#He is forgotten by history despite being the most important person in the coming age of humanity

[lorenzo-waterman]

Crying about Cahara hours

[natromanxoff]

Record Mirror (July 14, 1979): 119/?

THE QUEEN BACKLASH ENDS HERE

WITHOUT DOUBT Queen are among that elite number of bands universally hated by the rock press.

The rancour is, make no mistake, mutual which is understandable. If you find yourself on the receiving end of an inveterate dislike at the outset of your career and watch it being nurtured and carefully cultivated over the next six years you’re bound to retaliate.

Queen’s hatred manifests itself by their continued habit of ignoring the music press i.e. refusing to give interviews. There is the occasional token “chat”, pointless as it is innocuous, but in the main it amounts to a blanket “No.”

One of the last interviews Freddie Mercury gave was the last nail in the perspex coffin. Under a headline which boldly asked ‘Is This Man A Prat?’ the king of the leotards was demolished by one of the old school Queen haters and Freddie obviously came to the conclusion, in its wake, that interviews in future would be both superfluous (he was popular enough) and detrimental.

The curtain, velvet naturally, closed.

Roger Taylor, a little wary, a little weary, sits stiffly in an armchair. The juggernauts rattling the Chelsea Street outside create a sonorous buzz bomb hum in the room.

You expect a member of Queen to look elegant. In fact Roger is only wearing a wine colour mohair jacket, black shirt and blue jeans.

He apologises for being a little late and explains how he went to the wrong address. Roger seems to be the only member of Queen left who is prepared, albeit rarely, to open his mouth in the presence of a hack. A question springs to mind . . . why?

“We all sat around a table before I flew over from Munich to discuss the press situation and we agreed I should be the one to represent the band. Freddie is very uncompromising and refuses to have much to do with journalists.

“Obviously, he’s had a few raw deals with them in the past,” observes Taylor.

Roger himself has a rather low view of the music press.

“Most of it is rubbish. There was something I liked recently, a piece on Malcolm McLaren, but in the main I think I’m the only one of Queen to actually read the music papers.”

Why does he think the band are systemically slagged?

“I think it’s because Queen have always come across as being a rather confident band. We seemed, to other people at least, to be very sure of ourselves. I think the press may have misconstrued the confidence, mistaking it for a form of arrogance. Hence they became wary of our motives which bred a dislike for our music.”

Now that’s what I call a neat conclusion.

At the risk of being sent to Coventry by my colleagues I’d like, if I may, to come clean. I love Queen (you’re fired, Ed).

I think it all began with a simple pre-packed but indisposable line – “Dynamite with a laser beam” and has continued uninterrupted (despite the occasional flaw) right through to ‘Queen Live Killers’.

A combination of reasons, Freddie Mercury’s lascivious lisp – the most attractive intonation known to man . . . Brian May’s reel ‘em off rococo riffs that would, in his capable hands, transform the theme music for ‘Waggoners’ Walk’ into a meisterwork . . . John Deacon’s almost stoic stance, incongruous yet integral . . . Roger Taylor’s intense power, so unexpected from one so slight . . . the ability to go over the top without failing into the trap of caricature . . . a desire to give the punters what they want without pandering . . . that cast iron confidence . . . those nine glorious winter weeks of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ which kept the cold away from my soul . . .

Yes, I love Queen.

Roger explains the story behind ‘Killers’ which features just about every Queen classic which ever found its way into a silk lined memory bank.

“We always knew that one day we would make a live album. I think it was well planned. About 90 per cent of our last European tour was recorded on a mobile unit and we then spent weeks sitting through the songs in the studio.

“The result is a 100 per cent LIVE album. Nothing has been touched up in the process of selection, I think that’s pretty rare these days. Many ‘live’ albums are tampered with.”

The choice of single is unusual – ‘Love Of My Life’. “It’s not so unusual when you hear the way it came out. The song seems to have such a wide appeal. Everywhere we go the reaction to it is the same. The audience are just bursting to sing along.”

The result is Queen’s best single since ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ (that was their LAST one crawler, ED)

As I mentioned earlier the band are currently residing in Munich where they are “experimenting” in the studio.

“We are recording in a totally different way for us,” says Roger who speaks with a delicate London accent only typical of cockneys with dramatic training and David Essex.

“Every time we entered a studio in the past we had a good idea of what we were going to do. This time we started from scratch and the result is amazing. The music is nothing like anything we’ve done before, I guess you could say it’s much simpler.”

And this novel approach to their music also extends to their shows. On their next British tour – in the late Autumn – the band will be playing much smaller venues than they are accustomed to.

“In London for example we went to play to audiences of about two or three thousand in different areas. I think it’s much fairer to the fans.”

But won’t this affect their stage show which is after all a crucial factor for any powerpomp outfit?

“Not really. We will just scale down the show accordingly. Besides,” he says taking another bite out of the biscuit, “we haven’t used dry ice in years.”

The monkey on Queen’s back, as corpulent and cantankerous as ever, has been put there by those who firmly believe the band can never emulate past achievements. Roger is cognizant of its presence but refuses to unpeel its bananas.

“That all began after ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. When it stayed at number one all those weeks we were kindly informed that we would never be able to make another single to rival it both artistically and from the point of view of sales.

“Yet ‘We Are The Champions’ sold a great deal more and has since become the biggest selling single in the entire history of Elektra Asylum – our label in the States.

“We don’t do the amazingly complex things any more because we’ve moved on from that. We concentrate on the music we are doing now and we intend to do it the best we can, it’s ridiculous looking behind and and what you’ve done.

“There’s nothing like going back on the road to re-unite the bond between the four personalities and strengthening our belief in the band. We are a real working unit and, in my experience of the music business, one of the most democratic bands around today.”

A statement like that cries out to be expounded.

“People think every member of all the bands, not naming any names, are treated equally that is get the same money as their colleagues. That’s rubbish. In many bands there are a couple of guys that get all the money. The rest are on wages. Queen share the profits equally.”

And they don’t have a manager taking his cut either, John Reid departed a couple of years back and now the band themselves make all the major policy decisions. Why did they decide to dispense with the services of a manager?

“Basically because we were fed up with giving other people money. Y’know it never ceases to amaze me how naive those guys are in bands who have just had their first hit. After all this time I’ve forgotten just how naive we must have been at the beginning.

“I mean, everything seems so great when you get into the charts for the first time. You’re living on cloud nine and nothing else matters. But in truth that hit means absolutely nothing. So few people achieve any amount of financial success in this business.

“Oh, you think, you’re really living . . . for a while. Somebody gets you a flat in Chelsea and it’s all free. But one day the rent stops being paid for you and you realise you’re skint.

“Since John Reid has gone the four of us have always made a point of discussing everything together. We have various people working for us but all the important decisions are made by us alone. That way we get freedom of choice – and financial independence.”

My attention is suddenly diverted.

“FORTY-LOVE!” Wimbledon, the Persil White opiate for the hoi polloi squashed in a strawberry crush wrings out its perspiring petticoats on the TV in the next room.  Roger’s girlfriend, an extremely attractive French girl called Dominique, is engrossed. The couple have lived together for two years. Crippled old marriage questions permeate the air.

“I don’t believe in marriage,” says Roger. “It’s simply a contract and the fewer contracts I enter into the better. If you get on well with someone then there isn’t any harm in living with that person – but marriage is something else again.”

They live in a six bedroomed Victorian house just outside London, which is set in 20 acres. Roger has a “tiny” town house in Barnes as well. What’s it like having a bank full of money at the age of 29?

“I don’t hide away from life. Queen have never been one of those ‘being grabbed in the street’ type bands. It may happen when the four of us are together – but when we are out alone we are seldom bothered. That gives me the opportunity to enjoy myself. I go to clubs a lot. I like having a good time. I don’t think you could describe any of the band as leading sheltered lives.

“But I have completely lost touch with how much things cost. When you find yourself living in hotels for so long you never really deal in money as such. Everything is available whenever you want it – but you never see the cash actually being handed over.

“I’ve forgotten what it was like to be penniless which Queen were for years. I guess that must happen to many successful rock bands.”

Another thing that happens to many successful rock bands – they quit the country. But not Queen it appears.

“We have always based ourselves in England and I see no reason why we shouldn’t continue to do so. We could leave at any time but we choose to stay. People believe we are tax exiles because we spend a lot of the time out of the country recording in studios all over Europe and touring.”

And what will happen when the band finally trudge wearily down the road leading to that  ivory strewn elephants’ graveyard . . . ?

“I know it’s bound to happen one day. I suppose I’d take a long, long holiday . . . and then make a solo album.”

[yostresswritinggirl]

A Yearly Memory

~Zhongli x Reader

Warnings: None

Characters: Zhongli, Lesser God!Reader

Relationship: Ambiguous

Word Count: 1.2k words

A small drabble because I got self-conscious seeing y'all greet the Geo daddy- Happy Birthday, Zhongli hnghhh, first time greeting a fictional character kek and writing in tumblr sooo Enjoy a happy new year and let's hope this one does end happy!

Made this at 2:55 AM so don't expect much kek

Can you imagine 6000 and more years of the same day passing, taking time to organize a feast for that particular date? In their circumstance, time isn't relevant, for Gods who lived beyond a millenia. Honestly, everyone who lived in Celestia saw time as irrelevant and passing, nothing but the sun and the moon exchanging thrones in the sky for 365 rotations.

But for Rex Lapis who prides himself the oldest archon also relives those 6 milleniums ever so clearly.

And in his passing, and even before, he has grown accustomed to the importance of 'time' and 'day' and 'night'.

Yet, he stood atop a grassy cliff, overlooking the harbour of his own land where comes a perfect view of the moon parallel to where he stands.

In this particular day every passing year, he finds himself here as if pulled by the winds himself for reasons he cannot fathom.

"Morax-? Morax!" Calls from behind him accompanied with light footsteps crunching the blades of grass under it. His amber eyes only widen slightly before willing it to pull away from the waves that bounced the moonlight.

"God of Memories— (Y/N), I was not aware of your immigration to Liyue, are you perhaps here to document the coming of the annual departure to a new cycle?"

Your form finally catches up to his side, straightened after gathering yourself from what seems to be a marathon just to find him. The ex-archon besides you possessed a slight smile at the height difference. For it was ironic that despite the same age you had lived (and maybe even more for you, as you had existed whence the first memory had came), he was still very much heads above you, contrasting to him as you don a younger appearance to his olden self.

You carry with you a device he does not recognize and when his eyes bounces back to where yours shine in hidden mischief, you looked at him almost offended, incredulous.

"Mr. Newly-Retired, I've heard you abandoned your position to live among the humans you once overlooked," you didn't even bother to answer him.

He'd perked up, tensing his shoulders, ready to be lectured by yours truly. For after all it was you two left that remained longest standing in the history of higher beings, he'd known you'd feel betrayed that he had just abandoned your side like so.

He opens his mouth to explain— "And so, to start your new chapter, it's only fair we impart to you some human tradition!" and it stays open in confusion.

The glint in your eyes finally surfaces full blown and he couldn't help but relish in that cheeky smile you matched it with, arms shifting to lift the contraption hanging from your neck. "I'm fairly certain I'm accurate on my counting so

Happy 6052nd birthday, Zhongli!"

He hides his raw surprise and fluster in an airy chuckle, following your twinkling giggle as you nudged him with an elbow.

Is that why he's subconsciously sentimental of this day ever since? For it was the exact date but rolled back thousand of years ago, to when he first set foot on Teyvat?

"Birthdays... I didn't even notice, and quiet so early too. Thank you, (Y/N), I am grateful for your time and consideration." Zhongli would flash a smile so sentimental and pure that it almost brings you to your knees with the innocence it carries. He's so precious— precious!

"Y-yes, you are welcome! I would have brought some fresh silk flowers as a gift," he'd tilt his head in silent inquiry as you once again fumbled on the rectangular box, "but such gifts wilts too easily, swept aside in just four days! Too quick and easily forgotten." Now the god before you would love to protest, for everything you'd leave behind for him will always be immortalized in his heart and mind.

"So I created this thing over here! I call it a Kamera!" Despite his confusion over the contraption, your triumphant grin only sends him fluttering and urging you to continue. For others it was a rare sight to see someone else do the talking when Zhongli was part of the conversation, but the man in question also enjoys lending an ear, indulging himself especially when it comes to knowledge he has not heard of. "It freezes a moment in time, capturing it in a parchment to be kept forever. As your first celebration, I wanted to capture it clearly for us to look back to together! Like so!"

Without another word, you had grabbed his forearm to urge him lower, using the same hand to loosely wrap around his neck. He'd almost had to kneel from the height difference as he stumbled upon your forcefulness when a click and a fragment of light sounded from afront before he could get his bearings.

"Tada! Oh look, you look so good in an image, it worked perfectly!"

Your energy matched a very particular person Zhongli had to deal with but yours were refreshing and contagious despite the nigh hours of the night.

He had patted his sleeve straight as he watches you mercilessly flap a piece of paper that somehow appeared on your hand. He has questions, a lot, and he was once again interrupted by you: shoving the paper to his face like it was a trophy of a competition you'd been waiting for your whole life.

It was a portrait but accurately colored and captured to a size as big as his palm. Your arm around his neck with a wide, closed-eye grin while looking straight ahead and him (clearly unprepared) with an obvious surprise and touch of obliviousness, glowing amber eyes slightly trained to your profile.

He was glad he was a professional in keeping a calm composture, because he saw just about the most obvious red dust on his cheeks, now immortalized for everyone who sets their eyes upon on the paper to witness.

"Ah, I'm so happy it worked even when I had to rush it to be on time! Here, keep this, as your birthday gift!" You practically shoved the device and the image to his arms with buzzing excitement and pride. "Happy birthday, again!"

An advance technology constructed with the sole idea of being a gift for him? His appreciation is beyond words that rendered him speechless and you patiently watch him take into account everything that has been thrown at him.

"Zhong-zhong... you're too quiet—"

A snap and a flash blew your pupils and forced you to cover your eyes to rub the spots dancing in your vision. He was a fast learner but damn, he could have warned you of his impulsive ministrations.

As you whine over your semi-blinded state with jumbled protests spewing out of your lips, the man before you holds a euphoric smile over the new paper clutched between his fingers.

It was the best gift he'd ever received in his lifetime.

"Thank you, for this and everything. I hope you know how deeply I appreciate you."

Morax's smile, the God of War, however faltered at the edges when he saw the darkened stare looking down upon him. The twitch of your eyebrow makes a sudden sweat fall off his.

[that-house]

Viego Rant (villainy and character design and tragedy and all that jazz)

Introduction The more I think about Viego, League of Legends’ newest character, the more enamored I am with him as a villain (unrelated to his general sexiness, though that does tie in with what makes him such a good villain).

I’ve seen a lot of complaints about his design. The Ruined King, one of the greatest threats in Runeterra, the progenitor of the Shadow Isles, the lord of the undead, is finally released as a playable champion and he looks like this:

People were expecting another Mordekaiser (who is similarly an undead king with a ghost army), a lich-tyrant clad in iron, decayed flesh peeling from an aged face. What we got was an angsty anime prettyboy, and it was infinitely better than the alternatives. 

Lore Viego isn’t a conquering king. While his combat abilities are indeed badass, his personality is far from it. He’s a whiny brat and that’s incredible. He isn’t bent on world domination. His character arc revolves around just how human, how fallible he really is. For those unfamiliar with his lore, I’ll paraphrase it here:

Viego was the second son of a great king. Overshadowed by his brother and with no expectations upon him and near-limitless wealth, he wandered around being an idiot fuckboy for the vast majority of his formative years. Disaster struck when his brother died in an accident, and Viego took the throne with no training, no experience, and no desire to be king. He was a shitty king. The worst king. Just all-around apathetic. Gave zero shits. Can you blame him? It’s a lot of responsibility to be thrust upon someone who isn’t much more than a child, and with no preparation. He didn’t care about anything, that is, until he met Isolde. She was a poor seamstress, but he fell in love with her upon their first meeting. Together they ruled the country but it was really just them staring longingly into each others’ eyes. His allies were kinda fucking pissed about that, and one day an assassin came from Viego. The assassin fucked up and stabbed Isolde instead, and the poison on the blade made her fall gravely ill. As she lay in her bed, slowly dying, Viego went mad seeking a cure. He ravaged the land seeking any knowledge that might help, pouring all of his money into finding an antidote. He failed. As a last resort, he brought Isolde’s body to the Blessed Isles, a place rumored to be able to resurrect the dead. It worked, to an extent. Isolde’s wraith, confused, afraid, and angry at being ripped from the peace of death, unthinkingly stabbed Viego in the chest with his own magic sword, creating basically a magic nuke that turned the Blessed Isles into the domain of the undead. Viego resurrected as the king of the Shadow Isles some time later, having totally forgotten that Isolde killed him. He controls a big-ass ghost army, could probably beat up any living thing in a fight, and has evil ghost magic. Now this stupid simp wants his wife back and if he has to kill every living thing on Runeterra, well, anything for his queen. He’s even a tier 3 sub to her Twitch.

Music His musical theme isn’t some heavy metal anthem or intense cinematic piece (unlike the Pentakill song named after his sword, Blade of the Ruined King). It’s mostly sad and slow, almost sinister, with a piano and a music box. It has its loud moments featuring violins and choral bits like any villainous music, but the song is mostly subtle. It is a banger though.

In the comments section of this video, someone pointed out that the music reflects his story from beginning to end:

Everything about this champion is so well done. Riot Games really outdid themselves on this one. Bravo, encore please.

Motivation While the Mordekaiser circlejerkers on r/LeagueofLegends won’t shut the fuck up about how powerful Mordekaiser is, Viego is the better villain. Mordekaiser may be a bigger threat to all life on Runeterra, but Viego is a better character. (There’s a guy on my League discord server who won’t shut up about Mordekaiser so forgive me for being pissed at Morde stans).

Mordekaiser is motivated by a desire for control, to rule the world. Viego is motivated by obsession and misplaced love. There aren’t a lot of Mordekaisers on Earth. Supervillains are rare in real life. But Viego’s motivations are a lot closer to home. People in positions of power that they don’t deserve can do a lot of harm (for example: Trump).

He’s a grieving husband who was never prepared to deal with anything more difficult than choosing what wine to drink with dinner, who is trying to get his wife back because the world had always complied to his every whim. He’s a funky mix between a truly hopeless romantic and a spoiled brat throwing a temper tantrum.

Obsession is scary. It’s a real-world emotional state that’s been the cause of a lot of murders over mankind’s history. In contrast, Mordekaiser’s cartoonish Genghis Khan XXL schtick isn’t something that we encounter often. Of course a superpowered ultradictator would be worse for the world, but if you give ultimate power to a random person, you’re more likely to get someone like Tighten from Megamind. Or, more relevantly, Viego.

