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#people will genuinely just believe anything nintendo tells them
kyriathanatos · 6 months
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it is so fucking funny to me every day that nintendo marketed controller vibration as a new, exciting feature by giving it a dumb name and EVERYONE bought into it.
I distinctly remember watching people go "woaw i can really feel the HD RUMBLE™... so cool..."
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crazylittlejester · 21 days
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honestly, the fandom dismisses wars trauma a little too much. Have you noticed it’s always never brought up in his character studies? And when it is, it’s totally brushed off him and cia had a WEIRDDD age gap. It’s also weird hyrule warriors never acknowledges this. I honestly don’t think it’s gonna be recognized in LU but idk. It’s just weird how quickly the fandom brushed over all that. What’s your opinion? Cuz you have cool opinions lol
Disclaimer: Everything you’re about to read is my opinion and my interpretation of a game. I’m not talking about headcanons (unless otherwise specified), I’m just talking about my experience with the game and everything else. All of this is from MY perspective interacting with the canon material from both Hyrule Warriors and Linked Universe. Also! I am dyslexic, my bad for oddly autocorrected words or weird spelling mistakes
A huge reason I started yapping so much on this blog was because I saw a lot of people either actively disliking Wars, making fucking INSANE comments about his body, overly sexualizing him, or just straight up dismissing him all together and it helped me get over my posting anxiety because it genuinely made me so upset. He’s been my favorite character since only a few posts into LU (i originally liked Twilight better based sheerly on design but it took like only a few posts before that changed), and I love HW Link in general, and I thought it was actually crazy that more people didn’t like him. I’ve written several of my own characters studies on him, some of which I’ve posted, others lay trapped in my old laptop in the form of a full on analysis paper, never to see the light of day
You can send a full grown man to war and he will come back with trauma, imagine what happens when you grab some poor teenager and tell him everything relies on him. Literally forget Cia for a minute, Link as a teenager was taken and shoved into a full on war where his men turned on him and in order to survive, he had to kill. Monsters and hylians alike, it was him or them, and he’s the one who made it out. Not to mention he was constantly running all over the battle field trying to prevent the hylian captains from being defeated, and he most certainly lost many people he cared about just because he couldn’t get there in time. He had to carry around the guilt that this war was started because some sorceress was obsessed with him ON TOP of that
This was said earlier by an anon on a post I reblogged, and I’ve been saying it myself for months but I will say it again: If Warriors had been a girl and been obsessed over that same way, I fucking GUARANTEE you people would be taking it more seriously
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I literally just typed in the character name and the game she’s from and that is what google had to say about her. If an older man was described as ‘harboring serious affections’ and having a ‘desire to claim’ a teenage girl I literally don’t think it would’ve been glossed over or ignored like it is
I don’t think nintendo was ever gonna elaborate or really recognize it in the game, they never go super in depth on anything in Zelda games from my experience, and I doubt Jojo will really get into it in LU mainly just because she has so much going on with eight other dudes and potentially two more (based on the header on the linked universe blog)
I saw a lot of characterizations of Warriors and opinions of him that made me so confused and also a bit mad, such that he is a womanizer or a stupid twink (of which he is neither), and that’s a huge reason I started writing fanfiction for this fandom. Firstly to just create more content for my favorite character because I rarely saw any that focused on him, and secondly because I didn’t like some (NOT ALL) of how I was seeing him characterized. (i cannot emphasize enough: NOT ALL people in the fandom characterized him this way, I saw plenty of amazing and beautiful characterizations of Warriors)
I do not think he is a womanizer at all, in fact I fully believe his flirtatious behavior is a defense mechanism. I think his ‘woman problems’ are the fact that he’s afraid of women (especially older women) he doesn’t know or trust, but also that’s just my opinion. And I am genuinely a bit worried that now that people have stopped talking about how they noticed he seemed off a few updates ago and now that they’re saying he’s back to normal that people are going to start reducing him to a stupid dramatic twink again, as if Warriors was not the one who came up with the initial plan to fight Dink and was not the first one to fight him. As if this is not a man who lead a god damn army. As if everything he’s done and everything he is no longer matters because he’s ‘pretty’
anyways I have a lot of thoughts about him in general and im just glad the fandom has been treating him better as of late, but i am a bit worried it’s just gonna go back to how it was
thanks for the ask!! sorry i got a bit carried away 😭
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charlessmiths-wife · 3 months
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today I’ve been gradually reminded of how much I love Daniela more and more. so have these few head cannons to commemorate that
cw - mentions of sex/sexual content
DANI HCS
-> soft.
-> like, her skin is so so soft - she makes a perfect pillow.
-> also, always alarmingly cold to sleep beside. to the point you once woke up bc you felt smth wet sliding along your arm only to realise it was her hand sliding up and down you. She’s oblivious to how freezing she is too.
-> “I wanted to warm you up!”
-> yeah, with her ice cold hands.
-> LOVES reading, but also if you introduced the concept of video games to the Dimitrescu family, Dani would go ape shit.
-> she would be a MENACE on Wii sports
-> would 100% get fully invested in games like tomodachii life, animal crossing, Stardew valley
-> someone buy this woman a Nintendo switch, please.
-> she already loves playing board games, though - I’d risk to say that she’s actually the most competitive (maybe behind Cassandra)
-> absoloute BEAST at cluedo. will win every time.
-> she’s a cuddler!
-> I agree with the general fandom hc she’s the most physically affectionate… HOWEVER I ARDENTLY DISAGREE WITH THE ONE SHES GOT THE HIGHEST SEX DRIVE
-> listen, Dani likes sex - but it’s not a necessity for her every single day. and it’s certainly not something she takes lightly.
-> to her - someone obsessed with romance novels - it’s an act of intimacy. a showing of love between two people.
-> so whilst she has some experience, I truly believe she’s only ever slept with people she’s loved - at some point or another.
-> and this means she’s not generally a fan of quickies. sure, sometimes they can be enjoyable, but she typically likes to take her time with her partner - kissing and worshipping every inch of skin she can.
-> (praise kink, both giving and receiving)
-> her love language is a mix of physical affection, words of affirmation, and gift giving.
-> all five are important to her, but those are her top three.
-> especially physical affection and words of affirmation. she loves you so much, some days she just clings to you when she can. telling you how important you are to her, how much she loves you and wants to be with you forever, all whilst softly kissing your lips or forehead.
-> her face way to cuddle is to lie face to face, her head in your neck or vice versa.
-> she can see you that way, and softly kiss your cheeks.
-> and the gift giving. God, the gift giving.
-> just always showering you with the most expensive jewellery, perfumes, clothes, books - literally anything she can
-> and when you try to tell her to stop, that it’s too much and you feel bad - she reassures you absoloutely not too, because she loves doing it.
-> “I just want my darling to have the best possible stuff” she’d say, kissing your cheek
-> I think Dani can very often be seen as the most goofy of the Dimi sisters, whilst I don’t disagree with this - I don’t entirely agree with it either?
-> she can be as sincere, brooding, quiet, and closed off as her sisters can be at first.
-> but she’s much easier to break than Bela or Cassandra are, I think. She opens up to you much quicker.
-> simply put, I think all three are little shitheads with hearts of gold and complete melts deep down, (yk, if you ignore the murder and stuff) however, Dani’s meltines is just easier to bring to the forefront.
-> surprisingly good cook?
-> this is funny because it stands in contrast to my own personal hc for Bela. which is that woman cannot cook to save her LIFE.
-> so I have an interesting mental image of cooking with the pair, Bela slowly and slowly becoming more frustrated with how easy
-> Alcina is a good mother, she genuinely cares for all her children and I would just like to state I strongly believe that
-> however, I do think Dani has felt slightly neglected in the past. at times it’s seemed as if Bela and Cassandra are more useful to her mother, leading Daniela to believe she values them more.
-> however, this isn’t true - and she’s always calmed down by assurances of her mothers love for her.
-> she loves both her sisters, but I think she gets on with Bela slightly better than Cass. Her and Cass have a unique relationship, I don’t think they’ve always gotten along - but they love each other so much, any differences have only ever came because they’ve looked out for each other.
-> all three of them truly love each other, though. and they’re all insanely competitive.
-> over stupid things though. Like these three would be horrible to play a game of monopoly with.
-> whilst I don’t agree with the idea I’ve occasionally seen that Dani isn’t a danger (because… she literally did spend her section of the game trying to kill a man, just like the others) I do agree that she’s the most… civil, let’s say , with the maids
-> this isn’t to say I generally agree the other Dimitrescus spend their time just killing any and everybody, because I don’t - but this is me saying I think Daniela generally tries to somewhat get on with the help where she can. talking to them about books, the village, anything. it gives her company, which is something I think she values.
-> the most poetic person ever maybe. she spends so much time reading - both novels and poetry - it almost bleeds into how she speaks.
-> her favourite book is the secret garden - I just think it fascinates her, especially during the winter months where she can’t leave the Castle.
-> very sleepy girly, nothing usually too excessive, but she definitely gets her full eight hours every night, usually up to nine or ten - and on rare days she’s even been known to sleep fourteen hours.
-> god, I could go on forever. I just love her so much she deserves the world I’m so soft for her 🥹🥹 apologies for how incoherent this likely was, I just have so many thoughts on her and I sort of word vomited them lol
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victimsofyaoipoll · 11 months
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Round 1
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Propaganda Under Cut
Yona
She’s the fiancé of prince Sidon, (arranged marriage) and since Sidon is almost always shipped with link, people went feral the second they saw her. She’s genuinely very kind and cares about her people and wants Sidon to be happy! She is NOT jealous, she wants him to hang out with his Best Friend. I have seen firsthand in real-time, people being SO misogynistic and cruel, and saying she’s ugly. She’s good in a crisis, very friendly, has a great design, and she doesn’t deserve the hate in the slightest!
I'M DESPERATELY TRYING TO FIND CUTE ART OF HER AND SIDON AND QUITE LITERALLY EVERYTHING REGARDING HER IS JUST STRAIGHT UP BLATANT HATE AND DENOUNCING HER AS SOME LAST MINUTE ADDITION TO THE STORY AS ORCHESTRATED BY JOHN NINTENDO TO STOP SIDLINK FROM BEING CANON LIKE THIS IS THE THE JOHNLOCK CONSPIRACY OR SOME MESS... i just want to see cute art of a green shark woman with a lovely smile :((((
so the breath of the wild fandom is pretty well known for REALLY liking prince sidon aka that one really tall fish guy. and they're also really well known for shipping him with link because every fandom needs a gay ship right. so then the sequel (totk) comes around and it's revealed that sidon has a fiance now and it's not link it's some zora girl from another domain. the game hasn't even been out for a month but i've seen people act so vile towards her like yona get behind me!!!!
Zelda
She spent 100 years in a metaphysical wrestling match with an ancient and primal evil after seeing it destroy almost everyone and everything she held dear in the hopes of saving the few that remained and Link's main goal after HIYAHing his way out of a amnesia-inducing coma was to come in and tag team said evil in order to save her and like 90% of the memories he can regain focus on their relationship with each other and its gradual improvement up to the point where Link fucking dies protecting her and it's the push she needs to awaken the power to push back the blight and PEOPLE ARE STILL OUT THERE IN THEIR POST-CANON FANWORKS TRYING TO TELL ME THAT LINK FUCKS OFF AND LEAVES HER ALONE TO GO SMOOCH THE HOT FISH PRINCE BECAUSE ZELDA WAS BEING TOO OVERBEARING OR WHATEVER AND HE COULDN'T DEAL WITH THE EXPECTATION??? LIKE ZELDA'S WHOLE FUCKING ARC WASNT ALSO ABOUT HER STRUGGLING WITH EXPECTATION AND FAILING TO LIVE UP TO IT AND YOU WANT ME TO BELIEVE THIS WUALITY THEY BOTH OSTENSIBLY HAVE IN COMMON WOULD DRIVE A WEDGE BETWEEN THEM?? WHERE'S ZELDA YOU COWARDS?? I DON'T EVEN CARE IF YOU DON'T WANT HER AND LINK TO BE TOGETHER, JUST STOP DIMINISHING THE GRAVITY OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP AND MAKING ZELDA SUCK FOR NO REASON. SHE'S A BIG NERD! SHE GETS TOO IN HER OWN HEAD! SHE'D DO ANYTHING TO HELP THE PEOPLE SHE CARES ABOUT! SHE UNASHAMEDLY AND EXCITEDLY TRIED TO FEED HER PERSONAL KNIGHT A LIVE FROG IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE! HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE HER 
Im specifically saying botw Zelda here because oh my gOSH this poor girl can get made out to be like a horrible bitch when people. want link to get that shark dick. on average she doesnt get thattttt badly treated compared to some others but goddamn.
title character but people hate her because they want link to get w sidon. so she gets fridged or entirely forgotten even though shes literally his canonical soulmate and they have been reincarnated together hundreds of times (w ganon but whether u make em poly or make him the long suffering third wheel is up to you). people will be like oh but zelda was mean to him that one time (??). be serious w me rn. she just got removed from fandom entirely and if that isnt the epitome of victim of yaoi idk what is.
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ace-touya · 9 months
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Headcanons I Have For Some of 1-A
Not all of these are my own and some are very popular/common, but I thought of a lot of them myself too!
Izuku Midoriya
His mum taught him to crochet
His favourite fruit is apples
Before he got One For All he’d try to be a hero by doing cliche good guy things, like helping old people cross the road and getting cats out of trees
Mumbles hero facts in his sleep
Tells his mum about Ochaco all the time
As a child, because he knows his dad’s quirk was breathing fire, he once asked his mother of Endeavour was his dad
Autism and ADHD, heroes are his special interest
Shoto Todoroki
He’s autistic, this is barely a headcanon at this point it may as well be canon
Uses he/him, but doesn’t really care if people use other pronouns
He stimmed a lot as a child but was constantly told off for it until he stopped, now he can barely recognise his own emotions because his stims were different depending on how he felt
He only takes cold showers
When he started talking to them, he would ask Natsuo and Fuyumi to tell him stories about Touya
Katsuki Bakugo
He’s gay
Hard of hearing from his explosions, Class 1-A are trying to learn sign, Present Mic is helping because he’s also hoh from his own quirk
stole some of Izuku’s All Might merch when they were children because he was too embarrassed to ask for any
his favourite colour is pink
he’s genuinely scared of his mother
him and Ochaco have been close friends ever since the Sports Festival, but he won’t admit it
Has really bad ADHD posture
makes tiny explosions as visual stims
One of his ways to distress is by cleaning, but because of his ADHD he struggles to actually clean, so he continues to be stressed
Ochaco Uraraka
Before they moved into dorms, she used to save food from the cafeteria to take home to her parents
Can carry Izuku, Iida and Katsuki. Katsuki swears she’s using her quirk, but she isn’t
She has ADHD, and finds it really hard to think before she speaks, also tending to interrupt people a lot
Her attention span is non-existent, and in middle school she was always scared of telling her teachers she couldn’t focus or hadn’t been listening, but she finds it a lot easier to do that in UA
She plays Animal Crossing New Horizons on Izuku’s Nintendo Switch
Tenya Iida
Autistic as well
Talks really fast most of the time
Dresses up as his brother for Halloween almost every year
He made a group chat for class 1-A for important things but everyone just uses it to send memes that he doesn’t understand
Momo Yaoyorozu
Having her hair up helps her focus like Violet from a Series of Unfortunate Events
She’s autistic as well, and really struggles with social cues, especially flirting
make-up gives her sensory issues
Midnight was the only teacher Momo confided in about her low self esteem. The fact that Midnight believed in her helped her stay motivated when she didn’t believe in herself
She gives the best presents because she can buy expensive things and if she can’t find anything she thinks people will like she just makes them stuff
Tsuyu Asui
Uses she/they pronouns
Has synetshesia, and will randomly tell her classmates that their voice tastes like x, or their name is y colour. For example, Ochaco’s voice tastes like marshmallows and Katsuki’s name is yellow
Also autistic! She does t-rex arms all the time canonically
She likes styling the other 1-A girls hairs
Eijiro Kirishima
Wears eyeliner
made the Bakusquad group chat
He looks up to Mina and Fatgum even more than he looks up to Crimson Riot
He’s banned from the dorm room kitchen by Katsuki
ADHD! Executive Dysfunction has it out for this man and the rest of the class basically keep him alive
Kyouka Jiro
sensory overloads constantly
Bisexual
listens to music to help her sleep
she video calls her parents almost every day in the dorms
Exclusively drinks fizzy drinks
Takes a lot of photos of random things that her classmates do, and makes it into a photo album
Denki Kaminari
Trans masc
Pulls finger guns whenever he compliments anyone
Has a really wide range of music tastes
Tries his very best to keep Mineta in check
He loves just dance
Fumikage Tokoyami
Uses they/them pronouns
Their room is usually a mess. Clothes everywhere.
writes and reads poetry, their favourite is The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe
Chirps as a stim
Knows morse code. Nobody knows why
Yuga Aoyama
Genderfluid
Attracted to men
Does yoga
Cheese is his comfort food
He’s autistic too. Nobody in this class is nuerotypical, not even their homeroom teacher
Knows how to braid hair
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taki118 · 1 year
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How Bayonetta x Luka and Bayo3 Makes Sense to Me
SO I just finished the game and while I do agree it has issues I think I know what they were going for (whether or not they landed is debatable) but basically I think the series and the coupling of Bayo/Luka makes sense if you look at them as parallels of each other.
