who I’ll be living with for senior year.” You smiled, motioning to Shawn who had a hand held out. Now he looked nervous, and you laughed at the quick change of attitudes.

His hands shook at he waited for your dad to take his hand. “Hey, I’m Shawn. It’s good to finally meet you, sir.” He said as your dad shook his hand, your mom giving him a quick hug. “So uh, we thought that we’d take you to lunch at Mel’s and then to see the place we chose. Then we’d leave you two to check into your hotel and get some rest, or explore the city.” You watched as he spoke, rubbing his hands on his jeans and scratching the back of his neck.

Coming to his rescue, you grabbed his hand, placing a kiss to the swallow tattoo you loved. “So mom, I was thinking that tomorrow we could do some decor shopping! There’s this little place I found near campus that sells some cute stuff and dad can go to that golf course he’s been talking about.” Shawn mouthed a “thank you” before walking the four of you to his jeep and staring the route to the diner for lunch.

---

“So” you start, looking at your parents as you pull into the driveway of the little two bedroom house you and Shawn had just signed on. “This is it! I know it’s really small but really it’s so perfect. It’s two bedrooms with a laundry room in the garage and the kitchen and floors were just redone!” Shawn watched as you animatedly talked about the house, loving the way your eyes lit up as you spoke. “Do you wanna go see the inside?” you asked, practically bouncing with excitement in your seat.

Your mom nodded, already tearing up at the fact that you had found someone who loved you and you trusted enough to live with during the most important year of your college career. “We’d love to baby, I’m sure it’s beautiful.” Your dad agreed, mentally planning the list of things you’d need for the small yard that you had.

Walking into the house, you let out a happy sigh. The white walls and wood floor made it look bigger than it really was and the new kitchen looked beautiful with the gray cabinets and blue backsplash. “Oh honey, this is beautiful. You two did such a good job with picking this. I really love the backplash!” Your mom smiled looking around the living area.

“Actually, Shawn picked it. He had already signed on it and everything before asking me. This was all him.” Both of your parents looked at him, shocked that he’d done this himself before letting you show them the bedroom and the rest of the little place. “This is our room, I was thinking a queen bed suit so there’s more room.”

Shawn came up behind you, hands on your shoulders before adding “I was thinking more room for your vanity, honey. Or one of those clothes racks for your extra stuff.” Your mom watched the two of you exchange ideas for the room while your dad took measurements for the furniture.

“Sir, can I talk to you outside a moment?” Shawn asked your dad, nodding towards the back porch that had an old iron table and chairs on it that your mom was already talking about repainting. He nodded, following Shawn to the backyard and closing the door.

You and your mom exchanged looks. “What do you think he’s talking to him about?” She asked, watching them carefully. They both stood with their backs to the house, and you took a moment to watch the way his shirt strained against his broad back. You haven’t seen your parents in 12 months and you were already ready for them to go to their hotel so you could have Shawn on the kitchen counter.

You shrugged, “Shawn was talking about how the landlord said we could install a sprinkler system the other day, maybe yard stuff since dad is so good at that. I have no idea why they look so serious.” you hummed, turning to look at the kitchen. “I was thinking we could go to Rodeo Dr. and do some clothes shopping later, it’s time to donate the closet and get a new one. What do you say mom?” you asked and she nodded. You two made a deal, since scholarships paid for your tuition and books, you would use the college account to shop.

Ten minutes later Shawn and your dad came back in, you and your mom had already decided that you needed to get some blackout curtains for the bedroom to help with the brightness. Shawn had the biggest smile on his face and you wanted to know why. “Hey baby, we were gonna go get some things for the yard. Do you want us to drop you two off at the strip to go shopping?”

Before you could answer, your mom was already grabbing her purse. “Oh that’s a wonderful idea, we were just talking about going shopping to update our wardrobes!” And with that you were pulled to the car, your dad having an odd look on his face.

---

Now settled into your own hotel room you’d been in for the week, since you had already moved out of the dorms and you didn't have furniture yet, you decided to ask Shawn about earlier. “Hey honey?” your voice soft, unsure of how to ask.

He let out a hum, looking up from his Pediatric Surgery and O.R. Protocol book. “What’s up babe?”

You were currently hanging the clothes you and your mom bought earlier in the day on the back of the bathroom door so the steam from the shower you were about to take would smooth any wrinkles. “What were you and dad talking about in the backyard today?”

His eyes widened, and you noticed the way he looked over to your left hand before smiling. “Just some yard stuff and some future things with the house. I think he likes me.”

That was all you got before he walked over and pressed a kiss to your shoulder, pulling the strap of your tank top down. “Baby, I’m so stressed about this move. I’m really not in the mood.” You sighed, letting out a moan when you felt him leave a trail of hot kissing along your tight shoulders. He nodded, stopping and pulling you into a hug. “Can I at least join you in your shower? Wanna wash your hair for you, rub your shoulders. Just wanna love on my girl.”

You really weren’t in the mood, but there was something about the way he said “my girl” that had you letting him strip you of your top and shorts so he could turn on the water.

Stepping in after Shawn, you saw him squeezing your shampoo into the palm of his hand. You turned around so he could wash your hair and let out a sigh at the feeling of his fingers massaging your head. “Well I don’t know about dad, but mom absolutely adores you. She would not stop talking about you while we were shopping. She’s already planning a trip for us to come home so you can meet my whole family.” You laughed and rinsed out your hair before he applied your conditioner.

“Well, your mom is an amazing woman. When you were talking to the associate at Coach, she told me she’d never seen you so happy. It made me feel really good.” As he spoke, he gently scrubbed you with your body wash, taking time to rub your shoulders. He knew walking and carrying all your stuff tensed you up. “And your dad told me if I hurt you he wouldn’t hesitate to personally castrate me.”

You laughed, “That sounds like dad. But he means no harm.” you reassured him, turning to place a kiss to his chest. “Want me to wash your hair too bub?” his eyes widened, and he nodded, dropping to his knees so you could pour the shampoo directly onto his head.

As you washed those perfect curls, he pressed kisses to your hips. Not trying to do anything other than relax you. “So, room service for dinner and Grey’s Anatomy?” he asked as you rinsed his hair for him.

“I don’t think there’s anything else I’d rather do.” he smiled, standing up and pressing his lips to yours. The kiss was wet and hot, and you let out a moan when one hand came up to cup your neck gently. “Babe, be careful. I don’t wanna start something I don’t have the energy to finish.”

He smiled against your lips, “I can finish it for you honey. Wanna make you feel good.” but you shook your head and he nodded. He placed one final kiss to your lips and pulled away. “Okay my love, I’ll go order dinner so you can shave. Shrimp Alfredo and Stella Rosa?” he asked, referring to your dinner order. You nodded, grabbing his hand and squeezing gently before he left to call the kitchen.

---

“Hey babe, should we get a leather couch or a cloth one?” You asked, getting Shawn to pull his attention away from the array of coffee tables. You were currently choosing your living room furniture and your dad insisted on new items. So here you were, an hour into your search.

“They both have pros and cons.” Your mom added, running a hand along a soft brown couch. She knew a lot about purchasing new furniture, considering one of her companies was a furniture store, your father, however, gave you his credit card and left for the golf course.

Shawn let out a groan, his brain tired from all the choices and his stomach grumbling. “Baby I don’t know. You’re gonna be the one resting the most there because over half of your classes are online. You chose whatever one you want, I’m sure I’ll love it. As long as it’s gray or black.” He pressed a kiss to your forehead before answering his phone that had began ringing. “Hey mom, what’s up?”

He talked to his mom a few minutes alone before walking back to the two of you, rubbing your back gently. “Hey honey, mom wants to FaceTime, she has some input on the furniture. Is that okay?” You nodded, motioning your mom to come over to join the two of you.

“Hey loves!” Karen smiled, waving at everyone and blowing kisses. You smiled at her, blowing a kiss and leaning against Shawn. You hadn’t officially met Shawn’s parents in person yet, but you’d met them over FaceTime and a Skype call over spring break to thank her for the hotel room. They seemed to like you, according to what Shawn said when he got back from him trip home.

“Hey K! This is my mom, she’s helping us shop while dad is out golfing. But we could use some help deciding. And I figured a retailer’s opinion would really help.” She smiled at you, knowing you were nervous about choosing.

She went through the list of pros and cons of the couch options, adding in that there also needs to be a chair to match. “But if you’re gonna be home doing studies, I’d suggest a comfy cloth couch because you’ll get hot on a leather one. However, I also know Shawn’s habit of eating every meal on the couch.” Her eyes trained on him and you laughed, “so maybe an easy to clean option would be best.”

“Thanks mom. I think that’s what we’ll do.” Shawn handed you the phone so you could say your goodbyes, his face red at his mom’s accusation.

“Thanks again Karen.” You waved, sending her a smile and a kiss.

“It’s no problem love, and it was nice to meet you too!” She smiled at your mom and they exchanged goodbyes and cell phone numbers,and a few words before the call ended.

“She’s a lovely woman, just like her son.” Your mom whispered to you as you handed Shawn’s phone back. “I’d love to meet her for real one day.” She said, insinuating that she was already mentally preparing for a wedding.

You walked around another hour before deciding on and buying a living room set and having them deliver it to the house. You had already bought a bedroom set that morning, and now just needed kitchen things so you could sleep in the house tonight and be able to eat.

---

Walking into the house, you let in the delivery guys, instructing them where to place everything and thanking them for all their hard work. “Would you guys like some water before you go?? We’ve bought plenty.” You offered, pointing to the case of water bottles on the counter. They all took one, thanking you before heading back out to their trucks and leaving.

“So baby, this is our home for the next year.” Shawn sighed, placing the bag of bedding on the couch and wrapping his arms around your waist. Your parents had already gone back to their hotel, your mom saying something about dinner reservations.

“It’s perfect, I love it so much. I love you so much. I was gonna see if mom and dad wanted to come see after dinner, but I’d much rather just relax. Maybe christen the new house?” He let out a low moan into your hair, hugging you tighter before whispering to you,

“The faster we can get the sheets on the bed, the faster we can get underneath them.” So without another word, you raced off to the bedroom, giggling in excitement and happiness of how things were turning out for the two of you.

There was nothing better than laying in bed with Shawn’s arms around you, except doing so in your own home. “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” He asked, bringing you out of your post sex daze.

You blinked a few times, rolling over and laying on top of him. “Just thinking about how much I love you, and how excited I am to make this place ours.” He smiled down at you, watching you blink slowly in thought. He knew this was a huge thing for you, and one reason he did all of this was because he had a plan in place and he wanted to make it as seamless as possible. But also he knew that you’d been having a tough time, and found this specific place so he could turn the spare room into a designing studio and your own safe space.

---

It’s been a week since you moved into the house. A week of figuring things out, learning when the other actually showers, and learning that Shawn actually eats very healthy, despite all the takeout he ordered when you lived in the dorms. Everything has been unpacked and placed in the right spot, a laundry schedule had been established, and you’d even been able to get your own makeup station set up in the empty corner of the bedroom. The spare room was currently being used to hold everything that didn’t have a place yet, but would soon be turned into your safe space. Shawn told you about his little surprise when you walked in on him talking to Cheryl and Emily about ways to decorate the room for you

Tonight was your housewarming party and you were a running mess trying to get everything ready on time. “Hey baby, do you want to go take a shower? I’ve got everything ready, and you look like you could use a few minutes to yourself.” Shawn smiled sympathetically at you, placing the final package of solo cups on the counter. “I’ve got it from here, you should relax for a while. You’re stressing too much.”

As he spoke, he walked around and handed you a glass of water and some pain killers for your head and back. “You’re the best.” You whispered, closing your eyes and swallowing the pills. “I’d love to take a shower and maybe even get in a nap before they get here.” He nodded, kissing your forehead and gently scratching your back, which earned a kiss to this collar bone and asatisfied hum from you.

“I think that’s a perfect idea. I’m gonna mow the lawn really quickly and then I’ll shower and might even join you in bed. We’ve still got-“ he stopped and looked down at his watch. “Three hours before they get here. So we’ve got plenty of time to relax.” You leaned up and pressed a kiss to his chin, humming your approval of the idea, then walked off to shower. Stripping off your top as you walked to the bedroom, you heard Shawn let out a low groan.

---

You were almost asleep when Shawn walked into the bedroom, chest exposed and sweaty. Those curls you loved were plastered to his neck and forehead. “I didn’t mean to wake you baby, I’m gonna get in the shower and then join you. Try to stay awake for me?” You nodded sleepily, debating if you should tell him you’re naked under the sheets, but decided to let him find out for himself.

“I’ll be out in a few minutes.” He mumbled before closing the door and starting the shower. To keep yourself awake, you opted for turning on the tv. When you moved in, both tv’s came with you, yours went into the living room because it was larger, and Shawn’s got placed in your room. So at least you already knew how to work it, and there wasn’t that trial period like when you get new things.

In the time it took you to pick a movie, Shawn had already showered, gotten dressed, meaning he put on some boxers, and walked back into the bedroom. “What are we watching sweetness?” His voice soft just in case you’d fallen back asleep.

“Killers, it’s an Ashton Kutcher movie where he’s a spy. I loved it when I was in high school.” You watched as he picked up the laundry and put it in the basket before walking back over to the bed and pulling back the covers.

The look on his face was absolutely priceless when he saw your bare skin. “Fuck, babe you can’t just not warn me that you’re naked.” he groaned and you shrugged, patting the mattress next to you.

“I was too lazy to get dressed after my shower. Come cuddle with me, Dr. Mendes.” He moaned at the name, loving when you called him that. Even though he hasn’t yet started his shadowing at the hospital, you had been calling him that for about a month now. He always had a good reaction to it.

“How am I supposed to say no to that?” He smirked, crawling next to you and letting you mold yourself to his body. “I set an alarm for 5:00. That gives you an hour to get ready.” He spoke into your hair, fingers dancing across your back.

Letting out a content sigh you spoke softly. You mumbled a quiet “okay” into his chest before drifting off into your well deserved nap.

---

The party has been going on for a few hours now and everything has been going amazing. Everyone loved the house, especially Brian, since he helped Shawn and encouraged him to ask you to live with him. Everything was perfect, until the last few guests arrived. In all honesty, it was a complete and honest mistake of simply not knowing, but the second you heard your front door open and looked up to see who it was, your smile and heart dropped.

At first it was just Cole, another med student that was shadowing with Shawn at the hospital, then behind him was Josh. He looked around, as if he truely didn’t know who’s house he was at, until his eyes landed on the photo of you and Shawn at Disneyland, you had all the photos printed and placed in a photo album. His eyes went wide, then even larger when they landed on you before he gave you a smirk.

“I’ll be right back Rudy, I need to go find Shawn. Um, an unwanted guest just got here.” Your voice shook like your hands. He knew where you lived now, and that scared you, even more so since his advances after Christmas break. You just knew he’d try to pull something while Shawn was at the hospital.

Noticing your panic, Rudy placed a hand on your shoulder. “Hey, you okay? Who’s here? You should sit down, you look like you’re gonna pass out.” He waved over Brian, handing you a plate of nachos to eat. “Dude, I don’t know what’s going on but someone is here and it’s causing a panic attack. Can you go get Shawn?” He asked and Brian nodded, moving quickly to go find his best friend while Rudy sat next to you and pulled you into his side for comfort.

