#amys kind of just. doing the same thing to her again but shes fixing things

[bug4932]

she did the unthinkable to you and shes the only one who can fix it. wanting her is written in your very bones and its because she did the writing. she needs to do it again. youve spent years fighting to come to terms with what your life was going to be and the everythings changing so much and shes right there and you feel sick and you feel happy and shes sorry and shes telling you shes going to make it better now and youre starting to get a sense of deja vu

[what-gs-watching]

“Breathe it in baby, because I am EXUDING and I am one of a kind.”

Okay so, I fell behind in Doctor Who because I’ve been job searching for like seven fucking months and a few weeks ago one came up that could be a good fit so I was trying to super focus on doing well through the interview loop even though I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to amount to anything because I’d gone through a ton of interview loops by that point but 

Y’ALL, I GOT THAT JOB! My horrible, soul-sucking ordeal is finally over, the paperwork is signed and I have a start date and everything has settled. Which means, I can finally catch up on 15 and my girl Ruby. 

Let’s gooooo!

73 Yards

Alright, I know there was upset around this episode because everyone is like ‘what the eff does it mean?’ but ooooh, I really enjoyed it. It was creepy as HELL and it just never stopped.

Wherein, Ruby and the Doctor pop over to Wales (this mofo really spends much too much time in Wales) and while on a cliffside, he steps on something AGAIN!!!!! and everything goes wrong.

Baby boy, did you not learn anything from the mine? Do you not take a scan around when you land somewhere, or are you just too excited about being adorable in your little yellow jacket and the hat and the stripes? You look fantastic, I get it, but peep down at those cute ass boots once in a while. 

I have to say, I’m impressed by Millie Gibson in this episode. It’s a lot of pressure to put on her to carry the entire thing, and she did it really well. How devastating is it to have your best friend disappear, realize you’re being followed by some crazy apparition that literally scares anyone and everyone away from you? 

Without any explanation. That’s the part that gets me. She becomes a piranha with this horrific THING attached to her and everyone she begs for help leaves her. Eve her MOTHER! It’s a mind fuck.

And I really wasn't sure where the episode was going, so I was excited for Kate Lethbridge-Stewart to show up, I was like ‘yeah let’s get UNIT into this mess’ and then she’s affected too and oh hell, that’s like, the last line of defense. 

Ruby, completely and utterly alone. And they just make her live out her entire life like that. And she tries to fix it, of course, the whole thing with the Welsh politician was a really good attempt babe, I would have done the same thing but then that doesn’t even work?!

And so everyone is all ruffled because, what was the point of it, really? What was the message, what was the meaning??!

Was she actually the apparition? If not, who was she? And then, it just ends and none of it ever really happened at all and there’s absolutely no resolution. 

Why do we love making companions live these horrible alternate timelines? How many times did we make Amy live different lives? I feel like she at least remembered most of them. But with Ruby in this one, there’s no lesson. She learns nothing, neither of them do.

But still, I loved the creeping sense of unease, so I guess I don’t really need all the details.

Dot and Bubble

I’m simultaneously annoyed and intrigued by shows that keep telling me allegories about the dangers of technology and how dependent we are on it. So far, it’s mostly been annoyed, but oh my god y’all really hit the nail on the head with this one.

Wherein, a bunch of privileged youths are existing in a perfect society that enables them to basically LIVE social media, literally surrounded by a bubble that feeds them other people’s inanity all day long. 

One thing I have to say about this episode is that the angles are something else. Lindy, the girl we’re seeing everything through is alternately absolutely beautiful, and kind of weird looking? She’s got perfect social media face. Is that a weird thing to say? I stand by it. It’s like she’s covered in the perfect ring light. It was distracting. And probably part of the point. 

Basically, this girl has no idea that there are monsters in her fake ass society that are eating her friends, and she is very not into the Doctor and Ruby trying to help her. Like, they’re trying to get her out of danger, only to find out that she doesn’t have any idea how to walk without wearing her ‘bubble’ is so deeply disturbing. Watching this girl say “forward” to convince herself to move is amazing and upsetting on a lot of different levels. 

And then out of nowhere, media star Ricky September shows up and he literally starts giving her directions like the bubble would do and I’m like ‘okay that’s interesting’, we’re subverting the idea that this incredibly popular personality is a vapid idiot because it turns out he READS and he’s taking pity on this girl that is literally a shell of a person without the aid of technology. And it was so sweet. 

Basically, this episode is infuriating because at one point Lindy hugs Ricky and tells him she’s never been hugged before (even though we know she at least has a mother) but THEN later, when the Doctor tells her everyone is being killed in alphabetical order and Ricky is trying to fight off the dot that is literally trying to murder her, she RATS HIM OUT. His real last name starts with C, he should be dead already. 

Confusingly innocent and absolutely cut throat at the same time? I guess if you live your entire life exclusively online you don’t go through things that would actually cultivate compassion? Which honestly, is not an unfounded idea. That should make y’all feel queasy. 

And to make it all exponentially worse, they flat out tell the Doctor they can’t accept his help because he’s not “one of us”. Just straight up, really gross, really overt racism. 

15, honey, I get it, but please  don’t beg racists to let them save you. You’re too good for this world, babes. That gut wrenching shout though? Absolute perfection. And the tears. You marvelous thing. 

TL;DR Humanity is disgusting and technology will continue to feed our uglier tendencies. I felt that one deep in my damn bones.

Rogue

Okay hear me out. This episode is EVERYTHING. 

Y’all know I have a thing for boys in love. And I also have a thing for the Doctor flirting with basically anyone. I don’t particularly have a thing for the regency era necessarily, but I AM about incredible costumes and ridiculous plots. 

I was honest to god squealing this entire episode.

Wherein, 15 and Ruby show up to a ball in 1813 so they can pretend they’re in Bridgerton, meet a handsome young bounty hunting rake, talk a LOT about cosplaying, and deal with bird???! aliens???

There are a million details I loved in this one. The orchestra playing an instrumental version of “Bad Guy” and then later “Pokerface”. The absolutely incredible suit they put on 15. 

Not to mention: JONATHAN GROFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Loved him in Mindhunter, loved him in Glee (before it got absolutely ridiculous and when I didn’t know any better) but holy shiiiiiit I would watch him as Rogue every. damn. day. 

River Song will always and forever be my number one love for the Doctor, but I was absolutely immediately charmed by Rogue. I’m not sure why, and it doesn’t really matter. 

How absolutely adorable was the psychic paper displaying “you’re hot”? Or the bit where the Doctor figures out Rogue’s ship is wired for sound and the system blares “Can’t Get Your Outta My Head” and he lip syncs along while Rogue dies of embarrassment? 

The entire episode was just two dorks flirting and my heart was so happy. I don’t know why, but when 15 started singing “Pure Imagination” while showing Rogue around the Tardis, I thought I was going to die. 

I love that he can be so carefree and fun and adorable, but also extremely emotional and unafraid to show it. We’ve seen so many different facets of 15 already, and his obvious and silly flirty self is definitely my favorite part so far. 

Also, the fact that the Chuldur (again, bird aliens I guess? Sure) were basically just a race that went around cosplaying other people was so camp. I’ve seen a lot of posts about how the newest theory is that 15 and Ruby are somehow in some weird sort of tv show universe this season, and this episode definitely fuels that a little bit. 

And maybe y’all are onto something with that, but I honestly don’t care to figure out what’s going on, I just want to be along for the ride.

Of course though, we can’t have an episode that’s all fun and games. The Doctor went all in on shooting his shot with Rogue and it distracted him and it put Ruby in trouble, because of course. Maybe we should stop promising random mothers that their kids are gonna be safe? Doctor, baby, you know that they aren’t always going to be safe. 

But if you weren’t charmed by Rogue before that point, you had to jump on his bandwagon when he pushes Ruby out of the transport trap and just says “Find me” before he’s blasted away with the stupid birds to some far off dimension. 

BALLER MOVE, baby boy. Baller ass move. Because ya know what? 15 is not going to be able to resist that. And you know how I know? Because that boy put your ring on his finger and I will ship the fuck out of you two forever and ever because of that. 

The doctor has definitely been known to  kiss people he’s only just met, but this time might be in the top 3. I thought Madame de Pompadour was good? Nah girl, ya bumped down. This kiss was better. Just me sat on the couch with heart eyes for days.

So yeah, I think I’ve decided I like letting a few stack up so I can watch them in a row. Watching them boomerang between crazy scenarios and thinking about all of that at the same time is more fun. 

I’m loving this season. It’s ridiculous, it’s different, it’s a bunch of things I didn’t even realize I wanted. Gimme more pleaaaaase.

[awaywithjay]

Ignore this post I'm just going insane about Chibnall era Doctor Who again.

These characters are so empty of heart and they go nowhere and essentially everything they do or say they only do in the capacity of being plot devices. It's like once the writers had the plot figured out they had to shoehorn the characters into it. Every single episode.

In Rose's first episode she's the one who takes out the nestene consciousness when the Doctor is incapacitated. In Donna's first episode, despite being a bit of a plot device herself, she's the one who sees that the Doctor shouldn't travel alone and alerts him to that. In Martha's first episode, she's the one who actively chooses to sacrifice her last breaths to save the Doctor so he can save everybody in the hospital. In Amy's first episode, she gets to be angry and hold the Doctor accountable for making promises he couldn't keep. In Bill's first episode, her curiosity and stubbornness is what essentially pulls the Doctor out of hibernation.

They all have thoughts and feelings and drives and motivations that shape the stories they're in and the decisions they make. They grow over the course of their tenure. They're not perfect characters, but they have a distinct core personality which drives them to do things that make a difference to the story they're in.

You'll notice I didn't mention Clara's first episode, and that's because series 7 is badly written compared to s1-6 and s8-10. That Clara is a plot device, and her character flip flops between different character traits largely without reason as it befits the plot of each episode. But in s8, they mostly fix that issue by settling on an arrogant, ambitious, fearless version of her. And when they take away someone she loves in the series finale, we get to see what that specific kind of character is capable of under those circumstances. Who she is, who she has been that whole season, is what makes that story happen.

That's compelling. That's engaging. That makes you care.

Are there equivalent moments for Chib's companions? How do their feelings and motivations make a difference to the story? How do those things progress from where they start to when they leave the Doctor?

Martha realizes she needs to leave because staying with someone she loves who doesn't quite love her back is harmful. Amy has to leave because she loves Rory so much that even the risk of not ending up in the same place or time is preferable to staying with the Doctor and not even trying. Clara's own hubris is why she ultimately has to leave the Doctor (yes, it should have killed her, but either way it's a punishment because she has to leave him forever).

Why does Yaz leave?

What is Yaz's Face the Raven moment? What's her Parting of the Ways moment? What's her Fires of Pompeii moment? What's her Forest of the Dead moment? What's her Pyramid at the End of the World moment? Please let me know if it exists and I've missed it.

