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casualtydept · 1 year ago

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one of my favourite things to come from the leaked mgsv script docs is this chart of what personal pronouns and forms of address the thought the characters should use for each other in japanese, so i thought i'd make an english/romaji version of it and provide some notes!

initial notes

to make it clearer to understand, the left column indicates the speaker, and the row along the top indicates the character being addressed. the top line in each cell is the second person pronoun they use for that person (first person in the case of the character talking about themselves), while the second row and below are how the character would call the other by name/title.

so first of all, this obviously doesn't fully reflect the final game, and there's still a lot of uncertainty over certain pronouns and names evident by all the ?s indicating the staff member(s) working on this weren't 100% confident in their assumption, or didn't make a guess at all. empty cells also indicate they thought a form of address simply wouldn't be used - code talker having no reason to ever talk to ishmael, or volgin never speaking to address anyone at all, for example.

something else to be aware of is the presence of a few unused names in here, namely geronimo for code talker, which was an early name for him presumably based on the real life apache leader. at this point in development they also seemed to be sticking with liquid for eli's form of address

there's also "neocon" as skull face's nickname for huey, which interestingly doesn't seem to come up anywhere else in any of the scripts! we can assume this is a play on his son's future nickname "otacon", while also referring to him as a neoconservative which is frankly so hilariously awful i can't help but feel we were robbed of this.

a crash course in japanese personal pronouns pt. 1

next i want to briefly explain what all of these pronouns mean, for those unfamiliar. this comes with a big disclaimer that i'm not japanese or even close to fluent in it, so do your own research if you're interested in this just in case i'm misrepresenting any of the incredibly specific cultural connotations everything in this language seems to have

俺 ore

most characters in the game use this when referring to themselves, it's an informal masculine pronoun that can emphasise masculinity or status around those with lesser status, although around close friends it has a different connotation of casual familiarity.

ore is used by snake, ishmael, miller, ocelot and liquid

僕 boku

this pronoun is used mostly by young boys, but can also be used by adults. it has connotations of humbleness, its use by older men suggesting they feel young. non-threatening and casual.

boku is used by both mantis and huey in each of the two contexts described above.

わたし watashi

your standard gender neutral formal first person pronoun. casually it's only really used by women, a man using it in a casual context suggests aloofness or a businesslike attitude.

quiet and skull face are the only characters that use watashi, you can interpret this as suggesting either formality or casualness for quiet, and the usual formality for skull face.

in the notes this is written in hiragana, rather than using the kanji 私, i'm unsure if this indicates anything in particular or perhaps was to avoid confusion with watakushi, the more formal variant of this pronoun which uses the same kanji.

わし washi

this is a mostly male pronoun, used frequently in fiction to represent your stereotypical old man character.

as such this is the pronoun code talker uses.

a crash course in japanese personal pronouns pt. 2

now for the second person pronouns.

real spoken japanese doesn't really use these pronouns as freely as we would with "you" in english, since in a conversation the "you" part of the sentence is usually implied from the context and using a pronoun puts specific emphasis on the other person in a way that can be seen as cold or rude.

i'll leave it up to you to see which characters use each of these towards others rather than listing them since many of them use different ones for different people depending on their relationship with each of them.

お前 omae

a very informal pronoun mostly used by men. as you can see this pairs with the first person ore, and has all the same connotations of status towards subordinates and casualness among peers. wikipedia says men use this towards lovers so... there's that i guess.

あなた anata and あんた anta

anata is the standard second polite form of "you", often used on forms or in ads when referring to someone in a general sense or used for someone you don't know anything about.

anata is almost exclusively used here by mantis, which fits his distanced nature.

anta is a shortened form of anata that is more informal, suggesting anything from contempt to familiarity, and stands out as rude in a strictly formal context. it can also be used to suggest a sense of defiance and disrespect of authority - as if the character respects the other to some degree, but not enough to use anata towards them.

anta is liquid's pronoun of choice for all characters but mantis, drawing on the latter connotation. it is also used variably by some of the main characters to refer to each other, suggesting their familiarity, rather than rudeness.

君 kimi

kimi is a reasonably informal pronoun used mostly by men to subordinates, or their equals. it can be rude when used to superiors or elders.

this pronoun tends to pair with the first person boku, and as such it get used both by huey and Mantis - although mantis only uses it for eli, demonstrating their closeness.

i find huey's use of it to be kind of a humorous way to draw attention to how convinced he is that they're all one big family and absolutely nobody here wants him dead or anything.

(zero isn't included in this sheet but he exclusively uses this pronoun in the tapes, referring to paz, skull face, kaz, ocelot and big boss with it. up to you if this is a blanket You Guys Are All My Subordinates thing or if it can suggest closeness with some of them)

貴様 kisama

less of a pronoun and more of a insult. often translated as "you bastard/son of a bitch/etc."

as you can imagine the only person they figured would use this was kaz to paz. so in this case i suppose "you spying bitch" would be the best translation.

i can't believe you read all of this

since this was made during development and reflects a lot of uncertainties and some unused ideas, i do want to go through the script and make an updated version of this with the pronouns used in the final version of the game just to have a complete resource. but for now i hope this proves interesting!

#mgs #metal gear solid #mgsv #not art #words #canon talk

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vynnyal · 1 year ago

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Y'all, how do I be normal about hollow knight.

Anyways, here's the unofficial 4th installment of that series I started a while ago where I throw together a bunch of random hk theories into one post... this time ordered to make mildly more sense!

So the context here is this:

My friend came up with a cool oc and I was immediately obsessed with the idea. I explained everything relevant... err-- mostly relevant, anyways-- but I extrapolated on a few points here.

It got kinda bloated because I tried to tie-in some of my random tangents. The rest... are just gonna be at the end, lmao.

...

Basically, there are Gods in Hallownest. They mostly fall under the category of "Higher Beings", though not all Higher Beings are gods.

All of these gods are Gods specifically because they use dreams as their life force, which is directly tied to how powerful their influence can be.

The mother of Greenpath, Unn, is the epitome of a good-ol' classic Hollowknight god.

She IS Greenpath. The plantlife came from her and is likely a direct conduit of her power (greenpath lore tablet). The Mosskin Tribe themselves are her dream-children-- they either literally spawned from her or were merely formed in her image.

And now remember, the entirety of greenpath and queen's gardens were her domain. That's like 1/6th of Hallownest.

She was The Shit. And then, for reasons untold, she went to sleep. Though it's hard to pin down when it started, it's implied her slumber predated the Dreamers; Quirrel's dreamnail dialogue mentions her, likely as a memory from the times he was Monomon's apprentice, and even then she was just "something revered" sleeping in the waters.

Which is to say, when Mr Columbus waltzed in to pave roads through their lands (and when his wife laid claim to a decent chunk to be her personal playground), they likely didn't meet much resistance. From Unn herself, anyways. Which makes it all the more shocking that they didn't smite her image completely when her domain was so throughly invaded and remolded to PK's satisfaction.

He had, in his grasp, an entire tribe of people that followed *a different God than himself,* aka the worst thing you can be in the eyes of another God. People are dreams, and dreams are power. More worshippers= more power. If you're a God, you HAVE to actively be thought about by many people to survive. A forgotten God is a dead God. (This exact conflict was, in no small part, the beginning of the series of dominoes that led to Hallownest's downfall, albiet with a different God.)

That Unn herself was left relatively alone, despite this, is likely because Unn/the Mosskin Tribe gave juuust enough to avoid conflict while also keeping their "dream" distinct from PK's (meaning: continue to worship Unn and not PK). I can only imagine he allowed this because if he didn't, both Unn and her people would simply cease to be; the Mosskin needed Unn, and Unn needed them. That, and he was probably pretty busy dealing with the aforementioned other God that was... decidedly less submissive.

Either way, WL took Unn's land and pushed out her followers, inadvertently (or possibly purposefully) greatly diminishing Unn's power and influence. (It's possible this was the event that knocked her out, and she was merely too weak to oppose two entire Higher Beings to begin with.)

The other important character of note is Fierce Dryya. She was one of the Five Great Knights, and WL's personal guard.

After WL birthed and subsequently killed her children, she isolated herself in the depths of her Gardens, presumably "well-protected" from the fate the rest of the world faced.

There, Dryya held her last stand before a swarm of infected mantis Traitors who sought to remove WL from their territory. Sadly, WL doesn't even know she's dead, even though you have to step over her corpse to enter WL's cocoon.

It's hard to think about, but theres an equal chance that she fought off the Traitors for good... and that her death was entirely in vain. She is found next to the mound of Traitor corpses she undoubtly killed, but in the end, she died as well.

Implying that, before breathing her last, she managed to terrify them enough to never come back..

Or that she was just eventually worn down and killed, and the Traitors simply gave up when they couldn't get through WL's own protection.

....Which is to say the time between Dryya's death and events of the game is almost completely unknown!

...

Things I just couldn't fit in:

1, The name greenpath is just because PK put a bunch of roads in it, really. It likely had a different name before Mr Columbus came along.

2, Btw I wondered if there were any actual children in hk. Turns out, yeah, most bugs can propogate (lol), but the only ones referenced in the game that are not directly from a God are openly NOT worshiping ANY God. I'm talking the Mantis tribe, the Spider tribe, the Flukes, the mushroom clan, and weirdly enough, a specific spirit called Joni whose whole thing was being a heretic-- aka not only Not a worshiper of PK, but actively outcast and perhaps outlawed by PK's people.

*I'm disregarding Millybug. They're implied to be childish, but that's all we know.

Other notable characters that were at least a child at one point are Hornet, who was the child of Herrah and PK, and the Vessels, the product of the WL and PK. Grimmchild doesn't count as its not an actual bug, but a vessel created by the Nightmare Heart. The PK's Vessels are unique because they were originally independent, living creatures.

3, This talk about gods and such made me think about what happens after the game. Unn isn't dead, just actively dying because Miss Rad keeps stealing all her followers. She barely has enough energy to be like "hey kid, take this thing and remember me plz."

With both Miss Rad and PK gone, there's nothing stopping Unn's revival. Like, imagine Hallownest getting repopulated by the remaining tribes, returned to their natural glory. The only place left untouched being the city and the abyss-- forever monument to the horrors that nearly killed them all.

4, It just occurred to me that most of the real Godly gods in the game get cop-outs in the pantheons so you can't fight them. White lady just kinda peaced out, Unn's on the respirator, PK is fully snapped out of existence, the Lifeblood entity is chilling out in the basement, and... well I guess you are the void king by then so it's a bit of a moot point. NKG, THK, and Miss Rad are the only ones that're ready to throw down. Good for them!

5, The story of Isma is perplexing. It's implied the grove she died in is the source of the weird acid ravaging Hallownest, though it's unknown how or why. The wiki presumes this only affects the lower regions of the world, but I personally haven't found whatever supports this*. There's pipework lining the broken elevator pass between Ogrim and the Grove, of which is literally glowing with acid, so...

*there is one spirit in the Spirit Glade that mentions acid as a biological defense mechanism, so acid does exist in some capacity outside of this weird angry stuff.

Besides that, her dreamnail dialogue is "there's no time." Seriously? That's the most cliffhanger-y quote of the bunch, I can so clearly imagine team cherry being like "have fun! No we will not elaborate lol" before they spike the ball into our court.

In any case, while down this rabbit hole I have come to terms with the fact that Ogrim is still the best character in the game. He's literally the "I lie to myself :)" guy. All his friends are dead or missing. His lover drowned in 10 feet of acid. His idol the King was sent to superhell. Everyone else is a shambling husk. But he's still out here like "hey again, I realized you're not dead! Sorry about that, everyone else is so I got confused. Oh you saw my gf after pulling the lever that lowers the 10 feet of acid in her grove? Yeah she's super cool. Yeah no I can't go see her even though she's literally right over there, I got my, uh... oath. Haha. Good luck!"

