#Suicide Snowman

[yami-mazda]

I don't know what the creator notes are on Magic Gift of the Snowman, but as a chronically ill and practically bedbound person who is Only driven out of suicide via self neglect by the self indulgent stories I play out or tell myself in videogames and fanfiction, this is my christmas comfort movie

#the magic gift of the snowman #magic gift of the snowman #suicide mention #once again i know this is heavy but i spent the last 2 holidays in bed away from family. #i was in the SAME HOUSE. and i was too weak to sit at a fjucking table 😮‍💨 #as for the movie i was always waiting for the writing to get more ableist but it just lacked So many ableist trope?? #and idk. its stated IN WRITING that Em is wheelchair bound due to weakness and not a leg or spine issue. #and the focus on landon spending time with her and telling her a story where she can have whatever she wants?? #idk idk idk #i love it and idk how to critically analyse it and decide if its okay or not without help 😞 #and no ones seen this movie lol #chronic illness #disabled #christmas movies

[wenigstenshabeichesversucht]

A Christmas Carol 🕯️ Anthony Lockwood

Pairing: Anthony Lockwood x fem!Reader

Summary: It only takes three ghost (one form the past, one from the present and one from the future) and one Anthony Lockwood for you to realize that you maybe don't hate Christmas as much as you had thought. 

Warnings: angst, trauma, grief, mention of suicide, English is not my native language

Word Count: 11k

A ghost from the past

As a kid you had loved Christmas. In winter the nights were long, and with The Problem everybody had to stay inside, but Christmas was the part of winter, which made it endurable. However, this was before your family sent you to die by signing you up as an agent. This was before you had to watch your whole team die last year in the Christmastime. Now you hated it with burning passion. Winter was, by far, the worst season, and not even Christmas made any difference to you.

As an agent the Christmastime was shit. Thanks to the long winter nights you had to work overtime, and even on Christmas Eve the ghosts didn’t stop their hauntings, so you couldn’t sit under the Christmas tree and drink eggnog. Furthermore, Christmas was the time of year when most people committed suicide. That meant less time to rest for you and every other agent in London.

A week and a half before Christmas your team had a job a few miles outside the city. The town was small, and everywhere you looked you saw Christmas decoration.

As you walked by a glowing snowman you wanted to puke. Your not-so-subtle gagging noises made your team laugh. You were working together for less than a year, and they couldn’t reach your old team. But your old team was dead, and they were here, so point for them, you guess?

Reaching the waist tall wall, which separated the town from the surrounding fields, you stopped. The mayor of this small town had reached out to Fittes, because a few kids had seen two visitors on the field. From the description you guessed that you would have to deal with Gallows Wraiths. Not your favourite type of visitor but your team would handle it.

“That is bad”, Archie, your researcher stated, as he came to stop next to you. “The books stated that the gallows were next to a tree.”

However, far and wide was no sign of a tree. What a fantastic start to an awful night, and the sun hadn’t even set yet. After the description given be the mayor and Archie’s finding, that back in the days the gallows had stood here, it wasn’t a hard guess that you were searching for remains of said gallows. Therefore, every member of your team was equipped with a shovel. But without a tree you didn’t know where you had to start digging, not to mention that the field was large.

Thoughtfully you tilted your head. It was your call what the team should do. After last Christmas nobody, least of all you, had thought that Fittes would give you an own team, but here you were. Normally you also had a supervisor, who would say what to do in such situation. But after he gave you a car ride to this town, Frank decided that it was too cold outside for his old bones, and therefore he stayed insight the mayors house, letting you fend for yourself.

Feeling that you were getting nervous you glanced at your watch. In maybe half an hour the sun would set. Until then, you needed a plan, and an iron circle for protection.

“Stephen you will set up an iron circle on the other side of this wall, Archie please check our bags, that we really brought everything, and Hanna, you and I will try to find a clue, where the gallows was standing back then.”

At least your team didn’t hesitate to follow your order, and everyone set into action. Hanna’s Talent was touch while you were a listener with surprisingly good touch. Therefore, it was always your twos job to localize the source. Leaving the shovels back by the boys you both climbed over the wall.

To find the old gallows wouldn’t be easy even with your talents. The last light of the sun still touched the field in front of you and suppressed the energy of the source, making it almost impossible to discover it. There was a reason why agents worked at night.

“Let’s split up”, if Hanna and you would stay together you would need the whole night to search the large field, that wasn’t an option.

With your ears perked up you wandered off to the left side. But all you heard was the crunch of your boots on the frozen earth. Disappointed but not surprised you glanced to Hanna. She was kneeling while her hand touched the soil. Hopefully she found something. Spending the entire night in that field wasn’t on your to-do list. It was already cold, and your Fittes uniform didn’t help to keep the chilling air at bay. You didn't even want to imagine how cold it would get when the sun went down, and the ghosts came out to play.

“Please tell me, that you found something”, by the sound of your voice Hanna jumped. Apparently, she didn’t hear you coming.

“Doesn’t this look awfully close to root remains to you?”

Crouching down, you had a closer look at the ground. All your life you lived in big cities and with The Problem, you weren’t a big outdoor fan. Therefore, you weren’t exactly sure, but one thing was certain, the soil here looked different from the rest of the field.

Closing your eyes, you took a page of Hanna’s book, and also laid your hand on the frozen earth. The first thing you felt was- not surprising- the fucking cold. But there was something else, deep inside the earth it had taken root. It made you tremble, a sick feeling spread inside your stomach and let a winning smile appear your lips. You found the place, where the gallows had been standing. Maybe this night would be tolerable.

You barely managed to set up a double circle of iron chains around the spot before the night started. Like every good team, you took turns digging. After one and a half hour of just switching who was digging, finally something happened.

You were just, taking a sip out of your thermos flask as Stephen next to you reached for his rapier. He was the Seer of your little group, and often he saw the visitors before the dreadful feeling, signalling their presence, washed over you. This time was no difference. Following Stephens gaze you discovered them. There were two of them, ghost mist had formed at their feet as they slowly floated towards you. You knew from experience that they could go much faster, but the fight just started.

The kids who had the sighting reported, didn’t lie. From the look of it, both ghosts were male, their heads were in such a weird angle that you got goosebumps. You hated Wraiths, why did they have to look like the way they died, that was disgusting.

Seeing their broken necks, you couldn’t help thinking about the last time you encountered Gallow Wraiths. The case had been at Mallows End in Wimbledon and Quill Kipps Team and your team had joined together. Because your team leader and Quill had been very good friends, you often had worked together and every time it had gone well. This time had not been an exception, fast you had rounded up the cluster of Wraiths, had neutralized the source and also had saved the team of Lockwood and Co. A victory like it was written in the books. You could still hear the sniggers of your best friend as you had spotted the team of Lockwood and Co. covered in earth and salt. Back then, that night, you had felt on top of the world. Now, not even a year later everything had changed. Your life had been better in the past, and while your friends stayed there you were forced to life alone in the present. If you could turn back time, you would do it without hesitating. Your life had been so much better before that night and every minute, with every breath you took, you missed them like crazy.

“Y/N, what should we do”, the sound of Stephens voice brought you back. Closing your thermos flask, you pulled out your rapier.

“We fight them off, of course”, to give Archie and Hanna more time to find the source. Lifting your rapier higher you took a deep breath before stepping outside the protection circle. You already lost one team; it wouldn't happen to you a second time.

Wraith, especially Gallows Wraith, were an aggressive kind of Type II ghosts. After only ten minutes of fending one off, the second one was handled by Stephen, you were soaking with sweat. Flinging a salt bomb, you watched breathless, as the ghost vanished, before you could hit him. Shame about the wasted salt bomb, but that could only mean one thing.

“We contained the source”, Hanna yelled from the hole she had dug. Relieve flowed through you and your body suddenly felt tons lighter.

“Great work everybody, let’s pack up everything and get back, I’m tired as fuck.”

Within a few minutes everybody had gathered his stuff, and you were on your way back to the little town. By the wall, Stephen rolled up the iron chains, he had left there, and then you all climbed over and wandered into town. With your thoughts you were already home ready to climb inside your bed. The last month had been hard for you, and your team, and now you wanted nothing more than to fall into your bed and sleep till noon. But hearing a loud yell thwarted your plans.

“Did you hear that?”, you turned to the others to make sure, that this wasn’t something you picked up with your talent.

“I think it came from this house?”, Archie pointed to a plain town house, and you all exchanged glances. It felt wrong to just ignore it. What if there was a ghost problem? But it wasn’t just your choice to made, your team also had to be on board.

“I know we are all tired, but we should check that out”, the other nodded approvingly and with that it was decided. Picking up your rapier, your hearth started to beat faster. Of course, you were nervous. You knew what could go wrong in your field of work, and what the consequences could be. To walk inside an unknown house without knowing what was waiting for you, could be a death sentence. But there was a person in need and your old team would be turning in their graves if you just walked away.

“We don’t know what will be waiting inside for us, so be alert and stay together”, you reminded your team while walking up to the house. Stopping in front of the front door you checked a last time, that everyone was ready, then you tried to open the door.

Unexpectedly the door wasn’t locked, but that wasn’t the biggest surprise. When you saw the chaos in the hallway, your eyebrows shot up and your mouth felt open. Was that George Karim lying under a fallen cupboard? From his colleagues Anthony Lockwood and Lucy Carlyle was no trace to be seen. The only other presence, beside Karim and your team, was the ghost, who was hovering over Karim. Slowly the ghost was reaching out and George tried desperate to free his hands to protect himself.

You on the other hand had seen enough. Grabbing a salt bomb, you hurled it at the ghost and with a wail it vanished. Losing no time, you rushed over to Karim.

“Help me”, you voiced to Hanna and Archie, before you threw Stephen a look, “Cover us!”

The three of you managed with a lot of huffs and complaining -manly from Karim- to free him.

“Where are the others and what are we dealing with?”, you gave Karim no time to recover from his time under the cupboard. This was a possible life-threatening situation, and you needed information to ensure the safety of your own team.

“Lucy is trying to find the source and Lockwood was locked in the cellar by a series of unfortunate events.”

Sceptical you exchanged glances with Hanna. A series of unfortunate events? This was Lockwood and Co, what did you expect? Without asking what he meant with this, you viewed your team and Karim. You needed a game plan, fast.

“Hanna please find Carlyle and help her by her search”, you began and with a nod she went in the direction Karim was showing her. “Stephen, Archie you both will hold the ghost at bay, and you and me, Karim, we will free Lockwood.”

You had enough fighting for one night and of course, you couldn’t miss your chance to free Lockwood and to gloat while doing it. You and Lockwood weren’t enemies but also not exactly friends. In front of your inner eye, you could already see Lockwood’s face, when he realized, who saved him. Oh, that would be so good. You couldn’t wait. Your mood was, for the first time this month, sky rocking.

“Please be not too hard on him, Y/L/N”, Karim begged you, while you two were on your way to the cellar. You just threw him a wink which made him massage his temples.

“You don’t understand, he will be unbearable.” That sounded like a problem for Karim, not for you.

When you reached the basement, you understood, what Karim meant with a series of unfortunate events. Several pieces of furniture had tipped over and were blocking the door. At this sight you were glad, that you took Karim with you. You were tired and would have been damned if you had to move all the furniture yourself.

“Lets the fun begin”, you stretched, before taking on the first furniture, a shelf. In silence Karim and you removed the furniture and when you pushed the last piece of furniture away sweat stood on your forehead and your arms hurt. Unfortunately, Karim beat you to it and opened the door. You took advantage of this and wiped the sweat from your forehead.

“George, what took you so long, I was-”, stepping through the door, Lockwood abruptly stopped when he saw you. As a reaction you only send him a bright smile. That made him blush, which only increased your smile.

“What are you doing here, love?”, awkwardly he cleared his throat.

“My team and I were just passing by, when we heard you needing help, pretty boy.” You didn’t know when you began with the nicknames. Thinking about it, you were sure, that Lockwood started it.

“We had everything under control?”

“This is what you call this chaos?”, amused you looked directly into his deep brown eyes. For a moment you just gazed at each other, till he looked away. A total win in your books.

“Do you both want to continue to flirt, or should we go back to the others?”, Karim chimed in and with this he succeeded in making both Lockwood and you blush.

“We weren’t flirting!”

“We flirting? Stop joking Karim!” You both yelled at the same time.

“Whatever help you both sleep at night.”

You met the others in the hallway, where you left Archie and Stephen. It looked like Carlyle and Hanna had found the source and contained it. Perfect, so now, after your small detour, you could find Frank and take the van back to London. Nobody looked hurt, which elicited a sigh of relief from you. After what happened last year around Christmas, every time your team finished a job unhurt, you felt a weight lifted from your chest.

“Good job everybody”, without missing a beat Lockwood shifted in the role of a leader, long forgotten was the awkward situation in the basement.

“We did most of the work, so we should get the payment for this case”, he continued, and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes. Without your team, Karim would be ghost-touched, and he would still be rotting in the basement. But you were too tired to argue with him and frankly, you didn’t care. Your team already finished a case this night, and you wouldn’t get paid more by Fittes by finishing another.

“If that makes you happy, why not?”, you stated, and it looked like your team agreed with you. Thanks god, the last thing you needed right now was, that one of them started to chew you out, for letting Lockwood and Co. keep the source.

“Why, thank you love”, he threw you a wink and for the second time in only a few minutes you rolled your eyes.

“Keep that up, and you can’t catch a ride with us back to London”, you shot back and before Lockwood could say anything stupid, Carlyle butted in.

“Please, it would be great if you could give us a ride back. I would kill to sleep in my own bed and not here.”        

Maybe you miscalculated a little bit. Maybe the van was a little bit too small for one adult, seven teenagers and all your equipment. Stephen was the lucky one and got the front seat next to Frank, while the rest of you were seated in the two rows in the back.

You ended up pressed between Lockwood and Archie in the middle seat. The only problem was that the middle seat was too small, that you were actually sitting either on the lap of Lockwood or Archie. This was a lose-lose-situation. Archie was thirteen years old, and you worked together while Lockwood was Lockwood.

At the end you opted to sit half on Lockwood’s lap and half in the empty space between the two boys. But you quickly realized that this wasn't a good solution either. Frank wasn’t a calm driver, he hit every pothole there was, and every time you nearly went flying. Only Lockwood’s arm around your waist stopped you from getting injured. Afterwards you always had to shuffle around, to find your seating position again.

After the third pothole Lockwood had enough. Without warning, he pulled you against his chest, that you were completely sitting on his lap. You couldn’t help to blush profoundly, and you were glad, that it was dark inside the car. At least you had stopped your startled yelp before it could escape your mouth.

“That’s easier”, he whispered against your ear and his breath on your skin gave you goosebumps. You always had liked pretty boys and Lockwood was exactly this, a pretty boy. Your old team had known this. They always had teased you about it, but this banter had died with them.

“Admit it, you just want me closer”, there was a bold smile on your lips as you tried to steady your heartbeat.

“Oh yes, totally”, you could hear the smile in his voice. And after a brief pause, he added, “Thank for helping us tonight, love.”

“For you, pretty boy, always.”

A ghost from the present

Tomorrow marked the anniversary of the worst event of your life. While everyone around you got into Christmas spirit by singing Christmas songs and buying presents, you were slowly becoming only a shell of yourself. More often than not you woke up screaming and soaked in sweat. Thankfully with your promotion to team leader you also had got your own room in the Fittes dorm, so you didn’t wake anybody else up with your screaming. All the sleep loss was gradually wearing you down, and it would have been a smart choice to request sick days. But who said that you were smart? At least not you.

This led to you finding yourself in a small one-room apartment in south London. The last tenant, a young woman, had committed suicide, and now it was your job to ride this flat of her ghost. After a quick talk with the landlord, who was a total asshole, and only interested to get the apartment ghost-free, so new tenants could move in and pay him money, you joined back with your team.

They already set up an iron circle, a precaution Fittes dictated their agents to do if there was a chance that the ghost would be a Type II. As one of Fittes prestige teams you always got the cases with Type II visitors.