[marzipanandminutiae]

Mind you I've never read LW but i kinda enjoyed the 2019 movie, why did you hate it? (Maybe i just wanna put Timothee Ch on a leash) feel free to go off 🌷

So, the costumes sucked from a historical perspective. Which would be less Objectively Bad and more Just Not My Thing...if the designers hadn't gone ON AND ON AT LENGTH about how ~Authentic~ they tried to make everything.

Didn't claim accuracy and didn't do accuracy: meh, whatever

DID claim accuracy and didn't do accuracy, AND won an Oscar for it: urge to kill rising

the hair design was particularly egregious, with the designer at one point saying they chose [checks notes] insane flyaways and half-up hair on adult women (who would have worn their hair entirely pinned up, for practical reasons and as a cultural marker of adulthood) because that seemed "more authentic than coiffures"

MORE AUTHENTIC

THAN THE WAY ACTUAL WOMEN BACK THEN

WORE THEIR ACTUAL HAIR

AS DEMONSTRATED IN PHOTOGRAPHS- EVEN CANDIDS -AND PORTRAITS

"blee bloo they didn't have hairspray!!!" THEY HAD POMADE. HAVING YOUR HAIR VERY SMOOTH WAS THE STYLE IN THE 1860S, EVEN FOR POOR WOMEN, AND MASSIVE FLYAWAYS ARE HUGELY IMPRACTICAL, AND NOT ALL FIXATIVES ARE HAIRSPRAY YOU ABSOLUTE-

[Marzi.exe has encountered a problem. please hold]

apart from the hair, there were fit issues and at least one case of Trying To Copy the 1994 Movie, But Worse (Amy's black and white dress in Paris).

1994. the pattern is soutache, a kind of applied trim done with flat cord that was very popular throughout the mid-late 19th century

2019. You cannot tell me the choice to have her in a white dress with black floral patterning, in effectively the exact same scene, was a coincidence.

also I'm pretty sure there was one shot with an actress visibly wearing Uggs. (EDIT- thankfully I am informed that this is a set photo and the Uggs were not visible in the finished film. i had forgotten this. good to know! leaving the pic there because STUPID HAIR and HATLESSNESS)

also the Pretty Pastel Princess Dresses (with overly fluffy attempts at bertha collars) and Matching Long Gloves (wrist gloves were popular for evening back then, and they were almost always white) in the Concord ball scene.

is it a Civil War-era ball, or is it a parade of "southern belles" at Cypress Gardens in 1995? leaning towards the latter.

once again, the choice to put Meg in pink for the ball instead of her book-described blue dress is something 1994 did first, and did better IMO

also Meg's 2015 Coachella wedding look, the fact that none of these girls from a poor family seemed to wear each other's old clothes ever, and the lazy choice to dress Jo in half-menswear instead of actually looking into menswear-inspired women's clothing in the era (which was a Thing!). but more than just the costumes pissed me off

they just...didn't seem to understand the era, or want to, or care? it was a bunch of little things that served to make it all more #relatable to modern audiences but ultimately undermined the setting:

Marmee telling a random young man she's never properly met to call her Marmee, because "everyone does." her DAUGHTERS call her that. her ACTUAL CHILDREN. who the hell else would? it's not a derivative of her name; it's a variant of Mama. Laurie can graduate to Marmee when he's an actual family friend

Jo wearing some of Laurie's clothing because "she stole it when they were hanging out in his room," according to an interview. um, NO NO AND NO, they are teenagers and that would distinctly not fly on several levels even in her progressive family. I might actually buy this if it were like "he gave them some clothes for an amateur theatrical and she kept them;" the actual Alcott sisters had a costume trunk for their plays, which is still on display at their house. but these writers clearly think a teenage boy and girl could be in his bedroom together unsupervised, for long periods of time, habitually, in 1860-whatever. which is absolutely incorrect

Jo saying "okay" in refusing Laurie's proposal. this is so tiny, I know, but while that term did already exist, it was a joke phrase only. this would be like saying "lol" while turning down your best friend's proposal today. once again, it's an example of Relatability mattering more than actually understanding the world these characters lived in

there are more, but I've blocked them out. I just really, really hated it on many levels

[kimsj90]

Hazbin Hotel Reworking! (pt. 5)

I know, I kind of lost my motivation in fixing the worldbuilding, since I went on a writing and art block for so long. Then again, I’ll decide to make more redesign for most of the characters (just for a knack, Sir Pentious will not be included, and I will have Baxter as one of the main casts)

Vespera Mayday, my version of Verosika Mayday, and the Lust Overlord who is a Succcubus Hellborn in the Lust Realm. Yes, and like the first season, she’s filled with beauty, sass and class. She is indeed a star on her show, and is an icon - she can sing, do burlesque, anything. Think of her when she got her inspiration from Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande (hence the burlesque-like outfit and the iconic tied up ponytail). Just like other Incubus and Succubus hellborns, she has an access to the mortal world for two things: Promiscuity, and stealing the victim’s soul. Succubus were also formed from the Queen of Hell - Lilith herself, so they also follow the same pattern, with a good bits of disguises.

Next up, Valentino. Yes, Valentino, also the Lust Overlord who is indeed a Goat hellborn (yes, not moth anymore as the symbolism is pretty different). He also came from the family of goat hellborns and is 18th generation owner of the Hot Suite - a brothel made for prostitutions, and strip clubs. You may think he is ‘very handsome’ and more sophisticated when interacting with most of the people, but looks can be… deceiving. Don’t make him lose his temper, or he will just shred you to bits. Just like Vespera, he also has access to the mortal world, but only for ‘Aphrodisiac’.

Lastly, Amanda de Guzman, or known as Amy. She is a broadway singer in the Heavenly Live, as well as a teacher in the Academy (at least she had tried). There are rare cases where most of the sinners had finally redeemed themselves or saved from the depths of eternal damnation, and she is one of them. She is seen as sweet, filled with empathy and understanding, and sometimes, her recklessness would lead to being scolded by her coworkers. Her story has an inspiration from Joseph Holloway’s RP of Valentino. I know, don’t quote at me, but it would have gone in a different direction while maintaining his controversial actions and roles. She has a controversial (maybe not?) past: She had been one of the ‘stars’ in the Lust Realm known by her alias ‘Babycakes’ and is under the contract of Valentino when she is a mortal as a dare from her friends. She is saved by one of the angels during the extermination as she is considered ‘Pure’, making her a rare case. Sadly, she is not part of the main cast, but she will be in another arc.

[sabraeal]

want your heart (to be for me), Part 2

[Read on AO3]

Ice skating, the more Nanami thinks about it, is a genius idea.

It’s date-worthy, for one; even before she ushers Jirou into line at the skate rental, the ice is packed with couples. Sure, the rink is right in the middle of a major metropolitan shopping district, but it’s all soft eyes and meaningful looks under the fairy lights; a winter wonderland made real by the magic of snow machines and mood lighting. And for two, there’s very little physical contact. Oh sure, there’s a little hand holding— it’s practically kissing, Ami would squeal, if she heard— but it’s all through gloves, no skin contact at all, and certainly nothing intimate. Not that there’s much magic left for her in that after being dragged hither and yon by every half-inconvenience kami; they don’t even think to ask anymore before they grab her. No, they just pinch their godly hand around her palm and pull her right through the veil or whatever. At this point, she probably has the most trafficked hands outside of a boardroom.

And for third, well— they don’t need to look at each other. Not that Jirou’s hard on the eyes, but— gosh, that’s half the problem, isn’t it? It’s one thing to see him on Kurama, monk’s robes and prayer beads and red eyeliner on point; there he's a kami through and through, as much a part of the mountain as the sakura tree. But here there’s no wings to distract her, no ritual cosmetics to keep her from seeing that he’s just…hot. Not idol-hot, the way Kur— ah, Shinjirou is, though she doubts a scout would say no to all one hundred and ninety plus centimeters of him, even with his scars. But…regular hot-guy hot. The kind that make a girl stop in the street to double take, wondering if someone could actually walk around looking that good.

The kind Nanami normally wouldn’t care to give the time of day, but well— most of them don’t keep sneaking glances at her when she’s not looking, or blushing every time their bodies bump in the pre-Christmas crowd. Boys like that aren’t affected by her, but this one, unfortunately, is. And it’s…distracting to say the least.

The line jostles forward, lodging her shoulder right under his armpit, face pressed right to the gray wool of his coat, and— really, where does Kurama find this stuff? Her own winter coat’s nice, calf-colored and a good size to cinch around her waist, but it still itches if she rubs it against her skin. This practically begs a girl to linger, to let her cheek rest a little longer, to maybe even long for a strong arm to wrap around her shoulders—

Nanami springs away, heat thundering up to her cheeks, pound of her heart nipping at its heels. Oh ho ho, no. She won’t be falling for any of Kurama’s tricks, thank you. Wouldn’t that be just like him, encouraging…canoodling through the strategic application of cashmere or whatever.

Jirou, however, hasn’t noticed. No, his attention is twisted over his shoulder, fixed to where couples idly circle the rink, eyes squinted and suspicious.

“Explain it to me again.” His heavy brows knot over the stern slope of his nose, uncertain. “We strap blades to our feet and attack the ice? And we do this for…entertainment?”

“It’s fun,” she assures him, resting a hand on that soft wool again; this time on the much more relationship-neutral sleeve area. “Have you really never gone skating? It seems like the sort of thing a bunch of boys would get up to after a couple hundred years.”

His shoulders heave, as casual a shrug as a mountain of a man like him can make. “It doesn’t snow on Kurama Mountain.”

A laugh sputters out of her; Mt Fuji already has its snow cap, and even if Kurama isn’t nearly as tall, it still gets more than its fair share of the stuff, especially this time of year—

But Jirou doesn’t blink, doesn’t smile, doesn’t show a hint of anything in his eyes besides that same steady earnestness she found below the temple. “How is that even possible? Didn’t Kifune just get a dusting last week? You guys should have…?”

Been romping around in the first snow of the season, that’s what she wants to say. But Jirou just stares down at her, the faintest hint of melancholy in the dark shadows of his eyes, and she knows: he lives in the spiritual realm. Sure, it might look like the rest of the mountain— the temple even sits right where Kuramadera does, pathways twisting right up along its sides— but it’s different. A place where a sakura tree can bloom year round, littering each tengu hatched beneath its branches with plush pink petals; children of its roots born into a world of eternal spring.

It doesn’t even have a pond, now that she thinks about it. Just a bunch of wells that probably don’t lead to real springs, but like, some weird spiritual equivalent, and— ugh, if she thinks about this any longer, her head is going to hurt.

“Well, don’t worry about it! It’s easy.” She puffs out her chest, giving it a prideful pat. “I’ll teach you.”

