#which isn't to say that's BAD; it's really good i get attached to my party of five ocs really fast | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

zoobus · 2 years

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@dtwoh2

This ended up being super long so I decided not to harass OP's replies

(this is about my opinion that Elliot the billionaire from Breaking Bad S1E5 "Grey Matter" was not a generous, kindly rich friend offering Walt a way out with no strings attached)

First, let me say this: I know most people don't notice or care about fashion but BrBa actually did put notable effort in their costume design and it's because characters like Skyler are consistently well-dressed that made this point so glaring

When she's hosting, when she goes to the office, hell even her house robes are sophisticated, put together fits - I'm not sure how she affords those sumptuous silk kimonos she's always wearing but it hammers home Skye as an appearance-minded person, a woman who knows how to dress. Even with the shit camera quality, you can tell her hot pink baby shower dress was made for her.

And yet.

Walt and Skye go to that party in complementing loud, harsh, ugly blues for what they learn is a beige party - the literal exact opposite of blue.

Now, it'd be one thing if they'd known and worn beige outfits that were shabby in comparison and Walt got in his feelings about it. Or if they'd truly "missed the memo" as Walt snarks and come in normal-wear that was out of dress code - yep could see Walt assuming it was intentional and throwing a fit.

But this poor couple attending a billionaire's party for some reason thought they should wear gaudy blue, with Skye's dress in particular highlighting exactly how cheap it is. It's almost as if they were under the impression they had to wear a color a domesticated adult would be unlikely to already own and rarely looks good on a budget, doubly so if you're 8 months pregnant. Skye would NEVER wear that shiny ass prom dress with the ruched center seam, scratchy 100% polyester raschel lace shawl, and sequined evening bag in public unless she thought it was her only choice. She never wears anything like this again, not even in the same season. The only rational explanation is someone lied to them. The more I explain this, the more I realize why most people missed it.

Now for the less special interest type reasons:

Walt asks (then later confirms) the invite said "no gifts." You might say oh, maybe Elliot was trying to spare Walt's pride but if so, why make a point of sharing it like he did? Why even invite your broke prideful friend to this kind of party, like you can't think of any other way to meet, chat, and ask if he'll work for you?

Additionally, how odd that Walt's was the only invite that didn't say this was a beige party.

Really can't downplay how hard it is to swallow they forgot to tell the Whites not to show up in clown uniforms.

Elliot's loudly showing off his gifts, with the last being an autographed Eric Clapton Stratocaster® which on the low end today is a $2000 electric guitar, but can go to the tens of thousands. Then he spots his friend's meager, teensy little thing, smaller than his hand and LITERALLY POINTS WALT OUT so everyone knows for damn sure who did this. Elliot unwraps it and does this full body sigh. Hands dropped. Your dad getting another tie for father's day type reaction. Young Good Ramen. No this is great man. You can get 10 for 1.99.

Sorry, no it WAS malicious. Listen to his voice. Feel how long he held that unpleasant silence before forcing a chuckle. Holding eye contact throughout while the crowd darts their eyes and smirks. This isn't Harry Potter - you can't emphasize how shitty something is then magically negate it like "and that's why I love it hahaha!" Elliot made it clear where he thinks Walt stands. Beneath him.

The whole party is like this, a humiliating horror show of socializing out of your social sphere. We don't even know what their relationship was like before. The implication is that Walt separated from this guy before for a reason and the reason was probably in line with what we saw today.

Elliot isn't stupid. He knows Walt. He knows Walt's character. He knows their financial disparities. He knows Walt is sick. Presumably he's well aware of Walt's pride. An intelligent and well-meaning friend doesn't accidentally combo-hit the exact weak points that caused you to drift apart in less than an hour before asking hey how would you like to literally owe me your life? How would you like the kind of debt that can't be repaid? :) You're a smart man.

If Elliot really cared about saving Walt, he wouldn't have gone about it the way he did. If, however, he wanted to antagonize and flex on Walt, make him as uncomfortable as possible, keep in his wife's good graces by offering him a job, and end the night with two possible outcomes - either he accepts and gets richer or he rejects and elliot can say "Welp honey, your former lover and ex-fiance Walter White said no for some weird reason. oh well, I tried! :)"

Idk, I guess it could be a projection but the way Elliot talked to Walt reminded me of old friends whom, in retrospect, didn't even try to hide their disdain for me. Like wow how did I miss that.

I think Gretchen had honest intentions. Her husband didn't. I don't know what his deal was exactly but I'd exhaust all other resources before accepting this dude who publicly embarrassed me as my savior, livelihood, and future employer.

#breaking bad #brba #sorry but I genuinely do not understand the popular(?) read of Elliot as a benevolent and well-meaning friend #And Walt as a selfish prideful ass projecting malicious intent upon him #I mean Walt is that but he wasn't projecting this time #niche effortposts

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themculibrary · 2 months

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Stucky + Samtasha Masterlist

Are You Lost In Paradise? (ao3) - dameronpoetry E, 54k

Summary: The one where Steve and Bucky are both actors who meet on the Evening Show with Clint Barton. They fall for each other hard - as you'd expect - but things get in the way - though no one falls off any trains.

This is a tale involving motorcycles, cuddling, disgustingly cute emails, terrifying Russian actresses, heartbreak, snarky New Yorkers, ridiculously convoluted plots between interested parties, and maybe, just maybe love.

Dude, Where’s My Pants? (ao3) - debwalsh steve/bucky, natasha/sam N/R, 3k

Summary: In which Steve wakes up with the man of his dreams in his bed ... but apparently that’s his crush’s worst nightmare.

What happens in Vegas may spell the end of a beautiful friendship.

It’s a good thing Nat and Sam aren’t going to allow Steve and Bucky to get away with not talking about what happened ...

Family Placement (ao3) - notlucy E, 88k

Summary: Steve Rogers had a train ticket in hand and the chance to begin again after losing everything in Brooklyn - his father, his mother, the comfort and familiarity of home. Going west meant the opportunity to become his own man and stake his claim on the wide, flat prairie.

Then, of course, there was Bucky Barnes.

Fire Alarms (ao3) - starlight_starbright E, 11k

Summary: Something sets the fire alarm of and, thankfully, Steve forgets his room key.

I literally cut myself out of my pants. Waste. Of. Money. (ao3) - relenafanel M, 6k

Summary: Hey friend of Sam’s can I get an opinion on this outfit? Bucky texted, attaching the selfie taken in Sam’s bathroom mirror.

He received an answer almost immediately. Bucky was almost expecting a lecture, or at least a concerned question about who had stolen Sam’s phone.

He got neither.

New text from Steve: What do you want it to say?

Or: Bucky strikes up a flirtation with a stranger over text message in the month leading up to Valentine's Day.

Laughter Lines (ao3) - drmcbones M, 100k

Summary: Bucky Barnes is a rising Hollywood star with a tragic past and a reputation for driving his bodyguards away. Steve Rogers is a veteran with the same tragic past and the need to get back out in the world. The two of them have been estranged since they were teenagers, so when Steve joins SHIELD as a bodyguard, he is less than thrilled when he finds out that Bucky is his first assignment. But how bad can it be? They're both professional adults, right?

Wrong.

Murder on the Dancefloor��(ao3) - 74days T, 3k

Summary: After getting over a bad relationship, Steve is taken out for a night on the town by his best friend Sam. However, when he sees his ex on the dancefloor with a much hotter guy, Steve decides to grab the nearest guy and make out with him. It's actually a really good decision - if you don't count getting thrown out of the club.

Poltergeists (ao3) - enemyofrome T, 17k

Summary: When the helicarriers blow up and the Winter Soldier goes on the run, he takes Steve with him. He's got a name written in Morse code on the inside of his arm, a ton of questions he doesn't know how to ask, and now, a new handler with absolutely zero sense of self-preservation to contend with. Life is hard.

In which Bucky tries to figure out whether he's a human being, Steve does everything he can to keep from losing him again, and there are lots of explosions.

Shoot a Hole into the Sun (ao3) - keire_ke, PR Zed (przed) T, 28k

Summary: It was Nat who'd noticed the pattern. Every afternoon at exactly the same time, Steve and Barnes would share a heart-in-their eyes-hug, and then moon over each other at a table in their favourite coffee shop in the Tower.

Sam and Nat spend their afternoons making fun of the old people in love. Which maybe isn't the smartest thing in the world when they just might be in love themselves.

The Daily Rogers (ao3) - Nonymos E, 32k

Summary: College AU. May contain exchange students, a Starbucks addiction, daddy issues, anger issues, closets and how to get out of them, the ever-ominous influence of social networks, various levels of betrayal, awfully poor life choices, but also, ultimately, real chunks of love.

The Right Way to Fall (ao3) - Taste_is_Sweet T, 41k

Summary: He's just scruffy enough that most people would avoid eye contact in case he asked them for change. But his eyes are startling blue and stark and wild, and he looks at Sam and Sam looks at him, and yeah. Turns out he knows where Bucky is after all.

Except, Sam reminds himself, this isn't Bucky. This is the Winter Soldier, who's gone completely, absolutely still like an animal trying to decide whether to attack or run. And Sam is suddenly, terribly aware of all the people around them: all the tourists and the kids on their field trips; all the families with their babies and toddlers; all the sentimental fools like him come to visit Captain America on an overcast Wednesday afternoon.

But Sam has also seen that expression on the men and women who come to his counseling sessions. He's seen it in the mirror more times than he cares to count. He knows that kind of fear and pain, just like he knows that the man who was once James Buchanan Barnes could have already killed him. Killed as many people as he wanted to, and run.

He could have, but he didn't.

Through a dark night, without a sunrise, love will tell us where to go (ao3) - LunaCanisLupus_22 E, 126k

Summary: “I know you,” he says faintly.

“Yes,” the man agrees without looking up. “I’m Captain America.”

That’s no it. That can’t be it. There’s something more. There’s something-

“No.” The declaration is persistent now. “I know you.”

Or the one where Bucky doesn't remember being Bucky or the Winter Soldier but ends up a little too interested in Captain America anyway.

Welcome to the Jungle (ao3) - neversaydie E, 44k

Summary: "What do you think about guy-guy scenes?"

He was too self-conscious to act, modelling didn't pay enough, and time out of school for the medical trial that fixed his body had left him barely scraping a pass on his GED. He shared an apartment with a burlesque dancer, and she'd talked him into it over a weekend and way too much tequila.

Three pictures and one embarrassingly short amateur jerk-off video later, and here he is.

"Gay scenes?"

His mom can never find out about this.

[Porn Industry AU]

When Life Gives You Lemons (ao3) - starbunny G, 9k

Summary: Steve's idea of a simple life consisted of two things. First, drawing and taking art commissions whenever he pleased, and second, taking care of his wonderful garden.

What it did NOT include was: Having the local wildlife unanimously decide that his garden was the greatest sanctuary ever, attracting the attention of the mysterious species of humans known as 'The Avengers', or starting a war with a cunning raccoon that destroyed everything in Steve's garden, then learning that the raccoon was not really a raccoon after all and Steve should have really known better.

What has become of his life?

#themuclibrary #mcu #marvel #stucky #steve rogers #bucky barnes #samtasha #sam wilson #natasha romanoff #masterlists #f/m

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bloobluebloo · 1 month

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have you ever played splatoon 1? if yes, what's your opinion on the way the gameplay handles in-universe propaganda (having the main characters give you biased information and getting more accurate information through collectibles)? do you think it's something that would work in zelda games? (also, if you haven't played splatoon you should, i think you'd love octavio)

SPLATOON! See Splatoon is ideally the sort of game setting that I enjoy. I have played Splatoon 1. Then I bought Splatoon 2 and played a bit. And then never bought Splatoon 3. I still have games in their shrink wrap my backlog is so big. I still need to finish Fire Emblem Engage 😭

Ehem! In any case! To answer your question! I have indeed played Splatoon 1! Now I think fundamentally, the way Splatoon and Zelda impart information to the player is not all that different. Even in Zelda, we learn information that is more "accurate" aka information that will allow a glimpse of how the side you are fighting for isn't essentially guiltless. We have instances like the Shadow Temple and the Arbiter's Grounds, which shows the merciless side of the Royal Family, and being able to interact with the Gerudo in OoT and draw conclusions as to how they really are despite the overt racism the rest of Hyrule displays towards them, to name a few. What is different between the two, however, is how that information is framed. In Splatoon, you learn that the Inklings and the Octarians are fighting for survival essentially, for the remaining dry land. Of course the characters will impart biased information to you as the player as they are interested in preserving their own people. The losing party, in this case the Octarians, were forced to flee and hang onto survival in ancient human shelters. We learn that at some point in time the Octarians and the Inklings had worked together, so why is this no longer the case? Is it greed and fear at their shrinking landmass that caused their alliance to fracture, that they couldn't come to some sort of agreement on how to use their resources? The game still eventually makes you view the Octarians as your enemy, because in the grand scheme of the story they are your enemy, but the lore that you learn frames it as the inevitability that comes with the consequences of war and the scarcity of resources aka there isn't really a good side or a bad side, it is just what it means to live in a post-apocalyptic world, maybe in a way an inheritance of human greed and their need for survival.

