#this ranch is gigantic i had so much fun with it

[minamill]

Finally done decorating the ranch

You can see the rest is rest of the ground floor here, the living room here and the original lot here

#there's a lot more i didn't feel like including in this post #a workout room for cedar #another unfurnished bedroom and wren's bedroom which is mostly the same as his previous one #oh and a whole outdoor area farm and barn #this ranch is gigantic i had so much fun with it #oh and spoiler ig twins are coming #ts4 #sims 4 #ts4 interior #sims 4 interior

[danishmuseuminterns]

Living in America: Observing Some Uniquely American Habits

By Anders Tornsø Jørgensen

Having lived in Elk Horn, Iowa, for about four months have given me some interesting insights into American, and especially Midwestern, culture, which I have decided to reflect about in this post. With that being said, I always feel that it’s hard to say something in general about Americans characteristics and habits because this nation is so diverse in every way. Whether it’s culture, tradition, nature, laws, and history, the states of the United States are as different as Spain and Denmark or France and Poland just to mention a few countries of the European Union. It’s like 50 countries in with different regions, and even within states, there usually is a great difference between rural and urban areas. However, I hope this’ll be a fun exercise, sharing a few observations about American culture.

So, let’s start with the first observation. The United States is a ranch nation! And I understand why. This powerful combination of mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, salt, black pepper, garlic, onion, chives, parsley, and dill have created the tastiest dressing in mankind’s history. Since 1992 ranch has been the best-selling salad dressing in the United States, and according to a study, 40% of Americans name ranch as their favorite dressing. It was invented in the early 1950s by a plumbing contractor from Nebraska, who after having a lot of success working in Alaska could retire at the age of 35. While in Alaska, he came up with a dressing to keep his hungry crew happy. Anyway, he became restless in his retirement and ended up creating this work of wonders at his Californian ranch. His ranch was renamed Hidden Valley Ranch, and later, other companies began to introduce a similar dressing.

I’ve been hooked since the first time I was introduced to ranch dressing, which happened at a Walmart, where there was a dozen of different ranch dressings. This captures another uniquely American practice: Everything has to come in a billion different varieties and no place is it clearer than at the gigantic Walmart stores, where you can buy pretty much anything imaginable. The closest thing to a Walmart in Denmark would be Bilka. Yet, it would only be considered a little brother. While I appreciate the freedom to choose, it also feels a bit overwhelming something and makes it so hard to decide what to choose. When I had my family over on a visit, I actually showed them a Walmart, because, for better or worse, it says something about contemporary America’s consumer culture. I see how convenient Walmart is, but I also think that the big chains have changed the fabric of small-town America fundamentally. Also, when doing grocery shopping, I have noticed that sales tax is not included on price tags, which is a bit manipulative.

Besides optimism and big dreams, what I always have liked about Americans, and what makes me keep coming back, is the friendliness and helpfulness. It’s especially strong in the Midwestern region – and a trait that Midwesterners is quite proud off. Recently, the intern car’s exhaust system was so rusted that it literally fell off during a drive. Luckily, I was in Elk Horn, and quickly a couple came out and helped me tie it back up and find a mechanic. This example just illustrates the friendliness of Americans. In general, I often find that Americans are more approachable, curious, and helpful than many Danes. If you look confused in the United States, people will usually ask you if you need help. Also, Americans are very curious. When they hear my strong accent, they usually wonder how and why I ended up in the American Midwest. I assume, that this curiosity has something to do with America being a very heterogenous nation with a lot of diversity, where people come from so many different walks of life. In a homogenous society, like Denmark, people have feeling of a very shared identity, as many share the same backgrounds and traditions.

Food culture is also very different in the United States. Of course, each American region offers unique cuisines, but still, there is some national patterns. Even in small American towns, you’re always likely to find a pizza, Chinese, or Mexican food. Food has always been an adventure whenever I am in the United States, as Americans are good at combining the best of both worlds, such as with surf 'n' turf, chicken ‘n’ waffle, or a s’more dessert pizza and in general just adding a lot of cheese. You’ll also always find free water – Denmark sure could learn something there – and refills of soda (or ‘pop’ as we say around here.) Also, many Americans have a very strange obsession of filling their drinks up with ice, which I don’t really get, as there ends up being more ice than liquid in the glass. I really like the doggy bag concept, which has gained acceptance in Denmark within recent years. It’s good in the fight against food waste, and usually American portions are pretty generous, so it’s nice to save some leftovers for the next day. Not that I really use it, because I am pretty much an unstoppable human trashcan whenever I eat. In some European countries it would be considered a bit embarrassing to ask for a doggy bag, while over here there’s no such shame attached to a doggy bag.

Speaking of food culture, it’s interesting to notice how many breakfast restaurants the United States has. Some places, usually diners, open as early as 6 AM and closes after lunch time. The abundance of fast food chains also fascinates me, including A&W Restaurants, who sell a top-notch root beer float. Furthermore, in the U.S., you have a lot of regional chains like In-N-Out Burger of California, Whataburger of Texas, and my all-time favorite, Culver’s of the Midwest. And most importantly, tipping!  Waiters over here do not make enough money to live solely on their paycheck, so if you don't leave a tip in the United States, you are considered a bad-mannered. Back home, leaving a tip, would probably be a little to flashy due to the Danish Law of Jante.

Another interesting thing is the car culture of the United States, especially in rural areas, which is what defines most of Iowa. Most Americans take their car anywhere they go, and public transportation is usually only available in urban areas. Many of my colleagues seems to be surprised over the fact that I walk 15 minutes to the museum every morning and back every afternoon. In the beginning of my internship, many often asked me if I needed a ride home, which was a very friendly gesture, but I actually just wanted to get some fresh air and a bit of exercise. Another note on American car culture is how Americans perceives distance. With the United States being a pretty big country, the attitude toward distances is very different. In Denmark, a two-hour drive would be considered a long drive. Iowa has roughly half of the Danish population, but within an area that is three times as large as Denmark

Also, driving around over here, has made me realize that Americans are allowed to turn right on a red light, which was quite strange to me in the beginning (and still is.) Furthermore, the grid system and the practice of attributing numbers to the streets (1st Avenue or 26th Street) instead of names, is typically American, and its usually way more logic.

Besides a difference perspective on distance, the American perception of time is another interesting topic. The United States is a young nation, especially when compared to many European countries. To illustrate this, think about how a 100-year old house old would be considered old by Americans, but relatively new for many Europeans. When Danes think about ‘the past,’ they may think about the Vikings or distant monarchs of the past, whereas many Americans usually think about the Founding Fathers or the Civil War, which for many historians, is considered pretty modern. Of course, American history goes way back before the Founding Fathers with Native Americans.

What the Americans may lack in ancient churches is made up by the abundance of “world’s largest” roadside attractions such as Albert the Bull in nearby Audubon, Iowa, or when I met the world’s largest buffalo up in Jamestown, North Dakota. Currently at least 195 U.S. roadside attractions consider themselves the “world’s largest.” The funniest “world’s largest” experience I had was Iowa 80, the world's largest truck stop, located along Interstate 80 off exit 284 in Walcott, Iowa. This place also had a museum about trucking, which was quite interesting. In general, I have seen a lot of unique U.S. museums – sky’s the limit over here, and that’s why you have museums like the SPAM Museum, the National Mustard Museum and the John Wayne Museum.

Sports in the United States is something I truly recommend trying. Within the recent month I have both been to my first baseball (go Iowa Cyclones!) and American football game, which is two sports that really defines the United States, and when we sang the national anthem I truly felt a sense of belonging. The rules still confuse me a bit, but I’m more of a show person, I enjoy the impressive performances by the marching band, the cheerleaders and the mascot – what a coordination and dedication it is to witness. It is often said that that everything is bigger in the United States, and the stadiums over here are really big even if it’s a college or a professional sports team. And then there’s the concept of tailgating, where temporary tent cities pop up in stadium parking and sports fans grills, drinks, and enjoys life. Anyway, I still need to go to a basketball game, and perhaps, an ice hockey game.

I’ll end this post with some basic differences, yet they’re important for daily life. In the U.S., the standard date format is month-day-year whilst across Europe, it is written date-month-year. Furthermore, the U.S. uses the imperial system for measuring weight and distance (feet, miles, and pounds) whereas Europe have the metric system (meters, kilometers, and kilos). All of these have led to a lot of confusion for me over the years, and the Fahrenheit is still pretty strange to me.

There is so many observations to make about American culture. Patriotism, bumper stickers, prescription drug commercials, Midwestern goodbyes, fascination of the British royal family, partying with red solo cups, donuts, country music, pies – the list could go on forever. But now it’s time to enjoy a favorite uniquely American meal of mine: The all-American classic combination of peanut butter and jelly, the PB&J.

Have a good one!

[reviilo]

i can't stop thinking about an alive!bianca au so i'll just put them here to not forget

Bianca actually found an entrance to the labyrinth just before she was crushed, and fled there

She spent months in the labyrinth (which felt like a week) until she was finally able to get out

She left in Venice and was worried about everything that had happened with the mission and the others

Aphrodite showed up and told her that Bianca was presumed dead four months ago

Bianca wanted to go back immediately, find the hunters and Nico, but Aphrodite stopped her

The goddess said that she could protect Nico as he was under her blessing, but that Bianca should stay away as it would be too complicated to protect two powerful demigods together

(remember in MoA, when Annabeth, Piper and Hazel meet Aphrodite and she says "would it make their love life interesting?" considering all that Nico did, I would say Aphrodite had a lot of fun with so much tragedy)

Bianca was very afraid, but Aphrodite said that Nico was safe in the CHB; that Percy, because he understood what it was like to be a powerful demigod, would be by Nico's side

So Bianca trusted, and decided to stay in Venice

She learned to fight alone, discover her own powers (since there were many monsters there) and gradually remembered her own past

Unfortunately, the Di Angelos had been condemned shortly before Mussolini died, massacred as traitors for not following the fascist regime, and only Bianca and Nico of the family were left

Artemis' blessing was taken away by Aphrodite, to make everything more "real", according to the goddess

Bianca started having constant nightmares: she used to see Nico alone in the underworld, accompanied by ghosts all the time, always looking miserable and lonely

When she questioned Aphrodite about it, the goddess said that they were just irrational nightmares, fueled by a feeling of guilt at Bianca's core for having "abandoned" her brother (we all know how manipulative Aphrodite can be)

Sometimes Bianca also dreamed in the first person: that Nico had summoned her to a ranch together with Percy, that Nico had tried to summon their mother's spirit, and she had tried to stop him... but there was no way those things could be true, after all, Aphrodite was always so convincing in saying that Nico was protected at CHB, right?

Until one day, Aphrodite arrives and says that Nico died in the battle against Kronos, shortly after convincing Hades, Persephone and Demeter to participate

Bianca wanted to visit him in the underworld, but Aphrodite was persistent in saying that would only bring more headaches

And then Bianca stayed there, for years... living old and new memories, surviving the monsters, making friends, totally away from the greek world in the USA, and still with the bitter feeling in her chest

Years later, the situation got much worse in Italy: monsters appeared in huge flocks and just didn't die, and Bianca felt a crack between the underworld and the mortal world, along with the presence of thousands and thousands of monsters

Before she could focus on it, the nightmares returned: this time, Nico was alone in a dark and completely horrible place, with monsters sprouting from the ground, rivers of fire and lamentation, dark and empty sky and air that felt like poison

Bianca couldn't understand why these nightmares came back, but the more she had them, the more something stuck in her mind: she needed to go to Rome, and that's what she did

No one but her saw the gigantic flying greek trireme, but with her invisibility powers, it was easy to get there

Bianca felt the presence of demigods and wanted to know why they were in that place until she saw: Nico, with glassy eyes and looking half dead

She surprised the demigods, not looking at anyone and just going on automatic, wanting to get Nico out of there

It was then that Percy's face appeared and Bianca hesitated to run away

in this au nico kinda went crazy because of tartarus (honestly how it didn't happen in canon i don't know) and he's in a vegetative state where he doesn't recognize anyone

yes! bianca with invisibility powers! thanks to this post here:

idk if i should continue this

#bianca di angelo #nico di angelo #alive bianca au #pjo #hoo #percy jackson & the olympians #heroes of olympus #percy jackson #aphrodite #yes aphrodite just made it all to have fun with nico's love sufferings #i mean this is a really real good reason for aphrodite in canon

[wagner-fell]

“So then Catra writes on this note ‘hey Adora’ and Adora is like ‘grrrr’ and so they do this whole passive aggressive dance where you could have cut the sexual tension with a knife. Oh, and then-”

“I. Hate. History. Class.” Mari slammed their plastic lunch tray onto the table.

“Oh thank god,” said Kevin. Listening to Mari rant was much preferable to hearing about the Princess Prom episode from Astrid. Again.

Blessica hit Kevin and gave him a pointed look.

“I mean it’s bad enough I have to write essays about fucking colonizers. But now I have to sit next to this white-ass American boy? No thanks.”

“You know,” began Astrid, “if you wanted, I could kill this new guy for you with, oh I don’t know, werewolf po-”

“No!” they all shouted in unison. Astrid was mundane with the gift of the slight but she didn’t think of it like a gift. What was the point of being able to see this fantastical reality if she couldn’t be a part of it? What was the point of having three werewolves as your best friends if they refused to turn you into one?

Blessica tried to tell her that, as a downworlder, she would face a lot of discrimination. But what kinda excuse was that? Astrid was a Korean lesbian who, for most of the time, lived with her single mother. At least this branch of marginalization gave her freakin’ superpowers. The only superpower Astrid currently had at her disposal was not having to date men.

Astrid angrily took a bite of her cinnamon roll and Mari followed suit. Blessica tried to pat her arm but Astrid swatted her away.

“American?” Kevin asked. “I don’t remember any Americans. Is he new?”

Mari nodded through a mouthful of baked goods. She tucked her tie into her black-and-white uniform sweater vest so they didn’t stain it. Normally she wouldn’t have bothered but laundry had been a living nightmare lately. They promptly realized that her sweater vest was also going to get food on it. In removing it, their stomach flashed briefly. She stuffed it in her bag and set an alarm on her phone so they wouldn’t forget to put it back on before the lunch bell rang. Like that time Miss Yang made them jelly doughnuts and she got detention for a week. Mari really hated this school sometimes.

When she looked up to see half the surrounding area staring at them, they looked down at her collared shirt to see if she had gotten fresh cinnamon bun gooeyness on it already.

Astrid laughed. “It’s because you exposed your six-pack.” She moved her fork around in circles, making sure the ranch covered each piece of lettuce in her salad. Astrid loved ranch. She kept a gigantic bottle of it in her bag at all times. “You know, one time this guy asked me if you got them tattooed on. Cause girls can’t have abs and all that bull.”

“And what did you tell him?” asked Mari, amused.

“No.”

“Thank go-”

“I told him the truth. That the only tattoo you have is of Consul Lightwood’s face on your ass.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

“The world deserves to know.”

“You're a hazard to society.”

“Awwwww. Mari! I love you too.”

Astrid smiled and shoved a mouthful of salad into her mouth as Mari rolled their eyes.

“Holy shit,” said Blessica, staring at something over Mari’s shoulder. “That is the second hottest man I have ever seen.”

Kevin glanced in the direction she was looking at then back to her. “What? Who?” he asked at the same time Mari drawled, “second hottest, who’s the first?” with a single eyebrow raised.

Blessica blushed as Kevin continued his search. “M-magnus Bane. Obviously.”

“Riiiiiiiight,” said Astrid, looking between her and Kevin.

Blessica blushed deeper. “Shut up.”

“Wow,” said Kevin. “That him?” He pointed and this time Mari turned around…to face Kit fucking Herondale.

Blessica, still red in the face, nodded.

“Wow indeed,” agreed Astrid.

“Aren’t you a lesbian?” questioned Blessica.

“Blessie, darling, I may rather suck on a cactus than suck on a dick but hotties can admire their fellow hotties. Gender is irrelevant in this scenario.”

Mari slammed their hands down onto the table. “Ladies! We are better than simping, even just hottie wise, over an American, white boy! We have standards! And Kevin! I know that” disgust dripped from her voice, “is your type, but resist!”

He rolled his eyes. “Jesus. You hook up with two blonde nephilim and suddenly it’s your type.”

“Yes,” said Astrid slowly, as if explaining something to a very dim child, “that’s how it works.”

Mari felt like they were missing something. Her three friends began discussing where they wanted to go tomorrow for Blessica’s birthday but they were stuck on Kevin’s statement. Something about it wasn’t quite right. It took her longer than she was proud of to figure it out.

“Wait, hold up, did you say nephilim? Kit is a Shadowhunter?!”

They all exchanged a look. “Uh, yeah. Didn’t you see the Mark on his hand?”

Mari turned back to him again. He was sitting by himself at a few tables, scrolling away. And on the hand holding his water bottle… was a voyance rune, clear as day. How did they miss that? “What is a Shadowhunter doing here anyway?”

Kevin shrugged. “Perhaps he’s here to check out London’s up-coming werewolf. I hear she’s a hazard to society.”

Astrid’s head shot up. “Really?!”

“No, sorry sweetie,” interjected Blessica. Astrid finished her cinnamon bun with an annoyed ‘hmph’.

They chatted more about Blessica’s upcoming sixteenth birthday before Kevin came up with the dumbest idea ever. Which was an extremely difficult title to earn amongst the 11th years at St. Lucy’s Academy.

“We should invite the Shadowhunter.”

Mari scoffed. “The whole pack’s gonna be there! Like hell they would let a Shadowhunter crash it.”

“Oh please. Once they lay their eyes on McDreamy, they’ll all forget about his angel blood.”

Astrid gasped. “Is that a Grey’s Anatomy reference? Are you finally watching it?” They all ignored her.

“I think it might be fun,” said Blessica. “And it’s my party so…” She stood up and walked over to Kit’s table, Kevin right behind her.

Astrid picked up her salad with one hand and her second cinnamon bun with the other. “Come in,” she said. “What’s the worst that can happen. You fall in love?”