6, While reading about Essence, it occurred to me that when you dreamnail a spirit, you don't actually kill them. You merely collect them. When the seer speaks to you about how much essence you have, she mentions she sees memories peering back at her. (1200 essence dialogue)

Most clearly don't want to be collected. They are at their final resting place, and desire to stay there, whether they're aware of their current state or not.

...buuut technically, TECHNICALLY, you aren't actually harming the spirits you dreamnail and can totally collect em' all to chill with you instead of lingering, listlessly, forever. You're just kinda rude for it. Also, none of the other spirits can tell what happened to them, so just dreamnail Revek too! He'll be fiiiine. :D right?

7, What really messes with my understanding of the timeline is WL's whole physical situation with what the blindness and such. She's the Higher Being, but within such a relatively short span of time, she has aged to the point of her body breaking down? More importantly, she's not immortal?? There are no mentions of the queen ever having any physical ailments, publically or privately, until you see it for yourself. Meaning that the worst of it happened after the Vessels were born and THK began their training. Perhaps the matter with the Vessels took more of a physical toll than originally assumed?

If we're assuming the pair hooked up after PK turned tiny, then you have to wonder just how old she was at the time. Judging by the rate at which she's aging now, she was likely pretty young. Frankly, I doubt it'd change much either way. She'd have that matter-of-fact, gung-ho demeanor at any age.

This is also why I specified that not all Higher Beings are bona-fide Gods. WL doesn't need the dreams of others, and judging by the weaver's seal she uses to protect her mind, doesn't want others to dream of her. And yet the Godseeker recognizes her as... something. (Third encounter)

So at least she's not just a really old tree. But she's also not a God like PK. She's a weird, third thing.

8, but I'm not letting go of her weird orb cocoon thing. What's that about?? What is it made of? Was it constructed by others and she was sealed within? Or did she somehow create it herself? The architecture seems to imply it's inorganic, but how did she get in there, then?

To top off the weirdness, there's the conveniently ghost-sized hole in the center of her carved face. So I'm leaning more towards "exaggerated metaphor for entering WL's mind" or "easy-to-read entry point for players to go to visit WL that isn't literally there in canon" and not "there's a big glowing hole in this literal rock that inexplicably leads to a tunnel* that then leads to a room very obviously bigger than what's seen from the outside."

There's no way, dude.

I'm leaning more towards there being a large structure she could walk into, that was then barricaded to fully seal her within. The knight, being so small, managed to get their way in through some sort of tunnel.

But then something happened to the plan and the outside of the structure turned into whatever Ari thought that orb was supposed to be.

*Although, I do like the interpretation that the tunnel is actually Ghost slowly making their way through her roots to meet her.

#hollow knight #thonking abt hollowknight #blabbing.txt #SIGHS. y'all. To make this coherent was a struggle #It still barely hangs on to the original topic #I didn't know where to add this but it's also possible PK didn't kill Unn just because #He didn't wanna? Like. I don't think he was bloodthirsty #Just territorial #But he was at the time actively trying to kill someone. So #Who's to say the truce between Unn and PK would've been the same without miss rad?#Also also also hey. what was that about a cracktheory about Monomon possibly being a higher being again #It's been so long since I've read a good ol fashion hk fic venturing into worldbuilding with some basic character chatter thrown on top

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swordofsuns · 7 months ago

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IM BACK BABY!!!!!

to be honest I was still on tumblr a lot of the time so it wasnt really gone. but. I now have time to present to you:

DND!

ARC 4!

CONTINUED!!!! (explosion sfx in the background) (guitar riff) (bald eagle screech) (in case you cant tell I have been waiting for this all week)

small recap for where we left off: Ira and Braxton left to get to Axum to try and kill the Flesh Baron and kidnap some of our NPC friends who got kidnapped. We all jumped into the feywild to follow them. not sure if I mentioned this but we met up with a half fey shapeshifting druid (Actaeon killed his parents on accident)(it was a whole thing), and he joined up with our party. Turns out Red's crazy ex girlfriend has gone on a slight murder spree. We met up with some old friends. we learned some lore about the immenent end of days. we accidentaly gave another one of our friends a magical mind connection with an evil appocalyptic eldritch god (oopsies). Red's magical protection amulet broke in her sleep.

(oh also for context everything that is about to go down happened in the course of a single, increadibly hectic session)

Red doesnt know her amulet is broken, only suddenly feels her conciousness pulled from the blissful dreamlessness shes had for only a month, back into the all to familiar almost-reality of dreams. this time, however, she does not find herself in a forest of black pines and snow, or in the blood and fire of her past, but instead in a very different corner of the feywild. and this time she isnt even in her own body, or even her own mind. Currently she has her mind mixed with that of Manti, as her vision doubles between her bed in the walking castle and of a slaughtered chapel, with its last resident begging for mercy. Manti, pauses, right before delivering the killing blow, as it seems the connection between the two of them goes both ways. suddenly, without a word, she turns, and gives chase.

Back in the castle, Max has realized what is happened and is quickly casting as many protections as he can around Red, eventualy managing to block out the power of a LITERAL GOD, though by then Manti has figured out where we are, and is on her way. We try to come up with a plan, and realize that despite practicaly everything Manti is interested in being in the material world, shes spent practicaly her entire time in the feywild, even though she has interdimentional portals at her fingertips. we come to the conclusion that because of her fey ancestry, she probably either straight up cant get into the material plane, or at least would be extremely weak after doing so. We also realize through a tracking spell that our other two party members have already made it through to Axum.

Our plan is pretty simple: step 1, leave the castle. step 2, remove protections on Red so Manti is able to follow us, and doesnt go after castle. step 3, make it to the portal to Axum before she does. step 4, meet up with Ira and Braxton, and if she can come through we fight her on home turf and if she cant then were all safe.

we hop out of the castle and make run as fast as we can for the portal to Axum (though it is several miles away so its more of a "hike quickly" than a run). We manage to make it to the portal in time, but right before we pass through, Manti appears out of nowhere and closes it, though in the process Ira and Braxton get swept through the portal and we all reunite.

At this point Manti barely resembles anything even vaguely human. she is approxamitely 15 feet tall, with a chitinous and segmented body, twisted features, and two twisted unnatural portaling sickles melded into her hands. She offers the party the option to give her Red, and in return they all live, but we say no and a fight breaks out. Absolute chaos breaks out as portals are opened everywhere, reality itself begining to crumble at all of the wholes in it, as well as having several extremely powerful adventurers, some of whom have literal gods as pets, effectively warping the fabric of reality like a black hole.

We manage to do some good damage, but Manti is also the vessel of a god so the fight is long and painful. Around halfway through the fight, with a single swipe from a sickle, Manti cuts Iras broom in two, sending her plummeting to her death.

Manti lets out a horrifying shriek, though whether from victory or from horror we cannot tell, and Red, uninjured, falls to the ground unconsious. Actaeon rushes to her aid, but he she is already somewhere else.

(this right here is my favorite scene in the entire campain)

Red wakes up in an all too familiar forest. the pines are black and the snow is thick underfood. this time, she finds herself in a clearing in the trees, without a cloak, and with only a rusty iron sword as a weapon. the snow in sprinkled in drops of blood, and, all around the clearing, she can sense the Leech circling around her. she cant see him, aside from the occasional insectoid leg, a glint on one of his many, many teeth, and his seven gleaming red eyes. his true form is massive, easily 100 feet long, easily encircling her and bringing his circles slowly closer and closer. and then he begins to speak. (Now listen brief side not but I dont think that I have properly communicated to you just how much Red and The Leech absolutely fucking despise eachother. their first interaction had Red threaten to kill herself just to ruin his day, and it has only gone downhill from there. basicaly any time one of them mentions the other it is followed by a series of insults and curses. its made even funnier by the fact that everybody else is great freinds with their godly patrons, while Red is continously willing to do whatever she possibly can just to spite him. but I digress). The Leech just begins absolutely ripping red to shreads (metaphoricaly), pointing out how all of her acheivments and victories were because he was rigging it to give her a confidence boost. how she claims to fight to avenge the people she lost, and yet, cannot even remember her parents faces. how in the end, every adventure she has gone on has only lead to more death. after all, she released the Lost Brother, she made a deal with Benny for her own sake, she gave Manti everything she needed to free him, She shot Kraka, she led Manti to them, and in doing so got Ira killed. how even after everything, all her supposed growth and change, the reason that every time she finds herself in the forest she appears as a child is because a scared child was all she has ever been. In fact, he offers, why not embrace it. She has always wanted power, and now, he can offer it to her. She and Manti can be his two knives, breaking this world she has always hated in two, and creating her own world, a new world all of her own. (Red cant quite tell how far away he is still, but he has certainly grown closer) Red takes a breath. She calms herself, and prepares to deliver her elequant and informed rebuttal: "FUCK YOU YOU BLOODSUCKING COWARD! IM GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!". The Leech snarls in anger, and simply responds "you are free to die trying", before he closes in, fully encircling her. Only 10 feet away. then 5. Hes fully encircled her now, and she has nowhere to run. She swings her sword down at his side, but it simply brakes against his chitin. she tries to punch him but only gets a few broken fingers in return. He lowers his titanic almost-face down to hers, showing her his thousands of clistening, sharp teeth, and his 7 glowing red eyes level with hers. "do you have any last words". Red doesnt respond, but reaches out in anger and panic, grabbing hold of one of his eyes. with all of her strength (and a nat 20) she tears out his largest eyeball. The Leech SCREAMS IN AGONY, and back in the fight with Manti, she suddenly collapses on the floor in pain. With the last of The Leech's power, he lunges at her, attempts to devour her very essence for daring to defile him, but, (with another nat 20)(the dice were insane that day) she survives the assault of a god through shear stubbornness and spite.

Back in the real world, the fight with Manti has taken a bit of a chaotic turn, as, right in the middle of the battle, she collapsed onto the floor, and then, suddenly, all of the transformation on her body begins to dissolve into a black ichor. Red suddenly wakes up, and finds that Manti has returned to her origional form, though her hands are still portal sickles. she considers just killing her right there, but decides that even if she doesnt forgive her for what she did she still was being manipulated by the literal god of manipulation, and was later sorta fully mind controlled, so decides to let her live.

We also remember the fact that oh right Ira died, and decide to try to kill two birds with one stone (or I suppose save 2 birds with 1 castle) by taking both of them back to the castle to try and heal Manti (she is practicaly mortaly injured now that all of her magical protections are gone) as well as trying to see if they have the ability to revive Ira, who is now been dead for too long for us to revivify. We go back to the walking castle of Cisero and King, and beg them to pretty please help us again. they agree the heal up Manti and deliver her to our little village for Diana and Brandon to take care of her.

However, they tell us that they have no way of reviving Ira, as they just aren't powerful enough for that. Thing is though, Kings old teacher, The Duke of Thorns and Fruit (I mentioned him briefly in my recap of the second arc), does have the ability to do that and is located nearby, though King warns us that he will probably just kill us on sight. In the end she sends us off with a signed note from her telling him that we are freinds and to pretty please help us and not kill us. We make it to his corner of the feywild, which is a giant thornbush maze, though the thorns sometimes grow these juicy red fruits, that kit decides to snack on as we travel, though nobody else does. Finaly, we make it to the center of the maze, where we meet the Duke himself. hes this weird regal deer man, who does try to kill us on sight, until we prove were friends of King, to which he decides that hes not going to kill us instantly, but, because one of us stole one of his fruit, he will still kill us unless we do him a favor.

