#AUGH i miss her like. a whole bunch.

[bigredsartt]

im actually gonna sob bc my friend has a bab party that i was gonna go to but cant anymore bc of stuff but i was gonna make a bear that reminds me of my girlfriend and have her send a voice note of whatever she wanted me to hear and put it in the bear but now i CANT.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s6 episode 1 "the beginning" thoughts

season 6!!!! my goodness, how the time sure has flown!! i started this whole project in may of last year, and now we are in january! so much has changed! but other things have stayed the same. 

i have heard mixed things on s6, so i am a bit nervous. but i am excited to be reunited. 

i am also curious to see where exactly the movie was set after the finale of s5. has it been a while, or only a few days? has our little friend gibson been missing this whole time? what about diana- did she pull through? will we get to know more about her?

we need to microchip gibson so we never lose him again. 

(i felt vindicated when people told me diana isn’t a fandom favorite, LMAO. i’m usually the girl that goes to BAT for overhated female characters, but she just seemed too intentionally antagonistic towards scully)

so… this episode shall deal with our agents going on a hunt. well, they had best be careful! there are a bunch of different aliens and beasts on the loose!

(post-episode thoughts: my fury at mulder is 75% normal juni rage and 25% enhanced by me being sick and emotional, a fact i only put together the morning AFTER i took all of these notes. you have been warned....)

anyway. let us begin!

(previously, on the x files)

(and i STAND by my opinion that CSM has a very soothing voice, okay?!? googling this man so i can see if he narrates any audiobooks)

man, i forgot about mulder pushing spender up against the wall and their feud. ah, spender. i feel bad for him, but that doesn’t mean i LIKE him. 

OH, WE GET TO SEE CLIPS FROM THE MOVIE IN THIS RECAP!! and they are in such high quality in comparison to the DVD i borrowed!! wow. when i watch it again sometime in the future- hopefully not on a DVD from 1998- i cannot wait to see everything so CRISP.

NOT THE KISS BAIT BEING INCLUDED IN THE RECAP LMAOOO

but now let us begin the adventures of s6!

NOOOOO! roush!!! the evil biological company! their truck is out in the desert. and their guys are pissing. 

well. this happens.

sandy is sweating. bro does NOT look good. i know his ass is not making it through the night.

when sandy gets home, he cranks the heat up to 80 in arizona, which is WILD. then he goes to lay on the couch and shiver. 

AUGH!!! his hand is JELLY???? it’s see-through!!! i did not want to look at all of sandy’s veins!!!

is he having an alien baby, too?!?!

his work buddies come to fetch him later. we see a bunch of photos of him in his house wearing a lab coat and doing doctor-y things.

AWW, his coworker called him sandman. don’t make me feel bad for the dude who works at the evil alien biotech company…

BLEURGH. he DID have an alien chest baby virus infection thing. OH, this other guy is SHOCKED!! AND HE HEARS THE ALIEN HISSING AT HIM!!!!!

HE’S GETTING EATEN!!!!! NOOOO!!!! 

RIP this guy :(

YAAAY, the intro!!! felt weird not having it with the movie!!!

and it was shortened, but okay. i’m getting used to that.

ahhh, look at this computer on which mulder is examining something. is he looking at micro film?

OH, the sweet boy, he’s restoring the fragments from the x files!! this makes me sad!! does that mean there isn’t a huge box of floppy disks somewhere containing all of them? because it is the responsible thing to do, making sure you have all your files saved in multiple sources! well, we’re only a few minutes into the episode. there’s still time for one of those to be found

and now he is presenting before a panel. he says the x files were destroyed “several months ago”, which places us on a vague timeline. scully is here!!!!

“i see your renowned arrogance has been left quite intact”, says this dude on the panel, and HEY! mulder literally isn’t even being arrogant at THIS MOMENT, OKAY? plenty of other times he is. but not now, as he is submitting his report on this alien spaceship!!

“i didn’t see men in black” “well it’s a damn good movie” <- LMAO they are BULLYING HIM!!!

scully looks pained. 

NOT THEM GETTING ON HIS ASS FOR THE TRAVEL EXPENSES STOOOOOP BEING MEAN!!!

OHHH NOOOOO!!! he says that scully can prove the whole thing, but she can’t. cut to them fighting in the hallway.

mulder… you’re pissing me off. SHE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT THE VIRUS IS OR HOW IT WOULD MAKE ALIENS!!!!!! maybe you should have brought a camera to the arctic. don’t you BRUSH INTO HER SHOULDER AS YOU WALK AWAY!!! you were going to KISS HER like a few weeks ago!!! i won’t tolerate this disrespect. 

CSM is debriefing the syndicate on the arizona alien deaths, saying he made up a cover story and it’s called “blaming it on Native Americans”. classic CSM, world-renowned great guy /s

so, he thinks the arizona guy who gave birth to an alien chest baby accidentally injected himself with the virus, and now the alien is on the loose!!! 

man, the presence of well-groomed man is missed. RIP. this other guy is here, though. so that’s good. i guess.

CSM says he is managing the situation. will he be sent out to test his sniping skills?? can you snipe an alien?

skinner is coming down to see mulder on the computer… NOOO, he breaks the news that his reassignment on the x files has been denied!!!!! 

mulder's all angry, and skinner tries to clarify he’s not arguing with him, but raises the question: “when will you accept that no amount of pressure or reason will bring to heel a conspiracy whose members walk these halls with absolute impunity?” <- ohhh, a very good point…

so they reopened the x files, then denied his reassignment? are they going to assign them to someone else? or just close them again?? will they keep scully on them?

skinner said that the vote was unanimous… he must have been trying not to blow his cover as mulder’s biggest supporter… but i'm sure this still made mulder very sad

so he gets all his stuff up and starts to leave. BUT SKINNER WANTS TO HELP HIM FIND PROOF??? SO HE CAN PROVE THE OTHERS WRONG??

i told you!!!! that man is my uncle.

he says there’s a file on his desk in the old office……. and sure enough, there is.

is this season much darker in terms of screen brightness?

OH SHIT…. why is spender down here in mulder's old office? WITH DIANA??? “diana, back on your feet. i guess that’s the only way you can stab me in the back” <- damn. he's pissed.

woah, what? okay, i was imagining scully staying on the project and spender taking his place, which would obviously be awful, but diana taking his place is like, worse. so now is it going to be spender and diana? instead of mulder and scully? ew.

jump to CSM lighting up in front of a no smoking sign… he’s just fundamentally a bad boy. he’s walking in where some sort of surgery is taking place!!!

he says he needs the patient bandaged and dressed, even though this might kill them. OH SHIT! IT’S GIBSON!!! and he must be in the middle of surgery!!!!!

EAIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THEY HAVE HIS BRAIN OPEN………….

good lord, i nearly passed out. again, i repeat my grounding mantra: shoutout to the props team.

and he was awake, too………..

poor baby. 

AWWWW, THE AGENTS ARE DOWN IN PHOENIX to investigate the case that skinner left them the files on, and scully WILL remind him that they are violating state laws regarding contamination of a crime scene (she lets out a deep scully sigh, asking “why do i bother?”) yeah. idk either queen.

he sees claw marks on the walls!!! that does not look like it came from some bare hands. scully is not fooled by this claim in the evidence report. 

ooooooo, he finds a claw!!!!!!!!

“is that an animal?” “ain’t rupaul” <- LMAO I’M CRYING????????? 

mulder, i knew you were an ally ✊

(listen, both of those agents are bisexual to me. and maybe ace, too. depends on the day. THAT'S MY OPINION!)

(he hands the claw to scully very carefully <3)

feels wrong to see him in what i think is a polo, but it is hard to tell because the screen is so DARK.

oh yeah, let scully calculate the gestation rate of this hypothetical alien baby. under 12 hours!!! damn!! that is… quick. and also? how could a baby do all this, she wants to know? well. some babies are more equipped for violence than others. i guess. 

oh no! CSM IS HERE!! AND POOR BABY GIBSON, BLEEDING THROUGH HIS BANDAGES!!

please someone lay him down and let him watch spongebob. NOW.

gibson announces that "it" (alien baby) isn’t here. and that he knows CSM wants to kill him if he can’t find the creature. poor sweet little dude. they drive off.

mulder emerges into the daylight, and he does, in fact, have a polo on. but he is asking scully why she won’t believe him. MAYBE IT *WILL* TAKE AN ALIEN BITING HER FOR HER TO BELIEVE, BUDDY!!! DON'T RAISE YOUR GODDAMN VOICE AT HER!!

OHHH, SHE GRABS HIS HAND?? “listen, mulder, you told me that my science kept you honest. that it made you question your assumptions; that by it, i’d made you a whole person”

(okay girl, stay with me here now, but i think he meant YOU made him a whole person, not your science…….. but maybe she had to compartmentalize after nearly kissing him)

“if i change now… it wouldn’t be right, or honest” oh, scully <3 he has never deserved you or your kindness...

he’s being a whiny baby. like, i get it, and i understand. they're taking the x files away! and he needs to prove they are correct about aliens! but “i’m sorry scully, but this time your science is wrong” and walking away… 😒 which problem did that solve?

idk!! i see both of their points!!! this fundamental and ancient conflict is once again playing out, but can we focus less on the hows and whys of the situation and more on the “we need to get our jobs back and be bestest friends forever and ever, and also save that missing little boy and find some answers along the way”? please. consider this viewpoint. for me!

oh, let's go off to a nuclear power plant. again, very dark. noticing a theme here. it’s outside arizona. is that where the alien wants to go?

did they call the guy homer as a simpsons reference…? i see what was done here. well, something in the power plant is off. 

don’t send homer loose into the dark!!! the alien will eat him!!! especially while vague splattering noises are heard!!

CREATURE EATS HOMER……….

agents mulder and scully are on the scene. but so is spender!!!

UGH, he’s so ANNOYING: he basically says “i’m gonna get skinner censured for telling you some guy was murdered, now LEAVE” SPENDER!!! you are PISSING ME OFF!! 

(it made me think of that line from sharkboy and lavagirl: "mr. electric, send him to the principal's office and HAVE HIM EXPELLED!" <- that's what your whiny ass sounds like, spender)

and diana won’t let them in either, saying that it was "just a work accident". oh, so much for caring about the x files, huh? like you claimed in the last episode. you sound REAL invested now /s

scully gets him to come back to the car after he spits some venom at diana (“i hope you know whose errands you’re running”).

however, he says to give him the keys and tells scully to get in the car, and she gives him the most DIABOLICAL side eye LMAO. she is so suspicious of his shenanigans!!!

OH MY GOD, THERE WAS A REASON FOR THAT: SHE FINDS GIBSON IN THE CAR????? he’s out cold and she’s holding his head, calling him “sweetheart” oh my GOD????? 

wait. hold on. i’m emotional. hold on.

they take him to their motel, and she’s trying to smile at him while she trims off his bandages. he IMMEDIATELY READS HER THOUGHTS AND SAYS “frankenstein? really?” and DESPITE KNOWING HE CAN READ HER THOUGHTS, SHE TRIES TO LIE AND MAKE HIM FEEL BETTER.... OHHH, SCULLY

(this is still making me emotional. lying to the kid that can read minds because she doesn't want to hurt his feelings or scare him... knowing that she is the doctor that has to try and make him better, so he cannot know she thinks he looks to be in serious danger...)

he has some infection because they didn’t change his bandages and a fever, ohhhh this poor CHILD

so he ran away when they weren’t thinking about him!!!

scully, do you have antibiotics on you? is that a doctor-ly thing to have in your purse? please fix him. 

OHHH SNAP, HE CALLED HER OUT: “they were using me. because i can communicate with it” “communicate with what?” “you already know. you just don’t want to believe it”

actually such a fascinating narrative choice to have a child psychic call out her own internal lies… he’s too young to blunt his words, so we know they are the truth… getting to see inside what scully truly believes, even if she cannot admit it to herself, through the lens of this sweet angel with his poor infected skull...

(mulder nods his head to the side, indicating to her they must go talk privately)

he wants to take gibson out to find the Creature, but scully says he needs to be in bed under constant medical supervision; he is the evidence for the x files that can prove to the panel that everything they research is real!!

lowkey pissed me off that this boy is suffering in front of them so horribly and mulder wanted to go on an alien hunt.

so, they’re going to sneak him off somewhere. maybe to an alien hunt and then the hospital. but alas, who approaches them in the parking lot?

IT’S DIANA???? she claims to be alone. CAN WE HAVE A BREAKUP LATER???

she tells mulder that she took the assignment to represent his interests, reminds him that THEY found the x files together, and says that they should go find the beast right now. sure. whatever. you go find the beast, let scully doctor the poor boy. whatever. like i care.

he agrees to do just that, which i actually do think is morally wrong, because now scully has to play single mother to this sick boy. what if she gets sleepy and he is stolen from under her, like what happened with diana?

but diana and mulder are off to the nuclear reactor. mulder thinks that maybe the alien baby needs to be warm… maybe to grow?

so scully is with gibson, and he accuses her of only thinking about herself and what she can learn from him. “i’m a very special lab rat”, he says (deep and sad scully sigh)

OHHHH… these two are giving me feelings……….

gibson just wanting to be a normal kid, and scully wanting to take care of this normal kid who is sadly being used for ulterior motives, but also knowing that if she wants to keep her job and prove the x files, that she must test upon him, too... she must have felt so conflicted... and he must have been able to sense that...

meanwhile, mulder and diana are sneaking into a nuclear reactor. i hope they don’t kiss. i don’t wanna see that shit. 

do they have guns? like, good guns? what are they going to hunt the alien with?

he finds a sticky trail… while spooky music plays…. and the wrench from homer (RIP)

bro needs to stop touching mystery fluids.

EUGH he pulls out… guts??? 

but scully calls!!! they found evidence of the virus that she was infected with in gibson’s system!!!

is diana here to just snitch on their progress… with his gut haul…..?

