#leo was one of the coolest characters in the book

[notebookqueenofnarnia]

Okay Demigods

now that Season 2 has been confirmed (!!!!!!!!!!) I am here to make my official appeal that you ALL read the books. and yes...i mean ALL the books. Because here is what you are missing if you don't:

(mostly spoiler free. mostly vibes and chaotic no context)

OG PERCY JACKSON

Percy's INCREDIBLE sarcasm

Lots of chaotic Mr. D moments

Percy's unending absolute obliviousness when it comes to: his own abilities/powers, his own feelings towards a certain daughter of Athena, and EVERYONE'S feelings towards him

the full list of Percy's felonies (it's longer than you think!)

how much Percy thinks about Annabeth, especially in the third book

The Hunters of Artemis (everyone's like 'which godly parent would you have?' but im like ??? who cares??? I'm running off with the girls to immortal to hunt men i mean monsters)

soooooooooo much Sally Jackson is the Best Mom (to everyone who walks through her door) content

BLACKJACK. TRANS ICON BLACKJACK THE PEGASUS.

Rachel. Elizabeth. Dare. (this is how the audiobook says her name every single time)

Paul Blofis

Sally Jackson, author

Poseidon: Blowfish?

HEROES OF OLYMPUS

If you don't read these books you are missing out on some of the coolest female characters Rick has created: PIPER (an iconic), HAZEL (unintentionally hilarious), REYNA (beautiful character arc), and ANNABETH's point of view will have you loving her on a whole other level, trust me

Also: COACH HEDGE

Leo

All The Ladies Love Leo

the audiobooks are INSANE. It felt like a full cast read the book, but no. it was just one insanely talented narrator.

FESTUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS (im a dragon girlie)

Personally, I spent a lot of time reading the OG 5 wondering about how Roman mythology plays into Percy's world. Uncle Rick answered my questions and answered them SO WELL

Hazel the horse girl

Frank the horsebirddolphinman

Frank, gentle himbo, my beloved son

MY FAVORITE SCENE WHICH INVOLVES PERCY NOT KNOWING HOW TO DRIVE, A HARPY, FRANK, AND HAZEL AND THEYRE ALL SCREAMING AND IM PRETTY SURE STUFF IS ON FIRE

Forced Proximity for 7 teenagers and one chaotically violent satyr (that's Coach Hedge)

Eros/Cupid being one the most genius things Rick's ever written

Percy's hate of Ares transcending god magic

(also his love of Annabeth, but that's like obvious)

PercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabethPercabe

weird barely gnome things

this one giant whose name is definitely not pronounced like female anatomy

everyone thinking Percy and Annabeth are constantly getting up to the hanky panky

a statue made me cry

Gay Grumpy/Sunshine (or should that be Death/Sunshine) origins!!

TRIALS OF APOLLO

Apollo, vain himbo of godly proportions is forced to live as Lester Papadopoulos

Percy: why

a very chaotic twelve year old daughter of Demeter

she commands Apollo around

plant magic

terrible great haikus at the start of every chapter

Sally Jackson being the best mom to everyone who comes to her door

magic shoes

a sassy magic prophetic arrow that talks in Shakespearean English

so much gay grumpydeath/sunshine content

also yes sunshine's dad is Apollo

Apollo sings

Grover! Piper! Reyna! Hazel! All the friends! Everyone

Jason! (also im sorry)

what if there were some trees who were an elite squad of warriors who also answer to the chaotic twelve year old

gay moms of the midwest

unicorns

in the last book, chiron takes the campers on a 'field trip' to help take down the big baddie and he shows up dressed as a warrior soccer mom with granola bars, water bottles, and extra swords attached to his fanny pack

a different chaotic twelve year old while fighting to the death in a building that's on fire: "CAN WE GO ON FIELD TRIPS EVERY WEEK?"

chiron: "ROSE DEAR RAISE YOUR SWORD A LITTLE HIGHER!"

okay im not going to spoil it but in the last book there is also this extremely horrifyingly violent moment that Uncle Rick somehow turns into one of the most hilarious things i've ever read

Piper in the epilogue

CHALICE OF THE GODS

more insanely funny percy first person narration

Grover, Percy, Annabeth reunite ("the gang is back together!" "The three musketeers!" "Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey!" "Excuse me?")

have you met the god of himbos? (Percy has)

SO

MANY

EASTER

EGGS

for Season one. you can totally see how Uncle Rick worked on the script and chalice together

if you liked Annabeth shoving Percy into the water....this one is for you

Percy, supreme god of snakes

the cutest cutest cutest cutest Percabeth content you will ever read

hippie gods (yes more than one)

Percy is literally obsessed with Annabeth

Annabeth already being the Jackson daughter in law

Sally Jackson and Paul and

For the record: You CAN read Chalice of the Gods without reading the other series, but please please please read all these books. The audiobooks are phenomenal.

[punkeropercyjackson]

'Not that we know Harry Potter sucks,we need a new british Percy Jackson lmao haha'Blud......We HAVE a british Percy Jackson.Hobie Brown is literally an afro-caribbean punk who was born in one of the two place's punk started(England/New York)and is completely subculturally accurate instead of just edgy,a role model for troubled but good kids,audhd-coded with no masking game,super silly and openly kind and the Team Dad but also has insane street cred and a huge edge and scares the shit out of normies,the son of a deadbeat who left him as a baby to do supernatural shit,owns a magic dog(Spidermutt,the symbiote dog from the comics),widely regarded as the coolest ever in-universe but is also huge dork which only makes him this much cooler the whole time,really femme in a way that comes as masc to normies,freakishly tall with guitarist hands and described as so attractive it's shocking to other characters and with a constant 'sarcastic troublemaker smile',cocky asf yet self-loathing,has a terrible singing voice,blue-coded and even has Percy Sense Of Humor™️.Gwen Stacy and Miles Morales are the Hazel Levesque and Nico di Angelo to Hobie's Percy in characters and dynamics and you can switch 'em up and it works no matter the angle because Spiderman can do both.The comics Spiderband is just Jason Grace,Annabeth Chase,Leo Valdez and Clarisse La Rue if Rick Riordan wasn't racist.He said 'calling yourself a hero makes you self-mythologizing' as his intro.I understand y'all are stupid which is why you even compare him to Hadrian Potternizer to begin with but Percy Jackson's character isn't about being a white boy,it's about being a misfit and me and like every other black Percyverse fan read him as afrolatino and i mean READ literally in a lot of cases because we thought he was canonically afrolatino based on the books alone and that's what makes HOBIE BROWN british Percy Jackson.Get that anglophobia cured and read another book,specifically comic books and pirate the Spiderverse movies

[itzzaira]

Fashion time! Mike is looking for supporting characters in his superhero comic book! What would your character(s) look like as superheroes? Or would they be supervillain(s)?

"Hello again!!" Michelangelo waved as soon as they came across their counterpart- the cat in the bowl he was holding let out a happy meow too. He, Mikey and Icecream Kitty had been walking around in matching panda hoodies- they were comfy, leave him alone- searching for something to dress Kitty in when Mikey appeared.

"Babies!" Mikey immediately squealed, and waved. Ah. Right. Raph had told him about the babies Mike had been carrying. Aww. Though the costume Mike was wearing quickly caught his attention- a smile growing on his face once the oldest one explained.

"I have a whole story on the Dashing Spark if that's anything?"

"Who?" Mikey looked at him. Michelangelo shrugged.

"A hero I made... along with his sidekick." He grinned, and held out the bowl. Icecream Kitty meowed, holding up her paws and striking a pose. "Only the bestest sidekick ever! The name is a work in progress."

"Hmmm..." Mikey thought. "...We always used to play superhero when little, but that was just Lou Jitsu. Uhh... the villain was original though! But that was Donnie's evil scientist guy."

"We can make you a character!" Michelangelo declared, Kitty echoing his sentiment. Mikey grinned.

"I want a cape."

"You can have a cape."

"Mikey?" Both turtles looked behind them when they heard Leonardo call- huh. He seemed to be wearing some sort of blue kimono. It suited him. Though Leonardo looked lost. "Have you seen mini-me, he disappeared- oh. Hello Mike." He waved.

"Leo ran off to the costume section."

Leonardo shuddered. Ah. Great. The slider would have more stuff for him to try. Wonderful. "...So I need to hide again."

"You can hang out with us!" Michelangelo invited him. Mikey giggled, looking between them.

"Other me- us. Uhm." He looked confused, before shrugging. "Is making a comic."

"That sounds nice." Leonardo stepped towards them, and booped Kitty's nose. She purred. "About...?"

"Super cool characters!" His brother said. "Turtle Titan? He's one of the most amazing bestest coolest ever to exist superhero-"

As soon as the word 'superhero' came out of Michelangelo's mouth, something in Leonardo seemed to change. He cut him off, immediately smiling oh-so-bright with a goofy smile, eyes sparkling as he squealed.

"SUPERHEROES?!"

"..."

Shocked, the others stared.

Leonardo seemed to realize- his smile fell, and he cleared his throat, suddenly his usual calm again. He.... hadn't meant to get so excited.

"I mean. Uhm." He turned red, looking away.

...

He turned around, and left.

Both Mikey and Michelangelo burst out laughing, his brother immediately calling after him. "Leo, no!" Michelangelo snickered, trying and failing to keep a straight face. "Dude, its okay- Come back!"

He had forgotten his older brother loved heroes even more then he did.

@tmnt-fandom-family-reunion

[acearcane]

3, 10, 20, 23

Salty Ask Game Answers, Pt. 1

For the sake of these questions, I will be talking about The Umbrella Academy, The Owl House, and Percy Jackson, as those are the three fandoms I care the most about ^.^

I'm going to get pretty salty (at least by my standards) so remember, these are just my opinions. I do not define right or wrong, and I don't claim to. Please don't come for me :)

3. Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion?

Heh, I have. If you've hung around my blog for long enough (or gotten me yapping in your DMs), you might've cued in to the fact that I feel pretty strongly about the way some parts of the Umbrella Academy fandom treats Five. More specifically, the way he's sexualized and reduced to a dom daddy. It makes me very uncomfortable, as until recently (namely Season 4) he was in the physical body of a minor and being portrayed by a minor. Yes, he's technically in his late 50s, I fully understand that. But it personally really weirds me out, so yes, I've unfollowed others in the fandom over differences on that topic.

I can excuse murder, but I can't excuse pedophilia. /ref

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

Let's do a Percy Jackson answer for this one! I'm sorry, but Caleo. I do not like Caleo. That whole romance arc felt very unnecessary to me, not to mention Calypso is an immortal goddess?? And Leo is just a teen?? The age gap was a bit funky for sure. I love Uncle Rick, I'm so thankful to him for his unabashed inclusivity in his books, but I have such beef when it comes to his need to put all of his characters into romantic relationships. Yes yes they're teens, that's what teens do, but also! They don't all need romance! *sobs in aromantic*

*checks notes* No comments on The Owl House, 'tis a work of art and I have no complaints there, yes yes.