In Zelda, however, the way the story is framed is different. Even though we learn of the misdeeds of Hyrule and the Royal Family, there is no consequence attached to their actions. When they persecuted the Sheikah, and unjustly so, for their possession and knowledge of Sheikah technology, the Sheikah were either forced to concede and live out their lives peacefully or rebel and forever become an outlawed group in Hyrule. The people who were imprisoned in the Twilight Realm were never really paid any reparations from Hyrule; their evil status was maintained, and the onus was on Midna to understand that the dwellers of light were not all that bad. Her solution was to destroy the mirror of twilight, forever severing her world from Hyrule, which says a lot doesn't it. The Shadow Temple acknowledges that the Royal Family tortured and killed any dissenting voices and those they considered an enemy, but that is not really ever brought up in a context where it is considered a wrongdoing. There is also something to consider here, and that is that Zelda's lore presents, objectively, that Hylians and the Hyrulean Royal Family are favored by the gods. This isn't even propaganda; this is in-game fact. We, as players, can see that it follows the pattern of propaganda that imperialist nations tend to spread to legitimize their rule, but in the game's story it isn't presented in that way. So, unlike the Octarians and the Inklings who are equal factions vying for control over land for the sake of survival, the lore is objectively telling you, all things considered, that there is always one side that is already favored, and that is the side that will be the one that is good. For something like Splatoon to work in LoZ, LoZ's lore would need major tweaking. For one, it would have to present Hyrule's enemy, whoever it is, as truly having legitimacy for opposing Hyrule. It would also have to go out of its way to demonstrate that, in some shape or form, that godly favor does not make one good, it just makes one more powerful and influential. It would have to change in a way where you are shown that maybe you aren't necessarily fighting for good and preservation of light and peace, but essentially for your own survival and the survival of the people you care about. The cost is not the defeat of the ultimate evil, but instead the loss of the survival that your enemy is also fighting for. It would have to put both the plight of Hyrule and her enemies on the same level. We came close to that in the Wind Waker, where Daphnes had urged Link and Tetra to find their own land, free of Hyrule's old history but, as we can see, we have backpedaled quite hard on that, with Hyrule's imperialism being framed as the ultimate good. (I LOVE OCTAVIO, he reminds me so much of OoT Ganondorf, sometimes I call him DJ Squidorf just for my own amusement)

#ganonthots

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is-the-snake-video-cute · 2 years

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I'm gonna go out on a limb and say there's a lot of bad stuff in this video, even if the basic idea isn't harmful? I stopped at the rack breeding setup, but there's a lot of iffy treatment of snakes even before that.

https://youtu.be/1SgGfMlbCoM

LINK for everyone - this is the "giving snakes their legs back" video that's been going around recently. On the whole, I'll say this video is mixed - the idea itself isn't harmful, but there's some misinformation and some very not cute scenarios having to do with how the snakes are housed and handled, and the design of the device itself is a little concerning to me.

I'm not super concerned by too much in the early part of this video - the pet shop doesn't look great, but it's also not the worst I've seen, and the snake at the "birthday party" is pretty dang relaxed.

Here are my biggest notes:

First - I know it's super tongue-in-cheek, but snakes really don't mind not having legs! And, like this video shows, primitive snakes still have them in the form of tiny vestigial spurs.

The hemipenes thing - it's not true that snakes have two penises because "the genes that are supposed to grow two legs grow two penises instead." We're actually not totally sure why snakes have two, but the prevalent theory nowadays is that it has to do with how snakes breed and become gravid. Female snakes actually have a lot of choice in how sperm is used - they can store sperm for months and sometimes years, and their bodies can actively choose more viable sperm. Having two penises, each one attached to a separate testis, allows the snake to breed twice in a short period of time, each time with a viable batch of sperm. (Also, the video shows a snake being popped so his hemipenes are visible - don't do that unless you're a professional! It's an easy way to hurt a snake.)

Okay, yeah, the racks: not good! These aren't the worst snake racks I've seen, but they're definitely not big enough for ball pythons. Adult ball pythons need an enclosure that's 4x2x2 at minimum - that's a 120 gallon equivalent. These aren't appropriate.

It's never smart to hold any snake, even ball pythons, so that they're wrapped around your neck like this. You can drape a snake across the back of your shoulders, but snakes are very strong and human necks are very fragile, so just don't wrap them around your neck. It's a bad idea.

It's not always true that "an angry snake will form an S-shape with their bodies." That strike position (which can be either a snake that feels threatened or one that's expecting food) also looks very similar to the way pythons and boas will naturally just hold their necks. It's a bit of snake body language that's easy to misread.

The actual contraption itself is a little worrying, too. The joints of the legs are very close to the front of the tube, and given the propensity of ball pythons for squeezing themselves into any tight space they can find, I worry about her getting her head pinched in the joints.

That said, I like that the snake wasn't forced to go in, and her body language throughout is relaxed and curious. She's having an absolutely fine time.

#ratings #mixed #not cute #reptile youtube #snake breeding #snake enclosures

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xenoblademisadventures · 8 months

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I'm bored. Gonna give two hot takes for every Xenoblade game. One uncommon criticism and one uncommon praise.

Xenoblade 1

Criticism

Shulk's character arc was bad. Like, what was he on about? Firstly, the revenge quest. It doesn't really tackle the ideas of revenge. Instead he just goes "oh shit my gf isn't dead time to be a pacifist." And with Egil, we've got Shulk going "we must spare him" while quite literally every other character, plot point, etc. is saying some variation of "we tried" or "no." And then he has no issue with slaying Zanza and his henchmen. He also has this thing about learning to see more than just what's in front of him, but that's really only something he tells Alvis once in Ose Tower. It's not something you can clearly see develope over the course of the game.

Praise

I really liked the camera in Xenoblade 1. You can see the cameraman going nuts whenever Alvis is on screen, especially when he gives Shulk that pep talk in Space. You can also see it with the fight against the mechon on Bionis Leg. The camera was just on point almost every scene. I think the credit goes to the storyboard artists, I'm not entirely sure. But they did an incredible job.

Xenoblade X

Criticism

The combat system was really bad. Like, I felt like there were two grounds for the combat. Either you have no clue what's happening or you snap the game in half. This is a multifaceted issue that comes down to a mix between the combat itself, unhelpful tutorials, and the UI failing to emphasize relevant information. But, what I mean here is that even if the game explained its combat system to the player proper, it's got too many type attributes, which usually just results in you switching out gear to match the resistances and weaknesses between fight, it also means I have to look up something's attributes on the wiki before I can properly plan out my build, which isn't an issue in the other games; the buffs attached to the dual guns are too powerful compared to everything else, so it just makes them overpowered, but they're also fun status effects, so it just makes every other gun feel bad to play; Overdrive is needlessly complicated and you can pretty much only either break the game or find the mechanic to be useless depending on whether you've looked up external guides; TP being regained through auto attacks would be a good system if the amount of TP gain wasn't fucking pitiful; also the TP arts are way too powerful like True Stream Edge and Ghost Factory are pretty much all you need to 1v1 most of the shit in the game; there's not much need for utilizing party members, post-game the avatar character can 1v1 everything, and even ignoring that, there aren't any real systems in place to make the presence of your allies feel known; and there's a bunch of other shit. It's definitely the worst combat system in the series by far.

Praise

I really like how X progresses its penalties for death. You start off with full party wipes only sending you back a few minutes. A lot of your deaths in this game will be caused by an overlevelled enemy spotting you, and the level design does an incredible job at accommodating this and turning that into a core part of the gameplay loop. So, about halfway through the game, you get access to these giant mechs. The mechs let you move faster and they're really fucking strong in combat. Like, if you haven't played X, imagine if you could use Ouroboros Form indefinitely. The catch is that if your mech dies, it doesn't respawn. You have to go get it repaired. A little inconvenient, but nothing unmanageable. If your mech gets destroyed too many times, your character's insurance stops paying for the repairs. The mechs are really fucking expensive. So, you probably can't afford the repairs, especially if you haven't been stockpiling an ungodly amount of money before chapter 6. Furthermore, threat assessment gets a lot more fucky once you get mechs because larger enemies have better stats than smaller enemies, so you get cases where level 40 enemies are weaker than level 30 enemies. So, you can't just see number big run away. But the game eases you into this. For one, you only get one mech immediately, which will probably go on the player character. So, you can learn to dismount whenever your mech might die. Then you start getting the ability to have the AI control the mechs. There's a command to tell specific party members to mount or dismount their mechs. So, the AI won't screw you if you're quick enough. Then you get access to the ability to make the mechs fly. There's two new major factors here. Firstly, that's a whole new axis to get spotted from. You might get sniped by an enemy way above or way below you. Second, you can't really dismount when you're in the fucking stratosphere, so you don't have that safety net. The game teaches the player how to keep an eye out for big enemies, so it doesn't feel unfair by the time you get to the point where a level 80 mech plucks your level 40 ass out of the sky. And I really like how the increased stakes are a natural progression to your power-ups. It's a really good system and it adds a great spice to the exploration.

Xenoblade 2

Criticism

So, this us something that I haven't complained about before, but it's a massive bugbear for me. I really hate that 2 and 3 removed the player's ability to tell what detection type the enemies are. Like, sneaking around dangerous enemies to explore areas early is some of the most fun I've had with these games. Like, the out of combat interactions with enemies in X may as well be the glue holding the gameplay together. One of my most memorable moments in Xenoblade 3 was stealing Riki's Biter from the level 90 area at level 30. And this is an even more annoying decision for 2 and 3 specifically because those games reuse a lot of enemies from 1, which does show enemy aggro types. So I just happened to have that information memorized, which let me avoid the enemies anyways. But there's no reason someone who hasn't played 1 or X would know that different enemies have different aggro types. I think the removal of this information also limits options for level design. Like, the Territorial Deathape was a lot more memorable in 1 compared to every other game. And the reason for that is because the deathape is kind of off to the side in the other games, but it will sneak up and ambush you in 1. Like, in X, the monkey was off to the side, but it has a billion other enemies that function same as Rotbart. It's just that the deathape happened to not be one of those enemies. While in 2 and 3, I think the more underwhelming deathapes can be largely attributed to them having much more predictable movement patterns. And part of the reason for that is that you can tell at a glance exactly how to avoid Rotbart in 1, but you don't get that option in 2 and 3. I think 2 and 3 both have been leaning more towards not making overpowered enemies randomly aggro onto the player. And I think they're worse off for it.

Praise

This is the first Xenoblade game where Monolith did a good job with the UI. For those who weren't around for 1 and X, the UIs were impressively bad and it wasn't really a question. 1 covered way too much space with useless information while X just completely failed to emphasize important details. Meanwhile, 2 did a great job at making information compact and emphasizing what the player needed to know.

Xenoblade 3

Criticism

N was a poorly written villain. His backstory was great, but everything else about him sucked. This applies to every other tragic villain in the game. They're expected to garner sympathy off the premise of "they're important to the protagonists," but they're presented the same way as any no bars evil villain, which is just a huge disconnect. Like, I can't really get behind N as an antagonist because I can't see a world where Noah does an evil laugh. Like, I can be sold that he'd join Moebius, but I can't buy him acting the way N's presented. As with Joran, I think he became a lot less interesting as a plot point once he's revealed to be an antagonist, which hurt Lanz's character arc a lot. Crys is potentially interesting, but omg please stop monologuing what the fuck. But yeah, that's why I think N is a pretty shit antagonist. He just doesn't sell the "was Noah" part.

Praise

This is going to sound strange, but the way the game handles swimming is so much better in my opinion. First of all, the sound effects are better. In every other game, my autistic ass would get really bothered by the swimming sound effects, but not here. Second, the fact that swimming doesn't cancel combat is great. It was really annoying falling or being knocking into water and having the character decide "no more fighting." It was most noticeable in X because you could jump and sprint during combat and thus had a better chance of falling into water (and falling into water cancelled Overdrive), but I also felt it in 1 and 2. Also, I appreciate that the game's tutorial makes you fight and swim, just to say "hey you can do that now btw" to returning players. I also really like the wave effects Erythia Sea. Those were really cool.

#xenoblade #xenoblade analysis

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golbrocklovely · 1 year

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wow wee … if colby plays into the stuff with shea on purpose then that’s not really a good look on him. if I had a friend that constantly did shady things behind my back it would make me not want to trust them anymore. maybe colby is too nice, but still it’s wrong that someone is using him or his look to take advantage of many things involving him. I do not understand why colby would ever want to play these games with ppl like that. it sounds insanely exhausting. maybe he likes the mystery behind everything even though to a fans pov it’s kinda frustrating or weird. it kinda gives me fuckboy vibes in a way. now I don’t wanna say colby is a douche or anything because that’s being mean, but a man constantly playing these games with these girls he knows is just gross in my eyes. we can’t just blame shea or stas because he is also participating in this. what are your opinions on that? because it really leaves a sour taste in my mouth. maybe I’m wrong. if I am then please let me know. I just hate it when men play these little games with ppl I just think it’s very immature.

i think it's good to remember that we don't know the full situation. there are definitely a lot of moving parts to this whole thing that we don't know about and haven't seen, so a lot of what any of us feel is just a really big assumption. i don't think one party is the main villain or problem, i think all of them play a role in what we see and what we don't see, and the general issues that arise.

and while shea and stas are similar in a lot of ways they are also really different.

but since you are asking about my opinion, this is what i think based off of what i have seen and know (whether or not that's the whole truth is a different story altogether).

there is a lot of layers to this - a lot of which stem from colby and end up festering from the girls, so to speak. colby likes to stir the pot, that's been made clear for a while now. even more proof when he did stuff with amber and then apologized for it, only to do it again a year later with all those tiktoks they made. the difference is, amber isn't continuing the gag behind the scenes. and most importantly, colby is signing off on what gets posted with the two of them involved since he actively participated in it.

nonetheless, colby is a shit stirrer. but at the same time, he doesn't want to be talked about/doesn't like drama. so when he stirs the pot, he only wants it to happen for the amount of time he wants it, and then he wants it to stop. but the problem is, if you get the fandom riled up you don't get to decide when they stop being upset. and that happens time and time again. he likes the attention and he likes ppl talking about him; i mean, he is a social media person, that's kinda the whole nature around being one so i don't fault him for that. but when he gets tired of it, he wants it to stop immediately. but that doesn't happen, so he gets frustrated.

another issue with colby is that he has commitment issues and attachment issues, both of which he has admitted too. both of these stem from past bad experiences with love and continue to this day. the commitment issues cause him to be flaky towards women he is interested in and not go all the way into an actual relationship with them, even tho (from the outside) that is what it seems like they are in and what he wants. so he ghosts girls pretty frequently. and the attachment issues cause him to be clingy towards and constantly crawl back even if things are done.