“Haha,” said Mari, slinging her bag over their shoulder and joining the others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @adoravel-fenomeno @im-not-ruined-im-ruination@thechangeling @thomas-gaypanic-lightwood @sofiatheskeleton @cncnbr @its-taff @ithurielkeepsgettingkidnapped @noah-herondale-lightwood @maxboythedog @arangiajoan @shelvesofgold @illusions-give-reasons-to-live @book-dragon-not-worm @the-blackdale @the-wckd-powers Lmk if you want to b adde/removed from the tag list!

#mari machado #mari Machado Sotomayor #blessica reyes #astrid yang #kevin chu #the merry hoes #kit rook #kit herondale #mari the werewolf

[disgruntledspacedad]

Save a Horse 

pairing: Javier Peña x reader

summary: (fluff, slice of life) You ride a horse. Javi has a heart attack. 

words: 2kish

warnings: language. Utter ignorance of ranch life, but Ears is enthusiastic, at least. No horses were harmed in the writing of this fic.

a/n: unbeta’d.

It was Pop’s idea to start with. 

“Have you ever ridden a horse, Orejas?” he breaks the easy morning silence suddenly, resting his empty mug on the counter and shooting you an expression that can only be described as conspiratorial.

“No,” you answer honestly, thinking wryly that Pop certainly knows how to catch your attention. 

Beside you, Javi stiffens, and you can feel his gaze heavy on you. He’s been a little jumpy ever since he’d got you back, and with good reason, really. You rest a reassuring hand on his thigh and squeeze, receiving just as much comfort from the gesture as you’re offering.

This man is your rock.

Pop is still watching you expectantly, and you feel your lips tug upward. It’s so easy to smile at Chucho Peña. “But I’m game to try anything twice.”

Pop grins, and Javi blusters a deep sigh.

It’s nice outside. For being early November, the weather is surprisingly mild in Laredo, the air smelling of grass and hay and maybe a little bit of horse, but in a good way. The sunshine is warm on your skin, the sky extending bright blue as far as you can see. 

Pop leads you to the stables, prattling on about horses and saddles and other things that you don’t understand in the slightest. Javi follows silently, catching your fingers in a vice grip. His jaw is tense, his brow furrowed in that little frown that seems to be permanently affixed to his face ever since Colombia.

Your heart flip flops, and you stop, pulling him close enough to rest your head on his chest. Automatically, Javi’s arms wrap around you, pulling you in, and he sighs deeply into your hair. 

“Freaking out,” you remind him gently. 

He huffs a tiny laugh. “I know.”

You lift your lips for a quick kiss, and Javi obliges eagerly. “It’s going to be okay, babe,” you murmur as you pull away. 

“I know,” he repeats softly, looking for all the world like he really doesn’t. 

“Come on.” You tug at him, noticing Pop carefully not watching you in the distance. “It’ll be fun.”

“I doubt that,” Javi mutters darkly, but he follows anyway.

“This is Caballo,” Pop announces, stopping in front of a freakishly huge black stallion.

Creative, you almost say aloud, reminding yourself to be nice just in time. This man is as good as your father-in-law. It’s probably wise to keep that favorable impression you’ve made.

As if sensing your thought, Pop winks at you. “Javier named him.”

You shoot a little smirk in Javi’s direction, knowing that he’ll pick up on your teasing. He doesn’t rise to your bait, though, the killjoy.

In no time at all, the horses are saddled up and ready to go. Javi is perched atop a cream-colored mare, Cerveza, and Caballo is all yours.

Pop declines to ride, preferring to supervise you from the ground. “He’s very gentle, Orejas,” he tells you as he helps you into the saddle. “Won’t throw you or buck. Not like Cerveza.” He winks up at you. “Es una pequeña perra.”

Together, you laugh. You’ve picked up on enough Spanish curses during your time in Colombia to get the message.

Javi and Pop offer you some last-second advice - relax, sit up straight, and keep the reigns loose - and then you’re off, plod-plod-ploding at a mind-numbingly sedate pace around the fence line. 

By the third lap, you are thoroughly, utterly, completely bored.

“I think I’m ready to go faster!” you shout to Pop. “Can I make him go faster?”

Pop tips his hat at you, shooting you a toothy grin. “Tap him on the sides with your heels, Orejas, and say, ‘giddap!’”

“Gently,” Javi warns you sharply.

You shoot him a glare that’s only half-mocking. As if you’d just kick this poor horse in the ribs - god, it’s like Javi doesn’t know you at all.

“Giddap,” you say in your most dignified voice, nudging Caballo with your feet like Pop had told you. Caballo jolts forward, cantering half-heartedly for a couple of steps, then slowing to a walk with a disdainful snort. 

Ugh. You toss a questioning glance back at Javi. He’s doing a very poor job of hiding his grin.

Motherfucker.

Pop is smiling, too. “Try it with a little more authority, Orejas!” he advises. “He’s a big animal, and proud. You’ve got to tell him what to do, not ask politely.” 

 Javi snorts. ”Shouldn’t be too hard.”

You whip around to stare at him, lurching forward when Caballo reacts to your sudden shift in body weight. Behind you, Javi breaks out into snickers.

Well, then.

Exasperated, you decide that Javier Peña is far more of a big, dumb, proud animal than the horse you’re riding, and you manage to climb atop him every day and submit him to your will just fine.

Caballo shouldn’t be a problem. 

You square your shoulders, determined to get it right this time, and summon every John Wayne movie you’ve ever seen to the forefront of your mind. It’s not an impressive anthology to pull from - you’re more of a sci-fi kind of girl - but it’s more than enough to get a clear picture in your head of what needs to happen. 

You gather the reigns in one hand, straighten your back, and take a deep breath. 

“Hyah!”

Caballo is off like a shot, surging forward with an enthusiasm that sends your body rocketing backwards. Your feet fly up, suddenly free of the stirrups, and its all you can do to hold like mad to the reigns with your right hand - why the fuck did you decide one hand was better, anyway?? - while your left flaps free in the wind.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,” you tell Caballo. You’re not begging, you’re not.

You’re vaguely aware of shouts behind you.

You manage to pitch forward just enough to avoid falling off the ass-end of the horse, but it’s a near thing. Caballo is in a full-out gallop, lungs chugging beneath you, mane flapping in the wind and stinging your eyeballs. You lean in and hold on for dear life, and goddamn, none of those westerns ever mention just how rough it is on horseback. You are going to be so fucking sore tomorrow, ass, tits, and bits, but you can’t find it in yourself to care, because you are riding this horse, dammit.

You realize your mistake a moment later. Pride goeth before the fall, and your feet had shaken free of the stirrups on Caballo’s initial leap forward. Now, your legs are free-floating, flap, flap, flapping in the wind, and each bounce is sending you just a hair further over to the side. 

Oh shit shit shit.

You flail, arching your toes in a desperate attempt to find purchase somewhere, but it’s a done deal. Grip with your knees, some primal instinct screams, or maybe that’s just Javi - you think he might be chasing you in the background.

By this point, you’re flat sideways on Caballo’s body, curled up more on his ribs than his back. Flop flop flop. He hasn’t slowed one bit, and you realize with sudden, horrifying clarity that gravity is a fucking bitch, and it’s a matter of where, not if or when, you fall.

You decide to do things on your own terms and let go, dumb as it may be. You pitch forward and roll, tucking your shoulder into the ground like your gymnastics teacher had taught you when you were six. There’s a horrifying moment of chaos and pain - the world is spinning, nothing is under your control, and the breath is knocked completely from you, but it’s over in an instant, and you’re left staring at the shockingly blue sky, blinking into the sunlight and listening to the receding hoof-falls of that goddamned horse.

“Ears! Ears! Ears!” Javi is making a lot of fucking noise somewhere over your shoulder. 

The ridiculousness of the situation hits you all at once, along with a truckload of relief. You relive it all in an instant, picturing how utterly fucking stupid you must have looked, clinging to a runaway horse with your hair wild in the wind and your short little legs bouncing like chicken wings, and before you can find your way to your feet again, you’re laughing so hard that you can’t fucking breathe, which is almost a problem, because there wasn’t much air left in you to begin with -

Javi’s kneeling over you now, blocking the sun with his body, panting hard. “Oh, fuck. Fuck, Ears, are you okay?”

You can’t stop laughing long enough to answer him. You curl up in a ball on your side, trying push yourself up on your elbows, but you can’t.

“Oh… Oh my… Oh my god,” you stutter, breathless. 

Beside you, the tension bleeds from Javi’s body in one long, broken sigh. You realize that he’s laughing, too. He leans his forehead into your shoulder, slumping into you bonelessly.

“I… I couldn’t… the fucking foot loops -” in your discombobulated state, the word ‘stirrup’ is lost to you. “My feet, Javi!”

He shakes his head into your neck, hot little breaths puffing on your bare skin. “I know,” he giggles, pressing a quick kiss to your jaw. “I saw.”

You try to stagger upright and don’t quite manage it. You’re feeling dizzy, almost a little drunk, but before you can stumble again, Javi is right there, hauling you to your feet and catching your lips in a deep, gentle kiss.

“You.” Javi breathes into you, his mustache tickling at your lip, and you lean heavily against him, allowing him to do most of the work of holding you up. “Ridiculous girl,” more kisses, “What do you have against me, huh?” a soft nip at the corner of your mouth, “It’s like you just try to scare the life out of me, Ears.”

“Dunno.” Your voice trembles, and you’re unsure whether that’s leftover adrenaline or the way Javi’s gigantic hands are stroking possessively at your ribcage. The flannel he’s wearing is worn soft with age, and you nuzzle into it, sighing. “It’s a hobby, I guess.”

“I can think of better hobbies,” Javi growls at the skin of your neck.

“Not right here,” you laugh, suddenly aware of Pop approaching. Javi whines like a puppy as you push him away gently, his hair mussed and his lips swollen, and your heart swells in your chest.

Christ, sometimes you still cannot believe how fucking lucky you are. 

“Besides.” You can’t resist stealing one last kiss from his chin. “You know you love it.”

Javi’s breath catches. His eyes darken. One thumb strokes softly at your cheek, tucking back a stray hair. “Querida,” he starts -

You’re startled by a slow clap behind you, and both you and Javi jump back as if burned. Pop has finally made it to the scene. “Buena, Orejas!” he teases, his dark eyes dancing. “Well done!”

Asshole, you think fondly. Sarcasm runs strong in the Peña clan, it seems. You shake your head at him, a grin pulling at your cheeks.

Pop reaches to grip Caballo by the reigns. The motherfucker had finished his flight around the the ranch and wandered back toward you, sedately, almost nonchalantly, as if to say, ‘who, me?’

“Ready to go again?” Pop asks, holding out the reigns in your direction. 

Javi groans. “No, Dad.”

You’re not sure if Pop’s serious, but you are. “Absolutely!” Fresh air and adrenaline have made you giddy, and you decide on the spot that, apart from almost dying, riding a horse is the most fun you’ve ever had in your life. 

Caballo takes a little half step back, side-eyeing you with as much expression as a horse can muster, as if he’s sensed your intent and wholeheartedly does not approve.

You glance back at Javi. He’s sighing hard, head in his hands, rubbing his palms to his eyeballs with a ferocity that must have him seeing spots.

You decide to have mercy. “How about tomorrow?” you suggest, bumping shoulders with Javi in a gentle reminder that you’re here, you’re okay. “I know there’s still some beer in the fridge.” 

Pop nods sagely, still grinning as he pats Caballo on the haunches. “I think so.” He offers you a quick wink, and you decide for the third time this morning that you really, really like your almost father-in-law.

“Thank fuck,” Javi mutters to himself. 

You elbow him hard enough to draw a grunt, then offer him a quick peck on the lips in compensation. “Come on, babe. It wasn’t that bad.” 

He huffs in response. 

#Javier Peña x reader #Javier Peña x you #narcos #javier peña #pedro pascal fandom #javi x reader #javi x you #narcos netflix #Javier Peña imagine #pedro pascal #narcos fanfiction #reader insert #I don't know where this came from but here you go merry Christmas #ears is pure chaotic energy and really it's javi who slows her down not the other way around #ears is basically a blatant self insert character and i'm not even sorry #drops this and runs to wrap last minute presents #javi is so much like a fucking horse i swear #huffing and snorting all the time

[junnie133]

Linked Universe Pokémon AU

Bc i’m a damn nerd. These are just my headcanons, feel free of using the images and the clean template in the end. I’d love to hear suggestions about changes on their teams since I filled some of them rather forcefully to get a full 6 Pokémon team. 

{+}{+}{+}

A mostly Flying/Water based team for our little Sailor! I got some of the basic Water Pokémon we usually see in the games and the anime, mixed up with some Ghost types (bc Phantom Hourglass).

Gyarados (★): Water/Flying. I wanted to reference the King of Red Lions with this one. His main transport while traveling through the big Great Sea.

Mantine: Water/Flying. Maybe captured when it was only a Mantyke, a fun pokémon very common on the seaside. I bet Wind would like it.

Lapras: Water/Ice. Another common chose for traveling, a very kind pokémon easy to train for its calm behaviour.

Dhelmise: Ghost/Grass. A badass pirate-based pokémon for a badass pirate boy. Maybe a gift from Tetra after they set sail?

Drifblim: Ghost/Flying. Captured as a Drifloon, a cute little guy.

Wingull: Water/Flying. Aryll’s pokémon, she lent it to her big brother and it often delivers letters between both siblings. 

Warriors’ team was pretty easy for me, there’s a lot of pokémon that fit him very well (unlike with some of the others *sigh*). I focused on some of his personality traits and the knight trope.

Aegislash: Steel/Ghost. Captured as a Honedge and evolved to this point, a very loyal pokémon who hates traitors almost as much as War does. His best pal.

Gallade: Psychic/Fighting. Abandoned as a Kirlia, War took him on his team. A complete gentleman, almost as flirty and skilled in combat as his owner. 

Bisharp: Dark/Steel. Captured as a Pawniard, a very serious fella. Likes to act like the leader of War’s other pokémon.

Silvally: Normal. War rescued him from the enemy’s lines, it was very wary of everyone but got a confidence booster when evolved. Loves War and gets somehow overprotective with him.

Corviknight: Flying/Steel. Every Captain of the Royal Guard owns one. He’s a wise, old bird who has seen lots of trainers go down in combat. It became attached of War.

Rapidash: Psychic/Fairy. Honestly, I was very unsure to give him a Galar version, however, I think it’s kind of fitting with his flamboyant attitude. She gets jealous when War flirts with someone.

Ah, my favorite team. It has a lot of Eevees, that’s all I need in life. This one was the easiest of all for obvious reasons. Also, Four is tiny, Eevee is tiny, and they both can easily adapt to any circumstance. Soulmates.

Leafeon: Grass. Green’s Eevee, the other eevelutions (except Umbreon) follow him like a leader. He has an easy going nature and takes care his fellow eeveelutions. They’re all siblings.

Vaporeon: Water. Blue’s Eevee. A little shit. Likes to bother Blue and the other Colors, but it gets soft with Red. She’s jealous of Flareon.

Flareon: Fire. Red’s Eevee. Always sleeping, likes to rest on Red’s lap after tough battles. Completely oblivious of her surroundings most of the time. She’s Red’s spoiled little girl.

Espeon: Psychic. Vio’s Eevee. A very capricious boy. Likes to be Vio’s center of attention and likes to hang out with Umbreon. Can’t stand Vaporeon but gets along very well with the others.

Umbreon: Dark. Shadow’s Eevee. Depressed girl. Misses her owner, although he likes Four and the colors just fine, sleeps with Flareon very often and likes Espeon’s company. 

Eevee: Normal. Came out from Espeon’s and Umbreon’s egg. It refuses to evolve.

I had some trouble choosing for Wild. I wanted to add a poké for each region on BotW and Champion, but decided against it. He had a team pre-calamity, but only a few pokémon manage to live 100+ years. Like Golurk.

Decidueye: Grass/Ghost. Captured as a Rowlet. Evolved quickly to his final form after lots of dangerous battles, he and Wild have the same fashion style, and have archery contests rather often. They’re close.

Sawsbuck: Normal. One day Wild decided he was tired of walking and mounted her in the wild. She didn’t take it kindly so they kind of got into a fight. Later that day Wild fought her with Decidueye and won, adding her to his team. 

Mudsdale: Ground. Wild heard of the existence of a gigant Mudsdale somewhere near the Faron Grasslands and went to capture it. She’s very gentle for her size, but can and will protect Wild and the others.

Heracross: Bug/Fighting. They fought over a honeycomb they found at the same time. Wild won, and since then he has never stopped following him. Beedle has tried exchanging him for any pokémon he has with no avail. Wild always cooks things with honey for him.

Ursaring: Normal. Same story as Sawsbuck, but in Tabantha. Wild feeded her with berries and got along since then. They often fight as practice, but Ursaring always wins.

Golurk: Ground/Ghost. Before the calamity Wild and Flora found a Golett on the Sheikah ruins they explored. He doesn’t exactly remembers it, but Golurk is happy by just watching over him like he did for it 100 years ago. It keeps its trainer at bay when trying to do something reckless.

For my boy Hyrule I choose to make his team based on the spells he uses in his second adventure. They’re all mostly babies, like him.

Cleffa: Fairy. For the ‘Fairy spell’. Baby, often gets into trouble without meaning it, and Hyrule swore to protect him no mater what. He found his egg abandoned somewhere and took care of it until it hatched. Cleffa thinks he is his mother.

Magby: Fire. For the ‘Fire Spell’. Another baby. The only one who likes his cooking. Also they look alike a lot, I couldn’t not add him on ‘Rule’s team if I had to choose a fire type. 

Ampharos: Electric.  For the ‘Thunder Spell’ A good girl, lights up the caverns Hyrule explores with flash and it’s his strongest pokémon. He found her full evolved and injured. She has saved his ass more than once.

Wobbuffet: Psychic. For the ‘Relflect spell’ An asshole. Not really, but Hyrule has never been able to tame him. He does whatever he wants, and ‘Rule only uses him for battle as a last resort. He loves him anyway.