Each of us must tell him our greatest regret, or we will be killed. he also promises that he will revive Ira, but that will come with its own price. Braxton goes first, and admits that his greatest regret was finding The Bear for the first time, but, instead of the words leaving his mouth, the world around us shifts, as Braxton is forced to relive finding The Bear as a child, chained up in cold iron. how he took pity on the animal and chose to free it. how his body changed and was morfed into something unfamiliar. how his parents through him out after they saw what he had become.

second is Kit, who admits that their greatest regret is stepping through the portal he found when they were a child, and relives them and their best friend finding the portal, stepping inside, and seeing it close behind them as they became trapped in a dimmention of infinite everchanging light, blinding and maddening.

Red is next, revealing her greatest regret to be that she is still alive, though everything she survives always kills everyone around her. she sees herself surrounded by every person who has ever died from her actions, or who she has been unable to save, which at this point includes her entire extended family, 2 small towns, an adventuring caravan, Kraka, Ira, a major city and a good portion of the feywild. The worst part is, she cant even remember any of their faces. she simply curls up into a ball on the floor and cries.

Actaeon goes next, hesitentaly admiting that his greatest regret is that Red had him as a father, and how he was only able to fill her head with imposible dreams and fail her in the end. he also reveals that he is getting old and is probably going to die in about a year.

Acris (that one druid who was with us that I mentioned) says that his biggest regret was leaving home to travel the world, seeing as the second he left home Actaeon immediately showed up and accidentaly murdered his parents in cold blood (im not going to explain this its a whole thing)

Val admits that his biggest regret was running away from home, but leaving his sibling behind with his parent who was doing human/demon expirementation on them.

The Duke of Thorns and Fruit accepts this as payment for trespassing and stealing, but says that in payment for him reviving Ira, one of us must give up our Happy-Ever-After. whoever does this will permanantly lose the ability to have a happy ending to their story and their life will be endless heartbreak and tragedy.

Everybody goes dead silent and refuses to accept, until Red steps foward, claiming that at this point she has nothing to lose, and shakes the Dukes hand. The image of Red living a comfortable life, in peace, with no paranoia, no threat of violence or death around every corner appears, before crumbling and being consumed by the Duke.

with that he takes a fruit and squeezes some of the juice on Ira, instantly reviving her. he opens a portal for us to Axum, and cheerfuly bids us good luck. As we all step through the portal, however, he pull Val aside and reveals to them that he knows that they're part demon, and that if they meet again he can help Val "reach his true potential".

Actaeon also tells Red that with the eye that she gouged from The Leech, she could use it as a sacrifice to the Huntsman, who would almost certainly reward her by turning her into an Ent-Jaren, or that she could use it as a powersource for her Bloodhide Cloak, which would unlock its magical potential. at this point shes extremely depresed and has given up on all of her dreams, and uses it to complete the cloak, giving her a bunch of nifty power ups and blood magic.

wow this is long. this was probably the most insane and chaotic session of the campain, but also definitely my favorite. I cant properly convey it to you but Red and The Leech have a absolutely perfect dynamic so any session that allows them to bicker with each other is always great. plus we get to give Red turbo deppression. hooray. I love hurting my characters.

to be honest I am very tired and Im not sure any of this even makes sense to anybody who is not me. I wrote this in a state of pure manic energy (really not sure what came over me) and it is all gone now.

HOLY SHIT

Red no.

Red no

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kyndaris · 1 month ago

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Chains of Oppression

By the time this blog post goes up, the US election will be done and dusted. The votes will have been tallied and we will know if the last great bastion for Western democracy will have fallen for the lies of a burgeoning billionaire autocrat or if the people will have chosen to forge a new path forward with Kamala Harris at the helm. Should it be the former, there will be many who fear the implementation of the so called Project 2025, which already looks like a page out of the communist playbook (when it comes to China and the USSR), and is certainly a manifesto for any would be dictator.

In Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand, you play as one of the Unnamed - a lowly slave of the highly religious totalitarian regime that dominates the world of Atlas. Like manty before it, at least in the real world, there is a hierarchy. At the top sits Thelos, the God of the world, with the Enlightened - religious zealots (and who have the most power) sitting just below. Then come the nobles, the merchants, the farmers and finally the Unnamed. And much like the slaves of yesteryear, the Unnamed are considered disposable tools that none would care for if they were killed.

One day, as part of an Essence caravan, two of your fellow Unnamed go missing. Fearing for their lives, you volunteer to head out of camp to search for them. Despite the threats of wraiths in the area. These wraiths, it should be known, are creatures born out of sand and utterly vicious. They are also a means for Thelos to control the movement of humans in his rigid order based society.

It isn't long, however, before your character stumbles upon a powerful gauntlet. It bonds with you, granting the playable character the ability to double jump, dash through the air and summon forth sand weapons to do battle.

As the Gauntlet Bearer, the player character rises to become the saviour of the oppressed and downtrodden. Along the way, they also uncover the secrets of the artefact they now wield, as well as come to learn more about the mysterious entity tied to it: Nyaal.

From a story perspective, Atlas Fallen retreads old familiar ground with its focus on the dichotomy between order and chaos. Thelos, with his panopticon-esque Watcher floating in the background, represents order. Nyaal, on the other hand, represents chaos and freewill. Much like Assassin's Creed and many other games that have explored similar themes, the playable character must throw off the chains suppressing humanity. To do this, they must target the ones in power with the help of a handful of allies. In this case, it is the 1000 Year Queen, so named after becoming Thelos' puppet in ruling the humans. Throw in some God-slaying and you have Atlas Fallen in a nutshell.

What I liked about the Reign of Sand downloadable content (which was free), is that it added additional context to the world of Atlas. While Thelos is still the antagonist of the series, through the trek through the Forgotten Realms in Source, we also learn Nyaal also had a hand in shaping the Atlas we encounter - including providing humans with Essence stones and the creation of the Wraiths. And though Nyaal only wished the best for the fledgling human race, they were also blind to ramifications of their actions. Something in which they must reckon with as they do battle with their own shadow.

It just goes to show that while strict and total control is untenable, unfettered freedom can also bring out the worst in our kind. Just look at the state of the world now with the war in the Middle East. Nor should we forget how Russia invaded Ukraine.

Then, of course, there are the infamous Twitter wars as public outrage takes new form. People can be cancelled because of one comment from a decade ago, films and movies are labelled 'woke' because a woman is a main character, and online communities are split into various tribal entities. There is no longer any nuance in the world. A centrist is considered part of the problem. And even when you don't try to insert politics into your content, you will be decried as a grifter playing both sides of the political spectrum.

It's enough for this lowly blogger to want to hit reset on the entire human race. A sentiment which is shared by many of the Earth-Trisolaris Organisation in the science-fiction novel: The Three-Body Problem (a novel I'm reading right now at time of writing up this post).

Gameplay-wise, Atlas Fallen brings in a traversal system that felt fun and refreshing. It also helped speed up the slow slog of running from one part of the map to another like another game I could name.

Then, of course, there is the combat. The Gauntlet Bearer can mix and match three different styles of weapons: the axe/ hammer, dust whip and a pair of knuckledusters. While all are viable depending on playstyle, I favoured using the axe/hammer with the dust whip because of the range it allowed me. Slotting in the essence stones that helped maximise my attacks, I was near unstoppable in taking down the enemies that crossed my path.

What was a little bit different, I found, was how player character level was tied to the armour one found. The game only has a maximum level of 11, which can only be reached by upgrading the armour one receives through the use of Essence. Additionally, by upgrading armour, one receives perks to put into passive upgrades including the ability to get more tribute (the currency within the game), essence, or having more momentum to pull off special attacks. These all blended quite well with each other although I didn't feel much need to experiment once I'd found my favourites.

Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand from developer Deck 13 is not a triple-A title. The controls are a little floaty and the story isn't something I would write home to. And yet, I did find myself enjoying the time I spent skimming across the sands and fighting off huge sand monsters. So many games coming out in the last few years have focused on being bigger than ever with little to no experimentation. But I have found the ones that stick in my mind are those trying to break the mould by telling their own fun little story. What's more, they don't try to follow trends by trying to have a huge sprawling open world or have huge budgets that can only be sustained through excessive monetisation of in-game items.

So, here's to more experimental AA games!

After all, when major game developers (and by extension, publishers) begin to crumble, they'll be the ones picking up the slack with fresh ideas and new IP. And maybe we can return to a time when games weren't politically weaponised. Or are seen by big corporations as a means to pad out their bottom line.

Time will tell who will win out when it comes to free will or oppression; anarchy and security.

#video games #atlas fallen: reign of sand #sand sliding #wraiths #thelos #nyaal #gauntlet bearer #chaos versus order

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spikemd · 2 months ago

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The Blu-Ray Project: Aquaman

My wife and I are watching through every movie we own in alphabetical order, which is truly a weird experience that I've been tracking here. It feels like we've been trapped in the A section forever.

Disclaimer for this movie: I'm not generally a DCU person. I've seen a few of them (like both Wonder Woman films) but otherwise just know the movies through things I've read about them or seen here. All of which is to say that I'm absolutely missing some context from prior films, and there's a chance this would make more sense if I'd seen Justice League.

I was very thrown by the pacing and dialogue of this entire movie. The choice to give all of the backstory in flashbacks repeatedly ground everything to a halt and felt like someone was telling me "this is why that conversation from a minute ago was meaningful and emotional!" There were no moments when I felt the emotional payoff of feeling that something we had previously seen led to what I was now watching. Even Arthur's movement from "I will never be king, I'm just helping prevent war" to "I'm challenging you to be king" happened abruptly with zero explanation for why he changed his mind. And don't get me started on Mantis -- he already hated Aquaman in the first scene (which was hilariously one-sided since Aquaman had no idea who he was), and adding his dad's death just felt gratuitous. Also, less than zero chemistry between Aquaman and Mera. I could not care less about their interactions. In general the film just didn't trust the audience to tolerate any build up -- we went almost immediately from "we're going to fight the surface dwellers" to massive tidal waves, with no time to make it feel tense or ominous. It was so abrupt that I honestly thought it was a dream sequence for far too long.

Visuals were pretty fun for the underwater travel scenes and I was a big fan of the seahorse dragon mounts; the de-aging tech on Arthur's parents was a crime against humanity.

The funniest moment for me was when they traveled down into the trenches and emerged into the Hidden Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth-style. I greatly enjoy the armor aesthetic of "I made this from monsters I fought," but Brittany and I were just giggling because How to Train Your Dragon 2 did it so much better. Also don't show me tiny dinosaurs and then have that not be important.

I do think every movie should include Julie Andrews as a giant sea monster fucking shit up. And the moment the Brine King spoke I was like, "Gimli?!!!"

So many feelings about the mediocrity of this movie. There was so little believable human interaction among anyone that I couldn't even come up with a queer headcanon for anyone. I can't believe I'm going to voluntarily watch the second one.

#the blu-ray project #watch through #movies #Aquaman

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starsscarmyceiling · 2 years ago

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have you finished battle scars? 😐

Oh damn nonnie. I mean sit the fuck down and get comfortable because I have a lot of feelings on this. Please keep in mind that these are my opinions and takes. I am not looking to fight or argue. If your experience differs from mine and you have different opinions, you are still totally valid.

Alright my babies, let's get into it...

It’s difficult. I feel like I—well, have a lot of feelings, like I said. And upon further contemplation the more time passes (which I know it’s only been out for like a week and a half, but still), the more aspects of it tend to confuse and baffle me.

Because yes, am I happy there was a Merrical implied ending? I mean, of course. What kind of Merrical shipper would I be if I wasn’t? I guess my main frustrations therein lie with the overall story that was told. Because first of all, I thought the story was kind of weak. But Merrin having her moment and being able to process her trauma? Yes. The Mantis, attempting and sorting out the internal issues amongst them? Yes. Cal, attempting to challenge his beliefs of everything he has been taught within the context of this new galaxy? Yes. Merrin and Cal ultimately choosing to stay with each other because they want to? YES.

