#The Crain Brothers

[thespookybean14]

Desperately need these two to be friends in a alternate universe, just hear me out, I think the friendship works. :)

[acidheaddd]

Isaac and Dorian both keep inviting this girl over now after school. I think her name is Miki. And I'm pretty sure she's tearing them apart as brothers through no fault of her own. 😂

[nightskied]

i was trying to write a hc on nell and substances but i can't rn so all i'll say is :

she's been part of many harm reduction programs to clean up sites

she consumes stuff recreatively , did hallucin.ogens when she was a teenager , didn't like that shit one bit . except shrooms once . that's that .

weed is a thing w/ her , in the comfort and safety of her own damn terms

she can spot a person with a problematic use of substances from a goddamn mile away .

she is a heavyweight drinker , girlie grew up pride - wrestling with luke , she's made out of iron at this point

she's exactly the type of person to not use anything - not even a single flute of champagne - to accompany another person . luke hasn't seen her drink in years .

bestie went to amsterdam and enjoyed the shit out of that trip

she believes that legalization is the way to go for harm reduction , so people can get effective treatment and help . she regularly donates to the shelters from her area

she goes through " detox " phases ( but this is true to everything she consumes ) , where she abstains from even caffeine . she claims this is a thing that's " good for the body " , really she's just afraid she might not be able to even if all the evidence shows otherwise .

mentally , she keeps close tabs on her siblings and her father too . she's worried about theo .

she's a good person to have around sober during a trip .

more often than not doesn't mind to be the designated driver

[blueeofsl]

Okay so this is going to be a pretty long analysis on @somerandomdudelmao ‘s most recent update… Will have to be split into multiple posts because of pictures

Been staring at the post for a while and damn,,, imagine going from dying in an unforgiving wasteland to waking up in what I can guess is a soft mattress with a healthy portion of sheets and blankets. Like those are absolute opposites in terms of comfort

The fact that Leo wakes up with unfocused eyes (compared to his brothers, who almost immediately shoot up), tells us that he’s still expecting himself to be back in that apocalypse.

Also the frown he has in the middle panel, it’s probably just his face relaxing, but we see that it immediately goes to a frown. An “ugh, im so exhausted why am I awake?” Sort of expression. Which kinda continues to show in the last panel of this first page.

And in that entire time, Leo’s eyes never fully focus. Because he isn’t expecting anything good to happen for him. So why should he even try at this point when there’s no one left to save?

~~~~~

Which brings us to the next page. Zooming in, we can see that Leo is staring at the back of Donnie’s shell. Im guessing it takes him a moment to realize what he’s looking at because we get enough time to see Donnie struggle to stay awake. And knowing Donnie, this hints to Leo that this isn’t some sort of normal hallucination.

We can also see that Leo is on a soft bed, and is being consistently monitored by Donnie. I am wondering what Donnie is working on though. Maybe checking Leo’s vitals? A new prosthetic for Leo? Or maybe, for once, allowing himself to start to plan on a new invention. Something that doesn’t directly involve with whether the resistance will survive the next day or not. He shows this sort of stubbornness to keep himself awake until he’s sure that Leo is okay.

In the last panel we see Leo finally perk up as he crains his neck back to really get a good look at his twin. He probably notices how Donnie’s shell looks a bit wider, his arms a bit stronger. But maybe hasn’t fully recognized it yet. This is also probably where he lets his vision come into focus, and becomes more aware of his surroundings because oh shit, I’m not dying on packed dirt any more.

~~~~~

Moving on to page 3, Leo reaches out to Donnie to see if he’s real. These poses remind me of the first episode of the comics.

(Episode 1, part 7) Here we see Leo do pretty much the exact same hand motion as his tiny, little self. Which kinda tells us that Leo is moving purely on instinct, on emotion. His mind telling him to seek for that sort of comfort.

When he falls in the last panel of the recent comic, I feel like it becomes some sort of wakeup call for him. Because the fall from the bed to the floor is pretty far from what we see in page 2. And the noise of his shell hitting the floor was probably pretty loud too. Enough to scare Donnie out of what ever he was working on.

Would also like to take a moment to look at Leo’s scars, specifically the one on the shell. I realized it’s the scar from when Donnie had to forcefully pull his shell together by screws and wire. (Part 2 of Episode 11)

The fact that that scar is still on Leo’s shell shows us that it was an impactful moment for him (the revived turtles so far have shown that the scars/features that stay are those they think a lot about or have an emotional attachment to). He was lucky at that time. Because the rubble that caused that injury could have easily killed him. A wrong crack/break in the shell could have left him immobile for the rest of the war. But that’s where Donnie comes in because he knows that Leo would hate that.

The reason why the scar is so big on Leo’s shell now shows how much impact it had on his mind. At least that’s my guess…

~~~~~

Moving onto Page 4, we get a good view of Leo’s expression in all panels. First one shows pain, a wince. His arm looks to have twitched towards himself in order to protect his head. It could have also twitched because of Donnie’s sudden yell to him.

The second panel shows surprise. Because his twin is picking him off the floor. Symbolically speaking, this could mean that his family is here to pick him up now, to carry him over to better times.

This surprise is also towards the fact that Donnie is able to lift Leo when before, right on the day Donnie dies, it was Leo who was picking up Donnie.

Also notice how in this page, we don’t see Donnie’s face at all. Even when Donnie is lifting Leo up in the third panel, we just see the confusion on Leo’s face. And also, perhaps, a bit of fear. Maybe he was fearing whether or not this was a dream.

But heres the thing. Many have noticed the parallel of Donnie and Leo switching positions in who is carrying who. But I noticed another parallel in this page.

First panel in page 4 looks nearly identical to this page of Leo dying here.

When realizing this, the parallel just made that page so much more emotional to me.

Because Leo was expecting to be brought back to the apocalypse in his head.

~~~~~

Moving onto page 5, we get another good view of the scar on Leo’s shell. First panel though, love the Donnie face squish. There was no way he was gonna just let his twin sit on the cold hard floor when theres a bed right there.

This might be looking to much into it, but in the first panel, it looks like Leo is shaking too.

We also see that Donnie and Leo are the same size now, when before, Leo was larger than Donnie when the soft shell was sick.

The second panel again shows the emotion Leo is going through. To me, it screams “is this real? I can’t believe it. How is this happening?” And we can see that Donnie’s grip on Leo is strong and firm while Leo seems to sorta cling/melt into his twin.

In the third panel, Donnie is telling Leo to sit still. Perhaps this is because of how badly Leo is shaking, or the fact that he had just fallen out of bed. Either way, what seems as a command for a shitty patient has another meaning; that Leo is okay. He’s going to be taken care of, he just has to let his family take care of him. Just like how he took care of them and so many other people.

~~~~~

Page 6, We see Leo’s expression again, and the way his arm is still reached out from Donnie pulling it off his shoulder. It’s full of surprise but theres not much fear being shown except for the hollowness in his eyes.

Leo still doesn’t fully believe all of this is real. Then Donnie goes and starts moving around him, checking what’s left of his arm (some people are saying that it’s the first thing donnie checked. Also wondering if this could be him planning on a new prosthetic for Leo), and what I can guess is Donnie checking his heartbeat (the little white ninpo rectangle thing near Leo’s heart).

For Leo, this is quite overwhelming. He lets Donnie do his thing, but it’s been years since he’s seen his brother be so active around him. He shows signs of nervousness too, the wobbly line for his lips, and the way that his arm is tucked towards his middle, and his knees slightly pulled up and together. In that moment, he’s trying to make himself smaller.

Going back to scars again, notice the scarring on his neck. It’s the same injury from when he went to Donnie’s lab for guidance after almost getting his head bitten off by a krang dog. It’s another scar that’s left a large impact on Leo’s mind. Perhaps part of it is because of the krang dog, but another part I think is because of him yelling for Donnie.

~~~~~

THIS IS PART 1 OF ANALYSIS!

PART 2

PART 3

[disappearinginq]

I’m so excited you like Steve Crain too! He’s been a favorite character of mine for years at this point, and doesn’t deserve the hate he gets.

It bothers me when people don’t recognize the responsibility that weighs on characters. They essentially lost both of their parents at the same time, and you know Steve had to be the one to step up.

This isn’t just applicable to Haunting of Hill House, of course. But I’ve noticed that fans vilify the characters that aren’t victimized as obviously / aren’t the main character.

Anyways, just wanted to share with a fellow Steve-enjoyed lol

New Bestie - same. I got into a very heated discussion about how if the Crain siblings are supposed to represent the 5 stages of grief, the fandom has Steve and Shirley switched around, because everyone says that Steve is Denial and Shirley is Bargaining.

Meanwhile, in the show, Steve spends his adult life going around not necessarily trying to debunk ghosts, but hoping that maybe this time, it will be ghosts, because then maybe his family will just be a different kind of crazy. He says his mom and his sister are sick, and they needed help. He reminds me more of Fox Mulder - the "I want to believe" vibe. But he also is in the unique position of seeing ghosts and not knowing about it. All of his ghosts are people with jobs, moving around the house like normal people. Everyone hears the dogs at night, not just him. He doesn't hear banging on the walls, he doesn't see creepy zombies in the basement, he doesn't have his future self freaking the hell out of him his entire life. He sees his mom - and as far as he's concerned (because this is a horror show, not supernatural, the world he occupies is the one we're in - no vampires and ghosts, etc, and that is Understood) it's just the mental illness that has gone through his whole family finally catching up with him. Anyone in this world who has a family member swear they're being stalked by a faceless ghost while they're high on drugs is going to come to same conclusion Steve does, which is that they're nuts. BUT - he looks for any signs that he is wrong. And I'm still mad that they cut out part of the first episode that has Steve refusing to write about his family anymore, no matter the price, while driving by an accident where he sees multiple people standing around, but when he turns away and the camera is the only one on the accident, you only see the firefighters/first responders.

Meanwhile, Shirley is 100% in denial about everything, including what her own ghosts were. In her House Nightmare at the end, she even denies what actually happened - in her version, she doesn't have an affair. The House actually calls her out on "But that's not what happened, is it?" When Steve is doing CPR on his dying brother, Shirley's first words are "This isn't real". She denies Luke from going to Nell's wedding. She denies that their mother had anything wrong with her, she's in denial that she's running her own business into the ground, she's in denial about the death of the kittens, she's in denial about ghosts too - even though she has much more explicit contact with them with the knocking, and with a witness both times (Theo). She's in denial about the night that they had to flee Hill House. Like if she says it often enough, then it will be true that her family is fine and nothing is wrong.