Audino: Normal. For the ‘heal spell’ The softest girl ever. Always heals his and the team’s injuries, eats his food even if she hates it and gets along with everyone. An angel.

Bunnelby: Normal. For the ‘Jump Spell’. Tiny, chill boy. Tagged along with ‘Rule after he gave him an apple, now he follows him everywhere.

Sky pokes for a Sky, bird lover boi. Honestly that was my only standard while doing this one. Also Sky is the best trainer among them all, don’t ask why it just seems like it. (he actually went to school so...)

Talonflame: Fire/Flying. Crimson in this AU, has trained him since he was a baby Fletching. They’re best buddies, he hates Groose and loves Sun.

Sirfetch’d: Fighting. I wasn’t sure if I should have give this one to Warriors, but then I realized Sky is a trained knight too, so he may have trained this boy in the Academy. He gets along with Warriors pretty well tho.

Pidgeot: Normal/Flying. Captured as a Pidgey. Skyloft is a town in the sky, what did you expect.

Honedge: Steel/Ghost. A poke the Academy provided. Jealous of Fi. Admires Sky.

Braviary: Normal/Flying. He actually caught him once he got off from Skyloft. A very prideful bird, confident and smug. Likes to prove himself in front of Sky.

Altaria: Dragon/Flying. She was Sun’s, but when Sky began his adventure she accompained him to search for her owner. She stills consideres Sun her trainer, but wants to protect Sky since he’s so important for Sun. Also, he’s nice.

ughhh i’m not really happy with this one. I think Legend is the kind of trainer who only has like, two pokémons for all his life, but I wanted to add some ideas too.

Lopunny(★): Normal. Captured as a Bunneary when he was a kid. He lived with Legend and his Uncle until That Day™. Legend had no idea he was a shiny until he met some other Bunneary on his adventures. Can and will murder you if you do something to his trainer.

Wingull (★): Water/Flying. Got her after Koholint. Her name is Marin and will get defensive if someone asks why. He cheerish her, and doesn’t make her fight, but can’t stand watching her a lot.

Primarina: Water/Fairy. A gentle girl. Marin’s. Legend’s not sure how she made it out of Koholint.

Togekiss: Fairy/Flying. His name is Moosh.

Kangaskhan: Normal. Her name is Ricky.

Ryhorn: Ground/Rock. His name is Dimitri. 

As I said, I’m not sure about it, since I haven’t even played the Oracle games.

Another hard onnnneeeeeeee. Is the same as Legend, I think Time is the kind of guy who it’s fine by having one or two (or no) pokémon. I wanted to add a wolf poké but I didn’t :C

Phanthump: Ghost/Grass. The Lost Woods are filled with those little guys, Time never knew where they came from until he was older and no longer a Kokiri. He knows how to comfort them from his eternal sadness, so when he founds one as an adult near Lon Lon Ranch he lets him stay with them. Talon is scared of him.

Miltank: Normal. Malon’s, a very sturdy lady who sometimes overprotects him. She gives nice milk.

Yamask: Ghost. Do I have to explain it? it tagged along after Termina.

Noctowl: Normal/Flying. He’s a very annoying Old Man who helped him on his adventure with his Fly move. He can call him with his Ocarina with a song.

Impidimp: Dark/Fairy. A goddamn gremlin. She appeared making trouble at the Ranch one day, pranking Talon and their animals mercilessly, until Time outpranked her and gained her respect. She likes Malon a lot. (it also reflects Time’s inner gremlin).

Mimikyu: Ghost/Fairy. A shy boy. Was abandoned in the Ranch by some asshole and scared Malon the first time she saw him. It remained hidden in the barn for weeks until Time could get him out. He was as alone and desoriented as he was on his first adventure, so he may have a soft spot for him.

Goat boy. If he could be would have a team full of goats. not really happy either but it’s better than Time’s and Legend’s.

Mightyena: Dark. Captured as a Poochyena in the Twili Real By Midna. He hated her at first, and she hated him back, but after their adventure she got stuck with Twi. The both of them were sad because Midna’s departure and became friends soon.

Absol: Dark. Honestly, I only thought it fitted him. She always appeared before something bad happened on his adventure, and at first he was wary of her, but Midna explained him Absols only appeared as a warning for future disasters. She accompained them on their adventure after some point.

Lycanroc: Rock. Captured as a Rockruff near Ordon Village. A good boy. Twilight loves him. He loves him back. Twi spoils him rotten.

Mudsdale: Ground. I though of her as a replacement for Epona, but I’m not sure about it. Still, Twi would absolutely have a horse on his team.

Dubwool: Normal. A grumpy girl, also a goat, also another spoiled poké. She’s old and strong, has been part of his life since he has memory. Only lets Twilight to brush her wool and trim it when necessary.

Gogoat: Grass. An old guy. Pretty chill and patient, also had been with Twilight since before his adventure. Big boy too, he lets Twi and the other Links mount him.

aaannnnd we’re done! here’s the template i made for this occasion. Feel free to use it. If you have any more suggestions or you own headcanons you can tell me! I’d like to get some feedback about this. Sorry about the quality of the images but my pc is shit. If you want them in better conditions you can PM me.

#linked universe #linked universe headcanons #pokémon #wind #warriors #four #wild #hyrule #sky #legend #time #twili #template #clean template #pokémon template #pokémon trainers #made with canva #canva #i should be studying #but i made this instead #help #i love these boys #so much #crossover #? #maybe #pokémon trainer #fucking long post #looooooooooooooong post #v long

[onlydylanobrien]

In an exclusive interview with CBR, O'Brien talked about why he wanted to be a part of Love and Monsters, the fun of imagining the film's gigantic creatures and what it was like to act opposite a dog, the co-star he spent the most time with in the movie.

CBR: What appealed to you about Love and Monsters?

Dylan O’Brien: It's such a long answer, because everything, really everything, in it appealed to me. First of all, when I first read the script, I loved the world and I loved just how good-natured the film was. I loved how original it was, but also kind of like a throwback to a kind of movie that we don't really see today a lot of anymore. I loved this singular coming-of-age narrative amidst this really unique world with this really unique tone, I think too, that was balancing a lot of things. I loved how lighthearted it was, I loved how good-natured it was, but at the same time, I loved the elements of the monsters. And I loved how creative that idea was too, that this version of the apocalypse -- that to me always was sort of satirical, but at the same time, really grounded -- where monsters are what forced humanity underground and essentially ended the world. And I loved how they all stem from real-life mutations of these [animals].

Another thing I keep talking about a lot, because I do love this so much too, is you read a script about a boy and a dog trekking through a monster apocalypse for love and you go, "How are you going to pull that off live action? This is 100 percent an animation." And so I loved that idea too. And I loved the character so much too. I loved all the characters and all the chapters of the script. You see it's such a rambling answer, but I can never hone it. [Laughs] I have to write something really brief down, and sorry that you were the brunt of me not having that down yet.

That’s okay! You really do carry the movie, you're in pretty much every scene. Was that a challenge for you?

Dylan O’Brien: It's not as much of a challenge when you, to be honest, have a great team around you. And I really adored our cast and crew on this. It genuinely was like such a family down there, and I loved Michael [Matthews], our director, and it was just such a great experience. And so I think that obviously that's night and day, a difference. And honestly too, with how strong the script was from the start and how much I genuinely loved the character and just loved being him every day, I think that goes a long way too, you know.

There wasn't a ton of dire figuring things out each day, like, "How are we going to make this work? What does he say here though? There's something missing from the scene." When it's all there for you, and then it's just up to you to play with and try things, I think it's a lot easier than scrambling for something. So, it probably felt like a lot less work than it looks like just because of all the support I had.

You act opposite a lot of the monsters, and it seems like you are having very realistic interactions with them. Were they primarily computer-generated or was there some aspect that was practical?

Dylan O’Brien: Very rarely practical. I think maybe there's a couple things, smaller things, throughout that we had practical. [The] special effects department [made] the slugs on my arms, and I think the biggest one we had was the big claw that comes through the curtain in the beginning, the first one we see, I believe. But other than that, obviously the really big ones, which is most of it, it's always a tennis ball attached to a blue pole. Which is funny, and to be honest, that's just how it is, so you are just kind of used to it. The environment I think is the most important thing for me.

I think if anything too, look, if you're ever in a world where you're staring at a -- on set, I mean -- if they have a gigantic practical bullfrog [Laughs], I think if anything, that it would kind of crack me up. It's nice to use your imagination. That's part of what makes it fun, and if anything, I think that's more helpful. So it's always just an eyeline that you're having to follow and a height that you're having to keep track of to achieve the size of the monster, but everything else is then just you having fun in your own head, which is what makes acting fun.

Of everyone in the cast, the co-star you spend the most time with is a dog. How was he to work with?

Dylan O’Brien: Honestly, that was just like one of the greatest parts of the whole thing. And again, just like you said too earlier when you asked the question about working every day and what was that like, did you ever get a break, and the answer was no. But to be honest, from the get-go, the fact that I had this companion who genuinely means so much to me, that dog -- and his double too, Dodge, they were a pair because obviously they have to relieve each other every now and then -- and that little family to me with their trainer and owner as well, Zelie [Bullen], who's one of the greatest, warmest humans I've ever been around in my life. My whole first experience getting out there to Australia to shoot was dog training and going out to Zelie’s. She lives on this beautiful ranch out in Australia and has all these amazing animals, and Hero and Dodge are like the best dogs ever, and I'm just basically getting acquainted with them so they're comfortable with me. It was just like the greatest thing that I could ask for.

Some of my favorite pictures that I kept from set are when the still photographer got either me and Zelie just sitting in the grass, having a conversation, petting the dogs, or me just going over on the beach and lying with Hero and him just licking my face. Honestly, those moments, what else can you ask for? Literally, they reset me. And that family just genuinely means so much to me. I couldn't mean that more genuinely. I still miss and talk to Zelie often. She just texted me the other day saying like, "Oh, Hero just came and gave me good morning kisses." It was a big lovefest. So, the greatest screen partner you could ever have. [Laughs]

#dylan o'brien #love and monsters #love and monsters press

[razieltwelve]

Routine (Final Rose AU)

Willow opened her eyes and bit back a smile. As usual, Snow was already up although he’d taken care not to wake either her or Serah. It was equal parts thoughtfulness and self-preservation. Serah might have been the smallest out of the three of them, but she was also the most ferocious. It was also a horrible idea to anger someone who could mess with time.

And speaking of time, it was about time for her to get up and check on her father. He hadn’t wanted to move to Vale, but his worsening health had not been helped by the climate in Atlas. Thankfully, a combination of Willow’s pleading, Serah’s tyranny, and Snow’s good natured cheer had eventually won her father over. It hadn’t hurt that he’d be able to see his grandchildren every day either since he’d be moving in with them.

Some wealthy men might have chafed at moving from a mansion to a spacious but not gigantic home in the suburbs. However, her father had not grown up wealthy. He’d become wealthy through hard work, perseverance, and intelligence. He might enjoy being wealthy, but he prized his family above everything else.

She dressed quickly, taking a brief moment to tuck the blankets back in around Serah, before making her way downstairs. There were voices coming from the living room, and she was pleased to hear her father’s amongst them. His voice was strong and clear. It must be one of his good days.

“Good morning.” Willow pressed a kiss to her father’s cheek and grinned as the children looked appropriately horrified. “What are you up to this morning?”

Her father chuckled and gestured at the blocks scattered on the living room floor. “The children are building a Dust mine.”

“Are they?” Willow eyed the blocks scattered on the ground with a more discerning eye. Her father was right. It might be far from complete, but they were putting together a Dust mine. In fact... “Would you happen to be helping them with the design, father?”

“What makes you say that?” he asked, grin widening a fraction.

“Unless I’m mistaken, it’s based on the very first mine you ever found. You’ve told me about it enough times that I can recognise the layout even if it’s not complete.”

He chuckled. “Ah, you’ve got me. The kids asked me about it, so I thought it would be nice to build a copy, so they’ve got something to help them visualise the stories.”

Winter, the oldest of the children, nodded. “Since we’ve never been there, it would definitely help.” She shrugged. “I mean... we could look it up on the InfoNet, but building it ourselves just feels right.” She gestured at Claire, Weiss, and Whitley who were all doing their bit to add to the model of the mine. “And it’s something we can do together.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you.” Willow glanced toward the kitchen. “Is your father cooking?”

“Yes.” Winter sniffed the air. “I think he’s making bacon although he did mention something about pancakes and omelettes too.”

“I’ll go help him out. Keep working on the mine with your grandfather.”

“Is Serah Mom going to be up soon?” Winter asked.

“She’ll be up when she’s up.” Willow giggled. “You know how she is.”

“So right before breakfast?” Winter asked.

“Most likely.”

As Willow headed for the kitchen, she thought about the other woman. Serah was not a morning person at all, which usually left her or Snow to handle breakfast. However, she was definitely an afternoon and evening person, so she was perfectly happy handling lunch and dinner. 

“Morning.” Willow would have kissed Snow, but the tall man was in the midst of cooking several things at once with the aid of his Semblance. “My father looks like he’s having one of his good days today.”

Snow continued cooking, but she could hear the relief in his voice as he worked on the omelettes. “He always does a little worse when it’s cold at night, even with the heat on, but we’re coming into spring now, so I think he’ll have more good days than bad ones.” One of his Semblance’s hands flipped over a pancake. “I think having the kids around helps. I just hope Vanille will have a cure ready in time.”

“I hope so too,” Willow said as she slipped into place next to Snow, taking over the pancakes. “Although he’s already grateful for the time her treatment has been able to give him. Still...”

“It’s Vanille,” Snow said. “She said she’ll get it done, so she’ll get it done - by hook or by crook. That’s just how she is. And just think of how many other people any cure she comes up with will be able to help. There’s a lot of former and current miners out there with problems like your father.”

“I know.” Willow sighed. At the moment, Vanille’s treatment was basically keeping her father from deteriorating, but the prospect of a cure - something that could actually get him healthy again was tantalising. She could remember her childhood. Her father had been a strong, larger than life figure. His illness had robbed him of much of his vitality, and he was a shell of his former self from a physical standpoint. If it wasn’t for his willpower, she was certain he’d have died long before Vanille had gotten a chance to stabilise his condition. “I just worry.”

“Hey, we all do,” Snow said. “I never knew my parents,” he murmured. “I grew up in an orphanage. Your dad, well, he’s been kind of like a dad to me too.” He paused. “And I’m just glad that Vanille isn’t here right now because hearing me say your dad was like my dad would have a sister fixation joke thrown at me so fast.”

“Don’t worry. I’d stab her with a fork.” Willow turned away from the pancakes briefly as Serah shambled in. “Or I’d try. I don’t think my sister would actually let me stab her.” She yawned. “You two want coffee?”

“Sure,” Willow said. “Snow?”

“Yeah, some coffee would be good.”

“Fantastic, because I could definitely use some.” Serah got the coffee going, frowned at it, and then gestured with one hand. A second later the coffee was done.

“Did you just use your Semblance to make coffee faster?” Willow asked with a grin.

“Of course, I did. If you can’t use your Semblance to make every day life easier, then what is it good for?” Serah poured out three mugs of coffee.

“I don’t know,” Snow drawled. “Saving the world?”

“I can save the world and make coffee faster.” Serah shook her head. “Did you know Vanille built a rebellious coffee machine? I don’t even know why she felt the urge to make it sentient. On the upside, it likes Lumina and the kids. Its rebellion is entirely specific to her.”

“That’s Vanille for you.” Willow gestured vaguely at the pancakes. “A little help?”

“Sure.” Serah waved her hand at the pancakes. “Just keep a close eye on them. If they cook faster, they’ll also burn faster too.”

“I know.” Willow had gotten used to working with Serah’s Semblance. For one, it made making a roast far quicker and easier. And it had saved the day when she’d forgotten to put the turkey in before a big meal. “You two don’t have any missions for a while, do you?”

“A whole fortnight off,” Snow replied. “Well... unless the apocalypse happens, then it’s all hands on deck.”

“The same.” Serah sighed contently as she drank her coffee. “I’ve got the next two weeks off, as well, so my students are going to have to live without me.” She cackled. “I wonder if they’ll get complacent? It’ll make the surprise survival test I’ve got planned even more fun if they do.”

“You’re evil,” Willow teased.

“Hey, being a hunter isn’t easy. I’d rather my students suffer during training, so they don’t have to suffer out in the real world.”

“That’s true, I suppose.” Willow patted her cheek thoughtfully. “I’m afraid I’m not entirely free over the next two weeks. I still have to go into the office at least twice a week.”

“It’s fine,” Serah said. “You’ve got to run the company to give your dad more time to get better. I’m amazed you only have to go in two or three times a week, actually.”

“It helps that my father and I have made a point of hiring competent subordinates instead of bootlickers, and that we’ve partnered with Vanille’s company on a lot of our projects. I’d hate to get into a corporate war with her, and she’s got minion management down to a science.”

“But you’ll be okay for the visit to Sazh’s ranch, right?” Snow asked. “The kids have been dying to go. Winter has already ridden a chocobo, but the others were too young the last time we went. In fact, Whitley might still be too young although maybe not if Sazh still has that easy-going yellow chocobo.”

“I’ll be there,” Willow said. “I wouldn’t miss it. I know my father will love seeing Mangler again.”

“That thing is pure evil,” Snow muttered. “Lightning punched the crap out of him, and instead of being freaked out, I swear he was impressed.”

“Well, my father and Mangler get along pretty well. He actually looked a little worried the last time they met. I think he was shocked by how ill my father looked.”

“He’ll be happy then since your father is looking better.” Serah started making some hot chocolate for the kids and Willow’s father. “He’s a jerk, but I think he’d miss your father if something happened to him.” She made an exasperated sound. “We just have to remind the kids that, no, they can’t try to ride Mangler.”

“Yeah, no.” Willow shuddered. “Lightning and Fang won’t let Diana try, and she’s got Ragnarok. There is no way we’re letting the kids try. They can all ride nice friendly chocobos.”

“I’m going to start setting the table,” Serah said, sniffing the air. “By the smell of it, everything should be done soon.”

“Do you need a hand?” Snow asked, a glowing blue hand appearing beside her.