I understand why Merrin did what she did throughout the book. She was still in a cycle of heavy depression, and there was a vicious cycle of her not having any source to fill herself back up because one, she never had the opportunity to process her trauma (apparently), and two, nor was there an environment that was actively being fostered for her to do so. The Jedi are known of course, to be in line with that toxic positivity, but what frustrated me was all of the juicy potential that we could have had.

What actually bothered me about her so called “development” is that it happened off screen. It was all like, well just take our word, she is like finding all of these things out over here we promise. Because the whole time she was doing this, it was completely dependent on another character that was not Cal, just some random bitch we don’t care about, instead of coming to these things on her own or with someone she has an actual bond with. The way in which these things came about pissed me off so much because she could have had these moments with Cal, whom apparently she had this amazing developed relationship with, of which we never got to actually see. They went back and forth saying the Mantis crew wasn’t touchy feely, but then talked about how her and Cal had all these long, meaningful conversations…so like…what the fuck were these conversations actually about? They never talked about themselves or their traumas at all???? Merrin literally thinks at one point, up until she met Fret, Cal was the only person she felt like she could share things about herself with…but the way in which this was written really doesn’t make me believe that at all. It was just cheaply done like, lol, well just again trust us that these two people have developed relationship here in the interim. It was like, so unsatisfying to read. At no point did they actually show how and why her and Cal grew to care about one another other than us being told they were. That is what I am truly pressed about.

Also, I truly am not a fan of how Cal’s characterization was handled. I feel like he was just written like he was like seven years old or something. Cal can be awkward and aloof, sure…but I feel like this was just taken too far. Not only did he get cucked (in his own fucking BED; idc I will never get over that), but he also got reduced to a seven year old boy that didn’t have nearly as much depth as he could have had. I liked him questioning his ideology, but I felt like these topics were brought up and not really resolved. When I write Cal, I feel like all of the potential lies in using what has already been given to us. I see Cal as someone who is well versed at understanding people’s emotions, an empath, compassionate, protective, and obviously having such a big heart, especially for those he cares about and loves. And is this because of his psychometry? Or just how he is naturally, who knows it could be a combination of both. Think about it, this is a person that has been experiencing what could be complex adult emotions his whole life. And you’re telling me that he’s still that oblivious? Hmm, I don’t think. And wtf he doesn’t feel that many echoes? Mf was going around that whole game feelings those all the fucking time.

If I could quote a frond, @wayfaringjedi, this was a pretty hot take:

“How much stronger would it have been for Cal to confront that he has to allow her to feel anger to heal, and that anger is a useful emotion

How much stronger would it have been for Merrin to realise that safety exists, that she will not be rejected for being herself or being difficult or being angry, that she has her place

How could it have been for Cal to realise that he had made Merrin feel that he was not a safe person to disclose this to? How would that have challenged his ideology?

Or for Merrin to realise her refusal to try to access peace like Cal does is what alienates her from others?”

And honestly, couldn’t have said it better myself. Like, do you know how many amazing fics I've read out there, where it's Merrin and Cal, getting to have these moments in the engine room? Where it's them having pillow talk and growing closer? God this whole thing really felt like a slap in the face I was not prepared for.

These characters weren’t really handled with care. I didn’t hate the whole book, but I just feel like it just could have been better. I am veryyyyy much interested in what’s going to happen in Survivor, I mean we all are, obviously. I was taking comfort in Merrin saying they were probably never going to see Fret again. I really don’t understand why Fret was there. There is a way to create situations and tension and conflict and making important realizations between them without inserting some random purple bitch. Because istfg, if at some point in Survivor, we have to go like pick up Merrin and she is with Fret, I am going to throw my PS5 out the window and scream and rage in the streets. (Respawnnnnn, I know where you live do not TEST me). I am obviously hoping for canon Merrical, which I do think is a distinct possibility. Because if we don’t, then what the fuck was all of that for?

I feel like BS (heh, aptly named) has suffered the TROS problem of not being able to satisfy anyone lol. Okay because who the FUCK is this book for dude?

Because it’s obviously pissed off all the Merricals. We would have never wanted this.

And it doesn’t really satisfy those who don’t ship either because there is so much Merrical subtext.

But, I mean, I do have to say this book did make me grow to love Greez even more. He was 👑💩 the whole fucking time. Throwing shade at Fret throughout, I was living for it. When he went off on Fret after he woke up from getting his arm cut off, I was fucking eating my popcorn like pop offfff. And I cannot emphasize enough how much I loved Cal in his petty jealous area. Obsessed. He deserves it completely like also go off 👑. Him and Greez were my only bright spots throughout this experience. So glad he got to have his moment too when he "I KNOW HOW IT FEELS!" God I love it. We should all just listen to Greez at all times, like yes please let us drop that Fret bitch off on Batuu with a fruit cake bing bang boom.

I also did enjoy the moments between Cere and Cal together really trying to navigate what it means to be a Jedi in this galaxy in this so entirely dangerous climate for them. Glad Cere is embracing her as a Jedi and using the force again. Totally got the foreshadowing of her being in some kind of archives that we saw in the trailer, preserving the ways of the Jedi. Very fitting for her.

And yesss, there were a few cute moments. Those first two chapters were LIT I gotta say. Like TOGETHER THEY WERE THE LIGHT AND THE DARK CAL WAS THE STAR THAT ILLUMINATED HER SHADOW, that did murder me. And the fucking wound cleaning scene, omfg. I know that murdered ALL of us. Jfc.

I also feel like it would have been a lot more interesting for Fret to just be there to betray them. It would have taught Merrin a lesson of not just diving into something with someone that is entirely based on lust. The fact that she got a redemption was idk…just boring to me I guess. And I know I am biased because I don’t like her, but I mean come on I am a feral fucking Merrical over here is anyone surprised???

Okay lol, have I complained enough? Haha I am guessing you knew what you were getting into anon when you came to my ask box. Lol everyone knows I can never stfu. Anyway, hope that satisfied you.

And hm should you guys be looking out on the horizon for something? Well let’s just say I am definitely using all of these feelings that I have and am putting them somewhere 💅🏻

Anyway, I hope all the Merricals out there are having a great day. Meet me at Applebees and we can cry together 💕💕💕

#alright you guys there you go katie went off again is anyone surprised #LOLOLOL i need to make this into a powerpoint presentation istg #but yes all the merricals are at applebees come find us #aeroiaoijasoihjaeh alright i have truly rambled on enough #jedi battle scars #jbs #battle scars spoilers #sw novels #cal kestis #merrin #merrical #greez dritus #cere junda #mantis crew #ask #sorry this took me a minute to answer. obviously took a while to compile all the feels together

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littlebittyhollowbugs · 6 months ago

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1, 8, and 15 for the ask thingie?

1- my favorite song is a hard one I love the whole soundtrack to pieces, but I have particular fond memories of hearing Greenpath, the dung defender and especially sealed vessel for the first time.

When I entered Greenpath my first playthrough, was when I think I really fell in love with the game. And the music played big part in that. It gives big studio Ghibli vibes and it feels cozy but adventurous all at once. I will never forget that moment.

Dung defender I heard first actually while watching my sister play, and it was the first boss fight I remember where the music immediately stuck out to me. It captures knighthood and honor so well. and it's one (big) aspect of that fight that makes it so much fun. That and Ogrim's cheerful, playful demeanor.

Sealed vessel though! Sealed vessel was actually the very first song I heard, and I had saved it to a playlist of mine. (To help inspire my writing.) Years before I even got into hollow knight. So my brother actually bought the game the year it came out for his birthday and he and my little sister were obsessed with it for a while, I had no interest. (Didn't really play video games at all back then.) but I always really loved the art style and the vibes of the game, and I would listen as they told me about whatever bits of lore they could figure out. Anyway at one point my brother was showing me some video that had the sealed vessel soundtrack in the background and I went to look it up and save it later because THAT. SONG.

Especially the build up near the end, I get goosebumps every time. TO. THIS. DAY.

It always deeply impressed me, but now, after playing the game, and having the context for it, it makes it hurt so much worse. I will quite literally tear up if I am listening to it without distracting myself. (And the first time I heard it in game, was also while watching my sister play. At the time I did not have all the context and this was before I became obsessed, I still was tearing up though, you have no idea how distressed I was watching that fight.)

Moving on to question,

8- My favorite enemy probably lore and character design-wise, I'd have to say the mantises. I actually struggled so much in both the mantis tribe and queens garden because of them. (I was terrible my first playthrough tbh I've gotten so much better but it was fun) but I love them so much. (I'm obsessed with mantis tribe lore actually. I don't ever talk about it here, but my sisters and I have tons of headcanons and theories anyway) The traitors were annoying but they make the queens garden area so interesting and I've gotten a ton better at dodging their attacks. and walking through the mantis village after defeating the mantis lords and gaining the respect of the tribe, it's so cool. I love bowing back to them. I love them.

Also really love like, all of the mosskin. The mosscreeps are adorable and the one moss knight standing by the lake of Unn, love that guy especially.

15- Least favorite boss? Honestly, I really don't like fighting any of the dream warrior bosses. At least not after beating them once. I play in the godhome a lot and they are some of the few bosses I just, don't ever replay. Not because they are really that hard for me, actually the bosses that have taken me the most tries to beat (watcher knights, sentinel Hornet, PV, NKG ect.) are some of my favorites in the game. They're just the most.. tedious? The most annoying? I guess. And they aren't even really bad, just in comparison to other bosses in the game you know? And the characters themselves and the character designs and whatnot I find really interesting, but the boss fights themselves, Not the most enjoyable.

Wow, those are some long replies XD thanks for the ask! I love any and all excuses to talk about this game.

#This was fun!#hollow knight

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gross-gal · 2 years ago

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"First Kiss" a.k.a. Weeb's first Repo self ship fic

Alright, here it is. This is the first self ship fic I've done in a looong time. Don't have much to prelude soooo, hope y'all enjoy this incredibly self indulgent thing I made.

CONTEXT:

*6 months into their friendship, Repo decides he wants to show his appreciation about their relationship for Clementine/Clem (Weeb). So the two go on a friend date and he spoils them. Both are crushing hard on one another but neither are ready to say how they feel.

*This takes place after the date and they’ve returned back to the Scrapyard. Clem wants to say her thanks.

**Clementine is a placeholder name cuz I’m not calling my sona Weeb here lmao. ALSO I use multiple pronouns to address them (she/they/he)!!

“Noooo shut up. Let me be nice now..”

Repo knew he wasn’t going to win against Clementine’s kind and stubborn heart. They always had to make it known their appreciation for the ones they loved, even if it wasn’t called for, she was just sappy like that. Which overtime, Repo had grown to adore.

“It’s really lucky that we got to meet like this. I kinda just asked you for a job on impulse, that wasn’t something I normally do…but I’m really glad I did. I know you don’t see it but you’re a pretty sweet guy deep down, the bestest friend I could ask for haha…so thank you for today, not just cause it was fun but it means a lot that you went out of your way for…uh…meeee…”

She dragged on the last word for a second or so. The awkwardness from being so vulnerable already getting to her.

Repo smiled warmly.

“Heh! Yer such a jokester most of the time, I always forget yer so sentimental Hahaa!”

“Whatever, I can’t exactly compete with your gifts, I wanna show my thanks somehow, you know?”

His comment only fanned her embarrassment. She was kinda regretting saying what she did but chose not to linger on that thought.

Truth is, Repo said that only to distract from his flustered state.

Not wanting to make her feel bad, he swallowed his pride and responded after clearing his throat.

“Ehhh well…anyways I should be the one thanking youse. Yer also the bestest friend I got…one of the only ones.”

He took a second to think on what he wanted to say. Looking off to the city and focusing on the skyscrapers from afar.

