#I kinda think the show producers are cowards

[sarcasticdolphin]

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[crystalelemental]

With the Abyssal portions defeated, time for the final thoughts on Nexomon Extinction.

The Abyssals are exactly what I wanted out of the Tyrants.

My biggest complaint story-wise for this game was that the Tyrants themselves really didn't matter much. There's a thousand-year war among the Tyrants going on, that pushed humanity so far that one Guild leader created a cult to revive Omnicron, and their successor created artificial dragons to hunt Tyrants, an artificial Tyrant to command them, and then another, bigger one when that plan failed. But despite how significant this war was...all of the Tyrants we meet are pretty inconsequential, and most are associated with a human who does most of the talking and planning to begin with. I understand that this game is the human errors side of thing after the last game's presentation of the threat of Nexomon, but it's still kinda rough to go through all these story segments with the Tyrants not producing anything substantial. You get to postgame where you can hunt them down, and they're all a pain in the ass to find, with nothing drawing me to them.

The Abyssals, though? This is what I wanted. A thousand years ago, the first Abyssal arrived. And their first act? Killing Hilda. Another is stated to have made an attempt on Eliza's life. These are a much more pressing, salient threat. Sure, Tyrants destroyed cities, but we've never seen them do anything. The Abyssals have personal connection.

Despite their power, the Abyssals are odd in that they never aimed to become Sovereign of Monsters, and they seem immune to Solus' influence as the current Queen. What's presented is a pretty interesting mystery that builds up more questions than it feels like it wants to answer. What's the deal with these weird engravings? Why are Abyssals so weird? Apparently each is born with a clear goal from its creator, but this creator is unknown to them, and their specific goals are incredibly simplistic, with no known overarching goal. They're super unusual.

By gameplay, the Precursor Island is really fun. It might be an odd comparison, but it reminds me of the bonus dungeon of Ib a bit. There's a central location, and your goal is running around everywhere to collect the things you need to progress, solving puzzles that sometime intertwine a bit. It's a really fun system, finding each of the Abyssals and solving their puzzles. The only annoying ones were the flying one (Inominox) and the electric one (Volcel). The rest was really fun. Even the weird maze puzzle was fairly clever, though the final solution was a little...obvious but still hard to figure out the hint.

I think what really sells me on the Abyssals...well, two things. The smaller one is design. The Abyssals are just really cool concepts. Venefelis shows up and is immediately incredible, being super imposing but kinda goofy, and stated outright that he shouldn't be strong enough to pull off the nonsense he has. Kroma is my absolute favorite, and she's set up as super imposing given her drive is killing Eliza, only for Venefelis to rant about how incompetent Kroma is for being the only one of them to fail in her mission. Then there's Screaming Fire Velociraptor, who is hilarious in concept. And Inominox, who is such a coward that it won't face anyone with more than one Nexomon, and that one Nexomon needs to be weak to Flying. Or the soup for Volcel. There's Caelesa, who ran across the world, and was attacked by the Guild for little reason other than paranoia, since she hurt no one in her efforts. There's Pluvian, whose entire goal was to show up, scream, and then get killed by the Guild for no clear reason. There's Rotrimus, who you try to order around, and initially agrees, but is intercepted by the force of their creator bending its will back to refusing your call. It's a really interesting and dynamic group, that apparently has no clear association. Many of them insist they worked alone. They had a creator, but they themselves don't even think of themselves as a unified group. Only Venefelis seems to confirm that they have association.

The other is that this group is delightfully aligned to the themes of the game. Nexomon Extinction has two general themes I can identify. The first is a bit more obvious and repeatedly stated: second chances. The children of Omnicron refer to their support as their redemption, the entire plot is Deena attempting to grant a second chance at saving the world, your resolution of the central conflict is trading the destruction of your direct enemy into granting them a second chance at life. There's an ongoing importance to the idea of getting a second shot at things...but a second shot isn't necessarily going to mean doing better. The former hero comments that your actions amount to the same thing she did, and despite the failures of the dragons, Amelie's second chance is doubling down on a decision that worked out poorly. This leads into the second theme, and the one I like a lot better: the limits of personal agency.

The former hero is a good lens for this one. Repeatedly throughout this game, their actions are referred to as if it was a huge mistake. They themselves talk about it as a mistake. Deena outright calls it stupid decision made by her moronic friends. Even Ulzar, who is more sympathetic to the situation, talks about it as if it were a mistake, if an understandable one. Absolutely everyone treats their actions as something that led to the present problem, and thus was the wrong decision.

But...we were there. Omnicron was going to completely destroy the world. You can argue that the destruction of his soul in the netherworld wasn't necessary, and that was the mistake. But it's well known that he'll come back time and again; it'd be pushing the problem out to the next generation. And Omnicron could follow through. When you fail to destroy him in the Netherworld, Omnicron devastates an area so badly that entire maps are wiped out of reality. This was done in hours. Omnicron tells you outright he could've annihilated the planet in a day, but he stopped solely to challenge his rival, the strongest human, as a matter of pride. This wasn't an idle threat. It was an active, immediate devastation looming on the horizon.

Faced with that, what choice did you really have? Yes, there was a technically a choice. But who could choose the alternative? When humanity is faced with its destruction through the war of the Tyrants, yes, you had a choice to make those dragons or not. But faced with the destruction of multiple cities and further looming threat, what choice did you have? When those failed, you had the choice to stop. But then the destruction of the Tyrants continue unabated. Who would choose to stop? Vados embodies this. He's a creation of Amelie, born to hunt Tyrants to protect humanity. The thing about Vados is that he has agency and beliefs of his own. When told to destroy Petram in spite of the Laterians interfering, he refuses to harm humans. But we know that will happen anyway. We're told repeatedly that the Tyrants will continue to rise, until Vados has destroyed so much that the world is inhospitable to humans as well. He has his own agency, his own desire to protect humanity and protect the world. But he'll betray that through his own actions, regardless of what he wants. He was made to hunt Tyrants, and so he shall, til the end of days. The only way to avert this is to refuse to fight every Tyrant, to refuse to wage this absolute crusade. And that's the only choice he cannot make. He doesn't get a choice.

The Abyssals continue this theme. Like Vados, the Abyssals are created for a singular purpose. They are born with a goal, and that is all they have. They have their own personalities, but few of them seem interested in the specifics of what's going on. Kroma doesn't seem particularly interested in killing Eliza, she just has to. Pluvian doesn't seem to function as a willing sacrifice, but she does it anyway because that's her goal. Regardless of what they want, they will carry out their goal.

Unlike Vados, though, they have no overarching philosophy. Nothing that specifically guides their actions beyond the immediate. Caelesa runs around the world, but she doesn't seem to understand why. So when their goal is accomplished, despite getting a second chance at life...none of them know what to do with it. So they just sit around, completely docile, until you strike them down again. What other choice did they have? They never knew what they were aiming to do in the first place.

Except for Venefelis. The first Abyssal. At first, he had no idea what his point was. He had a goal, carried it out, and got sealed within the woods forever. Not ideal, but mission accomplished. Then 300 years later, another entity like him appears, carrying out a similarly short-sighted goal. Then 200 years later, another. And another 100 years after that. They appear faster and faster, until we get two within ten years. And as the only one to really survive, even if just as a spirit...you recognize the pattern. After all, Venefelis understands Caelesa's goal better than she understands it herself. She thinks it was just running, but Venefelis identifies it as a scouting mission. You know there's a grander design here; a purpose. But you can't figure out what. Because no one will tell you. You creator, the one guiding your motions, won't speak to you.

What else can you do but try to divine their intent? With nothing else to go off of, you watch their actions, and notice only one thing stands out. Kroma failed, and following that, no other Abyssals were created. Maybe your creator quit. Maybe it's because of Kroma. You don't know that, but what else could it be? You don't understand your purpose, but you desperately want to understand it; to know why you're still here. What choice do you have but to force a second chance on her? To enforce your creator's will, regardless of what she'd want? What choice does she have but to obey?

The twisted thing is, there really is nothing else for them. Rotramus shows this definitively. When you attempt to issue a command, he thinks about it, and passively decides sure, I'll help. It's not the resounding success of an authority check commanding its allegiance. It's someone making a choice, as if it has nothing better to do and no reason to argue. But its creator's will forces it to refuse. Even with its goal accomplished, and no reason to refuse, they interfere, denying your freedom. Quite literally, you have no other choice.

Everything that happens in this arc is driven by Venefelis' desires. His agency, his desire to understand his creator, drives everything forward. No one else even understands why they're here. They didn't have much choice either way. He brought them back, gave them a second chance they had no use for. But what else could he have done? To see what he wanted done, all he could do was solve Kroma's failure by pushing her into another attempt. And it wouldn't have even worked. It was entirely for nothing. But what can you do but try? You technically have a choice. You finished your goal, you could just let it all rest. But faced with the dread of an eternity devoid of purpose, who would choose any different?

Despite how many open-ended threads there are, and how many mysteries we're left with, this does feel like a self-contained story. We don't know what the point is. We don't know what it means. But neither did they. And the result of that ignorance, that impossibility, is they existed unable to live for themselves, and no second chance could get them to defy that fate. Which really resonates with me. I loved this side story a lot, and these open questions have really gotten me interested in the sequel game. I've heard they officially announced its existence but not a release date or any details. I can be patient. But I'm really invested in this one. They really hit a sweet spot here.

[mutedeclipse]

FUSELL, THE IMMORTAL

Spoilers and ranting with a bit of love sprinkled in there beneath the cut beneath the cut

I was bothered so bad about him being human i did something about it. Does it make sense? Maybe. Do i care? No.... yeah. Kinda.

I kept his robes the same and tried to keep the rest of the outfit in line with the usual sbr design scheme, the whole human with grey skin thing kinda irked me and the character designers were cowards by making the intergalactic scientist default to being a HUMAN. LIKE. SERIOUSLY....

WE ARE DEALING WITH A MAN WHO IS REAPING WHAT HE SEWED BY FUCKING WITH SCIENCE. FROM SPACE BTW. AND YOU MAKE HIM HUMAN WHAT IS WRONG WITH Y- cough. Im normal i prommy :)

So i made him resemble the very creatures he is bound to, the very creatures he decided to mass produce and cultivate for his gain and his own society's. Its like dramatic irony ykno? When within the helmet his smokey form blurs his shape from inside, only once the glass breaks he then has his form exposed. Again. Dramatic reveal style. I love dramatics btw. The markings do probably turn grey post boss fight like in the actual game, the ellonite on him drained of all its power...