Willow snickered. “You say that every time, Snow.”

“Because it’s funny.”

“I beg to differ,” Serah replied.

X     X     X

Author’s Notes

A glimpse into what Willow’s life could have been...

#final rose #fanfiction #snow villiers #willow schnee #winter schnee #nicholas schnee #serah farron

[magalidragon]

24 in ice is hot too. Angst or comfort. Please 😇

So this was SO HARD TO WRITE OMG.  This is a fun and sexy universe and part of me was going to just make it fluff and silly, but you did ask for angst/comfort.  I suck so bad at angst, because I just don’t like going there in my head, lol.  I’m not sure if this is what you want and it is angsty.  And I don’t want to do it again, lol.  I hope you like it.  (Bites nails nervously).

TW:  Miscarriage

24. “I’m yours, but you’re not mine.”

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Thank gods for Robb, he thought, as his cousin quietly lifted little Aryanna and carried her away, whispering and telling the little girl to leave them alone, that they would see her later.  “Why is Dany sad?” she asked, not understanding how come they’d left so late last night, weren’t there in the morning, and were just arriving again, sad and downcast, matching the driving rains that kept the rambunctious child from exerting her energy outside.  

“Because Dany had to go to the doctor.  It’s okay, come on now.”  Robb gave him a sympathetic look, and squeezed his shoulder, quiet.  “I’ll be here as long as you need me.”

He nodded, still a little numb, and patted his cousin’s—more of a brother than anything—hand.  He mumbled thanks, closing the door quietly behind him.  He knew she didn’t want a thing to do with him; she’d been distant and shunning his touch, flinching each time he got close to her.  It would hurt less if she just hauled off and slapped him.  

The shower turned off and she emerged some time later, face pink and eyes swollen.  She crawled into the bed, wearing one of his t-shirts, her hair in a simple braid over her shoulder, and her knees drawing to her chest as she curled into the covers.  He slowly approached her, sinking onto the side of the bed.  His finger reached out, to touch the bump of her neck, but drew back.  “I have some ice packs for you,” he mumbled, fumbling with the cold objects while also fumbling with her medciation.  He swallowed hard.  “Doctor said they might help.”

She said nothing.  Kept her eyes straight ahead staring at the wall.  He sighed, leaving them on the nightstand for her.  “I’ll be in the other room,” he whispered.  He wanted so badly to curl next to her, to hold her close, and remind her that they both had a loss, she wasn’t the only one, but he would hold off on that for now.  The doctor warned him that every woman processed differently.  And Daenerys Targaryen was never one to let her feelings show until she was burning something or someone down.  

He didn’t fancy being on the receiving end of the fire.  

He went into the adjacent sitting room, sitting on the end of the couch, and drew the laptop to his knees.  Eyes itchy from exhaustion, tears, and adrenaline, he focused on work.  He had plenty to occupy his time, first thing sending out a mass email to all the boys that Dany would be out for the foresesable feature and he’d be doing all their schedules.  Then to all the clients, who had been filling up herphone with messages and requests, telling them he would handle everything.  

A few days passed; he tried to be there for Aryanna, who needed him and didn’t understand his pain.  Or why her mother wasn’t playing with her or would cry and turn away when she tried to visit her with a card she made.  “Thank you baby,” Dany whispered, kissing her head, and then she’d turn back to her pillow and try to sleep again.  

Flowers arrived, a gigantic rose arrangement from Olenna and Margaery Tyrell.  Loras and Renly stopped by with food, Qhono and Irri appeared to take Aryanna out to Qhono’s horse ranch to ride for a bit.  There was no amount of support from the dancers too.  Missandei was a force, taking over everything when even he faltered; he sometimes forgot how much Dany actually did.

After a week he finally went into their room and sat next to her.  She was awake, staring at the ceiling.  A hand on her belly.  “Talk to me,” he begged.

“Why?”

“Because you have to talk to me eventually.  I lost a baby too.”

She snorted, rolling her purple eyes to him.  They filled with so much pain; he wanted to siphon it all away, to go out there and slay the beast that dared to hurt her so terribly.  Except he couldn’t, because the beast just happened to be a purely natural phenomenon.   It just was rare, the doctor said, for spontaneous miscarriages after the first trimester.  “You have a baby already,” she said.  She scowled.  “You have Aryanna.”

He closed his eyes.  He remembered when he first found out about her.  Ygritte confessing she was late; they’d been fooling around for so long, after intense missions and when they wanted to blow off steam.  It hadn’t been real for him, until she came out of the bathroom with that positive pregnancy test.  And she’d given birth, saying now they could be together for good, they had a baby together.  He’d been reticent, unsure of his feelings, if he truly did love her or if she was just a fun distraction.  It had been so angry, both of them screaming at each other when she finally said she was done waiting for him.  ”We have a fucking baby together and you don’t want me?  Fuck you Jon Snow!  I thought you were the love of my life!”

Yes, he’d thought at the time.  The great love of someone’s life.  I’m yours, but you’re not mine. He knew that then, he didn’t know how, but he did.  Ygritte had stormed out and that was the last he saw of her.  She’d been killed the following day in an ambush.

And then Dany showed up in his life.  The cool, fiery dragon.  “I have Ayranna, but I didn’t love her mother,” he said.  He frowned.  “I love you Daenerys.  I don’t know why you think I don’t.”

She hiccupped, tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes.  “You already have a baby.”

“And she’s yours too,” he said, head dropping to hers.  They sought each other’s hands, fingers sliding together.  He closed his eyes tight, fighting his own tears.  “Dany she’s your daughter too, and she needs you.  Just like I do.  And you need us.  This doesn’t change it.  Doesn’t stop it.”

“But what about her mother?”

“I didn’t love her like she loved me.  Aryanna had nothing to do with that.  I will always love Ygritte because she gave me Arry, but I love you.  You’re mine.”   He folded his fingers over her heart, fierce.  “And I’m yours.  Always.”

And the waterfall released, her tiny body wracking in sobs.  He held her tight, comforting her, until she fell asleep in his arms.  He rained kisses on her face, wiped away her tears, and cleaned up her sticky cheeks while she dozed fitfully.  He got out of the bed and went downstairs to find Robb watching a Disney movie with Arry, who jumped up immediately, running to cling to him.  

“Is Dany okay Daddy?” she whispered.

“She will be.  Come on, I think she wants to see you.”  He lifted his daughter, bringing her to the bedroom, where she crawled in and hugged Dany, kissing her nose and whispering how she loved her.  Dany hugged her close and nodded, saying how much she loved her too.  He crawled back in the bed, holding his girls close, and eventually fell asleep, Dany’s hand closed tight around his.

They’d be okay, he thought, drifting off.  They had each other.

#jonerys #jonerys drabble #whyyyy did you ask for angst? lol #here's angst/comfort #I hope it's angst comfort at least and not just sad #but with a happyish ending? #and now I'm going to write a smut drabble for these two lol #writer prompts #reply #aenarsnow #tw miscarriage

[a-bit-too-much-of-a-zelda-fan]

Linked Universe Fanfic: Fright

Stop! You’ve Violated the Law!

So, you’ve stumbled upon this original post for my @ LinkedUniverse fanfiction. That’s okay, it happens to everyone. As of March 2021, I’ve uploaded the entirety of this fanfic to my Archive of Our Own page. Along with finally giving the story a name (Oops! All Links: A Linked Universe Story) I made substantial edits to some of the chapters. These range from minor stylistic revisions to fixing a gaping plot hole that kinda completely broke the character conflict in the earlier chapters. I also renamed and renumbered (but not reordered) the chapters. Specifically, this is now Chapter 1.

The AO3 iterations of these chapters are the definitive versions. So, if you would like to read this fanfiction, please do so on AO3, right here. With this embedded link. Hehe. Geddit? Link?

Note: My screen name on AO3 is FrancisDuFresne. Yes, that is me. I am not plagiarizing myself.

Anyway, for posterity’s sake, the rest of the original post is below the cut.

I wrote a bit of fanfic for @linkeduniverse . It’s 3 pages long in Word so I’ll put it under the cut. I hope you enjoy!

Night fell on the young heroes slowly but steadily. Soon enough, it was getting hard for them to see slivers of midnight-blue sky between the tree branches above them. They found a clearing just off the forest path and set up camp. As Wild and Four set about starting a fire, Twilight and Time scouted the area for monsters and got a lay of the land. Satisfied, they came back a few minutes later to a roaring fire and their seven companions enjoying idle conversation.

It can get tiring on a long journey like the Links’, so one must make their own fun. “Guys,” Wind said suddenly.

A general murmur of acknowledgment spread through the group.

           “We should tell stories.”

           Wild sighed. “You know I don’t like to do this.”

           Wind started to protest but was interrupted by Time.

           “Let the kid have his fun,” he said to Wild with a shrug. Looking at Wind, he asked “Stories about what?”

           “I dunno, something we haven’t talked about yet?”

           Warrior piped up, “How about something scary? We don’t tell scary stories often.”

           Wind’s eyes lit up. “Sure!” he said.

At the same time, Time’s and Twilight’s darkened. They knew this might not be as fun as Wind hoped it might be. The Links looked around at each other, waiting for someone else to start. It was my choice to tell stories, Wind thought. May as well start.

“I had some pretty scary things happen to me on my quest… not really terrifying, more like stressful. It was on my twelfth birthday that my sister Aryll was kidnapped. A gigantic bird came out of nowhere and snatched her up. The whole time it took to save her, I couldn’t bear to think what she was going through. She was only nine.”

A sister? Wild looked up. It had never occurred to him that one of the other Links had a sibling. He tried not to think of his sister if he could help it. Between knowing she died in the Calamity and not properly remembering her anyway, it was unpleasant for him. Wind now had his full attention.

“It took a while, but I finally saved her. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off my chest… then Tetra was kidnapped. Our crew decided to chase after a ghost ship. She jumped aboard and didn’t come back. It took a few weeks to find the ghost ship and save her, but she had been turned to stone. She was freed later, but…”

Four perked up when he heard this. His Zelda suffered the same fate.

“Well, anyway, I didn’t have too many jump scares. There were some redeads, but other than that it wasn’t too scary.”

Wind looked around the group, evidently finished with his story. Wild hesitated but spoke up. “My Zelda practiced and prayed for almost all her life to master a sealing power that could defeat Ganon. It was terrifying when the Calamity came and we both knew full well that she couldn’t hope to use that power. I… I couldn’t show my fear. I had to be there for her. She needed me to lean on, and I couldn’t deny her that.”

The rest of the group couldn’t help but stare. They had all had to push fear aside to defeat evil, but they never suppressed their feelings like Wild. Most them hadn’t, that is. They waited for Wild to finish, but he seemed to be lost in thought again. In a few meaningful looks, they agreed to leave him be.

Legend picked up the proverbial torch. “I woke up in the dead of night from a vision of Zelda to my uncle holding a sword and shield I didn’t even know we owned. He told me to stay in bed, but you know I couldn’t do that. I found him mortally wounded in the dungeons of Hyrule Castle… then, later, when I thought I was about to save Hyrule, the wizard Agahnim sent me to the Dark World. It was like Hyrule, but it was just… wrong. It was an evil reflection of what I knew. Seeing my world perverted like that was almost too much.”

Silence followed for a good few moments. Still, Time and Twilight were stony-faced. Sky looked around and figured it was as good a time as any to say his bit. “My Zelda went missing. We were riding our loftwings together. I could feel us having a moment. The clouds around us, inches away from each other… a tornado cropped up and pulled her underneath the clouds. I spent the next few weeks traveling the air and surface trying to find her.”

“I was this close,” he said as he held up his hand, almost touching the tips of his thumb and index finger. “So many times, I almost caught up with her. I lived knowing that while I was doing my own adventuring and fighting, so was she. I knew she could handle herself, but it still stressed the daylights out of me. So I guess I’m in the same boat as you,” he finished, gesturing at Wind.

A minute or two passed before Wind asked, “anyone else?”

Twilight looked over to Time. Time gave a near-imperceptible nod.

“I don’t like to talk about this too much,” Twilight began, “but I suppose I can share it with you all. I don’t want to invalidate what you went through or anything, but your fear came from what was around you. Your surroundings, your loved ones in peril, all of that. I’m not an exception.”

The others looked at him, wondering If he was trying to show them up or leading up to something terrible. Inwardly, they hoped he wasn’t being humble for a change.

“My gir—best friend, my friends were all taken from our village.”

Only Time noticed the change of wording. He understood Twilight’s reluctance to get attached to anyone.

“I was the last kid left,” Twilight continued. “Our world was stuck in perpetual twilight that kept us living in fear and darkness. I was only saved by the Triforce of Courage. I wasn’t the same, though. You’ve seen me turn into a wolf before. I’m mostly comfortable with it now, but I wasn’t always. The Triforce somehow knew I had the spirit of a wolf. Being a ranch hand, I know how vicious wolves are. How dangerous they can be. It scared me that that was the essence of who I am.”

Legend felt a modicum of guilt. The Dark World transformed him into a helpless rabbit. That was unsettling in its own right, but now he realized he faced the lesser of two evils.

“As I adventured, I began to understand that wolves are ruthless against their enemies, but they take care of their own just as fiercely. What I had to give and what I had to do to save my friends made me realize that. Malo, Talo, Beth, Colin… Ilia. I didn’t know where they were or if they were safe.”

All the Links understood this feeling well. Twilight felt no need to continue that train of thought.

“Those of you who had companions had someone that was easy to trust. The King of Red Lions, Ciela, Navi, Tatl, Ezlo, Fi; you knew you could count on them. Midna was something else. For the longest time, I had no way of knowing if she actually had my back, or if she was just using me. That scared me too.”

The sound of Navi’s name made Time flinch, but everyone was so focused on Twilight that they didn’t notice. The longest silence yet followed. Even Wind was speechless. Whether it was out of fear or shock or respect, Twilight couldn’t tell. He felt slightly guilty for unloading all of this on them.

Time eventually began to say something, but the words got stuck in his throat. The other eight stared at him. He had faced far worse pressure in his life, but he knew that he owed his friends a glimpse into his past. He had never told them much about it, only enough to bring them to visit Malon.

“Time?” Hyrule asked. It was the first time he had spoken all night.

“Hm?”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want. We’d understand.”

“No, it’s okay,” he murmured. “I… I’ll be brief.”

The Links had no idea what to expect. They were on the edge of their seats. Time leaned his elbows on his knees. He stared straight ahead, seemingly transfixed by the fire. The eldest of the heroes took a deep breath, then spoke:

“I was afraid of being alone.”

The others waited for him to continue, but he didn’t say anything else. He was silent for the rest of the night. Everyone decided that it would be best if they let him be and turned in for the night.

Wild had trouble sleeping. What did he mean by that? He always had a companion, right? He was never alone. How could he be afraid of being alone?

The Links woke at dawn to see their gear neatly packed. Time was making breakfast over a rekindled fire. He had a tired look in his remaining eye. It occurred to the more perceptive of them that he probably hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep that night.

#linkeduniverse #my own #fan fiction #my writing #zelda #creator content #damn this was fun to write

[chandelierslayer]

Y’know, there are a lot of narrative choices and tropes that I outright hate with a fiery passion. Veritable plateaus of text have been dedicated to pointing out why and how stories that use them can be made better. And “super bloodlines” or whatever you want to call it, is one of the biggest offenders. It irritates me to no end when writers can’t let their person be special on their own merit. Everyone has to be connected to some kind of magical bloodline. This hero was able to vanquish the hero because they’re from a long line of special people. This woman can talk to the planet and she’s the ONLY ONE who can because it’s a thing only her race can do, and the rest of her race is dead. This villain was inevitably going to become the sixth ranger because they belong to bloodline that is always Good™ or is SURPRISE! the sibling of one of the heroes. This horse is more BEAUTIFUL and SPECIAL than all the other horses because it’s the descendant of the horse ridden by a PRINCESS (really???). Yeah. You get my drift. 

But when bloodlines are (actually or just hinted at being) in the backdrop of a story, with no special privileges bestowed because of it, I don’t mind. So when I was examining the maps of A Link to the Past and The Minish Cap together (which I originally only did to look for similarities between those two and the LoZ map, hi, welcome to how we do things around here, my trails of thought are split ends and those split ends have split ends and you get it) and trying to find more than a few similarities to back up two of my previous theories (I need help, somebody throw down a rope), and I found something that made me throw them off of the stove completely, I wasn’t at all bothered by the idea of the two little dudes who make the Master Sword red being descended from Minish Cap Link. Instead, I just used that thought to further fuel my digging into the theory I’ll lay out before you. 

Now, with that absurdly long and unnecessary intro out of the way, I hope you enjoy. XD

Picture, if you will, a cozy little house surrounded by trees. It’s also a smithy, where the sound of metalworking can be heard from closeby. To the west of this house is a body of water stretching from North to South. If you walk North of the house, you’ll eventually come across a road that runs from East to West. Not far Northwest from that point, you’ll find a place called the Lost Woods. 

Now, what did I just describe? The home of Smith and his grandson? Or the home of two tiny blacksmiths who helped the Hero of Legend stop the Cataclysm by strengthening the blade of evil’s bane? 

And no, no, no, don’t worry, I’m not asking you to believe that the Lost Woods in ALttP is the same as the “Lost Woods” South of the Royal Valley in TMC. That would be silly, right? Hahaaa. No. I’m asking you to believe that it’s part of it. The Northwestern part, that is. Sort of. Around that area. Look, if some of these map theorists out here can swivel maps diagonally and flip them completely around to make them fit together, I can be vague about some thick woods, okay? (No hate, I love you guys, keep doing what you’re doing) *ahem* So yeah. 