20. What is the purest ship in the fandom?

This answer comes from a place of pure bias, but Huntlow. I absolutely love Huntlow, and they're honestly so sweet and pure in my opinion. Plant girl and her tree boy; Willow, who struggles with self-image, and Hunter, who thinks she's the coolest thing since sewing machines; Hunter, who's used to taking orders and living to serve someone, and Willow, who helped teach him how to fight back and love himself. I could talk about these two for hours, I love them so so much.

Not to mention I love the bi/pan representation!! It's an excellent reminder that het-passing relationships aren't always heterosexual. Bi/pan erasure is uncool, me and the homies hate bi/pan erasure.

23. Unpopular character you love?

Coming full circle back to The Umbrella Academy, I'm going to say Viktor. He definitely isn't the most hated character in the fandom (that would probably be poor Allison) but I've seen a lot of negative opinions on him. And while I get where many of them are coming from, I could never hate Viktor. He's the character I relate to the most in The Umbrella Academy, and I see myself in a lot of his trauma. I may be a Five main, but Viktor has a very special place in my heart.

[gaygayaurel]

As game Lambert #1 fan 5ever the Nerflix Lambert sucks but not bcs of what people think? (I didnt read book of elves I love and respect myself sometimes )

As in game Lambert is kinda fun in that he got actually defined compared to Novels and Hexer where he did not exist ad character proper. He is deeply mean and sarcasric person, being willing to chew out his closest friends and enemies alike. He isnt as morally concerned abt stuff as geralt and when someone asks him to kill a monster he'd do it. Fuck he'd even go as far as use Axii to make two bandits die in horrific way. This is after all his lot in his shitty miserable life. He hates witchery and witchers and the very concept of this much suffering ("But you kept the table" he says furious to Vesemir as they stand above screaming Uma). His attitude is just such a complete 360° from Geralt' silent acceptance of what was done to them. It truly becomes the only voice of like hey fuck what happened to us, fuck it all to hell. Hes an utter fucking dickhead and hell provoke people for no reason (talkinf abt geralt and triss in front of phillipa for no reason) (i deadass dont think he would fuck up yens stuff on purpose tho #;#&#&)

His main core personal element is revenge. In his short appearence in w1 he proclaims desire to slaughter salamandra for killing Leo. In W3 he goes on massive revenge rampage spanning CONTINENTS for a guy we dont know (and thats pretty cool to me, implying he has adventures outside geralt, both him and eskel). He says his first action after he left Kaer Morhen was to find and kill his dad ( and him being sad he couldnt save his mother his life is all just empty revenges that will never fill the holes of people hell miss).

But also main Core element of Lambert is also love as cheesy as it sounds. He cared deeply for Leo and Aiden and even his own mom. After Triss. Got conked out by a mage guy in witcher 1 he cared for her and watched over her (they were hardcore inplying shipping which is funnt but whatever). He literally puts his life on line dor Ciri and Geralt. The thing is he is dickhead but he will do Everythinf for those few peoples he has left in his life.

The Point is games being games and larger allowed Lambert to have depth and nuance. He is imo one of the most interesting and coolest game characters. Netflix Lambert however did not have the time for variety of reasons to get that.

One is Lambert is very minor person in books. Second is that the show didnt...realy care abt witchers past vesemir maybe. So he wasnt a focus. In the end what we get is disappoitninf character not helped by the fact most witchers in netflix are cannon fodders for baba yaga.

ONE issue that I have is people saying Lambert was a dick to Ciri and thats OOC. While I cant speak from the POV of books (altho my friend who did read them say he is sexist), from POV of game thats untrue. In fact I believe game Lambert would VERY much be a fucking dick to Ciri fron a start. It doesnt even need to have sexist colouring to it. This dude HATES witchering. He hates the mutagenesis and the pain of it all, the destiny in it. I firmly believe he wouldnt be OK with a bew trainee and guess what? While he didnt live through instructors not giving fucks abt new witchers because like 1/20 live to become witchers he LIVED through it. On his skin. I firmly believe Lambert being DICKHEAD to ciri at first is nit only a whiff of the complex game!Lambert but a decent start of its own standalone character.

In witcher 1 also wheb tou tell him Leo died he laments he "was not ready". Leo. Just like ciri never got his mutagens (take this with grain of salt because leos whole character is weird tm). So him being an miserable instructor who will push you until you cry is in character ingame. This guys has ten layers of issue.

What Netflix misses is the fact we dont SEE lambert getting to his relationship Ciri where we see rhem albeit briefly in game (willing to fight to death for her). We just have this awkward jump from utter hostility to them beinf kinda pals after baba yaga fight. In the end netflix lambert is just. Boring.

Also hes not a balding fuck and i cant forgive that

[aquietwritingcorner]

Why Raphie Hates Bugs

Title: Why Raphie Hates Bugs Day: Febuwhump 2024 Day 9 Prompt: Bees  Fandom: TMNT 2003 Word Count:   Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl Rating:  T Characters: Raphael Warning: 1807 Summary: All Raphie wants to do is feel like he’s helping his family. So, when he finds a hive of bees in the sewers, well, he knows that bees make honey, and they all like honey. It can’t be that hard to get some of it, right?    Notes: So, just as a note, don’t jump in water if bees are ever chasing you. From what I’ve read, they’ll wait for you to surface. Raphie can do this, because he’s a turtle. However, if you’re near things like shrubbery or bushes, that are close together or densely packed, do run through them. It’ll scrape a lot of the bees off of you. That I learned when my grandfather was attacked by bees once, and he learned it from watching a cow do it when he was a boy. Also, you can’t just use any smoke to smoke out bees. Some kinds, usually ones from more synthetic materials, will actually agitate the bees more. You need more natural materials to help them calm.   ff.net || AO3

_______________________________

Why Raphie Hates Bugs

Everyone knew that Donnie always made the coolest things. He found broken toys in the trash and fixed them. He made the water and the stove and the fridge work. He figured out how to hide their home. He found and fixed the lights and the TV and the radio. He even fixed that wrestling lamp for Raph and figured out how to use all the small bits of crayons they found to make new crayons. He found cool looking bugs and could tell them all sorts of things about them, putting them in cages to watch them for a while. He was good at finding and making things.

Leo was good at finding things, too. He wasn’t good at finding things in the same way Donnie was, but he was good at finding what they were looking for. He always found a lot of stuff when he went out with Father, and it was usually things that they were looking for, too! He was just good at it.

Mikey wasn’t good at finding things, but he was good at making things. He didn’t make things like Donnie made things, but he still made things. He would help make things comfortable or make up stories when the books they had were damaged. He was always making up silly things, and playing around, and he made things cheerful.

Raphie was glad that his brothers could do all of those things! It was good for them all and good for the family! But sometimes it made Raphie feel a little bad. Donnie was good at making them new things. Leo was good at finding things Father was looking for. Mikey was good at making things to make people happy. But Raphie couldn’t figure out what he was good at. His brothers were much better at finding and making things.

At least, they were.

One thing Raphie was good at, was exploring. He liked to go out and explore the sewers. Sometimes he found neat things, but most of the time it was just him walking around. He probably went further than Father wanted him to, but if Father didn’t know, well, Raphie wasn’t going to tell him.

And this time, it let him find something good.

Food wasn’t something that was easy for them to get. Sure, Father managed to find enough most of the time, especially when he went to the places that gave food to people. But there were always things that they could use or that they wanted. One thing that was a favorite with all of them was honey. They loved honey and putting it on things. It was sweet and it made things taste better! But it wasn’t easy to get.

Raphie wasn’t stupid, though. He’d listened to Donnie talk enough and seen enough cartoons that he knew that bees made honey. And he knew that they stored the honey in their hive. What he hadn’t known was that beehives didn’t look like they looked on cartoons. At least, he hadn’t known that until he had heard some buzzing in the sewers near Central Park and gone to look. In a broken pipe, near a drain, he had seen something he hadn’t ever thought he’d see—a beehive.

Raphie didn’t like bugs the same way that Donnie or Mikey did. He didn’t want to play with them, or pick them up, but he didn’t mind if they were around, and they could be neat to look at when they were in Donnie’s cages. And even though he knew that bees could sting, he figured if he was careful, then he could stop and look for a little bit. So, he had. And then he came back to watch it again and again. Part of him had thought that maybe he should show Donnie, because Donnie would love this, but another part of him liked keeping this just for himself.

The thought of keeping it a secret had just grown stronger when he realized that he could get them all honey from the beehive. If he did that, then he’d be the coolest, because he’d bring them all something that they loved.

Of course, doing that wasn’t easy. Raphie wasn’t sure how to do it, to be honest. He knew that bees could attack people. But he also knew that people had to get the bees away somehow. So, he’d looked through Donnie’s encyclopedias and watched shows with Donnie about it. That was how he had learned that beekeepers used smoke to make the bees sleepy and then they just took the honey.

Of course, they also used special suits, and Raphie didn’t have that. But he did have a hat and some gloves, and he knew how to make a fire and smoke! He’d just have to be quick, because if the humans saw smoke coming out of the sewers, then they might send someone to figure out why.

It seemed a foolproof plan in his mind, and all Raphie had to do was put it into action.

Of course, it wasn’t easy to get away from his family, especially with little brothers that liked to follow him. So, he ended up waiting about a week before he could go back to the beehive. Making sure no one was following him, Raphie retrieved his bag of supplies from where he had stashed it and made his way over to where he knew the beehive was.

He stopped before he got there and pulled on the floppy hat and the gloves that had two of the fingers tied back so they fit better. And then he got out the jar that had the paper and cloth to burn in it, and the matches.

Carefully he opened the jar and got out a match. He got a little closer to the beehive, trying not to worry too much about the bees that were now flying a little closer to him. It took him a time or two, but he struck the match and lit the stuff in the jar on fire. It took it a minute to really start burning, and the smoke smelled kinda sharp, but he had it! Now he just had to get it to the hive!

Moving forward with his smoking jar, and trying to ignore the buzzing bees around him, Raphie moved closer to the hive, holding the smoking jar up. It was right next to the entrance to the hive, and Raphie grinned. Yes! This was going to work! He’d be able to get the honey for his family and then he’d be the coolest!

Or, at least that’s what he thought.

It didn’t seem to be working right. Something was wrong. The bees were supposed to be calm. But they weren’t. In fact, they were buzzing more and starting to swoop at him. Raphie felt something sharp, and he yelped as a bee stung him, nearly dropping the jar. That—that wasn’t supposed to happen!

Suddenly, another bee landed on him and stung him, and then another, and another. Raphie dropped the smoking jar, letting out a cry. This wasn’t what was supposed to happen! He turned to run, but the bees chased him, some already on him, and he swiped at them with his gloved hands. They didn’t let up, though, chasing him, landing on him, stinging him. Raphie cried, and yelled for his father, even though he knew there was no way for his father to hear him from here.

Raphie finally came to a bigger sewer pipe, one that had water flowing through it, and he leapt into the water, holding his breath and completely submerging himself. He slapped at his skin under the water, trying to get the bees that were still on him off, and let the current carry him away.