Design His design is sexy and stupid, just like him. He wears an open shirt into battle and wields his sword like an idiot (I’ve seen all the rants about how that’s not how that sword is meant to be used) because he was never really a warrior. Even at his most violent, right before the end of his mortal life, he didn’t do much combat himself, leaving his military endeavors to his underlings. Even now that he’s essentially a god, he still has a colossal wraith army that causes far more devastation than he ever could personally.

Despite his slim build (by League of Legends standards), he easily wields his colossal sword because of the strength of his state of undeath. Like his political power when he was alive, his posthumous magical and physical powers were never something he sought out, they were just given to him by circumstance.

The big cool-ass triangle hole in his chest where Isolde stabbed him is the source of the Black Mist, which is evil ghost mist that ebbs and flows from the Shadow Isles, bringing with it hordes of the undead. The sadder Viego is, the more Mist he creates. Poetically, his invasion of the world is inspired by his sorrow at his wife’s death and enabled by his wife’s reluctance to return to him. His story is perfectly reflected by his design.

Isolde Isolde’s spirit took up residence inside a young Senna (who’s another League champion, not particularly important here). This led to some Black Mist-related shenanigans and at least for the time being, Senna uses Isolde’s power to fight off the servants of Viego which threaten all life on Runeterra.

It seems pretty clear that whatever love Isolde felt for Viego is gone by now. Whether or not she ever loved him or was just unable to say no to the king is up for debate, but I’d like to believe there was something there. In my opinion, Viego’s story hits harder if they really were a great couple at first, torn apart by circumstance and obsession.

Much like the Maiden of the Woods in that one comic that circulates around here, to whom the knight gave his heart and she was like “yo what the fuck i literally never asked you to do this,” Viego went a little too far in trying to save her. They may have once been happy, but the Ruined King ruined his own life, too.

Unless Isolde is a lot less morally decent than we’ve been led to believe, I doubt she can forgive all the massacring that her husband’s been doing lately. In the recent cinematic, she was shown to be pretty anti-Viego. Maybe she’ll get a bastardization arc, but it certainly seems unlikely.

All of Season 2021 is based around Viego, Isolde, and the Shadow Isles, so we’ll just have to see what comes next. It’s possible that we’ll get Isolde as a playable champion, which should clear a lot of things up.

Final Thoughts Unlike so many villains, he’s not fueled by rage or hatred, but rather by sorrow. He’s stuck in his past, unable to move on. He regrets the actions of his life but is set on his course now. The sunk-cost fallacy comes into play here; he’s put so much time and effort and blood into bringing back Isolde, that turning away from it would feel to him like an insult, not only to her but to the innocent lives he’s taken in her name.

His tale is a tragedy, a love story gone horrifically wrong. Viego has suffered throughout his thousand-year life. Despite this, he’s undoubtedly the villain. His permanent death would be a net positive for the world. In has rage and grief he’s destroyed multiple civilizations, and will burn down the world to get Isolde back.

His heart may be in the wrong place, but it’s in a very human place. I don’t think he’ll get the ending he’s looking for, but I hope he finds some closure in the end.

[lassieposting]

Bit late and random but it's the anon you leave food out for here to give away I am also bi and I think exactly the same as you about bi val pretty much, every time Derek offers me representation my reaction is to slowly, hesitantly take it and say "thaaaaaaaaanks..." while rolling my eyes, in much the same way one accepts their least favourite flavour of sweet from an annoyingly enthusiastic uncle-type-individual. Ironically I feel I had more in common with her before the bi shit started up.

What I find really amusing is that Landy actually did reasonably well at representation when (and only when) he wasn’t trying. 

Oh god, this got long, anon, my ass rambled.

tldr; I'm glad actual bi people dislike bi val (or how Laundry handled bi val) as much as me, this will probably offend at least one person but i don't really care, Dirty Laundry wrote better rep when he didn't mean to write rep at all, and if he ever starts trying to "represent" groups I'm part of I'll take him out back like a dying horse and shoot him.

Like, yes. He had stupid and potentially offensive shit - I say potentially because what offends one member of a group won’t necessarily offend all of them. His attitude to mentally ill people is, frankly, disgusting. We’ve had “Skulduggery can’t be abused, he doesn’t have feelings”. We’ve had “eVeRyOnE iS bI eVeNtUaLlY”. We had Ping, who seemed to be pretty much universally offensive. And that's what's always going to happen when a straight, cis, white, wealthy, male author tries to write marginalised groups he doesn't know shit about, because inevitably he's going to fall back on stereotypes.

But we also had:

SEXUALITY REP: Phase One's nonstraight characters were treated like the straight ones, and like, isn't that the whole point? There was no need for a massive Coming Out Story TM to grab for those sweet sweet Woke Points, because sexuality isn't supposed to be important to mages. I never understood why Val needed that whole Coming Out Panic storyline. Like...Des and Melissa are ridiculously supportive, encouraging, loving parents. They accepted you dating a ~19 year old when you were ~16. They accepted you revealing you could do fucking magic and that you'd been lying to them for like seven years. They took your undead buddy in stride and the most pressing question your dad had was whether magic toilets exist. There is zero reason to think that "I'm bisexual" is gonna be the thing that makes them flip and throw you into the streets in disgrace, Valkyrie. Come on.

Tanith had girlfriends and it was just mentioned casually, because it's normal.

China had massive UST with Eliza. That was an opportunity right there to not only include a f/f relationship, but also to bring back one of the few precious surviving characters from Phase One, using characters and a relationship that already had several books' worth of setup and tension and interest from fans.

The Monster Hunters have a casual conversation about which one of the Dead Men they'd date.

Ghastly has a conversation with Fletcher about the pain he's been through being in love. He never uses any pronouns.

It was confirmed at one point re: the Dead Men that at this point, after 300-odd years, everyone's been with everyone else at some point.

Thrasher is gay, and while Scapegrace's...everything...is treated as a joke/comedic relief, Thrasher's love for him isn't. He's completely devoted to Scapegrace, and that in itself is not played for laughs, even though the rest of the scene usually is. Thrasher's description of their first meeting is essentially a love-at-first-sight situation for him.

"ABNORMAL" RELATIONSHIP REP: Age gap relationships are normal for mages. Off the top of my head, using only canon, canon-implied or almost-canon ships:

Ghastly/Tanith (~350 year age difference)

Tanith/Sanguine (~250+ year age difference)

Tanith/Saracen (~350 year age difference)

Caisson/Solace (~250 year age difference)

China/Gordon (~400 year age difference)

Kierre/Temper (~500+ year age difference)

If you include fan ships, there's also things like Mevolent/Serpine or my Mevolent/Vile, which are both ~600 year minimum age gaps based on the timeline, or Valdug (and its variations) which is ~400 years.

Now, whether you consider this kind of rep positive or negative is up to you, but it’s there.

MENTAL ILLNESS REP: more like "Which characters in this series don't have a mental illness or a personality disorder?" I have some of these issues, but not all of them, so this is just how I read it, but:

ADHD: Skulduggery

Dissociative Identity Disorder: Skulduggery & Vile

Dissociation: Skulduggery again, most notably in DD and DB

Schizophrenia (or similar): Valkyrie & Darquesse, Valkyrie "seeing" Darquesse's ghost thing in Phase Two

Impostor Syndrome: Reflectionie

Autism: Clarabelle

Trauma/PTSD/CPTSD: Skulduggery, Valkyrie, China, Ghastly, Erskine...pretty much everyone has a believable, understandable, morally grey trauma response in this series. People struggling with trauma are spoilt for choice of characters to see themselves in.

TRAUMA REP: This series is a trauma conga line, but everyone has a believable, understandable, morally grey trauma response in this series. I see little bits of myself in more than one Phase One character.

Childhood Abuse (of varying degrees & types): Skulduggery, Carol & Crystal, Omen, Fletcher, Ghastly, China, Bliss, Sanguine...

Estranged Family: Skulduggery abandoning his crest, Fergus & Gordon, China & Bliss

Bad Romantic Relationship: Skulduggery is also very clearly an abuse victim. He’s got a solid history of romantic attachments to women who manipulate, use and gaslight him for their own agendas.  There's a whole paragraph in SPX about how Abyssinia broke him down, isolated him from his friends and preyed on his desperate need to be loved, all classic abuse tactics.

And I’m personally a huge fan of this backstory for two reasons:

1) Society likes a plucky victim in media. The "My suffering made me stronger" type of victim. And it's not always like that in real life. Not all survivors come out of their abuse stronger or kinder or more understanding. Some of us come out cold and fucked up. Some of us end up as emotionally stunted, bloodied-nails-and-bared-teeth survivors, broken in ways that can't be fixed and sustained by enough rage to power a small sun. But society doesn't like to tell the story of that kind of survivor, because we're not usually a likeable protagonist. When we're shown in media, we're usually the sympathetic villain, or maybe the antihero. But Skug is someone who's done awful things and lost pretty much all his faith in humanity and been burned more times than he can count, and he still makes the conscious choice to try and be the good guy when he could so easily go Evil Supervillain on the world, and I don't know about any of y'all, but I've modelled myself on him in that. I've made the choice to do something good when all I really want to do is just become a horrible, shrivelled ball of nastiness and revenge. And that's because I saw him do it and realised that I could do that too.

Skug is an incredibly capable, strong, masculine Man's Man. He gets in fights all the time, and he usually wins. He's military, an industry that's Really Bad for stigmatizing weakness and mental illness, and he's right up at the top of the hierarchy. Almost everyone is afraid of him. He's a straight up cold-blooded killer. Skulduggery Pleasant is precisely the type of person who's not normally portrayed as a victim of anything. Nothing about him screams "victim" at all. But his abuse history is insidious. He's so conditioned to respond in a certain way to abuse from the women in his life, probably from a very young age, that despite all that strength and capability and stubbornness and ego, he just goes along with it. And it's an established pattern going back hundreds of years. He keeps going back to China, even though he knows she's bad for him and his friends keep telling him to stay away from her. Abyssinia latched onto him when he was traumatized and vulnerable and weaponized it against him to make him easier to control - and when she reappears, hundreds of years later, she jumps straight back into using, tmanipulating and gaslighting him and not only does he let her, he doesn't even seem to realise that behaviour is abusive. He thinks it's normal! That's how he's always been treated by his long-term girlfriends, with the notable exception of Wifey. Even when Val is being fucking nasty to him in the first couple books of Phase Two, sniping and lying and blaming him for everything under the sun, he just takes it. There's no attempt to tell her she's being unreasonable, no telling her to fuck right off and give her head a wobble, no defending himself even when she's bitching over something that isn't even his doing. And this is a man who has an absolutely gleaming steel spine the rest of the time; Skug has no problem saying no to anybody else, but he can't get past the way he's been taught to treat the important ladies in his life. Skug is a walking reminder that anyone can be a victim of abuse, even the ones who seem least likely to be susceptible.

GENDER REP: This one is the most iffy out of the bunch and definitely was not done very well in the eyes of the people who matter most, but I'll include it anyway because it mattered to some.

So there's Nye, who's...agender? Genderless? And uses "it" pronouns? Nye was generally considered horrible rep because it's also a war criminal and experiments on people and I've seen people say "Well I don't want to be seen like that" but? It's still possible to be a war criminal and also genderless. I never saw the two things as being related or relevant to each other.

There's also Mantis, who's in exactly the same gender/pronouns boat as Nye and always seems to be forgotten about, which sucks because Mantis is a war hero. It fought for the Sanctuary during the War and they never lost a battle when it was in command. It's called out of retirement to fight for the Supreme Council in LSODM, ends up fighting alongside Skulduggery during the Battle of Roarhaven, and ultimately dies attempting a very brave, very risky strategy. Mantis is, unreservedly, one of the good guys. It was also my introduction to sentient beings using "it" pronouns, and did it in a way that felt natural, so when I met my first person online who used "it" pronouns and hated to be referred to as he/she, it was...weird, but not as weird as it would otherwise have been, because I was like, "Oh yeah, like the Crenga. Okay."

And then there's the Scapegrace sex change plotline, which...I might have an unpopular opinion on this one. From what I’ve seen, trans people don’t seem to think was handled well or with any sensitivity at all. I’m not trans, so if the trans community says he was being offensive to them, I’m not going to claim otherwise. But...I first read the Scapegrace plotline as a young teenager in a tiny rural school with zero diversity, going through a period of being deeply confused about my own gender identity. He was more or less my first introduction to the idea that genitals =/= gender. I was relieved, at that point in my life, to read someone having a lot of the same thoughts I was having about being in the wrong body. So while it may have been badly done and yeah, the series would probably have been better without it, it did make at least one kid suspecting she might not be cis go “Huh! So there are other people who feel like this.”

Thrasher is also implied to be legitimately trans/gender-questioning, and that's not played for laughs either.

So? Phase One, while it absolutely had faults and issues and things that were just "Oh god why", was actually full of rep, at least compared to the other series that I read as a child/teen. But? As soon as Dirty Laundry started trying to be woke? He fucking sucks ass at it. Aside from confirming Phase One's hints that Skug has a background of abusive relationships, every single attempt at shoehorning rep into Phase Two is Bad.

The painfully OOC, forced, badly-written awkwardness of Val suddenly being rabidly horny for women out of fucking nowhere. The stilted, forced cringiness between her and any of the women she's flirted with - contrast that with Sorrowscorn's interactions, full of natural chemistry that had us all like 👀 I mean, I never shipped Val/Melancholia, but I could always see why people did - they had miles more chemistry than Val/anyone in Phase Two.

The fucking mess that is v*litsa, because if someone says "I'm really not interested in friendships/relationships right now", clearly the route to true love is to bulldoze their boundaries and forcibly insert yourself into their life and proceed to treat them like a delicate soft uwu flower, completely ignoring the horrible things they've done, while gleefully damning their best friend as an irredeemable monster for the exact same things, which is. You know. Gonna affect your so-called love's self-confidence and self-esteem because she knows she's no different to him. Y'all know I love an angsty ship, an unhealthy ship, a ship with fucked power dynamics, but I literally cannot roll my eyes any further back in my head at this shit. I never read Demon Road, but from what I've heard from friends who did, it does seem like every time Laundry tries to write an f/f ship, he comes up with a cringey abusive/manipulative caricature and tries to call it rep, and he needs to Stop.

Val's Mental IllnessTM arc. It's funny how he wrote Skulduggery as a wonderfully complex character with deep-rooted psychological damage and long-lasting trauma, but believes he wrote a character with "no feelings" - but when he tries to delve into the damage the world of magic has done to Val, he turned her into a weak, whiny drug addict who treats everyone around her like garbage and is so selfish and dislikeable that I? Honestly can't even reconcile Phase Two val with Phase One val. They're two completely different people. He's shown on Twitter that he doesn't have any respect for mentally ill people, and it shows. Other mentally ill people might see it differently, but the whole thing just makes me go "yikes".

Never, who has no personality outside of being genderfluid, and whose pronouns make no sense. I'm sorry, I have never met an nb person who insists that you change from male to female pronouns multiple times in a sentence, every time you refer to them. It's confusing as fuck. Now I have been told that Never has apparently received some character development in the last couple books, and if so, fair play, but I quit reading after Midnight, and Never and the rest of the personality-less new characters introduced in Phase Two who just seemed to be 2D Stereotypes to snag Woke Points were a big part of why, so. Development too late, I'm afraid.

(Now, if anyone is looking for a well-written genderfluid character, I recommend the Tawny Man trilogy by Robin Hobb. I have a lot of issues with her as a writer, and unfortunately I hate her POV character which puts me off the series as a whole, but she wrote the Fool/Amber/Lord Golden and their gender identity/approach to sexuality with so much more respect and realism. That is the kind of rep nb people should be getting: 3D, complex, realistic characters whose gender is only a tiny fragment of their personality, not the be-all-and-end-all of their existence. You know. Like cis people get. Nobody wants to be represented by a 2D cardboard cutout stereotype.)

Anyway idk how much sense this makes it just really amuses me that Laundry would include all this rep completely unintentionally and then go on Twitter and remind us all that actually he's a massive asshole via insensitive/offensive tweets about the groups he'd actually done a fair job of including (i.e. Skulduggery has no feelings, mentally ill people should find another series to read, the bullshit about Val being "heteromantic bisexual" on Twitter and then spouting all the "the woman she loved uwu" shit in the books (proving he has no idea what he's talking about), eVeRyOnE iS bI eVeNtUaLlY. He can only write half-decent rep when he's not trying and he inevitably outs himself as having a really shitty attitude towards those people anyway, proving that ultimately it's all either unintentional rep or performative wokeness.

[partnersatfazbear]

Fazbear Frights: What We Found Analysis

Here’s my analysis for What We Found, the third story in Gumdrop Angel. I wrote this as I read so it may be a little different than my previous analysis where I read the story first and went back.

If you’re a Michael Afton fan I highly recommend this. Also, there’s possibly some insight into William Afton, Mrs. Afton, and Henry too, so it’s worth a skim.

Pg 144 '...a place thirty-some years forgotten' Just reconfirming FNAF 3 is 30 years past *one* of the FNAF closings, presumably FNAF 2 location.

Pg 145 "The whole building was giving him [Hudson] a headache." FIX THE VENTILATION BRUH

Pg 148 '...they were able to use salvaged derelict equiptment original to the old pizzerias.' Another confirmation of something we heard from Phone Guy.

Pg 147 "How old are you?" "Twenty-three, same as you." I think this gives us Michael's age during FNAF 3.

EDIT: This kept me awake last night. Obviously this is impossible because he has to be alive for at least 10 years before 1983, BUT maybe its just reconfirming FNAF 3′s year? 2023?

Pg 149 "Hudsan's dad died and his mom married Lewis, a ridiculous balding man who wore plaid vests and smoked a pipe" Did... Did this book just seriously imply Mrs. Afton left William for Henry? Really? (Yes, there's differences; the husband is dead and the man wears plaid 'vests' but it seems very odd to include that detail. This could just have been the writer's own imagination, though.) I have seen this as a fan theory and 100% explains the jealousy aspect of William, but I can't help but kinda hate it. I think this is very important, though, and probably Scott's intention. "This horrible little man [Lewis]... would make Hudson's next ten years a living Hell" This REALLY intrigues me given the context I just went over. The text implies Lewis was fairly neglectful to our main character / Michael stand-in Hudson. Maybe I'm wrong and for some reason Mrs. Emily left and went to William? XD Haha, I'm reading too much into this page. Maybe I'll come back to this later. I figure it's more of Scott possibly including double-details (contradicting stuff with the same character that really applies to two, which has been something I heavily pointed out in previous anaylsis on this blog) Having said that, I'm going w/the former because I can't imagine Henry being abusive (neglectful yes, abusive no) and he's never been portrayed that way in official works like William has in the novels.

