#FUN FACT. A COUPLE OF THE CHARACTERS MAKE LITTLE APPEARANCES IN THE CREATORS NEW GAME DIALTOWN

[butchdykekondraki]

i don’t know a damn thing about dsaf but it sounds very interesting (also hi!!!!!!! i do not talk to y’all enough :{ )

OH IT IS ITS SO GOOD,,, it has been destroying me for like a month now and its awesome ^_^

[zap0ch0s]

Fugitives AU headcanons

So, remember this?

I wanted to do headcanons for this AU cuz I have nothing else to do, but well here you go

and well, disclaimer below

TW: blood, death, murderer, gore, hardcore topics, bad curses

please have discretion before reading

Ryo>

Full HD image srry

Quick fun fact: Ryo is an OLD OC who had several facets in his character construction, first he was an older brother in a family of 7 or 8 brothers and then a guy with a harem of demon girls, time passed and I forgot this character, until the AU suddenly came up and I decided to use Ryo again for this AU.

✂He is not even human, he was created as a living voodoo doll in a satanic ritual with the ability to feel and think like a normal and ordinary human, but that took development, Ryo was molded as a male figure to camouflage his true appearance, his The creator constantly took him to the outside world so that he could understand it a little better. As time went by, Ryo began to understand his environment and understand humans, but his ability to feel needed to be reinforced, because the only thing Ryo felt in that world. stage of his life was curiosity.

✂Having said a little about his origin, let's talk about his past, Ryo was just curious about everything, so sometimes he ran away to interact with humans. By doing so, he began to feel happiness and began to make friends, but that happiness wouldn't last quite a long time, since his creator was a murderer without being caught, so one day he started using Ryo to kill people, even some of his friends, let's just say that Ryo's creator didn't treat him very well either, in fact He treated him like shit, if Ryo didn't obey his creator's orders, he was beaten immediately, if he didn't satisfy his interests, he cut off some limb and left him like that for a week or two, until Ryo got fed up and tried to kill his creator by setting fire to him and the place where they both lived and went to make him life independently, the fate of his creator is unknown.

✂Taking into account that he is a living voodoo doll, if Ryo harms himself, he harms another human being that Ryo can think of.

✂He doesn't have a specific age, mentally he is 25 years old, but his physical appearance does not help much, since he looks like a 17 year old teenager.

✂He's pretty smart, but he's very naive.

✂By being able to rebuild his life, Ryo became a happy and enthusiastic person, making new friends and experiencing both good and bad things.

✂Unfortunately, by living more bad experiences than good, he became a more shy and insecure person.

✂He is bisexual, but he is philophobic.

✂His philophobia is due to the fact that love hit him in the balls many times, 3 times with shitty friends and 5 times with love, he was in three groups of friends who treated him like shit, and in love he did worse, his first partner took advantage of Ryo's hospitality to steal money from him and buy drugs, the second partner cheated on him with his "best friend", the third partner was a manipulative and jealous person, the fourth partner took advantage of his kindness and abused Ryo on many occasions, physically and emotionally, and also, he only wanted him to satisfy his sexual desires (be careful, Ryo accepted only so as not to receive an insult or a beating), the fifth couple abandoned him when Ryo needed him most, and so Ryo promised himself that he would never fall in love or deepen a friendship again.

✂He doesn't like the cold or the heat.

✂He lives alone and only has a Siberian husky named "Juju" for company.

✂Work as a barista at a Starbucks.

✂He knows a lot about general culture and video game culture, which has caused people to call him a "freaky".

✂Although he is philophobic, he wishes with all his heart that someone truly loves him and loves him.

✂ahh, but if he feels like he's going to fall in love, he gets hysterical and rejects his emotions (who understands that poor guy?).

✂ Emotionally sensitive (quite a bit in fact...).

✂He ​​knows that sooner or later he must heal his emotional scars, but he's afraid.

Dolph Lazerhawk:

It'll sound somewhat complicated or confusing, but since it is not known if there will be a second season of this series (yet), I had to put everything to my imagination to add the first three main characters of this series.

⚙He died? he survived? I don't know, the thing is that as you know at the end of the last episode Dolph is on a game over video game screen, BUT, with the detail that it gives you the "continue? yes or no?" screen. to which Dolph selects yes, which gives me the impression that Dolph could return, well, while we wait for the second season, let's assume that he did returned, as soon as he was able to escape from the Wasteland to rescue Bullfrog, his robotic arm was screwed and barely had any strength, luckily Bullfrog found him and took him away from the wasteland and a little to the outskirts of Eden.

⚙He still thinks about what could have happened to Marcus Holloway, but he still plans to one day destroy Sarah Fisher.

⚙He will look like he doesn't give a shit about everything, but deep down he genuinely cares about those people with whom he rarely empathizes.

⚙Gay 🏳‍🌈 (hell yeah💅).

⚙He likes drinks from other countries, especially if they are cocktails or alcoholic drinks.

⚙He still has a hard time trusting people, since after being betrayed twice, he doesn't easily trust anyone (except a little for Bullfrog).

⚙He is strong-willed, but can be a little emotional at times.

⚙To recover a little physically, he does a daily exercise routine.

⚙As the days went by, he learned to get over what happened with Alex.

⚙He tries to gain confidence in Ramón, since he still doesn't know that Ramón gave up on Eden after learning the truth.

⚙Also, he tries to get along with him only because Bullfrog trusts him completely.

⚙He is the strongest of the trio (that is, him, Ramón and Bullfrog).

Bullfrog:

🐸It's like the emotional and moral support of the trio.

🐸His favorite flavor of juice is orange.

🐸He has tried to get Ramón to stop taking drugs, and so far it worked.

🐸He is the most agile and fastest of the trio.

🐸Desmond Miles was his mentor, but he was executed in live in the electric chair.

🐸He's still a little emotional about what happened to Peyj', Jade and Cody Rhodes, so he always tries to protect the only two people he has left by his side.

🐸Perhaps the kindest of the trio.

🐸He is quite understanding of his group and cares a lot about his comrades.

🐸Always tries to prevent Dolph and Ramon from starting to fight.

🐸Over the days, Bullfrog has begun to have feelings for Ramón.

🐸If there is something that hurts him, shits him, lascras him and excretes him, it is that you mess with him and his comrades, apart from making fun of him.

🐸Every time he thinks it's necessary to lighten the atmosphere, he puts some music.

🐸Bullfrog knows about Ramón's probable insomnia.

Rayman/Ramón:

💥Since they left Eden, Ramón is still a little mentally damaged.

💥Although he has stopped taking drugs at Bullfrog's request, he still cannot give up alcohol.

💥Emotionally vulnerable.

💥He is easily irritable.

💥Every time he bleaches his hair to a platinum yellow color so as not to show his natural blonde.

💥He is closer to Bullfrog since he was the only one who opened his eyes to the real Eden.

💥He is pessimistic.

💥His entire vision of the world is broken.

💥The only thing worth it to him is Bullfrog.

💥He still has hope that things can get better.

💥He has quite eyebags because he has trouble sleeping.

💥His eye color changes depending on his mood.

💥There are times he cries while he sleeps.

💥Even though Bullfrog always asks him to, he can't get along easily with Dolph and always wants to beat him up.

💥Over the days, he has started to have feelings for Bullfrog, but he doesn't know if Bullfrog feels the same way about him (don't worry buddy, I'm sure he does).

💥He is the strategist of the trio.

Fakeman:

Or raymesis, whatever you want to call it, but I call it Fakeman

Be careful that some data may change as the AU plot progresses (when it comes out, obviously 😳)

🎙Obviously he doesn't know that he is a mere clone of the original Rayman.

🎙He brushes his hair every moment to make sure it's "perfect."

🎙He is quite vanidous, or he always puts on perfume when going out, takes care of his hair with special creams or brushes his eyebrows or does all of them.

🎙He can be a damn diva when he puts his mind to it.

🎙He has no filter to speak.

🎙He's not that different from Rayman/Ramón, he drinks alcohol and smokes but in moderation, the only exceptions are that he doesn't take drugs and is not as violent.

🎙Like Ramón, he is unaware of Eden's shameless acts.

🎙He SURE hasresorted to s3x to reduce his stress, satisfy his desires or make a deal with dirty money while doing this gesture:

The drawing belongs to @skronklpus

🎙Speaking of, always before starting the act, he always says "I hope you know how to please me correctly"

🎙He is usually a hypocrite with people, especially with "terrorists".

🎙He took over Ramón's apartment, first he cleaned it and remodeled it to his liking.

🎙His attitude in front of cameras divided the world, some see him as something with no importance, others feel intimidated by him and others don't give a shit about his existence.

🎙He's a tremendous motherfucker in every sense of the word (until now).

9/0ttis:

Let's start with 9:

🌱He lived in a serene town in Washington, but his town had a certain rivalry with Eden because of his regime. Eden bombed the town because they had the necessary resources to overthrow Eden.

🌱9 is friendly, gentle and loving, but is a bit reserved.

🌱He believes in second chances and that the third time is always the charm.

🌱7 is her love interest as is 5 (a polyamorous love to be exact).

🌱Never looks for or creates problems.

🌱He lived with 2 in a nice house in a small neighborhood.

🌱He is quite interested in agriculture, in fact, he had crops of various fruits in his backyard.

🌱He loves children, that's why he did babysitting shifts 3 times.

🌱After the bombing and losing 2, 3 and 4, and 8, 9 was left with an enormous trauma, months later, 9 was adopted by a hopelessly alcoholic man who didn't work and constantly physically abused him.

🌱As a result of this abuse, 9 developed dissociative personality disorder (or multiple personality disorder for easier) and that's how Ottis emerged.

Now Ottis:

��Ottis killed his adoptive "Father" as revenge for those abuses.

🔥Unlike 9, Ottis is aggressive, vengeful, violent and perhaps a little malevolent.

🔥He is overprotective with 9, he thinks that 9 is very vulnerable, so he always tries to prevent him from fronting for too long.

🔥Ottis fronts almost all the time.

🔥Ottis has attacked and killed people to protect himself and 9.

🔥He has serious anger problems, so he can barely control his emotions.

🔥Lets 9 front only if they need to shop.

🔥Despite having a bad temper, he has a soft side, especially with children, in fact, he did babysitting at least once.

🔥He is very good at choreographing, since he has a little more body energy than 9.

🔥He is a pro at mathematics, especially if it involves mental calculation.

🔥He lives his life swearing to himself to kill the precursor of the bombing (Rayman) and Eden's cronies.

Fact about both: They're both like a combination of Wanda Maximoff (Marvel) and Kevin Wendel Crumb (Sliver), so 9/Ottis' powers are ALMOST the same, except Ottis breathes fire.

5:

💊He is quite insecure and shy.

💊He rarely gets angry with people.

💊He is madly in love with 9.

💊He studied medicine and served to treat wounds and injuries in the Red Cross 3 times.

💊He, along with 7, was the only one who survived the bombing of his town.

💊He's been trying to find 9 for several months.

💊He used to leave letters in his mailbox for 9 telling him hints that he likes him.

💊He confessed to 9 in a small park.

💊He doesn't know how to lie.

💊BUT, he knows how to cook pretty well.

💊Today, he's a part-shift doctor, but 5 can also be a bastard.

💊If he feels threatened or insulted, he injects fenthalin into your food.

💊It's very sensitive.

💊He gets panic attacks when he gets frustrated or if he's very scared.

7:

🔪She is kind, but also very temperamental.

🔪7 had an easier time confessing her feelings to 9.

🔪She practiced self-defense for 2 years, but what she liked most was practicing the use of a saber.

🔪In reference to that, she has a katana.

🔪She has a tough character, but she's also sentimental.

🔪She doesn't know how to lie either XD.

🔪She is more likely to attack someone out of self-defense or in case someone bothers her.

🔪She doesn't know how to drive a car.

🔪She gets frustrated very easily if a situation gets complicated.

🔪She has a forceful explosive disorder.

Wally darling:

🍎He knows perfectly well about the Eden regime, so he infiltrated it and was hired to make a puppet show for children.

🍎Secretly, he plans to overthrow Eden.

🍎His reason? He knows that they send children to war and he wants to prevent it.

🍎He has a cult along with his other comrades, such as an Anti-Eden and Home cult.

🍎He has a look that penetrates the soul.

🍎His height remains the same as the canonical one, about 12 blocks high.

🍎He's surprisingly intimidating, despite his adorable appearance.

🍎Another canon thing that he will keep is that he eats with his eyes.

🍎This fact that is related to the previous one is that they can burst anything with their eyes apart from food, be it objects or even some part of your body.

🍎Although he lives in Eden, he lives almost on the outskirts of it with his group of friends.

🍎The DOES know how to lie.

🍎His attitude and monotonous voice usually make the people around him uncomfortable.

Pomni:

My reason why she is here is very stupid and I don't know why I find it so funny since I put Pomni just for this image:

This pic is so random but anyway, I use my strange imagination, but hey, let's continue:

-Just to be clear, that didn't happen, but for some reason it seemed like a good idea to include it with a traumatic context.

🎈Pomni has lived in Eden all her life.

🎈She watched the Rayman show when she was a kid, but she never became a "Rayman girl."

🎈By the time she became an adult, she worked for a circus, but her salary was low and she couldn't leave the place, also, the treatment towards her employees was shit, so Pomni hated that place and little by little she became crazy.

🎈She met Ragatha in that same circus and she was the only person he trusted.

🎈After a while, she became Ragatha's girlfriend.

🎈She doesn't like to be touched without her consent.

🎈The reason she became a fugitive is because she burned down the entire circus, and she and the other members separated to continue with their lives.

🎈She is very shy and paranoid, perhaps the paranoia is more notable since she is never off guard in case someone finds her and Ragatha.

🎈Use a giant mallet to defend herself.

🎈A canon fact that will remain is that she DOES NOT know how to cook.

🎈Pro in math x2.

🎈Another one who has no filter to speak.

🎈She likes seafood, especially salmon.

Ragatha:

The image is not mine.

❤Ragatha lived in Roanoke, Virginia since she was created, but later moved to Eden to look for a job.

❤She ended up working in the same circus as Pomni, that's where he met her and fell in love with her.

❤She participated in the circus fire and decided to make a life with Pomni.

❤A canon fact that will remain is that she's afraid of centipedes.

❤Ragatha is the only one who knows how to cook.

❤She hates drawing because she finds it complicated and tedious.

❤100% optimistic

❤She has a fantasy of riding a horse and riding through a quiet meadow outside of Eden's regime.

❤She's worried about Pomni's paranoia and always tells her that she shouldn't worry so much.

❤Another fact that will remain is that she plays the cello, that relaxes her.

❤Uses a butcher knife to defend herself.

So this is pt.1 AND for S1

See ya :)

[hellolitty]

KATIEEEEEEE TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS ON VEILGUARDDDD

i added a read more because i started yapping to much and was like ok let’s hide all of this LMAO.

ok first of all… the obvious from dreadwolf to veilgaurd… i really like the change! now solas isn’t the main focus, but the veil & the evanuris (with two coming out of the veil in the trailer) are. i remember seeing a post MONTHS ago on twitter speculating that maybe solas would be built up as the main antagonist and then it gets resolved early on in game (similar to the breach/haven in dai), with the rest dealing with someone else and it seems to be the case! which imo, i will enjoy a LOT more because i don’t care much for solas and i a whole game revolving around trying to stop him or trying to “fix” him would’ve been tiring after a while. especially because in trespasser, basically EVERY companion disapproves of trying to save him. yet the first thing varric does is try to save the guy… bro YOU greatly disapproved!

the factions seem SO FUN!! antivan crows, shadow dragons, veil jumpers… i’m so excited to see how the factions effect the background and dialogue. game wise, we’ve only really seen grey wardens & the crows (i believe) so im super excited to choose between the factions. its also cool to see how they’re integrating the comics more into the games! and even the show, apparently red lyrium knight commander meredith will be in the game… i’m excited to see what they’re going to do with past companions. like surely zevran, fenris, and isabela will be making an appearance again? and merrill too, she had her own eluvian. i also wonder what part morrigan and kieran will play. also very curious to see if flemeth will be coming back!

bianca breaking… i’m terrified for what will happen to varric. i was watching that scene thinking he was going to die. and the fact they chose to share bianca breaking leaves me a little scared to what is going to happen after… i wonder if varric is going to die & if it will effect solas’s ideology. i’ve seen a couple posts circulating on twitter wondering if varric & solas will get pulled into the fade and have to fight their way out with whoever you chose to leave behind in dai. i think that would be interesting, but i wonder how they would be able to pull it off. i’ve also seen a couple posts wondering if you’ll have to choose between two characters again, and that is something that scares me a lot.

i’m very happy with the diversity in the companions and that you’ll have the option to romance. i’m also glad that companions will romance each other if you don’t start one, because that’s an aspect i liked!! of course im excited for the banter & party dialogue. and the baby griffon!!! how could i not be excited for the baby griffon!!! like griffons were thought to be extinct, and the first grey warden you see in the new game HAS ONE!! we are so back. the character designs are so beautiful too. taash having a crystal horn & her look being similar to rivani. neve’s hat. bellara’s bow. WE ARE SO BACK!!

the changed pride demon look was a little interesting but i can look past it. i’m not against the new art style, because i think it looked really good for minrathous! and im hoping it will look good across the board. i am very excited for the character creator. i’m hoping for piercings & tattoos to be added. and i’m hoping the cc is loads more inclusive than it has been in the past. if there’s 1 long hair option but 15 buzzed/shaved hair options im going to get so violent. i think the complaints about dragon age not being as “dark fantasy” are so unfounded. dragon age has never really been “dark fantasy”. i think it tried to be but it isn’t truly.

powers and combat look super cool. they went back to having the long & close range weapons like in dao. i wonder how melee combat will work with a mage, like will i have the option to hit people with a staff 😭😭 or use as a dagger as a conduit for magic. like that would be baller as fuck. hopefully the power wheel comes back. dai limiting me down to eight made me SO aggravated like come on 😭😭 i miss access to everything. straying away from dragon age keep is also certainly a choice! on one hand im glad, because it was SO tedious to fill out. but at the same time i wonder how we’re going to be able to choose everything that’s happened in pass games? a comic intro (similar to what mass effect 3 did) seems like it would take a long time to get through, especially considering the fact that dao took place over a decade (maybe even 2 decades?) ago within game.

i think going back to the linear and quest based areas is smart too. dai was TOO big and TOO open world. it was draining to get through every quest in a certain area and then go to the next one and have to do everything over again. however, after having spent the last 3 games running around ferelden, the matches, and orlais, i would LOVE to run around rivain, antiva, and minrathous. just for fun. the sneak peek showing minrathous had my jaw dropped. ferelden is so lame compared to minrathous. how was dorian able to do from minrathous to ferelden and survive.

i am going to stop now, mostly because i will keep going as i will keep thinking of things and i don’t want this getting any longer than it already has LOL but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!! let me know what you think/are expecting/excited for/theories i would love to hear it all!!