When Raphie finally emerged, there were no more bees on him or flying around. He pulled himself out of the stream, crying. He hurt! The stings hurt! They were all over him, and they hurt, and his head felt funny! He was, at least, a little closer to the lair, and, crying and stumbling, he limped towards home. It felt like it took even longer to get home than it had been to stay under the water, and when he got there, he stumbled in, crying loudly for his father.

Things got a little blurry after that, but he could remember Father rushing up to him and calling out instructions to his brothers, being made to take some sort of little pink pills, and Father pulling lots of something out of his skin with tweezers.

Raphie woke up later, in Father’s bed, with Father sitting nearby. He didn’t remember coming here, but he didn’t mind it so much.

He sniffed. “Father?” he called out.

Father’s attention snapped over to him. “Raphael?” he said, moving closer. “Raphael, how do you feel?”

Raphie felt his lip tremble and his eyes tear up. “It hurts,” he whimpered.

Father’s face softened, and he laid a gentle hand on Raphie’s head. “I am sure, my son. Tell me what happened. How did you get stung so badly?”

Raphie teared up. “I—I’m sorry!” he said, starting to cry. “I just wanted to get us some honey! I thought I did it right! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Father reached down and pulled Raphie into his lap. “Shh, shh, my son, what are you talking about?”

Raphie curled into his father’s hold and through tears and with a trembling voice, told him what he had tried to do. Father held him close, listening and rubbing a gentle hand on his shell. When Raphie finished, Father sighed, and pressed his nose to Raphie’s head.

“Oh, Raphael. While I appreciate what you did, please know that you don’t have to go to such lengths. I promise you, your brothers and I love you even without the honey, and you are very helpful to this family.”

“I just wanted to make everyone happy and do something cool for everyone,” Raphie sniffed. “I just wanted to help.”

“I know my son. I know,” Splinter said, pressing a kiss to Raphie’s head. “But you already do more than you know, my son. There’s no need to do more.”

Raphie wasn’t satisfied with that, though. “Stupid bees!” he said, curling his hands into his father’s robe. “All I wanted was some honey! All they had to do was share some of it!”

“I know, my son, I know,” Father reassured him.

Raphie buried his face in his father and cried. It wasn’t fair! It wasn’t! Bees were stupid, and so were all other bugs! And Raphie didn’t ever want to get near them ever, ever again! He decided right then and right there—he hated bugs, and nothing was ever gonna change his mind about that!

[the-feminist-filipino-fangirl]

I have been procrastinating on posting this for ages now but anyways, here are my Rottmnt fankids!:

Cat and Sandro are twins and they were adopted by Raph. Gio was adopted at age 2 by Leo. Yes, Raph and Leo decided to continue the Renaissance artist name trend, yes they are color coded (CYMK but minus the K), and yes, they have mystic powers/Hamato Ninpo. Let me give you a rundown of each character (this is gonna be long imma divide it into 3 parts)

(Part 2: Cat, Part 3: Gio)

Sandro

Before I get into Sandro’s personality, I’m going to begin by explaining the twin’s backstory. Basically, Raph was considering adoption around the same time one of April’s friends accidentally got pregnant. He offered to adopt the baby, not expecting it to be babies plural. The twins are half Japanese and half Jamaican (I was definitely influenced by the blasian human turtle designs)

Sandro is 9 years old and is named after Sandro Botticelli. His signature color is magenta and he is definitely one of the smartest kids in 4th grade. All three kids are actually really smart like seriously, they were all homeschooled by Donnie for the first 8 years of their life. And that doesn’t even count what Leo Mikey and Raph taught them.

Sandro is autistic like Raph and Donnie and is a huge literary nerd (I’m self projecting here) and has a ridiculously large book collection. Raph encourages his love for reading as much as possible. He loves his alone time and is introverted but if you ask him about one of his hyperfixations he will infodump for hours. He is on the high empathy side of the spectrum and loves his family to the death. He’s very peaceful but he is not above punching someone if they hurt his family.

When he and Cat were about seven, the begged Raph for weeks on end to teach them to become ninjas. They thought their dad and uncles had the coolest job ever and wanted to copy them. Raph wanted to train them but he was terrified of hurting his kids so he refused at first. The puppy eyes won in the end. They ended up having a blast training together. Sandro uses a bladed staff like the one Cassandra uses in the season finale:

Except his isn’t bent. Sandro also knows how to use tonfas and a bo staff.

Now I mentioned earlier that the kids have Hamato Ninpo despite being adopted and they got mystic powers along with it. Sandro got invisibility. He just claps his hands and he disappears. You should have seen Raph’s face when he did it for the first time. Splinter constantly teases the turtles that their 9 year old nephew/son is better at stealth than them. Sandro usually uses his powers when he wants to get out of uncomfortable social situations (I can relate)

And that’s it for Sandro! I’ll continue with Cat and Gio after I finish studying bc I have an exam tomorrow. Adios!

[danjaley]

8 favourite characters

thanks for the tag @nocturnalazure​ !

Share ten different favorite characters from ten different pieces of media, in no particular order, then tag/send to ten people (anon or not).

Feel free to join in, I have cold, tagging people is stressing me out more than usual.

Filifjonka (Moomin series, Tove Jansson). While there are a lot of characters in this series I share attitudes with, I especially identify with this one. The Filifjonka is tidy, cares about family while not being very gregarious by nature, is frequently nervous to the point of totally panicked, but always manages to regain her ground. Then again she’s unexpectedly brave and rebellious or freaks everyone out by saying overly dramatic things (”When will our execution take place?”) In the end she learns to play the mouth-organ, to become a little more like Mumrik, whom I also admire.

Thursday Next (The Eyre Affair (and sequels) Jasper Fforde): Okay, maybe it’s not the character alone, but this is the most brilliant work of (meta) fiction I ever read. I appreciate that Thursday, as the protagonist of a fantasy novel, is over thirty, and I like her matter-of-fact way to deal with the most surreal of situations. As the first person narrator she doesn’t get kitschy or sentimental about her own feelings, and never loses her sense of humour. The whole book manages to be the most hilarious of Jabberwocky and deeply touching at the same time.

Andrej Bolkonsky (War and Peace, Leo Tolstoi): Even at dying he was better than other people! I also relate to the feeling when you’d love to speak to someone on eye-level, but everyone around you is more interested in meaningless small-talk. He did an interesting thing in my head. At the beginning of the novel I imagined him a light blonde, but the more he realized there was no place for him in this world, the darker-haired he grew. Also: That feeling when you’re heartbroken about a book, but nobody understands how you could read War and Peace in the first place. In 2018 I felt that as an expert on the Napoleonic times I ought to tackle it. My mother had bought our copy in order to disapprove of it. I read past her bookmark from 1982. Actually I was surprised how many characters’ storylines, outside the Rostov-Bolkonsky connection, just ran into nowhere. This wouldn’t have happened with Victor Hugo!

Gösta Berling (Gösta Berling, Selma Lagerlöff): Most things he does end in disaster, but in such an incredibly aesthetic way, it’s a delight to read. Also no amount of tragedy stops him from being the coolest historical guy in Sweden.

Desirée Clary / Bernadotte (Desirée, Annemarie Selinko): Again, this is generally one of my favourite books. It follows the (somewhat fictionalized) biography of the first Bernadotte Queen of Sweden and her entanglements with Napoleon Bonaparte. In the course of the novel she goes from a silly teenager to a world-wise adult to a slightly patronizing middle-aged lady, while always staying true to herself. The transition is almost imperceptible. She also speaks the author’s charming Austrian German :)

Leslie May (Rivers of London series, Ben Aaronovitch): My role-model on how to maintain dignity and self-respect in the event of ones face falling off. (This mainly refers to volume 1-3. In volume 4 she changes sides and rarely appears any more. I quit reading it when I realized the series wasn’t working towards a conclusion.)

Walter Blythe (Anne of Green Gables series, Lucy Maud Montgomery): I am rather a fan of the later volumes of Anne actually. Not to say anything about his story being truly heartbreaking, he’s a great example of how to build up a tragic hero while still letting him be a kid. In general I’m deeply fascinated with how the World Wars impacted serial literature for young girls. If I had stayed with history of literature, I would have done research about this.

Alm-Öhi (Heidi, Johann Spiry): Admittedly, as a child I identified more with Heidi herself, but I was always in awe of her grandfather. He reminded me a little bit of my own grandfather. He’s self-reliant and can do anything that needs to be done in their little world. He cares about his family while not being a gregarious person at all. When I was five years old myself, I thought he had lost his son a lifetime ago - but in fact it was less than five years. When I grew older and became a historian I also started noticing his occasional references to his past as a soldier.

[introspectivememories]

this take is kinda old but whatever

[fourtoomanyships]

Copying Gracie and Anna on the gram, here's things I hate about the seven except I haven't read the books in forever and forgot most of cannon

Percy: told Annabeth to go back to her abusive family, right after his mom k worded gabe. My guy.

Annabeth: hated anything feminine. Literally for why. Did not pick up on why Percy didn't like her talking abt Luke

Piper: why do you hate feminine things. Criticized the E N T I R E Aphrodite for liking being feminine. Girly was not it. Also instead of resolving Drew's problems with her Piper forced her to stop being the head counselor of her cabin??

Jason: mans didn't know how to think abt the people on board. He only thought of what would benefit the quest, which I guess is from being raised a Roman but still. Superiority complex. Wolf boy but showed no signs of being a wolf boy. Also didn't resolve the weird romance thing with Reyna??

Leo: womanizer. "Bad boy supreme." Need I say more

Frank: low key a forgettable character, wish he had done something important. Like I guess he defeated some basilisks in the middle of son and glowed up (unnecessarily) in boo but what else was there???

Hazel: 13. 13 year old are annoying by default. Also forgettable but she does have the coolest scene in hoh

Reyna: I get she was being loyal to New Rome or whatever but why couldn't she have talked to the Greeks when Leo exploded that one thing in moa. It's not that difficult. Also why was she leading a small country. She's 16???

Nico: he's like 14. Cringe. Annoying. DND nerd. Doesn't say anything about chb to Percy in son.

Will: "doctor's orders!" Shut up your 15.

[hacked-wtsdz]

Took this quiz https://href.li/?https://openpsychometrics.org/tests/characters/ and boooy I have never been this content with a quiz result before lmao

I got my girl Kat Stratford as an 88% match and honestly?? She’s the coolest teenager in film.

Also biggest matches were:

Ciri - 88% (aka my fav from the books)

Arya Stark - 86% (aka my fav from both the books and the show)

Sirius Black - 84%

Katniss Everdeen - 83%

Ygritte - 82% (aka my second fav in the show)

Mulan - 82% (one of my fav disney princesses)

Jyn Erso - 82% (aka my fav Star Wars female)

Marion Ravenwood - 79% (she’s just cool)

Black Widow - 78% (idk my fav marvel girl)

Elizabeth Swann - 78% (my literal childhood hero)

I guess I’m the pretty unemotional sassy curious cunning girl? Really tempted to tag @depressed-leo and @tragicfantasy-girl here so not resisting the urge:)

[aeempress]

Apritello Express Evidences, part 2

Khem-khem, ladies and gentlemen, we shall continue out praising Apritello's episodes. And yeah, this part will be dedicated, in entirety just one episode.