Sorry. Long rant. But I love this character and this show so much and no one ever wants to talk about it (except @amandagaelic, and she has listened to me for literally hours at this point). One of these days, I will actually finish the Haunting of Hill House fic I have, and it will be posted.

We might all be dead from old age, or so senile we don't even remember the source material, but I'll stipulate in my will that it has to be posted. :-D

AND YES - people have a weird habit of like...picking one character to defend and that's the end of it. No one else can do any right and that character can do no wrong. I see it in Yellowstone fandom a lot. Or in Marvel (the Steve/Tony argument made me leave it altogether). I don't know if it's because fandoms are now predominantly younger, louder/more obnoxious from the safety net of internet anonymity or what, but Seeing Things from Someone Else's Point of View seems to be a lost art in both media and reality.

[r6shippingdelivery]

Hello! I love your works and I have a question. Do you possibly know any r6 fics that are like… anger filled? If that makes any sense. :) thank you!

Guess it's time for a little rec list of anger filled fics! While most of these feature anger prominently, some have a more hopeful/sweeter ending and outlook than others, cause "anger filled" is quite a general requiremnt:

Stories by @grain-crain-drain

Capitao and Caveira, about Capitao owning an orphanage

Mira/Ash but Ash is always too busy for Mira

Zofia finding her own anger-filled diary as a teen when they were cleaning out their old home

The FBI SWAT ops and Hibana going MIA during Extraction

Lion/Doc but mostly Lion regretting his actions

Montagne/Thatcher, Montagne writing letter to Thatcher and Thatcher gets angry

Lion/Doc, where Doc gets angry at Lion for being a hypocrite

Glaz/Kapkan, where Glaz and Kapkan fight about their relationship

Pulse/Jackal, but Pulse is angry at Jackal

Stories by @thedragonsarealive

Jäger crashes his helicopter and Fuze doesn't cope well

Echo takes a creative approach to revenge, no one except him is happy

Stories by @tauruscookie

Mute comes out to Vigil, who isn't very accepting at first

Vigil doesn't want to celebrate his birthday

Stories by me

Kapkan comes out to his brothers, it's rough

The SAS react to Smoke leaving for NH

Glaz has less than positive feelings about Kali and NH in general

Sledge works out his anger at Smoke for leaving Rainbow (this one is a collab with @tauruscookie and @bloodysyren)

[lovedaysims]

Bella Goth (loveday vers.) (parents and brother: simis, jocasta, & michael)

A bit of a different style of lookbook for the icon and the queen, the inimitable Bella Goth. For my save, I essentially gave her two personalities:

Bella by way of Morticia Addams: a Goth by marriage, proprietress of the Goth properties of Willow Creek, loving but distant and mysterious mother. A slightly less disastrous and haunted version of Carla Gugino's Olivia Crain. Pre-abduction.

And Bella as she reappears in Oasis Springs: with no memory, her personality drawing on her younger years as a Bachelor. A tiny house and a garden. The feeling of something missing, which she fills with green things and soft living spaces.

[siblingshowdown]

Sibling Showdown!!!

This showdown consists of 64 sibling sets facing off against each other, as well as a few one-off polls of sets who didn’t make the actual bracket but who I wanted to include in some capacity.  Polls will last a week.  Round One of section A will go live on April 16, with section B going live the day after, section C the day after that, and section D the day after that.

Propaganda is allowed!  I just ask that it be kept positive.  Argue for your faves instead of against someone else’s.  Every sibling set who made it in the showdown is there because someone wanted them to be, so keep it kind.

Will the winners be the siblings that love each other the most?  That are most capable of killing other sibling groups with their bare hands?  That have the most sibling swag?  It’s up to you to decide!  You get to choose the manner and parameters you judge each sibling set for.

Section A:

Edward and Alphonse Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist) vs. Seiko and Ryuunosuke Tanaka (Haikyuu!!)

Wirt and Greg (Over the Garden Wall) vs.  Han Yoojin and Han Yoohyun (The S-Classes That I Raised)

Shigeo and Ritsu Kageyama (Mob Psycho 100) vs.  Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long (RWBY)

Sans and Papyrus (Undertale) vs. Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado (Demon Slayer)

Jiang Yanli, Wei Wuxian, and Jiang Cheng (Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Untamed) vs. Hikaru and Kaoru (Ouran High School Host Club)

Vi and Jinx (Arcane) vs. Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara (Naruto)

Sokka and Katara (Avatar: the Last Airbender) vs. Maya and Mia Fey (Ace Attorney)

Vash the Stampede and Millions Knives (Trigun) vs.  Lucas and Claus (Mother 3)

Section B:

Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo Hamato (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) vs. Violet, Dash, and Jack-Jack Parr (The Incredibles)

Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner (The Animaniacs) vs. Jazz and Danny Fenton (Danny Phantom)

Huey, Dewey, and Louie (Ducktales) vs. Sitka, Denahi, and Kenai (Brother Bear)

Dion, Frazie, Razputin, Mirtala, and Queepie Aquato (Psychonauts) vs. Skipper, Rico, Kowalski, and Private (Madagascar)

Eda and Lilith Clawthorne (The Owl House) vs. Snap, Crackle, and Pop (Rice Krispies)

Bonnie and Clemont (Pokemon X and Y) vs. Annika and Brietta (Barbie: Magic of Pegasus)

Candace, Phineas, and Ferb (Phineas and Ferb) vs. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup (Powerpuff Girls)

Nani and Lilo Pelekai (Lilo and Stitch) vs. Kai and Nya (Lego Ninjago)

Section C:

Maddie and Buck Buckley (911) vs. Steven, Shirley, Theo, Luke, and Nell Crain (The Haunting of HIll House)

David and Alexis Rose (Schitt’s Creek) vs. Dennis and Dee Reynolds (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)

Jonathan Byers, Will Byers, and El Hopper (Stranger Things) vs.  Prue, Piper, and Phoebe (Charmed)

Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Five, Ben, Viktor Hargreeves (The Umbrella Academy tv) vs. Mary, Billy, Freddy, Pedro, Eugene, and Darla (Shazam! movies)

Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain-Wayne, and Duke Thomas (DC comics) vs. Simon and River Tam (Firefly)

Elliot and Darlene Alderson (Mr. Robot) vs. Kara and Alex Danvers (Supergirl TV)

Connor, Kendall, Siobhan, and Roman Roy (Succession) vs. Sharpay and Ryan Evans (High School Musical)

Thor and Loki (Marvel Cinematic Universe) vs. Sarah and Felix (Orphan Black)

Section D:

Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin, Amrod, and Amras (The Silmarillion) vs. Antigone, Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene (Greek Mythology/Sophocles’s Theban plays)

Coronabeth and Ianthe Tridentarius (The Locked Tomb) vs. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia)

Nico and Bianca Di Angelo (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) vs. Declan, Ronan, and Matthew Lynch (The Raven Cycle/The Dreamer Trilogy)

Alec, Isabelle, Max Lightwood, and Jace Herondale-Lightwood (Shadowhunters) vs. Lark and Sparrow Oak (Dungeons and Daddies)

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire (A Series of Unfortunate Events) vs. Linus and Lucy Van Pelt (Peanuts)

Boromir and Faramir (The Lord of the Rings) vs. Bellamy and Octavia Blake (The 100)

Katniss and Primrose Everdeen (The Hunger Games) vs. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March (Little Women)

Kiryu Kazuma and Nishikiyama Akira (Yakuza) vs. Cain and Abel (the Torah/the Bible)

[saintgoths]

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜʀɪᴛʏ-ꜰᴏᴜʀ

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR - VENUS.

WORDS - 3,177.

RATING - 18+. [mentions of murder and child abuse.}

SUMMARY - as Isabella tells Ellie what happened the day they arrived to Jackson, Kaylee finally explains why her and her brother, Adam tried to get her pregnant..

i cross-post on archive of our own and wattpad

previous chapter - chapter thirty-three

Ellie softly played with the string of her guitar while she lightly hummed along a tune she had practiced; Ivy had laid close to her, on her back as she trained her eyes on a novel from a book she had picked up recently, currently, the two had been in Joel’s garage, which had been Ellie’s cabin, in need for privacy, Ivy and Ellie temporarily stayed in the small home while the rest of them had been under Isabella’s roof.

As much as she had wanted to continue, Ellie’s play of tunes which had been ambience for Ivy had come to a halt, the stop of the motion had caused Ivy to look up from her book. Aware that the Williams girl had a troubled look on her face. Engaged, Ivy bookmarked the page she had been on before she slowly sat up. “What’s wrong?”

“Is it true your family is going to leave?” had asked and confused, Ivy had wondered where Ellie must’ve heard it, either from Joel and Isabella but Ivy had doubted that, since they were at Joel’s for some time, though, Ivy had wondered if Ellie had heard Venus and Robin about it to each other.

“No,” Ivy shook her head. “My mother promised us we will stay here forever,” she smiled as she moved closer to her red-haired girlfriend. “I’ll be here forever.”

Relieved, Ellie lightly tapped the wooden material of her instrument. “That’s good,” she said her voice more confident as she set down her guitar. The auburn-haired girl reached for Ivy’s wrist and pulled the Rosalind girl closer to her. “I really love you,” Ellie said and with a stretched smile, Ivy’s eyes narrowed in content.

“I love you too,” Ivy said before she pressed her lips against Ellie’s mouth, her mouth had been a bit rough and sometimes Ivy joked about it.

After she hastily traced Ivy’s jaw with the pad of her thumb, Ellie’s hazel eyes moved to the object Ivy had once held. “What book are you reading?”

“The Haunting of Hill House,” Ivy shrugged fore she picked up her book again, she had thought that the novel had captured the idea of grief perfectly, and Ivy had wondered if the anger, bargaining, denial, depression and acceptance were endless cycles her mother had to continuously go through as she lived. “It was written by Shirley Jackson.”

“I’ve always walked past it whenever I was in the library, never decided to pick it up,” Ellie said. “Is it good?”