Tomoe would have scoffed— what could a human like you teach me, he’d say, every elegant movement of his hands perfect in a way she could only dream of being, when you’ve only just managed to stop banging sticks together. But Jirou—

Jirou’s breath catches in that cavernous chest of his, all the more obvious with clothes that cling to him the way these do, dark eyes gone so wide she can see the whites. “Land God, you honor me, but I hardly deserve your—”

It’s an Olympic level leap that claps her hands over his mouth before he can get warmed up enough to mention her divine attention, or, god forbid, start bowing.

“Shh! Shhhh! I told you not to call me that here. Just Nanami is fine!” She lowers from her trembling tip toe, her palm lingering over his lips for one moment— two moments, maybe— more. Just to make sure. He’d done just fine using her name in front of Kei, there was no need for any of this…Land God stuff out here right where normal people could hear them. “And it’s not a big deal, really! You taught me to fly, after all. It’s only fair.”

“You are already repaying me for my help with that task,” he reminds her, eyes narrowed. “That is why you consented to be my guide, is it not?”

“Ahh, yeah, but this is, um…part of it!” She lays her brightest smile on him; it’s her best hope for a distraction. Well, short of touching him in a real, purposeful way— not just this casual brush of hands over his sleeve or hands bumping together— and considering how he’d handled that beneath the temple, it risks a little too much collateral damage for her taste. “I can’t bring you here to do the very human pastime of ice skating if you can’t skate, can I?”

His mouth pulls thin, considering her point.

“I suppose.” The fight seeps from the firm line of his shoulders. “So long as it isn’t too much trouble?”

“Oh come on,” she laughs, waving a hand. “What could go wrong?”

*

In retrospect, the warning signs — omens, Mizuki would have called them, tooting on his stupid flute— present themselves early. The guy manning the skate rental, for one, who took a good look at Jiro’s two meters plus and muttered, “I’ll have to check what they have in the back.”

The skate laces for another, which is a surprise to say the least.

“But you’ve worn kimono before,” Nanami reminds him, his pale scars standing out more starkly from the deep pink of his skin. “It’s the same principle. Just like…on your feet!”

“I grasp the fundamentals.” She kneels in front of the bench, his knees brushing her shoulders, and Jiro wrenches his chin to the side, the slightest strain in his voice when he adds, “It’s the practical application that confounds me.”

“You were wearing boots, weren’t you?” she huffs, sitting back on her heels. “Didn’t you have to tie those yourself?”

“Shinjirou—”

His teeth snap shut with a clack, and ah, for all of Kurama’s complaining over hosting his grim onii-san, even trying to extract a date of his own out of her as compensation— that wild fox would eat his own tail, wouldn’t he? he hummed, too intrigued with the idea for any interest to be leftover for her— he’d put this all together himself. The soft coat, the perfectly tailored jeans, even getting down on his own knees to tie his bootlaces— Kurama had put effort into this.

“All right, well, pay attention, okay?” He glances down, cheeks red as she crosses his laces tight. “The bunny runs around the tree, and goes into the hole…”

*

It’s not until she gets him out onto the ice, however, that the shape of her mistake really starts to show itself.

“Um, Jirou?” She peeks out from around his elbow, watching the bulky muscle in his jaw flex. “You’ll have to actually…get out the gate to skate.”

“I don’t know how,” he informs her, knuckles white where he clutches either side of the wall. “Am I supposed to follow a…current of some kind?”

Nanami watches the couples meander past like leaves traveling through a gentle stream, and well, there’s worse metaphors, she supposes. “That’s not a bad way to think of it. Everyone is traveling in the same direction, but you kinda have to move on your own.”

“How?”

It’s practically a growl, and from a chest like his, it should be intimidating, the sort of thing that sends shivers down her spine. But instead Nanami bites back a giggle, and informs him, “One skate at a time!”

“So I have assumed. But how am I supposed to—”

“I’ll show you,” she promises, sliding off her guards. “But you have to let me on the ice first.”

“I’m trying—”

Her hands press to his back, and even through the wool of his coat, she feels his breath stutter, the bluster snuffed right out of him.

“Maybe,” she grunts, tensing her muscles. “You should try harder—”

On solid ground, she’d have no hope of moving him— he’s head and shoulders taller, for one, and used to standing his ground against fledglings her size for another— but with both blades firmly on the ice, he slides forward, arms flailing out to grab something, anything—

Until he falls face-first onto the rink.

“All right,” she coughs. “Let’s, um, try that again.”

*

It’s a trial to get him upright; maybe one of his other brothers might have been more help, if only because they're stronger, and— much as she hated to admit it— much, much taller. But between her middling height and his inclination to treat the ice like a cat does a bath, well…

“What if you just hold on to me for now?” It’d be easier to keep him steady closer to the rail, but between her lucky push and both their flailing, it’s a trek they’re unlikely to make. At least with all these other skaters between them and the wall. “Once you get some momentum, it’ll be easier to start moving, you know?”

“I think,” he sniffs, stiff as a board beside her, “I have experienced enough momentum for a lifetime.”

“Good thing you’ve got several to go then, huh?” She grins, even in the face of his withering stare. “Come on, ‘fall down seven times, get up eight,’ right? You’ll get the hang of it in no time.”

“I have no interest in falling down seven times,” he informs her. “The once was enough.”

“No, no, you got it now, I can tell. Here”— her hand wraps around his, palm hotter than those drug store hand warmers even through his gloves— “just let me pull you a little.”

“N-no, I”— there’s not so much words but noises as she squeezes, and all of them are negative— “don’t…”

Nanami hasn’t gotten this far listening to kami that tell her no, and she’s not about to start now. Botanmaru and the other little tengu might have quivered under Jirou’s glare, but she only grins.

“Come on, just a little— there we go!” Her own skates catch under her, the energy she’s putting in finally equal to the energy he’s putting out, tipping their momentum from a standstill to a gentle— albeit wobbly— glide. “You’re moving!”

Jirou might be the size of a man— larger than one, really, one of the tallest ones she’s seen on or off Kurama Mountain— and his legs might not shake beneath him, but just like every other kid’s first time on the ice, they widen, nearly tipping him right over before he catches himself. One skate stamps on the ice before it smooths to a glide, dragging the other behind. He doesn’t get far before he nearly overbalances again, struggling to get the other foot beneath him, to stand the way he might on solid ground, but—

But he does it, this time pushing off the leg the way he’s supposed to, weight a little too much on the inside to get him much farther than a few stuttering slides. There’s a light in his eyes though, a spark of interest, a puzzle halfway solved. It’s easier for him to get the next foot beneath him, then the next, falling into a toddling rhythm of step-skate, step-skate, and—

And he smiles. Not one of those nasty little sneers he wore when he got one over on Kurama or one of his other brothers, or the shy tight-lipped smile he would give her when they spoke, but— victorious. Joyful and dangerous all at once; the sort of grin generals must have gotten in ancient times when the battle was won and they could start looking forward to the spoils.

It’s not until his eyes lock on her, dark and focused in a way that makes her breath catch, that she remembers: she’s the only prize on the ice worth taking. At least to him.

It should be terrifying— he’s so much bigger than her, a kami in all the ways that count instead of just in name, and she’d seen the cruelty he’s capable of, given the right incentive. But the shiver that runs through her is a promise instead of a plea, growing warm-- no, hot as he straightens, approaching her not with a bird’s grace but a predator’s slow prowl.

Maybe this is the reason for all of Kurama’s rules; that laundry list of no-nos the Soujoubou has posted up in every brother's heart. It wasn’t the tengu who found themselves distracted by the mortal woman at the foot of the mountain, but the village women seeing J-Pop idol faces and shoulders used to bearing wings large enough for a man to take flight, and just thinking, what do the guys got around here that can compete with this?

He’s close enough to loom now, extended to almost his full height, and oh, if he just unfurled his wings this would be like one of those book covers she sees in the store, dangerous and divine all at once. And then his eyes widen, her only warning before he completely overbalances the other way, sprawling ass-first on the ice— and with her hand still locked in his, taking her with him.

“Ow,” is the first thing she thinks to say, followed by, “Oh, no!”

It requires a little wriggling to get an arm free, the ice seeping through the fleece-lined stretch of her tights as she rolls up onto her knees. “Are you alright? It doesn’t hurt too much does it?”

“It will take more than that to harm a tengu of Kurama Mountain,” he informs her, sitting upright— fast enough that she nearly spills back into the ice. But one of his hands shoots out, steadying her, and she settles onto her heels instead. “You, however, are only human.”

Another girl might shrink under the measuring stare he turns to her, quailing under the narrow angle of his skepticism, but Nanami only waves him off with a laugh. “I’m fine. Really! I’m made tougher than I look, okay!”

He grunts, unconvinced, but at least he doesn’t start fussing the way Tomoe would, checking bones and joints for the smallest twinge of pain. Instead he just sits there, staring, and—

Oh, she’s…she’s right between his knees. Kneeling there, having a whole conversation, when he’s only…

“Maybe skating was a bad idea.” The words all fall out of her in a jumble; she hardly even knows she’s said anything— like really said anything, not just thrown up some word salad— until Jirou’s eyebrows furrow. “It was silly to think you’d pick up on it the first time you tried. I’m not even that good at it either! It's like the blind leading the blind in here, right? If you’re getting tired of this, we can just go back and—”

“What do you mean ‘if I’m getting tired of this?’” He bares his teeth, surveying the rink with all the eagerness of a kid half his age. Well, half the age he looks, anyway. “I’m only just starting to get good at it.”

There’s no production when he stands now, skates staying right where he puts them.

“Come, Nanami.” He holds out his hand, that grin aimed directly at her, way too dangerous. “What was it you said? We have only fallen down twice, which means there are five more times to go.”

“That’s not what that means,” she says, but she’s already getting to her feet. “But sure. Falling five more times seems like a plan.”

*

Jirou might have promised falling down, but in the half hour since he’d given her a hand up, he hasn’t done it once. He just watches a few of the better skaters glide past, and in no time he’s speeding around the rink, spraying ice as he pulls to a stop beside her, the little shavings melting the instant they touch her tights.

“I must admit,” he says, watching where she idles against the railing, thighs already burning from her few shaky passes around the rink. “When you first proposed this ice skating, I did not quite understand the appeal. But now I see— it’s the closest these frail mortal bodies of yours can come to flying.”

It’s tempting to put him in his place, to tell him about airplanes, or skydiving or parasailing or any of the half dozen ways all these frail mortals have found to bring themselves a little closer to the sky, but instead she goes with, “So you like it?”

This is where Tomoe would fumble, would trip over himself to deny anything of the sort; it was natural for a yokai like him to excel in any human endeavor, but another thing entirely to enjoy it. So when Jirou turns to her, smile all victory and teeth, she’s unprepared for his enthusiastic, “Yes!”

Her jaw smacks her scarf, but there’s no time for her to recover, for her to even wrap her mouth around a shocked oh before he’s holding his hand out to her. “Would you do me the honor of joining me?”