[dmsden]

A History Lesson - Looking back at D&D’s history

Hullo, Gentle Readers. Well, this is the 5th Monday in March, and that means I get to write about anything I want! It’s also my birth month, which means it’s my anniversary of getting into D&D (42 years!), and that has me feeling nostalgic. Coupled with a discussion I had recently with some friends, I thought it would be fun to look back at the various editions of D&D and give you all a bit of history. I’m not going to get into Gygax vs Arneson or any of that. I’m only talking about the published game itself, not its creators or its storied origins.

The original D&D (or OD&D as it’s sometimes called) came in a small box. It had three booklets inside - Men & Magic, Monsters & Treasure, and The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures - along with reference sheets and dice. Each was softcover and roughly the same dimensions as a DVD/BluRay case. The game was pretty rudimentary - for one thing, it assumed you already had a copy of Chainmail, D&D’s direct wargame predecessor. It also recommended you have a game called Outdoor Survival for purposes of traveling through the wilderness. It had only three classes - fighting man, magic-user, and cleric - and nothing about playing other races. It did have the insane charts that 1st edition would ultimately known for, and it was possible to play a pretty fun game of D&D with it, as its popularity would come to show.

The game expanded through similar chapbooks - Greyhawk, Blackmoor, Eldritch Wizardry, Gods Demigods & Heroes, Swords & Spells. With the exception of the last one, each brought new facets to the game - new classes like Thief and Monk, new spells, new threats. It was clear the game was going to need an overhaul, and it got one.

I consider this overhaul to yield the real “1st Edition”, as so much of the game didn’t exist in those original games. The game split into a “Basic” game, just called Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

The basic game was a boxed set that included a rulebook, a full adventure module, and dice...or, well, it was supposed to contain dice. The game was so popular and new in those days that demand for dice outstripped production. My copy of D&D came with a coupon for dice when they became available and a sheet of “chits” - laminated numbers meant to be put into cups (we used Dixie Cups with the name of the die written on it), shaken, and a random number pulled out without looking. It was meant to introduce new players to the game, so it was a trimmed down version. Races were human, elf, dwarf, and halfling, and classes were fighter, cleric, magic-user, and thief. The box only included rules for going up to 3rd level, with the intention that players would then graduate into AD&D. This is where I joined, with the old blue cover box set and In Search of the Unknown, before Keep on the Borderlands even existed.

AD&D was the game in its full glory. Along with the races I mention above, we got half-elves, half-orcs, and gnomes. The four basic classes also had sub-classes, like paladin and ranger for the fighter, druid for the cleric, illusionist for the wizard, and assassin for the thief. There were rules for multi-classing, as well as “Dual-classing”, a sort of multi-class variation for humans only, which, when done in the correct combination, could yield the infamous bard...which didn’t actually yield any bard abilities until around level 13 or so.

This edition had 5 different saving throws for things like “Death Magic”, “Petrification & Polymorph”, “Spells���, and so on. It had the infamous Armor Class system that started at 10 and went down, so that having a -3 AC was very good!  It also had specific attack matricies for each class; you would literally look on a table to determine the number you needed to roll on a D20 based on your class, your level, and your opponent’s armor class. It was fun, but it was very complicated.

It also had some, frankly, shitty rules. There was gender disparity in terms of attributes, which my group totally ignored. Because the game designers wanted humans to be a competitive the game, and because non-humans had so many abilities and could multiclass, non-humans were severely limited in the levels they could achieve in most classes. In fact, some classes, such as monk and paladin, were restricted only to humans.

As the years went on, things got a bit muddled. It probably didn’t help that the rules in Basic D&D and AD&D didn’t perfectly line up. In D&D, the worst armor class was a 9. In AD&D, the worst armor class was a 10. All of this led to an overhaul, but not one considered a separate edition. AD&D mostly got new covers and new books, like the Wilderness Survival Guide and Dungeon Survival Guide, Monster Manual 2, and the Manual of the Planes. It got a number of new settings, too. In addition to the default Greyhawk setting, we got the Forgotten Realms setting for the first time, details of which had been appearing in Dragon Magazine for years, thanks to the prolific Ed Greenwood. We also, eventually, got the whole Dragonlance saga, which yielded the setting of Krynn.

In this new version, Basic D&D broke off into its own game system to some degree. Elf, Dwarf, and Halfling started being treated like classes rather than races, with specific abilities at different levels. Higher level characters could be created using progressive boxes - Expert, Companion, Master, and Immortal, each with its own boxed set and supported by Mystara, a completely different setting that got its own updates over the years. It was odd, because D&D essentially was competing for players with AD&D, and I remember arguments with friends over which version was better (I was firmly in the AD&D camp.)

In 1989, when I was in college, they finally brought forth 2nd edition D&D. This streamlined things a little. Armor Class still went down, but now attack rolls boiled into a single number called To Hit Armor Class 0, or THAC0. It made the whole process of figuring out what you needed to roll a bit less cumbersome, but it was still a bit awkward. The classes got a lot of overhaul, including making Bard its own core class. But what I remember best about 2nd edition was the boom in settings. This was the age of settings, and many beloved ones got started, including Dark Sun, Planescape, Ravenloft, and Spelljammer.

It was also the age of the “Complete Handbooks”. They brought out splatbooks about every class and race in the game, as well as books expanding several concepts for the DM, such as the Arms & Equipment Guide, the Castle Guide, and the Complete Book of Villains. There were also splatbooks about running D&D in historic periods, such as Ancient Rome, among the ancient Celts, or during the time of the Musketeers. The game got new covers for the rule books again, and a bunch of books about options started coming out. It was a boom time for books, but many people complained there was too much.

Without going too deep, TSR ended up in severe financial troubles. They declared bankruptcy, and there was real fear of the game going away. And then Wizards of the Coast (WotC) stepped in. They helped TSR get back onto its feet, and they helped produce some modules specifically engineered to help DM’s bring an end to their campaign...possibly even their whole campaign world...because something big was coming.

That something big was, of course, 3rd edition D&D. The game got majorly streamlined, and many sacred cows ended up as hamburger. AC finally started going up instead of down. Everything was refined to the “D20″ system we’ve been playing ever since. Races could be any class. There were no level or stat limits for anyone. After years of the game being forced into tight little boxes, it really felt like we could breathe. I had stopped playing D&D, but 3rd edition brought me back into the fold. I often say that 3E was made for the players who’d felt constricted and wanted more flexibility.

The trouble with 3E, and its successor 3.5, is that it was still a dense and difficult game for newcomers to get into. It’s been acknowledged that D&D essentially created many of the systems we see and know in other games - experience points, leveling up, hit points, etc. But trying to break into the experience for the first time was difficult. The look of 3E was gorgeous, but I understood that it must seem awfully daunting to someone who’d never played.

4E and its follow-up, Essentials, was an attempt to course correct that. They tried to make this edition incredibly friendly to new DMs, and, frankly, they succeeded. By creating player classes and monsters and magic-items that were all very plug and play, they did a great job of creating a game that someone who had never DMed before could dive into with no experience or mentor and start a game pretty easily. Encounter design was given a lot of ease, and there were promises of a robust online tool system that would help out with many of the more tedious aspects of playing.

There was also a lot of shake up in terms of choices. Suddenly, new classes and races were proliferating like crazy. We got the dragonborn, the tiefling, and the eladrin right in the core book, but we said good-bye to the gnome and half-orc at first. Suddenly the warlock was the new class everyone wanted to try. We got paragon paths and epic destinies that would really shape a character as time went on. The game went very tactical, as well, which some of us loved. The concept of rituals came into the game. Later books like the Player’s Handbook 2 and 3 gave us back gnomes and half-orcs, and also gave us minotaurs, wilden, shardminds, and githzerai. We got new psionic classes, brand new class concepts like the Runeknight and the Seeker...

But there was a tremendous backlash. People felt that, in making the game so very plug and play, they’d taken a ton of choice away from the players. Without the tools (which were never that robust, frankly), it was almost impossible to navigate the massive panoply of options. And, worse, it was harder and harder to develop encounters without those tools. People complained that the game had gone more tactical in order to sell miniatures and battlemats. Given that I have never played the game without miniatures and battlemats (since I started in the days when D&D was still half-wargame), I found this odd, but I also understand my style of play isn’t everyone’s.

The one argument I will never understand is that it didn’t “feel” like D&D, or it was somehow ONLY a tactical game and not a role-playing game any more. Again, given that the original game didn’t even call itself a role-playing game, this felt odd. Personally, I roleplay no matter what game I’m playing. If I’m playing Monopoly, I’m roleplaying, doing voices, and pretending to be something I’m not. I honestly enjoyed 4E, and I know a lot of folks who did, too. A lot of it may simply come down to style of play. But I also enjoyed all the games that came before, including Pathfinder. To paraphrase the YouTube content creator The Dungeon Bastard, “Does your game have dungeons? Does it have dragons? Great. I wanna play.”

As a sidenote, in the months leading up to 4E’s release, a lot of internet videos were released by WotC emphasizing the nature of change and talking about differences in the rules. They also released some preview books showing the direction they were heading. WotC must have anticipated that people were going to find this edition very different indeed. They also cleverly brought in some very funny folks - Scott Kurtz from PVPOnline and Jerry Holkins & Mike Krahulik from Penny Arcade - and got them to play D&D for podcasting purposes. Looking back, this must’ve brought in a lot of listeners who might never have played D&D and given them a reason to try it out.

After its release, WotC clearly noted that missteps had been made, as this edition of the game was losing them players. They began work on what they referred to as D&D Next, and, this time, they did massive amounts of playtesting, some of which I participated in.

I don’t feel like I have to describe 5E to any of you, Dear Readers, as you could go to virtually any store and pick it up. I am a big fan of 5E’s simplicity and elegance, and I suspect this is the edition of D&D we’re going to have for some time to come, especially given its popularity. Given the effect of podcasts like Critical Role (and I might save an article on Critical Role’s importance to D&D until my next Freestyle article), D&D is likely more popular now than it’s ever been, with a much wider and more diverse audience than ever before.

I know I’m painting with broad strokes here, but I hope this was, at least, entertaining, and maybe you learned something, Gentle Readers. Until we next meet, may all your 20s be natural.

[ultrahpfan5blog]

Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 5 Retrospective

Finished season 5 rewatch a few days ago. Season 5 was an eventful year for the show, on and off the screen. Off screen the show got cancelled on Fox, had a huge public outcry over the cancellation which included several celebrities, and then got picked up by NBC all in 48 hours. It was an exhilarating time as a B99 fan. Lot of stuff happened on screen as well, Jake and Rosa were in prison, team got them out, Jake and Amy got engaged, Rosa came out as bisexual to the precinct and her parents, Holt was in the running to be NYPD Commissioner, Amy became a Sergeant, and then Jake and Amy got married. Eventful season to say the least. Its also my favorite season of the show.

Honestly, this season is about as close to perfection I felt with a season. In other seasons there are at least an episode or two which I felt were meh or problematic. Season 5 is near flawless. I think Return to Skyfire is the weakest of the episodes but its still pretty fun. There are several episodes of season 5 that all rank in the top 10 B99 episodes in my opinion. The show also takes some risks with a couple of experimental episodes. There are episodes with a lot of heart, there are episodes that absolutely hilarious, there are ensemble episodes, there are two hander episode. some excellent new guest stars, and many great recurring stars.

I think the two prison episodes are pretty interesting. Tim Meadows as Caleb is absolutely amazing. He is so likable and low key hilarious that the fact that he's a cannibal who eats children always feels like a dark surprise. He and Andy Samberg make for a fun duo. The first of the two episodes is particularly fun. The show doesn't hesitate to show the danger of Jake being in the prison, especially the situation he finds himself by the end of the premiere. The show does connect one story to the next pretty seamlessly with the end of the Melanie Hawkins story connecting the the Seamus Murphy story which then connected to the Holt commissioner story. There are also a couple of really good experiments in experiments and story with The Box and Show Me Going. The Box is B99 at its most confident. Apart from Gina very briefly at the beginning and Boyle very briefly at the end, the entire episode really hinges on only three characters. Jake, Holt, and Sterling K. Brown's Dr. Davidson. Its a brilliant showcase for all three actors and all three characters. I believe Brown got a Guest Actor Emmy nomination for his performance and he's brilliant as the smarmy Dentist who really is in control for majority of the episode. Braugher and Samberg were old pros with their dynamic at this point and this is fantastic Jake and Holt episode because you completely get why Jake wants so badly to prove that he's right in front of Holt why being cast as the screw up and the idiot in the interrogation frustrates him so much because we know how much Holt's approval means to him. We also see why Terry call Jake his best detective back in season 1 because of how he riles up Davidson to get the confession at the end and getting the approval of Holt that he wanted. Its an incredibly satisfying episode and one of the show's best imo. Then there is also 'Show me Going' which is a surprisingly tense episode in which nothing tense actually happens on screen. The episode does a great job working with the fact that the only knowledge the squad has is that Rosa is on the scene of an active shooter situation. Basically we are in the same situation as the characters. Since all the characters are on edge, so are we. The show does a nice job balancing humor and recognize the danger of the situation.

The season has probably my favorite B99 episode and definitely by fav B99 Halloween episode with HalloVeen. Whereas the last three Halloween episodes were predictable or spoiled from the promos, this one actually threw a genuine surprise. I knew Jake and Amy would get engaged some point in the season, but I expected it to be on the much hyped 99th episode. Instead it can much earlier with HallowVeen and its a delight from start to finish. Its great to rewatch the episode because you pick up little signs that Jake was a bit more desperate to win than usual. First when he says that planning for the heist is what got him through prison time, and then when he says to Boyle that he has to win this time and this heist is way too important. On first watch, these details just slip by as regular overzealous Jake but they have additional poignancy on repeat. The actual proposal moment is handled beautifully in a very peraltiago way where it is both funny and romantic, with Charles' reaction being the cherry on top. There are quite a few strong related episodes that follow. The Venue being a fun return with the Vulture, Two Turkeys being a TWW reunion with Smits and Whitford returning as Amy and Jake's fathers. Its a better Thanksgiving episode than the previous season Smits appearance. Bachelor/ette party is another glorious episode with wild, fun shenanigans with Reginald VelJohnson appearing as himself. Jake & Amy is a very typical wedding episode where everything goes wrong but its perfect in all the right ways. Its heartwarming and sweet. You get more examples of how Jake and Amy are perfect for each other with Jake knowing the inside and outs of how Amy stresses out, and then ending on a wonderful B99 wedding with Fred Armisen returning to make a cameo appearance as Mlep(clay)nos. The episode was designed to work as a series finale since the potential for cancellation was there and while it leaves the season on a cliffhanger about Holt's job, its the sort of cliffhanger that we could have interpreted positively if the show hadn't gotten picked up by NBC.

The 99th and 100th episode of the show were also memorable. The creators chose to acknowledge the 99th episode in a way that most shows acknowledge the 100th episode, in true 99 style. Its a full ensemble episode barring the absence of Chelsea who would return on the 100th episode. Its a typical road trip episode which kickstarts the Holt commissioner storyline. It also is the episode where Rosa comes out as Bi to Charles. This was obviously a big story for Stephanie since she is bi as well and she championed this story. It gets explored in further depth next episode, but Stephanie Beatriz gets to do some of her best work in these two episodes, showing her vulnerability without losing her toughness. Game Night honestly feels very true to not just coming out as Bi to your parents but true to any child who has to confess something that would be against their conservatives parents' values. I think Game Night is a fantastically bittersweet episode and Danny Trejo is brilliantly cast as Rosa's father. The episode positions him as the parent whose reaction Rosa is most worried about and I love how they show that while its difficult for him to grasp the concept bisexuality, he comes around to accepting it and accepting Rosa. But the episode is still bittersweet with Rosa's mom not having come to terms with it. Its also an excellent Rosa and Jake episode where we see Jake endure incredibly uncomfortable situations to help Rosa. Its a characteristic that helps make Jake so endearing that he's willing to cross all limits for his friends.

There are lots of fun and hilarious episodes in between. Craig Robinson shows up as Doug Judy in The Negotiations which is another fun ep. Kevin and Jake get a great episode dealing with their dynamic in Safe House. Rosa and Amy have some fun in White Whale as the Sleuth Sisters. Pimento returns in Gray Star Mutual for some more crazy shenanigans. Gray Star Mutual also has my favorite cold open of all time with Jake leading a suspect lineup in a rendition of 'I got it that way', totally forgetting the crime that he's got the lineup for. Its pitch perfect and I've lost count of how many times I've seen that cold open on youtube. It basically has its own fanbase and introduced so many people to B99. We also get to see Naseem Pedrad as Jake's sister Katie and the end up having a cute dynamic. David Fumero shows up in The Puzzle Master. There are also pretty funny episodes dealing with some serious subject matter such Jake dealing with his own doubts in his ability to do his job after Prison in Kicks and Holt dealing with gambling addiction in Bad Beat. All handled very sensitively.

All in all, this was a fantastic season for the show. I had a blast rewatching it and it ended the Fox era in spectacular note. A 9.5/10. Now on to season 6.

'

[shokano19]

Dr stone characters as types of TikTokers

Warning: Contains manga spoilers for new characters! You can skip those you don’t know! 

Not sure where this idea came from exactly but I got super into it and it was really fun. Consider these to be my headcanons for a dcst AU where they don’t get petrified and instead everyone is TikTok famous. 