By my previous fussel post i hadnt read the mysterious notes, which i have since concluded all belong to fusell. The story of a man who took science too far and paid the price fascinates me. The way he seems to be refering to himself when he notes the greed of his kind in a sort of self lothing type way... i didnt expect a character from super bomberman R 2 to comment on the struggles of overconsumption and the furthering of technology being a blessing and detriment to those who pursue it. The neutrality of science... the greed of advanced society, the affects of war (although only briefly touched on shows how science can be driven to cruel places) all laid out and expecting you to connect the pieces. Which i kinda adore. I could study him for hours under a microscope.

That being said if you misinterpret fusell i will skin you and mount you on my wall. For funsies. (Joking but passionate) he is a morally grey villian (though leaning toward a darker shade during the time of the story) whom really really wants to die likely bearing the guilt of a fallen society by mainly his hands

Anyway he phantom and blue would have a neat dynamic don't you think?

[theworldvsyoshiko]

Alright, current state of the colony, because children keep piling in and I haven't talked much about some of 'em.

Yoshiko "Happy" Russell: Needs no introduction. She's 22 now, which is fitting because she's currently living roughly the life of a grad student: she wakes up every day, has a beer or two with breakfast, and then spends the next sixteen hours in a cave doing research on important topics like 'how do we more efficiently generate power' and 'how do I mass produce space cocaine?'

Her mech army's grown a bit, but this is the point of the game where having a few mid-tier mechs is less 'game-breaking' and more 'allowing me to keep up with the difficulty curve despite having a mostly-pubescent population.'

Mami "Poopy" Tanner: Now 18 years old. After getting her leg ripped off by a bear, she went to jail, found Cyber-Jesus, and converted to the Creticonian Creed. She's persuasive as hell, so she's now the preacher counterpart to Yoshiko's leadership role in the ideoligion. A mech raid smashed down the wall to her prison cell and shot off her peg leg, so Hairy made her a new bionic leg. ... I mean, they could've just put another chunk of wood on there, but it seemed like the appropriate welcome to transhumanism.

Tied with Yoshiko for the title of best marksman, the best Social person by a wide margin, and a pretty damn good doctor, botanist, and cook. 'Who installed her bionic leg if she's the doctor?' you might ask? The answer is simple: Yoshiko installed it, immediately after drinking a beer, with a skill level of 'significant familiarity' in medicine. (One step below 'capable amateur,' for the record.)

Marta "Hairy" Bryant: Now 19 years old. She's the crafting specialist, which means that she's responsible for about 80% of the colony's income, and also the backup researcher. And a backup mechanitor, for that matter. She's like a mirror of Yoshiko, if Yoshiko had learned how to do anything useful before the age of about 15. She had a prosthetic arm when she arrived, so now she's got a bionic arm, because having a better-than-nothing kinda replacement arm on your main crafter sucks.

She also has the Coward trait, so I don't know why I gave her a shotgun, because she runs away screaming when enemies get into shotgun range. Thanks to being the backup mechanitor, she's the caravaneer, since she can use a herd of non-vital mechs to haul everything.

Anyuan Ji (no nickname): He's 15 now. You can tell that he's fifteen because even though he's not really a combatant, he's decided to walk around shirtless wearing nothing but a bandolier. He's still bad at everything... except Construction, where he's a capable amateur. So he spends all day making spike traps and doing unskilled labor like making bricks and processing fuel. This has turned out to be pretty useful, because literally everybody else's time is worth too much to spend much of it on things like that.

At least he's converted to the Creticonian Creed, so now he's only constantly seething about Yoshiko's cool bedroom.

Alyona Pruitt (no nickname): Also 15 now and, fucking thankfully, no longer a member of that fascist pig religion. Unfortunately, she basically went around calling everybody else racial slurs back when she still followed it. (Again: she is also a member of the race she considered inferior.) Everyone's list of relationship modifiers with her includes things like 'Insulted x4.' So most of the colony isn't very fond of her. It's a... work in progress. Look, this is what happens when you adopt feral teenagers.

No fixed role, but she's a good all-rounder. Like, really, she's at least decent at everything but art, medicine, plants, animals, and melee, and most of those are categories I really don't need help in anyway. Her traits are Misandrist and Slob, and you'd think this would cause more problems than it has so far.

Siennah "Renze" Sia: I haven't talked much about Renze yet, which is a shame, because she's kinda been the star of the show since she arrived. Here's what you need to know about Renze: She is a Hussar, essentially a genetically engineered supersoldier. In exchange for being really aggressive (this will be a problem sooner or later), perpetually addicted to combat meth from the age of 13, and bad at lots of things, she's naturally really durable and good at fighting,

Except Renze is 11 now and she spends 90% of her time cooking and making clothes. She loves them. She would happily cook all day every day if she could. She adores Poopy, which makes sense, since Poopy was also weirdo gun gremlin as a child. Her genes make her the third-best marksman in the colony already, so she's got a sniper rifle to keep her at a safe distance. She's getting her genes catalogued, and hopefully some day we'll be able to re-engineer her without the aggression and meth addiction. Until then: the drug lab is spinning up production.

Joseph "Jam" Zarkos: I still don't know what this kid was running from, and considering that the last time a child showed up chased by mystery danger it turned into a siege that made me consider evacuating the colony, I am concerned.

He's 11. He's naturally incredibly passionate about plants and animals, except he has the trait Animal Hater and he in fact follows an ideoligion that teaches that humans are so superior to animals that being nice to an animal is an act of self-debasement.

[ruethemazerunner]

15. someone to lean on

Takatora led Maisie through the cordoned off area reserved for Militants and ‘V.I.Ps’ (who were mainly just other executive members, with a few exceptions). It was considerably less crowded than the rest of the party, so navigating the area without colliding with drunk dancers was a lot easier.

He took Maisie all the way to the back, to the same spot he’d been in when he’d first spotted her making her way through the crowd. It was more private there, closer to the wall of the tent and away from prying ears and eyes.

Maisie looked around the ‘lounge’ as they finally stopped, taking in all the Militants that were there, the flashing neon lights produced by small L.E.D projectors, and the loveseats scattered around the sides that were mostly being occupied by couples that were only a few step short of giving everyone a very uncomfortable show. Takatora was used to people having no shame or shyness within the constant partying of The Beach, but seeing it when Maisie’s hand was still tightly grasped in his suddenly brought a blush to his cheeks.

She blinked up at him, “How come there’s so many people here? I thought it was, like, a super exclusive club.”

Takatora cracked a smile at her innocence, her big eyes looking surprised.

He leaned down so she could hear him over the loud music, “It’s mostly supposed to be Militants and Executive Members, but we are allowed to invite some people in.”

Maisie’s mouth formed a little ‘o’ shape, her eyes wondering back to the smaller dance floor in the middle of the tent. Takatora swallowed hard as he took the time to admire her now that he knew she wasn’t looking. Everything from the freckles smattered over her temples and her shoulders, to the roundness of her cheeks and the curve of her waist, it all made him feel lightheaded in the very best way. Takatora had trouble believing she was real.

Maisie finally looked back to him after a few more seconds, smiling at him bashfully, “It’s kinda nice in here, and I like that it’s not as crowded. Thanks for inviting me in, by the way.”

The last part of her sentence reminded Takatora that he hadn’t even asked her why she’d come over. Not that he wasn’t over the moon about it either way, but if something was wrong he needed to know. He would fix it for her.

“Did something happen by the bar?” Takatora wasn’t sure if that was the best way to phrase the question, certainly the last thing he wanted was for Maisie to think that her presence was unwanted, but the concern in his eyes must’ve been clear enough, because Maisie actually smiled.

“No, nothing, really. I just…” She suddenly looked bashful, reaching down as if to play with the ends of her dress, but since she was wearing shorts she just tugged at the hem of those instead, “Uhm, I saw you, and then Kuina saw that I saw you, and she kind of convinced me to come over here.”

Takatora wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Had Maisie only come because she felt pressured by her friend?

His silence must have seemed different than usual to Maisie, because her eyes suddenly widened and she snapped her gaze back up to his in alarm as if realizing something, “That doesn’t mean I didn’t wanna come over! I just didn’t know if you’d want to talk because it seemed like you didn’t want company, and I didn’t know if I would be allowed in-“ Maisie rambled, tugging on the arm that was still held their entwined fingers with her other hand, as if urging Takatora to believe her.

He breathed a small internal sigh of relief, “It’s okay. If you ever want to come in, just come get me. I always want to talk to you.”

Crap. He hadn’t meant to voice that last part, but it was too late now. He immediately turned his gaze to the floor, ears pink, too much of a coward to look back at Maisie and see what was sure to be rejection in her eyes.

He figures he should’ve known better by now.

Instead of awkwardly letting go of his hand and making an excuse to leave like he was so sure would happen, Maisie squeezed his hand and kicked her sneaker-clad foot shyly.

“Really?” Maisie asked softly.

Takatora still avoided her eyes, but nodded nonetheless, “I like talking to you.”

He tried to play it cool. He didn’t want Maisie to know how much more than that it was just yet.

Maisie beamed up at him, Takatora shyly meeting her gaze with the tips of his ears still hot.

“I like talking to you too,” Maisie said. She had yet to let of of Takatora’s hand, or his arm with her other hand, for that matter. It felt like Cloud 9.

“Can I ask you something?” Maisie spoke again before Takatora had a chance to fully absorb the happiness that her response made him feel. He nodded for the girl to continue nonetheless.

“Why are you down here? I’ve seen you hang out here a couple times, but you don’t really strike me as someone who would be into… all of this.” Maisie let go of his arm to gesture around them.

Takatora looked around him as he thought of how to word his answer so it wouldn’t sound odd to Maisie, “Aguni likes to place me on watch duty. He… says my appearance usually scares people into behaving.” He didn’t want to admit to her that it wasn’t just his looks, but also his reputation that made people steer clear of him most of the time. He didn’t want to scare Maisie away by making her think of him as a monster.

Takatora was no saint, far from it in fact, but he wouldn’t touch a single hair on her head without her permission, and he would make sure she knew that.

To his surprise, Maisie looked up in mild alarm, her brows pinched adorably as she once again latched onto his arm with her free hand.

“Oh no! You’re supposed to be on watch duty? I didn’t mean to distract you from your job! Oh gosh, I’m so sorry- I’ll just go back with Kuina, I’m really so-“

But Takatora shook his head vehemently and didn’t ease his grip on her hand, urging Maisie to stay put. He would’ve found her concern adorable if he wasn’t so focused on coming up with any excuse to get her to stay.

“It’s okay,” Takatora reassured her. “I don’t usually have much to do anyway. And Niragi is here too.” He didn’t have to add that most people had a tendency not to draw too much attention to themselves when Niragi was around, he was sure Maisie could put two and two together.

Maisie relaxed, but still seemed slightly worried, “Are you sure? I don’t want you to get in trouble with Aguni. Isn’t he technically your boss?”

Takatora shrugged, “I guess so, but it’s not like I’m breaking any Beach rules, so it’s fine.”