I wanna say two things first before getting into it.
1) I have no horse in this race. I never really shipped anything in series but could see how others shipped what they did and saw them all as pretty cute. My only real bias is I’ve always loved Luka and never got why others hate him (well 3 I can kinda get but thats more poor implementation than the character)
2) I very much believe this franchise is a “You get what you put in” kind of game when it comes to story and lore. This is typical of a lot of Japanese games, Square titles come the most to mind. But basically it relies a lot on intuiting via context clues and how I look at something may not be the way you look or even how the writers meant it, but its’ how i make sense of it. 
Now that thats out of the way. I think Bayo and Luka’s stories purposely mirror each other and shows the evolution of child to adult. HEAR ME OUT
Bayonetta 1: So in this game both Bayo and Luka are in a state of arrested development, neither of them are able to move on and therefor grow. 
With Bayonetta its due to her amnesia. She is unable to mature as she feels something is missing. She can’t know herself without knowing her past and therefor is stuck. The entire game has her thrusted into the role of an unwitting protector and thereby maturing as a result, while also recalling who she was. In reconciling who she was with who she is Bayo is able to move on and grows changing from who she was for the past 20 years. 
With Luka he is unable to move past the death of his father the trauma of the scene and how no one believes him makes him stuck in the past no matter how much he psychically ages. He is still very much that little boy at the lake, I mean the most prominent aspect of his design is the scarf he wore as a child. And like Bayo is being thrusted into the role of a protector to a child and that along with the discovery of the truth forces him to let go of past and grow. 
Like they are BOTH playing at being adults in this game. (this could explain why the sexual jokes lessen with each game though it’s likely more nintendo) They both are acting how they THINK adults should act this is most evident in Luka as he very clearly is emulating his father and there is a conceptual image where he presents a nun a flower as a child just like he does as an adult. Luka has clearly modeled himself after others the way a lot of children and teens do and it isn’t until towards the end of the game that his true self begins to shine. We can infer this in Bayo herself as she appears influenced by the people around her most notable being Jeanne, this being what Baldars plan was in a way. Molding a child to conform to the parents desire therefor the ending is Bayo showcasing her adulthood saying “this is who I am”.
Bayonetta 2: Now this game is about those early stages of adulthood where you are trying to be more adult like, if that makes sense. Of trying to appear more in control than you are, the I’m striking out on my own phase until you realize actually I do need some help. 
With Bayonetta you can kinda see this is her design its the most visibly distinct in the games and can be seen as her trying to push past the child she was. This can also be seen in how despite telling Loki he can call her Cereza he states throughout that she doesn’t look like a Cereza. This is tied into the main conflict of the game with Balder and what happens to many children with their parents. First they are a hero, then a villain, until they can finally see what they really are a person. Bayo at the beginning of the game could never imagine herself calling out to her father in genuine care but the one at the end can. In this game she is  now able to see people for who they really are and I think this includes Jeanne. Despite Bayo actually being a year older than her Jeanne has always been presented as more of a protector and mentor figure to Bayo. So the notion that her being the one to save and protect her this game serves to further show her growth, that she does not need to rely on Jeanne anymore, ending with the two truly becoming equals.
With Luka its more to be inferred as he’s in the game less but I think that is the point. In the 1st his LIFE is tied with Bayo because he needed closure with his fathers death. Since he has it his life no longer revolves around her, he doesn’t NEED to follow her, he’s becoming more of his own person. He’s made contact with Rodin on his own, has his own glasses to see the spiritual. In fact Bayo seems to need Luka’s skills in investigation more than he needs hers. Their interactions in this game are more happenstance than prior showcasing that Luka is becoming his own person. Is he still playing at adulthood? a little but he seems to actually believe his own hype now that he isn’t trying to prove he’s of value, an important step in becoming a true adult. You can also see his growth in his design as while the scarf from his childhood is still there but its far less prominent.
With the two we see a shift in how they interact with each other. Luka has proven himself to Bayo and she is adjusting to how she treats him because of it (but she seems to almost miss the old days as she secretly calls him Cheshire and remarks how much Loki reminds her of him) and Luka is still not use to her actually acknowledging him and being less of a try hard. They are essentially colleagues now, like it or not Luka is a part of Bayo’s world and we see this in how it ends with Luka working with Rodin. 
Bayonetta 3: Now this game is where they come full circle where they are both become sure about who they are and truly become adults and reach self actualization. (Now I play the game with the thought that you are playing the same character played in the last games. However even if you don’t think that this thematic reading still works as what is presented as the previous Bayonettas are said to have lived similar lives to the one in 3.)
With Bayonetta having come to better understand her parents in the previous game she now embraces her past more fully showcasing this in her design that is inspired by the child design in 1. She no longer needs to PRESENT as an adult she is confident in her identity as an adult. In this her main growth is in her self actualization and better understanding of what SHE wants.  This is showcased in how she is essentially training a new witch something only a true professional can do, showing us she has reached the peak of her powers. Once one gets there the only thing left is to pass on your knowledge to the next generation. (What I’m getting at is that the idea that this was Cerezas swan song as Bayonetta is pretty obvious) Her journey is also filled with lives she COULD have lived and deaths that COULD have been hers. This sort of thing leads one to introspection that comes when one reaches adulthood, the notion of the paths we could take and what options are left for us, it also imparts the things that are the most important. (I’ll expand on this is a bit)  Then there’s the ending where after connecting with the alternate Bayos of the game the pervious games Bayonettas arrive and the three fight alongside each other and combine. With this she has come face to face with who she was, with her past and embraced it fully. Whether or not you think you are playing the pervious character, the game makes it fairly evident that the three experienced very similiar lives and the bios indicating that the other two are still on the journeys Bayo 3 has finished. The journey of self actualization of becoming the truest version of yourself, of embracing the person you have matured into. 
Now I know a LOT of people hate the end and while I think it could have been done far better I think I get what the devs were going for. Bayonetta knows if she keeps going she will die but that doesn’t matter she can stop Singularity and thats what matters. She’s sort of following the idea of not caring if she loses she just doesn’t want him to win. And that is VERY in line with with the franchise, you don’t get to choose how I die I do. Like her mother before her she has given her life to protect her child (even if Viola isn’t technically hers) the cycle repeats as it were. And as I said she has no where to go she has reached the peak of her powers and personhood, she is passing on her knowledge, and she is confronted repeatedly with her death. “Bayonetta” dying is really the only way this could end. Do I think it coulda been better? Yes I think the game needed a few more levels, but I also think this was the natural end to the character. Also Cereza might not really be dead just her presence as Bayonetta she can retire that part of her and rest, as she if fulfilled. 
With Luka he is DIRECTLY going through the same thing as Bayonetta the difference is it’s not on his terms. Luka has thought he reached the level of self actualization Bayo has but he really hasn’t, there is an aspect of himself that was unknown to him that he needs to confront. The problem is that part is thrown on him. (I really wish we got more levels for Viola so we could see this more but it is what it is.) He is having a crisis of self, his world and perception of himself is being thrown on its head and he has to come to terms with that. I think it’s important that while Bayo tries to help him through it, it is ultimately another version of himself that saves him and helps makes sense of it all. Once Luka and Lukaon are joined and Luka accepts that there is more to him than he ever thought we are presented with a more refined version of the dork we love (well I love, I know he’s not for everyone). In understanding himself he understands what needs to come next. The world and Viola are more important than his own wants and desires. Luka has become a proper adult, just as Bayo has, this is why he snubs her when she looks for a kiss. It should also be noted that this is the first time his childhood scarf is not an aspect of his design showing that he has grown past it and into himself.
When looking at the two in this game this is the most blatant of their interest in each other. (but was always there like the amount of shit Bayo lets Luka get away with is very telling) Their relationship has gotten closer in the years to the point where he calls her Cerezita and while she claims not to like it its very obvious that she enjoys it. (this is paralleled with Viola and Kitty) This nickname also indicates that he sees her for who she truly is as the only other person to not call her by her birth name is Jeanne. Bayo herself isn’t even all that surprised by Luka’s presence as she just assumes he will always show up which leads into my thoughts on a main complaint I see in the fandom on the relationship. People often say how Bayo’s actions towards Luka in the first half is completely different from the second but it actually makes some sense. See Bayo has come to see Luka as a constant in her life but she likely hasn’t forgotten how long her life is. The idea of pursuing her feelings towards Luka has probably been something she has debated on, like fluctuating between theres plenty of time to do so and maybe even the thought of is it right to as his life is shorter, and if you think this way it makes sense that Bayo has kept a line between them. However seeing yourself die, seeing them die with wants left unfulfilled, would 100% effect her. By the time Bayo’s feelings seem to “Shift” towards Luka she has been confronted with her own mortality multiple times so the notion that she would follow feelings she has had but kept at a distance for sometime is not that hard a push. It is also why that kiss snub happens, seeing him nearly die is the last push to act on these feelings she has pushed back but Luka who has always acted on those feelings realizes he needs to hold back for the first time. Its actually kinda sweet in a way the two have been maturing together over the years but in opposite ways at times, that resemble the other.
I would say the cheesiness of their last scene was a little much but it is hard to tell if the game is literally saying Luka and Bayo are always meant to be together or if its just the two being cheesy which Luka has ALWAYS been. Also just like Bayo paralleling Rosa with Viola its very evident that the creators are trying to parallel Bayo and Luka with Rosa and Balder, the aspect of tragic love that can’t be “together” (again theres an implication that they aren’t dead but might be separated by plains of existence) Once more I think had the game been longer this idea could been shown more but I do think its purposeful. The series does seem to love the idea of the cycle repeating itself.
It should also be noted that the two interact with a companion in each game that shows their own growth. In 1 they take care of a child someone they need to protect and watch over and they need to be gentle with, mirroring their own struggles with healing their inner childs. In 2 they assist a teenager (I know Loki is technically older than both of them but he acts like a teenager) they have to guide and help him but they can’t protect him like a child, he can do this himself and asserts his personhood. Therefor they have to be better and do more to impress and help him than a child requires. Finally in 3 they have a young adult someone who resembles who they were before, someone who doesn’t need them, but someone who WANTS them around and wants to help them. And like most parents with a young adult the focus is on leaving them with the best tools to continue without them. Like the idea of them being parents together was planted in every game so I don’t know why it really surprised people. Parenthood has always been a theme in the franchise and it makes sense to end the series with Bayo’s own child.
I want to say I did not come up with this reading to make sense of 3, this is how I have ALWAYS read the games that it is a coming of age story for adults and I’ve only been more secure in this reading as the years go on and games are added  and my own maturity grows. So while I do think there were probably issues behind the scenes and that the game needed adjustments I don’t doubt this basic story was always part of the plan. To me the lore should be looked at more figurative than literal, its an avenue in which to explore internal ideas and concepts that’s why its always been rather loose. If you get bogged down by lore I think you kinda miss the forrest for the trees.But like I said this is just how I read the series maybe it helps you maybe it doesn’t. 
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desudog · 7 months
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And tropes aren't necessarily bad, it's just refusing to establish a character beyond them that sucks. Tropes are old storytelling tools and aren't inherently a sin. In fact, I'd argue that in franchises like Fire Emblem, having tropes especially surrounding characters like the main lords or royalty and those surrounding them is pretty normal and warranted as medival royalty is not really something most readers are going to go "oh I see enough of these people every day in my life. So really, I expect something unique." I've never been mad that a lord is chivalrous and brave and kind. I do get mad when that's all they are and they have the charisma of a pizza box. (COUGHROYCOUGH)
I never hated Xander for being loyal to his country and bullheaded. It's a totally fine trope to put a broad shouldered and strong brow'd prince heir to a kingdom of conquest in. He fit it there. I wasn't mad when he was stubborn or slow to believe the people he loved could hurt him, because it was "tropey" or "predictable." I think even, predicting what some characters will feel emotionally just means you understand them.
I hated Xander for being written poorly. I hated that he was a wildly different person in supports than he was in actual main novel points. I hated that Xander could tell us that harming civilians was never okay in one scene and then randomly say in another that it's simply a price of war. It wasn't the fault of the trope. If anything, if they stuck more heavily to the trope, he'd have less issues.
I never hated Camilla for being overbearing and mothering, I never hated Leo for being bratty and insecure, I never hated Elise for being optimistic.
I hated when Camilla's attachment to Corrin made the writers never let her drop it and therefore gave her very few chances to exist as an independent character. I hated when Leo was reduced to comedy or treated as if he was asking too much when asking for clarity or kindness. I hated when Elise was sidelined because they didn't know how to write her interacting with harder subjects.
I don't think tropes are bad. I still feel like there's a difference between just any "romantic guy who sucks at flirting" and Laslow/Inigo. There's a dividing line between using tropes because you don't want to write a character, and using tropes to help the reader feel more like they already know characters (which Corrin /does/. Xander playing into a sometimes gullible and dogmatic nobleman of war, as well as being a mentoring older brother, makes us go "ok, I feel like I can predict how he will act towards me." It allows the reader to feel more like Corrin, who has known Xander before we start playing. It allows them to skip a lot of this "showing us who he is" phase and skip to more advanced portrayal of this character type to make him stand out as his own character, which is sadly, often underutilized in fates.
Of course
At the end of the day, Fates is an unfinished paper snowflake of its original script which overshot and got too in love with its story to be portrayed in a DS game Nintendo only half cared about
Engage was fully finished and always intended to be... shit. So much that Nintendo stepped in and told them Alear was a bad character.
At the end of the day Xander was designed to be a prince. Corrin was designed to be a youth who was heavily sheltered. Alear was designed to be an isekai protagonist. Genuinely.
I dont hate tropes. I think blaming tropes is barking up the wrong tree. The DS games didn't overrely on tropes more than the GBA and Famicom games did. They arguably often relied less on them. When characters are lacking depth and it becomes apparent they were never intended to have depth so that they would sell easier, it's a major problem. That's the problem. Not recognizable tropes
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simseez · 3 days
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Abubakar Salim speaking on people hating on Tales of Kenzera: Zau
"So I don't want to address this but we're here now. Look, since the beginning of my career, there's always been someone who's made me feel like I didn't deserve the opportunity I got. From Assassin's Creed to Raised by Wolves, you know, I've had to ignore people saying that it wasn't the work that got me the opportunity. No, it was simply because I'm black and I've turned my other check and just kept doing my thing. Even when people were saying "Oh the only reason he's been cast as Father in Raised by Wolves is because the character is a service model. Some of these comments, you know, a few of them, I can brush off. But when there's a constant barrage of them, it's exhausting.
So when I look at ZAU, it's reached this fever pitch. But look, don't got me wrong, there's been so much amazing and beautiful support for this game. The fact that its inspired so many people and touched, you know, so many lives, it was one of our goals from the outset - to have this positive impact, right? But at the same time, we're being faced with constant targeted harassment. From people who see diversity as a threat. From people who look across the vast landscape of modern media and decide that anything that doesn't speak to them or certain around them is unnecessary and unauthentic. And look, there's always a reason why diverse stories can't exist. You know, it's always either we're doing it the wrong way or it's just there to tick boxes and it's just beginning to feel like there' is no right way. You know these exclusionary rules continue to stack up and these goalposts continue to shift until you know me, my studio, people who look like us, sit down, be quiet and accept that you're outsiders. But I won't do that.
So look - if there are people who aren't like you in a game, I want you to know that game is still for you. You know, if the characters are a different race or a different gender or you know, a different ideology or different perspective, that doesn't mean the game isn't for you. It can still be for you. You know, it's an opportunity to live in rich new worlds, to explore different perspectives, to explore different cultures and all the while, you're playing a decent game. These games are opportunities to experience something different, something new, you just need to be open to it. Games are a medium unlike any other and you know, in all aspects, they have this potential to have this profound impact, not only on the people who make them but who play them. I really believe that games are on everyone. That's why I insisted on setting ZAU's cost at the price of a pizza.
