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#he is one of the folks who doesn't really hide it but didn't say it directly till now
scarefox · 1 month
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so he just casually dropped that on stream 😌🤍
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rockrosethistle · 6 months
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If there's one thing TGWDLM fans are gonna do, it's think about the implications. And the implications of the opening number are crazy.
So. We know that the show isn't completely chronological since the opening number takes place before the meteor hits. So that song is a sort of "flash forward" moment. But when you think about it, we don't really know how far in the future it takes place.
What we do know is that by the time it's happening, Emma is infected. She has a little solo in it singing about how Paul is pining over a barista
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And we know that this is meant to be an infected Emma specifically. Lauren had other characters in the show, if they wanted to avoid the Emma implication they would've just dressed her as one of those.
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So we know this is meant to be Emma.
And Emma isn't infected until the very end of the show. She's dragged off stage during the credits. So since she's infected in the opening number, we know the number takes place after the events of the show.
Another important detail is that Paul is infected before Emma. He's the one that passes it on to her.
So back to the opening number, Emma is infected. Which means by just following a simple timeline, Paul must also be infected. He should be singing and dancing, right?
But that's not what happens. Paul misses his entrance.
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If Paul is infected, then there's no reason he should be missing his entrance. Furthermore, if he's a part of a hive mind, there's no reason other members of the same hive mind shouldn't know where he is. They are literally all connected by one brain, and yet both Mr. Davidson and Bill express they have no clue where he went.
What I'm saying is that Paul is not infected. He was infected (again, we know that because Emma is infected and he was infected before her) but now he's not anymore.
I'm saying there's a way out of the hive, and Paul found it. That's the only explanation that makes sense given the facts of the situation. Sometime after the events of tgwdlm, Paul is able not only to break out the hive mind, but to hide from it.
And if he broke out, others could do the same. Maybe even Emma.
Edit because a countertheory has emerged: Yes it's possible that everyone is infected the entire time and the show itself is just Pokey replaying the events for the fun of it. But it seems unlikely to me. First of all, each of the Lords in Black has a distinct personality. They all are evil, but within that they seems to fall somewhere on a spectrum of "silly billy" to "prick." For example, Tinky is more of a silly billy. He toys with humans without much of a motive and more for just shits and giggles. But in every instance, Pokey's more on the extreme side of prick.
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He's one of the few with an actual motive behind what he does. In Yellowjacket, it's confirmed that Pokotho hates the sound of anyone's voice except for his own. The events of TGWDLM don't happen because Pokey is bored, they happen because he is executing a plan. So I don't think that he would just have them play out their little scenario just to entertain him, especially just one small island? I just feel like he'd be more focused on world domination.
If the theory is that all this is happening after Pokey's already taken over the whole world, no one was successful in stopping him, then yes it's plausible, but still weird. There are a strange amount of things in that show you just think an eldritch god wouldn't include.
Edit 2: New evidence has emerged???
The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is loosely based off of Invasion of The Body Snatchers. Paul's last name is even a nod to the main character, Matthew. At the end of the film, Matthew survives, and continues living among the infected, pretending to be one of them. And wouldn't that be just such a fun little parallel...
Obviously it doesn't prove anything but the source material doesn't lie folks.
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cryptidghostgirl · 3 months
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so sorry for this (very) specific request hope it's not ocish
anyways alastor x wife reader who's a virologist / kinda a mad scientist??(girl just wants to start a apocalypse without anyone to bother her)
Like they got married for mutual benefits (whatever benefits he would gain and her having access to money for her wildest dreams) when they were humans (whether he actually loves her or not is up to you lmao)
They both die (I assume that she would die around when he died from her own negligence caused by her 'freedom' to do her work more often without actually worrying about him finding out) and she avoids him like the plague (not that hard to realize this so called radio demon is your 'husband' when you find his secret stash of 'local cuisine' in the fridge)
Then he goes missing and she finally kinda goes out of makeshift hiding, just chilling doing her evil deeds before finding about the Hazbin Hotel from some gossip
Deciding that, while redemption is most likely not gonna happen mostly for the fact she does not care, she joins Charlie's little program. For her own little project (just wants to have a angel test subject, gotta see if they can be a good carrier for her little virus)
The reader doesn't know that Alastor's back (you think she's gonna use vox tech? Or listen to the radio? Girl uses a non vox tech phone and maybe a computer and does her work) so she goes and knocks on the door to the hotel
Thinking that this shit is gonna be easy, after all her husband is gone so she won't be bothered by him. She can focus on her beautiful creations and maybe destory hell and heaven with a apocalypse for some laughs. While also getting access to heaven through Charlie somehow (maybe even Lucifer, girl doesn't know nor care)
Anyways you can just IMAGINE her surprise that right after Charlie greets her (Vaggie ofc suspicious af cause she knows damn well no sinner wants to be redeemed for the most part) then here comes the strawberry pimp coming to say hello
Would he recognize his lovely wife? Maybe
Ofc reader had a plan, and by plan I mean she just says they were married and now acts like their divorced (death do us part and we fuckin dead)
(Just for example, do what you want <3)
Anyways I'm sorry again (can you tell that I've been watching a lot of mlp infection aus :') )
A/N bestie,, i love an overly detailed request. no apologies. i hope i did it justice <3 <3 I have literally been obsessing over the whole 'we're dead. we've been parted.' reader idea. It's so fun. Also I am very sorry it took me so long to get to this. Also, I am not a woman nor am I in STEM (I'm an enby in history) so apologies if science stuff in this is bad. I'm basing the character off of Entrapta (my love) from Nate Stevenson's She-Ra remake.
Till Death Do Us Part (Alastor x Mad Scientist!Reader)
Pairing: Alastor x Reader
Warnings: Gore. Murder. Bodies. Animal cruelty (not detailed at all just like test subjects and burning ants as a kid). Viruses/plague talk. Just capital d Death all around in this one folks. Suicide and starvation briefly mentioned.
Word Count: 2,584
Master Lists:
Master Lists 
Hazbin Hotel Master List
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Y/n hadn't been sad when Alastor died. It didn't really even register on her radar that he was gone until the police showed up at her door. Their marriage was more of an agreement than anything else, a division of labor. Y/n was a talented virologist who came from a rather wealthy family. He got access to her money, using it to start his own radio studio, and Y/n? Well Y/n got a clean up crew.
She had always been fascinated by death. It was a morbid curiosity that had followed her since childhood. The typical 'burning ants with a magnifying glass to mass murderer' pipeline only, murder was not exactly her objective. Since learning of the Black Death in school, she had been fascinated by biological warfare and weaponry. The stories of soldiers throwing infected bodies over the walls of city's to break down their defenses? It was magnificent, masterful, absolutely awe inspiring. Living through the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918, watching how it tore through her city of New Orleans, only furthered her determination.
As soon as she had had the knowledge base to do so, she began working on bio-weapons on her own. She wanted to create a disease, to devastate the world. She wanted to watch the things around her crumble into ruin and know it was by her hand.
She'd found out about Alastor's hobby by accident. They were friends, of a sort, in that Y/n would show up randomly where ever he was and quiz him about radio waves. He worked at a radio station and she knew that. She had followed him, tracked him down. There was no reasoning behind it save he was the first person she'd really found out about that was involved in the business in New Orleans. She would pick his mind about getting the word out about things, marketing, advertising. She was prepping for the main event, for the day she finally created her magnum opus.
One day, when she had shown up unannounced at his door and broken in when he didn't respond to her knocking, Y/n had discovered him dismembering one of his victims. Alastor had stared at her, wide eyed in shock, fear and adrenaline mixing into an intoxicating combination in his veins. Y/n had just smiled.
She had been wondering about human experimentation for a while now. Animals were easy to cover up, easy to bury in the back yard but people? It had always been too risky, up until now anyways.
So it went like this: Y/n funded Alastor's dreams and he hid the side effects of hers. When he died, Y/n didn't really feel anything too strongly about it at all. Yes, it made life harder in that if she wanted to keep using human guinea pigs she'd have to figure out a way to dispose of them on her own but it also made it easier. Alastor had always been so obsessed with image, dragging her to office parties and forcing her to sit down to meals with him. Now that he was gone, she could work on her projects in peace once again. The body thing was something she would figure out along the way. She was smart and she wasn't going to let something like that stop her, not when she was this close to cracking it.
As it turns out, Alastor had been more of a help than Y/n believed. So used to his nattering and persistence, she had stopped eating. It wasn't long before she joined her husband in death. The papers of course had a field day with it. Heiress and Virologist Y/n L/n Withers Away Due to Heartbreak. Y/n L/n Starved Herself to Death and Joins her Murderer of a Husband. Virologist Commits Suicide After Revelation of Dead Husband's Criminal Deeds.
When Y/n had woken up in Hell, her whole world had been turned upside down. If there was life after death, what was the point of killing everyone on earth? She was back at square one.
Rumors were already buzzing through the streets of Hell about some new overlord, some Radio Demon, who had a strikingly similar MO to her husband. Not wanting any distractions this time around, Y/n secluded herself in the outskirts of the pride ring to reformulate her plans.
For decades she worked, trying to create a poison to wipe out the dual planes of the underworld. Work was easier here. No one questioned why she bought the things she bought, no one got upset when people went missing. Hell, no one even blinked twice if they saw her burying a body. It was a veritable paradise for Y/n.
Eventually, news reached her of the Radio Demon's disappearance. Y/n had never been the biggest fan of technology that wasn't involved in her work. In the world of the living, she had barley read the papers. All the machines in her laboratory were ones she had built herself through trial and error. But still, somehow, the news reached her and she felt elated. The last thing weighing her down, the last road block had officially been lifted.
Within seven years, she had perfected the disease. Having run tests on lower rings of Hell, she prided herself on her ability to make it so infections, so deadly. The survival was on par with that of unvaccinated human's infected by rabies. But her plan wasn't complete, no. Taking out everyone in Hell wasn't good enough, she had to figure out how to get it into Heaven as well.
That was when the perfect opportunity fell in her lap. Y/n nearly cried when she caught sight of the interview through the window of a shop selling Vox branded TVs. Charlie Morningstar, Lucifer's little brat, was creating a hotel for sinners, where they could be rehabilitated and sent to Heaven. It was perfect, almost too perfect. Y/n didn't question it, her own excitement blinding her. She barley even took the time to come up with a plan that consisted of more than get into the hotel and get her hands on an angel. She figured that was something that could be dealt with later on.
After a few days of research and snooping, she finally made her move. Having packed her bags and woven her way through the streets of Pentagram City, she found herself before the brightly lit marquee of the Hazbin Hotel. Placing her bag on the ground beside her, the test tubes and various paraphernalia inside clinked gently against one another. Raising her hand, she knocked on the door.
