#screaming meals recap

[suzie-shooter]

Screaming Meals - Le Mans commentary highlights 10.06.23

 J: It's quarter to three, race is due to start at three o'clock. Obviously, you know, told Marcus to get here at two. C: Still not here.

J: I think the Cadillacs should have a good race. I mean it broke down in qualifying yesterday, it couldn't manage to do 45 minutes and now it's got to do 24 hours.

C: Roland Garros, women's finals, at the moment. J: Who's in that? C: Swiatek and [...] I don't know the other person. J: I went to school with someone called Swiatek. [...] But he was called Matthew so it's probably not him.

C: Why am I eating? Bit of a rough morning really. J: To say the least. Clem's parked up on struggle street.

C: Hoping for a moist affair.

C: Damn, my ramen's going to go everywhere. J: Ramen's going to be great ASMR as well, slopping and slurping everywhere like some kind of deranged ignoramus.

J: "What were Marcus' thoughts on James' last stream?" I think he quite liked it - I don't think he watched it 'cause he was racing so I don't know if he has too many thoughts on that stream. Nothing really happened, and yeah from his point of view he was a bit busy, so...

C: "Did Marcus like the Detroit track?" J: He loved it actually. C: D'you know what, you can ask him when he arrives, but, fucking, probably won't arrive. J: He's not officially late for another seven minutes.

C: So James is doing a 24 hour stream. J: I'm not.

C: Great mouthfeel. If I could paint a picture with words for ya,  it's ah, it's really good. J: I've said it before and I'll say it again, you have a real career waiting for you in food blogs.

C: I'm gonna take a couple of the old chillies out there. J: What an absolute - front cartilage. C: No, listen, I'm a backbone. Oh! Front cartilage, that's the opposite of a backbone. J: There you go, well done.

C: Loving the shorts too. J: Thank you. They were on sale. In 2014. C: Where'd you get those? J: I believe these are Billabong actually? C: Billabong? I didnt take you for a surfer. J: Yeah, I actually, I thought about learning surfing in September of 2017 and then quite quickly had the realisation that I was due to move to London in 2 months and it would be absolutely pointless.

J: [Marcus has] let us down, he's let himself down,  but more importantly - C: He's shaving his legs. J: He's let you guys down.

J: Let's see if Bourdais fucks it. C: That's not very nice James.

J: I'd love to see a replay of it, 'cause it was actually quite funny [...] oh it'd really tear your undies, on lap one of Le Mans, to put it in the wall like that.

C: Yeah, no, Dyson Airwrap, allows me to really straighten my hair in the mornings there and, er, allow me to have a bit more of a - bit more control.   J: Control's important. Just tell that to Jack Aitken.  

C: We've just got a slight issue really, getting new guests on. J: Yeah, no one seems to be keen. C: No one seems to be keen  these days. J: I'm not sure what's happened...

J: I left for Monaco, and I packed two hats and I returned with four. And I didn't even buy one.

C: Not only is it absolutely massive but it's also bent. (Alain Prost's nose)

C: Shall we give Marcus a call, see what he's up to? [...] Yes mate, you've got 750 people waiting for you to arrive, but you seem to be 40 minutes late [...] ah, fuck him. *hangs up*

C: Thing is, we promised Marcus and he's just not quite delivered. J: Yeah...I feel sorry for the woman who ends up with him.

C: A lot of people asking whether I should be sitting their Business A Levels - I actually participated - partake - ah - partook in the business exam a couple of years ago. J: Must have done well in your English one as well.

J: As an organisation, two thirds of us - well, three quarters with Rory - do care about you, the fans. Marcus is a scoundrel and a traitor. C: He's a sort of a Han Solo character. J: What, he gets it on with his sister? C: Yes James. J: I'm not accusing anyone of anything there. I regret I said that actually, but I've said it now.  Okay, so they're saying I was wrong there. C: You've fucked it up again.

J: I'm thinking that we're gonna need to reach out to the Serbian star and maybe start some kind of merch line: Novalak Djokovic.

J: So hot as well. Turned himself into a real DILF actually, Dan Carter. C: Absolute DILF. Dan Carter. Who's the biggest DILF for you? J: Ah what, just full stop, or in a certain area, or field? C: Full stop. J: It's probably got to be, um, Ryan Reynolds. C: Yeah, I was going to go with Ryan Reynolds. J: Yeah, he's a total DILF. C: Toto Wolff, in the comments. J: I feel like he'd be pretty boring in the sack. Patrick Dempsey, I mean you want to talk about hot old dudes and Le Mans, he's obviously got this team racing here.

J: Kimi Raikkonen there getting an honourable mention for, I'm assuming the DILF chat. C: Ah Kimi - pretty -  I mean -  probably not a - I wouldn't say he's a very vocal lover. J: Nah , he'd be a very silent lover. He'd be - I mean similar to Formula 1 media he'd communicate only in grunts and groans I believe. Very monotonous in his delivery of his love.

C: "Josef Newgarden qualifies as a DILF now." J: He does technically qualify as a DILF if - if he floats your boat, and you know, just speaking for myself there he's certainly floating mine.

J: I'm sure somebody knows what's going on here but it's not us. C: I've got no fucking idea.

(Screaming Meals technical gremlins make an appearance, giving us a brief glimpse of their kitchen)

J: Fixed! Fixed! How good! Just like the Formula 2 championship. C: I'm distancing myself so far away from that comment.

J: Where were we? I think we were talking about DILFs? C: Tom Hardy. DILF? J: Yeah, he's actually not my flavour of crisps to be honest, actually, Tom Hardy. He's quite short. I mean, you know, I'm not on the market, I'm just saying. C: You never cease to amaze me.

C: "Marcus being a male bimbo again." J: That would imply that at some stage he's actually stoppped being - 'cause you've said again - that implies that he's stopped being a male bimbo, whereas he's not.

J: "Marcus is Ken coded" - do you know what that means? C: Nope.

J: Clem's shades not quite dark enough to hide the fact that his eyes are now closed.

*Clem keels over sideways* J: Seem to have momentarily lost Clement Novalak, but I'm sure he will return.

J: 4.09 arrival predicted from Marcus Armstrong. C: Which is currently another 15 minutes. J: That's actually bang on 69 minutes late from Marcus Armstrong, you'd expect nothing less to be perfectly frank.

C: "Take a shot each time Clem yawns" - you're gonna be dead.

C: You're looking pretty moist.

C: Max Fewtrell. Doing the cooking. Probably doing a stream on cooking. J: Caged in his gimp suit on a leash.

J: I've been getting vastly mixed reviews on my long locks. C: It sort of looks a bit pubey at the back. J: Ally hates it. Ally fucking hates it. Which is why I'm keeping it.

C: First time he's actually text me since - hold on hold on - 17th May. J: There's a text string of Clem - I hope you don't mind me exposing this - there's three texts in a row from Clem to Fewtrell going - "Brother, I have an idea, a good one too" and he's just blanked him, he's not replied. Wise man. When Clement Novalak texts you to say he's got a good idea, don't fuckin' respond.

J: It really gets deep inside my goat. C: You do have a nice goat.

J [talking about buzzcuts]: Do you think it has like the same effect as like your downstairs, where it makes it look much bigger? C: I wouldn't want to have a massive head. J: Yeah exactly, that's what I'm thinking. C: 'Cause then it would make my massive honker look even larger. J: Yeah, no you don't want that. I can't afford my honker to look much bigger. I'm talking about my nose.

J: You do a good impression of a whipcrack actually. C: I just spat all over myself. J: Tune into Screaming Meals and watch two guys spit all over each other.

C: If I get a Pret [coffee] I'm gonna throw my phone out the window. J: Actually no you shouldn't do that it might kill someone. We're 28 floors up.

J: Actually I'm going to put the shot glasses in the freezer. Do you think I should put one in for his - his friend as well - do you think she's with him?

J: Yes it is a massive bottle of Corona, your eyes aren't deceiving you, Clem's not actually that small.

J: Is that our doorbell? I've never heard that before.

J: I had dinner with Marcus and a friend of his yesterday - can't remember her name - and he was still trying to insist that he's 6 ft tall.

J: "James show us the snazzy shorts you're wearing"

M: How are ya? C: You're three minutes late so that's  three shots. J: No, no, no you're an hour and thirteen minutes late.

M: How are you feeling? C: Pretty rooted. Where are we going tonight?

M: I'm not having any shots. I'm not drinking today. I've got to do some stuff later.

C: You disappoint me. M: I know. C: Every day. M: Yeah, I know.

J: My back is absolutely destroyed from carrying this shit. C: Yeah James, you do carry.

C: Marcus? M: Yo. J: Where do you stand on DILFs?

J: Up in the hypercar field it's been real bumper to bumper. C: C&B, bumper to bumper. J: Is C&B meaning what I think it means?

J: I hate to be fussy but could you two bastards move over a bit? C: I need to lie back and have a wee sleep.

M: Did you tell them we did a pod yesterday? J: No. M: Were we keeping that a secret? J: Yeah, we were.

M: Is this slaving away? I can't think of anything better than sitting back, watching the race, feet up on the table. C: No, get your grippers out! M: Oh the grippers are out by the way everyone. C: Disgusting, piece of filth. J: [...] five minutes, and it's underwear off, shoes off, grease in the hair.

J: "Marcus is raw-dogging his shoes" - yes!

M: By the way I have actually - I've started washing my hair everyone. You'll find out in the pod. C: And wearing deoderant. M: And wearing deoderant as well. C: And do you know what, you look better and I'm starting to think that - M: I am better. J: You might even just taste better. C: Pfffff what the fuck?? J: I was just going with the senses there. You said look, the obvious next choice was taste.

M: When we went to Long Beach weren't we meant to do an intro video? J: We wanted to do something like that, but we did run out of time because we were being cancelled and you had an indycar race to do.

M: Do you still have this as your background? J: HoyteyJ and Minougey? Hoytey. C: You've taken Hoytey off yours M: I've had to change mine. C: Yeah, I know why. J: What is it now? M: It's a dog. J: Well that's a bit rude. C: That's a bit rude. *James screams* M: It's literally like - no - it's a labrador, it's literally a little baby labrador, no! C: Oh shit yeah [chat's] just gone off. M: Come on!

C: I don't have a CV. I arrive, I say - Clement Novalak, enchante.

J: What? M: Heart rate J: Is 34? M: Yes. J: Are you alive? M: When I'm sleeping it dips down. J: When you're asleep your heart rate is 34? M: Yes. My Oura ring stops counting when it goes under 33. J: Does it assume you're dead?

C: It was the first night I had redbull vodka in about six months [...] I was doing a long distance run mate, in my bed. J: Don't need to know any more details than that.

C: Can you fucking - leave your grippers away from my grippers? J: Yeah, that's quite aggressive. C: With that fucking massive toenail. M: I just wanna play footsie [...] yeah, we're playing footsies everybody.

J: Imagine having the audacity to leave people waiting an hour and a quarter, and then just being on your phone.

M: Clem are you okay mate? Good.

J: Fuckin' hell, you selling tickets there mate? M: Gun show there. J: Watch Marcus now get competitive and not be able to resist getting his guns out.

J: What's going to run out first, our countdown to 22 hours, or the iPad battery? That might be the most interesting battle we've got going on here.

J: Thanks so much for sticking with us for the last couple of hours [...] we don't know anything that's going on in the race and we've made almost no effort to find out.

[firefirefruit]

Steel in Her Veins, Chapter: Twelve

Read On: AO3 | Table of Contents | Next Chapter

Characters: Fem!Reader x Roronoa Zoro

Chapter Twelve: Read Me, But Don't Weep

“Raya? Are you there?”

The clock ticks in the empty studio, wooden floors untouched by the sound of footsteps for days.

“We’re really worried, Raya. Please let me see you.”

Gramps used to be walking around the studio at this time of day. He’d have a steaming cup in hand as he’d trail past your empty workbench, a proud smile curling on his lips. He’d pick your blades up when he thought you weren’t watching and run his finger on their sharp edges.

“Sanji’s here with a meal for you.”

If his finger bled, he’d smile to himself with an approving sip of tea. If it didn’t, he would’ve peeled a post it note from the large stack you’d keep on your table.

“She still isn’t responding. I…I don’t know what to do…”

“Give her time, Nami-san. Look there.” A clinking of plates. The faint silhouette of a cigarette in hand. “She’s finished another bowl. That’s progress.”

He’d draw an arrow across the note using his non-dominant hand, balancing the cup in his other. He’d tack it on the metal, recap the pen, and sit outside with his journal.

The shadow of a small figure props up on his shoulder. “But her wounds, Sanji. If they don’t get tended to, I won’t sleep at night…”

An inhale of smoke. “I have an idea.”

“Look at me!” it would say. Very vague, very non-descriptive. But you’d instantly know what you needed to refine.

When he’d go to sleep, you’d snag the same scrawled-on note from your workspace, scrawl a goofy animal bowing, saying, ‘thank you, old man!’ underneath his text, and quickly slip it into his logbook.

You haven’t slept for days. It’s the anxiety - the sudden twang of loneliness that pulls in your chest when you’re in your bed; the light flickers, your eyes search for the time, and suddenly it hits you that Suki isn’t going to come into your room to wish you goodnight anymore.

The clock's unforgiving chime echoes at five in the morning. Your workshop, usually a sanctuary, feels stifling as you pace anxiously. A tumult of possibilities, questions, and thoughts overwhelms you, each one intensifying the tight knot in your chest, and frankly...

Well, frankly, when you close your eyes, you’re haunted by the image of those eyeballs.