NOOOOO!!! THE DOCTOR APPROACHING GIBSON IS GOING TO HURT HIM??? HE IS KIDNAPPED! AGAIN!!!!!!

SCULLY IS GOING TO YELL AT SOME DOCTORS ABOUT IT!!!!! THREE CHEERS FOR MAMA BEAR SCULLY!!! DON’T TELL HER TO CALM DOWN!!! GO FUCK YOURSELF!!!

the evil guy is taking him away in an ambulance while mulder and diana track the beast. and again, i’d like to know what their game plan is once they find the thing.

gibson is brought to the nuclear power plant as well, being forced around by his kidnapper, who wants to use him to find the alien. and i can barely see what is happening because it is so DARK. 

gibson is being brought into what i think is the nuclear core, where he declares that "it" is here. 

i’m gonna need this gibson fellow to make it through, okay?

mulder is POUNDING ON THE DOOR, telling the evil guy to open it NOW, you SON OF A BITCH!

diana wants to find another way in, maybe, idk, i don’t trust her!!!

AUGH, the alien EATS the evil guy!!! well. deserved, tbh. will the alien please NOT eat gibson, though?

and it seems that diana DID snitch on him??? she pulls her gun on mulder as the cops suddenly arrive??

IT’S TOO DAMN DARK, I CAN’T SEE IF GIBSON WAS EATEN OR NOT!!!

skinner is absent from the hearing in which the agents are being told they must not go near the x files at all, or else they will be immediately dismissed!!! and they are moved to assistant director kersh!!! 

who is this man.....?

i expect mulder to just hand in his resignation papers now.

EW, CSM IS HERE TO SEE SPENDER??? he says he doesn’t want to see him. but CSM congratulates him on handling mulder. and he calls him “son”. 

“simple but extreme solutions” bro is offering to kill him??? no... he says this will not do in such a situation

spender asks if he’s killed men... IJBOL! that is his whole thing, buddy. welcome to this show.

CSM says you cannot kill what a man stands for, unless you kill his spirit. can mulder's spirit be killed?!?!

mulder is back to investigating the scraps of paper from the x files. “it would help if you’d shut the door; it’d make it harder for them to see that i’m totally disregarding everything i was told” <- LMAOOOO

oh scully, always pushed to the side in his mad ahab quest: “everything we were told, mulder” <- YEAH, YOU TELL HIM!!!!!!!!

she thinks that diana is throwing him under the bus (her report makes no mention of gibson!! and lies about the body they found!! also, i think she literally pulled a gun on him when the cops rolled up??), but he INSISTS that she is doing this out of the goodness of her heart 

“and though it may not say it in her report, diana saw it too. and no matter what you think, she’s certainly not going to go around saying that just because science can’t prove it, it isn’t true” 

wait hold on… i’m emotional… that was so mean… why am i genuinely tearing up…?

scully just wants him to trust her…. and he won’t take her files, because he's being stubborn, but they are literally TEST RESULTS that prove his theories to be true……..

the claw matches the DNA from the virus and the DNA from gibson…. 

if it’s true, that means everyone is a little bit of an alien?? oh scully…. look at her…….. sciene geek...

back at the nuclear power plant, it’s GIBSON!!!!! he sees the alien going for a swim in the nuclear water!!!!! yucky. 

it’s hatching………… oh.

the end.

man.

i don’t know if i’m emotional on this fine evening, but i nearly cried at mulder disrespecting scully. how can you say that about someone, that they make you whole, and keep you honest, and then treat them like that? how can you just toss her to the side the minute someone else says what you want to hear?

like. what the fuck! i can’t tell if this is purposeful character development leading up to something or if he is truly being an awful guy. how can he go from trusting her with everything he is- his life and even his death, over and over again- to having a hissy fit because she can't prove the virus was alien? it's not like SHE is the one taking them off of the assignment! she is not the corrupt government! in fact, she knows better than anyone the reality of the corrupt government, considering they 1) KILLED HER SISTER and 2) TRIED TO KILL HER WITH TERMINAL CANCER THAT DAMN NEAR SUCCEEDED?

shakes my fist angrily… i think scully should get to bite him.

she NEVER blows up at him!! even when he deserves it!!! and he has!! a million times over!! but she doesn’t!! it’s his stupid alien nonsense that got her sister killed and nearly killed her!! why does he act like he is the only one who can see some bigger picture?? oh wisest of all men, mulder, enlighten us with your alien theories??? bitch!!! if i was scully, i would have had enough!!! i would need a break from him!!! i would take that reassignment!!!

okay, maybe i’m just really angry tonight. BUT I HAVE A RIGHT TO BE! we were making such good progress in the “telling your best friend you love them” department, that i truly cannot stand this!! you tell him anything he wants to hear and he’ll eat it up!!! sure, sure, this lady that you used to date CONVENIENTLY wants to save the project you just got kicked off of after dedicating your whole life to it. (heavy on the /s) BRO??? LET’S USE A LITTLE BIT OF COMMON SENSE.

grrrr, i’m actually gonna GROWL. i don’t CARE about your inner man angst, you HAVE TO BE NICE TO YOUR FRIENDS!!! she LOVES you and you LOVE HER, so you ought to ACT LIKE IT.

and they took my uncle skinner away from me…

oh, i just know that if i had seen this when it was airing, i would be SPITTING MAD!! i’d be on those discussion forums saying NASTY things!!!

man. i still feel angry.

scully and gibson…. she wants to keep him safe, but also wants to prove her theories, and he suffers because of it… poor baby… how she held his unconscious head, calling him sweetheart; how she screamed at the doctors who ignored her…. god…

see, normally i’d say “give them both a baby”, but right now i’m mad as hell at mulder, and he does not deserve baby privileges.

poor gibson… i hope he makes it out of that nuclear reactor.

also. spender. the most pathetic nepo baby of all time. is he not at all suspicious about why his absent father is suddenly making a reappearance? hello? and the way he just pushes people around with his newfound power? do you think CSM will just use him and then discard him like he does everyone else????

wow. much to contemplate. for now, i must sleep off my rage. stupid mulder in his stupid polo…

spender and diana are literally scully and mulder from shein.

[savimatteo2810]

I opened your blog and the first thing i read was “Link OCs”…can i get to know something about them? 👀

ohhhh my fucking GOD i forgot about these guys YES YOU MAY

its been a HOT MINUTE since i spoke abt these FUCKS i MISSED THEM you have opened a yap session and im sorry in advance but you should have seen this coming

BASICALLY secondary links is a linksmeet au i made that BRANCHES from LU but doesnt directly interact (kind of? its complicated but EHE) featuring a lot of the "rejected" links from games that didnt make it in to LU (debatably. im v sure triforce heroes is legend but also what do i know)

There are seven Links (well. "Links" total) in the au! I will say that I have to redo some of those old ref sheets cause they dont fit new hcs GHJDGHDS but yknow

First we have. Well. First! He's a very awkward chill guy who's doing his best! He has a lot of religious trauma and also a lot of chronic illnesses that he doenst know abt yet cause his era doesnt have that shit worked out yet HGDSGDK feat albinism, bad bones, and a bunch of other shit he doesnt really know fun fact: at the au beginning, he's about a year from going into the jail. so hes not a ghost or a more bitter guy (yet)! He is the oldest at about 23

Then there's Calamity! This is Wild pre-calamity, ofc. Not... AoC. Which totally isn't confusing. He's doing his BEST. Team mom, doesn't speak much and rarely emotes but also will just whip out a motivational speech for ZERO reason. Carries the master sword. Guy with all the timeline knowledge. The only reason this group is fed. Or alive, in general. Its hard being a single mom when you are an 18 year old guy w six kids, one of which is 23 years old fun fact: he spends a lot of the au being stressed as FUCK about the calamity coming back! it comes back after the adventure. so he joins first in being on a Fucking Timer

And next is Trainee! From Link's Crossbow Training! No i am not joking i made an oc of that (no regrets hes lowkey my favourite) BASICALLY, i made it so he's the kid of, you guessed it! Twilight! Something between Twi and Midna, idrk, but boom he's their kid. "Oh but why isnt he in the Twili realm?" cause he's part Hylian and while he could SURVIVE in there he's also. just like. he was really sick as a baby abt it so Midna plonked him in the light realm (dont ask how i handwaved it). poor twi is so stressed out poor twi is also fucking DEAD or some shit considering he went missing when trainee was REAL little, so trainee kind of grew up trying to live up to his legacy. and still is 17 years later. he kinda did it to himself. i should yap about him more i ADORE trainee fun fact: he's allergic to pears. i dont remember why he is but he is allergic to them and this is important to me

Next is Spirit! From Spirit Tracks, ofc. He is SO sassy and tired, probably comes from being 16 w a whole full time fuckin JOB, bro has ISSUES. just wants to go home he is missing his fucking shift, he's like the only train server in New Hyrule after shit went down and also his fuckin grandpa Niko is like old as FUCK (seriously how is that guy still alive in ST??) and relies on him just let him go HOME and see his GRANDPA (its ok Soul (his Zelda i didnt like the name phantom so i renamed her) is taking care of Niko in his absence he's fine) Basically. He overdoses on sass and wants to leave. he also sees ghosts! fun fact: i mentioned he lost his hat in the first fic i posted w these guys and thats canon but the excuse is JUST because i didnt want to draw it on his ref sheet

And now we move onto the triplets, who are 13! Ill just shove em together a little cause im tired BUT Gani, Lynn and Zedo! Triforce Heroes!

Gani is the oldest triplet, the red one! He's more representative of power, being more impulsive and physically strong. Bottom of the stack. He's angry, he's a fighter and he says what he damn thinks. Authority issues. Parentified tbh. Lynn (i renamed him from Link i need to update the SHEETS AUGH) is the middle triplet, the green one! He's more representative of courage! He's good at thinking on his feet, organisation and a strategist! Middle of the stack. Makes up for what he lacks in strength by being quick! Has so many issues, also. And last but not least, Zedo! The blue one! The youngest triplet, and he is treated as such. Not very physically strong, but makes up for it by being WAY too fucking intelligent! Not so good at quick thinking or battle strategy, but VERY good at logic, reasoning and puzzles! Also a VERY good shot, rivalling Trainee (hence his placement at the top of the stack)! Neglected youngest child. Mostly by me but also by his bickering brothers. Im sorry Zedo Fun fact: Each triplet has a little artistic hobby! Zedo is a writer, Lynn loves photography and Gani loves sketching, especially dress patterns! Fun fact 2: The triplets are not actually triplets! They are quadruplets! Tehcnically. RIP Vari (purple link).

There is SO much lore about these ocs and i FUCKING love them but god to do all of that would be SO many FUCKING posts

Theres also a LOT of miscellaneous OCs that aren't related to these ones and are more original concepts (i call them the tertiary links :sparkles:) like Mountain, Freedom, Cell, Colour and Mentor,,, some of these are veyr half baked but i think theyre neat so if you wanna ask abt THEM,,, eyes

thanks for asking abt them!!!!!! I forgot how much i loved them omg

[anonzentimes]

Hi!!

What is your opinion on servant/despair nagito?

AUGH! hello autism activating anon thank you from your ask!

Servant I think honestly is pretty well written and doesn't erase any of Nagito's character which I really love. Also he's in like the most bdsm outfit??? ever??? HUH?? it's kind of hilarious tbh.

Mostly, I really enjoy that as a Despair Nagito's beliefs aren't just erased. He's willing to do even more for hope than before, becoming despair himself, whereas before he seemed to have a limit he wouldn't cross. Which is honestly saying something since he thinks murder can be valid in the name of hope beforehand anyways.

I also like the funny detail that he's a servant with a chain on his neck at all times, but no one is really pulling the strings? Like, he's a "servant," to the warriors of hope but truly he has control over the situation. He chooses to stay there, if he truly desired to he could have left. His chain is there, he has the appearance of a servant, but no one is tugging on it, he's the one truly in control. Hopefully that makes sense lmao!!

I also thought that him seeing Komaru being a normal girl and knowing Makoto had hidden hope as a talent thinking she might have hope as well is pretty well written! It definitely makes sense why he'd think that.

Also, as weird as it is I actually really like how he looks as servant. The artwork for his sprites and the fanart I've seen is really awesome honestly!!

I used to think that he was just in Ultra Despair Girls for fan service, which probably a bit, but I do actually really enjoy how they use his role as a contributing antagonist properly. It's mostly expanding upon the idea of him as a Despair that we see in Chapter 0 of Danganronpa 2 with his love and hate obsession with Junko. He wants to be more involved than ever before and has no limit for how far he'll go, he actively will create the despair needed himself for hope to thrive. And that's so cool!!! It's basically pulling him and his beliefs their utmost extreme to explain how someone like him could become a despair, and the best part is that it makes sense! You can understand it given his character. He hates despair, so the only way he'd ever be okay with becoming despair is if it was in the name of hope, and that's exactly what they do!

I also think it's SO funny that out of all of the despairs, he's the most harmless out of them. Like, Sonia burned her own country to the GROUND, Teruteru ate his OWN MOTHER, but Nagito? He was just a servant to some weird terrorist kids, and ultimately was the main contributing factor to hope winning in the end. He brought Komaru so there could be a fair fight with Hope and Despair after all!

I think Mocaca's character after Ultra Despair Girls was kind of treated badly lmao, like, I feel like there was a lot of missed potential but they just threw her to the side because they never planned to do anything with her. However the Idea Nagito's ramblings just made her sick of the world is HILARIOUS though. Kind of Ironic that he saved her in hopes to be a successor to Junko for more hope to win in the end when his contributions led her to becoming nothing.

Also pretty Ironic that he KNEW what Izuru was going to do, and he wanted to see Junko again. But he never did, he died before he got to see what him as a Despair wanted to see. By his own hands nonetheless!!