Purple jacket. April and Donnie's episode.

I really love this piece of masterpiece, because it show April and Dee relationship, better reveals them as characters, and demonstrates their connection. (My previous points at this whole situation)

The episode begins with Donnie sneaking into April's school under the pretext of helping her. Soon, April stated the reason why she called D - her science computer project. Actually, she could take a photo of the code and sent it to Donatello, and I'm sure, he would send her the correct one right away, he's coder, he's prodigy, no probbles.

But still, April just asked him to come over and help her without stating any reasons. And he, indeed, came at speed of the light.

I want you to understand what exactly does that mean.

First: April is aware how much Donnie is into human culture. He wants to study in normal human school, do some average teen stuff. Especially, he is loving school and science-related stuff, all these science school projects, visits to botanical gardens, experiments and laboratory work. Because it's his field. It's exactly his domain, where he's good at. His family does not share his interest in science, and April is only one who can understand him. Probably.

Also, April know, how badly Donnie wants to go to school, which gives him an excuse, even if not the most solid one, but an excuse, nevertheless, to visit her school again.

Why again?

Because he has no problem navigating there. Donnie went directly to April's computer class.

He loves this place. And he'd already helped April with her projects.

Even so, knowing that every time she asked guys, especially Don, for help, it turned into a cataclysm, April still called him to help.

It's just a weird, indirect way to say, " Let's hang out, I know how much you like this whole situation with science, school and etc. Here ya go, buddy"

It seems like April did that to make something pleasant to him, something small, but nice to make him feel better. Because, as I state before - he likes to help April (praise, doing something useful for April - still counts as a motivation) and he likes school.

Second: khem-khem, D came at her school, as it seems, right away she called/texted. He didn't even know the proper reason, but c'mon: April ask for help, plus, her school. Sounds legit, don't you think?

Anyway, April has always been being the reason and excuse for teetles, but especially for Donnie. Clear? Clear. Good.

Donnie also tends to not think things through when he is excited. Because he went at the daylight in place, full of people just to help April.

ROTTMNT shows us how turtles were really afraid of human reaction and possible consequences. They have plan "H" to pretend they are going to Galaxy Con, brothers have explanation why they look weird and it's definitely not because boys are mutants, uh-huh, no, plus, guys go on surface at evening or night hours, when there are not so many people, and it's dark, obviously, to cover them and keep unseen.

Yeah, of course, Donnie seems more capable then his brothers to handle the surface (he has cash, D's dressed up as old ladies more than once, according to Leo, he was in April's school before, so yeah, no big deal) and I suspect that his friendship with April is one of the reasons.

Third: do you remember how April worried about looking "normal" when she was finally invited to a school party? She even forbade Mayham to appear nearby, just not to look like the lizard boy. Because cool kids don't bring pets to school. April doesn't have many friends, or rather, there are none at school, and she's been trying to solve this problem by getting close to Taylor Martin, the coolest girl in school.

And April O'Neil just calls Donatello, an objectively strange guy (since when is it normal to be a fan of school? Pretty questionable) in place, where her reputation is hanging in a balance. Our girl does not try to hide Dee, as it usually shown in shows for kids, and April do not pretend that she sees him for the first time in her life because, you know, Donnie will catch everyone's attention being himself and may embarrass her in front of her classmates. But no - April says with all her actions: "Yes, I know him. Yes, that dork is with me. And I don't give a damn about your opinion. Your problems, not mine. And yeah, I'm fine with him being here."

I mean it, guys. The devil is always in the tiny details.

The way they behave around each other.

Donatello is way more, MORE relaxed and just being himself: dramatic dorky nerdy ninja with current obsessions. The way he sneaked in school and April's classroom, the way he behaves alone with her is contrasting the way of his attitude while his brothers are near.

Don has a specific way to shown up. Instead of texting her, Donnie used shurekens. Yes, he almost fell off the lamp, but still, that's... quite an entrance he makes there.

April worries about him, when he fell from ceiling.

Our girl feel relaxed enough around Donnie, so she winks at him.

A wink is a fairly casual gesture that shows some expression of sympathy, trust, and togetherness. It's both good for saying "We're in same boat, we're team" and show the playful attitude towards someone. Isn't that an indicator?

Ironically, that being the best friends April and Donnie do not have any secret handshake/brofist/special greeting, as it usually the besties have at kid's series. Like Kendra and Jeremy have.

I can do only one possible logical conclusion: their relationship is far beyond "friends," "best friends," and "family".

Btw, about this certain phrase about secret five.

- Nay, fair April. A secret five[...].

Once again, nice wording, Donatello. Fair April? Maybe I'm too critical, but often when someone wants to convince their interlocutor and at the same time show one's condescension to them, it's usually uses "my dear ..." or something like that. I understand that semantically the difference is not very big, but in the first case, you can feel Donnie's personal attitude, even though he uses a book word. The second is just formal politeness, which emphasizes the difference between the rightness of the disputants.

This phrase were interpreted on official Russian dub as (okay, it's really hard to choose the correct word, because there's a lot of synonyms in English that sits quite well, while on Russian it's just one word, damn) "Нет, милая (No, honey/sweetheart )". Actually, a strange choice of wording, 'cause this is not what usually friends use to say to each other. We prefer use words like " my darling", "my dear", to demonstrate leniency. And again, most often this prerogative belongs to the older generation. Russians rarely throw around such words as "honey", "dear", "sunshine", because this deprives these endearments of any meaning, and a person using them, as a rule, is familiar. Of course, there are people who use them on a regular basis, but I HIGHLY doubt that Donatello is one of them. It's not his style.

But still, maybe I just too critical at this point.

April, as it is shown, have some kind of power to cool and calm him down and bring Donnie back to life reality.

1. Don awakes from his daze while heard April's voice

2. He's literally coming back to life, when April said about his broken jetpack.

3. Dee obediently interrupts his touching farewell to the jacket when April yells at him.

Oh, and his face. I remind you, fellas, we're talking about Donatello, "I really do not like to express emotions"-guy and "I will die if someone broke my bAbEyS"-guy.

And what do we see? Donnie's emoting. And feels free to do that. He's even drooling. (What seems kinda interesting without context, if you're understand what I'm talking about ;))

Dee doesn't seem angry about broken jetpack. And his wide smile, while he's assuring April he can fix it? A few minutes ago, he was steamed when his stuff was stolen, but when the jetpack was broken, he doesn't even raise an eyebrow. Very eloquent.

April is his support

April also supports Donnie whatever he's up to. Yes, she hadn't been excited when Othello had expressed a desire to join the club. However, she also introduced him to Kendra and company. Yes, she showed by her whole appearance that she did not share his joy, but nevertheless, our loyal captain O'Neil was there for him, by his side all this time.

And her sweet facial expression. From "Srsly? Join this jerks?" to "If you dare to even think about to hurt him, I'll smash you".

And one more cute detail about Dee. Even if he does whatever he wanted so badly, Don constantly looks around at April, looking for her approval.

- Be honest, April, do I look fantastic, or SUPERBLY fantastic?

- You look like you drop a juice box in a laundry. (Play nice, April, don't be mean)

He cherishes her opinion.

April had even called him late at night just to, technically speaking, say that his tech were stolen. And what's the big deal with all his outfit? It's late night, they can just sneak out into Nakamura in their usual form. But noooo, April give a special ride on her bicycle. Just. You know. Our girl carried her own weight and his all the way without stopping. And then she went up 53 + floors running non-stop because Donnie's equipment was stolen. And then she had to chase the her classmates, dodge and jump out of the window. Because Purple dragons stole Dee's tech. Like shooting fish in a barrel, no big deal at all.

And it's definitely not because he will be totally crashed or he'll do stupid things during his anger, which will then come out sideways.

And April comes along with him to very end.

By the way, their phone conversations.

Donnie is the very case when "Call at any time of the day or night and I will pick up the phone".

When April called him when he needs D's help with Albearto, when something is definitely going on behind.

As it says in transcript of the episode:

[April takes out her phone, scrolls to Donnie’s listing and calls him. Donatello appears on screen. Behind him a flying microwave wearing boxing gloves shoots lasers at his brothers.]

Don: "You are conversing with Donatello."

April

[Crouched on floor in hiding.]

Dude, I need your help."

Don: "For you, anything. As long as it does not involve bees, or spiders, or beach balls.

[There’s an explosion behind him and his brothers cry out, which he ignores.]

And yeah, he took her incoming immediately, he ignores absolutely and totally everything around him, because... April? Expositions, bloody flying microwave bot turned to destroy mode, his brothers screaming and being in life-threatening situation? Naaah, it can wait.

Donatello was at Todd's, building "the puppiest place on Earth" and was very enthusiastic about to finish this thing. But he paused anyway to answer April.

We already know how obsessive with work Don can be: if something interesting gets into his field of view, he begins to do it all day long. Remember "The Purple Game" - a very revealing case. Yeah, we weren't shown how much Donnie is into engineering, but I can guess that point remains the same.

April called him at late night and Donnie picked up the phone.

April, unlike Donatello, is a teenager who is burdened with social relationship such as family, school, and work periodically, which implies a more or less strict schedule to follow and some conventions, such as " April, you can't go out late at night to catch robbers, you are underage and you have to go to school/work tomorrow). However, she was watching the news late at night, so she called Dee. ( I have a lot of questions, but I'll never get answers, as it seems)

D, in turn, doesn't have so many contacts with the outside world. I highly doubt that anyone else outside of the family and April has his number. And yet, when he hears the call late at night he takes it. Yes, he had awaken from the nightmare, but still.

And what's up with his usual "You're conversing with Donatello"? He didn't even understand what's going on, as it seems, he's too sleepy to play his usual image and playfully attitude as we could see in "Hypno Part Deux" and "War and Pizza".

Adorable couple-like D&A arguing

April very rarely uses "I told you so" against anybody, or rather, this is almost the only case. This phrase is more suitable for Leo or Donnie, and you know," I told you so! " we usually use on people we know well, and we want to tease 'em about them being wrong. Which, in fact, once again highlights and proves how close D&A are. And I don't even get started about the fact that this is more like a couple's quarrel, not a friend's.

And one more time - in the end, when April suggests using the jacket to stop Kendra.

Their teamwork

I stated that before, I'll tell it one more and more times. The chemistry of their team interaction is incredible. It's as if they can feel each other, and each knows what the other is capable of doing in the next moment. April easily adapts to Donnie's attack, realizing his plan.

Donnie also throws them both out of the window in order to continue the pursuiting Kendra on the jetpack. Don is one hundred percent sure of April, that she will understand what he wants to do, Dee trusts her with his life without hesitation, and she has never used his jetpack. He just puts her before the fact: April will be using the tech.

Up for Donnie!

I really like how this scene was made. Donatello struggles with his own tech, somewhat he made by himself, having invested almost whole himself and his soul, but what "betrayed" him in end. When Dee finally managed to shake one of his battleshell, which almost choked him, Donnie feel so scared and unsecured. We can see his anxiety - Dee's coaching position with covering his head with his hands and tucking his knees.