One purple, one grey. One purple, one grey. One that makes you scream, the other that makes you cry.

Today’s the day you finally decide to go through his journal. Always meticulously placed on his favourite stool, its edges torn, and pages thickly bound with a multitude of Gramps-esque thoughts, it lays there from a distance as a heavy reminder of him.

When you open its contents, your fingers tracing through each page, a flurry of multicoloured papers roll out like a snowstorm, covering the floor with hundreds of small post-it notes.

“FLATTEN ME HERE >” one note says.

Below his instruction is your response, a drawing depicting a bear clasping its hands together, saying,

“Thanks, Gramps!”

A blue post-it note, this time:

“Good job. Very sharp.” Smudged traces of blood adorn the top of its corner.

“Need a plaster?” you respond, presenting a very detailed drawing of a smug human smile slapped on a cat’s face.

And you can’t help it. Tears seem to be pooling up in your eyes as you crouch to the floor, fingers gently going through each note in silence. You miss him. You feel out of control. You’re just…lost.

Gently, a soft rapping interrupts the stillness at the front door. Your attention sharply redirects to the source, and with a swift, almost instinctive motion, you vigorously swipe your face with the rough fabric of your sleeve as if trying to erase all emotion on your face.

“Good morning, Raya-san. I’ve put your breakfast outside the door…”

His figure lingers in the crook of the opaque door. He pulls a cigarette to his mouth, a hand tucked into his pockets, and he waits. Only for a second. Waiting to see if maybe this time, you’ll open the door.

True to expectations, there's no response from you. You're crouched on the floor, surrounded by a kaleidoscope of notes, observing his figure as it remains a mere blur. He exists as an elusive presence, unable to connect with you on any level beyond the provision of sustenance.

He fidgets slightly, pressing his legs away from the door.

“…Hey, just…please don’t forget to hydrate.”

As the echoes of his departing footsteps fade, you gradually unfurl from your crouched position. Moving with deliberate quietness, you approach the door, fingertips grazing its surface before grasping the knob. With a gentle turn, you lean in to peer through the peephole, confirming the emptiness beyond.

He's gone.

A sigh of relief escapes you as the door swings open. Your gaze drifts downward, and an overwhelming tide of gratitude and warmth floods your being. The remnants of his kindness linger in the air, a subtle yet tangible embrace. He tends to you, a guardian of care, even in the silence you offer, even when your words remain unspoken.

It’s the usual loving, simple breakfast that graces the front of your door.

Hot tea, no milk or sugar. Sliced apples and oranges adorn the plate like a bunch of blooming flowers - ripe to eat and fragrant to the nose - with a bowl of hand-made yoghurt resting by its side. Surprised, you cock your head at the meal - it's just the way you like it. You suppose that after a few days of testing out different meals with you, Sanji’s been closely observing what you have and haven’t been touching on your plate.

This time, however. you notice that there’s something obscure being propped in the corner of your eye; right next to the plate, there’s a big red box with a medic sign neatly painted across its lid.

“Chopper..." you mutter to yourself, running your fingers over the white medical bandages from within the box.

You feel so guilty – for all of it. You don’t deserve this level of kindness, this thoughtfulness that these members are showering you with. How ungrateful you are to not even open the door to thank them, to show them your face, to offer a smile and let them know that you’re going to be okay.

And still, without expecting anything in return, they still tend to you; Sanji feeds you, Nami sits in front of your door every day and obnoxiously talks to herself out loud, Chopper constantly worries for your physical health… All the while, you haven’t offered a reassuring word through the gap of your door.

Besides receiving it from Gramps, you haven’t experienced much unconditional love in your life - and that scares you. All of this scares you. Their love. It just...feels weird.

You find yourself perched on the floor, grappling with the swirling thoughts in your mind.

“What would you do if you were in my place?” Leaning in, you whisper to Suki's journal, your eyes carrying a silent plea for guidance. You feel the journal's roughened leather cover beneath your palm, your fingertips explore the edges of papers slightly unhinged from its binding.

Then, mid-bite, you pause. Your attention shifts as your fingers discover a loose piece of paper. It's strategically placed, almost as if meant for your eyes alone. Reading the words scrawled across its outer corner, you momentarily forget the apple in your hand, drawn into the unseen musings between the pages.

Raya. Read me.

Your heart pounds in your throat, immediately pulling the sheet out from its bound home.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Raya,

In the best-case scenario, I naturally left you as I gave you my parting words.

In the worst, I probably pretended not to know you.

All in all, I hope that as you read this, you start snapping the way you always do whenever I’m trying to get a rise out of you…

Raya, if I have passed, please let my body rest in Wano. After that, I want you to immediately get the hell out of that place and start living your life.

If I am alive - and this is incredibly imperative - do not look for me. I want you to imagine me as having passed, to immediately get the hell out of my workshop, and to start living your life.

There’s much I haven’t told you. Some say I’m better at writing words than speaking them, and I must wholeheartedly agree; I suppose that’s why I began writing in the first place. You still have a part of me within these entries. Words never die, but the memories of them do.

I’m very much aware that I hadn’t said this enough to you – perhaps out of my ‘Wano-esque’ pride, as you call it – but I am incredibly proud of you.

I’m glad that my granddaughter was the catalyst for kicking me out of my home country - because if it had never happened, I would have been a thankless old man, doing thankless things in the comfort of my own home. And that’s why…

I decided to join the Straw Hats behind your back.

I know you’re probably incredibly furious with me right now. But please hear me out before you do anything.

I’m sorry for doing this without you knowing, but I‘d somehow known that I wouldn’t have enough time to kick your ass out of my workshop before I’d be gone.

Raya, even if I’m too old for adventure, I want my spirit to watch over and follow yours. I joined so that you would simply have no other choice but to follow me.

Become the greatest blacksmith of your generation. Hell, become a pirate. Join me on the Sunny.

Kozuki Sukiyaki

 --------------------------------------------------------------

The paper in your hand aggressively shudders, your gaze drifting to the door in front of you. You shove down the sob rising in your throat, fingernails digging into your skin.

He did what?

You’re seething. What the fuck? This actual hardass planned this all from the beginning. He knew. He knew something was going to happen and instead of informing you, he joined a fucking pirate crew.

Gramps would smile every time he’d open his journal, looking forward to every morning when he’d be able to read another new message.

You barge out the door, letter firmly grasped in your claws.

You’d stay in the workshop, pretending to be refining your blades, but in the corner of your eye, you’d be secretly watching, waiting for him to open his leather cover, and be met with your love.

The sunlight splinters through into your weakened eyes, the heat in your legs increasing as you begin charging towards the cave, towards the coastline, towards the fucking Sunny.

It was something so little, something so insignificant. But between you two, it was an earth-bending way of expressing your love, your gratitude to one another.

You leap onto the Sunny, standing straight in front of a knotted Luffy, his body stringing over the mast like a broken flag.

His eyes widen immensely as he sees you, breathing in a considerable amount of air, before screaming,

“RAYAAA-“

You throw your hand into the air, gaining more and more speed as your fingers plunge forward, and you strike at Luffy’s cheek.

You slap him. You slap Luffy with Gramps’ letter. Hard.

“Raya!” Usopp shrieks, running to restrain you. “What’s going on?”

“What did I do now?!” Luffy moans, wringing his arms around the mast.

“You let my old man join your crew?” You scream at Luffy, Usopp struggling to restrain you.

A synchronous “What?!” from the entire crew resounds on the Sunny, everyone momentarily forgetting their activities.

“Is it true, Luffy?” Chopper’s eyes are practically bulging.

“Oh, that!” Luffy scratches his head, a goofy grin plastered across his face, seemingly oblivious to the storm brewing in your eyes. “Yeah, I did!”

"What do you mean, 'Yeah, I did'?" Sanji interjects, cigarette dangling from his lips. His usual calm demeanour cracks, revealing a hint of irritation.

Luffy shrugs, "He asked if he could join, and I said sure. He's a cool oldie."

Usopp struggles to hold you back as you seethe with anger, the letter crumpled in your grip. "Cool oldie? Luffy, he’s gone! He didn’t intend to actually join; he's trying to make me join. Do you understand?” Luffy, still clueless about the emotional turmoil he's caused, scratches his head again. “No?”

You find your voice, the anger giving way to a desperate plea. "Luffy, he did this because he knew he was going to be taken away, and he didn't want me to be left all alone. He wants me to join, to continue his legacy.”

Luffy's grin fades as he looks at you, the weight of the situation dawning on him. "Ohhhh…”

Zoro, who's been leaning against the mast with closed eyes, finally speaks up, "Luffy, you should've at least informed her. We don't know what she's been through."

You snap your head up, glaring straight at the fucking marimo.

“What did you just say?” You hiss.

Zoro, leaning against the mast with his eye still closed, seems undisturbed by your sharp retort. His posture remains relaxed, but there's a subtle tension in the air, an unspoken challenge between you and the swordsman.

Your glare, fuelled by frustration and betrayal, meets Zoro's closed eye. It's as if he can sense the storm of emotions within you, yet he remains unfazed.

With a slow, deliberate movement, Zoro opens his eye, revealing a keen gaze that pierces through the charged atmosphere. The intensity in his expression matches yours, a silent acknowledgment of the clash between two strong-willed spirits.

As you lock eyes with him, there's an unspoken understanding that goes beyond the immediate conflict. It's a recognition of shared defiance, a stubbornness that transcends words. Zoro doesn't look away; instead, he meets your gaze head-on, challenging you to confront the emotions bubbling beneath the surface.

Usopp, sensing the escalating tension, takes a step back, observing the interaction between you and Zoro with a raised eyebrow.

You take a step forward, still seething with anger, and Zoro, in response, pushes himself off the mast. The distance between you two narrows, and the air crackles with the unresolved energy of conflicting emotions.

“Don’t act like you understand anything,” you hiss, your voice laced with bitterness. “You’re the one who let him get taken.”

Zoro's eyes narrow at your accusation, a flicker of irritation breaking through his calm exterior. The crew, still frozen in the wake of your outburst, watches the confrontation unfold with a mixture of surprise and concern.

"I didn't let him get anything," Zoro retorts, his voice low and steady. "Your old man made his own choice. Don't put that on me."

Your fists clench at your sides, the pain and anger surging through you. The words you exchanged with Suki's journal replay in your mind, intensifying the overwhelming emotions. You take another step forward, closing the gap between you and Zoro, your eyes locked in a battle of wills.

"He joined the crew to protect you," Zoro continues, his gaze unwavering. "He wanted you to live freely, without being tied down to whatever he’s hiding."

"He didn't need to join a crew of pirates for that," you shoot back, your voice shaking with rage and sorrow. "He could've told me. He could’ve let me choose my own choices."

Zoro's jaw tightens, and a rare hint of emotion flashes in his eyes.

Franky and Chopper, still on edge, watch the intense exchange between you and Zoro.

You tear your gaze away from Zoro, the anger subsiding into a heavy sadness. Your shoulders slump, and the weight of the recent events presses down on you; everyone watches, unsure of how to comfort you in your moment of vulnerability.

Luffy's expression turns more serious as he looks at you, "He said not to tell you…He wanted it to be a surprise."

You hold the paper in your hand like grasping at the last remnants of your grandfather. "Luffy, do you have any idea what he wrote in this letter?"

The crew falls silent, awaiting your response. You take a deep breath, trying to steady your emotions before speaking.

"He said if he's alive, I shouldn't look for him. Pretend he’s dead. Continue living my life as if nothing ever happened. I’m sick of him telling me what to do, Luffy. I’m sick of the secrets and the surprises and...and...."

The weight of those words hangs in the air, a heavy silence settling over the tumbling waves. Nami places a warm hand on your shoulder, squeezing you in comfort.

“Something bad’s happening,” you say, looking at each and everyone in the eye. “I can just feel it. And there’s no chance that I’m going to just… let my old man...”

“Then, join us,” Luffy intervenes, crossing his arms.

You stare at him, taken aback by his bluntness. “Did you not listen to anything I just said?"

“I did,” Luffy affirms with a nod. He steps towards you, placing a hand on the other side of your shoulder, and offers you a slight smile. “No hard feelings, Swords, but we’re gonna grab Gramps with or without you being a part of our crew. And this time, it’s your choice. Not Gramps. Not anybody’s. Yours. You choose.”

"I..." You pause, unsure of what to say. "I mean..."

Luffy cocks his head at you, beaming.

"Well? What's it gonna be?"

[disaster-racing]

Screaming Meals - Not A Season Recap (x)

[ghostiiess]

[NSB IMAGINES] - i'm the one for you...

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pov: when you find out that your boyfriend cheated on you, you go for his best friends...

warning: mention of cheating, sex talk, mention of bad words (swearing), mention of making love with another person, making out

type: angst and a little bit of comfort in the middle! some love at the end (but not enough to say it's spicy) ;)

members: sebastian moy and justin phan

words count: about 22 343 characters :)

this one was requested!! thank you! if you guys want more imagines or headcanons that are not on my masterlist, please, do not hesitate! my box is always open :)

"But you're the most beautiful girl I've ever kissed…" Justin whispered to you as he continued to put his lips on yours and his hands on your hips, crumpling the fabric of your tshirt

Let's do a recap of your story.

You and Justin met in February 2021 at the Korean BBQ restaurant. All the members were there, including him.

Him.

Justin Phan.

That guy, oh fuck… The one who made you cry tears of sadness, tears of joy, screams of joy, screams of… well, let's just say it was also screams of joy, except no one would really want to hear them..., lots of emotions ranging from anger to joy… You'd gone through all the emotions together, holding hands secretly and holding firm on the point;

"We're only friends."