It’s gloved of course, supple leather clinging to every contour of his knuckles, hand-picked by Kurama to fit like a— er, well, glove. They would have to be, after all; Jirou doesn’t come in a size that’s off the rack. Nanami might not be tall for a girl, but she’s not small either, and yet when she’d tried to wrap her hands around his earlier, her thumbs and fingers hadn’t even come close to touching, like a little girl trying to hold her dad’s hand—

“Nanami?”

Oh gosh, she’s staring. At his hand. “Y-yeah!”

The night might be cold, but Jirou’s hands are warm. Seriously warm, even with the layers of leather and cloth knit between them. She’d known that, of course— how could she not, when he’d had to catch her time after time those first few days at Kurama. Her new wings had been weak as a hatchling’s when they’d first grown, feathers patchy in places and grown in at odd angles, and though she’d been happy enough to fling herself from the highest outcroppings, the wind wouldn’t catch her the way it was supposed to. Wouldn’t hold her the way the other tengu told her came naturally.

And so it was Jirou who would scoop her out of her falls, stomach swooping with the sudden stop, patient in a way she hadn’t seen during that first visit with Botanmaru. Even with all the other tengu whooping and hollering— encouragement for her, and heckling for their former Soujoubou— he’d kept putting her on solid ground and telling her, give it a moment before you try it again.

She hadn’t of course, but, well, time was of the essence. Tomoe had been waiting for her.

Fat load of good that’d been in the end. Maybe she should have left him with his sky princess. At least then he wouldn’t be mad at her anymore.

“Nanami.” Her name rumbles out of him, concerned. “If you do not pay attention to what is in front of you, you’ll stumble once again.”

It’s kind of stupid how quickly he's picked all this skating stuff up-- some real godly bullshit, honestly. If she wasn't enjoying herself so much, she might start taking it personally that this being-naturally-good-at-stuff thing never seems to happen to her.

“Oh!” She shakes herself, tracing leather-gloved hand to woolen sleeve to furrowed brow, and— and it’s strange how Jirou doesn’t look away, doesn’t pretend he’s not concerned for her at all. How he doesn’t tell her to hurry up and pay attention, but lets them coast until she does. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Sorry about that.”

“There’s no need to apologize to me.” The serious line of his mouth hooks at a corner, and he squeezes her hand. “I am not some weak human. I have all the time in the world.”

For you. He doesn’t say it, but somehow his eyes do, right before he turns them back to the ice, guiding her around the corner. I have all the time in the world for you.

*

“So what next?” Nanami flops down onto the bench, thighs already burning. Hopefully Kei’s apartment has one of those fancy baths, the ones with all the jets and stuff, otherwise she’ll be all aches in the morning. “We’ve done shopping, ice skating…any other human stuff you’ve been dying to do?”

“I believe that is up to you.” Jirou does much better untying his skates than he did tying them; with only a few tugs he has both sitting on the bench beside him, socked feet hovering uncertain above the pavement before he reaches for his boots. It seems cold concrete is too much even for yokai— or kami, or whatever the tengu considered themselves. “You are my guide, are you not?”

“Well, yeah.” Her shoes are easy to handle— just little boots that zip up the side, heels giving her an extra couple of centimeters, enough to at least give his shoulder a run for its money. But Jirou is used to tabi and wara-zori, stuff he can just slip on his feet and forget about, so of course Kurama’s settled him with a pair of boots that require strategy to get on and off. When he settles his boots in front of him, it’s clear he doesn’t know where to start. “But this is your first time down here. I figure I can take requests.”

“That is kind of you, Nanami.” It’s funny to watch his feet flex, uncertain, before he grits his teeth and shoves one of them down past the laces. Kurama could have been kinder when he selected these from whatever fancy Big & Tall section he found; there had to have been ones that pulled on or zipped up instead of laced, jack boot style. “But I trust your guidance. That is why I asked you to take me, and not Shinjirou.”

It doesn’t take much to imagine what sort of tortures Kurama would inflict on his least favorite brother: crowds and concerts and high class clubs with VIP rooms— or, if he was feeling particularly perverse, maybe even karaoke. A dream for any one of his fan club, for sure, but an expertly curated nightmare for the former fourth Soujoubou.

“Well, if you’re sure.” Nanami leans back on her hands, the metallic chill of the bench biting through her gloves. “I am starting to get hungry. Maybe we should go and get some din—”

Her teeth clamp hard around that last syllable. Dinner. It’s a definite date activity, for sure; one that would really double down on the good time she intended to show him, but—

But she hadn’t meant for this to be a date, not when she agreed to this whole tour guide thing. It was just supposed to be an outing, the kind friends did when they had nothing better to do on their day off. Just because Mizuki said that Jirou thought they were on one doesn’t mean she actually has to follow through— or that she should. After all, what would Tomoe think when he came back? She wouldn’t keep something like this from him— not when Mizuki would be so quick to inform him of his new position as persona non grata, no longer needed now that Nanami would clearly be packing her bags for Kyoto soon. And then she’d have to explain herself, like always, and she’s pretty sure I went on a date by accident because I have a real fear of disappointing people wouldn’t be as compelling explanation for a fox who lived by the motto of act first, laugh at the idea of permission later.

“Nanami.” It’s gruff, the way he says it, as stilted as the line of his shoulders. “You seem…uncomfortable.”

“M-me? No, No.” She shakes her head way, way too hard. “I’m not, really. I just…”

Am already tired of dealing with a problem that hasn’t even happened yet. No way she can say that either; she may not be able to see Mizuki, but she’s certain those words would wend their way back to Tomoe’s ears somehow.

Jirou stares at her, frown as furrowed as his brow. “We do not have to continue if this is not an enjoyable encounter for you. You have more than fulfilled your end of the bargain, there is no need to—”

“No!” Ah, she hadn’t meant to shout— and hadn’t meant to grab him either, but here she is with a death grip on his sleeve. “No, I’m…I’m having fun, really. Loads. Honestly, this is the most fun I’ve had since…”

Gosh, it’s embarrassing that she can’t even remember. The past few weeks have just been one crisis after another, blurring together into one endless bad time that stretches infinitely forward and back.

“A while,” she finishes, lamely. By the skeptical look Jirou slant at her, he’s not convinced.

“If you are concerned about injury to my feelings”— his voice may be gentle, but every part of him is braced, waiting for impact— “you may take heart in the fact that I would prefer a small discomfort on my part, rather than pain on yours.”

“I’m not uncomfortable! I’m having a really good time!” She huffs, her breath ruffling the hair that’s fallen out from where she’d parted it. “It’s just…”

He turns to her, boots on but still untied— it’d be a look if Kurama did it, and Jirou’s nearly handsome enough to pull it off too— and simply…waits. Just stares at her, all the intensity that stole him the Soujoubou’s seat now directed at her.

She doesn’t mean to say anything, really— at least nothing important— but those dark eyes fix on her, just her, and she blurts out, “Doesn’t this feel like a date or something?”

He blinks, long and slow, before saying, “I’m not sure I would know.”

Of course not; he’s never even been off the mountain before. Had barely known women existed until she traipsed onto the mountain, trying to fix all of Botanmaru’s problems. And here she is, worrying that he’s thinking about dates, that he might even be disappointed if she didn’t perform one to his exacting standards, and—

“But I was hoping it would be.”

Her jaw jostles from how hard it drops. “E-excuse me?”

“Please do not misunderstand. I would never presume that you meant for this to be anything more than a favor to a fellow god.” His arms fold over the wide expanse of his chest, eyes closed and turned from her. “It is simply…just as crows cannot change their color, a man cannot change what his heart desires.”

The air in her lungs is entirely too thin to manage more than a soft, “Oh.”

“You need not worry, I have no expectation of my hopes being fulfilled in that regard. My brother has already happily forewarned me that you were still wasting your time with that wild fox. My only wish was to see the world you belonged to, and”—for all the stern lines he’s structured his frown around, it does nothing to hide the pink that seeps into the tips of his ears, or at the highest parts of his cheeks— “why you loved it. I was simply…curious as to why you would choose to live here, rather than on Kurama Mountain. I am sorry if my intentions seemed…unclear.”

“No, that’s…they were clear.” Provide you were looking, and that you weren’t an idiot. Both things Nanami missed the mark on. “And this isn’t just some favor to a fellow god. This is a favor to a friend.”

He blinks. “…Friend?”

“Yeah, one who helped me when I don’t think they really wanted to.” By the rueful grin he tries to hide behind his coat collar, she's not wrong. “And I think…”

She swallows, gathering her courage. “I think it would be fine, if this was a date. Not a real one of course!” she hurries to clear up as his wide eyes dart toward her. Tomoe might not be able to admit he wants to date her himself, but there’s not a doubt in Nanami’s mind over just how well he’d take the information that she’d been out on a date with some other god. “More like…a demonstration. A, er, practice date.”

A stormy little knot ties itself right above Jirou’s nose. “Practice…date?”

“Right.” She nods, as if that might lend this an air of authenticity. Or intelligence. “So you know what to expect when you go on a real date.”

“Ah.” His teeth flash in a quiet sort of humor. “Of course. A…real date.”

It’s her turn to frown, now. “Is there something wrong?”

“No.” He fixes her with that singular attention again, and really, this guy needs to meet another girl, if only so that someone gets to take advantage of all this tengu intensity. “If that is an amenable solution to you, then I have no complaints.”

“Great!” She claps her hands together, pleased. “So is there anywhere you want to go? Now that we’re on a date, I mean.”

He tilts his head, considering the question. More than it really warrants, in her opinion, but Jirou’s not the sort of guy to take things easy. “You mentioned you were hungry, did you not?”

“Oh, yeah!” She leans toward him on the bench, grinning. “You know, dinner’s a pretty common thing to do on a date. Looking for anything in particular.”

“I must admit…” His gaze shifts, embarrassed. “I am curious about these donuts you once spoke of.”

“Donuts?”

“Mamorinogami once traded you his Peach Elixir for a taste of one, did he not?” His cheeks might still be red, but Jirou turns to her, stretching every last centimeter to loom over her. “They seem to be a worthy meal, even if they were made by human hands.”

“Ah…right.” No need to tell him it was actually a meat bun, made to taste like a donut. That's another one of those little things she doesn't need making it into godly ears. Gossips, the whole lot of them. “Donuts for dinner it is!”