It was Charlie herself who answered, with wide eyes and an earnest smile. A smaller moth demon beside her crossed her arms, eyeing Y/n with doubt. It barley registered with the excitable demon, she was used to the strange looks. The new form Hell had granted her with when she died was odd, after all. She was still the same height, still held a roughly human shape, but her hair had become its own beast. It moved like secondary limbs, falling nearly to the floor from the pigtails she had tied it up into. It shot up into the air around her in joy at the sight of yet another open door in her path, this one literal rather than figurative.
"Hello!" Charlie exclaimed, "Are you here to check in?"
"Yes, check in." Y/n nodded, using her hair to pick her bag back up.
She took a step forward, trying to enter the hotel, but found her path blocked by the smaller grey demon. Her arms were uncrossed now, one of them pointing a spear right at Y/n's neck. Y/n didn't flinch, she simply looked down at it in curiosity, reaching a finger up to touch the end.
"Ow." she said flatly as the spear's tip pressed into the pad of her finger.
Raising it to her eyes, she rubbed the droplet of blood that had pooled on her pointer finger with her thumb before turning back to the spear.
"Is this..." Y/n leaned forward, grabbing the spear's shaft.
"Hey!" Vaggie yelled threateningly as Y/n crouched down, examining the weapon carefully.
"Oh my stars, this is an angelic blade, isn't it?" she exclaimed, her eyes still fixed on the spear.
"Uh..."
Vaggie was more confused now than anything and she took the slightest step away from the excited demon. Y/n followed her and soon, they were in the entry way to the hotel. Charlie watched the scene play out with mild amusement, finding her girlfriends bewildered state rather charming. She let the door fall shut.
"It is, isn't it?" Y/n asked again, "But how did you get it? Did you make it? What do you do with it? Is it more effective than normal weapons? Why a spear? I-"
"What's this, we have a new guest?" a crackling voice cut Y/n off.
"Uh, yes!" Charlie stepped in, turning to face the newcomer.
Y/n, still preoccupied with the spear, was now engaged in trying to get Vaggie to let her hold it.
"I think..." Charlie doubtfully added, her brow furrowing at the site.
"Well well well, a little devil." Alastor hummed, turning to watch the show as well, "Honestly, reminds me of someone I knew back when I was alive and kicking. Ah well, what's her name?"
"I don't... actually know that yet." Charlie admitted, fiddling with her hands a bit as she spoke, "But she seems really enthusiastic about being here!"
"It seems she more interested in that spear of Vaggie's than the idea of redemption." Alastor noted in response.
"Are either of you going to help me or are you just gonna sit and watch?" Vaggie exclaimed, trying her best to pry the spear out of Y/n's grip.
Alastor sighed and with a twirl of his microphone, a shadow arose, pulling Y/n off Vaggie. There was a split second where the smile on the girl's face fell. It quickly returned as she caught sight of what exactly had interrupted her escapades. Placing her bag on the floor with her hair, she wormed around in the shadow's arms, turning to face it. Tentatively, she poked it.
"Would you stop that?" Alastor asked, his voice thick with irritation.
Y/n poked the shadow again.
"What is this? How are you doing this?"
When no response came from the demon in question, she at last turned to face him.
"Oh."
She stilled in her movements and Alastor allowed the shadow to disappear.
"No reason to be scared." Charlie quickly stepped in, "I know Alastor here has a bit of a... reputation, but he is actually helping us at the hotel. He's really a great once you get to know him."
Alastor's smile widened as he bowed his head slightly in recognition of the praise.
"If you're going to be staying her-"
"You can't seriously be thinking of letting her stay here, Charlie." Vaggie cut in, "She's been here what, five minutes? And all thats come of it is chaos."
"Vaggie, come on, don't be like that." Charlie turned to her girlfriend, "Everyone deserves a second chance, that's the whole reason we built this place."
"But does she even want to be redeemed? I mean, what if she's... I don't know, trying to take us down from the inside out? What if she's a journalist or some shit trying to write us bad reviews?"
"You flatter me." Y/n smiled and Vaggie scoffed.
"See?"
"Isn't that all the more reason to let her in? Vaggie, if she is undercover as a journalist or something, we just have to prove to her how amazing what we're doing here is."
"I don't know... I've never seen her before, what if she's another one Vox sent?"
Y/n shook her head, sticking her tongue out slightly in disgust at this notion and Alastor chuckled. There really was something so familiar about this demon and her antics. Even if she was a tad irritating, it was a comfortable familiarity.
"Then we will figure it out, same way we did with Sir. Pentious. Okay?"
"Fine." Vaggie relented at last with a sigh.
Smiling brightly, Charlie turned back to Y/n.
"So, hi. I'm Charlie, welcome to the Hazbin Hotel! What's your name?"
Y/n's eyes flicked back and forth between Alastor and Charlie for a moment before settling on Charlie.
"Y/n L/n."
Alastor let out a little laugh of disbelief, a sound he had meant to keep in. He couldn't help it. Of course this little mess of a demon was his favorite crazy wife. Alastor had looked for Y/n on occasion, always keeping an eye on news involving anything scientific but, he had never found a trace. Not that he'd admit it but, in their time together, he had grown rather fond of the girl. Not love, never love, but a sort of familial feel. Everyone turned to face him.
"Are you alright, Alastor?" Charlie asked, walking over to him and placing a hand on his arm which he quickly brushed off.
"Yeah, do you know her or something?" Vaggie added, "Is she dangerous?"
"No..." he paused, his brow slightly furrowed, "She's my wife."
The room fell silent.
"You... you didn't recognize your own wife?" Vaggie asked in disbeleif.
"Ex-wife." Y/n corrected with a little sigh.
This was all becoming so tedious. She hadn't come here to sit and talk with people. While the spear and the shadow had been fun, they had both run their courses and she just wanted to get to work.
"I..." Alastor turned back to Y/n, "Ex-wife?"
Y/n shrugged.
"So you didn't recognize your wife and you didn't know you were divorced?" Vaggie asked, rubbing her temples, "Jesus fuck, man."
"I..." Alastor cleared his throat, "We were married when we were alive. I didn't even know she was dead yet."
"Yeah." Y/n shrugged, "Turns out all your nattering was what was keeping me alive. I forgot to eat, starved to death."
Alastor's eyes softened slightly for a moment at the notion. She had needed his care so badly that she had died with out it. It felt good, in a strange way. Satisfying. They darkened again as he recalled her earlier statement.
"Ex-wife?" he asked again, taking a step towards Y/n.
She looked up at him, her expression blank.
"Yeah?"
"When did we get a divorce!" Alastor exclaimed once he realized she would say nothing else on the matter without his prompting.
"Oh! We didn't." Y/n nodded, smiling slightly, "Now, can I go to my room?"
"No, Y/n. Why are you calling yourself my ex-wife? We are still married."
Y/n looked around at Charlie and Vaggie, seeing if they were going to back up her claim. Sighing, she turned back to Alastor.
"Do I really have to lay it out for you?" she paused and Alastor just stared at her, eyebrows raised, "Jesus. Uh, Al, we died."
"Yes...?"
"Till death do us part? That was the agreement."
"I... Well..." he was at a complete and total loss for how to respond.
She wasn't wrong, he just didn't like her answer very much.
"So... the agreement is done... yeah?"
"I mean," Alastor shook his head slightly, "I guess?"
"Great! Can someone please show me to my room now."
---
Next Part -> Till Death Do Us Part pt. 2
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evilminji · 7 months
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Gold can be exchanged for goods and services (o.o )
Pariah's Keep probably has a shit ton of Precious Goods from various places.
Danny is become King?
If Danny becomes King... then the Zone will somewhat obey him. The Crown and Ring could EASILY tell him where the next natural portal is, where it opens up, and for how long. How many there are. Could probably make a few.
Probably WAS supposed to be making them. Consciously. But, well, Coma(tm).
Would probably count as Kingly Duty to filter and collect. Clean Ecto goes out for souls that remain, a Gateway home for those that wish to LEAVE, so forth and so on.
Effectively, being The Grim Reaper. You don't CAUSE Death. You just guide the way home. If folks so choose.
And that's neat! Horrifying, but neat! And Danny can TOTALLY see how it would eventually drive him completely breakfast cereal fruity nuggets! LUCKILY, he's got a vaguely bro's/Mentor thing going with the ghost who has ALL OF POSSIBLE TIME flowing through HIS head! So Danny should be Gucci!
The headaches suck though.
But WHAT... to do with all this Gold and valuable Space Goods? Most of these aren't even recognized currency on earth! Like the Shells. You could buy a mansion with one of those... on the right planet. On Earth? Pretty paperweight. Hmmmm >.>
Wait.
WAIT!
<o> *points to top of head!* CROWN! It can? Predict and make PORTALS!
Portals lead any WHERE and any WHEN!
:O
Gold... can be exchanged for goods and services. He remembers, holding a gold brick, about to eat so, SO much pizza.
But WAIT! I hear you wondering! Surely, you mean? Within his past? The history and region of space he knows, right? Ha ha :) Nope! Cowards.
Danny is on the alien otter's planet, trading those sweet, sweet Shells for some snacks no human could eat and a shawl for his sister! He's hiding, badly, behind a food stall in the Martian market place. Hoping future hero J'onn Johnes doesn't notice him.
Lying to the Space Cops, bout where his untraceable Space Money came from, on an alien trading satellite. The Green Lantern's not buying it. Oh noooo >.> sudden Fright Knight. Looming Menacingly by the loading doooocks. Everyone's upset! Definitely not related to him! Better go check on that! :) *gets the heck out of dodge* (my king. Please stop using me as a distraction.) (No promises)
But! It's all fun and games? Until your human friends get sick. Like... REALLY sick.
And then you suddenly remember time and space mean nothing to you. One 15 minute flight that way, two doors, a quick flight of stairs, and a literal child's play place slide? You could be in the 32nd century.
That disease is AT BEST, an unpleasant afternoon, there.
Here, your friend could die.
You trade a student two Spanish dubloons. They have no idea what they are. Just like the look of them and know they're real metal. They walk into the pharmacy for you. Don't question your "social experiment paper" lie.
You're back in less then an hour.
The screaming argument about ethics and mortality lasts hours.
She still takes the medicine. Gets better. Won't talk to you for months. Because why does HER life matter more? Why bend the rules for HER? And you can't bring yourself to say what pulses as Truth from both Crown and Ring.
You could because she didn't Matter. Time... would not notice, nor change. She was in no way pivotal to the flow of history, must one more ant beneath its unrelenting march. Mattering only because those who love her CARE. Because one or two little things might change for the better.
But it takes the shine off of it, a little.
Being able to go to the FUTURE. Watch movies and see aliens and humans alike in the crowd. Read books and dance to songs from people who won't be born for hundreds of years. Eat snacks from the farthest reaches of the cosmos. Or the early BCs!