Stifling a yawn, you were tired, and it wasn’t even four o ‘clock, you looked out of the window. It was a sad sight; the grey smog was hanging low and obscured the setting sun. You imagined how it was living here all alone. Without any friends and family, without anybody who noticed your disappearance. Nobody had thought about checking on her till the surrounding tenants had reported an unnatural chill at night. She was found one and a half week after she killed herself. Nobody deserved such a fate.

              

The first two hours nothing happened. Your team was sitting inside the iron circle and was sharing Christmas cookies Hanna had baked with her mother. You had to admit this was one of the few perks of Christmas.

Snacking one of the cookies you listened to your team talking. They were chatting about their private life, something you didn’t want to get involved in. Your old team had been like a family to you, and you lost them all. It wouldn't happen to you a second time. You always tried your best to ensure the survival of your team but at the end, so many agents died even without making any mistakes. That's why last year, as you had stood at the graves of your best friends and family, you had vowed never to let another agent get close to you again. You couldn’t feel this pain again, you wouldn’t survive this.

“Do you think I should ask Lucy Carlyle out for a date?”, questioned Hanna, and first you wondered why she was asking the team this question and not her friends, but then you remembered, that Stephen was Hanna’s best friend. They started together at Fittes and since then they were always putted together in the same team. Sometimes they remembered you of your best friend and you. For their sake you hoped that their friendship would have a different ending.

“Isn’t Carlyle dating Lockwood?” confused Stephen wrinkled his nose. Taking a sip of your tea you pricked your ear. That could be interesting.

“I’m not sure, hopefully not”, uncertain Hanna shrugged her shoulders.

“In the van Lockwood cuddled up to Y/N”, Archie chimed in, and you choked on your tea. This snitch!

“She was sitting on his lap, and they were whispering and giggling”, oh you would kill Archie. With joy, you would wring his little neck. Suppressing your murderous tendencies, you stood up.

“I will check the temperature again”, you declared, and no one dared to question you. In this situation your old team would have already pulled jokes. But you painfully remembered that this wasn't your old team.  

The Fittes Manuel for Ghost-hunter stated that the temperature should be taken in all four corners and the centre of the room. A cold spot in a room could help to find the source.

You were just checking the third corner when you heard it. It started with a soft crying, which only got stronger the longer you listened.

Then her misery hit you like a brick. Her sadness was coming over you like a wave, pushing you down and now matter how hard you tried you couldn’t resurface.

She was so lonely; nobody would miss her.

You saw a glow out of the corner of your eyes and without thinking you took a step towards it. There she was floating in front of you, she was beautiful, forever frozen in time. Seeing her, opened your eyes. You were lonely, you were sad, your grief would never vanish. She did the right thing, and you should also do it. Then you would be finally reunited with your chosen family.

Fumbling you tried to pull your rapier free. But before you could follow through a salt bomb exploded between you and the ghost. Your lips escaped a startled yelp as Stephen pulled you back into the iron circle. That was enough to break the ghost-lock. Without realizing you had started to cry.

“Just breath, we handle it”, Stephen whispered, before he stepped out of the iron circle to distract the ghost so Hanna and Archie could find the source. And you? You did exactly what he told you to do. Taking a deep breath, you couldn’t stop crying. You knew that you had been ghost-locked, it hadn’t been your emotions you had felt, but why did it still hurt so much? Death was ugly, you had realized this at the fatal night one year ago while clinching to your life and since then you saw it every night at work. Therefore, you didn’t want to die. Sometimes you just wanted that all the pain stopped. Digging your fingernails into your hand, you tried to ground yourself. The chilling air around you made it hard to remember, that you weren’t back there, that you had survived this dreadful night. And you would survive the following two years till you were eighteen and could stop working as agent without needing the approval of your awful parents first. You couldn’t wait to leave all of this behind.

Even while standing in the iron circle, you could still feel her pain and sadness. You were drowning in her never-ending despair. You tried to distract yourself but only when your team managed to secure the sources your tears dried. Seemingly shaken up you walked towards Stephen.

“Thanks for saving me, I wasn’t myself.”

You couldn’t help to feel ashamed; you were the oldest and most experienced out of your team, but you had been inattentive and had got ghost-locked.

“We are a team, you would have done the same for me”, Stephen reassured you and his words left you with a warm feeling inside your chest.

“Are you alright?”, he followed with a question, you could never answer honestly. Because you weren’t alright, since a year ago you hadn’t been alright, and sometimes, when your loneliness overwhelmed you, you wondered whether you would ever be alright again.

“Yes, why not?”, the lie came easily to you and if Stephen saw through you, he didn't dare contradict you.

“What is the source”, you successfully tried to change the topic.

“A picture of her and a boy, we found it under a loose floorboard”, Hanna butted in while still holding the silver net.

“I can bring it to the furnaces”, you offered, and you could see your team exchange looks. Most of the time you gave the source to your supervisor, and he took care of it, but sometimes an agent of a team did it. Right now, you needed it. You needed to bring her story to an end. Besides, you couldn’t go back in your lonely room, you just couldn’t, not after all what happened.

“We can join you”, Stephen volunteered, but you just shook your head, you had to do this alone.

The furnaces were owned by Fittes, therefore, you didn’t have to wait too long, not like the agents from other agencies.

As you stepped outside it was long past midnight, and it was snowing. You couldn’t help but remember the last time, it had snowed. The snow had spread over London like a thin blanket and for a brief moment had drowned out the loud buzzing of the city. It had just been you and your best friend. You had been on your way back from a case and only had stopped to watch the snow falling. First you had your face turned to the sky, then you had been laughing and dancing together. Back then you had been happy and only eight days later she was dead, and you were fighting for your life in the hospital.

You weren’t realizing that you were crying till you felt something wet dripping from your chin. Not wanting somebody to see you this way, you hastily wiped your face. But you just couldn’t stop. Everything had been too much. Ashamed you looked around before fleeing into the shadow of the building. There you slid down the wall to the ground. Not minding the cold, you cried miserably. Today was the one-year anniversary of their death and you felt so alone. While everyone around you was getting into Christmas spirit you were grieving. Fighting this ghost had only shown you, how lonely you really felt. But you couldn’t help yourself, you couldn’t risk it again.

You didn’t know how long you were sitting there. The cold had already creeped inside your bones and left you shivering. First you didn’t hear him coming. Only when he stopped right in front of you, the snow crunching under his converse, you realized that you weren’t alone any more.

“What are you doing here, love?”, you recognized his voice immediately. Gazing up, you heard Lockwood taking a surprised breath as he looked at your face. You could imagine how you were locking, red rimmed and swollen eyes and a runny nose. Without a doubt, you had seen better days.

“Oh love”, he muttered so quiet you almost didn't catch it. Then he started to shred out of his coat. You just could gape like an idiot.

“You must be freezing”, bending down to you, he put his coat around you.

“I can’t-”, he stopped you, before you could shake it off.

“I insist!”, he threw you one of his charming smiles and in the middle of your attempt you froze. Even you had to amid, that this was nice. His coat was still warm from his body heat and smelled just like him. You had to force yourself not to bury your face in it.

“Let’s get you out of this cold, love”, grabbing your half-frozen hands, he pulled you to your feet. He didn’t comment on how cold they were, which you were thankful of; you were already ashamed enough. Furthermore, he didn’t let go of your hand, till you reached your destination, a small café that was still open.

As you entered the café you scanned the customers. Thankfully beside a few kids from the night watch it was empty.

While Lockwood went to the counter, he insisted on paying, you looked for a place in the farthest corner. You were still shivering when Lockwood returned with two steaming cups of tea.

“Why are you so nice?”, you asked as the was taking a seat on the other side of the table.

“Why shouldn’t I?” Not knowing what to say, you just shrugged your shoulders. You weren’t exactly friends; he didn’t have to be nice to you.

“I know what day today is, how are you feeling?” Surprised your eyebrows shot up. You didn’t expect that somebody would realize it.

“Why do you care?”, you repeated yourself.

“Why shouldn’t I?”

“Because nobody else cares.”

This confession silenced both of you. Not able to bear his gaze, you looked down at your tea. For a few moments you both were silent, only the Christmas song playing was heard, before you spoke up again.

“Tonight, we had to handle a ghost of a young woman, who killed herself. She had no one and was only found one and a half week after she killed herself”, you started, and your voice wasn’t more than a whisper. Lockwood had to lean in to hear you.

“I could feel her never ending sadness”, you deliberately left out the fact that her spirit had successful ghost-locked you, “and I couldn’t help to think, that nobody would miss me. If I were her, nobody would have found me.” It hurt to speak it out loud. But it was the truth, and you knew well enough, that the truth hurt.

“I would miss you, love.”

No, he wouldn’t.

“You’re just saying this, because it’s expected in this kind of situation.” Joyless laughing, you looked up for the first time. He was still gazing at you, and you could see the pain behind his eyes.

“Do you remember the first time we met?” he changed the topic breathless, and you weren’t sure. Did you meet before he started his own agency?

“I’m not sure?”, you muttered.

“It was at a rapier competition held by Fittes. You did well, but eventually lost to an older opponent. An older boy tried to comfort you, but weren’t sad, you were just glad that it was over.”

That sounded like you and if you had to guess you would say, the older boy had been Sasha, your old team leader. Oh, how you missed him.

“I have seen you at this day and since then I always saw you.”

For a moment your heart stopped, nobody had ever said something like this to you. Damn you, Anthony Lockwood. You had made a swear to yourself. Why did he have to make it so difficult for you?

“I have sworn to myself to never let another agent in. I don’t want- I can’t feel this pain again”, you told him and while doing this you put all your cards on the table. First you thought he wouldn’t understand it. That he would call you too dramatic. But he surprised you.

“After I lost my whole family, I decided to never get close to somebody again, so I wouldn’t leave anybody behind when I died.”

Hearing that made your heart clench. It looked like both of you knew too well, how it was to get left behind.

“And how is this going for you?”, you had seen him with his team, he would die for them. That was anything but keeping everyone at a distance.

“It gets lonely fast and is totally not worth it”, he confessed, and you scrunched your nose. Somehow you couldn't shake the feeling that you were missing something in this conversation. But what was it?

“So, what do you want to say? That you would like us to be friends?” Lockwood hesitated for a moment, and you feared he would turn you down. But then he presented you with a smile, which made his brown eyes shine.

“I would love to be your friend.”       

                 

When you came home, you could barely keep your eyes open. Turing into the hallway where your room was, you huffed in surprise. You didn’t expect to find Quill Kipps leaning against your door. It looked like, he felt asleep while waiting for you to come home. This gesture elicited a small smile from you. Squatting down you shook his shoulder to wake him up.

“What time is it?”, he mumbled, still half asleep.

“Around four in the morning. I want in my bed, and you’re blocking my door.”

That woke him finally fully up.

“I heard about your case”, he told you while standing up.

Unlocking your room, you kept the door open, so Quill could follow you inside. Moonlight was falling through your window, illuminating your room. Without turning on the light, you stepped up to your desk.

“Considering what day we have, I wanted to ask you how you're doing.”

Looking down at the only picture which was on your desk, the corners were worn out, and the paper was curled from tears, you remembered, that you weren’t the only one, who lost them one year ago. Quill had been Sasha’s best friends. Sometimes you wondered if Sasha and Quill had been more than just friends. But Sasha was dead, so it didn’t matter any more.

“You are the only person, who worries about me”, besides Lockwood, it seems.

Back then, Quill also had been there for you. He had been with you in the hospital, as you had woken up after this fatal night. Not your family, him. He had been with you, as you realized that it hadn’t been a nightmare, as you realized what your new reality was and what was missing from it.

“That’s not true. Your team also worries about you otherwise they wouldn’t have told me, what happened tonight.”

“They aren’t my team, my team is dead”, maybe you shouted this out louder than you intended. And when Quill recoiled, you immediately regretted it.

“If you continue to push everyone away from you, you will end up like the ghost you fought tonight, alone”, Quill snapped and without waiting for your response he turned on the spot and stormed out of the room.

A ghost from the future

The ghost was mocking you; you were sure of it.

But let’s start at the beginning. There were only four days left till Christmas, Quill was still not speaking with you after your latest slip up, and you really regretted what you said. You would even sing a Christmas carol in front of all your colleagues if that meant Quill forgave you. It wasn't until he stopped talking to you that you realized how much you actually needed him. Yeah, you and Lockwood were now “friends”, but since this one night you hadn’t seen each other. Without your daily small talk with Quill, you felt totally alone.

Your case was at an old hotel which was undergoing renovations. With every step the floorboards creaked, and the fact that the visitor had already killed one worker didn’t help to calm your nerves. Your team had started your investigation at the site of the murder. But none of you had picked something up expected the unnatural pulsation which you felt in the entire building.

Therefore, you had decided to split up. While Hanna and Stephen went in one direction you and Archie walked in the other. Shining your flashlight down the dark hallway, you closed your eyes to hopefully pick something up. Yet all you heard was the tapping of Archie’s feet.

“Please, could you just stop”, you snapped, perhaps a little harsher than you intended.

“I’m not doing anything.”

O hell no! These words were enough to fasten your heartbeat. Trying to keep your panic in check, you once turned around in a circle, while shining your torch everywhere you could reach. But no visual sign of the ghost. Nobody could tell you, what kind of ghost was haunting the building. This putted you on edge. Maybe it was a type of ghost short of any kind of visual apparition, like a Screaming Spirit or a Poltergeist, and without you knowing, the ghost was close by. Back in your head you knew that this was highly unlikely, because, except the unnatural pulsation and the tapping, you hadn’t picked anything up. No chill, no malaise, no miasma and also no creeping fear.

“Let’s continue”, you said and turned to the spot where Archie had been standing a few seconds ago.

But now it was empty.

You couldn’t help but curse. What was Archie thinking? He couldn’t just vanish.

“Archie, that’s not funny”, you called into the empty hallway. Your heart was pounding, and you could feel how the flashlight in your hand became slippery from sweat.

“Archie?”, you echoed again and tried not to show your growing angst, not wanting to trigger the ghost.

“Archie?”, he didn’t answer and never before had the silence been so devastating. Pulling your rapier, you started to jog in the only direction he could have vanished. Every room you passed, you checked for him. But he left without a trace.

“Archie?”

Then you heard it. The tapping. With raised rapier you spun around, and there he stood. First you didn’t want to believe your eyes. However, if you had learned one thing, then that you could trust your gut feeling. And the sickening feeling inside your stomach told you, that in front of you stood a ghost. His figure was slightly transparent, while an otherworldly light radiated from him.

“Why are you so afraid, love?”, his voice was soft like velvet. You were torn between running to him and fleeing. But most of all you were confused.

“Y-Y-You are-“

“-dead? Yes”, he finished what you couldn’t say.

“Why are you surprised? Anyone you get too close to dies”, sneered Lockwood.

That wasn’t true! You also wanted to say this, but the words got stuck in your throat. This couldn’t be true. He couldn’t be dead. Overwhelmed tears started running down your cheek.

“I never wanted this”, you sobbed. But that was the thing about guilt, good intentions didn't save you from it.

“I am dead, and you are responsible for it.”

Your first instinct was to apologize, but then it was like somebody had turned a switch. Lockwood would never say something like this to you! If he died, he would solely hold himself responsible. At this moment you finally realized what was happening. You were facing a fucking Fetch. But why did the ghost choose the shape of Lockwood? Did he want to call you out for not having other friends?

Angry and a little bit embarrassed you finally started to fight this motherfucking ghost. All it took was a few hits with your rapier for the Fetch to disappear. Shaken up you took a deep inhale. Sometimes you really hated your job- scratch that- most of the time, you hated this job and cases like this showed you, that you were right in doing so. With the ghost gone an invisible weight lifted from your chest, and you could finally breathe again. Now you just had to find Archie. After what just happened, this should be a walk in the park. Picking up the flashlight you didn’t even knew you had dropped, you tried to listen to your surroundings. First you heard nothing, then slowly you picked up a sobbing. To follow a sobbing in a haunted house always bore a risk. Easily you could stumble in the next nightmare, but you had to risk it. It paid off, turning around the next corner, you saw Archie kneeling in the hallway. Rushing to him, you pulled him into a hug.

