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pearlywritings · 7 months

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Your bed is enough

synopsis: after experiencing a not so nice day at work, Diluc decides to stay at your place tonight

prompt: 27

requested by: @bobaboob

pairing: Diluc x fem!reader

tw: pure fluff, domestic moment, established relationship (you are engaged)

word count: 1.2k+ words

a/n: check my Token of appreciation writing event!

It feels like hours have passed since the moment Diluc put the key from the tavern in his jacket’s pocket and took your inviting hand to follow you home. Though home in your and his case could mean two places - either the winery, where he offered you to move in with him a couple of months ago, which with the recent engagement feels absolutely right, or your apartment, situated in the city itself.

And tonight it’s the latter.

Diluc rarely complained and even more rarely he complained out loud, but the evening was worse than he could ever remember. Nothing functioned right - both Charles and a couple of waitresses had fallen sick the day before (he’s gonna find and strangle that merchant from Inazuma who’d offered them, as it turned out, expired snacks from his land), the number of patrons was surprisingly and almost overwhelmingly high, some barrels came with broken taps and he’ll have to deal with extra work tomorrow both with the casks’s supplier and the workers who missed the defect… Oh, and then one of the drunkards must’ve been in such a stupefied haze that he mistook the red-haired male with someone and intentionally spilled a bottle of wine all over his already messy uniform, blaming him for seducing his wife and taking her away from him. The Ragnvindr nearly exploded back then, and the man was out of the door before he could realize who’d he just offended.

You got it - the evening was horrendous.

And even now, in a bath, in your oh so familiar bathroom, in the comfort of your - now also shared - living space, with you getting ready for bed on the other side of the door, he can’t shake off that exhaustion that enveloped him like a heavy cocoon. Hopefully he’ll manage to scrub the smell of alcohol off of him at least.

When he emerges into the bedroom with a towel on his head and some loose sleeping pants sitting low on his hips, he finds you standing in front of your bed, already dressed for sleep, and staring at the piece of furniture with utmost concentration. There is a line between your brows, your pretty lips are pursed and arms crossed. In his eyes even this looks ethereal - if that’s one of the views he’s going to witness once you become his wife - getting to see you focused and serious while helping the winery owner with his work affairs, - then he wants to marry you as soon as possible. He really can’t wait to add another ring to that beautifully crafted engagement one on your finger.

Forcing himself out of his blissful dreams and deciding to finally ask what brought you to such a state, Diluc makes his presence known with a polite cough. You immediately whip your head in his direction, and the previous signs of your brooding are gone, replaced with a soft smile and a bright glimmer in those eyes he loves so much.

“Oh, you are out already,” uncrossing your arms, you make a step closer and he does the same, until you two are standing in front of each other and your hands reach to the towel. “Are you feeling better, dear?”

“Somewhat,” he answers honestly, lowering his eyelids, letting you wipe the heavy mass of his hair dry. “Do I still smell of alcohol?”

“Hmm…” You move your face even closer, sniffing air close to his chest. “No, I don’t smell any. Oh wait, how about here…” and you shamelessly press your face into his neck, making the man shudder and open his eyes. You caught him off guard and shook him out of his drowsy state.

“My flame?” He feels your hands still in his hair and you softly giggle, tickling the sensitive skin even more.

“What?” Is muffled against his shoulder and Diluc shakes his head. But there is a slip of an adorning smile and he can practically feel some weight of the evening disappear.

“Nothing, my dear. If you haven’t suffocated yet, then there is none.”

You plant a kiss where his neck and shoulder connect and draw your face away, tugging the towel and completely dragging it off of his head. Ah, here it is, the bright grin he loves so much and readily mirrors in response.

“Yeah, there is none. Only an amazing smell of my body wash. Now you smell like me.”

“And I am honored,” he says sincerely, to which you happily hum, disappearing in the bathroom and reappearing only a moment after. “But I can’t help but wonder what got you so deep in thought?”

At first you raise a brow at him, but when he motions to the bed it clicks, and you hum, long and thoughtful.

“Oh, nothing, really. I was just thinking that maybe I should get a new bed. You know, enough to fit two people?”

Ah, that’s what it was about. Admittedly, Diluc is a big man - both tall and muscular, and you have only a one-person’s bed, which he alone could take over completely if lying sprawled. He knows he could always take the couch, but in those few times he stayed at your place, you insisted on sleeping together. And those closely tight embraces under the same blanket are ones of the fondest memories the redhead possesses.

“You know, we could redecorate this place a little and use it more frequently when one of us doesn’t have enough strength to go all the way to the winery. And the bed could be the first step.”

“Is your bed cramped when we sleep together?”

He is as surprised as you are when the question hangs in the air - he didn’t expect it to just burst out of his mouth. However, he also doesn’t want to let go of this tight, but so comforting space just yet - admittedly, it gives him some indescribable sense of completeness.

You stare at him silently, as if trying to guess what he’s thinking about and what answer he expects. But nothing is better than the truth itself.

“It is,” crimson eyes widen slightly and are immediately cast down. Not letting him dwell long on whatever he’s already imagined in his head, you step closer, touching his scarred forearm, gently gliding your fingertips over the skin, asking for his attention. And when he gives you just that, Diluc sees a reassuring smile. “In the good way.”

You chuckle softly when he releases a sigh of relief, and reach to cup his cheek, feeling your heart skip a beat when he leans into your open palm.

“But I am worried that you are uncomfortable. I see how much you love to stretch in the morning while in bed at the winery, and there is not enough space in my bed. And I can be in the way of your outstretched arm-”

“You are never in the way,” the words are firm and the dancing flame in the depths of his eyes is proof enough. “You are right by my side. And that’s why it’s perfect.”

“Oh, you…”

With the trilling laughter you let him fall onto his back, landing on the soft mattress, and draw your body right on top of his. Your chemise rides up, bearing your thighs, and rough fingers don’t wait long to dig into plush skin. You stare down at him, with palms firmly planted on his wide chest, feeling the steadily beating heart under the fingertips, relishing in the appreciative look he is giving you. And for all of that and so much more your bed is perfect, because it's enough.

#pearlywritings appreciation event #token of appreciation #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #diluc x reader #diluc x fem!reader #diluc ragnivindr x reader #diluc ragnvindr #genshin impact fluff

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sweetlikehoneystingslikeabee · 11 months

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How would Riddler, Scarecrow, and Hatter (your fave iterations) react to their s/o sending them suggestive pics while they're out or on a job?

"Salacious" BTAS Scarecrow, Zero Year Riddler and Arkham Mad Hatter x reader

oh how dare you ask my favorite iterations. That's so HARD. I think my favorite iteration of scarecrow might be BTAA, but I'm not comfortable writing him yet- so BTAS. Riddler it's a toss-up between Zero Year and BTAS. Hatter is between Arkham and BTAS. If I was answering this on a different day of the week the favorite Riddler might change, I love that man and all his forms.

OKAY. coin flip- Zero year Riddler and Arkham Hatter. Obviously if anyone wanted different versions of this prompt please feel free to send it!

TW: NSFW, little fear kink

BTAS Scarecrow

He almost drops his phone. It wouldn't be the first time. In fact, he's chastised you to not do this- if for no other reason than you being personally responsible for three cracks across the beaten up phone screen. He clicks his tongue and frowns.

He chooses not to respond. It's a game for him. Not to show he's angry, no, but to keep you on that little precipice of fear. Since he is possibly the worst at returning texts anyways, you likely won't put too much thought into it. But he is thinking. Brewing. As soon as he's done with his business...

Jonathan purposely chooses to stay in costume. Whichever costume might be your favorite. He uses his key to your shared home... quietly. Oh-so-quietly that you might barely be able to detect someone there. And he sees you, skimpy dressed and waiting by the phone for a response. Your back turned to him.

You jump a little at his hand grasping your jaw from behind, his other on your abdomen. The rough material of his mask kissing your neck. His voice is almost a growl, "Didn't I tell you not to distract me while working?"

Your own voice is coy, "I just missed you, that's all." The way your heart races gets his blood flowing other places than his brain.

His hand drops low between your legs, making you squirm, "Then I suppose a lesson is in order on listening, wouldn't you agree? If you listen... you might just finish tonight."

"And if not...?"

"Well. I'll still enjoy myself."

Zero Year Riddler

The smug look that goes over his face. His dear Aphrodite/Adonis? Sending him a token of their favor? If he wasn't occupied... well. You might be getting a little something back. Alas. He sends you a note to keep your eyes on the news. And not to get dressed.

His grand plan to heist Gotham is like most- showy, theatrical and the cops are five steps behind. Batman three. What you hadn't been expecting was a gesture in your honor, your name in literal lights. He'd managed that rather quickly.

See, in his mind, he expects to hide the cash, get home and find you posed on his bed waiting for him. It's not a lot to expect, is it? Even if it's not exactly to the mental picture, however, he can hardly wait to see you. Investigate any potential lingerie up close.

"And just what were you expecting, hm? A treat? Some great reward for showing what I already know to be mine?" He grins wide as his hands caress your legs, "A silver tongue? Shh, shh, it's alright. That's exactly what you're going to get. So why don't you spread these gorgeous thighs and give me your best high note?"

You are going to be quite the mess by the time he's done with you. And then he's going to fuck you until all you can think of is his name.

Arkham Mad Hatter

Oh-ho! He's in a giggling fit as the picture flashes up on his phone. Due to his head in the clouds behavior a lot of people assume he'd be useless with a phone. On the contrary, he's too good with it. Messaging you all kinds of nasty things-

Then he's interrupted by the goon he's working with. Oh, right. Suddenly this all seems so boring in comparison to what he could be doing. How droll it would be to give it all up and go see his dearest Alice immediately! ...But unfortunately this plot took far too much planning and preparation to simply throw away.