Let’s zoom out from that tiny scenario I was describing earlier. The idea is that the first Hyrule Castle¹ is around the area where the “Bumpkin Family” house and the Eastern part of the Lost Woods is. North Hyrule Field would be South of that, and Hyrule Town, whether you want it to be the same as or separate from OoT’s Castle Town, would be just South of that (the road running East to West, under the fortune teller’s place, would be the same road as the one just South of the town gate in TMC)

Yes, this means that ALttP’s Kakariko is where the Trilby Highlands/Western Wood used to be (and a little bit where TMC’s Hyrule Town is), which ALSO means that Wind Ruins, Castor Wilds, and Mt. Crenel are just West of all that, putting it just outside the ALttP map² (conveniently out of the way - sorry I love all three of you, you’re wonderful, mwah). This also means that Veil Falls would’ve been just about at the Westernmost parts of that gigantic mountain range thing in ALttP they call Death Mountain, which I’m okay with. Also means the Minish Woods was around where the Sanctuary and Hyrule Castle are in ALttP. Ouch. But I mean, it’s not the most devastating thing the Hylians have done, so moving on. Also, the first Lon Lon Ranch would be in the Death Mountain foothills, to the West. 

So, why do I like this idea so much? First, it aligns pretty neatly with the idea that the Master Sword grove in ALttP is where the Temple of Time used to be - at least, to me. But I’m also of the opinion that the Temple of Time/Sacred Grove/Lost Woods grove area are all the same - meaning that’s also where the Sealed Grounds was - and it never changed. Um... No matter what other theories I come up with/entertain, that’s always gonna be the case, I can pretty much guarantee. I just don’t like the theory that the Temple of Time was moved. Granted, I’m more okay with that idea in this timeline than in the Child Timeline, because in the Child Timeline the Hero of Time prophecy still has never come to pass, it’s still a sort of messianic legend the people believe strongly in, and even though the royal family has been told of the whole time-travel shenanigans thing, ha ha haaaaaaaaa... I don’t think they’d be able to convince an entire society that there was no longer need for that five-piece seal. The descendants of the ones entrusted with the keys are probably still clutching them tightly to this very day... Actually what am I talking about? All that stuff is forgotten about, shrouded in the mists of time and whatnot. Whoops, guess this green and shining stone can fetch me a pretty penny at the pawn shop... ANYWAY. We’re here for the Fallen Timeline right now, so let’s FOCUS. 

Another part of all this is my old theory... hypothesis?... idea? that the Sealed Temple/Temple of the Goddess, and later the Temple of Time that was build where that used to stand, were somewhere behind/within the castle in TMC (not in the game, obviously, but you know how this works). The reason I believe this, is because TMC happens at a time when Hyrule is a young kingdom. It has literally one town and everything else around it is all wild lands, as far as they’re concerned. It’s obvious that they’ve only just settled there in the past few centuries, and I doubt they would stray far from the place where they first touched down. 

So. If the Temple of Time is where the Master Sword grove is later, that would put OoT’s Hyrule Castle North of the ALttP map, Market where the Lost Woods eventually grows, Hyrule Field/the second Lon Lon Ranch in the Southern Lost Woods plus where ALttP’s Kakariko is built and the surrounding area (which also means Ordon Village is around the second Kakariko area in the Child Timeline. Amazing. No matter what happens, that land WILL be repurposed into village land. Except in the Adult Timeline, it’s been destroyed, bye-bye), and mayyyybe the Desert of Mystery where OoT’s Lake Hylia was??? Although this also means I could’ve been wrong all these years about the Minish Woods: Maybe they ARE where the OoT Lost Woods are after all. Hmmm. Honestly I still personally prefer the idea of OoT’s Lost Woods being where the Eastern Palace area is in ALttP. Lots of deforestation no matter where my theories go... That’s depressing. Hylians, stop being jerks. At least they’re less jerks than humans have historically been to each other. So far. I can only prove their oppression of AT MOST three and a half races so far, so honestly, we’re looking at an improved world here.

Ummmm I think that was about it. Did I have anything else before I zoom into the notes? No? Alrighty let’s wrap this up! 

¹ When I first played TMC, I had no problem thinking that Hyrule Castle and the one in OoT were the same, Hyrule Town became Castle Town, and the Minish Woods are located in some indeterminate woodland somewhere between Castle Town and Kakariko. But like I said, I’ve become partial to the idea that the Temple of Time is behind/around the castle in TMC, not shown, out of sight, protected, so I theorized them building a new castle elsewhere. Then again, that idea comes from the idea of the Temple of Time being built over the Sealed Grounds, and that hasn’t been shown or said in-game yet, so both options are valid to me I guess. I love Historia, and I take its word with more salt than Encyclopedia, but still not enough to season my stuffed pumpkins on a Monday night. ...I still believe wholeheartedly that Hyrule Castle in TP is a completely different castle up North from where the original one - and the town, and the Temple of Time - were in OoT, and TP’s Lake Hylia is not the same Lake Hylia, and Arbiter’s Grounds/the more “Western” style Gerudo desert is North of the OoT desert, etc., and you’ll never be able to pry that belief out of my cold, dead, fingers, so don’t even try. Er... I mean... ... Golly, you guys, aren’t hypotheses fun? ^__^

² Which I’m thinking would mean Mt. Crenel is just North of Gerudo Valley, maybe even a mountain or cliff you can see in-game, and Castor Wilds would maybe eventually be the land the river runs through in the canyon below. Or... part of said land. Who knows. Ah man now I wanna make my Link (from Peace of Heart) jump down from the Gerudo Valley bridge with her Roc’s Cape and glide down to the Wind Ruins all cool and stuff! <<33 Just kidding, Gerudo Valley is no longer exactly there in that fic, in fact Gerudo haven’t been in that area in ages. It’s... a long story. In more than one meaning of the phrase. ANYWAY.

Alternatives: Smith’s House TMC is Link’s House ALttP - this is not a new idea, I don’t think. I’ve seen other people propose it, it’s a great idea, my idea is just this but like, scooched over a little. I’m sorry, I never claimed to be original. XDD The great thing about both of these theories is that they put Syrup’s hut pretty much around the point where it is in both ALttP and TMC, if you think about it. 

Hyrule Town TMC is Hyrule Castle ALttP - this also works? Kind of? Except it doesn’t give a lot of room North of the castle for the stuff that should be there (although that’s explain-away-able if you take the “the mountain formed over the ages” route, which I personally like, because I like the idea that OoT Kakariko was around where the Sanctuary/Graveyard is in ALttP and then a series of volcanic eruptions happened, resulting in the formation of the Westernmost mountain and also the destruction of the original Kakariko and the village moving Southwest. ...I’m sorry). 

That’s all I have for you today (I’m pretty sure I didn’t miss anything) and to my followers, I am really sorry I’m never around anymore. I have no excuse. Please forgive me. I’ll try to make some posts about my recent LoZ misadventures, but... No promises, okay? Let’s take it one day at a time. However, you CAN follow me here to actually watch some of those misadventures, so there’s that! ^__^

Until next time, have fun, stay safe, and drink water! PACE~

#The Legend of Zelda #map theories #A Link to the Past #The Minish Cap #Smith's House #also we talk about deforestation and why you should JUST SAY NO #spoilers #not a lot but yeah

[tommyoboe]

FINAL YEAR - WEEKS 29 & 30.

Oh, Birmingham. 

Oh. Birmingham.

Being back here after what has been quite a blast of a two weeks away is not fun. Stress is taking over my being and today has just been lovely. Not.

I was all ready to go in this morning for an audition for an exciting orchestral opportunity in September, and just as I was heading out the door I received a message from a colleague about a rehearsal I was supposed to be in.

Shiiiiiiiit. I knew there was something I had forgotten this weekend, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it, as I had this audition today. Like, it’s not a huge deal, but I really don’t want to be that person who is flakey and unreliable. I’m constantly having a go at those sorts of people, so there is no way I’m going to become one.

Then I spilt yoghurt inside my bag, so I had to go round smelling like strawberry flavouring all day. How lovely.

But I suppose things improved: I had a good first rehearsal with my string group for one of my recital pieces and I’m now enjoying treats with Cameron to close the week.

Now to talk about something much more exciting than being here in cold miserable Birmingham.

I went to Texas! TEXAS! 

On the second Monday of the Easter break, at a rather ghastly 4:30am, quintet and I set off from Mark’s house in Hertfordshire to Heathrow Airport to get the plane to Dallas/Fort Worth and then to the nearby suburb of Southlake, where we were to be based for the next ten days.

After the nine hour flight, having to put our clocks back to lunchtime was not pleasant, and as much as I wanted to be, I was not hungry for instant Mexican food with tonnes of Texan queso.

It was a lovely welcome though, and set the tone for the next week and a half of concerts, travels and crazy adventures.

This began with a rehearsal at what would be 1am UK time with the Southlake Community Band for a commission piece we would perform with them on the Saturday.

With this in mind, tea and rest was well deserved afterwards.

Waking up at 9 the next day realising it was 3pm in the UK felt bizarre, as if I had spent a hungover day in bed. But no, I had the rest of the day to come yet, and no, I was not hungover.

I had the ambition of selling some of our CDs at our first concert on Tuesday, but realised I did not have a large enough pot for potential cash, so I nicked a tiny bowl from my hosts’ house. To our pleasant surprise and amusement, on the night we sold ten CDs, which meant the bowl was overflowing and I resorted to combining our general donations with this money to share with the others. It was a great feeling, properly earning that money for ourselves.

It also meant that we didn’t have to busk whilst we were out there, quite a relief.

The next two days were free, so we filled the first morning with bowling, which for me started off well before things dramatically declined, rather like a bowling ball crashing to the floor.

Luckily my day was redeemed with a large chocolate covered cherry milkshake. That alone was enough to make up for the rest of the day, and then with wine at tea back at my hosts’ place, I was back feeling *the opening of Love Affair’s Everlasting Love*.

Visiting the ranch and cosmopolitan areas of Fort Worth on Thursday provided some real holiday vibes as we roamed in shirts and shorts in the strong Texan sunshine as if it was summer. We watched the cattle drive (ten seconds of cows with horns) before exploring what people might associate more as ‘traditional Texas’. We ventured into places selling Stetson hats and cowboy boots for $5000 (craaaaaaaazy) and thankfully did not have to dual at high noon in chaps, which I really wanted to find so I could joke to my mum about wearing them as I did as a child out of mine and my brother’s costume box.

Not even embarrassed about that.

Cosmopolitan Fort Worth brought a slice of me to the trip, with high buildings a plenty and cool places for tasty food in a cute open square. The toasted sandwich I had was simply excellent. I am thoroughly missing it now, as I am most of the food.

This included the beautiful brisket we enjoyed at one of our hosts’ houses that evening, before indulging in too many brownies, as well as beer and wine. The effects of that lethal combination weren’t felt until after the laughs in the swimming pool and hot tub and gazing at the beautiful husky puppy brought by a family friend. Almost falling into the swimming pool at one point and cutting my finger on a bottle opener made for some literal sore moments, but overall it was a wonderful night in company as such.

Once the lethal effects of that night did pass through me (unfortunately a bit too literally), I was ready for our first day giving a school performance and workshop. This provided many laughs and even a great moment of tension as we played our classic workshop game ‘21′. With the idea between the group to get to 21 without multiple people saying the same number, the moment two people synced ‘21′ was explosive as the room erupted into meltdown and laughter. It definitely made a change to nodding off in some of the workshops I’ve experienced as an audience member!

Following this was a mammoth of a dinner (not literally, obvs), as I had a super large portion of pesto pasta with a gigantic brownie to follow. Some of the others had huge slabs of cake, easily four times the size of portions here in the UK. Food comas ensued.

Said food coma did not stop us from visiting a beautiful place that evening called Velvet Taco, containing the best taco I’ve ever had. No regrets.

Dallas that evening was also superb. As we drove in and saw the skyline emerge, my eyes lit up as we found a place I would happily live in. I just love the excitement and buzz of big cities, and in its architecture alone Dallas had this in abundance. The contrast with a park right in the middle of the city with a cinema made for another lovely evening.

Saturday brought our partaking in a local festival. The sun deceived us, as despite having pegs for the outdoors setting, this was not enough to prevent the wind behind us blowing our music all over the place. However, our missing entries here and there as a result (or sections in some cases!) didn’t prevent us from enjoying our slot at the popular Southlake festival and with a few accent jokes and our supportive hosts as audience, we got through a tricky couple of hours.

Later that day we returned to the gazebo stage with the Southlake Community Band to give a premiere performance of our commission piece, titled ‘The Yellow Rose of Texas’. It was a fabulous piece, full of traditional American tunes and fun little quirks. Having the band play it so well enhanced our playing also, and even with a couple of hairy moments we performed our best and embraced the great opportunity we had been given.

Delicious Phillipino food at another of our wonderful hosts’ followed, sending me into yet another food coma. Can’t complain though, with salmon it was so worth it.

The next day we took part in a church service, which contained lots of terminology that went over my head, like ‘offertory’ and ‘postlude’. I just did what I was told and appropriately walked out between playing when I had forgotten some music (as you do) and listened to a passionate sermon involving the pastor bashing the table and crying (again, as you do). I just sat there like, well, we’re just here to play the nice music and eat the nice food, thank you, bye bye.

We were indeed treated to food afterwards though so my heart’s desires were fulfilled.

Abi, Henry and I ventured into Dallas again that afternoon to watch the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s stunning rendition of Stravinksy’s Firebird. It was thrilling, after a slightly lacklustre programming for the first half. I just hope all I remember isn’t Abi and I laughing at some of the captions of the story that came with the music, including the antagonist’s soul living in an egg.

Spoiler: it got smashed.

In the next days more school concerts and workshops took place and we expanded our group knowledge and skills whilst meeting some lovely young people. My favourite person by far was the girl who had a mutual love for The Beach Boys; we took great pleasure in discussing best songs afterwards.

We embraced culture on Tuesday, with a trip to Dallas’ Sixth Floor Museum, an insightful exhibit on the assassination of John F. Kennedy, giving interesting details and making me theorise with my colleagues over what may have happened on that historic day.

This was followed by a trip to TGI Fridays, where history was made in the fact that I indulged in yet another massive meal, along with a VERY fruity cocktail.

Before we knew it it was our final day in the vast state, and after a full morning of performances and masterclasses, we treated ourselves to ice cream and I mean ICE CREAM.

I enjoyed two enormous scoops: one of Oreos and caramel and the other rocky road. It was divine. The others revelled in the fact that I finished so speedily. I don’t mess around, you see.

And then it was our last meal and drinks as a whole group. We enjoyed a final night of interesting conversations, fun laughs and lots of pictures, as well as a coffee stout that literally changed my life, before heading back to rest in preparation for the next day’s flight back.

Saying goodbye to everyone was genuinely emotional in places, and with my hosts having been so great to me, I almost didn’t want to leave. The level of accommodation there was nothing like I’d seen before. Such great people.

The flight back, on the other hand, was not great. Due to waiting in a holding bay for almost an hour at Chicago Airport, we missed our connecting flight, which was to be a huge double decker luxurious plane where we could all sit together.

So we were automatically booked on to the next direct flight home where we were unable to sit next to each other, I hardly got any sleep because I felt uncomfortable and as a result of me misinterpreting the air steward’s question of me wanting a ‘special meal’, I got some horrible vegan shit for my tea, whilst everyone else got chicken entrées and pasta. Abi said they weren’t that nice though so that admittedly did make me feel better #notspoiltatall.

Oh and then because we were told our luggage would be transferred over to this new flight, we believed them and were somewhat surprised to not find our luggage on arrival back in London. It turns out they were put on the next flight after ours, so Mark had to come back in the evening and pick everything up to have delivered to us the next day.

We’ll know which airline we shall NOT be flying with next time...

So despite a sour note to end our fantastic trip on, the experience has been that and more, with so many memories made. I have serious holiday blues now being back in Birmingham, and at the moment seeing Cameron and knowing I can be productive again are the only things getting me through.

Now for a gruelling two weeks and then I will have finished final year! Mental! And then the real world, which tonight seems less horrible as I’ve just got some work for the summer, but after that, who knows...

Back to reality this week, wish us luck!

T

(https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNgt2j9ypNMB3m1d0u8bBzs8naSTuc3kyJ-eBz8CJgfVnUg6Ok16C8W1Gt4dTRbLg?key=UjdtUmNqYTNUU1E0Q0lYcDF5NzEyLUpmMXRpYkl3 - pictures from Texas: there are just too many for one blog post!)

[mwolf0epsilon]

El plan de Ernesto y la promesa de Héctor

Summary: In which Coco comes across a small problem relating to her gigantic friend’s nightly visits, Ernesto begins plotting something quite nefarious in order to get rid of Hector once and for all, and Hector makes a promise that he might not be able to keep. Characters: Ernesto de la Cruz, Coco Rivera, Hector Rivera. Setting: Gashadokuro AU, inspired by @melcecilia14‘s posts [X] [X] [X] and a continuation of my own fics [X] [X] [X] [Things are starting to pick up on Ernesto’s side of the story. You can also read it on Ao3!]

—{Enjoy}—

    There was no denying how much Socorro Rivera loved her two best friends, siblings Julio and Rosita. The two were always there for her, no matter the circumstances. She could talk to them about just about anything, be it her concern for the bitterness that steadily grew in her mamá’s heart with each passing day where her papá remained away from home, the anger she felt towards the older kids who relentlessly tormented her and made fun of her family, or even of just how much she missed her papá and how he’d sing to her every day and every night. Coco could recall whole afternoons where she’d confide to them the stories she could recall of better times. Those very few years of her life where mamá and papá would sing and dance and laugh like there was no care in the world… She’d tell them of the letters containing poems and songs, and decorated with small doodles Coco knew her papá had absentmindedly added to the paper, mind wandering away from body as he carefully considered his words, while also letting his imagination run wild. Her favourite doodle was that of a xolo puppy he’d seen on the streets one day. A cute little thing that had followed him around for a while, before tío Ernesto scared it off. Tío Ernesto really hated xolos, which was odd since he liked chihuahuas so much. Maybe it was because xolos didn’t have soft hair to pet? Regardless of his distaste, the puppy had caught her papá’s attention enough that he’d doodled it on the letter so that Coco could picture it perfectly.