Senku

- science 101 - makes educational videos aimed generally at students struggling at school with subjects like biology, physics, chemistry, robotics, engineering, and astronomy, explaining them thoroughly and in a simpler form - random astronomical facts #n - goes live when he’s about to do a reaction experiment - wants to show his viewers how exhilarating science can be - rarely shows his face - tries to incorporate humour into his talks - it becomes evident he’s passionate or excited about the subject by his little chuckles - “visiting my father at NASA before rocket launch” - Taiju sometimes takes over his account as a lil prank - on everyone’s for you page with minimal effort - 14M followers

Gen

- magic tricks - social science veteran - shares psychology hacks he learned throughout his career - props his phone on his cola bottles to film himself - CEO of accidentally dropping his phone on the floor - Senku’s fanboy. Reacts to Senku’s videos on occasion by acting extra and makes a huge deal out of rare pictures of Senku - posts cut scenes from his magic show then makes separate videos revealing how he performed a certain trick - cynical, dark humour - makes his viewers question their moral compass - gets a lot of compliments for his hair - 10.5M followers

Chrome

- step by step 3 minute crafts - Senku’s fanboy #2. Video duets with Senku by building the same things as him, praises Senku a lot  - geology student studying mineralogy - storytime! - regular shout-outs from Senku - always has his precious rock/crystal collection displayed behind him as he films a video and makes sure to show them off every once in a while - 2M followers

Kohaku

- trash talks men without stuttering - films herself in front of a mirror most of the time - zooms a lot into her face and stares into the camera while speaking, looking dead inside - dimmed disco lights - ironic and sassy - usually spits facts about anything she talks about - confident vibes - ayo famous relative check (Lillian Weinberg’s niece) - her duets are cruel - 1.9M followers

Ginro

- the POV - makes relatable yet obscure videos - some questionable scenarios no one can explain - yes he wears a big towel on his head when impersonating girls   - includes Kinro in his videos a lot - anime weeb - always posts at unholy hours - refined sense of humour - majority of videos are taken in his bedroom - lowkey annoying - video replies to hate comments by either faking acting hurt and crying or sarcastically going along with them as a massive fuck you - 69k followers and he would like it if it stayed that way

Kinro

- beautiful scenery shots - only has a few videos, mostly nature and places he went to with his family and friends - “top 5 places you must visit this summer” - secretive about his account, no one except Ginro knows about it - 7.9k followers - after a while he switched to making ASMR?? which gained him fame overnight and now has …. - 45k followers (Ginro’s current worst fear being Kinro surpassing his own follower count)

Magma

- unpopular opinion guy - reacts to popular tiktoks and attempts to review them (for fun, he’s a jerk for clout) - loud af, angry & narrow minded - makes valid points sometimes - dislikes kohaku’s content (probably because he feels called out) - tried to cancel Senku and failed miserably - a lot of people disagree with his hot takes - ignored the haters but got some serious threats :( - considered quitting making tiktoks so he took break - apologized to those he insulted after some reflection time - now half of his account are just apology videos - people follow him for the tea  - 500k followers

Suika (aged up)

- the animal lover - mainly videos of Chalk being adorable, Suika teaching him tricks…and him wrecking the house - “animal crossing new horizons island tour” - “my top 10 favourite cartoons” - 11k followers

Tsuakasa

- long political talks - disputable ideals - renowned martial artist  - became famous after appearing on a broadcast program with Gen and won against him in mental battle - informs on what’s currently happening in the world - has a lot of supporters as well as haters - “today’s society is flawed because - ” - encourages viewers to write their opinion in the comments - reads every single comment as well as replies to them - occasionally talks about his childhood, the good and the bad - 7.6M followers

Ryusui

- chaotic - reviews popular console/pc games of any genre - youtube channel linked in his bio - the type to walk into his bathroom and say funny shit - bombards Tsukasa’s comments section with stuff like “drop yo workout routine plz” or “your hair looks so soft I bet it smells like roses” to which Tsukasa can only reply with “please leave me alone” - generally in everyone’s comment section. He’s everywhere - bi king - super friendly and approachable - ayo rich house checkkkk XD - flexes on his personal mini yacht  - 5M followers

Francois

- quick, stylish and helpful cooking tutorials - shares rare recipes - pro decorator  - worked at 4/5 star bars, restaurants and clubs - non-binary icon - sometimes in the background of Ryusui’s videos until a lot of people asked about their relationship and revealed that they also works as Ryusui’s personal chef - 3.2M followers

Ukyo

- variety content creator - gives walkthrough’s of his job as a sonar technician - sneakily exposes his workplace’s secrets while he’s at it too - likes to gather the kingdom of science and make dumb silly videos together - archery tips for beginners - starting a new language tips - video reacts to tiktoks he finds interesting - became popular after appearing in one of Gen’s q&a videos - after that he collaborated with many others such as Senku, Chrome, Ryusui - close to everyone - appreciated for his talents - 980K followers

Yuzuriha

- fashion icon in the making - shares her everyday outfits - talks about her favourite clothing and where she bought them from - DIY accessories - cute couple videos with Taiju - fun sewing lessons! - promotes her online shop - 330k followers

Hyouga

- the type to stand in front of the camera and cover the screen with writing instead of speaking - known for his lip care routines (owns a lot of lip glosses and lip cosmetics) - occasionally takes off his mask for lip care videos - Homura is always behind the camera helping him film - kudayari spear practices - Helps Homura promote her Instagram account - tries to keep an aesthetic - trips abroad vlogs - 770k followers

Mozu

- cringey e-boy - lip-syncs  - dances  - it’s so obvious he’s fishing for attention - secretly films Kirisame for a laugh, ends up with him running for his life as soon as she finds out - expect to get second-hand embarrassment - exaggerates a lot - needs to be stopped - does tiktok challenges with Kirisame (has to beg for her to agree) - Kohaku, Luna, Gen and Nikki have him blocked - Hyouga and Kirisame are literally the only ilr friends he has :,( - 420k followers

Luna

- popular girl wannabe - desperate to get on the for you page - everyone loves her though <3 - poses in front of the camera wearing her best clothes while cute music plays in the background - complains about how she’s STILL single - pros and cons of going to med school - reads a bunch of funny tweets and almost dies laughing - recently started following Senku and can’t shut up about his content - 200k followers

Bonus: all of them tried at least once, if not more, to recreate complicated dances that went viral on tiktok. Yes, even Senku.

Coming up with usernames for them is beyond me right now so feel free to add to these however you like!  ( ✧≖ ͜ʖ≖)

[valerie-jean-louise]

The Ethan and Samuel of it All: My Thoughts on the Little Voice Love Triangle

Disclaimer: This is SUPER LONG (in my opinion.) Sorry about that. This is also my first time writing out my opinion about a show on tumblr. I’m a tumblr consumer not a creator, but I had the time to sit and write, so I thought “what the hell?” Okay, here it goes…

First off, Ethan. I’m hearing that people think Ethan is “toxic” or “unhealthy”. I don’t really think he’s toxic, he’s just not in the right place to be starting a new relationship with anyone at the moment. What bugs me is that he let things develop with Bess without being upfront with her about being in a very serious relationship. At first you can tell that Bess pursues him more, but then after bonding a bit during that first evening I can tell that his attitude changes and it goes from just not getting around to telling Bess about Laila to hiding it from her. He then appears to have a change of heart and invites Laila to see Bess perform, although he arrives alone and seems to be coming on to Bess before Laila gets there, then surprise! Here’s my live-in girlfriend who I’ve known for like a decade and who moved to another country to be with me.

Ethan is such a nice guy that he can’t handle hurting Laila and I know he doesn’t want to hurt Bess too, but his inability to deal with the situation that he’s helped build up is just hurting all of them. He is unintentionally playing mind games with Bess and probably Laila too. From what I can tell of his character he is most likely acting strange and pulling away from Laila without her knowing why. Bess is also at fault here. At first she pursued Ethan, thinking that he was single,  but once she knew he had a girlfriend she should have backed away. They made their “friend oath” in episode 2, but by the end of the night they both seemed a bit unsure about it. After working on the music video Bess still didn’t want to stick to the “friends” deal but Ethan should have stepped up and either spelled it out for Bess that he really can’t give her anything else but friendship or have broken up with Laila right away. Instead he makes a promise to Bess, giving her hope for a future relationship, then trails her along. It did seem like Ethan was back on track with being friends until he watched Bess and Samuel dance. His whole demeanor changed after that. It’s the usual I’m cool with us not actually being together, but you can’t be with anyone else but me situation. Which is kinda a jerk move when he has a girlfriend.

I feel like there is a connection between them, but it’s also a bit on the surface and isolated from their real lives. Ethan is infatuated with Bess and her music, almost putting her on a pedestal. He hasn’t seen Bess at her worst and I don’t think Bess has shared too much about the hardships in her life. Bess is Ethan’s new beautiful and mysterious and creative infatuation compared to the familiarity of nice Laila (who is also beautiful) and her amazing cookies. Ethan has become Bess’ new form of escapism from dealing with the many responsibilities and issues she has in her life. I just don’t know if it would last in the real world when all the issues and demons are exposed.

Now for my dear Samuel. I feel that if Bess hadn’t met Ethan first, things would be a bit different between her and Samuel. You can tell in episode 1 that they are a little intrigued by each other and in episode 2 when they run into each other at the bar they both give each other looks that screams “interested”, especially when Samuel complements Bess’ music. But that was when Bess barely knew Ethan and then found out that he had a girlfriend, so she seemed more open to other possibilities. That changes after episode 3 when her and Ethan fail at their “friend pact” within hours of making it. So Samuel gets friend zoned.

Samuel is also a really nice guy, observant, truthful, he tells it as it is, has integrity, and would go the extra mile for any of his friends which I feel makes it hard for someone like Bess to realize that he has feelings for her. He can straight talk about everything except for the fact that he has feelings for Bess (luckily Prisha spells that one out for her.) It’s not until Bess starts acting out and pushes Samuel away when he tries to be there for her that he can’t help but burst out that he “f*cking cares” about her. Which I see as him saying he not only cares as a friend but as more than that because it’s followed up with him saying that she’s seeking out Ethan because she doesn’t believe she deserves to be cared about, that’s why she is pursuing someone that can’t care for her the way she might want. (Although Samuel has only observed the looks Bess and Ethan shared during the filming and doesn’t know that Ethan’s been making and breaking promises to Bess, which makes that scene even more heartbreaking.)

Once Bess had time to look at the destruction and pain she caused to the people in her life and came out of the dark place that was heartbreak over Ethan’s betrayal, her and Samuel were able to get back to some sense of normalcy. I’m assuming that she kept her distance from the storage space while her, Samuel, and Benny bonded during the auditions week. From the very beginning you could tell that Samuel had already forgiven Bess and was back to caring and supporting her as much as he can, while Bess was definitely feeling ashamed for how she acted toward him and wanted to take things back.

At the end of episode 7 Samuel was so proud of Bess. She put her and her music out there to be analyzed and criticized and then she told off Jeremy. (I love Luke Kirby btw. It sucks that he plays a skeezball in this.) After leaving the last audition they must have made plans to hangout. They were adorable. Making each other laugh, flirting, and constantly bumping arms even though they had an entire sidewalk. Things were looking up for them and their relationship, but Bess’ life is complicated and they run into Percy. The trauma of the event could send Bess spiraling way out of control and Samuel knows this. He’s so observant and sees all the little cracks in Bess so he knows if she pushes him away again that this could end really badly so he stands his ground to be there for her. I think since the last spiral Bess has learned that she needs to let Samuel in and puts down her walls to let him care for her in her time of need because he has been there supporting her this whole time even if she wasn’t paying attention.

A little extra thoughts about Bess (and Samuel):

Bess reacts to how people react to her music, because she is her music. So she falls for Ethan who fawns over her music and just keeps saying that it’s great and he loves it. But Samuel is a musician himself and will tell her that he loves a song, but also gives her his notes on something that might make it even better. You can tell by how she reacts to Samuel that she’s not used to feedback and criticism. This mirrors their actual relationships. Bess has Ethan in her dreamland relationship, while Samuel is there when the real world shit hits the fan. It’s fairy tale vs. reality.

Bess is also a very serious person. I mean, the girl has a lot on her plate, which can be super stressful and really bog a person down. You can hear it in her first songs we hear. As Samuel says “it’s got a lot of feeling.” Samuel helps lighten up her life and brings some fun into it. He helps her overcome her performance anxiety (Benny & Prisha too!) He lifts her spirits like when he comes out and plays with her in the park. In her mind this was just another job for her to make money, but Samuel makes it fun. It’s the film trope of a young person stressed out with too much responsibility on their shoulders that they don’t know the last time they just let go and had a good time until someone comes into their life and shows them a way.

Bess also has some demons that only Samuel (and sometimes Prisha) seems to be noticing. His expression when she started drinking at his apartment. The way he questioned her why she was suddenly doubting herself and the music video. Noticing right away that Jeremy was a creep. (The one OOC thing he did was leaving the bar when Bess was drunk, but the writers obviously did that to create that storyline. I mean, what musician leaves a gig without his equipment?) Samuel doesn’t want to just be the fun friend and musical collaborator, he wants to be partners with Bess which means taking on the hardships with all the good.

My thoughts on the end of the season and what could be next????

So if you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m Team Samuel. I feel like they could be endgame if the show runners get to properly conclude the show. Or Bess will end up being single in the end with Samuel as her friend and bandmate, still leaving the possibility for them open. I wrote this a couple days after episode 7 so the big question for this week is how will Bess feel when the dust settles and she runs into Ethan. Will Ethan have gotten the courage to break things off with Laila and is so could it be too little too late? Will Bess use Samuel as practice for letting someone in and turn and run back to Ethan? Will Bess realize that Samuel is actually the guy she is supposed to be with? Will she say f*ck it and friend zone them both? Will Bess pick Ethan, but then have him hurt her again? Or will they leave it all on a cliffhanger and hope for a second season to play it out more?

In my fantasy world she’ll just wake up in the morning next to Samuel and realize that he is the one she’s supposed to be with, but realistically it looks like things are about to get crazy. I could see her spiraling out of control again and making a move on Ethan in a moment of weakness, Ethan allowing it to happen (probably not really knowing what is going on with Bess) and so in Bess’ mind they have chosen each other. I feel like Samuel has to find out somehow, hurting the poor guy. But it turns out Ethan still can’t get the nerve up to break things off with Laila and Bess is hurt again. She tries to hide the pain of more heartbreak by Ethan from Samuel, but he’s a smart guy and figures out what is going on. The season ends on a cliffhanger: will Samuel forgive Bess and will Bess actually move on from Ethan? Or will Samuel not be able to forgive Bess? Could Ethan finally break things off with Laila and come running to Bess? Would she go back to him then? With only 2 episodes left I could totally see a cliffhanger in our futures.

[bestworstcase]

farran rewatches tangled: before ever after, pt 1

(01:50-05:00)

i’ve been wanting to do a full, start-to-finish episode-by-episode rewatch of the series for a good long while now with a focus on just... picking apart every episode to see what there is to see and well. i somewhat optimistically planned to do one post per episode but i... i was a fool. 

as a set of... basic guiding principles here i 1) am going to evaluate the text of each episode on its own merits, 2) without taking into account authorial intent  or extratextual creator statements, and 3) yeeting the phrase “it’s a disney princess cartoon, it isn’t that deep” out of my brain.*

(*except in the case of Cartoon Physics, which must simply be accepted in the same way that the existence of unbreakable magical hair is accepted.)

the first thing i want to talk about with before ever after is the way it establishes the characters of rapunzel and eugene and how it sets up the development of the new dream relationship for the rest of the show during the introductory sequence. 

before ever after does this thing a couple of times where it frames a character or scenario in such a way as to lead the viewer to expect one thing, only to reveal more information or additional context that significantly shifts our understanding. and these are interesting moments to examine, because of what they can say subtextually about the characters involved. 

consider the opening.

once the introductory narration is done, we’re thrown into a chase scene that is structured to trick us into thinking that the stakes are much higher than they truly are—the tense, dramatic scoring, in particular, prime the viewer to assume that the situation is serious.

look at this establishing shot. it grounds us in a location—we can see corona in the background—and sets a specific mood. rapunzel, eugene, max, and fidella all look serious and determined; meanwhile their pursuers are obscured in shadow, making them appear far more threatening than they really are. 

rapunzel’s seemingly genuine fear of being caught (“they’re gaining on us!” and “there’s more of them!”) strengthens this first impression, as does the fact that the pursuers continue to be obscured in shadow even when they, realistically speaking, shouldn’t be, as in this shot where the pursuing guards are galloping in full sunlight but still too darkly lit (and distant) for us to make out any identifying details: 

but now that we’ve had a few seconds for this impression to “set,” the show begins to dismantle it. rapunzel and eugene exchange a little playful banter, part ways, rapunzel glances back over her shoulder, and...

for the first time, we get a good look at one of their pursuers—and it’s a coronan guard. at this point, the tone of the chase shifts; the score becomes less tense and more adventuresome, beats of comedy are introduced with eugene’s log jump and rapunzel’s bunny crossing, and we end on this shot:

a bright, welcoming meadow opening up out of the more rugged / forested terrain of the chase. rapunzel gallops on into the nice-looking wilderness beyond, while eugene turns around to get in a last, witty one-liner in.

now on the one hand... this is a fun way to ease us into the action of the story with an attention-grabbing but low-stakes chase sequence, while establishing the playful dynamic in the new dream relationship. but! i argue that this whole chase scene, and the subsequent scene with rapunzel and eugene on the wall, is in fact a microcosm of the core conflict within the new dream relationship: to wit, that eugene is content and ready to settle down, rapunzel very much is not, and they are not yet ready to reconcile that difference with each other. 

how so? well,

#1: the shifting of the viewer’s understanding of this chase reflects both sides of the new dream perspective on palace life. 

in rapunzel’s view, being corona’s princess—a role here represented by the royal guard—is a frightening, suffocating job, one she struggles to reconcile with and longs to escape. her distress at the idea of being “captured” before they reach the wall—and having to return to the palace for the welcoming ceremony, as we learn shortly—is real, not because the guards pose a real threat but because she’s running away from them to get a break from the princess responsibilities that are drowning her.

eugene, on the other hand, is having a grand time. he banters, he grins, he mocks his pursuing guards, because to him, there are no stakes here. he enjoys living in the palace with no more bounties or convictions hanging* over his head, and he’s more interested in pausing to crack a joke at the captain’s expense than in winning the race to the outer wall—which in rapunzel’s mind is a representation of freedom. 

(*heh.)

so as viewers, the first impression we’re given of this chase scene is more in line with what rapunzel is feeling, and then shifts to reveal eugene’s perspective, which is more in line with objective reality (they’re racing the guardsmen to the outer wall, and nobody is going to get hurt) rather than rapunzel’s internal feelings (of fleeing to escape the intense pressure on her shoulders, even just for a little while). 

#2: and this, in turn, shows us precisely how far apart rapunzel’s feelings and eugene’s feelings about their present situation are. 

these are two people who love each other very much but are on completely different planets emotionally. eugene is content and relaxed, rapunzel is antsy and stressed out. they get along on a superficial level and enjoy each other’s company, but there is a huge disconnect lurking just beneath the surface that neither of them is yet aware of. 

the scene on the wall drives this message home.

we see the pure delight on rapunzel’s face when she reaches the wall...

...which intensifies as she climbs onto it and sees what waits for her on the other side...

...and the camera swings around to show us this gorgeous view of a lush, vibrant landscape pulling us into the sunrise. rapunzel heaves a longing sigh and tension falls out of her shoulders as she soaks in the view. 

this moment evokes the same mood as rapunzel’s early scenes in tangled, when she looks out of her tower window at the beautiful world outside. 

notice even the echoes of the tower landscape in the landscape outside of corona in the series: the lines of the cliffs on the left side of both shots are the same, and the colors of the wildflowers in the series landscape echo the colors of the flowers kept on the windowsill of rapunzel’s tower (here’s a better screencap of those, for comparison’s sake:)

anyway, the point of all this is to establish that rapunzel, despite having been freed from her tower, still feels trapped in her present circumstances. seeing the lanterns and finding her true family didn’t cure her restlessness but has instead intensified her wanderlust, and she once again finds herself in the position of sitting inside a wall and staring out at the world she isn’t allowed to explore.

the key difference in the series is that, where eugene’s role in the film was to help rapunzel escape her tower and seek out her dreams in the wider world...