He's almost pouting the whole time, it's sad. Sending you filthy limericks to preview all the things he wants to do to you once he's home. You very well might get a hasty, slightly blurry photo of his dick if you get him riled enough. Tufts of his brown-red hair at the base, his hand cradling the shaft.

"Enough to make your mouth water, isn't it, you wicked creature..." He texts to you. Considering the almost Pavlovian hold he has on some of his partners, that could be exactly what you're experiencing. Send him more photos to keep his night exciting!

When he does get home, he's going to be tearing any scrap of clothing off of you. It's fine, he can fix it or make something new later. Right now he wants you begging on your knees, prepping for his cock inside of you.

#btas scarecrow #zero year riddler #arkham mad hatter #foxwriting #x reader #smut

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knullanon · 1 year

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please please please please! write a continuation of the symbiotes fic where reader gets token way from knull and into the hands of anti-venom. i beg of you. 😥

a/n: anti venom will appear next chapter I promise but for now you just get the glimpse of what he's got. also sorry to that one swedish anon bc Knull is mentioned many times here. and yes it's a venom gif because theres no knull gifs so yeah 😭😭 also, please mind the tags.

REDO: Symbiotes Being Assholes Part 3

words: 2787

warnings: kidnapping, physical abuse, talk of dismemberment, arguments, probably incorrect medical treatment for the broken nose, lmk if I missed any!

~~~

"WAKE UP!"

Cletus jumped up, immediately regretting it as he felt his headache arise. He leaned back, his head swirling with pain.

"What the hell...?"

Get up, Cletus! We must go, we have to move!

Ignoring the pain, Cletus got himself up and looked around. He remembered the night before- leaving the apartment, driving for a few hours...

He sobered up once he realized what had happened. He looked around, seeing if he could see you, but you were nowhere to be found. Neither was Knull.

He got up, glass crunching under his feet as he jumped over fallen shelves. He rushed outside, seeing that it was empty. Just the truck, glass, and the gas pumps.

"Fuck," he breathed out, and moved towards the truck. Carnage was yelling about every idea and curse they had, and it was becoming more of a nuisance than any help. He opened the door, seeing that nothing was taken or broken, including the keys.

He took them! We have to get them back! What are we waiting for?! Let's go!

"I know that." He grabbed the keys and got into the driver's seat. "We gotta lay low for a minute, though."

He started the truck, and started to back out into the freeway. "We can't let Knull know we might be alive, because if he figures it out, we're probably never gonna live another day."

The truck rolled forward, and Cletus hit the gas. "We need a plan, and sooner than later."

---

The first thing you had noticed when you woke up was how comfortable you were.

The bed you were given was the best you've ever had, even if you didn't want to admit it. There were layers of blankets and pillows stacked up on each other, and the mattress was so soft. It was like you were melting into it when you laid down.

The next thing you noticed was that your broken nose was patched up. It had bandages around it, along with some gauze. Fortunately for you, it didn't hurt that much. They must've given you something to combat it.

The room you were in was extremely spacious, and even though the bed was huge, it wasn't even taking up a third of the space. There was a vanity mirror on your left, a dresser and a door to your right, and in front of the bed was a window that stretched across the wall, with pink curtains that were pulled back. It showed a beautiful landscape of a wide farmland, with a forest to the sides and a beautiful sunrise.

You ignored all of that, though, and instead pulled the covers off of you. You got up and walked to the window. It seemed thick, not thick enough that you couldn't break it, but enough that it would have to get something big to break it. There wasn't anyone outside, either, so they would have either been in the house or somewhere else.

There wasn't anything else in the room that could help you. You found a pair of shoes and socks, but other than that, you were wearing what you were from the night beforehand. Was it the night before? You couldn't tell.

You went to open the door, finding that it was open. When you tried to open it, it made a loud creaking noise. You stopped, hearing and listening for anyone that would come by.

But nobody came.

You peaked your eyes out, seeing that there was no one there. When you opened it more, and looked the other way, no one was there. At first, you didn't want to move, in case it was some delayed reaction, and they were just behind the wall. But eventually, after a few more seconds of silence, your curiosity couldn't take it.

Making sure that you weren't making more noise, you slowly stepped out of the room before shutting the door. The hallway looked similar to the room, run down but still... homey.

Turning to the right, you decided to find the staircase since you were definitely on the second floor of the house. The hallway itself was more decorated than you originally had thought, as well. There were pictures, family photos, of an older man, probably in his late 50s, along with his wife. They both seemed very happy in the photo.

There were more photos of them, along with different awards and degrees, showing the accomplishments of the couple. You didn't give much focus to them, however, because you were already going down the stairs by the time you found the end of the hallway.

The stairs, while old, didn't make any noise when you went down them, which you were extremely thankful for. Once all the way down, you turned the corner, standing on the last step. The stairs went into a kitchen, which then led into a living room. You walked into the kitchen, looking around.

The first thing you looked for was a knife block, but either they didn't have one or they had been taken away. So, you continued opening the drawers, trying to find something to help you. Most of them were just utensils and tools, but eventually, you found the silverware drawer.

There were a few butter knives, but to the side, there were a few steak knives. You picked one up before you closed the drawer. You slid the knife into your pocket, being careful to make sure you wouldn't stab yourself by accident. When you were sure that it was secure, you moved into the next room.

The living room wasn't anything special. Two armrest chairs, a TV, and a coffee table. But there was a door on the other side.

You walked to it and turned the knob. It was unlocked, and while you wanted to run away, you again checked and made sure that there wasn't anyone outside waiting for you.

When the coast was clear, you swung the door open, and you shut it behind you. There was a little porch, and again, two chairs. Looking around, it seemed like there wasn't anything around you. No car, no buildings, just the house and the land in front of it. It must've been somewhere really remote.

Just when you were about to go back inside to see if there was anything else you could take, you smelled something. It was rotten, terrible, and even though your smell wasn't as prominent, you could tell it was from the side of the house.

Covering your nose, you walked over to the left side of the house, trying to see if the smell was from there, but there was only a few tools and some buckets

You turned towards the edge of the grass, where it was cut just enough to walk through, and the smell became more prominent. You tried to peak over the grass to see if something was there, but you couldn't see anything from where you were.

Before you could even walk to see if there was anything, you were picked up by the back of your neck and pulled off the ground. Your feet dangled while you grabbed the hand that held you, trying to pry it off.

"What are you doing?" You looked to your right to see that same symbiote from last night, Rumble? The orange streaks seemed more prominent than the previous night, probably due to the better lighting.

You continued to grab at their hand, trying to pull it off, but to no avail. Suddenly, you remembered the knife you had taken from the kitchen. You reached for your waist, only being able to pull out the knife, trying to stab the symbiote before it was grabbed and yanked away from you.

For a few seconds, you tried to pull the knife away from the symbiote but were unsuccessful. They held it above your reach, eyeing it, before they turned to you.

"Where did you get this?" When you didn't answer, they shook you harshly. "Where did you get this?"

"Fuck you."

Shaking their head, they walked back to the house while you struggled to get away. They walked all the way from the living room back to the room you were put in. They tossed you onto the bed and then slammed the door.

You rolled onto your stomach and pushed yourself up to sit. The symbiote moved towards the vanity mirror and sat on the bench. It creaked with their weight, but it held itself up.

"_____, where did you get this?" They held up the knife, pointing it towards you. You didn't respond.

It seemed to piss them off as they got up from the bench, seemingly going to lunge at you. But they stopped. They seemed to be thinking, and they sat back down. Maybe they thought it wasn't worth it?

"Look, I know that you may be a little... stressed from the recent events, but you have to be cooperative. Knull will not be as forgiving as I might be, and if he finds out you were outside... it won't be good."

Silently rolling your eyes, you pushed yourself against the wall. "Then why did he break my nose?"

They cringed for a moment but quickly composed themselves, "He did not mean it: you were simply acting out."

"Acting out? I was trying to get away from him because he grabbed me!"

Rumble hissed, whispering, "Do not raise your voice."

Before you could even answer, they continued, "_____, you must calm down before he comes back. He- urgh," they got up from his chair, and paced around for a moment.

They turned back to you, and held out the knife. "I won't tell him about this," he gestured the knife towards you, "But what I will say is this- if you continue to act out, either to me, or worse, Knull, I won't save you from the consequences. Do you understand?"

You looked at their hand, and then back to them. You remembered how worried Cletus and Carnage were about Knull, and how easily he was beaten. While Eddie nor Venom never said anything about either Carnage or Knull, you knew that it would be the same for them.

"...I understand." Rumble nodded, and began to walk out. "I'll leave you here for now: Knull will be back by noon, he should bring you lunch."

They opened the door, but they turned back to you. "I'm... sorry for shaking you. But please, next time just cooperate."

They shut the door, and you heard it lock.

You already checked the room beforehand, so you took off your shoes and socks, setting them down next to your bed. You laid down, trying to rest, while also trying to think of any way to escape.

---

The next few hours were just sleeping. You didn't dream at all, but when you woke up, you saw that it was probably already noon. You pulled back the covers, and noted that your shoes and socks were gone, and replaced with slippers.

You looked back to the window, trying to see if anyone was outside. You couldn't tell, so you laid back down.

While you were thinking about what to do, you heard a knock. The door opened, and you saw Knull peer inside. He smiled, and pushed open the door fully. He walked in, and you saw Rumble follow behind him.

Even though the room was huge, it looked small when Knull fully stepped inside. He looked around, humming a little tune, before he walked over to your bed and sat at the edge.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, holding a plate of food. You didn't really care about the food, though. Instead, you glared at Knull, not looking away for a moment.

You could see Rumble give you a nervous look, but you didn't give him a glance. Knull's smile faltered a little, but he held out the plate of food, trying to get you to take it.

"It won't kill you to eat." When you didn't reach out to take it, he continued, "_____, it's just meat and potatoes, how hard can that be to eat?"

While you were going to continue to ignore him, you gave a quick glance at Rumble, and the genuinely seemed worried. They were holding their hands, and their eyes, while just blank, still held some sort of warning.

I won't save you from the consequences.

You turned back to Knull, and reluctantly grabbed the plate from him. His smile returned, as he beamed at you. "Good, eat as much as you can."

He reached out to touch your face but you moved to the side. He frowned. "_____." You heard Rumble quietly protest, but you did not care.

"Why did you take me?"

Knull looked at you, and shook his head before he suddenly stood up, and yanked the plate out of your hands. He threw it at the wall, a loud crash following suit. Food and ceramic bits were all across the dresser and the wall, but he didn't seem to care and he grabbed you by your shirt and hoisted you up.

"Why are you acting so difficult? I saved you, I'm bringing you to a better life and all you can do is act like a brat."

"Why did you take me?" You could see him get irate when you repeated yourself, and he was about to do something to you, but suddenly, a hand was placed on his shoulder.

"_____ is simply worried, they're not in the right of mind-"

Knull dropped you, letting you fall to the bed, and lunged towards Rumble. They tried to dodge, but were unsuccesful. Knull backhanded them, hitting them across the room and through the window. Glass shattered everywhere, and you heard Rumble hit the ground below the room. What was with Knull and throwing people through windows?

While you tried to peek over to see if they were ok, Knull marched over to the broken window. "You will not interfere with this!" He pointed down, probably to Rumble, before he turned back and walked to you.

He kneeled, grabbing your face before you could stop him. He rubbed his thumbs across your cheeks, and he embraced you in a hug.

"_____, I love you very much, you are very dear to me. You are my baby, and you will have everything you will ever ask for once you are ready. But..."

"The next time you run away like you did this morning, I will cut off your legs and make sure you never leave me again."

You were silent, trying not to show your fear. He gave you a kiss on your forehead, smiled and stood up. He walked to the door, saying, "I will see you tonight. Fix your attitude by then."

He stopped and turned to the window, yelling out "Rumble, replace that window before tonight."

He slammed the door behind you, and you were left shaking, as you wondered what you were going to do.

---

By the time you were getting ready for bed, Rumble had finally fixed your window by having another symbiote in the nearby city get a new window panel for him. He had let Knull be in charge of giving you your dinner, as he did not want another window to be replaced.

They were just getting down from putting it in place when they heard something from behind them. They turned around, seeing nothing. They looked closer, and saw an outline of someone in the trees.

"Who's there?"

A voice shushed them. "Be quiet."

Just before Rumble could attack them, the stranger put their hands up. "I am not here to fight you, but I need you to listen to me."

Rumble scoffed. "Why should I trust you?"

"Because I know that you feel somewhat bad for _____. I have a way to get them out."

Rumble did not falter in their stance, but they were intrigued. "How can a human defeat a god?"

"Oh please, I'm not that human."

The figure stepped out, and Rumble realized they were another symbiote. A white and black one, and while they looked familiar, they couldn't remember who it was.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Anti-Venom, I am a... offspring of Venom. I have a proposition for you, that I think you would benefit greatly from."

Rumble considered his options. He gave a glance to the window, knowing Knull was either still there or was somewhere in the house.

"Let's find somewhere more private, yes?" Anti-Venom smiled, it's teeth glinting in the light.

Rumble relaxed, and fully turned to Anti-Venom, nodding. "You have one chance."

Anti-Venom chuckled. "That will be all I need."