That night he saw you and gave you one of his smiles. Oh boy, his smile.

You could talk about it for hours, it was so precious. It was protected as if only special people could see it, his smile was comforting as if it protected you from all attacks and insults.

You were dying to ask him for his number, to get to know him, to go on a date with him and find out his passions, some facts about him, why he was like that, his favorite place on earth and why…

But he had you beat. While he was eating, he saw you go to the cash register, probably to pay for your meal which had been barely good to be honest, and saw something from your bag fall on the floor.

This was his chance to talk to you.

-Hey, you dropped this! he said, handing you the object that was formerly on the floor.

You let out a sad little smile:

-Ooh.. Thank you.

He gave you a little smile, hoping that it would make you smile back, since you looked sad, and took a deep breath. He couldn't let go of you. He could already feel the chemistry between the two of you, and someone as pretty as you couldn't leave here without Phan having their number. Maybe this relationship wasn't going to work out, but at least he wanted to give it a shot. He had to do it.

-Did you come alone?

-Yeah. My date stood me up. I'm… I'm not having much luck with love these days.. you laughed a little nervously, as if you didn't mind seeing your love life fall to the ground

You were feeling good about him. You'd literally been standing in front of him for a minute and a half, but his vibe made you feel like you'd known him forever.

-He's a fucking moron. Who would dare to stand up a girl as attractive as you? It's their loss.

You tried not to smile too much, but you couldn't help it.

-That's nice, thanks. It cheers me up.

He took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair from his nervousness.

-I'm Justin, by the way.

-Y/N.

-Pretty name for a pretty girl. It works well.

You smiled slightly and took out your phone to pay and inhaled in turn.

"Come on, do it Y/N. Anyway, this isn't the first time you've done this kind of thing, right? Come on."

-I like your name too.

-Is my name as pretty as me? he laughed softly, trying to continue the game you've been playing for a few minutes now.

You laughed instead of answering.

-I have to go back with my friends, but… if you want, we could exchange numbers or something?

You nodded and opened your messaging app so he could enter his number.

He smiled and held out his phone for you to do the same.

-There you go!

You looked at the name he had entered and saw "cute guy from the korean bbq". You looked up and saw him join his friends. He smiled at you from afar and joined the conversation, which his friends had started, as if nothing had happened.

You left the restaurant and said to yourself that you were lucky to have been alone tonight. Otherwise, you would never have lived this story with him.

Except you know that all good things must come to an end..

December 2022.

-I hope so JP… I am your girlfriend… you answered with a little smile

He gave you another smile and put his lips on yours for the umpteenth time.

-Yeah, and I'm glad you are, my love.

A knocking sounded at your boyfriend's door, which broke the kiss. You pulled yourself off his lap and watched as Justin hurriedly put his shirt back on and sat down at his gaming desk as if nothing had ever happened.

-Come on in! Justin shouted, trying not to laugh as he watched you try to straighten up his bed.

The door finally opened with Sebastian shirtless, probably coming back from the gym, and a dark gray towel over his left shoulder. He was so… hot?

"Shit, what the hell did I just do… Holy shit!" you thought.

You took a deep breath and made big eyes hoping that nobody saw you. You looked up and saw Sebastian's eyes looking you up and down. He gave you a little smile and waved his hand.

-Hi Y/N. How are you?

-Yeah! A-And you? you said, wearing a hoodie to Justin to hide your tshirt.

It was only a camisole, but still. It was pretty sexy. At least, that's what Justin said to you when he first saw you in it.

-I'm okay…? Anyway, JP! I just wanted to tell you that you have to be ready in 30 minutes, we're going to film a new video for the NSB channel.

Justin nodded and looked at you with a smile.

-Y/N, do you want to participate?

Sebastian looked back at you and smiled, waiting for your answers.

You nodded your head.

-Yeah, okay! I'll finish showing Justin my school project and we'll be right there… you lied to prove that you weren't making out five minutes ago

-Okay.. I'll leave you guys alone with your weird occupations, Seb laughed while closing Phan's door' bedroom

-Bro, you dropped out of school! Shut your fucking mouth! She just likes to show me her work, that's all!

Justin turned around and walked back to his messy bed and smiled as he ran his hand over your hair.

-That was really close to getting caught… you whispered

-That would have been sexy.

You rolled your eyes, then put your lips on his.

-I love it when you wear my clothes! he smiled softly

-They're comfortable and they smell like you.

He laughed.

-I wish I could do the same with yours, but they'd be too small for me.

-Hey! Are you saying I'm short? you asked with a smile on your lips

-Maybe…

-JUSTIN PHAN!

He laughed, then put your hands on his neck and put his head on your chest. (idk if you guys understand what i'm trying to say here lol)

-But you're my shortie.

Indeed, you and Justin had decided to keep your relationship a secret since you knew it might complicate things for the work and interviews he was doing. He also didn't want to make his relationships public because he knew he'd rather have them to himself and have them private, not be seen by the rest of the world. Besides, what's more exciting in a relationship than being secret?

-Thank you?

Still having his smile on his face, he breathed:

-Well, let's get ready.

-You know what video you guys are going to shoot? you asked as he got out of bed

-Probably a "Spill your guts or fill your guts"!

Finally ready, you walked out of Phan's room and took the stairs while smiling and wearing a sweater, that was your boyfriend's, and met Seb Moy's eyes.

-Heyy, if it isn't my best girl, Y/N! he laughed. High five?

You smiled and tried to give him one, except of course… This guy kept raising his hand higher and higher to mock you and prevent you from doing one with him.

-You missed… he laughed

You rolled your eyes with a smile.

-You're pissing me off with your 6'4.

-What do you want? That's what charms the girls!

You laughed.

-Your thing doesn't work very well. You're still single!

He smiled.

-Hey, you can only says that kind of things if you're dating someone. From I know, you're still single.

-No, I'm with J-

You stopped talking and realized what you almost said.

That was close.

-Wait, you're dating someone? Who is it? your best friend asked with one of his eyebrows raised (🤨)

You took a deep breath and laughed nervously.

-I was going to say I was with Junior, my teddy bear but now, I realize how better it was in my head.

Seb looked oddly relieved, but you couldn't really guess why.

You looked into his brown eyes.

He was so handsome. His 6'4 figure that charmed you more and more, despite you being in a relationship with his best friend. His black hair that swept across his face and his veiny hands filled with rings. His fashion style so pretty, but so messy. His smile that, every time you saw him, begged you to smile more and more with him.

You made big eyes and took a deep breath.

Twice in one day. What was wrong with you? You always thought Sebastian was attractive and he was nicer to you for the past few days and weeks, but you'd never said or meant it like that before.

It must be the stress.

-I think it's cute.

You ran your hand through your hair and avoided putting your eyes in his.

"Don't make the same mistake again, Y/N.."

Justin walked down the stairs and into the kitchen with your phone in hand and high-fived his best friend.

-Hi guys! he exclaimed while giving you a back hug. Y/N, you forgot your phone in my room. You'll need it for the video.

-Oh thanks!

He smiled at you and left to join the other members in the other room.

-Can I have a hug too? Sebastian asked

You accepted and felt his arms cover you from all worries, stress and nervousness.

You felt good.

The video was going well. Quite well, in fact. You hadn't had any questions asked yet and you were happy with that. The food looked like it would be unpleasant to eat and swallow.

-Y/N! exclaimed Regie. My friend. How about eating those little anchovies that look so fucking bad?

-No way am I going to taste that! My breath will stink.

Justin laughed.

-Yeah, let's avoid that..

He smirked at you, giving you butterflies in your stomach.

His smile was so precious.

You met your buddy Nguyen's eyes and saw him watching you with a frown as he smiled with his fist shaped hand over his mouth.

-AYOOOO?? Justin and Y/N, you want to tell us something, bruh?

-No, bro, it's just that the breath of anchovies stinks like hell. It smells like fucking death! your secret boyfriend said

-Yeah, yeah. There's definitely something going on between these two. Noooo cap!!

Regie exclaimed.

-If you don't want to have a bad breath, you're going to have to answer the question. Regie, ask the question that everyone wants to know. Let's hear the truth.. Sebastian exclaimed, looking away as if he were angry or upset

Your eyes looked at Seb's face then checked your companion.

He wetted his lips with his tongue and smiled as he caressed his eyes into yours.

-Yeah, we want to know if you have a crush on me!

-You'd like that! I laughed

Regie scrolled through his phone and gave a big smile while nodding along with the oldest member of the group.

-That question is crispy as fuck, bro!

-Ouch, she's going to have to eat the fish… laughed Kane

Darren read the question on his best friend's phone and started laughing as he walked away from the table.

-Fanfictions are coming, baby!

Regie looked at your eyes and started to read the question, then started to laugh.

-Y/N, if you could choose anyone here for a one night stand, who would it be with?

You started to look around the table, knowing very well who you were going to choose. You watched your boyfriend waiting for your answer.

-Justin.

A big hubbub ensued with shouts, screams, laughter and "oooh, I told you so!" was heard.

-Why? asked Sebastian, trying to put on a smile that looked awfully fake to you

-Um… He's the one I'm closest with.

-I'm the most sexy here, what do you want? The girls are head over heels over me.

The whole group laughed.

Now it was Sebastian's turn to answer one of your questions. You turned the table towards the acorn pudding and scrolled through the questions on Twitter.

-Sebastian Moy… Either you eat the acorn pudding or you answer my question.

He smiled nervously.

-I'm ready.

You smiled and looked into his eyes.

His brown eyes that were so deep. His eyes that you always wanted to have in yours. His eyes that…

You snapped back to reality and cleared your throat.

-I found my question… you said as an excuse. So… Uh… who are you most jealous of in the group and why?

Some "oooohhh" were heard in the room and around the table.

-Probably me, I'm the hottest one here. exclaimed Darren.

-That's some cap, bro, that's some cap! said Ryan directly.

Sebastian looked around at each member of the group, then ran his hand through his hair.

-Oh man, this is hard.

-You can eat the thing if it's too hard for you.. Oliver said smiling at him

-I'm good, thank you.

He let out another sigh, then softly said your boyfriend's name.

-Justin, probably.

The room echoed with different reactions to the youngest member's answer.

-Why? JP asked, smiling broadly

Sebastian shrugged.

-I don't know, your smile, maybe? I wish I had one that was like that too, I think.

You smiled as you listened to the reactions the other members were giving him about his smile.

Justin Phan's smile.

Was it a coincidence that in the past few weeks, Seb had been getting closer to you, that he had been showing jealousy towards you and his teammate and that he was now talking about how beautiful JP's smile was, knowing full well that it was what had charmed you in the first place?

-I like your smile, Sebastian.

Justin looked at you and gave you a tiny smile. He knew you weren't saying that to make him jealous. He was happy. He was happy that you got along so well with his best friends and that you were as close to them as he was. No matter which member was close to you, he was happy that you were friends with his. It made him happy.

-You do?

-I mean… I think everybody has a beautiful smile. Yours is soft and simple. It's like you have a communicative smile or whatever.

Justin got up from his seat and gave you a kiss on the head.

-I agree.

***

Finally Saturday night.

You rang the doorbell and hoped Justin would open the door for you.

You hadn't texted him to say you were coming, but you figured he wouldn't mind you coming to the party for about five minutes to give him something back. After all, he was always saying:

"This is like your second home. Come over whenever you want. You don't need an invitation, just come in and do whatever you want"

The door finally opened with a white-dress-shirted Sebastian wearing his smile as always and one of his black belt tied around his waist.

"Hot…"

-Hey Y/N! Come on in, come on in!

You walked in and saw the huge party that was going on in the NSB's house. It reminded you of your college days at session parties: they were boring compared to the ones your friends were doing.

-How are you doing? he asked

-Pretty tired, to be honest. How 'bout you?

-I'm okay, I guess. Tired, too, but I'm holding up okay.

You smiled softly and moved forward to give him a hug. His arms went almost immediately to your back and his head on yours.

-You smell good, he whispered.

-Thank you. So do you.

You and Sebastian have always had a strong friendship. Ever since JP introduced you to the group, you and Seb have been joking around, making fun of each other and laughing at silly things.

You took your arms off of him and saw the look of disappointment on his face.

-Wanted to party tonight? he laughed

You shrugged.

-Oh uh… I was only coming to bring Justin, his anime hoodie that he gave me two days ago. I was going to leave afterwards. I don't want to disturb.

He rolled his eyes.

-You're never disturbing us, come on! Plus, we could watch a movie together like old times! Wouldn't be exciting? he exclaimed, taking the cotton belonging to his friends in his hands

-Okay, okay.. I'll stay. But only for the movie, though! you said laughing to make him know you were kidding

The young adult laughed back at you.

-Alright! I'm going to JP's room to give him back his sweater. You go to my room and pick a movie.

You nodded and went in the opposite direction.

Sebastian's POV

I went up the stairs and knocked on my best friend Justin's door and received no answer. I knocked again, a little louder this time, and waited. Maybe he hadn't heard? It's true that the music was loud.

I heard for a few moments, then sighed.

I won't wait forever.

I opened the door and put my eyes on my best friend's hoodie before putting them on his room. My heart pounded.

What had I just seen…?

Justin looked at me and made big eyes before pulling the underwear girl off on him and getting out of bed seeing what I had in my hands. I fastly closed my eyes to avoid any traumatisation.

-Seb?! W-What are you doing? Why do you have my hoodie in my hands?

-I-I…Y/N came to bring back your hoodie, she's in my room, we're going to watch a movie together and um.. Look, I'm gonna come back later. I didn't see anything, don't worry.