so while he may not want to actually be in a relationship with certain women, he'll want all the things that come with a relationship without the label. but at the same time, he's scared to be with said women, so he's always one foot in the door one foot in the grave. he wants the girl to be into him, he's made that abundantly clear that he likes when the girls are really into/obsessed with him to some degree (at least to me). but the issues that follow are basically this - they end up wanting more (bc he seems to want more too), but then he gets uncomfortable with them wanting more and thus moves on. or the other option plays out - they play house for a bit, only for the girl to lose interest, and once she does he pretends to have never wanted it anyway and is already gone.

with all of this in mind, how does this play out with shea and stas?

shea is an interesting case since she is the original, the og, of all of this shit. they have been friends with one another for years now, since 2015/16. and as i've have speculated before, i think the reason why they are as close as they are is bc i think shea was there for him when his ex broke up with him way back when. i think her (and brennen) were the two ppl that kept him together bc him and sam were not in a good spot in their friendship (something they both admitted to) and sam was preoccupied with his new relationship with kat. colby was able to rely on shea for emotional support and brennen was there to be the single, fun guy friend to go partying with.

and i think bc of this, shea and colby grew really close with one another. the problem that arises is that to me, shea was in love with him. and as the years have gone by, i go back and forth between whether or not anything happened between the two of them - whether or not they were ever really a thing. bc shea likes to argue by either saying that her and colby were currently dating circa every year but the last two or so, or that colby liked her back then and she rejected him. for years, i used to argue that i don't think they ever were a couple, but now… i'm a bit on the fence. i think their deep connection can come across as one and has probably crossed some boundaries. do i think they ever called each other bf/gf and made it official? no. but i do think they had something going on at one point secretly, and now they're just friends with a muddy past.

the problem is, fans don't know that. so they read whatever's going on with them as either a 'will they won't they' or that they are secretly together. which is also why shea can get away with telling fans they are secretly a thing bc ppl already speculate it and think it to be true. plus if it's coming from her, why shouldn't they believe it? she's one of the parties involved.

however, this ends up making colby look like either the worse boyfriend ever or just a douchebag bc he's literally hooking up with other girls while shea is telling her goonies that they are basically ready to hit the courthouse (not really but you get my gist). i mean, prime example was when they did the most recently adventure buddies in 2020. shea's fans were talking about them finally being together again or finally getting together, but around that time colby was literally WITH someone else. so either he looks like a guy that can't keep his dick in his pants, or shea is a liar.

and while i think the first is true to some extent, the second is a fact regardless.

and the reason shea gets away with a lot of this stuff is for two reasons: one, colby truly does love her as a friend and allows most of this to happen bc he's never gonna see the negative side of a person he cares about and two, bc he likes teasing the fans too and her doing it probably goes mostly unnoticed by him. i think he knows to some extent the shit shea has done, but at the same time probably not all of it; mixed with the fact that i don't think he fully cares. bc nothing she has done has been heinous or really maliciously intended (for the most part, i'm assuming, to him). not to mention, most of the ppl shea has fucked with are either fans that adore her (so they forgive easily and don't make a big stink about it), fans that become haters (bc they're spreading negativity and that's a no-no to colby) that end up leaving the fandom, or are girls in his real life that he doesn't care to lose aka any of his hookups. none of the girls he's been with over the years were serious relationships, which is why shea can be his watch dog and loom over him and basically intimidate these girls bc he doesn't see them sticking around in the first place. and the only reason the shit that happened between amber and shea didn't become a bigger deal is bc amber is a grown adult woman, unlike shea who is still playing high school games, and probably doesn't fucking care what a random girl from the mountains has to say about her.

and after all of this, i still gotta talk about stas lol

so stas…. she's a very interesting tale. bc she did a lot of the same shit shea did: talking in gcs about colby, liking ship edits, posting content only of him and her (only behind a paywall), making content with him and her in it, ect. but the difference is - he actually put distance between him and her.

this alone, proves to me, that he never had feelings for stas. or was never interested in her more than platonically.

stas came into colby's life first back in 2019, but didn't become a prominent person until 2021, and then more so in 2022. from my understanding of what other anons have told me, stas has been talking about colby/snc since 2019, and has made that connection with fans way back when even tho she wasn't even close to snc, since at the time she was just known as kat's friend.

my guess to all of the shit that happened with stas is this: i think she had feelings for colby, and kat knew. kat then tried to pair her and colby up all the time during 2022 when the core four was a thing bc she wanted to help her out and wanted stas and colby to date. however, colby was already paying attention to another girl, six flags girl, and so he was never gonna be interested in stas. stas also came in around a time when shea and colby weren't doing so hot (shea complained about not being invited to their halloween party and then later the next year was liking comments on tiktok saying that fans ruined adventure buddies, so clearly they weren't doing too well. plus she also deleted comments about him from tiktoks.) and bc of that, he got close to stas and relied on her for emotional support. this further solidified her feelings for him, and while i don't think he played into them as heavily as maybe with shea, i think stas was already sculpting out a life with him and her dating, which is why i've dubbed her the y/n fantasy. she wanted to date colby brock and get all the fame and fortune that came with that. she likes fans attention, which is why even to this day she's still posting content about him behind a paywall.

what happened after all of this played out is truly anyone's guess, bc clearly after they all came home from europe, something went sour. and not just with colby and stas, but stas and the whole group (minus sam bc sam doesn't really have opinions unless kat allows him to have them). and that's why there was a period of time when stas was shunned from snc/kat. that's why we get her telling fans that she feels abandoned, that kat ignores questions about her, that she doesn't appear in any videos, that colby deleted shipping comments about him and her (and of him and shea too - which was a first). could all of this be from the fact that stas allegedly was telling fans where they were in europe so that's why ppl were able to find them? was it the fact that her roommate was liking tweets about fandom drama and shea? was it bc her mom was posting shit too? or maybe was it bc she amped up their whole """relationship""" to fans and once malishkagate happened, fans were literally congratulating colby and her for finally coming out as a couple? who knows for certain. what i do know is, she crossed a boundary and colby put distance between her and him. which is why she has a poem insta, and why she threw a fit (and then deleted all of the tweets) on twitter when she was in vegas and colby was out on a date with a girl.

so time passed, and once stas was out of the picture, shea came right back into it. then stas and colby became cool with one another, and now all of them friends again (well, except stas and shea. that would be a very weird friendship).

where does all of this leave us?

if i am to be so blunt: i think colby is terrified to be alone, which is why he can complain about being used in one breath but in the next not cut off the ppl that are in his life that do use him. he tolerates the games shea and stas play bc he himself likes to play games. not only that, but he also likes having attention on him - not only from fans but from the girls. and they don't seem to mind giving him what he wants. he likes girls that are into him too much bc then there is the guarantee that they aren't gonna leave him. but that also comes at the price that they walk over him and cross boundaries and constantly want more from him even tho he's not interested. or maybe he is, who fucking knows.

again, i don't think a single party involved is the main problem. they all are. somedays it's shea, others it's stas. and sometimes it's colby.

all i know for certain is that i'm tired of all of this. i regret ever getting into colby's love life, truly. especially now since it's the same players time and time again. at least throw in a random girl i've never heard of before lol

#ask #personal #cb ll #omg this is so long i'm so sorry lol

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screwyouhippie · 1 year

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South Park Head Cannons

I'm new to Tumblr and a huge fan of South Park. So to start off my page, I'm going to list a few head cannons I have of each character.

Main Four 🍀

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KYLE 💚

Kyle is a mamas boy at heart. So when he was younger, he would willingly help Sheila with chores around the house ever since he could remember, and still does. And because of this, Kyle got used to everything being neat and tidy. That didn't really go well with the rest of the boys who didn't mind a little mess. Especially with Kyle's temper.

He's so used to everything being clean and organized at home that any time something gets even the slightest messy, he becomes outraged and goes on a rant about how no one has self control. He doesn't understand how people can live in such a pigsty. Thankfully this calms down as he gets older. But the others sure as hell rip on him for this.

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STAN 💙

Stan doesn't have a good perception of what a good relationship really looks like since his and Wendy is on and off, and his parents aren't any help either. So any nice gesture that's shown to him, he's immediately attached. All Stan really wants is to have any type of relationship which isn't toxic, one of which each party supports one another.

But besides that, Stan is always grateful for the few friends he does have. Even Cartman. Whatever any of his friends need, he's going to help them get it. Whenever one of his friends need someone, he's there by their side. Especially Kyle. Even if he and Kyle aren't on good terms, Stan is always there for him no matter what.

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CARTMAN ❤️

Remember that episode where Eric says he's going to throw rocks at Kenny for being poor? Yeah, he wasn't kidding. Literally after the sleepover, he grabbed a pile of rocks and threw them against Kenny's window. He mostly missed Kenny, but he did kill a rat. After that, he decided it was fun to throw rocks at poor or homeless people during his free time. I can see Liane standing by the window and watching Eric throw rocks at the local hobo.

Sometimes Eric likes to throw rocks or hard chunks of metal at Kyle. Why? No reason other then he's a ginger, a Jew, and he's from Jersey. That's all it takes to be on Eric's hit list. This causes lots of fights at the bus stop, the playground, and even the cafeteria where Kyle got a tray thrown at him.

KENNY 🧡

I can see Kenny waiting besides the garbage dumps at restaurants for the food to be thrown out to take some to his family. The owners caught on so they started shooing him away with a broom. That didn't stop Kenny though. He began camping out inside the actual trash bin under all the garbage. I mean, he's gotta find a way to feed his family, right?

Sometimes he gets Mysterion to kindly volunteer to take out the restaurant garbage for the owners. Mysterion just so happens to feel bad and donate some of that garbage to a certain house in the ghetto, which is awfully kind of him. Oh, but the actual garbage he just dumps at Eric's house or on his bed, just because he can. Or maybe because he broke his bedroom window multiple times with rocks..

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

If you made it this far, thanks for reading my first post! This was short, but I have a lot more planned out in the future. Though any suggestions would be really good too! I'm open to writing anything.

#south park #kenny mccormick #eric cartman #kyle brovlofski #stan marsh #mysterion

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risu5waffles · 8 months

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Candy Smokes and TEN Cent Cokes

Just whipsawing through it, aren't we? At least we're on time this go about.

youtube

i cannot tell you how palpable my disappointment this wasn't an LBP-tone version of Megdeth's Symphony of Destruction. Which isn't even their best song (i'm fond of Kill the King, but Polaris is pretty darn good. Dawn Patrol for getting a chance to hear asshole Mustaine squeak like a rat), but it still would have been neat. i don't know why, of all the musicians i've stopped listening to because their personal assholery started to outweigh the enjoyment their music brought, Megadeth should slip through the loophole. Like, Mustaine is a certified douchebag, but i'll almost always be down when they show up on random. Weird. The level? Honestly, the level's kind of pants. i mean, i appreciate the work that went into it; but it's pretty drab, and everything being so big, you don't get to really get a feel for running around on sheet music. It's not a bad level, it's just kinda there.

youtube

We talked about this last week, and it continues to be great. Picked up a Team Pick, which was no surprise at all. Definitely well deserved.

youtube

Exactly what it says on the tin. Low stress, high charm environment. Largely simple gameplay in almost a vignette, minigame style, which is pretty fitting for a fairground setting. i had a lot of fun here, but i feel like it would have been an even better time wiv a party of four. Playing by myself and it did start to feel like it was dragging on just a little bit. The downside of the start-stop action that the format demands. Still, i could definitely recommend this one.

youtube

This was actually fairly effective for LBP1-era horror. A lot of work went into making the environment actually function as an environment, instead of something kludgy and slapdash. It wasn't scary, by any means, but it was definitely very cool. The first time i played through, i didn't realize you could save the patient in the operating room until just after they cacked it. So i had to go through a second time, and lost out on my Ace on account of knives in LBP having silly-ass hurtboxes. Ah well, you win some, you lose some, and at least the patient survived. We should all be so lucky.

youtube

Oh my gosh, this level gave me so much trouble to get recorded. It was at the height of the most recent round of server trouble, and the dang thing just did not want to load, and when i finally did get it to run, there was a lot of lag in there making the experience more frustrating than it probably ought to have been. In slight fairness to the servers, i have the feeling this one would have chugged a bit even at the best of times, there's a lot going on in here, and i have to imagine it was a bear on the thermo. Still, it's really an impressive bit of kit. The upwards navigation could be a little fiddly at times, but i really appreciated how the whole thing fits together. i'm still a bit wilded by the stained glass windows. i've no idea how Stellakris got those in there.

youtube

Cute and clever, if a little bit frustrating, flat world sets up an old-school 2d platformer, and mostly manages to pull it off. The way they had it set-up, where you're basically in a styrofoam box wiv a button on the top, so when you jump, your character "jumps" too (most likely, the button is run into a piston attached to the styrofoam) was really cool. Unfortunately, the level never tells you that's how it's working, so i could see folx getting to the end, and not seeing how to trigger the scoreboard. You're just supposed to walk forward in layer, but i'd have had no idea if i hadn't thought to do a zoom-in wiv the costume camera. A little better communication wiv the player would probably have helped.

youtube

There's not really a lot to say about this one. It's fun, i can definitely give it that. Would be more fun wiv another couple of players, but a lot of LBP1 levels are like that. The conceit is well set up as well, like they've actually built in the lodges and lifts and all, instead of just giving you a huge slope and a couple of boards. Straight-forward and fun, and sometimes that's all you really need.

youtube

Oh my gosh, this one is so good tho'! Really manages to nail the feel and look of LBP1 level design, not just in presentation (tho' that's fantastic), but in the way a lot of the logic is right there on display for anyone to figure out and use themselves. That's an aspect of the first game that got lost once we moved to more abstract logic tools and microchips to put them in. As much as i love the freedom logic provides from LBP2 on, there's something just nifty as hell to see someone showing their work. The only thing i might call out as a negative here is the level is just a bit too much of a good thing. Like, all of it is great, but it is very le chonk, and it starts to wear on a bit by the end. i've noticed that in a few of Joja28's levels, so it seems to be a creator tic. i can get the feeling, tho'. You've got a ton of ideas, and they all fit a particular theme, and so you cram the whole lot in until it's fit to burst.

youtube

We talked about this one yesterday, and it is just as amazing now. It is, shockingly, bereft of Team Pick ribbon status, tho'. What the hey, Sumo? You're just leaving good food on the table.

youtube

Woof. This level is... kind of a lot? It wound up being broken, which is a problem. But it also wound up being breakable in two or three spots prior to the final point of failure. The problem being, well, a problem being you've got a couple of spots wiv rockets being thrown at you, which have the side-effect of easily blowing up things the creator probably hadn't intended getting blown up. Like bridges. Ope. Aside from that it's alright. The Gardens 2.0 is always a take i'm interested in seeing, and the idea that things have gotten worse, making the course more difficult is fun. The level kind of sticks to that theme, and there are definitely spots you could point to and say "oh yeah, that bit," before it goes haring off on its own merry way. i wonder if i would have had a better impression of it had i played it closer to release, and in its native environment.