~~~

I was rereading the previous parts and got inspired to write this. I hope y'all like it tho because this was fun to write, love you guys sm <3

also yes Anti-Venom will appear next chapter dw I just feel like I'm not giving anyone in the story any dialogue so I wanna work on that

#yandere knull #yandere knull imagine #yandere knull x reader #yandere anti-venom #yandere anti-venom x reader #yandere anti-venom imagine #yandere anti venom #yandere anti venom imagine #yandere anti venom x reader #yandere platonic #yandere marvel #yandere venom #yandere venom x reader #yandere venom imagine #yandere marvel platonic #yandere marvel imagine #yandere marvel x reader #yandere marvel comics

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sorrowfulrosebud · 2 years

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Yandere Kano and Kabal, together or separate, attempting too woo their Darling in the heat of battle?

Content: yandere stuff, low-key fluff, both being simps LMAO, spoilers and I changed the story a lil lol, gore

(A/N): HRBSKSNRKRJRNE YES A YANDERE MK11 REQUEST BRO I WANNA 😘😘😘

KABAL:

I imagine that he would most likely fall in love with someone who demonstrates great physical strength or someone who reminds him of his old family, so I’m going to say that you’re a soldier who serves Kitana and Liu Kang during their Revenant Stage.

The harsh clanking of swords caused a cacophony of screeching in Netherrealm’s cathedral. Heads, torsos and other assorted limbs were strewn effortlessly on both sides, both your comrade’s and Sonya’s soldiers. You were currently battling for your life against one of Sonya’s soldiers, stabbing, ripping and killing mindlessly. You were only thinking what every other soldier was thinking:

PROTECT KITANA AND LIU KANG WITH YOUR LIFE.

It was definitely easy to say that you were one of Netherrealm’s best warriors; you had been a loyal servant to Shao Kahn for years and as such, he passed you down from his service to his adopted daughter’s. Kitana and Liu Kang valued your service more than you would take credit for, but you had also managed to catch someone else’s eye along the line…

At the start of your service, Kabal kept you at arm’s length; it was better to keep your guard up than to be killed by Shinnok’s army. However, as you protected Kitana from peril, a dull thud in his chest that he thought was extinguished came bouncing back. Increasingly desperate attempts to woo you started to swamp your personal life as letters from your ‘secret admirer’ poured from your quarter’s drawers. You of course knew who it was, you just couldn’t afford to combine your work life with your personal life. (Kabal was less than discreet in his pathetic attempts to woo you).

Kabal couldn’t lie. He was getting increasingly fed up at you ignoring him. He tried asking every warrior in Netherrealm how to get someone to do what he told them to without violence and nothing was working. Hearts of those who bothered you were plucked out and sent to your quarters, letters detailing how “you made him feel human again” and small tokens like wilted flowers were sent and yet nothing. You didn’t even look his way. If soft gifts weren’t going to work, what was? They worked with his old wife…

The idea struck him as he was battling against one of Sonya’s annoying soldiers; destroy their source of power. A guttural war cry pierced the air as he swung to hit Sonya with his Sawblades, missing her by only a few hairs. The battle was vigorous but the surge of adrenaline coursing through his veins at the thought of finally pleasing you overpowered Sonya in an instant. A quick kick knocked the gun out of her hand, another to the shin caused her to stumble and a punch to the face stunned her.

A loud buzz filled the air as Kabal’s sawblades roared to life, slicing off Sonya’s head with a terrifying rumble and scream. He would save the head for Kitana and Liu Kang, but this time he would save the heart for his beloved, even if it got him killed. A thunderous yell from Liu Kang told the other soldiers to fall back as the rest of Sonya’s team retreated. This was his chance! Locating you was easy as pie; being the best warrior there was, you got a special suit of armour with different face paint to distinguish your importance.

Kabal all but ran to you before dropping his weary self on to his knees and resting his head in a respectful bow by your feet. You quirked your eyebrow at his display; he never did this publically.

“My love, please accept this token of my eternal affection for you”, he softly grabs your hands and places the heart in them before resting his head against them. You had had multiple hearts ripped out from people who he felt had wronged you, yet this one… felt different.

Your heart swelled at the thought of someone willing to take on the enemy of your princess and kill them in such a dehumanising way. You could sleep easier now knowing your beloved princess was not in immediate danger from the bastards who tried to kill her so many times. A soft chuckle left your lips as Kabal stared back at you in shock, for this was the first time you had ever responded properly to his courting attempts.

Your laugh was really beautiful, he internally smiled. The soft tinkle reminded him of someone…

His plan had worked.

KANO:

(Please, why is this so fucking funny 😭)

For Kano, I would imagine that he would probably go for someone who would put up with his vulgar shit or someone who knows a lot about machinery like he does so for this scenario, reader is a mechanic sent by Kronika to fix Sektor.

“Ahh, c’mon babe, have a bit of fun,” Kano smirked slyly as you set to work fixing Sektor. Kronika was definitely a dictator, and as such you didn’t want to face her wrath due to tardiness so you put your head down and continued with your task.

“Look, maybe you don’t care about what happens to us, but I do. I’m not getting myself torn in half over and over again because you decided not to keep it in your pants,” you hissed back, connecting wires to Sektor’s head. Kano raised his hands in mock defeat, still smiling that greasy smile.

“Alright, keep ya damn trousers on mate,” he grinned cheekily as he positioned himself behind you. As you stood up from your current position, you bumped into a hard surface. A low growl of irritation left your throat as Kano continued to pester you whilst you worked. It was his new favourite hobby to flirt with you, and although you were flattered to an extent, you had a job to do.

This had been happening for a few days now and you were getting really fucking sick of it interfering with your personal life. Sleazy comments were thrown your way at every opportunity, sometimes he would encircle your waist to move you out of his way and of course there were the nicknames.