So, look, I'm going to put my money where my mouth is. Starting today on Switch, shoutout to Nintendo for acting fast on this, I'm lowering that bar of entry further by dropping the price of ZAU to less than 15 dollars. Now, I genuinely believe in the power that games have, they can bring us close together. Now, I believe this is just one way that I can show you how serious I am about this. Games are for everyone. Diverse games, they're not about taking something away from you. They're about adding something new because there's room for all of us. I'm working with the team in bringing this discount to all platforms and it's gonna start from now to till the end of June because, you know, it just means so much to me, man.
And look, let me take this opportunity as well to actually speak to the developers out there that have actually dedicated themselves to making games that speak to different audiences and tell personal stories that uplift the marginalized and underrepresented. Your work is so important, so important today. Whether you realize it or not, you are actually setting an example for the next generation of developers, of creators, of artists, just take that in. Keep doing what you're doing. Thank you."
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aggravatetheaxe · 3 years
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Hey! Saw your post and saw you said you were upsettie spaghetti so I wanted to cheer you up!
Slashers who stop everything they’re doing because their “My S/O needs me” senses are tingling and go to their rescue to comfort their angry s/o?
I was hoping to come up with A way for you to get your emotions out through your writing- 😅
Hope you feel better! 🖤
I've never done a post in this style before so hopefully I do okay! I think I covered pretty much all the slashers I write for so far (I didn't do Billy Lenz because I still need to read the novelization). I may have gone way overboard, so if I do these in the future, I'll probably just pick a few instead of doing the whole roster 😅 (or you can pick for me). But doing this much work did distract me!
Above the cut:
Bo Sinclair
Vincent Sinclair
Lester Sinclair
Included below the cut:
Michael Myers (OG)
Jason Voorhees
Leslie Vernon
Thomas Hewitt
Bubba Sawyer
Brahms Heelshire
Erik ("The Phantom")
Deacon Billings (OC Ghostface)
Courtney Dwayne Delmont (OC slasher)
Kathleen Montgomery (OC slasher)
Masterlist
***
Bo Sinclair
Despite being autistic, Bo is very in tune with peoples auras and body language. He has to be to manipulate and deceive people with any modicum of success. He's trained himself when it comes to these things; even besides masking or manipulation, he needed to be keenly aware of when his parents were in Bad Moods so he could either avoid them or prepare himself.
The mood he's probably best at when it comes to this, for those reasons, is anger. He can smell anger a mile away. So if you're fuming, you better believe he notices.
At first he's annoyed and will demand to know what your problem is. He's not a very tolerant person, and he can be a bit of a hypocrite. He's allowed to have big, messy feelings, but when it comes to others having big, messy feelings ... he's not so comfortable with that. He gets overwhelmed.
Once he realizes that this is more than an attitude problem, he'll take it much more seriously. And assuming you're not mad at him, he'll want the rundown on the whole situation from beginning to end. He wants all the dirt.
He'll let you rant, and honestly, he'd think you being this angry (when it's not directed at him, but even still sometimes) is kind of sexy. And don't expect him to shut his mouth, either; he'll be ranting right along with you, affirming you and insulting whomever/whatever you're angry about.
He doesn't wanna cuddle. He genuinely thinks you can't cuddle anger away. He'll put on some loud-ass music and let you vent your frustration however you prefer. Maybe suggest a long drive down to the lake or into town or just ... picking a direction and going. He has fantasies of running away from his anger sometimes. He knows how it is.
Depending on what you're angry about, it could definitely get to the point where he's angrier about the situation than you are. And if it really hurt you, he will not let it go as long as he lives. The best he will ever do is maintain a grudging neutrality or distance from the person/situation that made you angry.
He's very protective. If you're angry at someone you need to maintain a relationship with, you're going to have to keep an eye on Bo to make sure he doesn't deliver revenge for you behind your back. If it's something he can solve, he'll do it, so if you don't want him running his mouth, watch him.
Vincent Sinclair
Vincent is in the same boat as Bo when it comes to sensing auras, though his handle on body language and facial expressions is not as keenly honed. While Vincent was not physically abused as brutally or as often as Bo, this wasn't because of some sterling quality he had that Bo lacked. He was always The Good One because he saw what his parents did to The Bad One and knew he needed to protect himself. He tried not to do anything that might provoke his parents.
You can feel anger before a fight like you smell ozone before a storm. Vincent is attuned to the feeling not just because of his parents but because of Bo's temper, too. Because of this, like Bo, he can very accurately sense anger in particular.
His initial reaction is to observe you, gauging if you need time to cool off. If you need space, Vincent is the Sinclair for you. He's used to being quiet and deflecting and riding out anger.
However, once he realizes that your anger is not directed at him or isn't explosive enough to become a problem for him, he's concerned. Rather than asking what happened, he will ask if you're okay, and leave it up to you whether you'll tell him about it or not.
If you vent, he'll sit and listen patiently, maybe even thoughtfully working on a sculpture while you rant. He's not judgemental and he can be very emotional himself, so you could say the most ridiculous, dramatic things and he wouldn't even bat an eye. Let out all your messy, destructive thoughts and feelings. Just try not to throw or punch anything; that's when he shuts down.
If you decide you just want comfort, or decide you need comfort after ranting, art is his first suggestion. It may seem cold to you at first, that his instinct isn't to hold you or kiss you but rather to redirect you to a project - once you got to know him, however, you'd know that's his most genuine way to show he cares. Redirecting to something creative calms him down more than platitudes ever could, and he wants that for you. He's nonjudgmental about the art you create as well, even if it's objectively terrible. It's not about the quality.
He won't turn you down if you need physical affection, however. His twin is extremely tactile, so it wouldn't be the first time he held someone after a breakdown. He prefers to do this if he's certain you won't lash out physically, but if you were in a really bad way and needed to be touched, he'd do it regardless.
Lester Sinclair
Lester witnessed his parents' anger, but it was usually indirectly; if Bo was the Bad One and Vincent was the Good One, he was the Overlooked One. He's not a perfect person, probably not even a good person, but of the three brothers, he's the most normally socialized. He isn't trained to be tuned into everyone's every shifting mood in order to survive.
It takes Lester a little longer to pick up on your anger than his brothers, but not too much longer. It takes him a couple tries at trying to talk to you or get your attention before he realizes something is really wrong.
His first reaction is to get upset. He soaks up emotions like a little sponge, so he's suddenly cranky, too. He also jumps to conclusions and assumes that you're angry with him, and he does not take rejection well. He might be bitter and passive aggressive. You being angry just makes him want to go in another room and not be around you, and yet at the same time, he wants your reassurances. It's messy and sad.
Once he realizes - either through observing you or through you communicating with him - that you're mad at another person or situation, then he'll feel comfortable enough to approach you and ask you about it. You'll definitely need to reassure him that you're not mad at him though.
If you wanna rant, he'll take you on a long drive and let you vent your heart out to him. He won't be quite as aggressive as Bo, but he'll be on your side, frowning with disapproval, telling you "Ya can't fix stupid." If you want only comfort or need comfort after venting, he feels much more equipped for that. He'll put something relaxing in the VHS or let you play his old Super Nintendo, get you a beer, just let you chill out. And he'll let you win at Doctor Mario.
If the situation is something really serious, you best believe he'll be talking to his brothers about it the second he gets a chance. He may be a sweet guy, but he can be real nasty, and he doesn't fuck around when it comes to you. You might have to keep an eye out to make sure he doesn't tell someone off or punch out someone's lights.
Michael Myers (OG)
In 1978, Michael is not very in tune with any emotions besides fear, and even then he only really understands it in an abstract way, as his condition and upbringing haven't really been conducive to him learning about emotions. Unless you're screaming in terror, have tears running down your face, or are shouting angrily, he really can't read your moods. Without any obvious change to how you normally act or look, there's a huge chance he might just not notice if you're angry. He spends a lot of time in his own little world.
In 2018, even though he's spent over 50 years institutionalized, Michael has had time to take in the world, and he's seen a lot more. He understands fear much more than he did when he was 21, but what he understands most of all is anger. His anger fuels him. He would pick up on yours right away and be curious, though he wouldn't verbalize it.
If you tell him how you feel, he'll take note of it. If he witnesses you doing something destructive because of your anger, he'll simply observe. He would be fascinated with this thing you're doing, because it's not something you normally do, and though he might not notice emotions, he certainly notices routine and pattern. Either way, you'll have to tell him how you feel, because he'll simply watch you otherwise.
One thing that can be said for Michael is that he's a good listener. He may not internalize everything you say, but he will remember what he thinks is important. You may be surprised; he may remember tiny little details that seem inconsequential to you but loom large in his mind.
Unless you were caused serious physical or mental harm, he would not be angry on your behalf. He would, however, do nothing to assuage your anger. He thinks it would be kinda neat and interesting to see you snap. He's not 100% sure why you don't just do it.
In 1978, he won't be much help beyond listening to you, but he would be curious to see what you do to vent your anger. You may find him by your side more often, observing you. He may also want to find and observe the object of your anger, especially if it's a person. In 2018, he would, in his own way, suggest you solve the problem by murdering someone/something. He's insatiable, but killing is the closest he's ever come to satisfaction. You should try it.
Jason Voorhees
Out of all of the slashers, Jason is the most likely to actually literally sense your anger, especially if you're psychically sensitive/powerful like Tina Shepard. I'm talkin'—assuming you have a pre-established relationship—he'll be doing something else and just get this itch that tells him you're out there somewhere, pissed off.
Obviously this is untenable. As long as he's not super busy or Pamela has other plans, Jason will stomp his way through the woods to get back to you, regardless of the urgency of your anger. If Pamela doesn't approve, well, he'll let a little anger go and assume you're okay. If he suspects you may be in danger, though, he's sprinting regardless of what Mom says. There's time for both things, Ma!
The first thing he'll do when he returns to you is scan your dwelling, then you, making sure nothing is broken. At that point, you'd probably be able to sense his confusion even without him signing. Jason doesn't experience emotions quite like a human anymore, and he's quite tactile besides, so a lack of tangible or visible clues as to why you're upset would trip him up for a second.
He doesn't want to comfort you at first, he wants to know what's wrong. He'll listen to you vent only long enough to understand the situation and identify his target. His immediate next move would be to eliminate the problem. You'll definitely have to hold him back, and it may take a bit of convincing. Earthly consequences don't really apply to him.
Before comfort comes blowing off steam, for you and for him. His first choices would be mangling some trees (you can pretend it's for firewood) or skipping/throwing stones into the lake. You're welcome to join him if those things calm you down; watching him get his stone to skip like 11 times on Crystal Lake may make you feel better, at least.
You might hang out there for hours before he suddenly decides it's time to go home. He'll do what he can to make your comfortable or stay out of your way while you make yourself comfortable, then comfort you as you please. His go-to choice is always foot or hand massages.
Leslie Vernon
Leslie is extremely observant and surprisingly analytical given how silly he is in the day to day. His intuition makes it pretty easy for him to read people, but especially you, since you two are so close. Especially-especially if you're his Survivor Girl (gender neutral term of course). You two are in sync, so he knows if something's up. Maybe even before you fully figure it out.
God, you're so hot when you're angry, you really are. He almost wants to let you scream and holler and go nuts. But he prefers you only get angry like that at him, especially if you're his Survivor Girl, so his first move is to comfort you or talk you down to a place where you can be comforted. He'll speak to you calmly and rationally, reassuring you and touching you if you wanna be touched—on your upper arms or shoulders or face, or with one arm around your back.
He doesn't just want to comfort you, though, he wants to calm you down enough that you can tell him what happened. Even if you claim you don't want to talk about it, he will coax it out of you eventually. He's gotta know what got you so upset. It's his business to know everything about you!
Assuming you're angry at someone/something that isn't him, he'll talk it through with you. If you're upset about an argument with someone, he has the capacity to see it from the other side, but ultimately, he's there for you. He'll let you bitch as much as you want, still touching you, and he'll be disgusted and/or disappointed with the situation.
Above all, though, what he wants is to see you smile again. The only worries on your mind should be the ones he comes up with, and man, he's not even halfway done grooming the next batch of unlucky teenagers. He'd pat your face or touch your hair and tell you to cheer up, and probably defuse the situation with a stupid quip or joke. Take you out somewhere fun, maybe.
Once you were cheered up, he'd humbly suggest you solve your problem with a little murder. "I mean, I know killing's not really your thing—you're really good at it, though, a talent! You know that..." Pause, considering you. "You want me to do it? 'Cause I can clear my schedule for the rest of the night." If you decline, he'd be like "Suit yourself" but may or may not still murder whoever upset you. If you agree, he'd be super excited to make a romantic night of it. His mind would be going a million miles an hour planning everything out.
Thomas Hewitt
Tommy knows anger when he sees it. Not only does he have loads of internalized anger, he's been on the receiving end of it plenty. He's far too large to be scared of anyone in a physical sense anymore, but he's been shouted at countless times. To know when to shut up and do as he's told versus arguing back, he's learned to gauge intensity and direction of anger, and he well knows that anger can be redirected to him.
So, he instantly recognizes your mood, but it might be a while before he approaches you. When he does approach, he'll let you decide what to do, whether that's throwing your arms around him or banging your fists on his chest to vent your anger. You won't hurt him.
Eventually, once you're all hugged or cried or screamed out, he'll wrap his arms around you and give you a reassuring squeeze. There's no need to tell Tommy what's wrong—he won't ask unless you're obviously in serious distress or injured—but if you decide to speak, he'll listen, brows drawn tightly the whole time. He's thoughtful about the situation.
If you're mad at someone in his family, there isn't much he can do for you besides comfort you and assure you that whoever upset you—Hoyt, probably—didn't mean what they said. If you were hurt physically, it would be another story, but his family gets in shouting matches all the time.
Rather than offering help, he'd wait for you to request it of him. Whatever you ask, shy of hurting his family, he will do. Murder someone? No problem. Make you some food? You got it. Bring you a blanket? Sure. Give you some quiet alone time? That's fine, too.
If you need to vent, he's got plenty of ways to get out your frustration. Plenty of farm work to do, or you could work on something around the house with him. He might suggest knitting or sewing or some other handicraft you enjoy. It always makes him feel better to buckle down and use his hands for something.
If you're still preoccupied/upset by the time you two bed down, or heaven forbid the next morning, then he starts taking it more seriously. Something that disturbs you for that long is bad news. He'll watch you carefully the next couple days to see how you're doing, waiting for you to need him for something.
Bubba Sawyer
Like Tommy, Bubba has been on the receiving end of anger many, many times, so he's familiar with what it looks and feels like. Despite his size, he's still susceptible to physical violence at the hands of his loved ones, so he's very wary of anger.
However, he doesn't have a female presence in his life like Luda Mae, who expresses her anger through passive aggression—so, he's more used to shouting and screaming. If you aren't prone to screaming and shouting, it might take a little bit for him to realize you're not just sad or upset, you're angry.
Bubba will be over you. He'd give anyone else their space because he'd be afraid of retaliation, but you're his special person, and he's pretty sure you're not going to hurt him. He'll touch your hair, your arms, your wrists; he'll babble as he tries to figure out what's wrong. He just wants to comfort you and let you know everything is all right.
If it's too much or you're overwhelmed and you snap at him, he'll ease back. He'll blubber like a kicked puppy, but he won't give up. He'll still try to comfort you, just in other ways, such as getting you a comfort item or article of clothing, or maybe some food. And boy will he helicopter.
There's no need to tell Bubba what's wrong. In fact, it might be better if you didn't; if it's something he can't fix, it would do nothing but majorly stress him out. If it was one of his family members who upset you, as with Tommy, he wouldn't be able to do much. Even if you were hurt, he's just not in a position to stand up for you. That fact would absolutely kill him, though. He'd end up getting even more upset than you.
He doesn't know what help to offer you beyond comfort, but like Tommy, if you requested something specific, he'd try to carry out your wishes. He'll also try to cheer you up with some music and dancing, or just being silly like you like.
Need to blow off steam? He's got plenty of coping mechanisms! Bubba's idea of a perfect de-stress session is turning up the radio and getting lost in crafts. He's got lots of supplies, mostly to create clothing and accessories, and you're special, so you can have your pick. A drive and the radio might be nice, too. If neither of those appeal to you, he'll try cooking or baking with you. He loves sharing the kitchen with someone.
If none of that works and you're still upset, be prepared, because he's gonna be an anxious mess until you're better.