‘Damn…how does she do it so freakin’ eloquently??’ He thought to himself.

“I ain’t too good with the words, kid. Not even my gifts can compare with yer bleedin’ heart. But I care about ya and youse been a real nice thing in my life. So thank ya, again.”

When he turned his head back to them they had a dopey grin forming on their face.

“YOU’RE SUUUUCH A GOOOOOD FRIEND!!!” She blurted, mockingly.

“AY!! GET THE HELL OVER ‘ERE!!”

She narrowly avoided the lunge he prepared. Looks like he was aiming to put them into a headlock.

“EVERYONE!! REPO IS MY BEST FRIEND AND HE’S THE NICEST MUTANT MANTIS EVER!!!”

“OHHHH- YOU ASKED FOR THIS ONE, NERD!”

Clem could dodge well enough but they could never hope to match Repo’s swift athleticism.

He tackled them to the ground and their bodies came crashing to the dirt together. Repo quickly sitting on their back before they could worm away, he twisted their arm back, though not nearly enough to seriously hurt them. Wrestling was a thing they were used to and enjoyed.

“Ah right, take it back!”

“REPO IS SO WONDERFUL AND A SOFTIE–OW!! HE LOVES HIS FRIENDS–OW!! AND WOULD PROTECT EVERY KITTY EVER–SHIT!!”

“Heheh, dis the thanks I get fer bein’ so charitable?” Repo chuckled at the predicament they brought on themselves.

Sincere, kind, a joker, fighter (sorta)… those were a few of the traits he saw and admired from them.

“OKAY!! I’m done, my back is hurting…pbbt!” Clementine tried turning their head to face him but just ended up catching their large hair to the face.

And good hair…he liked that too.

An exasperated sigh blew out their mouth once Repo got off them. Though he was fairly lean, he still had some weight thanks to his abdomen, which did a number on their back after the tussle.

“Ya been werkin’ for me fer 6 whole months, how the hell do ya still got no muscle or anythin’?”

“Heh…genetics?” She joked.

“Pfft- yeah right. Lazy ass.”

“I’m an artist~ I don’t have to worry about muscles. I need to conserve all my energy for my drawing, you know that!” He proudly emphasized this by raising his chin.

“Oh yeah, I getcha…better go easy on ya so youse can still finish dat logo thingy I asked ya for!”

“…..”

“Hmmm, how long ago was it I asked ya to do that?” His elbow lightly nudged her shoulder.

“…yeah okay…” Clem begrudgingly muttered.

It was a jab but he didn’t really mind all that much she neglected it. He just liked having a hand in keeping her artistically motivated…though it would be nice if they actually got around to it…

The smoother part of his claw then moved to rest on their head and he tussled their hair. This was his way of saying “you’re okay” Without actually having to. He’d done it a few times before but neither of them ever really got used to it.

It never failed to make Clementine smile.

Repo wasn’t a particularly emotionally vulnerable person, she picked up on that after sometime. And he especially wasn't the physically affectionate type, that was reserved for his cats and on certain occasions like today, only for Clementine.

That alone was enough.

She was content on her assumedly one-sided crush. Though it brought an ache to her heart, knowing that these feelings she had would never be reciprocated, she still was able to make him happy and was allowed to share intimate moments such as these with him. Those brief, warm moments, they’d treasure.

About an hour had passed, they spent that time mindlessly chatting until Mrs. Nubbins hungry mewls put their conversation to a halt.

“Oh it’s that time already?”

“Never a dull moment around ‘ere…PAPA’S COMIN’ MY SWEETY PIE!!”

Had this been months ago, she would’ve made a joke at his sudden cutesy-ness. But Repo is incredibly unabashed about his love for Mrs. Nubbins, so that wore off long ago. And now to her, it was actually rather cute. Which they sorta hated to admit.

“Ah uh…guess dat means youse should be leavin’?” His voice lowered, saddened.

“Nah, I’ll stick around and help you with Mrs. Nubbins at least.”

His antennas perked up…

“After all, I AM her favorite~”

And then laid flat…

“Watch yer mouth, kid.”

She was careful to keep her snickering to herself. This was a satisfying little victory.

Repo went onto share stories about his bond with Mrs. Nubbins till they arrived at her cave of junk.

It was a lot easier feeding her now with Clem here. She still wasn’t used to mutants and certainly not Repo, perhaps had something to do with the new instincts she had. But humans were alright to her and she grew a liking to Clem.

This was another thing Repo was thankful for but he’d never admit that.

After finishing up with Nubbins’ dinner, Repo escorted Weeb out the yard.

He didn’t really say much during the walk. But his mind was racing with a thousand thoughts per minute. Mainly thinking on what more he could’ve done to make today special, was it really enough? Wishing he could’ve said more about his gratitude, was he too mean? Was he open enough?

‘No…don’t think it…’ But it was too late.

Today would’ve been perfect to tell them how you feel.

‘Keep dreamin’ jackass…he just considers ya a friend.’

Why did he have to get caught up in his feelings now of all times? All these emotions made him feel like a stupid, confused, lovey kid.

“You okay?” Her concern pierced through his mind.

His head shot up, checking their surroundings. They’d already reach the gate.

“Yeah! Just thinkin’ ‘bout what I’ll have to eat later.”

Despite having eaten already earlier, they chose not to inquire about his appetite.

“Alright…get some rest soon though, okay? I promise I’ll make it up to you when I can!!”

“Oh ya don’t gotta haha…”

“I wanna though! And I’ll make sure it’s reeeeal special!”

“Whatever ya say, kid.” There was no point in fighting him, not like he would bother any further, any chance they’d give to see him, he’d take it.

They made him feel so cared for. It was too hard to keep himself from smiling, his cheeks were hurting a bit too.

In fact he felt so giddy, he couldn’t stop himself from pulling them into a hug.

‘What...?’ Was all Clementine could think at this sudden contact.

She couldn’t remember the last time, if he’d ever done this.

Their hearts were pounding, as if they wanted to burst from the walls that were their chests and embrace one another even further. This was all too much.

What was going to happen when they pulled away?

It was less than a minute that this actually went on for. Eventually they would have to pull away and it had to be soon so neither seemed suspicious.

Repo was the first.

For a few seconds, Clem’s brain stopped processing and seemed to black out whatever had happened in those instances.

Why had the air gotten so tight? It seemed perfectly fine just a moment ago.

The face Repo was making was nothing they’d seen before. It was…bewilderment? Shock? Fear?? And why had their faces felt warm?

‘And my lips…?’ Though it was only barely, they’d also had been puckered.

Oh shit.

“OKAY SEE YA BYE!!!!!” Clem blurted before their brain could fully put the pieces together. But they knew enough that whatever had happened, it wasn’t typical.

Repo was stunned and face flushed.

None of it really made sense to Clem as they focused on running to the suddenly arriving bus. They showed their pass and collapsed into the seat towards the side exit.

Now it was all coming together.

Oh god…

She kissed him. On instinct. As if he was a loved one. A significant other. She, carelessly, had kissed his cheek.

They gave a loving goodbye kiss to her crush/best friend.

“FUCK!!!!!”

Repo proceeded to spend the evening yelling into his pillow.

He was 25% embarrassed this socially awkward nerd put the moves on him first, and the other 75% elated.

//END//

#doodles #repo mantis tag #weeb makes a fanfic #don't feel like putting this in any fandom tag #but you're free to share and reblog #i even put little pictures in here teehee

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m-to-z-andbackto-m · 1 year ago

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My English class's board for the past few weeks

Context: I accidentally started it by drawing the dead rat out the window (We needed a window drawn on the board because we were semi-playing the roles in a play we were reading in that class) and in one scene the little boy was outside chasing a dying rat with his friends, and the rat apparently bled all over the street, so I doodled that for silly purposes.

Context Elaborated On In Order: Then someone responded with the crying rat, so I responded with a baby rat in the burrow. Then for some reason there came along a Jesus rat for thanksgiving, so I drew the large confused rat with milk and the director yelling "CUT" because the person who made the Rat crucification forgot to draw on tails. So then they responded with the rat saying "Leave them alone >:(" and I think after that more people started joining in, I never knew who else participated in this collage but today, when I walked into my last class of the day, this beautiful masterpiece was gone 😔

The last thing I drew on there were two turtle doves, the last thing I made on the side was a vote to erase it or not yesterday, only for people who contributed to it, but it was gone regardless I guess 😭

Parts that are mine in order I best remember: The dead rat, baby rat, large confused rat, director rat and assistant, Jeremy's Mom, Jeremy's Mom: Turning To Her Husband, the tiny "Ur Mum" on the lines someone put under Thanksgiving, "Imma Genshout", "Anthropomorphic Rats* - Nerdy Junior", Stitch and some butchered Tantalog(?) (His fictional language, not to be mistaken with Tagalog, an actual language if I recall correctly), "Awww how cute <3", "Only my Bestie From The Westie can call me "pookums" >:(", "Is gud", I believe the first person who responded to me (based on the art style) was drawing the rat family's last dinner because y'know, the divorce papers in the last doodle, and I jokingly quoted that one "The Real Cost" ad I keep getting on Spotify, the someone quoted the GrubHub ad, anyways someone doodles Sans so I said "I'm a nerd and I can't... hold back...", In response to what grade I'm in I wrote "Your Mom", I also said "Spectacular is the best Spidey show" next to the Spiderman doodle someone made, I think that same day I drew the small rat peeking around the corner above "Awww, how cute <3", anyways the next day when there were more UnderTale characters up, I drew Toby and said "I couldn't hold back", I think after that I drew the partridge in a pear tree and the praying mantis, then the next day I drew the two turtle doves, Tori, and Spidey

Anyways, thank you to everyone who pitched in for that silly little shtick, it was fun bonding with people I never met.

Wait I think I have an earlier picture of this, it might help if I mixed up the order a little:

Too lazy to go back and fix any mistakes but yeah, this was fun, I don't think anyone is actually gonna read through this whole long arse post but it was fun sharing somewhere I can look back on in a few years I guess :D

#sans #undertale #school #doodle #art #collage #doodlies #silly #rats

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booneysboyfie · 2 years ago

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Selfship questions from @salsflore! This is a spectacular idea, and I really think it would be awesome if this format of questions became a trend as opposed to ask games (those are fun and all, but I never get questions 😭). So yeah thanks for making this it’s a great idea!!

I’ll answer for my GOTG selfships because I haven’t stopped thinking about them since the new movie came out 😵‍💫

Also tagging @4i-i0v3-y0u because we talk about GOTG often :)

For context, Rocket and Drax are romantic F/Os, Peter, Groot sr, Mantis, Nebula and Gamora are Platonic F/Os, and Groot jr is a familial F/O. Also I have a silly little crush on Yondu 🤫 so when asked about “them” I’ll usually talk about Rocket or Drax, but sometimes the others too

what’s something you do to feel closer to them? fanfics, listen to songs, etc.

I love watching the Guardians of the Galaxy movies! I also enjoy watching MVs on YouTube. This is my favorite!

how did you get introduced to your f/o and/or their media? do you like their source?

My brother is a huge fan of Marvel. A couple of years ago, over the summer, he made me watch all the movies with him. I wasn’t too big of a fan of the other ones, but I really really loved the guardians :) there’s actually kind of a funny story about how I got introduced to my F/Os— when I first watched the movie, Rocket was my favorite character, but I knew if I told my family that they would make fun of me, so I instead told everyone Drax was my favorite (he’s actually my SECOND favorite lol) and I’m just now starting to let myself love Rocket :,)

what’s one or two things you especially like about your f/o? can be a headcanon!

I love how creative and smart Rocket is :) he loves to build things and invent new weapons and machines, and I think it’s really cool!

I really really love that Drax is so honest— it may annoy our friends sometimes, but he really likes me and isn’t shy about saying it.