Maisie bit her lip, Takatora’s eyes immediately snapping to the action, but he looked back up as he heard her voice once more, “If you say so… Do you usually just stand her all night by yourself when you’re on watch, then?”

Takatora nodded, not really knowing if elaborating was necessary. Maisie was clearly good at reading people, and even if she wasn’t, nothing about him screamed ‘social’, Takatora was fully aware of that.

“Do you wanna go somewhere else?” Maisie smiled up at him.

Takatora blinked down at her, mouth suddenly dry. Maisie wanted to go somewhere, with him, just the two of them, alone, at night. They’d quite literally been alone together just that morning, but the simple fact that it was nighttime now made it feel much more intimate.

“We don’t have to, Tora.” Maisie said, smiling in seeming understanding at his lack of response. Takatora had to hide a shiver, the sound of the nickname Maisie had thought of just for him making his skin feel all sorts of tingly. He’d never cared much for his name, but he thought right then that he could listen to Maisie call him ‘Tora’ for the rest of his life and never get tired of it.

Takatora simply nodded mutely, but apparently that’s all that Maisie needed, because the next moment she’d tugged on the hand that was still clasped around hers, and she started leading Takatora right back the way they had come, straight to the exit.

~~

Maisie led Tora through the V.I.P section with a firm grasp on his hand, skirting around the couples heatedly making out and grinding all around them. She walked straight pass Kido, but shot him a smile nonetheless. He had just been doing his job earlier, she reminded herself.

Maisie knew where she wanted to go, had thought of it instantly the moment Tora had accepted her proposal. The views from her room were gorgeous, but what she really wanted was the chance to see the beautiful waves and sparkling sand she could see from her balcony up close.

Maisie was aware that technically residents weren’t allowed to leave Beach premises without permission, but she had faith that since Tora was here they wouldn’t get in trouble. He was a Militant, after all, and a high ranking member of The Beach.

She continued to lead him through the rowdy pool area, but instead of heading towards the grand archway that marked the entrance to The Beach, she took a turn and led him towards the backside of the hotel, near the gardens.

Tora followed Maisie the entire time without complaint, his larger hand still wrapped around hers. She wasn’t ready to admit how safe his hand holding hers made her feel.

When she finally reached the back exit she’d been looking for, she paused and finally turned back to Tora, who was quietly looking at her with curiosity in his eyes.

Maisie blushed and cleared her throat shyly, grateful for the darkness surrounding them since it meant Tora couldn’t see the pink hue staining her cheeks. He made her feel nervous, but Maisie didn’t think it was a bad type of nervous. It certainly wasn’t the same skin-crawling type of nerves she’d felt when Niragi had approached her.

“Uhm, my room has this really pretty view of the ocean, and I’ve always wanted to go down there and check it out, but I haven’t had a chance yet,” Maisie looked up shyly, gaze shifting between Tora’s eyes. “Would you like to take a walk? The sand shouldn’t burn now that the sun’s gone down.”

Tora’s face remained in the same neutral expression it usually did, the only change being a slight widening of the eyes and a slight parting of the lips. Maisie didn’t know if these were good reactions, but nonetheless he nodded mutely, so she took it as a good sign.

With a big smile and a “let’s go, then!” Maisie let go of Tora’s hand to open the back gate of the garden and beckon him down the stone steps to the sand below.

~~

The second they reached the cool sand at the very bottom of the worn stone steps, Maisie reached down to unlace her sneakers. Takatora looked away with a blush, thankful for the darkness around them concealing the red hue of his cheeks.

Maisie straightened up again after a minute, now barefoot with both of her shoes held in one hand. She gestured towards Takatora’s own feet with a smile on her face.

“Aren’t you gonna take your sandals off?” Maisie tilted her head while she asked, and Takatora struggled to respond, the absolute adorable sight of her head tilted in confusion along with the dimple in her left cheek brought out by her smile causing his brain to short-circuit momentarily.

Takatora finally shook himself out of his stupor and bent down to remove his sandals, setting them down by the stone steps before glancing back at Maisie.

At her questioning look, he spoke, “No one comes down here, we can leave our shoes. It will be easier than carrying them.”

Maisie beamed, placing her sneakers right next to his sandals. Takatora was momentarily arrested by the sight, a vision coming to mind of Takatora coming home after a long day, placing his shoes next to Maisie’s, which were already there by the entrence of their home. The thought of something so domestic made Takatora feel a strange longing in his chest that he’d never felt before.

‘She barely knows you. Stop making up impossible scenarios in your head and get a grip,’ Takatora chastised himself, all the while knowing damn well that it was going to be impossible.

Maisie beckoned him forward with a silent nod of her head, and Takatora followed without any hesitation.

For a while they just walked side by side, the only noise that could be heard coming from the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and the dull bass of the party they’d left behind.

Takatora took in the sight of the moonlight reflected on the surface of the dark water, the occasional crab making it’s way across the damp sand and scuttling out of sight back into the waves.

He turned to look at Maisie. Her eyes were half closed, seemingly relaxed as she breathed in the salty air, the light breeze ruffling the loose strands framing her face. The moonlight illuminated the bridge of her nose and her Cupid’s bow, along with the lighter-colored ends of her hair. With the backdrop of an endless sky of stars behind her, she looked nothing short of a goddess.

Not for the first time, Takatora found himself wondering how he’d ever found anything beautiful before he’d met Maisie.

A few short moments later, however, the girl in question suddenly stopped walking and turned towards the shore.

Takatora stopped with her, looking at her face in curiosity, wondering why they’d stopped, even though her gaze was pointed at the water.

“Sometimes I miss it,” Maisie spoke suddenly after a moment of silence.

Takatora looked at her in surprise, not understanding what she meant. Maisie looked towards him, a smile breaking out on her face at his obvious confusion.

“The sea, I mean,” she clarified, looking out towards the water once more. “I know the vastness of this ocean is far greater than the sea I saw everyday growing up, but still. Sometimes just being near water reminds me of home. It’s nice.”

Takatora listened to the sweet girl beside him, watching her eyes close in content with that strange tightening in his chest that he only ever seemed to feel around Maisie. He wished he could’ve bottled the sea up and give it to her right there, just to see that radiant smile he often saw on her lips spread across her face again.

A sudden shuffling noise broke him out of his thoughts, and he looked to his left to see Maisie settling down on the sand, looking up at Takatora and patting the ground right next to her.

“Do you wanna sit?” She peered up at him. Takatora lowered himself on the ground next to her and sat down, taking off his katana and leaving it on the sand next him, on the other side of Maisie. He kept it close enough to grab just in case something happened, not trusting any of the rowdy people of the Beach if they somehow stumbled upon this little stretch of shore.

They both sat in silence for a while, Takatora too busy trying not to internally combust at how close Maisie was and the warmth radiating off her skin, and the object of his very overwhelming affections seemingly lost in thought.

Takatora had just managed to get his body under control, his skin feeling like it was on fire by just having Maisie that close to him (she truly did make him feel like a teenager again), when she leaned her head on his shoulder. His poor heart shot right back into the frantic rhythm it always did when Maisie touched him.

As if Maisie was hellbent on making Takatora faint, she also sighed and spoke softly, “I like spending time with you, Tora.”

Takatora struggled to respond, his head feeling very light. He didn’t need to, though. Maisie seemed to understand his silence like no one else ever had. So instead of answering, he simply shuffled closer to her, his cheek lightly brushing the top of her head at their proximity.

For a while they sat like that, gazing at the dark waves before them. The breeze gently blew Maisie’s strands away from her face, so that Takatora had a clear view of her features. She looked more relaxed than he’d ever seen her.

Suddenly something caught his eye. Looking to his right, Takatora saw a white clam shell washed up on the shore. Iridescent in the moonlight, it looked beautiful. Takatora grabbed it at once and placed it face up in the palm of his hand, offering it to Maisie.

She lifted her head off his shoulder in surprise, first looking at his face and then glancing down at his palm. She let out a soft gasp, leaning forward to get a better view of the shell.

“For me?” She asked timidly, looking back up at Takatora with her eyes round in surprise, her pink lips parted slightly.

Takatora swallowed hard, trying to restrain the blush fighting it’s way onto his skin, and nodded mutely to Maisie.

The small girl gave him a shy smile and gently took the shell from his hand. The second her fingertips made contact with the palm of his hand he felt electricity crackle under his skin, and Takatora desperately tried to suppress the urge to lace his fingers with hers again.

Maisie turned it over in the palm of her hand, examining the pearly shell with her head tilted in wonder. She looked back up at Takatora and beamed at him.

“It’s beautiful, Tora. Thank you.” She said while holding the shell close to her chest. Her doe eyes stared up at him, an emotion Takatora couldn’t place shining in them.

Before he could dwell on it too long, however, he saw Maisie’s face morph into an expression of alarm, and suddenly she let out a loud squeal as she looked to her feet.

Takatora was a second away from pulling out his katana from where it sat sheathed on the sand, mistaking Maisie’s surprise as fear, when he realized what had made the girl react that way.

His own body jolted as he felt the ice cold water wash over his bare feet and the bottom of his cargo’s. He felt a tingling sensation on his skin where the sea foam dissolved at his toes.

Maisie quickly jumped up on her toes, and Takatora could see why; the whole bottom of her shorts were wet. He quickly looked away and was quick to stand up as well. He could feel that the material at the back of his pants, along with the bottom of his ripped hoodie had been slightly drenched in sea water.

“Darn it,” He heard Maisie’s sweet voice giggle. Takatora braved a peek back at Maisie, hoping his face wasn’t too pink. “These are Kuina’s. She’s gonna kill me.”

Maisie was trying to get a look at the back of the jean shorts in question. They were absolutely soaked, but more than that they were now covered in wet sand. Maisie sighed.

“No point in wearing them now, good thing I came down from my room in a bikini.”

Then, to Takatora’s great surprise, Maisie started to slide the shorts down her legs in order to remove them. Takatora wasn’t sure if he was going to pass out, combust, or straight up colapse. He stood there like a fish out of water watching Maisie take off the shorts, leaving her now only clothed in her lilac bikini, knowing he should look away and give her the respect she deserved even though his eyes seemingly didn’t want to cooperate.

Maisie looked up once the garment was removed and had been carefully laid on the dry sand along with her shell.

“Aren’t you uncomfy? Your clothes got wet too.”

Takatora tried his best to school his expression as best he could while he shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t mind.”

Maisie was about to respond when a light breeze blew all around them, carrying with it the cool breath from the chilled water. Maisie shivered instantly, wrapping her arms around herself as a chill wracked her body.

Without even thinking, Takatora started to remove his sleeveless hoodie from his torso. He felt exposed without the security of the hood obscuring his face, but weirdly he felt like he didn’t mind not being hidden around Maisie.