And that's BEFORE other time travelers clock him as That Shopping Guy. The one who keeps popping up... buying things. For what? Unknown. Probably dinner. Half the time it's food. Trinkets. Once it was a really, REALLY nice goat. (His aunt was THRILLED.)
It probably drives Bart crazy. Because NO ONE knows anything about the guy? Everyone just universally goes "oooh yeah! HIM! Yeah, he sure does Exsist(tm). Very... present and exsistant." Like that's not CRAZY! He has so many question. So Many! What is he even BUYING!? Why? Is there an order? Or is he winging it?!
*pulls out list* he needs ANSWERS!
@hypewinter @hdgnj @ailithnight
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are you accepting requsts for 1.6 stuff? if so, may i get all of the SVE bachelors (especially magnus) reacting to their spouse witnessing the new Mr Qi event at the summit and becoming Very intimidated by him? bonus points if the farmer went through the SVE ??? mature event
⚠️Warning: Spoilers for SDV 1.6 update event and SVE Mr. Qi mature event under the cut!
Ok, a little preface: I had a little trouble comparing the logic of opening the Summit location in vanilla SDV and SVE (I know it's just a game and a lot of things don't make sense, but it's important to me, so shhhh!). In SDV the location is available after reaching Perfection, and naturally the new 1.6. event with Qi will be when the Farmer reaches Summit before reaching Perfection. Whereas in SVE this location can be opened earlier with the help of Clint.
So. Let's pretend this is the situation in SVE when Farmer hasn't yet accessed Summit with Clint, and they reached that location using "cheat" magic. I just don't really want to break 4 walls and imagine that this world is just a game, so let's consider it magic (scythe and glitch magic, lol).
Thanks for the ask, dear anon, and enjoy! 💕
Lance:
Too much, it's all too much. The second time Farmer has been admitted to Harvey's clinic in critical condition, they haven't told Lance anything about what happened, and they're still enveloped by thin threads of unnatural magic. Very powerful and dark magic. Not their magic. Good thing thar clever pink-haired adventurer had managed to inform Camilla, Magnus, and the heads of the Ministry about this strange occurrence that still plagues the Farmer. Except that even Lance didn't expect things to be this bad.... He longs for action to protect his dear spouse, but the Ministry has ordered him to bide his time, and that's what kills him the most... This feeling of helplessness before an unseen enemy and Farmer's face that tries to hide the fear and pain behind a fake smile. Lance isn't vindictive and doesn't usually harbour grudges, but when he finds the culprit behind all their troubles, he'll make this person pay for every second the Farmer has spent in misery and horror.
Victor:
Victor is already in total despair. He sought help and advice from everyone he knows: friends, his mother, even some folks from Zuzu City. The poor guy was asking everyone since the Farmer themself wouldn't tell him anything, always saying that "everything is fine." Fine?! It's not fine! Victor knows that the job of an adventurer is difficult and challenging, but in his heart he senses something wrong. And while the worried young man stood on the porch, completely absorbed in anxious thoughts about his spouse, a mysterious woman appeared to him out of nowhere. "We're guessing what happened to Farmer, but we're not 100% sure." Victor could barely restrain himself from rushing over to Camilla and grabbing her by the shoulders, begging her to tell him what she knew and why his Farmer was acting like this. "Shh, there's no need to panic. We'll try to do whatever is necessary, but we need your help." Is it really that dangerous? But he's willing to take the risk, for Farmer's sake.
Magnus Rasmodius:
"What do you mean we can't find the source of this damn magic?!" It had been a long time since Magnus' colleagues had seen him in such a rage, but what was there to be surprised about? Almost any man whose spouse had been subjected to possible abuse, cursing, and maybe even physical or psychological torture would have gone berserk. Magnus was no exception. However, this enemy was no ordinary man at all, but the very same obscure individual that the Ministry had long been wary of. And now they came again and started to frighten Farmer. It is not known why the stranger is so interested in his spouse, but no one dares to harm Farmer. Even if the Ministry doesn't help him, to hell with it. Magnus has enough friends and colleagues who will not leave him in trouble and, if anything, will protect Farmer.
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utilitycaster · 3 months
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The thing I've realized, in the broader Actual Play space, is that a lot of creators are trying to turn Actual Play shows into TV shows.
You mentioned Kollok in your tags, and the creator of that has mentioned creating Kollok in a way to try to appeal to the Netflix audience.
And I'm all for experimentation, but tbh if I wanted to watch a TV show, I would go watch a TV show. That's not what I'm looking for in an Actual Play and over editing and gimmicks actively turn me off from it.
Folks creating Actual Play seem to put a lot of weight on it, but I don't know if it's that important from an audience perspective.
Hey anon,
Huge same - I've been thinking about this for a while, especially in regards to choices I didn't like (notably on D20, though the Candela split screen in chapter 3, while relatively minor, felt like part of the same trend and I'm really interested in seeing whether they keep it). I actually did mean to write more about this not in the tags of a reblog, so thanks for this ask because it gives me that motivation to do it!
Earlier this year I was at an event and someone who to be totally honest I found kind of annoying was talking about Dimension 20, and I decided to keep quiet and listen to what other people had to say, and another person (whom I respect and specifically know to be like, left-leaning and inclusive and not gatekeeper dudebro type, which is relevant to the next statement) who is solidly in Gen X and has been playing D&D since at least 2e mentioned that he doesn't like Actual Play at all because he is from the era where D&D was frequently played in third person and is somewhat of a purist in that sense. Ie, this guy would say "Gawain pulls out his sword and smites the dragon, with a 24 to hit", rather than "I'm going to pull out my sword and smite the dragon." He described his idea of D&D as being very much collaborative storytelling in the sense of a bunch of third person narrators who happen to be the storytellers for one specific character, not a first-person acted scene.
I happen to like both forms of narration and am not a purist either way, and indeed use both third person and first person myself as a player (as do many actual players; you see this on CR and D20 all the time). But I think this does show just how broad this spectrum is. You have people all the way on the "I am narrating an improvised story, I am the storyteller puppeting my character and I am not trying to be immersed" side and then you have shows that are trying to push this into full immersion...but so long as you have dice rolls, you'll never achieve it.
I prefer something in between: I do love watching people act, but I really like the gears and wires! I love mechanics! I think people who say "I love actual play D&D but I don't really care for combat, only RP" don't actually like actual play D&D! This is a specific format and I do not want people to hide the fact that they are using the rules of a game and are at a table, because they are and we know it.
This came up when I and others talked about the Legend of Vox Machina adaptation: they're probably going to have to find a way to convey the same tragedy and gravity of Scanlan's ninth level counterspell that doesn't require viewers to know the mechanics, because if you watch that scene as actual play the meaning of Sam saying "Nine" is immediately apparent. It hits hard with that one single word, but that won't be the case in an animated adaptation where no one is rolling a D20. Mechanics are in intrinsic part of actual play. You can enjoy actual play without that knowledge, but a solid grounding in those mechanics will only enhance that enjoyment (well, unless you're one of those rules-lawyery weirdos who gets bitter about any GM rule of cool/homebrew that they couldn't predict from the rulebooks but those people will never be happy).
The more general context of "being in a game", not just mechanics, is also in my opinion valuable. Brennan, on a Worlds Beyond Number fireside chat, referred to certain NPCs like Caramelinda as "furious that they are in a D&D game" and it's a funny and true statement. I feel like trying to push actual play into the realm of scripted shows is that: it feels like you're trying to hide the origins, and I think the quality of the show will ultimately suffer when you do that. It feels almost ashamed of what it is, and I don't think you can make something that transforms a medium/genre/thing in between the two without having a profound love and respect for the original, even if you also find it flawed. (This is also, tbh, how I feel about a lot of attempts to divorce D&D from the fact that it is ultimately a game influenced heavily by sword-and-sorcery fantasy, or about attempts to turn high or heroic fantasy into something that neatly affirms all of one's 2024 real world political beliefs, but that's another post).
I also think that the out-of-character element of actual play is a big draw. I have been open about having complicated feelings about the parasocial and projection aspects; but those feelings are "hey, this is still a show that is a source of livelihood, you are not hanging out in someone's living room and getting weird about the fact that the CR cast no longer responds to every tweet is dumb" and "you have not been betrayed by the creators because you didn't get the plot you wanted," and "the fact that two actors sit next to each other is not, in fact, a solid basis for shipping." I am equally opposed to the idea of "the actors do not exist, only the characters do," put forward in that attempt to make actual play Netflix-ready. It's fun to watch the CR cast rib Travis for turning bright red for, as people said, pretend kissing his real wife. It's fun to watch the Intrepid Heroes heckle Brennan when he plays a villain. It's fun to hear Aabria and Erika scream at WBN plot developments and for the McElroys or the NADDPod crew to wheeze with laughter and all of these shows but CR are to a degree edited, and all leave that element in, which I think says something really important about what actual play is understood to be!
It does not escape me that the seasons/shows using heavier camera edits have often, in my opinion, sacrificed story quality for a visual style I don't even care for. I do watch prestige television, and one of the more striking cinematographic choices I've seen lately are the extremely long single take shots used on both Succession's final season (Connor's Wedding, 4x03) and The Bear's first season (Review, 1x07). Prestige TV is not doing the glitchy Neverafter stuff. Hell, I liked Sagas of Sundry: Dread and never finished Madness before it went offline and haven't made an effort to seek it out specifically because the black box theater feel of Dread felt fun and new but not too removed from actual play vibes, whereas the higher production values of Madness, ironically, made it feel too artificial and stilted to keep my interest.
Actual play is its own beast, and in trying to appeal to a new audience you're probably going to lose a lot of the one you have. A big part of why I haven't been motivated to check out Kollok is that everything I hear about it, even positive reviews, makes it sound like it's missing the things I like from actual play and doesn't achieve the level of scripted shows. Honestly I think the REAL answer here is that if you want to find a space between a Netflix drama and an Actual Play show, ditch the rules and make stuff like Midst, which is as discussed inspired by ttrpg/actual play spaces, but is broadly plotted out in advance. I think that approach can combine the best of both worlds, whereas I feel as though attempting to be a Netflix show will usually spend so much time trying to hide the fact that there's a table there that it will detract from the actual story.
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paragonrobits · 6 months
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Talk to the people that fight the monsters in the dark, skulking in the alleys no one remembers and hiding behind suits and smiling faces in the expensive buildings, they'll tell you stories. They say there's a city block that doesn't belong to the city anymore.
Don't make trouble for the people there. The unspoken statement is that the people there aren't... exactly human anymore. They used to be. But there's worse things in the dark then men with the hearts of wolves or undying monsters that drink the blood of the living; worse than patchwork men that spread disaster in their wake and don't understand why. Sometimes, a terrible mystery ensnares someone, trapping them in promises and story and lies, and drags them away.
What comes back isn't human anymore. It's still a person, though. They reason and understand things, same as the humans they were, once. You leave them alone, the local Union rep says. They're no harm to no one, as long as you don't bring trouble to them.