Peter is very affectionate and loves to give hugs!! He and I are really good friends (we’ve known each other since even before the Kyln) so it’s nice to have someone who really knows me.

what’s one or two things your f/os love about you? ( self positivity time babey )

I know Rocket really loves my smile :) my S/I is less angst ridden than the rest of the team, so he’s often the one to keep everyone’s spirits up, and Rocket really appreciates the positivity.

how do you express your love to them? how do they express their love to you?

I express my love to my F/Os by being there for them. There are some things I won’t ever understand, or be able to help with, and that’s okay. But I can be a listening ear if they ever feel like opening up.

My F/Os show their love by caring for me. My S/I is the type to prioritize everyone else first, so they help me out by taking care of me when I need it. We usually make our own food (it’s hard to cook for so many different species with different nutritional needs) but when I feel burned out or particularly morose, Drax cooks for me.

a gift you’d like to give them if you could, and something they’d give to you!

Rocket’s flight suit is obviously good for flying a spaceship and fighting people, but it doesn’t look very comfy (especially for the cybernetics on his back) so I think I would give him some more comfortable clothes to wear. Early on in our relationship I think I would be wayyy to embarrassed for such a grand gesture (spending money is a big deal) so I would just give him one of my shirts. Rocket absolutely loves it.

Omg me and Clyde were literally kinda talking about this earlier but basically Rocket would totally collect a whole bunch of pretty things (shiny rocks, stolen jewelry, etc) and give them as gifts to me.

what do you celebrate together? like halloween, christmas time, easter, etc.

We all celebrate Christmas together! Of course the first time was on Knowhere, much after Vol2 and Endgame and stuff, but it’s become a tradition ever since.

do you sleep together? is it peaceful or filled with snoring? do you both stay up? tell us more! ( how you sleep, when you sleep, do you wake up at the same time? )

Drax has his own bed because he can’t stand sleeping with other people (it’s the sensory processing disorder) but me and Rocket sleep together sometimes :)

Rocket’s sleep schedule is really weird because he’s meant to be nocturnal— he doesn’t sleep much at night, and takes a lot of naps in the daytime. He either snuggles with me anyway, just enjoying the closeness, or stays up building something.

When we lived on the Milano, and Groot was still a baby, he would sometimes come sleep with us (or just me) too if he had a nightmare.

Drax always wakes up earlier than me. Once we start living together in Knowhere, he gets into a habit of cooking breakfast for us all.

what’s one thing you can’t do well that the other can, vice versa ( e.g cooking, playing video games, so on and so forth )

One thing I’m not good at is cooking 😭 I’m bad at managing time, so things tend to end up burned or undercooked. Drax is really good at cooking, though!

And with something I can do well— Rocket isn’t good at writing. Numbers are easy because they’re a lot of sharp lines, but letters that curve and are kind of round (like “s” or “o”) are really difficult. It’s because his hands aren’t very good at holding the pencil, so he’s embarrassed about this, and avoids writing whenever possible. I really enjoy things like fancy lettering, painting, and drawing. It’s one of my hobbies :)

do you have similar tastes in fashion? aesthetic? food? tell us about their taste!

We Guardians kind of wear the same clothing (there’s not much range in the space junker business) but I like pretty things a lot. When not on a job, I like to wear a lot of accessories. As for food— I love all kinds of food. Literally anything.

Rocket doesn’t have a lot of options when it comes to clothes, so he just wears what he can find. He loves eating fresh foods, like fruits and seafood.

Drax’s fashion sense is complicated. Comfort takes priority, but he also is picky with colors. His species sees more colors than the human eye can pick up (hc). His taste in food is simple: he loves things with a lot of flavor, especially meat. You ever watched Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives? That kinda stuff.

how do they tend to comfort you? how do you tend to comfort them?

Everyone knows I love hugs. Drax is so strong and he gives the best hugs 😭 Rocket and I like to cuddle, and he also makes me feel better by making me laugh :) Groot is also really sweet, he and I could talk for hours.

I mostly comfort my loves with reassurance. “It’s not your fault” is a big one, both for Rocket and Drax, and Groot often needs reassurance because he feels like he’s not as good as Groot sr.

if you have a rival or nemesis f/o, why? are there any lore reasons or is it just because?

Obviously all the bad guys we’ve fought (Ronan, Ego, Thanos, the High Evolutionary), but in a more lighthearted sense, I don’t really get along well with the avengers. No real reason, I just don’t like them.

what are some uncommon headcanons you have for them?

I’m not quite sure if these are uncommon or not haha— I headcanon that Rocket likes to play video games. He got into it because Groot wanted someone to play with, and of course it was a lot of fun. I also headcanon that Rocket is hard of hearing from being too close to explosions and gunfire all his life. I headcanon Peter suffered some type of disordered eating growing up because he was always afraid that if he got too big to fit into small spaces to steal things, the Ravagers would kill him. I also headcanon that Peter has synthesia, which is why he loves music so much, but also doesn’t often listen to it when he works— it’s distracting.

what is your favorite fan theory/headcanon about them?

My favorite about Rocket is just about him being a dad to little Groot. Of course it’s practically canon, but it’s really sweet

if you live together, how’s domestic life like for you both?

We live together on Knowhere once it becomes the Guardians of the Galaxy HQ. I think this is my favorite part of our story, it’s so sweet :) that kind of life takes some adjusting to, but it’s really what we’ve all always wanted. (Post vol3) Drax gets to be a loving father figure to the children rescued from the HE, and after finding a home with the Guardians and leading a decade or so of an action-packed life, Rocket really just wants to rest. So he does. And for me, ever since I was young, all I’ve ever wanted is to love and be loved. We keep in contact with our friends and they visit often, of course.

do you have any scent hcs for them? ( sweet, something like coffee, etc )

Unpopular opinion, I think Rocket smells a lot like soap. He washes his hands often, and is kind of a clean freak tbh.

is there anything commonly misunderstood about your f/o?

I kind of like the fandom’s current interpretation of Rocket. My only complaint is that sometimes people portray him as a womanizer, when that’s not him at all.

one thing you don’t have in common, and one thing you do

One thing we don’t have in common is probably, for lack of a better word, toughness? Rocket has no hesitation when he needs to kill someone, but my S/I had a breakdown every freaking time. One thing we do have in common is the deep and profound loneliness and desire to be understood.

how do you resolve conflicts? how do you both typically react when faced with conflict or whilst dealing with an argument?

We don’t heavily disagree on anything important (like morals and ethics and stuff) so conflict is usually pretty surface level annoyance. Sometimes Drax is too loud, or says something mean on accident, or Rocket is having a bad day and snaps at us, or i feel too low energy to get stuff done, etc… usually the solution is to just spend some time away from each other to cool down and feel better. Sometimes an apology is needed, sometimes it’s just mutually understood.

have you met their friends/family? how did that go? do they even keep in contact with their friends/family?

I never met batch 89, or Drax’s late wife and daughter— but I have met Ego! And Thanos! 👍 neither of those went very well. Oh I also met Yondu and the rest of the Ravagers a few times, and Peter considers them family— there was some conflict before, but Yondu was a good friend to us. Also i thought he was kinda hot but don’t tell Peter.

tell us as much (or as little) as you'd like about any of your self ship lore/bg! the timeline!

I’m actually planning on making a timeline post soon!

if they have variations (timelines, skills, voiced languages, etc) which one is your favorite?

The biggest variations are probably their comic book vs movie characters, and while I’ve read a few of the old comics that feature the Guardians, I prefer my F/Os movie versions.

your favorite outfit/costume of theirs! if they don’t have any official skins or anything, show us something you think they’d look good in!

Rocket’s suit in the first Guardians of the Galaxy (the orange one) has a special place in my heart :3 but I also like how he looks in the Kyln’s prison outfit lol— yellow is my favorite color. As for Drax, I really really like his sleeveless shirt outfit in GOTG 3 :D

who confessed first and how did it go?

I confessed first to Drax, I’d say it went well because we ended up dating lmao. Then a little bit later Rocket realized that his feelings for me were more than platonic, but it still took him a long time to find the courage to tell me haha

did anyone know about your f/o’s feelings before they confessed? how did they find out?

Just little Groot. He and Rocket are besties, they tell each other everything.

if you have multiple f/os, do they fit into any “type?” ( e.g coincidentally they’re all smartasses, blonde, villains, etc. lol )

Kind of! Drax and Rocket aren’t very similar, but the common ground is Yondu (a crush of mine) who has a similar personality to Rocket and looks kind of like Drax (bald).

do you have any favorite scenarios you like to imagine your f/os in? ( domestic fluff, angsty, etc. )

I love hurt/comfort!!!!! I’ll get injured in battle and my F/Os will nurse me back to health!! Rocket will experience the emotional turmoil of having to fight a past abuser immediately after having a near death experience and seeing batch 89 in the sky and i’ll be there to help him through it!!!

have you ever thought about ( platonic or not ) marriage? would you consider it a good idea? why or why not?

Yeah :) I would 100% want to get married to both my romantic F/Os, especially Drax. He would be so excited about it! Me and Rocket are kind of just having fun, but it means a lot to him. All our friends would be there, too!

^ if you're planning to get married, then tell us all about your wedding! the honeymoon! the planning!

The wedding wouldn’t be too fancy, just one of the nicer buildings on Knowhere. Nebula, surprisingly, would offer to help plan. She’s very good at things like that. Everyone would be there (maybe Gamora would even swing by) and there’d be lots of good food and drinks. For a honeymoon, we’d probably go to one of the planets less involved in interplanetary crime— ooh, I bet Xandar has some nice vacation places :) we might even get a discount for saving the Galaxy haha.

if you live together, how does your home look like? who decided on the decor?

Knowhere is known for being more functional than pretty, but I just love making things look nice— Drax and Rocket don’t mind if I handle the decor, as long as it’s not too crazy, so I get to put in carpets and nice lighting and stuff! I enjoy paintings of landscapes, since Knowhere doesn’t really have any natural beauty. It’s very colorful.

do you, or plan to, have f/o kids? ( pets and plants count! ) bonus: if you have pets, do they show any favoritism?

Groot is our kid, but he’s pretty much grown up after vol3– we all want kids, but adoption is a big decision. I suppose we could have pets, but Rocket feels kind of weird about having a “lower life form” around.

what was it like when they first said ‘i love you’? how did you reply? where was it?

Drax first said I love you maybe a month after we started living on the Milano as a team. I was super flustered— obviously he meant it, he’s a terrible liar. I said it back, but I was a little embarrassed haha.

When Rocket first said I love you, it was late at night, and he and I were hanging out eating a midnight snack because he couldn’t sleep. We were both dead tired but Rocket was having nightmares and I didn’t want to leave him alone. This was a couple months after Vol2, and we hadn’t even started dating yet.

if you could make one thing 100% canon about them, what would it be?

It’s already implied in very few scenes, but I think it would be more realistic if Rocket’s cybernetics were more of a problem to him. In my canon, he has chronic pain and nerve damage from the surgeries, and needs to take special care to upkeep his metal parts.

how do you kill time with them when bored?

Drax loves to tell stories. I love listening to him. He also tries to tell jokes, which are pretty funny.

Rocket also talks a lot, but he likes to be doing something while we talk. When he and I have down time, he works on his inventions while I just lie down and we talk.

your favorite thing about your f/o, appearance wise

I love Rocket’s eyes 👁️👁️ they r so pretty I love brown eyes— also I like that Drax is taller than me lol. And I like Yondu’s mouth. His teeth are all messed up, but I like how he whistles and grins all pointy >:3 yk?

your favorite thing about your f/o, non-appearance wise

I love how deeply Rocket loves. He cares for his friends so much, it’s beautiful.

This was kind of touched on by Mantis in vol3, but I love Drax’s positivity despite everything he’s gone through.

what’s your dynamic like? any tropes you fit?