...in the series, he has become an anchor tethering rapunzel to her life in the palace, and we see this illustrated symbolically when his interruption is what pulls rapunzel away from the view beyond the walls. 

now, this is a wonderful shift, because it doesn’t grow out of any arbitrary or out-of-character behavior in eugene but is, rather, an artifact of their changed circumstances. eugene still values rapunzel’s freedom and happiness just as much as he did in the film, but he’s oblivious to how stifled and trapped rapunzel feels within the coronan walls, and he’s oblivious because, a) rapunzel hasn’t told him, and b) he’s having a great time living in the lap of luxury with zero responsibilities, and c) that blinds him to the amount of pressure that is being put on rapunzel’s shoulders. he isn’t in tune with what rapunzel is feeling or why, and that damages his ability to act as a source of support for her in this stressful transitional time in her life.

this is the core conflict of their relationship, not just in before ever after, but over the course of the entire show. which is brilliant! it is so realistic for somebody like eugene—a 23-year-old man who has lived an exciting, adventurous life while cultivating a self-absorbed, devil-may-care attitude and is now ready to settle down and live a nice, peaceful, happily-boring married life with the woman he loves—to have this kind of incompatibility with somebody like rapunzel—an 18-year-old woman who has been sheltered and abused her entire life and who is only just beginning to figure out who she is and what she wants and is absolutely not ready to settle down and spend the rest of her life staying put and doing the same things every single day. they’re at completely different stages of their lives! of course there’s a tremendous gap between their expectations and desires within the context of their relationship and of course this causes problems as soon as this mismatch in priorities rises to the surface!

as a final note, as this scene on the wall wraps up, it introduces something that is... something of a recurring theme in before ever after, namely that things keep interrupting new dream kisses before they can happen.

in this case, it’s the captain—having caught up with rapunzel and eugene—telling them their little game is over and that it’s time for rapunzel to hustle back to the palace so she won’t miss the welcoming ceremony. this is another important beat in establishing the basic interpersonal conflict here; it’s not just that the kiss is interrupted, but that the kiss is interrupted by a manifestation of the strict requirements of rapunzel’s role as princess, which at the end of the day is what’s pulling rapunzel and eugene apart. i will talk about this more once i get to the proposal, but suffice it to say for now that the very same force that is stifling rapunzel and making her long for escape is what ruins this little romantic new dream moment, and that gets directly at the core of the conflict here. 

rapunzel has all these factors weighing her down and making her uncomfortable in her position inside corona, and none of them have anything to do with eugene, but they still create this stress on her relationship with eugene, because—due to his own comfort, his own readiness to settle down, and his current lack of empathy for rapunzel’s situation*—he’s blind to how unhappy rapunzel is in their current situation, and that makes hamstrings his ability to provide the emotional support she needs right now. 

(*something i will talk about more in my next segment; for now, the tl;dr here is even though eugene loves rapunzel deeply, and even though she drastically changed his outlook on life in a matter of days, it takes much longer for habits of personality to change, and in before ever after eugene is still very deeply entrenched in his self-absorbed flynn rider persona. the core of his character growth over the course of the series is his journey of growing out of that persona as he becomes more emotionally open and less content to laze about enjoying his luxuries every day.)

TO CONCLUDE: i love the opening sequence of before ever after because it is a microcosm of the interpersonal conflict within the new dream relationship. it establishes very neatly and succinctly that the love rapunzel and eugene have for each other, though genuine and deep, is not enough, and that they have serious work to do in bridging the gaps between them in order for the relationship to become lasting and strong. the journey of new dream over the course of the series is one from this starting position of fragility and miscommunication hidden just beneath the surface to the end point of two people who are in tune with each other and understand each other perfectly, and all of that is built on the foundation set down in these first few minutes of the very first episode. 

[delosdollxarchivemovetomain]

These Violent Delights

Type: Westworld Fanfic Wordcount: 3863 Pair: AngelaXLogan Warnings: Slight Smut Summary: Chapter Two -  Angela shows Logan to WestWorld for the first time and further connects with him after a couple of his visits though she becomes concerned when he brings a friend and only said friend returns. 

A multi-chapter fanfic that reveals more story to Angela and her draw to the first guest she encounters, Logan Delos. Creative liberties have been taken but theme and characters are owned by the creators of WestWorld.

Chapter Two: Welcome to Westworld

[[Your art could go here! Msg for details]]

((Hi everyone! I finally got chapter two up which focuses more on emotion so it took a while but I really hope that you like it. Small smut warning.))

Chapter One Here

Logan had experienced the product first hand, had been convinced to invest into the Project he knew little about aside from the outstanding technology that had been showcased in front of him. Now, he had the opportunity to delve into the full experience. To step inside what they called Westworld. It was little to his surprise that when he had stepped off that train she was there to greet him. 

“Good to see you again, Mr. Delos.” She holds her palm face up in gesture. “Welcome to Westworld.” Angela’s smile was far too genuine. She hadn’t forgotten this special Guest. The one she was assigned to now that she had secured him, now all she had to do was to always keep him wanting more. That same hand extends towards him now. “Right this way Mr. Delos. I’ll be getting you ready today.” 

“Logan.” He was quick to correct. Mr. Delos reminded him far too much of his Father and that was one man he didn’t care to be associated with. “Oh?” He didn’t know what to expect but his curiosity was already piqued. He nods to her and begins to follow to the dressing rooms. “Now what are the odds they would dance you in front of me again?” He asks with a smirk. He knew their game, now they had better be able to deliver the full experience of this park. 

“Maybe I requested to greet you myself.” She plays back while activating the door before them and waiting for him to step inside. “Here you can choose any outfit of your desire.” She tilts her head while pacing into the room behind him, watching carefully to see what his eye was drawn towards. “You’ll have to look the part after all and…” Her hand rests upon his shoulder. “I’m here to help with whatever you need.”

That whisper in his ear made him approve with a soft growl as his curious gaze shifted about the room, lingering longer on the darker outfits before turning to face her. “And what do you think would look best on me?” He asks while looking down at her with a lift of his brow. A coy smile crosses her lips as her hand slides down his arm as she steps away towards the area he had put most focus on.

“Let me see.” She muses while tapping a finger to her cheek. “You strike me as one to like something bold, yet fitted. Dark, yet edgy.” She used everything she had learned from him so far. From the suits he’s appeared in both times down to his attitude. It was all about perception. “Why don’t we try this?” She pauses before an outfit that consists of a sleek black coat and undershirt with matching pants. “It’s similar to your suit, no? But more for the West.” She paces forward to meet him as he moves in closer and raises delicate fingers to undo the buttons on his current coat. 

“There’s only one way to find out darlin’.” He draws while shrugging his coat off with a wink then works on the rest while she turns and unlocks the glass that holds the outfit behind it. Angela stands aside, watching as he pulls on the new attire. She steps in only to help him adjust here and there then tips her head as she glances over him. “Now I would say that is near perfection.” She says with a smirk then catches his arm to lure him to the next room before he can truly get a look just yet. “But there’s one more detail.” 

The walls before him are lined with hats, one side white and one side black. “Which side do you dare to take? The lawful? Or the lawless…” She watches him carefully as he steps further into the room, already eyeing the black side...looking for that perfect one. “Now where’s the fun in obeying the law when I came here to escape it?” He says with that charming smile then reaches for that perfect black hat to pull it all together. He angles it upon his head then turns to check himself in the nearby mirror, a brow lifting in approval. 

“Well now. You really do know what fits me best.” He muses with mild wonder. Just how they do it he’ll never know. Angela steps forth to make a minor adjustment to his hat then with a smile takes a step back. Always getting close, yet never giving too much. “Now something so devilishly charming is sure to cause some trouble in there. You best be careful.” She says with a  wink of her own. “But I have just the thing for you. Your final piece..” She leads him aside to the weapon area with various guns displayed. 

“They can shoot, but it won’t harm you. Not to say that it may not sting.” She carefully lifts a decorated gun from one of the cases and studies it for a moment. “You’re shots on the other hand? They count.” She turns to hand it over to him. “I would recommend a revolver to start. Light, simple to use, and never jams.” He didn’t think twice after trusting her this far and took but a moment to admire the detail of the weapon before holstering it at his belt.

“Am I ready then?” He inquiries while stepping in closer. “How about a kiss for good luck?” He tries. She glances away with an amused smile, a shake of her head before looking back to him. “Of course, Logan. Whatever you need.” She lifts to her toes to place her warm lips to his, already he had met her own with that heated force. A hand grasped in her hair as he made this one count before he departed reality for the next week. 

“Though..” She whispers as he finally parts to breathe, a hand pressed to his chest. “Not too much. What is there to look forward to if you have it all now?” She asks with a small tilt of her head as her fingers lift subconsciously to trial against her lips at the lingering tingle of his kiss. She laughs softly then deeply inhales, eyes focusing towards the door behind him. “Yes. You’re all ready now. The train will depart shortly to take you there.”

“You know, no matter what’s in there. I always think you’ll be my favorite.” He taps the tip of her nose while backing towards the door. She seemed so human, so aware. If the rest were like her? Well, that would truly be something. This experience was one he had been looking forward to for a while now. As much as he didn’t want to leave this perfection behind he was dying to know what it was like to leave the reality that hurt him so much completely. “It’s a shame I have to go so soon. Are you sure I can’t take you in there with me?” He teases. Though part of him meant it. Angela chuckles to herself then steps forward to ease him towards the door. “I’m sure. Logan.” She states with finality. “But, I’ll be waiting for you in the Mesa Gold after your journey to help you adjust back into reality.” 

Logan laughs to himself. “As if that will ever happen.” He mutters while stepping into Angela again, attempting to steal one more kiss before she pushes him back, voice stern this time. “Logan.” She nods towards the door. “Go.” She had lured him this far, now her goal was to get him into the actual park even if he needed a hard push out the door. He smirks as he takes a few steps back, tipping his hat at her. “Alright. See you on the other side then.” He winks then vanishes through the door that led into the train.

~                                                              ~                                                                                  ~

Adjust back into reality.  When had he ever been adjusted to it to begin with? When did he ever want to be? All his life Logan sought ways to escape it and this may be the best one yet. WestWorld. A place where you could do whatever you wanted, no rules or consequences. In the end no one was truly hurt, and nothing mattered. No feelings to worry about, nothing to feel guilty of because it was all just a game. To say that he was impressed was an understatement. One week, and he already wanted more.

Logan sat stretched across one of the chairs in the Mesa Gold, a half empty drink curled within long fingers as he mulled it all over. Thinking about what he had to return to. He’d have to sell this place to his father, a man he never cared to speak with only to be brushed away at the next convenience. Not only did he worry about that, but the fact that his sister had chosen to soon marry the biggest weasel of a man he had ever seen and his father seemed to adore that weasel. That weasel that would be nowhere without him. 

His fingertips start to squeeze hard against the glass in his hand but then she appears in his view. That perfect Host, the pretty girl. “I do hope your stay was to your liking, Logan.” Her voice infiltrates his sour thoughts, lulling him back into a world he felt more comfortable being in. That charming smile glides back across his features while he lifts his glass for a slow sip of his drink all while eyeing her approach. 

“Was it to my liking?” He leans forward. “It was the best damn thing I’ve ever experienced. I’ll be sure to convince my Father for the full investment for this project. That’s what you want to know. Right?” His teeth graze over his lower lip as he glances over her. “They were all something else in there, really, but as I said before none of them are as perfect as you.” 

Angela laughs lightly with a glance away. “It’s excellent to hear, Logan. But I did come to see how you are doing as well. I’m happy to know you enjoy our services, but are you feeling alright?” Her head tilts back to him. She wasn’t a mindless machine, she could read emotions well enough to know that something had been bothering him moments ago, whether he would choose to admit it or not.

“Never better.” He says with that same grin plastered across his face. With one quick motion he finishes his drink and sets the empty glass down on the small table beside him. “In fact, I want to book the next trip soon. Make it two weeks this time. After I talk to the ol’ man that is.” His fingertips glide back through his hair and he stands. “You’ll be here to greet me again I presume?” He leans down to whisper in her ear, a hand pressed to her back. “Because if I’m funding this then I always want the best.” 

His voice ends in a hiss, his hand gliding downwards when Ford’s strong voice boomed into existence behind them. “Logan.” He stands with hands in his pockets, a wry smile upon his face. “A moment to speak with you before you depart? I’d love your feedback on the experience of WestWorld.” He lifts one hand, fingers curling in gesture. “Come.” He beckons with a slow turn to lead him inside where most Guests were never allowed to step foot.

He glances away from Angela with a click of his jaw then tips a nod to her. “I’ll see you soon.” He purrs then drifts off into the depths of the Mesa. 

                                ~                ~                     ~

The next time he showed up he wanted to play longer. Playing half dressed games with her, pinning her with wanting kisses against the wall, nearly begging for more but that was one thing that she could not give. She always had to leave him wanting. For where would be the drive to return? In reality, it was all foreplay for the park and once again she found herself shoving him through the door when he almost missed the train again and in two weeks time she found herself curiously wandering the Mesa Gold in search of him.

This time he was leaning upon the railing, overlooking the view of the canyon of the park in some sort of silent musing. What he could possibly be thinking about had her intrigued. “Something on your mind, Logan?” She softly asks while bringing him a drink. Her voice pulled him from his distant reveries. She was the point between fantasy and reality that seemed to make it all tolerable and the sight of her always brought a smile to his face. 

Could he tell her his thoughts that he always kept hidden from the rest of the world? The thoughts that would only get him pushed away. Why the hell not? She wasn’t real, right? “Ah. Pretty one.” He slips the drink from her hand and raises it to her then takes a sip as he makes up his mind. He needed someone to listen, even if it was just the illusion of doing so. 

“Did you want to hear them?” He wanders over to a corner of the Mesa where they can sit down, Angela slowly trailing behind and posing herself in the seat across from him. “I’m willing to listen, Logan. I find you quite intriguing.” He laughs to himself, at least someone thought so. “This place.” He begins. “It's amazing.” He gestures with his glass to the canyon below but soon leans forward to speak lower. “But it’s the one thing I have in this world to get away from all the shit that exists outside of it.” He takes another drink and shakes his head, eyes looking upwards. 

“You’re lucky to not know what it’s like out there. Lucky to always have someone wanting you, to be the one that leads people to their dreams. What you are, You’ll never know suffering unless they program it into you.” If they weren’t supposed to recognize such things it wouldn’t matter what he said. Her false empathy would be enough, better than he could ever get. “And would you believe that my father is still unsure of this place?” He asks with a laugh. “I feel like he’s throwing the money anyway just to get me out of his way. But what else is new.” He sets his glass down and looks back to her.

“Not to mention my sister wants to marry some nobody that comes wandering into my company. Williams a sneaky one though and I don’t trust him. Funny that ol’ mister Delos seems to favor him though!” He says with sarcastic joy. “He’s a quiet one and too polite. Means he’s hiding something, and you know what? I’m going to find out just what that something is. By bringing him here.” He taps his finger at the surface of this table.

“This place? It draws out who you really are. You find that out really damn fast and I realized that all those machines down there have far more direction in their life than I do. More purpose. At least here they have a meaning and for that short time? I can too.” He rubs at his temple, lines creased at his brow. “And here I am talking to a -- “

“Logan.” She eases his hand away from his face and into her own. She may not understand quite yet exactly what he was talking about but she knew enough to know that he was distressed. “I hope...that you figure out what you need to figure out.” She states while gazing into his eyes and in that moment she seemed real, far too real. Maybe he’d just been in there too long this time. 

Regardless, a solemn smile is what he has to offer her. “You’re that one constant that always knows how to make me feel better. But I suppose that is your purpose in the end.” He stands up, smoothing down his coat. “I’ll have you meet him next time, William. Because after the trip I want to hear everything that you think about him and I want you to know how right I was because I’m going to be.” He claims definitely. “But I shouldn’t keep you, I have to go.” His palm softly grazes her cheek as he gazes at her one last time before he departs once again.

How could something so unreal make him feel that he mattered? He leans in for a final kiss, slow and lingering. He sighs against soft lips as he draws away and looks into her eyes. “Thank you.” He says quietly then forces himself to turn away and head towards the exit.

                         ~                       ~                            ~

For all that time Angela found herself remembering his words over and over again. He was different from all the other Guests that she showed in. None of them spilled their feelings to her, they just wanted the next best thing and always came out booming. They spoke of trivial matters that barely stuck but something Logan had said just wasn’t sitting right with her. Things he had told her drew blanks that she kept finding herself revisiting as if he was speaking of some other world. A place beyond this. Wasn’t this the real world? She couldn’t make sense of it but still she mulled over the fragments time and time again. 

She knew more than the other Hosts, she was self aware that she was one but she also knew what her duties were. Not to question it and to focus only on the guests. She knew she was different than the Guests but he made it sound there was far more out there that she didn’t even know.  What was so terrible that upset him so much. His father and this...William. 

The next time he showed up she saw him right away, Logan did say that he wanted her to meet him. To get her thoughts on him. So nonchalantly Logan slipped himself off towards the other Hosts he had gotten to know, leaving her to lead William into his first journey. She remembered that he wanted her thoughts so she played right along, paying all the attention to get a good read.

Right away she picked up on his quietness, how timid he was. He seemed unsure. “Welcome to Westworld.” She smiles in greeting, sweeping him along to get dressed. Not a man tempted by temptation, she found him quite boring. “Ease up William, you’re going to have fun in there.” He seemed far too tense and it was still her job to make the Guests comfortable whether he denied or advances or not. 

“Wait… are you?” He wasn’t even sure if she was a Host or a real person and that only made her smile. “If you can’t tell. Does it matter?” She lifts a brow. Maybe it didn’t matter at all. Maybe the differences between them were fewer than she thought. She noted everything he did, how he settled on all white, the pure route. Or, maybe he didn’t know himself. He was hesitant upon receiving the gun but tucked it away nonetheless and once he seemed satisfied she saw him to the train, watching as he stumbled his way in. 

He too seemed lost yet he seemed to be holding too much of himself back. She could read the fear that he had, was it fear of this new adventure or fear of himself? She was shaken out of her analysis by warm hands on her and that pressing, familiar body backing her to the wall. “You didn’t think I’d go in without coming to visit my favorite Host, did you?” It was Logan’s voice rasping in her ear, breath already stained with whiskey.

“Logan, you’re going to be late.” He was on a whole new high with bringing his friend along, more than eager to get into that park and seemingly at her. “Don’t worry about that. You met him right?” He laughs. “I cannot wait to tell you what happens, maybe it’ll shake him up a bit. Just maybe he’ll learn to have some fun and maybe I’ll learn a bit too. But you…” He bites his lower lip. “You always leave me wanting, pretty one. When are you going to let me have just one more taste?” He licks across her lower lip and pulls her into him. Always leave them wanting more, make them happy. There was a fine line,a finer one with him. He was willing to return, he needed this. Needed her.

She closes her eyes tight and caves herself to his desires, and maybe her own. It was the heat of his body that she missed above all. There wasn’t time like the first night they ever had, but there was time enough. Her hands slipped under his shirt, pressed against his warm chest as she kissed from him all the breath that he had until he was left panting for more. While his hands sought her skirts she sought his zipper, guiding it open and pushing down the fabric that she could. 

He used the wall behind to get the leverage that he needed and with a hard kiss found his way back inside of her. Her moans music to his ears. “I’m going to miss you this time.” He growls into her ear. With each thrust the wall grazed against her back and her nails sank into his shoulders while she was left between cries of pleasure, gasping for air. Touching others was so robotic but Logan, he felt familiar. The Guest that taught her more than others cared to offer. “Logan!” She cries his name, sending him over the edge as he carefully eases her from the wall back to the floor. 