    Mamá didn’t much care for the drawing, or the letters, at least not anymore. Once upon a time, she would sit down with Coco and read them to her, and then carefully turn the paper so that she could see the drawing more clearly. Those had been the days where her mother still openly loved and missed her father, heart unmarred by bitter hatred that was fed daily by the gossip of housewives and preconseptuous nuns. Stories of her loving father leaving his family for fame and younger women, like kindling to a fire. Poisonous and vile falsities dreamt up by people who couldn’t keep their nose out of another’s lives and personal adversities. These were all things Coco confided to her dearest friends. She was never afraid to talk to them about matters that would otherwise be ignored and let to fester. There was, however, a topic that she didn’t really talk about with the two: Señor Esqueleto and his nightly visits.

    In general, her gigantic skeleton friend was...Well, to put it lightly, a hard topic… Especially after what happened with Rodrigo Sanchez. The older kids kept their distance after the incident, but that didn’t mean they didn’t talk about it behind her back, focusing on what she’d claimed when she’d been trying to calm Rosita. She meant it of course, that Señor Esqueleto would never hurt someone on purpose. Just because he was bigger didn’t mean he was a bully, much less the monster they claimed he was. That was just loco! His gentleness was why Coco liked him so much! He could be just as terrible as Rodrigo and his friends, if not worse because of his size, and instead he went out of his way to be kind. Sure he was clumsy and that often caused trouble (He’d admitted to having derailed a train by accident, which was where those silly stories of a monster skeleton came from to begin with!) but he tried to fix his mistakes whenever he could. Still...As nice and caring as Señor Esqueleto was, how could she ever explain this to her friends? Her mamá and tíos didn’t believe her when she told them, nor any of the adults at the market for the matter, so could it be possible that Julio and Rosita wouldn’t either? Julio didn’t believe in magic and Rosita was easily startled, so making it seem like Coco wasn’t crazy, nor that the giant skeleton posed no threat, would be near impossible! But, then again, these were her best friends! They should believe her! They weren’t as closed minded as the adults in Santa Cecilia and she trusted them!  So why did she feel so hesitant about sharing her secret with them? She didn’t know, but she’d have to reconsider this much sooner than she’d expected.

    It was a calm afternoon in May. Three hours after lunch, while Coco was sitting besides her mother in the workshop, Imelda interrupted her shoe making lessons to bring her some news.  “I spoke with Julio and Rosita’s parents this morning.” she said as she carefully set down her tools, moving to inspect the seams she’d completed on her latest project. A pair of riding boots. She was waiting for a response, if the delay in the topic was anything to go by.  “You did?” Coco offered, peering up at her mamá with interest. It’s not that her mother and her friends’ parents didn’t talk often, far from it! It was more that they rarely did unless they were at the market or much later in the afternoon when the shop was closing. It was the only time they had, well, time to do so.  “Yes.” Imelda replied after putting down the boot she’d been examining. She turned her attention fully towards Coco, a small smile on her lips. “It seems something’s come up and they need to go to the family ranch to deal with a few personal matters that will take at least two weeks to manage.”  “Oh...Is everything ok? Is Julio’s and Rosita’s tía alright?” Coco frowned, worrying for the gentle old lady that had visited on the last Dia de Los Muertos. The one who’d given her and her friends a few homemade sweets under their parents’ nose. Dona Carmelita. A very sweet old woman. Coco hoped she hadn’t fallen ill after her husband passed.  “Rest your head mija, Dona Carmelita is fine. This has to do with Señor Roberto’s passing. The family has to tend to his last will...However, because there will be no children attending, there was an issue with what to do with Julio and Roita.” This made Coco perk up. Julio and Rosita weren’t allowed to go?  “Where will they stay if their mamá and papá are away?” She asked out of curiosity. This is when Imelda’s small smile seemed to grow.  “Why, I’ve offered for them to stay at our house while their parents are away on business. That way, they will be looked after and I will be able to send a letter informing them that their children are in good health.” Coco couldn’t help beam at the idea as she listened to her mother. Julio and Rosita were going to be staying at their house for two whole weeks? That was amazing! They’d be able to do so many things together! The young girl was practically jumping for joy at the thought.  “They get to sleep over? That’s great!” She cried out happily, which made her mother chuckle.  “Indeed...Now, how about we stop your lesson for now and you go on and tell them the good news? I asked their parents to let you be the one to tell them.”  “Thank you mamá!” Coco called out as she ran for the door.

    How exciting! She’d get to hang out with her friends for two whole weeks! That was practically an eternity! They’d be able to have slumber parties and tell spooky fun stories and have all sorts of adventures! Nothing could ruin this for Coco! And that’s when it downed on her, halfway out the door, that at least ONE THING could actually spoil her fun… Señor Esqueleto...He visited every night and her two best friends were coming over to stay two week’s worth of nights in her room.That...Was going to be a massive problem.  “....O-Oh no…” The youngest member of the Rivera family felt her heart drop. If her friend showed up during the night he might spook her best friends! And then they’d cause a lot of noise, and then mamá and her tíos would wake up, and then there’d be BIG TROUBLE for everyone. What was she going to do?!

---

    Unbeknownst to the young and worried Coco, far away from Santa Cecilia in Mexico City, Ernesto de la Cruz was fretting over his own dilemma. It had been days since he last left the hotel room he’d holed himself in ever since his horrific encounter with the gigantic skeleton that he knew to be his deceased ex-partner, Hector Rivera. The event had shaken him so terribly that Ernesto hadn’t dared set foot outside, for fear of being found and cornered by the tremendously sized spirit that he was so certain was out looking for some revenge. This of course, was a huge setback for him. He’d just reached a very delicate stage in his musical career where he NEEDED to keep the public hooked. A stage where he couldn’t afford to become some crazy hermit holed up in an hotel room, mumbling insane stories about vengeful spirits the size of mountains. Or so his agent, Marcelo, insisted.  “Ernesto it has been ages since you’ve last performed! If you keep this up, your fame will plummet faster than an acrobat with butterfingers!” Exclaimed the thin, wiry man, of physic that Ernesto found to be similar to Hector’s. He’d always found it morbidly fascinating to observe the man’s movements. More refined than that of his ex-best friend, but less heartfelt. He was less taller, his jawline less sharp, but the similarities were ironic in many ways. One would even say this was Ernesto’s way of showing he missed Hector, by mingling with people that reminded him of him...But no, Marcelo was nothing like his ex-partner in crime. Marcelo was much more conniving and clearly a money-grabber. A serpent masquerading as a gentle garden snake, ready to bite you if things didn’t work his way...Like now, where he disregarded Ernesto’s fears as soon as he smelled a weakness that could ruin them both.  “You have to pull your weight amigo, or else there won’t be much of a future for you.”  “I know Marcelo, I know! You've been hammering away at the topic for quite some time now amigo” He hissed, spitting the last world as if it were bile in his mouth. Hell would freeze over before he ever considered the greedy bastard as a friend. “But it’s just...I’ve taken ill, as you can see.” It wasn’t a complete lie. He’d made himself sick with worry just from the thought of those massive phalanges, and the rags covering up the ashen ribs, spine and pelvis. And those soul-piercing sockets that burnt with blinding yellow light... Ernesto looked terrible. Disheveled and pale, clothes in terrible need of a wash. He looked like he belonged out in the streets with the homeless instead of a lit up stage.  “I can see that, yes.” Marcelo conceded as he wrinkled his nose in disgust as he looked him up and down. Those dark eyes of his infuriating Ernesto with their judging spark. “What I ask of you is that you get better faster!”

    Ernesto rolled his eyes and turned to face away from his manager. He should have hired the other one, the short stubby man with the peg leg. At least he’d had less of an attitude. Still, hindsight cast aside, Ernesto did worry for what may happen to his career if he didn’t indeed get “better”. But how? How did one deal with a haunting on such a large scale? Going to church hadn’t helped at all. There were still stories of the beast roaming near the tracks, so any attempt to pray for protection and for Hector’s wicked soul to go away, hadn’t fixed the problem. Ernesto couldn’t afford to risk another encounter. He’d been lucky the last time, but who’s to say the odds would keep favoring him? What if the next time, it wasn’t the locomotive he crushed, but Ernesto’s compartment? A shudder ran down his spine as he thought about getting turned to canned soup by a gigantic skeleton foot. That was not a dignifying way to go…     No, he refused to be an ant in the presence of his ex-best friend’s monstrous spirit. He’d won the first time after he’d pulled all the weight, he’d win again even with such terrible odds! Hector wouldn’t take his well deserved fame from him. Dead or alive. He’d just have to find the monster’s weakness, is all! In fairytales there was always the brave hero who killed the beast, always something to give him the upper hand. And, as Ernesto considered this, he got an idea of what might be the skeleton’s core weakness.  “You know what...You’re right.” He said with a smirk as he turned to face Marcelo once more. The other seemed taken aback by the renewed vigor of his words. “How about this: You work with the PR team, pull some strings, do your magic and set up for my tour’s next grand destination. Then, in three weeks, I’ll be ready to be received by my adoring fans who’ve missed me so terribly after learning I was recovering from a terrible, most horrific illness that nearly took my life.” He circled around the other man, maintaining eye contact as he smiled and carried on explaining his idea. Marcelo seemed intrigued.  “And then, after these three weeks of rumours and brilliant PR marketing have finished, BOOM. A set of posters with the exact location of my next concert.” He waved his hands with grandeur in his intent. Setting the image for his manager. “Ernesto de la Cruz! The Grand Homecoming Concert! Santa Cecilia’s greatest musician!” He span around and walked towards the window, right index finger tapping away thoughtfully on his chin.  “Some words could be changed here and there... That artist who did my posters for that one concert in Mérida could be in charge of working on the finished thing, add some subliminal messages to entice the public... We’ve got ourselves a sensational comeback mí amigo…” And an opportunity to get rid of a few thorns in his side. Because if there was one thing that he knew was Hector’s weakness, it was those two girls of his. If he could make them, say, “mysteriously” disappear in some sort of terrible accident, then the monstrous ghost would follow them into the afterlife. That had to be the solution for all his troubles.

---

    Coco was at a loss for what to do. She’d been forced to swallow down her worries when she’d gone to Julio and Rosita’s house to tell them about their parents’ plan. The two had been excited of course, unaware of their friend’s plight as her mind raced to come up with a solution for her problem. She would either have to tell them, or she’d have to figure out a way to keep them from seeing Señor Esqueleto. But the question now was how. How do you hide a colossal skeleton from someone?     As she walked around town in deep thought, Coco pondered on this. It couldn’t be harder than hide and seek, right? Just make sure the “seekers” didn’t find the one hiding. But, then again, her larger friend wouldn’t be aware of the fact he needed to hide in the first place. No, trying to hide Señor Esqueleto wouldn’t work. The glow of his eyes would be a dead giveaway on it’s own. She’d have to tell them. There was no other way.     Turning a corner that led to the market, Coco stopped in her tracks when she saw something up ahead. Another crowd, like the one from that day when Señor Sanchez yelled at her. The young Rivera girl gulped as she contemplated investigating the matter. Last time, when she’d gone to see what had caused the crowd to form in the first place, Coco had been saddened by the state in which the gigantic skeleton had left the fountain. She’d brought it to his attention that same night where she’d interrogated him, going so far as to mentioning how many fond memories she’d had of the fountain.  He’d looked quite guilty, or as guilty as a skeleton could look, and admitted to having not been looking where he was going. And then the mess he’d made afterwards was caused when he’d crouched down trying to fix the fountain, only to bump into the stalls and damage them as well. In the end, he’d opted with leaving it as it was since he couldn’t seem to fix it without making it worse. Could it be her friend had once again made another huge mess?

    Coco pondered on it for a while before shaking her head and moving off to head back home. She could worry about that later, no point risking another scene if Señor Sanchez was around. As she walked along, she listened to the murmurs of the crowd, stopping only when she heard the exchange between two ladies.  “What a horrible sight...Do you really think Ricardo was right about hostile spirits?” One of the ladies asked the other, who was quick to cross herself and hiss at her friend under her breath just barely loud enough that Coco could hear.  “Dios mío, cállate!” She scolded “The devil hears those who speak of his work!”  “Cálmate, solo preguntaba.” The first woman sighed as she straightened the hem of her dress. “It just seems, impossible...”  “I’ve seen the drunkards of Santa Cecilia, Silvia, its very likely that they probably caused the ruckus to begin with.” Said the one clutching at the beads of her rosary, seeming far too nervous to believe her own words. “You heard what the police said. They could barely understand what that man was saying...” Coco felt her heart drop into her stomach. The police were involved? What had happened the night before?  “Pobre señor García...Su esposa estará tan molesta cuando llegue a casa, solo para descubrir que su esposo ha sufrido un gran susto!”  “Pobre? No me hagas reír, Silvia! Ese hombre es un cerdo!” the woman with the rosary laughed, shaking her head at her friend. “Sí, aunque es trágico que Madalena regrese de visitar a sus familiares, sólo para descubrir por otros que su esposo ha sido institucionalizado, no se puede negar que su esposo no era un santo. En todo caso, esto es un castigo divino!”  “Divine punish--Teresa! As distasteful as senõr García may be, no one deserves to be scared to the point of becoming a bumbling madman! You heard him screaming about the giant skeleton, that is no way for a kind woman like Madalena to see her husband!” At this point Coco moved on, not even daring to glance towards the crowd as she moved on. She was still worried about Julio and Rosita, yes, but she had at least one night before they came over. She needed to talk to Señor Esqueleto about his clumsiness. One thing was breaking a few stalls and a fountain. Another was scaring the town butcher to near death!

---

    Marcelo had gone off to do just as Ernesto had told him, leaving the mariachi alone with his thoughts and schemes. That had to be it, Imelda and the girl, they had to be the key piece into getting rid of Hector once and for all. He just needed time to prepare, is all!     Really, it was for the best. What right did the dead have to remain in the living world? None! It was unnatural, unprecedented, an abomination! Hector was an abomination! His presence an affront to mankind. He had to be dealt with. Not just because he didn’t belong among the living anymore, but also to protect Ernesto’s integrity and well-being. Just the knowledge that the monster was out there had nearly ruined him, and that simply wouldn’t do!     Ernesto was in reality, quite appalled by all of this. He hadn’t been much of a believer of the paranormal. He’d gone to church like any good kid should and he’d even prayed every night just like his father told him he had to. But really, did going to church every sunday really account for much more than a few beliefs? The strength of a god felt comforting, but the possibility of hell had always frightened him silly as a child, until he realized how oddly absurd it all was. And then Hector had to ruin the small bliss he’d found in not believing all that bullcrap everyone talked about of the afterlife. Beliefs he’d been spoonfed as a child. And now he had to go back to that shithole of a town, Santa Cecilia, just to get this to stop. Only then would he be able to go back into a stable and comfortable life as a musician.     Hector’s wife and daughter would ultimately pay the price for his insolence, but that was all for the best really. What could a temperamental widow like Imelda, or the stupid brat that had distracted his best friend so much, ever offer to the world? Nothing, that’s what! The only time Imelda had contributed even a little, was by having at least a decent taste in guitar designs. The white calavera guitar was a staple of Ernesto’s image as a musician, and that at least he owed Imelda. Not enough to spare her from his plan, of course, but just enough that he’d at least make her look decent in the eyes of the town after she tragically passed away. He’d bet even Hector would be grateful for a dignifying death for his wife.  “You’d best content yourself with your familia, amigo...After all it’s all, it’s what you died trying to get in the end.” Ernesto muttered darkly to himself as he passed around the hotel room in search of some discrete clothing. He needed to consult the library about a few matters. It wouldn’t be good to ruin his PR campaign if people were to recognize him. But he couldn’t risk ruining his grand plan either. Asking about angry spirits would get him nowhere, but recorded accounts might prove his theory right.

---

    At nightfall, after her mother tucked her in for the night and left to go to her room, Coco began to count the seconds. She knew to wait before her friend showed up, she also knew to be fairly patient in general despite being of such a young age. Tonight however, she was far too antsy to do so. As soon as she could no longer hear her mamá’s footsteps, little Coco flung her covers off and went to get her coat. Tonight she’d wait for him at the balcony.     Seated out in the cold, as she waited for the giant skeleton, Coco couldn’t help let her gaze wander up into the stars. She remembered nights where her tired father would come sing to her their secret lullaby. In some of these nights, they would go out onto the balcony to sing beneath the stars. Then, when they were done, her papá would hold her and point out the constellations. Coco never asked if the ones he showed her were really constellations (“The Silly Xolo” wasn’t in any of the books that her uncles had on that particular matter, nor was there one called the “Giant Mariachi Hat”), but then again why should she have? She could still see what her father drew out in the sky for her and it felt all the more special that he’d not only written her a song just for her, but also that he’d make up star formations just to make her laugh. The memory alone made some of the anger Coco was holding onto, melt away. It gave way to sadness as she thought of her father and how his letters had stopped coming. Was he out there now? Maybe, looking into the stars like she was? Did he still sing her song, like she did? She knew he did, deep in her heart.