Don't rat to them, you get warned. If someone who looks too good to be true comes around sniffing for their addresses, you just smile and nod and say you never heard a damn thing. Don't rat them out. Because the people in that place will know, and they'll find you, and your family. You try to throw them back into hell, they'll return the favor three times over.
But it goes both ways; if you watch out for them, mind your business and keep their secrets, they'll help you out.
The Union rep tells you a short little story; he says that most of the time, the people in that city block look the same as you or me. There might be a few signs; a girl with teeth unnaturally sharp and pointy, or a man who knocks on wood and it makes a noise like HE'S made of wood. But if things are going normal, you won't see what they really look like, just a kind of magical mask that hides them. But they got their fancy tricks, and they know all about escaping bad situations.
So if you do your part in the deal, they'll help you out. Pretty much anything; a single mother went down to them after some bad business with her ex came up and her kids went missing. Well, she talked to Pop Hammerfist, the big ol' dude that looks like someone carved a tree into a man. Her ex was on the news in the hospital a few days after, yelling about the trees following him, and her kids were back home safe and sound, and with the ex having already signed a few agreements to pay his damn alimony already.
Or a little boy with a missing cat came up to them and asked for help. If any of the real hunters or Union folk had heard about it, they would have stopped him, but the people in the city block didn't turn him away. They nodded, and listened, a few hours later came back with the little boy's cat, safe and purring up a storm. You help them out, they help you out; I hear that kid tells 'em stuff he heard. 'Spose there's a lesson in that. We're all in this together, long as we don't tear the boat down with us in it.
Reminds me of a story about the lady who brought the cat in, in fact. A big lady; has to go to special shops to get clothes that fit. Weird shiny teeth, too, with the weirdest damn braces I ever saw, if those are braces. You hear some funny stories about her, that when she comes knocking the whole floor shakes, but she couldn't be a sweeter lady. Nice to kids, loves cats, always help out. If she's got the weird habit of speaking in rhyme before she says anything else, well, we all got our promises, I guess.
Well, a while back, we had a Slasher. Yeah; the thing that happens when a Hunter goes bad, or someone just gets too much of a taste for murder. Killing opens up a soul, and some part of us leaks out, or something else gets in. This particular fellow liked to call himself a real genius; a real nasty piece of work that liked making elaborate death traps and leaving people to die. Well, we worked out he was there when they started finding the bodies, and by that point he'd already gotten the Big Lady.
...Yeah, that's the name of that lady I mentioned. Long story.
Well, we found what was left of him, and his death traps. The whole place was smashed to pieces by something big. Big and helliciously strong, I'd say. It was like the set of those torture horror movies got hit by a storm. And they found the guy, or. What was left of him. Looked like a wild animal had bit him up, or a jaguar.
Well, from what we heard, he got her all right. But she might have been a bit more than he bargained for. I'm not sure exactly what she did to him, but they were cleaning his blood and bone off the wall for weeks. They said his skull looked like something real strong had just slugged him, so hard he sorta splashed. Don't make me draw you a picture, pal.
But, yeah. Funny thing is, they said the fist mark was so big you'd need a person the size of an elephant to throw that kind of punch. And we kept seeing cats around the area. Really, really big cats.
..You remember about promises. You keep 'em with the city block folk, because they got all kinds of things keeping promises to them.
What happened to the Big Lady, you ask? Oh, she's still around. Helps out the local Union cell now and then. Good hand if you need brute force.
She don't much like having to handle anything that's got too much iron in it; steel is fine, but not real iron. She saws its an allergy.
...Yeah, I know how it sounds. But we got our funny ways, and she keeps her promises, so keep your nose out of it, yeah?
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nothorses · 1 year
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Aren't you the one with the weird ass misogyny kink
This is such a perfect example of how fucking stupid callout culture is, actually.
For context, nearly two years ago now, a few blogs known for picking fights & starting harassment campaigns picked a fight & started a harassment campaign against first one transmasc blogger, then a bunch of other transmascs they harassed about reblogging his post who either didn't respond to them, or who responded unfavorably.
I won't get into the nitty-gritty here, but I did elsewhere [1] [2] and so have a few other folks.
I wasn't the original person called out. I was tacked on after the fact because I didn't respond.
What I've been "called out" for since then is, essentially, a bunch of complete bullshit made up by people who are pissed off that I encouraged people to think critically about the callout posts they came across.
Even among those lies, my sex life, kinks, fetishes, whatever- none of it has ever come up. Because I don't engage with that online, I never have, and I never will, for exactly this reason.
Would you be surprised if I told you this wasn't the first time I'd been accused of the "crimes" that original person was accused of?
You probably shouldn't be! This shit happens all the time, and it's only a natural progression of the callout culture it all stems from: one person has some shit they said taken out of context and painted in a bad light by a vindictive and usually transphobic internet loser, everyone who doesn't publicly disavow them immediately and without question is guilty by association, and what reason do they have to defend this person anyway, except so they can get away with the same thing? They must be doing it too!
And this ask especially is phrased in such a blatantly manipulate way. There's no good way to answer this: either I say "yes, but" and people stop thinking or caring there, or I say "no, here's what really happened" and I look weak and dubious for defending myself at all. The accusation has been made, the question has been asked, and now everything I say is with the assumption that this is something I am responsible for proving or disproving.
It's stupid and pointless and it's all fucking made up. It's designed to run on instinctive disgust and outrage, and what better conduit is there for rage and disgust than trans people? Especially trans people who talk about being trans.
And even putting all that aside: who fucking cares?
Who cares if one dude gets off to some shit he, in real life, both suffers from and actively tries to combat? Why are you so concerned with the private sexual fantasies of one random internet stranger? Why is it so important to you that everyone in the world know what this one dude thinks is hot when acted out between two consenting adults?
Come off anon and tell me all your kinks, anon. Tell me every single thing you have ever been turned on by, everything you've masturbated to, and why. I want detailed notes. I want links to porn. If you've made art, written fanfic, roleplayed- I want to see it.
C'mon, if this should be publicly available knowledge, let's start with you. It shouldn't matter as long as none of it's weird or off-putting to anyone else, right? You don't need to hide anything, right? There's nothing there you'd be embarrassed about, nothing you'd rather keep private, right? So what's the hold-up, why haven't you done this already? Why are you on anon to begin with; what are you hiding?
If anyone's the "sex freak" or whatever, anon, it's you. Nobody fucking needs this information about anyone, especially if they aren't sexually involved with each other. It's a massive invasion of privacy, and much more importantly it is textbook sexual harassment.
Anyway. Hi, voc and w-oc. I should be more surprised to see you two in my inbox, but I guess yall are obsessive enough to respond to, literally, a couple of tags on one reblog containing undefined, contextless acronyms of your urls. Hope you talk to a therapist about that someday.
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swan-lite · 5 months
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Dang it, okay, I have thoughts
James Somerton made an apology video in which he says "I'm sorry" several times but
Couches it in a pity party
Does not directly address any of the people whose work he stole by name
Never uses the word "plagiarism," instead referring to his theft almost exclusively as "citation errors"
James discusses how many videos he and his team were releasing and the frequency of releases as if someone was pressuring them to release a high volume of videos, as if to say it isn't his fault that there were quality problems
James offers to make his videos public again and add "citations" in a pinned comment or in the descriptions as a means of crediting the people he stole from
He also insists that some of the videos won't need these citations because some of them were his own "original work"
(In other words: that he has nothing more to hide)
James states that he isn't bigoted against ace folks, bisexual folks, trans folks, or women and that the several disparaging remarks he has made against these communities in his videos were not written by him
Because we have receipts for several of these remarks thanks to Harry's (hbomberguy's) video on James, we know that they didn't come from the articles and books he was stealing from, so if James didn't write them then the only other person who could have was his cowriter Nick
James then immediately says that he's not trying to blame Nick
James does not try to explain the ace/arophobic, biphobic, transphobic, or misogynistic remarks he has made on his Twitter or Patreon accounts
James mentions - and seems genuinely bothered by - the "people online" who are spreading lies and misinformation about him
Finally, James discusses future projects he would like to work on
He then deleted the apology video
Harry states near the top of Plagiarism and You(Tube) that "When someone more competent than Filip uses [his] techniques in a subtler way, we can recognize them for what they are."
This is not competent. It's not even subtle. James's career was so thoroughly eviscerated literally overnight that this is the best he can do, and it's not even good.
James says that he's sorry, but doesn't actually explain what he's sorry for. He doesn't admit to, or take responsibility for, the extent of what he actually did. In this way, he can now say when confronted that he apologized. But with the wording, he still manages to avoid actually taking ownership of his actions. In other words, it's using passive language to imply that what he has done just happened. He definitely didn't sit down and choose to commit extensive plagiarism - of course not! What really happened? *shrug* Anyway, sorry for it.
When iiluminaughtii (henceforth referred to as Blaire) tried to explain the many times in her video essays she has misspoken or misused words, she played it off as a byproduct of the amount of "work" she churned out for her fans. James is trying to do the same thing here, only it is deeply ineffective. It's quite upsetting to me to think that some of his fans - young queer folks who are probably used to having to make themselves small - might on some level fall for this trick. The idea is to make you the viewer feel guilty for the demands you have placed on this creator, when in reality this is a grown adult who knew exactly what he was doing.
I'm not going to spend too long on this next point. If you've read this far, you're probably invested enough to be well aware that James has used the trick of burying a citation under a mound of text no-one will read many times. It's the same trick Blaire used, and the one The Internet Historian used as well after he was caught.
James stops short of making a "Colombo villian speech" in this apology video. He does, however, take the time to say that he has nothing more to hide. Again, if you've watched Harry's video, you know this literally always means that the person who insists they have nothing to hide is absolutely hiding something else. Whether this is more plagiarism or some other skullduggery we haven't yet found out about, I'm sure it will come to light eventually. I'm honestly surprised and a little disappointed that James tried this tack. Obviously he's thought better of it, since the video is gone now. But I would think a grown human who has just been the subject of an hours-long piece of, frankly, journalism would know better than to say something like this.
With the comments about his bigotry, James is trying to simultaneously redirect attention and perform allyship by saying "Look, I have an asexual friend! Who may or may not be public about his sexuality at this time!" This is the kind of thing I think a lot of us in the queer community are used to - supposed allies downplaying microaggressions by pointing to folks in the ally's proximity who happen to have an identity that they are being accused of speaking badly about. "This one person can stand to be around me, so clearly I can't be all bad." Personally, as someone whose racist parent tries consistently to downplay their own racism by pointing to me, their mixed race child, I can tell you that this is always misleading. In this case, I feel comfortable saying it's intentional. James tries to excuse the bigotry that "ended up in the videos" by saying that he didn't have time to edit the scripts properly. He doesn't seem to realize that time constraints often make people much more honest. In reality, this is James trying to make excuses for the bigotry he put in his videos because the time constraints he put onto himself made it much more difficult to disguise how he really feels.