The small girl blushed when she realized what Takatora was doing, his arms now extended towards her with the black fabric hanging from his fingers.

Maisie shyly pointed her gaze to the ground.

“You don’t have to do that, Tora. I don’t want you to be cold.”

Instead of answering, Takatora simply shuffled closer, beckoning her into the warmth of his hoodie. Maisie finally relented, allowing herself to be bundled up in the soft material, poking her arms through the cut-off sleeves so she could wrap the hoodie more tightly around herself.

It took everything within Takatora not to audibly swoon at the sight of Maisie wearing his hoodie. The garment was much too big and long on her, swallowing up her frame and making her look tiny. Since her shoulders were much smaller, the torn sleeves, which usually rested right on Takatora’s shoulders reached almost to Maisie’s elbows, and the frayed hem of the hoodie reached well past her thighs.

Takatora swallowed as he allowed himself to fully take in the image of Maisie wearing his clothes.

She looked back up at him with a shy smile painted across her pink lips, “Thank you, Tora. You’re sure you won’t be cold?”

Takatora shook his head. Even if he was freezing, it wouldn’t have mattered to him.

Since the unexpected high tide had left them both damp, they decided it was best they head back up to the hotel to change into slightly warmer clothes. Takatora was slightly sad that his time alone with Maisie had to be cut short, but one look at her reddening nose had quelled his own mental protests. Her well-being was more important to him.

Maisie carried her shorts and the shell Takatora had given her tucked between her hands, held closely to her chest as to keep herself as warm as possible.

They both put their shoes back on, heading up the rocky steps back towards the iron gate.

As they re-emerged at the pool area, Takatora following silently behind Maisie like a protective shadow, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction in knowing that every person that was looking their way knew that Maisie was wearing his hoodie. It filled his chest with a sense of pride he rarely felt, and he had to try very hard to suppress the smug smirk that wanted to paint itself across his lips as he saw the men they passed shooting him envious looks.

It became even harder when he saw Maisie waving at someone; upon looking in the direction Maisie was looking in, he realized that it was her friend Kuina and that man Tatta that he’d saved the previous night. While Kuina was giving Maisie a wave in return with a smirk plastered on her face, Tatta looked mildly alarmed at the sight of Maisie wearing Takatora’s clothes while the man in question stood less than a foot behind her.

Takatora didn’t take his eyes off of Tatta, hoping the message was clear.

———-

EEEK HI FRIENDS!! I can’t believe it’s been a month since S2 came out :0 yall better not stop writing about our fav characters just yet!! I hope y’all like part 15, sorry it took a while. I’ve been thinking about making a playlist for Maisie, so I’ll let you guys know if I manage to put it together.

I’ve also been thinking about writing for Tatta and Kyuma! There’s so many characters (not just AIB ones, for that matter) that I wanna write for, but I don’t even know where to start, so if you have any suggestions, leave me an Ask (if you want it to be anonymous, pls say so in the ask and I won’t post it.)

[guzsdaily]

The New Factory

Daily Blogs 355 - Oct 25th, 12.024

It is funny how things kinda lined up.

At the start of this week, Factorio: Space Age launched, aka the 2.0 update. Which is an update that I have been watching the development for some time now, reading the Friday Facts almost every week. And because I already showed my addiction love for this game on the 4° day, why not make another update on the factory after so many months?

Spaghetti

Yes, this is the state the factory was. Not that pretty.

I never actually played Factorio in survival mode, so I pretty much fucked up a lot. The main one was not preparing myself for Biters (the enemies) attacking my base on the start, which made me into a fight or flight response trying to research weapons and creating the box around the base.

This box really didn't help on trying to scale the base. Does it look cool? Yes, but as time passed, trying to make progress just ended up being more and more difficult. Space started to shirk, and finding places to put assemblies and pass belts became impossible, so going outside was necessary.

To do it, I needed to have a safe space to build. And because I, again, didn't know how to play the game properly, and had some quality-of-life mods, I used one of their features to build entire canals that separated me from Biters nests, so they wouldn't be able to attack or expand in the direction of the base.

And it worked! But consumed so many resources that I had to wait hours to gear up and complete everything.

Having to wait so much, seeing my resources running out inside the box and the difficulty to expand the base, let me think: "time to build an actual base, time to build a mega-base"; which again, in high sight, was a bad idea, since I didn't even have enough automation and even construction bots to scale to a "mega" state. But I tried, and again, started to fail. The main problem is that I didn't want to actually learn the crafting times, the resource amounts, the math needed to scale a base in Factorio, I just wanted something big, and something big fast.

The main idea was trying to use trains for everything, which kinda works, but makes everything need a lot more waiting and velocity. I wasn't able to make sections of the base produce things fast enough to other section to use and be always in motion, trains mostly waited until they're filled, and constructing everything at this scale was so fucking slow since I didn't have the resources for it, that it ended up just being a chore of waiting.

I stagnated.

Space

However, with the launch of Space Age, a new motivation arrived, which lined perfectly with a need to actually rest after my working days. Knowing that this update would come with a lot of new functionalities and that it would be a 2.0 release, a major version, and that old features (specially trains) would simply be incompatible with older versions, made me have a second chance to restart my survival world.

And that's what I did! I haven't played a lot, since finding time is somewhat difficult, but this week I tried harder to play at least one hour per day (somehow I didn't stay up all night, probably because my partner takes care of me better than I could myself). Progress is being slow, but I'm finally taking the time to actually learn the game, the math, and how to prevent things from exploding.

It's being fun to have fun again.

And I would end this post with some metaphor on things such as "I didn't want to learn things the proper way and take shortcuts", or "because of something unexpected, I started to panic", or "it is not good to jump into bigger things out of nowhere", or "sometimes is better to just restart"... but you're smart enough to figure those things out on your own.

Today's artists & creative things Music: Fuck the Moon Fly Me to the Moon Cover - by Coward

© 2024 Gustavo "Guz" L. de Mello. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

[twilightmalachite]

2×2 - Children on the Streets 10

Author: Akira

Characters: Yuuta, Hinata, Shinobu

Translator: Mika Enstars

"Y-You damn bastard~! Hands off my friiiiend!"

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Season: Spring

Location: Back Alley in Downtown

1 hour since the start of the sudden event, “Survive in the Concrete Jungle (tentative title)”…

Hinata: BANG! BANG! BANG!

Yuuta: Hyaaah!? H-Hey…! Aren’t you supposed to be a zombie, Aniki? It makes no sense for you to shoot a gun!!

Another rule violation! Is that all you do, Aniki?! Coward! Good-for-nothing! Shitty Aniki!

Hinata: Wha~? While we weren’t armed at first, it’s not like there was a rule that says we can’t pick up and use weapons we find~?

By the way, you guys are only out if you get touched by a zombie; otherwise you’re not considered dead—

So technically, maybe you won’t die even if you get shot by a gun? So come on, come out of the shadows, don’t worry~♪

Yuuta: So we won’t die, “maybe”? I didn’t miss that, you know!

You’re trying to trick me with ambiguous wording. But really, I saw if you get shot, you’ll be forced to be considered dead!

You plan to shoot dead anyone who lowers their guard and shows themselves! Just how many years have we known each other? I understand how you think from the inside out!

Hinata: Tch~, so I really can’t fool you, huh.

It worked on Shinobu-kun, I was able to kill him after he cluelessly showed himself after persuading him well.

Shinobu: But… so unfair… I became worried when you suddenly buckled over clutching your stomach, Hinata-kun…

You were groaning in pain, when I came out asking if you were okay, you suddenly looked up and, chomp! Chomp…!

Yuuta: Shinobu-ku~n!? We were made to start at different locations, so I didn’t know how you were doing—Did he get you!?

Shinobu: Without meaning to… I’m infected with the zombie virus now, de gozaru.

I don’t know if I’m a ninja or a zombie now, the scenario is so congested I don’t know what attitude to take, de gozaru.

Hinata: Ah, the scenario is that anyone who dies turns into a zombie, so from now on you’re on our side—so act like an assailant!

Shinobu: I see, so it’s like those games of tag where the demons keep increasing, de gozaru![1]

Hinata: Fuhahaha! Welcome to the world of evil! Let’s get along, Shinobu-kun, *squeeze*~♪

Yuuta: Y-You damn bastard~! Hands off my friiiiend!

Shinobu-kun! Stay strong! Don’t you give in to my degenerate Aniki’s charm! Love only me…!

Shinobu: I-I kinda feel like the story’s changed a bit, de gozaru~!?

Hinata: Ahaha~♪ I mean something like that’s fine, isn’t it?

Let’s do whatever’s interesting, and liven up this show at the very least!

‘Cuz that’s our specialty, right?

Yuuta: Grgh… Well, you’re right.

I’ll give my all for the producer in charge of this episode, Anzu-san.

Hinata: No, it doesn’t matter who is in charge. We pride ourselves with always showing up and always giving it our all.

We 2wink have always been proficient like that. Although it didn’t pay off well, and it ended up corrupting Yuuta-kun with evil—

Yuuta: What do you mean, “corrupting with evil”? It’s not like I started cutting corners with my work, did I?!

Hinata: Right. It was just my sentimentality, wasn’t it… I felt lonely because you seemed like you’d completely changed, Yuuta-kun.

As an idol, you’re trying as hard as you can to find a form that suits yourself perfectly, Yuuta-kun—You’re just doing your best.

That’s why you grew out your hair. You didn’t lie to yourself, you revealed your true feelings as they were.

It’s how you’re expressing yourself to the best of your extent, without conforming to me, or the world.

And I think that’s amazing. Because, you know… That’s something I couldn’t do.

I admire you, Yuuta-kun.

[ ☆ ]

← prev | story directory | next →

In case you might not know, in Japanese, the game of “tag” is called “onigokko”, where whoever is “it” is a demon/oni!

[galactic-pirates]

Nobody probably noticed that I didn’t ramble about Picard last Friday. Honestly I didn’t have the spoons and also honestly I just really didn’t care.

I think that was a situation where being less than halfway through TNG meant I didn’t have a stake in things. There was clearly an emotional callback with the guest character that I just had no context for.

BUT

Actually I think that is a sort of useful perspective? As without that nostalgia trip (as I only know what I read on wiki afterwards) I can tell you the episode made very little impact. It was like a non-episode.

I’m not sure do I still have to do spoilers? I guess it’s been less than a week, so warning.

The Worf and Raffi interaction was the highlight. Just give me a show of Raffi being badass snarky undercover.

They didn’t really bring the main plot along very much. It was like 2 mins around the “person from Picard’s past” nostalgia which just passed me by.