Nagito as a Despair is really fucking weird with his outfit and all, but I actually really do love him. I really love the outfit, the approach they take to the only way he could become a despair with his beliefs, and his role in the story.

The brainwashing plot is a little clumsy, but I do enjoy that the way they treat brainwashing in the Danganronpa franchise is that the despair video manipulates your emotions. It doesn't overwrite anything, it just adds a desire to cause despair or excuses causing despair more. I think it's a little more realistic than just a whole bunch of teenagers being talked into becoming terrorists anyway.

servant you are iconic mwa <3

[chestersbraincell]

MUAHAHAHAHA IT’S THE DAY!! OF THE CHALLENGE!!! WHERE I SHINE!!!!!!

I mean, ahem, Day 27 of 30 days of Our Wonderland

Well first here’s some songs I associate with ow in general before I get onto character specific ones:

•Come Little Children by Kate Covington-just gives me SUCH vibes of the tree like. Oh my god it’s literally the tree’s theme song. Also the general sound vibe of the instrumental/vocals is giving a bunch of the in-game ost

•Speaking of songs that feel like the tree, lowkey Perfectly Sweet by Vane Lilly gives off that vibe of twisting wishes in what would be paradise. Also not quite on the mark but the general anger towards corruption is lowkey giving the way the tree detests the cast for growing up and loosing innocence. Just a little. This song isnt a perfect fit but it kind of works if you imagine it from the tree’s insane perspective

•Last song I think really fits the tree in particular is Harpy Hare by Yaelokre. Again themes of irrationally protecting childhood innocent. Also “where have you buried all your children” feels both like the fact that wonderland is under a tree, where hares would be likely to bury their children for safety, but also the line could be interpreted from the tree’s pov towards the ending of the game. Again expressing anger at the gang for burying their inner children or whatever. Or literally burying children in the case of Saydie

•Hole-Dwelling(that one vocaloid song, I forget the author since I always listen to an english over) has nothing to really back me up but like the vibes man. The vibes. Just trust the vibes. Also theme of falling I guess

•Drawn to the Bitter by Dheusta-the verses dont work at all but the kids giggles at the beginning of the song AS WELL AS the chorus fits Our Wonderland and especially the way all the routes involve nearly everyone dying. “Morality will burn and wither, tragedy is drawn to the bitter” just feels like that in relation to how secretly or not, alot of the gang has spiteful feelings towards each other

•Living Island by Pogo just has the exact vibes of how I’d imagine the gang’s first time in wonderland to have been like. Back when everything was okay

Now I’m aware that’s already a whole lot to read so, I’ll put more character specific ones under cut

Bucks:

•Surface Pressure from Encanto is like. Nearly her theme song fr? It just fits her so well. Particularly in her highschool years where she was implied to be kind of like the protector of the group

•I Had To Die to Survive by GHOST just feels so much like those parts of the ost where Bucks goes apeshit towards the ends of the arcs. Like I could imagine and end of arc cutscene to this

•All-American bitch by Olivia Rodrigo-well this one goes for Gidget too for their own reasons but. It fits Bucks too I think. Genuinely just listen to it and you’ll know what I mean

Speaking of Gidget!

•they are LITERALLY Appetite of a People Pleaser by GHOST. I mean come on. Oh my god its literally them. All that’s missing is some themes of gender thats all. But the validation and perfection seeking aspect is SO them

•Are you Satisfied? By Marina and the Diamonds is so. Augh. Them in wonderland. Or just them in modelling in general. The line that hits the hardest is “Do I need to lie to make my way in life?” with their gender dysphoria :(

•Killer Queen by Mad Tsai is so them in Wonderland. The vibes match so good

•Miss Miseryguts by R.I.P is so them. Uh. You know. The way they get with Iggy in wonderland.

•Bitter Choco decoration(again I listen to a cover so. I don’t remember the name of the original author) just gives them both pre and post wonderland. Like. The people pleaserrrrrr. The emotion supressorrrr.

•WUTIWANT by saraunh0ly is THE Gidgy song. Relates to the both of them. And also what happened between them. I will not elaborate because I don’t feel equipped to but if you listen to it you’ll see what I mean

What a good segue into the Iggy section

•Dying by OMFG because isnt that just his whole experience as protagonist. To the torment nexus with you

•Sweet Hibiscus Tea by Mitski-my boyfail. My anxious boyfail. Also the way the second verse gets angrier and more frustrated like Iggy does around halfway through the game. Also “and im not your protagonist I’m not even my own, I dont know anything I don’t even know what I don’t know”

•ENA REMIX by Cótiles-just. Social anxiety and general torment nexus in wonderland vibes idk what to tell you

•this is REALLY obscure but The Mind Electric by Miracle Musical for the ending of Arc 3

•I can’t handle change by ROAR-kinda the way I see the tree paralleling Iggy. Idk. Also self-blame/guilt complex go brrr

•Golden Afternoon by VocaCircus is like. Really complex so you’d have to listen to it and draw your own conclusions but “the marks of a shut in determined to run” and the whole tree monologue breakdown is some of my reasons for suggesting this. Also general wonderland vibes

Alas I’m outta segues but I kinda talked about Arc 3 so. Orlam blast

•Battle of the Larynx by Melanie Martinez is SO the way Orlam retaliates at being bullied all his childhood by overcompensating in acting and sounding smarter than the people who did it to him. The fancy talkerrrr

•Brutal by Olivia Rodrigo. I’ve said this before but I can just IMAGINE. I can SEE IT in my HEAD, Orlam angsting out to this in his teen years if this had come out then

•Above and Beyond by R.I.P come on you can’t tell me Orlam wasn’t giving god complex in Arc 5. You can’t. Also the lyrics just generally fit him in wonderland like alot trust me.

•Butcher Vanity by Vane but I’ve talked about this b4 and it is so obvious why I’d put this here

•I can’t Decide by Scissor Sisters-it’s literally on his carrot playlist I think. Not only do the lyrics fit him in-wonderland but also lowkey voice claim

•King for a Day by Pierce the Veil-HIM HIM HIM ITS LITERALLY HIM OH MY GOD ITS HIS LITERAL THEME SONG. Especially Arc 5 with the repeated references to not feeling things anymore. Also potential voice claim hc for me

•speaking of potential voice claim headcanons…money machine by 100 gecs. Hear me out now. Him angsting out to this reminiscing on his youth while in his rich boy boss era. Hear me out now.

•speaking of rich boy boss era. I’ll just leave Divine CEO by Lulyam here.

•7 o’clock by Penelope Scott as Orlam pre-wonderland. You agree.

•The Worst by Jake Daniels just feels like bickering between Orlam and Genzou to me

Muehehe segue into the Genzou, and final, section of this fucking essay of a post. I’m sorry I’m just completely unhinged about both analysing music and connecting it to stuff and our wonderland so. Combination of chemicals causes combustion. Never ask me about my music/lh

Okay okay Genzou time

•i hope you’re hungry by soddiken. I mean come on. He gets fucking cannibalised nearly every arc. Come on now

•outrunning karma by Alex Benjamin-guilt complex. And also the running theme of his undoing every arc being somewhat a result of his past and current asshole-ery

•You’re an Awful Person by R.I.P is SO him with his guilt complex. The way he seems himself as horrible and unlovable. Augh. “Face fears and tell him what the reason is” his crush on Iggy guys. “Oh what a tragedy! You cannot help but be despicable”. “You’re horrible and soon he’ll realise he doesn’t need you. Sooner or later he is gonna leave you” guys him feeling like Iggy doesnt deserve him guys.

•HELP by Pink Guy-his depression and the way he masks it with humour. You see the vision.

•now this one is not that accurate but the regal sound of it and the “sorry not sorry bout what I said, I’m just tryna have some fun ;3 don’t worry don’t worry don’t loose your head, I didn’t mean to hurt anyone ¯\_(ツ)_/¯” of Don’t Lose Your Head from SIX the Musical sorts fits him

[thatoneluckybee]

OKAY PROPAGANDA TIME! @yttd-enjoyerNo pressure for any of these lol, I added a lot because rambling and procrastination. I’m copy-pasting some descriptions from another post of mine. I was trying to look for some with good lore and magic systems, or that had great characters.

Cursed Princess Club: This one is adorable and hilarious. It’s a fantasy and comedy. The Pastel Kingdom has four children. The eldest, Maria, is 18, and so beautiful that forest animals follow her when she sings. The second oldest, Lorena, is 17, and so beautiful that flowers grow where she sleeps. The third child is prince Jamie, who is so beautiful that he is constantly GLOWING (literally.) And his twin sister, Gwendolyn, is the sweetest and perhaps most loved of all! The three sisters are happily engaged to the Plaid Princes. When Gwen meets her soon to be betrothed, though…. he finds her to be really, really, ugly. Gwen has to learn to love herself as she is with the help of a club for cursed princesses (and one prince who wants to change the club name desperately.) It’s hilarious. Someone swallows her fiance whole. Jamie can taste feelings through food and keeps accidentally violating HIPPA. Lorena beats the crap out of a bunch of clowns. Gwen keeps getting mistaken for an evil witch. There’s a really spoiled drunk llama named Laverne. Maria buys merch of her boyfriend’s fanclub. There’s an omniscient clam. It’s a glorious disaster. (Also that was what the screenshots I was losing my mind and spamming last night. I relate to the plaid guy on an eerie level. This one has INCREDIBLE character arcs and parallels and foreshadowing and details and AUGH)

Space Boy: This one is one of my all-time favorites, and I believe it deserves an award for it’s realistic character arcs and characters. I’d be convinced if you told me they were real people. Sci-Fi Romance. (A lot of romance. Not a particular favorite genre of mien it’s just like 70% of all Webtoons.) In the far future, humanity is exploring the furthest reaches of space using the freezing sleep thing (real thing, forgot name.) Amy lives happily on a mining colony in deep space, until her father loses his job, and she and her family are sent away from the colony, and everyone she knows, back to Earth, where she wakes up 30 years later (frozen sleep thing.) Amy is adjusting to life on Earth, the new technology, and trying to come to terms with the fact her best friend is now in her 40s and she’s missed it all in sleep. Amy’s identifying trait is synesthesia: to her, people have flavors to match their personalities! Well, everyone except a strange boy she meets a school, who refuses to speak to her, and doesn’t have a flavor, Oliver. Amy decides that she WILL find this kid’s flavor if it kills her, and manages to get herself roped in the most chaotic mystery involving ancient cults, alien artifacts, unsolved murders, a government conspiracy, and whether or not Oliver is actually who he says he is. It’s so sad but I love it so much and I want to send everyone to therapy. I don’t even like sci-fi usually so this was amazing for me.

Nomads: ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES. The concept is your stereotypical “there were five kingdoms after a war 100 years ago:” the Sun, Sea, Sand, Sky, and Snow kingdoms. To maintain the peace, traveling between the kingdoms is banned for average citizens. You may, however, choose to become a Nomad, and travel for a price: you can never have a permanent home. Lance of the Sea Kingdom REALLY doesn’t want to be a Nomad. However, his little brother Mikah goes missing, and Lance has to find him in one year (once Mikah turns 18 it’ll be impossible to find him.) It’s going well and dandy until some unfortunate circumstances result in him, his new traveling buddy Satra, and a magic talking cat-thing being mistakenly accused of kidnapping a prince. And now they’re wanted bounties. (This comic is HILARIOUS so many shenanigans and I love Satra so much.)

Castle Swimmer: Can’t reveal TOO much of this ‘cause spoilers but it’s a really really good story. It’s a fantasy romance too. In this society of “Mers” (merfolk), every kingdom has long awaited the day a mysterious, mythicaeing known as the Beacon arrives. He will grant each kingdom’s prophecy, be that granting them fortune or saving their lives. When the Beacon arrives, though, turns out he’s literally just some kid named Kappa who has no idea what he’s doing. Siren is the prince of the shark kingdom. They have a curse that will cause them to suffer and become covered in scars and eventually die. The only way they can break the curse is whenever the Beacon arrives—and Siren, as predicted, will kill him. The only problem is that Siren REALLY doesn’t want to be a murderer, and Kappa REALLY doesn’t want to die, and they both are pining HARD. 

Suitor Armor: This is a romantic fantasy but I like it because it doesn’t feel boiled down to JUST a “will they won’t they.” Fairies and humans have been at war for as long as anyone can remember, with heavy losses on both sides. A Lord rescues a child, a little girl named Lucia, to be his daughter, Kirsi’s, lady-in-waiting until Kirsi marries a nearby king. The only issue? Lucia is a fairy, and she and the Lord must hide that if she wants to live. After they’ve grown up, Kirsi and Lucia go to the nearby kingdom to prepare for the wedding, where Lucia meets their mage’s newest creation: an enchanted, sentient suit of armor named Modeus. And now we’re all aggressivley shipping a tin can with one of the coolest women ever. (And I LOVE the magic system in this… we don’t know everything yet, it’s being revealed as time progresses, but it’s amazing in my humble little opinion.)

Homesick: Recommending this one since you’ve read School Bus Graveyard! It’s almost a “sister series” in that the fanbases overlap lots and the creators have done collabs too! Disclaimer that it’s mature for a reason. It covers a lot of dark topics and is a HORROR FOR A REASON. School Bus Graveyard is incredibly dark, but it sort of eases you in to the terror while Homesick tosses you in like a flailing child. If you do choose to read it I can provide trigger warnings, though it may spoil some plotlines a bit. Rayne (my pfp!) wakes up on a rooftop with no memories at all and meets a boy named Samael, who quickly informs her that it’s the apocalypse. Cannibalistic creatures called murks roam the land, feeding on anything that makes eye contact. Rayne and Samael form a deal to survive, but things get really, REALLY messy when they encounter someone from Samael’s past and get wrapped up in something that might just be worse than the apocalypse. On top of it all, Rayne has noticed some strange things about herself, including terrible headaches that warn her of murks… (It’s so good I love it but good lord it gets dark. I really want to say more about it but the story doesn’t jump right into the main action or plot right away so I CAN’T WITHOUT SPOILING IT SOB.)