Defenseless, helpless, and mostly lost, and then, just in time - hero comes to save his life. She uses Donnie's name as battlecry, look how furious she is.

Funny fact: on Russian dub April yells "Don't touch Donnie! (how dare you, madafaka)

April fits in Donnie's type of girls. She's cute (obvious) and mean (not so obvious).

I can't say that meanness is the main feature of April's character, as we can say about Kendra. But this personality trait is still present in her and sometimes it does not manifest itself so widely. April's meanness is not so pronounced, it is much softer and smoother, and it is not exposed.

But April becomes really mean when someone messes up with Donnie.

She's his support and prop. Literally. Just look at first frame, okay-okay, jokes aside

She's genuinely enjoying of kicking bad guys ' asses, even letting go of witticisms and barbs.

Last scenes

Don survived a rough night: he was used, his tech was stolen, so he and April had to chase the satin robed punks. Donnie was hit in the head with a hammer, he fell from a bird's-eye view, passed out and then his battleshell tried to strangle him. And April is here to comfort him, to cheer him up.

Yes, we don't get any hugs (because it's kids show, bleh), the tactility is kept to a minimum, except for April's comforting hand on his shoulder, but they don't even look at each other. But the softness of her voice, the intonation with which she utters a phrase (that is usually sent to the friend zone, but "pal" is really neutral word, and the most important how she said that) turn the scene upside down. It is not what April did to comfort him matter, it's how she did this.

I said "yes" to you way too often

April mirrors Donnie with his "Anything for you". Yes, of course, she said this with a certain amount of grumbling, but her voice and her demeanor suggest otherwise - she is not at all averse to going to giving in him.

And the way they're look at each other.

This one

And one more detail

It's really tiny, it's hard to catch from the first watching the episode, but still, it's possible. I'm talking about graffiti on the walls of the alley where April and Don had landed.

This one

Yeah, if we speak about reality it's quite normal to see graffiti like this. But we talking about TV-series, where everything has its own place and meaning. And if there something, it must be there, it's not just whim of artist who put it in there. But this little graffiti changes the mood of scene.

[headgehug]

my disco elysium tier list / character opinions, below the cut, in no particular order, includes spoilers, very rambly lol.

Alice DeMettrie: lovely voice, as a phone girl i aspire to be like her

Judit (HFW) and Jean: um.. I guess I haven’t interacted with them enough to really enjoy their characters. I think Jean is hilarious and because of the fandom I feel bad for the poor guy.

Kim: couldn’t help but feel for Kim exactly how Harry feels for him, enough said?

Trant: made me mad that he wouldn’t let the kid learn about whatever he wanted to learn about

Gary, the Cryptofascist: dude has the coolest job in the world and isn’t even into it… come on.

Klaasje: girl… maybe it was having to go through a half-hour of loading screens to talk to her, or the way she was yanking my chain (and everyone else's), but I thought she was just sad. You have to wonder after a certain point why it is that trouble follows a person around so closely.

Garte: malewife material alert! I hope, by the end of the game, that he no longer thought of me as just his worst customer ever, but his worst customer ever who was also not too bad of a guy. The bit where he said he realized he didn’t care if he lived or died, the way he is so devoted to the Whirling even if it is truly doomed… damn.

Lena: on one hand, I’m annoyed with her husband for leaving her alone so much. On the other? The way he chases this cryptid just because he believes in her story? That’s sweet. But i think they should find a way for her to come along, because she obviously misses him, and it’s not about the discovery for her, it’s about the journey. Anyways, what a sweet woman. She should write children’s books, i think.

Annette & Plaisance: I thought Annette’s conversation was very bittersweet, but it didn’t necessarily get me too invested. Her mom was funny. idk.

Leo: Leo! Honestly, I talked to Leo every time I went to see the big guy in the box. Literally, the big man, physically, and big man, as in the man in charge. I talked to Leo every time I went to see him. What a great guy, honestly. That is, not necessarily Evrart, the guy in the box, even though he’s alright, for sure! But this time, I meant Leo. Leo is just a great guy, and I enjoyed talking to him. I was so sad asking him to keep it snappy, but I was thrilled when he did not let me being in a rush slow him down in the least. Truly, all in all, one of the greatest souls in Martinaise. Oh, that Leo. What a guy.

Frittte girl: i love her voice so much and i catch myself talking out loud like her just for fun… honestly what an icon! she doesn’t know and she doesn’t care.

Gaston & Rene: loved their voices so much! And their relationship, ugh. And the ending, ugh. 10/10 would play boulle with them again and let them bitch about me for years after. You ever compete for a girl when it’s secretly the other guy you’re in love with? And then hang out with him for decades, never sharing a kind word, and then sit and stare in silence after he literally works himself to death out of loyalty to a country that never loved him as much as he loved it? yeah…

Paledriver: i mean, if somebody bothered me when i was clearly lost in thought, i would probably also be as cryptic and snipey as possible.

Joyce: meant so much to me the way she went across the bay. I love all the subtle symbolism in the game, for sure. Hope she quits her job.

Tommy Le Homme: oh… poor guy, what a romantic doormat. He was disappointed in me and it made me disappointed in myself.

Call Me Mañana: very cool and chill dude. Enjoyed how much he didn’t get involved.

Evrart Claire: ugh.. You know a character is good when you really just hate his guts. Gross guy… does some good, when the good benefits him as well. That’s usually how it is.

Measurehead: i was like… what? And… huh? His voice was really good though.

Ruby, the Instigator: hmmm. I think for all of the build up around her, it was very nice to see her as a roughed up, scared woman. Honestly, I think she is a very interesting counterpoint to Klaasje: both of them are followed by trouble, but Ruby seems to handle it with actions while Klaasje handles it with words. Is there some kind of commentary to be had there about how Klaasje studied lit while Ruby drove a lorry, how Klaasje essentially let everything about her drown while Ruby kept it close in her diary? Yeah probably etc etc

Elizabeth Beaufort: beautiful voice as well. Would love to know more about her backstory, and the way she protects the boys while keeping them at arm's length, to protect herself and them.

Titus Hardie: poor guy. Good heart. Hope he comes into his own, after everything.

Cindy the SKULL: loved her voice so much. Really wanted to impress her with my art. Not sure that i’m cool enough to ever achieve that. If i was a streetrat ne’er do well i’d have a crush on her too.

Cleaning Lady: I wanted to ask if she was okay. Who takes care of her?

Cuno: fandom kind of encapsulates the way I feel about him. Pure of heart, dumb of ass? I love any kid that can give a grown man a run for his money.

Cunoesse: oh… i don’t know if i want to know her full story or not. Cuno is alright, but that poor kid… she needs some help. You can’t rehabilitate every feral cat.

Smoker on the Balcony: good mysterious throw away homo-sexual awakening character. Distracted by his shirt being open. What did he say?

Sunday Friend: unfortunately too distracted by a hot guy’s skimpy outfits laying around to really pay attention to what he was talking about.

Don't Call Abigail / The Pigs (my reaction was the same so i’m combining them): oh lord. That was sad.

Idiot Doom Spiral: #cringe. Awesome character. Wheedled me out of several bottles of algul.

Lilienne Carter: love of my life, what a lady. Does she know she casually carries the courage of kings?

Acele: I really love her conversation and her backstory once you go back and talk to Evrart about her. I was a little distracted by how much I loved Egg and Noid but i care about her and i am so, so ridiculously happy that i was able to give her a nice warm beanie <3 she deserves a happy family and I hope she finds it there.

Egg Head (& Dolores Dei): I’m probably not going to explain the way I feel about Egg properly but I haven’t really seen this take anywhere else yet so I’m going to try! Even from just his portrait, I get such a strong correlation between him and Dolores. The way she “appeared out of time” and he just appeared to the other speedfreaks on the road. Not to mention the way he literally has the glowing lungs, her symbol, on his belt buckle. Like Dolores, he’s socially isolated, despite being with a few close friends, in that he hardly says anything of real value. His role as party boy, master of ceremonies, hype man, is similar to the way Dolores Dei was a leader to her own following, if you think of being a Queen’s advisor as being her personal emcee, subtly guiding and sensing discreet changes in the political mood. Finally, and this is what makes me the most emotional, is the way he is on the small church stage/raised area, but still very much near where the crowd would be. Considering how boisterous I can imagine anodic dance raves could get, i’d assume the crowd would be right up and around him, or at least very close. He is amongst his people, unlike how the stained glass figure of Dolores towered above them, cold and distant, detached. He has a sort of innocence about him that many other characters don’t have, a wholehearted belief in the power of love to solve everything. Like with any religious pursuit, it takes patience and intuition to truly speak to him. That’s hardcore, man.

Noid: oh gosh, I could talk to that guy all day. Everything he said made me stop and think for a good while. So comfortable with himself, so sure of things, honestly in sync with the world around him.

Andre: You know, he’s got good friends and he’s a good leader for them. Didn’t particularly interest me otherwise.

Soona, the Programmer: she’s got a great heart and a lot of patience. I think the kids will grow on her.

Tiago: obsessed with this guy. Just… good for him.

Mega Rich Light-Bending Guy: mind = blown

Harry: well. There really isn’t much to say that wouldn’t take me a long time and that someone else hasn’t already said better. What a wonderful player character.

[awanderingdeal]

Happy birthday, Finnegan.

I was writing this in the office at work the other day and my manager asked what I was doing and I answered that I was writing a story for my friend for their birthday because I didn't want to tell her I was writing fanfic. So, in true being friends with Lucy style, this is two days late. Sorry! No matter what, the creation of this character deserves to be celebrated.

This is set in an AU universe where the cubs are out.

CW: Food talk and a brief mention of alcohol

Rating: G

Please message me if I missed any content warnings or you think I need to change the ratings.

All characters (except Bailey, she's mine) belong to @lumosinlove.

“Friday night and the lights are lowwww, Looking out for a place to goooo,” Finn spun around the island, the wooden spoon at his lips providing the perfect microphone for his rendition. He halted in front of Logan, laughing at what he could tell was a disgruntled expression despite most of his face being covered by the hoodie he’d pulled tight around it, his hands covering the bottom half. “It’s my birthday, come and dance with me,” Finn pleaded, tugging at the overhang of Logan’s sleeve.

“Non, it is too early,” Logan grumbled. “Dance with Knutty.”

“Knutty is busy.” Finn threw a glance over his shoulder at Leo, smiling at the sight of his boyfriend humming to himself as he moved gracefully at the stove. Leo turned to meet his gaze, his damp hair forming golden curls that Finn thought made him look like a cherub.

“Here,” Leo tipped his head at the freshly prepared coffee. “Coffee’s ready, you can caffeinate him. Just needs sugar.”

Finn pressed his lips to Logan's forehead. "If bring you coffee will you dance with me after?" Logan huffed but nodded, pushing his hands through the holes in his sleeves to receive the steaming cup.

"Okay, deal, but I'm starting the song again." Finn's grin was met with a low groan. After drawing the drink out as long as he could, technically, Logan did fulfil his promise, standing to reluctantly move his body to the music.

Finn saw the exact moment Logan chose mischief, his bright green eyes lighting up even more than usual. "Catch me and I'll dance with you properly."