[besidesitstoowarm]

"The Beast Below" thoughts

when i was in college i took a sci-fi class and once a week one of us had to find some movie clip/ep of tv/short story to make the rest of the class watch so we could discuss. stupid me, i thought watching this story, a bottle episode of the most famous sci-fi show in the world with a cool setting and interesting, debatable moral dilemma, might make a good topic of class conversation. instead it turned into mostly bitching about how much moffat sucks. anyway i love this episode

future spaceship london, some poor kid gets a bad grade and gets sent to what looks like an incinerator. amy floats out of the tardis w the doctor holding her leg, which makes for good trailer/promo imaging but also like, that's just amy. death wish amy. she does not give a fuck, she found her imaginary friend and she is riding him til the wheels fall off. figuratively but also literally

eleven tells amy they need to be like a nature documentary "i never get involved in the affairs of other peoples or planets" at this point my boyfriend goes "that's the only thing you do!!" eleven quickly deduces they're in a police state and says he's going to "stay out of trouble. badly."

amy goes to help a crying girl and gets almost attacked by a scorpion and abducted by the secret police. eleven investigates why there is no engine running and meets liz 10. amy is taken to a voting booth where "you have the right to know the truth....you may protest or forget" we see an evil montage in her eyes and she slams FORGET. the screen then shows her a video of herself saying to leave w the doctor immediately and don't let him investigate

he shows up and slams PROTEST cause he's messy like that. they go to the incinerator which is not an incinerator it's a mouth. and they get vomited. liz 10 reminds us that victoria knighted and exiled him on the same day and references the virgin queen debacle again "you bad, bad boy" so we confirm narratively she is in fact elizabeth the tenth, queen of this spaceship. she is so beautiful it makes me want to throw up. she's also basically just river song i must say

we go to the tower of london (dungeon) and learn the spaceship is on the back of a whale and they're torturing it to make it go. they can 1. keep torturing the whale, 2. free the whale which will doom the entire ship, or 3. lobotomize the whale so it's not in pain but the citizens live. eleven is FURIOUS at making this choice, they realize amy hit FORGET so that they could leave without eleven having to make this choice. it's rich. "you don't ever decide what i need to know" "nobody HUMAN has anything to say to me today" i don't know what i would do, in that instance!

luckily. amy remembers what liz said about the whale showing up. "it came bc it couldn't stand to watch your children cry" i want to cry just hearing this. "if you were that old and that kind and the very last of your kind, you couldn't just stand there and watch children cry" do you get it. it's fine they'll say it out loud later. she slams ABDICATE which was liz's version of protest and surprise, the whale does NOT abandon them! bc it loves them and wants to keep them safe! "you could've killed everyone on this ship" "you could've killed a star whale" i like that. eleven recognizes amy could have doomed a ship of people like herself, and she in turn recognizes he was ready to almost-kill an alien, the last of its kind. the same kind of agony, the same impossible choice

"all that pain and misery and loneliness and it just made it kind" Do You Get It. i like that amy was the one to have the 3rd-option-brain-blast, that was a very doctor thing to do. she fucked up and then she fixed it! i think this is a wonderful, empathetic story, and iirc the next one is pretty mid but i love the skittles daleks so lfg

[caffeine-clouds]

Me again! I think it goes without saying Sonic Frontiers had some great writing and fixed a lot of characters. Assuming the writing stays the same, who do you think should be the next character to have their personality fixed? I think Shadow!

Hello again anon! Oho! I absolutely agree with you there - I think Shadow needs some depth the most out of the cast right now. Silver is mostly fine - he just needs things to do, Rouge is pretty consistent - but each game will use a slider to determine how selfish or not selfish she is, and Blaze... yeah she's fine, just give her some damn screentime.

Shadow is the glaring, gaping hole that needs to be addressed. So in a world where I somehow snuck into SEGA headquarters and wrote Shadow's character for the next game - I wanted to say how I'd approach his character:

The less appealing way, to me, is to make him act back how he was in the 06 era. I LOVE 06 Shadow, he's my favourite Shadow - but that version of him is a far cry from the personality we've seen from him in the past decade. I wouldn't complain if this happened but I think there's a smarter way to go about this.

In much the same way as Tails was dealt with - I would achknowledge Shadow's portrayals in the latest games and comics - all his assholery, all of his fat ego in the way, and just not giving a damn about the people around him because SEGA decided he's not allowed to have friends now.

So take this asshole, and what do you do with him?

You humble him.

You get him a villain that just absolutely wrecks shop and kicks his shit in so hard that he's forced to rethink his life decisions. Let Shadow be confident entering in - like it's a rehash of Shadow vs. Infinite - but unlike with Infinite, this antagonist trumps him in every single way. This man's ego needs to be stripped the fuck down for any change in his character to happen.

He gets his ass beaten so hard that Sonic, Rouge, Omega or WHOEVER has to come save him, and they have to retreat

Cowards run, I win - Okay bitch, let me put you in a situation you're forced to run from. Is your outlook the same?

The game ensues with Shadow basically being hellbent on destroying this antagonist and trying to fall back into his old habits - but as the story goes on it becomes increasingly clearer that he needs the help of his allies.

Bonus points - I'd want a scene where Shadow's behaviour is actually called out by any of the prior characters, or hell - you want a callback? Let Amy do it - but I want a character to say to his face just how much of a nuisance he's been.

He learns to realise throughout the plot that those around him are not a burden - and are in fact very useful, he learns more about each of his peers - and sees that they all want to give him their friendship and that hey - kindness is kind of nice, actually. Maybe Shadow can admit to why he's been acting the way he has to Rouge and Omega - and finally recieve some damn consoling

I think of a fear of getting close to people is a viable explanation considering a certain blonde 12 year old. Shadow's moved on from tying himself to Maria's last dying wish - but it's undeniable that she and her death has impacted his psyche in many more ways. I hate to beat a dead horse but just as with Tails' recent cowardice in Forces - I did want to explain his turn in character.

In the end - he's able to defeat the villain with the help of his friends. He doesn't end the story with a completely different personality - not at all. On the other end, he's still got a large ego and he's our usual broody blunt man - but he's come out of the story with the realization that it's okay to be vulnerable and lean on others when he needs it. His strongest bonds are still with Rouge and Omega - and he makes the move to properly repair his relationship with them - officially forming Team Dark that will move forward together from now on.

Shadow isn't attached by the hip to them, per say - he has his independence streak, but now - he does actually have at least 2 friends that he works with frequently. But I hope his bond with the others would get to be strengthened as well. His relationship with Sonic is still complicated, but a little less hostile on Shadow's end now.

So yeah, SEGA decided Team Dark aren't a team anymore - so fuck it, I'll just make them a team a second time because I care too much.

Sorry I went on a tangeant because of your ask, anon! But this was really fun to explore. Thank you so much for the question :)

[beloveddawn-blog]

Find the Word

Tagged by @tabswrites

Tagging: @evilgabe29 @squarebracket-trickster @coffeeangelinabox and @leahnardo-da-veggie

Your words will be: provoke, kind, pet, and blue

*

Tear (from a Pokemon Sword fanfic)

Hop narrowed his eyes at his brother, uncertain of the validity of his brother’s statement. “You don’t convince her to do anything. You forward me her schedule and tell me I’m her secretary and to ‘hop to’.”

Leon shrugged, unrepentant. “She doesn’t answer my phone calls at the moment. Said she was busy with something that wasn’t rewarding nosiness. But you, little brother, she answers every time. Answers and shows up on time.”

He ducked his head, unexpectedly bashful over the strange praise. “I’ve known her for a long time, and we were rivals. We’ve just got a really close rapport is all.”

“Plus you always invite her over for tea after.” His brother shot back, an odd glint in his eye.

Hop had no idea what he was getting at. “Of course I do. She’s my friend and I miss her. Plus both Rillaboom and Dubwool sulk if I don’t. They’re very attached.”

Lee laughed so hard he ended up grabbing his ribs and wheezing. “Yes, I’m sure it’s just those two that miss her.” He replied, wiping a tear away. Hop frowned at him.

*

Gasp

“Zach, you have been poisoned.” Katya insisted, giving him a light shake. “I need your help to free Amy, but you cannot do anything unless we clear the poison from your veins, but I cannot take you underwater and I don’t know of any healers on land.”

He blinked at her, then looked down at his arm. “Oh. I can fix that.” He placed his right hand over the tear in his left sleeve and pushed his healing magic through himself. There was no finesse in it whatsoever, and his veins lit up with fire as magic raced through his blood. Even his skin glowed as his pain peaked and he felt for one moment of pure fear that he was going to burn up from the inside out…

And then it was over, and he was left gasping and staring in shock at Katya, who was looking at him with a concern he usually only saw directed at Amy.

Katya poked gently at his face. “Are you… well?”

Zach shook his head. “No, but I’m not dying. Nothing about that was fun, let’s not do that again. It’s not important. I need your help to find Amy. That’s what’s important now.”

Katya grinned at him. “This is why you’re my favourite human.”

*

Scream (from a Sun Haven fanfic)

“I… I never wanted them to fight .” Lucius replied, aghast and once again heartbroken. “If I knew it was going to cause this I would never …”

“Don’t be sorry.” A new voice drawled next to him, causing him to jump again. He looked to the side and found the demon (who must be Sass, she was the only one of this friend group he didn’t know) smirking up at him as she flipped her dark hair back over her shoulder. “And don’t be stupid. They’re not fighting, they’re having fun.”

He blinked at her, entirely taken aback. “They’re literally throwing things at each other. And screaming.” He deadpanned, unable to even conceive of the right emotion for this.

“Exactly.” She replied with a decisive nod. “Fun.” She took a pointed sip of the smoothie she was carrying, then grabbed a second one from her belt pouch and offered it to him. “Want to have a drink and watch the show?”

*

Scar (a two for one as it's used twice in the same way in one page, from a WIP sequel to one of my favourite short stories)

“Who am I?” I thundered, the automatic reverberation built into my mask’s voicebox kicking in with the volume. “WHO AM I??? You dare to question me, and my credentials, as if the city isn’t still scarred from me? As if citizens don’t still quake in terror at the mention of me? As if the county hasn’t retired my colours like they were a goddamn number on a hockey jersey because of all the chaos they still inspire?” I had stalked closer as I spoke, venom so obviously radiating from me it may as well be visible.

Goldfish-Fucker cowered before me, and even That Asshole flinched back from my caustic vitriol. Give him credit, though, he rallied surprisingly well in the face of my terrifying visage and unnerving musical accompaniment.

Look, it was actually a great idea. Playing sub-audible music clues was such an easy way to sway people into the emotional range I wished them to be in. Currently it was The Imperial March. 

“No one has heard from, or even of you since that last great fight.” He insisted, hideous bulbous eyes lighting up as he came up with a rebuttal. As if this was fair, or logical, or some sort of formal debate he could win if he only made the right argument.

As if this wasn’t simply his life hanging by a thread and at my whim.

I laughed at him, high and cruel and designed to drag claws up and down his spine, shredding him as they went. “The city is still scarred from that last great fight.” I reminded him, unable to help glancing towards That Asshole. I knew he still cried about it, the big baby. “I have no interest in a pyrrhic victory. The city is of no use to me if it has been razed. My reach is not contained by my physical dimensions, even if yours is. Similarly, I will gain no pleasure from watching my nemesis scramble while his beloved city falls willingly into my hand if he is pre-broken. When I have finished securing my power in areas a little less paranoid and gun-shy, I will delight in watching this protected metropolis attempt to hold out as some sort of supposed bastion of righteousness, the desperate defence led by this man. And he would have led it. I would have removed the foundation stones of his retirement one. Block. At. A. Time until he had no other choice." I smiled again, my mask twisting grotesquely to follow it. It had taken me weeks to make the Lovecraftian-style Uncanny Valley of it the right balance of effortless and disturbing.