Pg 150 "Hudson began to screw up in class...a product of spending the night in fear that his stepfather [Lewis]... [would] beat him just for the fun of it." Ooof. Big confirm on William actually being abusive. Unless we stick with the Henry theory for Lewis (combined with Midnight Motorist Henry theory / alcoholic). "...near-daily beatings..." "his mom started taking pills to get through the day..." So, whoever Mrs. Afton is, she was definetly not paying attention. But then, most people married to serial killers either don't notice because of denial (like this) or because the killer is so manipulative / careful they can't notice.

"Barry, who had red hair and freckles..." Yo?! Is that a description of Fritz?! These friends in the story could be the other kids Michael knew's stand-in's, aka the two gravestones with names he used (Fritz and Jeremy), as shown in the checks for the games and FNAF 6. I've long figured Michael was probably friends with the victims--it makes them easier, although riskier, targets [for William]. The two friends are male, too, like Fritz and Jeremy. If you're curious about Duane's description (our stand in for Jeremy), it's "tight black shirt... muscles... black hair long enough for a glossy ponytail..." I'm not sure if this matches anything found in the novels or contradicts them, though. (The novels = TSE trilogy)

"And so it went... until the night of the fire." For context, this is before FF burns down. We're learning of Hudson's life from his close friends in childhood, his father's death, his mother remarrying, to his abusive stepfather, to his grades slipping to this line. This would be a new fire not seen/mentioned in the games...

Pg 151 "...go to Charlie's for a sundae..." Really. Really Scott. Just gonna use this name again. OK. I'm not even gonna discuss this because it's probably irrelevant. *This is confirmed on pg 158 to be an ice cream shop. No lore relevance aside the annoying name coincidences Scott loves to troll with.

"This is not... an advance into enemy territory, a fight with demons, or a descent into Hell..." Uh, what? What is Hudson talking about? XD I'm only noting it because it seems so out of place. He's probably talking about video games or something.

Another note, although I don't have a specific reference since it is mentioned off-hand many times, is that Hudson keeps referring to his "history" which is implied to have kept him from getting a well-paying job and a girl he's crushing on doesn't know this "history" which is good for him. Seems good old "Michael Stand-In" has done some jail time or something. Edit: On pg 154/155 the girl asks Hudson, "Did you do it?" Seems he may have killed his stepfather or been involved with something else just as bad. Edit 2: No, I was thinking too deep into it. This probably refers to Evan's death at Fredbear's. DUH.

Pg 156 describes an actual "prize corner" in FF! What am I even reading? IIRC this is in FNAF 3, too. So they just hand out these scary gift boxes to people that complete the attraction? (Hudson says he *would* have fun handing out the scary toys to kids when this location opens--kind of a bully thing to do, eh?)

"[Hudson] avoid[ed] glancing in any of the mirrors..." I'm only pointing this out because it could be reference to one of two things. 1) We know because of one of UCN's music tracks, William has a fear of his reflection. Michael probably shares this trait, especially since 2) after Ennard and all... and later on pg 157 it also says, "he never wanted to face: himself" Sounds like guilt, my guy.

Pg 157 "blonde hair... blue eyes..." Hudson shares an eye color with Michael. It's possible Michael had blonde hair as a child and it changed to brown (it's common, something I personally went through being technically blonde/ blue eyed myself)

"He [Hudson] knew from personal experience that toys could turn from fun...to torture ina heart-beat" Fairly self explanatory. Either Hudson's worked at a creepy location before or he doesn't like remembering Fredbear's.

*checks how much is left.* There's still 35 pages (not counting back/front) left of this... This is gonna be a lot of notes.

Pg 158 Hudson doesn't have a car. Poor Mike, probably having to walk everywhere. Especially as a corpse.

Pg 160 This page describes many physical issues Hudson has that prevents him from entering the Navy, all from the abuse of Lewis. Obvious paralell to Michael becoming an undead [because his father sent him to CBPR indirectly causing his condition]

Pg 161 "How's your granny, Hud?... ...Is she still alive?" "I don't think she can die." Does anyone in the Afton family really 'die'? XD

Pg 162 These few pages discuss Hudson's grandmother. She's described as "a seer who claimed to know the future... ...wore big men's plaid flannel shirts with baggy jeans" Um, more plaid / flannel? AGH. STAHP. Lowkey, I would totally headcanon my Aunt Jen like this, though.

Pg 163 "Hudson's mom... the way she was before Hudson's dad had died... never... particularly warm and fuzzy... but... effiencient and responsible..." More about Mrs. Afton, so that's kinda neat.

"Hudson's dad was fun and attentive." There's a good Dad in this series?

"Unfortunetly, he also struggled with mental illness." "invisible low points" (Pg 164) Kinda reminds me of how Henry is described after Charlotte's death in the books.

Pg 164 "When Steven got himself into a bad deal that cost him his small business... he'd taken his life." Oh, it is Henry! SMH. Way to use confusing paralells. So, from our understanding thus far, Hudson's real father, Steven, is our Henry stand-in. His step-father despite being described similar to Henry, is actually our William stand-in. Fair game, Scott.

Pg 164 "...he [Hudson] was locked into a supply closet..." Oh shit, you guys. So, let me go on a tangent here, because this IS important! I just watched a retrospective on Sister Location and FNAF 6 earlier and one theory for Midnight Motorist was the person in the chair was the mother and the kid was Michael. I think this little line may confirm that. In fact, the story may be the key to figuring things out. Obviously, the line is a paralell to FNAF 4's scene in which Crying Child was locked in the supply closet of Fredbear's. I know some people, including Matpat, believe[d] CC was Michael, and in this book's context, it sort of works. This does contradict Step Closer and 1000 other things that make Michael the older brother, but maybe it's hinting at MM? Abusive stepdad (possibly Henry... maybe William is gone at this point), checked out Mom (hey, grey couch lady with Foxybro's font). IDK, but its definetly something to think about.

Pg 165 Lewis is mentioned as calling Hudson "nothing" and saying "you're nothing" on several occasions on this page. Just more abuse, for those accurate fanfic writers like me. Also I kinda wanna watch Morel Orel again. Yall know my fav character is Clay. Yall know.

"You're smoke." <-- Lewis / The text later reads, "...there was some irony, given what eventually happened." BRUH. Why did your stepdad die in a fire? :V TELL ME.

"When his family's house burned down at the end of his senior year..." Huh. Is there a fire we don't know about in the game-verse? Could this explain what happened to the FNAF 4 house before MM house?!

"...it purged Hudson of Lewis and his mother." MRS. AFTON BURNED ALIVE, TOO? Bruh. I can't with this story.

The text later describes the fire is concluded to be man-made and Hudson was blamed for it. Can't say if this ties to Michael, but it IS interesting... TBF, there is a small paralell to draw between Henry in FNAF 6 and his history of suicide in the books, too.

Pg 166 "...this place's [FF] busted thermostat.." I just find this line funny.

Pg 167 "...after three weeks of keeping an eye on the place" Some more timeline context for FNAF 3. We know that Michael worked there a little while before we start playing the game thanks to one of the phone calls, IIRC, so this makes sense. If Michael was accused of [something] and also wanting to hunt down his father, then it makes perfect sense why he's working a dead end job at Freddy's over and over and over. Fun fun fun.

Pg 169 "He hated to think about a functional character [Foxy]" This line is in regards to Hudson not liking the set up of Pirate's Cove and Foxy's hook to scare people. Sounds familiar, don't it? (For Michael anyway.)

Pg 173 "Some big find is arriving tomorrow." SPRINGY BOI! COME ON BOOK, get on with the show?

Pg 176 "Granny was wearing a red-and-green plaid shirt and her baggy jeans." Nothing special, but it was specifically brought up twice. I'm kind of racking my brain trying to understand what the point of this character is outside of "woooo everything is haunted don't you know that" kind of character.

Pg 180 "...dropped the crate on the linoleum with a resounding thud." HEY. Poor Springtrap, just gettin' tossed around like the trash he is.

Pg 186 "If you weren't so stupid, I'd tell you more about it." Springtrap bringing the burn. =:)

"A voice with a burr-like rasp...hint of a Southern accent" I'm going to assume this is because it's Lewis probably in the suit in this story and not our old British lad.

"It's was Mr. Atkin's voice." THE MATH TEACHER? *goes back to check* 'The algebra teacher'. Okay...

Pg 190 Okay, so Hudson hear's Lewis' voice this time. Okay, I get it now. Springtrap in this kind of imbodies all of Hudson's old bullies, including the teacher. He also has PTSD, just FYI. IDK if anyone finds that important, but it's fairly obvious by the line "He wasn't in his bedroom. Lewis didn't just slam his head into a desk; his head had been slammed into the [arcade] game."

"Why did he hallucinate a scene from his childhood?" Oh, it's not PTSD, then. It's just the VENTILATION ERROR. lol Okay.

Just a note, as I'm reading through the more action-based stuff, I kind of feel bad for Michael if he had flashbacks like this guy. They're intense.

So, Lewis' voice finally comes out of Springtrap on Pg 213. There's that.

Pg 220 "You can just stay there [in his room]" Kind of a paralell to Midnight Motorist. Lewis is saying it to Hudson. I really feel like the kid in the MM game is Michael because of this story...

Pg 223 "Heat purges. Fire heals." I'm sure that's Henry's life motto.

The ending was stupid, but most in these stories are. Hudson is hallucinating and is implied to have burned himself alive in FF's oven. Meh? The first half of this one is A TRIP and a little insight into what I 100% believe is Michael's childhood. I think the saddest part of it all is that we never got Springtrap speaking to Michael in FNAF 3--and if it's ever remade I hope we get more of them interacting.

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #497

Top Ten PC Games No One Talks About Anymore

Blimey, Quake is rather good, isn’t it? Have you heard about it? I really hope so, because it’s only twenty-five years old. I mean, Jesus. What’s up with that? Quake is meant to be the future. It’s full of true-3D polygonal texture-mapping and real-time dynamic light-sourcing. Fancy it being a quarter of a century old. That’s ridiculous. “Old” is for things like, I dunno, Space Invaders or The Godfather or I Wanna Hold Your Hand. Stuff that our parents heard about before we were born. It’s not – it’s absolutely not – used to describe something that people bought 3D accelerator cards for. It’s not used to describe a game that popularised online gaming.

But old it is, getting silver anniversary cards and everything. No longer the angry, hungry young tiger, devouring its ancestors and growling at upstart rivals like Duke Nukem 3D – sure, you’ve got non-linear levels, interactive scenery, and toilet humour, but we’ve got grenades that bounce with real physics – Quake is now an aged beast of the forest, resplendent, battle-scarred, weary with gravitas. Quake is the game that shaped the now, but it does not represent the future anymore. In fact, arguably its greatest rival – Unreal – is the game with the lasting, living legacy, its progeny building the next generation of gaming with one of the most popular and impressive engines around, the framework underpinning everything from Gears to Jedi to Fortnite. Quake blew us all away, but arguably it ceded the conflict, secure in its status as one of the most important and influential games of all time. Quake II got plaudits for actually having a proper story and an engrossing single-player campaign (and coloured lighting!), and its immediate descendants such as Half-Life changed the nature of what FPS games could do, but in a funny way it feels like Quake has long since retired. A sleeping titan. It got old.

So it’s great that they rereleased it on modern systems! The version of Quake released last month is basically the game I remember, but tarted up a little around the edges, with texture filtering and dynamic shadows and other stuff that I couldn’t manage on my Pentium 75 back in the day. It plays great – it’s slick as anything, and you go tearing round the levels like a Ferrari with a nail gun, blasting dudes and ducking back around a corner before you get hit with a pineapple in the face. It’s the first game I’ve played in a long, long time that evokes the feel of classic PC first-person shooters of that era – which, y’know, kinda makes sense as it is a first-person shooter of that era. But that style of fast-paced run-and-gun, circle-strafing gameplay has gone out of fashion now, with FPS games usually favouring slow, methodical, tactical combat, or larger-scale open-world warfare usually involving vehicles. Whether it’s a straight-up no-frills blaster like Quake, or a game that takes you on more of a linear, narrative journey, like Quake II, or even just a multiplayer-focused arena shooter, like Quake III Arena, it does feel like a dying artform, like a style of gameplay that could do with a resurgence (and, to be fair, there are games on the horizon that look like they’re harking back to the era, so that’s cool).

But it’s not just first-person shooters like Quake that I feel have slipped from gaming’s shared consciousness. Maybe it’s my age (it’s definitely my age) but there seems to be quite a lot of games that were a big deal twenty or so years ago that are utterly forgotten now, whereas some – Doom, Duke Nukem, Command & Conquer, Age of Empires – are often namechecked or rebooted (even before the full-on 2016 reboot, Doom must have been one of the most re-released games of the last thirty years). But there are lots of others where sometimes I feel like I’m the only one that remembers it. And that’s where this list comes in: inspired by the excellent re-release of the Quake franchise, here are some other great PC games of that general era that I feel still need shouting about, even if I’m the only one doing the shouting. Maybe they don’t all need a full-on remaster or whatever, but it’d still be nice if they got a bit of modern gaming love.

No One Lives Forever (2000): coming at a time when most FPS games were still Doom-style blasters with little in the way of real plot, NOLF was different: stylish and funny, genuinely well-written (as in the dialogue), with interesting objective-based missions and a cool female protagonist. It skirted similar ground to Bond and the then-white-hot Austin Powers franchise. Two games were made and then, as far as I’m aware, it evaporated into a mess of tangled rights, hence no sequels or remakes. A shame, because it was great.

MDK (1997): the next game from the people who made the multimedia phenomenon that was Earthworm Jim, MDK was a really cool slice of sci-fi style, all sleek level design and intriguing features. It had a supremely bonkers plot which bled through into a game with a sense of humour, but mostly it was the run-and-gun gameplay and innovative use of a scoped weapon – possibly (don’t quote me on this) the first sniper rifle in a videogame. An even wackier sequel followed, but despite its cult status, that was it.

Star Trek: The Next Generation – Klingon Honor Guard (1998): it’s probably fair to say that Star Trek has not had as many great videogames as Star Wars, perhaps because Trek’s historically straightlaced earnestness just didn’t translate as well as bashing someone up the chops with a laser sword. Honor Guard shook things up by casting you as a Klingon, showering levels with pink blood and going Full Worf. It was the first game to licence the Unreal engine, and had a cool level where you walked along the outside of a ship like in First Contact. Also: shout out to the Voyager game, Elite Force (2000), which was another really good FPS set in the world of Trek, with intriguing gameplay wrinkles as you fought the Borg. It also let you wander round the titular starship between levels. Trek deserves more quality action games like these.

Earth 2150 (2000): the nineties on PC really saw RTS games come down to those who liked Command & Conquer or those who liked Warcraft, but as the decade drew to a close other titles chased the wargame crown (including Total Annihilation, which would have made this list, except I feel like the Supreme Commander franchise is a sequel in all but name). 2150 was notable for its Starcraft-like mix of three factions with contrasting play styles, and its use of 3D graphics and the ability to design and build weapons of war that could lay waste to armies and bases with spectacular results. I think the genre has ossified into something more hardcore, and this was probably an inflex point where idiots like me could still get a handle on things.

Midtown Madness (1999): Microsoft has a history of building up great racing franchises and then abandoning them, but their “Madness” line of games in the late nineties/early noughties was terrific and much-missed. Back when tooling round actual 3D cities was still new and exciting, this was a no-holds-barred arcade racer, with some gorgeous shiny chrome effects on the cars, and very nippy handling. It was great fun smashing up VW Beetles and the like. It was surpassed, I guess, by Project Gotham on the Xbox, and sadly the whole franchise was then forgotten, despite the ascendent Forza franchise mostly shunning city driving.

Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines (1998): part tactical war game, part puzzler, Commandos was famous for its gorgeously intricate graphics and its difficulty – I mean, it was way too hard for me. But its beautiful top-down design and its slow, methodical gameplay was compelling, as you evaded Nazis and solved missions with a team of unique units with special skills. Sequels followed, and western spin-off Desperados, but there’s not been a true follow-up for quite some time, despite promises; and few games have echoed its style or look.

The Pandora Directive (1996): okay, so really this is just a placeholder for an entire subgenre of game that appears to have been forgotten: interactive movies. I know, there are flirtations with this from time to time; and many of these games featured obtuse puzzles and relatively little gameplay strung between FMV scenes. Pandora was great though; a first-person 3D game with loads of old-school adventure aspects, as well as FMV, it was a noir-tinged detective story but set in the future. The Tex Murphy series (of which this was the fourth instalment) has had sequels – the most recent one was sadly cancelled only this year – but many other games of a similar ilk, such as Phantasmagoria and even Wing Commander – have fallen by the wayside. With in-engine graphics now allowing the fluidity and expression of cinematic renders of old, shooting movie inserts doesn’t seem like it’s worthwhile; but I still always loved a point-and-click game that featured digitised actors milling about. Toonstruck, anyone?

Marathon (1994): before Halo there was… Marathon! Back when I used to lug my Pentium round my mate’s house so we could play different games on different machines side-by-side, he’d bang on about this Mac-first series of games, like Doom but better, with an intricate plot and complex levels. And y’know what? He was actually onto something. There’s a style and an earnestness to the Marathon franchise, along with many concepts that would be refined in Halo years later. With Bungie now seemingly committed to Destiny, and Halo in Microsoft’s hands, I’m not sure what could possibly become of this, their forgotten FPS forebear, especially as it shares so much DNA with its offspring.  

Outlaws (1997): LucasArts are famous for two things, really: their Star Wars games and their adventures. But they made loads of other stuff too – including this intriguing Western shoot-em-up. Back when Western games were rarer than Western movies (which were rare at the time), this quirky and difficult cowboy-em-up saw you rounding up outlaws in typical oater locations such as saloons, trains, and mines. It had great music and a really intriguing set of weapons, including (don’t quote me on this) the first sniper rifle in a game. Sadly Outlaws’ success could be described as “cult” and it never got a proper sequel. and, weirdly, despite the success of Red Dead Redemption, we’ve never had a bit Western-themed FPS again. Which is really odd.

Soldier of Fortune (2000): I pondered whether to include this one, as if I’m honest I’m not sure I want this licence brought back. But I can’t deny the game was a huge deal and has seemingly been forgotten. A relatively gritty and realistic combat game with a huge variety of excellent real-world weaponry, its big hook was its incredibly detailed damage modelling, that could see you blowing limbs off enemies, or splitting open heads, or disembowelling them. Whilst its OTT violence made headlines, the granularity of its systems meant you could be more tactical, shooting weapons out of hands. But really its biggest controversy should be its association with a big old gun magazine.

There are many, many other games that nearly made the list - I almost had a Top Ten of just FPS games, for instance. Little Big Adventure was here, till a sequel was announced the other day. Hexen and Heretic I think still have a place in FPS history. Toonstruck, although without a sequel, was only really a cult hit at the time, and I feel the people who’d love it already know about it. I do tend to overthink these things, y’know.

