Shameless plug time! If you love talking about animated movies as much as I do, please check out the new review show I'm trying to put together!

youtube dot com / channel /UCCUCyKHLgRQVyApfGhDGf3w

If you have a YouTube account, please leave a comment, any kind of comment. I welcome flames even, just as long as I know that people are watching! And if you don't have a YouTube account, I would be most appreciative if you would forward the link to someone who might enjoy my videos.

Thank you so much for your support!

In the meantime, this chapter was entirely inspired by Midnight Lupus, who reviewed chapter 5 and asked for more drabbles looking at Ralph and Vanellope's relationship from other characters' POVs. Seeing as their relationship is by far my favorite part of the movie, I am happy to oblige! Thanks for the idea, Midnight Lupus! Hope you enjoy!

31. Fear

Mary had always been afraid of Ralph.

It was his job to wreck their home. And he was so good at his job. After a long day of hiding in their apartments while the walls crashed down around them, the last thing any of the Nicelanders wanted to do was invite more destruction into their homes. So Ralph was never invited to parties, or birthdays, or even afternoon tea. She assumed he had his own ways to amuse himself after the arcade closed, though the fourth or fifth time Felix had to fetch Ralph from the washroom at Tapper's she began to wonder.

But still she never invited him in. Why should she? The raw destructive power he held in his massive fists was overwhelming. Weren't they justified in fearing him?

And then she'd met the little girl who wasn't afraid of him. The little girl who was no bigger than any of them but who thought nothing of leaping onto his shoulder and punching his arm and teasing him and curling up in his massive palm. When Mary first witnessed these interactions she could scarcely hide her shock. Didn't this little girl have any idea what Ralph was capable of?

Apparently she did.

It took a while for the whole story to come out, but apparently Vanellope had seen Ralph destroy something in a fit of rage and instead of running in fear, she'd been impressed. Ralph turned out to be the key she needed to change her life – which Mary came to understand had been miserable.

Vanellope took great pleasure in describing to the Nicelanders Ralph's last greatest feat of strength. She'd jump around and wave her arms as she reenacted the volcanic eruption that had saved her world, and said how it never would have been possible if not for Ralph. The wrecker himself would blush and shuffle his feet and say that it was nothing really, to which Vanellope would leap onto his shoulder and point emphatically and say that it was not, in fact, nothing, and the big lug was her hero.

Hero. That was one word Mary never thought she'd hear associated with Ralph.

But then, she supposed none of them had ever really given him the chance to be one.

32. Meaning

Clyde had been a counselor for many years, and in that time he learned that no amount of encouraging words could compare to a villain discovering a greater purpose for themselves.

The first night Wreck-It Ralph came to Bad Anon Clyde was patient as ever. He listened, and offered gentle support as best he could. But even he could tell that Ralph wasn't completely buying what they were selling. That was okay. Thirty years of bad feelings didn't just go away in one night. He only hoped Ralph would come back.

And he did. Not immediately, but he did.

Ralph's second visit came almost a full year after his first one. And the transformation was incredible. He sat up straighter, looked the other villains in the eye, and generally exuded an air of confidence and ease that was a far cry from the hopeless, desperate man who had come seeking solace all those months before. Not only had Ralph become good friends with the Good Guy of his own game and earned the acceptance of the NPCs, he was quickly becoming a legend in the arcade. By now everyone knew of his exploits in Sugar Rush, how he'd uncovered Turbo's hostile takeover of the game and helped restore its rightful ruler to her throne.

After his second visit Clyde had pulled Ralph aside and thanked him for such an inspiring share. He asked if maybe the wrecker would want to bring along Vanellope to one of the meetings – as one of the first Good Guys ever to accept a Bad Guy, her testimony could be incredibly valuable for any struggling villains.

Ralph had shifted uneasily at the suggestion. "Oh, I dunno… I don't think she'd really be into this."

Clyde had let it go but assured him Vanellope was welcome at any time. Ralph had nodded politely but as the weeks went on the little racer was consistently a no-show.

Until one evening when she burst into the room with a winning smile and a plate of sugar cookies.

Ralph had looked stunned to see her there but Vanellope said that was the point of a surprise and proceeded to hand out her homemade treats to the gathered villains. It took all of two seconds for the Bad Guys to warm up to her, raving about how adorable she was and how excellent her cookies were. She soaked in the praise but never left Ralph's side and when the plate had been emptied she jumped onto his shoulder, settling in like a kitten that had just found its mother. Clyde asked if she wanted to tell her version of how she and Ralph had met, and Vanellope had launched into an animated reenactment of how Ralph fell out of the sky into her sugar-coated world and proceeded to mess everything up so badly that he ended up saving her world, and helping her get her life back. The other villains listened with rapt attention and as she told her story, Ralph began to relax. He smiled and laughed and even helped Vanellope fill in parts of the story where she hadn't been present.