    The small Rivera girl’s thoughts were interrupted as she felt the balcony tremble lightly in warning of her friend’s approach. The twin yellow lights came next, as Señor Esqueleto took notice of her almost immediately. He looked almost surprised to see her outside already in the cold. It was time to scold him. Standing up tall and putting her hands on her hips, doing her best impression of her mamá’s disapproving stance, Coco glared up into the blinding eye sockets.  “You said you’d be more careful!” she started, noticing how her gargantuan friend’s surprised look crumbled into a guilty one. He knew what she was talking about, of course he did. “You scared someone badly! That’s not ok!” The giant skeleton rumbled softly in distress, before kneeling down to write in the dirt as he’d done for the past few nights whenever he needed to communicate with her. His writing was getting better too. It was looking less like chicken scratch and more legible.  “It was an accident!” As if she hadn’t known that.  “That doesn’t make it any less bad!” Coco replied, peering down at the reply from the edge of the balcony. Reading it upside down was a bit of a challenge, but she was getting the hang of it.  “I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry”  “It was even morning when you left...How did you get caught?” Coco frowned. He never stayed around so close to sunrise, so how had that happened? And why?  “I don’t know.”     Now that was silly. How could he not know how he got caught? He’d probably made some noise, or didn’t leave fast enough, or...Or anything really! Señor García could have been out for a late night walk for all she knew. She didn’t get to talk to him much, she didn’t like the smell of blood he carried because of his job.  “I was going away but I stopped. I don’t know why.” Coco frowned as she watched him quickly erase the message to write another one.  “I thought I hurt him by accident, but he was just screaming and screaming. I didn’t know what to do.” Her friend looked upset. She wondered just how badly he’d felt when he’d looked down and realized he’d frightened a person half to death. Probably not very good. It must have been a very scary experience...But speaking of of scary experiences...  “I guess it wasn’t entirely your fault...But uh...You really have to be careful from now on! And uh, I have something I need to tell you.” Coco admitted, changing the subject so as to keep them both from dwelling on it for too long. Her friend looked upset enough that she didn’t need to tell him off for too long. “My best friends, Julio and Rosita, they’re going to stay over for two whole weeks...And uh, well, they don’t know about you.” If skeletons could blink, she was sure Señor Esqueleto would be doing so, as he stared at her with his head cocked slightly to the side in curiosity. He was probably wondering why she was making it sound like such a bad thing.  “They’re going to be staying in my room...And uh, that means I gotta introduce them to you? And you to them? And uh…” She gulped “You’re going to be...Probably kind of, really scary to them?” She could see him mouthing something, very likely a simple “oh” of realization as he caught on to the issue. Of course. Giant spooky skeleton. That wasn’t the sort of thing kids were used to seeing, right? Even if for him it didn’t feel unusual. Still Señor Esqueleto knew to follow one rule. Hide. Hide when he visited his favorite little tiny.  “That means you can’t show up so soon, you have to let me tell them and then I’ll bring them out to meet you, ok?” And hopefully they’d see he was nice and not go out screaming into the night.

    Almost immediately a large smile seemed to overtake the giant skeleton’s “face” as he nodded eagerly. Coco could tell he was excited to meet her friends. Maybe eager to make more friends? It wouldn’t be too odd a thought, she knew he must be quite lonely with being the way he was and people being scared of him.  “Ok, then tomorrow you get to meet them. But you gotta promise you’ll be really careful ok? No more scaring people either. I don’t like those mean stories they make up about you…Promise you’ll always be good, ok?” Señor Esqueleto nodded once more, raising his hand and opening up the palm, miming a scout’s honor gesture, before he lowered his hand and carefully extended his pinky finger in her direction. She couldn’t help smile and do the same, her much smaller pinky dwarfed by the massive size of his phalanges, but it was the thought that counted. A promise was a promise.

    With that done, the pair went on to do as they usually did. With Coco perched up on her Señor Esqueleto’s head as he walked calmly around Santa Cecilia, being mindful of where he walked, while humming that odd and strangely familiar tune of his. It was such a soothing melody that it comforted her through out the night, until she drifted off into a fitful slumber that held none of the worries she’d carried with her all day. When  the sun began to rise, Coco found herself waking up in bed, her friend nowhere in sight. The doorframe of the balcony was slightly misshapen, which answered how she’d gotten back in bed after falling asleep. Still, damaged or not, she couldn’t help but smile at the door. Señor Esqueleto had put her to bed and tucked her in. And to make it better, she’d dreamed of her papá that night. For a moment, she wondered if her papá would become friends with the colossal skeleton when he came back home. Coco really hoped so.

---

    The library proved useful in the end. Ernesto could barely believe how many books had been made just to report odd occurrences relating to superstition and the supernatural. It was almost ridiculous...But it helped him immensely. Several books spoke of demonic apparitions, shadow people that fed on negative thoughts and feelings, possession, angry spirits… But one book in particular had caught his attention the most. “Legends from Across the Globe - A book on mythical creatures belonging to other cultures”.     He’d be embarrassed to admit he’d enjoyed looking through the curious collection of cultural horror stories, but Ernesto would not deny he didn’t feel slightly “enlightened”. Apparently, there was a japanese folklore monster called the Gashadokuro, which so happened to be a giant skeleton. Reading about it had been...Err...Disturbing. And their description did not quite match what he knew of Hector’s death, so the fact he’d come back as something of that kind was...Well, not too good. It certainly said a lot about his ex-best friend. But then again, this was México, not Japan, so what did Ernesto really know? From what he could tell, spirits seemed to be very odd with picking how they looked or came back to haunt. The skeleton thing was probably just a huge coincidence...Or maybe, now that he thought about it, it had more to do with some old conversation he’d had with Hector early on in their tour.

 “Don’t look so glum, Hector. You’ll be back before you know it, and you’ll have a lot of money in your pocket to boot! You’ll be able to provide for your family!” Ernesto had said, giving his friend a rough pat on the back as they rode the train to their next destination.  “I know but...I just, I miss them…” Hector had sighed, looking sadly out the window of the train at the landscape. “I miss my girls Ernesto…”  “You’ve been gone little more than two weeks amigo! What’s there to miss?”  “A lot...Two weeks is a lot! It’s an eternity for a child.” Ernesto shook his head at the remark, unable to understand that at all. Two weeks was NOT a lot. It certainly hadn’t left the impact he’d wanted when they performed. “I just, I wish I could see them every day and still be able to provide for them.” At that, Ernesto couldn’t help laugh.  “You’d need very long legs to accomplish that.” Ernesto chuckled, which made Hector pout in reply.  “My legs are long enough as they are, any longer and I’d look ridiculous.” he mumbled as he crossed his arms.  “Then what would you rather? Longer legs or just being large enough that they did not look disproportionate?” Ernesto asked, laughing harder at the thought.  “What….Like a giant? Goodness no! I’d be too large to play my guitar!” Hector couldn’t help join in the laughter at the absurdity of the remark. “Although, I’d certainly be able to travel from town to town in one day. I’d see my girls and be back before sundown so we could perform.”  “You’d scare people half to death as well!”  “Oh I would not…”  “Would too and you know it Hector.” Ernesto found himself wiping a tear from the corner of his eye as he settled down from his laughing fit. “But díos would it make you memorable...Millions would come to see the dashingly handsome musician, Ernesto de la Cruz, and his abnormally sized partner and fellow musician, Hector Rivera!”  “Ajá, muy gracioso ... Eres un comediante de verdad.” Hector rolled his eyes, although the smile on his face betrayed what he really felt.  “Sí, mi madre también lo pensó.” Ernesto grinned “Although, for that act I think we should give you a better look. Maybe we could paint your face to look like a calavera.”  “So I’d be what? A giant skeleton?”  “You’d be memorable.”  “And I’ll bet you’d be riding on my head singing your heart away while I played a guitar too small for my hands.”  “...Ok now that you say that, it seems less ideal. Ah well, back to the drawing board…”

     Ernesto frowned as he recalled that particular conversation. It seemed like it had stuck with Hector after death, enough so that it influenced the appearance he took. A giant skeleton. It’d be flattering if it wasn’t so annoyingly ironic. The monster that was haunting him was one of his own creation, and Ernesto hated it. But it did make him slowly believe that perhaps taking care of Imelda and Coco would indeed be the solution. After all, that whole conversation had stemmed from Hector’s desire to see them, so maybe that was what he did when he wasn’t hunting him? It would make sense...But also be a problem. What if that damned spirit had found a way to reveal to them what Ernesto had done? They’d ruin his reputation! He couldn’t allow that, not now, not ever!

    In three weeks, he’d be in Santa Cecilia. In three weeks, he’d make Hector’s two precious girls perish in a terrible “accident”. In three weeks, he would be saved. What he did not know, is that three weeks were more than enough for a few things to be set in motion. Like how Coco would be introducing her two best friends to her tremendously sized secret friend. Like how Imelda’s dreams would once more betray her and make her wonder just what happened to her missing husband. Like how Julio and Rosita would insist in figuring out where Señor Esqueleto came from. Like how Hector’s own mind would begin to mend as soon as he caught sight of one particular poster… Ernesto de la Cruz,

The Grand Homecoming Concert,

Santa Cecilia’s greatest musician!

#Eps Writes: #Disney #Pixar #Coco #Gashadokuro AU #Fanfic

[workfromhomeyoutuber]

You Need A Budget (YNAB): Humbly Confident Public Relations Manager

Headquarters: Salt Lake City, UT URL: https://www.youneedabudget.com/

At YNAB, we build the world’s best budgeting software. But teaching people how to get control of their money and changing lives, one budget at a time, is what gets us up in the morning. Over the years we’ve slowly gained some notoriety (the good kind!) but there are still a whole lot of people who have never heard of us, and it’s a budgeting shame. 

We’re looking for a natural storyteller, connector, and media whisperer, with years of public relations experience, to help us raise our profile. 

You have experience working with influencers and understand that bigger isn’t always better, but also, that sometimes, it is. You’re flexible like that. In fact, while reading the last two sentences, you began making a mental list of people you’d want to connect with right out of the gate. 

You see opportunities all around you and the thought of cold-calling a potential partner and pitching a potential project or campaign sounds thrilling. If you’re thinking, “Where is the challenge in that? I may even get an invite to the wedding!”, you just might be our person. 

You understand what makes a great story and what makes something media-worthy. And you love nothing more than packaging it all up and getting it in front of the right person, at the right time. 

When you look at all the awesome content the YNAB marketing team produces, you can’t help but think of 14 other ways you would promote it. Don’t be shy—we can’t wait to hear your ideas.  

If you are the right person for the job you’ll have the following experience and/or qualities: 

Experience in public relations, influencer marketing, affiliate marketing, referral marketing, and/or partner marketing 

A sense of humor and the ability to think on your feet (this sounds like improv, which isn’t a requirement, but how awesome is improv?!)

Strong skills as a writer, communicator, and negotiator  

Strategic-minded planner who can execute the details without losing sight of the big picture 

An assertive, proactive personality that is energized at the prospect of building new relationships, partnerships, and programs

A natural-bridge builder that can’t help but make connections, build consensus, and invite collaboration

Excellent time management skills which make juggling multiple projects, priorities, and pitches look easy

That gives you a pretty good idea of the job and who we’re looking for, but first, you need to know if you’ll even like working with us. (Spoiler alert: We think you will.)

A Bit About Us

We build the best budgeting software around, YNAB or “You Need a Budget” if you have a lot of extra time on your hands. For more than a decade, people have been buying YNAB and then telling their friends what a difference it has made in their lives. (Google us, or read some of our reviews on the app store, and you’ll see what we mean.) We love building something that has a huge positive impact on people’s lives.

We’re profitable, bootstrapped, and growing. YNAB started in 2004 and we haven’t taken any outside funding—we’re in it for the long haul. 

We have one overarching requirement when it comes to joining our team: our Core Value Manifesto has to really click with you. If you’re nodding emphatically while reading it, you’ll probably fit right in, in which case, we can’t wait to hear from you! 

First, let’s talk about life at YNAB and then we’ll go into detail about what we’re looking for. 

Who you’d be working with:

Lindsey & The Gang aka the Marketing Team aka just a rag-tag but lovable bunch of underdogs who defy the odds—making budgeting software hilarious, emotional, and accessible—day in and day out. (Disney, are you listening?) 

We love musical theater, board games, stand-up comedy, the Enneagram, video games, and art, to varying degrees, depending on who you talk to first. (Oh, and Ryan likes sports.) Our internal Slack channel is so much fun, it has a growing fanbase of its own. 

Lindsey, our Chief Marketing Officer, will be the first to delete something very important, but also the first to celebrate your wins—big and small. Ryan, our Digital Marketing Director, will quickly become your lifeline in any type of bracketology-related emergency and even under website-launch-level-stress, he can sneak in the jokes that make you feel like, “if Dad’s OK, we’ll all be OK.” 

You’ll collaborate a lot with Rachel, who leads out on the blog, possibly from Hawaii, where she’s working from an AirBnB for a month or two, because she’s cool like that. And Janelle, who is the hilarious brain behind our social media. Of course, there is also Ashley and Hannah, who are growing our YouTube channel, and basically scream “lifestyle partnerships!” with their very existence. And then there are awesome teachers Erin, Ben, and Kelly, who are building out educational content and self-paced courses, that are begging to be discovered by the right verticals and communities… And that’s not even everybody! 

It’s a strong, creative, hilarious team that genuinely enjoys each other and their work. 

How You’ll Work at YNAB

We work really hard to make working at YNAB an amazing experience. In fact, we were recently recognized as Fortune's #4 best small company to work for in the United States! We have a team full of truly exceptional people—the kind you’ll be excited to work with. Here’s how we operate:

Live Where You Want

We’re a distributed team, so you can live and work wherever you want. Proximity doesn’t influence productivity. Taylor, our CTO, was traveling who-knows-where for a couple of years before he bought a farm. Up and move to France for a year? Sure, Todd did that. Don’t like France? How about London, where Janelle trotted off to. Tulsa Remote? Can do. Or if you just love LA or Baltimore or Buenos Aires, we’ve got people there, too.  Not all of us move around, but the fact that these folks have is totally okay because we’re all adults. Just make sure you have a reliable internet connection.

No Crazy Hours

We rarely work more than 40 hours per week. There have been a few occasions where things got a little crazy and people had to log some extra hours. But then they took some extra time off, so it all balances out. We work hard and smart but we’re in this for the long haul, no need to go crazy on the hours.

Take Vacation (Seriously)

We want you to take vacation. In fact, we have a minimum vacation policy of three weeks per year. Five weeks feels about right (plus two extra weeks for Christmas break). It’s important to get out and do something. We’ll look forward to seeing pictures of your vacation in our Slack channel, creatively named #office_wall.

The YNAB Meetup

We get the teams together once a year to catch up on spreadsheets and powerpoints in a Best Western conference room. Just kidding. So far, we’ve done Costa Rica, a gigantic cabin in the mountains, a beach house in the Outer Banks, a ranch in Montana, and most recently, Laguna Beach. We work together, play together, and reinforce the bonds we’ve made as a team and company. Every year, we leave refreshed, motivated, and excited for the year ahead together.

Up Your Game

We’re serious about helping you improve your craft. We budget for it (hey-o!). Think conferences, Lynda subscriptions, dedicated time away from work to learn something new… it’s really up to you and your manager. But we love to see our people growing.  

International is Absolutely Okay

If you are Stateside, we’ll set you up as a W2 employee. If you’re international, you’ll be set up as a contractor. Employee or contractor, it’s all the same to us. You’re part of the team. (We are spread all over the world: Switzerland, Scotland, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Canada, and all over the United States.)

If You’re Stateside…

YNAB offers fantastic health, dental, and vision insurance, where we cover 100% of the premium for you and your family. (No need to check your vision, you read that right, 100%. Although if you did need to check your vision, NBD, we’ve got you covered!)

We also have a Traditional and Roth 401k option. YNAB contributes three percent whether you choose to throw any money in there or not. It vests immediately. (Are you a personal finance junkie like our founder Jesse? He set up YNAB’s 401k to have the lowest fee structure possible, where all plan costs are paid by YNAB, not your retirement nest egg. The investment funds available are fantastic, passively-managed, ultra low-cost index funds. You’re not a PF junkie? Trust us, it’s awesome.)

Other Tidbits

Once you start, we DEMAND (in a friendly, ALL CAPS IS YELLING way) that you fill out your “Bucket List” spreadsheet with 50 items. (That’s harder than it sounds!) 

The bucket list really helps in deciding what we should give you for your birthday and the holidays.

We have a bonus plan based on profitability. You’ll be in on that from day one. YNAB wins, you win. That kind of thing.

We’re all adults. There’s no need to punch a clock, or ask for permission to take off early one afternoon to go see the doctor (health insurance premium 100% covered!). We look at what you accomplish, not how long you sit (have you tried standing?) in front of a computer.

We want you firing on all cylinders so we’ll set you up with a shiny new computer and replace it every three years.

Did I mention we make a huge, positive difference in people’s lives? You may not think that matters much, but then a few months down the road you’ll realize it’s made your job really, really enjoyable. Don’t underestimate this one!

If this sounds like your ideal environment, read on because now I want to talk about you. You will play a big, big part in helping YNAB customers achieve success. You will change lives. I’ll only say that six more times.

Now, back to you, our new Public Relations Manager...

Before “content marketing” and “word-of-mouth marketing” were buzzwords, YNAB’s marketing efforts were anchored in content and community. It’s what we do best. But we have a lot of people focused on creating the content, and very few with bandwidth to really focus on promoting the content. This is where you come in. 

You are full of ideas. There are influencers to work with, content partnerships to forge, referral strategies to execute, media stories to land! 

You see our crazy, loyal fanbase and it gets your wheels spinning—oh, the things you could do with the two families who got YNAB license plates or the couple that threw a YNAB-themed Valentines date!  

If we told you that we were getting users to opt-in to share their data anonymously so we could publish an Annual Report full of spending trends and averages, your head might explode with the media coverage potential. (Oh, the potential!!) 

You are probably a storyteller in your own right, and although we have content creators, you wouldn’t be shy about diving right in and writing content for a partnership you are working on or an influencer campaign in the works. 

You are our ideal candidate if you: 

Have at least 3-5 years of professional experience in public relations,

Agency experience

Excel at juggling multiple projects and timelines at any given moment and switching gears keeps you fresh and stimulated. 

Opportunistic and proactive about sourcing, developing, and executing potential partnerships, programs, and/or campaigns

Energized at the thought of building something from nothing

Comfortable initiating and maintaining relationships 

Understand how to pitch the right media, the right content, at the right time

Persistent. Because media. 

Make us laugh. 

Manage your time exceptionally well and are comfortable working remotely. 

Incredibly organized, flexible, and collaborative. 

Never met a deadline you didn’t love. 

Self-motivated and driven by nature, maybe even a little competitive. 

Stay laser-focused on the big picture, without losing sight of every. last. detail. 

Wildly productive and independent, but a team-player at heart. 

Bonus Points: 

You already use and love YNAB. 

YNAB is an equal opportunity employer. We believe diversity of backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences to be critical to our success and are passionate about creating a welcoming, supportive, and collaborative environment for all employees. All are encouraged to apply as we continue to grow a smart, hard-working, and diverse team who love working together to build something that matters.