---------------------------------------------- So that's another TEN down. Actually a pretty solid set, and i'd say you could take most of them and put them in your own playlist for an evening in LBP3. i mean you could if we still had lbp.me, i'm never not going to be salty we lost that resource just because someone got their boxers in a bunch and wanted to be a whole jackass.

My vacation's almost over which is fine, i guess? i really need to develop some kind of meatspace life that isn't defined by work, so that when i have actual time off, it doesn't feel so drifty and listless. It only occurred to me after it'd started that had i planned things a little better, i could have set aside a couple-k yen and gone down to Osaka to chill out for a few days. See some friends, hang out in Triangle Park, sleep on the cheap at netcafes. Missed opportunities.

#littlebigplanet #little big planet #lbp #lbp1 #lbp2 #lbp3 #littlebite-sizedarchive #LBsA #Youtube

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noveratus · 2 years

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Halloween Ends: Thoughts and Rewrite

This was an interesting movie, it wasn't good by any means, but there are parts of it that I like. This movie's main problem is that it has the Halloween name attached to it funnily enough. If this was a movie just about Corey and what bullying and hate can do to a person, I think it would have been far more interesting. It's not really scary, more so tragic and almost cathartic in a way as Corey kills the people who ruined his life. Could it have been executed better? Yes. Is Corey as great of an antagonist as Michael? No. The fight in the end was kinda cool I guess, but the whole thing where Michael was thrown in the shredder was weird. The town is the main antagonist this whole movie along with its hate and, in the end, they get their 'happy' ending while the kid the treated poorly for an accident gets brutally killed, even im the second movie they didn't really deserve this. The town was pretty terrible, maybe not as bad as michael, but not that far off as people literally died for their hate. I don't know, I didn't love the message of this movie. I did have fun though. I do think Corey is a pretty good character and you do genuinely feel bad for his descent as he didn't deserve what he got, but the scenes with him and Michael killing together were some of my favorite moments in this trilogy.

In the end, I didn't think this movie was good, but not terrible either. 5/10.

The rewrite- Corey's movie

The best way to rewrite this movie is by dividing it in two: Corey's Movie and a Halloween movie.

I would make Corey's movie about a town haunted by these crimes that happened a long time ago (we will say 30 years ago here). The town never moved on and so they became extremely aggressive towards anyone who was slightly different, like Corey. In this iteration we watch a bit more of Corey's life, how he is bullied in his school and even by older people who call him things like a freak. All adults seem to hate him, even his parents have a love-hate relationship towards him except for one, the father of this kid who felt truly bad for him. He offered him a job as a babysitter and things went south from there.

Fastforward a year and his life became a living hell. People went from verbally abusing him to throwing things on him and destroying anything he owned. Even the one man he could count on seems to hate him now. Then he meets a girl who might be new in town, someone who doesn't hate him and once again he starts getting hope, until he gets picked on during a party and assumes she is with the rest of them. He runs away, but gets hit by a drunk man trying to kill him, only to be killed by a stronger, bigger man, a man who looks like the killer from so long ago. This killer saves Corey and, through no verbal communication, Corey starts feeling accepted for once in this town by the man he is meant to hate and so he starts killing to impress this man. He tried to be normal and accepted, but that didn't work for him so he will just become the monster they always claimed they were.

Meanwhile, the town is in a panic. People show up dead or just disappear left and right. The new girl is looking for Corey, but ends up doing a research on the original killer too. She realizes that he had a life similar to that of Corey's in which someone died in an accident near him and the town began hunting him down, until he snapped and began killing him in an act of fury. This hatred and anger dominated him in such a way that he fully lost his soul and, instead, became something that wasn't human. Now, he was leading Corey in the same path so he wouldn't be alone in his hate. This does allow her to find where they are hiding, she tries to appeal to Corey's humanity, but his killer mentor interjects and tries to kill him. She apologizes and tells him that this isn't who he is. He isn't a monster, they are all wrong about him, he is wrong about himself. Corey has a change of heart realizing that she is right. She never enjoyed killing, he just wanted the love and attention that came from it, so he fights his previous mentor, not for hatred, but for love and to save his friend. In the end, he is victorious, but he refuses to kill him, instead opting to leave this town, his parents and all the hatred to start a new life while the killing is assumed to be from the original killer, who is still alive and consumed by his anger, just like the rest of the town.

The Rewrite- Halloween Ends

Now for the proper Halloween movie, I think it should continue the trend of the first movie in the trilogy of generational trauma as well as the effects of hatred. In this movie, it has been 4 years since Michael was last spotted and killed both of Allyson's parents. Allyson has spent this time training to one day fight him and take her revenge. At first, Laurie supports him, wanting her granddaughter to be safe, but slowly she realizes what all this anger is doing for the girl mentally. Her friends don't recognize her anymore, she can't relax, all her time is spent with one thing in mind: Killing Michael Meyers.

To make matters worse, in these 4 years a cult was formed in the city claiming that the Shape is no normal serial killer, but an angel sent by God to purge sinners from Earth. As years pass, this cult gains more and more power, especially since Michael has not attacked anyone since its creation.

Allyson has butted heads with this cult several times and even vandalized their temple a few times. It doesn't help that they deeply hate her and her grandmother. One of their members make their way to the house and warns them that, if Allyson doesn't doesn't stop, they will get the police involved. There is an argument and Laurie has to stop Allyson before she does something she will regret. Allyson escapes her grandmother's grip and leaves somewhere she can be alone.

The following day, the day before Halloween, the person that went after Allyson is found dead in the sewers. Some people think this might be Michael, but the cult is convinced this was Allyson and goes to the police that starts hunting the woman down, much for Laurie's distress.

While Allyson is on her own, she comes across a secluded place, a cabin away from all that with a man that seems awfully familiar. She sneaks in, barely managing to dodge the man only to find what she was looking for: the mask. This is his hiding place. Overstruck with anger, Allyson catches Michael off guard, managing to knock him out and tie him up before setting the house on fire with him still inside.

Allyson is confident that she has done it, she finally got her revenge, and so she returns home only to find her grandmother speaking to the police. She is being arrested.

It's the 31st. The police is investigating the remains of the cabin, but when they go inside the chain that Michael had been trapped in is suddenly empty and his mask is missing. They don't have much time to dwell on it, however, as Michael attacks them, killing them all while their bullets appear to have no effect. He is angry and he wants blood.

In comes the night, Allyson is in jail and children are trick or treating while Laurie is trying to get her out. As she is talking to the chief, reports start coming in of bodies all across town, leaving a trail of blood in their wake, and more concerning as Laurie realizes, they are going to her home. Laurie tries to run away, only to be stopped by the cult who are all wearing recreations of Michael's mask. The chief and other cops there try to stop them, only to be persuaded by the cult that they don't want unnecessary bloodshed. Just the sacrifice for their angel. The chief lets them knock Laurie out and take her away.

Meanwhile, Allyson hears the commotion, realizing what she is going on, she starts to harm herself to get a guard to get in to stop her. It works, and despite having her hands tied, she managed to knock the guard out, free her hand and take his gun. She won't let them hurt her grandmother too.

Cut to Jason, who is just finished with a kill, blood stained footprints following him. He is met with the cultists in front of the house, dozens of people in white wearing a mask similar to him. They open space to allow him inside. Inside he would be greeted by a knife and his tied up rival. Just as he is about to finish her off, bullets are sent flying, hitting him on the shoulder. When Jason looks back he would see Allison holding a gun with several cultists on the floor, bleeding out. Their leader mocks her, telling her that she is too late, but is interrupted by several bullets coming his way. They miss him though, causing the cultist to mock her again only to Allyson to clarify he wasn't her targets. He looks at where Laurie was, the person holding her down is dead and she has disappeared. Annoyed, Michael tossed the leader away and ran further in to find his rival. Laurie ran out of the house, followed by the large man and towards a different, seemingly empty home, the house she first met Michael in the first movie.

The two of them have a fight scene similar to the one from the actual movie, but before Laurie can cut his throat, she is shot by the leader of the cult, leading to her falling. Michael is freed and stands up to get Laurie by the throat, holding her above the ground like his trophy. But he doesn't end her, instead he throws his knife towards the door, where Allyson is now. She manages to dodge enough so the blade doesn't hit anything vital, but she is hit on the side of the neck. The cultist leader offers to finish her off, preparing to shoot her only for Michael to break his neck with just one hand as the other still holds Laurie. No one steals his kill and both of them are his targets. While he is distracted with his newest kill, Allyson runs into him with the same knife that stabbed her, leading to Michael finally releasing Laurie. Gasping for air and realizing what is going on, Laurie takes the leader's gun and fills him with bullets while Allyson continuously stabs the big man. Injured, Michael decides to retreat and Allyson considers going after him, but realizing the condition of her grandmother, she chooses love over hate and stays, doing all that she can to tend her injuries and herself.

The movie ends with Allyson starting a new job and Laurie writing her book while looking at a newspaper about how Michael had been recaptured and sent to a special prison for highly dangerous individuals much like himself, potentially leading to a crossover and a sequel.

#halloween #halloween ends #halloween ends spoilers #spoilers #rewrite #review

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ghosts-of-love · 1 year

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THE SECOND SONG

Second song also by the name of Honey is by...Big Time Rush. Yep. The Nickelodeon made boyband. This song was written after their comeback and was released a few months ago. The lil thing about after their comeback is important cuz they knew by now that the fans they had that grew up watching their show and listening to them are now adults and shit so have allowed themselves the freedom to write songs more...mature. ANYWAYS, this song is mostly about Cap and his relationship with Damien (i-e-n or i-a-n ???)

"B-b-b-break my heart again Nobody does it like you can Hurt me so good I want it bad Know how to keep me coming back"

Even though Damien never really gave him much attention, Cap was still going back to him because it was still some form of affection.

2."Ruined my night, ruined my life, controlled my mind I could've, would've, I should've, but never said goodbye I never learned, love how it hurts, give me the works"

Cap realizing just how much Damien took from him. And ofc when the piece of shit shows up at the Halloween party and he ruins his night and then Cap spirals thinking about how his relationship and all the things Damien revealed has now ruined his life in his new home surrounded by possible friends. And the last line, Cap constantly going back to Damien (before leaving to the small "quiet" town) despite that small voice at the back of his head saying it's a bad idea that he never listens to or acknowledges cuz it's still some form of affection.

3. "The way you only call at night I can't resist to save my life (You know that) In pieces when the morning comes"

Damien calling Cap for nothing more than just some fun and never for anything else. Cap realizes Damien was only nice and polite at the start of their relationship cuz he thought he had to to get Cap's attention and then began dropping that facade (imagine the cedille is there.) And ofc Cap still went to him for a decent while before giving him up. Last line...tbh idk but it definitely just gives Cap vibez in regards to his relo with Damien.

4. "I'm stuck like honey on you"

A short yet simple line. But sums up Cap and Damien's relationship so well. Despite everything that man's done to Cap, he still went back to him time and time again before finally leaving him and his old place behind. He was attached to the only form of "positive" affection he had received. And ofc th fear of never finding anything better would set in but PAT IS RIGHT THERE. But yes, he become slightly dependent on the man and then finally escaped only for the mf to appear outta fuckin nowhere and remind him of everything they had done together. As if Cap would always be stuck with him. (which ofc he isn't cuz my guy Patrick fuckin Butcher knows how to treat a man.)

Thank you for coming to my (second) TEDTalk. I hope you appreciated my analysis and own interpretation of shit. it is currently 2am so i think im gonna sleep but i had to get these out before i forgot.

This is also a good song and i would definitely recommend. I woulda DMd you but tumblr was already open to your blog and the ask box was right there. ANYWAYS, gn king your writing as amazing 108784365/10 will read again

THE SECOND SONG!!!!! LET'S GO!!

obsessed with your music taste. I never listened to Big Time Rush tbf, and had NO idea that they were made by Nickelodeon?! and now they are writing more mature songs...interesting 👀

bro your guess is as good as mine about how to spell Damian. I think I went with -an at the beginning but undoutedly switched it up at a later stage.

"B-b-b-break my heart again Nobody does it like you can Hurt me so good I want it bad Know how to keep me coming back"

so true king!! this is part of the idea that Cap doesn't understand how people who love him should treat him :(

2."Ruined my night, ruined my life, controlled my mind I could've, would've, I should've, but never said goodbye I never learned, love how it hurts, give me the works"

yes, omg this is SO Cap thinking about how Damian ruined the actual specific night, but also how he worries that he's going to lose his friends and that he'll have to move again.

It's been a while since I've reread my own fic lol so I don't quite remember how much detail I went into about this but the Captain definitely knew it was a bad idea to continue seeing him, but any time he stopped, his nights/general free time would become solitary and he'd be inundated with thoughts of other mistakes he'd made (*cough cough* Havers) - going back to Damian is a way of punishing himself for that, and also a way to remind himself that this is probably all he deserves and that he's lucky to have even this.