Your thoughts were interrupted by a loud siren that alerted you of Cassie’s team. Grabbing your guns and swords, you ran to keep up with Kano whilst loading your weapons.

“That blonde bitch, I’m gonna fuckin kill her for interupptin our time together,” he grumbled under his breath.

You finally reached the scene of the battle and got to work destroying Cassie’s team, ripping, destroying and killing anyone in sight. With a flick of your ankle, you were able to kill another soldier before you felt a foot kick the weapons out of your hands, a bullet through your knees and an arm go around your throat.

“Surrender Kano, or your little friend here dies,” Johnny smirked, the barrel of the gun he was holding pressing uncomfortably in your head.

Kano had never felt such a surge of pure anger boiling in him, how dare he touch his beloved little pet?! A guttural cry was released from him as bullets rained from his guns, killing everyone except for you. A soft whimper left your lips as the pain increased in your knees, alerting Kano. You were able to get a good look at the damage he had done to everyone before the world went dark. So this is how far he would go for you, eh? It felt… nice…

Kano trudged his way over to you, chest still panting through his rage. With a gentleness he never knew he could muster, he cradled you to his chest before giving you a soft forehead kiss and making his way back inside the base.

“I might just have to give you a new pair of legs baby, a pretty set, to match my eye. At least then I’ll know that you can’t get away from me.”

#mortal kombat x reader #Kano x reader #kabal x reader #yandere mortal kombat x reader #yandere mortal kombat #mortal kombat 11 #yandere Kabal #yandere Kano #Jesus Christ I changed a lot of the chapters lol #I’m sorry it took to long lol

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hologramcowboy · 2 years

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The Winchesters so Far...

Warning Spoilers Ahead

It's set in 1972...or the 60s...or 1978 or 90s. Seems none of the departments could really come together and decide or, you know, do actual research so you get all of them. Boom. 💥

In the instances where the show does attempt to nail the era appropriate vibe, the characters look like they are dressed in cheap versions of wannabe 70s Halloween costumes.👹

John returned from the army with a full set of hair, in fact he even had it while serving. 💆

Samuel Campbell, Mary’s father is missing. Such Plot twist. Much wow. In case you forget, you’ll be reminded of this in just about every scene of TW so much so you’ll begin to hate him with the intensity of a thousand suns and, oh well, there goes your interest in the unfolding plot.

In true shocker fashion, John has barely met Mary but vows to help her find her missing dad. Did I mention he was missing? Because Mary and John do, in every scene of every episode and so does the rest of the cast. He’s missing y’all and we gotta get him back.

You know those clichè token characters that make you cringe? That's basically all the supporting cast of TW.

Big surprise, all the characters have daddy issues, so much so there's a reference to them every 5 seconds. This is totally not in attempt to copy SPN's formula, of course. 🤣

The Gang has a Mystery Machine, y’all. Not sure who the Scooby of the situation is but my money’s on John.

So far, Carlos is a crooner that sings off key and basically has no voice. 😒 Alas he’s the assigned Bard, y'all. He’s also the tragicomic relief. More tragic than comic.

Mary is a road disaster waiting to happen, she keeps focusing on her passenger rather than the road.

Mary is also petite and childlike to the point of not even remotely being believable as a hunter. She looks like the adopted child of the TW Scooby Gang.

It seems Velma, I mean Latika has no personality outside of being the book carrier. Whatever happened to creating diverse characters?

Ada seems like she teleported in from a different show due to the fact that her performance actually has layers despite her character being yet another clichè. #wastedtalent

Salt apparently traps demons now oh and demons are unkillable or so say Mary and John. How this lore is featured takes everything that made it captivating in SPN and reverses the effect. It's basically parody time.

The lines and storylines are so predictable and repetitive you can figure out what the characters are going to say before they even say it. Boom. Psychic.

John is tall, John is also stiff and often uses his body on screen as if he was a marionette or a model unsure of how to move next. In other words, the green ( green actor=newbie) in John comes out so much it’s very hard to suspend disbelief especially for those with a trained eye.

John also expresses his personal issues with the aplomb of a frozen ameoba, making the stakes of each scene very low and disengaging.

No SPN rip off would be complete without trying to recreate the "Saving people, hunting things" moment, trust John y'all, he was born for this, the lady Gaga way.

No monster featured looks even remotely realistic, in fact, it's like they purposefully sat down and asked themselves "how can we make this look as fake and as ridiculous as possible?" Mission accomplished, folks. Mission accomplished. This is a comedy, after all.

The editing, ah the editing, was it handled by a 14 year old with no previous experience? Or did Danneel decide to do it herself? That's it, isn't it? 😞

Instead of building the character arcs for John and Mary and slowly build up the chemistry this show has them oogling longingly yet vapidly at one another almost every scene, at the same time, their connection seems empty and devoid of any actual depth, feelings, commonalities due to the weak choices the actors make and the subpar writing.

The supposed big thing that connects them is that both dads are missing and both dads are hunters (John's is dead, I think?). So they didn't even bother researching and building a deep connection and just went for the clichè similarity as the basis of their "love story". That’s because they were to busy ripping off the SPN Pilot to care about actual storytelling.

Speaking of love story, though it's the selling point of the show and its theme, you won't really find it in anything within the show. The Meh glances exchanged between the lead actors ultimately communicate nothing. Did they model this couple after the Ackles dynamic? Is that what this is? Cringe. 🤨

Campy doesn't even begin to describe this prequel. It will defy your definition.

Carlos is the show's main attraction and yet he is not the lead. That should tell you everything you need to know about TW's "diversity" casting.

You will be more scared by the musical numbers within this series than by its monsters or storyline.

This show is so confused on its genre and direction it will make your head spin.

Unsurprisingly, most of the performances on the Winchesters make it seem like the Actors were directly directed by none other Danneel Harris, oh sorry, Ackles, I forgot she is nothing without that last name. 🤡

The only believable chemistry I’ve seen on this show was between John and Latika, for a few seconds, when he told her they could be scared together in the Pilot. Major Awww moment, although the writing, once again, clichè and predictable. Which, I guess, are the actual main themes of this show, let’s be real. lol

Canon we lost you, no, canon, we buried you!! This series has nothing to to with our beloved SPN and saying otherwise is an insult to its legacy.

This whole series centers around a psychic bug empress lady and her insect like minions set on devouring the world. Yes, really.

If I missed anything it’s probably because my brains are fried from attempting to give this trainwreck a chance. Feel free to add to my list.

Verdict: The Winchesters is nothing more than a futile attempt to recreate key moments from the SPN Pilot in the hopes the audience would bite. No work or research went into this. They picked up the missing dad+ saving people hunting things spiel and tried to recreate it and did it so horribly I can’t even put it into words which is why I decided to try and make a light hearted post about it. They also copied every plot structure that worked but ended up parodying it to extremes without meaning to. The Winchesters is only sellable as an SPN parody and, even then, an extremely bad one.

For those who want to support my traumatized brain after watching TW, feel free to send me your favorite Jensen/Jared gifs or artwork to feed my art starved soul. Feed me. 💕

EDIT: Clarified one of the points.

#anti the winchesters #this series is a joke #parody of spn

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nevloveslemons · 7 months

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Falling For the Saint (Clive Babineaux x Reader Insert)

Tags?: AFAB Reader, Clutzy reader, Season 1-2 ish, reader type to try and quietly eat at 4 am and end up accidentally walking up everyone, Fluff, strangers to friends to lovers, I’m giving you a name a personality, Pink haired insert (dyed,) ummmmmm I dunno let’s feel the vibe. probably many police precinct inaccuracies.

Today was going abnormally slow today, like usual. From the moment Clive hit his snooze button at 5, he decided today was going to be low key. Today somehow drained him, thinking about what whacky personality trait ‘Liv’s going to have today from trying to bring up the missing kids to his Lieutenant, from deciding what stale donut he’ll snack on for ‘lunch’ because he forgot his homemade packed lunch in the fridge somehow. (He even sat on the couch for 5 minutes just sitting.)

after getting ready and getting his holy grail; black coffee (he hate’s the stereotype of cops; donuts, plain coffee because they can’t afford the time, stiff posture, proper, despite showing many of them.) He walked into the precinct, unconsciously checking to see if everything’s under control and calm, which it was not.

In the bullpen he noticed an abundance of his fellow detectives here ON time with is unusual as his superiors aren’t as strict as they should be when it comes to being on time. He passed through the gate and saw his co-workers surrounding someone. You. He pauses, he’s never seen someone so… colourful?

You’re clad in a cat-red, maxi skirt with matching coloured beret and pumps. You had a black and white pocadot blouse with small-medium, poofy sleeves. Even your makeup was bold, bold but colourful, his mind actually went to Marilyn Monroe. Your lips were glossy and red, blush a cool rouge, your cat eyeliner and eye makeup drew him in, kin to the characters he had a crush on as a child in animation movies.

He realized after analyzing your outfit he was being creepy. He quickly snapped his head away from your being and started towards his desk. “Clive! Clive!” One of his co-workers grabbed his jacket with their fingers. He was surprised but held his strong expression, instead letting an exasperated looking face whilst raising his eyebrows, waiting for an answer. “Have you met Beth?” They asked with excitement clear in their tone.

“Uh, no considering I just walked through the gates.” He answered. His tone coming out bored and annoyed, he was a tad annoyed; yes, but it was mainly just his tone/being. He wasn’t trying to sound like this. “We’ll turn your frown upside down” he couldn’t resist, he rolled his eyes. “She’s so bright honestly! A bit of a clutz; I moved in everyones mugs away from the edge of their desks, but she just got transferred from the 99th precinct!” They then pull him to the box of muffins that caught his attention. (other than you lol, if i got to- man now I want a Timmies blueberry muffin :()

“Beth brought these in as a like ‘token of appreciation?’ If we cops were doing that pretty sure we’re supposed to but, eh?”