“Hey, can you point to who it is?” His voice soft. You pointed to Josh who was staring at you, a smirk on his face at how he was affecting you. Rudy turned to look at him and almost growled, anger boiling in his chest to see his friend so upset. “Why the fuck is he here?”

Tears were now sliding down your cheeks, as you shrugged. “He came in with Cole. I don’t think he knew about Josh, because he wouldn’t do that on purpose.” You sobbed, shoulders shaking as you tried to calm down the panic attack.

“Okay, here’s Shawn. I’m gonna go talk to Cole. Just remember to breathe hun, you’re safe. Your boys got you.” Brian announced after coming back, you let out a soft chuckle when he winked at you, tossing the plate of food onto the coffee table and reaching out for Shawn.

He was already on defense mode, body rigid and jaw set. “Baby, Hey what’s wrong? Brian said you’re not doing well. Breathe for me okay, you’re alright, you’re right here with me.” He stopped to look up at Brian and Cole who’d walked up, an extremely sympathetic look on his face.

“Let’s go talk in our room okay? I wanna get her out of this crowd so she can breathe.” They all nodded, filing into your room, Rudy, Brian and Cole all looking at you with worried looks.

Sitting on your bed, you were already starting to calm down. That’s when Cole spoke up. “I’m so fucking sorry, I didn’t know you two had a bad history. I didn’t think to tell him whose house it was or even ask you guys if I could bring a friend. Oh shit I feel so terrible. He’s in my British Lit. class and I had no fucking idea. When Brian told me I wanted to puke.” He was babbling, his own panic setting in.

You reached out and grabbed his shaking hands with yours. “It’s okay, you didn’t know. But is there any way you can get him to leave?” He nodded quickly, telling you that he’d take him home immediately.

That’s when Shawn decided to butt in. “Wait. Who’s here, Cole who did you bring?” He asked, kissing the top of your head and keeping track of your pulse.

The boy bit his lip, looking at how your makeup was ruined and like he wanted to cry. “I brought Josh. I swear man, I didn’t know. You know I’d never do that to you guys.” You rubbed his arm and closed your eyes as you began you relax.

Shawn instantly tensed, his jaw tight and eyes hard. “Baby, Shawn, Hey, look I’m okay now. Cole’s gonna take him home and come back.” You looked over at Cole as a silent plea he’d come back and he nodded. “Problem solved. I promise I’m okay now. You’re here with me, I’ve got the guys too. And Em and the girls are here as well.”

But it was no use, Shawn was already walking out of the bedroom and making a beeline to the back porch where Josh was playing with the lights hanging overhead. You ran after him, but it was no use, he was on a mission. “I’d suggest you leave before this gets ugly.” Shawn seethed, pointing towards the back gate.

“What are you gonna do about it Mendes? Why don’t you go back to your pathetic girlfriend, what’s she crying about in there anyways? I’d love to see what else I can make her d-“ before he could finish, Shawn had pushed him into the table, both Josh and the glass top hitting the concrete. He was quick to get up. “Son of a bitch!” He yelled, lunging at Shawn and knocking him into the brick wall. You let out a scream, tears running down your face at the fight before you.

Rudy held you, hiding your face in his chest while Brian and Cole went in, grabbing Josh and throwing him onto the ground before securing his hands and forcing him into the car. “Hey, we’ll be back to check on everything later. Make sure they’re okay?” Rudy nodded, ushering the party goers out of the house with an apology.

The second he let go of you, you darted towards Shawn, who was leaning against the side of the house, head leaned back onto the bricks as he chest heaved. “Shawn!” You cried, falling into him and the two of you slid to the ground.

“Shhhh baby I’m okay. Just hit my head and my back scraped against the house, I’m not severely hurt, I promise. Just wanna sit here for a few minutes.” His hands came up to cradle you to his chest as you listened to his rapid heart beat. “We’re safe. I’ll call Monday morning and get a security system put in.” You let out a little chuckle, Shawn was just in a fight, he could have a concussion, and his first thought was making sure you were safe in the house.

You looked up at Rudy, who was currently sweeping up the broken glass. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll clean it up in the morning. Can you just do me a favor and bring me the first aid kit from our bathroom?” you asked, lookimg at the scrapes on Shawn’s face.

“Of course, I’ll be right back. Do you want something to drink?” you looked at Shawn who shook his head. He came back a few minures later with the kit and a couch pillow for you to place behond Shawn’s head.

“Thank you.” You whispered to them from your place on the concrete. You two had yet to get up, Shawn claiming he needed a minute and your body was drained of all energy. “Do you think you can help me get him into the bedroom, I can clean him up. But he’s too big for me to carry alone.”

He nodded, helping Shawn off the ground as the boys came back, Cole handed you some flowers and you smiled at him. “I’m so sorry guys, if I’d known-“ Cole started but you but him off, hugging him gently.

“You didn’t know, and you did the best thing by getting him out of here and coming back to help. Thank you too.” you said, looking between Brian and Rudy, who were standing in the doorway, they’d taken Shawn to the bedrom so he could lay down. “You guys were a huge help tonight with me and Shawn. We’d like to invite you guys over for dinner tomorrow as a thank you. Please?”

There was a chorus of “of course”s before Cole added, “I’m gonna clean up the house okay? You two get taken care of and I’ll let myself out when I’m done. I promise I’ll lock the door on my way out.” You thanked them all again before making your way to the bedroom, closing the door and looking back at Shawn.

“Hey there fighter, how about a bath? I think we could both benefit from one.” your voice was soft as you spoke, walking over to sit next Shawn on your bed.

He nodded, reaching out for you. “I’d love nothing more. Just wanna hold my girl. You doing okay? Your meds are in the kitchen if you need them.”

You shook your head, unbuttoning his shirt and slipping it off his shoulders carefully. “I’m alright bubs, let me take care of you okay? I know that’s hard for you since you’re the med student here, but your back is scraped up pretty bad and I’d like to check your head.” As you spoke, you slipped out of your sundress and settled back on Shawn’s thighs.

He took a few minutes with his head on your chest, listening to your still erratic heartbeat and leaving hot kisses on your collar bones. “Okay babygirl, I’d really like that bath now, my body hurts so bad.” His lips moved against your skin and you got up, walking into the bathroom to start the bath and dump in the Epsom salts.

“I’d like to rinse you off before I get in. Please? It’ll make me feel better.” You whispered, taking a washcloth and dipping it into the tub. He nodded, toeing off his socks and settling into the tub, hissing at the water on his raw skin. “If it hurts just tell me. I’ll be gentle.” You warned, dabbing the cloth across his back and shoulders where they’d come in contact with the bricks. He let out a low whine and you wanted to cry.

There was a few minutes of silence before you leaned over and turned on a soft playlist. “You gonna join me baby?” Shawn asked, holding is hand out to you and smiling. You couldn’t say no, he looked so tired and handsome. You honestly didn’t know if you wanted to cuddle him or fuck him.

The water was still warm as you stepped in, settling into the water and leaning back against Shawn’s chest. “You scared me tonight baby.” He mumbled, his fingers trailing along your sides. “When I walked over to you with Rudy I thought you were gonna hit the floor. You weren’t breathing well and you were so pale. Then the look on your face when you came outside. Oh god, I never meant to get that violent, or violent at all. But he was just so-“ He stopped when you turned around and straddled him.

“I scared you? Shawn I thought I was going to find you unconscious on the porch. Panic attack be damned, I’m glad you’re okay. He’s probably not gonna bother us again after all of that. Are you sure you’re okay?” You asked, eyes darting around his face and chest in fear. “I don’t mind taking you to minor emergency.”

You took a breath when Shawn places his hand on your cheek. “I’m fine, you’re okay. Can you please kiss me?” You didn’t need him to ask twice. Leaning forward you wrapped your arms carefully around his neck and kissed him. It was hot and wet and despite the situation, one of the sexiest kisses the two of you have ever shared.

He moaned against your lips, fingers digging into your hips and pulling you closer. “Baby, fuck me” he groaned, lips trailing down your neck. “Please. I need you. Wanna feel close to you.” His voice strained and you moaned, feeling him press into your neck and lick down your throat. It took you a minute, but you positioned yourself over him before sinking down on him slowly. The two of you let out a sigh, taking a second to adjust.

——

“I love you so much” Shawn whispered, your head on his chest, hair still damp. The two of you decided getting dressed after your bath was pointless, so you curled up under the sheets and let your hair drip onto the pillow.

You looked up at him, still in a post sex daze from a second round after getting into bed. “I love you too bub.” You smiled at him, your hand coming up to rest on his cheek. “You’re so pretty.” You mumbled, blinking slowly.

He chuckled, pressing a kiss to your palm. “So are you. You’re also very tired. Let’s get some sleep, okay? Tomorrow we’ve gotta cook for the guys.” He reminded you and you nodded, laying your head back on his chest.

His fingers gently ran across your back, pulling you to sleep and easing your muscles. Even after a rough night, you always had Shawn. And Shawn knew he had you, and you didn’t want life to be any other way.

#shawn mendes #shawn peter raul mendes #shawn mendes fanfiction #shawn au #shawn mendes au #college shawn #med student shawn #Shawn writing #stitches #my fic

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torannosaurusrexy · 4 years

Text

Champagne & Pools

Chapter 1/?: “Commando”

➝ Genre: Fic

➝ Pairing: Jeon Jungkook | Reader

WARNING: This AU contains language, recreational drug usage, and sexual themes that some readers may find unsettling, please take caution when reading.

➝ Word Count: 5.2k

➝ Summary: After a night full of red solo cups, gyrating bodies, and too many hot frat boys to count ends, you wake without a memory of it. Jungkook however, remembers all of it, and will do whatever he has to to convince you that it was the greatest night of his existence.

➝ Chapter Song: < LISTEN HERE >

Pain floods your head when you wake this morning. Bounds of bad decisions coalesce and force the pain to get even worse when you open your eyes. Whatever happened last night was more than you originally signed up for. Flashes of colorful lights, jello shots, and cannon balls assault your hungover memory. You press the heel of your palm into your sore sockets, pining for a relief that never comes. When removed you examine the room around you. It’s not yours that’s for damn sure, unless of course you forgot how to clean and own a bong. Not Yoongi’s either, he’d never live in a room that wasn’t a shade of gray.

You must still be at the frat house. Its the only true way to explain your hangover and the fuzzy memories you have of vibrating bass and—oh shit, where is your phone and your…panties? With your mind bombarded and worrisome tendencies you hadn’t even come to realize that astride your body, with an arm holding you firm at the waist is a slumbering young man. His hair is a deep cocoa color. His lips are parted by incoming air, and his other hand is tucked neatly behind his head. Slowly, you try to peel yourself away from him but of course, his bed creaks more than your sore bones.

You manage to escape, finding the jeans you wore last night. Thankfully, your bra is still on and a shirt remains flush against your body. Fuck your panties, leaving before he wakes up is more important right now. Besides, they were not your favorite pair anyway. Creeping over discarded socks, questionable pizza boxes, and condom wrappers, you enter the hallway.

You jump upon spotting your best friend, fingers toying with the button to your jeans.

“You look like shit.” Yoongi chimes, brushing his teeth.

“Morning to you too.” You whisper, trying to keep your pain at an all time low.

He chuckles, pausing his teeth brushing to point at you. “Fly’s down.”

“Huh?”

He points again, shrugging, “Your shutters are open. Y’know, I can see bikini bottom…are you commando?” He spits into the bathroom sink, filled with crushed beer cans.

“Shhhhh, I’ll explain later, please tell me your bed is open; I can’t possibly walk home right now.” Yoongi smirks, a knowing look.

“That good huh?” He rinses the toothbrush.

You scratch your head, suddenly worried about your hair and the clown mask smeared across your face. “Nothing memorable that’s for sure.”

“You don’t remember last night?”

“Just the couple hundred jello shots I downed.”

Yoongi sucks air through gritted teeth, “Yikes.”

“Yeah…now, bed?” You point at his door, across the hall and ajar from him coming out of it.

“Sorry Captain Commando, unlike someone…I scored last night.”

“Who’s to say I didn’t?”

Yoongi crosses his arms, amused. “You didn’t, I handed you off to Jungkook when you tried to strip near the pool. I figured if you were going to be naked I’d rather you do it behind closed doors.” So that’s who’s bedroom you woke up in. You should’ve recognized him, it must’ve been your rush to leave that kept you from realizing.

You clear your throat, “I’ll repeat my question, who’s to say I didn’t score?” You cross your arms.

Yoongi continues his assault, smiling wide. “I. Handed. You. Off. To. Jungkook.”

You nod, still confused. You have just emerged panty-less from a rather attractive college frat boys bedroom. To many, that’s enough to say you got laid. Then again…you don’t remember getting dick, and you have a feeling Jeon Jungkook’s would be rather memorable. “Yeah…Jungkook is the designated panty dropper of BTS, and clearly he snatched mine.”

“Nah, he knows you’re off limits.”

You cluck your tongue, “Which only makes me more desirable.”

Yoongi sighs, rolling his eyes. “None of the guys will touch you because you’re friends with me. Get used to being dry sweetheart.”

“Ugh, cock block.” You sigh, smiling because you know he’s right.

“Trust me, Jungkook would be just as surprised as you were this morning to find you half naked. He was clothed wasn’t he?”

“Yeah…”

“That should be enough to prove me right. Now if you’ll excuse me…morning head is calling.” He walks towards his door.

“Fuck you Yoongi." You call after him.

He whispers back, sending you a kiss. “Love you too babe, there’s food downstairs if you wanna make some breakfast. Jin might have a spare pair of panties too if you’re interested.”

“Hard pass.” Jin’s collection of hoe’s lingerie is enticing, but equably disgusting.

What Yoongi called food was leftover chicken stir-fry, a questionable jar of mayonnaise…and whipped cream which you have a sneaking suspicion is Taehyung’s and isn’t meant for regular consumption. Thankfully, they own a box of just add water pancake mix, and you count that as a major score. You try not to make too much noise, considering you’re probably not the only one around here with a pounding headache. You’d already searched for some sort of over the counter relief only to come up empty. So you settle for a glass of water instead. Using your phone to play some light music, you flip the pancakes with ease. While doing so you can’t help but let your mind wander back to the night before.

What could have possibly led to you falling asleep in Jungkook’s arms? To be fair, you are a rather flirtatious drunk and think that could have led to Jungkook being fished in by Yoongi. Yoongi would have enjoyed watching you make a fool of yourself all over Jungkook. He definitely saw more than he bargained for. Then again…knowing Yoongi, he would’ve pushed for Jimin instead. Its possible that Jimin was…preoccupied and Jungkook was a last stitch resort.

Poor Jungkook, the kid has only been part of the frat for a couple months now and he’s already been subjected to assault via drunk you. You figured he would’ve gone at least a year without that happening. Now that you’re thinking about it, you probably cost him a hookup last night.

“Crap!” You yelp, inhaling smoke from a now charred pancake, hacking it back up.

“Having trouble?”

You turn, finding Jimin shirtless and leaning against the countertop.

“Clearly.” You choke, drinking him in. “I’ll blame it on the hangover.”

Jimin laughs, gleaming under his faded orange locks. His roots are darker now, smothering the orange in an inky hue. It has definitely been a few months since the initial dyeing. Curse the fact that he makes it look so fucking good. “After last night I figured you would have one. I’ll make you a protein shake, god knows I need one.”