The whole “seeing peoples veins” thing that Jack Crusher is doing makes me think it’s connected to the changelings being able to replicate people more accurately. Honestly I still think he touched something he shouldn’t and maybe they need him to make their replicants perfect or something. I’m not sure. Honestly I’m expecting to be disappointed with this whole MacGuffin thing. It’s likely to fall flat.

@purlturtle theorised that Jack and Beverley were changelings. I would like this to be true as I really hate the plot of “secret baby” because they were friends before anything so still don’t understand why she would cut herself off from everyone to hide it. The whole “danger” thing… I don’t know. She just doesn’t strike me as someone afraid of hard decisions. Even if she made a decision made of fear when pregnant (and merlin knows I loathe blaming hormones because pregnant women can be sensible!) but yeah anyway, even handwaving she made an emotional fear decision, nothing stops her from taking it back. Yeah it would be “oh here’s a baby, sorry didn’t tell you sooner” but hiding it for 20 years? She is not that much of a coward.

Anyway I digress because while I hate this ^^ and think the character of Beverley Crusher deserves a hell of a lot better, I just can’t see that the proud writers who tweeted (oh boy I have something to say about that shit) about this “epic romance” when it came to Beverley and Picard talking when she explained keeping the secret - that wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t really Beverley. So it’s sad because it would be a cool theory but I just can’t see the writers going for that ‘moment’ and then be like ‘not really her’.

Anyway my last ramble is more of well kinda this I guess ^^ I am not on Twitter. Haven’t been in a decade or so. I had an account for a while when it first launched but deleted it. I saw some tweet feeds virtue of a Trek server I have now muted as I couldn’t take it anymore. I ranted about this in the nice Trek server a bit but people are shipping Seven and Shaw? Like I want to throw the man out of the airlock. He’s a piece of work. I haven’t experienced this level of dissonance of “hang on are we watching the same show?” since Once Upon a Time and the mess that was Hook and Emma as a ship.

I can’t believe that we’re getting to the half point of the season and Seven and Raffi haven’t been on screen together once. I want them very much to reunite and be together. I still want a spin-off. Give me Seven and Raffi and the Fenris Rangers, doing the friendly neighbourhood making a small part of the Galaxy better thing. Honestly though at this point I will settle for Seven just getting away from Shaw. It makes me blood boil that he has basically been emotionally abusive, taking advantage as the commanding officer, and there’s no justice.

Watching old Trek I have seen some gross stuff. I saw some last night on TNG with the holodeck producing Troi for Barclay to kiss. So so wrong. Where’s the consent? But anyway you can say it was 30 years ago and we can now see that’s wrong (it’s always been wrong but ok) but yet even new Trek seems to suffer from some very gross disturbing stuff and the poor female characters still don’t get any justice. I really would have hoped we were beyond this by now but apparently not.

Anyway hopefully next week will be better.

[justshitandanime]

Kimetsu no Yaiba/ Demon Slayer (Anime) Critic, opinion, whatever (no mayor spoilers)

I’m not a super nerd otaku who eat manga and who inject anime into their veins but I’m neither a noob, I saw a good amount of anime to be able to differentiate a crap of a good one. Besides that I’m OLD and I demand more than a basic plot and cute characters (I passed my Card Captor Sakura phase 300 years ago). So, with that in mind, I will now rant (because is my NEW blog and I can do the fuck I want here) about Demon Slayer and why I personally ADORE IT.

Let’s move of one basic aspect: music and design, both absolutely marvelous. The design, with that new mix between 3d and 2d without bother each other, that make the important scenes so fluid, dynamic and realistic that make your elbow tingle. The soundtracks that are sometimes catchy as fuck and sometimes a truly masterpiece (the Inosuke Theme, with the mix of oriental and orchestral, especially in THAT FIGHT, make you want to scream of how good it is).

The design of the characters is fantastic. Each character is UNIQUE to the point that you can recognize even a silhouette or a minor detail, even from secondary characters that have barely screen time.

The fights are one of the best things I see in a lot of time. Is not a “repeat the pose 4 times each 5 seconds to make the fight last longer”. They move, they change poses, they hold their swords different, they kick, they jump, elude, bend, fall, hide, get hit, block, stand up. Is a real fight (often than once make you think that the producers use some kind of IRL reference, pretty obvious in some specific cases).

Blood. Is gore but not absurd, the blood has a reason and it looks like blood, it stains, it behaves as blood, is sticky and give a level of darkness and seriousness. Is not a walk in the beach, being hurt have CONSECUENCES and humans are not immortal, they don’t show up suddenly cured and with re growing limbs. Is kinda realistic (when the plot needs it). Be serious hurt and no matter if you are a top master, you will die (cries because HIM) (also don’t cry because some bastard is flexible).  

Some backgrounds are so beautiful that can almost be watched as art. Wisteria flowers for the win, they are stunning and now I want one tree in my ceiling.

The characters have PERSONALITY. Even the most silent potato in a box have it. And their personalities GROW with the episodes. Specially Zenitsu and Inosuke.

Tanjiro is pretty much the Goku of the saga. A good soft boy who grows stronger with the power of the feelings and who is too kind to his own good.

Zenitsu is the coward, the Krilin, who can’t even fight in the beginner but who become a badass with the time.

Inosuke (my fav) is the Vegeta semi beast who shows that can behave when he wants, and who, somehow, pay more attention than Tanjiro. His growth is more evident because he passes from “Everyone is my enemy” to “I will die for you” very fast.

The secondary ones are more of the same. Great characters, even the evil ones. Some are on screen for 3 episodes and you love them to death and make you cry for days with PTSD. They have BACKGROUND. They all have motives, reason to why they are as they are, dreams, ideals, objectives, way to do the stuffs. Their personalities collide with other’s personalities, they interact, they have effect in each other, they are not in a bubble where nothing affect them. LIKE IN REAL LIFE.

The ladies are not useless bag of meat, they are not annoying lady in distress to save, they all give a fight and show they are capable, even the three cute childs of the butterflies. They also have opinions, they speak, they have point of views, with reasons, and others listen to them. Sorry, I’m just tired of the “girl who cry and is just pretty” of the animes lol.

Is drama, a lot of drama. The main characters are basically teenagers but they act in agreement with their historical surrounds (is first decade from 1900, so the culture is absolutely not similar to our) and situations (they are hunting demons, no time to make drama about bullshit).

It also has space to comedy. Perfect timing comedy, is a fun that make you smile as you cry of pain or laugh at random nonsense with almost perfect style.

It also has a space to not so Toxic Masculinity! See the main characters show high respect for the womans (and even full equality as Inosuke, who see womans just as the same as men), even when culturally can show the different. See secondary characters giving respect for the LIFE of the womans.

See the characters CRY. They are dudes and yet they cry more than me. And even when some of them are like “no, I don’t cry”, they don’t even stop. They accept they can be weak and vulnerable and not win all the time, and the only thing they see to do about it is BE BETTER.

So, no wonder why it has the success that it has. And unless they fuck it up BADLY in the next seasons, this anime will easily get a place as a Classic over time.

Score: 4.5/5 and 9/10 Welcome to the place of the Best Animes Ever

[me-uglypretty]

thank you for answering! i loved your insight on the sfyl ending. I have to admit that i knew leigh wasn't fully healed and i know grief doesn't go away as easy but i felt extremely hopeless while watching it and i wish she could've gotten a little bit of ''hope'' in a way?. Like when she saw matt again i was like this is understeandble and i don't think she was ready to go with jules to vietnam (even though it would've been cool). Also i do wonder what would've happened with her and danny (i wanted her to have a gf as well but i think it was going to be danny or her staying single). i wish either lizzie or the producers told us what they had in store for season 3

Talking about Sorry for Your Loss makes my day better so THANK YOU.

I get that. Leigh's whole story is just one sad story after another, and she really deserves happiness that'll last longer than few hours. In a way, I kind of understand why she would react in such ways too?? but maybe cause I would do the same or have felt something painful and react terribly.

I would had loved to see Leigh and Jules in Vietnam! but the real one and not the fake thing they always do for tv shows.

Also, I'm really confident that she doesn't have actual feelings for Danny cause he's the closest thing she had to her husband. Danny was kinda the dead husband rebound. They would had probably been a coward and gave her another man tbh.

I blame fb for not wanting to produce shows on their site anymore. Honestly, the way ssfyl was made, it would had won awards and more if the platform was better. I have not seen anything from the creators on s3, would be so cool if they said something about their further plans!

BUT ALSO MISS OLSEN PLEASE GET THIS SHOW BACK. THIS IS YOUR INDIE PROJECT.

[hollowscreekmuses]

As Jesse goes silent, Avery says nothing, he just looks down at his feet, slowly kicking the dirt, he didn't want to force it, but this was just so hard, he didn't blame Jesse for having a hard time adjusting, none of them was to blame, but that still didn't make it any easier. He looks up as he hears Jesse's question, "Oh, Willow she works at the burger place, do you know her?" Jesse has been here long than him, it wasn't that cazy to think he had come to meet a couple of people, "I was kinda freaking out from being around too many people, and she was pretty cool, took me outside and we talked for a little while," he shrugs, at least so far, the people he had actually talk to seemed nice, that was a plus. "For now," Avery nods, "I do work in the music industry, but not like my dad, I'm kinda in the backstage," not that he had a problem with following his dad's footsteps, Avery loved the man, he was (well, both his dads were) like his hero, but while his dad always loved the spotlight, being the center of attention, Avery would be happy just playing his guitar in his corner and making sure the band put on a good show, Axel, his dad, had a lot of charisma and Avery was lacking a bit of that, there was also the fact that his dad was very well know aroud town, Avery at someone point became the younger Moore, and he was he was more than Axel's son, he was his own person, which also weight a little bit in his decision to not become a performer, he was fine just come up to the stage to play some amateur gigs with his friends, "I Help produce music, I'm the guy telling you this instrument is better there, you need to change this beat to that other one, that sort of thing," he explained though he didn't thing Jesse would be interested on the details of his job, "But after all this I had to put that on hold..." he felt he didn't to say more.

"Yes!" Avery says, well he pretty much yells, at this point this was gonna trun into a screaming match, " So what you're saying is you rather have me fucking dead than wolf?!" he asks, he was trying not to take it personally, but it was a bit hard, and if he was being honest, hearing those words actually hurt, a lot, "You don't understand, I'm 34 years old, Jesse, I don't want to fucking die!" he yelled out, "Do you think I haven't thought of that? just ending it all? I would even try it if I wasn't such a fucking coward, but I don't--"he pauses, breathing out, Avery's gaze goes to the ground as he feels the hot tears on his cheeks, he takes a second before looking up, "I don't wanna die," that comes out more like a plea, and he feels so stupid at this point, so helpless, "I've got--nothing to show for, things weren't supposed to be like this! I was just making a name for myself in the music industry, and what do I leave behind? no partner, no kids, not that I'm sure I want that, but I want to at least have the chance to chose it! what I just do something fucking stupid and leave 2 broken old man behind? 3 if you coun't my uncle?!" he shake his head, tears still falling, at this point, he didn't even care, the thought of it all coming to an end was too much, the pain he was gonna cause the ones he loved was way too much, it was hard enough having to leave and keeping all this a secret, it was eating away at him,"Do you though?! 'cause you're out there acting as if I can just filp a fucking swtich and I'm back being me, and that's not how it works!"