Pumpkin-Walnut. Acquired.

After his brunch muffin he did a bit of paper work, some back and forth between his desk, the board, and the morgue and by time you know it. It’s lunch. Like stated, brunch muffin, Clive thinks it’s okay to make breakfast count as lunch (8-10 bfast 11-1 lunch, he had his muffin at 7 and hasn’t eaten since.) He was sitting at his desk, leaning his chin on his right hand whilst closing his eyes and not thinking… just, sitting? Then he could feel someone approach him so he eyed his eyes to see you. The Newbie.

“Hello, Detective Babineaux, I’m Elizabeth Johnson. I transferred here from the Nine-Nine and according to our Lieutenant, you’ve been put on my ‘babysitting?’” He looks at you whilst you explain your being there when he hears a rather loud, gurgle. His eyes go from yours to your stomach and back to yours, once he sees your face he notices how quickly you flushed.

“Ah, I apologize. I forgot my lunch at home and planned to have a muffin for lunch only to find them gone.” You let a small chuckle out and let your eyes wonder to anywhere but Clive’s eyes.

“I guess you and I are in the same boat, huh?” He says in hopes of settling some of your embarrassment.

“Oh! You forgot your lunch too?” Your eyes light up, seemingly forgetting about your former emotion. “Uh, yeah-“ He begins going on about what he had packed for lunch. You two talked the duration just about food. You’re not sure how, it went from your lunches and how you wish you had them to the containers their in to the spices and seasonings used. Clive doesn’t realize it but he started to smile when talking to you.

(First time writing on here…..)

#izombie x reader #clive babineaux #izombiereaderinsert

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niuttuc · 8 months

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New budget Commander cards: Wilds of Eldraine: White

You know these by now, we'll go color by color, mixing main set and commander set. Reprints can be included if they brought the price down under our bar or are otherwise notable. All the cards presented here are under $2 at time of writing Note that the set hasn't officially released yet, so some prices may still be inflated, and others might spike in the future. Cards will be evaluated as part of the 99, not as commanders. Adventures with off-color parts will be carted off to the multicolor section.

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This shrewd fella is white ramp! Not very good white ramp, mind you, but it's serviceable in some decks. Needing to wait a turn cycle to get the first treasure is very slow, and getting a single treasure a turn cycle at best is also not great. It has the advantage of being white catchup ramp that doesn't turn off your other catch-up ramp, but most of the time, I'd prefer to get a land that'll die much less easily, or even a Commander's Sphere to be completely honest. The card draw mode is present, but at four mana for a single card (you're giving up a treasure), it seems only useful in the most dire of times AND if you've got treasures already. With that said, it'll do the job, and I wouldn't be ashamed to have this in a deck, I just don't think it makes the cut over a rock even on a budget in most cases.

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White board wipes are so numerous these days, it's hard for one to break in more than an archetype or two, and this one also works in a crowded space. Just within the low-power board wipe, there's at least 6 different options just in white. With that said, the ability to control the power you're cutting off at is pretty great to adapt to various situations, and it's almost a strict upgrade to Fell the Mighty, since you don't need to have a target with the right power, and it can't be fizzled by removing said target. If you were playing Fell the Mighty, upgrade to this. If you are playing a go wide deck, that's too tokeny for Dusk//Dawn or it and the Battle of Bywater is missing a lot of key pieces in your meta at 2 power, give this one a try.

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Play this in every white deck you can fit it in. It is better than Generous Gift at lower powers where lands aren't doing quite as much by themselves, and slightly worse at higher power where lands are Like That. It doesn't really matter in this case, most white decks can probably find room to run both of them.

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The monarchy is great and fun. It is hard to hang on for an entire turn cycle, but in this case, you don't really care, both options here are pretty great. As Sun Titan proves again and again, getting back a permanent mana value 3 or less is quite valuable in white, especially when it doesn't specify nonland. Getting it to hand is less good, but it's a three drop, you'll be able to redeploy it if you really want. Card's great, play it if you find room for it in any deck, it doesn't really fit into most themes. (except you, monarchy decks, I see you.)

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What if you had several turns to do the fiend hunter/O-ring trick instead of one stack? If you can blink enchantments, this will just exile a creature every time, and every time you do, you guarantee the one before that will never come back. As mentioned, unlike other tricks like that, you have plenty of time to figure out how to blink (or sac) it. Also some flying and damage sometimes, but that's not why you're playing the card.

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This isn't a very good card by itself, but the unrestricted aspect of the second and third chapter can make it worth its weight. Really good with token copies of stuff and such... But the neatest trick is to make a token copy of Three Blind Mice itself. Further chapters can then copy the saga token copy of Three Blind Mice, and give you an ever-growing army of mice, sagas and anthems after a few turns. It is the slowest combo in the world... But it's fun! And it will force your opponents to react, and they need to kill all your enchantment (copies) to do so, which isn't the easiest.

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Did you know: Flash is a powerful ability. This design isn't much new, but Flash gives it an entirely new dimension. On top of being a removal option in a pinch that can stop people going off on the same turn they play their commander, the Fox can also exile your most valuable creature in the face of a board wipe to preserve it... And in the reverse, if the board is getting wiped and you have a couple mana, you can sac the Werefox to give back the creature it removed just in time for it to be caught in the board wipe, negating some of the downside of these kinds of effects (not all, that still takes two mana.) With that said, Banisher Priest isn't the best card in commander. It's more a domain of Skyclave Apparitions and occasionally Palace Jailers. Still, this will have homes.

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Generally I avoid cards that have written in bold on them in which decks to put them, but, uh, here's a couple of them. You don't need me to explain in which decks to put this, I hope.

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4 mana 4/4 vigilance that immediately draws a card then keeps doing so every turn, while making you a friend. Or spreading the Oxen around to minimize their impact. This is quite good on rate, as long as you have a wincon beyond "swinging with a couple small creatures repeatedly". Oxen block very well. You probably don't want to go too overboard blinking this card either, or you'll find out what a stampede is.

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We just had a mostly-better version in this effect in Brothers' War, Recommission. But it's still a good effect, and if you're more of an enchantment person than an artifact person, this is an efficient option.

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Reprints

The enchanting tales in white bring down the price of some pretty interesting enchantments.

Blind Obedience is mono-white as far as commander is concerned, and Extort still scales very well with multiplayer play.

Grasp of Fate is an actual good O-Ring for commander (a lot of those today). It's not for every deck, but hitting multiple things at once is quite powerful, and this reprint at uncommon after so long brought the price down to pennies, and should keep it low for quite a while.

Karmic Justice is a weirder card than it reads. Due to its specific wording, it doesn't work against most common forms of targeted removal. If you want something like that in white, look in the direction of Martyr's Bond. Karmic Justice does one thing and one thing only: Shield you from most mass artifact or enchantment removal. Nobody wants to Austere Command, Vandalblast or Ondu Inversion when a Karmic Justice is around. Karmic Justice can target lands. So if you're a deck that heavily relies on artifacts or enchantments in specific and are in white, you might be interested.

Rest in Peace is the gold standard in silver bullets. It does one thing, and it does it better than any other card. Any graveyard strategy or even incidental recursion will be completely shut off from the moment Rest in Peace touches the board and up until it leaves it. I personally find Rest in Peace to be a bit too feast or famine for my taste: either it stops one player from playing the game entirely for long spans of time because their deck rely on the graveyard, which isn't very fun, or it doesn't do much and is a waste of cardboard. I encourage you to play graveyard hate in your decks... Just maybe go with something a bit more versatile and soft than Rest in Peace. But hey, it's budget now!

These two are in the Role Aura precon, and they actually haven't fallen under our threshold yet. They're incredibly powerful pieces for the Aura strategy, but only for this one narrow strategy, and this is the first reprint for both. In over 15 years for Retether. Hopefully, their price goes down further than it already has because of this precon, once it hits the shelves in greater numbers.

#mtg #edh #commander #sleeper #long post #White #Wilds of Eldraine #Eldraine #budget #Enchanting Tales

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sleepanonymous · 7 months

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hi! this may not make a lot of sense but here goes!

i started listening to sleep token i think 5... maybe 6 years ago and i found your blog really recently!

they reminded me of a musician i listened to a lot in the past whose music helped me get through some really tough times, but i couldn't quite put my finger on how they reminded me of them until i found your "lost media" posts! i used to be subscribed to that channel, i should have realised they're the same person!! aaa!!!

this is mostly just my way of saying thank you a thousand times over for bringing back something i thought was pretty much gone forever!

(also, i won't lie, i used to wonder about what happened to the person behind the channel, mostly hoping that wherever/whatever they ended up doing made them happy, i'm so glad to see that everything is going well for them!)

thank you!

Hi anon! This made complete sense to me and you are very welcome 🥹🥹 Wow, I never would have guessed I'd reach an old subscriber of his with this blog. I feel so honoured and low-key jealous lol, I guess the FOMO hits differently after you've already missed out😩 It's funny how life works like that, though, isn't it? I'm glad you were able to find out what happened to him, and I'm double glad that I was able to help in a small aspect of that.