Justin pulled on his pants and ran his hand through his hair.

-Why didn't you knock, you idiot?

-I did, but I got no answer, so I let myself in. I thought you were playing video games, not playing with a girl.

-Okay, well… he said while looking at the girl probably. Can you please get out of here? I-I don't want to do this anymore…

The girl sighed, swore and leaved us alone in his dark violet LED room. I opened my eyes and saw my best friend on his bed all undone trying to search a clean comfortable sweater.

-I shouldn't have done that to Y/N.

I raised an eyebrow and handed him the anime hoodie for him to wear.

-What are you talking about? You're single. Plus, I don't really care about your sex life, it just surprised me! Especially because I thought you liked Y/N, but I won't tell her anything if that's your worries. She's your best friends anyways. I don't think she'll be mad about it.

Justin sighed and jumped to his feet and spun around.

-No, that's the thing! She'll be deadass mad! And she have the right to feel this way, I shouldn't.. Fuck, I shouldn't have done this, damn it. I just ruined everything.

I nodded and left him alone in his thoughts.

-Well, I'm going to be in my room with Y/N. If you need something or just want to talk about it, you know where you can find me.

Justin nodded and sighed:

-You love her, don't you?

I blushed a little and laughed nervously:

-What?

-Yes or no?

-What does it matter if I love her or not?

-Take care of her, Seb, just... take care of her.

Back to the normal POV :)

-And that's why I'd like to apologize because… I don't know, I was a jerk for doing this, but I promise I won't do it again… I just wanted you to know that… You would have known anyway, Seb doesn't really hold his tongue sometimes, but.. I had to tell you, because it would have been even more disrespectful if I had kept it to myself.

Your heart was beating really hard, harder than the music playing in the main room.

You thought he was loyal.

Justin Phan had just let you know that he had just been caught, by Seb, doing it with another girl than you. You've never had a problem with him talking to other girls, but like any secret, public or normal relationship, there's really no justifiable excuse for this, at least, that was for you and Justin's one.

You felt tears in my eyes and sighed.

-Yeah, it's good that you won't do it again. That'll help you keep your next relationship. you said as you left his room.

-Y/N, wait! I never meant to hurt you, it's just that… It was just one night stands!

You sighed.

-Oh yeah? One-night stands that you've been secretly flirting with for almost a year? Is that why you didn't want to make it public? Because, with your celebrity status that might have made her find out we were a couple? Was this your idea? That we make it secret so that we can fuck in secret and you can fuck her on Saturday Nights?

-I… It didn't sound like that in my head.

-Justin, I trusted you.

-Y/N, I'm so sorry. I promise I'm not gonna do that again. We can give it another shot! I have regrets like you wouldn't believe. I care so fucking much about you, that's why I told you.

I sniffed.

-Justin, you told me because your best friend caught you doing it.

I opened the door to Sebastian's room and locked it. I went to his arms and started tearing up.

-Hey, hey... Y/N, are you okay?

-Justin and I just broke up, I whispered into his ear

-Broke up? Y-You were a thing…? asked Seb.

-We were a thing, yeah.

Sebastian put his arms around my back and started making circles on it.

Fuck.

***

It had already been three and a half months, almost four, since we broke up. It still hurt a little to see Justin around, but let's just say I was getting better every day.

I rang the doorbell at their house and saw Sebastian, smiling in one of his hoodies that I loved to steal.

Since the breakup, Seb and I had moved beyond friendship, for sure. We were closer than ever,

-Hi! Are you ready?

-Hell yeah!

We had a ritual. Every Sunday, aka their day off, we'd watch a show, a movie, anime, whatever. We would eat and talk about everything. It was cool and relaxing.

We were watching The Notebook as I heard:

"So it's not gonna be easy. It's gonna be really hard. We're gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, you and me, every day." (quote from the movie The Notebook, ngl, i never watched the movie, I just thought this was a good quote lol 😭)

Sebastian looked at me and paused the show and inhaled.

-I can't do this anymore.

I frowned in confusion and saw him sigh again.

-I can't stand it anymore when you keep pretending we're just friends.

My heart started to beat a little harder.

-I want more than this.

Sebastian took Yoobi in his hands, something he did when he was stressed or nervous.

-Y/N, I'm tired of pretending to be happy when you talk to me about other boys, pretending it doesn't get to me when you take Instagram pictures with them with such romantic caption and talking about me like I'm only your friend.

He fixed his eyes in mine.

-I'm tired of you not understanding that I have feelings for you, damn it.

I swallowed my saliva and felt my heart beat faster and faster.

I placed my lips on his, which were a soft comforting pink, a pink that meant "kiss me more". He accepted the kiss and put his hand in my hair. A smile came from him as he broke the gap between our mouths.

-I guess that means you feel the same way.

I smiled a little.

-You guess?

His smile stopped at his ears, leaving me to do the same.

-Well, ok... I'm sure.

He kissed me again, then whispered.

-I'm the one for you..

Hope you guys liked it!!

(NGL: this took me like super long to write it because I didn't know how to start it. However, I think it's not too bad? Lol. Let me know!)

[capobegone]

My Thoughts on the Swordsmith Village Movie!

Alright y’all, this goes without saying, but I’ll announce it anyway:

SPOILER WARNING FOR THE KNY MOVIE. IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED, DO NOT PROCEED. DO NOT PASS GO. DO NOT COLLECT 200 DOLLARS.

Anyway. Now that that’s said and done, let’s begin! Here are my favorite parts, in no particular order.

-GOTOU. GOTOU THE KAKUSHI. He’s always been my favorite background character; he only shows up a few times but somehow he is around SO MUCH for the key events in Tanjiro’s journey. His abdominal breathing to scream for the butterfly girls was fantastic because a) abdominal breathing really is effective to project, from a vocalist’s standpoint, and b) it goes to show that even if he can’t wield a sword or use a breath technique, he still understands the importance of proper breath support! Good for you, Gotou-san!

-My theater’s audience laughed the most at Inosuke hanging from the ceiling. That was a hit. I already knew it was gonna happen but I was laughing too because I was just so giddy!! They also really enjoyed the scenes of Tengen’s wives arguing while he’s dying of poisoning. A classic.

-ZENITSU IN HIS LITTLE SCARF. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR.

-But seriously, I enjoyed the scene of Zenitsu with the other slayers and Gotou with his Kakushi friend. It gives us a rare glimpse into daily corps life when one is not fighting extremely important battles against upper moons.

-They recapped bits from the previous episode in the beginning of the swordsmith village arc, so we got to watch poor Kagaya choking and gagging on his own blood TWICE, BACK TO BACK. Which, as much as I love him dearly and felt awful for him, it was kinda funny. Side-note, Amane is a GOAT for sticking with him and taking care of him during all of this. She’s a queen through and through.

-Mitsuri. Oh, Mitsuri, the love of my life. I want to kiss her little face. Her voice actor is so wonderful!! Watching her play with Nezuko and easily pick her up and hold her hand was so heartwarming!! Her little song about dinner made my heart sing too!! The little sparkle edits whenever she got excited!! Mitsuri-chan, please be my wife. Just, uh, don’t tell Obanai.

-Also, the hot spring scene?? Hello?? I had seen the leaks, but they didn’t do it justice. I was not expecting them to fully show her entire butt. With both cheeks. I was gripping the seat for dear life so I didn’t screech out loud. Ufotable really went for it with the Mitsuri fanservice, and as much as my feminist side wants to disagree with this, I am unfortunately too gay to care. I shamelessly enjoyed every second of it.

-Speaking of hot springs, the crow noise that Tanjiro made when he jumped in took me OUT. And baby Nezuko swimming by was SO CUTE I CAN’T TAKE IT. UGH. 

-AND ALSO: GENYA!! I LOVE GENYA!! I’m so so excited to see more of him! The talk Tanjiro and Mitsuri had about his relationship with Sanemi made me sad, but then them worrying about him not eating enough and going to bring him some rice balls made it okay again.

-Speaking of which… why was Genya skipping his meals? Was he just avoiding Tanjiro and Mitsuri? Did he bring his own food like they hypothesized? Was his tummy messed up from eating demon, like Gyoumei always worried it would be? Seeing as he still had fangs, it had probably happened recently, and if demons can’t eat human food…am I over analyzing? I think I’m over analyzing.

-The snapping of Gyutaro breaking Tanjiro’s fingers in surround sound made the woman next to me physically recoil. Girl, same. Shit was nasty.

-NEZUKO SLITHERING AROUND UNDER THE TABLE LMAOO

-The little tease of Muichiro at the end. Come on man, I want MORE!! DON’T DO THIS TO ME!!

-The entire upper moon meeting. Wow. The animation was insane. Good lord, the infinity castle was wonderfully confusing! It was a little overwhelming with all the flashes and transitions, but it helped that Akaza was in just as much of a state of sensory overload as the rest of us. Man did NOT want Douma touching him on top of everything else that was rubbing his temper the wrong way, and Douma could not have given less of a damn. But wow, did they make Douma such a funny little dude!! Crawling all over the floor and flashing peace signs and such. How wonderful. The scene of Nakime immediately shutting him down was glorious.

-Not sure if I’m the hugest fan of the way they just. Blipped out? I guess I always imagined Nakime would make them doors to go in and out of the infinity castle, so it felt a liiiiittle underwhelming. But, of course, that’s just me.

-Akaza falling was sick as hell. I just know he thought he was super cool. Which…yeah, he totally was. What can I say, I love him. Akaza punching off Douma’s face only to immediately get in trouble with Kokushibo? *chef’s kiss*

-But…the credits. They left in all of the credits, which was just a teeny bit awkward. I was just sitting there staring at them (I cannot read Japanese and I saw it subbed) and anxious out of my MIND to see swordsmith village! (Which, the village itself looked gorgeous, by the way!) Still, I think it was absolutely worth the wait. 

Overall, it was just such a fun experience!! I’ve never been to a movie on my own before, and I’m so glad this was the first one. It was so, so epic and I enjoyed myself thoroughly! Planning on going to see it again with my sister when she’s back in town. Easy 10/10 for me, because I just adored every moment with every character!! If you haven’t seen it yet, I encourage you to do so! :D

[extremewritersblock]

Ficlet - Draco forces Hermione into an Unbreakable Vow in exchange for her freedom.

Word Count: 2,100+

TW: dark themes/signs of abuse/unwilling confinement - AU Voldy Wins (ACOTAR inspired)

“What a… precarious situation you’ve found yourself in, Granger.”

Hermione’s head snapped toward the stranger’s voice and watched in disbelief as Draco Malfoy strolled into her dungeon, toying with a set of keys in his hands. She caught glimpses of his face as he passed the dimly lit candles that hung in intervals against the wall. His blonde hair, almost white in its hue, was groomed and neat, his suit so immaculate it looked wrong within the filth of this prison, so black that he resembled a shadow more than a man. He wore an expression that Hermione couldn’t quite place.

She looked around for the guards, who were meant to be watching her, but they were gone from their usual post. Now that she thought about it, it’d been a while since she’d heard the stomp of their boots on the stone floor.

It didn’t take Draco long before he reached the bars of her cell. He peered down at where Hermione sat on the floor, her shackles clinging miserably at her sides.

She tried to remember how long she’d been held captive - at first, she’d been counting her days locked down here, but she’d lost interest after the tenth day. That must’ve been at least three days ago she stopped etching marks into the wall.

She was suddenly very aware of how she must look to him. Dirt and grime was visible on every inch of her exposed skin. The clothes they’d given her - made of a rough material and hardly covered her modestly - were also caked in dirt.

She tried not to let him see her weakness. She sat up straighter, using the wall to keep her from slumping over. She knew her face must be gaunt from her hunger, but her meals, which appeared magically twice a day, were table scraps at best and did little to stave her appetite. She became stoic as Malfoy looked down at her. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her desperation.

“What do you want,” she nearly spat at him. Hatred coursed through her at the sight of him so close.

He clicked his tongue at her. “Now, now. That’s no way to speak to your rescuer.”

Her ‘rescuer’ was a war criminal - a sympathizer to a powerful wizard, responsible for the deaths of hundreds, possibly thousands. If it were her dying wish, she only wanted some power back in her feeble bones to maul whatever part of him she could reach.

With the key in his hands, Draco unlocked her cell door and walked in, pulling it back behind him with a *click*. The power dynamic wasn’t lost on her - she sat, half clothed and freezing on the ground while he stood tall above her, with the literal keys to her freedom now jingling in his pocket.

He knelt in front of her and all she could do was pull against her chains in a useless attempt to free herself from his pitying gaze.

“Your taunting is cruel, Malfoy,” she said through clenched teeth. It was useless to point out his cruelty, though. He knew who he was. “Here to finish the job yourself?”

She could see his face more clearly, now that he was mere inches away from her. His grey eyes were a pool of ice, as cold as his heart.

“You jump to conclusions too freely,” Draco tutted. “I’m only here to make you an offer.” He contemplated something for a moment before adding, “Or rather, a request in exchange for your freedom.”

It’d been days since she had allowed herself to hope for freedom. Her thoughts had flitted between recaps of the war and thoughts about the remaining members of the Order. She mourned silently in her cell for all of those she was certain had been lost, and she mourned the ones that they’d undoubtedly lost since her incarceration. She wondered if there’d be anyone left to mourn for her when she was gone.

Her fight instinct wanted to yell at him to go to hell, to kick and scream and show that she was still fighting for her cause. But her empty stomach and her weakened body and the aches in her wrists begged her to follow any opportunity that could save her from her impending death.