"It's--hard to explain," he wipes the tears away, shaking his head, as he tries to make sense of it all, "I'm me. But this thing takes over and it stops being me. Like, when you're fucking drunk out of your mind or high, it's you in a way but you have no control and you end up doing things that you would never, ever do if you were sober," that was the best way he could explain it, though, of course being a raging wolf was a lot wrose, a lot harder than being under the influence but still, "I'm me, but this thing takes over, and i'mt--gone. I--I--" he feels the tears coming back again, "I hit my dad, Jesse, punched him in the fucking face, I just got so--angry..." it was the first time he was admiting this, and, he knew this was not gonna help his case, at all, how was he gonna get the other to trust him, admiting something like this? "I know, I know you don't and I know its hard, I'm gonna get better, and that I can promise," he meets his friend's eyes, "Fine, you don't trust me, I'm not gonna beg you to, do you have a gun?" Avery asks, "If you don't trust me, keep on you, if I ever lose it... don't think twice. Shot me," this could be a joke, but it was not, he meat it, and the ice, cold look on his blue eyes left no reason to doubt.

While he knew Avery was attempting to make light of the situation, Jesse didn't laugh. All he did was look away some, as if he was more distracted by the trashed parts laying around. It was just weird, to hear his friend talk like that and know it was real, too. There used to be a time between them that Jesse could probably hand Avery's ass and now? Jesse wouldn't even stand a chance anymore. He didn't like knowing that-- it wasn't just with Avery, either. With any of these people. He didn't like the fact he was even more seemingly insignificant than he was before. At least before he knew that all the tall tales and lore were actually real, Jesse could pretend himself he stood a chance somewhere in life. "Yeah, who is that?" he finally asked, centering on the person Avery referenced and refocusing their conversation away from the other stuff he couldn't control. "You're a teacher now?" Jesse gave his friend a side-eye, because it felt off-brand to who the other was. At least, the person he knew years ago. Obviously, Avery had changed in more ways than one.

"Would it be?" Jesse fired back, his voice raising to match Avery's. This was typical of them, though. The two could feed off each other in fights, they had certainly had a few doozies in their life. "Seriously- you're over here talking like you're a monster," he reminded the other. "Do you think being a monster is better than being gone?" To be honest, Jesse wasn't really sure how he would answer that question himself. It all boiled back to that morality area... Deep down, he knew that if the shoe was on the other foot, he would be just as selfish and scared and self-preservationist. He wouldn't give two shits for what was right or wrong, and he certainly would feel that being alive as a monster was a damn right better than being dead. But he wasn't the werewolf here- he was the friend of one now, and that wasn't any less disconcerting. Still... "I know what you are," he snapped, if only to shut Avery up and have him stop throwing all of this in his face. He didn't want to talk about this! Why couldn't they just go back to how things were? "Okay, whatever- it's real then, right? So there should be other answers, that's what I say. There's got to be something that could be done."

Jesse could be a stubborn fool, a lot of the times.

Though the two of them had their share of squabbles, the human did notice that Avery seemed to be more emotionally unstable these days. Especially right now. One moment, the guy was raging about how real werewolves and magic were, and now he was... Was he about to cry? Now Jesse was uncomfortable for a whole other reason, because how was he supposed to handle these emotions? It wasn't his fault, not really. He'd grown up with parents that spent more time trying to brush him and his sister off as unwanted extras than teaching them basic love and affection, let alone how to commiserate. Jesse wasn't someone to turn to, if you needed to feel better- he was absolute shit at this. "You're just confusing me," he murmured, not quite looking at Avery as he rubbed a hand viciously through his curls. "It's you but it's not you- what the hell do you mean?" Avery's tears made him feel awkward and wrong. And, if he was being honest with himself, resentful. Because Avery was open and real and genuine- the man didn't fear being himself, fresh and raw, even during these times of crisis. There was no shame in it because Avery had two loving fathers that had taught him there was no shame in any of it. They'd raised him to be a real and better man that Jesse could ever live up to, that's for sure. And yeah, he resented the jealousy that pinged within. "If you got no control on this, you can't promise stuff like that- you can't say you won't hurt me," he said then, shaking his head. "And you can't ask me to trust you because I-" Jesse frowned, looking at the the other. "Well I don't, Ave. I can't help it." He was blunt about it cause it was the truth. He didn't know if Avery could handle himself, let alone what he might do to him if they had a real blow up.

[boimgfrog]

@ all the destiel shippers who still have hope after 15 seasons of queerbaiting, I'm here if you need to cry after the finale <3

- an ex klance stan

[shlutnutt]

- Degrading Desires -

warnings: lots of smut, slight angst, sadism, degrading kink, subby colin (the only right way), dom reader, masturbation

psst! look i know all i write is colin and kai and i apologize, i just really needed to get this fic idea i had in mind for colin lmfao. i'll definitely have more varieties up in no time:) // not fully proof read

Apart from being one of the few women to be working for the police investigating department, you made sure you were considered one of the strongest, independent, and courageous of them all. Whether that'd mean you'd always have to cancel plans to keep your full focus on the current investigations, or even distancing yourself from friends and family.

"Here, it clearly looks like a sniper rifle bullet, was definitely shot from afar. Fucking asshole seemed to have planned this perfectly." you made your claim public to the other detectives in the room, passing around the bloody bullet which was secured in a ziplock bag.

"Yup, thats a modular sniper rifle. This was a perfect planned murder, due to how much accuracy is needed to shoot one of these bad boys. " shouted Colin whilst inspecting the bullet in between his rough hands, completely taking away the attention you had held onto you, aggrivating you immensely.

Colin would do this ever so often, always finding a way to snatch away the minimum attention you'd have gathered up, completely becoming the spotlight. You felt as if he had just so much hatred towards you, like he couldn't resist the fact that you were in fact solving more cases in a week than what he could've in a month. His body language although, spoke differently than his actions.

The detectives cheered Colin on, patting him on his wide back, all just so amazed by how easily he solved the puzzle of what specific type of sniper it was, –when you was literally already getting to the point–. Not one of them credited you for shit, not even the women who claimed to be so sick and tired of the misogynistic behavior that's been going around the department. They were certainly the ones cheering him on the loudest.

You only stood there silently staring down at the pieces of evidence that layed infront of you, the dim lighting that took over the small office room making you disappear almost entirely now. Erasing the fact that your only goal was to help these poor victims rest in peace, allowing their families to have complete closure of every each and tragic murder as Zable in the other hand, was focused on stealing your spotlight, just to feel superior and laugh it off in your face later on.

As the detectives all went to their correspondent offices, you and Colin were the only ones left in the room, as he decided to linger around noticing how you'd stay in to investigate through your lunch break. You feeling nothing but envy and him admiring how difficult he was making your job.

"Good job, buddy." blurted Colin as he walked a step closer towards you, a playful hop almost. His dark brown eyes looking down to your Y/E/C ones, as he fidgeted with his large fingers above the evidence table.

"Look Y/N, Im s-

"You're what Colin? Sorry? Why do you enjoy making my life so fucking miserable? Im fucking tired of it, im trying to genuinely help these families." you spat, looking deeply into his soul, noticing how his eyes began to water.

"You're gonna fucking cry now? Good. You deserve to feel like shit." you continued. Colin only looked down at his fidgety hands before taking a seat on the table, and munching on some leftover salad he had left from his lunch break, allowing his shiny eyes to shed their tears.

"It doesn't feel good to feel like shit does it, you needy whore? You just need attention and validation so fucking bad, why can't you just let me do my job in peace." your usage of language taking the both of you by surprise, pausing quickly after noticing Colin struggling to eat his salad with his left hand, when the man was a righty.

"Colin.. what the fuck are you doi-" you attempt to ask the obvious before getting unpredictabley interrupted by a loud whimper. You bent down slightly, letting curiousity taking the best of you to encounter Colin massaging his bulge through his pants.

"You're a fucking pathetic." you continue to degrade, unintentionally causing the member in his pants to leak in precum, dampening his boxers.

"Stop.. p-please stop." pleaded Colin as he massaged his enlarging buldge under the table, still unaware of you're awarness at his self pleasing.

"Why should I stop Colin? You deserve nothing." you proceed, enjoying the effects your words had on him, his teary eyes looking up at yours whilst you walked around the office.

Despite the fact you truly disliked the man you were currently sharing an office with, you just couldn't deny the fact that you enjoyed making him feel this way. Like shit. I mean he looks like he's enjoying it as well. The way he struggled to chew on his salad whilst attempting to keep his cool infront of you, how his long sleeved shirt slightly attached to his body from his sweat, and how his dark decepting eyes shed tears after tears. It was an admirable view.

He enjoyed the suffering, and so did you.

"I-I need to go to the..bathroom.." said Colin, now getting up from his office chair attempting to leave the room in pure hurry, before you got in his way blocking the door entry making him jump slightly.

"Please don't do this.."

"Don't do what? You've fucked up my job experience for all these months Colin, i think you deserve to get punished. Don't you think?" you teased whilst slowly dragging him back to his seat by his veiny arm.

Zable, although being in complete shock by his show of uncontrollable needs was also taking aback from your actions towards him, feeling out of place by letting a woman dominate him. He only sat on his wheely chair, laying down almost, whilst his breathing was surprisingly heavy allowing small whimpers escape his lips. The man needed you, and urgently.

"If this is what you've wanted this whole time, why not jump straight to the point and be a good boy? Instead of making shit hard." you questioned Colin, before prepping your elbows on either side of the arm rests he layed betweeb, massaging his thighs delightfully, earning graceful low groans.

"W-why are you doing this..?" questioned Colin, his eyes barely being able to open due to the slight amount of pleasure he's been receiving. You completely dodged his question, your focus remaining on his clothed thighs.

"Y/N.." Colin called now, attempting to catch your attention once again, you shushing him almost immediately.

You honestly didn't bother to shift your attention towards what Colin was saying, well that was before you felt his pants dampen up under you, warm fuzzy liquids spreading all over him.

"You c-came on yourself?"

"No.."

"What's this then?" you questioned before unzipping his pants and shoving your hand in his briefs, gathering some of his cum in between your fingers and bringing it up to view. "You came on yourself from me simply touching your thighs Zable?" you affirm before he denied your claim. "I k-kinda like when you y-yell at.. me.. and call me names.." he admitted in between pants, not having the balls to look into your eyes as he spoke.