Brahms Heelshire
Brahms is somewhat familiar with other people's anger. He certainly has a whole fountain of internalized anger brewing just beneath the surface, but that's different. He knows that when Mummy is angry, she yells and cries, and when Daddy is angry, he seethes and stews. The former would be obvious to him, but the latter would take him a few minutes to be quite sure about. You're not acting how you usually do. Are you being stern or are you angry? Are you cross with him?
He does not have a lot of empathy for other people, so if your anger gets in the way of his routine or the attention he wants, he'll be irked, cranky, sad. Not necessarily at you—though that is possible—but the situation in which you find yourselves.
Much like Bo, he's allowed to have big, messy feelings, but it makes him uncomfortable and scared when other people have those feelings. He might even hide from you for a while, especially if you screamed and cried.
Once he realizes something is really wrong and you're not mad at him, however, he'll start thinking of ways to cheer you up so things can go back to normal. He hates having his routine interrupted; he's very particular. And he cares for you, so seeing you in distress is very scary and uncomfortable for him.
He'll start by fetching you something you like—something manageable for him like your favorite juice or a sandwich, or if you have a special item or article of clothing, that. He's quite shy, though, and like I said, he'll probably be hiding, so he'll leave it somewhere he knows you'll find it (on the bed, outside your door, on your desk, etc.)
If that doesn't calm you down and your anger is really getting in the way of his routine, or otherwise making him uncomfortable, he'll finally make an appearance. Very bashful and timid at first, using his little boy voice. "What's wrong, Y/N? Did something bad happen?"
If it's something that can't be helped, he'll suggest you do something together to take your mind off it (most likely something he likes to do). He may even be coaxed into taking a walk around the grounds, though he doesn't like to leave the manor at all, so you'd have to convince him. He prefers quiet playtime, maybe some coloring books or loud music to vent your emotions. It would intrigue him to see someone else use his toys to calm down. As long as you recognized he was being very nice, sharing them.
If it was an argument you had with someone, he would want more information. Are they likely to leave you alone, or will they come to the manor? Will he have to deal with them? Because it's scary, but he'll do it for you.
If, for some reason, none of those things work, he may cry or throw a fit. Either way, he'll be frustrated. Adult Brahms may make an appearance and try to help you in more Adult ways.
Erik
Though he lives five cellars beneath an opera house now, Erik hasn't always been entirely reclusive. Even these days, when he can stomach it, he sometimes goes out to see the world. As a younger man, he observed people's lives and moods with a hungry fascination (that has now mostly been replaced by melancholy and longing and bitter anger). Like several of the other slashers here, he's had to train himself to sense fury to protect himself. He's also incredibly wrathful, so you could call him an expert!
He has a very keenly honed sense when it comes to you specifically, since he's watched you so much. He notices the change in your demeanor immediately.
If you know him as the "Angel of Music," his voice will appear to you once you're alone, asking you what's wrong and assuring you you can confide in him—he will insist you tell him, though. "There are to be no secrets between us, Y/N." He will listen without interjection as you vent your heart out, and when you're done, soothe you. Don't let his calming voice deceive you, though; behind that mirror, he's seething, planning to take matters into his own hands.
If you know him as Erik, he will go to you the second he recognizes the shift in your mood and take you from what you're doing, regardless of your wishes. He'll sit you down, kneeling before you with your hands in his, and gaze into your eyes, imploring you to tell him what's wrong. He'll absolutely allow you physical comfort, but he will also absolutely insist you tell. He'll need reassurance that you're not angry at him, because that thought would break his heart.
He will let you vent however you wish. You could have the most dramatic breakdown ever—throwing things, beating your fists on his chest, wailing—and he wouldn't judge you. He would be awfully concerned, though.
Will be 110% on your side. You are his poor little meow meow. "My poor love, my poor Y/N!" He is beside himself with sympathy for you and you only, and is very offended on your behalf.
He will always suggest music as an outlet for your anger, but he will have taken note of your other hobbies and interests as well. He'll fetch your things for you without being asked, as long as it won't separate him from you for very long. If you'd rather just have comfort, that's fine, too. He could hold your hand and caress your face for hours on end under normal circumstances, so no problem there. He may also suggest a little time on the surface, if you normally live in his home. Fresh air will do you both good, he reasons, and he enjoys spending time with you where others can witness it. It fills him with pride and love.
Otherwise, he's at your service for any other soothing activities you need. A calming bath, some sweets, shopping, anything. Perhaps avoid asking for any sexual contact, however. First of all, being asked directly makes him very skittish and nervous; second of all, his method of love-making (when you can coax him) is very intimate and tender, which may be tedious if you're in an angry mood.
Unless the situation is extremely serious or dire, his first priority is making sure you're soothed. Once that duty is fulfilled, however, he is absolutely angrier about it than you are. If it's not that serious, he won't skip straight to killing, if only because he knows it upsets you. He will definitely be writing an extremely strongly worded letter, however. If someone slighted you seriously, they're getting threatened. If someone hurt you physically, they're meeting the Punjab lasso.
Deacon Billings (OC Ghostface)
Deacon definitely knows when people are angry. His step-mom was a passive-aggressive laundry-folder and his dad was a storming out of the house kinda guy; when the two of them were together, they were all hushed but heated arguments at night when they thought he couldn't hear them, or else extremely embarrassing passive-aggressive arguments in public. Growing up, he found himself around a lot of angry people. And there's no shortage of anger in him, either.
So yeah, Deacon knows when people are pissed, and he knows when people are pissed at him. The thing is, he just thinks it's fucking hilarious. He was that kid that would goad peers and teachers just to be an asshole and had virtually no friends as a result. He's a menace on the internet, too: a horrible troll for no reason, stirring the pot even when he doesn't have a stake in the argument. He's trained himself to find people's weak spots so he can strike at them. He does it to make himself feel more in control of his life and his own anger.
So when you're ticked off, he's gonna notice the change immediately. If you made a vent post on social media, he probably knows you're angry before you even see him. He follows all your social media (even if you don't realize it) and checks it constantly. He'd call you out of curiosity to ask what happened. He's open about his stalking tendencies: "I saw your post, babe, who do I need to stab?"
If you otherwise come home angry, he'll be up on his feet, following you around the house and pestering you, trying to get you to tell him what's wrong. If you try to hug him, he won't push you away, but he'll be distracted, trying to needle answers out of you the whole time.
There's no question in his mind as to whether or not you're angry at him. He just assumes you're not; he has a pretty good handle on how you act when you're angry at him specifically.
He'll let you rant all day if you want. You could talk about the shit that's pissed you off for hours and he'd still listen. Outwardly, he might poke you a bit and play devil's advocate for the other side of the argument, if there is one. This is purely for the purposes of being a little shit.
Internally, he's already going down his pre-murder checklist. If it was someone at work, they're dead. Someone in the neighborhood, dead. Online? It'll take a couple days, but they're dead. Even if you're not angry at anyone in particular, just a situation, he'll find someone to menace. He'd walk through fire for your approval.
He's not good with soft, emotional comfort, so instead he'll try to think of something to help you let off steam. His go-to is something competitive, especially if it involves you chasing each other. A Nerf or water gun war, a PVP game with you on opposite sides. He'll put up a good fight, but you always kick his ass.
Once the immediate situation is addressed and you've ranted your heart out to him, he can't keep his hands off you. "Seeing you all pissed off drives me crazyyyyyy." He's grinning, brown eyes sparkling. "Come onnnnn ... I'll get it off your mind!"
Courtney Dwayne Delmont (OC)
Courtney is a hunter of all manner of game, so he's used to interpreting non-verbal cues and body language—when an animal is in distress, when an animal is about to attack, etc. His grandfather was a very angry man, as well, in a simmering sort of way. He would seethe about something before suddenly delivering one decisive strike. Courtney himself is not a particularly angry man, unless some prey is really giving him a hard time, but he can read your body.
If you come home angry, he'll stop in the middle of what he's doing and watch you, still and quiet, just confirming his suspicions. If you leave the room he's in to go collapse on the sofa or something, he'll follow you, looming over you and waiting for you to tell him what's wrong. He's patient.
If you want to vent, he'll sit and listen thoughtfully, doing something with his hands while you speak—probably cleaning his gun or some other weapon. He doesn't look at you. He wouldn't demand greater context to the situation but he would ask "Why?" and "Who?" until he understood Enough.
If you want comfort, he'll sprawl on the couch and let you lay on top of him. He'll probably pull a blanket on top of you to try and encourage a nap. If the nap doesn't make you feel better, he's feeding you protein. Do you like homemade jerky?
Sex is also on the table (not literally ... unless). He's found it's a great way to blow off steam, and he's more than happy to make all worries, troubles, and other thoughts go away for a little bit. Expect that to be the rest of your night, though, because he doesn't do quickies.
Generally, he trusts you to handle your own shit, so he would be more focused on you than whatever made you feel the way you do. However, if days passed and you were still angry/upset/sad, or if it plunged you into a breakdown or was an otherwise extremely serious situation ... just give him a target. It's up to you, but if you tell him to take the shot, it'll be quick and clean. If you're unable to make the decision, he'll decide for you without hesitation.
Kathleen Montgomery (OC)
I'm still developing her so this one won't be as in-depth and is subject to change.
Kath makes it her business to know everything about you. Chances are she's seen you explode screaming while stalking you ... chances are, if you've been in a relationship for a while, she's made you explode screaming. She knows what you look like when you're angry. Besides, she's strong for her size, but she often has to take down people who are much bigger and stronger than her; she uses manipulation and trickery to help ease that divide, so she's good at reading people.
Like Deacon, she also monitors all your social media, so if you made a vent post, she already knows you're in a shitty mood before you come home. Unlike Deacon, she doesn't tell you how she knows, so you're left to assume she's just all knowing. Considering her god complex, that works for her.
She'd probably text you to come home, and she expects you to answer. If you're unable to come home, she'll call you to ask what's wrong.
Once you're together, she wants to know everything about the situation. Even as you're speaking, she's already on her phone or laptop, looking up the people involved. Instead of getting mad on your behalf, she laughs. She's a fan of emphasizing how pathetic or weak the opposition is.
She takes your feelings on the subject seriously, but everyone else in the situation? Insects. Not even worthy of your time or concern, let alone hers. You're obviously in the right here (even if you're not). She'll tell you as much, and say some pretty intense, over-the-line things about whomever/whatever you're angry at.
Overall, however, she's calm and collected about the situation. Your bout of anger is a chance to get you to be reckless with her. She'll do your hair and makeup and dress you up nice, then take you out. Fast driving, drinking, baiting people at bars, menacing neighborhoods ... maybe a little killing, if you'd like.
***
Masterlist
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dancingamongstdust · 3 years
Text
Creepypasta Scenarios - First Meeting (Part 1)
Ben Drowned
You had promised, sworn on your very life, that you wouldn’t laugh. It was an oath. One to be taken very seriously.
“Using your hand to muffle the sound still counts as laughing.”
Part of you felt really bad but that made you snicker even harder. Your best friend, at the very least, did appear extremely shaken about the entire thing. She sat on the edge of the couch with her arms crossed. Dark bags had formed beneath her eyes and her attention seemed unable to stray from the Nintendo 64 that sat between you.
“I’m sorry,” you said. “But you have to understand how this sounds. You’re telling me that you’re being haunted by a literal video game.”
She pulled her legs to her chest. The amount of weight that she had lost recently couldn’t possibly be healthy. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”
“Have you considered talking to a psychiatrist?” you offered. “Or perhaps selling this game?”
“He would kill me.”
You picked up the Nintendo 64 and stared at the main menu of the game. It looked pretty normal to you. You fiddled around with the settings to turn the music down. “I really think that talking to somebody about this would help.”
“That’s what you don’t understand,” she said. “I want to stop playing. I want to speak to people but all that he wants is for me to continue trying to beat the game. There’s no way to win! The entire thing is rigged!”
“Have you looked up a guide?”
She groaned. “Nobody’s going to listen to me.”
An awkward silence fell over the room and you shifted around in your seat before offering some coffee. She accepted but the kettle had barely been boiling for a few seconds when her phone chimed happily.
“Oh look, he wants to play now,” she muttered. She thrust the device to you. “Take a look for yourself.”
The notification had come through an app called CleverBot. It was a very simple ‘hi’ message that didn’t really seem all too haunting. You opened it up and clicked around the app for a little. “Looks like just a chatroom,” you said. “Why’d you download this?”
“I didn’t. I just woke up the one day and it was on my phone.”
You closed the app and returned to the home screen. It immediately reopened and the same message popped up again. An identical thing happened the second time. And then again.
“This looks like a virus,” you said. “It’s probably best to uninstall.”
Clicking on the button made the icon disappear for a short while but it was quick to reappear. This time, when the chatroom opened itself, the message had changed to simply say ‘rude’.
You pursed your lips. That was suspicious enough for you to understand her potential worries. “I don’t think that it’s haunted but you should probably take it to a professional to have it wiped or something. And maybe consider less porn in the future?”
Your joke fell flat but it died when the chatbot began typing. Not too long after, another message had come through.
‘I don’t hang out in such places.’
“Can…” you trailed off. “No, there’s no way that they’ve hacked the microphone, right?”
‘Don’t need to hack in to hear what you’re saying.’
The colour drained from your face and you quickly glanced towards your friend. She didn’t seem panicked, even when you showed her the message. If anything, her expression was resigned as though this was a regular occurrence.
You didn’t get too much time to respond when a horrible static sound came through her phone. The screen began flashing and blurry images raced across it. A distorted version of the Majora’s Mask theme song started playing. It felt like your ears were bleeding. Scared, you threw the phone to the floor and, with a shattering crack, everything stopped.
For a while, you stared at it but then she said, “He’s going to be pissed with that.”
There was a chime from somewhere on your right. Your own phone’s screen lit up. Nervously, you reached over to check on it.
A single notification stood there, from an app called CleverBot.
‘You Shouldn’t Have Done That.”
Bloody Painter
The park was busy this time of day and filled with an awaiting audience – whether they were interested in watching the performance or not. Many seemed to appreciate it though, taking the flyers handed out by your group.
It was nearing midday when you ran out of pamphlets. You stretched and pushed your hair away from your face, relishing in the feeling of sun against skin.
Your gaze drifted across the park’s patrons before settling on one that you had been watching since the beginning of your performance. He didn’t look up much. A sketchpad sat on his lap and tousled brown hair hung over his face. You hadn’t caught his attention once but he had certainly kept yours.
“Can you hand me another lot of flyers?” you asked one of the other girls with her.
She handed them over and you put on your best grin before making your way to the tree he was sitting under.
He looked up when your shadow fell over his sketchbook. His work was considerably abstract and nothing that you could identify with ease. There weren’t too many colors though.
“Hello!” you greeted cheerily. “I don’t mean to bother but what did you think of the show?”
He blinked up at you. “I didn’t see it.”
The man was a master of deadpan but you didn’t allow your smile to drop. You lowered the flyer and sighed, “That’s a shame. It’s so rare that we have attractive people at our shows… you should consider coming to our actual performances sometime. Everybody loves musicals.”
He didn’t even react to the compliment. No smirk or even a blush. It was as though you hadn’t spoken one word.
“I’ve seen your face before,” he said. “You do this kind of thing quite often. Don’t you get tired of people staring at you?”
You chuckled. “I wouldn’t be in this line of business if I was too self-conscious. When they stare for too long, I like to imagine that it’s because I’m the most beautiful person they’ve ever seen.” Running your fingers through your hair, you offered him your most dazzling smile. “And if you remember me, that’s a certain compliment.”
“You can take it whatever way you want but it doesn’t mean anything.”
It was tempting to give up. Flirting with cute boys was only entertaining when they responded with… something. This boy just stared.
“So you’re an artist, right? You’d have a good point of view on whether or not I’m actually pretty.”
“My opinions on people are rarely accurate.”
His response made you uncomfortable, though you couldn’t quite put your finger on why. Something of a warning twisted in your stomach. A light had lit behind his eyes but it didn’t seem like something you wanted to tie yourself to.
It appeared it was time to give up your pursuit. “Well, I really should get going. Perhaps I’ll see you at the next performance.”
His eyes drifted to the pamphlet that you held. “Were you planning on giving me that?”
“Offering it but you don’t have to –“
“I’ll take it,” he said, putting down his pencil and holding out his hand. “Your show wasn’t too entertaining but I enjoyed watching the performance you just put on. Rather like a peacock strutting its feathers.”
So he wasn’t oblivious then… just teasing. You had no idea if it showed his genuine interest or if he was merely taunting now.
With a slight scowl, you passed it over. He tucked it into his sketchbook and then closed it, standing up. He was scrawnier than you had anticipated but he still had a considerable height – holding at least a few inches over you.
“Thank you,” you said.