It’s amazing,” Ivy smiled as she picked up the book again. “My favourite character is Eleanor Crain.”

As she leaned against her bed post, Ellie briefly raised her eyebrows once more. “Once you’re finished with the book, maybe I’ll start reading it.”

“I’d like that,” Ivy answered just as Ellie reached out for her.

“Now, give me another kiss,” Ellie dared and without second thought, Ivy moved herself to her lover once more.

❊❊❊

THE PAST

Kai had been away when their front door was knocked upon, Isabella had been in their living room, both hands on her belly as she gently caressed the swollen lump, unsure if today would bring her hell or heaven. Yet, with confidence, Isabella walked directly towards the sealed door and gently peeled it open to reveal Hana’s twin, Lana.

Lana who had appeared radiant, though Isabella had known there had been a fakeness to it, with the forced dimpled smile, Lana looked down at her friend before she placed a short kiss against Isabella’s cheek, Isabella who had been surprised by her arrival had taken a step back to allow Lana in. She had looked different, she wore white clothes and had cut her hair just above her shoulders, her appearance drastically different to Hana as they used to be identical.

Lana had appeared as if she had been the Sun itself. Though, if the Isabella had wanted to be truthful, Lana’s essence had been like a light from a flashlight.

“Lana, lovely to see you, what brings you here?” Isabella asked and as Lana closed the door behind her, Lana gently licked her lips as she studied what she was about to say.

She examined their home and took in a deep breath; Isabella had thought that Lana had looked like one of the girls in a perfume ad she’d used to see before the infection took over the world. “What a beautiful home, it always amazes me whenever I walk by,” Lana said, her voice lighter than before, strangely different to her usual tone which had made Isabella feel uncanny. “Kai informed me about the difficult pregnancy you’re having, and I hope you will be better---I know you will be better.”

“Thank you,” Isabella said, aware that Lana had took out something from her pockets. It had appeared like a potion. With its green liqueur, Isabella had speculated if she picked up grass and mixed and mushed it with water.

“Here you go, drink this, it can help the pregnancy,” Lana said and unsure, Isabella took the potion from Lana and quickly examined it before she set it away.

She thanked Lana as they made way to the living room, and while Isabella directed Lana to the living room she had felt like a prey, Lana the tigress and Isabella the lamb. “The Ophanim had told me how much our commune is going to prosper, he is a great man, I have my trust in him, how he’s going to rebuild America, and then rebuild the world.”

If Isabella hadn’t had her back faced towards Lana, she would’ve seen the way her had face twisted, but when Isabella turned around, she had looked up at Lana, Lana whose eyes were filled with hope and faith, it creeped out Isabella. “And what about the missing people? What is the Ophanim going to do about them?”

“Be aware,” Lana began, her face had then fell into a serious position, eyebrows dropped and furrowed, eyes still as she pointed her finger upwards. “Be aware that their disappearances were great sacr---deeds to the community,” Lana corrected with a sigh. “And a great deed for you to have a safe pregnancy,” Lana smiled as she returned both of her palms to pile on top of each other.

Confused, Isabella gently puckered her lip in thought but before she could speak again, her front door was pushed open and there walked in the Ophanim, surprised, Isabella’s eyes widened, he wore a red cloak to symbolise his cardinal superiority, and wore a golden necklace that was a symbol of an Oraphim Angel and its wings. The Ophanim had stood tall, intimidatingly tall and he had a cloak that shaded his face, but when he pulled it down Isabella took in his striking features, he was handsome, but there had been an essence of coldness and dominance that shone bright as stars in his eyes.

He had looked charismatic, so Isabella had comprehended a bit why people were easily taken by him. “Be not afraid of him,” Lana kindly reassured. “He is here to help, to pray,” and without allowing the pregnant woman to say another word, the man had placed his hand against her shoulder and closed his eyes.

“’O Oraphim, give thy power my lord, to heal this sacred woman and the baby she carries in her belly, ‘O Oraphim, come guide and protect this woman and her foetus,” he prayed and joined by Lana who had placed her palm against Isabella’s back, Isabella stood there awkward and disturbed by their words. “’O Oraphim, our greatest Lord our Guide, our Christ, our God, come down and heal the woman and the foetus that’s growing in her belly, Omen.”

Relieved that they had let go of her, the Ophanim had not said another word before he spun on the balls of his feet and directed himself out of the Rosalind home, though excited, Lana stood next to Isabella with a content expression.

“He’s such a man of words,” Lana sighed in approval before she walked towards the exit. Though, with her hand on the door frame, Lana twisted her figure to look back at Isabella who had protectively held her swollen stomach. “See you again, Isabella,” she bid and with a dramatic bow, Lana pounced off her feet fore she left the woman alone.

❊❊❊

THE PRESENT

It had been a couple of days after her interaction with Ivy, and Ellie found herself back under the Rosalind roof, there had been many things that had made Ellie continuously find herself there, and one of them had been Isabella’s cooking, Ivy had not lied when she said her mother was the greatest chef, and it made her envy Ivy on how she was able to grow up with such a mother.

Currently, she had been sprawled against the sofa, had turned one of her shows on while Isabella had been in her open kitchen. She could feel the way Isabella glanced at her every now and then, but she had hoped it would be Isabella to be the one to make conversation, Ivy had been at the Green House, Robin had joined Joel for patrol and Kaylee had been teaching Venus piano in another room on the first floor.

“Food smells nice,” Ellie then said and as Isabella thanked Ellie, she threw more food into the pot.

“I’ve been craving this,” Isabella muttered and as a joke, Ellie turned to look at her, had watched how Isabella easily moved around.

She had been so quick on her feet, had almost moved around the place as if she were ghost. “Time of the month?”

With a smile Isabella nodded in approval. “Venus has been better, more relaxed compared to how she was when she first came here,” and she had been correct, compared to all the Rosalinds, specifically the Rosalind siblings, Venus had found it hard to find proper place here, or to fit in, specifically due to her bite.

With an estranged look, Ellie stared at the woman, if she hadn’t been so beautiful, she would’ve been intimidating, though her striking but kind appearance had sometimes made the Williams girl anxious. “I heard that you were asking Venus what happened before we came to Jackson.”

Caught red-handed, Ellie sat up straight before she quickly atoned for how she snooped into their lives. “Venus told you?”

Isabella shook her head. “I heard when I was behind the door, good hearing,” Isabella answered and as she placed a cooking tool down, Ellie muttered another apology, afraid of how keen their mother had been. “It’s okay,” Isabella sighed. “Everyone is curious about what had happened the night we came to Jackson, but I advise you to not pester Venus about it all the time. It was traumatic for us all, but Venus was traumatised the most. It is what commenced her sleep-walking.”

“When Venus didn’t get infected, the people of the commune we used to belong in believed that Venus was a deity,” Isabella began and intrigued, Ellie set her entire attention towards the woman. “Thought she was a deity brought to Earth, so they worshipped her…exploited her.”

Before the woman continued, she hesitated at the memory that flashed in her mind, all the words she remembered the people they knew before uttered to her, but what she had remembered the most was her anger. “They believed that if Venus laid with them, she’d be able to produce immune children, and there was going to be a special night for it to happen.”

Shocked, Ellie’s eyes widened as the words hit her ears, she could see the way Isabella heavily breathed in, as if she finished climbing a hill. “So, I decided that it would be the day I was going to burn every man who wanted to take part in abusing Venus, and kill the women who enabled it.”

“So, I made them a feast,” Isabella said as she crossed her hands. “And they ate, and unfortunately, so did Robin and Ivy. The food was drugged, and it was hard for them to wake up and escape, so when the commune was burning and I was killing everyone, my other children were asleep, but when Venus and I were able to wake them up, all they saw was disaster, I feel remorse with what I put them through, but the lengths I’ll go to when it comes to protecting my children is unlimited.”

With a sour feeling, Isabella gripped the edge of the island behind her, she had understood why she always lashed out whenever she heard someone attempted to hurt her children or did so, it was younger Rosa feeling and younger Lilith grieving, for the child she once was, for the child that wanted protection, for the child that precisely needed it.

Before any tear could slip out, Isabella scrunched her nose with a sniff ere she turned her back to the Williams girl who couldn’t help but stare at the woman with admiration. “So…you’re like a moralistic slasher?” Ellie inquired, her adolescence in her question had brought a smile to Isabella’s face who couldn’t help but turn to look back at her.

“Exactly like that,” Isabella responded.

❊❊❊

Weeks have gone by and Isabella had invited Kaylee to her home, it had been moments since Kaylee said she’d explain herself to the Rosalind woman, to why her and her brother Adam had attempted to impregnate her, and as much as Isabella had thought of their idea to be not only exploitive, but foolish, though Isabella had time to be annoyed with what they had done, and had no energy to be angry, thus she passed a cup of coffee towards the other woman who had felt like she had slowly shrunk under Isabella’s watchful gaze.

Awkward, Kaylee took a sip of her drink while Isabella impatiently tapped her fingers against her thumb, she then spoke. “Hurry up before Joel comes back and overhears what you tried to do, and he would give the reaction I should’ve when I realised it.”

“It’s not like we randomly tried to get you pregnant the second we saw you,” Kaylee blurted out, her eyes wide with embarrassment, she had been grateful Isabella caught her at a time where no one else would’ve been home, she didn’t want to suffer the judgemental trait Venus had, the little girl was patronising enough. “It’s just that, when I heard you had sex with him, I was happy.”

Confused, Isabella gracelessly laughed. “That’s weird,” Isabella muttered and as Kaylee opened her mouth to speak, Isabella captured the sad glint that faintly sparkled in her eyes.

“I’m infertile,” Kaylee said.

“What does that got to do with me?” Isabella asked.

“Adam isn’t,” Kaylee continued, and with a brief shake, Kaylee put down her drink. “And you’re just so good with kids, and we want to have more family, Adam wants kids the most. I gave up on the idea.”

“I wouldn’t want Adam’s kid,” Isabella stated and with an embarrassed fluster Kaylee played with her fingers as she took a quick examination over Isabella.

As she took in the brief information with the quick scan, Kaylee hastily clenched her jaw. “’I understand,” she breathed, eyes low as she saw the way Isabella stopped tapping her fingers but moved to gently swing her left foot. “I just got excited and wanted to have my own niece and nephew, but I’m glad Toomy and Maria would be having one.”