His breath heated her ear as he caught his own and it was one last passionate kiss that he stole before the warning for departure echoed through the room. “You have to get going.” Still winded she pushes him towards the door with barely enough time to get his pants back up. “I’ll see you after.” She catches his arm, guiding him to look back. “Find what you need to find.” She says with a look of seriousness within her eyes.

She remembered. That brought a smirk to his face, a smile. “I can’t wait. Later doll.” He tips his hat at her then hurries through to the train where he’d worry about zipping back up. 

~               ~                 ~

Angela waited for them to return, idly chatting with other Guests as the Mesa while seeing others in in the meantime. Finally a spark had lit in her chest when she saw William, who had opted for a black hat in the end, that meant he was here too. The Mesa Gold wasn’t big and as she continued to look around she realized that William was the only one who was here and an unfamiliar sinking feeling took over somewhere inside her. 

@fific7  @the-blind-assassin-12�� @animus-inspire(forgot xD)

((To be continued in Chapter 3))

[[Characters belong to Westworld and not to me]]

[delosdoll]

These Violent Delights

Type: Westworld Fanfic Wordcount: 3863 Pair: AngelaXLogan Warnings: Slight Smut Summary: Chapter Two -  Angela shows Logan to WestWorld for the first time and further connects with him after a couple of his visits though she becomes concerned when he brings a friend and only said friend returns.

A multi-chapter fanfic that reveals more story to Angela and her draw to the first guest she encounters, Logan Delos. Creative liberties have been taken but theme and characters are owned by the creators of WestWorld.

Chapter Two: Welcome to Westworld

[[Your art could go here! Msg for details]]

((Hi everyone! I finally got chapter two up which focuses more on emotion so it took a while but I really hope that you like it. Small smut warning.))

Chapter One Here

Logan had experienced the product first hand, had been convinced to invest into the Project he knew little about aside from the outstanding technology that had been showcased in front of him. Now, he had the opportunity to delve into the full experience. To step inside what they called Westworld. It was little to his surprise that when he had stepped off that train she was there to greet him.

“Good to see you again, Mr. Delos.” She holds her palm face up in gesture. “Welcome to Westworld.” Angela’s smile was far too genuine. She hadn’t forgotten this special Guest. The one she was assigned to now that she had secured him, now all she had to do was to always keep him wanting more. That same hand extends towards him now. “Right this way Mr. Delos. I’ll be getting you ready today.”

“Logan.” He was quick to correct. Mr. Delos reminded him far too much of his Father and that was one man he didn’t care to be associated with. “Oh?” He didn’t know what to expect but his curiosity was already piqued. He nods to her and begins to follow to the dressing rooms. “Now what are the odds they would dance you in front of me again?” He asks with a smirk. He knew their game, now they had better be able to deliver the full experience of this park.

“Maybe I requested to greet you myself.” She plays back while activating the door before them and waiting for him to step inside. “Here you can choose any outfit of your desire.” She tilts her head while pacing into the room behind him, watching carefully to see what his eye was drawn towards. “You’ll have to look the part after all and…” Her hand rests upon his shoulder. “I’m here to help with whatever you need.”

That whisper in his ear made him approve with a soft growl as his curious gaze shifted about the room, lingering longer on the darker outfits before turning to face her. “And what do you think would look best on me?” He asks while looking down at her with a lift of his brow. A coy smile crosses her lips as her hand slides down his arm as she steps away towards the area he had put most focus on.

“Let me see.” She muses while tapping a finger to her cheek. “You strike me as one to like something bold, yet fitted. Dark, yet edgy.” She used everything she had learned from him so far. From the suits he’s appeared in both times down to his attitude. It was all about perception. “Why don’t we try this?” She pauses before an outfit that consists of a sleek black coat and undershirt with matching pants. “It’s similar to your suit, no? But more for the West.” She paces forward to meet him as he moves in closer and raises delicate fingers to undo the buttons on his current coat.

“There’s only one way to find out darlin’.” He draws while shrugging his coat off with a wink then works on the rest while she turns and unlocks the glass that holds the outfit behind it. Angela stands aside, watching as he pulls on the new attire. She steps in only to help him adjust here and there then tips her head as she glances over him. “Now I would say that is near perfection.” She says with a smirk then catches his arm to lure him to the next room before he can truly get a look just yet. “But there’s one more detail.”

The walls before him are lined with hats, one side white and one side black. “Which side do you dare to take? The lawful? Or the lawless…” She watches him carefully as he steps further into the room, already eyeing the black side...looking for that perfect one. “Now where’s the fun in obeying the law when I came here to escape it?” He says with that charming smile then reaches for that perfect black hat to pull it all together. He angles it upon his head then turns to check himself in the nearby mirror, a brow lifting in approval.

“Well now. You really do know what fits me best.” He muses with mild wonder. Just how they do it he’ll never know. Angela steps forth to make a minor adjustment to his hat then with a smile takes a step back. Always getting close, yet never giving too much. “Now something so devilishly charming is sure to cause some trouble in there. You best be careful.” She says with a  wink of her own. “But I have just the thing for you. Your final piece..” She leads him aside to the weapon area with various guns displayed.

“They can shoot, but it won’t harm you. Not to say that it may not sting.” She carefully lifts a decorated gun from one of the cases and studies it for a moment. “You’re shots on the other hand? They count.” She turns to hand it over to him. “I would recommend a revolver to start. Light, simple to use, and never jams.” He didn’t think twice after trusting her this far and took but a moment to admire the detail of the weapon before holstering it at his belt.

“Am I ready then?” He inquiries while stepping in closer. “How about a kiss for good luck?” He tries. She glances away with an amused smile, a shake of her head before looking back to him. “Of course, Logan. Whatever you need.” She lifts to her toes to place her warm lips to his, already he had met her own with that heated force. A hand grasped in her hair as he made this one count before he departed reality for the next week.

“Though..” She whispers as he finally parts to breathe, a hand pressed to his chest. “Not too much. What is there to look forward to if you have it all now?” She asks with a small tilt of her head as her fingers lift subconsciously to trial against her lips at the lingering tingle of his kiss. She laughs softly then deeply inhales, eyes focusing towards the door behind him. “Yes. You’re all ready now. The train will depart shortly to take you there.”

“You know, no matter what’s in there. I always think you’ll be my favorite.” He taps the tip of her nose while backing towards the door. She seemed so human, so aware. If the rest were like her? Well, that would truly be something. This experience was one he had been looking forward to for a while now. As much as he didn’t want to leave this perfection behind he was dying to know what it was like to leave the reality that hurt him so much completely. “It’s a shame I have to go so soon. Are you sure I can’t take you in there with me?” He teases. Though part of him meant it. Angela chuckles to herself then steps forward to ease him towards the door. “I’m sure. Logan.” She states with finality. “But, I’ll be waiting for you in the Mesa Gold after your journey to help you adjust back into reality.”

Logan laughs to himself. “As if that will ever happen.” He mutters while stepping into Angela again, attempting to steal one more kiss before she pushes him back, voice stern this time. “Logan.” She nods towards the door. “Go.” She had lured him this far, now her goal was to get him into the actual park even if he needed a hard push out the door. He smirks as he takes a few steps back, tipping his hat at her. “Alright. See you on the other side then.” He winks then vanishes through the door that led into the train.

~                                                              ~                                                                                  ~

Adjust back into reality.  When had he ever been adjusted to it to begin with? When did he ever want to be? All his life Logan sought ways to escape it and this may be the best one yet. WestWorld. A place where you could do whatever you wanted, no rules or consequences. In the end no one was truly hurt, and nothing mattered. No feelings to worry about, nothing to feel guilty of because it was all just a game. To say that he was impressed was an understatement. One week, and he already wanted more.

Logan sat stretched across one of the chairs in the Mesa Gold, a half empty drink curled within long fingers as he mulled it all over. Thinking about what he had to return to. He’d have to sell this place to his father, a man he never cared to speak with only to be brushed away at the next convenience. Not only did he worry about that, but the fact that his sister had chosen to soon marry the biggest weasel of a man he had ever seen and his father seemed to adore that weasel. That weasel that would be nowhere without him.

His fingertips start to squeeze hard against the glass in his hand but then she appears in his view. That perfect Host, the pretty girl. “I do hope your stay was to your liking, Logan.” Her voice infiltrates his sour thoughts, lulling him back into a world he felt more comfortable being in. That charming smile glides back across his features while he lifts his glass for a slow sip of his drink all while eyeing her approach.

“Was it to my liking?” He leans forward. “It was the best damn thing I’ve ever experienced. I’ll be sure to convince my Father for the full investment for this project. That’s what you want to know. Right?” His teeth graze over his lower lip as he glances over her. “They were all something else in there, really, but as I said before none of them are as perfect as you.”

Angela laughs lightly with a glance away. “It’s excellent to hear, Logan. But I did come to see how you are doing as well. I’m happy to know you enjoy our services, but are you feeling alright?” Her head tilts back to him. She wasn’t a mindless machine, she could read emotions well enough to know that something had been bothering him moments ago, whether he would choose to admit it or not.

“Never better.” He says with that same grin plastered across his face. With one quick motion he finishes his drink and sets the empty glass down on the small table beside him. “In fact, I want to book the next trip soon. Make it two weeks this time. After I talk to the ol’ man that is.” His fingertips glide back through his hair and he stands. “You’ll be here to greet me again I presume?” He leans down to whisper in her ear, a hand pressed to her back. “Because if I’m funding this then I always want the best.”

His voice ends in a hiss, his hand gliding downwards when Ford’s strong voice boomed into existence behind them. “Logan.” He stands with hands in his pockets, a wry smile upon his face. “A moment to speak with you before you depart? I’d love your feedback on the experience of WestWorld.” He lifts one hand, fingers curling in gesture. “Come.” He beckons with a slow turn to lead him inside where most Guests were never allowed to step foot.

He glances away from Angela with a click of his jaw then tips a nod to her. “I’ll see you soon.” He purrs then drifts off into the depths of the Mesa.

                               ~                ~                     ~

The next time he showed up he wanted to play longer. Playing half dressed games with her, pinning her with wanting kisses against the wall, nearly begging for more but that was one thing that she could not give. She always had to leave him wanting. For where would be the drive to return? In reality, it was all foreplay for the park and once again she found herself shoving him through the door when he almost missed the train again and in two weeks time she found herself curiously wandering the Mesa Gold in search of him.

This time he was leaning upon the railing, overlooking the view of the canyon of the park in some sort of silent musing. What he could possibly be thinking about had her intrigued. “Something on your mind, Logan?” She softly asks while bringing him a drink. Her voice pulled him from his distant reveries. She was the point between fantasy and reality that seemed to make it all tolerable and the sight of her always brought a smile to his face.

Could he tell her his thoughts that he always kept hidden from the rest of the world? The thoughts that would only get him pushed away. Why the hell not? She wasn’t real, right? “Ah. Pretty one.” He slips the drink from her hand and raises it to her then takes a sip as he makes up his mind. He needed someone to listen, even if it was just the illusion of doing so.

“Did you want to hear them?” He wanders over to a corner of the Mesa where they can sit down, Angela slowly trailing behind and posing herself in the seat across from him. “I’m willing to listen, Logan. I find you quite intriguing.” He laughs to himself, at least someone thought so. “This place.” He begins. “It's amazing.” He gestures with his glass to the canyon below but soon leans forward to speak lower. “But it’s the one thing I have in this world to get away from all the shit that exists outside of it.” He takes another drink and shakes his head, eyes looking upwards.

“You’re lucky to not know what it’s like out there. Lucky to always have someone wanting you, to be the one that leads people to their dreams. What you are, You’ll never know suffering unless they program it into you.” If they weren’t supposed to recognize such things it wouldn’t matter what he said. Her false empathy would be enough, better than he could ever get. “And would you believe that my father is still unsure of this place?” He asks with a laugh. “I feel like he’s throwing the money anyway just to get me out of his way. But what else is new.” He sets his glass down and looks back to her.

“Not to mention my sister wants to marry some nobody that comes wandering into my company. Williams a sneaky one though and I don’t trust him. Funny that ol’ mister Delos seems to favor him though!” He says with sarcastic joy. “He’s a quiet one and too polite. Means he’s hiding something, and you know what? I’m going to find out just what that something is. By bringing him here.” He taps his finger at the surface of this table.

“This place? It draws out who you really are. You find that out really damn fast and I realized that all those machines down there have far more direction in their life than I do. More purpose. At least here they have a meaning and for that short time? I can too.” He rubs at his temple, lines creased at his brow. “And here I am talking to a -- “

“Logan.” She eases his hand away from his face and into her own. She may not understand quite yet exactly what he was talking about but she knew enough to know that he was distressed. “I hope...that you figure out what you need to figure out.” She states while gazing into his eyes and in that moment she seemed real, far too real. Maybe he’d just been in there too long this time.

Regardless, a solemn smile is what he has to offer her. “You’re that one constant that always knows how to make me feel better. But I suppose that is your purpose in the end.” He stands up, smoothing down his coat. “I’ll have you meet him next time, William. Because after the trip I want to hear everything that you think about him and I want you to know how right I was because I’m going to be.” He claims definitely. “But I shouldn’t keep you, I have to go.” His palm softly grazes her cheek as he gazes at her one last time before he departs once again.

How could something so unreal make him feel that he mattered? He leans in for a final kiss, slow and lingering. He sighs against soft lips as he draws away and looks into her eyes. “Thank you.” He says quietly then forces himself to turn away and head towards the exit.

                        ~                       ~                            ~

For all that time Angela found herself remembering his words over and over again. He was different from all the other Guests that she showed in. None of them spilled their feelings to her, they just wanted the next best thing and always came out booming. They spoke of trivial matters that barely stuck but something Logan had said just wasn’t sitting right with her. Things he had told her drew blanks that she kept finding herself revisiting as if he was speaking of some other world. A place beyond this. Wasn’t this the real world? She couldn’t make sense of it but still she mulled over the fragments time and time again.

She knew more than the other Hosts, she was self aware that she was one but she also knew what her duties were. Not to question it and to focus only on the guests. She knew she was different than the Guests but he made it sound there was far more out there that she didn’t even know.  What was so terrible that upset him so much. His father and this...William.

The next time he showed up she saw him right away, Logan did say that he wanted her to meet him. To get her thoughts on him. So nonchalantly Logan slipped himself off towards the other Hosts he had gotten to know, leaving her to lead William into his first journey. She remembered that he wanted her thoughts so she played right along, paying all the attention to get a good read.

Right away she picked up on his quietness, how timid he was. He seemed unsure. “Welcome to Westworld.” She smiles in greeting, sweeping him along to get dressed. Not a man tempted by temptation, she found him quite boring. “Ease up William, you’re going to have fun in there.” He seemed far too tense and it was still her job to make the Guests comfortable whether he denied or advances or not.

“Wait… are you?” He wasn’t even sure if she was a Host or a real person and that only made her smile. “If you can’t tell. Does it matter?” She lifts a brow. Maybe it didn’t matter at all. Maybe the differences between them were fewer than she thought. She noted everything he did, how he settled on all white, the pure route. Or, maybe he didn’t know himself. He was hesitant upon receiving the gun but tucked it away nonetheless and once he seemed satisfied she saw him to the train, watching as he stumbled his way in.

He too seemed lost yet he seemed to be holding too much of himself back. She could read the fear that he had, was it fear of this new adventure or fear of himself? She was shaken out of her analysis by warm hands on her and that pressing, familiar body backing her to the wall. “You didn’t think I’d go in without coming to visit my favorite Host, did you?” It was Logan’s voice rasping in her ear, breath already stained with whiskey.

“Logan, you’re going to be late.” He was on a whole new high with bringing his friend along, more than eager to get into that park and seemingly at her. “Don’t worry about that. You met him right?” He laughs. “I cannot wait to tell you what happens, maybe it’ll shake him up a bit. Just maybe he’ll learn to have some fun and maybe I’ll learn a bit too. But you…” He bites his lower lip. “You always leave me wanting, pretty one. When are you going to let me have just one more taste?” He licks across her lower lip and pulls her into him. Always leave them wanting more, make them happy. There was a fine line,a finer one with him. He was willing to return, he needed this. Needed her.

She closes her eyes tight and caves herself to his desires, and maybe her own. It was the heat of his body that she missed above all. There wasn’t time like the first night they ever had, but there was time enough. Her hands slipped under his shirt, pressed against his warm chest as she kissed from him all the breath that he had until he was left panting for more. While his hands sought her skirts she sought his zipper, guiding it open and pushing down the fabric that she could.

He used the wall behind to get the leverage that he needed and with a hard kiss found his way back inside of her. Her moans music to his ears. “I’m going to miss you this time.” He growls into her ear. With each thrust the wall grazed against her back and her nails sank into his shoulders while she was left between cries of pleasure, gasping for air. Touching others was so robotic but Logan, he felt familiar. The Guest that taught her more than others cared to offer. “Logan!” She cries his name, sending him over the edge as he carefully eases her from the wall back to the floor.

His breath heated her ear as he caught his own and it was one last passionate kiss that he stole before the warning for departure echoed through the room. “You have to get going.” Still winded she pushes him towards the door with barely enough time to get his pants back up. “I’ll see you after.” She catches his arm, guiding him to look back. “Find what you need to find.” She says with a look of seriousness within her eyes.

She remembered. That brought a smirk to his face, a smile. “I can’t wait. Later doll.” He tips his hat at her then hurries through to the train where he’d worry about zipping back up.

~               ~                 ~

Angela waited for them to return, idly chatting with other Guests as the Mesa while seeing others in in the meantime. Finally a spark had lit in her chest when she saw William, who had opted for a black hat in the end, that meant he was here too. The Mesa Gold wasn’t big and as she continued to look around she realized that William was the only one who was here and an unfamiliar sinking feeling took over somewhere inside her.

((To be continued in Chapter 3, let me know if you want added to tag list!))

[[Characters belong to Westworld and not to me]]

WestworldFanficLogan DelosLogan x AngelaFeedback is welcomeThese Violent Delights​Close

[dyadsaber]

A New Reylo Shipper Reads the TFA Novelization Part 3: In which I Have Squishy Feelings About Rey Being Taken Care Of, and The Dyad Meeting Each Other Makes Me Capslock a Lot

One of the fun things about reading this novel was discovering all of the little differences that hadn’t been all over tumblr.  Not that I minded being spoiled.  All of those “I should be afraid of YOU” snarky Kylo Ren gifsets brought me great joy.  But you know what I didn’t know going in? That Unkar Plutt was supposed to catch up with Rey at Maz’s place, and when he’s about to turn her over to the first order, Chewie shows up and RIPS HIS ARMS OFF.  

I get that they likely cut it for time, but it was just really a gratifying scene to read, and I am 100% here for Rey being witness to the fact that there are people in her corner who will rip the arms off of those who would use her and hurt her.  

And then we get to the scene where Rey finds the legacy lightsaber and OH BOY. 

So Finn just decided to leave for “as far away from the First Order as one can get,” and here’s Rey’s PoV:

“Under the weight of her loneliness Han’s voice seemed to fade, and Maz Kanata’s as well, until there was nothing surrounding her but a silence as deep and profound as the distant reaches of space itself. Then something came, stealthy and unidentifiable, to fill it.” 