“Are you OK? Did it touch you?”, your eyes darted over him in panic.

“My mum”, the younger boy sobbed, and you knew what the Fetch had shown him.

“It wasn’t real, that was a Fetch”, you tried to comfort him, but it didn’t help. Archie was caught in his own world of despair.

“We have to find the others to warn them.”

Continuing to cry he didn’t listen to you. Overwhelmed you rubbed your face. You couldn’t leave Archie here. Even if you would put an iron circle around him, you couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't just step out when the fetch appeared again. But you also couldn't carry him around with you the whole time you were looking for Hanna and Stephen. What should you do? There was only one solution you could think of.

“Get up”, using all your strength, you pulled Archie to his feet before slinging his arm over your shoulder. His entire weight was on you as you navigated your way to the stairs. After only a few meters you were already sweating like crazy. Archie was heavier than he looked.

That was also your downfall on the stairs. Unable to keep both of your weights upright, your leg gave way beneath you. A startled yelp escaped your lips when you felt down the stairs. For a moment it seems like your world was burning. There was pain everywhere. Not wanting to attract the ghost, you bit on your tongue to stop yourself from screaming. Was this how you were going to die? Getting ghost-touched after you felt down the stairs? You couldn't accept that; you owed it to the others. Picking yourself up in burning pain, every breath hurt like hell, you staggered towards Archie.

“Please stand up, please”, you begged, and you could have cried as Archie struggled to his feet, groaning.

“Why did you throw me down a stair?”, whined Archie, you couldn’t help to laugh, which hurt, by the way, like hell. At least he was responding again. The rest of the way to the foyer you supported each other. As you entered, Frank your supervisor, who was waiting in an iron circle, looked up.

“What happened?”, he asked alarmed, and you could only imagine how wrecked you both looked.

“Nobody told us it would be a Fetch; we weren’t prepared, and it succeeds in separating us.” This was only the short version of the events, but it was enough to paint the picture.

“I have to go back and get the others”, you declared while helping Archie to sit down inside the circle. Maybe Fetch were rarely aggressive, but they were so confusing that they could be dangerous. They often mimed a loved one and therefore one could easily try to touch them. Everybody knew that touching a ghost was a catastrophic idea.

“Do you have a guess where and what the source is?”, Frank asked and ashamed you had to shake your head. You had no plan.

“So, two of my agents are hurt, two are missing, and we don’t know where the source is?”, summarized Frank, and it was as bad as it sounded. You gritted your teeth in frustration.

“I will call for back up, they will get Stephen and Hanna.”

“Stephen and Hanna could be dead by the time they get here!”

You just couldn’t accept Frank’s decision. Not if it were your team members who could be dying as you were speaking.

“You are hurt, going back could easily be your dead sentence.”

“I know, but I have to do it.”

“OK than go.” He didn’t have to tell you twice. With a grateful nod you hurried of.  

Every breath you took felt like inhaling smoke, it burned like hell. Maybe you sprained one or more ribs by your fall. But you didn’t let the pain slow you down. Quill would throw a fit if he ever found out, that you went back injured to possible face the ghost. But hopefully he would never find out.

“Stephen? Hanna?”, you yelled and tried to keep your voice emotionless. Ghost fed of strong emotions like anger or fear, and you didn’t want to give the ghost more fuel. You stepped inside a windowless hallway and hectic your flashlight darted around. But beside you nobody was here.

“Stephen? Hanna?”, you tried again, and finally you got a response.

“Y/N?”, you heard Stephen.

Fastening your steps, you ignored the pain. Of course, this could be the Fetch, who was toying with you. However, you were desperate. In your mind you were back in the house were your whole team died. But this time you could make the difference; you could save them. This time you would save them. Following the sound of Stephens voice your sprinted around a corner to crash right into him. Before you could fall, he caught you. If he were the ghost, you would be dead now.

“It’s a Fetch, the ghost is a fucking Fetch”, you told him breathless and with newfound horror Stephen returned your gaze.

“I lost Hanna!” 

What did he mean by lost? Did they get separated or was she dead? Dreadful you waited for an explanation. But you never got one.

“Is she-“, you couldn’t say it. But you didn’t have to. Without waiting, Stephen turned around.

“Hanna?”, he yelled and that could mean only one thing. She wasn’t dead, yet.

Following Stephen, you grab his hand.

“You can’t just run off, we have to be focused”, that was rich coming from you, but Stephen didn’t know this.

“You are right, I’m just-“, lost for words Stephen ran his hand down his face.

“It’s OK, where did you see her the last time?”

“Not far from here.”

“Can you show it to me?” Stephen nodded curtly. Without saying another word, he started to walk. While trailing after him, you tried to pick something up, some clue. Fully concentrated you ran your hand over the slowly peeling wallpaper. But you only heard the creaking of the floorboards. You couldn’t help but to asked yourself if you would be too late. Hanna was a good agent, but so had been your friends. Hopefully could you spare Stephen the pain you still felt every day.

You didn’t know how long you were wandering through the labyrinth of hallways. One moment you just heard the creaking under your shoes, the next you heard a tapping. That familiar sound made your blood run cold in your veins. The ghost was close.

“Hanna? Hanna!”, Stephen yelled in front of you, before he took off.

Not wanting to be left behind, to get separated again wasn’t an option, you sprinted after him. Turning the corner, you just barely stopped before crashing in Stephen. Peeking out from behind his back, you saw what had caused him to freeze.

There was Hanna facing the ghost.

“I’m sorry”, she uttered, before she reached out and touched the ghost.

This was enough to get you moving. Before she could do something even stupider, like hug the ghost, you threw a salt bomb. It exploded between them and covered both in salt. While the ghost vanished, Hanna collapsed to the ground.

“Hanna! Please no!”, with a heart-wrenching scream rushed Stephen to his best friend. You were just standing there, unmoving. This couldn’t happen, not again!

“Y/N what should we do? We can’t let her die!”, he cradled her against his chest, while looking to you for help. But your mind was blank.

“Y/N, help!”, this pulled you finally out of your stupor. It wasn’t too late to save her, you just had to hurry.

“We have to get her to Frank”, maybe your supervisor already called an ambulance to tend to Archie and you. Hopefully he already called one, because this was the only way to save her.

While Stephen was carrying Hanna you both ran like the devil was hot on your heels. The way back to the foyer felt like one of these never-ending streets you normally encountered in nightmares. As you finally reached it, you could see through the windows the flashing lights of the ambulance.

“She was ghosted-touch”

“Help, we need help”, Stephen and you yelled at the same time and everyone in the foyer, which was crowded by Fittes Agents, looked up to you. For the second time in a short period, you had to run down a stair. But this time you didn’t fall. While a few agents came to help Stephen carry Hanna to the ambulance none other than Quill Kipps rushed to you. You met in the middle of the room, and he pulled you in a bone crushing hug. You couldn’t help but let out a painful yelp. Quill immediately let go of you.

“Never do something like this again, do you hear me?” Exhausted you could only nod.

“You are the only thing I have left of him! When I got the backup call and realized that it was your team, which was hurt, I got a heart attack. Never do this to me again!“

"I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry for everything, you must believe me.” The tears had just dried, and now you were crying again, great.

“I was a total bitch. I was acting like just I lost them. But you also lost them and nevertheless you were there for me”, ashamed you looked down at your feet. You hadn’t been a good friend the last year and that you were grieving wasn’t a good enough excused.

“I lost Sasha, you lost them all, I could never be mad at you for the way you're grieving. And now let’s get you to the paramedics.”

Carefully, as if you were made of glass, Quill laid an arm around your shoulder and pulled to the ambulance. The flashing lights illuminated the night and there was no sign of dawn coming anytime soon. As you stepped outside, one of the two waiting ambulances drove off, probably to take Hanna to the hospital. Also, you didn’t see Stephen anywhere, hopefully he had been able to accompany Hanna.

By the other ambulance Frank and Archie were already waiting for you. “There she is”, Frank told the paramedic, before setting his eyes on Quill.

“Mr. Kipps, shouldn’t you lead your team by the search for the source?” Caught Quill nodded.

“You make sure you're feeling well again, I'll take care of the spirit, and we'll talk tomorrow”, he said to you, before he vanished inside the haunted building. Looking after him, you surrendered to your fate and climbed into the ambulance, to get checked up.

If somebody had asked you in the past, whether you see yourself as a lucky person, you would have laughed. But after this night in the hotel, you couldn’t deny it. Your whole team had got lucky. Hanna had survived the ghost-touch, Archie had escaped with a minor concussion, and you had only sprained one rib. This case could have ended much worse, and you were so glad, that it didn’t.

Since three quarters of your team was unavailable for action, you were given paid leave over Christmas. You weren’t sure what to think. Quill had to work, so you didn’t have anybody to celebrate with. And to spend Christmas alone wasn’t an option. Your last cases had shown you, that you were your own worst enemy.   

As agreed, you and Quill met up at the next day. There were only three days left until Christmas and both of you knew what that meant.

“We should go together to the Fittes Christmas Party”, Quill stated, and you choked on your tea.

“The party is tonight!”, last year you didn’t attend, and you were sure, that you wouldn’t fit inside your dress from two years ago.

“And? If I’m not mistaken you love these kinds of parties.”

You had loved these parties, when your old team had been still alive, and you had gone together. Most of the time Quill had joined you, and you had to lie, if you would say, that it hadn’t been fun. But without them? It wouldn’t be the same.

“I have no dress.”

“Kate also needs one, she’s going to go dress shopping in an hour, you could join her.”

Suspiciously you narrowed your eyes. Was he trying to set you up like a toddler for a play date?

“Are you hoping Kate and I become friends through dress-shopping?”

“Would that be too bold?”

“Possibly not.” You could need some friends. Some friends which you saw on regular basic, not like Lockwood. Besides going to the party could be nice. And you loved dress-shopping. It would be good for you to get a bit of normality in your life again.

“OK, I’m in.”

Dress-shopping with Kate was more fun than you expected. In the past you had underestimated her. You had always seen her of one of Quills shadows. But she was nice. So nice, that you decided to get ready together for the party.

Twirling in front of Kate’s mirror, in the first time since ages, you looked nice. There was colour in your cheeks you had long missed. Finally, you resembled more your old self than a half-dead corpse.

“Are you hoping to meet someone special tonight?”, Kate asked out of the blue and your first instinct was to deny the question. But as she was asking you saw his face in front of your inner eye. So, denying the question would be a lie.

“Maybe?”, you weren’t exactly sure, why you were thinking about Lockwood right now. Since the Fetch took his appearance, he wouldn’t leave your mind.

“OK who is it?”, leaning forward curiously Kate stopped applying her mascara. While you had had a good time with Kate you were torn if you could tell her your “dirty” secret. If Quill ever heard about it, he would kill you.

“You must swear that you will never tell anybody, what I will tell you now. Especially not Quill!” you demanded while playing nervously with your fingers.

“I swear”, solemnly Kate put her hand over her heart. But it didn’t help calm your nerves. You couldn’t help but wonder if Kate would make fun of you. However, you had to tell it somebody.

“It’s Lockwood”, you confessed and could watch how processed the news. First, she looked shocked then something like understanding flashed in her eyes.

“Quill will kill him if he ever hears that you fancy him.”

“I would exactly say that I fancy him.” He just haunted your thoughts like a ghost, but in a good way.

“Do you like somebody?”, you tried to shift the attention away from you.

“I can’t, you will laugh!”, awkward Kate shuffled in her heels.

“I told you I maybe like Lockwood; your crush can’t be worse.”

“Almost every girl at Fittes likes Lockwood, at least until he opens his mouth. So, you can’t compare this.”

Of course, you had seen how some of the other girls at Fittes eyed Lockwood. Who could blame them? Lockwood was good-looking, that was a fact. And technical speaking you were a wrack and had no chance. But maybe you could talk a little bit tonight, like friends did.

“I will not make fun of you, so spill.” You told her who you liked, so it was only fair, if she told you too. Wasn’t that like a rule in the girl code? You were a bit rusty when it came to this. Your only friends had been your old team and back then you hadn’t had any secrets from each other.

“Fine, it’s Stephen, happy now?”

“Yes and no worry, I will not tell anyone. But Stephen is very nice and there is no shame in liking him.” Maybe he would also like her back. They deserved happiness. In your field of work many passed away far to young. You should make most of your life while you still could.

“It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas”, filled the air. Around you people were cheerfully chatting and laughing away. Standing beside Quill and Kate you sipped on your champagne. Both were looking magnificent. You tried to appear happy, but your memories were overwhelming you. You couldn’t help but to think about the last time you attended the Christmas Party, about all the fun you had. How you had kissed Joey, one of your team members under the mistletoe, how your teeth had crushed, and you hadn’t stopped laughing for ten minutes.

“Everything alright, Y/N?”, Quills voice brought you back from the past. With a sad smile on your lips, you turned around to face him.

“Yes, just thinking about all the fun we had at this party.”

“Being here, I also miss them like crazy. But they would want us to have fun.” In the past you hated this phrase. Nobody knew what the dead really wanted. But when Quill said this, you could only agree with him. They would want Quill and you to have fun.

“Let’s dance!”, emptying your glass you took Quills hand and pulled him to the dance floor.

“Oh no”, he tried to protest, “Sasha warned me to never dance with you if I value my feet.”

“Too late”, you just laughed, and after a short second Quill joined in your laughter. This was the moment you spotted Lockwood. Your eyes met from across the room. Still laughing you gave him a big smile. But this little exchange came to an end when Quill took your hands and started to spin you around the dance floor. Closing your eyes, you tried to just live in this moment.

Quill and you danced to four songs, before you agreed that you needed a quick break. While Quill made a dash for the refreshment table you started to wander around aimlessly. That’s how it happened that you ended in front of one of the famous relic columns. The otherworldly light illuminated your face, while you watched the ghost floating around. You never really like the columns; they were far too flashy.

“Hi”, a raspy voice sounded next to you, and you would have recognized that voice anywhere.

“Hi”, you breathed out, while turning around to him.

“Ahm-“, he cleared his throat and a small blush began spreading on his face, “-you look amazing, love.”

“You too, pretty boy.”

The word “Amazing” came not even close to how you would describe Lockwood’s appearance. You only knew him in his suit and coat but toady it looked, like he had put in a lot of effort and was wearing his best suit with a Christmas tie.

“You look happy and-“, nervous he looked away before he stopped in the middle of the sentence. Following his eyes, you understood why. There was a mistletoe and you and Lockwood were standing right under it. With wide eyes you glanced back to him, only to see him already looking at you, or looking at your lips. Unconsciously you licked them. If it was possible Lockwood’s pupils dilated at this sight.

“I-I”, you started, not really sure what you actually wanted to say. But Lockwood beat you to it. Not waiting he cupped your face inside his hands. Your heart was beating so loud, that he must hear it. And then finally he bridged the distance and kissed you. The kiss tasted of mulled wine and cinnamon. At this moment you could have died happily. But all to quickly Lockwood broke the kiss. With a red blush on his cheeks, he ran his hand through his hair, and you were sure, you weren’t looking anything better.

“I-I-I think G-G-George called me, I-I-I have to go”, he stuttered and without waiting for your response he dashed away.

Confused you got left behind. What was this? He couldn’t just kiss you and run away. Friends didn’t do something like this to each other.

Angry and embarrassed at the same time, you started to search for Quill. You wanted to go back to your room, but you weren't going to let Anthony bloody Lockwood ruin your fucking evening. 

When you stormed to Quill, he was already looking at you. Without a word he handed you his champagne glass. Thankful nodding you downed the whole thing.

“Do you want to talk about it”, Quill asked carefully, as if you were about to rip his head off.

“I don’t exactly know what this was”, ashamed you gesticulated back to the column.

“Do you like him?” Still flustered you nod.

“Look, Tony is the biggest idiot I know, but he isn’t an asshole. Just talk to him.” Talk to him? After he left you standing there like an idiot? Hell no!

“Ether, you talk to him, or you both will be so ashamed, that you will avoid each other. Do you want that it ends, without getting an actual shot at it?” Did you want this? Of course not. However, it was easier to say than to do. He kissed you, that should count for something. Nervously you played with the rim of your dress.