You only giggled at his lack of dominance underneath you, having fully cummed on himself when you barely even touched him and just called him pathetic little names.

"You're a fucking disappointment Colin, you know that right?"

"Y-yes I know.. Y/N.."

"You deserve nothing for being such a piece of shit."

"Y-.. more..please. more.."

You would've never thought the man who'd been bothering you for all those months to have such a hypersensitive degrading kink. It all adds up now, why he'd tense up to his boss yelling at him, why he loved annoying the shit out of you. Whole time he was waiting for you to snap at him, and well who would've known shit would've ended up his way.

Colin wanted nothing but for you to full on dominate him, for you to take control over every little bone in his body. He was willing to do anything you'd ask him to, he'd bow down and kiss your feet if you'd asked him to for god's sake. The thought of making him your literal sex puppet brough nothing but an internal flame into your core, producing an evil smirk to form on your lips onto the man you were just a few inches away from.

"god you're so beautiful when you're in pain." you announce before attaching your lips to his drooly ones, the two of you ravaging eachothers mouths immediately. Zable only melted under the kiss, slightly lifting his hand up towards your breasts, soon letting it drop onto his lap in cowardness.

"you can touch me." you break the kiss to give your consent, allowing his firmed hand grip onto your right breast as he exhilaratedtly sighed to the soft feeling. Colin gripped on you like his life depended on it, as you lifted your leg onto the left side of his thigh prepping yourself down into a straddle, him groaning to finally feeling some contact against his member.

Colin was a moaning mess already, your dripping clothed cunt aligned with his sensitve clothed tip was driving him over the edge as he grew impatient attaching his large hands onto your hips in attempt of grinding you onto him. Although you knew you had him wrapped around your finger you allowed him to grind up to you, his second releasing nearing rapidly.

"oh.. fuck.." groaned Colin as you two dry humped eachother for several minutes now, your purpose being making him suffer but letting yourself get into the pleasure also, as you animalisticly removed his dressing shirt, popping some buttons out along the way. You then manage to remove yours also whilst gripping onto his short sweaty hair.

"Is that all you can do? huh? not enough." you degrade, producing his rhythm to increase making you groan excitedly. Colin's one soft puppy but he'll for certain make sure you're needs are satisfied as well as his.

Didn't take long for you to moan along with him, feeling his bulge twitch under you, as he came yet again collapsing underneath you.

"Colin."

"..y-yes?"

"you're an amazing little slut."

taglist: @divineruler @thatspookyagent @copy-of-a-cheeto @booboomother @evanmybeloved @billyhxrgrove @sinnersblood @crssjjh

(dm to be in taglist !)

kinda wanna highkey make another part to this but we'll see how it goess

[bobauthorman]

Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers Review

Booo!

Halloween’s a-coming, so in celebration to that, I thought I would review and analyze one of my favorite ghost movies. That movie is, SCOOBY-DOO MEETS THE BOO BROTHERS.

(WARNING! SPOILERS!)

This made-for-TV movie was first released on October 17, 1987. It was the second in a series of ten specials produced by Hanna-Barbera called the Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10. Two more Scooby specials were released afterwards, Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School and Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf in 1988. These three films are unofficially called the “Red Shirt Trilogy” due to Shaggy wearing a red shirt instead of the green one he normally wore in the TV shows (Except for 13 Ghosts, wear Shaggy also wore a red shirt.) Also unique to these three movies is that of the primary Scooby cast, only Scooby-Doo, Shaggy and Scrappy-Doo are featured. Don’t worry, Scrappy is a lot more tolerable in these films, having clearly outgrown his “Puppy power!” phase.

The plot of Boo Brothers, which in cartoons is always just an excused to line up as many jokes and sight gags in short order, is relatively simple. Shaggy has been willed a mansion by an unmentioned-until-now dead uncle (As per the norm in cartoons) all the way in the Deep South, so he and the dogs go down to check it out. Of course, the catch is that like all big stately buildings in the middle of nowhere, it’s haunted. You’d think Shaggy and Scooby would want to turn right around and vamoose, but they can’t- their car ends up stuck in the mud and sinks clear out of sight. Since the movie is taking place in the middle of the night, this leaves the trio stuck until help can come in the morning. This is a pretty clever and mundane way of keeping our heroes on location for the plot. In most Scooby shows, the reason the gang are dealing with the monsters is that most of them, bar our favorite cowards, want to solve mystery. But since Shaggy and Scooby aren’t the kind of people who actively seek danger, this method forces them to get involved without overly changing their characterization.

“But, why is this called meets the Boo Brothers?” Well, in order to deal with the ghosts, Scrappy gets the idea of calling in some ghost exterminators to do it. How’s that for character development? In the first series, Scrappy would be itching to fight some ghosts himself. And who you gonna call? These guys.

They ain’t the Real Ghostbusters, but they do in a pinch…kinda. Anyway, you’d think that with these “pros” on the case, Shag and Scoob could hide in their bedroom while it all blows over. No such luck. Turns out that Beauregard Manor is the site of a hidden treasure trove of jewels, explicitly called a king’s ransom. After finding a clue in the fridge’s icebox (Shaggy’s uncle definitely knew his nephew), the Scoobies decide to brave the great unknown and search all over the mansion and the grounds looking for it. 

At first, it starts out like a straightforward treasure hunt, with the Scoobies having to solve the riddles in each clue, all the while dealing with the colorful personalities of the local residents and dodging the ghosts haunting the grounds. Of course, as the movie goes on, we get indications that not everything is as it seems. In classic Scooby-Doo fashion, we start to see signs that the “ghosts” may not be so ghostly. Hidden passageways, trapdoors, mechanisms…there’s something funny going on around here!

And speaking of funny, remember those colorful personalities? Well, instead of going over the plot with a fine-tooth comb, let’s overanalyze these jokers instead. The cast of side-characters the Scoobies is what makes the movie interesting to watch. You could argue that the treasure hunt the movie revolves around to be just a staging for all these whacked out figures to interact in.

First, let’s look at the boys with the star billing, the Boo Brothers.

These guys, Freako (on the right) Shrieko (In the middle) and Meeko (On the left), are probably the ones the Scoobies deal with the most, given that they were hired to take care of the ghosts haunting Beauregard Mansion. No real answer is given as to why the Brothers choose ghost hunting as a profession, aside from “It takes one to catch one”, but regardless, the Boo Brothers are what we’ve got. Many fans have labeled them as a ghost version of the Three Stooges (With Shrieko going “Nyuk nyuk” to seal the deal), but unlike other expies of the Stooges, the Boo Brothers aren’t so blatant an imitation, having a sense of identity beyond their Stoogely inspirations. For the most part, the Boo Brothers are involved in a lot of visual humor, their intangible, ghostly bodies being squashed in ways you can’t do in the mostly realistic setting of Scooby-Doo.

In terms of plot relevancy, I’m afraid that the Boo Brothers…don’t have that. They were hired to fight the other ghosts, and they do help out the Scoobies time to time, but that’s about it. They have no connection to the treasure, the mansion, or any of its residents. If anything, the only real thing they do is give someone Shaggy to get annoyed with, which reaches its peak as the movie approaches the climax. Nonetheless, they still manage to do their part, which is more than I can say of…

…this guy. Meet Farquard, the mansion’s caretaker, having served Shaggy’s uncle as butler for sixty years. He looks good for his age, doesn’t he?

Never mind.

In every mystery there usually is a red herring-

-Not this guy, but a character who is the most like culprit, but actually isn’t. Farquard is shifty as heck, he makes it clear that he doesn’t like Shaggy or want him around, and that he’s after the treasure. Throughout the movie there are times when he tries to get the jewels or clues from the Scoobies, and one sequence strongly hints that he’s the one posing as the ghosts. However, the ending of the film proves this to be the wrong conclusion.

And then we have our neighbors…

These two! Meet Sadie Mae (Left) and Billy Bob (Right) Scroggins, the local hillbilly stereotypes. Sadie Mae acts as the overly-eager “man-hunter”, who quickly takes a powerful liking to Shaggy. She expresses this affection by ambushing him and pulling him into kissing session. she doesn’t seem to ‘get’ that Shaggy may not like her back, writing off his immediate retreats as playing hard to get. Ironically, it’s a good thing she likes Shaggy so much as he brother Billy Bob does not. Due to some briefly-mentioned family feud between the Beauregards and the Scroggins’, Billy Bob takes it upon himself to shoot at Shaggy at every opportunity. Thankfully, he’s also the stereotypical slack-jawed yokel, with bad aim and easy to trick into hurting himself. We don’t learn much about this feud, but we don’t need to, as it’s just an excuse for Billy Bob to antagonize the Scoobies. Billy Bob’s attacks look like a cross between Elmer Fudd and Yosamite Sam, with all the explosions and pratfalls such a comparison bring. Luckily, there are times when Sadie Mae protects Shaggy from her brother, and there’s a delightful sequence where both Scroggins’ are sneaking up on Shaggy, ambushing each other, all while Shaggy remains ignorant. Unfortunately, this plotline doesn’t get any real closure, as both Sadie Mae and Billy Bob cease showing up after the Scoobies get chased down a well.

But I guess the screentime had to be saved for this guy.

Early in the movie, we get word that a circus train derailed, causing its animals to get loose. One of those animals was this ape, who just shows up without any preamble. He’s not antagonistic, but the guys are still scared of him because, you know, giant animal on the loose. At one point, Scrappy realizes that the ape isn’t a bad guy, just lost and confused. However, his presence does give the Sheriff an excuse to stick around, and the ape even indirectly provides a hint as to who is behind all of the haunting hijinks.

Who’s the sheriff? This guy.

Well, never let it be said Hanna-Barbera would hold back on stereotypes. This gruff, pot-bellied lawman is Sheriff Rufus Buzby, and in fact he’s the first supporter our main trio of protags bump into. And his car crash from Scooby’s shenanigans shows us his main role in the feature. There are characters who either cause slapstick or suffer it, and Buzby without a doubt falls into a second category. Whether it’s having his hat shot off by Billy Bob, being scared out of his clothes by the ape, or being knocked into the drink by Scooby, Buzby’s whole lot in the movie is to be this useless authority figure who might as well have a bulls-eye put on his back. Of course, there’s a good reason why he suffers so much…

He’s the ghost! And he’s not even the real sheriff! (That’s the guy with the mustache, his twin brother) We often take for granted the incompetence of police force in a series, because if the cops were any good, why would the protags need to do anything? By having the useless policeman be an impersonator, it makes his inability to enforce the law more realistic. Buzby being the culprit is hinted at once or twice, most glaringly when he knows that the Headless Horseman’s horse is mechanical. And, on a visual note, I think it’s hilarious that the good twin is the one with facial hair.