James then directs some indignation at the people who are online discussing what he did. I would interpret his discussion of his income as an oblique reference to Dan Olson's thread about his recording equipment if I had a degree in literary analysis. My degree is not in literary analysis, so I'll leave it there. Ahem.
James makes reference to future projects he hopes to work on, as if this endeavor has in any way preserved or helped to bolster his shattered reputation. Jessie Gender makes a great point in saying this feels like a promise of work we could get out of him if we all just collectively decide to ignore all the harm he has caused. And James has caused harm. Whether he meant to or not, given the sheer magnitude of his plagiarism, there is absolutely no doubt that he has caused significant harm to a community he claimed to defend.
I want to spend a moment on something others have already pointed out. Actually, Harry pointed this out too. If James's theft were in any way defensible, he would have defended it. He would not have gone to such great lengths - up to and including deleting videos - to hide it. He wouldn't have used Nick as a shield, he wouldn't have outright lied in his livestreams, and he wouldn't have deactivated his Patreon (before reactivating--y'know what, this post is long enough, we don't need to get into that). James lied and dodged and beat around the bush for years BECAUSE he knew what he was doing was wrong. I had a justice studies professor once tell my class that nobody wakes up in the morning and decides to be A Criminal. People make choices, and choices have consequences, but most people don't choose consequences. People choose the thing that benefits them and consequences follow. James made a long, long series of choices, and I would like to remind everyone that they always had consequences. Even before Harry's video came out, James was facing consequences. Those didn't come from nowhere, they came from the people he was hurting. He knew about them, he just didn't stop because of them. He stopped because he literally couldn't keep going anymore.
Finally, James deleted his misguided response to the multitude of accusations against him. I don't think I need to explain to anyone what that indicates.
I would like to finish by saying that nobody should be harassed. Nobody should be bullied, or dogpiled, or doxxed. Nobody should wake up in the hospital because their dad realized he needed to call an ambulance. James's life is undoubtedly in a really difficult place right now, and while he absolutely deserved to lose his career, that's all he deserved. I hope he regains his health, I really do.
And I hope Harry and his team don't feel any responsibility over this. It seems easy from the outside to believe they wouldn't, but I also know that if I had just released a 4-hour long video detailing someone's fraud and then found out they had been in the hospital because of an incompleted suicide, I would feel pretty conflicted about a project we know Harry already felt conflicted about.
I hope Harry and his team are doing okay, and I hope James starts doing okay soon, and I hope James realizes this was the wrong damn time to try any release and apology. It was a bad apology.
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fanfoolishness · 11 months
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I've been meaning to dive into how much I love Cal and Cere's tension, and their relationship, in Fallen Order. It's so well-written and well-acted, and I love how much both of them grow throughout their time together. Buckle in, folks, this is a long one!
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Here, Cal's just been rescued by the Mantis crew after being kidnapped to fight the Haxion Brood. This is something he has every right to be furious at Greez about. Greez's gambling debts led the Brood to put out bounties on him, and when they couldn't get him, they snagged a kid who just happened to fall into Greez's orbit. Cal and BD-1 were both at risk of losing their lives for Greez's mistakes. While Greez is appropriately apologetic, Cal barely even pays attention. He stares at Cere, his shoulders slumped, expression barely hiding his hurt.
He's still reeling from what he learned on Zeffo the day before. From who he learned it from.
The Second Sister cornered and nearly killed him, goading him about being a weak Padawan, about Jaro Tapal. But she also revealed that she was Cere's former Padawan, that Cere had lied to Cal, and that Cere was responsible for what had happened to Trilla.
This devastates Cal.
He holds it together as much as he can. While still on Zeffo, he allows himself a moment of real vulnerability, asking quietly, "Cere, why didn't you tell me?" But by the time he's rescued from the Brood, that vulnerability shifts into disappointment and a desperate hope that somehow Trilla was lying to him.
I love what they do with him here. He's sarcastic. Angry. "I had a nice chat with the Second Sister." He waits a second to drop the bomb. "Trilla." This is Cal Kestis at his most teenaged, snarky and hurt and venomous. He still keeps it reeled in -- he did grow up a Jedi, after all, he's not gonna cuss her out or anything absurd like that -- but he's so human here, and so young.
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There's that desperate hope. He asks Cere if it's true, if she really betrayed Trilla to the Empire.
But Cere, for her part, can't go there yet. How she can explain to this traumatized Padawan whose connection to the Force is still so fragile, that not all masters sacrificed themselves for their Padawans? How can she admit it to herself? She tries to deflect and to tell Cal that Trilla would do anything to compromise their mission, because she can't yet say "Yes. I tried to protect her, and I failed, and she paid the price." Because who can just say that? Who can take a look at the lowest they have ever been and stare at it with the cold light of honesty and say yes, the bad things you've heard about me are absolutely true? And imagine trying to do that when you're also trying to make amends, to move forward, to protect other children -- and you know that that protection starts right here, right now, with this one boy, and you've got to do anything you can to earn his trust?
So she deflects, and avoids saying anything of substance, and Cal's having none of it.
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Check the subtitle here. We got the ?! in the house!!! Cal has to know, how can she not know how important this is? Because now that he's off Bracca, the safety valve's gone. He's got to do something of meaning now, got to help people the way he should have been doing all along. His own survival? Fine. Who needs it now. If he can just do something meaningful, if he can just keep someone else from having to go through what he did, then by the Force he's going to do it. Once in motion a Cal Kestis in motion must stay in motion, for the alternative is terrifying.
"Is it true?!" and he doesn't know what to think about the former Jedi before him, if he can trust anything she'd told him so far, if she'll protect him if the time comes, if she'll give in to the Empire again. He's pissed off and wounded and scared. Cere and Trilla's relationship has nothing to do with him and everything to do with him.
And Cere just acquiesces that Trilla was her apprentice, and Cal snaps, "You should have told me."
They don't get any more time to deal with it, because Kashyyyk needs them.
If you keep having Cal and Cere interact after this point, Cal is noticeably brittle. Cere tries to apologize, but Cal has thrown up his walls, deciding that fine, this is how it is now, and the trust they were starting to share is over. He doesn't want to talk about it when Cere tries to bring it up... but he lets Greez see how hurt he still is. That's safer than trying to talk to Cere about it directly.
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Compare Cal asking why she couldn't tell him, and sharing how he feels like she broke their sense of being a team...
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... To Cal's response after Cere admits she should have told him the truth from the beginning. That's what he said earlier that he wanted, but here, he's having none of it. It's too hard to get into with her. He's too afraid of what he'll find if they're really honest at this point, so he tries to shift the focus back to the mission. Things are broken between him and Cere, fine, but they can still do their work. He clings to that. As hurt as Cal is, he knows what they're doing still makes sense, and he still wants to fight against the Empire. If he has to do that with someone he can't trust, well, so be it.
And Cere understands. Despite her fear of going into the truth, she knows she's the one with greater wisdom and experience here. She doesn't tell him he's being a petulant child about something that has nothing to do with him, or tell him he needs to get over it. If she can't be fully honest with him, not yet, she does an admirable job of being otherwise open and accepting of his feelings. She knows he'll either come around, or he won't, and all she can do is offer the space for him to do so.
By the end of the second Kashyyyk mission, Cere's hoping that enough time has passed that maybe Cal's ready to hear more. Perhaps she's also guilty that Trilla went after him again, and that the Ninth Sister also put Cal's life in danger. Whatever the reason, she tries to reach out to him again. She gives more explanation that she has so far, and you can see just how difficult this is for her. All three characters are acted so well here -- Greez awkwardly in the middle putting way too much salt on his food, Cere's halting explanation, and Cal's completely closed off body language. H
ell, we practically even get an eye roll from him. Yeah. This dude's still a teenager.
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...but one who's acting this way out of hurt, and out of not knowing/being afraid to know the whole story. Once you know everything that happened to Cere and Trilla, it's not wrong to want to shake Cal and tell him to be more understanding! They were in an impossible situation! There was no way to win and they both lost!
But he doesn't know that, and at this point, it's easier -- less painful for him -- not to know. So he tells Cere it's okay, but the message is, I don't want to hear it. He's been thinking about it all along when he goes off on his missions, and he's come to the conclusion that yeah, Cere probably did the best she could, there's no point dwelling on it, and that's good enough to go on with the mission. It's fine. (He's fine.)
And then we get... Dathomir and Kujet's Tomb, and all of Cal's efforts to move forward in the Force, to be strong when Cere let him down, to focus on the mission, it all goes to hell.
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Suddenly Cal's the one overwhelmed by regret and self-blame. He's forced to examine his own darkest day, and when confronted with it, he falls apart. He's heartbroken all over again and convinced that what happened to Master Tapal was entirely his own fault, even though Cere tries to absolve him by telling him the truth, that he was just a child. Cal can't hear a thing she's saying.
Both actors here are so, so good. Cal is scared and small and a hurt, grieving child so desperate to find a sense of control about what happened that he blamed himself. His voice breaks, he hunkers down into himself, he holds his ruined lightsaber as tight as he can. And Cere finally lets the poison spill out, the self-hatred she's been carrying so long, she gets down on his level and manages to say everything she's been holding in. It comes out in a frantic, breathless rush, and honestly, both of them bring tears to my eyes in this scene.
So she's finally open. Finally lays it all out. What happened to her, how she used the dark side, how she failed both Trilla and herself.
More importantly, both for herself and for Cal, she reveals how she kept going. How she found a new hope. How she decided that this was not the end of her story.
Now we see what Cere was like as a Jedi truly. She's compassionate, but commanding. She instructs Cal to get up. Tells him he's going to make a new lightsaber. That it isn't over. That he can move on. He just has to take the first step.
And Cal wipes the tears from his eyes, and nods, and he believes her.
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The lesson stays with him. He always was a fast learner. He goes to Ilum and rebuilds his lightsaber, goes to Dathomir and confronts his past again and this time succeeds. He learns that failure is not the end, but a part of the path. He starts to thaw towards Cere, grateful that she didn't turn away from him when he fell to his lowest and confessed what had happened to Master Tapal.
Then Trilla confronts him on Bogano, and he sees what happened first hand.
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The entire sequence is gutting. Trilla's fear and agony are palpable, and Cere's devastation -- both emotional and dark side -- are so painful to see. Cal's utterly overwhelmed by it, sent into a partial seizure from the intensity of the flashback. (That dazed expression afterward sure looked post-ictal to me.) And when he gets back to the Mantis, bereft a Holocron, instead of telling Cere the next thing they need to do for the mission....
Cal Kestis halts everything because he has to apologize.
He wastes no time. He tells Cere immediately he saw what they went through. He says "I'm so sorry." And he takes responsibility for his own behavior, that arrogance that he clung to that told him he would never fail someone that way.