“Maybe I should.”

It didn’t take you long to find him. He had his back to you and was talking frantically to Lucy and George. You couldn’t hear what he was saying and as you got closer, Lucy spotted you. She said something to Lockwood which got him to stop talking. Then he turned around to face you and for a moment you forget how to breath.

“We will be over there, watching -ahm- the paintings”, without waiting for your responses, Lucy grabbed George and pulled him away.

You had rarely been more nervous in your life than at this moment. You didn’t know what you wanted to say. Accuse him to left you standing back there like an idiot?

“I’m so sorry, love”, Lockwood whispered just loud enough from you to hear, forestalling you.

“I’m so sorry. I purely panicked. You were standing there looking absolute beautiful and me idiot just kissed you without asking. I’m sorry if I ruined our friendship. I know you don’t want to be something more than friends and, in the future, I will respect your wish, if you forgive me. So please love, forgive me”, rambled Lockwood nervously on.

You could just stare at him. He liked you? A giddy feeling started to spread inside your entire body. He liked you! Gathering all your courage you took a step towards him.

“I’m going to do that thing in the film where I shut you up by kissing you. Sound good?”

Perplexed Lockwood just nodded.

“Great”, without further ado, you grab him by his tie and pulled him down to kiss him. Your lips moved in sync, and you could feel Lockwood smiling into the kiss. This time nobody backed away. Only when your lungs screamed for air did you break the kiss. Never before in your life did you felt this amazing. Just kissing him made you feel warm and flustered.

You had just enough time to take a deep breath before he kissed you again. This kiss was more heated. If it were up to you, you could kiss Lockwood all day long.

But the sound of someone clearing his throat made you part. “The kids nowadays”, an old guy muttered, while passing you.

However, instead of sinking into the ground in embarrassment, you could only beam at Lockwood. You were far too happy to let a random old man destroy it. Still with your arms around his neck, you gazed up to Lockwood. You were all too aware of his hands on your hips, pressing you tightly against him.

“You don’t know how long I waited for this, love”, Lockwood muttered while laying his forehead against you. You silently had to agree with him, you also waited far too long for this.

“It looks like we have a lot of kisses to catch up on”, you laughed, and Lockwood didn’t need to be told twice. Smiling like a madman he pampered your face with light kisses, while you couldn’t help but giggle.

Christmas Carols were playing in the background, and you felt happy like never before. As a kid you loved Christmas, and maybe you could start to love it again.

A/N: I wish you all a wonderful Christmastime! The story is only vaguely based on a Christmas Carol, I hope you still enjoyed it.

#anthony lockwood #lockwood & co #lockwood and co #lockwood & co fanfic #lockwood netflix #anthony lockwood x reader #fanfic #lockwood x reader

[goldenamaranthe-blog]

Bumbleby Week 2023: Belated Day 2 - Sacrifice

Teams RWBY, JNR, CVFY, and SSSN are standing in Headmaster Theodore's office with Qrow, Raven, Winter, and Ozcar.

Theodore: Thank you all for coming at such short notice. We've just received a report that there's a wall of Grimm moving across the desert towards the city. They're expected to be here tomorrow morning.

Qrow: Tomorrow morning?!

Theodore: At the latest...

Ozcar: You've already made a decision on what to do next. I can tell. What is it?

Theodore: (sighs) We need time to evacuate the residents. The only way I can see that working is if we have a security force stationed on the city's outskirts to intercept the wall.

Raven: But.... that's a suicide mission.

Theodore: (silence)

Raven: .......You're looking for volunteers before you order people to die for the city.

Qrow: (slams fists against Theodore's desk) Are you serious?!

Theodore: Look! It's not ideal, but it's the only solution we have!

Everyone: (start arguing and shouting)

Yang: How many people do you need?

Everyone: (silence)

Ruby: Yang?

Weiss: (shocked silence)

Blake: (staring blankly)

Theodore: (stares in surprise) There's a 50% chance for success if we have 100 volunteers.

Qrow: Just call them cattle with how you're sending them out to the slaughter.

Yang: .....I'll do it.

Everyone: (stares at Yang in shock)

Raven: The hell you are.

Yang: You don't get to-

Raven: Not by yourself. Sign me up.

Weiss: Can we maybe take a minute to-

Blake: EXCUSE YOU!!!

Yang: (winces)

Blake: (sets herself firmly in front of Yang so she can't look away) Have you learned absolutely NOTHING from Atlas?! From the vault?!

Yang: Blake...

Blake: We separated during the Mantle-Amity disaster, and I was worried sick about you. You were thrown from the platform, and I thought I lost you forever. (Tearing up angrily) Now you want to throw yourself into a suicide mission?!

Yang: (curls in slightly on herself) Blake...

Blake: Don't! Just... don't.... I need a minute. (Turns and walks out the door)

-Door Slams-

Everyone: (silent)

Weiss: (to Yang) Well?

Yang: Well, what?

Weiss: Stop being a moron and go talk to her!

Yang: She asked for a minute.

Weiss: So you go after her, wait for sixty seconds, then go up to her, throw yourself onto the ground, and beg for forgiveness for being a dumbass!

Yang: (slightly taken aback and looks to Qrow)

Qrow: Don't look at me. My love life hasn't been much outside of a few one night stands.

Yang: (Looks to Raven)

Raven: I'm with the miniature snowman.

Weiss: Hey!

Raven: Go talk things out. No decision will be set until you both come to an agreement you can work with.

Theodore: We don't have time for-

Qrow & Raven: (eyes glint as they draw their swords)

Theodore: (cowers into his seat)

Yang: R-Right! Right! Wish me luck! (Sprints out the door after Blake)

#sacrifice #your life is more than what you can do for others #bumbleby #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #rwby #angst #weiss schnee #raven branwen #qrow branwen #theodore #theodore gets pink because i say so #a day late fornday 2 #bumbleby week 2023

[toubledrouble]

In the honor of my uranium post, here are more things my chemistry teacher has said and done:

Explained that actually electro cars are stupidly unecological because they use lithium batteries - creating them ruins the environment and we have no clue how to get rid of them

Microplastics in our blood are his favourite topic

Artificially supplied hormones and how they get from our bodies through the sewer systems to water (we can't filter them) where they mess up fish and make them gay (then the fish die) and then apparently make people gay. Somehow. He didn't elaborate because he was too busy with calculating how many gay people should statistically be in our class (it was like 3.5 btw)

Keeps bringing up how he supports gay people because there isn't enough love in the world ("but you at the last desk please do whatever you're doing at home, this is a chemistry class")

Explained how his hearing and sight work - apparently, now he can't enjoy much music because his hearing makes them sound out of tune

Talked about their fave kdramas with my friend

So many 'fun' stories from his past jobs (like when one of his university students committed suicide by poisoning himself with something they were working with in the middle of his class. Out of unrequited love. It was a very dangerous solution or something and he died before they could help him)

Frequently reminds us that we shouldn't swing on our chairs because he has already seen a human brain on the floor and doesn't really want to repeat that experience (another work accident)

The last class before Christmas break, he came in in full Christmas themed clothing (an ugly sweater, a winter had with a white front that he turned into a snowman, reindeer shoes, you name it)

Calculated how many wind turbines would it take to replace Temelín

Proceeded to calculate that they would make a straight line from said Temelín to Belgium

When our medic group was at a competition, he came to walk with us and our teacher with a tote bag where he had bananas that he then handed out and made us eat them

Also gave us good marks for participating in the competition because safety is important in a lab

Complained that we as a country care too much about other ecological/economical problems when we have our own ("mně je tygřík usurijský srdečně u prdele")

Talked about how our economy went to shit with the nazis and them the communists. Again, in chemistry, for some reason

He follows our school meme page (I'm one of the creators so this made me happy) and he laughs at the memes, even the ones about him

Told me that moravians (for context: I'm moravian but now live in central bohemia) are the best people

Made fun ways to explain chemistry to us when someone didn't understand the original versions (instead of repeating how one atom replaces another and creates a different solution, he made an explanation using relationships so people could relate and understand better)

Genuenly seemed like he was going to cry when I gave him homemade fancy decorated gingerbread (because mom is amazing and decorating it)

Always checks what book am I reading and talks to me about it for a bit

Doesn't mind when I zone out in class and miss a question which is so nice

When he saw our 'time till we leave' countdown, he said we may be happy but he will be sad and will miss us

Said that men are a dead end branch of evolution (loosely translated from "slepá vývojová větev") and had facts to back that claim up

Told us how someone poisoned his coworker by switching ethanol, which he poured into his morning tea, for methanol

Gave us a literal sheet with numbers of classes and exams that we will have. Like "lesson 24: carbohydrates I" so that we could prepare ahead

Cancelled final exam because he didn't feel like teaching (and because it wouldn't fix anyone's grade anyway) but then decided to make it voluntary in case someone would actually want to take it

Played 'calming Japanese music' during a test

Kept the nickname "Gargamel" that students gave him because he seriously looks a lot like him

He keeps all the gifts from his past students in his chemistry classrom/lab (it's 2 in 1)

Always tells us not to sit on the floor because we will get sick and won't be able to have children (aka the most slavic thing ever said)

Always has a speech about trash and the existence of trashcans when he sees some trash on the floor

When someone is being too stupid even for his patience, he says "I get that you have one brain cell that is jumping around trying to find its friends so hard it gave itself a concussion, but-"

Assigned us numbers based on the alphabetical order of our last names and made us sign tests with it to keep it anonymous so he can just throw them out without having to worry about our names being leaked (yeah it's a whole thing) because getting rid of the papers otherwise takes too long

#czech republic #czech #chemistry #teacher stories #čumblr

[lilundertale-asatreat]

So I'm making this post because I saw a YouTube video the other day where the YouTuber made an offhand comment poking fun at people who don't think Chara is evil, and that was enough to annoy me, but also, it inadvertently brought up a good point for me personally.

I was originally firmly in the camp that Chara was maybe not the best person, but they weren't evil, and the Genocide route is an outlier, and I was upset because I didn't feel like they were considering any of the other routes at all (which they weren't), but it made me realize I was also completely discounting the Genocide route, and I can't just do that for the sake of an easier analysis because it's there for a reason. And I certainly can't get mad at this person for doing the exact same thing I was doing. So here is a hopefully as objective of an analysis of Chara as whole as I can get.

At first I tried marrying the two versions of Chara that we see in the game: the traumatized and suicidal child who wanted to sacrifice themself for the sake of freeing monsterkind and getting revenge on humanity which left them hurt on a fundamental level and wasn't really the best to Asriel, probably because they still hadn't unlearned mimicking the way they were treated and then never got the chance to, with the kid who actively encouraged the slaughter of all of the monsters in the Underground and then destroyed the world after killing Frisk themself and seeing what the connection was. And to be honest, I didn't really find anything.

Then I started thinking about Frisk instead because it was late and I couldn't keep my focus, but that turned out to be really helpful because, while Frisk is a player stand in most of the time despite being revealed to be their own person, there are things that they do by themself, either implicitly or explicitly, and if you try to analyze them to figure out what kind of person they are, you also get two wildly contradicting versions of them. And which version you get is entirely dependent on how you choose to play the game.

Because your choices have a lot of weight to determining what happens in the game, not only does it affect which ending you get, but it also effects how you get there and how you choose to tell the story. You get to choose what kind of story you want, and with that choice comes whatever characterization of Frisk would fit the most for whatever you are doing.

If you play pacifist or neutral without starting off with a genocide, when you first encounter Sans, it's implied Frisk laughs or at least has some sort of reaction, no matter how many neutral runs you have done without true resetting beforehand. Frisk sits through and humors Papyrus in all of his puzzles and japes even if they've heard the same joke or solved the same puzzle a thousand times beforehand. Mettaton comments on them looking bored at the beginning of the musical if it's not your first playthrough after true resetting, and he gives you the option to skip it, but he doesn't say Frisk looks hostile or anything, and in the fight against him, you have the option of just calmly flipping his switch to just get the fight over with. Sans implies either Frisk looks like they're really thinking about what they did on a first neutral run or they look bored and not particularly bothered in subsequent runs after that unless you do pacifist which he then comments on the fact that they were exceptionally kind to everyone and even when they ran away, they were smiling the whole time.

But if you do a genocide run or start off with a genocide run, Frisk doesn't react at all to Sans' handshake joke, they don't sit through any of the puzzles Papyrus has and they don't acknowledge him at all, they give you the option to just keep taking and taking snowman pieces until the snowman is dead, and they move on their own to walk toward whichever area boss you're up to at the time in a threatening manner and even move toward Monster Kid on their own to intimidate them. They're really into the killing people thing in these routes while in the other routes, they're a lot more into engaging with people or at least giving you a better prompt of being willing to spare them.

So if it's true that Frisk has wildly different personalities and goals depending on how you play the game, it must be true with Chara too. For the majority of the time, Chara was just a kid who loved monsters and loved their family and felt extremely guilty for accidentally poisoning their dad and didn't know how to handle it and probably guilty and unworthy of their love because they were human and weren't used to receiving that kind of care in the first place. But if you choose to play the game where another human who falls down and decides to kill as many monsters as possible, Chara will be another human who hates monsters, or at least, grew to hate monsters and was only concerned with getting more and more power as they woke up because that's the thematically appropriate characterization of them for that route and way of playing.

So they're both not evil and evil, but which one you get is entirely dependent on you.

#undertale #utdr #chara dreemurr #frisk undertale #undertale analysis #honestly though; it's a lot more fun to play around with the version of Chara that isn't evil in my opinion #I really love the narrator Chara theory; but I had to put that aside for a moment because it's not confirmed canon lol #suicide tw #chara #frisk

[immajustvibehere]

A lost, cold, robbed, untrusting Y/N stumbles upon Arthur's camp. "you're cold enough with them eyes, come join me by the fire"

A Selfless Act

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x fem!Reader

summary: Your former partners abandon you in the mountains. Luckily, you come across a lonely cowboy who saves you from freezing to death.

warnings: mentions of suicide, light fluff

2800 words, 13 minutes reading time

You were a fool. It was pure agony, feeling your holster dangling from your belt. They had left you with one bullet, joked that you'd need it for yourself. Double-crossed, humiliated and left to die one way or another in the freezing mountains. You'd been walking for God knows how long, but you knew it would be your only chance of surviving. Maybe you'd find shelter or be lucky enough to come across someone who would take you back to civilization. There was not much to fear, besides your clothes there was nothing on you that could be taken.

Trudging through the snow was really stupid, you thought. You should just end it right now. You had survived one night; you knew you wouldn't survive another. If the cold won't get you, a pack of wolves will, and frankly, you preferred the bullet to your head. Your hand fumbled for your gun - or it tried to. Your body felt frozen rigid, you hadn't moved anything but your legs for the last couple of hours and despite having lost most of the feeling in your hands, you managed to take your gun out of its holster. You stopped to look at it.

Nope, no way.

The gun was put back and you looked up. You'd do it later. At night. It was only late afternoon; you shouldn't rush things. Maybe...with a bit of luck...

There was a thin but clearly visible column of smoke rising to the sky. It came from behind the hill you were currently climbing. You chuckled at the coincidence of seeing it now. There was your last bit of hope. It had never been harder to climb a snowy hill. The snow seemed deeper than the one before and the wind stung like needles on the small patch of exposed skin in your face. There had been the option of going around the hill, but you wanted the fastest way possible. What if there was someone there and he left while it took you hours to get to him? No, it didn't matter that your pants were soaked or that you stumbled and had to get up again, your appearance resembling the one of a snowman.

When you had reached the top of the hill and looked down, you not only saw a big lake covered with ice and snow in front of you, but also a small campfire. A man, wrapped in a big blue coat sat on a fallen tree. You heard him whistle a tune and leisurely watching a fish that was being grilled above the fire next to two pots. A strong stallion was trotting around in the snow around this little camp. Suddenly, fear and anger started to rise up deep within you. Even though you had nothing to lose, what if this was a bad man? What if he took all you had left? Your gun...your clothes? Or what if he killed you? And yet, what was his right to be so happy when you stood a few feet away, shivering and on the brink of death?