“Silly fella that absolutely no one is intimidated by” (me) x “built like a brick shithouse, his name is literally ‘the destroyer’” (Drax)

“Loves the other so deeply, profoundly, and unconditionally” (me) x “thinks he is undeserving of love”

In terms of tropes that actually exist? Probably “sunshine x grumpy” and “best friends to lovers”

the most iconic/memed on/quoted line or event associated with your f/o

For Drax, the one I appreciate most is “nothing goes over my head… my reflexes are too fast, I would catch it.” And for Rocket, probably when he was telling little Groot how to set up the batteries to explode lol.

who’s more likely to be the sappy, cheesy romantic in the relationship?

Me ❤️

who gets flustered the easiest?

Omg Rocket does haha— he doesn’t get compliments often, so whenever I voice how much I love him and what exactly I like about him he kind of doesn’t know what to say. He also things I’m handsome :3

if you were in an emergency or stressful situation, which one of you’s the best at staying level headed keeping the other calm? who is the one absolutely freaking out?

We have emergency situations a lot, so it kind of depends. When threatened, Drax automatically goes into fight or flight (always fight, for him), and I usually try to find a peaceful way out of the situation. Rocket is almost always very good at keeping his cool in high-stakes battles, but some things throw him off.

what nicknames do you call each other?

My nicknames for Rocket: Rocky, love

Rockets nicknames for me: (embarrassing as fuck so only teasingly and in private, but—) Boo

My nicknames for Drax: Honey

Drax’s nicknames for me: none, he doesn’t really get them lol

with phones or modern au : what would your contact names be?

In my phone: Rocket 🚀 and Drax🗡️

But they just have boring old names in their contact list lol

with phones or modern au : how do they use their phone? do they have a billion screenshots in their gallery? whats their wallpaper?

Rocket: has a few apps that Groot used to play games (now he plays them too lol), his wallpaper is a photo of all of the guardians

Drax: his phone is default settings for the wallpaper, ringtone, etc— hasn’t downloaded any apps either. He uses his phone mainly for taking thousands of pictures. Mostly of the stars, and other things he finds pretty, but we’re also in there :)

favorite memory involving them ( whether in your lore as a scenario, a scene from their media, or another physical experience like when you received merch etc )

Irl, my favorite memory is seeing GOTG vol3 in the movie theater :D but in universe, my favorite memory is just any time when we’re all together and happy ❤️

are they physically affectionate? if so, how do they express it? vice versa!

Drax gives big hugs :) he’s strong enough to pick me up and carry me around! And Rocket is more shy, but he likes to cuddle with me.

any funny or awkward moments you've experienced with them?

Actually yeah, with Peter— we worked and lived together for a few months several years before the events of the first movie. Peter asks a lot of questions, like “if you’re a shapeshifter, why is your dick small”.

who’s more likely to get into, or start fights? whether with each other or with others.

Rocket starts fights. He’s insecure, and steals batteries he doesn’t need, and there was a learning curve to living with him. We all love him very much though.

what were your first impressions of each other?

My first Impression of Rocket was that he was someone strong that I’d want to stay with— we were arrested and brought to the Kyln together, and he and Groot were protecting Peter, so I decided to stick around.

His first impression of me was that I was untrustworthy (because I tried to help Peter when he and Groot tried to kidnap him)

My first impression of Drax was that he was scary, so I treated him with respect. His first impression of me was that I was kind :)

do you have an anniversary date? how was it decided & how do you (plan to) celebrate it?

No I don’t lol— maybe I should

.... would you still love them if they turned into a worm

Yeah, lol

how did their personality or lifestyle change after befriending/getting with you?

Rocket used to live his life more… unhealthily. He drank a lot and got in fights and had only Groot to support him. Once he made friends with the rest of us (and me of course) he subconsciously began thinking his life actually had some worth, and for the most part, he wanted to stay alive.

Drax was filled with so much rage after losing his family. He thought killing their killer would make him feel better, but after Ronan was dealt with he didn’t feel any more satisfied. He learned slowly that he could only heal and feel better if he opened up and allowed himself to experience love again. He jokes around more, but also cries more— he’s not “fixed”, or without the bad memories, but rather he allows himself to feel things. Before, he coped with the grief by just destroying.

something you know about them, that many others don’t?

Peter often likes to make fun of Rocket for being afraid of spiders, because once they were exploring a planet with these giant bug creatures, and Rocket froze up and couldn’t kill them. The truth is, something Rocket’s only told me and Groot, is that they reminded him of Floor, with all the hydraulic legs skittering around.

how do they reassure or affirm their love for you?

Words of affirmation mostly, and quality time spent together. I need a lot of affirmation ;-;

what’s your funniest or most embarrassing memory together?

I always love when we’re on a mission and need disguises >:3 very fun. one time we were going to a fancy gala, and we had to dress up in nice fancy clothes, but we didn’t even get halfway through the event before Drax took his shirt off and got in trouble.

what’s their sense of humor like? how easy is it to make them laugh?

Rocket and Drax are both kind of immature with their humor— Drax in a more childish way, and Rocket is just kind of a dick. Like he thinks those videos of people falling down or getting hurt are funny lmao— or, as per canon, stealing people’s prosthetics.

what inside jokes do you share?

Mostly about Gamora and Peter’s will they/won’t they relationship. We placed bets on whether they’d get together or not. I lost.

if necessary, how do you wake them up? how do they wake you up?

I’m the one who gets woken up lol, I sleep wayyy too much. Rocket usually tries to be nice about it but Drax is straight to the point and just shakes me awake lmao

any daily routines or habits you two follow?

Life is busy on Knowhere, so we don’t spend every day together. However, we at least try to have breakfast and dinner together every day :) it’s really great!

what do others in source say about your relationship? do you keep it a secret?

Everyone, for the most part, is supportive. Though there are planets like Earth where polyamory might be considered odd, in space (like businesses where you travel a lot and practically live on your ship) it’s pretty typical. We’re all men, too, but that’s pretty normal— for example, Kraglin’s been married 14 times, and has only one ex-wife.

We’ve never kept it secret.

if you have more than one f/o from the same media, which one were you drawn to first? any lore connection like did they introduce you to the others? did one make you fall for the other?

Irl, I was drawn to Rocket first. Something about his voice and personality 🫣 I thought he was so cute.

In lore, technically Peter introduced me to everyone. It did not take long for me to fall for Drax, but because Rocket was more standoffish at first, we were just friends for a long time.

dream piece of merchandise or f/o-related experience you’d like to have

I don’t even know if they make these, but I’d really like a life size weighted plushie of Rocket :,)

how are they like when vulnerable?

Rocket gets angry. He cries and then hates himself for crying, so he picks fights with Peter and then hates himself more.

Drax is very quiet. He doesn’t like to show his emotions in front of everybody, so he isolated himself.

describe your f/o in 6 words or less

Rocket: dangerous, smart, sarcastic

Drax: honest, powerful, loving

describe your f/o using only emojis

Drax: 🔪💪🪨💥

Rocket: 🩻🚀🔫🔧

would you rather go to their world, or have them come to yours?

I like both ideas, but I’d have to say go to their world because there’s also things there I want to experience that has nothing to do with our relationship— I want to visit Knowhere! I want to meet abilisks! I want to fly in a spaceship!!!!

do you care about ship lore? feel free to tell us about it if you’d like!

It’s important to me :) I love thinking of scenarios for our first kiss, first date, etc :D this post actually made me realize that I’d want a wedding with them, so I’ll have a lot of fun thinking about that!

if you have a s/i, how’d you go about creating their design? what went into their lore? how do the others in the source feel about your s/i?

Well, I just started imagining it— I wanted to be kind of humanoid, but I didn’t want to be Terran like Peter. I settled on a shapeshifter alien because I love the freedom of being able to change things and explain it as “oh lol he just decided to have pointy teeth that day” because he’s a shapeshifter :) I also thought it would be cool if his true form was kind of reptilian, because snakes are my favorite animal!

does your s/i hold similarities to you, is completely like you or completely different from you? do you even have a s/i?

Personality wise, we are very similar. He looks different from me because what human features he has are just kind of how I would want to look (for example, he is bigger than I am and has facial hair, and I want to look like that but I don’t because I’m trans 🥲)

thoughts on AUs/canon divergent things? do you prefer to stick as closely to canon as possible or no?

I love AUs! I’m focusing on canon things right now though; the most canon-divergent things get are the fact that I decided to have Rocket settle down and live with me on Knowhere post vol3 instead of being the new captain.

However, when I was depressed and in 10th grade (as if I’m not still depressed lmao) I kind of coped with the stress and shame of being not “good” enough to go to a normal school by imagining that I went to my weird little school and became friends with the highschool AU Guardians. It was really comforting because they were all also too fucked up for public school, and I felt less lonely. I think I still have some drawings from back then!

quick! your f/o’s just spawned in front of you, now what do you do?!

Well, I would probably be really embarrassed because I’m in my pajamas, but I guess I’d take them outside so we could talk without waking up my parents haha. After telling them where we are, what year it is, etc, then I’d probably tell my parents. My dad would probably kick them out of the house🥲

do they have any superstitions they believe in?

It seems unfair to call this a superstition, but the only thing Rocket really believes in is the afterlife. He didn’t used to, but after seeing the rest of batch 89 in the sky, he’s not so afraid of death anymore.

would you or your f/o ever get matching things? ( keychains, tattoos, shirts, etc ) do they find it cringy or cute?

Rocket and I would have matching necklaces :) Drax really loves our wedding rings— they were a gift from Peter.

who’s more the scaredy cat out of you two?

Me by a long shot. I don’t get squeamish with blood and gore (kind of a requirement in our line of work) but whenever we fight gross looking monsters it really freaks me out. The hellspawn the HE created were by far the worst.

what kind of things is your f/o into? games, music, decor, whatever!

Rocket kind of adopted Peter’s taste in music :) he also likes to watch movies— horror movies especially. That’s something he and I have in common :) I enjoy them for spooks, but he thinks they’re hilarious.

the most random thing you associate with your f/o (foods, shapes, even textures! anything that’s not an obvious)

For Rocket: having really good muscle memory for driving a vehicle, or doing something with your hands. It’s kind of silly but, like, seeing someone solve a Rubik’s cube super fast reminds me of how he puts together scraps of metal.

For Drax: genuine laughter. It’s so lovely <3

anything your f/o absolutely hates, but you absolutely love?

Rocket can’t stand spicy food, but I absolutely love it 😋 and Drax really doesn’t like heat, but I enjoy it :) summer is my favorite season

any aesthetic or -core you associate with your f/o, whether it be due to their design or personality?

Ummmm space pirate :0 I don’t know if that makes sense, but like— have you seen Treasure Planet? That kinda deal. Danger and adventure and really stylish outfits, but also futuristic technology.

who's more likely to die first in a zombie apocalypse lol

Me 💀

do your f/os have any long term wishes or goals? what about your s/i?

For all of us, probably being in a good place to adopt kids. Right now Rocket is still dealing with his past, and Drax is busy helping Nebula with repairing Knowhere, but maybe a couple years in the future we could think about it :)

your favorite f/o fun fact or bit of lore

Rocket loves dancing. He loves singing. He loves music. Especially with Groot, haha— they have a lot of fun. And with Drax, I absolutely adore that he’s so good with kids. I love Nebula’s quote about how he wasn’t made to be a destroyer, he was made to be a dad. It was tragic that he lost his daughter, but the fact that he still has love in his heart to care for the kids we rescued from the High Evolutionary…

Drax is such a sad character, and that isn’t recognized enough. When he and Mantis are on Ego’s planet, and she uses her empathic abilities to feel his emotions and is immediately overwhelmed with sadness, all the while Drax is completely calm. He rarely shows on his face how truly sad he is.

which animal represents your f/o the best?