But nothing could match the look of pride in his eyes when Vanellope got to the part about how she crossed the finish line and finally became a real racer.

Clyde watched the wrecker with a knowing smile. Ralph had found his purpose.

33. Should Have Been

When Taffyta thinks about Vanellope's relationship with Ralph, she can't help but feel jealous. And more than a little guilty.

In their backstories Vanellope and Taffyta were friendly rivals. They weren't particularly close, but they certainly weren't enemies. And Taffyta can't help but wonder what their relationship would be like now if Turbo hadn't messed with the program.

Vanellope has such an easy relationship with Ralph. They talk and laugh and spend almost every moment of closing time together.

Taffyta can't blame her. Ralph was the first person who'd ever shown her any sort of kindness. It's only natural the giant would become her best friend. And things are better now, but even though Vanellope has forgiven them all, the other racers are on pins and needles whenever they're around her. She's been patient with them – she always has – and there's an unspoken hope and understanding that healing is just going to take time.

Taffyta knows she can't make up for how she treated Vanellope all those years.

But she can try.

34. Begin Again

Sergeant Calhoun understood the need to protect innocent civilians. It was her programmed directive. So she understood why Ralph hadn't left the little girl trapped at the exit to her game.

Or at least, she thought she had.

Vanellope was more than an innocent civilian to Ralph. She was his best friend, his little sister. He would've done anything for her.

But not because it was his duty. Because she was the first one who'd ever given him the time of day, or half a chance to be anything other than the Bad Guy who wrecked the building. She'd never known him as a Bad Guy, so she never treated him as one. She'd been nice to him – in her own offbeat way – and she'd trusted him and let him into her life, and accepted him for who he was.

And after thirty years of lonely friendless nights, that to Ralph had been worth dying for.

Not because she was the innocent bystander.

Because she was a treasure worth protecting.

Calhoun mused about this as her husband slept peacefully in her arms. She'd forgotten what it was like to love someone so much. After Brad she had closed herself off to the pain of possibly losing another person she cared about. It was just easier to keep everyone at arm's length, to see the other game characters as nameless civilians who simply needed protecting.

There were risks to making friends. Vanellope's code was still fragile, and Felix's game was on in years. Anything could happen to any one of them at any moment.

But Calhoun wouldn't give up that uncertainty if it meant not having these wonderful people in her life. After all this time, she finally knew what it felt like to let people in again.

She just couldn't believe a Bad Guy had been the one to remind her.

35. Try Again

Snowanna owes Ralph a huge debt of gratitude – not only for saving her world and her ruler, but also for saving her from a lifetime of guilt.

She had been the last one out of Sugar Rush that night. Well… almost. Just as she ran under the archway she passed the glitch – Vanellope, trapped at the exit. Unable to leave. Looking scared and helpless.

It wasn't Snowanna's fault she had to leave her there! What could she do? Just stay there, unable to help, and get them both killed?

She'd found Adorabeezle and Swizzle just inside Game Central Station. The others were visibly shaken, Candlehead was in tears, and the candy fans were causing a scene as the shocked characters of other games made way for the sudden influx of Sugar Rush citizens. Snowanna had felt the guilt heavy as a ball of molten rock in her stomach. Sure Vanellope was a glitch, but… But that didn't mean she deserved to die like that! And Snowanna had just left her there, trapped at the edge of freedom and completely alone.

Well… almost.

The giant was with her. The hulking man in red who had chased them all away when they were picking on her.

The others had left her behind. He hadn't. He'd stayed with her, refused to give up and just accept that was the way things were. He didn't think it was okay to leave her there because she was "just a glitch" and there was nothing he could do about it.

He was a better friend than any of them had ever been.

Snowanna had been terrified of Ralph when she'd first seen him. But he seemed less scary when he hugged Vanellope and called her "Baroness Boogerface." After the whole Turbo incident he visited Sugar Rush often, and though it took a while for Snowanna to get used to his massive frame it helped that her president showed no fear, dancing around Ralph and trading playful banter.

They were a lot alike, really, Snowanna thought. Most people only saw Ralph as a huge, scary Bad Guy and ran away from him in fear. The rest of the racers had seen Vanellope as just a glitch and ran away from her, or pushed her away when she tried so hard to earn their acceptance.

It only made sense that the two of them had become close friends.

And now, thanks to Ralph, Snowanna had another chance to be Vanellope's friend too.

…Yeah, that last one was supposed to go to Felix, but I honestly couldn't come up with something for him. So it goes to Snowanna instead, because that moment where she runs past Vanellope at the exit is downright depressing.