So, hands clenched within her chains, she asked, “What is it you want from me?”

She saw his expression relax, as if he’d been deeply concerned she would turn down his offer. She wondered what the repercussions would be for him if she were to deny his help.

“I’m glad to see you so - amiable, given the circumstances,” he purred, in that same pretentious voice he’d had since they were first years. “My offer is a simple one - I will aide you in your escape from your imprisonment, affording you refuge in my chateau outside of Paris in exchange for your...help.”

She kept her eyes locked on his as she tried to push for more information. “That’s a - very vague offer. You expect me to agree without more information than that?” Her voice grew more hoarse every time she spoke.  

“If you want to stay alive, you will.” His dark voice sent chills through her body. He sighed, as if this conversation were causing him strife. His hand snaked around to grip the back of his neck - a sign of stress. “I can’t divulge all of my secrets, Granger. In due time, you’ll come to understand your use to me. For now, you have a choice to make: either you come live in my chateau - far away from those trying to kill you - or you stay in this cell.”

“You’re not included in the list of those who are trying to kill me?”

“I don’t wish death on you anymore,” he said. She tried to find the same hatred in his eyes like what she felt for him. She saw his determination, possible desperation, but any malice he felt for her was buried by his need for her help.

She thought over his offer and the lack of details he’d provided. What use she could be to him was a mystery to her. Did he require information from an ex-member of the Order? Was she meant to switch sides and aide Voldemort somehow?

Her mind wandered into darker, more sinister reasons he could want to keep her imprisoned in one of his homes, but she didn’t linger on those thoughts. If she had, she’d have chosen to die in this cell instead.

When she didn’t respond quickly, his coaxing continued.

“Consider your options here - you can have freedom with me, tucked away safely in the French countryside. Or,” he said, standing to pace slowly in front of her, “or, you can wait for someone else to come and rescue you. Potter or Weasley, possibly, if they ever make it out of Azkaban.”

Her heart gleamed at the thought that Harry and Ron were still alive. She wondered how long they had left.

There were two things that Hermione was certain of:

First, Draco was not bluffing - he’d made his offer and, though vague in his details, he seemed serious about it.

Second, she would die down here if she didn’t accept his proposal.

The seconds felt like minutes as she battled between her will to live and her loathing of the man here to rescue her.

She considered the possibility that his offer was a ploy for something more sinister. But regardless of whether she turned down his help, or whether she accepted it and he had murderous intentions - both options led to the same bitter end. What did she have to lose?

“So, Granger? Do we have a deal? Or should I leave you to enjoy the rest of the time you have in peace?”

As she watched him walk back to the doors of her cell, she knew she would do it, come what may.

“Wait,” she called to his back. He turned, an eyebrow lifted in anticipation. “I’ll do it,” she breathed.

Draco said nothing, but walked toward her and knelt again so that his face was so close, she could feel his warm breath on her cold skin. He grabbed one of her arms and she lashed out in response.

“Stop struggling,” Draco commanded, his grip on her arm tightening. “The faster you let me do this, the faster I can get us out of here.”

He took his key and softly inserted it into the lock of her cuff. After a quick turn, the metal fell to floor and she felt the blood rushing back into her frozen fingers, regaining some of the warmth they’d lost a while ago. Draco dropped that hand and did the same to her left. When he was finished, he stood again.

“Why are you saving me?” she asked as she rubbed the sore spots where her cuffs had dug into her skin.

“Let’s just say I’m feeling a bit rebellious tonight,” he said, and Hermione suddenly realized this was the expression he wore as he’d entered the dungeon - rebellion. Whatever he was doing, it was known by only a handful of people.

She looked down the hall at where the guards usually took watch. “They’ll know I’m gone,” she said. “When they see the cell empty, they’ll search for me.”

“The guards related to your imprisonment have all been - heavily compensated for their discretion and compliance. In a few days time, the story will make headlines about your death down here. Everyone will mourn their lost hero, but no one will question whether you’re still alive.”

A sound from the dungeon entrance made Hermione jump, but Draco maintained his cool demeanor. He must’ve been expecting this visitor.

“Crabbe here will act as our Bonder. A witness to our - agreement.”

As if summoned, Crabbe entered the cell and came to stand in front of them. She didn’t have time to consider Crabbe’s role in Draco’s plan - realization waved through Hermione in a crash, stealing the breath from her lungs. This was how Malfoy planned to ensure she held up her side of the bargain.

An Unbreakable Vow.

“Are you able to stand?” he asked, his hand outstretched in front of him - an extension of help.

Knowing she couldn’t stand without assistance, she grasped his hand and felt the other grip under her arm, helping her to her feet.

She knew how to perform this spell only by what she’d read in textbooks. So when Malfoy grabbed her forearm in his right hand, she did the same, as Crabbe stood between them, wand in hand, issuing the silent incantation.

Silver strands of light - the same color of Malfoy’s eyes - crept from his wand and laced around their hands. Malfoy began to speak the terms of their Vow.

“Do you swear to live in my chateau in exchange for your freedom from imprisonment in this cell?”

She swallowed, a sudden ringing sound piercing her ears. “I swear,” she said in a whisper. She was sure the pounding of her heart could be heard by everyone in the room.

“Do you swear to continue to stay in my chateau until I have deemed the need for your presence.. satisfied? With the knowledge that your attempted escape will result in a break of this contract and your subsequent death?”

This nearly caused Hermione to drop her hand. “So you’re not saving me - you’re keeping me as your own personal prisoner!”

“I don’t pretend to be a savior, Granger. Perhaps… just a smart negotiator?”

She felt like she might faint, had Malfoy’s grasp on her arm not kept her upright. Draco grew impatient as Hermione fought to think of some way, any way, out of this.

“Answer my question. Do you swear it?”

Her pause before this answer was longer than the last. She had to make her lips utter the words.

“I swear,” she said again, though the tremor in her voice gave away her trepidation. She hadn’t just been saved from imprisonment. She had just agreed to be Malfoy's prisoner, instead.

She watched in fear as flames wrapped around their grasp, weaving and blazing in a mesmerizing dance. She felt the flames lick at her hand as they wound around and around until, finally, they extinguished themselves.

She removed her hand from his, examining it for any damage done and noticed a small scar near her wrist. It wasn’t flesh colored, but rather resembled the black of smoke, as if those flames had burned her skin and left charcoal remains. She looked over to see that Draco’s hand possessed the same identical scar, visible until he covered it with a pair of gloves from his pocket.

A second noise outside of the dungeon caused all three of them to look over towards the prison doors. Crabbe ran out of the cell first, leaving the door open behind him. She could run out, but she was more afraid of what Crabbe was running towards than she was of this cell.

Draco turned back to Hermione, his face looking panicked - clearly whatever was happening was not a part of this plan that he’d fabricated. He grabbed her arms, gripping them like the next words that came out of his mouth would be the key to survival. He spoke hurriedly.

“Listen to me - you are to run to the end of this hallway as quickly as you can. Do not stop until you reach the dead end.” He looked back over his shoulder briefly before continuing his instructions. “You should find a Portkey that will take you straight to my home in France. My house-elves are expecting you - they will tend to you from there.”

She knew she was stupid not to have asked more questions, but it was too late now. She could hear the changing of the guards outside the dungeon doors.

“How do I know that I can trust you?” she asked.

“The only way to find out is by trusting me, Granger, now go.” Draco took off in the same direction Crabbe had run, supposedly to take care of the unexpected guard, but Hermione didn't turn back to look. She hoped this new guard was also an ally.

In her weakened state, her legs wobbled without Malfoy to balance her. Regardless, her immense desire to get out of this dungeon allowed her to move her shaky limbs, step by step, towards the end of the long hall.

Just as she thought she might give in to exhaustion and her limbs were screaming in protest, Hermione finally reached a dead end and a crumpled sheet of parchment lying on the ground. Hoping that Malfoy had been telling the truth, she touched the paper Portkey and felt her feet leave the cold prison floor, her body being pulled upward and away from her shackles and her ‘rescuer’.

Away from one prison and onto the next.

[dystini]

Indycar Driver Lore

Indycar Driver Lore Masterlist

Callum Benjamin Ilott

Birthdate: Nov. 11, 1998 Hometown: Cambridge, England Residence: Indianapolis, Indiana Height/Weight: 5’10”/136lbs

Rookie Year: 2022

Team: Super Sub (The first driver teams call when they need a substitute driver.)

Follow him on: Instagram Twitter Twitch YouTube

Career Stats

2021: 3 races with Juncos Hollinger Racing - 38th Overall 2022: Juncos Hollinger Racing - 20th Overall 2023: Juncos Hollinger Racing - 16th Overall

The Side Pod (with Marcus Armstrong) You Tube

WEC 2024 Hertz Team Jota Hypercar

Callum and Tatiana Calderón were team mates in 2015 with George Russell in European F3. Felix Rosenqvist was the series champion that year

Felix worked with the Prema F3 team in 2017 which was the year Callum raced with Prema in F3

he went to the same school as Devlin DeFrancesco and Enaam Ahmed who drives with Juncos in Indy pro 200 (for anyone interested in F1/F2 Oscar Piastri, Jehan Daruvala and Clem Novalak went there too)

He first met Conor Daly in 2013

he was meant to drive Romain’s Haas car during an FP1 session in 2020 but it was rained off

at the end of April 2022 he was asked on twitch who his friends in IndyCar were and he could only name Conor and Christian Lundgaard

he was karting rivals with Alex Palou

Competing in his second full season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with Juncos Hollinger Racing.

Member of the Ferrari Driver Academy who served as Scuderia Ferrari’s test driver and one of Alfa Romeo’s reserve drivers in 2021. Also raced in the 2021 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup with Iron Lynx and co-drove an Iron Lynx Ferrari 488 to LM GTE AM class podium at 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Finished second in FIA Formula 2 in 2020 with three wins and five pole positions.

Enjoys swimming, climbing, building remote-controlled cars and video games.

Looking forward to learning American sports.

Favorites - TV Show: "Money Heist;" Movie Star: Chris Hemsworth

Says racing heroes are Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher.

Allergic to cats

Iconic/memorable moments 2022 INSIDE THE RACE // CALLUM ILOTT AT MID-OHIO 'It was a CHAOTIC race!' | Sky IndyCar Vodcast: Callum Ilott Indy 500 Open Test Day 1 Report with Callum Ilott Calum Ilott INDY 500 CRASH - 2022 Indianapolis 500 Screaming Meals - Episode 002 - Callum Ilott Screaming Meals - INDYCAR! ft. Callum Ilott St.Pete IndyCar Race Recap with Callum Illott and Marshall Pruett TRACK WALK // GRAND PRIX OF PORTLAND CALLUM ILOTT GIVES PACERS DRAFT PICKS TOUR OF IMS CALLUM ILOTT: The F2 Star Talks F1, Indy, and Rolling w/the Punches | THE RED FLAGS PODCAST Interview with INDYCAR Driver Callum Ilott from Juncos Hollinger Racing Aeroscreen saves Callum Ilott from debris! | Onboard IndyCar Texas 2022 Callum Ilott Talks About His Indy500 Debut | KC Happy Hour Callum Ilott Interview After Topping Final Practice | 2022 NTT IndyCar Series at Barber ‘How do racing drivers wee?’: Watch IndyCar Ace Callum Ilott Answer Your Questions Callum Ilott becomes friends with a frog…

Callum is easygoing and happy, with a ready grin. He’s one of the friendliest people in the paddock with fans and other drivers alike. He’s got the typical dry British sense of humor and can be self-depreciating, except when it comes to his racing. In that area, he is analytical, confident in his own abilities and ready to offer constructive criticism to his team every time he gets out of the car. He built his team up from scratch in 2022, often finishing races higher than his car was capable of and with the addition of a second car and driver, is continuing to lead the way. Rumors abound that he is headed for a bigger and better team in the near future. While his current contract is for several years, only 2023 is guaranteed and there are likely several different options available to him and the team concerning where he will drive.

Fanfic Lore

Paired with Kyle Kirkwood. Ship name kirklott Paired with Marcus Armstrong due to their time together as roommates and in F2. Members of the Ferrari Acadamy together.

Paired with Mick Schumacher (F1). They raced together in F2. Members of the Ferrari Acadamy together.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix Recap: Pride Lands (Hakuna Matata)

In order to access the world, you must first clear the Sunlight Storm Gummi Route.

It’s a tunnel through thick, green clouds, with occasional holes letting in golden light from above (with some holes revealing glowing light).

Most of the enemies you’ll encounter here are Nobodies.

Near the end of the Route, your Gummi Ship will fly up into one of the holes that lets sunlight through, and fly in the blue skies above the clouds for a brief “boss” encounter with a single “Hunter” Gummi Heartless that destroys all other onscreen enemies to 1v1 you, and after it’s been dealt with, you’ll be seen out by a handful of Nobodies as the Gummi Ship flies for the exit.

Once you’ve completed the route, the Pride Lands is unlocked.

Upon disembarking, we open with the iconic stampede scene.

However, because all of the lion characters have permanent smiles on their models, we’re completely reliant on their eyes and ears for facial expressions. It’s not as bad as the “live action” movie, since the characters at least have SOME facial expressions, but it does take some getting used to.

Simba is nearly trampled by the Wildebeests (The Lion King), only to be rescued by his father, Mufasa (The Lion King). Mufasa places his son on an outcropping, but is knocked loose by a wildebeest. He climbs back up, where he encounters Scar (The Lion King) and asks for some help back up.

Scar digs his claws into Mufasa’s paws, leans in towards his brother’s ear, and whispers four iconic words:

“Long live the king.”