He left without another word. You rolled your eyes and made a point to ignore any thoughts about him for the rest of the day. Perhaps you shouldn’t have given him your information… after all, that flyer had your full name and everything.
And you knew absolutely nothing about him.
Candy Pop
Hospitals were the worst places in the world.
They smelled too clean and looked too false. You generally avoided them as much as possible unless it was absolutely necessary. When a close family member found themselves locked within the walls, unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to stay away.
You wrinkled your nose as you walked into the room. The sterilized smell burnt you.
Most of it was what you had expected but the young, child-like scream made you jump and nearly drop every gift you were holding.
Your aunt jumped up from her chair beside the hospital bed. “What’s wrong?!” she asked, fussing over your cousin.
She was barely over eleven and had badly injured her leg during a biking competition. Your mom had told you that everybody in the family was going to visit her, encouraging you to go together in order to drop off some gifts.
“I’m sorry,” the little girl said quickly. “I don’t like balloons and I thought… it doesn’t matter. Sorry.”
You moved them behind you a little, trying to block her line of sight. “No, no, I should have asked first. You could have been allergic to latex or something and then I’d be feeling really bad about it.”
“She’s been particularly on edge thanks to these awful nightmares,” your aunt explained.
“Nightmares?” you asked.
The little girl seemed pale at its mention, pulling her blanket up to her nose and watching everybody wearily. “They’re just bad dreams,” she said. “You said that they couldn’t hurt me.”
Her mother hurriedly rubbed her shoulder and offered a warm smile. “They definitely can’t,” she reassured.
“Are they about the fall?” you asked.
“Sometimes.”
You settled down in one of the chairs as your own mother began speaking to her sister. They were able to discuss everything from the colour of grass to what they thought would be the best country to live in. You weren’t particularly interested in what they were saying and, after a while of trying to chirp in, you just let the lack of sleep catch up to you.
Your dreams came to you quickly, faster than usual and sharp in an uncomfortable sort of way.
You found yourself standing in a large field. The sky was grey and the grass tall enough to reach your knees. Everything felt bright. It hurt your eyes to stare at anything for too long.
Normally, dreams didn’t feel as such, but you were certain that this was one. There was no purpose to where you were. No inclination to walk in a specific direction or try to understand what was happening.
Just confusion.
You took a step forward and a soft wind wrapped around you. It brushed through the grass, dancing around the trees. Something was watching.
You turned and two, glowing lights floated above the ground.
Slowly, mist gathered around the two spots. As you stepped back, it began to solidify – quickly forming a more recognisable shape. The figure tilted its head to the side and a slight jingling sound filled the air. It stepped forward then and the glow faded from its eyes, revealing just what stood before you.
He was a jester, though certainly more modern than the old king’s versions. Blue hair hung around his shoulders and his entire outfit jingled with hundreds of bells. A smile graced his face and he stepped forward.
You moved away.
His smile disappeared and his eyes narrowed. The mist appeared again and he vanished into it.
You looked around frantically. He was gone. The wind picked up unexpectedly, howling in your ears. You raised your hands to shield your face and something grabbed your wrist. Before you could turn to see, you hurdled away from the meadow and awoke spluttering for air.
“Are you alright?” your aunt asked.
In the corner of your eye, you swore you saw a blue jester but, when you turned to look, he was gone. “Yeah,” you said, rubbing your chest. “Yeah, I’m good.”
Your made eye contact with your cousin and swallowed thickly. The look on her face said it all.
Clockwork
Every night, without fail, you saw her sitting there when you arrived home from work.
She always wore the same thing and, initially, you had thought that she would play on her phone for hours at a time. It didn’t appear that she had a phone, however, as you came to realise. Whatever she was holding was circular and fit perfectly within the palm of her hand.
You mentioned it to the building manager the second time she was there until like two in the morning. He had said that they thought she was homeless but, as far as they could tell, she wasn’t dangerous. You reassured him that your worries weren’t about her presence due to any perceived problem but he had just nodded.
She never moved while she was waiting. Not even to adjust her weight or brush the hair from her face.
A few of your neighbours used the very eloquent reasoning that she was merely crazy.
Occasionally, you heard children from the area parroting their parents. Rumours abound that she was a ghost who would attack anybody if they spoke to her. You scoffed each time it was said but many believed the stories.
You were arriving home late one night when you spotted her sitting in the usual spot. It was strange for you to feel anything beyond exhaustion on the nights when hospital jobs ran too long but this time, a strange anticipation settled itself in your stomach.
“I’m sorry,” you said. “Are you okay?”
Her hair was dirty and her coat looked as though it hadn’t been washed for years. Now that you were close, you could make out what appeared to be dried blood on her shirt.
“Go away,” she said, shaking her head from side to side.
“I have medical experience,” you responded. “And I know some good places to stay in the area. I can –“
“Good for you,” she sneered. “Leave me alone. You’re going to make me miss it.”
The object she was holding was an old pocket watch. It looked like something you would find in an antique store and pay insane amounts of money for. Though, it didn’t appear to be working. The clock hands sat at a set time and didn’t move in the slightest.
“I want to help you if that’s okay,” you said.
She forced out a laugh that sounded as though it physically pained her. “You want to help me?!” she cackled, throwing her hair over her shoulder. “Isn’t that sweet.”
You stumbled away from her and clasped a hand over your mouth. Her face…
Her mouth was torn to pieces, jagged cuts that ripped through the skin there and had been crudely stitched back together. But that wasn’t the worst. No, the worst part of it was her left eye that had a pocket watch shoved into the socket and forcefully stitched there. The injury flared red with infection and pain.
“What’s wrong little doctor?!” she cawed. “No longer feeling like saving the poor girl you found on the side of the road?”
You steeled your resolve and straightened. “I’m still willing to offer help if you need it,” you said in your strongest voice. “That injury is severe and needs attending to if you want to save the eye.”
The eye was definitely gone and she knew it as well, scoffing at your offer. “No chance of that. Why do you people like pretending that you care?”
“I do care.”
She responded with a mocking expression and stood unexpectedly. “Sure you do.” She tapped the front of the pocket watch with her nail. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to get to work. I nearly missed it thanks to your nagging. I’ll see you tomorrow, doctor.”
And she marched off into the night.
Dark Link
The vase that you were holding was beautifully polished and almost brand new. As you lifted it, something rattled around within.
“Why are you selling this for such a low price?” you asked.
The woman was middle-aged with a falsely high voice and bright, darting eyes. “It was a gift,” she said. “But I decided against keeping it. I wasn’t sure how low the price should be but it’s not like I’m losing any money.”
You decided against buying it, thanking her and walking away quickly. While you were looking through a few pieces of jewelry, your arm was grabbed and a small object pushed into your chest.
“Here you go!” you friend chimed. “Consider it to be a late birthday present!”
You took the game cartridge and examined it closely. “Zelda, again?” you asked. “I’ve already tell you that –“
“Yes, yes, I know that they’re not your thing but if you haven’t tried all the games then how are you meant to know there isn’t just one that you like?”
Sighing, you took the game and dropped it into your purse. It was dirty and definitely well used. A bit of black paint flaked off on your fingers.
Another game for you to keep in your cupboard and not look at again until months later when you were asked about your opinion on it. It wasn’t your fault that you didn’t have the console you needed and the simple answer of ‘just buy one for cheap’ wasn’t always available.
But in the coming weeks, you quickly realised that this wasn’t just another game.
At first, the things that went wrong were too minor to even pay attention to. Electronics started breaking frequently until the point where you had replaced your stereo twice in a week and no longer had a television. After that, you started feeling sickly and uncomfortable whenever you were in the house. A feeling of imposing nature settled upon your shoulders.
You spent more time away from home, staying away for as long as you could. When you tried to dogsit for your brother, the pup wouldn’t even enter the house.
It was late at night when you woke up in a cold sweat. Nausea coiled in your stomach and your heart was beating at the speed of light.
At first, you had no idea what had woken you.
And then you heard the rattling.
It was coming from the next room over. As though somebody had taken hold of your desk and was shaking it as roughly as they could.
You scrambled for your phone but it wasn’t there. It was sitting in your office.
You took a deep breath and slowly stepped from your bed. Your head felt fuzzy, as though you weren’t able to wake up properly. Every step was slow and lethargic.
Stumbling toward the door, you gingerly grabbed the handle. As you opened it, your mind caught up with your body and you remembered that you shouldn’t just burst in on a potential invader.
But it was too late.
The person, for it had to be a person, stood in the middle of the room. Its body was so dark that it blended in with the shadows surrounding it. Two bright red eyes shone, illuminating enough that it showed some of the creatures ashen features. It had sharp features that were definitely human. Though as you stared at it, you knew that it was anything but.
It smiled and began turning into small squares, pixelating into the air and disappearing into something behind it.
You flicked on the light as fast as you could but it was gone. Sitting in the middle of the desk, the black cartridge seemed to emit its own darkness.
Dr. Smiley
The building was beyond restoration, crumbling and derelict. You were sure that it hadn’t been occupied for at least a decade. Perhaps even longer.
For months now, you had been going through the motions to have everything approved and organised. You had gotten clearance, hired the workers, discussed things with any neighbours, and even paid extra for the best machinery to get everything done quicker.
And now they were refusing to do anything.
“I’m sorry, and I will compensate for the time wasted, but my men are saying no,” the on-site manager said. “I know you’re not from these parts but we’ve always known there’s something wrong with this building. Rumours and superstitions abound and I wouldn’t blame my men for not wanting to anger a ghost.”
“They’ll be pissing off something far worse than a ‘ghost’ if they continue refusing to even go in there,” you snapped.
He glanced towards his workers and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Once he left, you turned your attention to the house. Why anybody would have wanted a house in this location was beyond you but now that you had inherited it, you could see potential.
Although the entire place was probably crawling with all manners of disgusting flora.
Perhaps you could use that to get the health counsel to do the job for you.
They will still talking and you could see the weariness on their faces. Sighing, you stalked your way to the front door and pushed it open with one hand. It creaked with the effort.
You stood with your hands out towards the men. “I’m going to walk this entire house!” you called. “And if your ghost doesn’t accost me while I’m there, then I’m going to be expecting you to all get on with it, alright?”
Nothing immediately jumped at you when you entered. The door struggled to open and it swung shut on its own accord. If that was the haunting that they were talking about…
A roach skittered along the floor in front of you, darting under a derelict sofa stained with an unknown substance. Several of the windows had been broken so it wasn’t surprising to find that graffiti and markers had been used to etch various names into the walls.
You walked through a destroyed kitchen, passed a bedroom with a smashed crib, and even kicked open a door that led to a filthy storage room.
No ghost jumped out at you.
Problems started presenting themselves when you walked down one of the hallways and pushed open a bedroom door. The entire room felt set apart from the rest of the place with almost-new curtains that had been drawn shut. Blankets covered the bed, dirty but still there. You immediately thought somebody may be squatting there but your concerns changed when you noticed the wall.
Black mold. It crawled its way up the side, covering most of what had once been white wallpaper. You brought one hand up to shield your mouth and stepped out, slamming the door closed.
If there was an infestation then you had to get the health department immediately. This was –
Your thoughts were interrupted by something grabbing you. Panic filled your mind as a sharp weapon was pressed against your throat.
“Well now, I just know that you don’t have an appointment,” a voice said close to your ear. “I don’t like trespassers.”
Thinking on instinct, you threw your head backwards as hard as you could. There was a satisfying impact followed by a loud yelp of pain. The weapon around your throat moved away so you kicked the guy in the shin and bolted for it.
The house felt bigger while you were running but nobody came after you. You didn’t hear any footsteps or other sounds of a chase.
Bursting through the front door, you winced at the bright light. The house hadn’t seemed nearly that dark until compared to the outside.
You collided with one of the workers in your rush and nearly knocked everybody to the ground.
“What’s happened?”
“It was that ghost, I’m telling you.”
“We warned her, boss.”
You cleared your throat and straightened up, making eye contact with each man individually. “There is no ghost,” you said. “Only a squatter who I shall deal with using police force if needed. However, I do believe any construction will have to wait because I saw an excessive spread of black mold within the house.”
They all spoke amongst themselves, discussing options. You glanced back to the house and allowed your attention to find its way to the bedroom window. Though fleeting, a masked face peered out at you from within.
Eyeless Jack
In many ways, what happened that night was your boss’ fault.
Having just finished working a double shift that ended at almost 1 in the morning, you were exhausted upon returning home. You walked past the neighbouring apartment with only one thought on your mind – sleep.
It was then that you heard a thump coming from within the house, followed shortly by a muffled scream.
Tired, you had to pause to register what was happening and, by the time your brain caught up, your heart was in full-on panic mode. You slowly reached into your pocket and dialed the emergency number as slowly as you dared, whispering into the phone and being reassured that a police presence would be arriving shortly.
Your neighbour was a young man though, just out of rehab and beginning to make his way through life. The longer you stood and waited for the police, the guiltier you felt.
So you reached into the pot plant and pulled out his spare key. After a short while of building yourself up, you unlocked the door and crept inside.
It was dark with the outside world shrouded via heavy curtains. You could barely make your way through the unfamiliar apartment and you didn’t dare turn on the light. Damn, you were extremely tired.
Part of your brain suggested that you had imagined the whole thing. It was a byproduct of a sleep-addled mind or something. That would be embarrassing to explain to the police and to your neighbour. Would you get charged for breaking and entering or could you blame it on your tiredness?
Your doubts didn’t get much further than that because somebody grabbed you from within the room.
A horrible iron-filled scent attacked your senses as you took in the bedroom. It looked like your neighbour was tied to the bed though he wasn’t moving. Somebody stood behind you, their breathing heavy and their grip strong.
They pushed your wrist closer to your back, preventing you from wriggling free of their grip. A blade, small and yet sharp, pressed against the side of your throat.
“Trying to play the hero, are we?” snarled a voice. “Have you called the cops?”
The blade pressed against your skin and you quickly spat out a yes.
“Probably right before you came in, if not earlier… I’d have enough time to kill you but then you’d be an absolute waste. Nowhere to stash a body around here and they’d comb the entire area if you were missing…”
“I didn’t mean –“
You were shoved forward before you had a chance to react. In the dark, you couldn’t make anything out and you hit the wall unexpectedly. Now, far enough away, you turned and tried to make out the face of your assailant. He melded in with the shadows and you ran your fingers along the wall until you found a light switch.
The lights flickered on and you gasped.
He wore a dark blue mask, a black ooze dripping from the eye sockets and onto his hoodie. There was no reaction to the lights. Not even a blink.
“Don’t you want to beg for your life?” he asked. “The other one pleaded nearly constantly until I shut him up.”
“You killed him…”
“He isn’t dead, just unconscious,” the man scoffed. “I try to avoid killing them, if I’m able to.”
“The police will be here soon,” you warned.
“Oh I know. That’s the only reason that I’m leaving this very minute.” He made his way over to the window, never turning to stop facing you. The bedroom window slipped open without a sound and he began climbing out. “I’d keep my doors locked if I was you. Plenty of unsavory characters live in these parts.”
And just like that, he was gone.
Glitchy Red
Your younger cousin squealed excitedly, holding the game to her chest in joy. “I love it so much!” she said. “I can’t believe I used to think Pokémon was for babies. At first when the music randomly cut out, I did think it was super weird but I’ve gotten used to it now.”
“I don’t think it’s meant to do that,” you chuckled. “But cheap versions, you know?”
It was good to see that your last-minute gift hadn’t gone to waste. You had been worried that the present’s fun would be lost on your video game-hating cousin but she had actually decided to give the game a shot. Now you had somebody in the family to speak to which was extraordinarily exciting.
“What are you meant to say to Red when he asks you whether or not he’s a joke?” she aske unexpectedly. “I know that if you say no, he goes away, and I’ve been too scared to try the other option.”
You frowned. “I don’t actually remember that part of the game.”
“Really? But it happens so often.”
When she realised that you really hadn’t encountered anything like that in the game before, she told you to wait a minute and came back with her game.
“There was one around here,” she said, loading in. “Just give me a second and I’ll find it.”
You stayed much later than you had originally intended to that night. The two of you played through a lot of the game, waiting for the moment when Red would break the fourth wall and demand to know about your opinions on him.
It never came.
The game ran incredibly smoothly. It was quite odd. There weren’t any hiccups along the way nor horror-style glitches. The music didn’t even cut off which was apparently rare accourding to your cousin.
After a while, she sighed and handed it to you. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why it’s not breaking. I’ll go make us some food.”
You continued playing while she was gone, enjoying the memories that came with the game. It was as fun as you remembered until about five minutes after she left. The music just shut off unexpectedly and, no matter what you did, it refused to come back at all. Any other sound effects worked fine though.