[cutegirlmayra]

Here we go again~

(Combining prompts to hopefully get through my inbox tons more quickly! DON’T SUBMIT A PROMPT TO INBOX, THEY ARE CLOSED my lovely Cuties XD)

Prompt:

“Is he gonna be okay, Vanilla?”

Sonic had rushed from a recent deadly fight with Eggman, where Tails had sacrificed his biplane and risked his life to protect Sonic from a finishing move. After taking care of Eggbutt, Sonic found the crash and Tails pretty badly wounded.

Not to mention he seemed to have caught an infection, and while moving through the brisk wind at rapid speeds, it wasn’t helping Tails feel any comfort against the pain.

Vanilla’s was the closest, “I... was worried I wasn’t fast enough.” Sonic admitted, having seen Tails waning and quickly diverted from heading to the City to someone he trusted.

Cream was out with Cheese, so it was just Vanilla and Amy having a tea party, before Sonic arrived with a serious look of need... and his eyes showing how drastic things really were.

Amy immediately took over for Vanilla after they could do all within their power, and after a doctor came and left, Amy took over providing for Tails while Vanilla felt it best to check on Sonic...

“He may need a... different kind of touch.” Vanilla sweatdropped, trying to be sensitive as Amy was insisting she could talk to Sonic, but Vanilla knew their history... Although Amy was extremely kindhearted, it may be hard for Sonic to want to show any weakness to her, knowing how much she admires his heroic nature...

Besides... sometimes, a man needs to drop all facades and just be raw...

Sonic needed someone who he didn’t have to inspire or play tough for... he needed someone that could do that for him.

“I’ll be right back, Amy.” Vanilla put a loving hand to her shoulder, as Amy slumped a bit, her eyebrows bending but she accepted that maybe Vanilla knew more about this then she did.

She looked to Tails, quickly getting the wetwash cloth and dabbing his face.

Vanilla moved down the stairs, lightly lifting her dress before peeking out into the living room and smiling at the brooding Hedgehog.

His hands were down on his spread legs, back leaning forward and eyes fixed on the ground in a serious expression...

So much on one person’s heart and mind...

She gently walked into his space, careful to not make too much sound. “Tails is doing just fine.” she knew that was the first thing he wanted to know, and what he truly wanted to hear.

Sonic’s mouth parted from the hard line of contemplation and concern it had worn, to look up and see the kind look in Vanilla’s empathic eyes.

He gave her a small smile, “Heh.” He seemed relieved.

She came over and sat down by him, happily remaining calm to see how he was doing, “You, on the other hand,... How are you holding up, Sonic?”

Sonic looked back at the ground, losing his smile a moment. “Eggman... my fights with him are getting more... dangerous.” he admitted, and looked up towards the window. “Tails, Amy,... even Cream... they’re all so young.” he definitely had a lot to think about while he waited for the girls and the doctor to help out Tails.

She listened quietly, before nodding her head and looking down with a more sweet sorrow. “Yes, I can see that... and Knuckles, although older, can be a bit childish sometimes himself with that temper of his.” she giggled, “But I rather find him quite mature thanks to you three.” she then looked out the window as well, seeing the dark night sky... “Of course I worry for Cream’s safety... any mother would... but I know and believe that she will become the woman she was meant to be... by following her heart in all things.” She looked to Sonic, “I also believe you inspire your friends to do the same. To have the best of themselves realized because you, yourself, believe in them. That part of themselves... it’s completely derived from their meeting you.”

Sonic put his hands together, groaning slightly under the weight of that... but also, feeling a bit stronger from those words, too.

Vanilla gently rose her shoulders up, tilting her head to give Sonic a comforting closed-eyed smile, “No matter what, they choose their own course and destinies. They wish to share in your burdens, so that--although not alone--you are also all carrying the same weight of the world’s future. Together, you are the next generation of heroes that will put an end to this strife against the evil and mean machines of which... Eggman currently controls.” she looked up and placed a hand on Sonic’s back, gently rubbing it. “The responsiblity... of keeping conquerers away from the nature we enjoy so much, the lives of which we all choose to sustain... that can be a heavy burden for anyone... but you children inspire me every day... I feel at peace, knowing my little girl and you all are fighting so hard and with everything you have to keep us safe... you’re becoming the heroes of tomorrow, by being the heroes of today.” she then removed her hand and brought it to his shoulder, pulling him towards her and lowering her head to rest on top of his own. “Such a difficult task you’ve all chosen for your lives... one that will never be easier to bear... but you’ll always have each other. That love you share as one... will help you defeat any evil that comes your way... in this young life, and in the awakening years of your adulthood... I just hope you know how many souls love and depend on you... I know it’s not easy, but I truly feel you all are what this world needs... and for that, I’m so grateful you’re together. That’s where your true strength is... in you and your friends, Sonic.”

Feeling something wet on her legs, she looked over and then closed her eyes to give him the decency of not having someone see...

He was crying. Gritting his teeth. He didn’t want his friends ‘choosing’ to be hurt because of how he choose to live his life...

“Your hearts are one, Sonic... I know you have faith in them... have courage to know they are becoming--and are--heroes just like you. Deep down, that’s all they want you to recongize in them. That they’re there for you, just as much as you are for them, and the rest of the world we all love.”

While Vanilla and Sonic had their moment, Amy’s eyelids were bouncing as though about to fall asleep, her body leaning a bit before forcing herself upright again.

She rubbed her eyes and then patted her cheek to try and stay awake, her eyes determined to do so now as she wanted to make sure she was there when Tails woke up.

He was sleeping soundly... the wet washcloth on his forehead, and his breathing gently rising and falling from his open mouth.

“Hang in there, Tails...” Amy softly stated, before finally succumbing to sleep to herself, flopping lightly to his side and starting to breathe in pace with him...

Amy awoke to a hand on her head, lightly rubbing it.

She looked up with soft blinks before excitedly seeing Tails smiling down at her.

“Tails!” she exclaimed, bouncing up and getting a knee up on the bed to throw her arms around him.

“W-woah!” Tails leaned back a bit, feeilng the pain of her affections, but still wrapping an arm around her all the same, “Haha, now I know how Sonic feels like after a rough recovery!” he joked, and as she moved away he looked into her eyes and gave her the best brotherly grin he possibly could. “Did you worry about me, Amy?”

“You bet I did! You had all of us worried sick! Sonic had to race off in the morning,... you know how he gets, but he will be back soon.” She rubbed her eyes, “I woke up three times... each time, I warmed up some food and waited for you... When you didn’t wake up, I ate the old food, and then me and Vanilla made some more.” she looked at the bedstand next to them to see he had eaten the tomato soup and strips of meat they had prepared for him, along with all the juice in the cup as well.

She nodded, “Good, you’ve eaten it.” She smiled, and Tails rubbed his head embarrassingly.

“Honestly... it was the aroma that woke me up.” He then looked apologetically to Amy, “I’m really sorry... I didn’t mean to worry you and Sonic... or, uh, I guess Cream and Vanilla for that matter, either!” He noticed he was in their home, and looked back at the food he had finished. “It was really good, Amy. Please tell Vanilla thank you for me.”

“Certainly!” Amy chimed, hmm’ing some laughter, “I’m just so glad you’re alright!”

Tails blushed, “You’re sweet, Amy. I bet Sonic really appreciates when you take care of him like this, too!”

Amy... sweatdropped a bit, looking away.

“... Amy?”

She continued to face away, before finally getting up with a hardened look on her face he seldom ever saw.

“Ah... Was it something I said?” Tails looked up at her, worried she was gonna depart.

Amy’s fists shook... and Tails suddenly flinched and picked up the bedsheets, realizing what was about to happen... “Oh no.” he bent his ears back... his eyes shrinking.

Amy spun around and threw up her hands, her animated big head shouting off the rooftops, “THAT SELFISH JERK DOESN’T KNOW REAL AFFECTIONATE AND CONSIDERATION IF IT BONKED HIM ON THE NOSE!” She cried out, fuming as Tails nervously chuckled and held up his hands, dropping the bedsheet and fanning them lightly for her to calm down.

“Sonic can be pretty silly with those things... haha... hah...” He whinced back under the bedsheets and peeked out when Amy loomed over the bed, still angry.

“SILLY!? MORE LIKE HE CAN’T TELL HOW LOVED HE IS EVEN WHEN IT’S RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS FACCCEE!!”

Tails shook his head, “Hang on, Amy! Do you take care of him the same way you did me!?”

Amy pulled back, huffing and turning her head to the side, her head’s spikes morphed into the three signature quills of Sonic, and she puckered up her lips and mocked whatever Sonic had once said to her, “Come on, Amy, you’re smothering me. I need some space to breathe. Nah, nah, nah~” She then spat out, “Ungrateful! At least you care!”

Tails scratched behind his head, “I don’t know, Amy... maybe you spoil Sonic a bit ‘too’ much when he’s recovering. After all, love does make someone blind, right?”

Amy had fire in her eyes as she folded her arms near him and he shrank back.

“A-Al-All I’m saying is, if you leak out your affections in small incrediments, then it’s like slowly healing the wound, and it makes it a whole lot more endearing that way, too.” He shivered a bit, worried she would yell at him again but she thought earnestly about what he said and put her hand to her chin.

“Hmm... So then, you’re saying I’m cuter the more demure I am about it..?” She wondered out loud, tilting her head as Tails sighed.

“W-Well, not exactly... just... you can take care of Sonic just like you usually do, but in little moments and just not all at once.” In Tails’s mind, he could picture her trying to hand-feed Sonic and overly doting on him to where Sonic finally has enough, hurries to recover, and is out the next splitsecond he can get away...

“I think Sonic does appreciate you, Amy, but if you really want him to see your affectionate side, just like medicine, you’ll have to give it at different times throughout the recovery process... you know? Kinda like that small moment you had with me! Sonic would probably really appreciate it!” He held up a finger, winking, before slinking back into the bed and laying down, sighing, “But, what would I know? I’m just Sonic’s best friend. I don’t know the first thing about what he feels in that regard...” He scratched his ear as Amy walked over to the plates and looked up.

“Thanks... Tails.” she stated, and he looked over, worried a second as he shook his hands out.

“B-bu-but wait! The way you love isn’t wrong or anything! Sonic’s just-!”

“I know... But I really mean it. I think... people are too afraid to tell me when I’m doing something wrong... I’m just... really appreciative that you’re there for me, Tails!” She tilted her head to him and smiled beautifully, as Tails realized she actually did want an honest opinion, and smiled at her warm and loving heart.