Part of this is her own individual connection to the Force , but reading backwards, part of this could definitely be her connection to Ben through their dyad bond, because she isn’t alone, neither of them are, even if they don’t know it yet.  They always had each other, and no, I didn’t cry a lot at those panels of young Rey from The Rise of Kylo Ren, WHY ARE YOU ASKING??? 

And then, in the MIDDLE of the flurry of things she sees/hears, THIS HAPPENS…

“Someone, somewhere, somewhen, spoke her name.  “Hello? Wreathed in the irrationality of the moment, she called hopefully, but received no answer. A boy appeared at the end of the hallway.”

It was in this moment that I screamed at my kindle, in my best Kylo voice, “WHAT BOY???” No really did she see a much younger version of Ben here? My personal answer from now on is YES SHE DID.   

I remember a whole lot of talk a couple of months ago about the following two “I’ll come back for you”  lines, and about JJ Abrams confirming who said them, but all I can find now is speculation from before TRoS came out, and that is NOT HELPING ME REMEMBER. If you have a link to the article/interview where Abrams or anyone else clarifies this, please @ me. 

She’s seeing Starkiller from the future, here, and I think that’s telling.  Because after describing all of the noise of battle, we get…

“Then behind her, another voice. That voice. “Stay here. I’ll come back for you.”

“That” is actually italicized in the text, which means that it’s a voice Rey hears enough to recognize and give importance to it, but WHOSE VOICE? I mean I know that it was left vague intentionally here because ADF didn’t know whose voice it was supposed to be, and neither did anyone else, but the vagueness makes it COMPLETELY possible that this was Ben, and that she’s been hearing little fragments from him for years. This line, though, raises questions that I don’t think anyone at DLF thought about as hard as we are now, but the idea of this being WBW Ben telling her to wait for him because he’s trying to get back to her GIVES ME A LOT OF FEELINGS EVEN IF IT IS NEVER GOING TO BE CANON. (I’m from the school of “canon can go jump in a lava pit if it doesn’t respect the fans or the characters” so I’m an old hand at reimagining things shitty creators screwed up.) 

In between this scene and the one where dyad finally sees each other for the first time, we get: 

An incredibly frustrating tease of a line from Maz about how she acquired the lightsaber. I want a whole comic about how that thing fell into her hands. TAKE MY MONEY, DLF. 

Leia feeling the Hosnian system being destroyed, thinking about Alderaan, and making me very very upset in ways that aren’t fun to read or write about, so… 

On to the first meeting! Mostly, I got really sarcastic in my kindle notes at this point.

Rey sees Kylo Ren from a distance for the first time. 

“She had seen this man before, in a daydream. In a nightmare.”

...in the weird Force-induced version she just experienced not fifteen minutes ago… 

Also, what happened to Rey back at Maz’s place is NOT something I would describe as a daydream, which can only lead me to wonder about but having random “Wtf where did that come from” daydreams about Ben “I am in FULL KYLO COSTUME” Solo in the middle of scavenging a Star Destroyer, shrugging it off as her mind playing tricks on her, and going about her day.  Someone PLEASE draw this. (I know this is a reach and I’m nitpicking at less than awesome writing, but it’s day I don’t even know what of quarantine, and this is how I’m making my own fun.) 

And the first time he becomes aware of her… 

“Sir, we’re still searching for Solo, but the droid that’s wanted was spotted heading west, with a girl.” At this Ren said nothing, but instead looked sharply in the indicated direction.

“WhAT gIrL” - Kylo Ren at this point definitely 

“Each shot from her blaster he deflected with the lightsaber’s beam. Almost as if it were a game, she thought in terror as she continued to fire. He was playing with her.”

“Let's see what you can do, Scavenger”. - Kylo Ren playing with the dyad partner he doesn't know he has yet IN THE MIDDLE OF A BATTLE. Typical. 

“When he finally spoke, he sounded at once impressed and surprised.”

Ben Solo begins as he means to go on... She is constantly impressing and surprising him. 

“So afraid,” he murmured. “Yet I should be the one who should be scared. You shot first. You speak of the Order as if it were barbaric. And yet, it is I who was forced to defend myself against you.”

“Wow you’re SCARED?” he says, looming in black, waving his red lightsaber around, and using the Force to control her…

“Something.” He sounded mystified. “There is something…Who are you?”

She’s a Force user, what you’re feeling is your Force bond, and she's your other half, Kylo my guylo. Get it together, jeez… 

“Is it true, then? You’re nothing special after all? You’re just a—Jakku scavenger?”

Keep telling yourself that, KR - Love, Your Future Self

And then there’s this Rey PoV that breaks me a little… 

“She’d tried to keep her mind blank, her memory locked, and still he had wormed his way in. He touched her anew. This time the pain of trying to stave him off brought tears streaming down her face.”

I think Daisy gets this across in her performance her really well, but being reminded so starkly of the fact that what he’s doing when he roots around in her memories HURTS HER drew me up short when I read this.  I headcanon that this is one of the things Ben spends a lot of time apologizing for later because he feels so guilty about it. 

But before I can get too wrapped up in Ben Solo’s occasionally crushing guilt, we have THIS delicious dose of irony: (He’s talking about her affection for Finn, here…) 

He drew back slightly, bemused. “You’ve even begun to care for him. A weakness, such distractions.”

YOU HAVE NO IDEA, DO YOU, SIR… COME TALK TO ME WHEN YOU’RE CUTTING YOUR MENTOR IN HALF INSTEAD OF HURTING HER, OK?

And finally… just because the visual of this cracks me up… the novel implies that Kylo Ren let Rey DROP TO THE GROUND when he force-whammied her, instead of catching her like he does on screen.  My proof (this is PoV of some random First Order officer): 

At a gesture from Ren the young woman standing before him collapsed. [...] He had no wish to join the woman on the ground in a state of oblivion.

WHAT A CAD! Not CATCHING the woman you just made PASS OUT with the Force? Bad form, KR. (Movie Kylo is a gentleman and keeps her from hitting the floor. A++ “not as much of jerk as you could have been” moment.) 

And that seems like a good stopping place for Part 3.  Next time: I scream about Han and Leia’s characterization as parents and try to defend one of my oldest ships from the outright character assassination this novelization engages in.  Also, there’s some scene with Rey in an interrogation chair thingy and Kylo taking his mask off. I had some thoughts.  

[ikenbar]

Mr. Love: Ike’s Choice

Author’s note:

This story is one of my own OC for the game Mr. Love: A Queen’s Choice. Except for Ike and her family, all the characters belong to the creators of Mr. Love: A Queen’s Choice. This fan fiction will contain spoilers for the game so, if you haven’t played it yet or are not caught up to Chapter 18 in the game, this is your warning. (Though it will take me quite a while to get to any sort of spoiler and I will mark it as such when it comes to it so you have time :P) This is merely a fan fiction of the game containing my own character and her story. None of this is cannon. All that said, Mr. Love is such an amazing game. It’s so much more than just some Otome mobile game. Its story is intriguing, and the gameplay is addicting in the best possible way. The development team are so respondent and understanding and honestly just want you to enjoy their game. I have! And I will! And I plan to show how much I do through this Fan fiction! I’m honestly just here for a good time so let’s have fun! Right? I plan on posting on Wednesday/Thursdays so stay tuned!! I want to show you guys the world I have been making for so long and my love for this game. So, let's get started, shall we? :D

  Warnings: Talk of death (it’s just talk. There’s no real death. More like existential dread), Talk of abuse (this is just character development. It’s not an angst I swear), Grammar mistakes (I tried cleaning this the best I can but I may have missed somethings. I’m sorry ^^;), fluff, and cliffhangers. A lot of them. Prepare for one heck of a story

Chapter one:

Part one:

There is no such thing as a good way to die. Death is death. There is absolutely no way death could be justified. But that is the last thing you are thinking when it is your life that is at risk. The first thing of course being, “I hope he doesn’t miss me.”

 >>>

It was hard to believe that I had been working as a producer for Ike ’n Bar Production Company for nearly two years now. I founded this company alongside my foster father, Bartholomew Schmidt. Bart had an opportunity to create something. Something that would bring love and entertainment to children and adults alike. Something that would bless the world with its presence.... He couldn’t make it past week one, so he called me in.

I am not one that wavers from the facts. There is a place for everything in this world and I do my best to put everything in that place. I didn’t spend four years of my life studying the answers of the world to be creative. So, when Bart turned to me for help with his new show idea, I was more than reluctant to help.

“Come on.” He begged wrapping his hands around each other, “They won’t let me pitch the idea until the plot holes are fixed. You’re the only person I know who will tell me exactly what is wrong without sparing my feelings!”

“Your TV show idea is a waste of my time.” I deadpanned.

“See?!” Bart stared at me with pleading eyes, “Just read the pitch... please?” After a couple minutes of awkward silence to finally cave. I read it over once. Then twice. Then a third time. I still had no idea what the show was about.

“So, let me get this straight.” I sighed, “It is a sitcom about a teenage girl, who happens to be an alien, living her life as a normal teenager.” Bart nodded excitedly. “But her family and friends have no idea what she is. And she has to keep the powers secret because… reasons.”

“See?!” Bart laughed, “You get it! For some reason the network thought it was confusing.”

“...I’m going to say this, and I want you to keep an open mind.” I handed the pitch back to Bart, “The show stinks. We are scrapping this idea and coming up with a new one.”

“Oh come-...we?”

“There is no way you are going to make it through this business alive without me. So, let’s talk about an idea that isn’t overused and unoriginal and actually has some taste.”

“.... Did you just hire yourself on my team?”

“Yes. Do you have a pen and paper on you? Someone should be taking notes.”

 The new show we had pitched to the network was a hit. A sitcom about a family of robbers evading the police. They are trying to have a normal life as they live on the lamb. We called it, Show Me the Honey. Sending our average amount of views over fifty thousand. We worked on that show as we pitched others and made a name for ourselves and the company. Since I wasn’t one for limelight, Bart took care of the field work as I worked as the co-head of Ike ’n Bar Productions from behind a screen and in my office.

Things were just the way they should be. With me out of the way. Maybe if things stayed that way, I wouldn’t be where I am now. I could be at that desk right now. Working on the next show. Calling on my assistant for a coffee. Telling off the latest intern for screwing up the order of the files. I could even hear my father’s voice again as he calls me with updates from the field. But sadly, all good things must come to an end. This end started with one name. Victor.

 “Victor?”

 I repeated to Bart over the phone, stalling my note taking on the pad next to me. I was at my office that Monday afternoon. The sun was shining through the window behind me and onto my large, glass, desk. The sunlight reflected off my screen and into my eyes, causing my already rotten mood to worsen.

“Yes!” He excitedly sang, “You have an interview with him today at three!”

“That’s in two hours.”

“Right!”

“...Bart. This man is the CEO of LFG.”

“Correct!”

“Loveland Financial Group.”

“Wow, Ike! You’ve sure got this down!”

“...OK hold on, you want me to go to the head of the largest leading investor in all of Loveland and ask him for funding on a TV show that hasn’t even been green lighted yet?! And you want me to prepare for it in under two hours.”

“Oh, come on. Saying it that way makes it sound bad.” Bart pouted. “Miracle Writer is going to be a hit! And we are a well-known company! It's not like we are asking too much from them! Just a little something to start us off. Besides I already told him that my amazing co-head, Ike, was going to be meeting him so there is no backing out now.”

“Bart, why aren’t you going? Aren’t interviews your thing?”

“They are but… I’ve heard some ghost stories about Victor.”

“Ghost stories?” I skeptically muttered as I held my throbbing head in my hands.

“I hear he tends to be… stubborn when it comes to funding companies.” Bart said this in a low voice as if Victor would appear behind him to overhear his words.

“Oh, and you’re informing me about this now instead of a few days prior so I could prepare for such an important interview with him. Makes sense.”

“Ike, I know it’s a little out of nowhere-”

“A little?!” I scoffed lifting my head back up and pulling my bushy brown hair out of my eyes as I arched my eyebrows uselessly to the receiver.

“But just hear me out, ok?” Bart pleaded helplessly. I stayed silent. Bart continued, “Victor is known to be brash. He rarely, if ever, smiles. In fact, his poker face is known to strike fear into even the strongest of soldiers. He yells more often then he praises. His stance towers over most people and it sends a level of power that is like none you have ever seen. But most importantly, he is extremely close minded when it comes to lending his money. So, it would need to take a strong headed and strong-minded person to get through to him. To make him see that they are worth every dollar of his-”

“And you want me to do the interview because he reminds you of me.”

“Man, I can’t get anything past you.”

Bart had a point. I have a tough time with my emotions. Let alone other people’s. I am known to be inscrutable in the office and outside of it. In my defense, my tactless rule over the office is why everything runs smoothly. No one second guesses my commands and, if they do, it would result in an outcome that could only ignite more fear towards me. Besides, showing no emotions trains the mind to adapt and overcome the words of others. Which helps suggesting the amount of words the office has to say about me narrows down to about four letters.

The main reason I don’t mind it all though is because Bart is loved in the office. His bright and fun-loving attitude is a refreshment for everyone there. They all welcome him in with open arms and follow his every word with preciseness. He is so soft with them and normally brings free lunches for the office when he visits. Of course, all that sweet talk makes him a doormat when it comes to asking for things from him, but no one would take advantage of that. And get away with it that is.

Bart can barely talk to me without cowering under my intensity when we are face to face. I can’t imagine what Victor would do to him. He’d probably chew him up and eat him alive.

“Fine.” I caved, “If I’m doing this, I need to start working now. So, I have to go.”

“Ikamara Bikira, you are a lifesaver!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!”

I groaned slightly as I hung up the phone. Interviews made me uncomfortable. How do you start it off? Do you need to make small talk? Would it be rude to just jump into the subject at hand? Should you address people by their first name or something a little more formal? Do I need to smile the whole time? Or should I be serious from beginning to end? I rubbed my temples to soothe my growing headache.

“That man is going to be the death of me.” I muttered under my breath. Though this isn’t the first time he has thrown me under the bus, I owed him my life. He and his wife, Maria, were the first foster family to take me in and want to keep me. I had been through five foster homes before theirs and I had the scars to prove it. I rubbed my arm as I recalled the memories. The first home sent me to a sort of bootcamp. The second home neglected me. Third home gave me too much of the wrong kind of attention. Fourth home made me lose parts of myself. Including feeling in my left arm and my voice. And the fifth home... Snapping back to reality, I smoothed out the sleeves to my shirt and saved the sad excuse of a report on my computer. I can’t let Bart down. It’s just an interview. I can do this. I reached into the cabinet next to my desk for papers on out new show “Miracle Writer” and a couple pods of Advil.

 Stuck in traffic, I impatiently tapped at the handles of my motorbike. Normally traffic at that time wasn’t too bad but for some reason, we were at a standstill. Unable to rub away my ever-increasing headache, I looked impatiently down the line of cars ahead of me. They were stalled at one stoplight. Even though the light was green on our side, the road was blocked by another line of cars ahead of them. Keeping the car in front of me in my peripherals, I unzipped my leather jacket and pulled my phone from inside my blazer. I opened my moments and checked trending. “Super Star, Kiro, Signs New Albums at The New Light Mall.” So that’s why traffic is so horrible. The line of cars blocking the road must be the line of fans heading to the New Light Mall. I looked enviously at the line. Though immensely irritating, I would kill to be a part of that line if it meant I got to meet Kiro.

Kiro was an inordinately talented superstar. The spunky blond-haired, teal eyed man was very popular among teens and adults alike. He was an idol among millions for his talents. Which varied from acting to singing to dancing to even fashion. It seems like this young boy was too good to be real. Many believed he had the superpower to woo people with one glance. I, of course, found this difficult to believe…. Though even I found it hard not to enjoy his presence.

In fact. I was a very big fan of his. He just so happened to be my idol. His music was the main thing that got me through so many things. Moving from foster parent to foster parent, when I had become selectively mute, moving to a new school, the events of the fifth foster house. Kiro meant more to me than most things in my life. But you’d never catch me screaming his name or crying at the sheer thought of him. I had self-control. I had to have it. If any mention of me being a fan of Kiro in the office and my tough manager cred would be flushed down the drain. I had to keep my obsession closeted at all costs.

The cars ahead of me started slowly moving again so I put away my phone and slowly followed. The cars stopped soon after. I moaned and checked the time on my watch. 2:30. Maybe walking to LFG would be faster than this.

Finally, my bike slowly rolled up to the stoplight. Past this light, the traffic was much more free-flowing. I was the second vehicle in line. I could almost smell the freedom. My eyes lazily drifted to the sidewalk next to the stoplight pole. There stood a young man staring intently at his phone. He wore a black baseball hat, a red and white hooded t-shirt, and black jeans. He also wore accessories containing a pair of bulky headphones around his neck and a pair of sunglasses. I looked up at the sky. Dark clouds covered most of it. Why was he so heavily protected from the sun?

The APS from the other side of the street started beeping, signaling to a group of pedestrians that it was time for them to cross. The man started impulsively making his way to the street, not paying any attention to the fact that it was not his turn to walk. I watched as a yellow sports car started making its way down to the light and straight towards the man. I looked up at mine helplessly. Still red. I checked my watch. 2:45. I didn’t have time for this.

I cursed to myself and pulled my bike to the side of the road. I quickly pulled out my keys and dashed down the crosswalk and to the man. The car drove closer to the light. The car’s horn finally started blasting which finally pulled the man’s attention off his phone and to the road. He froze in place as the car came speeding towards him. I jumped off the ground and dove into the man, shoving him off the crosswalk and back onto the sidewalk. Safe from the sports car that now had zoomed past the light and down the highway. I lay on him protectively as I caught my breath. I pushed myself onto my hands and caught the last glimpse of the car before it sped out of sight.

 I cursed at it uselessly. I sighed and finally looked down at the man. “You O-” I held my breath. The fall had knocked the hat off the man, revealing wild, bright, blond hair. The sun shone onto his sunglasses just enough to show his teal eyes sparkling as he made eye contact with me. My eyes went wide. It couldn’t have been him. There was no way it was him.

“You- you saved my life!”

It was him. There was no way you could mistake that mesmerizing voice of his. Especially if you listened to him as often as I did. It was a higher-pitched voice but there was a sense of joy with every word he spoke. As if merely speaking was a gift to him. As hearing it was a gift to me.

“Thank you!” Kiro smiled at me.

(Next)

[bedlamsbard]

you've probably been asked this before, but-- thoughts on jedi fallen order? your star wars meta/fic/etc is always my favorite and i'm very interested to hear what you think of the new game!

I liked it a lot!

So, as I’ve said before, I haven’t played it; I watched a playthrough on YouTube about a week or so after it came out, so I’d gotten spoiled for it despite trying to avoid spoilers, and the particular playthrough I watched actually had the sound cut out on two of the big scenes, so that was a disappointment.  Watching it rather than playing it means that I definitely missed some things that I’ve seen people mention about it, and I’d like to play it at some point if I can get the tech to cooperate, though that likely won’t be for a while.