A headshake got rid of those thoughts. You told yourself that you were exhausted and overthinking; this was your chance of survival, and you had to take it. Slowly, you started sliding down the hill. The man looked up when he caught your figure in the corner of his eye. As he stopped whistling, you stopped dead in your track. There were maybe 15 feet between you. You eyed him suspiciously. Maybe this had been a bad idea. You now saw how heavily armed the man was. Two guns were holstered on his hip and a rifle leaned against the trunk he rested on.

"Hello", the man said. It was more like a question. He watched you a bit confusedly as you remained completely still, trying to evaluate your options. You must have looked pathetic; covered in snow, your nose and cheeks redder than a ripe tomato and though you tried to suppress it, you knew your shivered so severely, it had to be perceivable. You made a step back when the man started to smile, just in case it was a sign of him planinng something malicious.

"You're cold enough with them eyes, why don'tcha join me by the fire?", the man proposed. He even brushed some more snow off the trunk, so you'd have a place to sit. You gave in with a deep sigh and closed the distance between you. When you had reached the fire, you ripped off your wet gloves with your teeth, holding your hands as close to the fire as you dared.

"If ya don't mind me asking, what're ya doing out here, Miss?", the man inquired. He added a, "This isn't really a nice place for pleasurable pastime walks."

"I was-", you started before your dry and sore throat let you break out in a cough. The fit shook you to the very bone, now that your hands and face were slowly warming up, the exhaustion in your limbs became perceptible. When you stopped coughing and took such a rattling breath that even you got scared for a second, the man was stirred into action and poured some coffee into a tin cup. "'m afraid I only got one set of dishes, but better than nothing", he held out the cup to you. You took it hungrily, burning your fingers in the process. With the risk of burning your throat too, you took a gulp. It was bitter and hot. The liquid left a scorching sensation in your aching throat. You knew you had made a weird face, because the cowboy was looking at you worriedly; but you didn't care.

A few gulps and a silent moment later you cleared your throat, before you tried again. "My partners - former partners - wanted to get rid of me. We were on our way through the mountains. They suddenly stopped, killed my horse before my damn eyes and left me with nothing but my gun and one bullet." The control over your hands had returned, so you had no trouble taking your revolver out of the holster and dismissively throwing it in front of the man's boots.

"Well, that wasn't very kind of them", the man commented and picked up the revolver, checking if there really was only one bullet inside. The mistrust angered you, despite you being the one who stumbled into his camp unannounced. Still, with some of the warmth returned to your body you took your place on the trunk next to the cowboy. "How long have you been runnin' around?", he asked. "Almost two days." "Jesus,...you could have been done for", he remarked almost in an unbothered manner while he generously filled a plate with beans, some fish meat and the heel of a loaf of bread.

"Here ya go", he shoved the plate onto your lap. "Sir, I can't eat your-" "Sure ya can. Ya need it more than I do. And it's Arthur." You briefly gave him your name before you took the plate into your hands. There was no restraint left. Even if you wanted to be polite, your stomach growled and the sheer thought of consuming something warm filled you with joy. Your eyelids had become heavy and even the act of lifting the spoon was a fight against gravity, you feared sleep taking over any second. Nevertheless, devouring your meal while its provider pulled the remaining flesh off the fishbones felt needlessly shameless of you.

"You a hunter, sir? I mean- Arthur."

"Not really. Occasionally, I s'pose. I shoot more people than animal, to be honest with you."

"Why'd you tell me that?", you asked, completely unconcerned.

"Excuse me, but", he scoffed "yer friends abandoned you with one bullet to shoot yerself. I just assumed you aren't in the honest sort of business."

You were about to confirm that when a thought pierced your mind. You looked up from your meal which you had half-way finished and asked with a tone that would have given you away immediately: "You the law?" The warm laugh from Arthur made you release the breath you were holding. "More like the opposite", he admitted, smiling warmly. "Good", you answered to that and continued to eat. Your fatigue became so overwhelming, you slipped down from the trunk into the snow. It didn't bother you that your coat and pants would be wet and cold, you did care for the opportunity of resting your back against something.

"You brought a storm with you alright", Arthur commented after a while. You looked up from your clean plate to see dark clouds approaching fast over the hill you had walked only the quarter of an hour earlier. "Represents your mood", he added cheekily. You hadn't smiled nor communicated anything not clearly necessary, and he was right: your mood wasn't the best. Though not freezing, you were still cold. And though satisfied as well as rehydrated, you had still been betrayed and had no idea what to do with your life if the stranger you had just met was willing to bring you back to civilization. "Sorry", you looked up to Arthur who was finishing the rest of the beans and with greatest effort managed to crack a tired smile.

There was nothing to be done about the storm. Shall it come and bury you in heaps of snow, for all you cared. You knew your knees wouldn't support you if you stood up. Your eyes were attracted to the spiting fire. Then you blinked once. The short second your eyelids rested shut was like a dream come true, so you closed your eyes again. There was no intention of opening them again, you had no strength to do so. As soon as your brain accepted that you would finally give in, you drifted off to sleep immediately. You still felt how your slumped to the side but were caught by the stranger's legs which prevented you of falling into the snow.

-

You woke up suddenly but remained still. The familiar trot of a horse almost lulled you back to sleep, but you were adamant to assess your new situation - since clearly something had changed. You felt warm, were sat on a horse and heard the trickle of raindrops on leaves and soft soil. When you finally managed to open your eyes, you didn't see much but the part of the woods that was illuminated by the lantern that was held by the man behind you. Your body was resting against his chest, wrapped in, as you only now noticed, the blue coat he had worn before.

"It's okay, I jus' though I'd get us out of the mountains before the snowstorm hit us", a warm voice almost whispered behind you. If you had been awake or energized more, you would have shrugged away from the man who sat behind you. After he had slightly adjusted it, you noticed his other arm was loosely wrapped around your torso, preventing you from slipping off the horse. Everything was fine, you were safe. If he wanted to kill you, he would have done it already. There was no need of forcing yourself the stay awake, so you let yourself be overpowered by sleep once again.

You woke again the support of your back suddenly vanished. Baffled, you looked around and recognized the commotion of a town at night. "We're here", Arthur announced, and your attention was suddenly directed to him. He was standing next to his horse on a porch, the reins still in his hands. His face and hair were glistening with raindrops and you wondered where his hat had gone to. You swore you wore one before. You slid off the horse carefully. The abrupt contact with the ground sent a shiver to your body. It had also shaken some of the slumber out of your bones. Without warning, Arthur grabbed a hat you hadn't noticed you were wearing off your head and put it back on his. "Come one, I'll get this off you", he announced before he pulled you out of his coat which was way too big for you anyway and would have probably tripped you if you had attempted to walk in it.

"Where are we?", you finally asked the man who was stowing his coat on horseback and equipped himself with some other stuff.

"Saints Hotel in Valentine, let's go." Done with his inventory management he urged you inside. Surprisingly, your first reaction to this revelation was the instinct to flee. A hotel? So it all boiled down to this...of course there was no man in this damn country who would just help a desperate woman without expecting anything in turn.

"Back at it again with 'em cold eyes", Arthur chuckled amusedly before he turned his attention to the receptionist "If you could prepare a warm bath for the lady. Have someone assist her, I'm not sure how conscious she is. And then one room, please." Your heart dropped when Arthur grabbed the key. You shuffled awkwardly around on your feet. The man was handsome. You had only seen him with tired and heavy eyes and in a big coat before, but now you had a better look at him. Broad shoulders, a slim hip and a confident stance. Hell, his hair looked softer than anyone's you had seen in a while, but nevertheless...you wouldn't - you couldn't.

"Sir, I-", you started. The immediate circumstances made you retort to a more polite address than his first name. "I understand that I owe you greatly for saving my life, but I'm not sure if I can be of any...satisfaction in that sense." The last words you only mumbled. Maybe that's why Arthur took a solid moment to process your words before you saw his eyes light up and an "Oh" escape his lips.

He shook his head lightly and mockingly announced: "The cold did some serious brain damage it seems." But then he smiled heartily, implying that he meant no serious offense. "I'm just joking", Arthur explained to make sure you understood and put one hand on your shoulder, "Listen, ehrm, y/n was it? Yer really lovely. You got a beautiful face, especially now that some color's returned to it, but you see - it ain't like that." As if he wanted to stress those words, the back of his hand briefly brushed over your cheek. His hands were warm, so you guessed your cheeks must still be pretty cold. And despite your recoil of what you had thought he had wanted of you a moment earlier, you found yourself quite enjoying the gentle touch. "Now getcha self warm", he withdrew his hand and practically sent you off to the bathroom.

It was only in the bathtub that the last bit of weariness was washed off. You were relieved to find that none of your limps or extremities had sustained lasting nerve damage due to the cold. They had all returned to a healthy color in the warm water and you were delighted to be able to move each toe individually. The woman that had been appointed to help you was sent off as soon as you had found your way into the bathtub and had your clear sense back. Regret started to boil up. You had misjudged Arthur's character twice, but he had helped you out more than you'd be ever able to repay. And repay how exactly? Something must be done about this. You'd find some work soon and repay him for the food and the hotel stay. It wasn't really possible to put a price tag on your life that he had saved, but you could try at least. And stop doubting him and his morals, for what it's worth.

However, your plans were crushed when you left the bathroom and found no sign of Arthur. In your room you found your wet jacket, your gun and three small boxes of cartridges, stacked next to a can of assorted biscuits. When you asked the receptionist for the gentleman you arrived with, he said that he had gone away little after you had headed for the bathroom and he had left some stuff in your room. That was it. A look outside showed you that his horse was gone too and not, how you briefly hoped, hitched in front of the saloon.

Even though your encounter had been short, it had been anything but insignificant. Before you headed to bed you made a decision: The first thing you'd do after some rest is finding a job and then you would start looking for Arthur, not stopping before you had properly thanked him for saving your life.

------x

This sat in my drafts for about a month heh.

fighting a bit of a writer's block atm...soo yeaaahhh.

#arthur morgan x reader #red dead redemption 2 #arthur morgan #red dead redemption community #arthur morgan fanfiction #rdr2 #arthur morgan x female reader #rdr #rdr fanfiction #rdr2 fanfiction

[olliesneweyes]

GRAH okay so //-•

basically to preface hes from a northern region where witch burning is still a thing, anf also its considered a witch thing if you have twins and one of them dies!

so its unclear whether he actually Was dead or not (it could have either been the warmth of the woman or she couldve actually revived him) but the woman that saved him was considered a witch

and so when ithaqua was i think 15/16(ish) their house was attacked by witch hunters (since his mother was in hiding) and one pf them just so happens to be his twin brother (which makes him sick! because he's seeing his own face do these things)

and he goes to go save his mother since she was kidnapped, though she was tortured to the point of insanity and didnt recognize him at that point

so ithaqua kills his brother and frames it as a suicide, and he basically haunts the woods now in a way and he's like. literally the myth of the abominable snowman (i might have left out some details but i dont think they were major so)

Woah... Interesting

#more cryptids!!!! #(don't mind me taking 500 years to respond i was in a goofy custom match)

[angelosearch]

a few random things while I lay here with my chest hurting -

My dog loves it when I am sick. He is so happy to just lay in bed with me all day. Now if he would only let me spread my legs out...

I watched Titanic for the first time in ages and I kind of get it now? I never understood the hype but I now see that James Cameron just wanted to do a bunch of research for his fanfiction. Man wanted to keep it as close to canon as possible. I can respect that.

In all seriousness - the whole Jack/Rose love story is just framing for the actual horror/drama unfolding. The real plot of Titanic is centered on classism, advancing technology/feats of engineering, the hubris of man, and the meaning of duty. And my god, the practical effects - for 1997?! This film was so ambitious. The cinematography was so intimate. You feel connected to these passengers who are on screen for seconds. I spent the last hour and a half of the movie super anxious and crying watching all the deaths and goodbyes. I am never setting foot on a cruise now. Still unsure if a whirlwind romance was the best way to illustrate the gruesome history of the tradegy, but I definitely get why Titanic is still talked about.

BUT I CANNOT SUSPEND DISBELIEF - you are telling me a charcoal drawing on sketch paper with no fixative survived on the bottom of the ocean for 84 years? Yeah right.

Also not feeling the whole romance of suicide stuff. Smh.

I also watched the original animated Beauty and the Beast (because I guess I am just on a romantic movies from the 90s kick) and wow it feels so old now, animation and voice acting wise.

BUT OH MY GOD. DEEP CUT. LeFou at one point hides as/inside a snowman in front of Belle's house. In the live action Beauty and the Beast, LeFou is played by Josh Gad. Josh Gad's biggest role?

ONLY THE MOST FAMOUS SNOWMAN OF ALL TIME (after Frosty) - Olaf from Frozen! (Not Samantha)

Anyhow... anybody got movie reccomendations?

[you-hate-time-travel]

ermmmmm,,,,,hmmmmmm,,,,,,,,bq/snowman thoughts,,,,,,, =:333

alright. here it is. my thoughts on what snowy is like! let's get right into it.

Content warning for some talk of an abusive relationship, an allusion to suicide, as well as fast/flashing GIFs. Heavy stuff, i know. You've been warned.

page 2555, with highlighted text for emphasis:

To bring every circle closed, her [Vriska's] partner and rival would have to be guided in tandem. The Thief and the Seer were to serve as twin lashes of the scourge cracked by a quasiroyal against her own former kingdom to settle a score. To make him pay. Scourge's black inches would rip red miles through Derse, and the bright rivers gushing from its wounds would wash her mutineers down the drains of exile. In time they would have to answer for their treason.

Patience would be necessary. But then, she'd recently come into all the time in the universe.

she is just so. god. She considers Vriska and Terezi to be tools that she can use to settle her kinda petty score against Slick, and by extension, everyone who has wronged her. Which, by the looks of it, is every single dersite.

it was her kingdom, and they took it from her. but she got something more. She got to be the universe. It's the highest possible position you could have, where no one can harm you without risking everything. but that's not what she wants! she wants vengeance.

And vengeance she does get, in the form of cost-free torment toward her old secretary for however long the felt and midnight crew have been fucking with eachother.

Their power dynamic is always bad. first, she's his boss, the Queen of Derse. Then she's the universe. He can't harm her. She can do whatever the hell she wants, of course.

In another universe, the Black Queen humiliates Jack by dressing him up in pretty dresses and silly hats.

(page 958-9)

Your transmission is interrupted.

It seems your GLORIOUS MONARCH has concerns over your wardrobe.

FINE.

You begrudgingly don the COMICAL HAT.

Stupid lousy WISE AND JUST LEADER. What a royal pain in the ass.

Jack: Throw down hat in disgust.

You fully intend to once your superior stops breathing down your neck for a second.

He's under constant surveillance.

And when he rips his nice clothes?

It is not acceptable behavior.

So, the situation doesn't change whatever time or universe you're in. Back to the Beta trolls' universe, then.

When Slick arrives on the rooftop, he's completely beaten. His gang is dead. He's got nothing. He's got nothing to lose, and neither does she. But she'll still win. Snowman taunts him, they're going out on her terms. As far as she knows, he's going to die, along with literally everyone else.

She takes his eye, his arm, but ultimately, it's him who tries to take his life.

She's certainly one hell of a character.

#So uh. I've got thoughts on snowy/bq. Sorry kevs!!! #flashing #fast gif #gif #talky tag #abuse mention #suicide mention #death mention #long post #rbs on for now whoopsie

[thebanishedreader]

Book Bans in Georgia

As of June 2023

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Brief Summary: In a post-plague world, Jimmy - now known as Snowman - mourns the loss of his best friend Crake and their mutual love-interest, the beautiful Oryx. With the Children of Crake, Snowman embarks on a journey for answers through the post-apocalyptic hellscape created by capitalist brutality.

Banned from libraries as of June 2023, based on a formal challenge.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Blackwell's (UK)

Dime by E. R. Frank

Brief Summary: Dime, a teenaged girl drifting in the foster system, falls victim to a "family" that promises to care for her - so long as she brings back money by working the streets. Dime begins to realize her abuse and struggles to understand what to do to best protect herself.