3. "The way you only call at night I can't resist to save my life (You know that) In pieces when the morning comes"

yes for sure! i just imagine him always like, totally hollow whenever he leaves in the morning. there's a lot of self-hatred there and that's what Damian picked up on before realising he didn't have to try so hard to get Cap's attention.

4. "I'm stuck like honey on you"

it's the fact that he knows! (i am rereading the beginning of chapter 1 now)

'He thought these things because it was what he’d been told, and what he’d been taught by multiple men while he was in a physically and emotionally vulnerable stage of his life and was susceptible to the words of others. And that made it a difficult thing to break away from.'

he knows exactly what's going on and that makes it all the more frustrating for himself to be unable to break away.

yes! the thought of 'is this really it for me?' and the fear that even though everything was Shit with Damian, it might have been the best he'd have ever gotten.

as always, thank you SO MUCH!! absolutely epic, i really appreciate your analysis! talking about my fics via the medium of Song is awesome and always hypes me up to start writing a lil bit more again :) thank you for that!! <3

#le-scenariste #ask #ghosts fic #bbc ghosts

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subjectsix · 2 years

Note

HC question: How would Control characters take care of a toddler?

I was gonna say toddler was like, 2-4, but google says its 1-2 year olds? I dispute this dsfjhskdjfh let's put that age range at 2-3

Trench is great with kids in my mind. He's sat there just watching the kid play pretend or move their toys around, occasionally adding quiet comments or answering questions (usually with a "yeah?" or "oh, I see" to blabs he can't understand). He's just very calm and seems a bit tired but really doesn't mind. Will carry them around and get them pre-made snacks from the fridge and stuff. He just has those perpetual ":/" vibes attached to him skejfhsjehf but he's soft

Darling wants to be good with kids but isn't super sure what he's doing and is trying anyway! He tries giving the kid stuff to do for 6 or 7 year olds, which is at least a bit better than babying the kid, but doesn't quite get how all to help. Doing a good job keeping up with them though! Until he suddenly isn't and is just exhausted wiped out. Would probably let the kid get into stuff they shouldnt and go "ah its fine, I'm here! I'm watching!" [kid is standing up on the table throwing things]

Marshall is a lot like Trench but more content to just sit and watch. She has her eye on the kid and makes sure they don't get into anything they shouldn't and just lets them play and keeps them corralled to one play area. Lets the kid come sit next to her once they're wore out and look at picture books until they fall asleep. Is not afraid to use more adult language around kids kjsehfkjshf

Jesse feels out of her depth and a bit anxious to look after a kid, honestly. She would rather someone else come help or do this and feels pretty awkward at first, but by the end of it shes handling it all like a champ. Probably reads to them or makes up stories or builds blocks with them. Doesn't always know how to respond to questions or kid humor but that literally never stops kids. If she could use her powers she'd probably have to just sit there and entertain them with little party tricks once the kids learned kjdshfjsdhf but I think she'd enjoy that

Dylan oh this depends so much. I think his patience at times can be really low, but I also think kids this young wouldn't be too off-put by him. Low patience for being climbed around on or too much loud noise, but something in him aches watching kids just run around and play, and would definitely be willing to just sit there on the floor and listen to them make stuff up or build stuff with them. Will end up in that feedback loop where kid brings him a book, he reads it, kid instantly grabs another book and brings it to him, repeat. Would not want to be doing this and probably uses language and tones he shouldn't and would need frequent breaks or just someone there to help him, but would overall be trustworthy and pretty decent with the right kid. In a non-FBC, non-hiss world, he'd be great with kids. Gentle yet snarky dude.

Emily looked up some specific activities or tips to do and is following those and adjusting on the fly sekjhfjksehf keeps a pretty neat schedule for the kid and generally just has like... teacher/worker vibes, I suppose? Like less like you're being babysat by a friend or young adult and more like she's a fancy daycare worker following a structured routine. Has music playing and mostly lets the kid play themselves, watching and sometimes adding comments. She overall would rather not watch kids but she's not bad at it at all.

Arish defo watched plenty of kids in his time, talks to the kid very casually ("no way that's your car??? can you make it go super fast on the ground?? let me see!") and will join in their games or pick them up and toss them around and chase them and stuff. Will joke around a bunch and do the like "uncle" thing where he sneaks the kid desserts or shows them stuff they aren't usually allowed to watch or play

Langston not used to kids at all but trying his best! Which is completely out of his depth! Hey kid please don't touch that, no you can't play with the cat like that they don't like that, uhhhh do you want some tea to drink? It's my new jazz album don't you like it? Jazz is good for babies right? Oh you-- you say you're not a baby-- that's fair. I-- I guess you can flip through this book with pictures? uh--

Underhill like your strict aunt who seems really scary but after the third trip to her place you realize she's actually pretty funny and nice, she just comes off like that. She really would rather not be watching this kid and she makes it clear but she's good at it. Makes good snacks and repeatedly asks the kid to use their inside voice and play in a specific little play area

#long post #anon #control 2019 #zachariah trench #casper darling #helen marshall #jesse faden #dylan faden #emily pope #simon arish #frederick langston #raya underhill #kip control headcanons

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timextoxhajima · 3 years

Text

Nevertheless: Wishful Thinking [3]

[completed] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

synopsis: why would the college flirt want anything to do with the innocent heartbreaker? a [somewhat] nevertheless au featuring tbz's eric son young jae

genre [per chapter]: suggestive material, smut *this series is a smut series so* please don't read if you're uncomfy. if you're underaged and you still wanna read, i'm not stopping you. i don't care because that's your responsibility to know what's fiction and what's not.

word count: i genuinely don't fucking know i think it's at least 4k WHY THE FUCK IS IT GETTING LONG ERJSJSJSJDNAKD

taglist: @from-xero @taeyongandfree @ten-gift @louvyves @sweetutopia @yyyereum @jung-breadshop @sunwoowuvbot @mashedpotittiess

protip: links of BGM are linked~

{this is a work of fiction}

eric swipes his thumb across his bottom lip and drags his index finger over the tip of his nose, tongue still sucking on his teeth as if it hadn't already been a day.

he was sitting on the other side of the tutorial room and you just so happened sat in a spot where he was the first person in your view when you looked up.

stupid hexagonal tables.

the moisture in your mouth suddenly evaporates, leaving your tongue dry like sandpaper against the roof of your mouth.

the lustful blanket over his eyes threaten to rip your mentality apart, and even without him touching you, the heat in your abdomen starts to clench and throb.

the thought crosses your mind, just so you can convince yourself: if eric can associate himself with sex within your primal instincts then the brain that got you here can associate him with a big, fucking, red flag.

you suck in a deep breath and hold it for awhile, eyes plastered to the ipad under your palms. crossing your legs tightly, your jeans hug your hips and waist all too perfectly.

yujeong had smacked one of her baseball friends earlier that day for staring at your legs.

after the likes of wooseok's party and the incident yesterday, you made it an effort not to show up in dresses or skirts anymore. call it ptsd, call it trauma, call it not wanting to get into trouble.

whatever it was, you didn't want eric anywhere near you.

well, despite how good he mad-

"can you stop eye-fucking him from across the room?" yujeong harshly whispers at you, glaring at you from the corner of her eyes.

"what?" throwing your tied-up hair to your other shoulder, you tilt your face to her.

"what do you mean 'what'?" yujeong hisses, nodding to the boy across the room. "y'all are fucking in your heads!"

"yes, broadcast it to the entire class, would you, please?" the sarcasm drips off your tongue with a frown.

"I'm just saying if you want him so bad then just go get a room. fucks' sake, go find a practice room or something."

"i think I'll go with 'or something'."

and in that second, your iPad lights up with a notification from the school email account.

yujeong parts her lips with a retort, but you quickly shush her by pressing a finger to your lips when the professor seemed to glance over at the two of you.

she inhales a deep breath, spotting the notification pop up on her laptop screen too.

to: all students

from: the college union

title: dance union winter getaway

dear students,

every year, more than 200 students apply for the dance union but only 20 are accepted. thus, it is of high regard that the members of the dance union utilise the annual winter getaway to bond.

this year's event will be held at lake white. all students in the dance union with leadership positions are expected to be present and those with valid reasons of absence are required to fill up the form attached to this email.

if you're interested in joining the dance union, please apply in the first week of the new academic year. applications open first week of the semester.

regards,

the student union

staring wide-eyed at the email with your apple pencil trembling in your fingers, you gulp.

fuck.

yujeong's lowly snicker sounds from next to you, and you look to her, only to watch a bright smile stretch across her face.

"what?" she snorts, tears in her eyes. "don't look at me. look at your captain."

your neck snaps to the boy across the room, who's got his phone lifted with the screen displaying the email page. he waves it around a little, raising a brow with a menacing shimmer flashing across his eyes.

your blood begins to boil without reason.

why were you suddenly stuck to him? it's like the planets and stars aligned just so he glue himself to you; so he could ruin your title and rip you apart, inch by inch.

your fists clench around the apple pencil, and you're only snapped out of your inner rage when the professor calls on you.

yujeong leans into the lockers with her books against her chest, mindlessly scrolling through her phone as you go on incessantly about the student union's decision to make it mandatory.

you swing the locker door so hard that it bounces off its limit and nearly comes back down onto your hands, but you stop it before it does.

"how does the fucking winter getaway improve our bonds?" you hurl a textbook into the locker. "it's not like we're gonna sit in a circle and sing hallelujah, right?"

"you went for that getaway last year-"

"yeah, and we did nothing besides getting shitfaced! fuck this stupid winter getaway."

"sis, say that any louder and your 'innocent heartbreaker' image is gonna change into something more like 'brutal heartbreaker'."

"don't fucking call me that," you hurl another book into your locker. "and why does everybody talk like that nowadays? 'say that any louder'? where was that from? a movie? a tiktok?"

"why are you so on edge?" yujeong pushes herself off the metal doors and frowns. "you've been on edge ever since wooseok's party."

"i am always on edge."

"what?" yujeong pulls her lips up into a slight wince as her eyes half into squints. "bullshit. what happened to your little 'innocent heartbr-"

"don't," you lift a finger, shutting your eyes and stopping her. "say another word."

yujeong raises both her brows, smirk plastered to her face as she readjusts her bag. "don't worry."

you look up at her, placing the last item in your locker.

"i don't have to."

"what?"

"so," then that godforsaken voice rings from behind you, and all your physical senses start to shut down one by one.

yujeong sees right past it, smirk turning into something less devious as she puffs her cheeks.

"about the winter getaway."

"i'll leave the two of you at it."

"what? no-"

"bye!"

"yujeong-"

she turns and strides off, short hair lathered around her neck. she waves with a bright grin, leaving you to back face the vicious heartbreaker.

you remain rooted to the ground, locker door wide open and bag slung around your right shoulder. eric waits until yujeong disappears down the hall, leaving a few other students within the vicinity to turn and stare at the two infamous dance captains.

eric walks to your side, reaching out and resting his palm on the outer edge of your locker.

"we're in open space," he smiles, gradually pushing the locker door inwards and closing it for you. then he rests his palm against the metal door, sandwiching you again. "there's not much i can do to you."

a few students turn to stare.

"unless you want me to."

"stop it."

"stop what?" he smirks and buckles his arms, forcing you to lay your back flat against the metal surface. "I'm not doing anything."

"then what are you doing now?" you frown and look up at him, knuckles whitening around your bag straps.

"having a conversation."

someone fishes a phone out, and the flashlight flickers.

eric whirls around, keeping his arm anchored to the locker.

"stand down, kid."

"sorry," he fumbles with the phone, and now you'll never know if he actually took a picture.

"anyway-"

"look, i don't know what kind of game you're playing but this isn't healthy for us if we are supposed to work together. especially with the winter getaway coming up."

eric licks his lips and lowers his head, smiling at the sudden cast of professionalism.

"it flatters me that you don't care too much about having fucked outside of wooseok's garage-"

"eric-"

"nor getting fucked out in the practice room-"

"eric-"

"or even the fact that you tied up your hair today-"

"i tie up my hair whenever i fucking want to."

"ooh," eric winces at the snap, his pearly whites glimmering under the lighting. "the 'innocent heartbreaker' is angry!"

"will you shut the fuck up?"

"aw," he coos, leaning into you and breathing down your philtrum. "make me."

your fists finally clench, jaws locked and temples tightened.

"I'll rip off your dick if you touch me again. now, back off."

you press your palms flat into his chest and shove him away, breaking him into light chuckles as he stumbles back.

you pull your bag back onto your shoulder, turning sharply and stomping off.

"hey! we still need to meet up to discuss the plans for lake white!"

the scent of half-painted canvases with acrylic paint washes through your nose when you enter your room.

it's definitely bigger than what a normal room should look like, but it's not your fault that both your parents work under Lee Enterprises, the country's telemarketing company.

the studio corner of your room is in a mess, and you're just halfway done painting the edges of your mirror.

which for specific reasons, you can't really look at it anymore.

the peculiar object you chose to decorate the glass surface hang idly on the corner of the frame, reflecting the afternoon sun spilling into the room.

eric son: so when do we discuss the plans for lake white?

eric son: i don't like to procrastinate

"'discuss the plans for lake white'," mumbling under your breath, you dump your bag into the corner of your room, huffing and resting your hands on your hips. "he's the damn captain, isn't he? he can do it on his own."

notification: acrylic paint to be delivered today

your phone automatically links up with the bluetooth speaker in the room, and you mindlessly tap on the shuffle button before pulling off your shoes.

eric son: okay so I'm thinking groups of four

you pull off your jacket and let the ends of your ponytail brush across your back where the camisole doesn't cover, cool air rushing across the hairs on your skin.

eric son: we can play truth or dare

the bass rumbles through the flooring as you pull off your jeans, throwing on one of those open-holed shorts that no one was ever going to see you in - not even yujeong.

the doorbell rings, yanking you out of your mental rage session over eric son.

acrylic paint.

picking up a cardigan and tying it around your waist, you jog down the stairs and pull open the door without hesitation.

She's just that type of girl

"what. in the world. are you doing here?"

eric tilts his head to the side, his eyes running the length of your body - all the way down to your feet and back up.