“Thank you, I’ll return the favor in pancakes.” You clear your throat, trying to sound less squeaky. “What do you mean by ‘after last night’?”

Jimin licks yogurt off a spoon, pointing it at you after he does so. “Right…Yoongi mentioned that your memory might be a little fuzzy.”

“You saw him this morning?”

Jimin grins, eyes on what he’s preparing. “Nah, heard him though.” You shiver. “I caught him kissing some girl late last night, dragged him by the ear to find out if you were alright, he mentioned it then. Considering the unholyness I heard when I passed his door, I think he found her again after we talked.”

You blush, clearing your throat. “And..?”

“He said that your liver couldn’t handle Jin’s jello shots and that he called time of death just a few minutes before I found him.”

“That bastard.”

You both chuckle lightly at Yoongi’s dark humor. “Yeah well, thank god that wasn’t the truth.”

“Maybe not, but this pounding in my head is making me re-think the whole living thing.”

You hear something rattling behind you, and turn to see Jimin shaking a small pill bottle. Advil no doubt. “Breakfast of champions.” He smiles, tossing it to you.

“Balanced as all things should be.” Jimin laughs, watching as you place two on the counter before pushing the bottle back to him. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” Jimin turns the blender on. You flinch. “Sorry.” He says once that step is complete. “I should have warned you.”

“No it’s okay, I deserved that.”

“And this.” Jimin winks, sliding a freshly blended protein monstrosity towards you.

You shut off the stove, serving your pancakes on a large plate next to the drinks. The sound of their preparation may have ripped your mental state to shreds, but the taste of protein pumped berry goodness was well worth it.

You end up moaning out loud when the shake hits your tongue, a soothing hint of mint serenading the thumping of your skull. You swallow the Advil with it. When you open your eyes Jimin is watching you closely, taking a hefty swig from his own shake. “Good?” He asks after swallowing, a knowing grin smeared across his pillow lips.

“If my moan wasn’t clarification enough, then yes.” He nods, pleased with your answer. You pick up a pancake, dousing it in the syrup you found in one of the cabinets that wasn’t dedicated to hot Cheetos or peanut butter.

“So, I heard about the pool.”

“Oh god don’t remind me. All I know is Yoongi handed me off to Jungkook at some point…I’m assuming it was after my thirty-second jello shot, but before my walk of shame.”

“Yikes.”

You hum an affirmation, “Yeah, I think Jin cut me off at some point. So maybe doing a strip-tease by the pool was my form of rebellion.”

“It definitely was something.”

“Oh great, you saw it too?”

“Everyone saw it love. I hate to say it but…you were the highlight of the party.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head too much, Namjoon ended up slipping in some puke last night, landed in Tae’s lap. Everyone forgot about your debut into stripperhood by then.”

“Phew, good thing Jungkook was there when he was. There could be a viral video of me naked by your pool if he wasn’t.”

“Would that be such a shame?” Jimin smiles, wiggling his eyebrows. You punch his shoulder.

“Trust me, it would have been.”

Jimin pauses his sipping, “I’m kind of surprised Jungkook was by the pool at all. I figured he of all people would’ve been drowning in some freshman pussy.”

You chuckle, but deep down you’re worried that pussy may have been yours in the end.

“Yeah I woke up next to him this morning, it seems like he took watching me pretty seriously.”

“If he took advantage I swear I’ll--”

You laugh, “I don’t think you need to worry. Yoongi laughed when I mentioned that possibility. He said I’m off limits.”

“Shame.”

“Hm?”

“I just feel bad. I would have gladly given you my bed instead beautiful.”

You blush, licking remnants of syrup from your fingertips. The plate of pancakes now finds itself empty, syrup littering the expanse. “I’ll remember that for next time.” You manage to say, a finger brushing your lower lip. Jimin gleams. “I should probably meet up with Raegan, she’ll want to know if I lived.” Gulping the last bit of shake, you grab the last strand of dignity you have and start for the door.

“You sure you don’t need a ride or anything? I don’t have class today.”

“Thanks Chim, but my dorm is only a block or so away, I’ll manage.” Jimin follows you into the foyer, ripped streamers and empty solo cups littering its usually pristine landing. “Thanks for the shake. I feel a lot better.”

“Anything for my favorite girl.”

You roll your eyes, “I thought that was Tae’s spot, don’t let him catch you slipping.”

Jimin laughs, “Tell that to Namjoon. I’ll text you.”

“Okay, bye Chim.”

You close the front door behind you, finding the sun to be more bearable now that your stomach is happy and your liver doesn’t want to kill you. “Holy shit, Jimin wasn’t wearing a shirt. And I was able to talk…this has been a strange twenty-four hours.”

“Strange isn’t the word I would use.” Hoseok emerges from the bushes below the front steps, his shirt is half unbuttoned and he has leaves in his hair. “What time is it?” He rubs his eyes subconsciously.

“My god Hoseok! What the fuck!” You hold your heart, coming down from the scare you just received.

“Ow! Don’t fucking yell dipshit!” He screams back, squinting at you under messy red locks.

“What in the sam hell are you doing sleeping with the worms?”

“I must have blacked out here, that rager really was something.” He points to the mulch he used as a mattress, an assprint pushed into it. “Leaving so soon princess? The party isn’t over yet.”

“Funny, but it’s noon and I have an iced coffee with my name on it. You need to eat something solid, and find a breath mint.”

“I can give you something solid.”

“Goodbye Hoseok~” You say as you continue down the frat house walkway, giving him a cute little wave as you do so. You can hear him laughing, and it makes you smile. Hoseok may be gross, and he passes out in bushes…but as Yoongi said before, he and the others know you can’t be touched. It sure is funny watching him try though.

“And the jello shot junky returns!”

You do a sarcastic pageant queen spin, complete with an ending pose. “I prefer pong princess. Here.” You hand Reagan her usual order from the Starbucks down the street.

“Thank you, slave.” She smiles through whipped cream dusted lips. You chuckle, plopping yourself into the corner of your shared L-shaped couch next to her. Stained with remnants of Italian Nights and Taco Tuesdays. “So…did you ever find your panties?”

“Fuck, I forgot about those.”

“How could you forget you’re nakey when denim is all up in the Cock Kingdom?”

You exhale a laugh out of your nose, “First of all, please never refer to my place of business as the Cock Kingdom ever again.”

“Would you prefer Pussy Palace? Dick Dungeon? Phallus Fort?”

“No I- Dick Dungeon? That’s not bad actually…but still a hard no.” You shake your head, both equably disappointed and proud of Rae for having the braincells to come up with such a cacophony of nick-names after the mental beatdown both of you surely took last night. “I forgot to look for them before I left.”

Raegan huffs an affirmation. “My money’s on the pool pavement. It’s definitely out there just waiting to be found by an unsuspecting frat boy. Maybe Jin will add them to his collection…he does have one right?”

“A collection of conquests panties? Sadly yes. And let’s just agree to forget that whole strip tease ever happened.”

“It was more than a strip tease Honey. I will be sure to play the video on your wedding day!” Raegan sips her peppermint monstrosity unphased, mint on her tongue.

“What?” You turn your head violently to face her, sitting up in a rush.

Raegan continues to describe the horror of a maid-of-honor speech you need to start preparing for, its bound to be a whopper at this rate. “It can be part of my maid of honor speech. Be all sentimental and crap, then just when moms in tears…BAM, stripping at a frat party.”

Grabbing her by the shoulders, you shake your best friend and recorder of all embarrassing moments in your life, “Rae, did you say you have it on video?!”

She breaks free, steading herself with another sip. “Well obviously, drunk me still has her priorities straight.”

“Can I see it?!” You yell.

“Alright alright! Don’t get your panties in a—oh wait…”

“Shut up.”

She laughs, pulling out her phone and scrolling through what must be hundreds of selfies and videos from last nights mistake. Raegan has always been the social drunk. She’s constantly throwing herself in the arms of strangers and chanting the words ‘Lets take a picture!’ through alcohol slurred lips. You are honestly shocked she didn’t wake up alongside Hobi in the bushes this morning.

“Holy shit, Rae is that Taehyung?” You point at her screen, a blurred mess of a snapshot smeared across it.

“Nope, Namjoon.” She beams.

“What is he—“

Raegan swipes twice, “Here wait I have a better picture of it.”

“Oh my god! Raegan Louise!” You yelp, clarity making you look away.

“What?! I saw an opportunity…and I took it!”

“Never in my life would I picture Namjoon as a human shot glass!”

“His belly-button was the perfect size. Carpe Diem my love.” Raegan shrugs, acting nonchalant about slurping a mouthful of tequila from the frat presidents belly button.

“Fair enough, now where is this life-ruining video of yours.”

She scrolls further, finding a couple from just after the incident along with a zoom in of your panties.

“If I knew this was going to happen I would’ve worn a cuter pair.”

“Oh cmon, the giant panda face on the back is so innocent~”

“I’m burning my wardrobe.”

“Here, I found it.”

Raegan presses play. The video shakes for a second and there’s far too much yelling to make out any coherent words. At first, she’s recording the inside of the house. In the background Taehyung is seen doing a keg-stand. If you weren’t so concerned with the upcoming turn of events you would’ve glanced at the way his shirt is gathered around his neck. Instead, you see what Jimin meant by Yoongi kissing some girl. More like swallowing her.

That’s when you hear it, a cheer so loud it turns heads. Someone runs into the room, informing all of those in it that you’re about to turn the heat up a notch. Yoongi bolts from the girl, no apology leaving his lips when he separates from hers. She follows, wounded and confused. You can hear Rae muttering a profanity under her breath. The camera fumbles in her hands, she pushes past the crowd to reveal you, half-dressed with your arms behind your back about to unclasp your bra.

You watch in horror, hands over your agape mouth. “Oh god no.”

“Oh honey yes…”

She fast forwards a few seconds, revealing a starstruck Jimin who rushes forward with Yoongi in tow. Before you know it Jimins shirt is off and thrown towards your face. You catch it with a giggle, shimmying your panties off before Jungkook suddenly appears from behind you. He grabs both your legs and throws you over his shoulder. Your ass is completely exposed to all those watching. The cameras final frame shows the slammed back door before it cuts out and all else is left to the imagination.

“Welp, there you have it.” Raegan says, shrugging.

You are absolutely starstruck, embarrassed and shocked. On the bright side, you now know exactly what happened. Also, that Raegan seemed to be the only one sober enough to record. That’s the hope. “Delete it.”

“What? But I just said—“

“Raegan please. I can never see that video again.”

“Okay, just know that doing so brings me great pain.”

“I apologize.”

Raegan deletes the video with just a few taps, the first frame disappearing from view in lieu of a conversational meme she’s uses over text. “There, goodbye sweet sweet memory.”

“And hello sweet sweet relief.”

The days following seem to be for the most part normal, you attend your classes normally, pumped full of caffeine and dreading finals week. The only ones who spoke of The Incident were Raegan and the BTS boys. Yoongi in particular, just couldn’t let the story go.

“I still can’t believe you made Raegan delete the video. That shit was comedy gold and could have had you going down in BTS rager history.”

“As invigorating as that would have been, I really don’t think I need my portrait framed above the words ‘Pool Panty Princess.’”

“I beg to differ.” Yoongi looks away, swirling a finger around the spoon he submerged in liquid energy. “He told me that he’s been looking for you.”

“What? Who has?” You take a jab at the plate of disco fries ahead of you, doused in gravy and snug beneath layers of cheese. Yoongi watches you do so, content with his black coffee and dark intentions.

“Jungkook; he’s been acting strange since the party.” You pause your eating, mouth full of the one dish you wish to be buried beneath. “You swear nothing happened between you two?”

“Why are you asking me when you were so sure I would be left high and dry?” You fall back against the booth, worn with previous diners butts. “Besides, I can’t remember anything after darts with Jimin. Everything is a messed up blur.”

“I know. Its just really weird, I’m so used to seeing Kook as the kid who never shuts the fuck up. Lately, he’s been the opposite.”

“Elaborate.”

“Alright well, I was in the kitchen with Jimin the day after the party. Kook came down from his room in the middle of the conversation we were having. Your name happened to come up and he froze.”

“Half the guys have been like that, the party was crazy. Also, what kind of conversation were you having with Jimin where my name was involved?”

“Irrelevant, have you even seen Jungkook?”

You roll your eyes, “No, why?”

“My point exactly. He’s avoiding you.”

“You just said he was looking for me.”

“I’m just saying, it seems like he’s conflicted. Confront him, clearly he remembers something you don’t.”

“How the hell would I do that, Jungkook is like a baby bird. Flightless, skittish, and far too innocent.”

“Geez, and here I was thinking you always had eyes for Jimin.”

“Besides the point, Jungkook’s in my psychology class, I’ll see him then. I’m sure everything is fine.”

Yoongi laughs, taking another sip from his mug. You blush, suddenly losing your appetite. “You’re not very good at hiding things.”

“And you’re not very good at giving head, so shut up.”

“Oh honey, now you’re just grabbing at straws.”

“Yeah even I knew that was wrong before I said it.”

“How would you know? I’ve never given you head—is this your way of asking?”

“God no! I’ll pass.”

“I’m sure Jimin would oblige, and given the way he’s been acting I’m sure Kook would be down too.”

“Relationship advice from Mr. One Night Stand himself? I’m honored.”

“Eat your fries.”

“Hey.” You try to say the word with some power behind it, however it falls flat against the tile of the stingy classroom floor. Jungkook slips into the seat next to you, looking your way when you speak.

“Hey.” He copies, slipping his red backpack off and tossing it to the floor.

You bite your lip, hearing Yoongi’s voice like a mantra in your head.

When you look up from the face of your desk Jungkook’s eyes are on yours and the class is silent. He looks away almost as fast as you looked up, brushing a hand through his fluffy hair. It’s now or never and you can’t possibly let Yoongi berate you about putting this conversation off any longer.

“Jungkook, I need to ask you something.” You watch him lift his head, promptly scanning the class before answering.

“Okay?” He whispers, displaying a slightly crooked tooth through an agape set of lips. “If this is about finding an old childhood photo of you dressed as a milk man in Yoongi’s wallet then I swear I didn’t tell a soul.”

“No Kook!” The class shushes you. “I’ll explain that another time, this is about last weekend.” Jungkook raises an eyebrow, confused. You explain further, “I woke up in your bed…I didn’t have pants on…ringing any bells?”

Jungkook smiles, on the verge of laughing. “I think I’d remember sleeping with you ______.”

“I beg to differ, you sleep with a lot of girls Jungkook.”

“You calling me a tramp?”

“Maybe, just tell me please. Did we have sex?”

“Why? Do you want to?”

“Kook!” Another shush from the class.

“I have fifteen before my next class, there’s a janitors closet down the hall, meet there?”

“Jungkook, no. I just want to know if we did anything.”

Jungkook looks away, searching his memories for something helpful. “Tell you what, come to the BTS house tonight, maybe Jin’s jello shots will spur your memory.”

You roll your eyes. “Just what I need, more vodka.”

“I’d love to help; except there’s still some parts i’m trying to remember myself. So, sorry sweetheart, my lips are sealed…tight.” He puts emphasis on the word tight and it makes you shiver with some kind of foreign anticipation.

“What if I said please?”

“Get on your knees and i’ll consider it.”

You roll your eyes, “You’re starting to sound like Yoongi.”