Confused, Isabella pulled herself forward. “What do you mean?”

Just as perplexed, Kaylee leaned back on the single sofa Isabella had provided to her. “Glowing skin, slightly bigger nose, still beautiful---nothing wrong with having a big nose,” she said as a save, “But how did you not know?” Considering Isabella had more than two kids, Kaylee thought Isabella would be able to catch on when she was showing the symptoms.

With a dark look, Isabella’s eyes slowly fell down to the table. “I cannot be pregnant,” she anxiously laughed as she placed her left hand against her chest, it must’ve been the stress and what had been happening previously which had made Isabella not realise that a new human being was forming inside of her.

“Why not?” Kaylee asked as she moved forward. “You’re an amazing mother, you’ll do well with this one, like you’ve done the others.”

“I wish for you to not tell anyone,” Isabella requested, her wish almost a plead, a beg---and understanding, Kaylee sat up.

“I won’t,” she promised.

 ❊❊❊

“Feel better?” Joel questioned as he dug his fingers into Isabella’s back, carefully massaged the knots in Isabella’s body as she gently sighed in relief to his touch. Presently they had been in her room, everyone else had been asleep but the Miller man had noticed that there had been a stiffness to Isabella’s movements, hence the woman usually moved like a flow of spring water, it wasn’t hard to miss when she acted different.

He had asked her if anything had been wrong before they had begun the session, and Isabella had spent two minutes in attempt to make him understand that everything was alright. “It feels good,” Isabella sighed, she had wanted to lean on him, excessively but she had reminded herself to be patient.

As he softly pressed a kiss against her shoulder, Joel had then spoken. “You look beautiful today.”

With a smile, Isabella hastily bit her lip. “You always say that.”

“Gotta tell my woman it every day,” Joel sated and with a scrunch of her nose, Isabella rolled her eyes, amused.

“Your woman?” She repeated with a giggle, she had liked the sound of that, and had felt more satisfied when she had felt Joel massage the rest of her body. With a moan, Isabella tilted her head backwards, “I do like the sound of that,” she said, as she felt the texture of his fingers move against her skin, she had only worn her bra and panties, her bump hadn’t showed and Isabella had speculated how long she had been pregnant, Joel as keen as he was didn’t see the difference on her body, and if he did, he probably did not want to insult her by bringing up the shape of her figure.

As he had stroked her hair, he couldn’t help but move his hands to her breast. “They’re so full.”

“I’ve always had big boobs,” Isabella clarified and she turned to look at him the moment she felt him playing with them, she couldn’t help but laugh before she moved her mouth on top of his.

With his eyebrows furrowed, Joel pulled away. “Is there anything wrong?”

“Am I suddenly bad at kissing?” Isabella responded and with a short-humoured scoff, Joel helped Isabella put on her top, she had known that wasn’t what he had meant, whenever there had been something wrong with Isabella, Joel’s senses always seemed to activate. “You’re thinking too much,” she reassured. “Now let us go to sleep.”

masterlist

story masterlist

[onlyyouexisthere]

Rules: make a poll with five of your all-time favourite characters and then tag five people to do the same. See which character is everyone's favourite.

Thank you for tagging me @tvserie-s-world 😘

It's more like a mix of all-time favorites and ones that just came to mind right away

Tagging anyone!

[lenaschin]

The Haunting of Hill House

In “We’re Going to Make You into a Proper Woman: Postfeminist Gender Performativity and the Supernatural in Penny Dreadful,” Pedro analyzes two female protagonists in relation to their supernatural abilities, or "uncanny doubles," a term used to personify the socially deviant side of one's identity--ones 'otherness.' Pedro critiques the lack of liberation for these women, whose tragic endings frame their 'social deviance' as not only failed, but as worthy of punishment. The show thus reinforces gender norms despite its focus on female perspectives. The Haunting of Hill House similarly explores “uncanny doubles,” which take the form of supernatural spirits that haunt Olivia and Nell Crain (mother and daughter). The show surrounds the Crain family reunion (4 siblings and 1 father), as they gather for Nell's funeral. We soon learn of the family’s complications, all of which are tied to their summer at Hill House (~30 years ago), where Olivia (wife & mother) was driven to hysteria and committed suicide. I focus on Episode 5, as Nell’s perspective is shown through flashbacks, and the supernatural forces behind her death are revealed.

1. How does the series form and content inform the relationship of female physical and emotional growth and development?

The show’s form as a gothic horror enables a fictitious and creative exploration of loss, grief, & trauma's effect on female growth. Nell’s trauma takes the form of the Bent Neck Lady, a spirit whose random appearances cause paralysis and constant fear. This hinders Nell's development, resulting in her social withdrawal. Flashbacks reveal the spirit emerged at Hill House, creating a tie between the trauma experienced there, the Bent Neck Lady and Nell’s resulting development. While Nell temporarily finds a loving partner and shows positive growth (confronting her emotional trauma and fighting her physical paralysis), his death both halts and reverses her positive development, as her childhood grief resurfaces. At his death, the Bent Neck Lady stands next to his dead body, and visually marks the parallel between this loss and that of her mother. This marks the beginning of Nell's end, as she becomes emotionally weak and returns to Hill House. Her final development occurs at death, when she falls through time and realizes that she has just become--and has always been--the Bent Neck Lady. The series illustrates the role of loss in female development through Nell's final transformation into the Bent Neck Lady, aka, her trauma; trauma defines her--she has internalized her loss, and we watch grief literally consume her from the inside out.

Arthur's Death

2. In what ways does the series use cinematic timing to chronicle character transformations? 

The show provides information surrounding the Cain family members’ individual character transformations through its editing style, in which flashbacks to 1) ~30 years ago at Hill house and 2) the recent past–prior to Nell’s death, are interspersed throughout the present (Nell’s funeral). Each episode focuses on one character’s perspective, and reveals their individual childhood experiences at Hill House in relation to their current adult lives. Luke, Nell’s twin brother and the second most affected of the Cain children, exemplifies a stark transformation through two back-to-back scenes. We flashback to childhood, and see him as a strong, self-sufficient boy who takes care of Nell–he teaches her a counting method to use as a distraction from the Bent Neck Lady. This is contrasted by a switch to the recent past, in which Luke–an addict a dirty, scratched face–walks the streets alone. The Tall Man—a spirit that emerged at Hill House—floats behind him. He uses the counting method he previously taught Nell, now attempting to distract himself, rather than helping her. His initial youthful fearlessness and positivity contrast with his current vulnerability and anxiety, and this transformation is heightened through the switch from the past’s bright, colorful clarity to the dark, sickly yellow tones of the present. The Tall Man’s presence and his switch to represent Olivia at the end of the scene visually highlights this transformation as directly tied to his childhood trauma and loss.

Luke's Transformation (15:55 - 17:25)

3. How are the primary characters’ ages and development coded by the characters around them? 

All of the primary characters develop with age, and initially represent narratives of youthful innocence, but take a turn after their summer at Hill House. I focus on Nell, as her siblings play a particularly large role in the choices she makes, including her eventual death and final development into the Bent Neck Lady. Nell’s siblings treat her as a naive child during both childhood and adulthood, leading her to internalize feelings of “invisibility.” This invisibility follows her throughout life, as her siblings disregard her fear of the Bent Neck Lady and ideas of the supernatural, blaming them on mental illness. This treatment results in Nell feeling unheard–invisible–, and leads to feelings of worthlessness and isolation, which are framed as partially responsible for Nell’s eventual despair and return to Hill House/death.

Nell's Invisibility

4. In what ways does the series reflect narratives of youth and represent narratives of adult functionality or dysfunctionality?                               

The series focuses on youth as a key part of the Crain childrens’ later identities as adults, connecting their level of functionality to the varied levels of trauma they faced as children. Youth is portrayed as naive and innocent; a blank canvas to create a fully functional adult. Those touched by trauma develop into dysfunctional adults, while those less affected are more functional. The two most dysfunctional adults are Luke and Nell, who experienced the consistent appearance of evil spirits at Hill House. Steven, who experienced the least supernatural trauma, is framed as the most functional sibling, and as such, doesn’t understand the source of his family’s dysfunctionality. He blames his mother’s haunting on mental illness, and later does the same with Nell. Nell’s dysfunctionality is framed in contrast to Steven’s functionality, evident in a scene where she crashes his book signing at the height of her grief.

Nell's Breakdown

5. How does the series use the fantasy genre as an area for framing virtue and villainy?         

Just as Pedro notes in the reading, the supernatural can be used to empower women, but this series fails to do so, and instead frames the two most narratively significant characters as villains. While Olivia is initially framed as a warm, loving mother, her victimization quickly leads to her villain hood. Poppy Hill, an evil spirit, feeds on Olivia’s loving emotionality, and convinces her to kill her children to save them from the “evil” of the outside world. While this plan fails, Olivia accidentally poisons a little girl in the process and is framed as hysterical. Years later, her vilification continues when Olivia's spirit fully consumes the role of her uncanny double (Poppy's spirit), orchestrating Nell’s death just as Poppy did to her.

Poppy Hill (spirit) urges Olivia to "wake her family up" from the nightmare of life--to kill them, keeping their spirits 'alive' and 'safe' in Hill House, forever.

Nell's Death (TRIGGER WARNING: Stop Before 1:35)

Nell illustrates an even clearer clash between victimhood and villain hood, as she has always been her uncanny double, the Bent Neck Lady. By framing Nell as her own villain, the narrative blames her for her own victimization, and thus punishes, rather than liberates her. While last episode allows her to reclaim virtuosity, as her dead spirit helps her trapped siblings escape from Hill House, the truly impactful act is framed as her father's sacrifice, shifting the focus to male heroism and away from Nell.

Moments before Death, Olivia blurs Nell's view of Hill House. She hallucinates beauty and the presence of her loved ones, and only wakes up when it's too late, and Olivia literally pushes her to death.

Critical Thinking Questions:

Do you think that Nell and Olivia are victims, villains, or neither?

Hill House is framed as a place where time is non-linear, which enables the characters (Nell) to interact with themselves in different time periods. How is this meaningful in relation to confronting their trauma?