Okay limiting myself to six for now sheesh I typed a lot.

[fallenclan]

oooh clangen stories... I have a few but I think the one that sticks out in my mind the most is what happened to my clan, MapleClan. the whole thing was a complete shitshow of a clan, and unfortunately I don't have the save anymore but I do have discord messages of me liveblogging the whole thing to my friends

I think it started when one of the warriors, Barksky, died. he was found as an abandoned kit and died of greencough at the ripe old age of 16 moons ✌️ and then it was just downhill from there

after that my cats started dropping like flies; the moon after Barksky died, two more cats (including the deputy) died, and the leader chose to replace them with. the old deputy. who I demoted because everyone hated her. but at this point I was too invested in what was going on so I just let it happen

one of the cats, Houndspeck, announces she's having kits! great! surprising considering how old she is, but appreciated nonetheless. and then the next moon rolls around and she thinks she'll have. one kit. in that same moon, two warriors died. so now the allegiances look like this.

so now my clan consists of this kit (Fuzzykit ❤️), two guys who hate each others guts, and a bunch of old women. and in the same moon Fuzzykit becomes Fuzzypaw, Houndspeck dies. freshly orphaned and off to school! things are stable for a bit at 7 cats, and then Bogrump brings in an abandoned kit named Palekit. things are starting to look up, Finally

the only two guys in the clan, Juniperstreak & Squirrelfur, have a mutual hatred for each other. and I don't think I can even call it hate, that feels like too light of a word. both of their "dislike/hate" bars were almost maxed out. and yet they had the tiniest sliver of romantic like, for some reason

and then Curlystar loses 2 lives in a row, alongside Crouchpatch and Palepaw being killed by a gang of rogues. 6 cats now! the only young cat left in the clan is Fuzzyleaf. Curlystar loses ANOTHER 2 lives, leaving her with 1 life remaining

allegiances are looking something like this now. Squirrelfur & Juniperstreak in their love-hate relationship, Fuzzyleaf the only warrior, and the remainders of my crew of old women

so. then Curlystar loses her last life to OspreyClan. and now we're at war with them! with 5 cats left, 2 of which are elders! Blacktail goes missing and turns up dead, and then Bogrump & Juniperstreak die of greencough

this leaves the leader, Squirrelstar, and his deputy Fuzzyleaf. the war finally ends, after 30 moons, and Fuzzyleaf brings in a litter of 2 kits (Jetkit & Brookkit). MapleClan's story doesn't end there, but that's the end of the Bad Times™

I still haven't stopped thinking about Squirrelstar & Junipterstreak though.... mutual hate that lessened a little bit towards the end, but they still admired and relied on each other.... augh. toxic yaoi ❤️

I am So sorry about this essay, the saga of MapleClan was. much longer than I remember it being. probably close to 100 moons of struggle that all turned out ok in the end. I think I had around 20 cats the last time I played the MapleClan save, which is the biggest their clan ever got

that's fuckin wild holy shit. i love that squirrelstar was like "i hate your guts so bad. unfortunately if you died i would be inconsolable"

[connectionxterminated]

Live blogging dr2 but very poorly pt1:

hi Hajime, ur great, kisses /p

Nagito is so special to me, baby boy, I love you, you deserve the world, you deserve it all, I want to give you a hug

Just met Gundham, he's so fucking chaotic and I love that for him, also hamsters<3 I used to have a bunch of hamsters as well and I just, aundhddundndhhdhe/pos, I also am kind of relating super fucking hard to him, it's insane

Also met Kazuichi, hehe, his last name is Soda, immediately adoring him

MIKAN SPOTTED. MIKAN SPOTTED. HI BABY GIRL!!!! I MISSED YOU SO SO SO MUCH. She is so fucking augh<3 I want to give her all the hugs and kisses in the whole damn world<333 she could fix me, literally and figuratively

HI IBUKI!!!!! HI!!! HI MY GIRL!!! Aha.. I'm gay. I would totally let her play her guitar and I would sit there cheering her the fuck on because fuck I love her so much

Chicken into cow???? Usami I love you girl, but what

HIYOKO, HIYOKO, HIYOKO. that's it, that's all i had to say

AKANEEEEEE!!!! AKANEE!!!!! MY BITCH!!!!! HIIIII

Hotel future. Love it.

Okay, first person walking, alright, thats, different?

Hi Fuyuhiko, fuckin bastard but in the most affectionate way possible, ur so silly

Mahiru<3333 I want to kiss you all over the face sweet girl, ur amazing

FUCKING UNRELIABLE HAJIME, HAHA, MAHIRU, MY GIRL, CHILL

Nekomaru, my guy, I love you, but please, have some chill, what is it with these characters and having literally no chill whatsoever, don't get me wrong, i love it, BUT HOLY SHIT

"yep." -Nagito

Teruteru, hi my guy, what's up with you, not in a bad way, but, what's up with you. Also, "hello there".

SONIA. SONIA. SONIA. wait nevermind, hah, see what I did there? Sorry, bad pun.

Wait. She didn't have friends???? Aww nooo, my girl,, :(( I'll be ur friend :D

mmm. Not liking Teruteru as much anymore. He's giving me the creeps. Not liking him. Nope. No. Nuh-uh.

I AUDIBLY GASPED. CHIAKI. HI. HI. HI. WE LOVE YOU. WE SEE YOU. WE ADORE YOU. STAY AWAY FROM TERUTERU THO PLEASE.

Pekooooooooooo, Pekooooooooo!!!! I want to give you a hug.

BYAKUYA. MY HUSBAND. MY LOVE. MY BELOVED. MY SWEETHEART. MY BABY. HWHDHSHSSGSGSH. I LOWV YOU SO MUCH WAH. AUGH.

Ding dong Bing bong!!!!!!!

Byakuya stop being impatient.

Hiyoko, I love you, I love your energy

Ah yes, peko, the observant.

And there goes Ibuki being ibuki<33

Kazuichi, please, don't be so laid back, my man, what are you doing

Aaaand teruteru is being weird again. Fuck that guy.

Ibuki this is why I love you

Byakuya, stop calling people names, please

"Small dogs shouldn't bark so loud" BYAKUYA PLEASE

Story time with Byakuya ig

oh music stopped

And creepy music is back

Akane being a whole fucking mood

Music stopped again???

Aaand regular music is back + Ibuki being excitable

Kazuichi you poor soul, you poor poor soul

NOT YOU TOO HIYOKO, PLEASE, STOP BEING SO LAID BACK

"Cretins" I love her.

"Won't be a problem" girl. Girl. Girl girl girl.

Shut the fuck up cunt. (Teruteru)

Aaaand there goes Peko pointing out the obvious<3

"Why don't we just swim home?" GIRL. HOLY SHIT.

Aaaand in comes Mikan with the reasoning. Thank you.

NEKOMARU PLEASE. CHILL TF OUT.

Hi again Usami

Rule follower./aff

*proceeds to recite the rules*

"What if your actions place everyone in danger?" MY MAN COMING BACK FULL FORCE

AN USAMI STRAP??? SQUEEZE TUMMY IT TALKS??? I NEED THIS. RIGHT NOW.

Byakuya, don't call it a waste of time. Shut your mouth you cunt<3/aff

WHY DOES NOBODY LIKE IT??? COME ON.

CHIAKI, VOICE OF REASONING, I LOVE YOU. SHE GETS IT.

NOOOO, USAMIIII DONT CRY MY BABY

Uh oh. Motives

Oh nevermind it's fine

Or is it

Party?

Yes.

TERUTERU. GO TO THE CORNER.

SONIA NO.

Hiyoko why are you so excited about killing a hoop snake

Hajime: There's no way anyone would go swimming!

Literally everyone else: I beg to differ.

Hajime: what

"No danger, nothing tragic, is that really true?" I love you Hajime. You are the only reasonable person ever.

"If so.. am i wrong?" I had faith. Girl. Holy shit.

"The water is too salty" bitch ur too salty

"She's just wrong about so many things" no actually she's right about everything

Sleepy Chiaki<333

THEYRE ALL IN BATHING SUITS HOLY SHIT THIS IS SO PRECIOUS. TO ME.

Fuck you Teruteru.

Ibuki, don't drink the water.

Fuck you Teruteru.

Please punch him Nekomaru.

[cescalr]

For the 🌻 writing ask game!

Put in any project of your choosing!

(1) share an excerpt you're proud of, and elaborate on why.

(6) describe the premise/plot of [project] from the perspective of each main cast member.

(8) what are your favorite character dynamics from [project]? elaborate on why. what scenarios not followed through with in-story would you want to put each dynamic in most? (ex: truthserum-ed and locked in a room; roadtripping; coffeeshop au; etc)

(17) do you have a specific structure or method of plotting for [project]? what does your drafting process look like?

Ooh! Okay!!

We'll go with..... random number generation! That gets me Herd Culling, Oh boy! This one's a doozy.

So:

(1) share an excerpt you're proud of, and elaborate on why.

Augh. oof. augh. Oof. Augh. This'll be a bit long. Funeral warning; it's a... 'eulogy'.:

Tommy stands very silent, for a few long moments. The paper crinckles loudly in his hands.

"It took me two weeks to write this," He says, eventually. "And, you know what? I hate it. It's wrong. There's... there's no way to - Carol Perkins was more than just two pieces of fucking paper. She was a whole human being, you can't sum up nineteen years in a thousand words or less. It's just not possible. I never expected to write her eulogy, you know? Carol would always quote the statistics at me. If you discounted deaths in childbirth, women outlive their husbands nearly every time. Men's lifespans are shorter, that's just a fact. Natural lifespans, anyway. What happened to Carol wasn't natural. We all know that."

There's a deep, uncomfortable silence following this proclamation. 

"Carol was a lot of things," Tommy says. "She loved art. She wanted a nice house, and maybe some kids when she hit thirty, and she wanted to go drinking on weekends, and she couldn't wait to get out of Hawkins. Carol got one of those wishes alive, and now she has two of them dead." Tommy looks up at everyone. "I miss her more than I thought I'd ever miss anything. Carol had a saying," Tommy says, spelling doom, "The people here? We're all small town stupid and terrible. Me. Her. You." Tommy looks straight at Steve. Steve's jaw tightens. 

"She was right," Tommy announces. "Just last week, the whole town tried to kill a bunch of kids for no fucking reason. And then the town itself tried to kill all the idiots in it, like some kind of twisted karma. Even Hell didn't want what was going on here to continue." Tommy stares at the audience. "Carol fell. She tripped on a fissure opening in the ground, and I got shoved backwards when that happened. Neither of us knew what was going on - she died laughing." 

There's another significant pause, more horrible than the last. 

"Carol was a lot of things," Tommy says. "She was mean. She hated the smell of smoke, but chewed nicotine gum and started when she was fifteen anyway, because that's what teenagers do here. Carol got good grades, and pretended she didn't care about it, because being a geek was worse than being stupid - social suicide. Carol didn't care what anyone thought, so long as what they thought about her couldn't make her life more difficult. But there was always - one thing Carol was, at least with me. Honest."

There's another silence. Tommy takes an audible breath. 

"What is being in love, other than choosing the same person, over and over and over again?" Tommy quotes. "The Eulogy's in the book, if you want to read the rest of it. That's the only line I like. Carol wouldn't want me to stand up here and lie, so I'm not going to, and I wasn't planning on it either - but the speech in there, it's... trite. It's what I'm supposed to say. It's not what she would've wanted. Carol would be the first person to tell you how fucking stupid that flower poem is, by the way. Carol's least favourite part of English was poetry. She was never a fan of symbolism, didn't like that there was never one straight, correct answer, liked it even less that the teacher would tell us that, and then still dock marks for not agreeing with him anyway." 

Tommy took a breath, again. 

"Carol was honest about a lot of things. She just wasn't open about a lot of things. People think they knew her - you people think you knew her. But most of you sat here? You never met her. You caught a glimpse of a five year old at a Christmas party and considered that everything you'd ever need to figure out her whole deal, but you're so off the mark it's not even funny. And trust me, Carol loved dark humour. She'd pick every opportunity to make a scar from a scabbed over wound. I'm a lot like Carol, really, it's why we got along." He pauses, and then, "It's why I loved her. You know how she told me, the first time? We were sat on a roof, it was November. Bitterly cold out, on top of Steve's shitty house. He was busy cleaning up, so his dad didn't yell at him come saturday, when they came back from fucking, I don't know, I think it was Miami this time. That part doesn't matter. What matters is -" Tommy pauses. "What matters is, Carol told me she loved me by calling me an asshole. Because that's how we were. Carol could be honest, but she could never be kind. I don't think I've ever been kind, either - I don't know how. I was a bad choice for this, really. But I was the only choice, and you all knew it." He pauses, and then looks at Steve again.

"Well," Tommy says, "If Steve had stuck around, maybe someone with a gooey center would be stood up here now. But he didn't. So here I am."

Steve sinks down. He doesn't, because he can't, look away. His hand clenches too-tight around the tissue in one hand, short nails digging into the palm of the other. 

Tommy takes another breath. "Carol was a lot of things," He says. "Mostly bad. I loved her, though, and she loved me. So there must have been some good, too, right? Something about God. About how he made us in his image, about how Jesus thinks there's love in all people. Carol was loved; she was loveable. Able to be loved. Maybe that says something, maybe it doesn't. I'm not a philosopher. I'm eighteen, and my girlfriend died right in front of me." He huffs. "What do you want me to say? Carol was a hell of a woman. And then hell came knocking. Ironic, really. Or apt."

There's a shout of anger from the audience. Tommy just stares impassively back. "See, that's the thing," Tommy says. "Carol would have thought that was funny."