“So you’re just programed to break when only one person’s in the room?” you joked.
Perhaps that was a bad choice.
Unexpectedly, a loud static erupted from the console, so ear-aching that it felt like your ears began to bleed. The game took on a horrible red tint and Red appeared on the screen, a dialogue box appearing beneath his blackened form.
AM I A JOKE TO YOU?
Horrified, you immediately shut down the game and threw the cartridge as far away from you as possible. You raced at full speed into the kitchen, nearly knocking several things over along the way.
“You have got to throw that game,” you wheezed.
“What? Why?” she asked.
“There is something really fucked up with that game…” you said. “That thing with Red is absolutely not meant to happen. It felt like he was staring into my soul. You have to throw it out the moment you can. I will buy you another one but do not keep that.”
“Oh, alright,” she said, seemingly confused but nowhere as shaken as you were.
A faint static came from the living room, sending shivers down your spine.
Hobo Heart
Tears flowed down your face despite your best attempts to remain composed. “I’ve known for a while now,” you managed to say.
Your ex-boyfriend seemed shocked, though not entirely upset about your admission. “How long –“
“Since last week,” you said. “Though I’ve heard it’s been going on for considerably longer.”
He shifted his weight and took a deep breath. You recognised this behavior from the past, already hearing the words you knew were coming. The apologies and the false regret, the promises about not doing it again, and then the eventual guilt-tripping. If you heard the latter, you weren’t sure your resolve would hold.
“Goodbye,” you said firmly.
“Wait!”
You ignored the calls, making your way home at a steady place. A few people offered you concerned looks so you rubbed away the tears and took a few deep breaths.
Several months of your life had been completely wasted. You had put so much time and energy into a person who didn’t care one ounce about you.
Just great.
You turned onto your street and made your way to the house across from your own. The woman who lived there was always busy and she only came home to feed her dog before disappearing again. Thankfully, she trusted you to spend time with Bruno.
Bruno came racing over to the gate and jumped up for head scratches. He was a beautiful Afghan Hound with a dark coat and bright eyes.
“At least I know that you’ll always be by my side,” you said, running his fingers through the dog’s fur.
A tear slipped out and you quickly rubbed it away. You dug around in your bag and took out a couple treats, offering him.
A second bark brought your attention to the street.
Standing there, a small white dog with a scruffy coat stared up at you. It looked friendly enough and, after cautiously checking it out, you crouched down and gave it a treat.
“Hello,” you cooed. You gave the pup a few scratches and smiled. “How are you doing, hm? No collar? But you must have an owner because your coat is all groomed and soft. Did you get out or slip your leash?”
You looked around the streets to see if anybody. Nobody jumped out so you gave the dog another treat and brought it into the garden with Bruno to protect it from cars.
The two barked and played with little issue and you messages friends and family about the events of the day.
It was about half an hour later when the air was starting to get chilly. You stood and the small scruffy dog began barking excitedly. Its tail whipped through the air and it jumped up against the fence. A man wearing a white hoodie was standing down the street. You glanced at the dog, scooped it up and made your way to where he was.
“Excuse me,” you said. “I think that I found your dog.”
He turned to look at you and you startled slightly at his rather unusual face paint. A white skull was painted onto his face, similar to something you would see at a college convention.
He glanced down at the happy dog and sighed. “So that’s where he got to.”
“I’m sorry if you were looking for him. I took him off the street to protect him from any cars or anything.”
“It’s fine. He always shows up eventually,” the guy said. “You can just put him down. He’ll follow me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Then he turned and started walking away. You hurriedly put the dog down and it immediately bounded after him, falling into step directly beside him. They disappeared around a corner and you returned to your own house.
The day had gotten much warmer suddenly.
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masterhandss · 3 years
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Wtf, I can't believe Katarina will end up with Geordo of all people. Tbh I don't see chemistry between them. Ngl I thought she will end up with either Maria or Mary but it seems the author was just queer baiting. The author should be prepared for some hate because most of the people in the Fandom ship her with the girls.
I... I don't know what to tell you, man qwq I mean I strongly believe that Katarina will end up with Geordo, but I'm not the author so take what I say with a grain of salt??
If you don't see the chemistry between Katarina and Geordo, that's okay since the manga and anime hasn't dwelled into that territory yet. The manga has only covered 4/10 novels and the anime would cover 3-4/10 novels, and most of the stuff with Geordo is on 6 and beyond.
I'm not really sure if anything that the EN Fandom does will affect the author, we aren't the target demographic of the series and I'm not sure how much western fans affect the bluray and merch sales of the anime. From what I can tell, the JP Fandom are huge fans of Keith and Geordo anyways so for them they are being fed good by the contents of the anime and manga right now. I mean I do remember there was a few negative reactions from japanese fans when it was revealed that the girls are not capture targets in the hamefura nintendo switch game, but I don't know if it was violent enough for them to overturn that decision. We can only really tell through the contents of the next Light Novel Volume (LN11) in November if the reactions and receptions to hamefura have changed the direction of the story.
Like I keep saying, the light novels is nowhere near done so take whatever I say with a grain of salt. I like Geordo and he's clearly the ML of the series so that's why I firmly believe Katarina will end up with him, but who really knows?
I could make an post comparing Geordo vs. Maria's chances of winning the harem olympics based on the contents of the novels and all the promotional material but I won't do it here. Plus would I really need to do that? I don't want to ruin the show for other people by rubbing it in their faces who I think everyone is gonna end up with through spoilers and speculation. Hamefura is great because you can ship everyone with everyone, and in this day and age no even cares for canonicity anyways.
Also, I really hope I don't sound rude when I say this anon, but I don't know how you got the idea that Katarina could end up with Mary hdsgfjsd if you ship Katarina with Mary then that's great, beautiful and valid, but if you genuinely believed that the series is gonna end with a MaryKata endgame then I don't know what to tell you qwq. If people think that Katarina would end up with Maria as endgame then I won't blame them, I originally came into the series assuming the same.
I'm not the right person to discuss whether or not hamefura is queer baiting. To some extent I think it is, but like I said in a previous ask, it's not like the story isn't taking the girls' feelings towards Katarina seriously. Geordo sees the girls as a legit threat as a romantic rival (Keith has some doubts though lmao). The girls are still madly in love with Katarina, and we haven't gotten to a point where those feelings are budging, if it will at all. Sure, we have the power of foresight that we can use to guess how things would turn out but that's another thing. Is it queer bait because Katarina doesn't end up with a girl specifically? Even if Katarina ended up with a man, she is still a great bisexual rep in media and her endgame wouldn't invalidate that. I don't know, this is the kind of topic that I don't want to completely talk about because I know I'm gonna say something wrong kdshsjdf
Thank you for the ask, I'm sorry if this wasn't the response you were hoping for qwq
While I'm at it, I just want to make it clear that I won't be answering every single "Ewww wtf why Geordo?!" questions that are sent my way. I don't think I need to justify why I like Geordo to every single person here so please stop sending them qwq
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ohmyasmodeus · 4 years
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𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 ☼
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first of all, @smolomon​, i hope you know that i would die for you. effective now. if you want me to take a bullet for you i seriously will, thank you so much !! and thank you for your patience, i know this request has been sitting in the drafts for a hot minute, but i really wanted to make sure my writing was top notch because this is one of the best requests i’ve received thus far. i hope you love this imagine as much as i do ♡
✧・゚: *✧・゚:*    *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
♡ 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳
✧   You never believe people when they say that heaven is a place on earth, but standing with Lucifer on a deserted train platform waiting for the train home, bathed in golden light… you think you finally understand. You can’t help but laugh softly at the irony. Lucifer had visited you in the human world and spent the entire day with you, and the date couldn’t have ended in a better way.
✧   “What is it, love?” Lucifer murmurs as he pulls you close with his arms around your waist. Here, neither of you have to worry about affecting his reputation, and he showers you in affection freely. The sunset’s light illuminates his face brilliantly, falling on his strong cheekbones and making his lashes appear golden.
“I’m going to miss you...” you sigh. You gently bring your hands up to cradle his face, watching as his eyes gleam a vibrant scarlet as the light hits them.
“I’ll be back before you know it. I promised to take you to that museum this weekend, didn’t I?” The smile Lucifer gives you— the overwhelming love and all the sweet promises behind that smile make your heart ache, and he starts to sway the both of you gently as he talks. “But… I’m going to miss you too, _______.”
And you know he will. Despite the distance between the both of you, despite the dignified front that he has to put on around people, Lucifer is just as obsessed with you as you are with him. You know it and you feel it in the way his breath catches in his throat when he marvels at how gorgeous you look in the light; the way he holds you close while watching the sun set past the city’s skyline, slowly casting the both of you in brilliant crimson and golden light. There is nothing that needs to be said between the both of you. Your train rushes into the platform, and the moment is over in the blink of an eye, but Lucifer hugs you tight one last time before letting you leave. His gloved hand runs down the length of your arm as he lets you go.
You want to watch him watch your train drive by, but the wistful look he gives you as you leave is too much to leave everything simply unsaid. You find yourself rushing back to him and nearly tackling him as you fall into his arms almost desperately, looking up at him as you clutch the front of his coat to say, “Kiss me, Lucifer.”
And he kisses you without hesitation; without consideration for the people around you, without the need to hide just how in love he is with you. His hands are on your hips, pulling you closer, wanting everyone on the platform to know that he is eternally yours.
Heaven is a place on earth; any place at all with Lucifer.
♡ 𝘮𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯
✧   hey, come over [received, 6:45pm]
✧   like rn [received, 6:46pm]
✧   Mammon seems disgruntled as you pull him onto the roof of your apartment building, and you have to hold in a laugh. You know your sudden text might’ve made him expect something completely different from being hustled onto a roof while holding a small stack of tupperware boxes.
“Oi, what am I! A slave?” Mammon whines as you direct him to set the boxes down on the floor. Crossing his arms, he pouts as he watches you set the picnic cloth down with a flourish, close to the barred railings of the rooftop. “Ya can’t just call me up and expect me to be at your every damn beck and call!”
“We have a pact, so I kind of can. Now shush and eat.” You pinch his cheek with a laugh, before pulling him down to have a seat with you. It’s obvious how much he missed you and continues to miss you every moment the two of you are apart, so even with his whining, you have to show him some love and lean your head on his shoulder. He wraps an arm around your waist instinctively to keep you as close as he possibly can, even as he rolls his eyes and grumbles.
Like a painting, the pale blue sky slowly shifts to gentle hues of rose quartz and dandelion yellow, and Mammon is completely enraptured. Completely thrilled in his silence, he grins as he watches the sun sink behind the hills that frame your city. If it wasn’t for you bringing the spoon up to his lips every so often, he would’ve let his food go cold in its lonely tupperware box. You find yourself enraptured as well, enchanted by the way his eyes light up and eventually flick to gaze at you.
“Ya never get to see anything like this in the Devildom… Never thought I’d call humans lucky, but shit.” Mammon’s voice is quiet, as if speaking any louder would frighten the sunset off and make the moment disappear. “It’s beautiful.”
Your heart can’t contain itself, and you laugh softly as you lean into his side and feed him another spoonful. “Just like you.”
“That’s my line…” Mammon grumbles, but there isn’t a hint of heat behind his words. Instead, he takes off his jacket and drapes it across the both of you, settling into your warmth as the evening chill starts to set in. Eventually, you’ll manage to wiggle into his lap and talk about the deepest parts of yourselves while trying to count the stars, completely unafraid to be true; but for now, you give him a kiss and quietly watch the greatest sunset of your life with your favourite person in the world.
♡ 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯
✧   Littered with reminders of him, your car is Leviathan’s favourite place to be. On days where you manage to wrangle him out of his room, he loves following you around as you run your errands in the human world and, much like a satisfied puppy, ends up waiting in the car with his Nintendo switch. (It makes you get the urge to place a sign on the door telling everyone that your snake of a boyfriend has the air conditioning turned on and has the window cracked open.)
✧   “Hey, look!” you say, trying to catch Levi’s attention. Aside from a noncommittal murmur from the demon that lays his head on your chest while the both of you snuggle in the backseat, your comment receives pretty much no acknowledgement whatsoever. You end up having to knee Levi to get him to look. “Babe, look out the window!”
Levi sighs, and sets his switch down on his chest. He shivers slightly in pleasure when you run a hand through his hair. “The sky’s just purple.”
“Just keep watching,” you tell him as you continue stroking his hair. Shades of lilac dominate the sky, fading off into a deeper royal shade struck through with bolts of gold that scatter throughout the clouds that pass. It all reminds you of him, the amount of charming personality he hides in the comfortable obscurity of his bedroom, the amount of secrets he reveals only to you. Levi watches in quiet contemplation that swiftly turns into fascination, especially when the stars start glimmering through the pale clouds.
“Woah!” he exclaims. “That’s so unreal! You guys get to watch stuff like this every day?”
“Most people don’t bother looking away from their screens for long enough to!” With a teasing laugh, you pinch his cheek and wrap your arms around his waist to snuggle closer into him.
“H-hey! Leave me alone!”
“I didn’t say I was talking about you! Are you admitting to something?” As Levi struggles in your grasp, you bury your face in his neck to blow raspberries that have him giggling, cheeks turning red as he tries to tickle you in return. You want to do this with him every night, you want to see him blush as you tease him… You want to give him all the affection you can, cuddled up in the backseat of your car for as long as he can stay in your arms.
♡ 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯
✧   Soft grass tickles your skin and makes you smile, but what makes you smile the most is the way Satan tries to hide his blush with his book as you guide him to lay his head in your lap. The grass patch the pair of you settle into is a great change of pace from spending time trapped in the tomb-like library that Satan’s bedroom had become, and it’s all too easy to accidentally end up spending the entire day there together.
✧   “This is nice,” you hum, running your hand through Satan’s silky blond hair, ruffling it gently like the breeze ruffles the greenery that surrounds you. “I can actually breathe.”
“But at what cost…” Satan mumbles with a half-baked attempt at sounding dissatisfied. He blows away a cute bug that had found its way onto his leather bound book, which flits away, catching your eye with the way the fading sunlight catches on its gossamer wings. You fully know that Satan enjoys the setting as much as you do, and you kiss his forehead as you chuckle.
The time you spend with him is wonderful in its tranquility. The both of you understand each other, and understand that not all time needs to be spent talking. You revel in the quiet moments where his unspoken love washes over you with the way he holds your hand, or gazes at you quietly with a loving softness before returning to what he had been doing before. You love the way he loves you. You love the way he blushes when you show him any kind of affection, as if unused to the vulnerability of receiving genuine outspoken love.
The gilded light falls perfectly on Satan’s face, making his pale lashes look almost delicate while the sun sets before you. The sun slowly dips behind the rolling hills, and Satan gasps softly as he watches the shades of red set the sky ablaze behind sparse mist-like clouds.
“I’ve read about plenty of sunsets… but there are no words in any language that could capture something like this.” Satan’s voice is full of an innocent kind of wonder as he speaks, one that you have rarely heard him express. The many kinds of happiness that Satan expresses daily, though seemingly real, are all nuanced masks that the cynical demon skilfully applies— but the adorable crinkles under his eyes and the shamelessly wide grin makes it obvious that this is genuine happiness. He notices your silence and reaches a hand up to caress your cheek. “What are you thinking about, ______?”
“Just how I want to be like this forever with you.” You lean into his touch and lean down to kiss him with a radiant smile that matches his.
Satan manages to laugh softly this time, relaxing into the soft displays of affection with you, though his faint blush refuses to fade. “I think I’d like that.”
♡ 𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘶𝘴
✧   Dates in the human world aren’t dates if they don’t include having dessert at the most stylish bistros in the city. Not to Asmodeus, at least, and you can understand. They might be expensive at times, but these cafes offer the best food for the both of you to feed each other over the table, and are perfect for a million different photo opportunities that help Asmodeus let everyone who follows him know that his life is so much better than theirs.
✧   Which is why you’re surprised to notice that not once has Asmo demanded your help in taking photos after the sun had begun to set. Through the wide windows of the bistro that you sit beside, the sunlight filters through in a mix of pale golds and pinks. It’s the perfect opportunity for yet another set of pictures, but Asmo just sits happily, chattering on and asking you questions about yourself while he sips his milkshake.
“But it’s so tacky, isn’t it! Like, stop involving yourself in drama and get a life!” Asmodeus huffs, and you could laugh at his hypocrisy.
“Ugh, you’re so cute.”
“I know.” Asmo winks and slides his hand over the one you rest on the table to gently hold it, resting his chin on his free hand as he gazes at the way the sunlight paints your skin in gorgeous crystalline shades. His amber eyes are akin to those of churchgoers that gaze up at stained glass depictions of the saints in their adoration. It makes you blush, the way he smiles at you like you are his entire world, and quietly takes in your beauty.