Finn raised an eyebrow, matching Logan's fast walk around the island. He was the first to risk Leo's wrath, picking up the speed to a jog, and took advantage of his longer arms to close the gap.

"Got' cha," Finn grasped Logan around the waist, Logan's head tipping back in an uncharacteristically bright laugh as Finn reeled him in. "You are the dancing queen, young and sweet," Finn sang loudly, spinning Logan away from him and pulling him back when their fingertips threatened to split.

Logan placed his palm on Finn's chest, letting himself be rocked to the music. "You should be singing this to Leo, not me."

Finn glanced down at Logan and despite the fact no words were vocalised in that moment, their eyes said a lot. In an almost synchronised moment they turned their gaze to Leo.

"Nutter butter," Finn said. "It's your turn to be serenaded."

"Oh no, what a shame, breakfast is ready," Leo smirked, pouring a generous helping of maple syrup over one of the bagel stacks; Logan's. Finn considered protesting, but the sight of his own plate was too tempting.

"The serenading will recommence at a later time," Finn insisted, grabbing one of the plates and carrying it through to the dining table. They didn't eat here often, preferring either the island or the sofa, but today it had been decorated with balloons and presents had been piled at the end.

***

"That was amazing, thanks Le." Finn already missed the stack of bagels; bacon and a poached egg layered between them, and dripping with hollandaise sauce. "Can I know what you've got planned now?"

"No problem, anything for the birthday boy." Leo swallowed a bite, sliding one of the wrapped boxes towards Finn. "We told you, it's a surprise. You can open presents though."

Finn worked his way through the gifts, too many of them from Leo and Logan. There was nothing extravagant but they seemed endless and each one reminded him how much they knew him. His favourite chapstick. A crate of beer from a craft supplier he really enjoyed. A set of massage oils and a promise to help him use them. Some monogrammed golf balls. And his favourite, a handwritten letter from the both of them that he would treasure forever. He read the cards from the rest of the team through damp eyes.

“Can you tell me the plan now?” Finn asked the question again once he’d worked his way through the gifts and the cards. Logan dragged his lips against his teeth, as if he was physically keeping the words from spilling from his mouth.

“Don’t give us those bambi eyes,” Leo shook his head, throwing a balled up napkin in Logan’s direction, the item hitting him square in the forehead. “Don’t you dare tell him.”

“I didn’t say anything!”

“I can tell you want to,” Leo retorted. “We have to clear up first. Put the music back on. I want to dance now.” It was much later that Finn came to recognise this for the distraction technique that it was, hence the three of them were arguing over the lyrics to Montero when the sound of the doorbell rang through the apartment.

Finn opened the door, a bounce still in his step and swaying his hips to an imaginary beat. He blinked at the figure in front of him, closing the door for a second before opening again. “Alex!” Finn pulled his brother into a tight hug, slapping his hand on the broad of his back. “Sorry, I thought I was hallucinating. What are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to see my baby brother on his birthday, obviously,” Alex laughed, squeezing Finn back until he struggled out of his hold.

“But,” Finn spluttered. “You were in Florida yesterday? I saw your Insta story.”

“I caught the first flight this morning, I’ve got to be back tomorrow for a photoshoot.”

“That’s crazy,” Finn said, shaking his head. “You’re crazy.” He tugged Alex inside, leading him down the hall into the kitchen. “Look who’s here!”

“Hey Alex,” Logan thrust his fist for Alex to bump his fist against. Finn looked between Leo and Logan, both of their faces showing no sign of surprise.

“Did you know?!”

***

It took a while for Leo and Logan to convince Finn they didn’t need to come along and he should spend time with Alex, but now they were alone, he was realising exactly how much he had missed his brother. The conversation flowed easily, Alex having almost an entire lifetime of practise at following Finn’s leaps in topics.

“So, I booked us in for a pottery class,” Alex glanced at Finn briefly before setting his eyes back on the road. “I thought you’d like that. It’s very tactile, y’know?”

“Nice,” Finn grinned. “I’ve always wanted to do that. I hope you brought spare clothes with you, because things are about to get messy.”

It was true. Finn had binge watched The Great Pottery Throw Down, so he knew learning to make even the simplest of things would be more difficult than it looked, but somehow the two of them managed to get the clay everywhere.

“Alex, that's too fast!” Bailey, the instructor warned, but it was too late. The clay sloped to the side, thinning out as it flew off the wheel and hit Finn on the cheek.

“Oops,” Alex grimaced. “Sorry, bud.”

Finn sent a mock scowl in his brother’s direction as he peeled the clay from his skin, dumping it back on Alex’s wheel. However, O’Hara’s were nothing if not perfectionists, and the two of them were determined to create something good. Neither of their first bowls came out right; Finn’s was too tall and thin, Alex’s was short and thick. When they tried again, Finn overcorrected, creating something that resembled Alex’s first. Alex’s second attempt was going well until it spontaneously collapsed.

“Third time’s the charm,” Alex huffed, manipulating his clay back into a lump to try again. He was right, giving a triumphant smile as he watched the grey ball transform. His work wasn’t as good as the ones filling the shelves opposite, their price tags indicative of the skill that had gone into them, but it was relatively smooth and definitely a bowl.

Finn whistled through his teeth, admiring Alex’s work. He laughed as he looked down at his own third endeavour, a small stumpy thing that could perhaps hold five Cheetos. “I tried.”

“Hey, no,” Alex argued. “Give it another go if you want. You’re nearly there.”

Finn rolled his shoulders back, pursuing his lips with determination. Alex watched Finn push his foot on the pedal again, his elbows tucked into his torso as he worked the clay.

“That’s it, apply a little more pressure on the bottom than the top.” Alex encouraged him. Finn smiled, his brother was always his biggest supporter. It reminded him of the time Alex had watched him tie and re-tie his shoelaces over and over again until he’d finally mastered it and could prove to their parents that he was ready for that new pair of sneakers.

“I guess I’m not needed here,” Bailey joked. “ You’re looking good, Finn. How about you two wash up and I’ll get those mugs you wanted to paint. We’ll get these in the kiln later and they’ll be ready for collection in a few days.”

Painting the mugs was a much more relaxing process, both Finn and Alex decorating two mugs each, one for each of their partners. Bailey sat with them and Finn watched in awe as she quickly made stencils whenever they needed assistance getting the designs in their heads onto the ceramic. By the time they’d finished, the three of them had come up with an elaborate plan for Alex to get back at his team mate for filling his hotel room with balloons and Finn concluded that Bailey was the coolest person ever.

“Damn,” Alex glanced at his phone. “It’s nearly 4. Let’s get you back to your boys before I start getting threatening messages from Tremblay.”

“Trust me,” Finn snorted. “It’s Knutty you need to be scared of.”

“Crazy goalies, am I right?”

***

“Wait, why are we at the aquarium?”

“You’ll see.” Alex’s smirk was infuriating. Finn craned his head forward, excitement bubbling inside him. Alex rolled his eyes as the engine rumbled to a stop. “Go on then,” he said, tilting his head towards a modern looking building, all glass and sharp angles.

“You’re coming as well?” Finn asked when Alex slid out the car too, locking the sleek black rental behind him. “Not that I mind.I just thought you had a flight to get?”

Alex shook his head. “ No, I’m not staying for long. I want to see your reaction though.”

“My reaction to what? We all know I love the aquarium but I’m not going to explode or anything.”

“I told you, you’ll see.” There was that smirk again.

Finn held in the urge to stamp his foot. “Urgh! You’re so annoying.”

“Love you too,” Alex laughed, pushing through a set of tall glass doors. A sarcastic quip rested on Finn’s tongue, but it shattered as he looked up to see Leo and Logan waiting in the entrance, backpacks slung over their shoulders.

“Lo! Knutty!” Finn jogged the short distance, “I missed you.”

“Glad to know I’m such good company,” Alex deadpanned.

“It’s only been a few hours,” Leo chuckled, accepting Finn’s hug. Finn smiled, lifting his head for Leo to place a soft kiss on his lips. “Did you have a good day?”

“Yeah, we went to this pottery studio, and then we got burgers and shakes like we used to when we were kids,” Finn nodded. Oh! I made you something.” He turned to Alex who had stepped into place beside him, holding his hands out. Alex grunted, but pulled the tote bag from his shoulder, placing two carefully wrapped items into his hands. “Open it!”

“Alright, give us a chance, Harz,” Logan laughed, tearing at the delicate tissue. Leo was much more methodical, peeling back the layers neatly enough the paper could probably be re-used.

“Did you do this?” Leo looked between the mug and Finn. He ran his fingers over the shiny glaze, a dark blue with tiny white stars scattered over. Inside, a moon phase created a border around the rim.

“I didn’t make the mug. We made bowls, but they won’t be ready for collection for a few days. I did paint it though. With some help from stencils. There’s a little note in the paper somewhere.”

“I couldn’t bring you the real ones, but hopefully these will do,” Leo read, his voice cracking slightly towards the end of the sentence. “Finn.”

Logan whined, the sound curling in the back of his throat. “It’s your birthday, you’re not supposed to give us things.” The mug he held had been painted white and the words ‘sweet like honey’ written over it in Finn’s neatest attempt at cursive along with several bees.

“Do you like it?” Finn rocked on his feet and Alex knocked their shoulders together, a small gesture of reassurance. “Look it’s you,” he pointed out a bee that had a small red cap on its head. The French left Logan’s mouth so quickly Finn couldn’t even begin to parse the words, let alone make any sort of effort to translate them.

“He’s mad that you are making him emotional in public,” Leo provided at Finn’s distressed frown.

“Aww, you do like it,” Finn grinned, wrapping his arms around Logan.

“Be careful! You’re going to break it.”

Alex cleared his throat. “As beautiful as this is, I’m going to have to go soon, so if we could do the big reveal?”

“Alex,” Finn almost growled. “I swear I will phone Nat - wait, what big reveal?”

Leo swung a backpack off his shoulder. Finn only now realised he was carrying two, one of which belonged to Finn. “We’re staying at the aquarium!”

“Well, yeah? Why else would we be here?”

“Non, Harzy, “ Logan laughed. “We’re sleeping at the aquarium. Overnight. Under the shark tunnel to be precise.”

“Oh my fucking God!” Finn couldn’t contain his grin as pulled Leo into the hug too, “Is this a joke? This better not be a joke.”

“Fish, there are children around,” Leo scolded. “And no, it’s not a joke. That would be mean.”

Finn let his boyfriends go, spinning around to face Alex. “Al, are you sure you don’t want to stay? This is going to be so cool!”

“I really have got to go soon,” Alex shrugged, a soft smile on his lips. He jerked his head in Logan’s direction. “Somebody count how many times Finn screams though, please.”

***

“Look!” Finn gasped, pointing up at the glass tunnel above where the three of them lay in their sleeping bags. “It’s a nurse shark.”

Logan rolled over, propping himself on his elbow and looking at Leo. “We’re not getting any sleep tonight are we?”

“I don’t think so.” Leo chuckled, shaking his head. He pointed to the tunnel. “What’s the weird looking one, Fish?”