“Ouch.” Jungkook stands, fellow students rising to rush off to their next lecture. “See you later.” He winks, leaving promptly.

“And how dare you assume a lady like myself would do it in a janitors closet!” You yell after him, but he’s already gone.

“He said he was still trying to figure it out himself, and then he tried to seduce me into a janitors closet.”

“I admire his boldness, but the fuck?” Yoongi licks peanut butter off the knife he’s holding, gingerly using it to cut his sandwich into four little triangles.

“You sound like my inner monologue right now.” You lean against the countertop in the BTS Frathouse kitchen. To your surprise, it looks very nice when the counters aren’t covered in solo cups, horny sorority princesses and stale chips.

“What happened afterwards?” Yoongi continues, pouring himself a glass of OJ with enough pulp to scare oranges into hiding.

“Nothing, he invited me to the house party tonight—which you happened to not tell me about.”

“Must’ve slipped my mind.” He slurs through the first bite of PB&J.

“I sense sarcasm.”

“At least now you know he wants you here. Maybe stay away from the jello shots this time?”

“I know that much, thanks.” You steal a triangle.

“And if you’re going to do anything with anyone tonight…maybe shoot for Jimin.”

You pause, placing your hands on your hips. “I guess the whole ‘off limits’ thing is shot to hell now.”

“That was before I thought you had a shot with not one, but two of the guys currently drooling at your feet.”

“Oh please…they’re not drooling.”

“You’re right, the word slobbering fits better.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t go, people are going to laugh and say stupid shit about the last party.”

“So what, you have me and the other guys here to back you up. There’s nothing to worry about. Besides, everyone was wasted that night.”

You hear heavy footsteps cascading the staircase as Yoongi speaks, its obvious that they belong to a focused Namjoon even before he slips into the room. “’Sup guys?”

“Hey Joonie.”

“Hey Hyung.” Yoongi barely takes a breath before continuing to bombard you with reasons to attend tonight. “I’ll tell you what, the second your social meter runs out I’ll give you my room key and you can hide in there all night if you want.”

You fake a sniffle, “You’d give up the chance at some random freshman pussy for me?”

Yoongi rolls his eyes, “Just say yes before I change my mind.”

“I would’ve gone anyway but you just kept going.”

“Fuck you.” Yoongi laughs.

“What’s this I hear about pussy?” Taehyung says, bouncing into the kitchen with a suspicious glass of clear liquid in his hand.

Sadly, you’re the one to catch a whiff of his breath as he passes. “Taehyung its not even noon yet what in the holy mother of hell are you doing with that?” You point to the glass, and he smirks.

“Five o’clock somewhere.” He shrugs, sipping generously. “I’m kidding, its sparkling water, here.” He slides it towards you before walking next to Namjoon who’s absorbed into the grilled cheese he’s trying not to burn. You scrunch your eyebrows, lifting the glass and taking an experimental sip. Immediately, you gag as the raw tequila touches your tongue. You jump up and spit it into the nearby sink, drawing laughter from everyone in the room.

“Sparkling water my ass!”

“I’m sorry, you made it too easy!”

“Fuck!” You turn the tap on, sticking your head underneath to rinse your tongue and gargle water.

Due to your luck, both Jimin and Hoseok walk into the room as you turn the water on and they get to watch as you stand head back and tongue in the wind. “Ah fuck, this situation looks vaguely familiar.” Jimin chuckles, picking up the glass you hastily sipped from. He sniffs it, ripping his head away the second his nose hairs are disintegrated. “Jesus Tae.”

“Oh cmon, I saw an opportunity!”

“You okay?” Jimin slips past the crowd and slowly rubs your back as you wipe your mouth and nod. You catch a glimpse of Yoongi smiling into his orange juice, his eyes suggestive.

“Hm? Oh yeah, psh, fine…thanks.”

“Want a grilled cheese?”

Yoongi nods furiously, dropping not so subtle hints.

“No; its okay, I think I’m gonna go for a swim. Thirty minute rule…you know.”

“Good call, I guess I should skip the grilled cheese too.”

“What? No!” Your hands land of Jimin’s stomach as you reflexively move to stop him from following. He looks down, confused until you revoke them, “You should eat, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Join me after?”

Jimin grins. “Okay.” He says in short, a smile still on his face even after you’re moving towards the patio. You look over his shoulder one last time to see Yoongi slam his face into the countertop, awash with disappointment.

The sound of their distant talking fades once you escape to the back patio, however you aren’t alone for long as Yoongi and his orange juice joins you.

“That was painful to watch.” He says, walking towards you.

“Leave me alone pulp boy.” You sulk, sitting on the edge of the pool and putting your feet in the heated water.

“Woah, my pulp never did anything to you.” Yoongi frowns, a short-lived sarcastic feature. He joins you.

You sigh, leaning your head on his shoulder. “Ugh, did he say anything after I left?”

“Babe, Jimin’s a guy. The second you left he asked Joon to make him a grilled cheese and snorted a line of pre-workout.” He slurps more of his juice.

“Really?” You look up at him, a worried lip.

Yoongi suddenly feels bad for playing with you’re feelings…but can’t stop himself. Taehyung’s right, you make it too easy. “No, first he looked at your ass.”

“You’re lying.” You swallow, turning red.

Yoongi smiles, suggesting he’s joking. “Thats what you get for insulting my pulp.”

“Asshat.” You grumble, slightly disappointed. You couldn’t help but hope Jimin looked, or at least glanced.

“Cocksleeve.” He gibs back, finishing off his orange juice as you once again lay your head on his shoulder with a smile.

#Champagne & Pools #C&P #JJKxReader #Jeon Jungkook x reader #jungkookxreader #fic #collegeAU #BTS #q:chokeonthis

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devilrising · 4 years

Text

Fallen Draco, Pt. 15

This story is following a prompt set by @mymindsmadness

Summary: AU where Draco is a fallen angel, and the way he gets his wings back is by guiding Harry in defeating Voldemort, but it all goes wrong when Draco starts falling in love with Harry.

Word Count (Part 15): 3,032

Word Count (Total): 48,344

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Mentions of abuse/torture (non-graphic)

***

26th April, 1998 (continued)

I still can’t believe my wings are back. And not only back, but pure white again. Ok, so it’s only been a couple of hours and the sun hasn’t even risen yet, but still.

“Harry,” I whisper to him where he’s dozing off on the leather sofa. The armchair I’m sitting in seems very far away from him, and utterly freezing. “Harry!” I whisper-shout when he doesn’t react.

“What?” Harry groans sleepily, burying his head deeper into the cushion of the sofa. A beat passes and he seems to fall asleep again, but then he shifts. Heaving a sigh he sits up. His hair is more of a mess than usual, and the only thing I want right now is to run my hands through it. He’d probably let me, too.

“I can’t sleep,” I murmur.

“Well I can.” Harry doesn’t sound too annoyed, but he rolls his eyes as I pout. He lifts his arm up in a ‘come here’ gesture, and a small smile finds its place on his lips.

Grinning, I leap up from the armchair and cross the gap to the sofa. I sit down and carefully run my hand over his cheek. Harry shudders under my skin and pulls me down. He presses a kiss to my mouth and then yanks my arm again. I fall on top of him.

“Hey!” I protest.

“Just lay still and go to sleep,” Harry pleads. I huff a sigh but settle in in front of him. His chest is warm against my back and his arm slings around my waist under my folded wings. All I can smell is Harry. My eyes start to finally droop, and darkness reaches out to the corners of my vision.

Harry jumps behind me and rushes to stand up. “Wait!” He says, his voice loud in the silence.

Groaning, I lift my head and look up at him. “What?” I groan.

“I’ve just remembered something!” Regardless of how much I want to shove his face into the sofa to shut him up, the excitement in his voice is so strong that it must be good. With no explanation given, Harry pushes me off the sofa and then runs out of the drawing room. I grumble as I stand up from the hard and uncomfortable floor, flinging a longing gaze at the sofa. Sighing, I force myself to only sit on it, and wait for Harry to run back like a puppy.

I don’t have to wait long. Thuds follow him all the way back into the room, and I shake my head when I see a pile of books floating along after him. The only thing he’s actually holding is his wand, the lazy bugger. Harry doesn’t pay me any mind as he sets about finding spots for the many books. He dumps some on the coffee table, others on the armchair, and more still on the floor.

“What are all these for?” I ask as I cover a yawn.

Harry jumps when he remembers I’m here too, rubbing the back of his neck and averting his eyes. But then he swallows and looks at me straight on. “I read something in one of these, that listed different types of risen angels.” He tips his head. “I didn’t remember which book mentioned it… so I grabbed all of them.”

I chuckle and walk over to where he’s crouched on the ground. “Different types?”

“Yeah! Apparently there are different types of risen angels, and they all have magic!”

“Wow, that’s really hard to imagine considering that we’re wizards.”

Harry sticks his tongue out at me. “Extra magic, then.”

“So normal angels don’t, but risen ones do?” I ask.

“Seems so,” Harry answers. “Something to do with ‘adversity bringing out powers’ or whatever.” He waves a dismissive hand. “Anyway, help me look!”

He slides a book over to me, and I wince at the size of it. “Harry, this will take all night.” I’m not really in the mood to read after having my back torn apart and magically stitched back together in the same night.

“Good thing neither of us actually went to sleep then!” He shakes his head, his hair falling in his eyes. “Look, Draco. We really need to win this war, and it’s rapidly approaching. I will take anything if it ups the odds for us.”

I swallow hard, suddenly nervous about the role I might have to play. It’s guaranteed I’ll be fighting my family, and now? I might be able to rip them to shreds with this magic for all I know. “Of course,” I say instead.

Harry looks at me and rubs his hand over my back. “I will help you in every way possible, and you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to…”

“But?”

“But it would be great if you could.”

I nod, pushing past the lump in my throat. “I will try.”

“I know you will,” Harry smiles and kisses me softly. “But first we actually need to know what you could be capable of.”

The book he passed to me is huge, and I turn to the first page hoping for an index. There isn’t one. I groan in frustration and start flicking through the many pages. There’s chapters on all sorts of magical creatures, not just angels—or even more specifically, risen angels. Harry next to me isn’t having much luck either, if his annoyed grunts and tapping fingers are anything to go by. At one point I think I’ve found something, but it turns out to be a page on veela. They look just similar enough that my eye caught on a drawing, but no. I hold the book up and show it to Harry, who gives me a rueful smile. I shake my head and bend over my book again.

***

An hour later, just before midnight, Harry jerks and shouts something that sounds incredibly triumphant.

“Harry!” I scold, my hands over my ears.

“Sorry, sorry,” he says at a much more dignified volume. “I found it!” He pushes the other books off the coffee table onto the floor, and opens his one flat.

“Why do you always seem to find things first?” I pout.

Harry shrugs. “I don’t know. Lucky, I guess.” He pauses to scan his eyes over the pages again, having lost his place while talking to me. “I honestly thought you’d chastise me for pushing books off furniture, but that works too.”

“Oh believe me, that didn’t go unnoticed.” I shuffle closer to Harry so I can see the book, and maybe also because he’s warm and I’m shivering.

The title is written in a sprawling cursive, black ink a stark contrast against slightly-yellowing parchment. It reads; “Risen Angels’ Abilities”.

“That’s quite a long list,” I say as I scan my eyes over the subheadings. Some of them have names that send shivers down my spine, like Obsidian Angels, and others are more run-of-the-mill, like Fire Angels. I cross my fingers that whatever I am sounds threatening. As Harry said, anything to tip the war. Well, not anything, but at this point I can’t really find it in myself to care. My family is a group of self-serving arseholes, and it would probably be a good thing to wipe out the family line—excluding Mother and myself, of course. As long as I don't have to be the one to do it.

“Is there any way to shorten the list?” Harry’s question rouses me from my dark thoughts.

“How do you mean?” I ask.

“Like, a spell, that searches for keywords.”

“Umm.” I tip my head to the right, searching through my memory for a spell. “Yes! This one should work…” I pick up my wand off the floor, tracing the side with my thumb absentmindedly, as I think of the incantation.

Harry silently slides the book closer to me and gives me some space to cast. “Got it?” He asks.

I nod my head yes after another couple of seconds. “I think so,” I say.

“You don’t sound too confident!” Harry teases, poking me in my rib.

I disguise my wince with a laugh, unwilling for Harry to see that I’m still in pain, no matter how slight. I shove him in response and lift my wand, readying myself for the tight spiral and swooping line of the required wand motion.

“Verbum quaerere.”

I watch with bated breath as some of the words are highlighted on the parchment. At first glance they seem to be random, until I look harder and find that they are all related to me somehow. Words like “history”, “deception”, “dark magic”, and “white” spiral across the page, emphasised with a majestic purple highlight.

“Draco,” Harry breathes. “You did it!” He tugs me close and plants his lips on mine. The kiss is lingering this time, long and full of emotion. His tongue prods my lips and I let him in, smiling through it. When we pull apart I’m out of breath and so happy it’s shameful. Or, it would be if I wasn’t too pleased to care.

“Let’s find out then,” I smirk as we crowd over the single book again. My eyes scan over the spread, darting from highlighted word to highlighted word. Most of them are useless—my wings are most definitely not tipped with jagged metal, but that would be awesome—but we have luck with a couple. Harry reaches for a pen and notebook and starts jotting down the names; I read off some important features of each and he turns them into dot points. I cross quite a few out immediately, noticing something that’s not quite right now that it’s being said aloud.

Eventually, there is a messy list composed of four possible options. Harry beams at me as I rearrange his page so the crossed-out scribbles are at the bottom, and the ones that might be successful sit at the top.

“So…” Harry says. “You could be one of these.”

“I guess so,” I mutter. My eyes roam over the names and definitions, comparing each to me. I could be a Daylight Angel with my white wings, but as I look at its entry in the book I see that the transformations are different. Their wings don’t pull back inside every time, the feathers just regrow straight out of the bones. Much less painful, I think as I grit my teeth. Not resting on that for too long, I draw a line through the name—neatly, Harry—and move it to the bottom of the page.

The second one that’s possible is a Silencing Angel. The scribbled description says they can mute all noise around them, meaning that not only can people no longer talk, they can’t cast verbal spells. That would be really useful. I read through the book’s description for more details, but see that I can’t be that one either. Silencing Angels have small scales that grow just behind their eyes and down their backs, looking like cracked yet smooth skin. I regretfully cross that one out too.

The third likely one is the dreaded Fire Angel from earlier. The boring one. To be fair though, it is actually kind of cool, sounding straight out of muggle fairy tales. Balls of fire, feathers that light up in the dark, and shooting flames from the eyes. I drag my gaze from Harry’s chicken-scratch of handwriting to the book. Alas, the skin around my eyes should have become thicker, and more leather-like in appearance than before my transformation. Double checking that my skin hasn’t actually changed, I find soft skin beneath my fingers. Sighing, I cross that one out too.

That leaves only one option left on the page, staring up at Harry and I in somehow fierce silence.

“Blackout Angel…” Harry breathes, voice quiet regardless of the silent room.

I rake my eyes over the description, taking it in.

“Blackout Angels are birthed by a history of excess of dark magic. Their falls are painful and most don’t survive due to the nature of their risings. Once risen, Blackout Angels are very powerful. They can control and warp any light around them. This can be done in the form of dimming lighting, brightening a room to daylight during night, bending light to hide themselves or others, or creating reflections. They are characterised by pure white feathers, non-retractable wings, and a jagged line down the back of the left hand.”