You laugh bashfully. “You feeling okay? You haven’t asked me to take pictures of you at all today.”
“We have all of eternity to keep taking pictures of me. I just wanted to focus on you today, ______.” Asmo’s voice softens as he says that, and he takes your hand to kiss your knuckles with complete devotion. “You’re beautiful.”
“Ah… you really think so?”
“I’ve never seen a sunset before, but as stunning as it is, it’s still nothing compared to you, love.” Asmo’s smile is as gentle as the warmth the sunlight makes you feel as it falls upon your skin, and the love he showers you with is so familiar in its all-encompassing glow. Despite his sin, you never have to fear not being enough for him. He reminds you of it in so many ways every single day, and it makes you blush and return his gentle smile. “I can’t believe you’re mine.”
You can’t believe it either, and it makes you laugh quietly as you pull him by the collar into a sweet kiss over the cafe table, tasting the sugary sweet strawberry milkshake on his lips. It’s so him, and every little thing about Asmo just makes you crazier for him.
♡ 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘻𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘣
✧   The neon lights of the carnival are blinding, the laughter from having so much fun around your favourite person in the world making your stomach hurt, but you simply can’t stop. Especially not when Beelzebub carries you on his shoulders while running around the place and through the funhouses with childish glee. Your hands tangle themselves in his hair as you giggle and kiss his head, watching the sun slowly sink from the top of the world.
✧   Beel is trying to fix your hair at the end of it, sticking his tongue out in concentration while the both of you stand on the boardwalk, cooled by the seaside wind. It makes you giggle at him even more as you hold the cotton candy that you had bought to share.
“Where does your parting go again?” Beel mutters. “Left or right?”
“It’s fine, baby,” you chuckle, and tiptoe to kiss the tip of his tongue, resting your hand on his chest. It makes him give you a goofy smile around his tongue before he pulls it back in. You swear you feel your heart melt. “But thanks for trying.”
Under your hand, you feel Beel’s heart still wildly beating, and you’re not quite sure if it’s from the adrenaline of winning so many games and riding the rollercoasters, or if it’s from something else. You know that your heart is definitely still racing, but mostly because of the proximity between the both of you. The sun is setting past the horizon at this point, and you see it clearly slip halfway below the waves. The waves almost bleed crimson with the sky, and gold scatters across the waves as they crest over the horizon.
“______…” Beel���s voice is quiet in its awe. You feel his hand hold yours as he watches.
“Right?” You say, leaning into him. “It’s beautiful.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it.” He’s almost too distracted by the sight to take a nibble of the cotton candy, but of course he does, and you smile at his courtesy. He always saves some of his food to share with you no matter how hungry he can be. “It’s just like you… You’re so different from anyone I’ve ever met before. Special. And you’re really beautiful, too.”
“Even with my hair like this?” You can’t help but giggle some more. He always does this to you, makes you feel a lightness and a warmth that you’ve never felt before around anyone else.
Beel kisses your head, and then leans down to kiss you, smiling against your lips. You feel the sticky sugar of the cotton candy on his lips, and you can’t stop yourself from smiling into the kiss too.
“Even with your hair. No matter what you look like, I want to be yours.”
♡ 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘳
✧   You don’t know exactly what makes Belphegor visit you so much, considering the fact that he does the same thing in the human world that he does in the Devildom— sleep so much that he hardly pays attention to you.
✧   Complaining is easy, but you know that he can’t help it. Belphie tries to stay awake and do fun things with you when he can, and when he can’t, he’s always pulling you into bed so he can cuddle up with you and still dote on you in his own quiet way. You like that about him.
Belphie’s silky hair reflects the light that streams in through the windows, the faint orange and lilac hues dancing across him and casting shadows on the sheets, and you can’t help but press the softest kiss to his forehead.
“Wake up, Belphie,” you whisper. “Dinnertime.”
“Mm.” He shifts in the sheets and reluctantly opens his eyes with slow, sleepy blinks that make you want to shower him in all your love. Giving you a squeeze, he sighs and buries his face in your neck to hide from the light. With a bit of coaxing, you get him to sit up in bed with you, the both of you still swaddled in the comfortable covers as you lean into each other drowsily. Even in his sleepy state, you’re irresistible to Belphie. His hands wander slowly across your skin as he pulls you into him, the both of you quietly watching through the window as the sky turns brilliant shades of violet, the sun setting behind the buildings in the distance.
Belphie moves languidly. He rests his chin on your shoulder while mumbling, “Would you look at that.”
“It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” you sigh. “You’d get to see stuff like this more often if we actually went out when you visit.”
“Mm, but why would I go out if I could keep you all to myself here in bed?” Belphie’s voice is accompanied by his chuckling, and you can’t help but blush and nudge him with your elbow.
“You sound so gross.”
“You love it. You love me.” Belphie laughs and finds your hand to hold underneath the covers, and he holds you as close as he possibly can, nuzzling his face into your neck once more. You feel him leave the softest kisses on your skin as he intertwines your fingers in his. “...I love you, ______.”
Complaining is easy, until you’re reminded of moments like these with him, where life is simply too perfect to be real.
✧・゚: *✧・゚:*    *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
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monkey-network · 3 years
Text
Good Stuff: Best of 2020
I don’t need to say much about how this year sucked. What matters is that if you’re reading this, congrats because you made it through and you’ll know that animation in 2020 has certainly made its marks as much this year as it did the last. Effort was still made to provide some of the best entertainment imaginable, and I’m here to provide the TOP TEN BEST entertainment I’ve experienced and loved this year. With that said, let’s get to it…
10. Sonic Rebuilt
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I’ll admit, I don’t like the Sonic Movie. It was not a good film to me & while I’m holding out for the sequel, I genuinely never want to see it again. But like Biden to Trump, the people behind Shrek Retold gave us a reanimated telling of the Sonic 1996 OVA. Like Shrek Retold, it offers a compelling new light to the OVA and while the original is much cleaner, and it’s not the most hype thing to come from Sonic overall, the imaginative cauldron of artists that put into this makes it far more rewatchable. 
9. Central Park
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I knew after watching Bob’s Burgers that creator Loren Bouchard would eventually make a musical cartoon and I’m glad I was right. Central Park is a first for me where it’s an animated musical that isn’t a film or only occasional like Steven Universe or Adventure Time and while it isn’t the best plotwise, the numbers themselves were heartfelt and sometimes catchy. There’s a struggle in being episodic and serialized, and it’s a slow burn to connect with the characters, but this was admirable in its experimentation and I’m interested in the direction season two will go.
8. Interspecies Reviewers
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The first horny anime I can safely say was never an off-putting or one-note gag fest; that’s gotta count for something. The momentum of this series never truly dies and even when there were a couple times where I just wasn’t feeling it, they pull me back with something ten-fold entertaining. Fresh variety is what I can describe this series at its best, it knew how to keep things going and growing even when it’s otherwise formulaic. All the while, this series never felt tasteless; it really felt structured and gallantly clear-minded in what it wants to show. Plus, it has Crimveal who next to Steven Universe is the best boy of 2020. Of course this show ain’t for everyone but my god, it does so much right for me upon most ecchi stuff.
7. Primal
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I wanna believe this was what Genndy Tartakovsky always wanted to make after Samurai Jack ended (well, the 2nd time). This show really exhibits his many techniques in direction, like you can tell this is his work if you’ve seen his other shows. Primal always feels like the culmination of all that’s he towards as a man of animation. Even with the roars and the harsh sounds of violence, this is the only cartoon that never says anything but conveys everything so vibrantly. This admittedly isn’t my favorite piece from Genndy, but it definitely made it’s way to the top three.
6. Team Fabulous 2 Reanimated/Suponjibobu Anime
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We got a tie here because these I especially felt brought people together. Suponjibobu brought people together to celebrate Spongebob Squarepants like never before, making it as legendary this year as Mr. Krabs Overdoses on Ketamine. A beginning to a series long in the making and can hopefully go for more as animation on Youtube has certainly delivered. 
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The Team Fabulous 2 Collab was where a community came together to honor the creator to one of the most recognized fanworks for a game that has stood the test of time. Like Sonic Rebuilt, it’ll never replace the original but god damn it’s like the stars aligned, especially after we were dealt with another loss this year, where we could appreciate TF2 for the culturally powerful game that it is.
5. Crash Bandicoot, It’s About Time
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I’ll say again but this game feels like a dream. A good, fresh looking, fun to play Crash Bandicoot game that feels like the gamiest game this year after all the discourse surrounding Last of Us 2 and plenty other shit surrounding the game industry, Nintendo included. Like, I just gotta appreciate this. It’s by no means the greatest Crash game, the completion journey is horrifying, but my god it was a great game to jump into again and again. It feels like a testament to what Crash can be in the modern era and I certainly want more of it. Bugsnax is objectively game of the year if not Hades, but Crash 4 is my personal GOTY. 
4. Glitch Techs
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It’s the gamer equivalent to Men in Black, that’s enough of a seller. From the people behind Fanboy & Chum Chum, it’s genius well-animated, realized, and not immediately dated. It’s a mind-boggling crime Nickelodeon isn’t treating this show better because it deserves recognition as an innovative idea. It does a lot right and it’s a worthwhile action series up there with Rise of the TMNT that’s worth the risk to give it more of an audience as opposed to just thinking it’ll be the next Spongebob. If it’s future is anything, I enjoyed this series and there’s nothing like it.
3. Wolfwalkers
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This was an animated film with the most personality to me in a long while, with the most memorable look to it, compelling leads, and animation that really made its mark in the moments that mattered. I’ll agree with other reviewers that, outside Mebh who is the greatest and besterest girl of 2020, it's a simple story but it’s effectively simple. Beside the 3rd act which was noticeably long, the moments flow one after another fluently and you really get the struggle between two immediate friends that are shackled with responsibilities their parents didn’t want to put on them. Like Netflix’s Klaus, it all comes together like a beautifully seasonal tapestry. Worth watching and supporting is the best I can tell you for this film.
2. Elinor Wonders Why
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This is my most personal of personal choice for the list; like True and the Rainbow Kingdom, it’s the one that helped pick me up after being in a slump for most of this year. I’ve always had an interest in understanding the fundamentals of nature, and this show encourages thinking about the wonders of science, where something as simple as a feather can make you wonder of its many shapes, abilities, and functionality. It appealed to me in the best way that it does more than represents your existence but deep down represents why you are the way you are with your interests and the flexibility of your outlook. I wish it was number one but it did enough to make the top of this list.
1. Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken
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I mean what else could be number one? This is the most ‘anime’ anime I have ever seen. The story, characters, and world building are at their most realized. I can’t imagine anyone other than Science Saru, with the based Yuasa, animating this with the style it has. Every episode is an engaging puzzle to every 4th episode where it all culminates with the in-universe final product of our Eizouken trio. It’s so compellingly meta it hurts as I could gush about every single detail that went into this series both in universe and the real behind the scenes. But what makes this the greatest is how nothing feels contrived, everything in this anime exists for something and the obstacles our characters face are things you’d definitely face in you were in there shoes. It’s energy is what really carried me through this year and I can safely say this is one of my all time favorites. And it really says don’t give up believing and working for better things to come, because if art like this can be made nearly flawlessly, it’s always worth carrying on to see something just as great if not greater. That’s why this is a masterpiece to me...
Then again...
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mashounen2003 · 3 years
Text
Sonic opinions - 1
Honestly, I think it's time for me to give closure to the “Sonic fan phase” of my life. I’ll keep playing the games if they pique my interest, but in terms of the stories they tell and how their characters are portrayed, these games no longer appeal to me. The comic currently published by IDW isn’t complete garbage nor does it have so much drama and controversy surrounding it, in addition to having Whisper and Tangle, two characters I really like at least on a conceptual level, but the story and characterizations are leaving me deeply disappointed and sometimes fall even lower than the recent games written by Pontac & Graff, namely with regard to the characterization of Sonic himself.
The continuity of the TV series Sonic SatAM and the comics published by Archie was always the branch of the franchise that truly caught my attention and is my main source of inspiration for writing stories; in fact, SatAM was the way I found out about Sonic and became a fan in the first place. But this “North-American continuity” is already as dead as the Mega Man Legends saga, and it looks like the vast majority want to forget it as if each and every one of its elements and ideas inherently had just been a massive nightmare regardless of its execution by the writers. At best, the fandom currently sees this branch of Sonic as some silly “edgy” attempt to take the franchise seriously, something that may have been laudable but was always foolish and doomed to fail and is such a risky gamble that it's not worth trying again.
I'm also getting fed up with the Sonic fandom in general, despite sharing a lot of opinions with some individual fans. Yes, I know there are already many who have declared this for the most varied reasons, be it the “shipp wars”, something in Sonic or even the franchise as a whole suddenly becoming “cringe” due to a whim of a majority portion of the fandom, or the way Sonic reuses "hackneyed" tropes in an alleged demonstration of lack of originality; however, when someone gives Sonic the middle finger for this kind of reasons, they usually do it hypocritically.
No, what got me tired of the Sonic fandom is the way everyone becomes obsessed with picking one branch of the franchise, calling it "the true Sonic", claiming this is the only pure and genuine incarnation of the “soul of Sonic” (if there really is such a thing), marking as “foreigner” every character, concept or element from any other branch of the franchise, and demanding from the fans of those other branches to get on their knees and be thankful that the "True Fans (TM)" even allow them to stay in the fandom. Note that I’m not accusing fans of only one specific portion of the franchise: there are such people among fans of the videogames’ continuity, @skull001 being probably the worst offender, but there’s also that kind of people among the SatAM and Archie-Sonic fans, such as the “nostalgic” delusional pissbabies, blatantly homophobic and conservative, who are now supporting Twitter hashtags like “Rally4Sally” and “Udon4Sonic”. You may think this is actually something typical of all fandoms, but it’s not: this is truly something unique to the Sonic fandom; I don't see huge hordes of Mega Man fans bullying the Legends fandom or making fun of them for the way their favourite saga ended two decades ago; even in the Dragon Ball fandom, despite constant discussions about what is canon and what is not, there’s some kind of tacit consensus that GT and Super are two offshoots of the franchise, equally valid although not coexisting in one same fictional universe (although Shūeisha itself seems to officially support this view, which certainly helps prevent some discourse), while the only part of Dragon Ball universally despised (and rightly so) is Dragon Ball Evolution.
I'm sorry if this hurts some people’s sensibilities, but if I decide to write a story with any given set of characters, elements, concepts, setting, internal rules and whatnot, the only thing in my mind will be to write a mildly decent story. I'm not here to “honour” -let alone honour at all costs- some supposed legacy and traditions that some people say should be upheld by each and every Sonic content creator. And let’s be brutally frank: we’re talking about a franchise that started as platformer 16-bit videogames whose sole purpose was to show SEGA’s consoles were better and handled speed better than Nintendo's; SEGA never really intended to tell a story or portray its characters consistently, only later did the cast begin to receive more defined personalities and the games start telling stories because SEGA suddenly saw this would make them sell more, and even that varied wildly according to whatever seemed more convenient at the time; not to mention SEGA's unique habit of entering vicious cycles of failure and over-correction, where Sonic Team makes a few mistakes in a game that did everything else more or less well, SEGA throws away the entire game along with the foundations on which it was built and the story that was told by that game, Sonic Team makes a new game with absolutely everything replaced and makes mistakes again but those mistakes are different from those of the previous game, the process is repeated ad nauseam and no-one is ever satisfied with anything. A few Sonic fans trying to impose on every other fan a supposed single Sonic canon with some kind of official approval seal by SEGA & Sonic Team is something quite backward, because that single official canon almost never really existed, and if it does exist, it makes no sense and is internally inconsistent, dependent on the creation of new games, and very likely to be retconned, overwritten and modified at any time.
There are other "bad habits" of the Sonic fandom that have led me to break ties with them. One of them is the way many fans take one trait of a character, be it simply one of many facets of their personality or even a physical trait, and turn that into the entire personality of the character; many of those same fans are also massive hypocrites, complaining (albeit rightfully) about how SEGA oversimplifies Shadow into either “Sasuke the Hedgehog” or “Vegeta the Hedgehog”, but then they do the same as SEGA. One of the cases in which this is most evident is when they make Sonic's personality boil down to "gotta go fast" and "be a free spirit"; based on that, they denounce that Sonic saying "I would slow down for you" to one of his closest friends (even if Sonic and Sally weren’t a couple when he said that and/or you don’t support that shipp, it can be said she was at least one of his closest friends in the SatAM-Archie continuity) contradicts the very essence of the character, or they do something even worse: saying that "being a free spirit" means being away from your friends and not having "ties" (like... literal ties, made with ropes, the ones that are actually a bad thing) with anything or anyone. It's like when Goku is portrayed by Dragon Ball fans as far more insensitive than the actual way Akira Toriyama had conceived him and always wrote and portrayed him in his official work.