So maybe not all of these could make a comeback, but all the same I don’t think they should be forgotten, and it does make we wonder what games will fall by the wayside twenty or more years from now. That game about the big green space marine dude in a mask – what was that called again…?

[odysseywritings]

The Right Leader

A woman with dark brown hair and brown skin looked out the window in a white dome of a building overlooking the sunset-glazed green hills. Her name was Mary Rauda-Gold of the Union HQ for Earth. An ambitious, careful public servant, she earned trust from even initial naysayers. Her experience in community, business, and political spheres turned her to a qualified, eager role as the leader of the Earth Front.

She researched former presidents carefully before First Contact and after. Rauda-Gold had no special interest to bribe her, or a family in the public sphere to fear blackmail for. A rare human who achieved a bucket list full of chances early on in life. A ravenous student for history, she came into the presidency asking a question. Can one be a good leader and a good person to so many people? The books detailing the “greats” with their disconnect to the very people who elected them bombarded her with numbing dilemmas on human and alien issues alike.

Early on, she made a promise to avoid mistakes of President Grayson, whose committed attempts to be openly aggressive while privately appeasing aliens set course for turbulent relations between human and alien. This led to the first aliens invading Earth, the jellyfish-like Rizen, to learn important resources for acquiring and populated areas for destruction and enslavement.

For three decades, Earth had been the sole territory of one race. But the vastness of riches made it appealing to more. Thus, the scramble for Earth intensified as more uprooted flora and drained water. Not only the Rizen, but the cycloptic Corax, the cyborg Teknos, the coral-like Brantius, and others plundered Earth with the doctrine being that all aliens mustn't attack each other in the name of peace.

Fearing for the future of the planet, the fragmented states communicated as much as possible. This unity was a temporary yet urgent coalition of democratic leaders, autocrats, religious leaders, and researchers banded together to come up with ways to gain independence. No single leader engineered a clear path for victory, and the struggle for a constant idea made people weary and frustrated. In the midst of voices, the loudest prevailed.  

The urgent Long’s voice resonated with the crowd. Tiptoeing the wire that could lead to falling down the side of warmongering populism or tepid reforms, she raised enough fervor to unify people into tangible goals. Spy networks to spread fabricated war plans of one alien race against another. Technology taken from the slain aliens, initially unobtainable from their aerial superiority, could be learned and used against the original wielders. Within a short duration, covert attempts at fighting the invaders soon gave way to a snowball effect of more procured technology that included spacecraft. It was still lopsided, and the humans’ wit and knowledge of their home took years for momentum to fully hit the aliens’ mother planets.

A string of news carried across the stars as sympathetic aliens protested the wars and demanded Earth remain free. Opinions from the politicians carried the stench of condescension, saying humans could not rule themselves and needed assistance. But time soured that notion, with using mother planets’ money and lives to continue a hated invasion. Not long until then were other aliens combating each other for more dominance over Earth regions.

As extraterrestrial grips loosened and more technology scattered, Long and others could now engage in more significant guerrilla warfare. The snowball caused an avalanche of further embarrassment to the aliens. More were pulling out, focusing on the more dangerous alien adversaries. A galactic war broke out that involved weaponry that saw nuclear missiles being used as often as bullets. The destruction caused an alien race to force humanity to serve on their side. Long refused.

The Old World of space untangled as civilizations older than Earth’s fell in shambles. In the interim, rebellious aliens appeared on the surface to assist humans in recreating their technology. They were pessimistic of humanity, but its resolve in defying total subjugation gave them hope in toppling their imperialistic leaders.

Long succumbed to disease, but her legacy emboldened many despite her ruthlessness toward humans she thought were collaborating with invaders, real or imagined. The next successor in that region, was the soft and meticulous Slavik. Far from charismatic like Long, his calmness and stability sent a plan of continued technological learning and creation that was difficult to argue against aside from the most hawkish people or collaborators. Willing to be more trusting of alien rebels allowed him to gain more info on how they think and act, making it easier to predict further combat incursions.

This acceleration to a new space race was often narrow minded, and Slavik took other matters with apathy and relegated it to staff advisors. Still, he was honest about his goals and was wary of becoming aggressors on earth or in space. He was concerned about protection and elf-reliance, and that boosted their capabilities as aliens continued slaughtering each over for so long that Earth was forgotten about.

As a the tech boom led to force fields, anti-craft weaponry, spacecraft, and peacetime aids such as machines and medicines to repair tissues, the relative security of Earth led to various social concerns rising for people who had time to breathe and think. The foreigners who stayed and aided humans were treated with growing disdain as their efforts were taken for granted in post-war highs. Tensions bubbled as accusations of aliens taking up resources, not working hard enough to earn their stay, or dismantling the societies grew.

Various leaders like President Dickson used these tensions to distract from other matters as he benefited from rising power. Others like the dovish Jacobs made amends and wanted to pursue good relations with the now war-torn alien civilizations, yet his efforts did not go far enough to make lasting benefits due to making sure the remaining alien superpower would not see him as weak or naive.

What followed were a series of leaders who drifted further away from goodwill policies and proper rebuilding of Earth to focus on more weaponry  and acquisition of other worlds for resources, whether or not they were inhabited. Now the conquerors, humans were split between two futures. Security out of supremacy? Freedom out of trust?

At the height of Earth’s dominance, the Union’s people elected Rauda-Gold. She promised to  be firm in national and human interests, standing strong against numerous foes internally and externally. Born in a generation used to surplus, relative galactic safety, and harboring no knowledge of alien oppression, she listened to reasonable qualms without strong bias. Her values were for humanity and earth, with the rest being flexible.

Rauda-Gold steadily relinquished control of planets with native inhabitants to the detriment of the national interests of the already rich. The goodwill took years to fully settle, but it was a start toward a transparent galaxy. A rusting minority segment of the planet Teknos were given medical supplies and aid during a brutal civil war, but she denied arming them to avoid a full fledged involvement. As the Teknos government continued its atrocities, Rauda-Gold cut off trade with a grain that was only mass produced in Earth. With the civil war dwindling resources, the government called for a ceasefire and to discuss with the minority in earnest.

The most perilous occasion was when the Rizen, that old enemy of humanity, invaded planet after planet. Medicine, technology, and weaponry spread to Rizen opposition. Frozen assets and embargoes were mere dents in the war machine oiled by the lie of a former glory. She would not risk human or alien lives unless she herself would fight, yet her age and symbolic importance would make her role limited lest she be captured as a hostage. She communicated as much as possible to troops through camera drones, but it never felt close enough to being there and getting a sense of the trouble. As more atrocities continued, including the gaseous bombs that filled cities afar and at home, people clamored for war each day. She waited and talked to advisors, no matter how much time she spent grieving in private.

She would not create a draft and only allowed a strictly volunteer service to fight. With the utmost protection, the soldiers helped beat back the tide of the Rizen until they were beaten down and succumbed to treaty settling. Still, lives were lost. A fact that would haunt her even if the galaxy was spared further bloodshed. Rauda-Gold did all she could to pay for veterans and their families the same way she did with victims of natural calamities.

Earth’s respect soared, and the withdrawal of colonies led to the planet being self-reliant with a boost in trade from allied planets. The federation of planets were motivated, or goaded for some weaker tyrannical leaders, to endorse a stronger policy of life-form rights. She wanted to be inspiring like Long, prosperous like Slavik, and focused on honest peace like Jacobs. Aware of their shortcomings and their environments, Rauda-Gold knew she would be compared and dissected in the future by historians of all species.

But the issue of war always stabbed at her. At what point does a war become just? The idea of a pacifist president split by an idea of a savior president. The bloodless leader replaced by the hero leader. She planned to resign after her term ended, yet she had more time to make peace with such a choice and image. She contributed to diplomacy more than before, and made sure to rebuild bombed houses with her own hands. Rauda-Gold felt the charred substance of steel and wood and alien materials. All reminders of what a perfect leadership could have avoided. But such desires must be tempered by the environments they dwell in. New generations of alien and human children can breathe and enjoy life in a galaxy more principled against war. Yet she fears her action may inspire future leaders to ignore all that and lionize her war efforts as something to be achieved wholesale without nuance or care. An ongoing fear she must mete out as the twilight of her shining dream dims.

[curlewsteph]

COVID THERAPY VIEWING

It’s been a year indeed and a struggle, but when I’ve needed an escape I’ve found solace in some brilliant tv series this year that I want to take a moment to remember. Immersing myself in characters, online discussion, podcasts and more, has kept me going and allowed me to block out everything that 2020 has been when I’ve needed to. This is my first and possibly only Tumblr post but here, the place where I’ve found so much great conversation, fan fic, gif sets and more to add to my enjoyment of my favourite things to watch, seems the best place to leave my own thoughts. So here goes from the year’s beginning to its welcome ending:

TURN - Washington’s Spies

I’ve got a thing for moody Jamie Bell (The Eagle 😍) and discovered TURN last New Year looking for other historical dramas he’d appeared in. These characters completely captured me and drew me into a historical period I’d done my best to avoid since flunking it during A Level history. Abe made quite the most useless spy but his passion and compassion sold him to me. The Culper Ring story is fascinating and the show brought to life the real lives and conflicts of those involved. Intriguing portrayals of morally corrupt characters (Simcoe, Andre etc) who surprise you at every turn kept me gripped and props to some extremely fine acting and characterisation. The found family dynamic of the Culper Ring was a real joy and Brewster will forever be one of my most favourite characters. I wanted more personal development and not really being able to ship Abe with anyone especially was a let down but it was a fine series that really kept me company.

PEAKY BLINDERS

I’ve no idea why it took me so incredibly long to watch this series but having eventually succumbed I was hooked from the very first episode. Brooding, oppressive, threatening yet full of charm and humour with characters that jump out of the screen and take your heart without asking, made it addictive viewing for me this year. The next series is light years away but I’m waiting for you Tommy.

THE 100

Thank all the stars that we had good weather during lockdown because the final series of this post-apocalyptic drama almost ruined my summer. I’ve followed every twist and turn over the past six years, had my Bellarke heart broken time over time, shared the pain and angst of an array of brilliant characters and watched through my fingers when the creators treated legions of fans of all factions, worse than mortal enemies. But the end was coming and I stuck with it - despite my misgivings since the overturning of the Writers Room - buoyed by some hopeful S6 content, but I should have listened harder to my guts. Despite some flickers of promise in S6, it was beyond clear to me that the new writing team simply didn’t have the same connection to the characters and history of the show. Instead of wanting to resolve arcs and reunite characters we’d become inexorably entwined with, the lure of the new and an opportunity to reinvent and take a detour sparkled more brightly to them - something I will never ever be able to fathom. Fans forgotten, long running storylines dropped and characters - including our leads - essentially abandoned and made for a horror show of a final act. S7 broke my heart and I should have seen it coming. When I’ll feel ready to rewatch The 100 again I don’t know, but I’ll end my run when the show should have at the S5 finale and save the CPR scene for an occasional treat. Farewell and May We Meet Again.

THE MUSKETEERS

Salvation comes in leather and 18thC lace. I ADORED this so much! Again I was incredibly late to the party because it seemed such a frivolous show but a Youtube fan vid drew me in and I’m so thankful for it. The plots are mostly light but tackle some important issues, the tension is chest heavingly dramatic and everyone looks astonishing and oh my was this the antidote to an anti-climactic apocalyptic obsession that I needed. There’s humour, kindness, compassion, daring do and a huge dollop of care and an emphasis on the value of friendship too. Clever dialogue, confident female characters, wry humour and some seriously good acting healed my heart. And yes the outfits helped. I loved it all and was transfixed by Tom Burke’s Athos.

STRIKE

...which led me to Strike. I don’t do whodunnits and crime fiction as a rule is just not my thing, usually because the core cast is always too small and I miss the found-family dynamic and they often feel claustrophobic, plus the predictable focus on difficult but supposedly fascinating men in the lead can be dull. In some regards, Strike is no different but Tom Burke’s performance and more significantly Holiday Grainger’s skill in playing Robin and how she transforms the usual “gritty detective with attractive sidekick” dynamic on its head, is really superb. I’ve read the books now too - my first JKRs. Honestly, parts are overwritten and a little indulgent but elements are breathtaking and as she’s so involved in the series too it’s a tie up I became incredibly invested in and the actors on screen are the characters on the page for me too. One does not lose out to the other, which is often the case with dramatisations. I can’t wait for the next instalment.

THE LAST KINGDOM

#TeamUhtred #TeamUhtred #TeamUhtred that’s it, that’s all there is to say, although it’s not obviously. TLK has been a slow burn for me and I began it several times when it was first aired by the BBC. The early series felt small, focussed on a pretty hateful hero who I failed to connect with, but I loved Aethelflaed and her story with Erik and Uhtred’s growing maturity was intriguing too. And then Netflix came in and the show exploded! Better scripts, more than the same 3 locations, impressive costumes and set-piece battles with characters that grew and grew. I rewatched S3 in preparation for S4’s release which I binged in style in lockdown 1 and cried when it ended. Utterly brilliant and a cast of characters that came closest to replicating the joy of my first fandom experience with the outlaws of Robin of Sherwood. Uthred has become a leader, has had to reckon with his responsibilities and shows a tenderness as he’s aged that the young callous warrior lacked. But if it weren’t for his bunch of faithful arselings I wouldn’t be watching at all. Without Finan there is no TLK for me. He’s my favourite character to have emerged in years. It’s the humour, the humanity of him that makes me cheer for him every time - as well as the arms 😍 Long live TLK. Or a final season at least.

VIKINGS (*spoilers for S6b)

2020 ended another long standing favourite series that I’ve followed for years. Unlike The 100 I’m not as deeply invested in this saga but Vikings has kept me company for so long now that the show feels part of me. It’s certainly lost it’s way over time but my favourite characters still shone brightly and those we lost were sent off triumphantly. I’ll forever miss Ragnar and the show lost a lot of its appeal with his passing, but the homage paid to such a talisman of a character was always done well. Later series did feel repetitive and the drama between the Ragnarsson brothers diluted. But Ubbe - my love - stayed true and the ending for him and Hvitserk (I always felt so heart sick for him) both felt fitting. And Bjorn’s final climax was awe inspiring (I do wish the tomb had stayed closed though). I’d have absolutely loved more time to have been spent on Ubbe’s future adventures instead of the endless hours in barren wastelands and storm lashed ships, but what we got was good. As for Ivar... an utterly unforgettable character (performed superbly) who became human again was a journey to behold. I’m glad it went that way but honestly I lost touch with him with all the time spent on the Rus storyline that repeatedly ate its own tail. Getting back to Wessex brought the show full circle and I loved it for that. Farewell Vikings. I hope Ubbe and Torvi are still doing ok in their new Valhalla.

[kiribaku-queen]

Home [2/10]

Pairing: Bakugou x reader, Kirishima x reader

Fluff, angst, werewolf!au

Word count: 2.6K

A/N:

Summary: Being called the beauty of the clan isn’t as nice as it sounds. The beauty of the clan is supposed to exude confidence, power, and well, beauty. You were quite the opposite, only possessing one of those traits. Yet, the older you got, the more you fit into the role you were given. After your brother and all the boys of age come back from their training period, it was time to find a mate. But who will steal your heart? Is it Bakugou, the rising leader of the pack, or is it Kirishima, the personal guard?

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Today was finally the day. Two years didn’t go as fast as you thought it would but you are so glad it’s over. The whole pack stood outside the entrance, waiting for the newly trained men to return home. You’ve never felt more nervous and excited at the same time. Your brother, your best friend, and your boyfriend are going to come back as completely different people: for the best or the worst. Whether their personalities change or not, one thing is always consistent when these boys come back from training. They come back with sculpted bodies. The beefy arms, hard pecs, yummy six-pack, powerful, broad shoulders, shredded back, the thunder thighs? Ladies and gents, let’s not forget about those bootylicious buttocks. Now you’re not one to fall for looks but you’d be lying if you said that this wasn’t a plus. More than anything, you just wished Bakugou would come home already so that you can spend morning and night together.

You stood at the back of the crowd, regretting that you slept in on one of the most important days. How was Bakugou ever going to find you now? But thank god you weren’t standing there alone. Throughout those two years, you made a few friends that helped you become more confident and helped you fulfil the title of Beauty of the pack. One in particular helped you see the beauty in yourself as well as being your new best friend: Uraraka Ochako. After the boys left for training, three new girls joined the pack shortly after. They came from a neighboring pack with the intention of trying to merge so that we can become stronger together. Many were against the idea at first, but when the clan leader agreed, he let the girls stay so that they can get used to how the pack works. There’s no going against the clan leader, unless you want to get a real beating, so whatever he says goes. But that didn’t stop some people from talking and acting up. You didn’t really have an opinion on the matter, but when you see newcomers being spat at and talked bad about, you couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. They reminded you of yourself when you were younger. A rush of confidence hit you but as soon as you took a step forward, you stopped. Anxiety hit you as fast as that confidence came. You didn’t want to let that stop you because someone was in trouble. You took a deep breath with closed eyes.

If Kirishima and Bakugou can do this, so can you.

And as you opened your eyes, the rest was history. Nothing could separate the 4 of you. You helped them get accustomed to the way of life in the pack and in exchange, they helped you overcome your insecurities. They helped you see that despite being picked on at a young age, you never failed to forgive and be kind to them. Despite your lack of skill in some things, you never let failure get to your head. Instead, you worked hard until you got to where you wanted. Despite not being the skinniest girl around and being insecure about your looks, they helped you see that it didn’t matter if you didn’t look like everybody else. You became the Beauty of the pack because of how kind and sweet your personality is. And how your entire face lights up whenever you smile or how you just radiate good energy. Plus you started to like how your chubby cheeks added to your appearance. And, despite having all the insecurities and yet you still helped those that you didn’t know? Those are the best qualities to have and that’s why you are the Beauty of the pack. With this new profound confidence, you became a totally different person. You were happier, more social and emit even more beauty than before.

You waited at the back of the crowd, playing with your fingers. They should be here any minute now. Nervousness surged through your entire body but calmed down with a pair of soft hands laid on top of yours. You turn to see Uraraka gently staring into your eyes.

“Calm down, they’ll be here soon,” she comforted you. You couldn’t help but sigh.

“I know but they sure are taking their time coming back. You’d think they’d all be running down that hill like a bunch of excited, small children,” You pouted. She laughed at your remark.

“I’m sure they’ll come running once they see everybody. Are you waiting on someone in particular?” she asked. Ah, you realized that you never mentioned that you had a boyfriend. Everyone in the pack already knew that you two were destined to mate so it wasn’t mentioned in conversation.

“My boyfriend,” you answered shyly, “Why, are you waiting on someone?” you teased back, not expecting a real answer.