I stare, wide-eyed, at the definition. My hand throbs as I take it in and I rub at it in frustration. Harry grabs my attention by tugging on my arm. As I watch, he lifts it up to inspect it.

“There,” he murmurs. “A jagged line.” Harry’s thumb traces a scar zigzagging along the outer edge of my hand.

“It’s only a scar Harry. I got it during the battle at the Ministry.” As much as I’d like to be a Blackout Angel, I can’t get my hopes up. To believe I have all that power—and that much of an advantage over my father—and to then have it fall apart, would hurt too much.

“Or maybe you just hadn’t noticed until then,” Harry is now saying.

I sigh. “Yeah, maybe.”

“Look, we can test it out before committing to it, and we can always look through the book again.” Harry drops my hand but reaches for my waist and pulls me towards him. Our chests collide and he rests his forehead against mine. “Promise me you’ll try Dray.”

I swallow hard. There’s no way I can deny Harry anything, especially not when the evidence is stacked pretty high. “I’ll try.”

***

After an hour of trying to turn the lights out in the drawing room, it happens. The line across my hand lights up in white, and the bulbs flicker out of existence. I’m left gasping for breath in the dark, exhausted by the energy zapped out of me.

“You did it!” Harry exclaims, rushing over to me and hugging me in a tight embrace.

“I did,” I gasp out.

“What did it feel like?!” Harry asks, releasing me and grabbing a Quick Quotes Quill and notebook.

I think on it for a while, my mouth twisting in concentration. “It was like I pulled the light from the bulb and put it in my hand instead,” I begin. “It started with an itch beneath the skin, and when I focused on it something clicked and then boom, the lights were out.”

“Interesting,” Harry mutters under his breath. “Can you release the light from your hand back into the bulbs?”

“I can try, I guess.”

Closing my eyes, I narrow my mind to the line on my hand. It feels, full, somehow. I imagine light spilling from my skin and then forcing it upwards to the ceiling. I feel my feathers twitch behind me, and then my eyes are forced open with the intensity of it. Light flows out of hand and I push it into a vertical incline. I watch as it collides with the glass bulbs, but instead of shattering them it just settles in and dims back to normal. I heave a ragged breath and place my hands on my knees.

“Draco! That was amazing!” Harry proclaims. He pulls me back upright and embraces me again. Too tired to protest, I allow my muscles to relax into him and rest my head on his chest. Harry starts speaking, but it clearly isn’t me. The scratch of a quill makes me remember his note taking, and when I pay attention he’s recounting what just happened. Once he’s finished, he rips the page out of the notebook and places it in an envelope.

“Let me send this to Hermione, she’ll be ecstatic!” Harry says as he finally pulls away. I allow myself to flop down onto the leather sofa as I wait. The chime of the floo fills in the quiet, and then Hermione’s speaking too. Harry sends through the page and she exclaims something I don’t catch before calling for Ron. They speak for a while as I slowly drift off on the sofa. Mentions of battle plans needing to change creep into my awareness, but I push them away. I don’t really want to hear how I’m going to be utilised in a war right before falling asleep. I close my eyes firmly and determinedly block the chatter out. Harry’s hand on my shoulder rouses me a little later, and he’s flushed with the heat of the fire and the conversation.

“Come on sleepy head,” Harry says while pulling me into a sitting position. “Let’s get you to bed.”

Harry hauls me onto the floor before sliding an arm under my legs and around my neck. I blush as I realise what he’s doing, but am much too tired now to really complain. Carrying me bridal style, he walks out of the drawing room and into his bedroom. He lays me gently down on the sheets and uses spells to change me into something appropriate for sleeping. My wings dig in uncomfortably against the mattress, and I fold them into a better position. The shirt Harry chose is his, and I breathe in the scent of him. My trousers have also been replaced, soft tracksuits now swamping my legs. Harry’s quite a bit bigger than me, and that’s really obvious now that I’m in his clothes.

“Thank you,” I murmur.

“You’re very welcome, Angel,” Harry replies.

Even in my tired stupor, I still find the energy to slap him. “Do not repeat that ever again.”

Harry chuckles behind me, and he slots his chest to my back carefully. I shift my wings again, allowing him to not be slapped in the face every time they twitch. “Very well Dray,” Harry corrects. “Thank you for agreeing to this. Sleeping here,” he adds when I make a grunt of confusion.

“Yes well,” I say, “you’re warm.”

Harry laughs again as he slides an arm over my waist. “Sure that’s it,” he says. “Good night Draco.”

“Good night Harry.” And if when he presses a kiss to my shoulder I push into him slightly, who’s going to know?

***

A/N: A day late because I got caught up with uni 😅 I hope you’re all doing well and looking after yourselves Xx

Masterlist — Previous Part — Next Part

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ecoamerica · 2 months

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The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

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sp-newkidkris · 4 years

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Spook Park - All Mine - Chapter 2

Possession. The state of having, owning, or controlling something.

It had been a few days since Wendy and Bebe went to the library and hung out with Stan and Kenny. Wendy wanted to spend time with Stan again but he had to cancel since he was working on his science project. He only had a few weeks to get it done.

So instead, Wendy decided to walk around town with a different friend. Bebe had also been busy so she decided to spend time with Red. She wasn't up to anything.

"Glad to know I'm a last resort." Red teased.

"Come on! You know that's not true!" Wendy laughed and jokingly pushed Red.

Pretty soon, the two of them decided to take a break and were sitting on a bench in the park. They had planned to do something else but thought it would be better to relax on account they were doing a lot all week. During a conversation, Red's phone had gone off so she checked it.

"Heidi texted me!" Red perked up excited about the text.

"She texts you all the time. What's she up to?" Wendy leaned closer to glance at Red's phone.

Red tilted her phone away and leaned the other way on the bench. She lifted her foot and pushed Wendy with it causing laughter.

"First off, you know I like Heidi. And second, she texted asking what I was up to." Red smirked while responding to the text.

"So what're you doing? Inviting her to come hang out?" Wendy pushed Red's foot down.

Red nodded with a dumb grin on her face. If there's one thing Red wasn't afraid of, it was showing off perfectly how she was feeling. Especially if it involved someone she really liked.

***

They had decided to meet up with Heidi outside of a clothing store to maybe do some window shopping. After a few minutes the gorgon showed up and greeted the human girls with a smile.

"I'm glad I can tag along with you guys. But I only have a few hours based on the meal I fed my snakes to make them fall asleep." Heidi wiggled her shoulders and made her snakes bounce around a little.

"That's totally fine, Heidi." Red brightly smiled as Wendy nodded in agreement.

The three entered the store and began to look around. After a bit of wandering blindly they started looking at some skirts and dresses. Red most likely not going to buy anything from this section was just glancing over top towards the T-shirts instead. Wendy was looking at a darker purple colored dress with some yellow highlights until the three girls heard a voice from someone who worked there.

"Can I help you all with anything?"

Wendy began to turn to answer and came face to face with the girl from the library. Joslyn.

"Oh, no thanks. We're good." Red grabbed Wendy's shoulder causing her to wake up from a trance she was entering.

Wendy shook her head a little until she faced Joslyn again. She took a deep breath and branded her face with a fake smile.

"It's nice to see you again, Joslyn. I didn't know you worked here." Wendy tilted her head to the side trying to keep her smile and try not to look even slightly angry.

"What? Oh. Wendy, right? From the library?" Joslyn pointed and smiled trying to remember.

Wendy nodded. It had been a few days but this girl was already on Wendy's nerves. In her mind, Wendy was currently grabbing a nearby hanger and smacking Joslyn with it. But it wouldn't be a good idea to try anything here. Especially when a hanger wouldn't even fill a dent of the things that Wendy wanted to happen to her.

"You know each other?" Heidi came back around the corner she went around.

"Seems that way. Hey, Wendy. Me and Heidi are going to go look somewhere else. Let us know when you're done here." Red nodded at Heidi and then proceeded to push her down the aisle of clothing to another.

Wendy stood there continuing to stare at Joslyn. Picturing the ideas of injuring her in her mind.

"No means to offend or anything, but you're kind of staring." Joslyn placed a hand on one of her hips.

"Oh. Terribly sorry." Wendy shook her head leaving her fantasy again.

"While you're here, I was wondering if I could ask you something. You're friends with that Stan guy, right?" Joslyn pointed a finger at Wendy.

"I guess to an extent. Yes." Wendy put her hands together in front of her.

"Great. I was wondering if I could get his number from you. If you're as close a friend to him as I think you are you're bound to have his number." Joslyn pulled out her phone hopeful of getting yes as an answer.

"Oh. You want his number? Aren't you afraid that his girlfriend might find out?" Wendy tried her best to keep from snarling through her teeth.

"Like that would happen. Unless she's the type to snoop through her boyfriend's phone." Joslyn smirked with her eyes closed.

Fear didn't seem to be a mood this girl felt a lot. Especially for someone who lives in Grimwood. Wendy closed her eyes and thought over the sentence Joslyn had just said.

Sure, it could be fine because Stan's girlfriend wasn't the type to snoop through his phone. But witnessing it first hand would be a different story. Wendy debated bringing up she was Stan's girlfriend but decided against it. It would make an eventual threat all the more sweeter.

"I don't think it will be a good idea to give you his number but I could give you mine. Maybe we could become friends." Wendy held out her phone.

"I suppose. Then next time you hang out with Stan you could invite me along if it isn't too much trouble. I'd love to get closer to him. He's cute, right?" Joslyn looked at Wendy's phone and put her number into her own phone.

"Why, of course. That's a great idea, skank- Joslyn!" Wendy answered with a slip of the tongue before catching herself.

"What?" Joslyn looked up from her phone.

"I said it'd be a great idea to invite you along." Wendy said soon checking her phone because she felt a buzz in her palm.

She got a text from Stan asking to hang out. He had finished the work he was doing for the day. He mentioned the idea of hanging out with a few of his friends which she smiled to the idea of.

"Did someone text you?" Joslyn asked.

"Oh. Yeah. Stan did, actually. He wanted to hang out with a group of friends. You could tag along if you want." Wendy smiled as she quietly plotted.

"That sounds like fun. I'm almost done with work so text me where and I'll show up later." Joslyn smiled before heading off to continue working.

Wendy waved farewell and turned to go find Red and Heidi to tell them about meeting up with the others. Gaining trust is an important step in certain plans involving others.

***

Soon after leaving the store the girls met up with Stan and a few of the boys from Dark Meadows. Stan greeted his girl with a small kiss on the cheek. Wendy began to smile but soon lost it when one of the friends who tagged along started poking fun and laughing at them making the others a little uneasy.

"Cartman, dude. You don't have to be so rude." Clyde placed one of his hands on Cartman's shoulder.

"Jesus, Clyde! What did I say about touching me? You smell like rotting fish!" Cartman smacked Clyde's hand making him let go.

Wendy didn't much care for Cartman's rude comments but it didn't fully bother her. It had been a few days since she spent time with Stan. The six of them were sitting in the park on a blanket Cartman had brought. He also brought food but it was mostly for himself. It didn't matter though. No one was hungry.

Stan and Wendy had decided to go for a short walk around before coming back to the others so they could have some time alone. Wendy's phone buzzed and she noticed a text from Joslyn that she was done with work. Wendy texted back telling her to meet them in the park.

"We should head back. I invited a human friend along and they don't know about monsters." Wendy turned to Stan.

"Oh. Yeah. Ok, that's totally fine." Stan nodded and the two began to walk back to the others.

***

After explaining the situation to the others Cartman groaned.

"I knew this might happen. Here, Clyde. I brought scarves." Cartman pulled some yellow scarves out of his basket and tossed one at Clyde.

Cartman pulled on the scarf to cover his neck bolts, soon proceeding to take out an opaque concealer of his skin tone that was meant for covering scars. He took out the needed tools and began covering his stitches.

Clyde slipped his scarf on and then changed the colors of his fish scales to more of a human skin tone. Also slightly spacing out the position of his fins to look more like hair.

Stan pulled on his hat and the group was ready for when the human arrived.

***

A while after arriving, Wendy noticed Joslyn starting to get slightly close to Stan again who slightly inched away. Cartman, Clyde, Red and Heidi seemed to look a little awkward about the situation until someone spoke up.

"Hey, I'm a little bored. Does anyone maybe want to play ball? I made sure that Cartman brought one." Clyde broke the ice pulling a soccer ball out of Cartman's basket.

Stan and Red exchanged glances before agreeing to go play. The three got up and went a little bit away from the blanket as to not accidentally kick the ball too hard at them.

Watching the three kick the ball around changed Heidi's mind about it as she then decided to get up and go join in leaving Wendy, Cartman and Joslyn on the blanket.

"Stan's pretty good at sports." Joslyn put her hand by her chin watching Stan kick the ball around trying hard not to chase it.

"Yeah. Wendy would sure think so." Cartman joked as he took a bite out of a sandwich he brought.

Wendy proceeded to hit Cartman in the back of the head causing him to make a whining sound. He gave her a dirty look as she grabbed his arm and took him behind a nearby tree.

"What?!" Cartman yelled in irritation.

"Joslyn doesn't know I'm Stan's girlfriend and for the moment I want to keep it that way." Wendy hostily whispered grabbing Cartman by his jacket's collar.

Cartman didn't respond. He gently grasped Wendy's arms and stared directly at her clearing his throat.

"Wendy. If you don't let go of me, I'll dismember you so much worse than me that there will be no humanely way possible to stitch you back together and bring you back to life." Cartman intensely stared as he finished his threat.

"Give me those empty threats all you want. I know you're bluffing. Just don't say anything." Wendy let go of Cartman and the two walked back to the blanket.

"Is everything alright?" Joslyn looked at the two as they sat down.

"Oh, just wonderful. Joslyn, was it? My dear friend Wendy here was just telling me not to bring up anything personal about her. Like how she's jealous of you." Cartman clapped his hand together gently, soon after Wendy tugged on his arm.

"Jealous of me? Is that true? Why?" Joslyn laughed.

"No. No. I'm not." Wendy smiled and shook her head.

"Oh, my dear friend Wendy. Must you always lie? You told me yourself you're so jealous of how Joslyn looks. So much more attractive than you. Stan would totally want her over you." Cartman continued his act of gushing on the fake gossip he had forged out of the truth.

Wendy proceeded to pull on his arm again the two of them soon hearing a gentle snap. Cartman's eyes widened as he quickly changed his gaze to his arm. He glanced at Wendy who also had her eyes wide. He then looked back at Joslyn and placed a smile back on his face.

"Excuse us, but I must go talk to my dear friend Wendy in private again." Cartman tried to get up clutching to his arm that Wendy had been pulling on.

A ways away, Stan noticed Cartman clutching his arm and ran over. He has a slightly worried look on his face.

"Dude. Is your arm- uhh... Dislocated?" Stan glanced at Joslyn and soon back to Cartman.

"Uh. Yeah. Wendy's helping me though." Cartman looked at Stan and Joslyn before leaning to Wendy and angrily whispering, "You're the one who made my arm come loose, so you're fixing it. There's a needle and thread in my basket. You're lucky I'm prepared for these things, bitch."

Wendy motioned to Stan to distract Joslyn as she grabbed the needle and thread from Cartman's basket. The two proceeded back behind the tree as Stan sat down.