There are also the plainly disturbing ideas many fans seem to have about personal relationships, judging by the opinions they give about the relationships of Sonic and the rest of the cast. In addition to making everything revolve around vaguely defined words and concepts they throw right and left almost without thinking about their actual meaning, they also seem to believe that having friends and caring for them, or any kind of responsibility no matter what kind it is, is nothing but a drag, like rat-s*** stopping you on your way to "freedom" (this is just amazing: they say the entire Western canon is edgy and the British comic’s Sonic is a jerk, but if you think about this for a bit, these fans’ version of Sonic turns out to be even edgier and more of a jerk than Shadow in his spin-off videogame); in the case of Archie-Sonic, there are all the abuse apologists supporting Scourge and Fiona being a couple, even though you don’t need any “meta” analysis to see he’s (at the very least) verbally abusive towards her and had attracted her by posing as someone else in the first place.
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neerasrealm · 4 years
Text
POV: Jeff the killer kidnapped you and is venting to you about his internalized homophobia
I COULDN’T THINK OF AN ACTUAL TITLE SO I WENT WITH THAT
Anyway hi this is a jeffxben fic told from jeff’s POV. a little bit angsty but mostly just cuddles and comfort. and one-liners. lots of one-liners. The ending is a lil messy and idk man I didn’t know how to finish the fic so- ignore that
Based on one of these story starters.
Word count: 1907
There are three things you need to know before you read this.
One; hi, I'm Jeff. Nice to meet ya.
Two; I killed my parents three and a half years ago. I know that's a lot to dump on you immediately but it'll be important later.
And three….I'm...gay. There. I said it. I like guys. I'm attracted to men. I want to kiss guys. Or specifically- one guy. 
He has blonde hair, dark skin and bright blue eyes. And also pointed ears. He's a ghost, specifically one that's latched onto a Nintendo 3DS and a cartridge of Majora's Mask 3D. He looks like Link- but I'm not attracted to Link. Link is a twink and that's not my style. 
His name is Ben and Ben? Ben is a bro. He's my bro. He's everyone's bro- he has that natural charisma that makes everyone like him. He's friendly, polite, funny and laid-back. He's always down to hang out with you or invite you into his room to play videogames. Everyone likes Ben. But me? I love Ben. As in- love love him. I want to kiss his goofy face. His lips probably taste like cheetos and beef jerky. Gross. I hate how much I think about how his lips would taste. 
So now you're probably thinking "hey Jeff, why are you just vomiting your gay thoughts on me? Go tell him you love him."
But There's A Problem.
My parents- the dead ones- were really homophobic. Being gay just wasn't something you did. And it still feels wrong to me- which is weird considering the fact that my new adoptive parents are two gay men and my foster siblings are mostly homosexuals. But it still feels wrong. No matter how much I'm exposed to it I still feel that slight guilt whenever I catch myself admiring Ben while he trash talks someone, and I want to punch myself whenever I wake up from a dream about cuddling him. 
So that brings me to this situation. 
Picture this, okay? I'm sitting on his bed with a controller in my hand. We're playing smash bros and having a great time. I'm having...not a good day. You remember the dead parents thing? The trauma I mentioned? Yeah that's been haunting me all fucking day and I'm not feeling good. At all. And of course I'm not gonna tell anybody about it, because that means I have to address the problem. And I never, ever, address problems. Ever. They'll fester in me till the day I die. Like maggots.
That's gross I apologise.
But- yeah. I'm not feeling good and I'm hiding this fact from Ben because he cheers me up way better when he doesn't know I'm sad. 
"Hah! Gotcha!" 
"Shit-!" I swear as my character (king k rool, in case you wondering) flies off the stage. Ben laughs and woops beside me in victory. I shoot him a glare.
"Man you suck at this game." He laughs.
"I don't suck." I spit back. "You're just really good."
"Suuure you are." The smug look he gives me makes me wanna punch him. My hand curls into a fist in my lap. I grunt at him in response. He laughs and nudges me. "Hey it's alright Jeffy," I hate that nickname with the burning passion of a thousand suns. "You'll learn how to play soon enough."
"Lay off, man." I mutter back. I drop the controller and he snickers.
"Aww c'mon don't tell me you're rage quitting on me."
"Shut up dude just-" I shoot him an agitated look. "Just shut your stupid mouth okay?"
His smile drops. "Hey, you okay man?" Shit. He sounds worried.
"I'm fine." I grunt back. He puts his hand on my shoulder and squeezes it. "Get off."
The hand withdraws. I hear him shift on the bed next to me. "Hey, dude-" he frowns. "Are you feeling alright today? Do you- need to talk or chill or…?"
I glare at Ben. He's being nothing but supportive and kind and what am I doing? Being an ass. "No I don't need to fucking chill." I growl at him. "I'm fine, alright? Just fine."
"Alright…" it's quiet for a bit while Ben turns off the game. Eventually he speaks again. "You wanna watch a movie or something? I'm tired so…"
This is a trick. He's tricking me into taking care of my mental health. Fuck you Ben, I'll be as mentally ill as I want. 
‘’I’m gonna go to my room.’’ I stand up and immediately get YANKED back onto the bed by my hood. Ben’s noodle arms wrap around my waist and hold me tight. ‘’Dude-!’’ this is getting a little tOO HOMO-EROTIC, BENNY BOY.
‘’Stay.’’ he murmurs. ‘’I wanna keep an eye on you.’’
‘’Why?’’ I snarl. ‘’Because I’m a stupid kid that can’t look after himself?! Huh?!’’
Ben flinches. ‘’Jeff-’’ he murmurs. ‘’It’s not that I don’t trust you it’s because I know that you need the company right now.’’ he frowns. ‘’Just- lemme keep an eye on you, alright…?’’
Fuck.
Fuck.
fuuuuUUUUUCK.
Why does he CARE SO MUCH. I HATE IT. I’m gonna slam my head into a wall. Gimme a minute.
Okay wall slamming accomplished. Back to my predicament. 
‘’Fine.’’ I grunt. He (unfortunately) lets go of me. It’s silent. And uncomfortable. I pick at my fingers. He tilts his head at me.
‘’So- anything you wanna do?’’
I wanna hug you and kiss you and tell you I love you please Ben I’m gay and homophobic at the same time. ‘’Not really.’’
Ben puts a hand on my shoulder and scoots closer. He rests his hand on my other shoulder and...oh god I can fucking smell his hair from here- that’s creepy. Why am I creepy. Actually don’t answer that one. He looks up at me, bright blue eyes shining with kindness. ‘’You wanna talk about it…?’’ he asks gently. Normally I wouldn’t talk about my problems. Ever. But Ben is giving me puppy dog eyes.
‘’...I’m just thinking about mom and dad.’’ I mumble. He nods. ‘’They- treated me like shit. And I keep thinking about the shit they’d say to me-’’ I look down at him. He nods encouragingly. ‘’It’s like...they fucking hated me for all the shit I did- and now I’m here and people are understanding? And Slender- is actually trying to learn why I’m like this? Like- diagnosing me and shit to try and help…’’ I frown. ‘’And I’m just thinking like- if they’d sent me to a therapist would it be different? If I’d just gotten diagnosed or something-’’ I shake my head. ‘’I dunno man…’’
He sits up a bit. He hugs me, pulling me against him. My face goes fucking red. ‘’Maybe things would’ve…’’ he murmurs. ‘’But we can’t change the past...there’s no magic ocarina to take us back in time unfortunately.’’ of course he made a zelda reference. Of course. ‘’We just gotta accept what we got now,’’ he smiles. ‘’And we got each other, right? That’s something to be happy about, isn’t it?’’
Oh god Jeff don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. Not here. Not in front of the man you love. 
And you’re crying. Good job Jeff.
I’m not a loud crier. But I am a gross crier. I get all snotty and stuttery and can’t get my voice out properly. Tears prick at the corners of my eyes and silently roll down my gross scarred face. Ben reaches over and brushes them off with cold fingers. He feels cold as he hugs me but I don’t care. I wrap an arm around him and tug him closer. I can feel his breath on my neck as he gently shushes me. He sounds so caring, so...loving. Like a parent should treat their mentally ill kid. 
‘’B-ben-’’ I stammer out. He’s rubbing circles in my back. ‘’I lo-’’ wait what am I saying. ‘’I l-love-’’ WAIT HOLD ON- ‘’I love you…’’
SHIT
FUCK
NO
WAIT-
He hugs me tight and I shiver in the coldness of his body. ‘’I love you too…’’ his voice is soft and gentle. I believe him. I believe that he loves me. Genuinely- like I actually matter to him. He’d miss me if I was gone. And that- that’s a lot. I’ve spent my whole life feeling like it wouldn’t matter if I disappeared off the face of the earth. You wouldn’t care, my parents wouldn’t have cared. But Ben? Ben cares…
Which is why I proceed to squeeze the life (or lack thereof) out of him and sob into his shoulder. He holds me tight until I’ve (kinda) calmed down. He pulls away and tilts my head up to look at him. As gentle and as loving as I’d dreamed him, he wipes tears out of my eyes. I sob horsley and stare at him. He cups my face in his cold hands and smiles down at me.
‘’There you go…’’ he murmurs. ‘’See? I knew you just needed to get it out.’’ he smiles at me. I just- told him I love him. And he’s not making a big deal of it. That’s good, right?? That means he accepts me- right?
Right...yeah. Yeah, Ben accepts me. Ben doesn’t judge. 
‘’Yeah…’’ I gulp and look away from him awkwardly. ‘’Hey uh- do you wanna-’’ I fiddle with my hands again. ‘’Do you wanna...watch a movie or something? Together.’’
He nods and smiles. ‘’I’d love to.’’
And so- we end up watching not one, not two, but three movies, late into the night. And the entire time he’s curled up in my lap, comfy as can be. As the credits on our last movie roll, he looks up at me.
‘’Hey Jeff?’’
‘’Yeah?’’
‘’I love you.’’
My face goes bright fucking red. I don’t need to see it, I can feel it. I bury my face in my hands out of embarrassment. I hear him laugh at me like the bastard he is. I shoot him a glare from in between my fingers. I want to say it. I really do. I want to tell him I love him back but- it’s- it’s hard. He reaches up and pulls one of my hands away, letting him see me.
‘’You don’t have to say it back. It’s okay. I know.’’ He hugs my waist and rests his head against my chest. ‘’I can wait...until you’re ready.’’
It’s at this point I start crying. Again. 
Ben shushes me gently and runs his hand through my hair. And...as I looked down at him- it finally clicked. I don’t have to put the shield up- not around him. Ben is different. Ben...Ben is good.
Yeah.
Ben is good.
I guess...the reason why I’m telling you this- well...not telling, I guess- writing. The reason why I’m writing this is because...I feel like it’s something important. I need to remember it because...it’s a step. A step in me learning to accept myself. It sounds corny yeah but- fuck off okay? I’m full of trauma and insecurities. I’m allowed be a little sappy.
I don’t know who’ll end up reading this- I mean I’m literally scribbling it into a notebook I found in his drawer. There’s only two people who I really want this to be seen by. Ben, because he deserves to know how much he’s affected and helped me, and two...my brother. Though I doubt he’d ever find this- heh- 
I...love Ben. And that’s okay. At least- to me, I think it is.
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diloph · 3 years
Note
I recall Adam Malkovich being an Other M character. I take it you don't like him or Other M?
Oh boy, isn’t that a can of worms?
Yeah, having played Other M all the way through more than once, the shortcomings of the game are pretty much on display from the get-go. Lackluster voice-acting, confusing and sometimes nonsensical plot-points as well as baffling story structure; its only saving grace is its gameplay and even then, I’d only really enjoyed Samus’ mobility and physical ability to grapple/finish opponents.
Of note, the characterization of Samus is all over the place. As I’m going through the E-Manga right now and have seen other characters with similar, I’m not adverse to Samus having some form of PTSD from her traumatic backstory it’s just that it’s done in such a piss-poor manner that it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
The Ridley confrontation is nonsensical, considering that she’s reduced him to a bloody smear several times over by now. On a ship where everything from Zebes seems to have been cloned (including the Metroids and an android emulating Mother Brain) Samus wasn’t even expecting him to appear in any capacity whatsoever?
I can understand her shock, fear and even hesitance to re-engage, but it’s never stopped her before; why did Meta Ridley not provoke the same reaction aboard the Orpheon, according to canon his first resurrection proper? Or to play into post-Other M events, such as Ridley’s return in Super/Proteus Ridley? Ridley-X?
Why does this appearance of Ridley reduce her to a frozen state?
Spoilers for when I get to it, but the E-Manga does this far better. That’s not to say that perhaps it goes too far as well, I’ve yet to have a good hard think about it, but the execution is far better than what happens in Other M and matches what had happened in the volume by that point. Samus’ life is hardship and suffering and it all comes to a head in those particular scenes.
But that confrontation in Other M is just the start of the odd decisions made that reduce Samus from the incredibly capable woman she’d been portrayed as up to that point, into a naive, shrinking character with nothing resembling her drive or will.
She becomes unable to make even the most minor decisions, especially if they fly in the face of common sense (a reoccurring theme with characters I dislike in “serious” works, as you might have noticed, so having one I like suddenly doing that almost seems like a challenge to get me to dislike them).
I’m supposed to believe that this woman left the Federation to become an independent bounty hunter? It extends beyond her character to even her design; she loses a foot and two inches of height so that she’s shorter than all these guys, all of her established muscle and tone evaporates and high-heels appear on the Zero Suit that, while skintight, was deliberately designed to NOT have them.
And, of course, her general (borderline suicidal) deference to Adam.
It’s so bad that I’ve genuinely come to believe that this version of Samus is a GF clone that was meant to act out her own Shadow Moses simulation, like Raiden did in MGS2, only for her to go rogue and save the day regardless.
As a matter of fact, the whole game feels like a bad attempt to emulate a Metal Gear game, with its rumination and navel gazing, but lacks the talent or focus to actually discuss the topics it wants to.
It’s badly done and what’s worse is, even in Metal Gear’s most nonsensical or badly written moments, they’re at least funny or tragic and Other M is neither.
Which brings me to Adam Malkovich.
Oh, Adam, Adam, Adam.
What the fuck am I meant to see in you? Samus’ dialogue tells us one thing, the actions, visual direction, the way in which he addresses Samus, orders her, controls her and ignores her tells us another.
We’re expected to root for this guy. To agree with Samus’ assessment of him. But all it does is further that idea that Samus is, in fact, an idiot who needs people more capable than her, to do everything for her.
Simply put, Samus, when not doing everything in her power to remember the Baby (another botched take on what was fondly remembered, the bond between her and the infant Metroid has now forever been tainted, even with Samus Returns’ efforts to save that whole thing) talks about Adam, how wonderful this commanding officer is, how patient and kind and caring and-
Yeah, no, he’s a dick and he acts like he can’t stand Samus’ very presence.
Without even going into the hated authorization mechanic, he never once looks at her with anything resembling warmth in his face; you could put that down to the models looking uncannily robotic to begin with, but Anthony Higgs seems to be the most expressive and can do... emotion. Even in dialogue and his VA’s recorded lines, there are no smiles, no change in inflection or in-jokes.
He comes off not as an aloof CO, but somebody who dislikes being in the same room as Samus herself.
And the big part is, for all Other M draws from previous canon and the E-Manga, now that I’ve read further ahead, guess what? Adam is a completely likable human being in it.
By that, I mean he’s an average filler manga character and not a raging asshole; he’s ranked higher than Samus, but is a bit accommodating towards her situation when they meet and later they do seem to have struck up something similar to the relationship stated in Other M.
He jokes with her, smiles, when she goes independent he goes out of his way to help her, she’s quick to remind him of her boundaries and his lack of control over her which he quickly agrees with. Samus and Adam have a much healthier working relationship there and the one in Other M is meant to reflect it? Rubbish.
In short, from what I’ve gathered, Other M was an attempt to canonize or at least further develop the E-Manga and completely shot itself in the foot by contradicting the E-Manga, prior Metroid canon, Samus’ character and archetype and ultimately, itself.
But hey, looking at it with the benefit of hindsight, at least we got a game to put up there with Hotel Mario and the CDI Zeldas that rounds out the embarrassing meme trifecta of Nintendo’s Big Three.
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