If you want, feel free to DM me, because I might have something for you since you're aware who he is 🖤🙏

#asks #answered #lost media

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stuck-in-total-drama-hell · 10 months

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what i think the total drama characters would wear to taylor swift’s ✨the eras tour✨ part 11/16

Bridgette & Geoff as Lover

Of course the token couple is going to be Lover. Plus Geoff is down for anything, so they could do any crazy outfit Bridgette wanted to. I think if they wanted to be a bit more low key, like less likely to be noticed in a crowd as going to the T Swift concert, they would go with the Lover music video outfits. Like how beautiful would Bridgette look in that yellow dress. If they wanted to be a bit more flamboyant, they would definitely go with the Me! music video outfits pictured. Like how cute would they look together like that? How cute would they be dressed as Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince? Like truly anything couple matching from the Lover era would be so them. Geoff would take it as seriously as he takes planning a party.

#let’s talk all things swiftie and eras tour #total drama #total drama island #total drama action #total drama world tour #Bridgette #td bridgette #td geoff #Geoff #gidgette #taylor swift #the eras tour #lover #mine

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open-hearth-rpg · 7 months

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Mid/Low/High: Great RPG Mechanics #RPGMechanics: Week Four

I’ve lived through a lot of resolution systems. Original D&D’s roll over THAC0, Basic Role Playing’s roll under percentages, Tunnels & Trolls’ roll high with a bunch of dice & adds. Either you wanted to roll high/low over a set number or you wanted to beat an opponent’s total. Dice Pools would change that– allowing for new calculation and manipulation tricks. But basically more dice was usually better since you checked each die to see if it gave you a success or not. Then you compared total successes.

Sometimes these have offered additional calculations like botches canceling successes, certain results having additional effects, building a pool, or checking for a wild die. Fading Suns has its Victory Point system where you want to roll under a set value, but you want to roll the highest possible number under. That’s a system, no matter how many times I play it, which doesn’t click with my brain. It brings me up short every time.

One of the revolutionary elements of PbtA which doesn’t get talked enough about is the simple, closed set dice rolling. You have relatively low stats (usually -2 to +3) added to a 2d6 roll. It’s quick, easy math. And with that, at a glance, you can see which band your result falls into. It’s a constant which has a huge impact on play– the base simplicity means checking what a move means or doing things like support actions after a roll doesn’t feel onerous.

Apocalypse Keys takes that set of bands for success and tweaks them in a super interesting way, one which completely changes the feel of play. You have a miss band, 7 or less, which has a fail which is usually out of your control— the GM Hard Move. Then there’s a sweet spot, 8-10, where you get everything you want. But then there’s the 11+, which has you going overboard, doing more in a dangerous way, or giving yourself into temptation and darkness. It’s the ‘Monkey’s Paw’ result. It works so well for powerful characters and those figures constantly tested by the world.

That works, in part, because you don’t have fixed stats. Instead you spend X Darkness Tokens and roll with that number. You can push your luck, spending a lot of tokens and likely overdoing things. But the secondary economy comes from creating those tokens for yourself as that process can cause drama and demonstrate character. But if you end up with too many tokens, your character’s problems deepen.

That loop creates interesting choices— but simple ones which don’t bog down flow. It’s dynamite at the table for me– I love the calculations and the ability to really gamble with what you’re doing. I’ve been thinking about an Exalted-like PbtA hack, where some moves have a base version and a heightened version, the latter using AK’s bands.

#ttrpg #rpg #rpg mechanics

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data-is-my-favorite-android · 1 year

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You know, having finally watched Dollhouse, I can’t help but notice some similarities between BtVS’s Spike and Dollhouse’s Alpha:

They’re both pretty unrepentant murderers (Spike because he’s a vampire, Alpha because he’s like 50 people and all of them have been fucked up by what they’ve been through)

They’re both hopeless romantics albeit in a totally twisted way and would do anything--and I mean ANYTHING--for the one they love including truly heinous acts

They both love super-strong women and literally worship the ground they walk on

though they also both oscillate wildly between proclaiming their love (usually in wildly inappropriate ways) and wanting the object of their obsession dead (but not really, because god fucking damn it they love them and they’re both suckers for love it’s like literally their reason for existing)

Since everyone’s superhuman here, they have no problem throwing down with their prospective honey if that’s how it’s gonna be

They both know instantly that something is genuinely special about The Girl

They both develop an obsession with the main character (Buffy/Echo) as soon as they clap eyes on them. Is it creepy? Kinda. But they get better, so... *shrug?* look, this is fiction, it’s not real, we can have this here okay

They both begin as Big Bads but canonically end up as Good Guys (even though we sadly didn’t really get to see the evolution from A to B in Alpha’s case)

They’re both really insightful and actually have some pretty valid points, however difficult or uncomfortable those points may be. But they’ve also got some pretty skewed logic mucking up the works, too

They both get an idea in their head and won’t stop until they’ve achieved their goal

They both show the ability to evolve. Like, they both realize at some point that they’re missing something critically important for them to be with the object of their affection and try various ways to fill that gap. Unfortunately, they both get it wrong a few times before getting it right (again, Alpha was on this road, but the show got cancelled before we got to see the whole transformation. We really only got to see the beginning and end :( which sucks, but we know it happens somewhere in the vaguery between S2 and the Epitaphs timeline)

There are so many opportunities for the main characters of both shows to just kill the Big Bad Evil son of a bitch and end things then and there, but they just... don’t? and then Spike/Alpha just get up and walk away lol

Some of the developing themes around their characters revolve around similar questions of identity and nature vs. nurture: how much does your original self remain when you become a demon/Doll? Which is stronger, your original self or what you were made to be? Are you shackled to your “nature” or can you change to become someone better? Someone you want to be? How can you do that when you’ve done so much wrong (and you’re low-key kinda not sorry about a lot of it)?

They both can switch between being comedy gold and genuinely menacing on a dime

And **MORE SIGNIFICANT SPOILERS AHEAD**

honestly? I think they both ultimately end up in love with the reality of The Girl than the idealized version of her. At first Spike is attracted to Buffy as The Slayer. As he evolves and they grow closer, he tries to convince Buffy to become a creature of darkness like him because he thinks that’s the only way they can be together. But he does love the human parts of her, and in the end accepts the complexity of who she is and loves all of her without reservation or expectation. Angel, on the other hand, loved the idea of Buffy more than the reality of her and never really moved past that. He insisted he knew who she was and what was best for her. By the same token, Alpha believes Echo will love him the moment he frees her by recreating his Composite Event. He tries to convince her that they are the same kind of new being, that they are gods/ubermensch, but she rejects his worldview and him. That doesn’t stop Alpha from trying to understand why she did that and attempt to bridge the gap between himself and her. He initially rejects Caroline and "loves" Echo (the Doll and all her many personalities). He’s frustrated by her rejection, but seeks to understand it. After he imprints himself with Paul Ballard’s personality, I think he would have gone on to a) actually understand love beyond obsession, and b) love Caroline AND Echo. Additionally, like Spike when he got his soul, I think he would also have better understood his own deficits and felt more remorse for his past sins. He would have vacillated between doubling down and seeking atonement, at turns hindering and aiding the main characters before eventually committing to a heel-face turn. He was on the same road to reformation and redemption as Spike was and likely would have loved Echo completely without asking for anything in return (as seems to be implied by their interactions in Epitaphs II). Paul, on the other hand, is attracted to Echo but in love with the idea of Caroline (without having ever actually met her until much later, and that didn't really work out too hot for him because, like he did with Echo, she holds him at arms length emotionally). Despite realizing that Echo is becoming a person in her own right with her own desires and feelings, he shuts Echo down every time she tries to get closer to him, presumably because he feels like any relationship beyond a professional or platonic one would be a violation of Caroline’s being. Basically, he sees Echo as only and forever a vessel, an empty shell to someday be filled back up by Caroline--and when that day comes he is hoping that she will love him back when he “rescues” her (and, unlike Alpha, seems more stubborn about sticking to his guns and waiting for the “real” girl to come back instead of realizing shit’s a lot more complicated than that now).

Idk, I'm just saying from what I see there's a lot of common ground here. Don't get me wrong, there are some significant differences between Spike and Alpha, too (as well as Buffy and Echo's respective situations), but I found some of the parallels intriguing. A lot of this is conjecture for Dollhouse/Alpha because the show got canceled before they could really explore Alpha's character arc. And look, I know this is personal taste, but just like with Spike vs. Angel, Alpha was way more intriguing than Paul imo.

(also, like, there are THREE gifs of Alpha that I can find. THREE. How? Is? This? POSSIBLE??? How am I supposed to work in these conditions?!?)

Anybody else see any other parallels between Spike and Alpha? Or maybe between Buffy and Echo/Caroline? and are any of my fellow spuffy shippers also on this ship? if anyone out there loves spike but hasn't seen dollhouse, I'd recommend it, also please talk to me, I need people to talk to about my new hyperfixation/problematic blorbo...

#spike btvs #alpha dollhouse #dollhouse show #dollhouse 2009 #spuffy #long post #meta analysis #it feels like whedon kept trying to write a certain kind of bad guy #to make the “good guy”/intended love interest look better #but inadvertently creating a way more interesting character #that has internal drives that actually push them to grow into better people #and that end up understanding the main character on a fundamental level

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reasoningdaily · 1 year

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Advance digital equity today or usher in a future of egregious economic inequality - Connect Humanity

At Marconi Society’s “Decade of Digital Inclusion” conference last year, we heard from leaders in technology and digital equity. What follows is a précis of my remarks and some additional reflections for the session, ‘The (Big) Data Economy: Inclusion and Fairness’, in which I focus on the importance of digital equity now to secure a future that works for all.