How to Apply

Apply here (https://ynab.recruiterbox.com/jobs/fk0qmzk) by 11:59PM on March 12th, 2020. Firm. It’s a real deadline. The kind you love.

Attach a pdf of your cover letter. In your cover letter: 

Introduce yourself and explain why this position is of interest to you, and why you would be a great fit. Please limit this section of the cover letter to 1.5 pages. 

On a separate page of your cover letter, answer the following questions (with each response being about a paragraph in length): 

1. What attracted you to this position? (This is not about what attracted you to the software.) 

2. What criteria do you look for when searching for your next company or position? 

3. What are your favorite and least favorite parts of your current job? 

4. Tell us about a time when you had to learn something new to excel at your job. 

5. We recently launched two self-paced video courses and have two more in the works. How would you go about driving people toward those resources? 

6. Tell us about a campaign or program you built from concept to execution. 

7. With what you know about our brand and our product, share some influencers or other brands that you think could be strong potential partners, and why. 

If you have a prepared resume, attach it in PDF form. If you don’t have a resume because you aren’t even sure you’re looking to change jobs, that’s fine! An informal list of your work and education history are all we’re looking for.

Please send all attachments as PDFs. 

P.S.  If you’re not interested in or available for this position, but know someone who is, we would really appreciate it if you passed this along!

To apply: https://ynab.recruiterbox.com/jobs/fk0qmzk

from We Work Remotely: Remote jobs in design, programming, marketing and more https://ift.tt/3chu8kE from Work From Home YouTuber Job Board Blog https://ift.tt/2w8wbXY

#WorkFromHome #OnlineJobs #RemoteJobs #Entrepreneur #WorkFromHomeJobs #WorkAtHomeJobs #Self Em

[razieltwelve]

Wake Up (Final Rose)

Satin curled up to Fraise and sighed. This was such a nice way to spend a Saturday morning…

“Kweh.”

Kweh? Satin froze. That wasn’t her or Fraise. What could be…

She opened her eyes and looked up. Looming over them was the biggest chocobo she’d ever seen, his black and red feathers puffed up in a terrifying threat display. The chocobo was so tall that he couldn’t stand to his full height, and the ceiling of Fraise’s apartment had to be around ten feet high. This was… this was…

“AHHHHHH!”

X     X     X

“Huh.” Taren poured himself another glass of juice as an ear-piercing scream of terror rang out. “I guess that Fraise hasn’t mentioned Fury to Satin yet.” He sighed. “I guess this is what I get for being away on a long exploration mission.”

He had been gone for the last three months on an exploration mission. Prior to that, a series of coincidences had conspired to keep him from meeting Satin in person. However, his cousin seemed so much happier now that she was with the rabbit Faunus, and his other cousins and Averia had assured him that they had all done the necessary threatening. On the occasions that he had spoken to Satin via his scroll since Fraise had wanted her girlfriend to get to know her cousin and best friend better, Fury had been otherwise occupied, and he’d simply assumed that Fraise had mentioned the mighty chocobo at some point.

Apparently not.

Satin stumbled out of Fraise’s bedroom clutching a bed sheet and a pillow as she scrambled to put something more solid between herself and Fury. The towering chocobo was simply padding forward, his claws carefully sheathed in Aura to prevent them from scratching the wooden floorboards.

Fraise, meanwhile, was most likely still asleep. Since they had been on the same team together, Fraise associated Taren’s Aura and Fury’s Aura with safety and security. Moreover, Fraise had always had a tendency to sleep like an absolute log on Saturday mornings due to working extremely long hours on Fridays. However, the rapid fluctuations of Satin’s Aura ought to have someone with senses as keen as Fraise up on her feet right about now even if she had been able to ignore the scream…

“Bad Fury…” Fraise had thrown on her pyjamas. “Don’t scare Satin like that.” She gave the chocobo a gentle chop over the back.

“Kweh!” Fury rounded on Fraise and glared before making a grumbling sound and padding back toward Taren. The pink-haired man chuckled. His friend was less than impressed by Satin. To Fury, who had survived on his own in the wild before stumbling across Sazh and Chirpy as a chick, strength and the ability to care for one’s own were paramount. “Kweh.”

“Give her a break,” Taren said quietly. “Huntsmen and huntresses fight precisely so that people like Satin don’t have to.” He waved at Satin as Fury dipped his head into the bowl of cereal that Taren had poured him. There wasn’t any milk in it, but the chocobo had developed a liking for Gary brand cereal. It was a treat he indulged in now and then although he’d made it very clear to Taren that he was never, ever to let Diana know. “Anyway,” he said, waving at Satin. “Hi.”

The rabbit Faunus blinked. “Uh… um… hi.” She paused, darting over to Fraise’s side and glaring at Fury who raised his head and returned the less than menacing glare of Satin’s with a much more terrifying one of his own. “Can… can someone please tell me what’s going on!”

X     X     X

Dressed in her own clothing instead of a bed sheet and with Fraise by her side, Satin felt much more secure. It helped that the… chocobo was sitting down instead of standing up.

“Well, it’s nice to finally meet you,” Taren said.

“Uh, it’s nice to finally meet you too, in person, that is.” 

Satin had to admit that Taren and Fraise definitely looked like cousins. They had many of the same Farron features, such as the pink hair and regal look. Where they differed was in their expressions. Fraise rarely gave anything away in her expression, which often came across as one of indifference. Taren, however, was quite expressive, reminding Satin more of someone like Fang, whom she’d not long after going on her first date with Satin after the legendary huntress had happened to stumble across her and Fraise while they were on a data. She hadn’t thought much of it at first, but she’d kept meeting Fraise’s family, and they had all made threats of varying degrees of clarity. Essentially, their message had been simple.

Hurt Fraise and die.

Given who was in Fraise’s extended family, Satin had done her best to keep her calm. Taren, however, had made no such threats yet, and he didn’t seem like he was about to. Then again, did he need to? His gigantic chocobo had already surprised her, and it wasn’t a stretch of the imagination to think of what the bird could do to her if it was so inclined.

“Relax,” Taren said. “Fury is a tough guy, but he’s fair. He just likes Fraise, so he wants to look out for her.”

“He’s huge!” Satin blurted.

Beside her, Fraise nodded. “In terms of height, Fury is one of the five tallest chocobo that I have ever encountered. Factoring in overall mass and muscle strength, he is the strongest chocobo I’ve met. He also possesses vast reserves of Aura for a chocobo, having more than most huntsmen and huntresses. However, Chirpy has more Aura than him and is more skilled in using it.”

Fury made a disgruntled sound at that. 

Taren laughed. “Chirpy is my Uncle Sazh’s golden chocobo. You’ve probably seen him on television before.”

“Oh!” Satin nodded eagerly. “He’s famous! I haven’t gone to the ranch yet, but Fraise said she would take me!”

“Yeah, Chirpy is one heck of a friend and a chocobo.” Taren patted Fury on the back. “But so is Fury here. This guy has been challenging Chirpy to fights on and off for years now. He hasn’t won yet, but he’s getting closer.”

Fury nodded firmly.

“Does he not like Chirpy?” Satin asked.

“Chirpy is the leader of the chocobos on the ranch,” Fraise explained. “Amongst all chocobos in the world, he is probably the most powerful and skilled. Fury wishes to test himself against the best because that is the level he aspires to.”

Fury nodded solemnly again.

“Lighten up, buddy. I know you’ll get him one day,” Taren said. “And that’s why we train.”

“So… um… what are you two doing here?” Satin asked.

“Well, I have a set of spare keys to Fraise’s apartment. I usually drop by after a mission, so she can check me and Fury over. She insists on it.”

Fraise sighed softly. “Taren believes himself invincible. He is not, and unlike Diana, he cannot simply regenerate damaged organs or lost limbs. Fury, likewise, insists on testing himself whenever possible.”

“Not all the time,” Taren said, grinning. “Both of us know when to run away. But sometimes there are times you can’t run. For instance…”

X     X     X

Satin leaned back in her chair as Taren finished up the story he’d been telling. It was thrilling to hear from someone who spent much of their time exploring the unknown wilds of Remnant in search of clues about the past and possible avenues for future settlements and other sites of importance. 

“Isn’t it scary?” Satin asked.

“Sometimes,” Taren replied. “But Fury and I have been working together for years now.” He reached for his scroll and opened up a picture. It showed a much smaller chocobo glaring from atop his head. “See? I know I can count on him to have my back, and he knows I’ve got his.” Fury gave a low rumble of agreement. “And this is part of what huntsmen and huntresses do. We protect the people of today, but we also search for the past and the future. One of the sites I mentioned is actually a mining settlement now. It’s been producing dust for two years, and it has enough Dust to provide for at least another seven or eight decades. Think of all the good that can do against the Grimm.”

Satin nodded. It was true that new Dust mines had to be located. Advances had been made in artificially creating Dust, but those were more about refining it into new types than making it from scratch. Fraise could make Dust, but how many people had a Semblance like Fraise? To Satin’s knowledge, Fraise’s Semblance was unique in its versatility and power.

“Anyway,” Taren said. “I hope you’re not too upset about Fury. He likes to make an impression.” Fury snorted. “And, well, he’s protective of the people he likes since there’s not too many of them.” Another snort. “How about the four of us get lunch? You can tell me more about what yourself, and Fury can stand up fully.”

“Where are you thinking of going?” Fraise asked.

“The market about three blocks from here. We passed it on the way here. They were putting up food stalls, and the park is right next to it. We can get some food and take it over there.”

Fraise glanced at Satin. “It sounds like a good idea. If I recall correctly…” Satin, Taren, and Fury all bit back smiles. Fraise’s memory was virtually flawless. “The food at the stalls was excellent, and the park Taren mentioned is a nice place to enjoy a meal. In addition, it will give Fury ample space to move.” She gave the chocobo an apologetic look. “Unfortunately, my apartment’s ceilings are not high enough to accommodate you properly.”

Fury shrugged. He was used to it. Taren’s apartment was something of a special case. The ceilings there were extra, extra high, so he wouldn’t have to worry about lowering his head at all. Humans were short.

“All right,” Satin said. “That sounds fun.”

#final rose #fanfiction #satin #taren yun-farron #taren #fraise dia-farron #fraise #fury

[materializingthedisembodied]

Lessons From 1982

Text by Passport To Dreams Old And New: 

“In our memories, EPCOT Center often seems to be a greater accomplishment than maybe it was. As I hope I've demonstrated here by going through every aspect of it's message content piece by piece, in terms of actively looking towards the future, the park presented ideas which ranged from fantastical (Horizons) to retrograde (Universe of Energy) to incoherent (Travelport?). Despite this, in my opinion EPCOT Center was the highest, furthest, most effective summit the entire category of themed design has ever scaled since the opening of Disneyland. Despite its questionable corporates messaging and nonsensical product plugging, EPCOT Center was no less scattershot than it is today, yet something for those first twelve years held the center together in a way it does not now. And here at last we will try to pinpoint it. I. Embrace Warmth and Human Scale EPCOT Center was massive and monumental. The size of the walk around World Showcase is still enough to make adults cry. The architectural statements of each Future World pavilion were huge and impressive, but never leaned towards brutalism - instead falling into the Henchman abstraction that I like to call "theme architecture". Yet these gigantic blocks were dropped with symmetrical precision into a landscape which perhaps more than anything suggested a bucolic college campus - with ponds, fountains, rolling lawns and spreading trees.

But inside each pavilion, everything suddenly became warm and intimate. CommuniCore offered its visitors handmade art objects like the Population Counter and Fountain of Information, simply there to be enjoyed. Natural daylight, terraced seating areas, varnished wood and wall carpet offered a pleasing sense of tranquility. Subdued lighting and peaceful music complemented the uncluttered, enticing atmosphere. Everything about EPCOT Center's gathering spaces - The Land interior, Communicore, the Fountain of Nations, the Imagination lobby, the World Showcase courtyards - contrasted textures, tactile pleasures, and colors to create environments which invited you to linger. Through the 90s, the scale of these interiors, once criss crossed with walls, plants and natural dividers, ballooned until most of EPCOT today resembles a cross between an industrial trade show and a Wal-Mart Super Center. Tarps, canopies, and unrelated nonsense clutter the sightlines of those monumental pavilions. Carts, pop-up stands, and pin carts dot every walkway. Of all of the parks, Epcot's aesthetics respond the least well to these sorts of theme park mainstays, and they really should be elimiated. You need to give people a reason to get inside and sit down, to get away from the crowded tarmac. EPCOT Center's walkways may have been stark and simple, but once you actually got into each pavilion, you could spend an hour or more in air-conditioned comfort without ever stepping outside. To me this comes down to respecting your audience as well as having respect for the human scale. Disney needs to accept what tens of thousands of locals and fans already know: Epcot is the ultimate hang out park. Each pavilion should be honeycombed with small exhibits, fun diversions, little places to relax and maybe get a drink, in a classy, clean atmosphere. If you give people places they like to be, you'll be surprised what they'll reward you with. II. Maintain the Ecosystem of Aesthetics This is a big one, and it's a place where Future World needs to entirely start from scratch. As these articles have pointed out, EPCOT was a hive of competing ideas, companies, and ideologies, yet it seemed to speak with a single voice. That single voice is so strong that today is still reverberates in the public mind, twenty years long gone. How many still know it as EPCOT Center, and how many still associate it with some kind of learning experience? That's power. That's power than usually only public figures usually attain, never mind a dorky theme park peddling corporate messages and sentimental songs in equal measure. And one reason the voice of EPCOT Center still speaks through time to us is because its message was scrupulously, carefully aesthetically organized and unified. This is something that got stripped out of EPCOT piece by piece in such a way that it was gone without anybody really noticing it was leaving yet. The demise of Horizons and Journey Into Imagination was only the final piece that fell into place, but just as important to reducing the overall impression of a unified whole was touches like replacing the original wooden railings and carpeted walls in The Land with metal railings and painted walls. Yes, the current look of The Land is, on a micro scale, more modern, but it's less human on a macro scale. The paving of Communicore Central and the removal of all of Hench's softening trees, bushes and ponds is another. Bit by bit, piece by piece, Epcot of today is a far bleaker, harsher place than it was even 15 years ago. All of this is a result of different design agendas within the company. EPCOT Center was unified in 1985 because it was all built at the same time. The Epcot of today is the result of hundreds of different design teams with different project leaders, budgets, expectations and goals. While an organic environment like Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom presents areas where one design tough or another is unambiguously out of place or not, there's no generally agreed upon single system barometer for what EPCOT should look like. It's really easy to, say, replace one railing in one place and bump that single pavilion out of line with the rest. This is how you end up with signs that look like they come from the cover of Dreamcast games or random wavy descending walls, a sure sign of a lost and bored designer.

Disney needs to write this barometer, then. Every sign in Future World must have specific size, color, and font approved choices. Every pavilion must have a dedicated color palette, approved patterns, approved typefaces, and so on. This is why the Future World pavilion icons worked so well as an organizing principle: pictures require no language translation, and sleek icons are even better. There should be no need for flashing LED billboards to help guests find their way to attractions if there's a streamlined, iconographic wayfinding system.

Writing such a manual will inevitably limit the creative freedom of the individual designers creating facilities for Future World, but I cannot see how this would in any way be worse than the garish mishmash we ended up with. The way forward on Future World can be as simple as a start with a strict design standards document, and spread through the rest of the park. III. Don't Let Them Off the Hook Disney is really good at talking down to their audience, and their audience really loves it. There will always be a contingent of Disney fans who love toothless pablum like Wishes, but in Future World and EPCOT in general are going to ever coalesce into what it is in the minds of the public, Disney really needs to commit to taking Epcot, and the Epcot audience, seriously. Taking an audience seriously does not per se mean being humorless or dry. The 1982 version of Spaceship Earth was exactly that, which is why it was reworked to more closely resemble Horizons only a few short years after it opened. Horizons was, despite its eye popping visuals and reassuring message, astonishingly hokey, H.G. Wells by way of Father Knows Best. World of Motion was very funny, Kitchen Kabaret was weird. These attractions offered hopeful apology for their sloganeering, a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down. Symbiosis, The American Adventure, Spaceship Earth '94 and to a lesser extent The Living Seas all put it to their audience to be ready to make the world a better place - they didn't let them off the hook. And despite all of that, EPCOT Center did have a profound effect on a generation of a certain age. Yes, it was kids who dreamed of piloting the Enterprise instead of kids who fantasized about having tea with Belle, but isn't that still an accomplishment? Even the lightweight Journey Into Imagination packed an ideological punch. For this five year old child, who didn't much care for science and technology trappings, I walked away floored by that attraction's insistence that I could and should use my creativity to "start making new things". Returning to my ranch house in Connecticut, I scrawled out the lyrics to the Sherman Brothers' Imagination song in black crayon on a piece of construction paper and stared at it for days. That attraction instilled in me at age five the awareness that only I was responsible for getting the ideas in my head out into the real world, and on that wave of inspiration I began drawing volumes. The blog you read now is a direct result of that experience. I may be a castle park kind of person, but Journey Into Imagination changed my life for the better.

Thing is, I am in no way alone. You can't swing a cat in the Disney online community without hitting somebody of a certain age who will readily and loudly tell you that EPCOT Center rewired something inside them. This more than anything is the proof in the pudding that Michael Eisner was dead wrong, that EPCOT Center was relevant, and did matter. These two articles have been intentionally limited in their scope - I haven't attempted to re-concieve what Future World should be for 2020 audiences from scratch, for example, but then again that never was the point. The point was to become clearer and reach conclusions on what Future World was really saying, and how it said them. And the conclusion I've reached is that EPCOT Center came pre-packed with a sort of aesthetic toolkit, and it's a toolkit that nobody has used since the 80s. But those tools still work. They can still make muddled messages sing and send the next generation home with the sort of elevating experience I had. Kids need to see a place that doesn't just tell, but show them that science and technology make our lives better - they needed it in the 80s, and they need it today. It's never going to be perfect, but the next generation deserves a demonstration of mankind's better nature. "If you can dream it, you can do it" may not have been said by Walt Disney, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth saying.“ (x)

#Walt Disney World #EPCOT Center #EPCOT #WDW