“That’s a wobbegong, they blend into the sand,” Finn answered, curling into Leo’s side. Logan lay back down behind him, having offered Finn the middle spot for tonight. “This has been the best birthday,” he sighed happily.

“Happy birthday, Harzy,” Logan squeezed his hand through the layers of their bags. “Tell us more about the sharks.”

[haehaeming]

100 random facts about SJ members that may or may not help you with your FF

Or if you’re just... bored

1. Eunhyuk doesn’t like finger prints on screens, glasses, etc... It’s a little thing I find cute

2. Kyuhyun was a fan of SJ’s music before debuting with them

3. Leeteuk knows what ‘daddy’ means in a sexual context

4. Leeteuk also understands the concept of a sugar parent, but it was not a positive experience for him. It’s possible other members also understand this concept.

5. Kyuhyun likes men and women

6. Yesung writes his own music

7. Leeteuk has many unreleased songs

8. Eunhyuk has difficulty with his emotions in a general sense, so he’s thankful SJ understand him

9. When Kyuhyun was a teenager, he has to rebel against his fathers wishes to debut as a singer.

10. Kyuhyun dated many girls as a teenager, but only kissed one

11. Sungmin and Kyuhyun have the highest amount of testosterone among SJ members. This was public information a long time ago, though, and alcohol consumption has probably lowered the number a little over time.

12. Sungmin and Kyuhyun share a love of wine

13. Ryeowook is an affectionate drunk

14. Leeteuk is a Leo Venus which means he’s very annoying (read: passionate) in his relationships (This fact was corrected by @fanbynature , it originally said Heechul was a Leo Venus too but he’s actually a Leo Virgo, bonus fact!!)

15. Donghae thinks Eunhyuks lips look best in the morning.

16. Eunhyuk understands the concept of drag.

17. Yesung is very talkative but only when you’re close to him

18. Yesung would kiss SJ good morning back in the dorm days

19. Kyuhyun shows love through acts of service

20. Yesung shows love through quality time

21. Leeteuk is a huge flirt, any fan who met him more personally will tell you

22. As far as we know, Yesung used to collect all sorts of jewellery.

23. Ryeowook and Leeteuk are into cute things (phone cases with cute characters, charms, etc)

24. It’s said Yesung and Sungmin will sleep the least amount of time, but Ryeowook will sleep the most

25. Sungmin and Leeteuk share a moon phase (Waning Gibbous)

26. Back in the dorm, Donghae would also wake his members with affection, but no kisses.

27. Donghae lost his first love because he was too clingy.

28. Kyuhyun and Leeteuk were consider ‘mom’s friend’s kids’ in their school days because they excelled in everything they did. Like the scold ‘why can’t you be more like my friends kid’

29. Kyuhyun has a HUGE fanboy past. Now he can barely use the Internet without making it clear he’s old.

30. Shindong doesn’t like to be clothed at night or in the summer. He takes off his clothes unconsciously

31. Donghae was entrusted to Leeteuk by Donghae’s father

32. Donghae keeps his habits from the dorm days around Leeteuk even now. When he and Leeteuk would share a room, Donghae would cuddle Leeteuk. Even now, when they share a room to sleep, Donghae sings to Leeteuk to try and lull him to sleep.

33. Kyuhyuns relationship with Donghae has been a little bit confusing for him, but recently he said Donghae is like SJs son

34. Yesung’s favourite song is ‘I’ll Make Love To You’

35. Sungmin is the only introvert in SJ

36. Kyuhyun, Leeteuk and Sungmin are open to book recommendations at all times

37. Because of Koreas age system, Yesung and Sungmin are basically the same age.

38. Sungmin technically ages 2 times on his birthday.

39. Teenage Leeteuk celebrated little milestones in relationships like ‘100 days anniversary’

40. Leeteuk would rather be called his stage name than his given name.

41. DBSJ* worked with a ghost in the recording studio, according to Sungmin

42. Donghae and Eunhyuk share a love of strawberries

43. Kyuhyun does not like to be called with pet names

44. Yesung has always shown interest in Canada for whatever reason

45. Ryeowook played the triangle in his school band. Literally

46. Yesung, Donghae and Leeteuk don’t drink.

47. Leeteuk and Kyuhyun love the colour white

48. Sometimes, Kyuhyun unwinds by solving math problems

49. Kyuhyun cited himself in his college thesis on K-pop’s popularity.

50. Leeteuk is taller than Sungmin. It’s more drastic than you think

51. Donghae and Sungmin have both been deemed as ‘naturally cute’, but oddly enough, Sungmin has said he doesn’t act cute anymore. Donghae hasn’t changed in terms of cuteness once

52. Donghae is very fond of dogs. Kyuhyun and Ryeowook are not

53. Sungmin and Eunhyuk were the closest friends predebut. They would take the bus to SM together and make sure nobody else sat next to them. There’s a picture somewhere online of a predebut Sungmin resting his head on Eunhyuk during one of those bus rides

54. Leeteuk didn’t have many friends when he was younger. Leeteuk still thinks he doesn’t have many friends.

55. Donghae and Sungmin share forgetfulness.

56. Leeteuk and Heechul became friends easily because they’re the same age and look out for each other. Also because if Leeteuk was busy or resting, Heechul would be the oldest and have authority over the young SJ for him.

57. Leeteuk and Kyuhyun taught themselves how to cook. Ryeowook and Sungmin were good at it from the beginning

58. Leeteuk wanted to become an idol because of 90s kpop groups looking super cool. He wanted some of that for himself and now I think he’s one of the coolest people ever

59. Leeteuk smokes

60. Sungmin used to sleep in a pink nightgown. Even now, he doesn’t let the fact go, but he says it’s embarrassing

61. Predebut Eunhyuk stole a Shinhwa CD from SM to impress a girl

62. Leeteuks waist size is 26 inches. The ideal size for women in the west

63. Leeteuk entered to win special edition Nike shoes 100 times total. He won

64. When a younger Sungmin was frustrated, he would vent online. Similar to how Leeteuk would when he was younger

65. Sungmin recently said men ask him for his number when he goes out

66. As far as we know, Yesung used to worry about whether or not he would live to grow old :(

67. Donghae has always had a love of poetry

68. Kyuhyun’s originally near-sighted

69. Both Yesung and Leeteuk struggle to define their relationships with others

70. Yesung doesn’t smile a lot when cameras aren’t on him

71. Eunhyuk doesn’t like seafood. Donghae does.

72. Donghae doesn’t like sweets. Eunhyuk does

73. Sungmin was the first member to open his YT channel back in 2018.

74. Ryeowook is said to be a heavy drinker

75. Leeteuk finds peace in the rain

76. Kyuhyun is said to have one of the biggest hearts in SJ, alongside Leeteuk

77. Eunhyuk first appeared publicly in 1992 on a TV show by complete accident. It made him happy

78. In order to sleep in a new location, Donghae sleeps best if there’s something near him that reminds him of home. This is an old fact holds up today, Donghae often sleeps close to his members

79. Predebut, Eunhyuk and Junsu purposefully tried to make Donghae cry

80. Every roommate Donghae has had, he has had multiple complaints about all of them

81. Yesung bought a turtle a long time ago because he felt bored without a pet. Even after buying the turtle, he was still bored

82. Eunhyuk is constantly getting ‘friend zoned’ by Donghae. It’s mostly Donghae who calls them as friends, Eunhyuk got a million other words

83. Sungmin studies English and music every day.

84. Leeteuk loves to learn and is always studying something new as well

85. In high school, Leeteuk studied German

86. ‘Don’t give up’ was Sungmin’s motto in elementary school

87. Leeteuk and Sungmin are big Na Hoon Ah fans

88. When Donghae was in elementary school, he was taller than his classmates and even had a nickname relating to how tall he was

89. Sungmin is still mistaken for his 20s

90. Sungmin loves to eat, he talks about food a lot, but still diets strictly as a couple with his Saeun~

91. Eunhyuk is clumsy

92. Leeteuk is very different off camera, but he’s always aware of hidden cameras, so it’s impossible to catch him ‘normally’.

93. Leeteuk and Yesung curse like sailors

94. Kyuhyun and Shindong share great memorization skills

95. Donghae doesn’t like to eat alone

96. Yesung is the only Virgo in SJ. Kyuhyun is the only Aquarius.

97. Leeteuk finds some men to be cute. Particularly men with beards (in terms of dating)

98. Sungmin wants to record music in English for his international fans

99. Sungmin and Leeteuk both have a fan they consider a friend

100. Eunhyuk loves to be in Japan

[fruitcoops]

Have you ever seen where they get kids to ask the players tough questions and there all dress up and have fake beards and stuff. Maybe you could do that with Jules and Katie asking the team all these really hard questions?????

Thank you for giving me an excuse to spend an hour and a half watching adorable kids ask questions and melt the hearts of celebrities. You’re my hero. There are no fake beards here, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! Sweater Weather characters belong to the incredible @lumosinlove!

“These chairs are so small,” James said as he scooted closer to the table. He nearly knocked Talker over with his elbow as the four of them squeezed in; the two kids on the other side shared a look.

“Ready, everyone?” Dorcas asked. When she received six thumbs up, she turned to the camera with a cheerful smile. “Hello, Lions fans, and welcome to Lion Pride! We have a couple of very special guests today to do the introductions.”

“Hello! I’m Katie and I’m six!” She held up six fingers and all four hockey players melted a little bit.

“I’m Julian, and I’m ten.” He waved, a little shy.

Dorcas smiled. “And how are you two related to our favorite Lions?”

Katie lit up and pointed behind the camera. “That’s my dad!”

There was a chuckle in the background. “Can you tell them my name, mon chou?”

“Pascal Dumais, but everyone calls you Dumo.” She swung her legs and her tulle skirt fluffed out.

“Remus Lupin is my older brother,” Jules said with a grin. “But Finn thought he was my dad.”

“It was an honest mistake!” Finn protested around a laugh. “Cut me some slack, Little Loops!”

“Do you want to do the intros for the guys, too?” Dorcas asked. Katie tugged on Jules’ sleeve.

“Can I go first?” she whispered. When he nodded, she hopped out of her chair and ran to the other side of the table, tapping each player on the shoulder. “This is Pots, Talker, Harzy, and Sirius.”

“Aw, man, I didn’t get to do any of them,” Jules pouted.

“You can ask the first question,” Dorcas said, hiding her smile behind her clipboard. “A quick reminder for our Lions: if you refuse to answer any of these, it means you hate children. Take it away, Jules!”

“Okay.” He cleared his throat and looked across the table with a solemn expression. “How many sticks have each of you broken?”

“Oh, that’s a tough one,” James mused. “A lot, but not always on purpose.”

“I haven’t broken that many,” Talker said. “I’ve forgotten to return quite a few to the rink after games, though. I think I have about five in my trunk that I keep meaning to put back.”

“Maybe…ten? Fifteen?” Finn rested his chin on his hand. “I should start a tally board.”

“Too many,” Sirius laughed. “I need to be more careful.”

Katie wiggled in her seat as she picked up the question card. “Why do you swear so much?”