Banned from libraries as of June 2023, based on a formal challenge.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Blackwell's (UK)

Perfect by Ellen Hopkins

Brief Summary: Four high school seniors face varying meanings of being "perfect"; for one, it's leaving behind a family whose strictness is driving her to suicidality, for another its taking whatever substances they can to feel good enough. A brutally riveting story of adolescent anxieties and the consequences of unrealistic expectations for success.

Banned from libraries as of June 2023, based on a formal challenge.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Blackwell's (UK)

Tilt by Ellen Hopkins

Brief Summary: Three teens struggling with hurting family lives and personal challenges are brought together by their parents' relationships; but as the teens grow older, their bonds through hardship bring them closer than they could have ever imagined.

Banned from libraries as of June 2023, based on a formal challenge.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Blackwell's (UK)

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[murderoushagthesequel]

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my asks and messages are always open <3

all art is tagged with #hag's art

please don't comment other people's fics on my fic idea posts!

it's never too late to respond to an ask game lol

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚current works˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙* ＊

blurbs, drabbles and microfics:

daily jegulus microfics:

one-shots: Do You Wanna Build a Snowman? 4,068 words

snow day domestic fluff one-shot with marylily and jegulus raising harry

j'ai mal á la tête (i have a headache) 2,006 words

sirius is trying to leave home, and regulus urges him to

lionheart and the weeping willow 4,843 words

james befriends a seemingly familiar black cat one night by the forbidden forest (jegulus)

our song 4,049 words

james and regulus drive around empty country roads recounting their story to each other (jegulus)

secrets behind the cherry blossoms 7,987 words

barty realizes he's in love with evan while he's dating xenophilius (silverrosedagger)

suicide in your arms (would've been easier) 2,579 words

regulus and james confess their feeling in less than ideal conditions. they don't get their happy ending, after all (jegulus)

whipped cream on noses and antlers on patronuses 2,743 words

based on the prompt "regulus casting his patronus and it matches james’ &lt;3" by @effiepotterisamilf

tie me up and make me beg, mommy 4,469 words (explicit)

it's just jegudora pwp <3

wips: Invisible Cracks of the Frozen Sidewalks 37,562 words

6/? chapters

regulus is struggling with idiopathic hypersomnia and james' anxiety is only getting worse. and they keep finding themselves running into each other.

R&R's Fictions and Foliage 5,422 words

1/? chapters

regulus and remus run a plant/bookshop together and are perfectly content... and then james shows up

i apologize for this formatting i cannot figure out html on tumblr

[imhereforscm]

Masterlist

Fanfiction

"Morning sweet nothings" (Tauxolouve × reader) (fluff) (request)

"The music of raindrops" (Karno × reader) (fluff) (request)

"Gorgeous" (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort) (request) Warnings: body dysmorphia

"Murderer" (Ichthys × Dui) (angst/romance) Warnings: Mentions of murder

"Sweet inexperience" (Tauxolouve × goddess!reader) (smut/fluff) (request) Warnings: NSFW

"Sweet inexperience" part 2 (Tauxolouve × goddess!reader) (fluff) (request)

"Sweet inexperience" part 3 (Tauxolouve × goddess!reader) (fluff) (request)

"Paint and vision" (teenage!Tauxolouve) (fluff) (request) Warnings: spoiler for Tauxolouve's main story

"Paint and vision" Part 2 (Tauxolouve × reader) (fluff) (request) Warnings: spoilers for Tauxolouve's main story

"My safe place" (Huedhaut × reader) (fluff) (request)

"Let's recharge" (Karno × reader) (comfort) (request)

"Wonderful moments" (Dui × reader) (comfort) (request) Warnings: social anxiety

"Two different worlds" Part 1 (human!Tauxolouve × goddess!reader) (angst/fluff) (request)

"Two different worlds" Part 2 (human!Tauxolouve × goddess!reader) (fluff) (request)

"Two different worlds" Part 3 (human!Tauxolouve × goddess!reader) (fluff) (request) Warnings: mentions of murder

"Two different worlds" Part 4 (human!Tauxolouve × goddess!reader) (fluff) (request)

"Two different worlds" Part 5 (human!Tauxolouve × goddess!reader) (fluff) (request)

"Two different worlds" Part 6 (human!Tauxolouve × goddess!reader) (fluff) (request)

"New" (Tauxolouve × goddess!reader) (angst) (request)

"New" part 2 (Tauxolouve × reader × Scorpio) (angst) (request) Warnings: graphic death scenes, a lot of blood, heavy language at some points, mentions of attempted suicide

"Blessing" (Tauxolouve × goddess!reader) (fluff) (request)

"Movie kiss" (Tauxolouve × reader) (fluff) (request)

"Lovers written into history" (Karno × goddess!reader) (angst) (request) Warnings: implied death

"Path" (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort) (request) Warnings: mentions of death, mentions of funeral, suicidal thoughts

"Secret smiles" (Dui × reader) (fluff) (request)

"One dance" (Teenage!Tauxolouve × teenage!goddess!reader) (angst) (request)

"One dance" Part 2 (Teenage!Tauxolouve × teenage!goddess!reader) (angst/romance) (request)

"2+2=4" (Karno + Tauxolouve on a double date with their girlfriends) (fluff) (request)

"Hold me" (Human!Tauxolouve × goddess!reader) (comfort) (request) Warnings: panic attack

"I want to see you" (Human!Tauxolouve × vampire!reader) (smut) (request) Warnings: nsfw, blood (not much, but still blood)

"Moon—his moon" (Myself × Scorpio) (fluff) (self insert)

"Your notes" (Karno × Leon) (fluff/soulmate AU)

"Mess with a human" (Scorpio × reader) (crack) (request)

"What's left" (Karno × goddess!reader) (angst) (request)

"Taste of change" (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort) (request)

"Verbal slips" (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort) (request)

"This man" (Myself × Scorpio) (comfort) (self insert) Warnings: daddy issues, family problems

"More of you" (Scorpio × reader) (smut/"Plot? What plot?") (request) Warnings: NSFW

"My perfection" (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort) (request) Warnings: insecurities about appearance

"It's love" (Scorpio × goddess!reader) (fluff) (request)

"Just a lovely story. Just a tragic myth" (Clotho × Huedhaut) (angst) Warnings: blood, virus, a graphic scene of vampire turning

"Come with me?" (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort/fluff) (request)

"Pile of leaves" (Scorpio × reader) (fluff) (request)

"Choke you" (Ichthys × reader) (smut/"Plot? What plot?") Warnings: NSFW, choking, hand fetish

"A future for yourself" (Human!Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort/fluff) (request)

"Sing for me?" (Tauxolouve × reader) (fluff) (request)

"Let's build a snowman" (Teorus × reader) (fluff)

"By your side" (Teorus × reader) (fluff/comfort) Warnings: period cramps

"Through your eyes" (Human!Tauxolouve × vampire!reader) (fluff) (request) Warnings: SLIGHT love making mentions

"Why do you love me?" (Karno × reader) (fluff) (request)

"I'll never let you go" (Huedhaut × reader) (fluff) (request)

"Car sex" (Scorpio × reader) (smut/"Plot? What plot?") Warnings: NSFW

"I like taking care of you." (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort) (request)

"Humid morning" (Scorpio × reader) (fluff)

"Scorpio" (Scorpio) (angst) (credit for the idea goes to an anon, which sent me a headcanon and I made it into a fic🌷) Warnings: Mentions of violence and whatever Scorpio's past entailed basically

"How do you feel?" (Karno × reader) (fluff/comfort) (request)

"Want a hug?" (Tauxolouve × reader) (fluff/comfort) (request)

"Beautiful night" (human!Huedhaut × reader) (fluff/royalty AU)

"I believe in you" (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort) (request) Warnings: thoughts of you not existing

"Thank you" (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort) (request)

"A line that should've never been crossed" (Vampire!Zyglavis × reader) (romance/royalty AU)

"A line that should've never been crossed" Part 2 (Vampire!Zyglavis × reader) (romance/royalty AU)

"Childhood memories" (Tauxolouve × reader) (fluff) (request)

"Hurting" (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort/fluff) (request) Warnings: period cramps, meds

"Stuck" (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort) (request)

"Fighting for" (Tauxolouve × reader) (angst/comfort) (request) Warnings: suicidal thoughts

"Let's do that thing." (Krioff × reader) (fluff)

"Everything will find their way" (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort) (request)

"Everything will find their way" Part 2 (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort) (request)

"Proud" (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort/fluff) (request)

"Believe in yourself" (Karno × reader) (comfort) (request)

"Piano, moonlight, desire" (Dui × reader) (smut) Warnings: NSFW

"Sweet dreams" (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort/fluff) (request) Warnings: mentions of centipede

"Enamoured by you" (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort) (request)

"Off of it" (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort/fluff) (request)

"Vulnerable" (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort/fluff) (request)

"Mother" (Huedhaut × reader) (comfort) (request) Warnings: mentions of death of a family member

"That...! Is your strength..." (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort) (request) Warnings: suicidal thoughts

"Miss hunter" (werelion!Leon × reader) (romance/fantasy AU) (request)

"The riches of your soul" (Tauxolouve × reader) (comfort) (request)

"Yet another dream" (Ichthys × reader) (fluff) (Fluffbruary 1/2024)

"The purity of his thoughts" (Dui × reader) (fluff) (Fluffbruary 2/2024)

"Misty daze" (Myself × Scorpio) (fluff) (self insert) (Fluffbruary 3/2024)

"Between the tall bushes" (Tauxolouve × reader) (fluff) (Fluffbruary 4/2024)

"Rescue you" (Aigonorus × reader) (fluff) (Fluffbruary 5/2024)

"Sweetness on your lips" (Zyglavis × reader) (fluff) (Fluffbruary 6/2024)

"Hold this" (Krioff × reader) (fluff) (Fluffbruary 7/2024)

"Snowed in" (Aigonorus × reader) (fluff) (Fluffbruary 8/2024)

"Every sunset and sunrise" (Tauxolouve × reader) (fluff) (Fluffbruary 9/2024)

"Like an angel" (Huedhaut × reader) (fluff) (Fluffbruary 10/2024)

"A kid's wish" (Tauxolouve × goddess!reader) (fluff) (Fluffbruary 11/2024)

"Fifteen years" (Karno × goddess!reader) (fluff) (Fluffbruary 12/2024)

"Your mind, your beauty" (Huedhaut × reader) (fluff) (Fluffbruary 13/2024)

"Nothing to bother you" (Partheno × reader) (fluff) (Fluffbruary 14/2024)

"Touch and go" (Leon × reader) (smut) Warnings: NSFW, Sort of public foreplay, degrading, choking, light bondage, blindfold, impact play (smacking with hands), name calling (slut), punishment

"Like the lake" (Huedhaut × reader) (comfort) (request)

Headcanons

General headcanons (Tauxolouve × goddess!reader) (fluff) (request)

BPD comfort (all the gods) (comfort) (request) Warnings: BPD

Verbal abuse comfort (all the gods) (comfort) (request) Warnings: verbal abuse

The kind of requests I accept:

E V E R Y T H I N G (⁠┛⁠◉⁠Д⁠◉⁠)⁠┛⁠彡⁠┻⁠━⁠┻

Except:

• Miscarriage (that's terrifying, so I don't wanna write this)

(P.S. I never thought I'd get this far, omg thank you! (•́⁠ ⁠ ⁠‿⁠ ⁠,⁠•̀))

Masterlist 2

#masterlist #star crossed myth #scm #fanfic scm #scm fanfic #scm leon #scm scorpio #scm teorus #scm dui #scm huedhaut #scm ichthys #scm karno #scm zyglavis #scm aigonorus #scm krioff #scm tauxolouve #scm partheno #counting their names to see if I have tagged everyone is like counting my students before the bus leaves on a field trip

[silverloreleysfanfics]

The Snow Queen on the Isle of the Lost - Prologue

So, this is the beginning/premise of a much longer fic I have in the works (@dragoneyes618 and @chronically-unlucky it’s the one we spoke about yesterday), but it can work as a standalone so I thought it could be good enough to publish it.

Summary: What if Hans won? After all, two right steps in the right direction, a little more attention to details, a lie held in place a tad longer, a little more patience, even, it'd been so easy. It made Elsa spontaneously give up her throne and accept to go the Isle of the Lost, leaving him the only one in line for the throne... Hans won. But how? And with what consequences? Would that mean he truly won? And how Elsa would fare on the Isle, from its creation and during the 20 years of its existence?

Trigger warnings: character death, attemped murder and suicide mentions.

Hans played all his cards, and he did it well.

He waited until Anna exhaled her last breath to announce her death to the other nobles. How he kept her inside the room was not through force, but the power of words, with a quick tongue, laced in sweet poison.

"I'm sorry, I do love you. Maybe not even True Love's Kiss is powerful enough to challenge your sister's magic" he lied through his teeth.

Then Anna realized she didn't love him. She said they had it wrong, that maybe Elsa was right, that they barely knew each other and he listened her rambling about some ice harvester and her trip to the North Mountain and then to Trolls who were love experts or something.

He feigned hurt, enraged by the last joke pulled on him as it was clear Anna had fallen for the peasant boy, even if he didn't care about her, even if she was a means to an end, knowing even someone as naive and desperate as her could toss him aside so easily stung.

Only then he spoke the truth, only after Anna's hands had already turned into ice, her hair all white, even her irises had changed into icy blue embed with snowflakes.

It was too late for her to be saved, but enough for him to take the little revenge.

But he put back the façade once out the room and it was an act good enough he shed actual tears when the ice harvester came back for Anna - too late, too late - and even to say had he known he would have gladly let him save her if it had meant for her to be alive and happy.

After that, he had to make everything run smooth.

He played the heartbroken widowed prince, the just man who took the burden of the crown of a cursed kingdom, like his wife had begged him to when she died "with the wedding vows still on her lips".

He condamned the Queen to death, even if he had no actual right, because he managed to exploit the moment of pain and confusion and fear at its peak.

When he found the runaway Queen, he destroyed her will to fight with the news of her sister's death, her grief took the light out her eyes long before he swung his sword. But the iron broke in a thousand of frozen pieces. Elsa was grieving, knees on the ground in quiet tears, dead inside like the sudden stillness of the air around her, but her magic was still strong, her magic still protected her.

They took her back to the Ice Castle after the damage she made to the palace. The guards - her guards - treated her gently, despite the eternal winter was still ongoing, despite the princess' death, she was still their queen and they recognized she was genuinely heartbroken at the news of her sister's demise.

She never said a word, never looked at anyone, her eyes void of tears after she spilled them all.

When Hans sentenced her to go back to her Ice Palace, she didn't object, unlike the little living snowman.

«Olaf, it's alright» she said, quietly, then «Take care of my people, prince Hans»

Those were the last words Elsa would say for weeks, but for Hans it was the validation he desperately wanted his whole life long.

§

Two weeks later, the winter persisted yet and Elsa walked past the broken railing of her balcony.

Only the thick layer of soft snow stopped an otherwise deadly fall - why didn't she just die? stop ruining the kingdom he worked so hard to get! - and the news of the attempt were impossible to contain.

After that, the servants who were aware of her secret long before her coronation spilled the rest of the story to defend her, and the people of Arendelle listened to their compatriots. The foreign prince who was supposed to become their ruler wasn't lying, but he didn't understand that Queen Elsa didn't deserve death, only help.

Arendelle's councilmen, those who acted as regents between the death of King Agnarr and the time Elsa turned of age, were thorns in Hans' sides, preventing him from getting full power, refusing to acknowledge the legitimacy of his sentence of High Treason towards the Queen because, well, they could concede he was grieving for Anna when he said so, but he didn't have the right to do it, not even if they chose to believe he and Anna had recited wedding vows alone - which was a thing, given the extreme circumstances and Anna's nature, so they didn't oppose on that - Hans didn't have the power to overthrow the current ruler.

They went to visit their queen, braving the snowstorms and the perils of North Mountain, to speak with her.

When they came back, disappointed and worried - this much was clear - they said Elsa officially allowed for Hans to be regent.

She allowed! The joke was on him, Hans knew, and knew he'd stay so as long as Elsa lived.