***

Wendy put the thread through the needle and proceeded to roll up Cartman's sleeve. She saw the loose stitches and got ready to restitch it before Cartman smacked her hand and took the needle. The look on his face was even more irritated than before.

"You've done enough. I can do this myself. Thank you." Cartman scoffed before proceeding to stitch his arm back on completely.

"I'm sorry. It's just I told you not to bring that up." Wendy crossed her and and leaned on the tree.

"Actually you said not to mention you were Stan's girlfriend. Not that you were jealous of her." Cartman pulled the thread tight on his arm sealing it back in place.

"Don't get all smartass with me right now. I'm still ticked off at you." Wendy closed her eyes in irritation.

She took a few breaths to try and calm herself until she heard Cartman snickering. Upon opening her eyes, she saw Cartman's attention wasn't on her. Instead he was looking at the other side of the tree where the blanket was. He then proceeded to look back at Wendy and had the smuggest grin between his fat cheeks. Confused about what he saw, Wendy turned and looked behind the tree where Cartman was looking as he cut the thread with his teeth and rolled his sleeve back down.

Upon going back around the tree, Wendy saw Joslyn once again rubbing up against Stan inches from touching his cheek with her hand. Everything around Wendy fell into slow motion and went dark as she stared in a slowly growing flame of rage.

***

Stan grabbed Joslyn's hand before contact struck and shook his head.

"Look. I should've said before. But..." Stan turned and cleared his throat.

He rubbed the back of his neck and looked back at her.

"What? Like I said last time. Your girlfriend won't find out." Joslyn leaned back slightly catching herself with her hands planted on the ground.

"Actually... She already knows. Wendy's my girlfriend. I should've said back at the library." Stan stroked his hand through his hair and shrugged.

Joslyn sat there in disbelief. Wendy never mentioned anything at all. No one acted like it was a big deal. Sure, that Cartman guy was saying some strange stuff but now it wasn't so strange.

"I had no idea. She never mentioned anything. I should go... So sorry about that. Let her know." Joslyn started to get up off of the blanket.

"You should tell her yourself. Just not right now. It may not be the best time." Stan shrugged.

Joslyn slowly left as Cartman came back and say down beside Stan.

"So you said Wendy was your girlfriend?" Cartman smirked.

"Yeah. But I can't believe Wendy never brought it up." Stan looked over to where Clyde and the girls were still playing soccer.

Cartman started to chuckle as Stan turned to him giving him an annoyed look.

***

A burning pit of fire wouldn't even be enough torture. Something indirect would never get a point across. Something straight up in person would be more pleasing. Wendy stood there visioning all of the rotten things that she could do to Joslyn for what she'd seen. Mercy wasn't an option. Not even since the beginning. This boy she was advancing on was already owned. Wendy could feel her chest hollow out into a black pit. Hatred burned a hole straight through her chest. Being rational and talking it out never existed as an option. She wanted blood to be spilled. She wanted throats to be slit. She wanted Joslyn dead.

Feeling a hand appear on her shoulder made Wendy scream.

"Whoa! Wendy! I'm sorry. It's just I've been trying to get your attention for a minute or two. You've been standing here since you and Cartman went behind the tree to fix his arm. Are you OK?" Stan appeared in front of Wendy with a really concerned look.

"Yes. I'm fine. No worries. I didn't see you." Wendy shook her head trying to get it back together.

"Didn't see me? I was right in front of you." Stan took his hand off her shoulder.

"I zoned out. Sorry I didn't notice." Wendy shook her head again.

"It's cool. I'm just worried about you. You're not jealous of Joslyn, are you?" Stan put his hands in his pockets.

"Of course not. That would be silly." Wendy huffed.

It felt like Stan didn't fully trust her. She could tell from his movements. He looked down and placed a hand on the back of his neck. Afterwards he looked back at her.

"Anyways, the sun is probably going to set soon. Red, Heidi and Clyde already left. I'm about to head off too. Want to come with?" Stan looked up at the sky.

Wendy thought it over, but shook her head. She needed some time to herself right now.

"No. Go on with out me. I need to think for a second. Oh, before I lose you though. How's yours and Kenny's project going." Wendy regained her thoughts and clicked her heels together.

"I think it's going fine. We thought of an idea that having a model heart could help us with our explanations. It's just taking a while to make one." Stan shrugged his shoulders while glancing around.

Stan gave Wendy a kiss on the cheek as a goodbye and headed off. Wendy remained still, beginning to float into a sea of clouds. Knowing Stan preferred her to any other girl filled her with love. Enough to fill another person until they exploded covering all nearby ground with their blood. Wendy closed her eyes and let a smile invade her face. She was walking on water.

Soon in her visions, she noticed Joslyn. At first Wendy's smile faded. Until she noticed something else. Right in her range able to be grabbed. She leaned forward and picked up the object. It reflected the light in different ways depending on how she held it. Running her finger across the edge formed the slightest of pains. Removing her finger, she noticed a cut. Blood slowly dripping out. Wendy looked over to where she saw Joslyn, who remained there.

Wendy looked back down at the blade in her hand. A knife. To be more exact, a santoku knife. Perfect for chopping, dicing and mincing ingredients. Wendy began to walk forward. Unable to feel her own heartbeat. Instead, she heard Joslyn's. She hated that. She wanted it to stop. She wanted Joslyn to stop. To stop and never start again. Dead.

"Wendy." Someone called her name, pulling her out of her trance.

She blinked her eyes and saw Cartman still sitting there. He had this look on his face. A scheming look. A look of evil. A look that said, "let me help you."

#south park #spook park #south park au #sp ghoul school au #wendy testaburger #red mcarthur #heidi turner #Clyde Donovan #eric cartman #stan marsh

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inspector-montoya-fox · 5 years

Text

let’s talk about the themes of the Sly games

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (2002):

Paris: this might not be the game’s main theme but it’s the theme that is most omnipresent. Paris is the glue that connects everything together. it immediately has such an impact on the player, even though it’s just the tutorial and the gang’s base of operations. Sly being a thief but also living in Paris just sounds so right, like it’s the way it should be. it fits.

The Thievius Raccoonus: this is the main theme and what provides the game with its premise. it’s the book that needs to be glued back together and its importance is highlighted throughout. almost every level has a page included so we’re constantly reminded of its significance. the skills we earn by retrieving the main ancestors’ pages elevate the gameplay and force the player to respect it. other than that it’s a clever way to spotlight the ancestors and establish that Sly does come from a long line of thieves.

Family: this doesn’t need much explaining but i’ll do it anyway. we start off with Sly’s parents getting killed and him landing at an orphanage where he creates a new family for himself with Bentley and Murray. you’ve got 3 different types of family: (A) Connor and Sly’s mom getting murdered and Sly’s aim to avenge them, (B) Bentley and Murray being true brothers when Sly was left with no one (i’m tearing up), and (C) the ancestors, which are explored more in-depth through the theme of The Thievius Raccoonus. Family as a theme explores Sly’s motivations and drive, even though Connor’s role is minor, especially in comparison to his role in Sly 3

Morality: Sly 1 is rudimental in its gameplay. it was a little game with a big promise at the time it was released, hoping to serve Sony and the Playstation 2 with a worthy mascot and an even worthier title. but right off the bat the player is bombarded with a shit-ton of lore about the world Sly lives in and how he operates. we immediately find out he’s an antihero, an honourable thief who has a code of conduct. this comes into stark contrast with the game’s villains who are basically filthy crooks. thief takes down thieves and the theme of Morality is SP’s attempt to make the player distinguish between good criminal and bad criminal. Morality as a theme is spotlighted immensely in Cold Heart of Hate when Sly saves Carmelita because he truly is the good guy, but also when it’s revealed that what’s been keeping Clockwerk alive all these years is the lack of morals and the hatred. the game establishes Morality as the outlining theme of the entire series, placing Sly on a pedestal because he’s honourable. morals trump hatred, so fuck off Clockwerk (even though ‘perfection has no age’ might be one of the coolest lines in the game lol)

Sly 2: Band of Thieves (2004):

Paris: this is the theme from the first game but on steroids. like make it x10. when you take the plot of Sly 2 and boil down to its core, it turns out to be a full-on race against time to save Paris. it provides both a nod to the first game and a sense of closure at the end: the game begins in Paris and ends in Paris. It’s both a setting and a catalyst, and it is absolutely brilliant in the game. you spend most of the game globetrotting, away from home but as soon as you find out ClockLa is on her way to unleash her psychotic brain waves and turn the city evil, you find yourself at the edge of your seat, caring more about Paris than anything else. it’s omnipresent and powerful and i don’t know why but i love it.

Spice: if you wanna be my lover. here’s an amazing replacement for drug trafficking as a plot device in a children’s game: spice. the spice trail is what pushes the narrative forward but also gives the gang something to face before the pieces fall into place and the larger scale of things is revealed. before ClockLa steals the show, spice is the main antagonist in the game. it brings the villains together, leads the gang from one location to another, provides some memorable missions and obstacles (Spice in the Sky and a raged, spice-infused Murray). but it’s not to say that it fades away in the long-run. Spice is actually the subtle thread that connects the episodes together but also is significant to the final master plan of hypnotising Paris.

Deception: obvious one here. Neyla pretending to be an ally is the major example. we’ve got the Contessa pretending to be loyal to Interpol, we’ve got Arpeggio seemingly being the mastermind behind everything (which he kinda was until he wasn’t), we’ve got the whole evil plot reveal on the spice, we’ve got Neyla ripping off Arpeggio on her journey to become the most well-written villain in video-game history. lots going on here. overall great theme. on a wider scale (and i’ve touched on this before in some recent posts) we’ve got SP deceiving the player into thinking the plot is all laid out at Rajan’s ball until it all turns to shit and nothing goes as expected. Appearance V Reality is a sub-theme that pops up when Bentley fights Jean Bison and Bison constantly underestimates Bentley until the turtle fucking blows his lights out. it’s not an instance of Deception per se, but it’s worth mentioning

The Past: Clockwerk’s return makes this a theme instead of a motif. before ‘saving Paris’ becomes the main objective, it’s Sly’s determination to prevent Clockwerk’s revamping that kicks off the game’s events. the events of Sly 1 play a pivotal role here as they lay the groundwork for the plot of Sly 2. it’s not just Sly 2: The Sequel. with its own set of characters and an intricate story it becomes its very own thing. but Clockwerk is the link that connects everything.

Morality: this one sneaks up on you in the game’s second half and just bites you right in the ass when you least expect it. Contessa, who until her boss-fight seems to be just another selfish spider bitch witch, manifests into this advocate for Sly’s inner demons through simple dialogue. fucking brilliant. ‘You’re an ignorant child playing dress-up in his father’s legacy’ (in my opinion, the best line in the entire series) kicks it all off. and then the theme becomes obviously present throughout. it explores the fine line that Sly walks between robin hood and scumbag thief, it shows how the villains are down-right criminals who want to benefit from their crimes, it cracks black and white into a million pieces because in a single game there are like a million layers of good and evil: Barkley at the very top as the authoritarian white, Carmelita as a sympathetic cop who tries to grasp onto her own code of ethics while occasionally running with the thieves, Sly and the gang as antiheroes, the villains as... villains, and Neyla as the embodiment of satan. it’s a scale and the game spotlights this. i had a different bullet point for Justice but i think it falls under Morality. basically, Carmelita’s story arc in Sly 2 deals with blurring her views a bit and re-defining justice

Sly 3: Honour Among Thieves (2005):

Ancestry (Cooper Vault): this is what the game is all about, or at least the premise. after stitching the cottdamn book back together by the end of the first game, Sly 2 doesn’t give any attention to the Thievius Raccoonus. in fact, Sly 2 exists on a completely different plane, using its amazing plot to elevate itself away from the lore of the first game. ancestry is rarely mentioned. flashforward to Sly 3, where SP takes us back to the mythos for a new caper involving a new reveal: the Cooper Vault. what we thought we knew about the ancestors is thrown out the window to pave the way for this mystical place where the Coopers buried their secrets and their loot. i’d like to point out that the theme of Ancestry is great and all but SP does a shitty job in spreading it throughout the game. whilst recruiting the new gang members we often forget why we’re doing so and it’s not until the last episode of the game that we get the fulfilment of the theme’s promise. it’s also worth mentioning that the theme pops up in A Cold Alliance when Tsao is comparing himself to Sly and he speaks of his ancestors but we somehow get the feeling that his ancestors were all colossal jerks like him and had absolutely 0 honour

Family: this is not the same as Ancestry. the new gang members could have very well been distant with each other if not for the adventures that made them bond. Bentley’s fascination with the Guru, Murray being the Guru’s apprentice, Bentley falling for Penelope, Penelope and Panda King helping Murray with the van, Panda King and Sly working alongside each other to kill vampire mantises and the Crusher. these are all moments that helped sell the ‘group of thieves’ aspect of the game. but Family also explores the bond of the original trio and how, even when they face their differences (Bentley and Murray living in the shadow of Sly), they can still make it through, even stronger than before. other references here might include: Panda King and Jing King, Dimitri and the Lousteau diving legacy, Dr. M and McSweeney being Conner’s “sidekicks”

Honour: this replaces the theme of Morality from the previous two games as the situations the characters face allude to honour (doing what’s right for the greater good) rather than morality (black and white, good vs evil). what i mean by that is SP making an effort to distinguish why Sly is a different thief and ultimately an antihero. this was sorta explored in the previous games by having Sly put an end to the villains’ various operations but the overall plot overshadowed those instances. Sly 3 on the other hand fully explores the theme of Honour by including the word in the title and having the gang save the day in every episode. stopping harm to the environment (polluting the Venice canals, destroying the Australian outback), helping Penelope come to terms with her inner demons by encouraging her to drop the facade of the Black Baron, saving Jing King from forced marriage, etc. the theme also ties into the theme of Redemption (below) but what i’d really like to point out is that Carmelita gets in on it as well. i can’t think of a more honourable moment than when she finally, after 3 games, puts the petty cop bullshit aside and comes to Kaine Island with her squad to save Sly from Dr. M. she makes Sly’s battle her own and doesn’t give up, showing up at the very end to save him from Dr. M’s horrific boss-fight (ugh)

Deception: although not as major as in Sly 2, i’ve said this time and time again: Flight of Fancy perfectly encapsulates the theme of Deception. Penelope dressing up as the Black Baron is not the only instance of deception. you’ve got Bentley and Penelope blowing their online avatars out of proportion, you’ve got Dimitri who was initially a villain finally turning sides, you’ve got an episode card full of sunshine and bright blue and gold fonts for a hub that’s all gloomy rainclouds. beyond Flight of Fancy, i can think of a few more instances: some Shakespearian shenanigans when Carmelita disguises herself as Jing King, or when the gang doesn’t reveal their Dead Men Tell No Tales plan to the player and we’re left thinking that Sly is going to get eaten by sharks

Redemption (Choices): speaks for itself, really. this one ties in with Honour and is a sub-theme, maybe a motif. we’ve got Murray’s desire to redeem himself for feeling guilty over Bentley’s accident. we’ve got Dimitri and the Panda King joining the gang after previously being villains in the series, and eventually redeeming themselves through helping with the heist. we’ve got Penelope redeeming herself as the Black Baron by joining the gang. i also named it Choices because these characters chose to redeem themselves. Choices are all over the game, whether its the lack of free will or the sacrifice characters make: Jing King isn’t in a position to choose whether or not she gets married during her capture, Sly sacrifices his cane at the very beginning of the game to save Bentley and then jumps in front of Dr. M’s shot to save Carmelita (!!!)