“I am actually! My fiancé,” she said while biting her lip to stop a smile from appearing. You could only look at her shocked and wide eyed. Fiancé? Since when? Who? She came after the boys left so who did she meet? So many questions were running through your head and before you could even get one question out, her phone rang. She was quick to answer. Only a few okays were exchanged before hanging up. “Whoops, gotta go. Father-in-law is calling,” she turned around to leave, but not before she gave you some words of encouragement. “Don’t forget! Unclench those fits, stand tall and relax those shoulders! Be excited not nervous! I’ll see you later!” And with that, she gave a wave and disappeared. You watched her run off in the direction that went straight into the heart of the town. Everything was forgotten when you sniffed the air and a flood of familiar smells entered your nose and a roar of cheering filtered in your ears, making your head spin. They were back.

You shimmied your way through the crowd, in hopes to find Bakugou first. The group of potential alphas walked through the entrance, and it was as expected: eye candy. Shaking your head and scolding yourself for looking at other men, and also taking a mental picture for yourself, but mainly to scold yourself, you tried to find Bakugou within the crowd. This was getting harder by the second because familiar members and loved ones were coming up to the boys, hugging and welcoming them back. You even tried to smell out his scent but this was proven to be difficult because all these different smells was too overwhelming. Your head spun left and right, body spinning in circles just to spot your favorite blonde hair. A pout laid on your lips and frustration was building inside you. Now you felt like the worst girlfriend because you can’t even spot your own boyfriend. You were about to give up and just wait until the crowd dies down before looking again, when you felt someone wrap their arms around your waist and their chest tightly pressed against your back.

“Looking for me, babe?” a hot breath whispered dangerously close to your ear. All the frustration disappeared and was replaced with pure joy. You turned your head and your eyes immediately lit up when you saw vermillion eyes staring lovingly back at you.

“Katsuki!” you screamed, jumping into him, arms embracing his neck while he hugged you tight around the waist. “I missed you.” You said, your voice small enough for only his ears. Your throat tightened as tears threatened to fall out. You missed him so much. His smell, his presence, his hot personality, his laugh, his smile, his frown, everything. You missed everything about it and the wait was finally over. His face was buried in the crook of your neck and he inhaled your scent.

“I fucking missed you so much,” he admitted. You two embraced for a while, just enjoying each other’s touch. Bakugou finally pulled away to get a look at you. He scans your body up and down and lets out a low whistle. “Is it me, or did you get even more gorgeous?” he smirks when you lightly hit him on the chest, embarrassed by his comment.

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t! Looks like I’m not the only one who got an upgrade,” you joked. But were you joking? It was your turn to give Bakugou a good look and you the sight almost had you gasping. He was in a tight, black tank top which showed his rippling muscles. He might as well not be wearing a shirt because you could see everything. The shirt looks like its begging to be ripped apart from that godly body. His chest and shoulders got massively defined, his arms were twice the size you last saw them, but what surprised you the most was the tribal tattoo band that was wrapped around his shoulder. You poked at it, not believing that it was real.

“Holy shit,” you breathed, not realizing that you cursed. When you realized what you said, you quickly covered your mouth with both hands. Before Bakugou left for training, you never cursed. You even hit Bakugou whenever he did. But you were so used to the girls saying it, and eventually you ended up saying them, and now it was in your daily vocabulary.

“Woah, looks like somebody’s got a potty mouth,” Bakugou was genuinely surprised, but now he can tease you all he wants.

“Stop! It was an accident!” you swore. Now you’re going to have to watch what you say around him, or else he won’t live it down! But if he was going to tease you about it, you’d have to tease him right back. “You know, that’s not the only thing my mouth can do,” you looked straight at his lips and bit your lip. Bakugou cocked his eyebrow and a smirk slowly creeped up.

“Oh yeah? What can it do?” he challenged. He looked at your lips and started to inch forward. Just as your lips were about to touch, someone coughed loudly next to you. Both of you spun your head in that direction but had totally different reactions. Sero was standing there, arms crossed against his chest, a frown on his face and giving Bakugou a deadly glare.

“What did I say about being touchy-touchy with my sister?” he questioned. Bakugou only sighed and looked to the side. “If you don’t want to face your doom, do it in the bedroom,” he said dejectedly. Bakugou backed away for a second and you just jumped into your brother’s arms. Breaking his glare away from Bakugou, as soon as he laid eyes on you, his face glowed up. He caught you in his arms and spun your around, making you scream and laugh like you were a little girl again. Sero wasn’t a big as Bakugou but toned enough that it was still noticeable. He had an undercut that was similar to Bakugou’s. The only difference about Sero was that there was no tattoo.

“Missed me little sister?” he asked but he didn’t have to hear your answer. He already knew.

“Of course I missed you! Mom and dad will be so happy you’re back. They are already prepping a huge meal for your return!” you exclaimed. And now you were excited about food!! “I can’t wait to hear all your stories.”

“Trust me, there’s a ton. But I need to rest up first!” he took a step towards Bakugou and patted him on the back. “Take care of her for a bit?” he nodded in response which made Sero smile. He knew he could trust you around him and he wasn’t worried one bit. He turned to ruffle your hair and started to walk back home. Right when you thought that you were alone with Bakugou, another sigh could be heard.

“Man, what’s a guy got to do to get some attention around here?” you turned and another smile found your face.

“Eiji!” you ran up to him and immediately hugged him. He had grown his hair out quite a bit. Instead of spiking it up like he did before, his hair lay flat and he tied it into a ponytail. He was just as muscular as Bakugou with a tribal tattoo on the right side of his chest. Kirishima was a little shocked at first, but relaxed into the hug, hugging you back even tighter than before. If he hugged you even tighter, he swore you could hear how fast his heart was beating. Before it got too suspicious, he let you go and placed both hands on your shoulders.

“How has the princess been holding up?” you rolled your eyes.

“Wow, I really didn’t miss that,” you joked, but continued to play along. “The princess has been swell. She wasn’t lonely for she had made close companions and maybe replaced you two as thy best friends,” you mumbled fast towards the ends, hoping that they didn’t catch it but they 100% did. Their jaws dropped in disbelief and before they could bombard you with questions and tell you couldn’t drop and replace them, you started walking away. You didn’t get too far before Bakugou picks you up and slings you around his waist.

“Katsu!” you whined.

“Nuh-uh princess. No one can replace us. We are gonna bring you back to the palace so that no one can be your best friends besides us. Right, Kirishima?”

“Damn right! We’ll beat your new friends up cause they can’t protect you like we can!” And the entire walk back, both of them were telling their stories of their training, the fights they had and how much they missed you.

When the three of you arrived to Bakugou’s house, his father was already waiting there for you. Bakugou set you down and walked towards his father. When he was close enough, they both grabbed onto each other heads and connected their foreheads together. That was the manlier way of greeting instead of hugging.

“I’m home, dad,” he greeted his dad. He grunted in response.

“So?” his father questioned. You were confused by this question but Bakugou already seemed to understand. He nodded his head once which earned an approving smile and a pat on the shoulder. “That’s my son.” He said in a proud voice. The boys were away to train to see who would be come the next alpha leader. Turns out that Bakugou was deemed to take that position. Your eye lit up and you couldn’t be more proud of him. He waited his whole life to become the next clan leader and it was finally coming true.

“Now then,” his father continued, “Since you are going to become the next leader, we must start looking for a mate,” this comment caused both you and Bakugou to blush, leaving Kirishima in an awkward position. To save everyone from this awkward silence, Bakugou cleared his throat.

“About that, I-”

“And luckily, I have already found one for you,” Bakugou’s father said, sounding like he was proud of his decision. Bakugou’s face went from confusion to anger and Kirishima had to hold him back before he could do anything. You, on the other hand, could only open your mouth in disbelief, hurt could be seen in your eyes. What did he mean that he already found a mate for Bakugou? What about you? What about those two years that you spent together? What about the other two years waiting for him? For it to be wasted like it was nothing? Disregarding the many emotions floating around in the air, Bakugou’s father opened the door to the house and out stepped his fiancée. Bakugou still had a snarl on his face as he looked at the woman in front of him. He wasn’t thinking about anything, but you? This had to be a dream. Or a prank. Your fists clenched at your side, causing your knuckles to turn a deadly white, as you couldn’t believe at who was standing in front of you.

Uraraka Ochako?

tagged: @superblyspeedydragon

[pierregasly]

Would love to hear your full take on Pierre,,,

Sorry this took me a few days to get to, I meant to answer it immediately but never found the motivation :( Anyways, onto Pierre. 

I believe you are commenting on a post of mine where I stated my fear that the Middle Generation of drivers (Charles, Carlos, Pierre and Max specifically) have/are going to miss out on opportunities and will never reach their full potential in F1. This is similar to what happened to the “Lost Generation” which is comprised of drivers such as Daniel, Kevin, Nico and Checo. To reiterate something that another asker was confused about: it has nothing to do with talent. The generations are not lumped together based on talent but based on their similar ages/entrance into F1 and I am speaking on the wasted potential that this group never got to achieve. (For example, Nico’s full potential was podiums--he never got here. And Daniel’s full potential was a championship--which he’ll never get.) 

I am not going to waste your time and state what I said briefly about Charles, Carlos and Max but I will go into depth more so about what I hardly touched upon with Pierre. As I said, Pierre is a phenomenal talent. As much as his podium and race win may have proven it to the world, many still call him a “luck driver” who is not good enough for a higher team. This is, obviously, because of  his time at Red Bull dramatically overshadowed his career. 

I started following Pierre around 2017 when I first got interested in F1 because of the history. In 2017 he wasn’t racing in Europe but in Super Formula so I took the time to catch up on his career thus far (I will go into depth on this in a moment). I didn’t start watching F1 until 2018 and the only driver (non-historical) I really was attached to was Pierre (others would comes later). Obviously, if you remember, Pierre ended up taking P5 in qualifying and P4 in a Toro Rosso in front of the whole world in only a few races at Bahrain. It was absolutely incredible and for the rest of the season until his Red Bull announcement, Pierre was dishing points place after points place after points place in only his first full season in F1. Therefore, while it was only his FIRST FULL SEASON, the jump to Red Bull ultimately felt justified. 

Of course, this did not end up being the case. Our joy over Pierre getting to be in a higher team made us completely and utterly forget the track record Red Bull has left with its second drivers. For those of you who are new to F1 (either coming in 2019, mid-2019 or 2020) you missed out on Pierre’s debut season which was fantastic for the car he was given. Furthermore, if you came in during mid-2019 or 2020 and you think that the treatment RB gave to Alex is horrible--you are hardly touching the surface. The treatment that RB is giving Alex versus Pierre is like taking your sons on summer vacation and then having one of them sleep on the comfy twin bed with two blankets and the other kid on the floor without so much as PJs. We haven’t even touched upon Daniil. Daniil would be like the parents leaving the kid outside to sleep. 

Let’s move on. It is very easy to look at Pierre’s season and tout only negative things. It was not his best moment and, yes, he certainly could’ve done better. However, with what he was given? Are we even sure about that? For example, Pierre become open with the media following his demotion. Not only did RB leave it to the very last moment but they also would:

1) Use Pierre’s car and car parts to test Max. 

2) When Pierre requested a more experienced engineer, he was denied. However, when Alex requested the same thing, he was given it. 

3) RB consistently spoke horribly of him in front of the media. They constantly spoke that he needed to do better and never tried to build him up. 

4) Emotionally pressured Pierre to his breaking limit.

Now the difference between RB and many other teams is that when the going gets tough for their drivers, many teams choose to build their drivers up to set them up for success. RB’s method is to tear their drivers down and hope that they can pick up their own pieces once they become annoyed with humiliation. The demotion was far, far too quick. Think of Alex--he has been getting worse and worse and worse with a year and half of time at Red Bull. Pierre managed half a season before they gave him the boot. The boot was also without warning even despite Pierre getting better and better each race. 

This is all information you probably already know, I said earlier I would touch upon his younger career and how this has been overshadowed and forgotten due to his time at RB. Here are some facts/statistics that will be important for my point later:

Finished 3rd in the French F4 championship with four wins, two poles and seven podiums over the course of only fourteen races despite having three retirements (the 2nd placer had 0 and the 1st placer only had 1). 

In his first season at Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 he finished 10th of 51 different racers and every person but one who finished before him in the championship was older than him. Pierre was only 16 when Stoffel V was 20, Daniil K was 18, Oliver R was 20, Norman N was 20, Nyck V was 17, Paul L was 21, Oscar T was 16, Melville M was 18 and Alex R was 18. 

In his second season of Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 he finished first in front of the likes of Esteban Ocon, Oliver Rowland, Jake Dennis, Nyck de Vries, Luca Ghitto and Alexander Albon.

Finished 6th in the 2013 Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Series despite missing half of the season and there being 42 competitors total (everyone ahead of him completed the full season). 

Finished 2nd of 28 competitors in the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 Series and lost to none other than Carlos Sainz Jr. 

Finished 1st in his second full season of GP2 (now formally classified as F2).

The GP2 race he won in Silverstone happened right after a huge roadcar accident in which his mother ended up in the hospital. Pierre himself fractured his vertebrae and still went on to win the race while his mother was in the hospital and he had a broken bone. 

Was called in to replace a Renault edams driver in Formula E. He was jet lagged, tired and got only a few hours in the sims. He still managed to secure P4 in qualifying and then was set for a P3 finish but he crashed into the wall on the last corner of the last lap and came home in P4. THIS WAS HIS FIRST TIME EVER IN AN FE RACE OR AN FE CAR.

Finished second in Super Formula in 2017 but lost by only half a point. One of the races in the season was abandoned when he was set to win because of flooding and storm. Had it not been abandoned he would’ve finished first at the end of the season. 

All this pretty much brings you up to speed to when he entered into F1 (which all his amazing stuff you should be familiar with). Moving more onto my “take” regarding Pierre. I have shown evidence for why he is an incredible driver, however, now we’re moving onto the not so great bit. I suppose I must answer one question before I move on. 

Do I think Pierre is good enough, against all the rest of the talent in F1, to get consistent podiums if given the proper car? Absolutely. Do I think Pierre is good enough, against all the rest of the talent in F1, to get consistent wins if given the proper car? Absolutely. Do I think Pierre is good enough, against all the rest of the talent in F1, to fight/win a championship one day if given the proper car? This I firmly believe is possible (other thing I’ll get into if someone wants).

The reason I worry and am distressed about Pierre is because I don’t believe he’ll ever get a go at a higher team again. RB really put a shadow over his career, a shadow that is going to worry other teams from placing him into their cars. He has ultimately proven himself with podiums and, of course, the race win. However, seeing as there is so much young talent coming into F1, I don't see there being a place for him. 

Mercedes is set to most likely be Max and George when Lewis retires. Red Bull would never dare to put him in that seat again. Ferrari has their “golden generation” of Charles and Mick to look after. And those are the seemingly “top teams” (if you can even all Ferrari that). Let’s look at the others. Racing Point is going to be Lance and Seb until Seb retires. I don’t see Pierre ever going to Alpha Romeo. And McLaren is set up for the next few years with Lando and Daniel. Haas--I don’t think so. This is ultimately dangerous for Pierre’s career because RB likes to keep fresh meat in their B team car (or if you trust Horner it’s their “sister team” lol). Pierre’s best chance is the escape the RB family. AND I UNDERSTAND that the regulations could make things VERY different in F1 for the future. These are just my hypothesis and guesses--all is subjective and up to interpretation so @ anybody reading this--relax, buddy. So where does Pierre fit in in the future? These are some scenarios I have conjured up. 

1) Mercedes. Let’s say that, possibly. Max never ends up moving into that second Merc seat and instead remains at RB wasting away until they can get him a better car for the rest of his career (ooo burn sorry it’s for the scenario don’t hate me). This would open up a place at Merc for Pierre to truly shine his potential. Most likely, he would play second fiddle to George but hey--it’s still a seat where can utilize that potential. 

2) Red Bull. This would be if they get desperate. I don’t think if given a second chance, Pierre would say no. If Max were still in the team, he would be second fiddle. I can see Pierre going to RB if Max leaves for Merc in the next few years and they want him to lead Yuki or if Yuki doesn’t shine in AT and they end up dropping him they are going to be slim Pickens... I don’t know if being at RB will give him a place where he can utilize his potential but it’s a possibility. 

3) Ferrari. This would be only a chance if Mick doesn’t do great in Alpha Romeo and they need someone to fill the seat of their obvious place holder Carlos. He would be alongside Charles. Other than that.... Ferrari seems pretty set and there isn’t any space. 

4) McLaren. This I don’t see as very possible? I would love to see him in orange but they seem pretty set with Daniel and Lando. I think Daniel is probably going to ride out the end of his career there. Lando seems very integrated into the team and I can’t see him leaving unless he got a better offer like Merc. If Max didn’t end up taking the second Merc seat in the future and remains at RB then Lando might be given an offer which would open up a place that Pierre could possibly take. Do I count this as realistic? Not really, but it could happen. At McLaren I could see Pierre utilizing his potential. 

5) Renault. This is one of the options that seems most realistic to me. They're set with Fernando for the next few years. If they decided, after 2021, to give the boot to Esteban, that would open up a place for Pierre in a French team that would love a French driver (they already have one but Pierre is a FRENCH WINNER). You know that teams loves their nationalism.... Anyways. Or, possibly, Fernando retires after two years (again lol) which would open up a seat for Pierre to take along Esteban. However, I don’t really see Esteban staying long term because Renault probably needs to put one of their Renault babies like Guanyu or Christian in there. 

6) Williams. Lol. No. 

7) Haas. I don’t see it happening really??? I have my reasons but my gut just says... Au revoir.

8) Racing Point. THIS. This I see as 100% 100% a possibility. Let’s say that Seb retires after two years--this would open up a seat. Pierre is a strong, consistent and stable driver who doesn’t make mistakes. Here he could really use his potential!! #PierreInGreen!!

9) Alpha Romeo. As I said... I really don’t see it. They seem pretty busy with all their young guys. 

So to conclude, the future for Pierre lies at either Renault or Racing Point (less chance but possible includes Merc to McLaren). To not take up any more of  your time, this is what I mean by Pierre being an incredible talent who may or may not get a chance at a higher team. He deserves to have more and to have a second chance. He has really proven himself and is pulling the absolutely maximum out of himself. I really want to see him with more, like he deserves. 

Even Charles wanted him as his teammate at Ferrari back in April... that’s saying even more. Everyone on the grid except Esteban rate him highly as a person and as a driver. His potential deserves smth better. He has proven himself time and time again against everyone who told him he wasn't good enough and who still say it was all just luck. There exists luck. But firmer than luck, there exists skill. 

Pierre Gasly is a race winner in an Alpha Tauri. Do not forget that. 

[lynny246]

Gods, this took 3 years to do. I started this OC when Season 3 of BNHA began in, like, 2018. I ended up constantly tweaking her and forgot to touch her in 2019. Then came 2021, where season 5 is about to go down and wreck me so without further ado, here is Rune Byougen!