When ‘good enough’, isn’t good enough

Rural and low-income communities have been expected to make-do with antiquated infrastructure and low-performing technologies offered at high costs, such as legacy copper (DSL) or coaxial cable networks, or satellite service. Time and again, communities are told not to expect fiber-based networks, but to settle for whatever technology is offered to them. In his book, Farm Fresh Broadband, Christopher Ali calls this the “politics of good enough”.

Digital inclusion — having access to quality broadband infrastructure, devices, and the digital skills to use them — is key to upward mobility. It is a portal to healthcare and education, a platform to start and grow a business, and the first rung on the ladder to a well paid job.

For much of the 20th Century, individuals were able to enter the middle class, with or without a college degree, through jobs in manufacturing and retail. Today most jobs have a digital component and employers across sectors look for candidates with well-honed digital skills. If you haven’t grown up with access to data and devices, you’re starting at a disadvantage. And if you don’t have a computer and a connection, good luck applying for a job in a world where recruitment happens almost entirely online.

Digital exclusion doesn’t just punish job seekers, it holds back the creation of jobs in the first place. When a community doesn’t have the fiber infrastructure to attract and retain 21st century businesses, it loses out on so many fronts. Fewer work opportunities. A lower tax base. Less activity in the local economy. Higher unemployment — and the economic and social costs that often follow in distressed communities.

Digital inclusion is economic inclusion

‘Digital exclusion’ is ‘economic exclusion’. By maintaining the digital divide, this politics of ‘good enough’ will perpetuate ever greater income and wealth inequality. By the same token, ‘digital inclusion is economic inclusion’ and by pursuing what Jonathan Sallet calls broadband networks ‘fit for the future’ we can start unwinding the entrenched poverty that has robbed communities of a brighter future.

We cannot miss this moment. The longer we wait to close the digital divide, the harder it’ll be for those on the wrong side to catch up. We have the technology, the established research methodologies and data sets, and best practices. We have business and operating models, philanthropy, and, in the U.S., the Community Reinvestment Act, that can support the connection of low-income, BIPOC, and rural communities that large national providers have not served equitably. Let’s heed the warning of one of our most trusted leaders in broadband policy, Blair Levin: “…our country may take the biggest backwards step any country has ever taken in increasing, rather than closing, the digital divide.” Let’s not blindly proceed on that path.

Civic participation at its best

There are local and regional ISPs, co-ops, local governments, and community partners across the country who are rolling up their sleeves and building next generation broadband networks for underserved communities. And they know better than to aim for the minimum speed, i.e., the FCC’s definition of 25/3 mbps that seems to be frozen in time, driven by a scarcity narrative in a world where accelerating technology demands require that networks ‘fit for the future’ offer far greater speeds. This is civic participation at its best — and the government, philanthropy, and the private sector must support these efforts.

Rather than wasting time entertaining inaccurate, unreliable, expensive maps (at least $44 million for the new FCC “Federal Broadband Map” by CostQuest) and catering to powerful companies that write the rules and misrepresent their service, we must engage with communities to understand their needs, their context, and work with them to shape our shared digital future. This is the work I joined Connect Humanity to do, with a special focus on the Texas-Mexico border region.

When we make investments in local communities, we support an inclusive economy and opportunities for under-represented groups to use, create, and own assets in the digital economy. That level of inclusion is necessary for a diversity of people to become the makers and shapers of fair algorithms, the owners of local and regional ISPs, the ethical managers of the internet of things, and the leaders who engage communities to make policy and law to protect people from the deleterious use of big data and AI.

Here’s a link to replay the panel.

#Advance digital equity today or usher in a future of egregious economic inequality #digital equity #AI #economic inequity #financial futures #skills sets #digital economy

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arcane-ish · 1 year

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Recommendation: Realms of Runeterra Audiobook

There is a book published by Riot games that sort of explains their universe called Realms of Runeterra. It came out in 2019.

The most important thing you need to know is that you don't need to buy this book. If you have ever read a wikipedia article on any of the Runeterra/League of Legends/Arcane regions => 90% of the stuff in there is just copied straight of the books.

Like this stuff?

is just copied from the Realms of Runeterra book.

IMO the book is quite pretty and almost has "coffee table" qualities. It has pretty pictures and collects together all the "wikipedia" information.

Intermixed with this a various short stories to give you some flavor for the regions. All of those short stories as not fully available online from what I can see, but they are also summed up by the various wikis.

So, now that I've explain why you don't need that book unless you want a pretty coffee table decoration: Realms of Runeterra works surprisingly well as an audiobook!

Which really surprised me because part of it has this encyclopedia/travel guide style. But then I spent one of my audible token on it, I actually had a really good time listening to it. Especially since I personally often struggle with enjoying short stories/reading short stories, especially if they are about non major characters.

But as stories being told to you, it actually brings in a nice variety.

When I thought back on the book, the ones that stuck out to me the most were Zaun, Noxus & Freljord and then Bilgewater.

I will now ramble on in more detail on the different short stories under the cut. But yes my review is, while it wasn't world changing I don't think that it's a "rush out, must buy at full price", if by any chance you have an audible token lying around, consider spending it on the Realms of Runeterra audiobook (especially if you are missing Arcane and want some vibes). [and no, this is not a referral/kickback link]

BTW, I'm not gonna spoil the stories in detail, but I will talk in detail about my feelings about that and that in itself can raise expectations/give off vibes. I'm talking about them in order of how much I like them.

Zaun: I find it hard to say whether this story is that high simply because of Arcane I just have the deepest emotional connection to Zaun as a region. The funny thing about this it is: I feel like I don't actually like that story. The characters kind of feel like they are almost more like blueprints ("the scrappy street urchin", "the haughty Piltover assassin" aka proto Camille, "the mysterious chem baron" aka proto Silco) rather than real fully fledged character and I kind of don't care for the story itself (both the main action story and the implied past backstory) and find it a bite trite => But I have to say with real grudging respect, despite all these real complaints and gripes with the story, I can't deny that it really stuck with me despite all of this. And to me that is one of the best compliments that I can give.

Noxus: I low key feel that might be the best story of the book that really does a good job of fleshing out the region and the mindset while feeling very real. I could see this story being boring to others, but I think if you have at any point cared about international politics it's a really fascinating story about colonialism/imperialism. It really fleshes out the concept of the war mason and what it's really like to be some random place under Noxus.

Freljord: Now this is a very simple story. I feel like it's plot can probably be summed in a single sentence. But somehow I still really liked it and I think it did a good job of portraying its characters and world. Bascically: it had the vibes. I think this story might have been greatly enhanced by the fact that I play the Legends of Runeterra card game and this story is I think where I had by big "aha!" moment and realized that many of the Legends of Runeterra cards are actually based on stories from this book. So I could nerd out "OMG, I have had this card played against me!" respectively I had the visiual of the card in my mind.

==> I find it interesting that when it comes to my top 3, none of them feature a champion as a main character, that they are all about normal grunt people

Anyway, on the with ranking:

Bilgewater: First story to feature a champion and it's one of my faves from a story/lore perspective Kindred. The lore is very cool the characterization is good. I think the main reason why this is slightly lower than the other is because man this story is effing weird.

Shadow Isles: I feel like this story should probably be higher in the rankings based on quality alone, but I have to dock it points because when I was trying to think about my favorite stories from the book it completely slipped my mind that that it was even part of it. I do think that it is well written and moody, the Champion in question is well used, the main conflict is actually interesting and well done and the threats feel interesting and believable and the lore implications are very intriguing. Plus it did a good job establishing a decent amount of "canon fodder" supporting characters in a small scale. It also feel like it gave me a new angle to the Shadow Isles I hadn't really considered.

Ionia: Just overall decent and solid. One of the larger roles of a popular champion. Not too many characters but they feel well rounded and the world feels well portrayed, you buy that this just a small moment in a larger conflict. I guess it's this low becaues it feels like a very standard mystical kung fu tale, so maybe a bit pedestrian (yes, despite the fact that it does feature magic). It has a very lengthy setup that successfully invokes a lot of martial arts movies and in that it is very vivid, as in I can easily picture the scene in my mind, but I guess I feel it doesn't fully grow much beyond that. I feel like I would have preferred a story that delved deeper into the more mystical/Vastaya aspect of Ionia or the story could have done with a twist (or maybe a better twist? all the ones it had felt pretty predictable?). Still a solid story.

Shurima: I think this story was harmed because it's actually very important characterization for a certain champion and because of that I was "spoiled" for it by having it already be covered by various League lore channels. (plus I wonder if you are Arcane only and don't follow the lore channel whether the mysticism of the story would hit or wheher you would be confused why you should care about this people). The main character is likable but yeah I was hit by "oh, that story" and it didn't really grow beyond that.

Demacia: I'm sorry Cithria, I really like you in Legends of Runeterra, but this story was quite boring to me. The main topic of story is the in universe game of Tellstones and maybe it was harmed by the fact that 1.) I know what Tellstones is and how it works 2.) I know that from a board game point of view, it's actually really terrible. The story tries very valiantly to make it interesting and exciting but yeah I feel like eve if you don't have this exposure to Tellstones beforehand, I think it just isn't happening/it's just not that interesting.

#arcane #league of legends #lor #realms of runeterra #legends of runeterra

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talenlee · 1 month

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Game Pile: Marvel United (Core)

CMON raised two million dollars to make a cooperative Marvel game that absolutely did not need miniatures, but got them anyway, and made them really kickass looking big-headed chibi miniatures. The game is fine. The game is perfectly tolerable. You can make a better game looking at it. Let’s look at it.