The angry guy stands abruptly. "You get down from there right now, young man," He says, voice barely controlled rage. "You dare ruin this-"

"Ruin what?" Tommy shouts back. "Who the fuck even are you! Carol sure as shit didn't know you! I was at every single fucking family get together since she was seven, and I've never met you."

Mrs. Perkins has a hand over her mouth. Mr. Perkins looks stoic, expression unreadable, arms folded. Mrs. Hagan is white as a sheet, black hair and black outfit making her look almost ghostly. Mr. Hagan just looks resigned, tired and sad - and entirely out of his element. 

Tommy takes a breath. "Carol was not a good person," He says. "Neither am I. But you know what? You don't have to be a good person to be mourned. You don't have to be a good person for people to miss you. You don't have to be a good person to have been a liked person, and I liked Carol. Carol had friends. They're here." Tommy glances at a group of their old classmates, sat in the vague middle of the pews. "You lot? You can stay. I don't give a shit, you're fine. You at least kind of knew her. You knew she was bitchy, and cruel, and fun, and reliable in the way she existed exactly as she was. There's no hiding who she was from people she got drunk around." 

Tommy turns his attention to a steadily purpling man in the front row on the other side of the church. "You, though, get the fuck out of here. You're only here because she's blood, but if you'd met Carol three weeks ago you'd have thrown her in lockup for being a druggie, even though that's not even true, you're just opportunistic."

He's very purple now. Carol's uncle stands abruptly. The other man still hasn't sat down. 

"And for my closing statement," Tommy says, "Carol would hate this. It's too depressing. We actually planned what we'd do, you know. Far as we knew I'd die first, but still - Carol would have a wake. The idea of a funeral bored her and annoyed her in equal measure, and you think I'm ruining this, fine, but this feels like more of a slight to her memory than any damn thing I've said all day. Carol didn't like pretending, she was just good at it. There's a difference. What Carol wanted was people to say their funniest memories of her, drink entirely too much, and sell her work in galleries for three times the price as when she was alive. And that's exactly what I plan to do - but not to any of you fuckers."

Tommy gets off the podium. He stalks out of the building, and slams the door behind himself. 

Um. Funerals suck! I've been to several, and I, while I didn't do the eulogy, did stand up at the front and say several words for my grandmother, when she passed. So, you could say I know how this stuff works. I know the kinds of people who handle it - as well as you can handle grief, and the kinds of people that... don't. Tommy's the latter. So, you know. It's difficult stuff to write, grief and mourning and such things. I've never really written massively long monologues before, so this is the first proper shot at that and I think I did pretty well, getting across the right... feeling, tone, you know. Emotions and such. Also, characterising this version of Tommy - it's not easy to do, figuring out a guy who had such little screentime, and changing his circumstances this much. But I think I managed it well enough. Yeah. This was pretty hard to write, so the fact it even exists is worth something on it's own.

(6) describe the premise/plot of [project] from the perspective of each main cast member.

In order of appearance;

Steve:

Robin:

Tommy:

(8) what are your favorite character dynamics from [project]? elaborate on why. what scenarios not followed through with in-story would you want to put each dynamic in most? (ex: truthserum-ed and locked in a room; roadtripping; coffeeshop au; etc)

Truth-serumed and locked in a room happened canonically to Steve and Robin, so maybe not that as it would be a reminder of a very traumatic torture session for either of them :( even if it would probably solve nearly all of Tommy and Steve's interpersonal problems. Canonically Steve wants to own a Winnebago and go road-tripping with his future family, which will undoubtedly include Robin. They come as a set. Do not separate! So that's nice to imagine. But mostly I actually have a hankering for a Buffyverse-AU for ST. I've already written a bit of a time-travel fusion au prior - and I have a multifandom crossover AU (which includes several other settings, like PJO for ex), wherein it would be Pretty Cool if Rob was a Slayer. Steve's her Platonic-With-A-Capital-P bestie ensouled vampire who's making up for his past, with Tommy and Carol as part of that past. Steve differs from the plan by having sought out his soul thanks to falling for a prior slayer (Probably I make that Nancy) and desiring to rectify the reason she could never love him, as perceived - Tommy is the vampire cursed with soul. I think that would be Very Neat. Much like Harmony Carol never gets a soul but she's also Identical as a vampire so she doesn't really need one! She just wants her life to be easy. Killing people? So not easy. Anyway, obviously Rovickie and Stomarol. Duh. Vickie's the resident magic user. Robin doesn't have a watcher for..... Reasons [ominous author tone of voice]. She gets one later when El is introduced as another Slayer with her watcher/dad, Hopper, and this is how we meet the party. I've always got brain thoughts going on about everything, I just. Don't always use them. I could write this tomorrow! I won't. I have over 40 wips already.

(17) do you have a specific structure or method of plotting for [project]? what does your drafting process look like?

Er, no. This implies I have a drafting process /not a joke; I don't have one. I write into the Ao3 input box and i hit post when I feel it's long enough 90% of the time. I am trying to rectify this at the very least if only because sometimes Ao3 freaks out and I lose several hours of progress. So I write into Word half the time now. Eventually I might even proofread before posting the work, and not several months after! The truth is if I let myself think too much about it I'd never post anything. Nerves, you know. So I don't. Which leaves... well. A lot to desired on the polish front. None of my work is squeaky-clean. I hope it's enjoyable though, even so. Specifically re: this fic, though - it's one of the few I'm writing in Word first! So there's that. 6k words written for the 4th chappie already. So that's nice :) I'm trying to hold off on posting anything other than FWIW's last arc next, though, because I've been leaving that hanging long enough. And then after that is probably GB, for the same reason. So.... probably several months before ch4 is finished and uploaded. We'll see? I still have. the entirety of Deathly Hallows to rewrite for FWIW, after all. Augh. oof. Errg. Ough. Why did I do that to myself...

Thanks for playing the ask game! <3

[moonedman]

Troy Saga done in a different post.

Cyclops Saga

Polyphemus

I’m crazy about this trio

Odysseus being the one to shoot the sheep because that’s his thing he’s good with bows

Liar liar liar i hate you i hate you he uses this same kind of lie with poseidon and we all know how that works

And the suitors now use the same tactics with him

Doing things for the ones you love [sheep]

I don’t know what i meant by that tb so h

“Don’t you know that your soul is the pain you reap” not yet he doesn’t!

Mr. Jorge Rivera-Harrans did such a good job as Polyphemus

“You’re life is now in my hands” that happens a lot

Liar! Cunning! Liar!

Alcoholism will solve all your problems I guess

if ANY of you take that literally you can't.

“Eye to eye” I love you

Hehe

“FINAL MAN TO DIE” BECAUSE EVERYBODY ELSE DIES BEFORE HIM AUGHH

Mr. Jorge Rivera-Herrans you’ve done it again

Survive

It’s always just one life to take

“When we kill him our journey’s over” well that worked out didn’t it.

Polites doesn’t fight at all and goes to hide in a corner which is so augh to me

I saw in one. Thing from a fan that he might be a healer so. Not fighting makes sense but also his whole thing is. Not doing that.

anyways. 

“600 lives I’ll take. 600 lives I’ll break” augh love using the same melody different words it means so much to me every time it happens i'm on the ground sobbing in the fetal position

Fly high Polites I miss you everyday

Remember Them

I am insane

I think this is. The second electric guitar, maybe i don’t remember

Always two steps ahead i hate this smart man

When does a candle become a blaze

He’s angry now. His fire won’t/doesn’t burn out

It is beneficial not to kill him yet, but even after they’re out and a bunch of his men die he doesn’t kill Polyphemus which is. A choice.

GOD POLITES I MISS YOU

Also, insane about the idea that Odysseus takes the headband to remember him [woah just like the title that’s crazy]

“SCATTER” is so funny to me he can’t see yall

The way Eurylochus sings “captain please” is so mm

Man he was just left.

Hey maybe the goddess of WISDOM was right which is crazy

“Mercy is a skill more of this world could learn to use” and how long does that stick around huh

Also direct parallels with Poseidon and how they’re on opposite sides of the Moral Spectrum 

“When we met i lead with peace” i’ll say it again they were the perfect trio and also leading with peace before resorting to violence. and also again that direct parallel with poseidon

“Remember me” woah poseidon says that

“Neither man nor mythical” what happened to just a man

It’s monster. He’s a monster.

“Darkest moment” another line Poseidon uses

Because he’s quoting Odysseus to get the point across

Dumbass

My Goodbye

Honestly I skip this song most of the time.

“Put your emotions aside” ok we get it gods hate kindness [in all seriousness so many people warn him to put his emotions aside and use his head]

“Can’t cross the line” later there’s a line about how the only line he hasn’t crossed is his own

Their perspective of what their dynamic was is so different [Odysseus caring and trusting her as a friend, her seeing him only as a weapon]

“Consider this as my goodbye” erm. You can just say goodbye. This is like apologizing without saying I’m sorry. 

Which Odysseus does on multiple occasions

Like mentor like student i guess

Odysseus left to deal with the results of her orders [as a goddess she probably grasp that concept]

“I saw you as a friend” man he cannot keep his friends around

Keep your friends close, they say.

Guys i think it would be great if Odysseus kept the smart goddess actually

Nobody knows what communication is

“At least I know what I’m fighting for [his wife!] While you’re fighting to be known” hey actually she’s a goddess a lot of people know who she is.

Projection?

Mmm i love his voice acting.

The silence after “you’re alone” augh

Also, that’ll be him someday

Yeah he gets what you’re saying… after the death of all his men.

“You’re alone” followed by the spirits of all the men dead

They all [I apparently didn’t finish my thought]

Piano fading out [she’s leaving!]

I’m so insane about the Ithaca saga do you tumblr people want to hear my full analysis of each song to celebrate

[iiryebreadii]

OKAY. OKAY. finished totk. more thoughts. Everything is under a cut because 1) spoilers for the end of the game and 2) it got LONG many thoughts head full

I got all the shrines before going to fight ganondorf, and I'm sad to say they did the botw thing and made it so you can only fully upgrade either stamina OR hearts, not both. Finding the shrines was actually made much easier with the lightroots in the depths! I went around and filled out the full map underground and that let me know which shrines I had missed on the surface, and then for the sky islands I used the hero's path to see which ones I hadn't visited yet and then sifted through those until I found them all

Speaking of, THE REWARD FOR GETTING ALL THE SHRINES?? HELLO?? I can't wait to see what people say about that bit of lore cause idk WHAT is going on there. furry link real

going into the depths of the castle to find ganondorf was so nerve wracking lmao, the music did an excellent job of putting me on edge. and the little note about how the sages' powers can't reach you?? excellent, very ominous

Going back to the very beginning of the game, the corridor where you walk with zelda, but this time without her and with it covered in gloom... ough. My experience with the beginning of the game there was basically me just happy screaming about getting to walk around and talk to zelda, and that juxtaposed with the ending, where I'm getting ready to fight the demon king with ramping anxiety, OUGH very cool

my BROS came to HELP i love them. also I keep forgetting that mineru is a sage even though I use her for piggyback rides all the time

REHYDRATED GANONDORF REAL. like I know we saw him in the trailers and memories and stuff but I wasn't sure if we'd get to fight him at full strength you know? I thought they might pull a fast one on us and make the final fight against pee-paw ganon, which would have been kinda lame tbh

Ganondorf does perfect dodges too!! He gets the slow-mo!! thankfully he cannot flurry rush lol. I spent the entire first phase against him with both of use just circling each other and trading occasional blows, felt very cool

the transformation into the demon king was super cool but my favorite part might have been how the health bar just. kept going. nearly off the screen. that was equal parts awesome and hilarious

I saved a bunch of super strong weapons to fight him and what do I end up doing?? Only using the master sword. my WIFE made that sword for me I am damn well gonna use it to kill him. it just never occurred to me to try to use anything else lol. Except arrows with gibdo bones fused on, cause those things do CRAZY damage

MY MAN ATE HIS STONE. OKAY. OKAY. also I LOVE how much he looked like the calamity during his transformation, with the glow-y yellow eyes and misty body. I wonder if he has any memory of being calamity ganon? Maybe the calamity was just excess rage and malice instead of something with more intent. It was obviously intelligent, but how intelligent?