Closure: or the lack of, smh. SP’s trilogy comes to a close and therefore the theme has to exist even if the game doesn’t provide the player with mass satisfaction. Sly finally gets together with Carmelita, Bentley finally gets over his fear and self-doubt and lives the good life (with Penelope), Murray kicks off his racing career, and we get happy-ever-afters for the rest of the gang as well

#ya boi is FAMISHED #this beats any sly essay i've ever written #i'm exhausted bye #sly cooper #sly MF COOPER BITCHES

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dancing-the-hellfire-rumba · 5 years

Text

Dear Hannah,

Pairing: technically Destiel, but that’s not what this is about Word Count: 4.9k (wow wtf) Warnings: mentions of self-harm, cancer, shitty father John (as per usual), angst and angst and father-daughter love and angst. Summary: When Dean, strapped to a bed, coughing up a storm, catches sight of his newly-adopted baby girl, he decides that, if he is to leave this world, he has to leave something behind for his favorite person. So he writes a booklet, trying to tell her all the things he would’ve if he was alive. Author’s note: This was originally done for @welldonebeca ‘s 2019 Song Challenge but I fucked up thinking the deadline was the 31st of October instead of the 15th. Whatever the case, my prompt was movement, by Hozier, which I interpreted as Dean being fascinated by his daughter enough that he’s inspired to write a letter book to her. Of course this wouldn’t be the entire thing, but I had to keep it under wraps.

Feedback is always welcome! No beta, all mistakes are my own.

~~~~

Hannah,

Christ, it’s the third time I’m starting this. The truth is, I’m coming up with blanks as to how to actually start. This has got to be the best I’ve got.

I’ll tell you the moral of this story, my story, from the get-go. Life’s a fucking bitch, okay? I want you to know that from now. I’d try to hold back on my swearing, but I want you to know me as the person I am, the person I’ve always been. I know what having an absent, terrible father’s like, as you’ll soon see, and I don’t want that for you. I wish I could tell you all this up close, give you advice, tell you all my crazy-ass stories as the dumbass of the teenager I was, and all the shenanigans your uncle (wow, Sam really is a friggin’ uncle!), by a campfire, while you drink your first beer.

Sadly, my odds aren’t looking so great, honey. So this is all I got. I know it’ll never be enough but something is better than nothing.

Enough with the chick flick introduction, though. Let’s start.

The pen’s heavy in his hand, and it’s equal parts the mental heaviness, the weight of the task, as it is his fatigue. Dean’s really just started this. He can’t believe it. The heaviness of uncertainty, of whether or not he’ll get enough time to finish it settles on his chest like an anvil. There’s a solid chance he doesn’t make it before his time comes.

Hannah’s sitting right there, carelessly looking at the plastic, grinning stars above her crib. She’s so innocent, skin creamy, chocolaty and bright, a young, fearsome woman that’s gonna turn out to be so incredible, he’s certain. A small baby who’s soon to walk.

Dean already knows, this kid is destined for great things.

She’s gonna grow up, past the tutus and the miniature racing-car collections, she’s gonna have a movie she’ll play on repeat for ever and ever, with a song that he’ll learn by heart after having heard it so many times. She’s gonna go to high school and she’ll be bullied but she’ll learn to kick some serious ass. She’ll develop interests, she’ll have mediocre grades but a fiery passion and a love for anything alive.

She’ll, then, go to college. She’ll fall in love, with people and life itself. She’ll do what she loves most and she’ll be so damn good at it, she’ll excel.

And Dean… Dean will be nowhere near her to see all of it.

The bitterness… it makes his eyebrows stitch together, his lip curl in clear frustration and sadness. After everything he’s been through, finally finding the person he loves most and creating a full-ass apple pie life, and it’s all gonna be gone as soon as it started. Because, as he told his favorite Hannah, life’s a fucking bitch, and there’s no denying it.

As he lays there in his bed, pale as a sheet, watching her giggle for a while, reaching for the stars, soon yawning, small eyelids shutting softly and rocking just slightly, he… he falls in love with her. This tiny, tiny happy-beyond-words creature that could ask anything of him, and he’d do it, god damn it. He really would.

A giant bubble grows in his chest, a bubble that makes him feel like he’ll protect her at absolute all costs. He’ll grab the moon and fucking move it if that’s what she needs. And all she has to do is yawn and fall asleep.

A tear appears in the corner of his eye, lingering and falling down his ashy cheek. He can’t believe he brought this bright ray of sunshine to this world, and he’s about to make her live with an absent father. That he won’t get any memories with her at all. It’s torture. All of it.

He doesn’t know what else to do, so he grabs his pen with more determination. If he’s to leave her with something, it’ll be a part of him and that is that.

~~~~~

I was born on January 24th, 1979, the first son of a, dare I say, colossally unlucky family. Your uncle, Sam, my brother, is four years younger and will ALWAYS be a wimp, don’t let the height fool you. He always had terrible, shaggy hair and was always the sharpest tool in the box. Hell, the boy went to freaking LAW SCHOOL of all places! That’s kinda crazy!

My parents, your grandparents, were Mary and John.

Mary was a sweet, incredible, fearsome blonde woman, kindest of them all. She’d cut the crusts off my toast, sing Hey, Jude to me before bed and tell me angels were watching over me. (While we’re on the topic of the Beatles, make a note to listen to them. “Hey, Jude” must be your first song, but beyond the classics [Let it Be, Hard Day’s Night, I Saw Her Standing There, I Wanna Hold your hand etc] I hope “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” will hold a special spot in your heart, much like me.)

So, Mary. Sweet Mary. She was a real badass, you know. This one time, Sammy was hungry, so I decided to make, get this, French fries. I think I was seven. She caught me getting ready to pour oil in a very hot pan. When I say she swooped in, I mean it, quite literally. I think she saved me a hand that day.

Now, about John…You’ll have to forgive the mess that I’m about to make with this, but John was a fucking sorry excuse of a father, alright? He got piss-drunk every night after Mom died, and naturally, Sam and I were the punching bags, sometimes literally. The best nights were the ones he wasn’t home.

For years, the house was silent. Sam and I tried to keep everything clean, stock up on canned food, because at times we would only have ten bucks to hold us for over two weeks. I took him to school, fed him, made sure he studied –not that I really had to- and kept John of his hair. At sixteen I picked up a shift at Bobby Singer’s garage, a man that, at this point, deserves the Dad title significantly more than John.

Whenever Sammy was sick, it was my fault. Was anyone loud? Dean’s fault. House dirty? Dean’s fault. Did we wake him up? …Let’s just say we learned not to do that.

I tried to put myself before Sam, did anything I could to protect him. There were times when that wasn’t even enough.

I dropped out of high school at seventeen. The second I saved up enough money, I rented a hole of an apartment at the other side of town, in an attempt to help Sam have a normal life, and we hauled ass out of there.

Before I tell you about our shitty apartment, let me tell you about the highlights of my high school career. Starting off with me “unintentionally” kicking a ball at my least favorite teacher’s face (and hitting him) ((Don’t take your father’s example, kid, violence isn’t the answer.)) (Did feel pretty good at the time though), making out with Jenny in the Janitor’s closet and with Arthur at the locker rooms afterhours (I don’t know what age you’re reading this at, but I sure hope it’s over 16). Also, that one time I pulled a prank at my friend, Cole. I spray painted his entire locker. He didn’t like me very much, to be honest…

~~~~~

An important story I feel inclined to share with you, would be the fact that I was once a bully.

Kids are just mean, but also, I couldn’t understand that troubles at home, traumatic pasts and anger are not to be taken out on other people who are not at fault. Instead of finding a healthy way to deal with everything that was happening at home, I decided that every happy person that was weak enough to meddle with, didn’t deserve any happiness.

I picked on a couple of people, but I think the one I will always regret will be Kevin Tran.

Kevin was a freshman when I was in junior year. He was in the Math club, the Science club and the Robotics club. He had maybe two friends, he was skinny, short, shy as hell, he drowned himself in oversized clothes and always carried a neon green book bag around, that worked on me like red cloth to a bull.

Every time I spotted the bag in the hallway, the drill would start. Shoving the poor kid against the locker, calling him names and laughing at his face for no apparent reason. I’d steal his calculators when I found out he had chemistry tests, spray paint the door of his locker and cause rib bruises from my shoving him against walls and furniture.

I soon find out Kevin was severely depressed. In fact, I saw him in the back of the school, where I’d usually go out to smoke because I thought it was cool (it’s not, it makes you light headed, unfocused and struggle to breathe. Just an all-around terrible experience, but this is just a side-note.)

It was a Friday after school. I didn’t wanna go straight home and Sam still had one more period, so I decided to go smoke and listen to some music in the back of the school building. And that’s where I found him.

I don’t know into how much detail I should go here, but Kevin was harming himself. With a small pocket knife, he sat on an old basket and made incisions on his arms, tears running down his face like a faucet. My God, Hannah, I’ve never felt like a bigger piece of shit in my life, because I knew, and I knew very well, that at least part of those incisions were caused by me.

I called out to him, and the look on his face, as he scrambled away from me, made me feel so much worse. I was the scum of the earth at that moment. I was the biggest asshole on the planet.

My initial reaction, I’ll admit, was pretty harsh. I grabbed the pocket knife out of his hands and threw it as far as possible in the grass. I grabbed a small first aid kit I had in my bag (in case anything happens to Sam), made him sit down by force and bandaged him up. He’d been reduced to sniffles by the time I was done.

Somewhere in between, I remember, he asked me why I was doing this. I didn’t answer.

Eventually, when I was done, I sat on the ground in front of him, ripping blades of grass from the ground. I apologized. Something along the lines of “I didn’t know, not that that’s an excuse. What I’m going through is not an excuse, but I hope it makes you understand that it was nothing to do with you. I’ll stop. I’m sorry. Don’t do this to yourself, man.”

That evening, Kevin was one of the very first people who found out about John. His own dad had passed away, and things at home were rough with his mom. That, along with the whole depression thing… it wasn’t a good combo.

After a solid two hours of talking with him, making amends, apologizing profusely and getting my apology accepted (which I absolutely didn’t deserve by the way,) we made it back out front.

From then on, I stopped picking on anyone. Kevin and I actually became really good friends, though we drifted apart eventually. I think he works in Google now.

This is really important. I want you to pay attention and take heed of my words. There are a couple lessons in this story.

One, be kind. Always be kind. To everyone. It doesn’t matter if they’re going through a rough time or not, the same way it didn’t matter that Kevin’s father was dead. You don’t know the other person. There’s never a reason to not be kind, if the person has done nothing to you. A smile can make somebody’s day, a compliment can go a long way, and being open and honest and kind will make people who are looking for help find you, it will make other’s lives better, and if you’ve helped even a single person, your life has been successful.

Two, never, and I mean never take your emotional pain out on yourself, or others. There are healthy ways to deal with ugly emotions. There are people who can help. Find a new hobby, as silly as it sounds. Start doing something creative, something that draws your attention elsewhere, like art of any kind, or, in my case, fixing cars. Something to keep you busy. If you’re in trouble, emotional or otherwise, there are people who love and support you, who will do their mightiest to be by your side, and if those aren’t your friends, they’re definitely your family.

Bottling up emotions, or dealing with them in horrible, unhealthy ways has been my go-to. Don’t be like me. Express yourself in different ways, and don’t keep your feelings shoved under the carpet, because it will, absolutely, unceremoniously explode, and you’ll take people down with you. And that’s when you’ll feel like the worst person in the world. The guilt, the residue of said ugly feelings isn’t worth it. Trust me.

If you make mistakes, if you hurt people who don’t deserve it, learn from it, grow, be better. Do not sink into yourself , don’t hate yourself. Apologize, make amends and move on, try to never do the same thing. It’s okay. We’re all human. The only thing that matters is that you try to be better.

No matter what, remember that I will always love you.

~~~~

So. Our apartment back in Kansas was, as I told you, a real dump. It had a tiny-ass kitchen with a miniature stove, two mattresses that were creaky and lumpy and were left there by the previous owners, as well as the TINIEST bathroom you’ve ever seen. It didn’t have shower walls, it had a shower head and a drain on the floor and was not in any way separated from the toilet. The walls of the place were peeling, the floor was tiled and cracked in a bunch of places and the humidity must’ve been over 80%.

I fucking loved that place.

On our third day there, I borrowed some spray paints from Cole, carried them in a cardboard box up the claustrophobic, green stairs, and opened the door in absolute triumph. That day, Sam and I opened the two windows, scratched the paint off the walls with two spatulas and went WILD. It must’ve been the only day Sam didn’t study.

Actually, no, now that I think about it, there was another time, when little ol’ ten-year-old Sam fell off a ledge and freakin’ broke his arm. I dumped him on Cole’s bike and pedaled to the hospital like a maniac. That was the first day he didn’t study.

Anyways, that apartment wall made our crappy little living situation a home. Our own sanctuary. We finally got agency over our lives, from staying up late, to choosing which type of dish soap we’d use because it smelled better and didn’t remind us of the terror chores once were. Eventually, we got soft blankets, books, board games, decorations… Finally, after 18 years, we’d started our lives.

I think one of my favorite memories would be coming home from my first date with a guy. I was just 18 and Benny, the dude, kissed me before I left, his fists clutching at my flannel. I was driving home with a giant, dopey-ass smile, stretching from one ear straight to the other. That same night, with new-found confidence, I told Sammy to drop his book, bought ourselves some beers and snacks, and drove to my favorite clearing.

There, right under the stars, with Sammy trying out his first beer, I told him I’m bisexual, and the cute bastard hugged me and told me he loved me no matter what. That same night, he thanked me for everything I did for him while living with John. We talked until the sun was rising.

I’ll tell you this right now, kid, in case you haven’t gotten it yet. I love Sam. Love him to bits. I raised that kid all on my own and will do anything to protect him. I know he cares for me, I know it kills him to see me like this, in a bed, pale, miserable and coughing every three seconds. I just want you to know, honey, that whatever you need, anything at all that, for some reason, you don’t want to tell Dad, you go to Sam, okay? You can trust him to be supportive, loyal, to be there for you when no one else is and to love you like you’re his own daughter and best friend. I promise you, he will always, always be there when I’m not.

That night made us grow so much closer. The lesson here, I’d say, is be bold and confident in what you believe in and who you are. Be your own, unique self, be brave, and love whoever you choose to fully and with your whole heart, without shame, ever. If you are yourself, I promise, you’ll find the people that love you for you, not the person you’re pretending to be. You’ll inspire other to be themselves.

A good example of this would be my best friend, Charlie. When I came out, I was armed to the teeth to deal with whoever wanted to bully me for that part of me. To tell you the truth, my school coming out was a mishap. It takes nothing but a risky make-out session in the janitor’s closet and nosey students that rip doors open far too violently. Nevertheless, I was literally out of the closet, fists up. And that’s exactly when I met Charlie.

With her comic book stories and her books, her bubbly personality and bright smile, she wiggled her way into our lives and permanently stayed there. She was a freshman when I was a senior, but she seemed to find sanctuary by my side, as I did by hers. She was just one of those people who clicked, you know? Far too mature and interesting for her age, with an obsession with computers, even back when they were barely even a thing.