“I really did mean it. You’re incrediably cute when you’re like this! I’m sure even Sonic’s seen this side of you, and just keeps it to himself when he does! Haha!” he encouraged her sweetly and she giggled like a lovesick fool.

“Aww, you don’t mean that~” she covered her face with the tray of dishes. “Hehe~ Think I’ll see what he’s up to right now! Oh! If he’s back yet, that is.” She hummed a sweet tune and headed out, as Tails sighed, relaxing back into the bed.

“That was close...” He whimpered out, “I thought I really did say something to hurt her feelings... I’m glad she understood I was only trying to support her.” he rubbed his face, before pulling off the bandages around his head. “Ouuuchhhh... what did I hit, anyway?”

He strung out the bandages before hearing a knock at the window, and turned to look, “Huh?” Behind him, Sonic was at the windowsill outside, and gave him a thumbs up.

Tails gave a wide, open grin in return, “Sonic!” he cheered, excited to see him, and threw up a thumbs up back with his teeth beaming his recovering health. “Haha!” he was gonna be okay.

Sonic smirked his signature smile, before breaking his cool look as he heard, “SOOONIICCC!!” In a loving voice that carried in a scary way...

He withdrew his hands as though trying to be sneaky, looking back over his shoulder.

“There you are!~”

“Yikes!” Sonic whispered and raced up the roof to the other side, darting away.

“Ohhh!!! Soooniiicc!!!”

Tails just heard the fast footfalls over the roof and laughed and laughed...

He really, truly loved his little ragtag family...

To him, they were perfect.

To them all, they were one. A team. Dedicated to saving the world...

And Vanilla knew that, standing outside to attend her garden as Cream came home and they embraced sweetly.

They were heroes. Even to each other.

[swordmaid]

which is also why I think - in a vengeance shri’iia au where she ends up as astarion’s spawn and he inevitably gets tired of her bc he has all the power in the world and he can have anything and anyone he wants and everything is his for the taking - when she inevitably turns from his ‘eternal lover’ to just his ‘first spawn’ - she will be sooo amy gone girl about it.

like she’s devoting her oath and her entire life to him, he doesn’t get to change that. he’s not allowed to change even. she will do everything in her power and she will even set fire to them both if he tried to change. like he’s making a mistake that she’s rectifying! she lives to serve, and if he doesn’t want her servitude that means there’s something that’s not right and she will personally correct that. like he doesn’t need to worry about anything ofc - worrying doesn’t look good on him let her fix what needs to be fixed. she is such a good lover after all. it doesn’t compute to her that she’s going to be replaced. like it literally doesn’t make sense, not when he promised her eternity. so when he starts looking at someone else, when he starts to favor someone else and lavish them with his attentions and praise she will get rid of them because he’s getting distracted! and he doesn’t need distractions! and when he gets mad at her she will forgive his transgressions and soothe that anger away - he doesn’t need anymore wrinkles. and she will know about every little lie he says and hold them close to her chest then recite it back to him when she gets rid of another one of his new favourites. and when he tries to kill her she’ll do the same thinking it’s some game or courtship - this is how it was back in menzoberranzan after all! the fact that he was willing to learn her traditional courtship is so sweet 🥰. and maybe she’ll scare him even, so he can learn what fear is again. it’s a good kind of fear bc she’s showing what kind of person she could be so it would be dumb of him to throw her away.

but the thing is! she’s operating out of love and devotion! and they have eternity together! and there’s something sooo sicko yes about how ascended astarion’s first spawn - his first creation - being something that he will eventually resent and fears. bc it would be so much easier if she hated him like how he hated cazador. but she doesn’t. she’s deranged and in love and so obsessive about that love to the point where it literally can not be changed - and he can’t change it or manipulate it. what was once useful to him became a detriment. their love turning so sick and rotten, like a leftover apple, and she becomes a nuisance that he can’t get rid of, and he’s stuck with that nuisance for eternity. he eventually realises what a mistake it was seducing her back then when they had those tadpoles in their heads, when they had that strange freedom. like if he knew things would turn out like this, and she was actually this kind of person, maybe he would’ve done things differently but instead he’s stuck with her for eternity.

and I do think he’ll try to kill her lmfao I mean he’s a vampire lord and she’s just a fucking spawn so he’ll get rid of her once he gets bored and annoyed, but she thinks it’s some game between them so she’ll try to get him too - not kill him ofc but just close enough to scare him and remind him that she does bite even before the vampire teeth. I mean before him, she was literally a drow high priestess’/matron mother’s trained hound.

anyway I really love the idea of them being miserable with each other lmfaoo and I think she will be so miserable as a spawn actually and the moment when she potentially gets replaced something is gonna break inside of her bc it’ll just like before when she broke her oath. but she won’t be that bewildered and confused girl again, nope. she’s not going to accept it this time, she refuses! she doesn’t get to be the only miserable one, he doesn’t get to win..!!!

[myfaveisfuckable]

Rants!

Nightmare Polycule: The cirsed creation of like. 4 people on a niche fandom discord. Polycule consisting of pretty much every adult character in the series. It's awful and somehow the best thing ever. The potential for both crack and angst is unmatched. The divorced parents energy is OFF THE CHARTS. Marcia realizes she is a morosexual and has a crisis about it. Gringe confronts his prejudices by falling for a no-good wizard. Jillie Djinn is Marcia's ex and also dead and also GHOSTING ON HER COUCH which makes it very hard to bring her boyfriends over. Marcellus tries to be dramatic about the fleetingness of human life (except his) and gets made fun of until he confronts his trauma instead. Sarah and Mrs Gringe are having tea and getting a break from the drama.

Nokia/Ami: (spoilers for the game) all the fan stuff ive seen for the game is painfully straight unless its focusing on the two ships where one character is canonically gay n in love with the other (protag of the sequel game with his gay bestie i forgot the name of n yuuko/fei) n ami is usually just drawn on her own BUT theres a lot of canon subtext between nokia n ami mostly as a result of not much actually changing based on if u play as a boy or a girl regardless nokia to some extent likes ami she flirts with her talks about their relationship as if theyre already dating theres a scene that parallels a m/f couple in the game that plays exactly the same between ami n nokia with two other characters saying something along the lines of ah young love during a mandatory side quest ami gets offered an implied sex doll that looks exactly like nokia (weird story there the quest ends with it being heavily implied that the people that take the dolls end up having their organs harvested while their minds are stuck in a digital space called eden unaware that theyre not in the real world) n she has to think about it before declining the offer nokia's character arc is working to become a strong leader n reliable friend cause she wants to stand next to ami instead of relying on her theyre childhood friends but forgot about it ok i need to explain a bit more of the story so like as kids ami n nokia along with three other characters met beta testing for eden n one of them ended up getting eden syndrome to make sure theyre all able to leave safely (theres a thing called eaters that if u get eaten by put u in a coma cause theyre storing the contents of ur brain in them) n a guy who wants to use the eaters to get to the next stage of evolution removes their memories of the incident so years later as teenagers ami nokia n arata (one of the childhood friends important to the story but not to the ship) become friends again n reunite on eden where ami ends up getting eden syndrome but in a funky way cause she was logging out as she got eaten so she has a cyber body that over the course of the game deteriorates n at the end of the game ami basically dies right as everything is being fixed all the victims of eden syndrome are no longer comatose but ami is cause yknow kind of deteriorated too much n it happened right in front of nokia's eyes as she reached out for her hand so they could go home together n nokia cries for the only time in the game cause of that but ive genuinely never seen any fan stuff of them interacting so despite them being teased romantically n built up as being really important to eachother theres nothing not even like nokia with takumi (boy protagonist) im submitting it specifically as nokia/ami just cause i like wlw ships more if u want to do it neutrally protag's surname regardless of gender is aiba sorry if this is incoherent its been like 6 months since ive played the game

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

Anyway with Origins Plus finally formally announced I would say I am leaning on the range of somewhat disappointed to still weirdly optimistic about it.

Having the entire Game Gear Sonic library added is I think a really good thing without a doubt - based on the trailer at least it is just emulation but honestly I’m fine with that knowing that it would’ve resulted in a way healthier work environment than trying to Taxmanify tons of Game Gear games. Do think it’s kind of sad that we’re not getting the Master System versions of Sonic 1 and 2 and the like since iirc they’re literally just the Game Gear titles with a bigger display? That one’s weird. But anyway the disappointment comes from the fact that if you’re just slapping ROMs in there to begin with, why not throw in the other Genesis titles? Real Spinball and 3D Blast and Mean Bean Machine, or you know how about a Knuckles Chaotix rerelease for the first time ever? I genuinely do not think this is too much to ask especially given that they‘re already using emulation for the Game Gear titles to begin with.

The other big thing is a new playable Amy! That’s actually sick as hell. She doesn’t even seem to be borrowing from her Advance moveset either but rather has a wholly new playstyle, that’s super sick. Given how much she’s all over the marketing for the game despite only appearing in CD otherwise, this was a really obvious move to make. Plus, yeah, it’s something new to add to Origins, which is just a really good selling point to have. Implementing new playable characters is a lot more effort than throwing some ROMs in an emulator, so I’m not quite as disappointed in this scenario, but I do wish we had some more characters. Mighty and Ray almost go without saying since hey they’re finished and playable classic characters with defined movesets that also already exist in the retro engine. And you know, Metal Sonic is also all over the marketing despite only being in CD. It would be cool if he were playable. But yeah no I’m not losing as much sleep on that front because again new characters are a lot more to ask for than ROMs.

And then what else are we doing to justify making an entire separate Plus purchase? Oh, nothing. Well I mean, same nice physical release box with an artbook and shit that I’ll buy because yes. But that seems to be it on new stuff. I guess I can’t complain that much - Mania Plus was just 2 new characters and Encore mode, the latter effectively just a palette swap with like some gameplay changes - but idk it still feels like more could be done to justify the “Plus” part of the title than 1 character and a Game Gear emulator.

But! This is where we circle back to optimism. Because Mania Plus wasn’t just that Plus content - it was also a free upgrade with some visual touchups, bug fixes, and most prominently, an entirely new Metal Sonic boss fight. Do I expect that much from Origins Plus? Not necessarily, but hey if new announcements aside Origins Plus is also just a big patch that irons out lots of the remaining issues Origins still has - maybe makes the in-game menus more consistent, fix some of the Retro engine things leading to like 3&K being too fast or that spring in Metropolis that launches you into spikes in Sonic 2 , or you know just fucking puts Knuckles in CD already - that’d be pretty sick. And if I really wanna dream then use actual fucking Genesis ROMs in classic mode instead of just cropping the screen and also restore 3&K soundtrack please and ty. yk I can take or leave those last 2 things but I do genuinely think just sorting those core issues Origins still has would be enough to make it the definitive way to legally experience these titles on modern hardware*.