DRAGON FIGHT DRAGON FIGHT DRAGON FIGHT

MY WIFE CAME TO SAVE ME!! I LOVE HER!!! That whole part of the fight was super cinematic and fun, I got legitimately emotional when she dove in to the rescue. All that time I spent sitting on her head and flying around hyrule, who knew I was actually training for the final fight

ZELDAAAA I'm so glad I could undragon you girl I missed youuuu I missed you <3 rauru and sonia are vibing in the afterlife now, which now makes the fact that rauru passed on asap after helping link make sense, he was probably missing his wife :(

pretty wack that they gave link his normal arm back :/ I guess you could argue it got ungoopified by the shrines + the thing with Sonia and Rauru purifying dragon-zelda but it feels weird to me

I guess a counter point to that, without it we wouldn't get to parallel to the beginning with the reaching out to catch zelda. speaking of. REACHING OUT TO CATCH HER. AUGH IM NOT OK. IM NOT OK!!! literally so emotional. I thought reaching her was gonna be a cutscene but nope!! You have to dive to get to her!! makes me wonder what happens if you don't catch her.......but I would never dare experiment. that's my girl.

i am. so glad. she doesn't remember being a dragon for a billion years. hoooo that would be traumatic. I mean ya girl has trauma in spades but at least she doesn't have to deal with the memory of that part. and she was so happy that she got to see hyrule's founding!! She had her own whole adventure :) and at least a good portion of it was pleasant and filled with new friends!! good for her, good for her

post credits scene was pretty neat!! Felt nice to give mineru a little send off, not for me but for zelda. according to the stone monument things, they were pretty close and they hung out in mineru's lab a lot, so it's nice she got to have a proper goodbye to at least one of her friends from the past. And then everyone pledging to work with her to protect hyrule at the end :')

All in all I have had a STUPENDOUS time with this game, it was a fantastic sequel to a fantastic game. I'm probably gonna still play and find the rest of the sage's wills and play with the building mechanic some more, but I'll leave that for a bit later once I've had a chance to really absorb the ending!! I've got an idea for a totk PMV that I'm working on, so that might make an appearance on this blog once it's done 👀 I'm sure I'll have more thoughts later, but I think this will be my last post in this sort of style with the bullet points and such

also goodness gracious nintendo do NOT make another direct sequel these kids have gone through SO much. let zelda and link go take a nap they've earned it

[suchacomet]

do you know if the baseball scenes in a league of their own were done by the actresses or by professionals? i can't find articles about it and i'm kind of curious your opinion as a sports person (sorry, i only know you from your analysis posts about the baseball aspects of the series)

omg i’m flattered you think i’m qualified to answer this question… i’m no professional commentator or even really a super avid baseball fan—the most i follow sports is college softball and then i only watch the championships bc godDAMN do those girls know how to play but godDAMN do i not have time to follow a whole season of pro sports—but i’m happy to share my personal beliefs on this topic, which boil down to: a little bit of both, i think!

in a bunch of interviews the actors have talked about doing baseball training and learning to play baseball as part of their prep for shooting the show (for example this interview which also has the bit where kelly mccormack talks about now much fun she had shooting the bar scene w roberta colindrez ❤️). plus there are, obviously, moments where we see the actors playing—scenes that come to mind are jess’s jump + barehand catch and throw to first, max’s barehand catch in the last episode, and the splits catch that one of the other peaches does at tryouts.

but there’s no way they didn’t use stunt doubles, especially for scenes like the runner mowing down carson at home plate or any of the slides. and honestly, most of the pitches, throws, and hits are probably either stitched-together cuts of multiple takes or cgi to get the ball where it needs to go. from a filmmaking standpoint, it’s just impractical to do anything else—no producer wants to do thirty takes of a pitch until it actually is a strike, no actor wants to worry about hitting to center left vs center right when they should be focusing on staying in character and being present in the scene, no editor wants to sift through hours of takes that are unusable because the ball just isn’t where it’s supposed to be.

there are definitely moments where they spliced together a bad play to make it look like a good one. the best example i can think of is this stop from jess:

obviously i can’t be certain, and it could just be the angle of the shot playing tricks on me, but it wouldn’t surprise me if jess/kelly mccormack overshot her lunge in that first wide shot and missed the ball. i can’t quite put my finger on it but it just doesn’t look like she’s gonna catch the ball to me. they cut quick enough and well enough to the close-up where she does make the catch that the audience really doesn’t notice the cover-up (if there actually is one), so it works.

same with this pitch from max! i don’t see anything wrong with the form necessarily but i highly doubt that exact pitch matches the ball landing perfectly in carson’s glove in the next shot. the angle of the ball traveling in the first shot doesn’t match the one in the second shot. but again, with the editing and the fact that what we’re really focusing on in this shot is their faces, it doesn’t register as being faked

also there’s for sure “errors” in some gameplay—i’m at work so i don’t have the time or ability to get screenshots but i distinctly remember someone walking back from running through first on the inside of the baseline/within bounds and being like AUGH NO THEYRE GONNA TAG YOU OUT but no one reacting, and i’m sure if i really thought about it i could come up with more examples. but having been in an editing room many a time, i get having to sacrifice a little bit of continuity or being 100% error-free in order to prioritize the best performances or the pacing of the scene

i don’t think it takes away from the show at all to do this btw! this is a fictional baseball series, not a baseball game. molding the shape of the game and the plays to serve the narrative and reflect the characters is the name of the game. if i wanted to watch people actually play baseball, i’d turn on an mlb game, you know? the baseball serves the story, not the other way around, and if that means cheating pitches and catches then so be it. it’s all part of filmmaking.

all that being said, i DO think the training the actors did does show in the series! it makes them look confident and natural on the diamond. like look at this still of geena davis from the original movie:

i love this movie. i love this movie so much. but jesus christ that is one of the worst batting forms i’ve ever seen in my life. her elbows aren’t bent enough; her back elbow should be angled higher; the bat should be held at a lower angle; her hands should be tucked much closer to her head/cheek area; her stance is too narrow and she looks so off-balance that a breeze would knock her over; she’s got some weird torque going on in her hips and torso that i can’t figure out but it looks a) uncomfortable b) weak and c) like she’s scared of the ball.

compare that to shirley’s form. i love shirley’s form and her batting prep. she lines herself up properly to the plate. she looks back to check her back elbow is in the right place. she leans back into her stance. it’s still stiff like geena davis, but that comes from shirley’s character, not the actor’s lack of skill/familiarity with the sport. and honestly shirley’s whole at-bat ritual with the tapping and the shirt tug and all not only makes sense for her as a nervous, compulsive character, but is SOOOO accurate to baseball players. i had a routine like that (not as complex but the whole having to do the same thing before every swing is so real)

(you know i gotta include a lupe image here) with the angle here it’s hard to tell whether that pitch is actually a strike, but it doesn’t matter bc she looks confident and capable! in her face she looks like she’s putting force into the pitch and with the leg kick, the glove point, and the follow through, she’s believable as a star pitcher

i think that’s the value of training your actors. i don’t think everyone can be, or even should be a tom cruise-type do-all-their-own-stunts actor. to get an entire team’s worth of actors (multiplied a few times, if you went all out and also trained the minor character and all the extras from the other teams) to a professional ball-playing standard, it would take years of training and millions/billions of dollars that i’d rather the production team use elsewhere to make a compelling narrative with high production value. but having the actors do SOME baseball training really pays off in these moments where we feel like we’re actually seeing these women play ball, even when we really aren’t.

i remember watching the original movie and laughing at the characters’ forms. it broke suspension of disbelief for me and again, even though i love that movie, it’s so clear to me that the way the women look (read: pretty/palatable to a cishet male audience) was more important than making them look like ball players. like i said earlier, geena davis looks like a rookie who’s scared of being hit by the ball, which completely undercuts her whole character. in aloto the show, they look like ball players—they look like fucking stellar professional ball players

(credit to @ropoto and @hikarielizabethbloom for the gorgeous gifs!)

[chupacabrahhh]

*~{ Garden of Golden Deer }~* a Fire Emblem: Three Houses Part 1 drabble

okayyy this is kinda brazy, I've never written fanfic for a video game before but man fe3h really got my imagination juices goin, and it's all thanks to my wonderful Golden Deers Q v Q

[ set during the aftermath of ch5 when Miklan is defeated & you rescue the Lance of Ruin. I recruited Sylvain the previous chapter and he replaces Lorenz in my house. The professor tells her students a story her father Jeralt once told her long ago. ]

~

It was nearing late afternoon, and the end of the Golden Deer’s lesson for the day. Byleth had everyone practicing combat moves they had drafted earlier, the sounds of weapons clashing ringing throughout the training grounds. The professor herself was locked in special dedication with Sylvain, the Sword of the Creator parried against his newly acquired Lance of Ruin. This was the first time he was allowed a feel for the relic in combat, but his clammy grip and furrowed brow gave insight to inner turmoil unlike Byleth had ever seen on her student’s face, especially when wielding a lance with which he was already very proficient.

“Of course he must still feel some type of way over Miklan. I bet he hasn’t laid a hand on the relic that stole his brother’s humanity since the day it was handed over to him. This must be very difficult for him..” she thought empathetically. Next to Claude, Sylvain was her most cocky and skilled student with their weapon of choice. She had never seen him mishandle a lance or without a confident smile on his face, but in front of her now he kept changing grip position and shifting the weight of the Lance of Ruin away from him, his body language screaming that he still wanted nothing to do with the thing. Byleth wished she could ease her student’s troubles, but she didn’t know what to say to comfort him about wielding this Hero’s Relic when she herself still wasn’t all that acquainted with the Sword of the Creator. And her past experience as a mercenary made her nothing if not numb to the taking and end of life, either around her or by her own hand. Suddenly, a memory from years past flickered back into her consciousness from a time when she was very small and had questioned death for the first time, before it became a daily part of her existence.

“Sylvain, that’s enough for today,” she nodded at him with eyes as kind as she could emote, and sheathed her sword. “Everyone, wrap up your sparring and meet me underneath the oak tree outside of the training grounds.”

She turned her back to the sounds of her students exclaiming victories over the others or getting into teasing squabbles. Byleth grabbed her water canteen on the way out and took a few gulps, knowing she would need the hydration for what she planned next. A part of her felt nervous at the coming prospect but an even greater part was assured in the comfort she hoped to bring her Golden Deer. Taking a seat on a large rock underneath the shade of the great tree, Byleth closed her eyes and tried transporting herself years back in her memories of being a small girl in her father’s arms. She could recall the feeling of his fur coat’s neckline as she gripped it, could smell the crisp air of winter’s final gusts as spring made its grand appearance across the land. At this time the mountains were still capped white but the valleys were turning lush and verdant, and buds of the bravest flowers were starting to stand tall, yet withheld the magnificence of their blooms.

Opening her eyes now, she gazed upon seven colorful and expectant faces all looking up at her with mixed expressions, her own little garden she was tasked with tending. Sigh, but the face of their biggest problem plant- er, child, was not among them.

“Claude, get your golden butt over here and sit down with the others. I haven't dismissed you yet.”

“Augh Teach, I was just a few steps away from making it home free, if only you had stayed in your trance a moment longer,” the house leader lamented teasingly but obediently plopped down in the back of the bunch beside Leonie and the Lance of Ruin, which Sylvain had expectantly distanced farthest from him as he sat towards the front of the bunch.

“Professor, are you going to make us meditate because that’s really not my thing and I already promised to meet someone for tea so,” Hilda piped up next and smiled sweetly as she twirled the ends of her pink hair, hoping to be obliged to leave as well.

“No, Hilda, we are not going to meditate and I promise this won’t be long. I’d like to share a quick little story with you all.”

“A story?” Lyisthea spoke next with a twinge of annoyance coloring her tone, but her doe eyes gave away her true excitement.

“Yes, this is a story my father told me back when I was a young child, and it’s stuck with me ever since. As we continue receiving missions that send us onto the battlefield, you’re all going to have to become very acquainted with death, which still might be a difficult or painful concept for you to grasp, understandably.” The mood had shifted from playful to pensive as she brought up death, and the change had caused that prickle of anxiety to return. Lecturing about battle tactics was something she had been forced to get used to by now, impersonal, automatic and well within her wheelhouse, but storytelling with colorful language and emotional sentiment was definitely leagues outside of her comfort zone. She gulped back the fear quickly and cleared her throat to begin, not wanting the silence to stretch any longer than it had.

“This is a story about what becomes of those who die on the battlefield.” Her opening statement grabbed the attention of all her students, with Leonie leaning in the most, obviously setting her expectations high as she hungrily awaited the words of Jeralt. “It was around the end of the Lone moon and I was small enough to be carried by my father but had already seen the handiwork of what he and his fellow mercenaries were hired to do. The image of bodies lying facedown on the land had been imprinted into my mind, and as we walked among the melting snow and coming flowers, I asked him what would become of those who died fighting? Accomplished nobles had grand sendoffs, and villagers were lovingly prepared by the hands of their families, but what was to become of those violent strangers who met their end in a random battlefield? Without missing a beat, he said…”

Byleth took a moment to appreciate the looks on her deer’s faces, with Sylvain’s amber eyes gleaming the brightest of the bunch.

“They become flowers.”

“Flowers!?” Raphael booming incredulous tone contrasted the professor’s soft spokenness.

“Yes, the fighters become flowers. As their blood and life force seeped out of their bodies and into the land, the great exchange was transmuted by the goddess into the most delicate and lovely creation, flowers. What’s more, he explained, was that the soul of each warrior who had taken life as their means of living would spend their next reincarnation as a flower, to learn the lessons of fragility, powerlessness, and surrender. A brief moment in their soul’s journey back to the goddess where they embody what it means to be defenseless. A child could come running along to pick it, a deer grazing and eat it, or at the end of the year it withers to the natural cycle of the seasons, never once harming another soul in its lifetime. He says that is how balance is restored  and how all warriors learn the lesson of gentleness.” Byleth concluded her storytelling with a breath and leaned back with a tiny amused expression watching the unexpected existential and poetic tale turn over in their minds.

Leonie was the first to speak up. “Pardon me, Professor, but I have trouble believing Captain Jeralt the Blade Breaker came up with a story so… uh, flowery.”

“Very perceptive, Leonie, you do know him well. You’re right that that tale didn’t originate from his thoughts. My mother told it to him. But I can assure you he does believe in its message.” Leonie blushed and huffed embarrassedly at being praised by her one-sided rival but nodded once in acknowledgement.

“So Teach, do you believe in that myth? That you and he and all of us will reincarnate as flowers in the next life?” Of course she was expecting that from Claude, a languid smirk on his face as he awaited her answer with interest.

Byleth pondered her inner self for just a moment then nodded slightly. “Yes, I do.”

“Oh, I knew that to be true, Professor! I always noticed that wherever you walk, you always take care to never step on flowers. It’s something I always admired about you..” Marianne was softly glowing with a rare joy then remembered she was in the company of all her classmates and immediately wiped the smile from her face and looked downwards.

Ignatz spoke next, the stars of inspiration lighting his whole body language. “Professor, thank you for sharing such a moving tale! I believe it must be true, as it aligns with all that I believe the goddess values as well! A-and if I may, Professor, I believe that in your next life, you will be a grand and magnificent tree, just like the one we’re all gathered under.”