And so, that’s all I have to say about Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers. If there is a weakness in the film, it’s the fact that the plot and characters just seem…jumbled, really. You could put anyone anywhere anytime (Mostly) and it wouldn’t really change anything. You can tell that this is Hanna-Barbera’s first real stab at a feature-length Scooby story, and they get better at organizing story and characters in the next two films. But, by the by, the cast is hilarious, and the jokes are relatively timeless, so I have no problem watching it again and again every Halloween. 

[reflection-s-of-stars]

I’m going to put all the crazy bullshit that occurs in this episode under the cut bc I have a feeling my special interest is going to make this a long one. @lucimiir

So it’s the story of how Gomez and Morticia met and got together in their twenties, but for various reasons (one of which will be revealed below) the producers didn’t want to pull a Wednesday and just cast younger actors that looked similar

So, of course, they just put Carolyn Jones and John Astin in different outfits! A classic move tbh

John Astin is wearing two (or sometimes more) sweaters and argyle socks to signify that he is Young Now, and he looks about two decades older

Meanwhile, Carolyn Jones gets two new outfits, because young Morticia (who, inexplicably, has the exact same outfit and hairstyle as little Wednesday) isn’t the only character she plays in this episode

That’s right, Morticia’s Romance features my personal favorite supporting character in the whole show: Morticia’s sister Ophelia, whom I can only describe as a bardcore flower child manic pixie dream girl. I wish I was creative enough to make this up

Anyway, yeah, they dressed Carolyn Jones in a white dress and ballet shoes, a blonde wig and a flower crown, THEN they dressed her up as Wednesday, and occasionally used movie magic to make the two sisters interact. Liv and Maddie who

Also, not only does Morticia have a sister, but she’s somehow considered the plain one compared to Ophelia? She’s definitely the least favorite child, seeing as their mom is just incredibly mean to Tish the whole episode

Oh yeah, their mom is played by Margaret Hamilton, whom you may know as THE WICKED FUCKING WITCH OF THE WEST.

That’s why I think they couldn't get younger actors for Morticia and Gomez. They blew their casting budget on a star

Anyway the premise of the whole episode is that young Gomez is supposed to marry Ophelia instead of Morticia, because she’s older and supposedly more desirable even though they’re the same actress

(Pre-Morticia, btw, Gomez is a sickly young lad who’s described as “a weak, sniveling coward” several times and wears the worst ugliest socks I’ve ever seen)

Anyway, he obviously falls head over heels for Morticia, and is actually kinda mean to Ophelia because he can’t work up the guts to just say he likes Morticia better

They agree that they’re madly in love but since Morticia’s a really devoted sister she doesn’t wanna steal Ophelia’s fiancé. So Gomez asks Cousin Itt what to do

Cousin Itt tells Gomez to kill himself. I am not joking, nor is Cousin Itt

He decides to go through with it and Tish decides to join him. The only reason they don’t both die is because Thing steals the guns. Thing has the only brain cells in this entire fucking family and he doesn’t even have a head

Anyway Fester gets involved and introduces Ophelia to Cousin Itt, who is a playboy if you didn’t know. This comes back later

They actually make it to the altar, but at the last second Gomez mans up (because he’s not wearing those ugly ass socks) and says he won’t marry Ophelia

Ophelia is completely fine with this, so she just leaves with Cousin Itt in her arms. See I told you it would come back later

Anyway Morticia (now wearing her normal dress and hair) takes her sister’s place and marries Gomez and it’s so cute and I can’t deal with them and every time I watch it I go crazy. Yeah

On a not-silly side note here, the way young Gomez and Morticia develop as characters is so cool and so important to their future personalities IMO!

Gomez goes from “weak, sniveling coward” who refuses to take risks to the boisterous, loving, joyful madman we all know through his love for Morticia! He chose to change for the better because he just loved her too much to be a man who would let her go

And Morticia’s protectiveness of her own family is shown early on in her devotion to Ophelia! Not to mention her pride in how cool her new Addams family is stems from her hot mess of a biological family

So they found their best selves through each other <3 god a sitcom from the 1960s shouldn’t make me want to eat this much glass

Ok that’s enough analysis for now. Back to the sillies

First off, it’s revealed that, underneath all the hair, Cousin Itt has roots. It’s just roots in there. Simultaneously the vaguest and most disturbing thing they could’ve said ever, I love it

Ophelia’s things are that she loves flowers, medieval literature (specifically Don Quixote which is incredibly fitting because he’s Like That) and water! She apparently just loves to jump into bodies of water. Because her name is Ophelia. Do you get it do you get the shake spear reference

Oh and also, Morticia’s maiden name is Frump. Morticia Frump. Ophelia Frump. The mom’s name is Hester Frump. And Fester is Morticia’s uncle, so his name could very well be Fester Frump

Gomez and Morticia’s mothers are both in the episode, but neither of their fathers are there. Morticia mentions her father and implies that he and her mother had a happy marriage, so I’m going to assume he’s not there because he’s dead. One more thing to add to the list of Things Morticia Will For Sure Mention In Therapy One Day

Last thing is that the framing sequence of this episode is Gomez and Morticia telling the story to their kids. After the kids go to bed, Gomez asks Morticia to “go upstairs and enjoy the thunderstorm together.” It’s subtle enough for 1960s television but just barely

She says no because she wants to work on her painting, and he immediately switches gears and starts oohing and aahing over said painting. Hey did you know that I love them more than life itself

It’s very late so I will be scheduling this post for a time when I know I will be awake. Thank you for listening to me infodump on the most bizarre Addams Family lore I know. It will happen again

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Morticia’s Romance is one of the wildest things ever to hit sitcom television

[looney-mooney]

S3 Aggretsuko and the risks of making your Hobby a Job

Okay so I just watched Aggretsuko season 3 and everyone in the tag is talking about how she “threw away her dream” in the end by quitting her idol job when... that’s not how I see it at all???

Death metal isn’t her dream, it’s her escape. She sings to express her frustrations with the world, and to help her get through the torture of her everyday life. When she was forcefully turned into an idol, it wasn’t HERS anymore. Her lyrics were unintelligible, her meaning was lost, and she started to see the idol persona as the mask she must put on to please others and the source of her pain instead of her escape from it. True, she ended up starting to embrace it life on the stage, but only because she loved inspiring others. And even then, being an idol was her FRIEND’S dream. Whenever her friend talked about the joys of being an idol, Retsuko just passively agreed, and eventually convinced herself that maybe this IS what she’s meant to do with her life.

But it’s not. And she knows it. The crazed stalker fan might have been the one who pushed her to quit, but in her mind... he was just reinforcing what she thought to be basic truths about her situation. She’s a fake, her words are empty, she’s just doing what is expected of her instead of being her genuine self.

And even though it’s a muddled message, I think one of the things this season was trying to say is that you shouldn’t have to capitalize on everything you do. She started publishing anonymous videos on the internet, but she was doing it for ad revenue - just a little side gig to help her get by, but she never meant for her passion to be exposed and exploited to this level. She wanted to be ANONYMOUS. She never wanted her face to be seen. From the beginning, she published her videos in a death metal face mask, and wanted to preform with her face in a burlap bag (which is a BADASS LOOK, AND SUITS THE THEMES OF THE MUSIC SO FUCKIN WELL, WHY DID HE TAKE THAT AWAY FROM HER, SHE COULD HAVE BEEN DAFT PUNK BUT BABY METAL). She never wanted to be seen, to be known, to be forced into the spotlight the way she was. She just wanted to get by, but in order to do so, she had to sacrifice something integral to who she was. She had to make her passion her WORK. PUBLICLY. Which took away her one escape. It made her favorite hobby into her worst prison.

The thing is, it’s... it’s okay to have hobbies. You don’t have to profit off of everything you do. And like, I get it! It feels good to be recognized for your passions! I should know, I’m a Motion Designer, I turned my love of art, design, and animation into my freaking career! But I still have other hobbies. I can’t keep a tune to save my life, but I love to sing. I stopped taking ballet classes after middle school, but I still love to dance. I decided to stop auditioning for roles in chorus and theatre, but I still love to preform! I still dance, sing, and make silly voices for all the comics I read, but mostly in my bedroom while my little sister rolls her eyes at me. I purposefully try not to capitalize on those hobbies, because if I tried to turn every single little thing I do into a marketable skill or profession, I would drive myself INSANE.

And she.... she LIKES being an accountant. She LIKES managing money, making things work financially, and she’s really really good at it!!! This season showed that off real well, and she was at her happiest this season when she was able to use those skills to make the idol group financially successful!!! When she was a BOSS, and making herself an irreplaceable asset to this new buisiness she basically built from the ground up. It all spiraled out of her control when her boss found out about her hobby, and started making huge rebranding decisions around that discovery WITHOUT HER PERMISSION.

In the end, she withdrew herself from everything. All her friends, all her skills and all her passions, everything she used to take pride in. For WEEKS.

I don’t approve of how aggressively her friends abducted her, and I wish they had cut to the chase a little bit earlier in the season so that her recovery could have had a full episode, but her friends were right to bring her back to the karaoke bar. And I think this was important for more than one reason - Haida wasn’t just raging at her, he was SHOWING her his hobby. He isn’t actually good at it! He kinda sucks at the death metal voice, and his voice gave out halfway through, and he was grasping at straws for the lyrics, but he was having FUN, being HIMSELF, and letting himself be FREE. Same way as his music. He used to be in a band, but he eventually let it slide into a hobby. Something he does for himself, in his free time. And he was really trying to goad her into joining him. He had a lot to say to her, and yes, he was a little mean, he did call her a coward, but he was being open and honest and raw. And eventually, it broke the dam, and she SANG RIGHT BACK. SHE WAS SCREAMING, not just at him, but at the WORLD, crying out for what it had stolen from her, desperate for the freedom of expression, of herself. She was pushing him away, but she was doing something she hadn’t let herself do in a long, LONG time. She wasn’t singing for a crowd, or for money. She was singing for herself.

And Haida understands. He wants to join her. He could hear her, and understand the lyrics of her song, the words she was screaming out with crystal clarity. And he responded to her lyrics, in a way nobody else could.

“Then let’s punch the world back.”

After that, she gave one last performance for the public, regained control of her life, and then returned to her new normal. A normal where she can be anything she wants to be. Where she decides to be an accountant, because as much as she rages about her job, it’s still HER job. And she lets herself lean on her friends a little bit more. Lets herself eat with her friends, instead of separate from them as she had been doing all season. And - there’s the implication in one of her last lines, that she’s still a music producer. Not a professional performer anymore, but a producer. She didn’t give up her side hustle entirely, she just went back to the parts of it she has control over, the parts she actually ENJOYED. And I, for one, am really proud of her!