"you weren't replying my texts so i thought-" then he raises both hands from his sides, taking a step back and gesturing to your front porch like he owned it. "what better way to have your presence than to go to you?"

"how do you know where i live?" a frown befalls your brows, and your grip tightens on the door handle.

"it's in the school records for student leaders," he offers you a smug shrug, taking a step back to where he was previously standing.

your lips part in an attempt to challenge his explanation, but then he waves it off with a cheeky snicker. "I'm joking. yujeong told me."

"now, why the fuck would she give you my address?"

"hey, captain to captain! plus she knows i won't hurt you."

a scoff runs off your tongue. "you want me to believe that you won't hurt me?"

eric's tongue darts across his lips as he leans on the door frame. "not in your house. oh, i wouldn't dare, princess."

with a huff, you blink away the eye contact first, taking a step back and tugging on the door. "don't fucking call me that."

but his hand flies out and thuds against the wood, keeping the door open. he slowly steps forward, letting himself in.

"then what should i call you?"

"names exist," you step back and grip onto the empty arms of your cardigan around your waist. he closes the door, pulling the chain to lock it.

"then do you prefer y/n or 'innocent heartbreaker'?"

you squint at him, cocking your face at an angle as you back up again.

the answer settles in your head, but you can't say it out loud.

because he's already debunked it.

She's just that type of girl

"fun playlist," eric nods up the stairs, arm stretching out to you and snaking around your waist.

"don't fucking touch me-"

then his other hand circles you as well, his arms around you as he holds you to him, lowering his face into yours. an arching back tries to keep his face off yours, but any more and your spine would've snapped into two.

his nose presses into your cheek as he slots his lips between yours, and the world goes into a muffled silence for a few seconds.

or maybe that was just your playlist moving on.

your nails dig the inside of your clenched palm, fists against his chest as he pulls you up to deepen the kiss, lips moving with yours in some intricate dance of dominance.

on beat with the distant bass coming from your room.

he lets out the first groan, his hands gradually sliding down your back and groping the flesh of your rear that's poking out from under your shorts.

the harsh grip squeezes a whimper out from you, your entire body cringing forward into him and closing the gap between you. with one palm still holding onto your ass, the other comes back up in between your shoulder blades, keeping your chest plastered to his.

eric turns you around, holding you against the wall that leads up to the stairs. your back is flat against the surface, hair stuck to the felt of the wall with your thigh being pulled up over his pelvis.

We should just calm down and fuck some time

then he pulls away and huffs, lips hung wide open and his eyes completely lost in yours. in a low growl, subtly shakes his head as if to disapprove your disobedience against the song lyrics.

"oh, we fucking should."

eric doesn't bother waiting for a response before dipping his nose into your jaw, lips latching onto the tender skin of your neck.

"you coming here-" a jolt of bliss rushes through you when he finds a tender spot, his arms tightening around your waist to keep you close and against the wall. "-was not an invitation-"

the cologne on his clothes starts to intoxicate you like alcohol does to any normal person, the scent of his hair and his clothes wafting and shuffling all around you.

"but you don't hate me being here, do you, princess?" he mumbles into your skin, nipping at the spot behind your lobe. your eyes flutter shut, fists clenching against his shoulder blades.

"come on," he whispers. "we've done it outside and in a practice room, surely you must feel more comfortable in your own bed?"

your eyes widen upon the suggestion, the thought of that cursed object hanging over the corner of your mirror in the room suddenly pulling your soul back into your body.

"no, we can't."

eric pulls away from you, lips reddened from the nipping. they are apart, and his breathing slows as he studies your face.

the panic in your eyes is far too grave for him to miss.

"why not?"

gulp.

"you don't happen to-"

"it's not a vibrator."

eric raises his brows, caging you between his arms as he corners you further, chest on yours and his lips right above your lashes.

"perhaps a-"

"it's not a dildo either."

he pouts in slight disappointment when he can hear the stark honesty in your voice.

his chest rises and lowers under his shirt, listening to your breathing that hitches in your throat every now and then; observing your discipline to keep your eyes away from him.

"you're not gonna tell me what it is?"

glaring at him through the corner of your eye, you shake your head with a resounding 'no'.

he pauses.

then he leans into your ear.

"you being scared is just making me a little more curious, princess."

"curiosity kills the cat."

eric pulls away and slides his arms off the wall. "cats have 9 lives."

the number of sirens that go off in your head spikes, and before you can process his words, he grabs your arm and pulls you onto his shoulder.

"oh my god!" his arm wraps around your lower back, knees against his chest and the world from your eyes upside down as he hoists you up the stairs. "put me down, jesus christ!"

"the more you yell, the more you're gonna regret it, princess," he warns while chuckling to himself. "what could it be, if it's not a dildo or a vibrator?"

then the warmth of his palm reaches up to your shorts, and his fingers dig under the cloth of your underwear.

"fuck, eric-"

all too easily, he pushes a finger into you, your entire body cringing from the sudden intrusion. your eyes blur out just as he makes it to the second floor, and he doesn't need to ask which door he should be heading to.

not when your door has a framed portrait of yourself from last year's concert.

the door creaks open when he pushes the two of you into your room, greeting the sunlight drawn across the floor and his finger still buried inside you.

you heave a sigh when he pulls his finger out and shoves it into his mouth, leaning over your bed to rest you into the cushion.

automatically, his eyes are on high alert, scanning your room. but by the time you've regained your senses and the blood's returned to the rest of your body from your head, he finds it.

resting on the back of your forearms, your breath turns shakey and your eyes twitching from the sight of it dangling off his fingers.

eric turns to look at the mirror, turning the item in his fingers to match the painting of it on the edges.

"so," he returns to you, raising a cocky brow and smirking. "you get high off painting handcuffs on your mirror?"

you tightly shut your eyes as the frown cements into your forehead.

"fuck."

eric scoffs, tongue dragging across his upper lip as he walks towards you and lifts a knee to your bed, the other following.

"this really makes me question how you even got your reputation," eric jingles it from his fingers, his free hand reaching down to draw circles on your right ankle.

"it's just acrylic paint. i paint something new every month-"

"and so your choice for november was... handcuffs?" he wraps his hot fingers around your ankle and yanks you downwards, your crotch nearly meeting his knees.

"it's not my fault you decided to play this game the month i decided to get something remotely inappropriate."

"'remotely inappropriate'," eric repeats, smiling as he lowers himself. the handcuff still within his right hand, his left draws trails up your right leg, playing with the rim of your shorts where they were already riled up enough to expose a bit of your underwear. "so, tell me princess. why did you choose this-"

he holds it up and jingles it over your nose. "to paint?"

"surely it's not because it's pretty."

"or maybe you think it'll look pretty around your wrists?"

eric reaches for your hands and you struggle upon instinct, he pins your dominant hand down first and clips the first cuff around your wrist.

"eric-"

he finds your free hand and connects both your wrists, clipping the other cuff despite your struggling.

eric sucks a deep breath, then parts his lips to exhale. pushing himself off you, he pulls your shorts off first, eyes trailing across every inch of your body with your wrists cuffed together.

the thoughts wash through you involuntarily.

the wooden planks. the dress. the torn underwear.

the mirror. the fogging. the skirt.

the tears collect in the corners of your eyes even before he can completely get it off your ankles.

then he pulls your legs apart for him to lock them in place with his own thighs, crouching over your body like a lion devouring his prey.

he pushes your arms up and above your head, making it difficult for you to bring them back down with your wrists bound together.

his breath is hot on your chest where he first dips his nose into, tongue swiping across the skin of your heaving ribs. hands coming up your waist and pushing them up your torso, it exposes your ribcage and bra.

inch by inch, he breaths down the length of your torso, from your chest and over to your stomach with your camisole rolled up messily over your bra.

upon reaching the rim of your underwear (and heaving stomach as you pant and huff in a bid to calm your nerves), he stops and looks up at you.

"thank god you rejected wooseok."

then both his hands come down to your chest to rip apart your camisole, pulling it out from under you before he unbuckles your bra.

you swallow the first whimper already on the tip of your tongue, but your stomach plunges and your back arches violently when he takes the tip of your breast between his lips.

left hand coming round to grip your other, his right travels down to play with your sensitivity, forcing your body into subtle jolts with the overwhelming sensation.

he tugs on your tip, grazing it between his teeth before releasing it and latching his lips onto the tender flesh in a bid to make his mark.

your brows finally furrow into a frown of bliss, jaw hung agape though struggling to contain the lewd noises prancing about in the back of your throat.

he rolls the other tip between his index finger and thumb, sucking and kissing the reddening flesh of your chest.

and down below, he's pushed your underwear aside, thumb abusing your sensitivity and buckling your hips upwards.

he provides you one sharp bite on your tip, earning a strained hiss from between your teeth. it feeds his pride, for he removes himself off you completely and stares down at you, admiring the painting he's made on your chest.

hickeys.

grip marks.

and the wet patch on your underwear between your legs.

he turns and shifts off the bed, leaving you to catch your breath and cross your legs over one another.

the clacking about in your studio corner drives the tears into your eyes, listening to the lid of the box where you keep your paint come off.

you shut your eyes, resigning to fate.

for your body is in burning need and the discipline to go against his word has betrayed you.

you hear his belt come undone, the weight of his clothes hitting the carpeted ground before the mattress around your legs sink again.

"oh... princess~" he sings, coaxing you out of your mental begging that this was just a nightmare.

a corner drags across your stomach, and your eyes fly open to see his fingers wrapped around a bottle of acrylic paint, completely oblivious to him pulling your underwear off your legs.

black.

the only color that was still relatively abundant.

then the sight of his nudity drives you up a wall inside your head; better yet, driving your resignation up against your own skull.

the lines of his pelvic bone leading down to his manhood all for your eyes to feast on, and even if you wanted to look away, you couldn't.

fuck.

"listen to me very carefully, princess..." he shakes the bottle, then proceeds to unscrew the cap. "I'm sure you don't want any of these on your bed, right?"

chills run through your body when he tilts the bottle over, squeezing the paint onto his palms.

"so," he blinks back to you, eyes wide and cautious. "my advice?"

and with that, he carefully caps the bottle, effortlessly tossing it over his shoulder and back into the box.

he presses his palms together, spreading the paint across his skin.

"don't move too much."

with a wide grin, he smudges the paint into your thighs and up your stomach, sliding the paint all the way to your breasts where he offers a harsh grip.

he doesn't give you a chance to respond to that before he slides himself into you, your neediness allowing him entrance far too easily.

by now, your body was somewhat conditioned to recognise his size, but the idea of him buried deep inside you and his groaning coating the room makes you a little more feral; a little more insane.

the whimper that runs off your tongue is mercilessly lapped up by him when he leans over to kiss you, tongue shoved into your mouth in a bid to shut you up.

he rolls his hips back and forth, unwilling to stop and definitely unwilling to give you any kind of mercy when it comes to making you lose your grip on reality.

he pulls away and resumes an upright position, abs flexed and his palms still gripping onto your chest like his life depended on it.

but eric seems to be a little on edge himself, for this was his first time seeing all of you under him, instead of your humility covered by a dress or a skirt and worrying about being caught in school.

no.

now, he can feast his eyes on you like the predator he is.

not only does he decide to leave his own marks, but marks that you gave him access to.

his handprints are black on your skin and the entire bed is jerking along with every thrust he's offering you.

you finally let out a strained cry, tears collecting in your eyes with the bliss rushing through you over and over again like a broken record. eric's breath turns shaky, and his grip on you begins to loosen when his thighs start to convulse.

by some miracle, the last thrust hits your climax and he pulls out almost immediately after to coat the paint on your stomach with himself.

cream on black.

eric huffs arrogantly, taking deep breaths to retain his breathing as he releases you, stepping back to take in the sight of you in your own bed, ruined by him.

"you definitely look pretty in cuffs."

#nevertheless: wishful thinking #eric smut #the boyz smut #tbz smut #eric sohn smut #eric scenarios #eric imagines #the boyz scenarios #the boyz imagines #tbz scenarios #tbz imagines #eric x reader #eric sohn x reader #the boyz x reader #this was too filthy

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elia-de-silentio · 3 years

Text

Recap on Vanijeanne

As we try to recover from ... well, chapter 50, who wants to read a recap on the most controversial and Problematique couple in the manga?

*crickets*

Well, it was in my to-do list, so I'm writing it anyways.

Now, I love their first meeting, because while it sucks on 'what is actually happening' level, it does a wonderful work of exposure of the characters, hinting at their further development in a few panels.

Jeanne is presented as a '''''"strong woman'''''' ... meaning that's she's very good at fighting. That's essentially a good thug, it says nothing on character strenght. In fact, the only words she says for the first two chapters are asking Luca for orders: she's not shown as someone who takes initiative and acts on her own.

Even her emotional bond to Luca is taken as a sign of her weakness; while caring for someone isn't in any way a moral or emotional deficiency, quite the opposite actually, it hints at the fact that this girl has been so isolated, she has grown terribly attached to the only person to treat her with more than basic decency.

Speaking of basic decency, Vanitas fails even that. He straight-out sexually harassess her, making her feel even more powerless after mocking her for not living up to the strenght expected from her. We will later see that Vanitas isn't above psychological attacks on his enemies (hello, Astolfo), but this is callous even for his standards. Why would he do that?

Well, even if it was the first chapters, it was a bit of a shock to see the character behaving in such a way. Insofar, Vanitas had been presented as cocky, somewhat pushy and trollish, but also determined to help people, kind to Amelia, cheerful and funny. All around, a 'good guy'.

Even Noé, who back then said he didn't particularly like Vanitas, called 'overwhelmingly right' his healing of Amelia. Vanitas pulls a face at hearing that, and I suspect his behaviour towards Jeanne is in some measure a way to 'de-impress' Noé. After all, as we'll see in later chapters, he is an horrible person and can't risk someone actually liking him, right?