In the end of the show, Hugh sacrifices himself, fully calming Olivia down and enabling his children to escape from Hill House. Do you think his heroism overshadows the horrible fates of the female protagonists?

Nell's constant anxiety is only truly resolved when she returns to Hill House, the source of her trauma. In response to this, do you view her ending as closure instead of punishment/torture?

#oxyspeculativetv @theuncannyprofessoro

[acidheaddd]

Meanwhile...

[brittlecakes92]

Take my breath away part 1

Hey!! It is here after working on it for forever! This is Cop Kabal, I’ve always liked the idea of Kabal dating Strykers sister and being a shit about it! It’s long, this is a build up, initially part two was going to be the only part to this, but it needed a build up. I hope you enjoy, much like with all my other posts, shes a lengthy one! Without further ado!  You twirled the fork between your index finger and thumb as you rested your cheek on your balled up fist. You peered around the restaurant, the sound of idle chatter filling up the sitting area. When the bell that sat above the door you quickly straightened up turning your gaze to the door to see who had entered. A small annoyed huff left your mouth as you realized it wasn’t your brother. You placed the fork down onto the wooden table before reaching for you phone, pressing the screen it lit up showing that you didn’t have any new notifications.   “Come on Kurtis..” for something he claimed to be so important he sure was taking his time to meet you where he asked. Your head perked up again when you heard the bell again, you watched your brother shut the older door behind him, he took his hat off before he started to look around the resturant trying to spot you no doubt. You lifted your hand up craining you neck like that would make you taller and easier to find. Kurtis would nod in acknowledgment to the people that would greet him. After giving a hello he stepped further into the resturant.   “Kurtis!” Hearing his name being called out he looked in the direction it came from. When he saw your lifted hand, he raised his brows when he saw you and started to make his way to the booth you were seated in.   “Hey brat.. Were you waiting long?” Rolling your eyes you nudged his shin with the tip of your shoe. “Very funny.” Silence fell over the both of you as Kurtis grabbed a menu, you shifting back into the old red cushion to get comfortable. You watched as people walked past your booth heading towards the door, you gave a small smile as they passed by before turning you attention back to your brother.   “So what is so important that we had to meet down here?” You inquired while waiting for his response. He looks up from the menu to the door. “I’m waiting on my partner to get here, when he does then we can talk.” Letting out a chortle you tore off a piece of the napkin the silverware rested on and threw the balled up piece at him. Kurtis cut you a glare.   “Come on.. Since when did the great Kurtis Stryker get a partner?” Shaking his head he picked up the balled up piece of napkin and twisted it between his fingers. “Since things have started to get crazier at the precinct.” You watched him chew on the inside of him mouth, something was clearly on his mind. You didn’t have to wait for long to learn what that was.   “Have you noticed anything odd? Vehicles that seem out of place? People who also look out of place?Occurances.” You raised your brow and shook your head slowly thinking over what Kurtis just asked you with pursed lips. Your brows soon setting into a furrow when you looked at your brothers face.   “Nothing has caught my eye like that as of late. Why?” You studied your brothers face, taking note of the expression, it had anxiety starting to slowly creep up your stomach.   “Kurt..” You pressed when he still hadn’t responded. He opened his mouth but quickly closed it when the sound of the bell being hit drew his attention to the door. He raised his hand to catch whoever's attention and you following your eyes followed his line of sight until they landed on a man. His skin was an even olive complexation, his black hair pulled back save a few strands that fell above his eyes, they sides of his head that were obviously shaven you could tell was in the process of growing back. His blue uniform shirt clung to him in all the right ways, his arms had you thinking about more then how they busted from the arm holes. You started to wonder how it felt in those arms.   “That’s your partner?..” Your voice came out in a murmur not wanting the man quickly approaching to hear you. Kurtis shook his head before his partner came to a stop in front of your booth.   “Hey rookie, this is my sister Y/n..Y/n -He turned his head to look at you before turning his look back to his partner- this is Kabal.” You couldn’t help the smile that slowly started to spread across your lips, Kabal extended his gloved clad hand out towards you breaking you from whatever trance he had put you in. You reached your hand forward marveling at his larger one engulfed yours and you couldn’t help but take note at how snuggly it fit.   “Hi.” Your voice came out a lot more meek then what it was intended to a blush crept across your cheeks. Kabal let out a chuckle before giving you a ‘Hi’ back and sliding in to sit on the side of the booth with your brother. You studied him for a second before speaking. He was handsome, something that didn’t go unnoticed by you, or anyone for that matter.   “So you are my brothers partner now, huh?” You leaned further back in to the red cushion that you sat on, listening to the leather squeak in protest. Kabal flashed you a playful smirk that had you cursing internally, any nerves that you were able to push down quickly resurfaced with that one action alone.   “I am. He failed to mention he had a cute sister.” The side glare Kurtis cut him had you stifling a laugh. You heard Kurtis clear his throat before speaking.   “Okay... watch it. -Kabal threw his hands up slowly in defense waiting for Kurtis to Continue- now that Kabal is here I can get started with why I wanted you to meet us. Our most recent case we’ve been working on has pissed off a lot of the wrong people.”  You had to refrain from rolling your eyes, instead looking between the two men before raising your brow. “So how is that different from any other day? I mean isn’t that usually the case with your line of work. You haven’t been overly worried before, so what makes this one different?” Your eyes look with Strykers and he lets out a sigh before adjusting in his seat, leaning closer towards the table. His left leg bouncing a little. “Y/N I need you to take this more seriously. These people, they aren’t like the others that we have had to arrest and deal with. They are targeting and coming after not only the officers on this case, but their family members, and by any means. It doesn’t matter to them who you are to us. If they know they can prolong their torment before getting to who they really want, they will use any means necessary to do it.”   Kabal watched you sink your teeth into your bottom lip, the worried expression looked cute on your face. More then that, he wanted to know how your lips would fell pressed against his. Clearing his throat to get the thoughts out of his mind before he spoke. “Trust Stryker. I know from experience that they won’t stop until they hurt and take everything away to prove their point. They won’t bat an eye at the chance to cut you down.” His voice was something that had you entranced, your eyes landing on his made if felt like he held your breath along with your gaze. When the waitress stopped by your table to take your orders you all told her what it was that you wanted and watched as she scribbled it down in her note pad with a smile. With a promise of her returning with your drink, she quickly left you three with a parting smile. Stryker excused himself to go to the restroom, Kabal standing up to let him by before sitting back down. When it was just the two of you, you licked your lips before looking back at Kabal.   “So.. How long have you and my brother been partners?” Kabal raised his brow in thought before sinking further  back into the booth; “Maybe three weeks. I’m curious how I’m just now learning about you.” You let out a chuckle before sitting straighter in your seat. “Kurtis might be a little protective of me –You made sure you put an emphasis on the protective part.- I can’t exactly blame him though, with the work you are both doing now and all.” Kabal nodded his head in understanding. “I would be the same.” His admission had you chocking on your spit, you chocked out a cough before catching your breath. Your face heating up and turning beat red from his words and your coughing fit. The cocky smile that graced those lips did nothing to slow your heart from beating almost out of your chest. Clearing your throat you licked your lips before letting out a breath. Kabal watched you with a preciousion that only he could have, no little twitch of your face or lick of your lips going unnoticed by him. “What I am curious about.. Is why the precinct couldn’t get you a bigger shirt. That poor thing is almost stretched to death.” Kabal let out a laugh that had you smiling.   “I didn’t realize you were so focused on my body.” He mad a deliberate move to flex his bicep to tease you. You reach across the table and swatted at his arm. Kabal furrowed his brow concern on his face; “Easy there, don’t want you hurting yourself over there.” You rolled you eyes before shaking your head. The sound of someone clearing their throat catching both of your attention. Kabal quickly stood up to let Stryker back in.   “What did I miss?” He asked looking between the two of you. You shock your head, thankful the waitress brought your order out. You all ate and held idle chit chat, your eyes catching Kabals every once in a while in the middle of the conversations. Finishing your meal you placed your fork down before grabbing your phone and checking the time. You had to leave for work or you would be late. Grabbing your drink you quickly finished the rest of it before grabbing your pay ticket and working you way out of the booth.   “I have to head off to work.” You announced when you finally stood from your seat, adjusting your hair an making sure you had your bag with you. The boys both nodded at you.   “Hey.. Remember what I said if you see or notice- you cut Kurtis off by throwing your arm around his neck loosely and kissing the top of his head.- “I know, I know, you’ll be who I call first. Promise.” Stryker patted your forearm before you let him lose, you flashed Kabal a smile before heading to the reigsters.   Stryker let of a huff as he watched your retreating form. “She needs to take this seriously.” He shook his head before reaching for his drink. Kabal listening before standing up from the booth. Mumbling something about ‘paying thee bill’ as he made his way up front to the registers. You leaned against the counter as the woman wrung up your ticket.   “Your total is going to be $30.69” Nodding your head you reached into your bag to grab your wallet.   “I got this..” You jumped, your head snapping up as you placed your hand that was searching through your purse over your heart. “Shouldn’t you be saving that money for a new shirt?” You teased nudging his arm with your shoulder. “That’s a weird way of saying thank you.” He retorted back, when he was handed the receipt he tilted his head towards the door making both of your ways over to it, he held it open peering around outside as you slipped out in front of him. The sun causing you to squint your eyes.   Kabal watched you before sweeping the cars with his eyes. “Which one is yours?” You pointed out to the only car that rested under the shade of a tree. “That one” Kabal ghosted his hand over your shoulders before pulling it back, both of you making your way over to the car. When you reached the car together, you rubbed your lips together before looking up at Kabal.   “Thank you, by the way.” Kabal glanced down at you, a smile gracing his lips. “Unlock it..” You let a hmm escape your mouth before raising a brow at what you were just asked. When it dawned on you what he said you let out a silent ‘oh’ before pulling your keys out, hitting the button you unlocked it before watching Kabal lean forward his hand clasping the handle before opening the door.   “Where is your phone?” Reaching behind you, you patted the phone in your back pocket before removing it and pulling it forward. Kabal held his hand out waiting for you to place in into it after unlocking it.   “You’re brother is right, this is something you should take a little more serious. If you can’t text him or call him, now, you can me.” You nodded your head at his words leaning forward to reach for you phone, your fingers brushing against his caused a shiver to run across your skin.   “Kabal.. I need my phone.” When you move your arm to pull your phone towards you Kabal pulled closer towards him, your hands reaching out to find balance on his taunt chest, licking your lips when noticed how close you both were, you stepped back a little clearing your throat.   “Alright, I will be careful. I promise.” Kabal nodded before finding this answer satisfactory. Moving his arm lower he handed you your phone. Phone in hand you tossed it into the passenger seat before placing your foot inside the car, sliding in to sit completely in your vehicle. When Kabal knew you were inside the car he closed the door and watched as you turned the car on. Stepping back he crossed his arms as he watched you pull away, taking note of his surroundings as your car got smaller and smaller.   ------------------------------------------------------------------- The next few weeks went without incident nothing weird or out of place happened. You would text Kurtis and Kabal letting them know where you were and when you were home, just to ease their mind.  You noticed you and Kabal talked a lot more since meeting, a whole lot more in fact. He was easy to open up too. Pulling your car into the driveway you cut the ignition before grabbing your phone. You had a new notification from Kabal waiting. You smiled at it before you quickly opening the message.   Kabal: “You make it home alright?”   Y/N: “Made I home okay, but if you want to come tuck me in, I wouldn’t complain.”   You could imagine the look on his face as he read the message. Feeling the vibration of you phone you brought it back up.   Kabal: “If I came to tuck you in that wouldn’t happen for a while.” You slipped your eyes closed and bit your lip at his message. You took a deep breath trying to compose yourself and the wild thoughts that flooded your mind. The things you would let him do to you made no sense even to yourself. Getting out of the car you had the key ready to unlock the door. Pushing it open you reached your hand in quickly flipping the light on before stepping inside. Closing the door slowly, every fiber in your being told you to run.   You couldn’t place it, and you didn‘t know why, but something felt off in your house. Your ears strained against the silence to see if you could hear any noises that were misplaced. The living room and kitchen seemed to be in the same state that you had left it that morning before leaving.  