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The thing is, Cere was comfortable never hearing this apology from him. She had started making peace with it, ever since Dathomir, with what she had done. She never expected him to empathize like this, but hearing it must have been such a powerful, emotional feeling. It's only after Cal apologizes and makes things right between them that he goes forward to discuss what happened to the Holocron and what they need to do next.
When it's Cere who takes the news hard, who blames herself... look who's there, reflecting his master's teachings right back at her. He tells her that mistakes are in the past, that they're in this together, that she won't be going after the Holocron alone; he even reaches out and puts a hand on her shoulder, starting to grow from a mentee to an equal, to someone who can support her as she's been supporting him.
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Seeing how Cal lifts Cere up during her darkest time, both here on the Mantis and later in Nur, as a reflection of what she did for him after Dathomir... I could scream about it, okay??? In fact I have been screaming about it! Right here! In this post! For several thousand words!!! Just seeing these two respect each other! Care for each other! Lift each other up!!! I can't even with it! They have both grown SO MUCH!
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SHE'S SO PROUD OF HIM JUST LOOK
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and then she KNIGHTS HIM and my heart just bursts with pride at how far they've both come, Cere finally embracing the Force again, Cal kneeling to accept a Knighthood he thought he would never, ever see....
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you can't tell me he wasn't tearing up here. I saw how bright they made his eyes look in this split second. YOU CAN'T FOOL ME. Damn, I wish I could gif the little looks on his face right at this moment, because you can see so many emotions wash over him. Cameron Monaghan over here just exploding my heart. This kid!!!
...
anyway, I think that's all I've got. Just... CAL AND CERE! They mean a lot to me, okay???
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ingravinoveritas · 6 months
Note
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Go Wilfred! Love their shirt!
Hi there! Well, I did see this post of Georgia's yesterday, and there is a lot happening in this picture/post, of which Wilf's shirt is just one small part, and I definitely have a lot of opinions. Full disclosure, however, before I delve deeper: I am an only child, and my parents have been married for over 50 years, so I am by no means an expert on sibling relationships or blended families. What follows are only thoughts based on my own observations.
For those who didn't see Georgia's post (and I was a bit delayed in seeing it myself, due to the holiday here this week), she posted the photo below of her and David in the DW era, one of her as Jenny, and the family photo above, in that order. This was then followed by the below Insta story of a picture of Ty inside a Dalek:
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What really struck me about this post is that Georgia posted that family photo and wrote the caption about Doctor Who giving her a family...and yet Ty is not in the picture. She very, very easily could have chosen a picture that Ty was in, but seemingly purposely chose not to, and the optics of that alone are questionable. It is my understanding that, in many blended families, the stepchild (in this case, Ty) is sometimes treated differently than the "biological" children, for any number of reasons. Yet David has never once treated Ty as anything other than his own, never once referred to him as his "stepson"--only as his son. So the impression that this post gives is that Georgia thinks of her family as the one she had with David, and Ty somehow "doesn't count" because he was from a previous relationship ("new" family vs. "old").
As I mentioned before, I am not at all an expert on blended families, but I feel as though my impression of this post was further bolstered by what we see in your screenshot @kime11e--Ty commenting asking where he is, and Georgia calling him "needy," followed by her posting that photo in an Insta story as almost an afterthought. I'm just very confused by what kind of mother calls her own child "needy" for wanting to know why he's not in a family photo, because it seems rather cold and heartless on her part. Could this be some sort of inside joke/banter between Georgia and Ty that I am entirely missing? Absolutely. But as we know, in jokes are only funny if we're in on the joke, and the fact is, we have seen Georgia make similar comments about her other children (calling Birdie a drunken accident, lest we forget) so that, to me, suggests this isn't a one-off occurrence.
Which then brings me to Wilf and their shirt in this picture. It is definitely a great shirt, to be sure. And I truly do love that Wilf seems to be so supported and accepted by their parents for exactly who they are. What I keep thinking about, though, is that Wilf is 10 years old, and is starting to or about to start going through puberty and that journey of finding out who they are. I remember how difficult and painful and scary that journey was, navigating the turmoil that was happening inside my body and my mind. The difference, however, is that I went through all of this in private, but Georgia is putting Wilf's journey out on Instagram for the world to see.
What also seems strange is that none of the other kids are wearing shirts that advertise their sexual orientations. Again, this is not about shame, or saying that Wilf should have to hide who they are--and I cannot overstate how beautiful it is that they have such a loving family and a safe place to be themselves, especially at such a young age. It's about the fact that David has been/is being targeted by lunatic homophobic and transphobic bigots in the UK calling him a "groomer" and all sorts of foul and disgusting insults, and I just worry that singling Wilf out in this particular way could have unintended negative consequences. I know folks will say that that seems ridiculous or paranoid and that Wilf of course has people who are looking out for them...but their own parent is the one who posted this on Instagram. And once something is on the Internet--pictures or any personal information--it's out there forever.
So, yes. Those are my (not at all intended to be controversial) thoughts on this new post from Georgia. I know I could be completely off and misinterpreting all this, so I welcome comments from my followers with their thoughts and impressions about all of the above...
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oneatlatime · 7 months
Text
The Library
Ground hog pipe organ. That's really quite twee.
Since when is Sokka concerned about the time crunch? Although he's right about the whole 'no plan' thing.
Katara is such a little sister sometimes.
Is an ice spring a thing? I feel like we wouldn't have invented refrigeration if ice springs were possible. What a cool idea though.
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Dentists aren't a thing in the avatar universe.
Does sword guy sterilise those swords between drinks? How clean are the insides of the sheaths? Why is someone so overqualified working as a blender? How boring is this town that master swordsmen resort to being Magic Bullets to pass the time?
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Has it ever occurred to Aang to try to maintain a little mystery around his identity? At the start of the first season, people's first thoughts when seeing an airbender were probably "wow! the fire nation missed one!" but by now it has to be well known that the airbender ping ponging around the earth kingdom is THE avatar. It's not like he didn't have other options. He could have waterbended the smoothie away. He could have asked Katara to waterbend the smoothie away. If I were feeling angsty, I'd say that a child of peacetime just doesn't have it in him to be sufficiently suspicious/cynical to feel the need to disguise himself. But I'm not feeling angsty, so I'm gonna say that Aang had a moment of dumb. Understandable, given he's twelve.
Nevermind! Aang accurately assessed how little he needed to hide himself because this professor is a dumb too!
Cool it with the phrenology.
Finding lost civilisations all over the earth kingdom is apparently a worthless accomplishment. You know, I don't like this guy.
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Clam lamp. Coconut lamp?
That fox joke did not land.
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This is the Taj Mahal.
Toph's still on probation. Gotta work six months* before you get the benefits package! * or until the world ends with the comet, whichever comes first.
Sokka wants to vacation in a library. I love how unrepentantly nerdy he can be.
Hey. Professor idiot. Wanna find your unfindable library? Go recruit Zuko. That kid finds so well it gives me flashbacks to Hufflepuff jokes.
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Not sure what this implies re: the sapience of sandbenders.
The sandbenders have to have learned that move from airbenders. Also isn't that really inefficient? Rotational force goes 360 degrees but they only want force in a single direction. They should have modeled their sandbending on waterbending instead and created a giant wave behind their sleds for them to surf along.
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That chin needs scritches.
I hope they're bringing lots of water rations with them. How much water do you thing Appa needs in a day?
Would Sokka, who lives at the South Pole, know what a fox is?
Everyone keeps forgetting stuff this episode. Library is buried? You have two earthbenders and two airbenders.
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Love the attitude.
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This has been bugging me for a few episodes now so I might as well mention it. I know it's an artistic choice, but: having fingernails the same colour as fingers squicks me out.
Sokka's turn with the dumb. Why would you climb up to the library when three of you can fly? Appa can hover. Just walk down his tail to the window.
That's twice now they've forgetten Toph's blindness. I love her attitude towards them forgetting.
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Sokka's boomerang is one hell of a multitool. Whatever it's made of, it's indestructible.
"Don't worry buddy. I'm not making you go underground ever again." I hope that's not ironic foreshadowing.
Stuffed head of anthropology might be an improvement.
The vocal effect on this owl is neat.
Dammit. Now stealing from the pirates is justified.
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Why do you even have that? Why did you stuff it down your shirt? Just why?
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*Heroically refrains from going on a rant about the value of non-written sources, oral tradition, and pejoratively labelled 'folk' knowledge.*
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The Ears!!! Those cute little ears. They have no business being so floppy. Appa & Toph, the duo I never knew I needed.
Appa is a very good listener.
LEFTY SHOUTOUT!!!
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Sokka has not only forgotten that he's after a map of the fire nation; he's also stolen the declaration of independence.
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Two things: First, this is the best boy. Second, Sokka seems to be a cat person.
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You think the Fire Nation, a Nation that knew enough astronomy to correctly predict, plan for, and harness the power of a comet to complete a very successful genocide, doesn't know there's an eclipse coming up and has planned accordingly? Like come on. They named the comet after their Firelord. They obviously know how astronomy works. It would take literally one eclipse, depriving them of their bending once, for the whole nation to become suddenly very invested in predicting the movements of celestial bodies. They know this. I promise you they have safeguards in place. Pick a less obvious time to attack.
So is the owl gullible as all hell or did he let them in to give them enough rope to hang themselves?
Badass line about justifying war. Although equating protecting the people you love with hoarding library books does not hold water.
This owl has far too much neck.
HOW strong is Toph?
This owl sure is destroying a lot of his books.
Sokka doesn't know that Toph is holding up the library right? And there's no way for him to know how quickly/slowly the library is sinking. So this date checking montage makes no sense. Maybe he will find out the date, but if he's sealed underground then it doesn't matter that he learned it.
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Do not like.
Very much DO NOT LIKE.
Did they just kidnap Appa?
Should have told him to yip yip. Does Toph know Yip yip?
I am a big fan of Sokka style. Although I'm glad this show aired a decade before Gangnam Style came out, otherwise the memes would have been insufferable.
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The owl is going to eat you as soon as it wakes up. Did you see a cafeteria? A water source? Even if you hide from the owl you'll be dead in a week.
Massive points to Toph for holding that up as everyone inside was delaying for stupid reasons.
No.
No you have to give me back Appa before the episode ends. That's the rules.
Final Thoughts
Unacceptable.
This episode felt contrived, everyone involved except maybe Toph had some epic moments of dumb, and to top it all off they stole Appa. I am not amused.
There was lots of setup and little story here. At least that's what it felt like. There were some fairly lame lines that came off as ham-fisted exposition. The ground hog choir was about the only funny bit. Maybe it's the utterly unacceptable ending bleeding backwards and staining the rest of the episode, but I did not like this one. It honestly would have benefited from a Zuko b-plot, and I do not say that lightly.