(Credit to Sakimii of DeviantArt for the background)

Character Information 

Name: Rune Byougen

Gender: Female

Age: 15 (Episode 4/Chapter 3 & 4)

Birthday: October 30

Sexual Orientation: Pansexual

Occupation: Student

Height: 5’8

Weight: 135 lbs

Ethnicity: Afro-Asian

School: U.A. High School

Year: First year

Hero Name: The Placebo Hero: Bacteriune

Appearance

Hair Color: Dark Blue

Hair Type: Shoulder length hair on the right and short hair on the left. Hair on the left is put in a ponytail

Distinguishing Features: Surgery scar between clavicles

Eye Color: Purple

Skin Color: Bronze

Background 

Born with sickle cell anemia, Rune’s adolescence has been defined by consistent hospital stays and minimal experiences. Despite this, she remained optimistic for her future; this is due in part to the constant support from her parents, Takao (who also has sickle cell anemia) and Camilla (a pro-Hero in America known as Wyvern).

During her pre-teen years, her condition would worsen; prompting a great deal of surgeries. It had become so dour that Rune considered giving up after finding out she would be missing her final year in junior high so she could remain in the hospital. During this depression, her father made it a point to emphasize the strength of perseverance and hope for a better future. Through his corny speeches, Rune found some solace and promised to keep fighting for her family.

The age of 12 would mark an important new chapter for Rune: her condition improved greatly which allowed her live independently with minor treatment, her quirk would finally manifest, she could resume schooling, and she had a clear goal for her life, choosing to find better treatment for those dealing with sickle cell anemia. Unfortunately, the biggest change in her life would be the death of her father at the end of the year. After reaching the average life expectancy, Takao had succumb to the illness after being rushed to the hospital after a stroke.

Unable to process the grief, Rune grew to resent her father; seeing his sudden death as not living by the values he set for her during her tribulations. Optimism gave way to pessimism as Rune became more jaded about her circumstances, her future, and her understanding of the world. For the first time in her life, she saw physical limitations that couldn’t be overcome with willpower, she saw a society that had largely forgotten non-quirk related illness and death.

From that day forward, she choose a new path: Uncover all the mysteries medical science had to offer to overcome her limits. On that day, Rune vowed not to succumb to illness or weakness. To see that vow through, she needed to find a way to overcome the natural weakness she was born with. To do this, she would need authority in different fields and money. She would need to be a hero.

Hero work could finance her research, the potential fame would make it easier to join medical projects and resources for research, and hero work could give her access to underground and taboo information not legally accessible. With her family moving to Japan to live with her paternal grandparents, the option of attending U.A. becomes obvious. She spoke with her mother about her desire to become a hero. Camilla, a well-known hero throughout the United States, used her connections to get her admitted with a recommendation. After training her quirk for a year, Rune is prepared to enter U.A. where her next chapter begins...

Personality

A box of intriguing mysteries or a miserable pile of secrets, whichever you choose, Rune qualifies. At first glance, Rune is a calm and ever-curious mind that operates with cordiality. Once the layers are peeled, that cordial and inviting exterior disappears, leaving a more cunning and antagonistic yet dignified and relax individual. At her best, she can be seen as a calming, loyal yet malignant girl who is hard to understand yet fun to be around. At her worst, Rune is a manipulative and inimical girl hiding behind pleasantries. A girl who seeks to unravel all those around her as a hobby

Likes: Herbology, Grimoires, Tarot Cards, Card Games, Botany, Medieval History, Camping, Anarchy

Dislikes: The cold, Paranormal romance novels, Crystal balls, Cosmetology

Habits: Biting her nails, Staring at people

Fears: Relapsing, Abandonment, Porcelain dolls, Limitations

Quirk and Abilities

Quirk: Pathogen

This quirk allows the user to control and manipulate bacteria and pathogens found throughout different environments and bodies. Using neuro-parasitology, the user’s dead skin cells are consumed by the microorganisms, giving the user full control of all bacteria and pathogens for approximately an hour

Quirk Advantages:

Due to bacteria being on every natural surface imaginable, there is no limit to the range of the user

In addition, when the quirk is active, the amount of bacteria present on the body can form a light layer of protection on the body without the bacteria hardening into a solid structure

In warm conditions or against heat-based quirks, the bacteria can be more effective and multiply quickly

Quirk Drawbacks:

Quirk overuse can result in the user losing control of the bacteria and pathogens. When it under direct control, those organisms can become very ensnared with the user’s skin cells and seek to consume them en masse. If not careful, the bacteria can attempt to consume so much of the cells, that the epidermis can be damaged, leaving wounds equitable to first degree burns

This quirk is at a natural disadvantage in colder environments as common bacteria thrives primarily in warmer environments. Extreme weather (hot or freezing) is disadvantageous as well

Overexertion can result in a minor case of chronic inflammation which includes fever, rashes, infection, abdominal pain, and chest pains

Fighting Style: Wyvern-style Martial Arts Created and used solely by her mother, it is a personalized form of martial arts that emphasizes brute force over speed by transferring all the power and force to a specific limbs. When utilized correctly, a simple kick can break a concrete wall. However, the style sacrifices speed, accuracy, and leaves other limbs defenseless. It also requires very specific stances to work properly. The style originated from Camilla who uses it to dispatch larger villains and wrestle Wai, a family friend that lost her humanity and became a large wyvern due to her quirk

Weapons/Items: Vials of poison and medication Most of the poisons are meant to hinder movement, allowing her to fight with minimal opposition. This is beneficial for using wyvern-style martial arts without issue. The medication is penicillin and various antibiotics Rune has created to combat her drawbacks.

Stats:

(Ultra Archive)

Power: 4/5

Speed: 2/5

Technique: 4/5

Intelligence: 5/5

Cooperativeness: 3/5

(Ultra Analysis)

Power: 5/6

Speed: 3/6

Technique: 6/6

Intelligence: 6/6

Machiavellian: 6/6

Relationships

Family:

Camilla Byougen - Mother Takao Byougen - Father (Deceased) In the past, the relationship between the Byougen family could only be described as loving and tight. Despite her work, Camilla was dedicated and active in the family, enjoying doting on her husband and daughter. Takao was no exception, spending much his days looking after Rune and Camilla as a stay-at-home-dad. Rune admired her parent’s strength of character and they served as emotional crutch to a child that didn’t have much in terms of socialization. Times have changed. Rune has come to loathe the type of person her father was, deeming him a hypocrite. However, her relationship with her mother is stronger than ever. The two look after each other and are quite open with one another. If not for the age disparity, one could mistake the mother-daughter duo as sisters

Wai - Godmother Despite being a late addition to the family, Wai and Rune’s relationship is solid. Wai may have lost much of her mental capacities after fully becoming a wyvern, however, she still remembers the love and loyalty she had for Camilla and that has transferred fully to her daughter. The two are very protective of one another and enjoy training together. Since Camilla is needed to communicate verbally with Wai, the two don’t have many secrets or intense conversations, but that doesn’t stop the two from greatly enjoying    conversation and each other's company

Kirika Byougen - Paternal Grandmother Fuga Byougen - Paternal Grandfather This familial dynamic is a tad bit complicated. Although there is clear love between them, there is also veiled hostility laced in every interaction. While a mystery to Camilla, Rune has concluded that the negative interactions stem from Fuga and Kirika being upset with Takao for abandoning his home and former life to chase after Camilla. While her grandparents are trying to overcome that distaste for Camilla and Rune so they can fully embrace the family Takao made, they are hindered by the grief of his death and past pains of his abandonment. Despite this, interactions between Rune and her grandparents are amicable. That is until Rune begins to read their motives and taunt them.

Friends:

Bakugou Katsuki - Close friend & most proficient teammate Tooru Hagakure - Close friend Kyouka Jiro  Reiko Yanagi  Midoriya Izuku - Test Subject 

Rivals:

Fumikage Tokoyami - Friendly rival Tenya Iida - Antagonistic

Enemies:

Toga Himiko

Trivia

Rune’s faovrite food is mitarashi dango

Rune was born in California

Rune prefers hiding her quirk simply to mess with her opponents, tricking them into believing her quirk is simply super strength

Rune is a Wiccan

[crusherthedoctor]

When taking Lutrudis as a concept into account, it could be argued that the decision to have her live in a big, fairytale-like castle would be an unwise idea, maybe even counterintuitive, since a place so extravagant might undermine her intended loneliness and yearning for a more fulfilling life, adventure, and all that jazz before Sonic and company entered the picture. The last thing I’d want with Trudy would be to remind people of Chris “woe is me” Thorndyke and his rich kid mansion lifestyle. Not to mention that since some of the townspeople in Lime Shores can act rather ignorant (and in some cases, antagonistic) towards her, a lavish castle might also undermine the underdog nature of that particular setup.

Despite these concerns however, I felt confident with my plan, and I figured that as long as I knew what I was doing, readers would understand what I had in mind. I’ve explained in the past that a castle would better accommodate someone with her EDS, so right off the bat, you already have a practical justification for it. It also helps that whereas the accursed Thorndyke had his parents, friends, grandad, butler, etc etc etc etc... Trudy genuinely had no one to turn to before the heroes arrived for their intended vacation. So with that said, let’s examine this particular building for a bit, complete with pics for comparison’s sake, as well as a certain cavern full of Ethereal goodness that happens to be nearby...

Creating the Residence: Trudy’s Castle

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: The outside environment is not too subtly inspired by Autumn Plains from Spyro 2, better known to non-Spyro fans as my blog background.

A serene yet lonely autumnal forest backdrop, with a big stone castle smack dab in the center. It’s not one-to-one the same of course - instead of a pool, the front area boasts a lovely garden full of different flowers, and there’s also a lake nearby - but the mood is more or less what you see here.

However, this partly serves to contrast with what’s behind closed doors. As acknowledged in Beyond the Stars proper, the interior of the castle instead goes for a different and grander, yet equally inviting atmosphere when you take that first step inside. Instead of stone, you see marble and wood, and instead of grey and green, you have reds, creams, maroons, and golds (with a few complimentary blues and purples thanks to the flags hovering above).

As the lady herself mentions, Trudy discovered that the interior was in a state of disarray when she obtained it, and she was of the belief that a castle as beautiful and rich in history as this one deserved better than to be forgotten and wither away in the coming generations. The least she felt she could do was give it a modern, yet respectful redecoration, and give the old building a second, loving life in the process.

Yes, that means every spot of detail inside this castle was done single-handedly. Entirely on her lonesome. It took ages to complete, especially when taking her EDS into account, but she was determined to give the place its due, and lo and behold, the effort more than paid off. (You know, such levels of determination bring a blue hedgehog to mind...)

And that’s just the intended vision for the main hallway! We haven’t touched the other rooms yet! (Since a castle would have quite a lot of rooms, it goes without saying that for the sake of keeping this post from going even longer, we won’t be covering literally every single room... just the most important and/or most noteworthy ones. :o)

The bathroom can be described as a mix between the two examples below, combining the semi-medieval build of the former with the sky blue palette and general relaxing style of the latter.

Though that said, while the bath remains there for any guests to use, Trudy personally uses a shower since it’s more convenient for someone with her condition.

The kitchen (or as Sonic likes to call it, “the palace of chili dog magic”) mostly comes in cool browns and blacks, and its intended appearance is probably one of the more obvious combinations of old-timey and modern. It also has a slightly country aesthetic compared to the other rooms, because ha ha, horses, geddit.

The greenhouse at the back brings back the heavy amounts of green (well duh, the clue’s in the name, isn’t it?), while also providing contrast with the whiteness of the structure and architecture. Complete with giant arched windows, because of course.

And the segue point between the greenhouse and the rest of the castle looks something along these lines, at least with the way the building itself connects.

Even the chambers underneath the castle manage to look classy and clean. And just as well, since it’s where Tails parks the Tornado for the remainder of his time in Viridonia, once he FINALLY remembers to get it off the Lime Shore beach...

You know another benefit of such a spacious area? You get to turn it into a makeshift workshop for all your gadget needs, Tornado-related or otherwise. I’m sure that won’t come in handy at some point...

The guest bedroom is one of the most curious rooms of the lot, because even though it’s as nice and tidy as you’d expect, it’s also rather... muted compared to everywhere else. Perhaps Trudy felt no need to modify it further in any specific way, since no one had ever bothered to stop by anyway... until you-know-who and the gang.

And we can’t forget to mention our fair equine’s OWN bedroom now, can we? Her bedroom opts for darker colours, yet no less therapeutic, which includes the canopy bed that she rests in. You can actually see the general idea with the bedroom (and the outside of the castle for that matter) for yourself, in the Dame of the Daisy mini-comic, courtesy of my awesome friend @benignmilitancy​.

Likewise, although this shot is currently incomplete (don’t worry, Benign is fine with me using it :P), meaning some details haven’t been added yet, you can also get a basic idea of how the balcony is supposed to look here, along with the complimentary view of Viridonia’s oceans.

So what kind of music would befit Trudy’s castle, you may ask? Well, taking every detail into account, we would need something that goes for that perfect mix of adventure, wonder, warmth... and a faint hint of sadness lurking beneath. Something that gets all four across, but not in a generic, run-of-the-mill orchestra sort of way. Something a little more ambient and down-to-earth, with a more unique and specific kind of intimacy. Something like...

This would apply for when you’re inside, mind you. Outside the castle, the surrounding forest would have a theme of its own, though it would share that similar combination of melancholic friendliness. So for the outside, we would go with something more like...

Overall, the idea behind Trudy’s castle - aside from being her residence and looking enviously pretty - is to add to Trudy’s own character. It’s said that one’s home can say a lot about a person, and I made sure that every room shared a consistent narrative when reading between the lines. They may differ in shape, and they may even differ in colour, but the story is kept consistent at all times. We know that our girl is elegant, we know that our girl has slightly antiquated tastes... and we know that until the arrival of Sonic and Co, our girl was extremely lonely, and isolated by her peers, to the point of staving off said loneliness and isolation by making the place as lavishly detailed as it is in the first place. And just as the stony exterior hides the more fanciful interior, so too is there more to Trudy herself than at first glance.

Besides, not counting Eggman’s endless list of tributes to himself, we don’t often see the characters’ homes in the games, do we? We’ve seen Angel Island for Knuckles, the Space Colony A.R.K. for Shadow, that shack belonging to the Chaotix in Heroes, a few pads of varying consistency depending on the game (Tails’ workship in SA1 VS his house in Battle)... but not much more than that. And what better contrast to Sonic being something of a nomad, than by Trudy living a place like this?

But we’re not done just yet. Last but not least, we can’t forget that mysterious cave hiding down below, where countless amounts of Ethereal Crystals can be found undisturbed... You can bet that such a place would be suitably attention grabbing.

Since the crystals themselves come in practically every shade of the rainbow and then some, the resulting combination - specifically their reflecting shine - ends up painting the cavern walls with just as much colour.

It may feel a tad surreal and almost alien, to the point of being a little intimidating for some, arguably. But you know in your heart of hearts that as long as Eggman isn’t in the equation, there is no need to be fearful. After all, Trudy knows it better than anyone else, and although the crystals and their properties may hail from unknown, possibly uncomfortable origins, the horse herself continues to use them for wholly benevolent purposes.

Such a cavern would deserve a theme of its own, no? We’ll need something that drives home the point that the power within has no inherent morality, and can only be as good or as evil as the person using them. So although Trudy’s own intentions are firmly on the side of good, we’ll also need an added touch of minor eeriness lingering in the background, to represent the overarching threat and subsequent implications of Eggman dipping his own hands into the metaphorical Ethereal well, on top of its already unexplained otherworldliness...

So yes, it’s quite a pleasant castle that Trudy has, eh?

But this isn’t the only castle that can be found in Viridonia...

Well, it used to be the only one of its kind on the island... until a certain doctor stopped by, decided to beat the horse at her own game, and create his own, darker counterpart in response... But we’ll get to that when we get to that, ho ho ho.

[timidizzy]

You all asked for it! So here it is-- Eugene has PTSD essay!

Tangled: The Series, also known as Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, is a continuation of the 50th animated motion picture by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Tangled. It is my belief that a character in this series, Eugene Fitzherbert, displays signs of suffering from PTSD as a result of not only the film’s conclusion, but also his history prior to the events of the film. In this essay, I hope to bring light on what brought me to this conclusion and possibly open a discussion on the topic.

In Tangled, a royal child by the name of Rapunzel is kidnapped for the possession of magical hair that holds healing capabilities. The day before her 18th birthday, a thief by the name of Flynn Rider steals the crown belonging to the lost princess and finds himself in Rapunzel’s tower. It’s a story we all know, a take on the classic German fairy tale, Rapunzel. In one of the first emotional moments of the film, we learn that Flynn is an orphan by the name of Eugene Fitzherbert, and that’s about all we learn about his backstory at the time. At the end of the film, he sacrifices himself for Rapunzel. He passes away in her arms only to be brought back to life by her magic; and after this, the situation seems entirely resolved. For the rest of the canon, the characters rarely seem to acknowledge the situation and almost seem to have even forgotten it. But, as said at the beginning of the essay, I don’t believe that to be the case.

Tangled: the Series takes place six months after the film and with it we learn a bit more about Eugene’s backstory. We learn he has a best friend in the form of foster-brother and ex-partner-in-crime, Lance Strongbow, as well as an ex-fiancee, Stalyan, whom he left at the altar around age 16. However, the most important piece of his history comes from the season two finale in which, after reconnecting with his father, we learn that Eugene is the prince of the Dark Kingdom. But apart from his history, on the surface, it doesn’t seem we get much character development for him. It’s very clear he’s a primary source of comic relief, which is what offers the illusion of his lack of development, but I believe the comedy is a product of it. In emotional scenes that relate to his life, he only seems to respond with humor, only taking emotional moments about others seriously. We can see this displayed when confronting Angry about Catalina’s curse. While Rapunzel does that talking, Eugene stands in the background with a somber and depressed expression as he remains quiet. When Rapunzel is, understandably, heartbroken about Cassandra’s betrayal, Eugene remains a helpful support for her. In fact, one of the earliest examples of Eugene’s concern for those around him comes from the season one episode, Cassandra V. Eugene. Despite their sibling-like rivalry and mutual distaste for each other, Eugene asks her about her family. He allows her an outlet to open up, and who better than him, who ALSO didn’t know his birth parents, for her to speak to about her traumas? Throughout the entirety of the series, Eugene is there for a whole cast of characters, offering support in any way he can.

However, when presented with his own traumas, his tactics switch. He jokes about his death and laughed in the face of his estranged father. Only when he’s genuinely caught off guard and unprepared does he respond with any form of concern or sincerity. When in the tower in The Quest for Varian, he treats the situation like a tour, laughing about being stabbed and killed and even pointing out the armoire where Rapunzel hid his unconscious body. He acted as if it were a fun experience in his history worth joking about. In addition to this, in Pascal’s Story a few episodes prior, Eugene has no warning of their visiting the tower, and this is the first time we see him take the situation seriously. As soon as he realizes where they’re going, his reaction is highly upset, responding with shock and concern. He even goes as far as to imply that next time he should get the chance to abstain from going to the tower. But, again, later when he’s had time to process the situation, he approaches the moment with humor. The same story goes for meeting King Edmund, Eugene’s father. In the moment after meeting him, Eugene’s expression is shocked and confused before he bursts into laughter. And even then, his joking turns to anger, going as far as to yell at Edmund for attacking a stranger.