You carefully made you way to the back of the house checking the bathroom and guest room as your bedroom was the last room to be checked. Everything was clear. Stopping Infront of the wooden door you took a deep breath to calm yourself. Your hand grasped the handle before twisting it then pushing it up. Stepping inside you reached back to turn on the light switch, twisting your head to help you better see it from the light illuminating from the living room. Turning back to face your bed you had to quickly cover your mouth to stop the scream that threatened to pass your lips. Your heart began to thunder in your chest, panic began to bleed throught your veins.   Pictures.   Pictures of you alone. Pictures of you with your friends Pictures of you at work   Pictures of you with your brother Pictures of you with Kabal   They littered your room, the walls covered, some hung from the ceiling on strings. The one that caught your attention was dead center in the room, handing from your ceiling fan. It was you. Asleep in your room, and the arm of a man pushing your hair back from your face. A chill ran down your spine and it took all you had not to throw up. Reaching for the picture you quickly pulled it down with a trembling hand before your feet started moving you backwards slowly to your door. When you stumbled over the door frame it snapped you out of your stopper and you quickly made your way to your car.   Kabal sat on the edge of his desk, his arms crossed over his chest as he listened to Stryker speak. He was going over the next area that needed to be checked out and making sure that there would be enough people and resources to be able to do this quickly. Kabal glanced down at his phone, bummed out at the realization that you hadn’t sent him a text back. It wasn’t too odd that you wouldn’t respond, but the thoughts of what you might have been doing definitely captivated his mind more so then what Stryker had to say.   Stryker had stopped talking a while ago as he noticed his partner lost in thought.   “Kabal did you hear..- He paused in his question when he heard footsteps approaching the office he and Kabal were occupying. Picking up on the sound Kabal focused his attention to the noise as well.-   “I believe they should both still be here.” Kabal and Stryker passed a glance to each other, but Kabal quickly straightened up when he saw that it was you being led into the space. Stryker was the first to rise from his seat, the look on your face was all he needed to see to know that something wasn’t right. Stryker was over to you in a few strides before Kabal moved to step closer to you as well, he could see something cluthched between your fingers, narrowing his eyes as he approached you to get a better look at what it was.   Stryker had thanked the officer and he quickly took his leave, Styker placed his hands on your shoulders, he could feel you trembling. “Hey.. What happened?” His tone was calm, like he was talking to a frightened fawn. He waited for you to speak, letting out a sob you stepped closer, hugging your brother, clinging onto him would have been a more accurate description, Stryker wrapped his arm around you in true protective brother fashion.   “It’s okay..” He assured you. Kabal had moved close enough now to realize that it was a picture you were holding. Squinting his eyes in concentration, his brows quickly scrunched with anger when he realized what he was looking at.   “In my house..” Your muffled words came out barley as a whisper with your face pressed into your brothers chest. Stryker carefully pushed you back so he could hear what you had said. Your eyes were screwed shut. He needed you to repeat what you said, he needed to make sure he heard you correctly. Kabal had worked the picture from between your fingers carefully.   “They were in my house, while I was asleep.” You opened your eyes, your vision starting to blur from the tears that were flooding your tear line. Stryker turned behind him and took the picture from Kabal, he ran a hand down his face. “What’s our move Stryker?” Kabal had moved to stand closer to you, in a manner that made you feel safe, protected. You moved closer to him, your shoulder brushing against his back. Kabal reached a hand back, his fingers grazing the side of your thigh to let you know nothing was going to happen to you here. He brought a sense of calm to you that you hadn’t felt before.   “It’s not safe for you to stay at home.” Stryker commented, you nodded your head, your gaze cast down to the floor. You looked lost in thought for a second. You looked at your brother; “Can I stay at your house?” Stykers looked dumbfounded at your question.   “Like you even need to ask that? You need to grab some clothes..- Stryker looked to Kabal, Kabal understood before Kurtis even asked what was going to come out of his mouth and he was nodding his head in agreement- Do you mind taking her to her house to grab what she needs?” Kabal had to refrain from all but ushering you out of the office.   “Nothing is going to happen to her on my watch. - You looked up at him as he spoke. His eyes meeting yours. The way you looked at him made his heart soften- I promise.” You rested your head against his arm and let out a shuddering breath. You felt like you were caught in his gravitational pull, and truthfully you never wanted to break free from it. “Thank you Kabal. Y/N has a key to my place. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Kabal nodded before turning his body and wrapping his arm around your shoulders pulling you closer to his side as he started to lead you out of the office and towards the parkign lot where your car was waiting. His grip on your shoulders firm aned you leaned into him even further then you already were. When you both stepped out into the parking lot Kabal quickly walked you to the passanger side door. Pulling on the handle it gave way and he guided you into the seat before closing the door after making sure you were in.   You followed Kabal with your eyes as he walked infrot of you car to make his way to the door to get into the drivers seat. The door closed quickly and you watched Kabal adjust himself in the seat. He turned to look at you, raising his hand up he cupped the side of your face. Your eyes slide shut at the feeling of his warm skin on yours. “ We will head to your house first, the I will get you to your brothers.” You nodded your head, a dissapointing sound almost leaving past your lips when he pulled his hand back. You adjusted your body, turning onto your side as you snuggled into the seat, you eyes never leaving Kabal.   The drive to your house was quiet save for the sound of other cars passing by. You could feel your anixiety pick up the closer you were getting to your house. Kabal glance at you out from the corner of his eye, reaching his right hand across the center console, his hand rested on your thigh. You were quick to lace your fingers with him, resting your hand on top of his.   “You’re safe with me.” You nodded your head to his assurance to you. Kabal couldn’t help but feel entranced by you, he couldn’t help but feeling this was right.. Not the best circumstance, but he was quick to remember every feeling, of your hand on his, they way you looked at him, he knew he would throw himself in the way of danger just to keep you looking at him like that. He knew he was in trouble, falling into you fast.   “Thank you Kabal.” His fingers tightened around yours, the simple act soothing your heat and putting you somewhat at ease. You didn’t want him to let go of your hand. You watched as he turned his focus back onto the road.   When he finally pulled into your driveway you sat up, unclicking the seatbelt you ducked your head to look out of your windshield, a sense of dread starting to build up. Kabal removed his hand before turning off the car. Twisting his upper body to look at you.   “Here’s the deal.. I’m going to go into your house first. I need you to stay close and listen to what I tell you.” You nodded your head as Kabal spoke; “What if someone is in there?” You leaned in closer to him as you spoke. He let out a chuckle that shot a chill through your spine. His hand finding your cheek quickly.   “Trust me, the won’t know what the hell even hit them. Stay close to me, and you will be okay.” Taking a breath you pulled your head back before reaching for the handle, stepping outside of the car you walk around the front Kabal closing the door after getting out. When you reached his side you both started making your way up the steps of the porch. Kabal held your car keys up, you reached forward grabbing a specific key. Nodding his head he pushed you back a little behind him.   “Wait right here.” When he unlocked the door he flipped the lights on before doing a quick scan of the living room and kitchen. When he semized the coast was clear he called out to you to come in. You didn’t hesitate before walking into the living room, closing the door behind you, you moved to stand beside Kabal waiting for him to lead you to your room. You placed your hand on his back and felt him tense up before he relaxed. You both moved down the hall, Kabal checking that bathroom, the spare room and when you reached your room you both stopped outside of the door. Kabal pushed the door open before turning on the switch and quickly entering your bed room. He checked every corner, the closet and the windows. When he summised that it was alright he walked back to the door, you were leaning against the frame arms crossed as you watched him. He rested his arm above your head before raising a brow; ”Grab what you need and I will be waiting by the front door for you. I’ll be keeping watch. You reached out and placed your hand on his free arm before walking around him to get everything that you would need. Kabal watched you for a minuet before making his way to the front door.   After a few minuets you zipped up the bag before turning off the light to your room. Making your way to the front door, you turned the lights out along the way. When you stepped out of the front door Kabal was leaned against the post to your porch, arms crossed. “Ready Princess?” Closing he door behin you you moved to stand in front of Kabal who straightened himself out. “Ready.”   Reaching forward Kabal removed your bag from you before you both made your way to your car. When you reached your Brothers house you quickly unlocked the door, as soon as the locked slid out of place Kabal opened the door before ushering you inside. Turning on the living room light you quickly took your shoes off before grabbing your bag from Kabal. “I’ll be back” You told him before making your way to the guest bedroom. Kabal gave an okay before pulling the door shut, peering around the living room he took in the pictures that Kurtus had in his living room. Reached forward Kabal picked up one of you and Kurtis when you were younger, you were both with who assumed was you parents.   You made your way to the livingroom watching Kabal with a small smile on your face. Swallowing you took a breath before calling out to him, catching his attention. Hearing you Kabal put the picture back where it was before moving closer towards you. When he stopped in front of you you had to crane your neck just to look up at him, you took a smaller step towards him.   “Thank you..” Another step, so close now that you could feel the steel toes of his boots against the tips of your toes. “For?” Kabals heart beat quickened in his chest at your proximity. He could feel the warm air from your nose. You were so close it made him feel antsy, he couldn’t stand it, he needed to touch you.   “Everything. Make sure I was safe, getting me here.” In a bold move you reached your hands out, resting them against Kabals chest. It took him a second to respond, his hands moving to grasp you waist and pull your body closer to his. They way his eyes crinkled around the edges as he smiled was enough to turn you into a puddle. He face moving closer to yours as he spoke.   “You don’t have to thank me for that.” You raised your brows in question mothing the word oh before moving closer to him, your nose brushing againsnt his. “Then.. How do I thank you?” You lip ghoested against his as you spoke, your eyes peering up into his chocolate orbs. Kabal pulled you impossibly closer to him before his lips were upon yours. You slid your hands up from his chest to rest behind his neck pulling him closer to you.   Your lips slotted together perfectly, you let out a gasp for air against his lips, Kabal seizing the opportunity to slide his tongue into your mouth. You accepted him willingly as your tongues began a slow waltz of passion. Reluctantly Kabal had to pull back, he knew you needed air as badly as him. Leaning forward his forehead rested against yours while he caught his breath. He knew he was in deep, but the kiss just proved how deep. You were awaking a hunger in him he hadn’t felt for quiet sometime. He studied you, the blush on your cheeks, how you worked to catch your breath, your pupils blow as he was sure his was. The adoration in your eyes was something he could easily find himself being something he couldn’t live without.   He moved to lean in once again, your lips parting to accomidate his, when the sound of someone clearning their throat filled the room, both of your lips grazed each others before you pulled back. You peaked out from beside Kabals shoulder to find your brother closing the door, he let out a breath and shock his head before closing the door. “Hey Kurtis.” You triend not to giggle at his expression. Reluctantly you and Kabal pulled away from each other but still stood close. Kurtis tossed his keys into a bowl before walking over to you two; “No problems when getting your things?”  You shock your head at his question.   “Kabal made sure everything was safe before letting me in.” Stryker nodded, patting Kabals shoulder a little roughly before walking into the kitchen. You could hear the fridge open and the clanking of glass together before he turned back around to face you two.   “You can stay the night if you want.. On the couch.” Kurtis added, causing you to let out a breathy laugh, your fingers tips curled with Kabals. You let ot a yawn before trying to keep your eyes open. “I think I am going to call it a night.” You spoke before letting out another yawn. “Good night Kurtis.. Good night Kabal.” You moved you pull your fingers away and Kabal flexed his, keeping you where you were. You tilted your head trying to hide your smile.   “Night Princess.” He finally let go watched as you staired at him for a second before making your way back to the bedroom. Stryker watched you both, wondering if he should spray you both with a waterbottle. When they heard the door close Kabal turned his focus to Kurtis. He watched hm make his way to the living room and followed in step. “What?” He asked when Stryker still hadn’t said anything.   “I think I would make a great Bro-” Stryker stopped him before he could any further “Don’t start.” Kabal let out a chuckle and his words before joining him on the couch.   “You know it’s true.” He continued earning another glare.   “I said don’t.”   Kabal couldn’t help but find his gaze looking down the hallway.   @black-dragon-posting