She now lives with her long-term girlfriend, Gilda, who owns the best bakery in the state. Ask for the apple pie, you will not be disappointed.

Charlie demanded of me to tell you, first off, to watch Marvel and screw DC right to hell (with which I have to agree, though Batman still remains one of the coolest Superheroes of my childhood (and Joker, the coolest villain)). She also told me that, if you read this, go ask her for her comics, She’d love to let you borrow them and she’s certain you’ll love them. Second off, she asked of me to tell you the Impala story…

It’s not as grand as she makes it out to be, honestly. However this is the part where you’ll learn all about the one and only Bobby Singer.

Bobby was my boss, an old friend of dad’s John’s and the first person who ever saw the bruises under my sleeves. He gave me a job, a family, and later on… a car.

Bobby owns a scrapyard. He taught me everything I know about cars, including driving, and for my seventeenth birthday, he brought a dusty, beat-up car in my workspace. The hood was bent, the seats were torn, and the engine needed immediate replacing. The customer never paid the price for the compartments the garage had paid, so under store policy, the car was ours.

Hannah, I can’t exactly describe to you how long it took me to repair that car. Buying the spare parts and assembling them would’ve probably taken less time. I built her from the ground up, it took me almost a month and a half of daily, eight-to-six work, but I made it. I fixed her up. She was in prime condition, and I had completely fallen in love with her.

I finished working on her early January, dreading the moment I would see her drive away. Bobby had seen all the effort, by then I’d worked at his place for over a year. So, on the day of my birthday, I opened my locker to put on my jumpsuit, when I saw a box placed on my neatly folded clothes. I’m sure you’ve guessed it by now. Yes. It was the keys to my dream car. A beautiful, sleek, black 1967 Chevrolet Impala, the one I had brought back to life. And it was all mine.

I don’t think I’ve hugged Bobby any tighter since then. Hell, I don’t think I’ve hugged him period.

That car… That car is probably the most stable thing in my life, apart from Sam, obviously. I’ve cried in that car, I’ve escaped from my terrible past, I’ve laughed, I’ve had my first time, I’ve been through breakups and I’ve spent my best days with it. I cherish it more than any other item I know. It’s not even an item, it’s my baby. I love it almost as much as I love you.

I met your dad, and kissed him for the first time in that car.

It’s actually a pretty fucking hilarious story. Cas was on a date with this guy who was completely disgusting and creepy as hell, so in true movie fashion he decided to, get this, jump out the bathroom window and escape.

Yeah.

So just as he was running out of the bar, the guy must’ve caught wind of him or something, because he stepped outside in order to find Cas. What did your dad decide to do, I hear you ask? He ducked behind a car in the parking lot, opened the first unlocked door he found, and jumped in.

Spoiler alert. It was my car.

I was sitting in the front seat, fighting with Sam through text when the door opened. It was highly comical, watching this guy duck behind the bench seat, mumbling “oh God, oh God, oh God, please don’t see me, oh God.” I cleared my throat.

“Oh, I see you, buddy.” That’s the first thing I told him. The look on his face and the genuine yelp, made me laugh a full belly laugh, and completely forget about my fight with Sam. He apologized profusely, explained panicked what had happened and begged me to stay in my car just for a couple minutes so the guy can lose him.

Long story short, we ended up going out ourselves. I don’t know how to explain it… we just clicked immediately. Like, there was a connection. Him and his big words, his baby blue eyes, his steady, deep and rough voice… I knew right away that all I wanted was to spend time with him, learn everything he was willing to share with me.

I’m so glad to have met your Dad. He was, is and always will be one of the best, kindest, most humble and genuine people on the planet. He sees the world from such a beautiful point of view that contradicts my eternal realism (he enjoys calling me pessimistic.) He’s a genuinely great person, and I can’t wait for you to figure so out yourself, if you haven’t already.

Of course, it wasn’t all fine and dandy. Meeting his parents was hellish. Let’s just say, Chuck and Naomi aren’t… the best people. They tried really, really hard to stop us from seeing each other, and eventually, they completely disowned Cas. He doesn’t like to talk about them much. His brother, Gabriel is an asshole, but a loveable one, while his other brother, Michael, you probably don’t know about. And you shouldn’t. Let’s just leave it at that. If Cas wants to share that story with you, he’ll do it at his own time.

I’m sure there’s a lesson to be learned here. Something about, when finding your person, to keep them, fight for them, don’t stop loving them because everyone else is telling you (unless of course that person is toxic). But I don’t think I can give you solid love advice through a dumb book. Every relationship is different, and your Dad’s better at this than me anyways.

I don’t know exactly how long this thing is, by this point, but I’ve almost finished the pages of this booklet. I was really, really worried I wouldn’t finish it in time, but here we are. However many thousand words later, and I’m clueless as to how to wrap this up.

My life isn’t over yet, however it looks like it soon will be. I will confess to you, I’m scared, but most of all I’m angry. I’m angry at the world, at life and fate, if that’s even a thing, at God even. I’ve fought my whole life for peace and quiet, and right when I have found it, it’s being ripped from under my feet. Cancer fucking sucks.

No matter, my chin is up, and so are my fists. Winchesters don’t give up easy. I will fight this until my last breath, even if the chance of watching you grow up and being able to tell you everything I’ve written face-to-face, is nothing but a sliver. After all, impossible odds were always my favorite.

Sweetheart… I don’t know what to say. This might be the only thing you have left of me for the rest of your life, and it tears me up inside. Of course, I will not be able to write thirty five years of experience in a small book such as this, but this is a part of me, memories you can keep all to yourself. Ask Dad or Sam about any of it, I’m sure they’ll fill some gaps, tell you things I haven’t written.

I don’t want you to cry much, even though I’m not sure you will at all, given the fact that you’ve never met me. Either way, whether you feel or think anything of me or not, I want you to know that I love you so much. I’ve only known you for a couple of months, and, already, you’re the brightest ray of sunshine in my life.

I promise I will be by your side no matter what happens, through every milestone and hardship, I will love you from wherever I am.

Honey, please stay true to yourself. Never give up, no matter what curveballs life throws at you. There’s always reason to keep going, even if you can’t see it. Always keep fighting, ‘till your last breath, ‘cause you’re a Winchester and you’ve absolutely got this.

If there is something I want you to remember from the scribbly mess I’ve made, it’s this:

I love you. I’m proud of you. I believe in you.

Go get ‘em, tiger.

Bonus:

Tears streaming down velvety soft cheeks, dainty fingers gripping the book tightly, like her life depends on it, Hannah stares at the ceiling and groans at the mess she is. It’s the second time she read that last bit, and just as she thought she’d gotten over it, here she is, crying just as hard as the first.

She gets off her bed, pulling on her sweater sleeves. Feet in slippers, she makes her way down the corridor, knocking on the door, and opening when she gets an answer. Her fingers grip the doorknob, the other clutching the book, and she stares at the bed, watching as green eyes look up from his laptop.

“Why did you give this to me, you ass, you’re not dead,” she sobs, and Dean pushes his laptop to the side, arms opening wide to invite her in them.

“Aw honey,” he coos, a gentle, loving smile on his face. Hannah climbs on the bed and slides to his side, curling up in his arms. “It’s okay.” Fingers stroking her hair gently, as sobs wrack through the poor girl’s body. Dean almost feels bad.

Just then, Cas appears in the doorway, having heard Hannah’s cries. He sees the booklet clutched in her arms, her face buried in Dean’s neck, hidden behind her spring-curly hair. He makes eye contact with his husband, a knowing half-smile on his lips, as he leans on the doorway.

“I love you,” Hannah says, nose stuffed and running. “Thank you for not giving up on a relationship with me, even when you didn’t think you’ll survive.” Tears wet Dean’s eyes, as he presses a kiss on the crown of her head.

“I love you too.”

#dean fluff #dean angst #destiel #daddy!dean #destiel dads #supernatural au #spn fanfiction #supernatural #spn angst #spn fluff #oc

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mariolucario493 · 5 years

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A Frozen 2 review no one asked for! (POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD)

Okay, hear me out. I’m probably in the minority when I say this, but...

I think it’s better than the first one.

I liked the original Frozen just fine. I liked how it depicted anxiety and how it subverted a lot of Disney tropes, but I probably wouldn’t put it in my top ten.

(Which, in case you’re interested, is:)

10. Tarzan

9. Aladdin

8. Beauty and the Beast

7. Frozen 2 (this one!)

6. Lilo & Stitch

5. Wreck-it Ralph

4. Moana

3. The Lion King

2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame

1. Zootopia

(And that’s not even including the Pixar ones.)

But it seems that the general consensus of Frozen 2 is the same as a lot of sequels (especially Disney sequels): that it’s not as good as the first one. Or, dare I say it, that it’s just the first one all over again. But here’s my argument against that. I think being similar to the first one actually works in its favor.

What do I mean by that? Well, after the prologue, the movie opens with a song called “Some Things Never Change,” in which all the characters sing about how happy they are in their current life. Although Olaf worries that change might be inevitable (I love how woke he’s become, btw), no one is really seeking anything new. Now that sounds like the setup for a lot of recent Disney movies, I know. But it's an idea that’s really explored throughout the entirety of the movie.

Every character reacts to change differently. Elsa is nervous, but tries to embrace it anyway; Olaf dismisses it as something he will understand when he’s older; Kristoff feels like he and his friends are drifting apart; and Anna struggles to accept it overall. And we see how each of them goes through it. Even the inclusion of darker themes allows the audience to react similarly to the characters onscreen. Kids probably won’t always understand what’s going on; but they’ll have a good time anyway. And just like Olaf, they’ll understand it when they’re older. That does seem to be one of the major criticisms I’ve seen for Frozen 2, that it’s too dark and too complicated for kids. But Disney’s never been afraid to tackle heavy subjects before, because they know that challenging the audience helps them grow. And hey, at least it’s not Crimes of Grindelwald, right?

I think the reason they made Frozen 2 similar to Frozen 1 was the same reason they used similar themes in Frozen 1 that we were already familiar with - princesses, magical kingdoms, curses, goofy sidekicks. And that’s to deconstruct and subvert them. In fact, I might even go so far as to say that this was an attempt to remind Disney to always try new things, which they have had trouble with recently. Just look at all those live-action remakes that no one asked for. The exact same thing all over again disguised as something new, but without all the stuff that made the originals so good in the first place.

Frozen 2 also continues the tradition of having interesting female protagonists. Well, interesting ANIMATED female protagonists, anyway. It’s not like the Aladdin remake, where Jasmine has a whole new song about girl power, but then she becomes the damsel in distress anyway and does nothing to fight back. It’s not like Captain Marvel, who makes a big deal about being a female superhero even though the Avengers already have several much more interesting female members. It’s not like the new Star Wars movies, in which they’re so focused with making Rey a strong female role model that they forget to give her a personality. And it’s not going to be like the Mulan remake, which I’m just going to assume is going to be another soapbox feminist’s wet dream. Oh, wait, I forgot this is Tumblr, and they love that shit.

But really. Starting with Tiana, Disney’s animated leading ladies have become such well-written characters. From Rapunzel to Vanellope to Judy Hopps to Moana to Elastigirl, they are fully fleshed-out characters first and agenda pushers second. Anna and Elsa are no exception. Elsa battles magical spirits and tames a water horse, and Anna has a crisis of ethics that feels really genuine. All without saying something dumb like “Look how capable I, a female, am in this situation, in comparison to my less competent male companions.”

Oh, by the way, for those of you who wanted Elsa to be revealed as a lesbian, I think we have a few more hints that she may be. She does not end up with a love interest, but I noticed she does seem to get along really well with Honeymaren. So maybe? Definitely better than the live-action Beauty and the Beast, am I right?

Oh, and the songs are great. We get not one, but TWO big numbers from Idina Menzel. Olaf and Kristoff both get new songs that are pointless, but still really funny. Anna has a new song that is one of the emotional highlights. The lyrics are just as clever, and they help further each character’s story arc. Even the lame pop versions of the songs over the end credits, which I usually DESPISE; hearing Imagine Dragons’ cover of “Into the Unknown” was actually pretty decent.

So, those darker themes. The reveal that one of Anna and Elsa’s ancestors was a genocidal tyrant who built the dam as a way to restrict the Northuldra tribe’s resources, and then declared war on them. Pretty ballsy, I have to say. And pretty creative that the villain of this movie is a character who is already dead before the movie even begins. Kind of like Coco, but they don’t even interact with him as a spirit or anything. What I like about this is that it kind of explains why the father in the first movie didn’t always do the right thing when it came to raising his kids. Locking up one of your daughters because she has supernatural abilities seems like a terrible move. But when you consider that Agnarr’s father was also distant from his son and had the goal of suppressing magic, you realize that it may have been a subconscious choice on his behalf. And hey, it’s also revealed that the reason Agnarr left on the ship that would eventually be his grave was to find answers about Elsa. So he probably felt remorse about it.

And now it’s time to compare this movie to today’s political climate. And before you start typing about how I’m wrong like Tumblr users are prone to do, maybe take a hint from the first movie and let it go. This is just my personal analysis.

The Northuldra tribe is clearly inspired by the Sami, the indigenous people of Norway, who have been persecuted for generations. But I don’t know much about Norwegian history, so let’s just compare it to America. Now let’s see...does America have a history of persecuting its indigenous population and disguising acts of war as offerings of peace? Hey, didn’t this movie come out just a week before Thanksgiving?

That’s right, I’m going there. Come to think of it, this whole movie radiates Thanksgiving vibes. It’s set in autumn, and it opens with everyone having a big feast with pumpkins and stuff.

King Runeard is a historical figure within Arendelle, and he is considered a hero. The dam that Runeard built is a monument that is ultimately destroyed by Anna in the film’s climax. And Anna initially refuses to do so because she believes the dam represents all that her kingdom stands for. I might be crazy, but this reminds me of how people are starting to take down statues of Confederate soldiers or how many cities have stopped recognizing Columbus Day as a national holiday, despite others saying that they are important parts of our heritage. One of the lines in “Some Things Never Change” is “Arendelle’s flag will always fly.” Sounds kind of like those conservative nuts who think the American flag is an infallible symbol and anyone who disrespects it (say, by taking a knee during the national anthem) is not a true patriot. Might be grasping at straws with that one.

And what Anna decides to do ultimately makes Arendelle a better place, even though she worries that it will be an unpopular decision. So we have a person in a position of political power who puts aside her own hubris for the good of her people. She asks for nothing in return, and knows that the right choice is not the easy one. She destroys a physical bridge, but builds a metaphorical one. Anna really is the type of leader we need. And if you think that it’s ethnocentric that a white person saves the day for a minority, remember that Anna and Elsa are actually half Northuldran on their mother’s side.

Yes, I believe Frozen 2 is up there with Zootopia as one of the great Disney flexes on right-wing extremists. But it’s subtle enough that we can enjoy the characters, the music, and the story first; and the message second. It reminds us to step outside our comfort zones and to always think about what it means to do the right thing.

If you didn’t like the first Frozen, you probably won’t enjoy this one either. I can understand what people mean when they say the movie throws a lot at you and doesn’t always feel focused on a coherent story. But regardless, I think it is an important movie.

#frozen 2 #disney #review #anna #elsa #olaf #kristoff #sven

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