And then he throws his brother back into the stampede, a horrified Simba screaming as his father dies right in front of him.

Years later, Simba wakes up from his nightmare, right next to a sleeping Timon (The Lion King) and Pumba (The Lion King). Unlike his younger self, he has a fully emotive face.

After checking and seeing that his adoptive parents are still asleep, Simba walks up to the ledge of the grassy outcropping they’re sleeping on and looks over the jungle, and up to the starry sky, where a lion-shaped cloud looks down on him.

The following morning, Sora, Donald, and Goofy beam down from the Gummi Ship, and check out their new looks.

Sora is now a lion cub, Donald a bird of some kind, and Goofy a tortoise.

The trio are excited by their recent transformation, but Sora does find the Gorge to be pretty creepy.

What, with the bubbling green steam vents, and ominous glowing cracks, plus the permanently overcast sky.

Unfortunately, that won’t save them from Shenzi (The Lion King), Banzai (The Lion King), and Ed (The Lion King), who surrounded our heroes while they were reacting to their transformations.

Hundreds of generic Hyenas (The Lion King) also surround them.

“Heartless?” Sora questions.

“I dunno Sora. I get the feeling they might live here!” Goofy observes.

“Don’t mind us! Just passing through,” Donald explains, “We won’t be any trouble.”

Sora affirms Donald’s statement.

“Don’t be silly,” Shenzi replies while she and the other named hyenas circle the trio, “We’d love you to stick around for lunch.”

“That’s not gonna be a problem!” Banzai assures them.

“Gawrsh Sora – I think WE’RE the lunch!” Goofy realizes.

Ed confirms this with his signature cackle, and our Junior Heroes book it!

Or well, they try to, anyway, but Sora trips over his own feet on account of having only been a quadruped for about a minute or two at this point.

Donald and Goofy are cornered as well.

Fortunately, Scar chooses this moment to call the Hyenas away with a roar, forcing them to abandon their meal so as to avoid angering him.

Sora notes that they should probably take advantage of this to get used to their new forms, and Goofy promises to show them a new trick, which he does after the cutscene ends and before you get control of Sora.

For the duration of his visit to the Pride Lands, Sora will be locked into Lion Form. He cannot use his Drive Forms, Summons, Growth Abilities, Movement Abilities, or Action Abilities in this Form. Donald’s and Goofy’s Limits have also been disabled. He can only use his Support Abilities in this new form.

Fortunately, Lion Form has its own built-in abilities to compensate:

Combo Upper: Knocks a target into the air during a combo with the block button.

Aerial Impulse: Tackles and attacks a midair target during a combo with the block button.

Finishing Blast: Deals damage to nearby enemies at the end of a combo with the block button.

Retaliating Smash: When knocked down, quickly regain balance and counterattack with the block button.

Combo Plus: Increases maximum combo by 1 on the ground. Stacks with other Combo Pluses Sora might already have equipped.

Air Combo Plus: Increases maximum combo by 1 in the air. Ditto, but with Air Combo Pluses.

All of the chests in this world are ornate gourds, with the big gourd holding a map of the Savannah.

The overworld theme for this world is called “Adventures in the Savannah”.

While in the Gorge, Sora can talk to Donald and Goofy, and there’s already a Save Point to return to the Gummi Ship if you so wish.

Progressing out of the Gorge leads SDG to the Elephant Graveyard, where they find Nala (The Lion King) cornered by the Heartless.

Sora immediately jumps to her defense, summoning his Keyblade into his mouth, and the battle begins.

The battle theme for this world is “Savannah Pride”.

Introduced in this fight is a new Heartless known as Living Bone (pluralized “Living Bones”). They look like zombified dinosaur fossils and attack with shockwaves and will-o-wisps. When it gives the “Rodeo” Reaction Command, Sora can hop on its back and use the “Grand Cross” Reaction Command to slam it into the ground for big damage. I mention the Living Bones now because you’ll need them as a frame of reference later on.

Once both Living Bones are defeated, Nala thanks SDG for their help, and Sora asks her if she’s seen any other Heartless around.

“Heartless… Is that what they’re called?” Nala asks, “I’m not sure if there are any others…”

Nala explains that she doesn’t usually hunt outside the Pride Lands, with Donald not finding the term familiar.

Sora asks if she’s seen a guy named “Riku”, people in black hoods, or a big bully named “Pete”.

She shakes her head “no”.

Sora figures they might as well check out anyway, but Nala warns him that the Pride Lands are dangerous thanks to Scar and the Hyenas.

“There’s no food left,” she explains, “They’ve driven off the prey. We’re about to starve.”

Sora insists they can handle danger, citing the Heartless they just fought off, while choosing not to mention their encounter with the hyenas.

Nala realizes he has a point, and wonders if he might be just what the Pride Lands needs.

Goofy isn’t quite sure about their odds against Scar and his hyena army, while Donald just wants to know who Scar is.

“He took over when our last king, Mufasa, died,” Nala elaborates.

Sora realizes that this means Scar is her king, and that she’s basically asking them to commit regicide. As they’ve only JUST met her, Sora decides to deliberate with Donald and Goofy before they make any impulsive decisions.

“We can’t just go around knocking kings off their thrones,” Sora points out, actually raising a valid point, but because he’s still a teenage boy: “But then again, if they see that I’m stronger than their king, maybe they’ll ask me to be their next king!”

“Sora…” Goofy remarks.

“I’d have to refuse, of course,” Sora quickly backpedals, “Still, I’d like to see the Pride Lands, so you guys don’t mind lending them a paw, do you?”

Thus, our heroes are now in recon mode.

“Uh oh, there he goes again,” Donald remarks as Sora runs back to Nala.

We don’t hear what they say, but Nala runs off, and Sora explains that she’s going to explain what’s going on to the other lionesses, while SDG are supposed to meet up with her at Pride Rock.

Also, Goofy wears his shield on the back of his shell, and Donald carries his staff in his talons. Adding further comedy, Goofy’s “running” animation consists of him withdrawing into his shell and spinning like a Beyblade.

But back on topic, you need to progress the rest of the way through the Elephant Graveyard to reach the Savannah.

This barren wasteland serves as the Central Hub. Just run across the dried ground, past the dead tree, and cutting through any Heartless you meet in order to get to Pride Rock.

Aside from the exit back to the Elphant Graveyard, the map shows two more exits. One of those is blocked off at the moment, so you have to continue on to Pride Rock.

Don’t worry, it’s a big and obvious landmark. You can’t miss it.

Upon arrival, we see the Lionesses (The Lion King) all lazing about in various states of despair. Nala takes Rafiki (The Lion King) to meet with our Junior Heroes.

“That’s him,” Nala explains.

Rafiki quietly inspects first Sora, then Goofy, and finally Donald, and the despondent lionesses open their eyes and look over at the newcomers, perhaps wondering if he’ll be the one to dethrone Scar and become the new king.

Rafiki whispers into Nala’s ear, shakes his head, and walks off as Nala hangs her head.

The lionesses go back to laying down.

Nala explains that she had told Rafiki that Sora might be able to force Scar and the hyenas out of the Pride Lands, but Rafiki just told her it wouldn’t work.

Whoever saves the Pride Lands will be their next king, but whoever he is will need certain qualities.

“Meaning…” Sora presses.

“I think she means you’re not cut out for the job, Sora,” Goofy observes.

Nala apologizes for bringing them all the way here for nothing, but Sora insists its fine.

She warns them to leave before Scar finds out they’re here,

You now have control of Sora again, and can talk to the various lionesses walking around for some set-dressing.

There are also gourds to open, including a big one that holds a map of Pride Rock.

You can’t go inside Pride Rock’s den yet, however, and thus your only option is to try and go back to the Savannah.

Unfortunately, Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed will block your way out, with a bunch of nameless hyenas approaching SDG from behind to surround them.

The hyenas are still hungry, and are very eager at getting a second chance at eating our Junior Heroes.

However, a roar from the king, Scar, convinces them to wait a little. Savor the chance.

He stands alongside another lion, a lion with Pete’s face.

Sora recognizes him immediately.

Scar effortlessly bounds down the rocks to stand before our Junior Heroes.

Pete tries to do the same, but stumbles to the ground from his perch, landing painfully, much to Sora’s exasperation and second-hand embarrassment.

“What are you doing here?” Sora questions aggressively.

“Aww, the cute li’l kitty’s worried about me,” Pete taunts, “If I were you, I’d be more worried about my friends!”

“Sora!” Donald calls out.

“We’re surrounded!” Goofy shouts as the hyenas close in around the duo.

“Go on ladies–” Scar addresses to the lionesses, “You’ve got some hunting to do.”

“The herds have moved on, Scar,” Nala reminds him, “We can’t hunt on a land with no prey.”

“No prey?” Scar questions, “Then what do you call this?”

He motions towards Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

Sora protests that they’re not prey, but Scar just comments on how they’re “nice and fresh” too.

“Well, they’re all yours, Scar,” Pete declares, before running off.

Nala, having had enough of Scar’s nonsense, tackles Scar mid-pounce, and urges the others to run.

SDG take advantage of the momentary distraction to bolt, the hyenas giving chase after them.

Fortunately, Nala is faster, and she leads them to safety.

Back at the Savannah, Nala again apologizes for involving them, this time in a textbox.

Sora insists it’s no big deal, while Donald insists it’s not her fault Sora wouldn’t make for a good king.

“Hey! I had to give it a try, right?” Sora defends.

“So you DID want to be king!” Goofy says.

“Well… You know…” Sora trails off.

Deciding to change the topic, he asks Nala if she has any ideas for who else could be king.

She can think of only one candidate, the son of their last king, but he died when he was just a cub.

“If only Simba were still alive…”

Sora then reveals that he IS still alive. They fought alongside him not that long ago.

Nala is thrilled to know Simba’s still alive, and asks where he is.

Sora reveals he doesn’t know, but Nala’s just happy he’s still alive, and asks to know more about what he’s like NOW.

After they’re safe from Scar, of course, so they should head to the Wildebeest Valley.

Wildebeest Valley is accessible via the third and final exit from the Savannah.

You have a map, and it lacks both the extremely marketable silhouette of Pride Rock AND the ominous elephant ribcages from the Elephant Graveyard.

As it’s also one of only THREE recognizable landmarks on the Savannah, its more generic design of “path between two massive plateaus” isn’t an obstacle to locating it.

Upon entering the Wildebeest Valley, another Simba-focused cutscene begins, showing him moping by the waterfall.

“Hey, why the long face, Simba?” Timone asks, “You gotta lighten up and live a little!”

“Y-yeah…” Simba half-heartedly replies.

“What were you thinkin’ about?” Pumbaa asks.

“Lemme guess. The past, right?” Timone guesses.

Simba wordlessly confirms it.

“Hakuna matata!” They both cheerfully remind him.

It does get Simba to crack a smile, if only briefly, but he also gets up and trudges off.

Timone reflects on how much he’s grown since they first adopted him.

Simba trudges up to the flowers on the outcropping, sighs, and flops down, sending various leaves, blades of grass, and flower petals blowing away on the wind.

Meanwhile, at the Wildebeest Valley, our Junior Heroes come across a rather intimidating gorge, with jagged rocks at the bottom.

Nala, not the least bit intimidated, gives herself a running start and leaps the ravine, wowing Sora.

She urges them to follow, but Sora replies that they won’t make the jump.

Nala realizes that Rafiki was right, and then tells Sora that she’ll teach him how to do it.

“Don’t worry, you can do it!” she encourages.

Fade to black.

When we cut back Sora jumps the gorge successfully, joining Nala, Donald, and Goofy on the other side.

This unlocks Dash, an Action Ability for Lion Form. It allows Sora to move more quickly when the player holds down the Block/Dodge Roll button, replacing all of Sora’s Growth Abilities.

If Sora tries to turn while using this ability, well… To quote KHWiki: “Attempting to turn while dashing will cause Sora to slide until he decides to stop turning or dashing, which will cause him to skid and bounce, slowing him down immediately.”

This will GREATLY cut down on travel time.

The Wildebeest Valley is designed to let you get the handle of the Dash ability, with rocks for you to bob and weave between, and plenty of Heartless to let you get the handle on how this ability works in combat. You can even run around the area where Simba found his dad’s corpse in the movie, right at the end of the room.

Progressing to the next area has the petals, grass blades, and leaves reach Rafiki’s “Stone Hollow”. This cutscene mostly just reuses archived audio of Rafiki’s jubilation from the movie (minus the music, instead using the Pride Land’s overworld theme), but does still feature Rafiki painting a mane onto Simba’s cave painting.

Meanwhile, in the Wastelands, Nala explains how Simba was reported dead in the same stampede that took Mufasa’s life.

“Who told you that?” Sora asks.

Nala stops walking. Even with her facial features not animating beyond jaw-flaps in this cutscene, you can STILL see her connecting the dots before her next line:

“Scar.”

Rafiki walks up behind our quartet, climbs up a slope, and stands atop a stone.

“It is time,” he declares via archived audio from the movie, before pointing his staff ahead.

“It must be Simba!” Nala realizes, before rushing ahead, “Sora, hurry!”

“Wait up!” Sora calls after her.

The Wastelands are basically a winding path with a few puzzle pieces to pick up and gourds to open.

They’re not considered part of the Savannah, so you don’t have a map at the moment.

The Wastelands lead into the Jungle, where Sora will encounter Shaman. They’re Emblem Heartless that sometimes ride Living Bones.

They can also use magic.

They have a 1% chance of dropping the “Shaman’s Relic” a Staff for Donald. It grants +4 Strength and +5 Magic, as well as the Blizzard Boost ability.