Their following meeting at the Bal Masqué is almost as bad. Here, Vanitas exploits her weakened state to flat out coerce Jeanne into drinking his blood, again using Luca as emotional blackmail (she'll hurt Vani, so the kid will be okay). Again, Jeanne really, really doesn't want to do this, and the scene drives home well her turmoil and hatred for the whole situation.

If Jeanne is being coerced in a situation of weakness, Vanitas is not actually faring that better. He wanted to have his blood drunk because he had seen Dominique and Noé do that, and he wanted something similar to the affection these two expressed, but not too similar because he doesn't deserve it and so he must make sure that the other party hates him and - this guy is a mess.

But the blood-drinking looks definitely painful for him. Heck, he even has to cover his own mouth to avoid screaming!

Their third meeting keeps on this proud tradition. In this instance, Vanitas makes quite a bit of back and forth: first he teases Jeanne in public about that possession mark, then dials back when he sees Luca taking issue; he offers privately to help her mantain her secret about the uncontrollable blood-craving, then he puts forth conditions (that she calls him by his name, thus establishing an intimacy she doesn't want, and that she drinks only from him, this limiting the damage she could do but also keeping a personal leash on her); he requires that she only drinks his blood, prattling on how good it feels, but then he has the same pained expression when she actually does it. His motivations here are probably mixed: partly desire to help a possible curse-bearer, partly a way to exercise control on Jeanne (as we have seen with Noé, Vanitas likes being the one in charge of situations), and partly some actual attraction to her.

On her part, Jeanne stands firm in her dislike of Vanitas, even if she really liked the taste of his blood.

Later in the same chapter, Noé questions Vanitas about love; he admits that he doesn't really know, just when he looks a Jeanne il flusso sanguigno gli passa dalle zone superiori a quelle inferiori his heart beats faster. He also lists his reasons for liking Jeanne; quite surprisingly, not only her considerable chest (though that got attention) but also some personality traits, such as her weird blend of toughness and fragility. Still, they're not exactly deep reasons. It sound more like a superficial crush.

But then, he adds something very important: he pursues her because she won't love him back. Here we got the first big hint of Vanitas's huge self-loathing: he is an horrible person, he doesn't deserve love, if someone loves him it means they have got some problems. He likes Jeanne, she's not the kind of person to like him back, he can have a '''safe''' relationship!

Then there is their famous date. It began as a ploy on Jeanne's part to get rid of Vanitas: because of quella comare di Noé, Dominique and then Jeanne herself get to know about that observation just above. So they get the idea: let's pretend that Jeanne really likes Vanitas, so he will leave on his own.

A sound plan, which would have worked if not for ... well, take a look at Jeanne up there. Does she look like she's confessing her love, or trying very hard not to throw up?

But the problem is: the date is great. Vanitas understands exactly what she was up to, and promptly went along with the act. And for the first time, he is actually nice to her: he shows her around the city, is attentive to her wishes, he speaks his mind about some little things.

And this completely throws Jeanne off her balance. Where does this sudden change come from? (And this was probably Vani's intention all along, as another way to keep her on edge and control her)

Not to mention, she's really not used to kindness. She's a bourreau, a pariah. She is so rarely treated with any decency, she is extremely sensitive when someone shows her even a little of it.

This ... '''cute''' rendez-vous comes to an abrupt end when an accident triggers Jeanne's bloodthirst. Vanitas gets her away before anything can happen, lets her feed on him (which still look painful) and tries to understand what exactly her problem is.

Whatever it is, Jeanne is forbidden by Ruthven to talk about it; the only thing certain, is that she is terrified by the perspective of harming Luca, should she no longer be able to control this bloodthirst. Vanitas reacts to this by promising to kill her before such thing can happen.

This scene is ...uuuuh ... interesting. I think that Vanitas actually meant well, even if only in part and in his own way. He surely sees it as an important promise, that he will honor should the necessity manifest itself. As for the other part, here is another nice chance for him to be the one in control!

With their next meeting, Mochizuki slams the gas pedal. In this case, Jeanne is not in a condition of vulnerability, there is nothing to blackmail her with at hand, and she's physically better off: it's the first time we see her take charge.

She has finally the chance to show off her better qualities: her sense of honor in repaying debts (Vanitas protected her from a blow from Astolfo before, getting wounded as a result), her level-headedness in difficult situation and her sense of responsibility towards others.

Vanitas, on the other hand, is a wreck. He lost his book, he got wounded, he has got hypotermia, he couldn't prevent Jeanne from stripping him out of the wet clothes and seeing the scars on his body, he has got a fever and is delirious. In this state, he gets a pretty loose tongue: he asks Jeanne some pretty personal questions about her motives here. She stays firm on what she 'has to' do regarding Chloé, but still, this is the first seed of doubt in her mind.

Oh, and there another kinda-kiss. No idea what Jeanne was thinking, passing Vanitas water that way instead of just putting the bottle to his lips.

Anyways, Vanitas really doesn't like not being the one in control. The morning after he acts the coldest he has ever been to Jeanne, dismissing her and then focusing on the task at hand, doing his best to avoid talking about that moment of fragility. Still, he shows some care for her, inviting her to listen to Dante's informations about Chloé.

They have a bit of a conflict of interest in there: Jeanne feels guilty about not fulfilling her duty as a tool and wants to amend by actually killing her mentor, Vanitas wants to save that same person; and, maybe because of personal experience, he has realized that Chloé 's death won't make Jeanne happy.

And how does the situation get resolved? In the sweetest, most actually romantic way possible. Vanitas exposes the truth about Gevaudan to Jeanne, and asks her what she truly wants.

A bit of exposition on Jeanne's past reveals that she has severe trauma after witnessing the death of her parents and being treated as a bourreau, a tool; she's convinced that if she ever acts according to her own will, someone else will be hurt. She's completely broken down by not having been able to kill one of the few people who treated her with kindness, and blames herself for everything that's happened in this arc.

But (after some unwitting influence from Noé) in sweeps our knight in a shining baggy coat, with the following message: she has every right to her desires. He wants to make her happy, he won't die as a result, he's ready to accept all she has to say, without judging her, with no condescension or trying to control her. All she has to do is be the one to give the order, and he'll obey. And she wishes for Chloé to be saved.

Chloé is saved. Her will to live is restored, and she is reunited with the people she loves. Jeanne is, in her own words, 'so happy she could burst', and extremely grateful to Vanitas.

This propels her to first drink his blood, and this time it really doesn't look painful; then to kiss him. And this time, he is the one to blush and stutter, clearly off-balanced by what has happened and by the fact he doesn't dislike it one bit.

The following chapters can be only described as hysterical. Upon actually falling in love, Vanitas enacts the following:

• Spending ten days in bed, thinking he's about to die.

• Believing Jeanne cursed him

• Describing extensively and graphically, in front of Count Orlok, that particular blood-drinking che per come è posto sembra più una trombata

• Getting physically thrown out as a result

• Wandering in a haze, thinking about Jeanne's smile

• Running in a panic after hearing some convenient passerby declare his feelings for a girl with him

• After almost literally stumbling on Roland, sitting down with him and Olivier and trying to get romantic advice from a guy he dislikes and another he has never seen before.

• Trying the 'asking for a friend' trick. Is figured out after an esteemed timeframe of 0.2 seconds.

(Perdonate l'interruzione. La faccia da culo di Roland meritava la condivisione)

• Getting the most desperate look after Roland diagnisizes him with 'love'

• Throwing away all pretenses and expressing outright his self-loathing, to what is pretty much a couple of strangers, in stark contrast with his usual reservation.

• Reacting like a pissed-off cat to any attempts of comfort from Roland and Noé.

Meanwhile, Jeanne ...

Well, actually there is a whole sequence where she realizes she is in love, and describes the same symptoms as Vani in a cheerful, positive way to two flabbergasted Dominique and Luca; but I felt like the above panel was the most culturally relevant.

The point is, now that the feelings are real, Jeanne is the most confident and forward of the two. And this is a pretty great thing for her: as a bourreau, she didn't think love would have played a part in her life; she felt that she was just a tool, but not now, she has realized that she can love and be loved, and this makes her happy and confident. As Dominique observes, she shreds the shyness and insecurity that circumstances had forced on her, and returns to her original, cheerful personality; you can't take your eyes off her.

Still, in a following chapter, she has that little fantasy of a classic fairytale with herself and Vani in the protagonist roles. While it's a very cute and funny scene, it highlights something that Dominique too noticed: she is very black-and-white about Vanitas. She has gone from absolutely loathing him (with good reason!) to absolutely idealizing him (again, he finally acted with real kindness and selflessness towards her, but she doesn't even recognize how awful he was towards her at the start).

This would mean a fair share of problems with any normal person, as nobody is completely horrible or completely good, but with a walking bundle of trauma, contrasting feelings and self-loathing as Vanitas? It's probably a recipe for a disaster.

So! All in all, I admit I really like this couple. I like the possibilities of self-discovery each of them represents for the other: for Vanitas, to realize that his life isn't fixated by whatever happened in his past and that he can have positive relationships with people, and that he can amend his mistakes and receive forgiveness; for Jeanne, to fully experience positive emotions, and acquire a more balanced view of people and situations if her feelings survive the clash with Vanitas's failings.

... that was, before the disaster that was chapter 50. Jeanne has a very good relationship with Dominique, too; she was worried about her, and is likely investigating her disappearence, especially because Luca called specifically for her when he found out about it.

Remember? The same Dominique Vanitas would be willing to let be killed in order to protect his own memories, and even insulted in front of Noé? If Jeanne arrives on the scene, or finds out what happened, she will be forced to a new, decidedly less positive evaluation of Vanitas.

Misha is really being a wrecking ball on whatever halfway positive relationship his brother has, as if Vanitas himself wasn't enough to mess them up.

Thanks to anyone who bothered to read my ramblings!

#vnc #vanitas no carte #the case study of vanitas #vanitas no shuki #vnc vanitas #vnc meta #vnc analysis #vnc spoilers #vnc jeanne #elia's recaps

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xiu21chen99 · 4 years

Text

hxh headcanon/imagine.

again... still about hisoillu but about their engagement instead of illu's influenced fashion choice.

also this is more of... idk it gave reason why they chose to marry instead of uh other ways i guess??

i've seen so many fanarts where illu would break the news to the zoldycks or how killu would react to having hisoka as his brother in law- like srsly it's meme worthy at this point- and lotsa ones that showed how hisoka proposed as a joke or smtg but... I've been overthinking abt it these past few days sO i present to you how i think "the big question aka the proposal" happened... (manga spoilers??)

it's after hisoka resurrected himself obviously, and def after he killed kortopi and shalnark (so he knew there was gonna be empty slots in the spiders' lineup)

i imagine illu went back to the zoldyck estate after the whole fiasco and only heard of hisoka's "death" from rumors while he was on a mission

and then when he was idk maybe contemplating on whether or not he should visit the body(?) to pay respects or something, he gets a text message from the devil himself

their text went like this probably:

hisoka: hey~ where are you right now?♠️ (and no u can't tell me hisoka doesn't text w card suits u just can't-)

illumi: who are you and how did you get the phone you are currently using?

hisoka: ooh~ illu~ i feel betrayed, did you delete my number?♣️

illumi: hisoka is dead

hisoka: *image attached*

illumi: oh

illumi: hello hisoka, how are you still alive?

hisoka: you sound disappointed~♦️

illumi: i kind of am...

hisoka: rude, just tell me where you are♥️

...and that's how they met up?? ngl i think illu has a know-it-all syndrome where he just has to,,, k n o w everything

he's curious so he agrees to the meetup ofc

he's also surprised when he sees hisoka is in good shape when they meet (idk at a bar in an unknown city?)

they drink whiskey on the rocks because... you know...

hisoka explains how he survived and his next plan of action (which is terminate the spiders)

illumi makes a mental note of nen after death bc he's heard and seen it all before but... not to this extent,

this is gonna be,,, bland but i think this is the logic behind why hisoka chose to get married/engaged instead of just paying up front (reference to the ten dons' commission to get chrollo killed and chrollo's commission to get the ten dons killed)--

anyways here's how their conversation goes:

i: "why did you want to talk in person?"

h: "oh y'know, for old times sake."

i: "...right"

hisoka laughs, "okay so maybe i want to ask you for a favor..?"

confused, illumi asks, "why could you not have just texted if you wanted me to kill someone for you?"

h: "no, no- wait, actually, you're not too far off."

i: ~mOrE cOnfUsiOn~ "huh?"

h: "how do contracts for assassination work in your... family business?"

i: "half the promised pay before, the remaining half afterwards. should the target be eliminated by a third party, the assigned zoldyck still gets the pay and should the employer die, then the contract is terminated and the zoldyck will report back immediately."

h: "and has anyone made a contract to have themselves terminated?"

i: "i beg your pardon?"

h: "what complications will arise should your employer's target be... themselves?"

i: "i believe... i have never encountered such circumstance before. the people who hire us are those who have enough money and resource to have their enemies killed quickly. no one's tried to test the zoldyck assassination prowess."

h: "so... how will that work?"

i: "are you implying this is the reason why you have contacted me today?"

h: "yes~ ♥️" (how he said a heart emoji out loud is up to you, reader)

i: "it will be a pointless paradox. logically, the zoldyck will only get the employment bill. and i, myself, do not find pleasure in going for the kill like you lest i get my reward, so you will not get a contract out of me, hisoka."

h: "is there no leeway?"

i: "a zoldyck stands up to their word. so no."

h: "even for a friend?~ ♦️"

i: "we are not friends, hisoka-"

hisoka raises his glass of whiskey along with his eyebrow.

i: "oh..."

h: "didn't you tell dear killua that a zoldyck didn't need friends?"

i: "you... are an associate, someone reliable in the killing world. it's different."

h: "hypocrite"

i: "i ask you for favors and you make me return them. it is not like we spend our time together leisurely like killu with that island boy..."

hisoka clinks their matching glasses of whiskey even though his is already empty, a shit-eating grin on his lips.

i: "you suggested we meet here."

h: "this isn't the first time we went out to drink, right illu?"

i: "regardless!! i will not kill you just for half the money. i do not like wasting efforts on fruitless missions."

h: "as i said, is there no exception, to make sure you get my money if you were to succeed in killing me?"

i: "are you doubting my skill, hisoka?"

h: "that's not the point right now~ ♠️"

i: "wait, why do you want me to get all of your money?"

h: "haven't we just gotten over this subject? because you're my friend, of course."

i: "i... we are not friends, hisoka."

hisoka claps, "that's it! illumi!! ♣️"

i: "eh?"

h: "marry me! that way in our prenup I'll make sure you get all of my money, and even without a prenup you'll still get it since you'll be my only relative! that solves it!"

i: "hisoka, are you sure death did not took a toll on your brain? you did say you used Bungee Gum only on your heart and lungs..."

h: "i'm being serious, illumi!! and doesn't this solve your earlier conflict? we don't have to be friends, we'll be husbands!"

i: "do not use that tactic with me, you manipulative bastard. stop joking."

h: "this is purely beneficial for you, honestly i don't get why you just won't accept it."

i: "then humor me this first, why now?"

h: "dear illu, i've been to literal hell and back. i think it's time to leave my mark in case i fail to escape death again."

i: "was it that bad?"

h: "you'll love it there, illu~ ♥️"

h: "on a more serious note, though, i do plan to marry you. out of everyone i've encountered, you're the most eligible candidate. you're powerful, fully capable and extremely pretty to boot! you're the ideal husband!"