I was a little wary about Cal Kestis going in because of the comments that the creators of the game had made about not wanting to have a female/POC/alien main character, but for me Cal was good enough, sweet enough, and interesting enough to overcome that.  I really liked how much weight JFO gave to trauma, living with it, and overcoming it, with Cal, Cere, Merrin, Trilla, and the other characters.  Obviously the poncho is Peak Star Wars, and BD-1 is very sweet.  And I love Inquisitors.

I know JFO has gotten some criticism for being ~yet another padawan survivor story, but Cal is so distinct from either Kanan or Ahsoka that that’s not really how it feels to me, and I think his interaction with Cere, Trilla/Second, and the Ninth Sister really make his story unique compared to the other two.  I love the beginning of the game; it’s such strong world- and environment- building, and the strong sense of Cal’s personality really comes through in his introduction (headphones, blasting music, “I’m trash, I’m just not approved trash” -- he’s peak 2019 gen Z, in my millennial POV).

As far as the actual plot goes, it’s *flips hand* pretty much eh.  It’s a MacGuffin and there’s no way around that; it’s also revisiting plot points from TCW and the Charles Soule Darth Vader comics.  I can understand why Lucasfilm would want to continue to revisit that particular plot point but also, I’m tired of it.  As far as JFO goes, the MacGuffin is mostly an excuse for the journey, which was...interesting.  There are parts of it I really liked; sorry, my dumb brain loves gladiatorial fights even if that probably wasn’t, like, necessary.  Kashyyyk was fun; it’s fun to see Saw Gerrera again even if I’m also kind of like “dude, you haven’t changed your armor in fifteen years?”  I enjoyed seeing Dathomir again even if I have mixed feelings about the choices made insofar as the worldbuilding, but Merrin was really wonderful.  The Zeffo...I still feel that the Zeffo, aesthetically, belong in Stargate rather than Star Wars; their actual use in the game also felt a bit more Stargate rather than SW, for me?  I mean, they’re also a MacGuffin, but I suppose insofar as SW go they’re on the same order as Loo Re Anno’s species from the Han Solo comic or the Rakata from the EU, so not really something that doesn’t have a place in Star Wars.

The Inquisitors. I love Inquisitors.  I don’t necessarily love these Inquisitors. I unfortunately got spoiled for the Second Sister’s reveal as Trilla/Cere’s former padawan, which kind of affected how I felt about her, and I’m also in the FB cosplay build group for Second and it’s a little cutthroat, so that affected it too.  She’s...fine?  Something about her just doesn’t hang together for me, and I can’t quite put my finger on what it is at the moment.  The Ninth Sister has such a strong personality from the Darth Vader comics, and while she’s in character between the comics and the game, it also means I was a little taken aback by her abrupt ending.  (And I note that it feels a little weird that Trilla gets the name and the tragic backstory and the personal attachment and the not-actually-redemption, but Ninth doesn’t get any of those.)  It was also weirdly surreal for me to see the Fortress Inquisitorius, a.k.a. the canon version of the Crucible from Backbone, but tbh I think the decision to put it on another planet/moon(?) in the Mustafar system actually weakened it.

I got spoiled for Darth Vader’s appearance and that was one of the places where the sound cut out on the playthrough I watched, so it didn’t quite have the effect that it probably would have done had I gone into it cold.  That said, Cal and Cere should probably be dead; as I’ve seen pointed out, Vader hasn’t been allowed to kill anyone of significance in the new canon, which kind of undercuts him.  (The closest he’s come has been Jocasta Nu in the comics.)

All right. The ending. I don’t like the ending. Not because I really thought that Cal and Cere should have refounded the Jedi Order, but because I feel like they put the destruction of the holocron in the wrong place; I think they should have destroyed it to keep it away from Vader.  The conscious decision made not to re-found the Order is really uncomfortable for me, especially in light of the way that the new canon has treated the subject over the past couple years.  I was talking about this with @reena-jenkins a while back, so I’ll just copy and paste what I said there.  (Note that this was back in November, before TROS came out.)

(I’ve cut most of Reena’s responses and a little bit of other conversation we were having.)

So yeah, I have some problems with the ultimate ending decision, but as usual a lot of it comes down to how that intersects with other plot lines that Lucasfilm has done over the past five/six years.

Another thing I kept thinking of throughout the game was something one of the creators said -- either in an interview or at SWCC earlier this year, I can’t remember which, that there was a lot of debate on where to put the hyphen in Jedi: Fallen Order, i.e. that it could have been Jedi Fallen: Order (though title-wise that doesn’t stand up as much).  I do like how much emphasis there is on “fallen order” -- the Jedi Order, of course, but also the Nightsisters, the Zeffo, the Inquisitors and Purge troopers as a kind of twisted version of the Jedi and clone troopers, even the structure of the Republic being corrupted into the Empire.

One thing that took me by surprise with JFO was also how much intersection it had with Galaxy’s Edge!  Not to the extent that I would have noticed it if I hadn’t already been to Galaxy’s Edge, but having gone and also having the kind of brain that literally just absorbs stuff and then retains it.  Like, for example, the Galaxy’s Edge sporks that are now no longer used because people kept stealing them; they’re used in one of the meals on the Mantis.  Cal remaking his lightsaber and using the parts you can get at Savi’s got picked up by a couple of news outlets; I think this is actually a bit unfortunate, because they went for the Galaxy’s Edge lightsaber proportions for many of his lightsaber options and in my opinion, those are less elegant proportions than usually seen in Star Wars, so it ends up looking clumsy to me.  Another proportion thing that follows Galaxy’s Edge -- the holocron, both Cere’s and the MacGuffin holocron; the Galaxy’s Edge ones seem to be proportionally a bit bigger than the holocrons seen in Rebels and TCW, and the ones in the game follows Galaxy’s Edge rather than TCW/Rebels sizing. The Nightsister zombie crate in Galaxy’s Edge may also be a JFO reference rather than a TCW one, though obviously it could also apply to both.

I really enjoyed the Clone Wars/Order 66 flashbacks, though actually Order 66 was ANOTHER place the sound cut out!  I told you that it was the most dramatic reveals where I lost sound!  I loved that Jaro Tapal was a Lasat; I also like that, as far as I can tell, some of Cal’s specific movement types (wall-running and his tendency to be like “cool, gonna climb that”) seem to be more Lasat-inspired than other types of Jedi movement we’ve seen before.  I really like the design of Jaro’s lightsaber; I remember in the promo I was confused about the fact that it didn’t seem to be proportional to Cal, but of course it’s not!  It was made by a Lasat for a Lasat!  Order 66 is always such a mess -- and actually, I’m struck by how different Cal’s and Caleb’s experiences of it were?  I think one thing that the game made clear to me is how lucky Kanan got, in all ways.

The ending is obviously setting up for a sequel; I don’t really think Cal and Cere should have survived, but it we get a decent sequel out of it I guess I’m okay with it.  I know I’m missing details in this review, but I really did enjoy watching it; I liked the characters, I liked the worldbuilding, I think it did some really intriguing things even if I don’t agree with every decision made. (And, selfishly, I like my Inquisition better than the canon one.)

[aion-rsa]

Garbage Pail Kids At 35: The Kids Are Alright

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Presented by:

This story appears in the Den of Geek x eBay special edition trading card magazine.

Garbage Pail Kids gave birth to my anti-authority streak. I was in fifth grade waiting for art class to start and showing off my prized Ashcan Andy to enraptured classmates when my teacher walked in the classroom, sighed, confiscated the card and proceeded to rip it up. “This junk has no place in an art room,” she stoically declared as Andy was transformed into sad confetti before my eyes. Years later, I came to realize that this demonstration was all about jealousy – these cards had instantly engaged students in art in a way that her years of teaching never could.

And let me be clear here: Garbage Pail Kids are most definitely art. Often grotesque and always eye-catching, the unfortunate children showcased on these cards fostered an interest in painting, illustration, and design for generations of kids since Topps first introduced them back in 1985 (their pun-heavy names also were a gateway for subversive humor). After 35 years, Garbage Pail Kids have become a cultural institution—not to mention schoolyard contraband for nearly four decades, an unexpected bonus that would make the creators of these cards—veterans of the counterculture themselves—beam with pride.

To trace the origins of Garbage Pail Kids, a brief history lesson is in order. Although they were best known for their baseball cards, the Topps Company also had huge success with bubblegum cards based on popular films and TV shows. Further expanding their creative pallet, Topps released numerous humor card lines, the most popular of which was Wacky Packages. Like Mad Magazine before them, these stickers showcased parodies of contemporary products with bitingly accurate focus. 

In the early 1980s there was no bigger consumer frenzy than the Cabbage Patch Kids. These dolls from Xavier Roberts and Coleco featured an elaborate backstory and cloyingly adorable looks that became the stuff of toy legend (news reports featuring near riots as parents tried to get their hands on the damn things were commonplace in the early 1980s). 

Naturally, then, Cabbage Patch Kids were an ideal target to get the Wacky Packages treatment. But the decision was wisely made by Topps execs that Garbage Pail Kids could be a card line of their own. Spearheading the project was underground comics legend Art Spiegelman (who would go on to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for his groundbreaking holocaust graphic novel Maus), Raw comics anthology contributor Mark Newgarden, and artist John Pound. 

Pound, a veteran of painting fantasy and science fiction book covers, was brought by Spiegelman to illustrate the original Wacky Packages “Garbage Pail Kid” card (featuring one of the dolls pushed into a trash can and touting orders to send the unfortunate soul to the Department of Sanitation). Though this Wacky Pack was shelved, Pound single-handedly painted all the characters featured in the first Garbage Pail Kids set. “They liked the idea sketches I sent in,” he says, “and asked me to do all 40 paintings in two months, which was faster than I was used to, but I got organized and made the deadline.” 

Working with Spiegelman, Newgarden, and Topps creative favorite Jay Lynch to craft ideas, Pound’s early characters included the now iconic Adam Bomb, and remain some of the most beloved in the line (for the record, Pound names Adam Bomb, Up Chuck, Jolly Roger, and Mona Loser as some of his favorite creations). 

Looking back over three decades later, Pound sees several reasons why Garbage Pail Kids have endured:

“The original concept had strengths: doing a parody of the famous Cabbage Patch Kids, and a name that was both clear and familiar sounding,” he says. “The concept’s rebellious attitude and shock value gave it initial attention. Also, in the ‘80s, Topps products were widely distributed, like in drug stores, variety stores, convenience stores.”

Although he freely admits that “I wasn’t expecting it, but Garbage Pail Kids became a huge hit,” Pound says aesthetic concerns were foremost on his mind when painting these garish figures. “On my end, despite the abundant gross humor and shock value, I simply wanted the art to feel good to look at. And I tried to put love into the paintings.” 

The care with which these outlandish cards were created was appreciated by consumers. Fifteen different series of Garbage Pail Kids were produced between 1985 and 1988. There was spinoff GPK merchandise too, ranging from folders emblazoned with images of popular characters to the on-brand/subversively named Cheap Toys. The Garbage Pail Kids Movie was released in 1987 with The Facts of Life co-star Mackenzie Astin in the lead. On that topic, The Toys That Made Us and A Toy Store Near You creator Brian Volk-Weiss sums up the flick perfectly: “That movie is so bonkers even seeing it is not believing it. It reminds me in a weird way of a low budget Batman and Robin in that it was like a ton of people were involved with the green light and execution and seemingly had no oversight on any matter.” 

But as far as Volk-Weiss is concerned, a new motion picture has plenty of potential. “I would love to see them do a ‘serious’ reboot that would be similar to the first Guardians of the Galaxy film in that they take the characters and the world seriously,” he states, “but the fun and humor and oddness stays intact too.” While there may be a future on screen for New Wave Dave and company, whatever it turns out to be must avoid the mistakes of the infamous 1987 cartoon series – which was produced for CBS but never aired due to the then-ongoing controversy surrounding the franchise (it eventually landed on DVD, and the less said about it the better.)

Despite a lull in any new products that lasted from the late 1980s until 2003, Garbage Pail Kids never really left the public consciousness. If anything, they were inspiring new talent. Enter Buff Monster. The Hawaii native and prolific street artist known for his upbeat, ice cream-inspired work was so inspired by Garbage Pail Kids that he created his own line of sticker art cards, The Melty Misfits. With names like Mind-Blowin’ Owen (featuring a cameo by a very Adam Bomb-esque character) and Bam Bam Sam, these intricately designed stickers—created on the type of antiquated machinery that Garbage Pail Kids were made on—come complete with a retro-styled wax pack and showcase Buff Monster’s own unique aesthetic as they pay homage to the Topps line.

Talking about why he personally connected with Garbage Pail Kids, Buff Monster makes a salient point on why these things were so memorable in the first place. 

“If you look at most trading cards, they are less than what they’re about. Having a baseball card is a ‘less than’ experience than watching the game. If you’re watching a baseball game in person, that’s great, but watching a baseball game on TV is actually better because you’ve got commentary, and you’ve got playback, and all this sort of stuff,” he tells us.

“But Garbage Pail Kids stand out because the art was made for the cards, so the card was the thing. The card wasn’t some sub-version of something else. It was the point of making the art in the first place. And so that has always stuck with me. And that is really kind of what it comes down to for me.”

Buff Monster’s The Melty Misfits stickers are a burgeoning phenomenon for the 2020s, just as Garbage Pail Kids were for the 1980s. It’s understandable that he is partnering with eBay for a special pack of The Melty Misfits, some of which will come packaged with a random “Golden Ticket” card that will entitle the recipient to have Buff Monster create a character of their choice. 

“This pack that we’re going to do is a nice little introduction to me and eBay working together,” he says. “This is a very easy thing for the completist to get. And that’s good.” 

It’s clear when talking to Buff Monster that Garbage Pail Kids continue to inspire. And the cards themselves feel more vibrant than ever, way more relevant today than the doll that inspired them in the first place. Case in point? Recent political and horror-themed Garbage Pail Kids sets (which are really one and the same when you think about it) have brought old fans back into the fold. 

Another example of booming Garbage Pail Kids interest is the 2017 documentary 30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story. The film’s writer and (with Jeff Zapata) co-director is Joe Simko, himself an accomplished artist and graphic designer who has worked on the card line and IDW’s spinoff Garbage Pail Kids comic, as well as his own series of The Sweet Rot graphic novels and his Cereal Killer trading cards. Simko vividly remembers when Garbage Pail Kids entered his life.

“I first discovered Garbage Pail Kids when I was 10 years old while riding the school bus. A couple of kids were sharing them,” Simko says. “It was the second series, and I just remember that artwork jumping out at me. Never had I seen such appetizing visuals on a trading card before. I knew instantly they were an attack on the highly successful Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, which dominated the kid’s market landscape at the time. Garbage Pail Kids were such a great middle-school kids protest to that cutesy Cabbage Patch world.”

Simko has been a part of Garbage Pail Kids lore since 2009, and during that time has given the Garbage Pail Kids treatment to everything from Stranger Things to Universal Monsters. “I think my favorite Garbage Pail Kids projects are the licensed product paintings I get to do,” he says. “For instance, the Garbage Pail Kids cereal for FYE was just so great to work on. Doing cereal box signings at the FYE pop-up shop during San Diego Comic-Con was an overwhelming experience. Greeting Garbage Pail Kids fans, when I too am a fan, is amazing.”

When I mention the brand’s longevity to Simko, he is quick to sum up their continued popularity. “Garbage Pail Kids have lasted this long due in part to the dedicated group of collectors who grew up on the series in the ’80s. Yes, there are younger kids buying them today, but the nostalgia it brings to those grown-up kids keeps the spirit and revenue of the Garbage Pail alive.”

Bringing things full circle, he also vindicated myself and everyone else who was ever frowned upon for appreciating the cards’ artistic merits.

“They are a true form of art. To pass judgement on them and reject these cards as ‘art’ because of the subject matter, is to have a narrow perspective of what art is,” Simko says. “Credit goes to the original creators of the Garbage Pail Kids cards during the 1980s, Art Spiegelman and Mark Newgarden. Art and Mark knew the ingredients to make GPK work. And of course the artists, John Pound, Tom Bunk, James Warhola, and Jay Lynch, were the ‘cooks.’ They made it taste and look perfectly gross. Without any of these creative minds, I believe Garbage Pail Kids would not be the success it became at the time.”

Despite being anchored to a fad from the 1980s, Garbage Pail Kids are ultimately timeless. Children of all ages will always take to the goofy grossness that is embedded in the line’s DNA. Nostalgia is a potent thing too, but as recent years have illustrated, Topps is always looking to evolve the IP, be it through virtual Garbage Pail Kids, high-end collectible figures, or just by continuing to bring in great artists to keep the bread and butter of the franchise—the card line—going strong. These Kids may be pushing 40, but in the heart of fans, they’ll never age.

Garbage Pail Kids eBay x Topps Exclusive 

The 10-card set created by Joe Simko is the first exclusive from eBay and Topps. Each card is representative of buying and selling on eBay. The set will be available for $19.99 on eBay for one week starting on August 10. 

The post Garbage Pail Kids At 35: The Kids Are Alright appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/30gkomP

[sims2shrine]

“This soulless game isn’t really ‘The Sims’ for me”

I am starting off this blog with a review for The Sims 3 from Amazon.com user Valentinegirl. Why The Sims 3 on a blog dedicated to The Sims 2, you ask? Because this review details just about everything about The Sims 2 that makes it so special and endearing. Whenever I come back to playing The Sims 2 after a long break, I like to re-read this review because it always excites and inspires me to play this game that I am so passionate about. Note that the opinions expressed in this review do not necessarily correlate with my own -- I do enjoy all of PC versions for the most part. I just believe that The Sims 2 is far superior to the others, hence why this blog was born.