“Ignatz, so bold! I’m impressed with you!” Sylvain smiled teasingly and ruffled his peer’s olive bowlcut, causing the boy to blush an even deeper shade than his proclamation had him before. “And I have to say, I agree with you. The Professor has to be a majestic and wise tree,” he said, turning his smile towards her. Byleth noticed most of the darkness had left his amber eyes and his inner light was shining through once again, so even though the storytime was a bit embarrassing and uncomfortable, seeing him embody a bit of his old self again made it all worth it, as much as the wonder in the rest of her Golden Deer’s faces. Yes, she felt herself smile genuinely, they were indeed a vibrant garden of individuals.

[since-it-must-be-so]

A Wild Sheep Chase: Chapter 2 of Choujin X!

It's here! I've gushed about the chapter over at my Twitter, but like I said in my previous post, I want to see how the story progresses and keep a log about it. So here it goes!

Background info on Ely Otsuta

So before we delve into Chapter 2 which almost exclusively featured Ely... Let's take note of the new things we learned about Ely:

She's from a rural prefecture. I think she lives in the mountainside specifically since that's where she grows her tomatoes.

She's a greenthumb (we already kinda knew this from the previous chapter but we learn more about her life pre-Choujin X). I understand that even if the soil is infertile, she's able to grow tomatoes so nutritious and plump. So plump, they resemble butts, hence, "bumbums!" It appears she uses advanced equipment for her farming stuff. So yeah, based on these, it's established Ely has a green thumb!

Oh, and it appears that it's clarified that her "Grandpapi" whom she talks about in the 1st chapter is an adoptive grandfather (not biological, hence, maybe in the future we'd know her parents and learn why Ely is special).

It's just me but I get the impression that Ely is being introduced as some sort of "fertility" choujin, since she also dreams of having 9 kids. Haha!

It's kinda weird though why the burning tomato has a face. Was it just from her dream, since after plucking a bumbum - she woke up? Hmm, after some thought, I think the burning tomato with a face is just from her dream.

Ely Wakes Up from Reality

When Ely woke up, she finds herself in the South Yamato prefecture. Okay, so I think this leaning tower of some sort has a significance to the story.

It's featured in every spread with the title "Choujin X" and also in the last chapter. Can you see it? Maybe it has something to do with how the powers are made, like pollution-related or a botched experiment. Dunno. Just my wild speculation.

A Wild Sheep Chase

This is the exciting part. So when Ely wakes up, Chandra Hume offers to "escort" her, but really it appears he wants to kidnap her. And from, *checks the manga* page 10 to 40, we have Ely running away from Chandra until she fell in what looks like a similar area where Tokio and Azuma fought Johnny Kiyoshi Takeyama.

The chase sequence consisting of 30 pages were so fun and I was smiling all the while I was reading! Ely is so cute trying to parkour her way through the buildings (kinda reminds me of Touka?? I miss Touka!). Chandra looks really cool, he seemed to be flying too, using his powers (more on that later)!

But not to be outdone, Ely borrows a "Roller Boy Yay-Yay" which basically is a scooter with something that resembles a driver's wheel. Its literal translation of ローラーBOYイェイ・イェイ -- which, checking Twitter and in Ishida's latest live stream, I think the locals found it hilarious too. Ishida is just unleashing his crazy here, I love it!

After that sequence, we get the tractor and sheep chase. Ah! I love it.. So what happened is that, Chandra and Ely fall off from their Roller Boy Yay-Yay. Ely who just claimed she can outrun Chandra if she were riding a tractor, suddenly found one right in front of her! Then Chandra lands near a gang... or should I say, a flock of sheep-bikers. They're all wearing these Kanji-printed tracksuits and basically look like they're a bunch of delinquents? They even describe themselves as "cryptid bikers"... Cryptid supposedly means mysterious? Idk why the weird choice of words for the translation though.

Funnily, I was just reading Haruki Murakami's A Wild Sheep Chase (羊をめぐる冒険 --- Hitsuji o meguru bōken or literally An Adventure Surrounding Sheep). I wonder if this scene something to do with this book?

Anyway, Chandra entices the sheep to help hip capture Ely by bribing them with a Docomo flip phone. I don't know why a flip phone - could mean the following: (a) the sheep are so poor, a flip phone is cool; (b) maybe flip phones are a status symbol in that universe; (c) maybe the setting is in the 2000s when the flip phones really were all the rage.

So they all chase Ely, but Chandra suddenly has a car too. Someone on Twitter said it's a Porsche? But I can't tell, though Chandra said his car is a four-wheel drive... Heh? Idk what to do with this info.

As for Ely, she is really good with the tractor as she said. The hilarity of outrunning motorcycles and what could be a Porsche. That tractor prowess! Later on, Chandra and the other sheep figure into an accident with a "safety-loving" truck (oh the irony, lol). Chandra flew off the car and so did his fancy shoes...

Ely didn't exactly come out unscathed. Ishida allocated 4 double spreads for this epic fall. Some of the sheep definitely should have died from that spectacular accident.

At first, Ely was smug about escaping the sheep. But then, I think she was moved by compassion and I think she hurt herself in order to revive the sheep. I just wonder though, how she learned to do that?

Then we get another awesome double spread of her transformation, similar to Tokio's. Augh Ishida-sensei. These are soooo good!!!!

Because of her transformation, the whole area was engulfed with smoked and I think the sheep were effectively revived. It appears Chandra saw all this (while he was regenerating... so we now know choujins or at least smoke choujins like Chandra has regenerative powers), hence he marveled at Ely's newfound power. It was kinda confirmed that Ely was responsible for keeping the casualties to a minimum. Specifically he said Ely possesses: quick judgment, though resolve, persistence... making her a human with the makings of a choujin... while also kinda noting Ely's silliness.

Here we go again with Chandra's "fancy gentleman" facade... Even the way he talks is fancy ("I am well-acquainted with the roads here") but more than that... he's self-important. I talked about my other views on his character on Reddit. I get the impression he's something of a "Choujin supremacist", you know what I mean? So, he wants to kinda recruit Ely into his organization or whatever.

Ely is righteous

So we see that Ely is further introduced as a good character, standing up against Chandra and rejecting his offer to be his pupil or something. Ely was clearly upset about the grandma getting hurt (did she die? I hope she didn't) and made it clear she would never join him. Chandra takes offense at this rejection, especially when Ely said Chandra is worse than a turd.

As Chandra tries to inflict pain on Ely (something about marking her on the face), she recalls her resolve from Chapter 1: drones for farming, a greenhouse, her grandpappy, a mansion, the big dog, paying back the kid for his roller boy yay-yay, the Goldilocks hubbie, nine kids... But just before we can see if she can fight Chandra off...

The most handsome man of all Sui Ishida's works (haha!)

This buff mysterious man with a bandana reminiscent of the Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles seemed to have blown Chandra and Ely (also the cars and motorcycles) away by a mere clap of his hands. It appears even Chandra is afraid of this guy and recognizes him... he leaves the scene using his smoke powers before the guy can do serious damage. I think his power has something to do with wind since there was like a little hint with all the ventilation stuff in the setting.

The guy manages to create a circle of protection around Ely. He tells Ely that Chandra's modus is to target "people with aptitude like Ely". He helpfully mends Ely's punctured hand with his bandana.... And when Ely looks up at his face, what do you know? Haha!

Our girl Ely has a love interest! Haha.

Tokio's Gregor Samsa moment

I've observed from the manga I've read that characters with transformation abilities always, always go through this adjustment period with the power. Gregor Samsa, Peter Parker, our boy Kaneki... Anyway, it seems Tokio doesn't know or can't turn back into a normal-looking person. But the last panel sure is interesting because we have them experiencing this transformation at the same time. Also, since it reminds me of Touka and Ayato's volume cover. I hope they find each other soon though!

Types of Choujins and initial premises on the Power of Choujins

So there are 3 confirmed types so far: Flexi (Johnny), Bestial (our boy Tokio), and Smoke. It seems that pretty boy Hoshi doesn't have a category yet, but like I said I think his has something to do with air or ventilation lol.

We learned that Chandra is a Smoke Choujin, and Ely is now one too and she was may have been somehow infected by Chandra's smoke/fumes. It appears now that there are 2 ways to become a choujin: injection and inhalation. Chandra wonders if Ely was infected with his power... But I'm thinking the infection theory might not be that accurate. After all, it seems Ely has a green thumb.

But, I think as Chandra said, only some people have an aptitude for this. So, Ely and Tokio are examples. I wonder if Azuma also has choujin powers or did it not manifest yet? Is the aptitude inherent or something you can acquire? If so, what does Tokio have that Azuma doesn't, especially since everyone thinks Azuma is "better" than Tokio in all aspects?

We'll find out in Chapter 3 more or less!! I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes! I'd like to hear your thoughts or comments if any :)

[blake-belladonna-defence-force]

I feel kinda bad for flooding you with asks...but like I said I cant help myself, makes me feel better knowing you dont mind though. Anyways how about one of Yang's old signal "buddies" (boy or girl) just openly hitting on Yang and making her a little uncomfortable with everything they say to her, causing Blek to get protective, especially when they start actually touching Yang. (Sorry I just really really really enjoy this headcanon)

Not going to lie, I enjoy this headcanon too.

So have some badass partners, some absolute assholes who can’t take no for an answer and some confident bees 😊

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Why don’t you show me all of that fun you blondes have, eh?”

Yang growled under her breath and tried to shift away from the boy next to her. Jett had always been persistent but this was a new level of stubborn, even for him.

“I said no, Jett.” Yang said simply, brushing past Jett and his team, planning to walk away until she felt a hand circle her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. She inhaled deeply and released it. They were in a public place and as a student of Beacon Academy, she knew that she was pretty much a representative of the school. Getting caught in a fight wouldn’t be a good look.

“Jett. You know that I fully capable of kicking your ass several times over.” Yang warned, glaring at him as her eyes shifted to red. “So I recommend that you let me go.”

“You really think that’s possible when his team’s right here?” Laughed one of his teammates. She really couldn’t be bothered to lean the bastard’s name. It’s not like she planned on getting to know any of them after this. “Damn Jett, you were right. Talk about a dumb, blonde bim-“

The sudden sound of metal hitting a brick wall made them all turn their heads.

“I assure you that Yang is still capable of kicking all of your asses several times over, even when you fight as a team.” Blake said quietly, shifting Gambol Shroud and running her fingers along the blade in a very pointed manner before sheathing it as Yang bit back a smirk. “So for your own wellbeing, I recommend that you let her go… Jiff, right?”

“It’s Jett!” He dropped Yang’s wrist and stepped towards Blake. Yang shook her head, knowing that it was going to take a little more than that to intimidate either her or Blake.

“Considering the fact that you’re harassing my partner, I couldn’t care less what your name is.” Blake said with narrowed eyes. “Here’s what’s going to happen; you’re going to apologise and then, you’re going to run away with your tail between your legs as you realise that you’re batting way out of your league.”

“I’d listen to her, Jett.” Yang grinned sharply. “The girl tends to be right most of the time. I mean… I chose her for a reason.” She added, sending Blake a playful wink. She smirked when Blake arched her brows elegantly.

“Really?” Blake asked as she strolled through the group of boys, completely ignoring their protests as she pointedly shoulder checked them. “Because I’m pretty sure you’re the one who’s right most of the time, little miss future valedictorian.”

“Aw, Blake!” Yang said, placing her hand over her heart as the boys looked at each other in confusion. “You’re making me blush! Ugh! I think I feel a swoon coming on!”

“I assure, most beloved, that I will catch each time that you fall!” Blake crowed, just as dramatically as Yang. “For what kind of gentlewoman would I be if I failed to catch such a beautiful and intellectual damsel?”

Yang grinned and allowed herself to fall into Blake arms in an over exaggerated swoon, covering her eyes as Blake effortlessly held her up.

“Hey!” Jett snarled, storming over to them. “We were in the middle of a conversati-Ugh!” He let out a grunt when Yang’s foot collided with his solar plexus.

“And now we’re in the middle of a fight.” Yang smirked. Eh, being a representative was boring. At least she and Blake would be in detention together.

“More like an ass kicking.” Blake laughed, shifting so that she and Yang were back to back between the group of four now very offended boys. “There’s no way that these guys can offer any sort of challenge. Look at them! A bunch of soft whelps. It’ll be like crushing a can of pop.”

“Have I told you that I love it when you’re feisty?” Yang yelled as she ducked under a fist and sent the guy sprawling over her back to be met by Blake’s foot colliding with his chest. She heard the sound of one of Blake’s opponents hitting the ground shortly after. She caught the foot that was aimed at her head and sent a strike to the back of his knee, forcing him to collapse to his knees before kicking him between his shoulder blades. “Because I totally do.”

“You hear that, Jett? She loves it when I’m feisty.”

Yang turned around to see Jett swinging at Blake with his fists as she kept just out reach, a smug expression on her face. Yang quirked an eyebrow. Blake wasn’t striking back. She was toying with him.

“Don’t play with his fragile, little heart, Blake.” Yang called, grinning as she leaned against a nearby pole. “You’re giving the poor boy false hope.”

“Fine. But only for you, sweetheart.” Yang pretended to fan herself as though flattered. Jett did not seem to like this and charged at Blake, who rotated to the side and swept his legs out from under him. As he crashed to the ground, she very calmly pressed her heel into his chest pointedly. “Now… about that very sincere and genuine apology that you’re going to give her…”

“I’m not going t-augh!” He yelled out as Blake dug her heel in slightly. Not enough to do damage but just enough to get her point across. “Okay, I’m sorry! I am really, really sorry!”

“Fine.” Yang shrugged, glowering down at him. “Just don’t ever speak to me again. I won’t be so kind or patient next time.”

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Thanks for the assist, partner.”

“Oh please.” Blake rolled her eyes, playfully hip checking Yang as she smiled up at her. “You could have taken them without me.”