Upon passing through the Jungle, SDG arrive at the Oasis, where Simba has been surrounded by Heartless.

Before Sora can so much as summon his Keyblade, Simba lets out a mighty roar that intimidates all of them into fleeing through Corridors of Darkness.

“Simba!” Sora greets, running up to Simba while Donald and Goofy follow close behind.

Simba falls back into his fighting stance, hackles raised.

“I-it’s me – Sora!” Sora explains as he slides to a stop, “Donald and Goofy are here too.”

Simba calmly-yet-cautiously approaches the trio, looking them over.

We cut to his POV, where we see a cut from the present to their forms in KH1.

“Sora! Donald! Goofy!”

He excitedly bowls over Sora and nuzzles him as cats are wont to do, but is still kinda curious as to why Sora’s changed species. (Reminder: The most drastic transformation Simba can witness in KH1 is the Halloween Town forms. He has NEVER seen SDG undergo such DRASTIC transformations.)

The explanation is interrupted by Timon and Pumbaa’s panicked screams for help, calling out that “she” is going to eat them.

Simba realizes something must’ve happened in the jungle, and tells Sora he has to go help his friends, before dashing off to rescue them.

Sora promises to back him up.

The Oasis is one of those areas where Donald and Goofy become NPC’s you can talk to (until you progress the story).

There are some gourds you can open. One of the big ones holds a map, while the other holds the next Torn Page.

There’s also a Save Point, and Kumop’s Moogle Shop (Adds the “Lord’s Broom” staff and “Dreamcloud” shield to the large town shops’ inventories).

Returning to the jungle reveals a terrified Timon and Pumbaa have been cornered by Nala, who’s stalking closer and closer, only to get tackled by Simba before she can pounce.

Sora tries to break up the resulting fight, but it’s not until Nala pins Simba down that the two of them finally recognize each other.

“Hey! What’s going on here?” Timon asks, before he and Pumbaa turn around to see Sora standing directly behind him.

The two, understandably, scream in terror and run to Simba for protection.

“Don’t worry, they’re all friends of mine,” Simba explains.

“So that means… nobody’s planning to eat anybody else for lunch, right?” Timon questions.

Sora and Donald nod.

“Are you sure they don’t wanna eat me like I’m some kinda pig!?” a cowering Pumbaa asks.

“We won’t…” Sora promises, “but you are a pig, right?”

“Call me Mr. Pig!” Pumbaa snaps, all fear forgotten.

And everyone laughs.

After the laughter dies down, Simba asks if the others could excuse him and Nala for a bit.

Back in the Oasis, Nala tells Simba he needs to come back to Pride Rock.

“I thought Sora could help,” she explains, “but you’re the only one who can save us from Scar.”

Simba insists that he can’t go back.

When Nala asks why, the only answer he gives her is “hakuna matata”.

“It’s something I learned out here,” he explains, “Sometimes bad things happen, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Simba walks over to look at the view of the waterfalls, as Nala wonders what the heck happened.

Meanwhile, Timon, Pumbaa, Sora, Donald, and Goofy are doing the dance for “Hakuna Matata”.

However, as Square Enix could not secure the rights to include the song in the game, all we get is Timon saying “Hakuna!” followed by everyone else shouting “Matata!” as they march behind him.

Nala walks past them.

“He’s not the Simba I remember,” she remarks, “Something about hakuna matata…”

In order to progress the story, you must approach Simba and use the “Cheer Up” Reaction Command.

Using this Reaction Command prompts a cutscene where Sora, Donald, and Goofy say nothing as Simba walks right past them and out of the oasis.

Come nightfall, and he stares up at the starry sky, completely alone.

“My father’s dead,” he says to himself, “And it’s because of me… It’s my fault.

“I can’t go back… It won’t change anything.”

Cue flashback to Simba’s childhood, perched on his father’s back as they admired the stars together.

“Look at the stars,” Mufasa tells him, “The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars. So whenever you feel alone, just remember that those kings will always be there to guide you…

“And so will I.”

I forgot to mention this before, but all of Mufasa’s dialog uses archived audio of James Earl Jones, taken straight from the movie.

“Father… Are you there?”

Swirling clouds appear in the night sky, and Mufasa’s spirit manifests among them.

“Simba… you have forgotten who you are. You must take your place in the Circle of Life.”

“How can I go back? I’m not who I used to be.”

“Remember who you are.”

Mufasa disappears as Simba runs up to try and get closer, stopping at the cliff’s edge.

“You can all come out now,” Simba states.

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Timon, and Pumbaa come out of their hiding places among the foliage.

“I’m going back to face my past,” Simba declares, “I could use your help.”

“He really is a king…” Timon notes, his voice swelling with pride.

The sun rises behind Simba.

Sora earns the “Circle of Life” Keychain.

This Keyblade grants him +4 Strength, +1 Magic, and the MP Haste Ability (restores restoration rate of MP Gauge in MP Charge by 25%).

Additionally…

SIMBA HAS JOINED THE PARTY!!!

Simba’s weapon is “Proud Fang”, due to the fact that he fights unarmed. He’s a lion, after all.

His Action Abilities are as follows:

Body Blow: Charges at an enemy, headbutts it, and quickly retreats.

Double Body Blow: Charges directly at an enemy with his head thrust forward.

Kick Up: Runs up to an enemy and kicks it while somersaulting backwards.

Aerial Punch: Attacks with a swing of his left paw immediately after jumping.

Fierce Claw: Spends 10 MP to rush at enemies 8 times successively while spinning sideways at high speed.

Groundshaker: Spends 10 MP to attack surrounding enemies with an earth-shaking roar.

Healing Herb: Restores Party’s HP with the power of nature at the cost of all of his MP.

He also has the following Support Abilities (descriptions taken straight from KHWiki):

MP Rage: Restores MP relative to the amount of damage taken. Equip more to increase the effect.

Defender: Increases defense by 3 in a pinch. Equip more to increase the effect.

Auto Limit: Automatically sets the Reaction Command to Limit, if Limit is usable.

Hyper Healing: Quickly revives a fallen Party Member and greatly restores their HP.

Auto Healing: Restores HP while replaced by another Party Member with Change.

Speaking of, his Limit is “King’s Pride”.

The Limit starts with the “Wildcat” Reaction Command, which prompts Sora and Simba to leap forward as rocks burst out of the ground around them, damaging any surrounding enemies.

This leads to the Attack Command becoming “X-Claw” (Sora and Simba dash towards enemies and slash furiously) and gives the prompt for the “High Fang” Reaction Command (Sora and Simba spin through the air towards enemies). After 20 cumulative uses of both, both commands become “Proud Roar”, which finishes the Reaction Command with Sora and Simba letting out a mighty roar that calls down beams of light.

Simba cannot be removed from the party for the time being.

In order to continue the story, you must head back to the Savannah.

Upon arrival, Simba sees what Scar’s rule has done to the Pride Lands for the first time in his life.

Timon is shocked that Simba wants to fight his uncle for this arid wasteland, but Simba explains that the Pride Lands are his home.

At Pride Rock, the lionesses are all still depression-napping, while Scar is looking over his domain. He then looks up, sees Simba standing on higher ground, and gasps in shock.

Scar is shocked to see he’s still alive, and Simba starts telling him off, with Nala calling him the rightful king as Sora, Donald, and Goofy silently give moral support.

“The choice is yours, Scar,” Simba warns as he approaches the cornered tyrant, “Either step down or fight.”

“Must this all end in violence?” Scar questions as he slinks past Simba, “I’d hate to be responsible for the death of a family member, Simba…”

“I’ve put the past behind me!” Simba insists.

“But what about your faithful subjects?” Scar presses, “Have they?”

“Simba, what is he talking about?” Nala asks.

“Go on,” Scar urges as he creeps around Simba, “Tell them who’s responsible for Mufasa’s death.”

“I am,” Simba confesses.

Nala gasps, and Scar proceeds to back Simba up against the edge of Pride Rock, guilt-tripping him, insisting Mufasa would still be alive if it wasn’t for him, not caring that Simba insists it was an accident.

“You’re in trouble again. But this time, Daddy isn’t here to save you,” Scar taunts, “And now, everyone knows why.”

Simba’s hindlegs go over the edge, forcing him to latch onto Pride Rock with his forelegs’ claws.

Upon seeing Simba’s very familiar predicament, Scar can’t help but gloat to him about how this just like how Mufasa died.

He digs his claws in and leans in to whisper the truth to Simba, wishing to twist the knife one more time before throwing his nephew to his death:

“I killed Mufasa.”

Whereas revealing his true intentions to Mufasa shocked him long enough to allow him to kill him, here it only ENRAGES Simba enough that he’s able to pull himself up, tackle Scar to the ground, and force him to confess the truth.

Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed come out of the King’s den to hyena-pile Simba, allowing Scar to slink away like the coward he is.

Sora runs in, insisting that Simba handles Scar while they handle the hyenas.

Simba gives chase to his treacherous uncle, while more hyenas close in on Sora.

Fortunately, Timon and Pumbaa swoop in with the save, Timon directing Pumbaa to charge through the nameless hyenas.

Unfortunately, this leads into the entire pack deciding to go after the two prey animals instead, chasing Simba’s adoptive parents into the King’s Den.

Simba has been removed from the party for now.

In order to begin the boss fight, the player must enter the King’s Den.

Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed require the player to defend Timon and Pumbaa.

If Pumbaa’s HP runs out, it’s an automatic game over.

Stick close to Pumbaa, use the “Call Over” Reaction Command to get him closer to you if he gets too far away, and don’t focus on any one hyena for two long.

Defeating all three earns Sora +5 Max HP, Donald +3 Max HP, and Goofy Lucky Lucky! (increases enemies’ base drop rates, stacking with other Lucky Luckies).

After the Hyenas flee, Sora asks where Simba went, and Nala motions towards an exit in the back of the King’s Den, which leads to the top of Pride Rock.

In order to begin this world’s final boss fight, the player must progress that way.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive in time to watch the two clash, with Sora stopping Donald from intervening.

In the end, this is Simba’s fight, and for his claim to the throne to have any legitimacy, he has to do this alone.

Scar eventually manages to down Simba, and pounces to try and finish him off.

Simba merely counterattacks by kicking him clear off the edge of Pride Rock, sending him plummeting to his apparent demise.

“You’re okay!” Sora declares.

“Aw, that was just a sneak preview!” Pete declares as he walks up behind the group, “Cause this ain’t over – not by a long shot!”

He points at the cliff Scar was just thrown off of, and the boss music kicks in as Scar’s paw grips the edge of the cliff, having already climbed back up the mountain.

“Anger and jealousy turned the king of Pride Rock into a Heartless!” Pete reveals.

Scar, either having recently become a Heartless or secretly been one the entire time, pulls himself back onto the rock as Pete continues gloating:

“Oh your kingdom’s gonna rise again… But this time, as the Pride Lands of Darkness!”

Scar jumps back onto solid ground and envelops the area in his darkness.

“That’s what you think!” Simba retorts as he gears up for a rematch.

Simba has rejoined the party, and must remain in the party for the duration of the boss battle.

The ground has turned translucent, revealing the fossilized bones preserved inside the solid rock.

Scar can attack with circling balls of lightning, shockwaves of fire when he pounces, and emitting dark energy while stampeding around the place.

When he pins Sora to the ground, Sora can use the “Counter” Reaction Command right as Scar’s about to swipe his paw to break free and stagger him.

While Scar IS a Heartless, he still looks like his normal self, WITHOUT having to possess someone else.

Upon defeating Scar, Sora gains +10 Max MP, Donald gains Fire Boost, Goofy gains +4 Max HP, and Simba gains +30 Max HP.

Scar staggers for a bit, before finally keeling over, his reign of terror OVER.

After the battle, Simba marches to the front of Pride Rock, and lets out a mighty roar, the lionesses joining him.

The swirling clouds appear again, as Mufasa’s spirit materializes once more, revealing this world’s Gate.

Sora opens it, holding the Keyblade with his tail when doing so.

Timon asks about the light show, and Sora replies that they have to say goodbye for now.

“I’ll go tell Simba,” Pumbaa offers.

“Aw, he’s prob’ly busy,” Goofy observes, “Just tell him we’ll be back soon.”

That reminds Timon that Simba’s the king now.

“He’s going to be so busy now that he’s probably going to forget his two best buddies.”

“Well, you always got hakuna matata, right?” Sora points out.

“Guess so,” Pumbaa notes.

Timon isn’t satisfied with that answer, and asks what they’ll do if he forgets to tell the carnivores who they are.

“One look at you, and you’re a pig roast!” Timon points out.

“That’s MISTER Pig Roast!” Donald chimes in.

“Same thing!” Pumbaa shouts, “And I’m not sticking around to become anyone’s pork dinner!”

The warthog cartoonishly flees the scene as Timon calls after him.

“You can never forget your true buddies,” Sora remarks.

Defeating Scar earns Sora the Fire Element, upgrading Fire to Fira.

Back on the world map, a new episode was unlocked at Olympus Coliseum, AND we’ve got a Torn Page to return to the Hundred Acre Wood.

Which do you think we should take care of first?

-

See now I just have the entire soundtrack stuck in my head. Also I had to look up some of the images for this. Living Bone looks dope as fuck! Lion!Pete is cursed tho

Hm. I think the Hundred Acre Wood would be more a vibe right now

[joeynewgarden]

screaming meals f2 feature race broadcast recap

[suzie-shooter]

Haven't done one of these for ages, but have a Screaming Meals commentary stream recap for the Formula E race on 13.01.24 with James and Clem.