But yeah. I’m gonna buy it because physical media my beloved, looking forward to playable Amy as well as actually experiencing the Game Gear titles for pretty much the first time. And hopefully they do clean up the core issues and turn Origins into something that can be easily recommended to new fans.

* okay like yeah the best ways to play these titles are on PC with the various ultimate versions fans have made that I’m blanking on the names for but like Sonic 3 A.I.R. and stuff, but iirc you can really only do that legally if you bought the Genesis titles before they were delisted on Steam, so you’re shit out of luck otherwise. That is unless you want to just illegally download the ROMs lol. Which to be clear, I’m totally okay with - I’ve done that plenty myself, duh. Origins is never going to be the definitive edition when stacked up against good old fashioned emulation and ROM hacks and like that’s fine. But hey having a good version on consoles and shit is nice too, you know?

[gourde]

THIS SHOW SUCKS IT'S EVEN MORE AGGRAVATING THAT OTHER SHITTY SONIC SHOWS BECAUSE IT HAS SO MUCH POTENTIAL AND THEN THEY JUST THREW IT AWAY. Like I think the whole premise of the show sucks ass but if they just made it that Sonic was transported to an ALTERNATE timeline, that would've made much more sense. New Yoke really is the only shatterverse that has proper world building, the rest are filler. Have Chaos Sonic be a RECURRING CHARACTER like Metal Sonic. Don't have the Chaos Council, just have Eggman but he won. Everyone loves Satam for some reason, just do something like that but better (Not like it'd be hard honestly).

Like that would work so well. Sonic is in a different timeline that stinks and he needs to fix. Bam, done. Also OMEGA SHOULD BE THERE OH MY GOD THEY KEEP PUTTING IN SHADOW AND ROUGE BUT NO OMEGA and they also should really figure out who they want Amy to be. Her personality is kind of... eh. They all feel the same, Rusty being the most interesting but only cause she's a robot and I'm incredibly biased.

Also get rid of the circular plot. We have the same three things happening all the time. Sonic stops conflict, conflict happens again, he tries to stop it the same way, and there's ten billion fight scenes in between. WHY WAS THIS SHOW NOTHING. WHY. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN. IT'S LITERALLY NOTHING. IT'S LIKE EATING CELERY. I feel like it's really easy to uhhh not have shit like this. Just like... think about things???? Maybe?????? God. Whatever. I'm done with this show now and I'll stop thinking about it after I reblog some other posts hating on it.

[badnikbreaker]

@spiinsparks : “  i don’t care how willing you are to die for me.  i want you to fucking live with me.  live for us.  ”  (...also for amy and yes the  swear is real bc oh boy oh boy he's losing his temper)     /     accepting.

Again and again Amy thinks it : talking with Sonic, now, is like going in circles.  And it’s because they’re never talking about the same thing — they’re so rarely talking about the same thing.

Again and again, Sonic wants to talk about people / about hearts / about WHAT ABOUT YOU, AMY?  Again and again, Amy tries to focus on responsibilities / on the calculus that’s most pragmatic / on SOMEONE HAS TO DO THIS.  He wants it to be simple, he wants it to be something that love and hope can fix, and IT JUST ISN’T.  It just ——— isn’t.

It isn’t that simple.  It hadn’t been that simple when Amy had thrown him into the escape pod on the Death Egg, and it hadn’t been when he’d found her, beaten and bleeding — her smart mouth — and bound — to keep her from using the piko piko hammer.  It hadn’t been simple when it had become apparent, once they’d escaped, that they were both ANGRY — he at her for getting captured for his sake, and she that he’d be stupid enough to come rescue her.

And it’s devolving into another argument that shouldn’t be one, because THIS IS SIMPLE : AMY IS WORTH LESS TO THE WORLD THAN SONIC.  THIS IS SIMPLE : ONLY ONE OF THEM CAN MAKE MIRACLES, AND IT ISN’T AMY.

He says, “You could have died, Amy!”

“I didn’t,” they answer, feeling along their chest for broken ribs.  They already reset their busted nose.  “And I knew that risk when I saved you!  You shouldn’t have come back for me!”

“What, I was supposed to just let Infinite and Eggman —”  His voice chokes.  “Just let you DIE?”

“If that’s what it takes to protect you and the world, then —” she takes a step closer, arms splaying out, it explodes out of her chest, “YES!”  Sonic’s eyes widen, and Amy keeps going, another step forward, “I’m willing to die for you!  If that’s what’s necessary —”

He cuts her off, voice a snarl, “I don’t care how willing you are to die for me.  I want you to fucking live with me!”  It’s Amy’s turn for her eyes to wide, Amy’s turn to takes a step back as he moves closer.  His voice almost breaks around, “Live for us.”

Again and again, Amy thinks it : we’re talking about different things.

Because it’s not that simple.  “It doesn’t matter what EITHER OF US WANT!”

They’re surprised to realize they’re closer to screaming than shouting, now.  They’re surprised, every time, after months without feeling anything this strongly — it’s like the argument on the battlefield, before, cracked Amy’s careful shell; emotions that were once smothered leak out.  Grief and selfishness and anger.  And anger.

“I don’t WANT TO DIE, BUT — BUT THE WORLD NEEDS YOU MORE THAN IT DOES ME, OKAY?!”  And that’s it own kind of misery — grief and selfishness and anger, I try so so so hard and it’s never enough, why isn’t it ever enough — but it’s TRUE.  THAT, AT LEAST, IS JUST THAT SIMPLE.  “And even if it didn’t, I LOVE YOU AND I CAN’T LOSE YOU AGAIN!”

And that, at least, is just that complicated.

She stumbles back, as if struck by her own words — and the selfishness of that, the fucking selfishness of WHAT AMY NEEDS — and goes silent, head lowered, curled fists trembling at her side.

Amy wants to live, even if living hurts and breaks.  But the world doesn’t need Amy.  And even if it did — AMY WOULD DIE IF THEY HAD TO LOSE SONIC AGAIN.

A hand raises, scrubs at her eyes until they burn in their sockets.  They’re used to it.  They’re both used to it.

Quietly, quietly, it’s just this simple and just this complicated, “I can’t.  I can’t lose you again.  I barely — survived the first time.”

[red-riding-wood]

@emotionalcadaver HOLY SHIT. Laur, I'm gonna attempt to do justice to this fic in the comments but no amount of words and gushing will communicate just how in love I am with this masterpiece. I'm so glad I took the time to re-read because I don't know what was going on with my mental state at the time but I don't think I really took in all of the details last year when I read. For this chapter I'm gonna divide my notes on Nes and Jonathan just because I think it will make things a slight bit more coherent but I love how you wrote back and forth between the two, really demonstrating the parallels of their abuse and fear.

Shivering and weak, she curled into herself on the cold tile, squeezing her eyes shut at the sound of footsteps coming down the hall again.

This is such a great line, the sensory of the cold tile, the image of her curled up and shivering against it and the terror she must've felt.

Her relationship with Amy intrigues me; I'm gonna jump a bit in time here and say I was already anticipating Amy to be scared of her after the death of her father, but wasn't expecting her to help Nes "clean up" and everything. (The sound and mental image of the sawing, by the way, so chilling.) These two seem to be such polar opposites and that's really shown in the mouse scene. I loved the detail of their eye colours setting them apart and I wonder if there's any symbolism there!

But that night a new fantasy came to her. There was a knife in her hand and blood on the walls.

Oooh, such a deliciously dark line! So simple yet so effective in painting the scene.

And when she looked into his eyes, she knew that he was afraid. 

This is just, ugh, this is so good Laur! I have no words!

Nes' fascination with the mouse's pain is so so intriguing to me and such lovely foreshadowing to the rest of the chapter!

Wanting to read psychology books thinking she can fix her parents is so heart-wrenching and between the fascination with pain and psychology, she's really got the markings of a serial killer here and I am here for it.

The scene where she went begging to the nurse to do something about her father, my heart broke for her. I don't know how you did it, Laur, but you painted the images and emotions so well that I just really felt for her and I am not condoning abuse here obviously, but reading about all her torment is so satisfying to me knowing it's going to fuel her to inflict pain of her own.

Loved the comparison of the mouse to her mother, and what I think was even better was the parallel between Vanessa watching the mouse suffer and then watching her father suffer. The way she just drank all of that pain in, watching him, it's so deliciously dark and again so, SO satisfying!

You've managed to establish such an intriguing and already fleshed out character in one chapter alone and I am stunned! Can't wait to read more of Vanessa and see how she develops and see what twisted shit she gets up to.

---

Now for Jonathan...

Or have him placed with a new family; one that was gentle and kind and didn’t scream at him that he was a creature born of evil.

This line really strikes a chord in me; wishing for another family is something I can relate to on a... perhaps slightly less extreme level. He is going through absolute hell it seems and my heart's aching for him because he deserves so much more! (same with Ames and Nes.) His endurance in waiting to get away and be free is commendable and I loved the detail about him yearning for colleges and libraries! Wonderful character detail.

There's also such a poetic irony in the fact that he's told he's a creature of evil and then ends up becoming a villain. Your title "How to Make a Monster" is so on point here; I think one of the reasons I am gushing over this fic so much is that my absolute favourite thing in fiction, EVER, is watching how a (well-written) villain is shaped through trauma or other experiences.

He did not pray anymore. 

Such a powerful line.

I ADORE the way you've written his backstory. Love me some religious symbolism and deep south horror, and the scene where he is pecked by the crows is so mortifying! But what I love the most is the symbolism of the scarecrow and how it's a comfort to him because of his fear of the crows. They didn't really show much of Jonathan in the Nolanverse and I have yet to read the comics and play the Arkham games so I'm delighted that you're delving into his character like this because I don't know much about him and want more, and can't wait to see his development in future chapters! Despite being a canon character, you write him as your own.

How to Make a Monster

Chapter 1: Drowning

Fandom: The Dark Knight Trilogy

Pairing: Jonathan Crane x OC

Summary: They are but two abused children, full of rage and pain, trying to survive. 

Series: Part 1 of The Shadow Game

Word Count: 5,719

Notes: Warnings for child abuse and neglect.

Main Masterlist • How to Make a Monster

Next Part

The sound of the faucet turning, then water rushing out to fill the bathtub, was enough to cause pure, unadulterated panic to rush over her. Before her brain even had time to consciously catch up and take note of the sound, her hands were already clammy, heart pounding and breathing labored. Head snapping upwards, her eyes tore away from the book nestled in her lap. With shaking hands, she closed the heavy novel and set it carefully down onto the side table beside the couch. Her eyes flickered across the living room to where her mother was sitting in her rocking chair, eyes trained on some faraway point outside the window. Swiftly and silently, Vanessa stood from her spot on the couch and went to her side. Her mother didn’t look at her until she had grasped her hand in hers.

“Mom,” she croaked, voice shaky with fear. “Mama, please. Don’t let him do it again.” A few tears dripped down her cheeks. Her mother continued to just stare at her silently. “Mama. I’m scared. Please, stop him. Please–”

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