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

I don't know if I ever told you this but I was once in a very shitty horror movie where my siblings and I played haunted as fuck children.

I also used to go to Texas Frightmare a lot and once had to help watch Julian Hillard and my brother hang out. (I was free to roam but it was a "hey, pop over to thay booth to make sure the boys are good") It was fresh after he played Luke Crain in The Haunting of Hill House. (Learned so much about pokemon from him)

I helped judge a horror competition, and that was how I first learned and met Voltaire. (I was literally the only impartial person available, I kid you not. I was also in middle school and uncredited because if people found out I was the one who judged, it would not end well.)

Also, my mom has face blindness and celebrities (especially horror ones) will clock it, and it ends up with either them drinking together and/or them hitting on my mom. She once had the funniest conversation with Sam Raimi because she couldn't recognized him and they were in an elevator together and he asked if she wanted an autograph or anything and she went "No, who the fuck are you". She did realize later and apologized but it is so funny.

Also, American Spirit cigarettes are so commonly smoked by horror movie actors.

The best horror movie facts I have that personally relate to me is that there was one filmed in my local museum and me and my friend watched it together and laughed through the whole thing.

And my uncle is a ghost hunter. Like an actual one. That’s his career. He used to have a TV show for it, but now he’s just on YouTube. He also had his affair with a coworker (whilst he was married) publically blasted on my nan’s business��� Facebook.

OH also I have been going to fright nights and scare events a lot for years, and would go to the same ones repeatedly during the month, so for a few years as a kid the scare actors would begin to recognise me as ‘odd little kid that waves and giggles’ and they would wave back by the time Halloween came around. I try to get into the spirit more now tho.

[untilthcyrot]

❝ Everyone in my family thinks I'm losing my shit. ❞ A hand runs over her face, exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. She's heat the trifecta that weighs down on her shoulders so heavily that it's all she can ever feel anymore. No matter how she reaches out to her brothers and sisters, for their help, they push her away. Steven doesn't believe her stories and Theo just wants her medicated, but does anyone know what she wants? ❝ Nobody believes me. It's so . . . tiring not being believed. ❞

♡ ───── @chaos--mode liked for nell crain & rien !

[videogaems]

Steam Next Fest - June 2024

Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers It feels easy to say 'Balatro Clone'. BUT if you say that about this game, you are openly admitting that you only see playing cards and have no nuance, just like everyone said. Dungeons and Degenerate Gamblers (Or D&DG as I'm going to refer to it, to save my little fingies the typing) is a roguelike blackjack battler. Those words feel confusing to stitch together but just follow me.

You choose your suit (different suits have different abilities, and the game equates this to difficulty) and begin playing blackjack against an opponent. You are always able to see their cards, unlike regular blackjack, and whoever of the two players wins does damage to the other players health pool, amounting to the difference between your final hands. Going over 21 results in your hand value being reduced to zero, in which case be prepared to take 17 full points of damage to the face.

As you win against opponents, you will acquire new cards for your deck, much like Balatro. Your opponents will also be acquiring these cards, much unlike Balatro.

There is also a mechanic of some cards being manually 'Exploited' (Read as: Activated), but in order to Exploit a Card, you must have Advantage (Read as: Points). This isn't explained well in the game *at all* in my opinion, but as you can see I figured it out using my brain and eyes, much to my chagrin.

I don't think I'll be Wishlisting D&DG, but it does the thing I like: It's a weird spin on a concept you know. And it works! I'll be curious to see if this catches on with the Balatro crowd, but I will certainly recommend it to roguelike and deckbuilding fans.

Dungeon Clawler I won't lie, when I saw that this was a dungeon crawler where you play a crane game to fight people, I automatically assumed this was my shit. I will say that it's kind of my shit, but it's not as 'my shit' as I originally thought it would be. Gameplay is cool and straightforward, you get two chances per turn to drop a claw into a claw machine and pull out symbols. The symbols you pull out will have some kind of effect (swords do damage, shields block damage, etc). By winning fights, you amass coins and new symbols to add to your crain machine that have varying effects.

By and large, the game is a cool idea but I'm not wild about execution. Now, Baron Mind® that this game is still in development so the following critiques may not apply someday BUT:

The art style is that kind cel-drawn images squash and stretch to imply movement, but it ends up kind of looking chinsey. It was the first thing I noticed, but maybe that's just because of how offput I am by that artistic choice.

Second, a banger of a soundtrack, even if it is just a remix of the Type B song from Game Boy Tetris, it's pretty good. But, zero sound effects. None at all, which filled me with discontent. I'm seeing attacks, I'm getting shields, I need noise.

Again, probably not a Wishlist for me but good execution on a great idea.

Tactical Breach Wizards

This was probably the breakout hit for me this Next Fest, and I will absolutely buy this day one (And hope the demo works after the fest is over). The third in the Defenestration Trilogy by Tom Francis - Which also includes Heat Signature (maybe one of my favorite games of all time) and Gunpoint (A game that, years after it came out, I found out I have a friend whose brother did the music - small world).

In Tactical Breach Wizards, it is the modern world, but magic exists. You are a team of magic users who are also a SWAT team. And when I say SWAT, I want you to imagine all the straight-to-DVD action movies that are marketed to the people who are military nerds, but never actually joined the military - It's that. I mean, one character is effectively Gandalf in Desert Camo with an M14 that has a staff sticking out of it, another has a wand with a laser sight and a silencer. It whips ass.

Gameplay is a lot like XCom, with one cool feature being that your wizard can see one second into the future, so after finishing your turns, you can forsee how the enemy will react, and rewind your turn as far back as you like, as many times as you want in order to achieve your desired outcome.

Honestly, I could rave about this game for a while. The gameplay, the style, the writing, everything is just aces, and this immediately breached the door to my Steam wishlist and killed everyone inside. Can't wait for August.

Caravan Sandwitch

I was unsure how to feel about Caravan Sandwitch. You play a girl who is returning to her hometown after a long time away, and reuniting with friends while driving a van.

The art style? Fantastic. Really just an absolute dream to look at and play. The setting? Eh... Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of games that don't hold your hand to explain the world lore, and just kind of let you figure it out through context. Caravan Sandwitch does try to do that, but it falls short, and you end up feeling like a third wheel to these characters, rather than being in the shoes of the character you're playing.