“Uh, duh. Obviously I could have.” Yang winked cheekily at her friend, draping her arm across her shoulders and pulling her in. “But I’m not going to say no to backup. Besides, it’s not like you were fighting my battles for me. We help each other… like partners should. So thank you, I guess. For not pulling the whole “damsel in distress” card on me.”

“Of course not!” Blake snorted indignantly, her arm curling around Yang’s waist. “You’re capable of taking care of yourself. If you have to fight a battle, then I’m going to fight it with you. Not for you.”

“That’s what being partners is about, I guess.” Yang smiled softly at her friend. “Supporting each other. Working with each other.”

“Yeah.” Blake agreed quietly. “We’re lucky to have a partnership that works well.”

“Yeah.” Yang said softly, affectionately placing her head against Blake’s as the slightly shorter woman, in a rare show of affection that was slowly becoming more frequent around Yang, rested her head on Yang’s shoulder. “We are.”

They didn’t fight each other’s battle for the other.

They didn’t try to stop the other from fighting her own battle.

Instead, when they fought; they fought together. They worked together to achieve a goal and that was why they worked so well together.

It wasn’t one that guarded the other. No. Instead, they supported each other.

[petitprincess1]

Good Evening Ch12 (Escalating)

AO3 Link Summary: Angelo gets a surprise visit at night by someone...who is not at all happy to see him. How rude... Words: 2,479 Warning: Gun violence, blood, and murder I'm so freaking sorry for the wait. I have no excuse other than starting up a new story called My Roommate's a Demonic Deer and laziness. I'm so, so sorry. Hope it's worth the wait. ~~~ Also, during that week, Angelo had been bed-ridden the entire time, going in and out of consciousness, due to the immense pain that he was in. Luckily, he was stable enough to do the more private tasks like using the bathroom and bathing himself, so that was a bit of relief for him. He really needed those moments because he was hardly ever alone.

If he wasn’t being checked up on by Baxter, then Cherri was worried about his well being and talking to him about her terrible job. Sir Pentious would also make sure to keep him up to speed about all the news going on in the world by reading the newspaper...fucking old man. Plus, his sister came by with Fat Nuggets, his little piggy, to cheer him up. Granted, his father and Arackniss also came by...so...yeah. Nothing better than you father and brother still questioning your fucking “decision” of “choosing homosexuality”. Angelo wished Vox just killed him...not really, but he was mad.

Also, Charlie and, surprisingly, Vaggie came over once or twice to just talk to Angelo about anything and just to check up on him. It felt both odd and nice that they were all just talking like nothing changed. As if the mob child wasn’t lying in bed with his arm and leg in a cast, a few broken ribs, bruised up body, busted gums and lip, and getting sick of eating soup.

Angelo knew that everyone, excluding his brother and father, were just looking after him, but it was just a bit much. Although, it did make him feel happy that people did care for him this much...but give him some fucking space...please. If anything, Angelo was lowkey wondering why Alastor had yet to show up. Seemed like he didn’t want to leave his side before, what gives?

Now, the mob-child was watching some Baywatch-like TV show and it was boring as all hell. He groaned as he tried to grab the remote, just for sharp pain to go up his side as he attempted to twist his body, causing his eyes to tear up. He flopped back onto the mattress lightly, sighed, and called out as best as he could, “Pennnnnnn! PENNNNNNNNN!! …...PeEeeEEEeeeeEeEeENNNNnNNN!!!!”

Pentious practically kicked the door open and screeched, “Blimey! Shut the fuck up, you bloody plonker!”

Angelo grinned, “Man, ya really went full British~”

Pentious rolled his eyes and gave a huff as he walked into the room, questioning, “What the hell do you want?”

The mob child whimpered like a sad puppy and reached out pathetically to the remote on the nightstand. Pen raised an eyebrow at him, still clearly pissed at Angie calling out to him like that, and walked over to the nightstand. He grabbed the remote...and then tossed it lightly at Angelo’s head. 

The boy flinched at the impact, even if it was barely enough to even cause pain. He pouted up at Pen, “Hey, what the hell!? I’m injured ‘ere!”

The older man sat down at the edge of the bed and huffed, “Clearly, you’re not too injured to scream at the top of your lungs. ….How are you feeling?”

Angelo couldn’t help but calm down at hearing his tone soften up a bit. He shifted as much as he could, wincing at a sharp pinch at his side, and replied, “Well...I’m doin’ as good as I can be, especially bein’ stuck in bed and, you know, bein’ broken...and all.”

Sir Pentious’ soft look immediately turned into a look of concern and possible pity. He rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what to say to try to alleviate the situation, and asked, “Uh…perhaps I can do something to help you? You do look really knackered. Do you want anything? Anything at all?”

Angelo hummed, “Oh, yeah, can ya get me a fairy godmother to heal up my wounds, a hit list of everyone that works for Vox, and a M3? Thanks, sweetie~”

“....Uuuuuuhhhhh,” was Pen’s well-detailed and poetic response. Luckily, Cherri and a short latin man, who gave a warm smile to Pen before looking at Angelo worriedly, came walking in. Not necessarily to “save” him, since Cherri immediately punched Pen’s arm, causing him to let a manly yelp, while her face had a light pinkish red as she glared at him, shouting, “What the hell is wrong with you! Don’t yell at Angelo!”

Pentious glowered, “What’s wrong with me!? I’m not the one punching people randomly, you nutter!”

The short man pushed back his naturally, already slicked back, black hair with silver streak and went over to Angelo quickly. He practically shouted, just to assuage the tension, “So, uh, Anthony, how are you?”

The two looked over at Angelo and the mob child huffed, “I already answered this! When can I just get-augh!”

The three jumped at seeing Anthony grip at his ribs tightly and take a deep shuddering breath as his eyes teared up a bit, shutting his eyes tightly. The man mumbled, “I guess that answers my question.”

He fished some pills out from his pocket and was about to help him take the pills, even about to tell Pen to get some water. However, Angelo just snatched the capsules out of his hand and took them dry. He quickly snapped, “I can take my own pills, dammit!”

Pentious was going to yell again, but the doctor reassured, pushing up his glasses, “It’s alright, querido. He’s been stuck in bed for a whole week.” The long-haired man scoffed, “That doesn’t justify him being rude to you, Baxter. You should be more appreciative, Anthony!”

Angelo was about to yell to stop calling him Anthony, but Cherri clapped her hands and gave a soft sigh, “Alright, things are startin’ to escalate, so why don’t ya two maybe, uh, get the fuck out?”

Pen was going to argue more, but Baxter ended up calmly bringing his boyfriend out of the middle of things by taking his hand. He just didn’t wish to deal with a bunch of shouting. Well...more shouting. Pen eventually just huffed and decided to just go out the door, while carrying the bespectacled man in his arms. It caused a lovely rosy color to hit Baxter’s cheeks.

Cherri gagged at the two and then stared at Angelo, sighing, “So, uh, I guess ya ain’t doin’ that well, huh?”

Angelo shook his head and sat up slowly, wincing at the sharp pains wracking his body. The Australian girl wanted to help, but she knew that would just annoy Angie. He grunted, “I...I know that everyone is jus’ tryin’ ta help, but...god, it makes me feel useless. Not only that, but I bet Vox might send people ta finish the job, especially since I ain’t dead.”

“Did you escape or somethin’?”

“No...he let me go, but ya never just attack a mob boss and get out alive,” Angelo informed, causing him to let out a shuddering breath.

Cherri noticed it getting somber, causing her to change the subject and bring up, “Oh, uh, hey! I heard Alastor’s radio station. He talked about some woman’s husband missing and said that the hotel is doing well. I think it helps that Charlie’s dad is visiting more often, something about a helicopter and...uh...”

She trailed off when she noticed Angelo still looking incredibly distraught. She thought that she may have seen a glimmer of intrigue after mentioning Alastor’s name, but that was all. He barely seemed to pay attention to the status of the hotel. Cherri sighed as she reached into her short’s pocket and handed a folded up note to Angelo. She replied, “I found this letter outside your door way earlier. I think it was like 3 am, I heard some noise...uh...yeah. I’ll just leave it here…”

She placed it on the nightstand near his bed and then told him, “We all want ya to get better, Angie, and maybe even Vox to go through hell. Just...don’t do anything dumb, okay?”

Cherri then got up off of the bed and started walking towards the door, giving one glance over her shoulder at Angelo before leaving out of the room. Angelo sighed as he grabbed the letter, feeling awful for going silent on Cherri. He unfolded the paper and skimmed over the words.

When the mob-child got to the end of the letter, he felt both shocked, questionable, and worried. The letter was written by Alastor, who somehow snuck into Pen’s house, and...he was coming over tonight. ~~~ Angelo was slightly turning in bed, waiting for Alastor to come to the house. Granted, he wasn’t too excited to see what he was bringing back as a meal, but he was sure that he wouldn’t serve humans again. ...Well, he hoped so. It wasn’t like it was too much of a stretch considering what he saw in that gumbo. It still made him feel ill to this day. Plus, it didn’t help since Al seemed very excited.

Angelo just sighed as he placed his back on the pillow and was about to go to sleep, but stopped when he heard footsteps. He lifted his head up a little and groaned, “Hey, Al, can ya give me a hint as ta what yer makin’? I just don-”

He stopped when he saw a shadow in the hall of a woman that definitely didn’t look like Cherri’s. Before he could question, he heard the sound of a gun being cocked and then a revolver being aimed into the room. He saw a woman coming into view, but didn’t pay attention to anything but the shaky gun. Angie started, “Wh-Whoa! Hey, d-don’t do any-”

The woman whisper-shouted, “Shut up, just...shut up! You...You killed him!”

Angelo looked very confused and she sniffled, cheeks and nose a bright red, “Jonathan...he w-worked...a-at your ex-boss’ wareh-house. ...H-He was standing guard la-last week.”

Angelo barely had any memory of who all worked under Val and Vox, but it could have been a possibility. No one knows about the warehouse or that it’s Val’s. He gulped, “H-Hey, I’ve been st-stuck in bed an-”

“I told you-!” She took a deep breath as her finger went towards the trigger, making Angelo feel his heart jump to his throat. He looked around the place as he sat up in bed quite quickly, probably making it harder to believe that he was injured in the first place. 

The woman went on, stepping closer and aiming the gun at his head, “Th-They told m-me...they f-found remains i-in the fu-furnace. Vox said...th-they don’t kn-now if i-it’s his, but...he has-sn’t come back. O-Our kids...a-are so sc-scared...they don’t...th-they just w-want...him…” she trailed off as she placed a hand to her mouth to try to quiet her sobbing, turning away and lowering the revolver.

Angelo was trying to slowly slide out of bed to try and get some kind of weapon. Unfortunately, the gentle thud of his toes hitting the wooden floor. The woman immediately shot up and aimed the gun back at his head. Angie gulped and tried to calm her again, “Listen...I promise ya...I did not kill yer husband, alright? I-I’ve been stuck here. I mean...ya can clearly see that Vox did a number on me...right…?”

He got a bit distracted when he saw Cherri appear behind the woman, opened her eyes widely, and then quickly retreated to possibly find a weapon. Angelo continued, wanting to stall, “So....what’s your n-”

“I’m not telling you my goddamn-”

“Whoa-ho-ho! I’ve clearly come in a bad time!” 

The woman quickly turned around and aimed the gun at the person behind her. Angelo oddly felt relieved at seeing Alastor standing there with his perma-smile, but also had no idea where this was going to go. Al just calmly walked inside and stepped around the lady, humming a little tune. She whimpered, “H-How did you g-get in here!? Wh-Where did you come fr-from!? I...I heard y-your voice...the radio broadcast, right?”

Alastor nodded, walking in-between her and Angelo, “Yes...you’re Traci? The one that lost her husband, I suppose? ...Why are you going to shoot, Anthony?” Traci glared and sniffled, wiping her eyes, “Because he’s the one that killed him!”

Al raised an eyebrow and hummed, “And you know that...how?”

The lady looked around for a few seconds, messing with her hair and the scarf around her neck. She muttered, “I-I-I just kn-now about him g-getting hurt. Cl-Clearly, he ratted o-out to his batshit f-family! His sist-ter is just as f-fucking stupid a-as he is, so-”

“Now, now, no need to go throwing around insults. You’re already aiming a gun at a questionably innocent mad, don’t have to be even more callous,” Alastor chuckled, as if he was just having a normal conversation. It once again reminded Angelo that this man was not sound of mind. Cherri came back with a wooden field hockey stick and was slowly creeping on the lady. Traci started, “But he-”

Al walked closer to her, being calm and collected, “You...don’t know what he did. You’re just accusing him of something. I’m sure that the police are doing whatever they can, but...Traci...no need to get yourself in trouble. Your kids need you, correct? You do have kids, right?”

Traci was almost near sobbing again, causing Cherri to halt in her movements out of guilt, and she nodded. He walked closer, feeling the revolver press to his chest, and calmly asked, “Please, Traci, give the gun. ...We won’t press charges.”

She sniffled and whimpered, trembling where she stood. She let out a loud sob as she handed the gun to Alastor, who took the gun calmly. Angelo let out a breath and noticed that Pen and Baxter joined Cherri. The three looked calmer considering that everything had become quieter.

Alastor backed away from Traci, causing her to just break down and hugged herself. He looked down at the revolver and let out a long hum. Al then gave out quite a cute guilty as he informed, “Traci, don’t you know that when you threaten with a gun, you have to take the safety off! Silly!”

“Wha-” that was all that Traci said as she slowly lifted her head and a bullet went right through her head, causing a bit of blood splatter. Unfortunately, it got mostly onto Cherri and the wall, making the punk scream out in terror and Pen almost throw up. Her scream covered up the sound of Traci’s body falling onto the floor.

Alastor muttered, “I thought it would be messier than that...hmm…” He tossed the gun onto the bed and smiled at Angelo, who just muttered, “Nice shot...I guess…”

“I made grilled venison!”

“Oh...neat.”