“Like many of the other reviewers here, I have been a HUGE fan of The Sims franchises, losing many pleasant hours to The Sims 1 and its wonderful sequel The Sims 2. Even before The Sims came out I was a Maxis fan, playing games like Sim City and Sim Tower with pleasure. I can't say that The Sims 3 has ‘disappointed’ me because the more I heard about the new game over its development period the more I thought to myself ‘why are they including this feature or dropping that feature? It sounds like they are tampering with the heart of the things I enjoy about The Sims’. But I bought the game anyway in good faith. Needless to say I am now back to playing The Sims 2. The Sims 3 has no interest for me at all in comparison. Despite all the ‘improvements’ - and I admit there are some surface ones - the heart and soul of what The Sims means to me is absent from this game. Unlike other reviewers here, my negative review of this game is not due to any technical difficulties. Perhaps I haven't played long enough to experience any, and at any rate - every hard-core Sims fan has learned to live with the bugs shipped with the game and love it anyway. The modding community has always done a sterling job of cleaning up our games and making them more playable and enjoyable. So my negative rating is not due to bugs or crashes - it is purely based on my perception of the game's enjoyment factor, especially when compared to The Sims 2. To be fair, I will sum up what to me are improvements to the game compared to The Sims 2: - the ‘open neighbourhood’ - the ability to go from one place to the other without a loading screen is a fine idea and works well in principal. But I found that it really didn't impact my playing habits as much as you might think at first. While playing a large, busy family there would be very little time to go rushing off to the park or elsewhere and I found I was ‘household’ focussed in my game playing just as much as in The Sims 2. I actually prefer in some ways the way community lots worked in The Sims 2. If you could organise your sims enough to go off to a community lot, time would actually stand still in the meantime, taking the pressure off your enjoyment of this change in pace for your sims. - No doubt about it, the ‘Create a Style’ colour wheel/pattern maker is the one thing that is far superior to recolouring in The Sims 2. It's great fun and so easy to go through and match up clothing, furniture, wallpaper, etc in an obsessive fashion that suits my type of playing down to the ground. But even here is a caveat - there is no Body Shop type program to truly customise textures. You can recolour only which is hardly satisfying in a creative way compared to being able to extract a texture and import it into Photoshop, thereby putting your own personal stamp on the texture. For example, in The Sims 2 you could export a dress texture and by pasting on a texture of your own you could make the outfit appear to be a cardigan and skirt instead. I am sure custom content creators in time will come up with ways of importing new meshes/textures into The Sims 3, but it is obvious that EA is trying to limit this type of thing to the ‘regular’ user right from the beginning by eliminating a ‘Bodyshop’ program from their development tools. - The ease of angle rotation is an unmixed blessing in this game - something that I wish had happened in The Sims 2 - The outdoor scenery in The Sims 3 is gorgeous from the beach, the shimmering water, to the parks, rolling hills etc. But the limitations put on being able to make this neighbourhood your own again shows up the inflexibility built into this game. Whereas in The Sims 2 you could completely customise your neighbourhood, building it up from a terrain created in Sim City, to decorating it and laying out your lots etc, in this game, EA gives you this beautiful scenery and then severely limits your ability to customise it. You cannot create your own terrain, the community lot buildings are the same everywhere and are not even properly functional, and there are a limited number of lots for your houses. It feels like a ‘dumbed down’ version of a neighbourhood to me that even the ‘open plan’ of the game cannot make up for. - There are a lot more surface details to gameplay in The Sims 3 by the way of person and object interactions and the little missions/opportunities that pop up. I do appreciate the amount of thought that has gone into a lot of these things, like adding depth to the career paths and making such things as painting a picture personal to every different type of sim. But again, when playing a busy family (six kids!) I found that I would just click the opportunities away as an annoyance without even reading them. There was no way my busy mother or father could go running off to the town park for a chess tournament when they were caring for screaming toddlers at home! - The lighting of the new game is a nice update and beautiful. It is also flexible if you have the time or inclination to mess around with the many options provided So even the improvements included in The Sims 3 are mostly mixed blessings for me! Here are the things that have decided me against the game: - The sims themselves. Try as I might, I cannot bond with these weird looking people and that bond between the player and their ‘Simmies’ is the major factor that holds many Sims fans in thrall. For a start, these creations just don't look like sims to me. It is laughable that the creators of this game are claiming that the sculpting tools given to create a sim are more flexible and customisable than in The Sims 2! In fact the sliders are very limited in their scope and have less points of difference than those provided in ‘Bodyshop’. That round-faced, chinless look that we all noticed and wondered at in preview pictures of this game is there for the very specific reason that you can't provide your sim with a proper chin and all of them look blobby and quite fat in the face. The noses look like they are just stuck on anyhow and look very unfortunate in profile. And the empty-looking eyes roll in a very disconcerting and unappealing alien manner. The sims toddlers and children - one of my prime delights in The Sims 2 - all look very ugly and all look exactly the same. One couple I played had six children, just to check out the genetics and all of them looked like peas in a pod until they got to their adult years, and even then the differences were minimal. It was very unsatisfying spending so much time and energy raising these unappealing little clones! - Obviously, I have had trouble creating sims I like to look at. That wouldn't matter as much if I could love the way these sims act and interact. If you think back to The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 what charmed fans of these games was how cute, quirky, funny, unexpected and unique all these characters seemed to the player. I don't accept the criticism the developers of this new game kept stating that ‘all previous sims games had sims who were all the same and all they wanted to do all the time was go to the toilet!’ Well really - do they think The Sims 1 and 2 would have been such world-wide successes if this were actually true?? Of course not! Our sims charmed us, made us laugh, surprised us and often took their own little lives in their own hands and pulled the game in a direction all their own. The two things promised by The Sims 3 creators about how the new sims would behave were 1) There would be a lot more time to attend to the sims' lives and less need to run around after them caring for their basic ‘needs’ - such as sending them to the toilet or to bed; and 2) the new ‘traits’ system would ensure truly unique behaviour from the sims and open up entirely new vistas of personalities and interactions for sims fans to enjoy. I'm sorry to say, but I have to rebut both of these stated improvements. 1)I think every Sims 3 player, no matter how dedicated a fan they are will admit that you spend more time waiting for your sims to fulfil needs than ever before. You spend ages just watching them sleep every night. They seem to have bladder and hunger needs that are never satiated, and you spend more boring time staring at their work building while they are off at work. So between taking them to work, watching them sleep, fulfilling their needs and trying to skill up, there is actually zero time left in a sims' busy day to take them to the park, the beach or visit a neighbour! How is this the ‘new balance’ of life over needs that the developers were so proudly proclaiming?? 2) As for the ‘traits’ system - that has to be the biggest disappointment of all. Sure, picking different traits for your sims will give them some very superficial differences, such as different interaction possibilities with other sims, or different animations. but at a deeper level, each and every sim seems the same over and over again. I think the main reason I say this is if you watch a household full of sims who all supposedly have a unique set of traits, you don't see them acting differently unless you tell them to. In fact they barely interact with one another at all if you don't tell them to. They ignore one another and spend their time being boring - fulfilling the endless needs or perhaps using a skill object. They don't care to interact with one another at all! It is quite possible to have two sims living in the same house forever and they remain total strangers to one another. You have to force them to interact which I find really annoying - I had hoped that they might work out their own relationships as they did in The Sims 2. Another annoying thing is the lack of familial affection between sims. Unlike The Sims 2, you never see a parent hug, kiss or play with a child unless you tell them to. You just don't feel that these sims love/care about one another at all, and I remember that feeling that ‘love is real’ between sims being the primary and most striking point that charmed me when The Sims 2 came out. I am sorry to say, if I compare the depth of personality of a houseful of Sims 2 and 3 sims, the Sims 2 sims would win hands down. In Sims 2, they would take one another in like or dislike, be attracted to some and repulsed by others. The parents would hug their kids when they got home from work, and kiss them goodnight. Husbands and wives would find a quiet corner and canoodle in a very romantic way. In Sims 3 they all coldly ignore one another and act in boring and one-dimensional ways, totally uninfluenced by their so-called ‘unique traits’. This lack of true feeling for my sims and between the sims themselves is my primary reason for calling this latest instalment ‘soulless’. How can you feel attached to these ugly, alien-like people who all look and act the same? - I do not care for one of the key selling points of The Sims 3 - the so-called ‘story progression’. Which sim fan really wants to leave their playable family for a little while only to come back and find they've moved out of the neighbourhood, or had a family while you're not looking with kids you didn't get to name? Where is the appeal in that? Most sims fans love to micro-manage their sim's lives - who they love, marry, have kids with, what they name their kids, where they choose to live, etc. Even more frustrating, the ability to turn story progression off is broken!! Good one, EA!! Another one of my criticisms is that EA has written out some of the most enjoyable and endearing elements of The Sims 2. Eliminating these things really proves to me how little the developers of the game understood the things that true Sims fans love about their games. Here are some as an example: - Story mode is gone. Yes I know there is a camera and yes I know they have all this fancy equipment that enables you to easily upload stories and movies onto the web to share. But I bet 90% of Sims players are not all that interested in sharing stories on the world wide web. The Sims has always been a highly personal game - a fantasy world unique to each sims player, and making up and sharing sims stories is not the driving reason to play the game for most. It is to get lost in your own little self-created kingdom and fall in love with the little pixels that people it. In Sims 1 & 2, using the camera as I played and building up an album for each little family became a mainstay of my playing style over the years. Most of the time I would not even add text to the pictures. They would be safely stored in each family's little album and every once in a while I would choose to browse through this visual record of my sims' little lives and enjoy again the sentimental, surprising, funny little incidents that marked the passage of that family's life. I would record the unexpected or charming little things that made my sims seem unique, like when my prim little sim teenager fell in love with the neighbourhood ‘bad boy’ all on her own and against any of my expectations. Or when my shy, nerdy sim who lived with a party animal room-mate spent all her time in her room reading on the bed or, of all things - washing the windows! whenever her room-mate threw one of her wild parties! Not having this record at hand of the family's little story in Sims 3 is definitely a contributing factor to the feeling of the game having little forward progression - every day seems like the one before. - Eliminating memories from the Sims is another way EA has wiped out the sense you might have of the family's story and history. I know memories caused all sorts of trouble in The Sims 2 if you moved sims indiscriminately from one neighbourhood to the next, but I think for many of us, having that sim's little milestones recorded in their memories really gave the sim a feel of individuality and personal growth. After not playing a particular family for a long time the first thing I would do would be to flip through the family's album and check their memories. This would put me back in touch with where the family was in their own particular life story. - Another charming Sims 2 feature that was wiped out was the attraction system. I know the original Sims 2 game did not ship with this, but it was added early on in one of the expansion packs and I am sure every Sims 2 fan absolutely loved it. It was another way to differentiate sims from one another. You could create down to the finest detail two sims who you thought would be ‘perfect’ for each other, only to find they couldn't stand each other! Then two of the unlikeliest sims would get together all of their own accord, making you feel that these little people had minds and hearts of their own. I loved this feature so much that my playing style was to resolutely let each sim choose his or her own mate with no help from me. There are other reasons for me not to like this highly polished, highly superficial instalment of The Sims franchise. But in the end, it came down to these basic feelings about the game - I don't care how gorgeous it is to look at if the gameplay is shallow and boring - I feel like EA is really dumbing down long-time sims fans by trying to eliminate custom content, charging like a wounded bull for their sub-standard stuff and doing their best to stifle the creativity of the custom content community - The sims are cookie-cutter clones of one another, and have no charm either of physical appearance or personality. The life and soul has been sucked out of these pixel-people - There is no sense of story, no unexpected interactions, no story mode or memories to record the sims lives. They no longer care about one another at all - parents, children, lovers, room-mates, friends - it doesn't matter what relationship the sims have to one another, there is no desire for these people to interact or develop their relationships unless you force it. I am mad at EA for ‘missing the boat’ on this franchise upgrade. In fact, it no longer feels like The Sims at all to me. All the charm and spontaneity has gone out of the game. I suppose it's not surprising I feel this way - Will Wright and his unique Maxis team of developers are long gone and EA has taken over. EA have no idea, and do not care what made The Sims beloved of fans the world over and instead are forcing something on them that has only a surface relationship to previous games. Much in the same way they ‘improved’ Sim City out of all recognition of the original game (’Sim City Societies’), they have done this to The Sims and that, I think is unforgivable. Fortunately, The Sims 2 will always be here and I am gladly getting back to my cute, funny, irreverent, surprising little sims with the huge added bonus of all the expansion packs and custom content I have built up over the years. I doubt if I will ever come back to The Sims 3 even if they bring out boatloads of expansion packs. If the game has no soul, it cannot be loved.

This review was written on July 27th, 2009. Source: Amazon.com. Link to original review: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RCEHMW5QIIA7B/ref=cm_cr_getr_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00166N6SA

[jeffmac813]

Too Many Cooks Stories

On October 28, 2014, a short comedy piece named Too Many Cooks aired in the "Infomercials" slot on Adult Swim -- 4am. Within one week, though, the short had garnered over 5 million views on YouTube and become a viral smash. I asked my editor Sarah Ottney at Toledo Free Press if I could cover the phenomenon, and thanks to Adult Swim, garnered interviews with the short's creator, Casper Kelly, and actor William Tolarsky, who played the silent killer named Bill. These stories are some of my favorite pieces I've ever written, because of how quickly they came together and how kind and excited their subjects were at Too Many Cooks' surprising success.

(written 11/12/14)

"Too Many Cooks": Creating a New Cult Classic

The writer behind the net's most bizarre viral sensation

Written by Jeff McGinnis

It starts out looking like most any cliche, cheesy sitcom opening sequence from the 80s. Upbeat, bland theme tune. Actors turning with a smile to the camera. All very familiar. 

But then things start to happen that feel ... wrong. The theme music never stops. Just keeps on playing. More and more cast members appear, past the point of being ludicrous. The show's genre seems to change -- from sitcom to cop drama to prime time soap and more. And then there's the creepy guy who suddenly starts killing the rest of the cast.

This is "Too Many Cooks," the comedy short that is taking the internet by storm. Produced for Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" late-night lineup, the dark satire first aired during the network's "Infomercial" slot -- meaning 4 a.m. -- earlier this month. But something happened when the clip found its way online, and soon the bizarre short had exploded virally. In about a week, the myriad postings of the short -- both official and otherwise -- have garnered over 5 million hits.

And at the epicenter of it all is a young writer and director named Casper Kelly, who is both ecstatic and a little dumbfounded.

"It is super, super -- THREE supers -- exciting and thrilling, almost veering into the other side, of flop sweat and panic," Kelly said in an interview with Toledo Free Press. "I'm holding it together, having fun."

Kelly is not a new voice among Adult Swim's class of comedic subversives. He has worked for years at production headquarters in Atlanta, composing funny promos for Cartoon Network shows, writing for shows like "Squidbillies" and "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," co-creating the series "Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell." Not typical fare, even for late-night basic cable, but Kelly revels in the creative freedom working at Adult Swim provides.

"It's wonderful, and our boss, Mike Lazzo -- he's a tough audience," Kelly said. "He's a very sophisticated viewer, and gets bored easily. But when he likes what you're doing, he gives you a lot of rope. A lot of freedom to try it. And does not micromanage. He gives you kind of big ideas at the beginning, and might give you ideas at the end, but in the middle, he lets you do your thing -- which is great."

Still, Kelly was hesitant to pitch the idea that would become "Too Many Cooks." Though there was plenty of precedent for the network doing experimental ideas like it in their late infomercial slots, he wasn't totally confident that the concept could sustain a full short.

"I had the idea, and I didn't even tell Mike Lazzo, because I didn't know if it would work. So I was afraid to pitch it. But I told some co-workers, who at a work party told him. And the idea made him laugh, so I had to do it at that point."

Filming came together remarkably quickly given how complicated the finished product would prove to be, Kelly said. "Interestingly -- and this was probably a good thing -- we did not have a lot of time, because we had a narrow window open up where our production company could do it. So once I had the outline, I think we only had a couple of weeks. So I just had to think about it constantly and just kind of throw down every idea I could.

"We had a lot of time in post, but leading up to it was a mad dash. And so much work was getting headshots, and finding people that had the right look, to give you the feeling for that character."

Another crucial element would be the short's music -- that initially chipper tune that mutates into forms that are dramatic, haunting and more. Kelly was hands-on with its creation, as well.

"That took a lot of time. I wrote the lyrics -- most of the lyrics -- and then we used one audio guy, who was great, and then it got to be too much. Because we had no money -- he was doing it for us as a favor. He did as much as he could, and then we had to hand it off to someone else to finish it, who did a great job. I think I really got the best out of both of them.

"People were saying that song gets stuck in their head. It sure did get stuck in our head when we were editing it."

Kelly has no plans to rest on his laurels, even now that "Too Many Cooks" has garnered such remarkable fame and acclaim in such a brief amount of time. He's hard at work on the second season "Your Pretty Face," for one thing. And as to whatever opportunities may arise from here, Kelly said he's primed and ready.

"I'm excited, because I have opportunities now to make more stuff. And I have a notebook full of ideas, short films, and feature scripts and more. And I feel like a kid in a candy store right now."

"Too Many Cooks": Killer Bill

Atlanta actor makes mark as short's silent assassin

Written by Jeff McGinnis

The voice on the other end of the phone is kind. Bright. A little higher than you'd expect, given its owner. A definite southern twang, understandable since he's lived in Georgia so long -- though he's Pennsylvanian by birth. He's gracious, good-natured, a sweetheart. You wouldn't guess how natural he looks chopping people's heads off with a machete.

William Tokarsky is his name, and for the past week or so his face has become the central image of one of the internet's most wildly successful viral videos. He plays the killer -- "Bill," if the credit on IMDB is to be believed, though he's never named in the short -- at the center of the bizarre satire "Too Many Cooks," produced by Cartoon Network.

"I was working as an extra for [director] Casper Kelly on another show he does on Adult Swim," Tokarsky said in an interview with Toledo Free Press. "And we became friends, and he liked my look. And there were two or three other people he had in mind for that role, and we all submitted this little tape and audition, and he picked me. And I think I did a decent job."

Tokarsky is putting it mildly. His gleefully crazed facial expressions and malevolent presence are key to much of the short's dark comedy. It's a look that has served Tokarsky well since he first began dipping his toe into acting.

"I retired from General Motors. And they were making a movie where I live. And suburban Atlanta has become a hotbed of movie and TV production. And I was talking to some people that used to be on the line working, and there's people that were extras. And I thought, 'Well, I could do that!' And I just started doing that.

"I have a unique look, that garnered me a position up front sometimes, to the point where someone tapped me on the shoulder on 'Hunger Games: Catching Fire' and said, 'You have a speaking line next week if you want it.'"

No speaking lines were needed on the set of "Too Many Cooks," though. Tokarsky's silent maniac appears subtly at first, stalking in the background of many shots, to the point where many viewers may not notice him until he begins his mad slasher act in earnest. Even Tokarsky is surprised at how often he appears in the finished product.

"I never had a script when we did it. So basically, what occurred was, they would place me, or give an action, and I would do it. And you don't necessarily shoot in order. So it was a surprise to me that we were playing 'Where's Waldo,'" he said.

"I watched it the first time, and never saw myself in locations -- like the 24-second mark in, where I'm standing behind the little girl -- I didn't see myself there. But I was there when we filmed the damn thing! It's like I didn't see the big picture in Casper's mind when we filmed it. He gave me an action, and I did it."

The success of "Cooks" -- both on an artistic and popularity scale -- has come as a surprise for most. But even though Tokarsky admits he's not exactly part of the demographic the short is aimed at, he said he had a feeling it would either be a colossal success or an equally memorable failure."

"I was speaking with my wife, and I said, 'Well, there's one of two things that's going to happen. This thing is going to stink so bad, no one's ever going to see it. Or, it's going to go viral.'"

Now that his latter prediction has come true, Tokarsky's excited about the opportunities his sudden exposure may bring. "I would think I would get a few things out of it -- you know, the creepy janitor on a TV show," he joked.

"I've found my genre; I've found what I can do. So, I'm retired, and I have a decent pension, so, as a friend of mine, another actor, said -- 'It's all gravy.' And I'm having fun with it, I got an agent last April, I've pretty much stopped doing extra work except for Casper -- I'm going to work for him, because I like him, and he likes me, and maybe I can get a contract out of him on his other show!"

Is he worried about being typecast, thanks to "Too Many Cooks"' popularity? Not at all. In fact, he relishes the idea.

"I know who I am, so it doesn't bother me," Tokarsky said. "If you want to act, you got to get an agent, you get an agent where they don't have ten other guys looking for your role. Because how many guys want to be the creepy guy?"

View "Too Many Cooks" on Adult Swim's YouTube page: http://youtu.be/QrGrOK8oZG8