Stripped to the studs, I cannot help but like Marvel United. If I’m going to talk about it in a purely mechanical system, it’s a clock and line builder, which I mean, that feels like a different joke I’m too classy to make at the moment. Locationally, the players are moving around a clock, with six points that represent locations where things can go wrong, each having a thing that is going wrong on it, and once it’s done going wrong, you get a special ability from that place. There can be civilians needing rescues or thugs needing unrescuing on either of these, and sometimes special abilities, and then the villains’ plans make this location trickier to clean up as well, like they may have a subordinate villain or a special plot in action here. The players are playing cards into a line, which means over time your cards leave your deck and you don’t get to recycle them (per se). You get to use abilities on your cards, and the symbols on your cards, but also the symbols on the previous cards, so you can coordinate for big turns with other players, allowing for big, dramatic shifts in the flow of the game play.

Each player has their own deck of cards, those cards have the character on them, and you can play open or closed handed, depending on how much alpha gaming you’re concerned about going on at your tabletop. The villain has a little deck of their own and is doing things on their turn between your turns. The game starts with a bunch of things on fire, then gives you too few buckets, and leaves an arsonist running loose. Good stuff, it’s engaging out of the gate and you can get started and have fun once you’re done with the setup.

Which is fiddly.

The setup is full of little tokens and pieces that are meant to be for memory, and everyone has a unique deck and the player zones need to orient around a radial point and then the villain needs a deck and then you need a space for the ‘storyline’ that represents the totality of all the actions taken in the game and a villain board, and it all sits together on the table with the low key lurking mention of you’re going to have sort a lot of these when you want to put it back in the box. Not a deal breaker by any means but gosh it makes setting it up for the first time feel tricky. Like, did I miss a step? What are these little doohickeys for?

My defining feeling about Marvel United is not that it is, in any way, a bad game. It’s a pretty good game, honestly one I’d want in my collection if I didn’t have games that filled the same role and offered me more. The Marvel branding and the iconic miniatures are definitely draws with their own currency to them. The fact that the miniatures are miniatures is a big deal too, since it means you’re looking at objects you can handle and paint and engage with. If you like what this game is offering there is a truly staggering amount of it to go collect — from just twenty-dollar pickups of a new handful of heroes and villains to the eyewatering kickstarter promo set that runs up to three hundred dollars before shipping jammed full of licensed figures.

In every way this game is rolled out conveniently as a product with an accessible price, convenient store locations, online support and familiar branding. It’s a little frustrating then that this game is not as convenient, not as accessible as a game experience.

The game recommends you start with The Red Skull as your villain for your first game. So far so good, and it’s a pretty good place to start. It then tells players to ‘pick heroes,’ which is good but doesn’t quite prepare players for realising that the heroes’ special abilities can be extremely useful in concert with one another or fail to overlap at all. Another thing is that, due to the game being built around random card draw, it’s entirely possible for the villain to have a runaway opening to the game that new players should address immediately, but not recognise as such and then have no idea how to develop tools to dig themselves out of problems.

If you can’t tell, this happened to me.

It isn’t even like I don’t think games like this should be hard – but I do think losing a cooperative game on the third or fourth turn of playing directly asks how hard the game is to set up. For a game with a fast setup, yeah I guess that’s okay, just shove everything back into place and go go go again. In Marvel United’s case, though, the reset is cumbersome enough with the little pieces and the shuffling of all the decks that I feel like maybe, at least for the first player experience, there should be a little extra. Knowing more about the game meant in hindsight I could see what we were doing wrong. In our first turns, we were learning how cards worked and what they could do – we weren’t setting each other up in the same way. Plus, the idea of clearing civilians off a square with the Hulk’s attack felt like a ‘bad’ thing? We ‘shouldn’t’ do that? But then learning through the play experience that that was a thing our Hulk should be doing regularly to keep that space from getting overcrowded by the Red Skull’s sleeper agents, that didn’t come to our attention until after the whole thing was over and I was piecing together our failures.

There’s a mastery challenge here, one of those problems where playing the game makes you better at the game, and I feel like there’s a failure in this game of motivation, where the first time experience of the game wants you to just, you know, work it out and the way to do that is by failing. But I also think that I’m a big nerd for this kind of thing and that if the child and grandparent who played this game lost the game, they’d probably both shrug and either say ‘this game sucks’ or worse ‘I suck at this game.’ There’s no responsive feedback to it, there’s no clear indication of what they misidentified as important, because all the things that got swept into this happened early on.

I’ve talked about this when I talked about playing with your food or when scrabble ends, where sometimes a game can end before the game ends. If you lost the game on turn three, but the game doesn’t end until turn seven, you’re presented with a difficulty just tracking that. That’s the biggest weakness, I think, of Marvel United.

I am really glad I got this game for who I got it for. I wish for their sake that the game had built itself a little better for players who were going to be playing it the first time. This game raised two point six million dollars on kickstarter which says to me that it was made for the invested purchaser first and foremost.

Coulda just done more for the people who weren’t already fans though.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

#Game Pile #Games

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violetren · 2 months

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Live action ATLA reaction for episode 3.

Better than episode one (practically a freebie) but not quite as good as episode two. Mostly because they tried to shove 3 different episode plots from the animation into 1 and as a result dropped the quality of all 3 concepts.

I mostly liked the Azula introduction. It showed us straight away that she is a manipulator who tries to emulate and impress her father, and it showed us Ozai being a shit dad (and made us 3 for 3 on episodes of the firelord NOT sitting on his throne, but at least this time it made sense).

I say mostly because I have mixed feelings about the little fire nation anti-war group. Its not that I think its impossible that there would be anti-war sentiment in the fire nation, or that it would all be getting quietly stamped out to maintain the status quo (and to encourage everyone else to stay in their lane). It's just the whole set up felt hollow as fuck. Like one dude threw around some revolutionary jargon and then the WHOLE group went to get slaughtered just because they found 1 (one) sympathetic person in the palace and didn't do any checks on her? They somehow managed to grow to that size in the Fire Nation Capital furthest from the fighting and closest to the propaganda machine but fell into that trap so easily? Idk, seeing an anti-war protest group mess up that badly and get stamped out so thoroughly and immediately in todays climate felt icky.

I think a scene of under cover Azula holding the hand of 1 (one) (singular) grieving and scared person assuring them that their pain is unfair that they deserve revenge for all the loved ones the war has cost them and that their plan to kill the Firelord is just. Have person thank Azula for being there, maybe have them give her a token of the dead loved one she reminds them off, and then having Azula give directions into a trap literally anywhere other than the throne room would have been much more effective. Don't let them reach Ozai, just see his silohuette through a door way, and then see it joined by Azula actually in the door way and smirking, hear the shriek of betrayal became screams as they get burned by guards. Watch Azula burn the trinket. Then have the Azula and Ozai convo. Or take it a step further with the trap, have the would be assassin burst into a meeting or a party, make them look like a deranged traitor and make their execution public as a threat to any dissenters.

A face and story would have been far more effective than the activism group caricature that we got is all I am trying to say.

However the cardboard cut out activism group didn't bother me nearly as much as Azula doing archery. I don't think I even fully appreciated Mai and Ty-Lee being introed because I was just so thrown by Azula engaging in a form of non-bending combat, and being beyond proficient in it. One of the core distinctions between Azula and Zuko is that she is the fire bending prodigy with blue flames, while he is an average fire bender who got good at swords because he was never going to be able to beat Azula at bending while living in the palace. Why is miss-fire-bending-is-everything doing archery!?

MOVING ON THOUGH.

We rejoin the la:gaang and have to deal with the fact that the show is trying to do The King of Omashu (book 1 episode 5), Jet (book 1 episode 10), and The Northern Air Temple (book 1 episode 17) all at once. But the extravagance doesn't end there! We also get some Zuko and Iroh action that low key seems to be setting up a situation in which Zuko is alone a la Zuko Alone (book 2 episode 7) and Iroh in jail a la The Headband (book 3 episode 2).

Normally I would have faith that Iroh could ditch the guards and escape alone, but frankly la:Iroh doesn't inspire the same steadfast confidence as his animated counter part. But I guess we'll see next episode.

Now all things considered they could have done a much MUCH worse job rolling all of these episode concepts into one, but a piece of media having room to be worse isn't quite the same as it being good.

Once again the pacing was trash, and the dialogue writing was less than stellar. Nothing got time to rise, or breathe, or bake, or whatever metaphor you want for giving the audience time to meditate on an idea and get invested in seeing the story resolve it.

My biggest annoyance with jumbling all of these character introes and plots into one place is that they split the characters up to have one focus on each element of the story, which meant that the others didn't get to have the character growth that they had in their parts of the original episode, or the growth that was related to the specific places those episodes were set it, as is the case with Aang.

Seeing refugees living in the northern air temple and coming to accept their presence even if it meant the space wasn't being used as his people would have used it was huge for Aang, and this episode can't achieve anything close to it because they put Teo and his dad in Omashu.

They try to distract from weaknesses like the one outlined above with spectacle. In episode 2 it was Kyoshi coming to rain hell. In episode 3, it's Aang and Zuko having a slap stick comedy market chase scene. Which just becomes another case of them trying to zany comedy when they need the convenient cover, while trying to downplay and ignore it the other 95% of the time. It isn't as strong as a showing as Kyoshi wrecking fire nation soldiers.

Over all I'm sure it would be a moderately entertaining but not standout episode of TV for anyone who hasn't seen the cartoon. It does hit a speed bump in that it very obviously isn't treating those people as its target audience what with how it baits the cabbage guy yelling the line one before committing later, and the manner in which it chooses to reveal Jet and his crew members.

The energy is low-key "you should be thanking me for ordering take out instead of getting mad I didn't clean the kitchen."

#chirping wren #live action atla critical #live action atla spoilers

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