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gauloiseblue · 2 months
Text
Second Time The Charm
He comes back to the house the next day, still try to knock on the door, but minutes pass and it's still unopened
He wanted to be a proper guest, who goes into the house through the front door, invited, but in this case, he had no choice but to leave the shovel by the door
That is, until the door suddenly opens, and the owner of the house comes out. She seems surprised to see him, and he can't say the feeling's not mutual
"Oh hello…" She greeted, "Didn't expect you'd come."
"I came to return the shovel." He said, "Thought it'd be very rude of me if I leave without saying thank you."
"Don't worry about it."
At this point, he's at a loss for words. She's dismissive, and doesn't hide her indifference. He'd not fancy her much, if she didn't have pretty eyes
He pretends to look at the trees, before attempting to revive the conversation again, "Those are beautiful, you've taken care of them very well."
"It's not me, I have a gardener."
So that's why
"Private gardener?" He asked, knowing that a commercial one would use their own tools, and not the owner's
"Maybe. He's an amateur." She told him
He raises his brow, "It doesn't look like an amateur work."
"Seems like you thought the word amateur as a beginner." She chuckles, "He's an amateur, someone who does it out of love. He loves the garden, that's why they're beautiful."
He looks at her with interest, she seems to have her way with words
She turns her head to him, "I'm going to the farm, you wanna come?"
With a curiosity in mind, he decides to come along
They both talk for a bit, and he soon learns about her and her activities. She likes vinyl records, because the sound quality is different. She cooks her own food, and she likes to bake. She hates hot weather, and bugs. She also talks about the town folks, and how they all are eccentric in their own way
"You know Callum? He's the town's handyman. He likes to collect scraps, to the point his house is full of things other people discarded. You might find your broken plate there if you look around."
"Really?" He hums, "I've met him a few times, he's a nice fellow. Though Claudia and Flores said I should watch my belongings around him."
She rolls her eyes, "I suggest you to take their word with a grain of salt, especially Flores. She's the one who attempts to take one of my lipsticks because I said I never really wore them."
"Oh?" He said, "What happened then?"
"Nothing, I caught her red handed."
"She apologized?"
"Of course not, I told her to leave before she could embarrass herself further."
At the farm, they're greeted by the owner himself. He's an old man with big arms, though he's not too tall
"I see you bring our newcomer here." He said to her before offering his hand to him, "Name's Harris."
"John." He said, "She didn't bring me here, I was the one who went along."
"Consider yourself lucky. She hates strangers."
"Not true. I already liked you when we we first met, Mr. Harris."
"Aw, drop the honorific, will ya?" He chuckles, "Us cowmen are honest, of course you'd trust me. Can't say the same for other people, especially you." He then looks at him, "Y'look like you've served during a war. Navy?"
"Probably worked for the special force in the army." She said, which immediately set his alarm off
"How did you know?" He said as he smiled, keeping his friendly facade
"Your body said it all." She shrugged, "I've met a lot of people, so I developed an intuition for it."
"Special force? Someone who carried out secret missions?" He whistles, "You have a lot to share. Tell you what, I'll keep it a secret, but you gotta tell me what happened during your service. Not the government secret stuff, of course."
She chuckles, "I suggest you, John, keep your past to yourself. The town folks are very curious, so you better keep it close or they'll hound you for stories."
"Roger that."
"I almost forgot, you came for the milk." The man clicked his fingers, "Come, I'll prepare it for you."
The three of them walk inside the farm, where the occasional moos and smell of manure fill the room. They walk until they reach the small room full of gallons, and he opens one of them
"Did you bring your bottles?" She then hands him the basket, which contains 4 bottles. He begins to fill each bottle with fresh milk, before handing them back
He refuses when she tries to pay him, telling her she's done a lot for him already, and sending her out before she can insist. He then waves them both goodbye, telling them to come over and have a tea sometimes
"He's a nice fellow." He commented after offering himself to hold her basket
"He is. He's too nice in fact, that it worries me sometimes." She replied
"He'll be fine. He has good people around him."
"Hope so."
They stay quiet for a while, before deciding to ask her something. "Say, you've met a lot of people before. Did you meet a lot of people like me too?"
"Never, in fact." She replied, "I've met some people from the army—commander, secretary, almost everyone who work in the office, but never one from the field. That's why I assume you're in a special force."
"That easy?" He chuckles
She nods, "Everyone can do that, it's not hard to guess."
"Well, I disagree." He smiles, "I can't figure you out in the same manner."
"You just have to look closely."
"Won't you be uncomfortable with that?"
"I am." She told him, "But I'm used to it."
"Then I won't do it." He said, "I'm not comfortable with prying into people's life."
She seems amused by his answer, "Lying is a sin."
"Scout's honour."
"Alright, do what you want."
They part ways once they reach her front door. He insisted to bring the milk to the kitchen, but she told him it's not necessary. So they exchange pleasantries before he leaves
Halfway through his home, he realized he hadn't learnt her name at all
《 Prev | Next 》
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mod-kyoko · 10 months
Note
mahiru, celeste and toko with the "reader feels safe around them" prompt? Perhaps uwu 👉👈
mahiru, celeste and toko with girlfriend that feels safe around them
info: female!reader, established relationship, tw!light bullying, creeps
type: hc format, non-despair au
a/n: this was actually sent it whilst requests were closed but it was so juicy I just had to do it also I did the same as the last post with this prompt and had a female reader, if this is not what you wanted then don't be afraid to tell me and I'll edit it completely
⟡♡⟡♡⟡♡⟡♡⟡♡⟡♡⟡♡⟡♡⟡♡⟡♡⟡♡
mahiru koizumi
mahiru understands your anxieties completely
she certainly does not judge you if you need someone to go to the bathroom with or walk you to your dorm
just giving her a look lets her know what you need and she'll immediately put her hand up during class
"teacher! me and y/n will be going to the restroom!"
she had no shame in it, and will absolutely insist to go with you if the teacher refuses. it's a little embarrassing to do that in front of the whole class but... you appreciate her all the same
she doesn't mind at all if you want to huddle up close to her whilst out and about
seriously she'll squeeze your hand so tight you're sure that it would just break...
in true mahiru fashion she's highly suspicious of men who approach you, even if it was a poor innocent guy asking for directions she'll put herself between you and them, no matter if you're the taller one or not
"uhm, back up, buddy! I don't like how you're getting close to me and my girlfriend here."
she'll put her hands on her hips and give the guy a lecture on proper manners to approach a lady
safe to say that he was gone quickly
"uhm... babe, I think he was just asking for directions..."
"I'm not taking chances, sweetie... I just want to keep you safe, you can't trust anyone these days..."
to take your mind off the unwanted interactions she'll take pretty pictures of you, all the while praising how amazing you look
even if she's a little too much sometimes, you really appreciate how she's always there for you, you truly felt safe with her
celestia ludenberg
when you first told her about your worries walking around alone, she listened intently
she suggested in hiring you a bodyguard to keep you safe when you're out
but... you said you only felt safe around her
she was honestly a little shocked and... flattered? she had to hide her smile behind her hand when she heard that
very well, she would accompany you wherever you need; whether you need escorting to your dorm, the dining hall or even to the locker rooms she'll be by your side
she enjoys your company anyway, so constantly going outside with you wasn't an issue at all
she isn't really 'all about' if you like to lean into her when you're walking
she just really doesn't like getting her perfectly made clothes crumpled...
although it pains her at times, to combat this she will wear more... simple and common-folk clothes. at least then she wouldn't care so much if they were wrinkled
holding your hand was perfectly welcome though, her fingers were so dainty and soft in your own, it always relaxed you
if anyone even thinks about bothering you... well...
one day you and celeste were out window-shopping, she was currently staring at a lovely dress when you heard a whistle behind you
turning, you saw a group of delinquents leering at you and quite obviously checking you out which made you felt very uncomfortable
celeste turned her head to you, noticing your expression and she furrowed her brows, she turned to the delinquents and she smiled softly
"I'm sorry... what did you just say? I think you should all leave.."
of course, they didn't really take her seriously because of her appearance... which made celeste very angry
"did you dumbasses heard what I said?! GET THE HELL OUT NOW!"
they very quickly went running and you stood there absolutely dumbfounded but... painfully attracted
celeste turns back to you with a happy smile and dragged you into a hug, stroking the back of your head gently
"that won't ever happen again, my love..."
toko fukawa
HUH?!
you... felt safe... with her?
her? not even with Jill?
she couldn't really believe it when you told her for the first time and she thought you were just joking to make fun of her
but when you told her again with a serious expression, she realised that you were completely serious...
she was... honestly touched, even though she tried to play it off that you were 'stupid' for thinking that. you could see right through her, you knew your girlfriend well
you are one of the few people who actually tolerate her presence, so she was very keen on walking with you and spending time with you that way
she's a very paranoid girl, so expect her to try and get you away from certain dark areas
whether or not you ask her she will absolutely accompany you in the shower room after gym class, even though she doesn't really bathe all that much, she would absolutely bite down her fear to make sure you were safe and okay
although she doesn't have much physical strength to defend you or the confidence like Jill, she will hold her ground if it meant you were okay
whilst out with her, she doesn't really like hugs or hand-holding that much, especially not in public, it's more of a private time for her
however, she stands close enough to you that's comfortable for her
and her scent drives people away from you so you didn't need to worry about handsy creeps
you were in a little store just buying a snack when you saw a bunch of mean girls giggling as they looked at you and you felt very insecure all of a sudden
"w-what's wrong...?" toko asked you
you said to her in a whisper about the girls and her eyes practically had a murderous glint in them
she whipped herself around, nearly smacking you in the face with her braids
"w-what's your problem you.. you trashy bimbos! j-jealous that my girlfriend h-has a better body than yours?! I've seen better c-curves on a bowling ball!"
absolutely disgusted by being insulted, the girls leave and toko takes your hand with a shy expression on her face
you smile and lean forward to kiss her temple which makes her blush bright much to your amusement
toko may not be the biggest, strongest or most confident person in the world.. but she was your girlfriend and you felt like nothing could hurt you when she was around
⟡♡⟡♡⟡♡⟡♡⟡♡⟡♡⟡♡⟡♡⟡♡⟡♡⟡♡
-Mod Kirumi
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loosesodamarble · 1 month
Note
Hi I am in love with your work!
I would like to ask for Nacht just being with his partner like doing anything. You can write it however you want and do whatever. Please and thank you.
Thank you for your patience on this request~! And I hope you don't mind that I made it a part of my Nacht birthday post surge.
..........
Nacht Faust x Reader Daily Life
You and Nacht were dating, simple as that. His position as vice captain didn't matter to you same as how Nacht didn't care what job you had as long as you felt fulfilled doing it.
After a long time dating, Nacht asked if you wanted to move into a shared home.