Matching expressions of shock painted all four players’ faces. “Have we sworn in front of you?” Finn asked in a small voice.

“Yeah.”

“Mon dieu, I’m the worst person on earth,” Sirius murmured as Talker leaned his forehead on the table.

James opened and closed his mouth a couple times before answering. “Uh. Well. I don’t know, Katie. Instead of answering, I’m going to take this time to personally apologize to you and your dad, who is laughing his a—his rear end off in the back, as well as promising to form better habits.”

“If you could be any superhero, who would it be?” Jules asked, seemingly unfazed by the previous question. Wordlessly, Sirius gestured to his Captain America t-shirt.

“Spiderman,” Finn said without hesitation. “He’s the coolest.”

James unzipped his jacket to reveal a Superman shirt. “We didn’t coordinate this,” he said, tilting his head toward Sirius. “But yeah, Superman’s the best.”

Talker thought for a moment. “I really like Hawkeye. Are we talking Marvel or DC here?”

“Anything.”

“Anything? Hmm. I’m going to go with the Flash, then.”

“Nice.” Jules reached over to give him a high-five.

“I got Jules’ approval, everyone else can go home.”

“What’s your greatest fear?” Katie asked, still swinging her legs.

The table went silent. Sirius turned to Dorcas. “Is this the plan? Get us rolling with fun stuff and then give the hard ones to the five-year-old in a princess dress?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“Cool. Well, munchkin, I don’t like bugs and I’m not a huge fan of the dark.”

“Vegetables,” Finn said sagely, which sent both kids into a fit of giggles and made all the adults break into sunny smiles. “God, you guys are cute.”

“Pomeranians freak me out,” Talker answered once they had calmed down a bit. “They have those tiny little eyes and sharp teeth.”

James shrugged. “I’m not a fan of heights.”

“I thought you wanted to be Superman?” Jules frowned. “He flies all the time.”

“I think I’d be less afraid of heights if I knew I could fly.”

“So you’re afraid of falling, not heights.”

James looked to the camera. “And now I’m getting psychoanalyzed by a ten-year-old. Uh, yeah buddy, I guess so.”

“Hmm.” Jules looked back to the question card. “Who would win in a fight, you or our moms?”

“Your moms,” Talker said immediately as the others nodded. “No contest.”

“How would we even get in that situation?” Sirius asked. “What the did we do to make the nicest women in the world that mad?”

“Stole brownies,” Katie said with great gravity for one so young. “Mom says you four are the worst about it.”

“Mom wouldn’t even have to fight you.” Jules cocked his head to the side. “I feel like she could just give you a disappointed look and that would be enough. Katie, your turn.”

“Yay!” She brightened again. “What is your favorite cereal?”

Sirius smiled. “Fruit Loops.”

“Cheerios,” Talker said. “They’re good for you physically and emotionally.”

“I’m with Talkie on this one,” James agreed.

Finn gave them all disappointed looks. “You’re so old. Mine’s Lucky Charms.”

“Okay, Leprechaun Boy,” James snorted. Finn reached over and smacked the back of his head. “Hey!”

“Do you ever play hockey at home?” Jules asked. “I feel like Sirius doesn’t have to answer this one since it’s so obvious.”

Finn laughed. “Does tapping a puck around on the carpet with brooms counts?”

“Yeah, that counts.”

“Then yeah, sometimes.”

“I have no space in my apartment to play hockey,” Talker said. “Though I plan on moving someday and then the answer will be yes.”

“I made a rink in my backyard.” James smiled slightly. “Lily likes to skate sometimes while I run drills.”

“My turn, my turn!” Katie scooted her chair closer. “Okay. Out of everyone on the team, what two people would you take with you on a dessert island?”

“Desert,” Jules corrected quietly.

“Desert island. Are there deserts on islands?”

“I think they mean like super sandy beaches with no people on them.”

“Oooooohhh.”

James mouthed a thank you to Dorcas, who gave him a thumbs-up in return. The other three looked at the kids with unbearable softness. “Well, I’d feel awful if I took your dad with me, so I think I’m going to go with Finn and maybe Kasey. We’d have a blast.”

“Nice, dude.” Finn fist-bumped him. “Unfortunately for you, my choices are going to be Leo and Logan, since I already know we could live together without starting a war on the third day.”

Sirius thought for a second. “I think Nado would actually be able to survive on a desert island, so I’ll bring him along, and for the second one…maybe Kasey? Yeah, Kasey’s cool.”

In the ensuing silence, Jules gave him a significant look. “Aren’t you forgetting someone?”

“You’re not on the t—” The realization hit him like a truck; his eyes went wide and he slumped in his seat as the others burst out laughing. “Oh no. Oh, no, no, no.”

“Your own fiancé.”

“Please don’t tell him.”

“He’s gonna laugh so hard,” Jules cackled, leaning back in his chair. Even the camera crew was losing it in the background. Dorcas had to step out of frame. “You’re never going to live it down.”

“Well, the first person I would bring with me is Remus Lupin, because he’s read a lot of books and definitely knows how to survive on a desert island,” Talker said around his snickering. “And then I’d bring Cap, because God knows that would get entertaining after Loops finds out about this. The sarcasm would be off the charts.”

“Okay, next question.” Dorcas came back into view, still grinning. “Jules, go for it.”

“Can I ask Katie’s question again so Sirius can give a better answer?” he asked gleefully. Dorcas hesitated, then shook her head. “Bummer. What was cool when you were young that isn’t cool now?”

“When?” Finn looked scandalized. “I’m 24!”

“Yeah, and?”

“Ugh. Um, maybe Furbies? People were really into Furbies when I was in high school, though I can’t say I’m sorry to see them go out of style.”

James bit his lip in thought. “Tamagotchis.”

“I loved those things!” Talker said excitedly. “My sisters and I used to go nuts with those things!”

Sirius smiled. “Lite Brites.”

Finn’s eyes went wide. “I forgot about those!”

“Regulus and I each had one and we loved them. That was the only thing we agreed on and we used to sit—” He paused for a second to laugh. “—we used to sit in the middle of the ice rink in the backyard, still in our skates and everything, and do Lite Brites for literal hours.”

“That’s so cute, oh my god.” Talker shook his head. “What a nostalgia trip.”

Katie knelt on her seat and rested her arms on the table. “Who skates faster, you or me?”

“You,” all four answered in unison.

Jules rolled his eyes, but he was clearly hiding a smile. “How many push ups can you do?”

“How many can you do?” James countered. A flash of competition lit on Jules’ face and all the guys grinned. “Uh-oh, there’s the Lupin glare.”

“How about we have a little competition?” Dorcas suggested. “See how many everyone can do in thirty seconds?”

“Absolutely,” Finn said. The four of them had a little bit of trouble getting their knees out from under the kid-sized table, but eventually they succeeded and gathered in the middle of the room. “Katie, are you joining us?”

She smiled innocently. “No, I know I’d win.”

“Get ready.” Dorcas pulled her phone out as they knelt. “On your marks, get set, go!”

The guys went easy on Jules from the outset, but they made it look like those pushups were the hardest exercise they had ever done in their lives. Talker took a second to dramatically wipe his forehead and James’ wheezing was almost comical; Jules, however, was giving it his best shot. When the timer finally went off, Finn collapsed with a groan. “I forfeit.”

“Did I win?” Jules panted, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

“You did, congratulations!” Dorcas put her timer away and winked at the camera as they headed back to the table. “Great job, everyone. Katie, your turn.”

“Do you live in a mansion?”

“I live in an apartment,” Finn said.

“Same.”

Sirius shook his head. “My house might be big, but it’s not a mansion.”

“Does a two-story house count as a mansion?” James asked. “No? Then no, I don’t.”

“Who is your least favorite person on the team and why?” Jules turned to Sirius with raised eyebrows. “Are we going to have another desert island problem?”

Sirius threw his hands in the air, speechless, as the other three cracked up. “Jules, can I adopt you?” James begged around his laughter. “Please?”

“You’ll have to fight my mom for that, I think.”

“My least favorite person on the team is James Potter,” Sirius sighed. “Not the person I’m getting married to.”

“We could get married. Lily might mind, though.”

“Full offense, but I know way too much about you to ever consider that.”

James ruffled his hair and turned back to the kids. “My least favorite person on the team is Remus Lupin, because he ran me over in practice the other day.”

Finn side-eyed him. “Didn’t you trip him after he stole the puck from you?”

“He ran me over.”

“Sure, Pots. Um, my least favorite is Kasey Winter. He threw ice at me while we were in the ice baths.”

“Logan took my Gatorade last week and hid it all over the rink,” Talker said. “I’ll never forgive him for such a crime.”

“Oh, I like this one!” Katie exclaimed as she looked at her card. “What’s the best birthday party you’ve ever had?”

“My tenth birthday was at Red Robin and I got a Power Ranger outfit.” Talker grinned. “I was the coolest kid on the block.”

“My eighteenth birthday was pretty fun,” Finn said. “There was a bouncy house and Alex almost broke it because we were jumping too hard.”

“Does it have to be my birthday?” James asked. “Because my son’s first birthday party was awesome.”

“Why?”

“He threw cake in Sirius’ face and a food fight broke out in the backyard.”

“That was a pretty great day,” Sirius agreed. “My last birthday party was my favorite.”

“You spent the night with us!” Katie said happily.

“I did, yeah,” he laughed. “And I had a really good time.”

Jules perked up when he read the next question. “I love this one! Do you have a lucky pair of underwear?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah, totally.”

“Of course I do.”

“Is there a superstition I don’t have?”

Jules looked especially pleased with those answers as Katie picked up her card. “This is the last one,” she warned. “And it’s super important and super hard. What kind of dog would you be and why? You can take your time, I don’t mind.”

“Thank you, Katie, we’ll need it,” Talker said as he desperately tried to contain his smile. “I’ll go first, if nobody minds. I would be a border collie because one, I love them; two, they have a lot of energy; and three, they love making friends.”

“That’s a good one,” she said seriously. “They’re also very soft.”

“Yes, they are.”

Once Finn managed to suppress his quiet laughter, he raised his hand. “Can I go next?” Katie nodded. “I’d be an Irish setter. They have red hair and they’re really affectionate. Plus, I met one the other day at the park and haven’t stopped thinking about him.”

“This was a tough question, Katie, but I think I’m going to go with a golden retriever,” James said after a moment. “They’re good family dogs and they like to be on the ice with those big ol’ paws.”

“That’s what I was going to say!” She beamed at him. “Sirius, you don’t have to go. I already know what you’d be.”

He raised his eyebrows, looking highly amused. “Do you now? Can everyone else know, too?”

“Well, it’s obvious,” she said. “You’d be Hattie. She looks just like you and she gives the best hugs.”

A small puff of air left Sirius’ lungs and he blinked as James reached over and patted his shoulder. “Oh. Okay.”

“That wraps us up,” Dorcas said, looking between them with a soft smile. “Any closing statements from our guest stars?”

“Ready?” Jules muttered to Katie, who nodded rapidly. “On three. One, two, three!”

“Go Lions!” they shouted in unison with matching grins. The camera crew cheered and the players applauded, all laughing.

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