Um. 🦝

does your f/o run hot or cold?

Rocket hot, Drax cold

free space to gush about whatever you want ♡

I was hoping there’s be a question I’d be able to fit this into (something like “what is a way you help your F/O and vice versa”) but I am a huge sucker for non-sexual intimacy. Rocket has cybernetics on his back, and they need special care to upkeep them, and he used to have Groot take care of that, but after he passed away in the first movie… anyway, at that point, I’m Rocket’s closest friend, so even though I’m nervous as hell because I suck at robotics, Rocket asks me to help with occasional tune ups and cleaning. Hmm I guess I could have added this to our domestic routines… lol whatever. Anyway that trust means a lot to me ❤️

#f/o community #selfship community #gotg spoilers #🚀#gotg tag

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thebibliomancer · 1 year ago

Text

Essential Avengers: West Coast Avengers #38: REDEMPTION

November, 1988

The West Coast Avengers

In their greatest battle ever --

-- against THE DEFILER!

Really? Their greatest battle ever?

Is that what we’re going with?

Also, hi, Mockingbird. Hi, Iron Man.

You back on the team? Is the Redemption you two making up with the Avengers?

No.

This is a fill-in issue, set nebulously Sometime. Sometime before Iron Man quit because of Armor Wars. Sometime after Hank rejoined the team as Dr Pym. But also Sometime when Moon Knight wasn’t on the team. Which is an impossible time but maybe Moony had an errand to tend to.

The issue was written by Dan Chichester and Margaret Clark instead of Englehart.

When Englehart is forced from the book, the official reason is that he was getting behind on deadlines. Having a fill-in issue does sort of support that. Although Englehart himself claims that new EIC DeFalco didn’t like him and gave the book to John Byrne as a favoritism thing.

But this is not the time to get into that. Not when we have the West Coast Avengers’ Greatest Battle Ever.

This issue isn’t totally without context. It opens with the West Coast Avengers (Hawkeye, Wonder Man, the Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Mantis) grimly flying in a Quinjet. Maybe on a quest to help Mantis get her memory back. Maybe on their way back from their part in Evolutionary War.

And Wonder Man, looking exceptionally mulleted today muses about the downbeat mood the team is under since they split up.

Wonder Man: “Boy, things are sure different than they used to be. It doesn’t seem that long ago when we were a real team. Teamwork was the only way we could have beaten the Defiler... the only way that boy Mike could have gained -- REDEMPTION.”

FILL-IN ISSUE!

Mike (that guy in the black vest is Mike) THWAMs that ABSOLUTELY GIANT ARM with a trash can lid and tries to run to safety with Susan (red shirt girl). They need to tell someone what “he’s up to!” Maybe some Avengers. Some Avengers have been flying around the area.

But Mike trips on a pipe and smashes his head on a dumpster. And he’s so woozy that the ABSOLUTELY GIANT MAN catches up.

Defiler: “Now, little ones -- you both owe me -- and it’s about time I collect!”

He grabs and hoists both of them by their necks.

But luckily there really were some random (West Coast) Avengers in the area, just as rumored.

Tigra and Wonder man show up in the random alley and say “ordinary creeps like you we eat for breakfast!” so tell him to let the guy and girl go.

So the Defiler throws the kids aside and beats one motherfucker with another motherfucker.

But after smashing the two Avengers, the Defiler feels drained. While the Avengers are still stunned, he grabs Mike and Susan and drags them off toward a Corruption of Innocence feat. the Defiler billboard.

The billboard becomes a swirling green portal and the Defiler yeets Susan and then Mike into it.

While Susan flies in clean, Mike gets snagged on one of the billboard lights. When Tigra and Wonder Man recover and rejoin with Dr Pym, Iron Man, Hawkeye, and Mockingbird, they spot a chain poking out of the billboard.

Iron Man and Wonder Man yank Mike out of the billboard.

Although, we get a little return to Wonder Man being a dick to Iron Man specifically when Iron Man can’t pull Mike free by himself.

Wonder Man: “Fancy suit not up to the job, Iron Man? Let me give you a real man’s hand!”

Mike is covered in yellow-orange chunky goo but he seems okay aside from that. He insists that they need to save Susan because he got her into this.

And what’s this?

Hard core music.

HEAVY METAL -scare chord-

That’s what the redemption in the title is about. Mike needs redemption. For getting Susan into hard core music.

Lol. Roflmao.

In fairness, his favorite band happened to be hiding a dark secret. And Mike introduced Susan to the Defiler and got them both jobs as roadies for him.

Their friends started going missing and they didn’t realize why until they caught the Defiler yeeting someone into a portal. And that’s what happened today and why they were fleeing.

Hawkeye asks Dr Pym his science opinion and based on nothing, Hank spells out a theory where the Defiler is yeeting people into another dimension in exchange for energy but that the people are probably still alive. FOR NOW.

He’s right but its based on zero backing evidence.

Mike says there’s another concert this very night so they gotta save his thousands of fans.

The (West Coast) Avengers agree to go fight the guy. It’s what they do. But they tell Mike that obviously they’re not going to bring a civilian into it just because he feels bad about getting his girlfriend into the wrong genre of music.

They leave him but he determines to follow anyway.

The West Coast Avengers hit the concert and find that the Defiler is ready for them. An energy barrier stops them from getting too close. And that wily hard core rocker starts sucking the audience into dimensional portals.

Blue grass would never do this.

Since they can’t get through the energy dome, the West Coast Avengers do something I do honestly wish people would try more often when big domes come up in stories.

They just go under it.

They dig into the ground and pop up behind the stage.

Iron Man even gets back at Wonder Man because the Silver Centurion armor is better at tunneling than Wonder Man is.

I have no idea why they’re on this dick waving contest.

Anyway, dig a tunnel. Sneak into the concert. Yeah, and then Wonder Man decks the Defiler. Just fucking punches him across the entire venue.

Meanwhile, the West Coast Avengers take out the screens turned dimensional portals.

Iron Man, rescuing some audience members: “Let me help steer you kids straight -- you can’t let yourselves get sucked into just anything, you know!”

You’re such a nerd, Tony.

But not as big a nerd as Hank Pym.

Scraggin’ flies?

Y’know what? I’m not going to criticize. I adore too much Hank keeping a tiny baseball glove in his pocket in case he needs to make it big to catch something.

I love his magical pockets containing literally whatever.

Since Mockingbird can’t effectively fight the Defiler or knock down dimensional portals, she’s directing people to the exit. So she’s the one that spots Mike trying to sneak into the concert to be part of things.

She tells him to fuck off so he doesn’t get in the way but Iron Man shows up and tells Mike to fuck right back in because he’s essential to saving the day.

Up in the stadium seating, Tigra mocks the Defiler as a slow, clumsy, easy target and yeah she does manage to agile her way out of taking follow up hits. But when Wonder Man flies in to trade blows, the Defiler socks him and boasts that he’s visited other dimensions and drained the energy of their innocents. Its made him strong, donchaknow.

Over at Dr Pym, Iron Man, Mike, and Mockingbird, Dr Pym has a plan. BASED ON SCIENCE.

Since Mike went through one of these dimensional thingers, he might have energy clinging to him. And if that’s the case, he can be used as a key to open up the way for the West Coast Avengers.

And since Mike needs REDEMPTION for listening to heavy metal, he agrees to help.

Dr Pym gets a small piece of rope from his pocket which he embiggens into a bigger piece of rope so Iron Man can anchor the group. And then Mike, Mockingbird, and Dr Pym jump on in.

You’d think they’d take some of their bigger guns to go into an unknown dimension that eats people. But Wonder Man and Tigra are fighting the Defiler, Iron Man is anchoring the others so they don’t get stuck. And Hawkeye is contributing nothing.

Team Pym, Mockingbird and Mike find themselves drawn to an unearthly glow in the distance. Hank speculates that its the Defiler’s main battery and that its drawing energy out of them even at this distance AND drawing them closer.

Dr Pym, Mockingbird, and Mike find that all the captured fans and also hi Susan were trapped in some kind of goo. Which Hank calls an energy parasite. Because he’s just jumping to correct conclusions today.

Mockingbird starts slapping goo to free the folks and Hank PULLS OUT A GIANT-SIZED CHAINSAW!

I know that he can grow things as big as he likes but, like, isn’t that too big to handle? If you slip, you’re gonna cut an innocent person in half, Hank.

But apparently everything goes great.

Since everyone is too drained to walk back to the portal before it closes, Hank grows A GIANT SKATEBOARD FOR THEM ALL TO RIDE ON.

Sometimes comics, even fill-in comics, are great, actually.

Iron Man almost hears Hank’s call on the other side of the portal and yanks the giant rope to pull everyone to safety.

With all his batteries loose, the Defiler starts feeling weak.

He tries to stop Iron Man from hauling people free but Wonder Man and Tigra start kicking the shit out of him.

When the skateboard full of people is pulled loose, the portal starts going nuts. Trying to suck in anyone it can.

And the Defiler decides ‘Welp, time to mosey onto a new dimension’ but Mike gets his REDEMPTION for his evil, sinful decision to bring heavy metal into his sweet innocent girlfriend’s life by tackling the Defiler so he gets sucked into his own portal.

The Defiler: “I can’t go back... dead world... nothing to feed... to drain...”

I’m sure we’ll neverrrrrr see him again.

No, seriously. Villains from fill-ins don’t reappear as often. And this is the Defiler’s first and onliest appearance.

I won’t say he couldn’t be used again in an interesting way but there’s not a lot to him.

After everything settles down, Wonder Man muses that the people rescued from the Defiler were lucky.

Mockingbird: “Luck had nothing to do with it... that kid risked a lot to help us.”

Hawkeye: “Good for all of us there are some things you just can’t corrupt.”

I mean. Yeah, I guess?? He did risk a lot, going into the billboard dimension. And also he tackled a guy.

But playing this up as a big REDEMPTION for Mike? I dunno. His big failing was getting invested in a band that was secretly eating its fans. And his big redemption was tackling a dude.

It’s not landing for me. The redemption angle.

Mike isn’t much of a character and I don’t feel like his offense was offensive enough to warrant big, bold all-caps REDEMPTION as a title.

And him helping the Avengers out by having been half in a portal means his redemption is kinda passive. Sure, he wouldn’t take no for an answer and follow them to the concert when they told him to buzz off. But the help he gave the West Coast Avengers is that they used him to open a portal. Also, he tackled the guy.

Story was fine. Pretty goofy and pretty inoffensive for a fill-in. I like seeing Hank Pym and his deus ex pockets again. Weird that Moon Knight got dropped entirely out of the story and the story didn’t have a lot for Mockingbird to do.

But apparently it was a moment when the West Coast Avengers worked well as a team and Wonder Man thought they would last forever.

Its a tragic note that in the here and now the team has had a divorce because Hawkeye and Mockingbird can’t have a civil conversation about cowboy manslaughter.

Although, I want to note here. If Hank Pym is on the team as Dr Pym, that means that Mockingbird already did the manslaughter and is hiding it from everyone at this point where the team was working well together.

So it kind of undermines Wonder Man sighing about how those were the days.

Anyway, the plot finally catches up to the West Coast Avengers and the Quinjet starts crashing into the next issue.

It happens.

Follow @essential-avengers because soon the Englehart era will end. Will we miss him? Maybe. What’s to come has its own problems. But either way: like, reblog, comment? I like feedback. It makes me happy.

#avengers #west coast avengers #essential avengers #the Defiler #doesn't defile even once #Hawkeye #Mockingbird #Wonder Man #Tigra #Iron Man #Dr Pym #Hank Pym #Scarlet Witch #the Vision #Mantis #Mike the boy who did a wrong but then redeemed himself #Susan a love interest who was led astray into an evil music genre

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