You asked if he just wanted to get out of living with the Black Bulls. Nacht did admit that it was part of his reason for asking, but he genuinely did want even more time with you.
With a laugh, you agreed to move in. From there, you and Nacht slowly developed a shared routine.
Your day would begin with you and Nacht waking up in bed together.
Some mornings, you two were cuddled up close. Or at least you would be clinging to Nacht. Other days, you'd wake up nearly half off the bed while Nacht was perfectly centered on his half of the bed, unmoved like a corpse.
Both of you were late risers. Nacht because he often worked late into the night. You because your circadian rhythm was never functioning apparently.
Nacht was the one to lay out clothes for the both of you and toss your rumpled sleepwear in separate hampers.
"C'mon Nacht, I can do our laundries together," you said once only for him to hide his dirty clothes from you for two weeks. Guess you needed to date a little longer before you were allowed to wash his undergarments.
If either of you had troubles brushing out your hair, you helped each other.
You were in charge of prepping the morning coffee. You'd tried Nacht's roast once and swore it left you unable to taste anything but bitterness for two days.
If Nacht had a day off or simply stayed for more of the morning, you two made breakfast together.
.....
"What're you putting in the eggs?" Walgner asked while perched on your shoulder one morning.
"They're called spices," you stated before elaborating. "They make food taste even better by giving the flavor more depth."
"So are they all spicy like the 'hot sauce' stuff that Master doesn't like?" the devil questioned.
"Not at all! Some have a kick of spice but others are earthy. And others have a sour flavor."
"What's that one there?" Walgner pointed to the bottle in your hand.
Before you could answer, Nacht plucked Walgner off your shoulder. "That's enough, little one. Let them cook in peace."
Walgner let out a shrill sound like a hiss mixed with a bird's warble. Which, while you didn't really understand devils, felt appropriate. Nacht began to scold Walgner more which made you clap a hand over your mouth. You, like most people, thought devils to be incarnations of evil. But there Nacht was, chiding the devil who was small enough to fit in his palm as though the creature were a mischievous child.
.....
On days where the two of you had work, you and Nacht parted with a gentle "see you later" or "take care."
Goodbye kisses felt like too much, even after all the time you'd spent together and the kisses you'd already had. So you two settled with parting words.
While you were at work, you'd sometimes see the head of one of devils poke out from your shadow. They were checking up on you and you'd silently wave to them as to not get distracted at the workplace.
The Black Bulls knew of your existence. You'd even been invited to a party with them a few times before. But Nacht still didn't speak about you too much with them.
"I'd hate to flaunt my successful relationship in front of you folks," Nacht would taunt. That or he'd say "I can't share too much or else you'll try to steal them away from me."
It wasn't malicious by any means but the Bulls were a little annoyed that Nacht resisted every attempt they made to make him talk and bring out the sweet boyfriend side that you claimed Nacht had.
You also kept the relationship on the down low. After all, talking too much about Nacht could arouse unease with people who didn't understand the Black Bulls or devils.
Even so, your co-workers knew you had a sweetheart and complimented you on finding a good partner.
After the work day concluded, you and Nacht tended to meet either at a park or the marketplace near your home.
If you met at the park, you two would unwind with a stroll and discuss your days. You envied Nacht and all the adventures he went on. But you weren't the type to be a Knight so you were content to live vicariously through his retellings.
If the market was the meeting place, you two would shop for any necessities like groceries, cleaning supplies, or perhaps new home decor.
.....
"We don't need to worry about your, uh, pets...?" You cringed and felt yourself heat up, unsure of how you came off with the term.
"Yes, let's go with that while we're in public," Nacht whispered back to you. "And what about them?"
"If we get carpet or curtains..." You were eyeing a curtain set with a charming vine pattern but weren't confident enough to buy it. "We don't need to worry about them chewing or scratching up anything, right?"
"Snrk! Ah ha..." Nacht threw his head back. "Ahahahahahaa!"
You reeled back and gazed wide-eyed at Nacht. Even months in the relationship, more than a year even, you'd yet to hear Nacht make a sound like that. Sure he laughed, but it had always been one of those controlled, gentlemanly chuckles. His smile, too, was brand new to you.
"N-Nacht?" Now you were burning up. But not in embarrassment. Rather, you were blushing from awe. Your normally handsome but icy boyfriend was looking radiant like a full, silver moon. "Are you-?"
"Ah ha!" Nacht suddenly doubled over and wiped the corner of his eyes. "Oh dear, no worries! It's fine!" He held your shoulder, beaming at you like a fairy tale prince. "It's... They're house trained." He exhaled heavily and blinked a few times before his face showed confusion. "What?"
Shaking your head, you looked away. "Nothing!"
.....
You two would return and dinner would be prepped.
Cooking with Nacht was a pain sometimes because half the time, he forgot to let you know when he moved an ingredient or tool for him to make use of. And so you'd flail for a bit looking for a bottle of oil or the edge of the cutting board only for Nacht to pass it to you using his magic.
But you preferred working together over cooking alone or simply watching him cook. Doing it by yourself was overwhelming at times, even though cooking for two wasn't that bad. And watching Nacht cook was... He couldn't innovate in the kitchen at all and so watching him glance between a recipe card and the actual food gave you secondhand embarrassment.
Ever since you two moved in together, Nacht insisted on doing dishes on his own. Or rather, to leave the job to him and the devils. Apparently all their time together in Spade (and before) taught them at least how to do some chores together as a unit.
You peeked at them during the task once and it was the cutest thing you'd laid eyes on.
Nacht always had a mug of tea before bed, a bit of a ritual for himself. And while he sipped tea, you'd be soaking in the tub to ease your body in preparation for sleep.
Nacht did have to save you from drowning a couple of times. But that was because work had been especially tough those days so you were really out of it.
You two got into your pajamas and then settled down in bed together. Nacht typically brought a book or packet of paperwork with him, keeping himself occupied until the end.
Your favorite nights were when Nacht didn't have anything with him and you could reach your hand out to hold his. Although his skin was always cold to the touch, you felt comforted when your fingers intertwined with his at night.
Days where both of you had off from work didn't occur too often but when they did, you and Nacht took advantage of that time.
Usually, you two would use Nacht's Shadow Magic to whisk you off to another town to enjoy the sights, sounds, and flavors of a new place.
Nacht happily took advantage of his magic that way. You'd spent your whole life in one city and now he was letting you explore the kingdom.
.....
"Maybe one day I can take you to another kingdom," Nacht suggested.
"Wouldn't that be a big strain on your magic though?" As much as you appreciated Nacht's effort, you didn't want him to do that much for you. "Besides... I'm starting to feel bad that I can't do anything as grand for you so..."
Nacht sighed before saying your name. You looked up at him with tears in your eyes.
"I'd really prefer it if you didn't do anything grand for me. Besides, my teleporting ability isn't something remarkable to me. It's just something else that I can do to make you happy, like cooking together or brushing your hair."
Nacht then leaned over and pressed a kiss to your cheek.
"Maybe what I can do with my magic feels like a blessing to you. And similarly, being with you is a miracle for me. So just continue to love me and continue letting me love you."
You and Nacht locked eyes. His gaze was gentle, enough to make the tears in your eyes finally fall, though with a feeling different from what made them initially form.
"I love you..." You whispered suddenly. You didn't know why but the words came to you and you had to speak them.
"I love you too..." Nacht’s voice was full of love.
Slowly, you two leaned in for a kiss. A shy, tender kiss that silently repeated the emotion you two had just spoken. It was a reconfirmation of what you both knew and wanted. To love and be loved. By each other.
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primal-con · 1 year
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Mkay my brain is working a bit better today so thoughts on Mirage! Namely his inclusion in the movie instead of Jazz and his change in personality
Rise of the Beasts spoilers below the cut✌️
Now like a lot of folks, when I first saw the trailer I was insanely pumped because I thought Mirage was Jazz. I think we all kinda saw the silver Porsche and lost our minds, and of course, I'm still bummed that we didn't get Jazz because I love him dearly and miss him more than words can express. But! Having seen the movie and had time to chew it over, here're my thoughts on Mirage's character in RotB.
So a lot of initial thoughts regarding the choice to include Mirage, and a very different Mirage at that, rather than Jazz, were of course very valid. But I think ultimately while I would've loved for Jazz to have been there, I understand why they didn't go with him. Cause tbh if everything about the movie had been the same except they called Mirage Jazz, I wouldn't have been happy.
While yes, on the surface RotB Mirage seems really similar to G1 Jazz, they're actually really different in the ways that count. Jazz is bright, sociable, charismatic, and more in tune with Earth culture than most bots. RotB Mirage is also a lot of those things! But the key difference is that for Jazz, that personality is a facade. He's an incredibly grim, ruthless person who's seen a lot and is capable of a lot of terrible things, and he uses that trustworthy persona to mask that and make people more comfortable around him.
Mirage comes off as much more genuine in his naivete. He seems legitimately young, impulsive, and vying for adventure. He does things cause they sound fun, not because he thinks it's a smart idea in the long run. The sad things hiding underneath his bright personality don't come from brutal experience and calculated manipulation, they come from a genuine loneliness and desire to explore the world around him. In a lot of ways he plays a similar role to Bumblebee in most other TF media, the naive young optimist who wants to see the best in people and be a hero. Which narratively makes sense considering Bee was out of commission for most of the movie. He's not necessarily stupid, he's just not wise, and that comes from a lack of experience compared to his so-called "hardass" peers. He sees the other bots as boring and overly serious which contributes to his desire to keep Noah on the team. He wants Someone who he can relate to, someone who's a little closer to him personality-wise, and he doesn't feel like his older and more grim teammates can fill that role.
Which I think also contributes to his likability! Because like I said, Mirage is so genuine. He doesn't usually think things through so everything he says is so honest and unfiltered. I love Jazz because of his complexity and how compelling that facade is to his character, but I ended up loving Mirage because he doesn't feel the need for a mask at all.
I think generally the choice to change Mirage's personality from his G1 characterization was because the writers didn't want too many serious characters? At least that's how it felt watching the movie. I mean even Bumblebee comes off as older and more mature than Mirage. And Transformers is very fond of its goofy, unserious kid-appeal characters who are closest to the token humans. I'm cool with it mainly because big changes between generations are pretty common and this wouldn't be the first or even the wildest change of pace from one appearance to the next. As for why Mirage and not another character, who really knows. Probably the fact that he hasn't had much of an established personality in any of his rare TV appearances. And using a known name is usually easier than making a whole new character, just fan-attachment-wise.
Anyways, sum total thoughts: I liked him! And the movie's enjoyable if you don't go taking it too seriously, though that could be said about most things. It's also better with a friend! It's no ground-breaking cinema, it's an action franchise movie and exactly what you'd expect from one. But the characters have chemistry and personality and that's usually what matters to me. So yeah, all nitpicks aside it's a net positive from me!
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