(blushing obviously, illumi downs the remaining whiskey in his glass) i: "death has changed you, hisoka."

h: "so?"

i: "fine."

h: "excellent!"

and in one fell swoop, illumi has a pin against the curve of hisoka's jugular, wrist held tightly by hisoka- a card matching against his own neck.

"not yet, dear husband." hisoka whispered into his ear, "we have to manage the papers first. and i've a request before you do."

they let each other go at the same time, not even breathing an unnecessary breath in the other's personal space (well, they're nearly pressed thigh to thigh anyways, what's the point of personal space anymore-)

"a condition rather than a request, really."

"what?" hisoka orders them refills, and downs his when it arrives.

"join the ryodan first."

glass already pressed on thin lips, illumi's confused hum resonates softly into the concave utensil. "why?"

"so things can get more interesting. i assume you know of the dark continent expedition that's soon to take place?"

"father has advised i take part on it, since kalluto told me the ryodan plans to rob some cliches who'll join the expedition- to look after him. you want me to join them?"

"yes, and i plan to board as well, don't fret."

illumi's eyes turn to slits, "how should i know you would be there? i can't take your word when you might just disappear when we've all boarded."

hisoka grins, wide then wider, "you should know by now illu, i plan to avenge my wounded pride. that damned chrollo didn't even fight me properly."

tilting his head, illumi stared at the man beside him, "is that not contradictory? i thought you did not mind your opponent using whatever means necessary to win?"

"magicians use tricks and misdirection to awe the audience," hisoka says almost thoughtlessly, "chrollo's a narcissistic hypnotist who used the audience as a damned shield because he knew he couldn't handle me face-to-face."

he groans, tinged in regret. "i shouldn't have picked heaven's arena, if i'd chosen a more discreet location then maybe the damage won't be this bad."

"damage?" illumi rests his chin on his palm, facing his husband.

hisoka swipes a hand over his face, and the glamour comes off. the picture he sent illumi now present in front of him. he was missing a nose, his left hand didn't have any finger left and dried blood chipped on his white skin. "oh."

with another swipe, everything's made correct again. hisoka was grinning again. he downs the remaining alcohol and leaves jenny bills under the emptied glass.

"come, lovely husband. we're to elope and legalize our union!"

illumi follows suit after downing his own glass, "i think there might be another loop hole, if you were to join the family. zoldycks do not kill family."

"so if i were to wed you, here and now, you'd think me more of a family than alluka?"

"alluka is not family."

"are those your words, illumi? or silva's?"

"i..."

"wow, you're really just as fucked up as i am."

"where do you plan to take me? i've just said i cannot kill family."

hisoka chuckles, "then you're the one to take my name, of course."

"preposterous!"

"who the hell still uses that word?"

"i am and will always be a zoldyck-"

"exactly. it's just legal papers, if you kill me then you'll just be a widow and even get your name back! see how everything'll work out in the end?"

"hisoka-"

"are you doubting your skill of assassination, my dearest husband?"

"... i better get the most expensive ring in this damned city."

"that's the spirit! now let's go get married!"

"wait, hisoka. what is your last name?"

later that night, when they leave a chapel, something gold glimmers on hisoka's bungee gum/texture surprise ring finger. a matching one around illumi's finger.

unlike hisoka, though, illumi had an extra red glimmer right under that gold, in the dead center of a silver band of intricately designed pattern. hisoka had foregone the traditional diamond in favor of a 16 carat ruby engagement ring, such a curious choice but illumi accepted it all the same...

(much later on, hisoka took both rings as collateral and reminded illumi that he would get them back even if he died bc it was in their damn prenup- and bc it was technically bought under illumis name and that's how hisoka assured illu that he'd be on that black whale,,, bc he had the rings and planned to give them back to him there)

"I thought a red gemstone was better suited for the rather bloody and murderous ending that our relationship will inevitably come to, wouldn't you agree?"

-Hisoka Morow whenever someone mentions his preference of proposal ring...

"I disagree with most of his ideals, our relationship has always had a fragile foundation, and I knew from the start that we'd eventually end up killing each other."

-Illumi Morow, nee Zoldyck when asked about his thoughts on his husband...

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witching-by-the-willow · 3 years

Text

Right! So now that I've somewhat collected and organised my thoughts about ACOTAR, here we go:

First of all, I feel like this is one of those books where the plot is not the highlight, at least for me (that's not a bad thing at all), and is honestly starting to fade from my mind already (I almost never forget plots, but then again, I've also never binged a whole series in a week 🙃) I went into it looking for some steamy romance, not a whole lot of brainstorming, and a relatively easy-to-follow plot and world. That's exactly what I got.

I'm breaking this into 3 parts: the ACOTAR Trilogy, the ACOFAS novella, and then ACOSF.

This can get long, so I'm gonna put a wee cut here.

The ACOTAR trilogy

I don't really have much to say here, actually...I had a good time with it and finished the trilogy in 4 days.

I liked ACOWAR (4 stars) the most, ACOTAR (3 stars) the least and ACOMAF is in the middle (3.5 stars). (For reference, I take 3 stars as "fine"/ a good time but no strong feelings.)

I have heard this before while I was looking up reviews of this series, and I agree that SJM is very upfront with which characters you should like, and I feel like if you don't love them, the series will fall flat. I, for one, liked Feyre throughout these 3 books, but didn't blindly love her, so there were many points where I was annoyed at everybody worshipping her and Rhys, even when they were in the wrong. But I did enjoy her character overall.

I knew what was going to happen with Tamlin, so I didn't really bother getting attached, but Rhysand intrigued me in book 1, then I didn't like him much for most of book 2, but liked him in book 3.

I liked Lucien as well! He has some sassy one-liners and when have I not loved that?

The inner circle seemed cool to me until ACOSF (except Azriel, I liked him all throughout but even more after it)....but also, does anyone in the IC ever question anything Rhys does? Because that sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. These people need to get their heads out of Feysand's asses, if they're going to have any actual debate.

Nesta extracting revenge in the cauldron, like the queen she is. Like, go Nesta, pillage death! 😌 (oh god did I just quote Rhys?)

I loved the moments between Nessian in ACOMAF and ACOWAR.

I never want to see the words 'velvet' and 'steel' in the same sentence again, or I will lose my mind. Also goes for "bowels loosening" or some shit. It might sound sensual to SJM but to me, it sounds like Diarrhoea.

I'm sorry, but I literally cannot take the Cauldron seriously...the fact that they worship a magical pot is just hilarious to me.

ACOFAS

Now, I know a big part of the fandom didn't like this book, but I actually did. I'd say 3.75 stars. It's probably because I didn't read this series for the plot to begin with, so I didn't really care that it was altogether absent here.

I still liked Feysand at this point (this wasn't going to last long...), but I was still annoyed at Feyre for making Nesta attend the party, and then doing nothing about everyone ignoring her. Like, what was she trying to achieve with this?

I really wish they hadn't brought up Rhys' parents age-gap as a justification of the one between Feysand. It just wasn't needed, and was a little weird that we needed to be told this.

I really felt for Nesta in this book. She was my favourite Archeron from the get-go. Listen, I almost always get protective over traumatised women with terrible coping mechanisms, and who push people away. I still think she and Elain were way too passive while Feyre was out hunting to feed the family, but I think Nesta gets WAY more hatred than Elain.

And about her, I low-key forgot Elain and Tamlin existed. It's not that I hate Elain, it's just that she isn't fleshed out as a character. She's just there (other than the stabbing scene, of course..that was cool). I really hope she gets some sort of arc in the upcoming books. And Tamlin, well... I'm just tired of him at this point.

And yes, like most people, I too am irked by Rhys climaxing to an image of his unborn son. A part of me is aware it's more because he is thrilled by PROSECT of having a child, but it's still weird.

I like that the bat boys have snowball fights and I want more of that!

ACOSF

Now, this. This one I have quite a few things to say about. I liked it a lot, and I'd give it 4 stars if I had to rate it.

How ironic that my favourite book in the series is also the one that made me SO angry at many characters.

I'll start with things I hated, and then move on to things I loved to hopefully end it on a positive note.

*takes a deep breath* okay, let's go.

First off, Feysand really pulled a Tamlin in my eyes. I hated them here.

Rhysand hiding the death-sentence part of her pregnancy from Feyre? Excuse me, I thought he was a self-proclaimed Feminist? Oh right, his feminism is highly selective.

And then Feyre just moves over it so quickly? Why isn't she more pissed? 🤯

And the Suicide pact...(Feyre is what? 22? And what about the court? Or their son? Does nothing else matter?) I can't even get myself to believe that SJM thought it was romantic. It's co-dependant and nothing else. I'll leave this here, because I can write a whole essay on this topic and this post is already long enough.

And the IC. Oh, god..where do I start? They feel entitled to make decisions FOR people and then try to justify it? And Feyre defends this? Honestly, Nesta was right to be pissed. And as terrible as it was for Feyre, when she found out that the IC had made a decision for her without her knowing, just like she was a part of doing for Nesta, I felt truly sorry for her, because no one should have to go though that, but a part of me was also couldn't help but see that she basically got a taste of her medicine.

Rhys told Cassian to get Nesta out so he doesn't kill her? He does realise he wouldn't be able to even if he tried, and that with the power she had at the time, she could end him on her worst day, right?

And Feyre, I thought she wanted to do whatever she could for the people who had suffered during the war, but somehow can't find anything to do for them (rehabilitating people, for example?) with one of her and Rhys' FIVE houses? I wouldn't have minded this so much if only SJM hadn't painted Feysand as the most charitable people alive when they don't do shit where it matters.

Also, how do they make money in this world?

And Cassian, I liked him later in the story, but initially I was so annoyed at him for defending Rhys when he was clearly being terrible. (This is what meant when I said the IC needs to get their heads out of Feysand's asses.)

The way the IC shames Nesta is just abhorrent. Like, these people have been alive for 500+ years and still don't know how to treat a person who is very clearly in depression.

And Nesta fucking Archeron apologising ON HER KNEES? To Amren?! What was that? I'm choosing to erase that part from my memory.

Okay, Rant over. Now onto the stuff I liked.

The Valkyries. Gwyn, Emerie and Nesta have my whole heart. I love them so much.

The Valkyries>>>>>the IC, and that is a fact.

The blood rite and the Valkyries coming together was a great scene. Emerie and Gwyn's stories hurt my heart.

The sleepover and the friendship bracelets! ❤️

Nessian. I don't think I need to say more. I really liked them after Cassian started calling Rhys out for shit-talking Nesta. I like them way more than I ever liked Feysand, just because I feel like they don't idolise each other to ridiculous degrees. They keep it real.

The smut definitely improved. I've still read better, but it's a leap from the torture that was the trilogy.

Also, while I love Nessian, I just want to say that Nesta and Eris Vanserra would have taken over the Fae world if they had come together. Not that I wanted them to, but I'm just pointing out how badass it could be.

The friendship between Azriel and Nesta. I didn't know I needed it, but I did. Again, I like this friendship more than Cassian and Feyre, because they don't idolise each other. They're two people who've been outcasts and understand what it's like, and found comradery with each other. And his gift was so considerate!

Azriel the chaperone. Poor guy. 😂

So yeah, Az is my favourite bat-boy.

Helion being Sellyn Drake was the best reveal in this entire series. I really do wish he gets Lady Autumn back, because their story is making me sad...

Now, I could see why people shipped Elriel in books 1 and 2, but after ACOSF, I NEED Gwynriel to happen. They could very possibly become my favourite ACOTAR couple, if it happens.

I have conflicting opinions on Nesta giving up her powers to save Feysand. On one hand, I do think they were eating her alive and she was tired and didn't want them. But on the other hand, I feel like she gave them up without ever understanding what she could do with them...? It just feels like SJM took the easy way out with this plotline instead of exploring Nesta's powers. Because let's be honest, ACOSF was a very VERY long book and this exploration was quite possible at the expense of a little less smut. Just saying.

Rhysand kneeling and bowing to Nesta was the one good thing he did in this book.

The house reads and recommends smut. I stan.

OKAY I'M DONE! (I think...for now.)

If you read this all the way...Wow. Much respect to you.

Anyway, as of now, the only characters I actually like are Nesta, Gwyn, Emerie, Azriel, Cassian, Lucien and the House. I don't really care about anyone else.

So those were my thoughts that absolutely nobody asked for, but here we are.

I'd love to hear everybody else's opinions!

#niki reads #acotar #acosf #acowar #acomaf #acofas #books and reading #a court of thorns and roses #a court of mist and fury #a court of wings and ruin #a court of frost and starlight #a court of silver flames #sarah j maas

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