The point of all of this is, Eugene clearly has the ability to show compassion for traumas. So why does he refuse to acknowledge his own? To me, this evidence leads to a simple solution. “Humor as a distraction may serve as one mechanism by which humor can attenuate negative emotions (page 2, paragraph 2).” This quote implies that when applying humor to negative thoughts and emotions, it can lessen the sense of its pain. Using this knowledge of humor as a coping mechanism and pairing it with the patterns we’ve seen Eugene display toward his traumas, I strongly feel that he genuinely uses humor as a coping mechanism for any traumas he suffers from. So with this knowledge, let’s make the base assumption that this is all true. Let’s assume Eugene uses humor as a mechanism to cope with his traumas. The National Center for Biotechnology Information lists humor as a mature defense in terms of the involuntary coping mechanisms for PTSD (section 3, paragraph 6).

In conclusion, I personally believe that with the evidence of Eugene’s insistence on refusing to take his traumas seriously, there is substantial proof of Eugene, at the very least, using humor as a coping mechanism, and possibly even a tactic to cope with PTSD, specifically. Of course, I’m not great at writing essays and putting my thoughts to words, and even less so in terms of finding good evidence. I completely understand if you personally find that this essay doesn’t make sense, or just flat out doesn’t add up. However, I’d appreciate it if we could all leave this essay as what it is, just me trying to have fun digging through my favorite series and character! All this said, I hope you guys enjoyed <3

[popculturebuffet]

Loud House Reviews: Racing Hearts

Welcome back errbody. Continuing the Salauna trilogy with Racing Hearts. We’ve already seen the cute asking them out story , now comes the actual first date.. which ITSELF is massively important. Keep in mind even though Nick fully supported L is for Love and the crew put a lot of work into it given how good it turned out, Sam easily still could’ve vanished into Limbo. For it’s first 2 seasons loud house, the show HAD continuity: Once Ronnie Anne and Bobby moved away to set up their spinoff, there was an episode with Lincoln’s friends trying to help him deal with missing her in the first ep giving any of them  besides Clyde focus, a trend that would continue, they still showed up via video chat or in person where waranted and there was a full episode about Lincoln’s group of friends trying to help him deal with it... which also reminds me of a smiliar episode of ned’s declassified that was really damn good but unrelated to this... seriously that show is underated and I hope with the Netflix deal it shows up there.  Anywho back on the show we’re actually talking about, the show didn’t really have arcs, thigns that carried from episode to episode.. until Season 3. Season 3 is where the show REALLY hit it’s stride, with it now fully being an ensemble show and more continuity injected int, not interfering iwtht he show’s episodic nature but making it feel like events had meaning. Stella was introduced in “White Hare” and later got a full introduction that i’ll no doubt cover with “Be Stella My Heart” and afterwords rather than being forgotten entirely like the show used to do became part of his friend group in their episodes. Lynn SR. was revealed to have quit his office job to work at a restraunt and was working on opening his own, which while only a two episode arc, lead to the opening of Lynn’s table in the finale and it’s stuck around since. And Leni got a job at a clothing store she’s kept since and friends at said job who’ve shown up since.  See i’m fine with a show not having heavy duty continuity or serilzation, some shows thrive there but I love it when shows do this: even if it’s not all about plots, things progresing or being followed up on makes the show feel more vibrant and keeps it from stagnation in my book.  And as as show with a bunch of girls at dating age, it was invetivible theird’ be recurring romantic arcs, hence Chaz is mentoined as dating Leni, if not given any real focus so far hopefully that’ll change, while Luaan, in this episodes pairing brother, and most importantly Luna got followups on theres. And thus that brings us here to racing hearts,where nick earns the praise they got from l is for love by following up on it and showing in no uncertain terms the two as a blossoming couple.  I get to the actual episode under the cut:

We start with Lori being upset the bathroom is being taken up.... and that brings up a small issue I have: .. WHY IS THERE ONLY ONE BATHROOM FOR 10 KIDS. I do assume Lynn Sr and Rita have their own, and that it might be hard to put another one up there for plumbing reasons, but it still seems WEIRD to not have more than one up there or close to the stairs so that it dosen’t take 50 years for 10 children to get ready. And yes I said 10, Lily has a diaper and isn’t potty trained yet and any cleaning up or getting dressed, when needed, falls on Rita or Lynn Sr. But still it’s a LOT to ask for 10 children to share share one bathroom peacefully and it’s only through the power of not wanting to spend an animation budget on it that the bathroom isn’t a constant disaster area.  Anyways it’s actually Luna who, to her sister’s shock, is in a facemask getting ready to go to the Royal Woods Astonishing Quest with Sam for their first date. Naturally the other two are excited, and Luna, despite her usual nerves, is actually incredibly stoked and feels it’ll go perfectly. 

At any rate, she’s happy and Lynn comes in to kick everyone out to scrape off her callosuses instead of you know... having Lucy leave their room or doing it while she’s not there, butttt that little detail is actually a tell for later so fair play to you. Plus Lucy may just understandably find int gross and Lynn dosen’t trike me as good at picking up after herself. As it turns out to no one’s shock, Lynn was banned last year for being a sore winner and rightfully so as we see in flashback, but she’scome to terms with it... wink. But they agree to leave as the louds need to get over there anyway.  Cut to the ASTONISHING QUEST.. which turns out to be a scavenger hunt with admitely a great name. Seriously someone use that. But we see tons of returning charcters including Scootst, Pop Pop and his girlfriend, and... 

...........

I”d apologize for thatbut I feel that way any time I see the little weirners face. Be glad this dosen’t happen every time he shows up.  On the bright side he looks as dead inside as I do whenever I find out he’s in an episode, and Zack looks the same amount of dead inside.. probably because he realized a filing cabnet would’ve been a better partner. A review of your choice for the first person to get that reference and send it to me.  Thankfully my extesntial dread at seeing a Rusty cameo is lifted when Luna meets up with Sam and the two are awkard dorks together for a second as they figure out what greeting to do, settling on a handshake. It’s fucking precious. We then meet Royal Wood’s Mayor, voiced by Shirley! Now if she’d just show up on Ducktales already. Though hearing her reminds me I should do some Harvey Beaks reviews at some point... anyways, she announces the quest and Clyde and LIncoln make a fist bump while Lori and Leni stare down their parents like their about to start brawling in the streets then and there. What.. what have you guys done to each other over the years at these things? I want to know the history there. Have astonishing quest show up again in another season. I”d also love an Brooklyn Nine Nine style heist episode with this show .  Anyways, the rules are laid out: Each team is given an evelope with a clue, standard scavenger hunt contest stuff, and have challenges at each location to complete. The first team to finish wins the key to the city.. er a tiny trophy with you did it on it. Honestly that last one’s better anyway. Anyways after from trashtalk from Scoots and her partner Helen, who seems oddly familliar, we’re off! The first clue is easily figured out by Luna and the two old ladies quickly take advantage of Luna saying it loud where everyone can hear it by heading off: It’s off to Lazer Maze , the local Lazer Tag.  The guy there gives them their challenge: They need to get 500 points to get the next clue. Luna takes to it like a fish to water and easily tags Lisa and her friend Darcy... another nice little cameo. And it also shows something I like: not only are all the louds except Lynn, whose banned, and Lily, whose a baby, are competting on their own. And only Lori, who pops back up in a bit and Leni,whose partnered with her are plot relevant, but the episode easily could’ve left them out or used extras for the other teams but wisely decied to instead use characters we’re familiar with. It adds a nice touch that makes this feel like an actual event and make sme wish the show did more townwide events like this. Stars hollow it up. You have a fun character in the mayor, who was hilarious in her one minute here, you have your taylor. Just give her a quirky sidekick and have fun with it. Granted I want every series to have a little gilmore girls in it, but still.  Anyways Sam botches it and instead of shooting the golden girls shoots Luna by accient, though by the next cut they have their points, and the lazer tag guy encourages them anyway. Sam apologizes not being good at Laser tag but Luna happily shrugs it off: While she enjoys it it’s not for everyone. Anyways it’s Luna’s turn to be confused while Sam easily figures out the clue: IT’s off to the farm. And if you wanted the exact oppsite of my reaction to a Rusty cameo...

Yeah while my reactions to Rusty is “Why haven’t you died on the way to your home planet yet?” My reaction to Liam is pure joy. He’s like this generation’s stinky peterson and I love it and has a nice enjoyable personality instead of being my own personal Kahn.  Anyways LIam’s challenge is to get Eggs from the chickens. Which Sam does easily.. Luna however is nervous to start despite Sam’s reasssurances.. before totally freaking out. To be fair though, chickens can be downright terrifying. Just look at Poyo

. 

And why yes that is a chicken hell lordd whose also a cyborg  bisecting santac lause. And why no, you are’nt getting any more context than that, go read Chew.  Anyways theys till have enough eggs to complete the challenge, if now splattered in egg and with Liam disapointed with their shenanigans, but being a professinal about it. Total pro. Anyways, Sam is just as ready to brush it off as Luna, noting farms just aren’t for everyone. I also like this plot in general because while it has the series habit of “thing happens again and again and again then climax” it’s used to flesh sam out a bit. While she is there to be Luna’s love intrest, being a love intrest dosen’t mean a character can’t be good or fleshed out. Just look at tom from star vs the forces of evil for a good example of that.  Anyways it’s once again Luna’s turn to figure out the clue and we’re off to Werk It Dance studio.. I gurantee it was going to say twerk it but nick was like “oh honey no. “. The name is just awkward otherwise. Or maybe i’m just old. Also the twins are there. Just a nice thing to note and two characters I THINK are from an episode I haven’t watched yet but read about. Anyways, Luna’s pumped while sam has “oh crapbaskets” written all over her face and quickly does terribly. This one however is .. not as easy to brush of. Not liking going to farms or laser tag is easy, there just things not to do on dates. Not dancing.. is hard when your both musically inclined people whose taste in music is why you met in the first place. While they try to gloss over it, it’s clear this is an issue and worries them both.  Moving on you know the drill at this point: Sam gets the clue, Luna dosen’t, we’re off to rock climbing. Sam utterly loves it while Luna is terrified. Moving on We cut to Luna, whose sitting down feeling depressed, aka my natural state these days, when Lori and Leni show up. Lori even gave her a cute backpack for the quest.. that has a leash attached. I’d say it’s a bit extreme but i’m half convinced this happened at some point and is the reason Leni dosen’t wear laces. 

Luna is of course spiraling because it turns out she and Sam don’t have a lot in common. Lori however gives some really good advice: Turns out she and Bobby hit some of the same problems and she just suggest they both try embracing things the other person likes. Even if it dosen’t work, shocker given the episode is far from over yet, it’s not bad advice and I like that in relationsihp based episodes it’s Lori who tends to be the one helping out, having the most experince to deal with that and a, at least by this point early Lori could be a bit TOO asholish sometimes, really solid couple.  And if you read this before I apologize because for some reason Tumblr decided to EAT A THIRD OF MY REVIEW FORCING ME TO REWRITE IT. And yes i’m ranting a bit but in my defense I worked hard on this and to have most of it chewed up through no fault of my own pisses me off and thus I needed to rant a bit. Back to the review! So Luna tries Lori’s approach while Lori runs off to find Leni who got off the leash.. again. SHe’s probably just going to sniff some ground, eat the plants,she’ll be finnne Lori. Anyways Luna and Sam go to the local health smoothie shop, the kind of place that is my nightmare for people like me with Orangutan bods but makes sense Sam would be into, and the next challenge is identify what this smoothie is made of. I”ve played this game before: my guesses were fish bones,chicken bones, and dry bones.... seriously the glass was just purred bones. I never bought a smoothie from that guy again.. mostly because someone called the cops. There’s a lesson in that. Luna however spits hers out.  IN a break from formula the next activity is for Luna to come sail away, come sail away come sail away with Sam.. whose actually a pretty apt sailor. You can guess the rest. Luna botches it, they still get the clue, yadda yadda time for the sad part. The two have an honest discussion abotu the fact that despite chemstry being there, they seemingly have nothing but their music in common and are diffrent people, with Luna glumly resolving to finish the race as friends and neither being happy. WHelp my heart just broke, next episode.  So Mayor SHirley from Community greets the girls at the final challenge: A bake off... because apparently just being the first one there wasn’t good enough... then again i’ve seen far worse rule changes by a far smugger canadian man so i’ll let it slide. Thankfully the universe throws the two a bone: Neither can bake. What follows is a damn adorable scene: The two touch hands and blush over butter, before working in synch.. and Sam then procedes to cause their pie to explode in her face.. I could’ve phrased that better, but Luna giggles at it, Sam playfully tackles her giggling insues and the two end up on the ground, smiling at each other. Also Helen and Scoots win. Who cares. Luna realizes from this that she was an idiot to suggest giving up so soon, and proposes they simply try to find things they like together rather than focusing on their diffrences. Because as a coked out cat who sang a duet with a coked out Paula Abdul once said:  If things go wrong we make corrections, to keep things goin in the right directions, try to fight it but i’m telling you jack, it’s uselss opposites attract! By the way the show really dropped the ball not having Luna mention this song titles in one of her song refrence things she does this episode. Anyways the two decide to start dating and then hug. My heart.. it’s too full.  We end the episode on the reveal Helen is Lynn, a nice payoff for earlier as Lynn rides off on her elderly partner in crimes scooter into the sunset while Luna and Sam giggle and look on. Like any great love story. And we’re out.  Final Thoughts:  Okay second time around with this, and it’s a great ep. The repetition hurts it SLIGHTLY, but Sam and Luna’s chemistry helps the episode as does it’s terrific aseop: You don’t have to be exactly alike to love a person, or like the same things.. as long as you connect, and TRY to find things you both enjoy, you’ll be fine. The episodes also helped by plenty of nice little cameos, showing off the series new grasp on continuity, and Lori being Luna’s advisor and Lynn naturally being the douchey rival to them and everyone else. Overall a solid ep that was a natural step forward and set up a good status quo for Sam and Luna. The next ep dosen’t feel as natural a story step, but is still a nice one and the one that insipired me to take the leap and review these eps so join me next time as our faviorite couple bond with some cats and get into some scooby doo door shenanigans with “The Purrrfect Gig” Until then later days. 

[writingsilly]

Underwater (ch. I)

Description: Your bad behaviour led you to stay the whole summer in your town of birth with your grandfather. The very first day, you went for a walk to the beach and had an encounter with a stranger that would change your whole life.

Pairing: Reader x Merman!Taehyung.

Genre: Angst, suspense, sci-fi.

Trigger warnings (!!!): Blood, swearing, angst.

Click here to read in AO3!

I: An Encounter

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When you arrived, the guilt of having left so easily without putting up a fight or some resistance hit you right away deep in your chest. Maybe because in your way there, you started to miss the big city and wondered why you hadn’t been smarter and just behaved properly, that way your father wouldn’t have felt the need to “straighten you up.” It was a shame that his idea of turning you into someone a little more affectionate and sympathetic was to tear you apart from your friends and the city it had been your home since you were sixteen years old.

At first, you fought the tingly feeling that had set in the pit of your stomach when you recognized the salty aroma in the air and the warm breeze. The pride that came with your father putting your suitcases on the floor and leaving you without giving you a second glance was way too strong to ignore it. You couldn’t pretend you were surprised or hurt by his actions, he was mad anyway and it wasn’t something uncommon coming from him. Ever since he decided that dealing with your grandmother’s death was less important that work, his feelings kinda vanished. He still cared about you, that wasn’t the problem, but he sometimes needed to be reminded that raising a child, with no help at all also, was more than a lonely note stuck in the refrigerator saying “won’t be back ‘til late. Order some food.” But you couldn’t really complain, could you? You had the freedom every person your age dreamed of.

What dragged you back to your birth town, apart from a long trip by plane, wasn’t a poor attempt of calling his attention, as anyone might have concluded. This happened to you because you pushed the limits a little too much, it just got out of hand. What started with dipping your toe into what seemed like the perfect life, ended up with being suspended three times and eventually your expulsion. It was simple at first, skipping one period of History, to begin with. But that period turned into two and it all concluded with skipping weeks just so you could walk around the city with no destination at all. Sometimes your friends, Jungkook and Hoseok, would follow you. Other times, you would disappear for a good few hours. You were so used to being alone in your house, you might as well find a place that made you happy even in your isolation.

It took some time, but you finally found it enjoyable to be alone. When your friends couldn’t be there for you for whatever the reason was, you would take a random bus and get off somewhere you didn’t fully recognize. You would wander there and come back home really late, but not late enough for your father to notice that because he hadn’t come back from work yet. It wasn’t hard for him to notice that you weren’t doing good in school. A call from the principal and a miscalculation from you resulted into for father actually taking that call and a very long talk about your future, about how the last year of high school practically defines you and about the plans he had for you, great universities and an even greater career. You didn’t care about any of that. Right then it just didn’t seem worthy to work so hard for something you father wanted for you. He didn’t even bother to share what he had planned for you, let alone listen to what you wanted. It didn’t take a genius to assume that what he was thinking of for you would turn you into an even sadder figure of him.

Your grandfather was basically the only one who, despite his advanced age, understood you completely. Even when your father informed him, you knew he wouldn’t have asked questions of why you were visiting him for the whole summer. He was too happy to see you after three years. After hearing the news of your expulsion, he smiled and let you in, ignoring your father’s indications; that you were grounded, and needed discipline. It was refreshing to finally trust an adult. Back in the city, you only had Hoseok and Jungkook, and they were fun to hang out with and they were the closest thing you had to a friend. Nevertheless, you missed the feeling of being taken care of. A nice home-made meal every now and then, to talk about important things related to family, that kind of stuff, the stuff that only a relative can deliver.

The floor of the old beach house still cricked whenever you stepped too hard, you noticed as you walked into the guest room and dropped your suitcases and bag pack on the ground. You recalled the countless times you had crashed here whenever you were too tired to go back next door, to what was at the time where you lived.

“I haven’t had the time to set the bed,” your grandfather sighed, “my back is killing me, so I hoped you could do that for me.”

The bed stood in the middle of the room, naked and surrounded by two antique nightstands. Both of them had a night lamp that you doubted they functioned correctly since they had never, even when you were a child. You had never been scared of the dark and your grandparents rarely received any visits, so they had never felt the need to change the bulbs of said lamps. In the mornings, the sunshine was enough to light up all the room and the almost transparent curtains certainly helped with the natural illumination.

“Sure, let me unpack and I’ll do it.”

He ruffled your hair and then chuckled.