J: Give them a taste of Kiwi!

[has a go at Clem for concentrating on the stream subs rather than the race] J: God knows what else I've missed in the time I've even just explained this point.

J: Oh God, someone's phoning me now, oh God I'm going to have to take this - improvise.

C: Da Costa's out. J: Oh well that's okay, he's not a client.

[on New Year] C: I'd be lying if I said I remembered much of it. J: Yeah I thought that might be the case.

C: Do you know what the biggest issue is right now? J: The…war, in… C: No, no, my tyre, on my car.

J: You really have to be careful when you're navigating crevices - Marcus has found that out the hard way.

J: If I was driving a Formula E car I'd be yawning too.

[on Clem's drive for next year] J: If you don't know then you're not looking hard enough are you.

C: I am doing ELMS and I'll be at the Daytona 24 in 2 weeks' time and so will my ever loyal acolyte James Blair.

J: What do you say to allegations that Moses came down with the tablets from the good Lord on the mountain faster than we have got the bank account paperwork back from Armstrong? I don't think Moses was up there for eighteen months.

J: God I really cock a shoulder when I do that.

[on Rick Armstrong] J: "If you aim high you can't shoot yourself in the foot" - he was talking about his girlfriend at the time.

C: Something we haven't told chat - I'm starting work in insurance, eh? J: Yeah that's true. Full on insurance agent. You heard it here first. […] All the heavy lifting's still going to be done by me, Clem's very much going to have a relationship management role. C: Which is great for me because that's pretty much all I'm good at. Chatting shit.

J: Qatar is sponsoring us? The government of Qatar. Our lives have changed Clem, we've got oil money! C: Yeah I wouldn't want to take their cash actually.

C: I always thought I'd be a great TV presenter. J: Technically that's what we're doing now. It's not far off. C: It's not exactly channel 4 but - J: No, it's better. Because we can say fuck.

J: Interesting storyline developing here, Cassidy's hanging out the back of Buemi. C: Don't know if you want to mention that on stream there. J: Well he's hanging right out the back of him, I mean look. C: Quite a graphic tale you're sort of describing.

J: He's getting his nose really tucked in to the rear end of Evans there […] this is the hottest thing happening on track right now, is Vergne hanging out the back of Evans, with Hughes looking to get involved […] trying to get up Mitch Evans. Who isn't trying to get up Mitch Evans, be realistic.

J: Maybe he wants Vergne to be hanging out the back of him. And then he'll just really open it up at the end.

J: It's a real sloppy rear end. C: Real sloppy. how's Jehan doing? J: Yeah he must be sort of running a sloppy rear end.

C: "Is James going to any ELMS races?" James is going to all of them. J: Pretty much all of them yeah. C: Who do you think's going to fucking be the entertainment factor behind the scenes? J: Yeah you know like endurance races are like long, you can't drive the whole thing. You're going to need some dicking around. We'll just be hanging out the back of the garage.

C: "What are your goals for this year?" - James. J: I really want to nail the guitar actually, hang on I was gonna share this earlier. [fetches guitar] C: Play Wonderwall.

C: Chasing Cars? J: Yes! C: I read the chat. J: Oh fuck off.

J: I think this is the G string.

J: I haven't done a lot of fingering in my time with my left hand […] I've got a lot of experience of strumming with my right hand.

J: Old Clemogio's a bit heavy in the eyelids. C: I've got to go and fucking - sort out my tyre.

[chocolateteapotsvis]

Halbarry Week: Day 6 Recap! (Part 2)

Across the Multiverse/Soulmates/“Kind of easy to be brave when you don’t have anything to lose.”

Ochlophobia by @weddyy

Barry surprises Hal by taking him to an army aircraft exhibition, but there was one thing that Barry had not anticipated and that was increasingly bothering him. It was crowded. A lot of people.

Summer Halbarry Week 2022:  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ by @ceeloilights

“And that’s why I think having a full-course meal is completely logical to have in my ring.”

“Why can’t you just use paint? That’s less food wastage and you don’t need to prepare sauce.”

“That’s such a Kyle thing.” Hal waved off the idea, “I’m not throwing tubes of paint at something yellow.”

You Belong With Me: Dress by layspotatochipabs

He felt like his entire body was on fire. Every molecule in his body was pulled apart and put back together. The last thing he remembered was the sound of Dinah screaming. 

For even more Halbarry Week fics, check out the Ao3 Halbarry Week 2022 Collection!

[karinabugwrites]

The plane’s overhead light blinded me as I awoke from my nap. The overhead announcement that we would be landing in New York grounded me from my post nap fogginess. As I rubbed my eyes, I made a mental note of what train to take to baggage claim and what conveyer belt to wait at once I get there. Sliding up the shade covering the window, I could see the tops of buildings and the intertwining streets getting closer. The past three months of flying from Atlanta to New York were exhausting, but it was easy to forget now that my stay in New York is permanent.

Once the plane touched ground and finished rolling to a stop, several passengers sprung up from their seat, eager to escape back on to land. Being seated in the middle of the plane, and also not in any rush, I decided to let the aisle clear before exiting myself. Sitting back into my seat, I opened my notes app and analyzed the passengers I just flew five hours across the country with. A family of four were stopped in front of my row, waiting on an elderly woman to stand up from her seat. They were decked out in matching family vacation t-shirts and colorful shorts, an odd choice for New York’s autumn weather, but maybe they weren’t staying in the city. However a man in a black suit in line behind the family made it clear he was a native New Yorker. Tapping his foot, he grumbled on the phone that he was going to be late for a meeting and that he was stuck on a plane.

Closing my notes, I thought about all the passengers on the plane and where they were headed. So many people are on this plane but I will most likely never see any of them again. They all live their own lives in different corners of the earth and have come together for a short time for unique reasons. I was brought out of my thoughts by the sudden movement of the woman next to me. Her brunette hair tied into twin braids swung when she rose and her casual clothes caught my attention. What was her story? Her clothes didn’t scream tourist, but yet neither did mine. At least I hope they didn’t. After all I am technically no longer a tourist, my recent move updating my status to a resident.

I grabbed my backpack nestled underneath the seat in front of me an stood up. The woman and I managed to move up two rows before being stuck behind a man struggling to get his luggage out of the overhead bin. The air was tense with the man growing more frustrated at the stuck bag and the glares from the people in the row he was blocking was intense. I stepped back towards my seat to let a flight attendant aid the man, only for him to angrily shoo him away. With one rough pull, the man pulled his bag out of the compartment, taking the remaining bags with it. As the bags toppled onto the disgruntled man, I pulled the brunette woman back into the nearest row.

We were both stunned at the scene in front of us that it took the flight attendants cries to snap us out of our daze.

“I’m so sorry,” I said to the woman, “I didn’t think before grabbing you.”

“No worries! If anything, you saved me a trip to the hospital. My nose thanks you…”

“Karina”

“Well, thank you again Karina.”

She turned and walked down the now clear aisle, the man stomping close behind her. I looked back into the row to make sure nothing had fallen out of my bag and exited the plane into the airport. After finding my way to the terminal train, I was finally on my way to baggage claim. The debacle with exiting the plane left my pink suitcase the lone survivor on the conveyer belt. With a brisk walk, I was able to grab it before it disappeared back under the draft curtains.

Making my way towards the foot court, I decided that it is only fitting that my first official meal as a New York resident be a slice of cheese pizza. I ordered my food at the counter and sat down to recap the last 24 hours in my notes app, already thinking of a story idea to pitch to my new editor. I paused mid sentence once my order number was called and brought my food back to my table. I guess I was hungrier than I realized. I scarfed down the two pizza slices in minutes and was left sipping on my soda waiting on my taxi to arrive.

I put in earbuds and listened to music until my phone pinged. My taxi was waiting in the pick up area. I threw away what was left of my soda and grease filled plate and hurried towards the main doors of the airport. In my light jog, one of my earbuds had fallen out an on to the floor. Quickly picking it up, I stopped at a bench to pull the earbud case out of my bag, reluctant to put it back in my ear after touching the ground. After zipping the bag back up, two familiar braids caught my eye, growing smaller as she made her way towards the international terminal. I guess she isn’t a New Yorker. I made a reminder in my phone to write about her in my notes, next to the most recent note about disinfecting my earbuds. Remembering the taxi driver waiting, I whipped my bag back on my back and ran towards the doors. I must have looked crazy, but I’m a New Yorker now, and in New York, anything goes.

[veganshane]

Session recap for Symbaroum TTRPG

The group leaves Thistlehold for the tent city/shantytown of Blackmoor.

A half day’s march away the smells of open fires and tightly packed humanity greet them before the crest the hill and see it.

Feon, the Changeling suggests they visit a soup kitchen/mission of the follower of Father Servallo’s heretical sect of the Church of Prios, where he had found refuge from time to time.

The group arrives to find the mission surrounded by a jeering crowd lead by a member of the mainline church Mother Ordelia, an intense woman with a mace on her hip and zeal in her voice declaring all who enter damned and corrupted.

Once past the gate Feon notices the normally busy kitchen is absolutely still with the volunteers standing by nervously.

Reconnecting with Father Maliano they find out that for the past several days visitors to the soup kitchen have fallen to corruption becoming blight born abominations creating havoc and attacking others seeking a meal.

The priest agrees to see about translating the mysterious language from the rubbing from Davokar if the party looks into the cause of the recent incidents.

Entertaining thoughts if Mother Ordelia is to blame they settle on looking into the ingredients of the soup itself. Tasting it Cirque feels the corruption and narrows it down to an alchemical elixir (The Milk of Kindness) added to the soup and the milk used to create it. Pye-dog verifies the milk is bad!

Questioning Father Baremo the resident scholar who makes the elixir the find out the mills source and depart to investigate further leaving Baremo to enthusiastically work on the translation project.

A day and a half they travel to the farm near the edge of Davokar.

Ada stands guard while Pye-dog examines a cow in a fenced area of the farmstead. The leaves Cirque the Goblin wizard and Feon to chat with the farm family.

While Arlo is out grazing the cattle with their oldest child “Pug” his wife Divina is home, baby on her hip is seeing to other duties.

After reassuring her the Yeoman farmer talks about being caught between what the local priest wishes her to do (push into the forest as it is the will of Prios that all wildlands be tamed) Arlo’s desire to help the less fortunate and his childhood priest, Baremo, and the warnings of the barbarian clans that warned them grassing them in this part of the forest will only lead to death and sorrow. Now they have a bull that’s not a bull anymore, terrorizing the countryside, and sick cows.

As this is happening Pye-dog sees that the cow in the pen is not right, the animal has open sores oozing a black pus. Pye-dog draws his bow but somehow misses.

The beast turns her head and watches the arrow flay past harmlessly. She looks back making eye contact with the Ogre and let’s out a blood curdling noise half moo and half scream.

Pye-dog knocks another arrow, fires and hits the beast.

Skin sloughing off the cow charges and gores Pye-dog the beast's corruption flowing into the wound.

The others run to the noise, and Cirque unleashes a cascade of brimstone the beast erupts in sulfurous foul smelling flames.

Feon closes, stabbing the beast, Pye-dog follows up stabbing the beast as well. Cirque deals the final blow with more mystical fire.

With no chance to rest Ada shouts “Mother Ordelia is incoming and she has soldiers with her!”

[campbluelake]

life can’t work out in the way it works out in the play | vegeta | ch2 exec rxn

She jumps into the fire. He’s surprised by that, eyes going wide as the flames devour her. He’d expected her to kick, scream, run from the same chains that clamped around Kaede in a last bid to survive.

But this, too, is survival. Isn't it? The confidence of knowing that, no matter what, she’ll get out of this.

Not as shocked by the vision in the fire this time, Warrick watches what will likely be Tommy’s final moments. There’s a chance to get out, though. If only she’ll take it. Of course, she doesn’t, walking right into what’s sure to be a death trap. Even Warrick, someone who doesn’t believe that real life follows the tropes of fiction, knows that instinctually.

(Overconfident.)

Hearing Lydia’s name startles him, and his eyes flick from the walls to the floor and all around, trying to see where she is— but it’s no use. Tommy’s already in the clutches of some unimaginable thing, unable to escape, and—

Up until now, it’s either been the prelude or the aftermath. Kaede falling to an unseen demise. Julio, Niko, Lydia lying there. Even with the recaps of the murders, he’s prepared himself for them with the knowledge from an investigation and discussion, and so he couldn’t fully feel the grisly shock of watching the blood trickle down while it’s fresh, the screams to sobs to silence.

Not until now, though.

It’s so. He feels like he’s.

He wishes these people would listen to him. He told Kaede to fight, and he didn’t. He told Tommy to fight, and she didn’t. Not in the way that mattered. And now they’re as gone as they can be.

It’s not even that he’s become soft-hearted, is the thing. He wasn’t ever close to Tommy. The unbridled curiosity about the supernatural turned unbearable to him, no matter how much budding respect he had for her when they first met. A young woman with her head squarely on her shoulders. Responsible. Planning meals for children who would never come.

And he realizes, blood turning to ice, that he had told her exactly how to kill Leon.

But… she didn’t. Instead, she opted for these elaborate traps, more complicated than necessary, and spelled her own demise alongside Lydia’s. He doesn’t know what to think of that. Not relief, not rage, just…

Not that it affects him, though. There’s no reason why it should. All that he can do is feel grateful that these mistakes he’s learning from today aren’t his own, and vow not to repeat them.

Before he leaves, his final gesture towards Thomasin Iori’s memory is a shake of his head and a sigh.

(Unfortunate.)