Or as long as she finished mourning, which could happen. This was likely the hope of the councilmen and Arendellians alike, that she'd stop grieving and came back to be their queen, stop the curse on her own volition.

And Hans had to take steps to ensure his full rise into power before that could happen, that much was sure.

§

A month in his ruling and little changed, the killers who were sent up the North Mountain failed one by one, now new statues adorned the surroundings and the inside of the Ice Castle.

The same month, the older princes of the Southern Isles sent their condolences for the death of his wife - took them long enough to recognize where he was and what he was doing, but now they knew - and Hans was finally among the real powerful ones, acknowledged at last.

If only that stupid curse would end!

And if only Arendellians weren't so stubborn, to side with their Witch Queen instead of with their saviour!

Nothing to be done, there. He had to get their trust bit by bit, with example and care. There was nothing else to do, if Elsa refused to die.

§

Two months.

Arendelle was suffering from the lack of any harvest and the near-impossibility to enter the frozen fjord and Hans had been forced to ask for help to the neighbouring kingdoms - not his brothers, never to his brothers. He had to do it and do it well and do it alone -.

Enter the soon-to-be-crowned King Beast and his wonderful plan: create a union of kingdoms to go under the name of Auradon where only heroes could live, where people with magic were banned for life or had to relinquish their power, where all those who could do harm would be exiled where they'd amount to nothing.

Hans didn't want to give up his domain, but Arendelle was on the edge of ruin, so he traded a bit of his power for the health of the kingdom. He'd still be king - even people of Arendelle will have to call him that, because Queen Elsa will be gone at last and he's the only one next in line -, that was good enough, still higher than most his brothers.

He took time to consider it, but he already knew he couldn't be picky. It was either King Beast or his brothers.

He chose the Beast.

§

The Isle of the Lost was a good solution also to Hans' other main problem: the distrust of the people of Arendelle towards him. They still stubbornly loved Elsa and doubted such a kind child, who grew into a mild-mannered woman, could be the cruel monster who willingly killed her beloved sister and cursed the land.

"Why curse her own kingdom?" was the question.

"Because she was was discovered as a witch" was his reply, the official reply, a law in his own good.

But people didn't follow it.

"What killer cries for its victim?" they wondered, the sight of the weeping and devastated queen, down on her knees when she was told her sister was dead was sculpted in everyone's minds.

"Either she repented, or she knew it meant her own damnation"

No good. It didn't matter how perfect his explanations were, people still loved Elsa and opposed to the capital punishment, even if the kingdom was still frozen over, even if it could stay like this forever.

After all, they said, summer only lasted a month or so in the fjord, with autumn and spring two months each. They were used to winter, they said. A southern prince couldn't understand, they said.

So Hans, kind, handsome prince who turned their regent - not king, never king if Elsa stayed alive and in Arendelle - had to behave like a hero and pick the next best thing.

In this case, to accept the alliance with King Beast and to exile Elsa to the Isle of the Lost.

When they told her - he didn't show up alone in front of her, he never did after their last conversation, after he tried to cut her head off and failed - she barely replied.

Four months in her curse, she barely did anything at all: barely ate, barely slept, barely moved. The annoying talking snowman was by her side most the time, taking care of her with its stick-made arms and clumsy movements and neverending chatter, but she barely spoke to him too, or so his spies said.

She was a prisoner already, of herself more than of him, Hans knew it all too well. She was keeping all of them in her own prisony of snow and ice, she was the one who held them all captive with her grief.

A look in her sad eyes and he hated her even more, because even at her lowest, even completely defeated, even when she lost it all, she still had the whole land in her hands.

Hans knew she cared - or she convinced herself she did - about Arendelle, and he knew she couldn't be taken anywhere with force, no one was strong enough for her magic, but her heart was as fragile as a crystal and exploiting her deepest weakness was his primary weapon.

He talked about how the people were suffering, how hard an eternal winter was to go by, she didn't seem to listen to most of it, but then he spoke of Anna, how she loved summer and would have wanted the winter to end, how she wanted the best for the kingdom and laced his words with honey and sour spices mashed together for the good part of an hour before she dignified him with a reaction.

She turned to him, for the first time in months really looking at anything, and asked: «If I go, will Arendelle be safe from my curse?»

They hoped so, it was their best shot, he told her, truthful for once.

«Then so be it» she replied, signing her own sentence in cold voice and imperious tone, more severe towards herself than to anyone.

If only she knew, Hans thought viciously, how Anna's death could have been avoided, how much he enjoyed taking away the only hope his "wife" had to survive...

He didn't say a word. Didn't gloat, didn't react with anything but a kind, perfect smile of gratitude and understanding.

He was the hero, and heroes acted with benevolence.

§

Elsa descended from the North Mountain at the beginning of the fifth month, when Auradon was setting and the Isle was almost ready to receive its inhabitants.

A contingent of armed guards escorted her all the way down - not for his order, but because they all volunteered to -, on a sled that covered in gleaming frost the second she touched it, without chains binding her wrists and feet, and in her beautiful, glittering dress: not a prisoner, but still very much the queen she was born to be.

Hans hated her, more and more every passing day, but that day more than any other because she was all he strived to be and had to cheat and lie to resemble to, but wouldn't show it, not even in the last moments.

Her emotionless face could have been mistaken for a look of noble dignity, but Hans knew it was only apathy.

Her people saluted her like a hero, as if she was leaving on a mission to save them all, when she was only the monster that cursed them.

How couldn't they see it?

It didn't matter. Towards the Isle of the Lost she went, and there she was bound to stay for however long her life was going to be.

§

Seven months after the start of the wintery curse, the Isle of the Lost was finalized with an impenetrable magical barrier that neutralized the magic inside and would prevent any from going in, the prisoners were left there and the Isle was sealed for good.

Once spring came, at last, Arendelle thawed.

Hans could finally have his coronation, if he so wanted - and oh, how he wanted it! - and the people would have to let him do as he wanted, they had no other ruler, no one else in line for the throne.

But.

There were things they didn't know. That no one knew.

Before the crown was put on Hans' head, the earth shook, the winds blew, fires sprouted from every candle and torch and fireplace and turned blue and purple and snaked around.

Panic ensued, people called for a new curse, but there were no magic users left, were there?

The evacuation had to be quick, lives weren't lost, a bit of luck, the hopes to recover their land after the disaster were still up...

Until water came.

It was a flood unlike any other, as if the sudden earthquake and windstorms and fires had thawed the mountains around and all the melted snow covered Arendelle until there was no Arendelle any longer.

§

Truth was not known to mortals for a long time.

The Spirits had taken revenge. Arendelle had refused and secluded their gift, their magical child who they elected to become one of them had been sent away and rendered powerless and the Spirits didn't like their blessings to go lost.

But they weren't cruel either. No one died, although people lost their home, they kept their lives.

Moreover, they blessed a princess once more.

Not with magic, but with a new chance at life.

Amidst all chaos brought by the water Nokk, the Gale had taken the frozen statue that was Princess Anna from the castle and away, far up, and before the destruction of her kingdom it brought her to Earth's children, the Trolls, where Bruni thawed her, gently healing her frozen heart little by little.

And little by little she came back to life.

With no sister, or kingdom, or a husband that never was so to wait for her, but alive, in a new family of rock trolls and one ice harvester whose heart had been broken until then and was more than willing to devote his life to her, if she so wished, Anna lived on.

§

It took a full year for Anna to recover, a precious year in which she grieved and learned what happened to her sister and her people... and gave her the time to plan what to do next.

Hans - the traitor! - had tried to take over her home, he had forced her to stay in that room and no one knew that but Anna, but oh, she may not be princess of anything anymore, but she knew he deserved a good punch in his face, that much was sure.

That's what he got, when Anna stormed in the Southern Isles' palace, demanding to see him without revealing her identity until the very last moment and, well, it was fun because he almost managed to marry another princess and basically Anna crushed the wedding in the most dramatic fashion like in some stories she used to read when she was a kid!

Ahem.

But yeah, everybody thought she was only the dead wife coming back to life for her husband, until she revealed they never married and he left her to die when he could have helped and no, she didn't know how she came back to life from her sister's curse but she was there and demanded, if her sister had to be punished, that he was too because he had been way more villainous than Elsa in Anna's eyes.

Of course, Hans was shipped to the Isle of the Lost with the next barge.

Unfortunately, King Beast refused Anna's requests to allow Elsa back from the Isle of the Lost, they couldn't risk her to freeze Auradon over, you see? Moreover, it was Elsa who asked to be brought to the Isle, under the Barrier that kept her powers at bay, powers that hurt Anna, he dared to remind, and all things considered, everyone was better off without magic - without Elsa. It was only exile, after all.

Anna's princess title was worth next to nothing if she had no kingdom to rule and from which get political leverage, save from the Trolls' territory and whatever remained of the city in the fjord, any plea from her side fell on deaf ears.

Even so, once they found out their princess was alive, people of Arendelle started to come back, looking for her, hoping for her guidance, willing to rebuid what possible and be back as the united population they once were, not refugees in the Southern states of Auradon, but a community of their own once again.

It was going to take time, Anna knew, but she and Kristoff and their people would and could make Arendelle back the strong kingdom it once was and then she would find a way to save her sister from herself.

She promised.

#descendants/frozen fic

[trans-clown-catgirl]

Jack Noir: A masterclass in villain introductions. (A Homestuck writing essay)

Hi! I'm Holly. I'm currently rereading Homestuck, several years after my first readthrough, and this reread has made me keenly aware and analytical about many of the comic's good aspects, and quite a few of its... Not so subtle shortcomings. But I've decided to pause midway through Act 5 Act 2, in part because it's very very long, to talk about what is thus far one of my favorite aspects of the entire comic; Jack Noir, and his introduction to the story. Without further ado, let's dive right into the deranged ramblings of someone with a severe case of villain favoritism, and a keen eye for good setup and payoff regarding villains!

Warning, this is very long, over 3000 words long. I have a lot to say about this guy, ok? Ok. Oh, and spoilers for HS all the way up to A5A2. Eyestrain warning too also

Intro

As someone with a long history of absolutely adoring watching villains in fiction, analyzing every aspect of the stories they’re in and how they impact them, their roles in said stories, and how the author handles them, it’s no wonder I’d instantly gravitate towards Jack Noir. He is, in my sincere opinion, one of the most effectively, swiftly and masterfully set up villains in not only Homestuck, but the general landscape of action media. Why is this, exactly? Well, a few reasons come to mind…

Prelude

We first meet Jack Noir less than 1000 pages in, watching over Dad Egbert, who has broken out of Derse’s prison and started wreaking havoc on the agents of Derse. Jack is one of these agents, and right off the bat it’s clear that this guy has a really, really short temper. Calling the agents trying to get a hold of the fugitive "Graveyard stuffers" in irritation at their incompetence, and making it clear how much he absolutely despises his boss, and of course, as will become relevant later, the stupid outfits she forces her underlings to wear. He hates his position, he hates his job, he hates his boss, and just about everything around him. You normally wouldn’t bat an eye at this, though; he doesn’t seem particularly dangerous, and seems like a relatively minor character, judging by his amount of screentime. His underhanded and cunning nature is demonstrated as he sends PM on a suicide mission to kill the White Queen and King in order to receive the green parcel; two crowns for one box. Again, you might not think much of this when you first come across it, it seems like Jack is just doing his job in his own way, applying underhanded tactics to make sure this package stays where his boss wants it to be; but it will become relevant later.

As the comic progresses, the trolls become more and more active, you might start wondering what the point of these conversations are, why they’d talk so much to the humans and what the point of this trolling campaign is. But more importantly, you might begin to ask why they seem to harbor so much hate towards the humans and why they treat them as nothing more than irreparable fuckups. It's implied that the kids eventually do something so catastrophically bad that the trolls (mostly Karkat) can’t possibly look past it and regard the kids as absolute idiots because of it. But, you’re just left wondering… 

Intermission

As you’re left wondering, something odd happens; the Intermission takes place. The Intermission is relatively short, and seems mostly pointless at first. Its placement seems odd, leaving you on a cliffhanger as you begin a story seemingly entirely unrelated to what you were just reading, save a few cameos from the Midnight Crew. The Intermission, of course, will later go on to be incredibly relevant, being the first ever mention of Lord English (albeit without a rapidly flashing pool ball in place of the O in Lord), and establishing the very important fact that if Snowman dies, the universe goes down with her.

Instantly, you notice that the members of the Midnight Crew reflect the designs of the Derse agents, although they’re clearly entirely different people, by different names, with different goals; although their core personality remains the same.

Most relevant to this conversation is Spades Slick, the leader of the Midnight Crew. He gets a good amount of screentime near the start, before the focus is shifted to the rest of his crew and their hijinks (Mostly Deuce, though.) as they destroy the Felt Mansion’s clocks and kill every single green torso they can find in the building. It’s clearly a messy job, and a few of the kills happen by either complete coincidence, or through sheer stupidity from the members of The Felt.

… That’s with the exception of Slick’s kills.

It’s stated right off the bat that he made sure 3 of The Felt’s members were dead before their raid, including Crowbar, possibly the most well rounded and clever member of the green torsos. This, combined with his entire layout for the plan, show that he’s got a knack for planning well ahead of time, and doing it well. His first kill is completely unceremonious, tripping a certain fast yellow dumbass right into his untimely demise. The focus remains on him for a bit, but we don’t see him do much before we cut to Deuce, and then the rest of the members of the Midnight Crew. But when we do…

So, the Intermission continues, and we’re shown Slick doing cleanup duty; taking out the remaining red torsos, stopping Eggs and Biscuits’ shenanigans in one fell swoop, and generally getting things done in a timely and efficient manner. And then, it’s shown how unhesitant and ruthless he can be, willing to sacrifice his crew’s lives and take a massive risk by forcing the vault open. He and Snowman are the last ones standing. And, you know the rest… Including how unphased he seems at the loss of his arm after the initial pain.

He’s precise. Methodical. Almost brutally so. Every single move he makes is well calculated, knowing exactly what outcome it will have before he executes it, with the goal of getting Crowbar’s, well… Crowbar. And along the way, making damn sure Sawbuck is dead too… Not before manipulating his time warping abilities in a precise manner that allows him to get what he wants from specific points in time, and efficiently return to the point in time he was at before he pulled the pin. He does so seemingly with little effort, calculated, surgically precise, each action done with purpose. Each stab and slice at Sawbuck performed with intent. Not to mention a clever reuse of Snowman’s own weapon to his advantage.

Now, why did I discuss all this? Well…

Setup, part 1

The Intermission serves a very important purpose for Jack’s setup as an antagonist; it shows us, through an alternate version of himself, how capable, ruthless, cunning and calculated he can be. Realizing this, the previous intermission makes much more sense… Kind of. You wouldn’t piece that together while reading it. But later on…

As you progress, it becomes evidently apparent that the reason the trolls (again, mostly Karkat.) are so mad at the kids is because they did something that affects both parties, and now the trolls are suffering the consequences of it. It’s hinted at and slowly built up, until…

This conversation makes it completely clear. The trolls are under siege by a threat that the kids caused. And as you scroll through the rest of the conversation, you wonder what that could be, and then you lay eyes on the bottom of the page.

> [S] JACK: ASCEND

Jack Noir. The archagent. The Derse counterpart to Spades Slick. You instantly recognize that name, because you saw his counterpart in action not too many pages ago. That ruthless precision, the brutal nature of each kill, the calculated and planned approach, these are things you’re to assume Jack is perfectly capable of as well. And it’s shown to you firsthand that he is just as capable. The aforementioned repressed rage and boatloads of anger are brought to a complete boil by the Black Queen showing her face and making a plaything out of Jack, someone overflowing with hate, overflowing with rage, overflowing with bloodlust. He completely snaps, rips off his outfit, and as the Queen threatens to kill him for his disobedience… The box comes back into play. He opens it, and whatever was inside vaporizes the Black Queen, leaving only tattered remains and a ring. His planning, cunning nature leads him to victory. And it creates the single most dangerous monster you’ve seen to this point.

The ring is used. The soundtrack’s pace flares right back up as Jack Noir transforms, in a menacing, gorgeous looking sequence, ending with a perfect shot of our new villain. 