“I’ll make some sandwiches.”

After unpacking, you dropped all your weight on the just set bed. The springs ground against each other because of the sudden movement and you swore that one of them poked you somewhere in your back, but it had never felt more like home.

With your phone in your hands, you spent the next hour to catch up with your friends. It was hard to get to have your mobile back in your power. Your father had confiscated it as part of your punishment and refrained from hearing your countless reasons why you shouldn’t leave the city without any kind of communication. It was a pleasant surprise, or maybe it didn’t come as such as a surprise, to know that your father hadn’t changed his mindset and kept his sock drawer to hide things from you, such as confiscated things, or in a more joyful scenario, Christmas presents.

Hoseok We already miss you here (19:07)

Jungkook You left a bobby pin in my house, come back to get it (19:13)

It was heart-warming. Your chest hurt a little from the separation, and you knew it was only going to be two months away and you could always call them whenever you felt too lonely, but still, there was some excitement tingling inside you because you were aware that you were going to meet them again. The distance just made your heart grow fonder.

You were already feeling a little weird without your things around you. Back in the city, your room wasn’t that cheerful itself, but you made sure to make it that way. The white walls were covered with little drawings, fallen leaves you had collected randomly because they looked too pretty to leave on the floor just like that, and postcards of the places you dreamed of going someday. You knew that if you decided to change the colour of the walls, you would get bored of it soon, so you figured that keeping them plain blank was the perfect chance to customize them as much as you wanted, and you could easily change your mind, your likes or dislikes and it would be as trouble-free as unsticking everything you had put up on the walls. But now, looking here and there, you feel small. The beige walls seem like they are towering over you. It was hard to picture yourself as a little kid in this very same room. Right then, the room seemed boring as hell. Sure, it was where you used to sleep as a child after your grandfather told you a story and those memories would never ever leave you, they had a very special place in your heart, but you came to the conclusion that it was going to be impossible to shield yourself inside the house all the summer like you had planned to do. You had your phone, but you knew that it was only a matter of time until you get bored and feel the need to do something, anything. Besides your mobile, the most interesting thing the room had to offer was maybe the window that had a not so clear nor close view of the beach.

“Why don’t you take a walk?”

Your grandfather really needed to learn how to knock.

“Grandpa! You almost gave me a heart attack…” You yelled with your hand on your chest. Your heartbeat was basically drumming like crazy beneath your palm.

“Those are no fun,” he commented, probably speaking from experience, with a blank expression. “If you are done here, take a walk before it gets dark. Your father said something about curfew, but I just don’t want you walking alone if it’s late.”

It was nice to have an authority figure being kind to you for a change. Not that your father hadn’t been because that would’ve meant he engaged a conversation with you every once in a while, and that literally only happened if you ever got in trouble, but with him being absent all the time, it was hard for anyone to notify him about your playing hooky, or stuff like that.

“I promise I’ll be back before it gets dark.”

You had forgotten how good the summer breeze felt on your skin. The sand was particularly sparkly when the sun was giving its last goodbye. The sand felt warm between your toes, the weight of your body sunk you a little because it was still wet from the high tide. A sudden desire to walk into the sea and put your feet in the water hit you, but you refrained. You knew better than that. There was a high possibility that once in the water, you weren’t going back to your grandfather’s for a long time.

You kept wandering. The sand, once so shiny and golden, turned into a cloud of almost blue dust that seemed as if it had been sprayed with little diamonds when nobody was watching when the moon appeared. The temperature had dropped a little, and you scolded yourself for not having brought a light sweater, the one Jungkook had unpacked, along with other things, from one of your suitcases so he could fit inside of it and you would “bring him with you”. The recent memory made you smile while you tried to shield your chest with your arms against the cold wind. You didn’t remember the night to be this cold and it was probably because when you used to live here, at this hour, you were tucked in bed, probably hearing your grandfather ranting about some nonsense or maybe even sleeping after a long day.

Wait, what time was it?

Automatically, your hands flew to the back pocket of your high-waisted shorts. Your phone wasn’t there. You had left it charging on the nightstand. Great.

There was no much more left to do, really. The beach could extend itself for kilometres if you recall correctly, and you weren’t really on the mood nor with the right attire, a tank top, a pair of shorts and also bared foot, to walk more than just a little bit more.

Your bored eyes checked around and recognized, not too far, the old fishing dock still standing proudly just above the salty water. You had given it for totally destroyed. Even when you were here, that thing had never looked solid and for that very reason, you had never dared to put a single foot on it. You remembered that whenever your father and grandfather left you with the lovely family just across the beach house and went fishing (since they didn’t have a boat they just went to the dock to test their luck) you were practically begging and clutching into their legs so they would change their mind and stay with you. In the end, they would come back, sometimes empty-handed, other times, with a bucket full of fishes for dinner, but safe and sound much to your relief. Back then, you were convinced that only strong people like them could walk through that delicate wooden runway and come back alive to tell the tale. Now you were all grown-up, kind of, and you knew it wasn’t magic or anything like that what allowed them to come back home with not one scratch, but the result of a well-thought architecture.

A little spark inside your chest ignited at the sight of the dock. You didn’t really think about it and run towards it, because that’s the only way doubt creeps in and stops you from doing something that might be a great story to tell when you’re old enough to think that talking to strangers in the bus about the adventures of your youth is socially acceptable and not at all weird.

Soon, you were in front of the only step that separated you from the dock. It was dumb, you realized. You literally were with both your feet on the sand, gasping for air because you had run to get where you were standing, and you still couldn’t bring yourself to step on the wooden boards ahead. It seemed like a huge step, and you didn’t even know why. The first tread seemed pretty solid if someone were to ask you and there were no nails that could possibly nail into your skin and give you tetanus, because, come on, those nails were rusty as hell. There was no reason that kept you from walking down the dock. Nothing. Your father wasn’t there to call you and remind you about your curfew, and even if he had been here, you didn’t have your phone with you. And your foolish fear from when you were a child had been long forgotten. That only left you, and the wooden path.

You walked in the dock.

It was an anti-climax if you were honest. All the fear but also craving to walk down it you had bottled up since you were just a child it didn’t explode like when you shake a soda and pop it open, it just slipped through your fingers like water. You practically watched it dry off on the floor. How disappointing… There was nothing special about the old wooden boards, and the wind was chillier than before. Despite that, you decided to continue your little stroll until the end of the trail. Once there, you sat down and took advantage of the situation to put your feet in the sea.

Hoseok and Jungkook would’ve jumped into the water in no time, you thought, and you would’ve done the exact same thing. But, now you didn’t want to do it. Maybe because it was a little late, you could tell your body was asking for some rest already, or maybe because there was no one to prove anything to. Back in the city, you had your friends, the ones that had met you when you were trying to taste the new freedom your father was giving you so recklessly, and then you had him, your father. But he was a different story. If you had wanted to prove something to him, you would’ve made sure that he noticed you, and that was far from your desires. Sometimes you wanted nothing more but for him to completely forget about you. Yes, he was never home but he still tried to take your future into his hands and if he forgot about you, you could be the only owner of your destiny.

Your feet were softly dancing in the water and you rested your chin in the palm of your hand, devoting your time to watch the movement of the water. The moon, reflected on it, would distort and turn into one million figures by the simple motion of your body, and you were so drowned into it that you almost didn’t notice the water bubbling up. At first, you didn’t think much of it, it had been probably you with your feet, but the bubbles kept coming up even after you had removed your feet from the water. It reminded you of boiling water, and there was certainly something underneath causing all that fuss. The night didn’t help at all, and you found yourself leaning into the water to have a better view of whatever it was down there. The bubbles were only making it harder to distinguish anything at all and you were about to give up when a strike of light blinded you. You fell on your back, almost hitting the back of your head. Your eyes burned considerably, you rubbed them with the hope of relieving the sting.

“What the hell?” You murmured to yourself.

There was something down there, the pain your eyes were going through was the proof.

Slowly, you opened your eyes, blinking a little to get used to the light again. You crawled to the end of the dock. The bubbling had subsided and there was no trace of light or anything at all there, but you knew that something had caused that reaction of the water and that dazzling luminescence. Looking for answers, you checked around you. All seemed clear; the sea was calm, and there was no one in sight. You started to doubt your own common sense. Your head was somewhere else right then. You had had a long trip today and you didn’t remember the last time you had gotten a good night sleep. Maybe your brain had had enough and it finally had drained out of judgment for the day.

In the middle of the silence, a splash was heard nearby, almost next to you. Your head turned in the direction of the noise, and you saw it again; that glow. It wasn’t as dazzling as before but it sure wasn’t hard to notice. It looked like the moon had fallen right into the ocean. Perhaps your sleep-deprived-self was finally giving up, but if the moon hadn’t been above you in the sky, shinning as always, you would’ve honestly believed that it was in the ocean right then. You didn’t notice how the shiny object, that wasn’t the moon, started to approach the dock with languid movements from one side. The only thing you got to hear from your tired mind was “run”, you followed the advice and backed away from the borderline of the path. You must’ve stepped too hard because of the nerves and the pure panic caused one of the old and mouldy wooden boards to snap in half, trapping your left foot. Your toes grazed the salty water beneath the dock. You were now knee-deep between the timber trail and the sea. While your leg had slipped in the hole you had created, the splintered wood had scratched the sides of your calf. The salt in the water just made the pain even worse. You couldn’t drown the whine of pain that got out from your mouth. Your head echoed that torn sound over and over again, it was almost as if you hadn’t stopped screaming for a second. You sounded pitiful, scared and overly vulnerable, yet nobody was coming for your rescue. It was late, dark and the closest family lived like half an hour walk away, that was if they were even home.

In a desperate attempt to unstuck your leg, you rocked it back and forward and tried to use both your hands to lift your body. Your right knee was getting tired of being pressed against the wood, and you were scared that the ancient structure wouldn’t take your weight any longer and lose another part, letting you fall once and for all. Nevertheless, there was no use. Your lower limb was basically compressed there, and the more you moved, the more damage it inflicted to your muscle. The splintered wood was breaking the first layer of skin of your leg, leaving behind a raw trail. Your blood was probably joining the salty water. You begged whatever was stalking from under the sea didn’t like the taste of blood because if it did, it was being attracted to you by the smell of it.

Besides your rushed breathing, you could hear near to nothing around you. This little town barely had a twentieth of the population the city you had been living the past few years had; even if you screamed your lungs out, nobody would hear. The few people that lived here were far away enough to hear whatever was happening on the beach, moreover, they were asleep.

A cold shiver licked your body from the inside, all the way from the tip of your toe, going through your spine, to end at the top of your head. There was something wrapped around your foot. A frozen grip that kept growing tighter and tighter. You couldn’t quite tell if it was because of the cold touch, or maybe it was the fact that you were terrified, but your body refused to respond to your brain. You were trapped in every sense of the word; your leg was impaled between splintered wood, something was clutching at your foot, and your body wasn’t responding. The grip was familiar, it felt almost like a hand. You could feel fingers too, but it had sharp claws at the tips. The claws grazed your skin as if it was trying to calm you down. Too bad it only made you reminded you of how cows are stunned before being killed. The touch was relatively melodious considering the circumstances. Melodious since your breathing wasn’t hurried anymore. Somehow, you had accomplished to synchronize your breathing with the movement of those delicate brushes on your skin; inhaling the closer it got to your thigh, and exhaling when it went down to your toes. Hypnotizing. A hypnotizing touch that went in a spiral to your core. Your mind was clouded by pleasing grey fog. All the worries vanished just like that. There was nothing in your mind. In your head, you were floating above water, a soft tide swinging your body back and forward. It seemed so real.

“Feeling any better?”

No matter how velvety that voice was, your breathing got stuck in your throat. It didn’t make you feel safe, quite the opposite, because there was no one around that could be the owner of that voice. It was literally coming from the dark.

The air wasn’t fresh anymore, you weren’t sure if you were breathing anymore. There was a weak beeping in your ear, accompanied by the sound of your blood pumping through your veins. You wanted to cry.

In your dazzled state, the only thing you succeeded to rescue was that single thought: run. So that’s what you decided to do. You tried to pull your leg out of the hole, again, not caring about the sharp pain on your thigh, ignoring the thought of how the shattered wood was peeling your skin off. You screamed when the underwater grip got tighter around your ankle. The claws, pinning in your skin, were like a shot of frozen, but bubbly, liquid into your veins. You stopped fighting, not because you wanted, but because you were physically unable to move. You knew there was no use on crying for help, but oh, how would you’ve loved to be able to scream until your lungs burned, that would’ve been the only source of warmth in your body.

You wondered if the wood had already cut off your circulation; if it was easier to chop off your leg completely, but you knew that the answer to those questions was no. You could feel how cold the water was, that hand, still gripping onto your ankle. There was no doubt, the circulation was there.

At this rate, you weren’t sure if there was someone, or something, that could have mercy on you. You glanced around you, attempting to see through the tears that were clouding your sight, seeking for anything that could be of utility, maybe something you could use as a lever, but there was nothing around, just old and broken wood boards that wouldn’t be helpful. The whole deck was made out of them, and thanks to this situation, you had confirmed the obvious; they were fragile, they couldn’t support your weight…

That’s it!

You took a deep breath, bent your body to one side, lifted your arm, and then lowered it with might, hitting the wood board that was right next to the one your leg was stuck in with your elbow. It cracked, but it didn’t break. You tried again until it eventually broke in half and both pieces fell in the ocean. The board around your leg followed them. You were too shocked to move, but when the realisation hit you, and you dared to look down, there was nothing holding onto your ankle. You moved back from there, just in case, and raised your leg up with the help of both your arms to carefully straightened it up the best you could. There were fresh, but superficial cuts all around it, right above your knee, those you were expecting to see. The rest of your leg was rather unharmed, except for your ankle. Blood was dripping from four vertical cuts. You gasped at the sight. It looked bad and you were sure it would look even worse if you didn’t do something about it. You had to apply pressure to the wound, you remembered you had read that somewhere.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

It was that voice again. No matter how briefly you had heard it, you knew it was the same voice.

You turned around and found a pair of eyes staring right back at you. They belonged to a man around your age, you soon noticed. Half of his face was underwater, but you still could appreciate his exceptional features; high cheekbones, blond hair, a colour that would only be attainable with bleach, and sun-kissed skin. But the feature that truly captured your attention was his gaze. You were scared to death. Your knees were ready to give in. However, there was something about those green eyes that made your heart settle down inside your trembling body.

Despite your dry throat, you dared to speak.

“Who are you?”

There was no response. He raised both eyebrows as if saying “oh, really?”, and began to swim closer to the deck. You automatically tried to move away, which made him stop his tracks. He looked confused.

“Stay back,” you demanded.

Your voice was anything but confident, so you were surprised when he didn’t move an inch closer to the dock. The stranger simply held both hands in the air, showing surrender, but you didn’t let your guard down. There was something about his presence that made you feel uncomfortably calmed. A little voice in your head was telling you that he was to be trusted, but your body just wouldn’t stop reacting with rejection towards him. If he got any closer, he could easily overpower you. There was nothing you could defend yourself with, and you weren’t going to run off, your leg wouldn’t let you, so you decided to keep your distance using your hands to push your body further back from the edge of the dock.

“Who are you?” You asked again, louder.

The stranger rolled his eyes but he was quick to lock your gazes again with a bored expression. A shiver went down your spine and left a fire trace along with it.

Something was wrong, you could feel it.

In a poor attempt of hiding the fear that was washing over you, you tried to get on your feet. If this stranger was the person to blame for your wounded leg, you couldn’t let him know he had an advantage over you. So, with quivering legs, you stood up.

“You’re the one who did this to me.”

It wasn’t a question. You were almost certain that this man had hurt you. After all, he was the only one there with you.

He took the rest of his head out of the water. His lips were stretched in an unapologetic smile, but he stayed silent.

“You’re not going to deny it?” You asked frowning.

“Why would I?” He answered, surprising you, “you seem pretty sure about your theory.”

The sound of his voice vibrated on your chest, it almost threw you down your feet again. You knew you had heard his voice a few times that night, but it always took you by surprise. His voice was so powerful and dominating, you felt the need to surrender to him.

“Oh, the little girl is scared, isn’t she?”

His teasing tone made you grit your teeth in frustration. You took a deep breath and crossed your arms over your chest.

“Who are you?”

“You’re gonna keep asking that? Fine,” he scoffed. “My name is Kim Taehyung.”

Sharp pain in your wounded leg caused you to buck your knees and almost hit the ground. You had to do something about your injuries, otherwise, there was going to be an infection or worse. You went back to your previous idea and bent down to apply pressure on the wound.

“I wouldn’t do that…” Taehyung hummed.

At first, you weren’t going to listen to him because; in all honesty, who would listen to a creepy stranger that most definitely had hurt you? But he was still where you had asked him to stay, and he didn’t seem to be moving from there anytime soon.

“And why would I listen to you, huh? You literally cut my skin.”

Taehyung laughed bitterly, and then looked away from you to the night sky. You wondered if he was trying to make time, if there was someone hiding in the dark, ready to attack you. The thought made you shiver. Now you weren’t so sure that putting your guard down was such a good idea.

He kept his eyes on the sky almost peacefully. The fact that he could be so calmed around you while you were struggling to catch your breath just cleared up your actual situation; he was in power now and you couldn’t do anything about it, even if you tried. No matter how strong you thought to could be, he didn’t need to be careful around you, it was the other way around. The only thing you could do was to hope he would get distracted enough time for you to ran and hide until the morning came.

His gaze locked yours and he smiled.

“I’m surprised you’re on your feet,” he noted, “most of you don’t last this long.”

His tone was so calmed like he had done this exact same thing many times before. You had had a slight impression that he had planned this, but with what he had just said, you were now completely sure.

Sweat was dripping down your forehead, cold, freezing even, sweat but your body was heating up, boiling.

“Listen, I-”

“No,” he interrupted you, “you listen to me. If you want to live, don’t touch your wound.”

You had never liked for anyone to tell you what to do, but in this situation, you didn’t have a choice, did you?

While thinking of what to answer to him, you felt your knees shake. Your legs finally gave up. Your body hit the floor and you heard the wood board crack beneath you, you held your breath.

“What’s happening?” You urged.

“Are you new around here?”

“What?”

“Hasn’t anyone told you not to wander around the beach late at night, dumb girl?” He sounded confused, surprised even, but his tone changed after some sort of realisation. “Of course no one has. Your kind is characteristically stupid, always have been.”

The numbing feeling was spreading at a slow speed. Your feet were there, they were definitely there, but you couldn’t feel them.

“M-make it stop!”

You heard a sigh from beneath the dock.

“Panicking will only make it worse, and you don’t want that, do you?”

“What-”

“If you touch your wound, you won’t feel your arms in a matter of minutes,” he then explained.

Had he poisoned you?

“Now, stay still and listen to me, dumb girl. I’ve got something to tell you…”

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