While you explore, the game will have pillows sitting about in hard-to-reach places that effectively serve as collectible lookout points, where your character will just chill and observe the surroundings. These moments are peaceful, and personally I'd love to see more games do something like this, in an effort to make the player really observe the effort put into the environment (A thing I fail to do often)

However, other than that, Caravan Sandwitch didn't really grip me and I probably won't keep up on it.

Dustborn

Another entry in forgettable-single-name-game-titles-that-are-portmanteaus. Dustborn has you follow a group of characters in a band, traveling across the country on a tour in an effort to get to Nova Scotia, which seems to be some kind of safe haven in a military-state America.

Again, the Art style in this game is fantastic, everything is very comic book stylized, even the button prompts, but the demo jumps between moments in the first couple hours of the game without giving you a lot of info as to what is going on. I was surprised when combat was introduced, and thrilled when it included a baseball bat that you can throw and retrieve like the Leviathan Axe in God of War. Well, not quite like the Leviathan Axe... it's posited that way, but ultimately ends up being a ranged attack that just automatically returns to you. Combat was very floaty and just didn't have that je-ne-sais-quois that makes combat feel good.

The game also contained a rhythm action sequence that was reminiscent of Gitaroo Man, another fave of mine, but that wasn't enough to make me want to follow up.

BUS: Bro U Survived

I dislike this game on name alone, and playing it didn't really help much. Points to it for having customization options to let me have a handlebar mustache, but this game just kind of boils down to a co-op zombie survival game in a cartoony style where you have to drive a bus sometimes. I only clocked 26 minutes in this game, and to be fair, I was playing solo (What, I'm supposed to make friends?), but this game didn't hold me for very long. Even as I write this I'm trying to remember much about it, and it just ended up being very forgettable.

Wizard of Legend 2

Hell yeah. HELL YEAH. I forget how I even found out about the original Wizard of Legend, but it's a fun roguelike that I recommend. I was unaware that a sequel was even in the works, so this was a delight to find out about, and an even bigger delight to play.

Players will play the role of a wizard attempting to complete a legendary challenge, with the idea that each run is a new wizard's attempt, since the last one died. Choose spells of different elements, speed, and power, and try to find combinations that mesh well together. I had a lot of fun using a wind vortex to pull all enemies to me, and then hitting the lot of them with chain lightning. Even for a demo, I could see myself sinking a lot of time into this (and I'm hoping it's still playable after Next Fest). This one makes the Wishlist for sure, and I'm looking forward to the release.

Aloft

I found Aloft very disappointing. Yet another first person crafting survival game with the hook being that eventually you make a glider that you can use to zip around the world.

The demo is in Alpha, as the devs will make known quickly, and the game made known to me quickly, since I encountered a bug early on that I had to visit the steam forums to make sense of. While going through the tutorial prompts, after collecting leaves and wood and shit like that, I was prompted to craft a Glider at the Glider station. Oh boy, it's finally my time to fly! But wait, I don't have a Glider Station. What's more, I can't build a Glider Station. Where is the Glider Station? Is this 'Glider Station' in the room with us right now?

Eventually I learned that this is a bug - the game is supposed to give you more prompts to guide you up the mountain in the game, where you will learn how to make the Glider station, and THEN you are supposed to get the prompt to build your glider. To drive that point forward: The. Tutorial. Is. Bugged. The thing that teaches you how to play the game does not work correctly. I know it's Alpha, and I know I don't make games, but this seems like such an oversight.

Finally, I made my Glider, and took off. It was... fine. The camera cuts to third person when this happens, but your character is so stiff and rigid flying around. It felt cool to zip around, but it didn't feel good if that makes any sense.

Maybe I'll circle back around on Aloft when it's in Beta or 1.0, but this just wasn't it for me.

Goblin Cleanup

But this was!!! Play as a goblin henchman whose job it is to clean up and reset all the traps in the dungeon before the next group of heroes arrive! For some reason, gamified mundane shit always gets me, and this game was no exception.

Goblin cleanup is almost beat-for-beat a reproduction of Viscera Cleanup Detail. Instead of a mop, you stab a slime and poke bloodstains with it until it soaks them all up (and dies?!). Instead of washing the mop, you feed the slime to a mimic, so on and so forth. Some improvements include:

Structure. You're given a list of tasks to complete, and they are checked off as you complete them. As a person with ADHD Inattentive Type, lists are key for me, so this was a big improvement over Viscera Cleanup Details approach of 'Clean until you're done and we'll tell you if you did good'. I'm neurodivergent with a praise kink, you've gotta tell me I'm doing good while I'm doing good.

Scanning. Hitting Q at any given point will highlight on your HUD where there are still items to be cleaned up. Massive improvement over Viscera Cleanup Detail, where you just have to kind of eyeball it.

I liked this! A lot! I could see myself buying this, or even just going back and trying to finish the level proper before NextFest is over.

Pawn Planet

I'm a massive mark for shop-owning games, and even more so if the game has a mechanic for haggling. Pawn planet has both, and by and large, I enjoyed it. The premise is simple, you run a pawn shop on a remote planet. Aliens come in an buy the stuff you have, or try to sell you things. When they approach the register you are given stats on the customer, like Anger, Knowledge, and Greediness. Using this, as well as the condition of the item you are buying or selling, you haggle on a price until one of you coughs up the cash. After the day is over, you can buy supplies to repair the items to make your money back.

Some days, there will be an auction at a storage planet where you roll the bones and bid on a Storage Locker of random items, storage wars style. Not going to lie, this had me hyped until I got fleeced on a board game I paid way too much for.

Other days, you will travel through a portal and ostensibly raid an alien base in order to murder civilians and take their stuff to sell. Okay, so the game doesn't say that, but the game also doesn't explain who these people are or why you are shooting them in the face. This section was underwhelming - The shooting isn't super tight, and you just sort of strafe and click on the aliens until they blow up. Not to mention there was some confusing placement of items in the alien base; Why are you putting what is obviously a safe in this room if it is not intended that I should try to crack it open and steal the rest of whatever was left in these creature's will?

Other bugbears included the fact that when you buy an item, only that item will come to your shipping bay, and you must remove it before you can buy another item. So in a situation where I needed three separate items, I needed to leave the computer, go to the shipping bay, retrieve it, and return to the computer... three separate times. Also, when traveling to the storage planet, I had to click where I wanted to go on my computer inside, then go outside to the spaceship to leave. These are small grievances, but the question and the sometimes vowel remains: Why?

This one gets a rec from me, I didn't spend too much time with it but I did enjoy it overall. Hoping that the finished product has a bit more polish.

The Alters

From the trailers I've seen of this game, it seems cool, but I didn't get far enough in the demo to really see the meat and bones. Which is to say I didn't get far enough to see any of the titular Alters. I, instead, ran headfirst into some radiation at some point, and lost about 10 minutes worth of progress that I just didn't have the nerve to redo, so I bailed. Luckily, these NextFest demos seem to not have expired, so maybe I'll go back and give it another shot.

In the meantime, there are a lot of Death Stranding vibes, a game I loved, and a base building mechanic similar to XCOM, yet another game I like. I think this has legs, and I enjoy the idea of alternate versions of the main character helping him out, but again - I didn't get there.

I dunno... seems neat.

Demonschool

This came at the recommendation of a friend, and I simply could not wrap my head around it. I'm a real sucker for teenagers at a weird school doing paranormal stuff, but the combat system felt very obtuse. One character only buffs, and two characters only attack. You choose the actions they will take but just kind of clicking around (not actually selecting the skills, just sort of running the character into targets), and then they play out those actions once your turn has concluded. Which I sort of get why, but it's still very disorienting. I only stuck around for two combats, so I can't say this is for me, but if you're into visual novelesque storytelling with Into the Breach Combat, this may be your cup of tea.

Reka

I think I remember seeing a trailer for this game during the Wholesome Direct or Cozy Direct or whatever the hell in 2023, but it seemed cool, and it is. This is effectively a base building game, except you're a young witch training under Baba Yaga and the base is a giant chicken house that you can drive around. It's pretty tight. Your character only looks like a haunted doll, regardless of what features you choose, and the controls are very floaty but I think this has a lot of potential. My first action once getting my Bird House was to see how big I could make the platform it sits upon, and the answer is 'pretty big'. This was one of a few demos that I actually saw through to the end, so I think that says quite a bit. Hoping the full release has some meat on these Chicken House Bones.

Thank Goodness You're Here!

I'm going to file this one under Biggest Disappointment of the Fest. I typically try to give games about 15 minutes at least so I can get a feel for what they're doing. This demo was 13 minutes long. It being by the creators of Untitled Goose Game had me excited, but ultimately you just kind of run around and slap things and everyone has a funny British accent. I was very un-wowed by the game, and very wowed when the demo ended so abruptly. Oh well, I suppose.

Tiny Glade

Not so much a game as it is a toy, but oh boy is it a fun one. Intuitively whip up little castles with no problem, and then walk around with them in the first person. I was so charmed by this that I called my artist wife in to sit down and take a look at it, and I didn't need to explain anything about it before she had build herself a little castle. You build little castles! What's not to love? I'm hoping there's more to it in the full release, or at the very point that the price point reflects what it is exactly.

Tiny Bookshop

Another one I saw in a cozy direct that I had my eye on that ended up kind of falling flat for me. This game boils down to a shop simulator, which I'm a huge fan of, obviously. But then there's the whole aspect of have percentages of book genres, and how many books you have affecting your likelihood to sell... it just didn't hook me in the way I hoped. The art style, however, was very good, and it's a delight to look at. This might be another one I take a stab at when I'm in the right headspace.

Wild Bastards

I heard Void Bastards was good, but I never actually played it. Wild Bastards seems pretty neat though... you are a couple of Wild West Robots (hell yeah) who are venturing across the galaxy and resurrecting your dead team members with a magic ship. Levels consist of beaming down to a planet and taking out enemies meticulously while not being killed yourself. You can only take down two team members at a time, but you can hotswap between them which is a neat mechanical way of changing weapons. Unfortunately, once I got my third team members, I was summarily shithoused by a bunch of plants and my run was ruined. Still, I had a lot of fun and I will be keeping a close eye on this one. Maybe not a day one buy, but certainly something to pick up.

That's my NextFest, folks. Love it or hate it, I love videogames and I like that demos are coming back in vogue. Til next time.