Jack Noir, the insurrectionist. A threat to every timeline, and every universe.

ACTUAL INTERMISSION

As the comic progresses, this is shown in full display, as he ravages the Skaian battlefield, kills hundreds in one fell swoop, and does away with the crowns and/or their powers. He’s shown going toe to toe with Bro Strider, one of the guardians, who we just witnessed taking on some of the highest level monsters the kids’ session had to offer. This instantly sets the stage for how much you should be afraid of him, and how massive of a threat he poses.

… Or does he?

By this point, I had already been absolutely enamored by the way Jack Noir had been set up as an antagonist, even if I knew it was coming. I had never appreciated just how much went into making sure you were vaguely aware of a threat’s existence, setting up that threat, and without you knowing, showing you what that threat is capable of. And then you get payoff! A flash that’s pure eye candy, backed up by an utterly amazing track by the incredibly talented Toby Fox, that serves as an amazing piece of payoff for the foreshadowing that took place. An amazing way to establish a threat and what they’re capable of! By now, you’d think that’s it, that’s our guy, but… We’re only halfway through.

SETUP 2: TROLLS EDITION

So, now you’re familiar with Jack Noir. He’s a present threat, you know exactly what he’s capable of. I mean, come on, he went toe to toe with Bro and forced him to retreat! He wiped out the entire Skaian battlefield, he got a kickass theme, and got yet ANOTHER flash to show how horrifying he is in Descend! But oh, it’s only the beginning…

Hivebound. You’re thrust straight into the Trolls’ session, where the plot becomes quite a ways more complex, and you start to better understand and know the trolls. Something becomes quickly apparent, though; their session was much, much more complicated and difficult to get through, with stronger monsters, stronger weapons, and a 12x prototyped Black King. A Black King that they managed to take down, even though you never got to actually see it happen. If Jack Noir is still somehow in your mind past all the drama, atrocities, sea nazis (Or… Singular sea nazi. God I hate Eridan. Why did Pesterquest try to make him sympathizable. They failed. Fuck you, What Pumpkin. I’m glad you’re dead.), class fetishism, and other abject horrors of troll society, you might start asking yourself a few questions.

How… Exactly is Jack a threat to them? Jack went toe to toe with Bro, sure; but he didn’t absolutely dominate him or anything, and he only had 3 prototypings powering him up, while the trolls faced a 12x prototyped adversary and won. So, he shouldn’t be that much of a problem to them, right? Hell, their Jack even helped them out! Seeds of doubt start forming to those who pay attention, but the story proceeds.

Despite all this, as conversations go on, it’s clear that Jack is very much still what the trolls fear most at the moment, but it’s not clear why. In fact, he’s fighting Bro and Davesprite and getting his ass kicked. His credibility as a main villain begins to be put into question! Regardless, Jade’s part of the game begins after much waiting, and Jade enters the medium. Not before a conversation about how much of an irrefutable fuckup June is, though, courtesy of Karkat. Finally, you’ll get to know exactly what went so wrong that would spur such an intense hatred.

The trolls reach the end of the game, but right before they can close it out… A cataclysm happens. Something shows up, wipes out the Aradiabots, and forces the Trolls to retreat to the furthest ring, stranded on a meteor with an impending sense of doom. You might not assume it’s Jack at first! It could be the fabled Lord English, as you might suspect due to the green aura that caused all the destruction, but there’s no implication that he’s awoken yet, especially since Doc Scratch makes absolutely no implication that he ever did. Couldn’t be Jack either, right? He’s not shown to be able to do anything like that up to this point. Whatever it was, it destroys Prospit. Things are looking rough, and the trolling campaign soon starts.

Now, with Jade about to enter, you might remember her dog, Becquerel. You know, the one that could warp space and time to its will, and is nigh invincible? That one. Well, June falls asleep, thus leaving an unprototyped kernelsprite, and a Jade on the cusp of death; but not before her guardian, Bec, prototypes itself into the kernelsprite. It destroys the meteor! All is well, right?

… It cuts to Jack’s fight with Bro and Davesprite. And then it sinks in.

The spacetime warping dog’s power is going to be transferred to Jack Noir.

Something terrible is born.

A cut to the mysterious force that forced the trolls, the ones that took down that abomination of an ultra-prototyped Black King.

The threat makes itself known. A victory denied, doomsday begins.

The Aradiabots, a large factor in the victory against the Black King, are completely annihilated.

The force behind Prospit’s destruction is revealed.

There is no going back. The end is nigh.

The conversation resumes.

Bro is dead. He never stood a chance. Good riddance.

CG: YOU MADE AN UNBEATABLE BOSS IS WHAT YOU DID.

CG: THE IDIOT YOU CALL THE JADE HUMAN WENT AHEAD AND PROTOTYPED HER FREAK OF A LUSUS, WHILE YOU DECIDED TO TAKE A NAP FOR SOME REASON RATHER THAN DOING WHAT A LEADER IS SUPPOSED TO DO AND STOP HER FROM BEING SO FUCKING STUPID.

CG: YOUR VERSION OF JACK, WHO YOU WERE SOMEHOW DUMB ENOUGH TO ENTRUST WITH THE QUEEN'S RING, BECAME ESSENTIALLY INDESTRUCTIBLE.

CG: HE THEN WENT ON A RAMPAGE THROUGH YOUR POINTLESS SESSION, WHICH HILARIOUSLY, WAS ALREADY A LOST CAUSE EVEN BEFORE THIS HAPPENED!

CG: I AM JUST BESIDE MYSELF WITH THE SPECTACULAR BREADTH OF YOUR FAILURE.

CG: AND IF THIS WASN'T BAD ENOUGH

CG: YOUR "SOLUTION" LATER WOULD BE TO OPEN A RIFT IN SOME GLORIOUS GESTURE OF MEANINGLESS SUICIDE.

CG: AND I HAVE NO IDEA HOW

CG: BUT THE RIFT YOU OPENED ENABLED HIM TO ENTER OUR SESSION, JUST AS WE WERE ABOUT TO CLAIM OUR PRIZE.

CG: AND NOW WE'RE THE ONES WHO HAVE TO FUCKING DEAL WITH HIM!

CG: SO THANKS A LOT, SHIT HEAD.

God he’s so fucking cool.

It’s then explained to you that Becquerel was a first guardian, a protector of its inhabited planet, a type of being that’s omnipotent and just about impossible to kill. Properties you’ve already witnessed in the past with Bec. And those properties now belong to this brutal, bloodthirsty, cunning, methodical force of nature.

Everything is fucked.

Trophies collected, he leaves the scene. All hell is now loose.

AFTERMATH

CONCLUSION

This marks the end of Jack Noir’s introduction as a villain. First, his personality and personal abilities are shown in full display, instantly creating a menacing villain who you can absolutely be afraid of; followed up by how he got his hands on the power that allowed him to become a multiverse-scale threat. It’s set up through the course of the comic all the way up to his ascension, and the payoff is fantastic. However, he’s not too big of a focus, and in fact, you might forget about him as you enter the trolls’ session. New impressive feats come up that might make you doubt his credibility as a threat… And then you slowly find out that what you witnessed isn’t even half of what the characters will have to deal with. Another introduction takes place, an established powerful character killed, a proper measure of his power set by previous impressive feats becoming completely obsolete in the face of this unstoppable force of nature. Built up over the course of several thousand pages, he makes it look like the trolls’ session exists purely to portray how purely and utterly screwed anything is in the face of this black-snouted living superweapon.

Thus, a villain is established; he will continue to demonstrate his prowess and sheer level of absurd power, all the way till the penultimate page of this 8000+ page long comic. He will continue to be the single coolest villain in the entire comic, and a memorable one; in no small part due to his amazing double introduction. A lot of the best parts of the comic include him, and are often caused by him. And his first impressions, his initial impact, everything leading up to him being formed, are a large part of the reason why.

Jack Noir may not be objectively the best antagonist in the comic, the best written character, or the most deep (On purpose, mind you; he doesn’t change, but his presence drives other characters to change as a result of his actions), but one thing’s for damn sure; his introduction, both the first and second halves, were executed with a degree of elegance, cleverness and efficiency the likes of which any author can envy. It is utterly perfect; show what the villain can do, what kind of person they are, what drives them, and most importantly, make damn sure you convey to the audience how utterly terrifying they are by making it clear what kind of threat they’re dealing with. In Jack’s case? An omnipotent being that renders every previous opponent the heroes have faced completely obsolete, driven only by rage and bloodlust. A cunning, intelligent and brutal one at that. Everything being showcased and built up over the course of the first quarter or so of the comic in a perfect manner. Ample setup, paired with perfect payoff.

A villain introduction worth remembering.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Jack Noir is my favorite antagonist in Homestuck, and one of my favorite villains of all time. From his design in both his ascended and Bec Noir forms, to his personality, and how the story perfectly sets up everything regarding him and delivers an amazing degree of payoff, I am absolutely all over this guy.

Yes, I’m reusing this image, because look at him. He’s so goddamn cool. That’s your reward for reading through all of this. Me gushing about how cool and utterly amazing Jack Noir is as a villain and character. By the way, he should have kept the shades. They would have looked amazing on him.

Where was I? Oh, right. I hope I properly articulated why I think Jack Noir’s introduction over the course of the comic was executed to absolute perfection, and I hope I helped put other people’s similar thoughts into text in a unique and interesting way. If you have anything to add or anything you want to discuss, feel free to do so! An appreciation for media can only go so far without hearing other people’s thoughts, after all!

With that, I draw a close to this massive gush-rant-essay about my favorite villain in all of HS, and a contender for my favorite character overall. That’ll be it for me, and I hope this was a fun read at the very least.

I’ve been Holly, turbo-nerd extraordinaire, and I’ll see you on the flipside! Have a good day!

#homestuck #holly rambles #jack noir #bec noir

[llycaons]

I've been revisiting youtubers recently. some I like under the cut

Folding Ideas: a marvelously well-spoken social and media critic, with commentary on symbolism in film. his breakdowns of the editing failures of films such as Suicide Squad and The Snowman are entertaining and informative, and he has mini-episodes on narrative concepts like Thermian arguments (the Watsonian of Watsonian vs. Doylist explanations) and ludonarrative dissonance. politically on top of it (mostly), extremely astute, and a pleasure to listen to. See Earthsea and Adaptation Sickness, End of Evangelion and the Audience Author Membrane, The Thermian Argument, The Art of Editing and Suicide Squad, Cinematic Trainwreck – The Snowman: A Vlog, Cooking Food On The Internet For Fun And Profit, Annihilation and Decoding Metaphor

Ariel Bissett: a delightful young Canadian book reviewer takes us on her journey of renovating her old house. mostly cosmetic changes rather than structural as she's essentially self-taught, but she's a charismatic and charming host with a unique eye for style and color. her design sense matches closely with my own (we're both Monet fans), so I find her videos very soothing and satisfying to watch. I haven't seen any of her book reviews, but she seems thoughtful and passionate. I like all her house videos, but particularly the three yearly house tours so far (intro video, one year in, two years in,), Building The Perfect Guest Room, Complete Office Renovation!, Living Room Renovation To Look Like Emma's House!, Building The Perfect Reading Nook, Transforming the Smallest Room In My House With Wallpaper, and honestly all the others. it's a real pleasure to see the changes she makes over the months. I can't wait for the kitchen redo!

Accented Cinema: probably my favorite youtuber right now. he's a Chinese Canadian filmmaker with a focus on films and film-making processes, both his own and those from China (most often) and other non-American countries (occasionally). his videos have brought me to tears more than once. honestly I love too many to list all of them so I'll just list my top favorites but I highly recommend this channel. I loved Why China Cared About Kung Fu Panda, Shadow: Adapting Chinese Art, Who Killed Captain Alex: What Makes a Movie Good?, Chinese Animation: In Search of a Style (brief shot of mdzs donghua at the very end), Why Ghibli's First 3D Looks Soulless, East vs. West: Differences in Story Philosophy, Mahjong & Crazy Rich Asians, Why Are Kung Fu Movies So Patriotic, How I Made a Fake Video Essay

Local Script Man: a professional screenwriter whose advice and commentary on creating stories is really interesting and different than what you tend to see on tumblr. he tends to be kind of harsh but not in mean-spirited way, just in a way that makes it obvious that he knows what he's talking about. I like Oops No Plot, The Key to Writing Freakishly Good Dialogue, and both parts of 5 Essential Storytelling Rules I Just Made Up (part 1, part 2)

Schaffrillas Productions: a guy breaks down and ranks various animated films, often by studio. these videos are just a lot of fun. I liked his videos on the Shrek franchise (one, two, three, four, and the musical), and Raya vs. Encanto - How One Message Failed and Another Succeeded

Super Eyepatch Wolf: this man is, as we speak, convincing me to read Berserk. he has a slow, dramatic presentation of his arguments that draw you in and a great sense of humor. All of his "Why You Should Watch" videos are interesting even if you don't have any plans to watch the show he's describing, because they give an overview of the themes and strengths without spoiling it. he also presents a wealth of information on manga/anime history, and miscellaneous commentary on other media. I liked in particular The Fall of The Simpsons: How it Happened, "Non Battle" Battle Anime, What Makes A Fight Scene Interesting?, The Impact of Dragon Ball Z: The Series that Changed Everything, Why You Should Watch Yu Yu Hakusho, What Makes A Good Character Design?,

Cinema Therapy: these two guys are charming and sometimes funny. they can get annoying and their analyses tend to be very superficial, but I really like their videos tearing into bad romantic cliches. I like 10 TROPES We Hate About Rom Coms, 7 Tips from THE ADDAMS FAMILY to Keep Your Marriage Alive, TITANIC: Love Triangles and Compatibility, Therapist Reacts to THE KISSING BOOTH (Part 1, Part 2), Relationship Therapist Ranks Christmas Romances with guest Shona Kay

Sideways: a channel about music! knowing nothing about music at all, I find these videos really interesting and accessible. see Why the Music in Cats (2019) is Worse than you Thought, Why Pipe Organs Sound Scary, Decoding the Music of The Matrix, Why Avatar has the Most Ironic Soundtrack of All Time, Why the Soundtrack to Shrek is Actually Genius, Ear Training and Sight Singing: The Superpower you get from Music School, Why "Spoken Word" Makes me Nervous

Pop Culture Detective: I like this channel for the analyses of troubling tropes in media, especially the ones on misogyny. See Marvel Defenders of The Status Quo, The Ethics of Looking And The “Harmless” Peeping Tom, Born Sexy Yesterday, The Complicity of Geek Masculinity on the Big Bang Theory, Sexual Assault of Men Played for Laughs (Part one, Part two), Stranger Things, Belligerent Romance, and the Danger of Nostalgia

favorite misc videos here

#part 2 for misc videos coming next #cor.txt #save #video essays

[thelostboys87]

wrote 421 for until heaven which is a good day in litfic land 👍 for some reason indecisive about what i want to share on main but i like this paragraph a lot so i'm just dumping it on here for now 👍👍 when the wip accidentally becomes a christmas novella (cw suicide)

He’d been twenty-two and self-declared not suicidal anymore, only a little bit depressed compared to the rest of that age but still foggy, still felt far away from he life he wanted to live and even further away from Church and prayer; so far that his idea of God and Jesus and holiness had been glittered by tinsel and multicoloured lights, by the glowy plastic angel in their neighbour’s yard next to a glowy plastic snowman, by the cheap tiny tree that he and Dorothy bought which left plastic pine pieces all over their coffee table but they didn’t mind – because fuck it, they’d thought, we might as well grow traditions now – and by the glittery performance of Last Christmas they saw as part of a seasonal drag show the week before. And he’d loved it, realised he could be someone who loves Christmas and maybe even everything else, and he couldn’t believe that San Francisco had been home to the worst year of his life.

#if the felix novella is the christmas story then the dorothy novella should be the new years one #dorothy to me is like if new years eve was a woman #felix being like 22 was the worst year of my life ME TOO GIRLLLLLLL #sorry the first line THATS SOOO ME. after my mom died i was actually like okay i Cannot be thinking about that anymore